Patent Publication Number: US-2006011570-A1

Title: Hanger for use on metal rack

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This is an continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/828,710, filed on Apr. 19, 2004. The present invention relates to a hanger for use on metal rack, and more particularly to a hanger that can be directly hooked to a vertical front edge of a metal rack in a convenient manner. The present invention is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/828,710 filed on Apr. 19, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      A metal rack is frequently fixed to a wall surface for holding things, so that valuable space in a room could be fully utilized without the need of spending a lot of money for a custom-made cabinet or closet. The metal rack may be covered with curtains or drapes to define a closed storage space and serves as, for example, a cabinet, a closet, or a wardrobe. When the metal rack is used as a wardrobe, it is desirable a crossbar may be fixed below the metal rack for holding some suit hangers.  
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional metal rack  10  that includes a vertically downward bent front to increase the structural strength of the metal rack  10 , preventing the metal rack  10  from easy deformation. An upper and a lower horizontal metal bar  11 ,  12  are welded to an upper and a lower end, respectively, of the vertical front of the metal rack  10 , such that a plurality of metal wires  13  forming the metal rack  10  are extended between the two horizontal metal bars  11 ,  12 .  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a conventional hanger  14  for use on the metal rack  10 . The hanger  14  includes a box  15  provided at an upper end thereof and a supporting seat  16  connected to a lower free end thereof for supporting a crossbar  17  thereon (see  FIG. 1 ). The box  15  includes an openable cover  18 . Two lateral sidewalls of the box  15  are symmetrically provided with upper and lower recesses  151 ,  152  for the upper and the lower horizontal metal bars  11 ,  12  of the metal rack  10  to engage therewith before the cover  18  is closed to the box  15  with a screw and thereby locks the closed box  15  to the metal bars  11 ,  12  and connects the hanger  14  to the metal rack  10 . The box  15  of the hanger  14  occupies a large volume and has complicate structure that necessitates relatively high manufacturing cost and causes inconveniences in connecting the hanger  14  to the metal rack  10 .  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,416 discloses a hanger having an upper edge adapted to hold to two metal wires on a top of a metal rack. The metal rack for use with the hanger disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,416 must have two adjacent metal wires provided at a front end of the top of the metal rack, and is therefore inconvenient for use.  
      Generally, the metal rack is manufactured with low accuracy requirement, and it tends to have minor error in the space between two adjacent metal wires forming the metal rack. However, a position on the hanger for associating with the metal wires of the metal rack has fixed dimensions. Therefore, it is possible the hanger with fixed dimensions could not be fitly assembled to the metal rack that has errors in the size thereof.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      A primary object of the present invention is to provide a hanger that could be directly hooked to a vertical front edge of a metal rack and is therefore more convenient for use.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a hanger that could be assembled to a metal rack having errors in dimensions and is therefore more convenient for use.  
      To achieve the above and other objects, the hanger for use on metal rack according to the present invention includes an open-bottomed hook portion located at an upper end of the hanger, an open-bottomed engaging recess located closely below the hook portion, and a supporting seat located at a lower free end of the hanger. The hanger is connected to and hung from a metal rack by hooking the hook portion to an upper horizontal metal bar at a vertical front edge of the metal rack and engaging the engaging recess with a lower horizontal metal bar at the vertical front edge of the metal rack. A crossbar may be stably supported at each end on the supporting seat of one hanger for holding a plurality of suit hangers thereon.  
      The supporting seat defines an upper opening and a curve-sectioned channel, allowing a crossbar to force into the curve-sectioned channel via the upper opening.  
      In the present invention, an upper part of the hanger is provided along a profile thereof with a vertically extended slit to cut the upper part of the hanger into two laterally symmetric halves. The hanger is connected to the vertical front edge of the metal rack with the slit aligned and engaged with one metal wire at the vertical front edge of the metal rack, so that the hanger is restrained from moving laterally on the metal rack.  
      In the present invention, the hanger is provided below the engaging recess with an elastic latching member to normally elastically close a lower opening of the engaging recess, preventing the hanger from separating from the metal rack. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the use of a conventional hanger on a metal rack;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the conventional hanger of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a hanger for use on metal rack according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a top perspective view showing the connection of the hanger of the present invention to a metal rack;  
       FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 4  with a crossbar connected to the hanger on the metal rack;  
       FIG. 6  is a side view of  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 7  shows the hanger of the present invention is connected to the metal rack in another manner;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a hanger for use on metal rack according to another embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 9  is a side view of the hanger of  FIG. 8  in use; and  
       FIG. 10  is a fragmentary enlarged and sectioned side view of the hanger of  FIG. 8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Please refer to  FIG. 3  that is a perspective view of a hanger  20  according to the present invention for use on a metal rack  30  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The metal rack  30  is a known structure adapted to fix to a wall surface using fastening means (not shown), such that a top of the metal rack  30  is in a horizontal position. As can be seen from  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a front end of the metal rack  30  is downward bent by 90 degrees to form a vertical front edge, and an upper and a lower horizontal metal bars  31 ,  32  are transversely welded to upper and lower end, respectively, of the vertical front edge to intersect with a plurality of metal wires  33  forming the metal rack  30 .  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 3, 4 , and  5  at the same time. The hanger  20  is provided at an upper end with an open-bottomed hook portion  21 , at a position closely below the hook portion  21  with a U-shaped open-bottomed engaging recess  22 , and at a lower free end with a supporting seat  23 . The hanger  20  is connected to the metal rack  30  by hooking the hook portion  21  to the upper horizontal metal bar  31  with the engaging recess  22  engaged with the lower horizontal metal bar  32 .  
