Patent ID: 7165688

Claim:
A retractable hanging apparatus, comprising: a pair of mounting bracket means, a spring-biased roller assembly mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis on said pair of mounting bracket means, at least one line connected at a first end in spooling arrangement with said roller assembly, an engagement means disposed at a second end of said at least one line, wherein said engagement means is adapted to releasably engage an article while maintaining said article free from contact with any other structural component of said apparatus, wherein said mounting bracket means are disposed within a housing that at least partially conceals the spring-biased roller assembly, wherein said housing is mounted within a ceiling substructure such that only said at least one line and said engagement means are visible to a user at ground level; and wherein said roller assembly further includes on an outer surface of a pin flange a brake, the brake comprising: an arm having one or more protrusions at a first end and a hole at a second end, wherein said arm is pivotally attached to said outer surface at the hole and is held in an unengaged position by a magnet; and a roughened surface disposed upon a bracket means, wherein centrifugal force swings the arm free of the magnet such that the protrusions engage the roughened surface, thereby braking radial acceleration of the roller assembly.