Claims
- 1. A hanger comprising:
(A) an attachment portion for securing said hanger to a support; and (B) at least one pinch-grip for receiving an article for hanging, said pinch-grip including:
(i) a pair of vertically extending components, each said component defining an upper end and a lower end; (ii) biasing means for biasing said lower ends together to a closed position and for permitting separation of said lower ends to an open position by movement of at least one of said upper ends relative to the other; and (iii) a connector for pivotably securing together said upper ends of said components for movement between a substantially unfolded orientation and a substantially folded orientation;
said connector being flexible, integrally molded with said components, and configured and dimensioned to extend between said upper ends of said components when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 2. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector does not substantially inhibit movement of said lower ends between said closed and open positions.
- 3. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector does not project vertically or horizontally substantially beyond said components when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 4. The hanger of claim 3 wherein said connector lies substantially between_said component upper ends and is substantially hidden from view when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 5. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector is molded in a configuration such that, when said components are in said folded orientation, said connector is generally concave.
- 6. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector connects only the tops of said upper ends of said components.
- 7. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector is disposed entirely above said biasing means.
- 8. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector comprises a pair of connector elements, each of said connector elements being adjacent a respective lateral side of said components.
- 9. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said pair of components defines a generally parallel pair of component-containing planes, and said connector extends generally perpendicular to said component-containing planes.
- 10. The hanger of claim 1 wherein opposed ends of said connector connect corresponding opposed points on the facing surfaces of said component upper ends.
- 11. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said pair of components defines two generally parallel pairs of component-containing planes, and said connector extends between said component upper ends at a substantially non-perpendicular angle to said component-containing planes.
- 12. The hanger of claim 11 wherein said connector comprises a pair of connector elements, each of said connector elements extending between said component upper ends.
- 13. The hanger of claim 12 wherein said connector elements are laterally offset and parallel.
- 14. The hanger of claim 12 wherein said connector elements are non-parallel.
- 15. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector has a pair of opposed ends, each of said opposed ends being connected to a respective component by a respective line of weakness, thereby to facilitate intentional removal of said connector from said components.
- 16. The hanger of claim 15 wherein said lines of weakness are disposed above said component upper ends when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 17. The hanger of claims 15 wherein said lines of weakness are disposed below the tops of said component upper ends when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 18. The hanger of claim 16 wherein said lines of weakness facilitate removal of said connector from said components when said components are in said folded orientation.
- 19. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector is separate and distinct from said biasing means and pivotably secures together said upper ends of said components for movement, prior to application of said biasing means to said components, between a substantially unfolded orientation and a substantially folded orientation.
- 20. The hanger of claim 19 wherein said connector is of sufficient width and thickness to provide resiliency.
- 21. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said connector and said biasing means are the same, said connector being formed of a resilient material possessing memory and biasing said component upper ends apart.
- 22. The hanger of claim 21 characterized by the absence of any biasing means except for said connector.
- 23. The hanger of claim 21 additionally including means, separate and distinct from said connector, for pivotably securing together said components intermediate said component upper and lower ends.
- 24. The hanger of claim 23 wherein said components cooperatively define a ball-and-socket joint intermediate said component upper and lower ends.
- 25. A hanger comprising:
(A) an attachment portion for securing said hanger to a support; and (B) at least one pinch-grip for receiving an article for hanging, said pinch-grip including:
(i) a pair of vertically extending components, each said component defining an upper end and a lower end, said pair of components defining a generally parallel pair of component-containing planes; (ii) biasing means for biasing said lower ends together to a closed position and for permitting separation of said lower ends to an open position by movement of at least one of said upper ends relative to the other; and (iii) a connector having a pair of opposed ends for pivotably securing together said upper ends of said components for movement between a substantially unfolded orientation and a substantially folded orientation;
said connector being flexible, integrally molded with said components, and configured and dimensioned to extend between said upper ends of said components when said components are in said folded orientation; said connector being characterized by at least one of the following:
(a) said connector extending generally perpendicular to said component-containing planes; (b) each of said opposed connector ends being connected to a respective component by a respective line of weakness, thereby to facilitate intentional removal of said connector from said components; and (c) said connector and said biasing means being the same, and said connector being formed of a resilient material possessing memory and biasing said component upper ends apart.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/066,890, filed Feb. 4, 2002.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10066890 |
Feb 2002 |
US |
Child |
10128854 |
Apr 2002 |
US |