      The hook portion  21  hooked to the upper horizontal metal bar  31  of the metal rack  30  enables the hanger  20  to fixedly connect to the metal rack  30 . The engaging recess  22  of the hanger  20  straddles the lower horizontal metal bar  32  to prevent the hanger  20  connected to the metal rack  30  from moving forward or backward. To connect the hanger  20  to the metal rack  30  for use, first cause the engaging recess  22  to straddle the lower horizontal metal bar  32 , and then turn the hanger  20  about the lower horizontal metal bar  32  to a vertical position relative to the metal rack  30 . Thereafter, pull the hanger  20  downward for the hook portion  21  to firmly engage with and therefore hook to the upper horizontal metal bar  31  of the metal rack  30 .  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The supporting seat  23  provided at the free end of the hanger  20  is open-topped to define a horizontally extended and curve-sectioned channel  24 . It is possible to stably support a crossbar  40  on two hangers  20  by downward forcing two ends of the crossbar  40  into the horizontal channels  24  via upper openings of the supporting seats  23 . The crossbar  40  supported at two ends on the hangers  20  may therefore be used to hold other suit hangers (not shown). The horizontal curve-sectioned channel  24  may be provided on an inner wall close to the upper opening with a horizontal rib  25 . After the crossbar  40  is set in the horizontal channels  24  of two supporting seats  23 , the ribs  25  in the horizontal channels  24  are pressed against an outer periphery of the crossbar  40 , preventing the crossbar  40  from easily separating from the hangers  20  via the upper opening of the supporting seats  23 .  
      As can be clearly seen from  FIG. 6 , the hook portion  21  of the hanger  20  is provided on an inner wall surface near the downward opening of the hook portion  21  with two forward protruded rib  26 , so that the downward opening of the hook portion  21  is slightly smaller than an outer diameter of the upper horizontal metal bar  31 . When the hook portion  21  of the hanger  20  is hooked to the upper horizontal metal bar  31 , the ribs  26  enable the metal bar  31  to firmly set in the hook portion  21  without the risk of separating therefrom. More specifically, the hanger  20  is provided at two lateral ends with a soft gasket each. The gasket  27  is in the form of a lying letter T with a longitudinal part thereof extended forward to form the above-mentioned rib  26 . When the upper horizontal metal bar  31  passes the downward opening of the hook portion  21 , it compresses and deforms the ribs  26  to enter into the hook portion  21 .  
      The hanger  20  is provided along a profile of an upper part, including the hook portion  21  and the engaging recess  22 , with a vertically extended slit  28  to cut both the hook portion  21  and the engaging recess  22  into two laterally symmetric halves. Therefore, the hanger  20  may be connected to the upper and the lower horizontal bars  31 ,  32  of the metal rack  30  with the slit  28  aligned and engaged with one of the metal wires  33  located at the vertical front edge of the metal rack  30 . The hanger  20  may then be fully connected to the metal rack  30  in the same manner as previously described. With the vertical metal wire  33  located in the slit  28 , the hanger  20  is restrained from moving laterally on the metal rack  30 , as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are perspective and side views, respectively, of a hanger  20 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention. The hanger  20 ′ is generally structurally similar to the hanger  20 , except for an elastic latching member  50  provided below the engaging recess  22 ′ of the hanger  20 ′ to openably close a downward opening of the engaging recess  22 ′. When the engaging recess  22 ′ straddles the lower horizontal metal bar  32  of the metal rack  30  and the hanger  20 ′ is subject to an upward force, the elastic latching member  50  stops the hanger  20 ′ from separating from the metal rack  30 . An elastic element  51  is compressively mounted at a rear end of the latching member  50  to normally push the latching member  50  forward to close the downward opening of the engaging recess  22 ′. The latching member  50  has a beveled lower front end  52 . When the lower horizontal metal bar  32  of the metal rack  30  is guided into the engaging recess  22 ′, it first contacts with and pushes against the beveled lower front end  52  of the latching member  50 , causing the latching member  50  to elastically move backward to open the downward opening of the engaging recess  22 , so that the lower horizontal metal bar  32  is admitted into the engaging recess  22 ′ and the hanger  20 ′ is properly connected to the metal rack  30 .  
      Please refer to  FIG. 10  that shows the detailed structure of the elastic latching member  50 . An upward extended plate  53  is connected to a top of the latching member  50  and has a horizontal long slot  54  formed thereon. A rivet  55  is extended through a hole (not shown) preformed on the hanger  20 ′ and the long slot  54  on the plate  53 , so that the latching member  50  may be horizontally moved forward and backward relative to the hanger  20 ′.  
      The latching member  50  has a pin  56  projected from a rear end of the latching member  50  into a recess  29 ′ provided on the hanger  20 ′. The elastic element  51  is a compression spring mounted around the pin  56  in a compressed state to normally push the latching member  50  forward.  
      The hanger  20 ,  20 ′ may be integrally formed with a plastic material through injection molding, and can therefore be easily manufactured at reduced cost to be more competitive in the market. While the hanger  20 ,  20 ′ could be easily operated to quickly and conveniently connect to the metal rack  30 , it may also be assembled to metal racks  30  having errors in the distance between the upper and the lower horizontal metal bars  31  and  32  to meet most general consumers&#39; requirements.