Abstract:
A rod hanger adapter selectively mounted to an associated cabinet includes a first wall comprising an opening for mounting the rod hanger adapter to a wall of the associated cabinet and a second wall connected to, spaced from and at least substantially parallel to the first wall. The second wall includes a slot for receiving an associated rod.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/458,634 filed Mar. 28, 2003, which is incorporated by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to removable components for a cabinet such as a metal cabinet. More particularly, the invention is related to a component that can be removably mounted to a side wall of a cabinet to receive a rod on which items can be hung. 
   Metal cabinets are some of the most versatile pieces of furniture available. Metal cabinets can be hung in work areas, e.g., metal or woodworking shops, garages, as well as many other places. Metal cabinets can also provide storage in vehicles such as trucks and vans. In addition to the versatility provided by metal cabinets regarding the location and placement of the cabinets, metal cabinets also provide versatility in what they store. Metal cabinets have been used to store threaded rod, wire, brake line, welding rods, as well as more common items such as tools and fasteners. To increase a metal cabinet&#39;s versatility, some of the shelves are removable so that larger or different items can be stored in the cabinet. For the shelves to be removable, they are mounted to lances that are mounted to or punched out of or otherwise formed in the side walls of a cabinet. 
   It is desirable that metal cabinets with lances be able to accommodate rods so that items may be hung from the rods. Prior art cabinets typically have rod hangers welded to the inside of the cabinet. Such rod hangers were therefore not removable by the owner or user of the cabinet. Accordingly it is desirable to have a rod hanger that is easily mountable and removable from a metal cabinet. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a rod hanger adapter is selectively mounted to an associated cabinet and includes a first wall having an opening for mounting the rod hanger adapter to a wall of the associated cabinet and a second wall spaced from and substantially parallel to the first wall. The second wall includes a slot for receiving an associated rod. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for selectively hanging a rod in a cabinet wherein the cabinet includes lances on side walls thereof includes the following steps: mounting a first rod hanger adapter having an opening in a wall of the adapter to a first side wall of the cabinet by placing one of the lances through the opening such that the first rod hanger adapter hangs from the lance, mounting a second rod hanger adapter having an opening in a wall of the second adapter to a second side wall of the cabinet by placing another one of the lances through the opening such that the second rod hanger adapter hangs from the lance, and placing a rod in a slot of each of the first rod hanger adapter and the second rod hanger adapter. The slots are aligned along the same longitudinal axis. 
   In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a rod hanger adapter for selective mounting to a cabinet has five walls wherein a first wall includes an opening for mounting the rod hanger adapter to a wall of an associated cabinet. A second wall is spaced from and at least substantially parallel to the first wall. The second wall includes a slot for receiving an associated rod. A third wall is spaced from and at least substantially parallel to the second wall. A fourth wall interconnects the first wall to the second wall. The slot in the second wall extends into the fourth wall. A fifth wall interconnects the second wall to the third wall. 
   Still other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention takes form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, preferred embodiments of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing which form a part hereof and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rod hanger adapter in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side elevational view in cross-section of the rod hanger adapter of  FIG. 1  mounted to a side wall of a cabinet; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a rod hanger adapter of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a rod hanger adapter in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a plan view of a blank prior to being formed into the rod hanger adapter of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a front elevational view of a fourth embodiment of a rod hanger adapter of the present invention; and, 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the rod hanger adapter of  FIG. 6 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
   While this invention may have embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in drawings and will described in detail herein specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the description is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
   In accordance with one embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 1  discloses a rod hanger adapter A that can be made from metal, preferably steel, although other materials can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. The rod hanger adapter A includes first, second and third walls  10 ,  12 ,  14  which are substantially parallel to each other. The rod hanger adapter A also includes a fourth wall  16  interconnecting first and second walls  10 ,  12  and a fifth wall  18  interconnecting the second wall  12  and the third wall  14 . Wall  16  and wall  18  are substantially parallel to each other and are spaced apart from each other. Furthermore, walls  16 ,  18  are substantially perpendicular to walls  10 ,  12 ,  14 . Wall  12  is spaced from and is substantially parallel to walls  10 ,  14 . When the adapter is installed onto a cabinet wall, walls  10 ,  12 ,  14  hang in a vertical direction and walls  16 ,  18  hang in a perpendicular or horizontal direction. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , wall  10  includes an opening  30  which can be square or rectangular and is shaped and positioned to receive a lance  40  that extends from or is mounted to a cabinet wall  42 . Other shapes of the opening can be used without departing from the scope of the invention. The opening has an edge  44  that is received by a bottom leg  46  of the lance  40  when the rod hanger adapter A is mounted to the cabinet wall. Opening  30  is shown to be located centrally on the wall  10 . However, the opening may be positioned off-center on the wall as well. 
