Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an accessory kit for use with an adjustable hanger. More particularly, the accessory kit comprises one accessory for use in depot and/or wire hanging of an item such as a painting, another accessory for transportation thereof, and a further accessory comprising an extender for increasing distance between the hung item and supporting surface therefore.  
           [0003]    2. Prior Art  
           [0004]    Heretofore, adjustable hanging systems to which the accessory kit of the present invention applies have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,987 entitled System For Adjustably Mounting An Item to a Vertical Surface and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/499,169 entitled Adjustable Hanging System, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
           [0005]    As will be best understood upon perusal of this application, the accessory kit of the present invention enhances functionality of the adjustable hanging systems defined above by allowing for accommodation of depot and/or wire hanging and transport of an item to which such adjustable hanger slide kit members are engaged and accommodating any necessary spacing of a hung item from its support.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    According to the invention there is provided an accessory kit for an adjustable hanging system comprising at least one accessory for engaging a track of the adjustable hanging system for allowing depot and/or wire hanging of an object engaged thereto, at least one accessory for engaging a track of the adjustable hanging system for allowing for transport of an object in a secure and cushioned fashion, or at least one accessory for increasing the distance between the item hung with the hanging system and a supporting surface therefore.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hanging system engaging a wire/depot hanging slider accessory of the kit shown in depot hanging form, engaged over a depot crossbrace.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a exploded perspective view of one surface of the accessory of FIG. 1.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an opposite surface of the accessory of FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view through the slider of FIG. 3.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate wire hanging accessory shown in wire hanging form.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the accessory of FIG. 5 showing one surface of a slider thereof, a connector engageable thereto and a hanging wire loop.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another side of the slider of FIG. 6.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a wire tensioner of the accessory of FIG. 5, taken along line  8 - 8  of FIG. 5.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cushioned hanger accessory engaged to a track therefor for use in engaging an item to a supporting surface in a cushioned manner.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the accessory of FIG. 9.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an extender engaged to a track for use in spacing an item hung by the track from a supporting surface therefor.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the accessory of FIG. 11.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the accessory of FIG. 11.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    Referring now to the drawings in greater detail there are illustrated therein a plurality of accessories for use with a hanging system  10  incorporating a track member  12 , one or more of the accessories being provided together in the form of an accessory kit for the hanging system  10 .  
         [0021]    Beginning with FIGS.  1 - 4 , there is illustrated therein the track member  12  of the hanging system  10 , the description of which, as stated above is incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0022]    A first accessory of the kit  14  for the hanging system  10  is generally identified by reference numeral  20  and comprises a depot hanging accessory  20 . As shown, the depot hanging accessory  20  comprises a planar base  22  which has a threaded neck  24  extending to one side  26  thereof. From an opposite side  28  of the planer base  22 , a connector  30 , such as a bolt  30 , engages within the threaded neck  24 , extending outwardly from the planar base  22  a distance sufficient to engage over a crossbrace member  32  of a hanging depot (not shown). Relative positioning between the planar base  22  and the hanging system  10  is accomplished through engagement of an end of a movable positioning screw  40  within and against a notch  41  in an exterior surface  42  of the threaded neck  24  which is positioned within the track member  12  of the hanging system  10 .  
         [0023]    Viewing FIG. 4, it will be understood that the threaded neck  24  has an end flange  46  thereon, with the planar base  22  and the end flange  46  both being wider that the track opening  48  in the track member  12 , trapping edge  50  of the track opening  48  therebetween.  
         [0024]    Further, as shown in FIGS.  5 - 8 , a similar accessory  60  may be used to accommodate wire hanging. In this respect, a connector  62 , such as a screw  62 , may be engaged within a threaded neck  64 , and a looped end  66  of a hanging wire  68  may be engaged about a head  70  of the screw  62 .  
         [0025]    Also,in this accessory  60 , positioned about a shaft  72  of the positioning bolt  40  is a collar  78  which incorporates a cutout  80  therein to apply pressure against the wire  68  extending downwardly therepast to maintain the looped end  66  of the wire  68  engaged by the head  70  of the screw  62  when the collar  78  is positioned relative to the wire  68  as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0026]    It will be understood that the two accessories  20  and  60  defined above are not mutually exclusive, i.e., they can be replaced by each other if necessary and are primarily presented to show that the embodiments should not be construed as limiting.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate another accessory  80  primarily provided for use in easing the rigors, an object, such as a work of art, goes through during transport thereof. In this respect, the accessory  80  comprises a slide  82  engageable to and within the track  48  of the track member  12 , the slide  82  incorporating a horizontal throughbore  84  within which a threaded end  86  of an eyehook  88  is engaged. The eyehook  88  has a cushion  90  engaged thereto and therearound, with the cushion having a center bore  92  therein which is provided within the inner margin  98  of the eyehook  88 . When the accessory  80  is engaged and oriented as shown in FIG. 9, passage of a suitable connector (not shown) through the center bore  92  of the cushion  90  will engage the eyehook  88  to a support surface, such as a wall securing the accessory  80  and engaged track member  12  to the support surface, in a manner interposing the cushion  90  between the eyehook  88  and the supporting surface, cushioning the “ride” of the object engaged to the track member  12 .  
         [0028]    It will be seen that the slide  82  also incorporates at least one vertical bore  100  therein within which the threaded end  86  of the eyehook  88  may be engaged for storage thereof, when not in use. Further, the slide  82  includes a removable connector  104  engaged to a surface  106  thereof directed away from the track member  12  for use in engaging the loop  66  of hanging wire  68  thereto if it is desired to do so. Thus, the accessory  80  accommodates objects which may or may not be wire hung.  
         [0029]    Turning now to a final accessory  120 , this will be defined as an extender accessory  120  which comprises an arm  122  having a hooked end  124  which has a crossmember  126  extending laterally outwardly thereof, the crossmember  126  pivotably engaging within the track member  12  in the manner illustrated in FIG. 11 with the arm  122  being dimensioned to extend through the opening  48  in the track member  12 , the crossmember  126  also acting as a slide  126  within the track member  12 .  
         [0030]    An opposite straight end  130  of the arm  122  is pivotably engaged to a base plate  132  by a connector  133  which engages a support surface  134  such as a wall  134 , with pivotability of the arm  122  at both ends  124  and  130 , together with slidability of the end  124  relative to and within the track member  12 , allowing for varied angulation and thus varied spacing, between the supporting surface  134  and the object engaged to the track member  12 , as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.  
         [0031]    It will be understood that one, two, three, or all four accessories described above may be provided in the accessory kit, as desired by the user of the hanging system  10 . Also, although only one of each accessory has been illustrated for the sake of brevity, it will be understood that it is preferred, although not mandatory, that the accessories be used in pairs; one being positioned at each upper corner of an object, such as a frame.  
         [0032]    As described above, the accessory kit of the present invention provides a number of advantages, some of which have been described above and others of which are inherent in the invention. Also, modifications may be proposed to the kit as well as component structures thereof without departing from the teachings herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims.

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