Patent ID: 7603814

Claim:
A hanger for attaching a load-bearing object to a rib, said hanger comprising: a gripper having a gripper body, said gripper body extending along a longitudinal axis and having a plurality of tabs depending therefrom and spaced along the longitudinal axis, each of said tabs having an outer face portion and an inner edge portion, said plurality of tabs spaced apart from each other along a lateral axis forming a U-shaped portion extending along the longitudinal axis, said gripper body configured to be deformable; a cradle having a cradle body, said cradle body extending along the longitudinal axis and including sidewall portions spaced apart along the lateral axis defining a U-shaped gripper body receiving recess for receiving said gripper body, said gripper body received within said gripper body receiving recess such that at least a portion of said sidewall portions abuts at least a portion of said outer face portions of said tab members, said cradle configured to be rigid relative to the gripper body; a threaded member passing through said cradle body and said gripper body; and a stop secured to said threaded member, wherein said cradle is positioned between said gripper and said stop, said stop being located at a location adjacent to and in direct contact with said cradle, said threaded member coacting with said gripper and said cradle, whereby movement of said stop in a first direction exerts pressure on the cradle body to cause said cradle body and said sidewall portions to coact with the gripper body causing said gripper body to deform and said inner side portions of said plurality of tabs to move toward each other about the lateral axis.