   Third wall  14  defines a notch  34  on the wall which is substantially rectangular in shape. Notch  34  is configured to receive a lance  50  such that an edge  52  of the notch  34  abuts a lower leg  54  of the lance. Typically, opening  30  and notch  34  are aligned with one another along a longitudinal axis of the adapter. Notch  34 , which has a substantially U-shaped configuration, does not have a lower edge to allow for easy installation of the adapter over a lower lance in the cabinet wall. Alternately, an opening similar to opening  30  can be used instead of notch  34 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an L-shaped slot  32  which extends from wall  16  to wall  12  is configured to receive a rod  60 . The rod  60  abuts an edge  62  of slot  32 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , the edge  62  is curved to receive a cylindrical rod; however, the edge  62  can have various configurations to receive various shaped rods. For example, edge  62  could be straight to receive a rectangular or square rod. Furthermore, slot  32  is aligned with the opening  30  and notch  34  along a central longitudinal axis of the adapter. However, as seen in  FIG. 3 , the slot need not be aligned with the opening and the notch. 
   To attach the rod hanger adapter A to the cabinet wall  42 , the adapter is slid over lances  40 ,  50  such that opening  30  receives lance  40  and notch  34  receives lance  50 . The rod hanger adapter is slid downwardly until edge  44  contacts the bottom leg  46  of lance  40  and edge  52  contacts the bottom leg  54  of lance  50 . After the rod hanger adapter is attached to the cabinet wall  42 , rod  60  is inserted into slot  32  such that a bottom surface of the rod  60  contacts edge  62 . 
   A second rod hanger adapter A is hung from an opposite wall of the cabinet in the same fashion as described above. The opposite end of the rod is placed in the second rod hanger adapter so that the rod is supported between the two adapters. The rod is then securely mounted within the cabinet. 
   Referring again to  FIG. 3 , an alternative embodiment of a rod hanger adapter B is shown. The rod hanger adapter includes a first wall  110 , a second wall  112 , and a third wall  114 . Wall  112  is spaced from and parallel to wall  110  and wall  114 . 
   The rod hanger adapter B further includes a fourth wall  116  interconnecting first wall  110  and second wall  112  which is substantially perpendicular to walls  110 ,  112 . A fifth wall  118  interconnects walls  112 ,  114 . Wall  118  is parallel to wall  116  and is substantially perpendicular to walls  112 ,  114 . 
   Wall  110  includes an opening  130  adapted to receive a lance. The opening may be square, rectangular, or any other shape dependent upon the configuration of the lance that it will receive. Wall  114  includes a notch  134  also adapted to receive a lance. Opening  130  and notch  134  are preferably aligned along a central longitudinal axis of the adapter. However, as shown in  FIG. 3 , opening  130  and notch  134  need not be aligned along the longitudinal axis of the adapter. 
   Walls  112 ,  116  each includes a slot  132  adapted to receive a rod. Slot  132  can be off-center or not aligned with each opening  130  and notch  134 . This allows the rod to be placed deeper in the cabinet especially when the lances are located near the opening or front of the cabinet. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates another embodiment of a rod hanger adapter C similar to the rod hanger adapter of  FIGS. 1 and 3 . The rod hanger adapter shown in  FIG. 4  does not include a notch to receive a lance in the third vertical wall  114 . Rod hanger adapter C instead has a lower edge  136  that abuts the bottom surface of the cabinet. This embodiment is especially useful for cabinets having a side wall with only one lance. 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a metal blank prior to being formed into the rod hanger adapter A of  FIG. 1 . As can be seen, the rod hanger adapter A can be formed from a single rectangular sheet of metal. Opening  30 , slot  32  and notch  34  can then be punched out of the metal sheet. As described earlier, the opening, slot and notch are typically aligned with each other along a central longitudinal axis of the sheet; however, the alignment is dependent upon the location of the lances within the cabinet to which the adapters will mount and the user&#39;s desired location of the rod that the adapter will receive. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , another alternative embodiment of a rod hanger adapter D is shown. The rod hanger adapter has first, second and third walls  210 ,  212 ,  214 , respectively. Wall  212  is spaced from and substantially parallel to walls  210  and  214 . 
   The rod hanger adapter D further includes a fourth wall  216  which interconnects walls  210  and  212  and which is perpendicular to walls  210 ,  212 . A fifth wall  218  interconnects walls  212 ,  214  and is parallel to wall  216  and substantially perpendicular to walls  212 ,  214 . 
   Wall  210  includes an opening  230  adapted to receive a lance. The opening may be square, rectangular, or any other shape dependent upon the shape of the lance that it will receive. In this embodiment, the opening  230  is located near an outer edge of the rod hanger adapter D. Wall  214  includes a notch  234  also adapted to receive a lance. Opening  230  and notch  234  are preferably aligned since the corresponding lances that are attached to the cabinet wall are typically aligned with each other; however, the opening  230  and the notch  234  need not be aligned to fall within the scope of the present invention. 
   Walls  212 ,  216  each includes a first slot  232  and a second slot  236 , both of which are adapted to receive a rod. Slot  232  can be off-center and aligned with each opening  230  and notch  234 . Slot  236  is spaced from slot  232  and is located adjacent an opposite edge of the rod hanger adapter D. Obviously, other modifications exist, wherein more slots or more openings and notches can be formed in the rod hanger adapter. 
   The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the proceeding detailed description. The invention is intended to be construed to include all such modifications and alterations that are obvious to one skilled in the art.