Patent Application
20060080870
The present invention generally relates to hanger devices. More particularly, the present invention is directed to hanger devices useful for hanging tablets or calendars on upright support surfaces, such as walls. The present invention is specifically directed to calendars and calendar assemblies adapted to be ergonomically oriented relative to a support surface.
Many individuals enjoy decorating personal areas with articles that appeal to them. In many cases, homes and work areas are adorned with plants, pictures of loved ones, artwork, degrees or personal achievement awards, and wall tapestries, to name a few. Oftentimes, certain areas within the home or office are designated for placing important reminders and organizing information relating to future dates. Perhaps the most common way of marking time is with a calendar.
Typically, calendars and calendar devices are organized to present a complete year, a month of the year, a week of the year or a single day. Many calendars are adapted to receive information placed thereon as reminder of events, appointments, or other notational information. As such, calendars are commonly found in an area where they are both conspicuous and easily accessible, and can be found hanging from a wall, a door, or other vertical support surface.
Many companies that manufacture calendars have strived to create a functional calendar, but also one that will serve a decorative purpose due to their high visibility. As a result, a multitude of calendars are available on the market varying in size, shape, organization, as well as the associated decorative theme. Many calendars found today go beyond providing a simple matrix of rows and columns, and devote space for notations to accommodate the many uses that calendars serves.
Despite the usefulness of these various calendars in receiving written information, a problem exists which has long been unresolved. Due to the anatomy of the human body, most comfortable writing is done on a slant. For right-handed people, it is know that the best writing technique occurs where he writers slants his/her writing away for the body when moving left to right. For left-handed writers, when writing left to right, writing is slanted toward the body. Existing calendars, especially those hung from a vertical support surface, have failed to recognize this need. As a result, writing directly onto the calendars has been equally inconvenient for both right and left handed writers. The present invention is directed to meeting this need.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful calendar that is better adapted for use in writing information thereon.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for mounting a articles, such as a calendar, to a vertical support surface.
Yet another object of the present invention is to a new and useful calendar assembly that can be oriented to favor either a right-handed or left-handed writer so as to be more ergonomic when used to receive written information.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful calendar that can be reused month after month, and that may be ergonomically oriented.
According to the present invention, then, a hanger device is provided that is adapted to secure a table to a post-like support member disposed on an upright support surface. The hanger device includes an elongated header portion having a front, a back, opposite ends, and a header thickness measured between the front and back thereof. The header portion has a longitudinally extending base axis, which defines a longitudinal direction, as well as a central transverse axis that is generally perpendicular to the base axis and located medially between said opposite ends.
The header portion has an opening formed therethough that is adapted to engage the post-like support member and may further be provided with a cover layer adhered to the front. The opening could be a bore or an elongate slot extending in the longitudinal direction and wherein the support member is selectively positionable along the slot. Additionally, the slot may be association with on positioning notch or a plurality of positioning notches that are sized and adapted to receive the support member. Some of the positioning notches may be located offset from the central transverse axis and equidistantly spaced therefrom. Other ones of the positioning notches may lie generally on the central axis.
The hanger device also includes a flat panel portion extending from the header portion that has a thickness less than the header thickness. Both the header portion and the panel portion may be formed of a material selected from the group consisting of cardboard, wood, metal, and plastic.
The hanger device is also provided with a means for releasably attaching a tablet thereto such that when the tablet is secured thereto, at least some of the panel portion forms a backing therefore. Alternatively, when the tablet is secured thereby, and the support member engages an opening that offset from the central axis, the tablet is suspended under the force of gravity in a skewed orientation relative to the support surface.
The means for attaching the tablet may be accomplished by a primary attachment element supported either by the header portion or the flat panel portion. The primary attachment element is adapted to secure the tablet thereto whereby, when the opening in the header portion engages the post-like support member in a mounted state, the tablet is secured by the attachment element and at least some of said panel portion forms a backing for the tablet. A secondary attachment element may further be associated with the hanger device. A pouch may be releasably secured to the secondary attachment element. Both the primary and secondary attachment elements may each be selected from the group consisting of adhesive strips, hook and loop fasteners, spring clips, and eyelets and rods.
The present invention is also directed to a calendar assembly adapted to be suspended by a post-like support member disposed on an upright surface. The calendar assembly generally includes a hanger, a calendar, and means for releasably attaching the calendar to the hanger. The hanger may include an elongate header portion and a rectangular flat panel portion extending therefrom and may extend the length of the calendar.
An opening formed in the header portion is adapted to engage the support member at a location offset from the central transverse axis. The calendar includes a grid formed by a plurality of spaced-apart parallel first lines a plurality of parallel second lines. When the calendar is releasably secured to the attachment means, the opening engages the post-like support member in a mounted state, the first parallel lines run parallel to the base axis and the second parallel lines run parallel to the central transverse axis, whereby said calendar is supported by said hanger in a skewed orientation relative to the support surface under a force of gravity.
