Patent Application
20190142197
The present invention generally relates to storage hooks. More specifically, it relates to a telescoping hook system for doors.
Over-the-door hangers have been used since the advent of doors themselves. The first hangers were made of bent metal or wire. Today over-the-door hangers are still made of metal as well as molded plastic that can be hung over the top of a door and extends down the face of the door, usually terminating in a hook used to support the item being hung. The advantage of these hangers is that decorative items such as wreaths, garland etc. can be hung without the need to permanently attach hooks to a door. This method is especially useful for hanging seasonal items that are only hung for a relatively short periods of time during the year. However, these hangers usually have only a single hook that is available at a fixed length. Depending on what is being hung on the door and the height desired a user may need either to have a number of hangers or hangers of different lengths. It is often desirable to adjust the length of the hanger once it has already been placed upon the door. Therefore, there is a need for an adjustable length over-the-door hanger that can be easily adjusted while in position on the door. Product engineers in the hanger industry have invented various forms of over the door hangers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,610B2 granted to Adams disclosed a door hook with interlocking hook segments but does not telescope into a single hook. U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,940A granted to Gusdorf and Oberhaus teach of a storage system having a pair of parallel, spaced side runners and a plurality of interchangeable wire racks secured and suspended between the side runners. The invention does not telescope into a single hook. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,691B1 once again granted to Gusdorf and Oberhaus disclosed a rack system for hanging on doors but does not telescope into a single hook. U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,416B1 granted to Avinger disclosed an adjustable over the door hook but does not include multiple hooks. While several patents were found that incorporated multiple, adjustable hooks on over-the-door hangers, none were found that specifically incorporated multiple, telescoping, sliding adjustable hooks.
The device herein disclosed and described provides a solution to the shortcomings in the prior art through the disclosure of an over-the-door hanger with multiple, telescoping hooks. An object of the invention is to allow a user to hold multiple items on a single over-the-door hook. For example, during the holiday season, a user can hang a wreath on a top hook on the invention. They can pull another hook down from the apparatus and hang a bow beneath the wreath. They can then pull another hook down and hang a branch of mistletoe beneath the bow.
Another object of the invention is to allow a user to position hooks at multiple heights on a door. Using the example above, the user can choose which height on the door to hang holiday items. Interlocking tabs engage teeth behind the invention and by pressing in on the tabs, users can pull hooks to preferred heights to accommodate various sized items.
Another object of the invention is to allow a user to stow multiple, unused hooks into a single hook on an over-the-door hanger. For example, when the holiday season is over and a user simply wants to hang a single New Years item, they can press the aforementioned tabs and slide the multiple hooks into a single hook at the top.
It is briefly noted that upon a reading this disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize various means for carrying out these intended features of the invention. As such it is to be understood that other methods, applications and systems adapted to the task may be configured to carry out these features and are therefore considered to be within the scope and intent of the present invention, and are anticipated. With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the herein disclosed invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention herein described is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. As used in the claims to describe the various inventive aspects and embodiments, “comprising” means including, but not limited to, whatever follows the word “comprising”. Thus, use of the term “comprising” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present. By “consisting of” is meant including, and limited to, whatever follows the phrase “consisting of”. Thus, the phrase “consisting of” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, and that no other elements may be present. By “consisting essentially of” is meant including any elements listed after the phrase, and limited to other elements that do not interfere with or contribute to the activity or action specified in the disclosure for the listed elements. Thus, the phrase “consisting essentially of” indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present depending upon whether or not they affect the activity or action of the listed elements.
The objects features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements described in this specification and hereinafter described in the following detailed description which fully discloses the invention, but should not be considered as placing limitations thereon.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate some, but not the only or exclusive, examples of embodiments and/or features.
Other aspects of the present invention shall be more readily understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description, neither of which should be considered limiting.
In this description, the directional prepositions of up, upwardly, down, downwardly, front, back, top, upper, bottom, lower, left, right and other such terms refer to the device as it is oriented and appears in the drawings and are used for convenience only; they are not intended to be limiting or to imply that the device has to be used or positioned in any particular orientation.
It is additionally noted and anticipated that although the device is shown in its most simple form, various components and aspects of the device may be differently shaped or slightly modified when forming the invention herein. As such those skilled in the art will appreciate the descriptions and depictions set forth in this disclosure or merely meant to portray examples of preferred modes within the overall scope and intent of the invention, and are not to be considered limiting in any manner. While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the invention have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 62585301 | Nov 2017 | US |
| Child | 16175515 | US |