The present invention also provides for a a calendar adapted to secure to a post-like support member disposed on an upright support surface. The calendar includes an elongated header portion having a front, a back and opposite ends, and a header thickness measured between the front and back thereof. The header has a longitudinally extending base axis and a central transverse axis generally perpendicular to the base axis and located medially between said opposite ends. Further, the header includes an elongate slot adapted to engage the post-like support member whereby said post-like support member is selectively positionable along the length of said opening. The calendar further includes a flat panel portion extending from the header portion and having a panel thickness that is less than the header thickness. Preferably, the panel portion is formed of a reusable material capable of receiving written information. The panel also includes a grid formed thereon, having a plurality of spaced-apart parallel first lines oriented parallel to the base axis an a plurality of spaced-apart parallel second lines oriented parallel to the central transverse axis. Notches may be associated with the slot so that the calendar is selectively oriented.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention is generally directed to hanger devices that are adapted to be mounted onto an upright support surface. More particularly, the present invention is directed to hanger devices useful for hanging tablets from vertical support surfaces, such as walls, doors, refrigerators and bulletin boards. As used herein, the word “tablet” refers to a plurality of sheets of paper fastened, or otherwise bound together, upon which written information or notations may be received. Further, use of the word tablet broadly includes a calendar as well as any similar product. As will be appreciated from the discussion below, the hanger devices of the present invention are selectively positionable, while mounted on the support surface, to orient the tablet so as to be more ergonomic when used to receive written information. Additionally the present invention is directed to calendar assemblies and calendars that incorporate the hanging device of the present invention.
A first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1(a)-1(c). Here, it may be seen that calendar assembly 10 is mounted to upright support surface 2 and moveable among the selected orientations illustrated. Generally, calendar assembly 10 includes calendar 20 attached to hanger device 30. Hanger device 30 is suspended by a post-like support member 12, disposed on upright support surface 2. Upright support surface 2 is preferably any vertically oriented surface that is readily accessible by a user, such as a wall, bulletin board, or refrigerator door, to name a few. Post-like support members 12 contemplated include push-pins, nails, thumbtacks, hooks, magnets, and other suitable items that can be disposed on the support surface and that are sufficient to support the weight of the assembly.
Before illustrating the movement of calendar assembly 10 to arrive at the selected orientations, it is perhaps first useful to have an understanding of the structure associated with hanger 30. Accordingly, reference is now made to
Header portion 40 has a front 42, a back 44, opposite ends 46, and a thickness that is greater than that of panel portion 50. Header portion 40 has a longitudinally extending base axis “X”, which defines a longitudinal direction, and a central transverse axis “Y” located medially between opposite ends 46. Opening 60, shown here in the form of an elongate slot extending in the longitudinal direction, is formed through header portion 40 and further may be associated with a three registration notches 62. Here, three registration notches 62 are provided wherein a first registration notch 62 lies on the central transverse axis “Y” and the second and third registration notches 62 are offset and equidistantly spaced therefrom.
Flat panel portion 50, extending from header portion 40, includes a means for attaching an article, such as a tablet thereto. Here, the attachment element is in the form of adhesive strip 52, which includes peel back strip 54. The tablet is preferably releasably securable to panel portion 50 so that the tablet may be discarded after use. However, panel portion 50 may be provided with a more permanent means of attaching the tablet thereto, if so desired. Alternative attachment elements are discussed below, but may include cooperating hook and loop fastener strips, clips, and a rod received by eyelets.
Both header portion 40 and flat panel portion 50 are preferably constructed of a material suitable to both be suspended by a post-like support member and to support a tablet comprised of a plurality of sheets. Examples of material suitable for this task include cardboard, wood, metal, and plastic, although other suitable materials such as known in the industry are contemplated.
Now with the structure of hanger device 30 in mind, and returning to FIGS. 1(a)-1(c), it should be understood that calendar 20 has been releasably attached to the flat panel portion of hanger 30 by an attachment element in the form of an adhesive strip whereby at least some of the panel portion forms a backing for the calendar. Support member 12 is received in slot 60 and registered in a selected one of notches 62. As shown, support member 12 may travel within slot 60 so as to register with any of the registration notches 62 that are associated therewith. Movement of support member 12 in this way enables calendar 20 to be skewed relative to the support surface to accommodate right-handed or left-handed writers. By way of illustration, calendar assembly may first be oriented in a display orientation, as shown in
In the alternative, movement of calendar assembly from the display orientation in the direction of arrow “b” causes support member 12 to travel along slot 60 to an adjacent notch 62, a location offset of the central transverse axis whereby calendar 20 is suspended under the force of gravity in a skewed orientation relative to the support surface 2. The orientation of calendar 20, as shown in
Alternative hanger devices are shown in
A fourth exemplary embodiment of the hanger device according the present invention is shown in
An alternative calendar assembly 410 according to the present invention is shown in
As compared to the header portions heretofore described, header portion 430 does not include a slot or other opening interconnecting bores 462. In addition, as shown, flat panel 440 is sized and configured as a calendar and has a grid formed thereon, including a plurality of spaced-apart parallel first lines 492 oriented parallel to the base axis “X” an a plurality of spaced-apart parallel second lines 494 oriented parallel to the central transverse axis “Y”. Flat panel 540 is preferably made of a reusable material, such as a laminated sheet, so that written information provided thereon can be erased or removed such that flat panel 540 is reusable.
An alternative calendar assembly 510 is shown in
As should be appreciated from the foregoing, any one of the alternative hanger devices may be used with a selected tablet. Further, any one of the foregoing attachment elements may be provided with any one of the above-described hanger devices.
Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degree of particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should be appreciated, though, that the present invention is defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior art so that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.
