1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the field of lifting mechanisms and more particularly to an apparatus that includes one or more lines that are connected to a spring-biased roller assembly and is especially useful for hanging items such as clothing and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The general concept of a “retractable hanger” has been used for many years, mainly for indoor closet and vehicle applications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,357 by Johnston describes a retractable garment hanger assembly (for an automobile) that pulls down via “lines” from its mount when it is urged to do so by a user or by hanging clothing upon a bar portion of the structure. When the downward force is removed, the “bar” then retracts into the mounting member.
However, the lines holding the bar on Johnston's invention are constantly urged upward due to a biasing spring. Thus, when the weight being hung upon the bar is removed, a sudden “snapping” action can occur, which potentially can result in a user being pinched or otherwise injured.
Spring-biased roller assemblies (similar to those used in common “roller blinds” for windows) have also been used to provide or hang shower curtains. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,559 discloses a retractable shower screen unit. The unit basically includes a roller blind of woven glass fiber material housed in an elongate extruded plastics material casing. Two freely rotatable water absorbent sponge rollers are also housed in the casing and the screen passes therebetween.
While the aforementioned inventions have provided suitable function for their intended purpose, none are believed to provide an apparatus that can hang a variety of articles and that does not “snap” to a retracted position unexpectedly. Therefore, in view of the above, it would be desirable to have a retractable hanging apparatus that is simple and durable, that can be used with a variety of lines, and that can be secured to a ceiling or housed out-of-sight in a sub-ceiling.
The invention relates to a method of hanging articles and a retractable hanging apparatus that mounts to a wall or ceiling. The structure of the hanger includes an engagement means (for example, a bar) upon which an article (e.g., clothing) is hung or secured. The engagement means is suspended by one or more “lines” that are attached to a roller assembly that is mounted between two bracket means alone or bracket means disposed inside a housing structure. The line or lines are secured to the roller assembly so that the article may be lowered to a particular height or may be elevated as desired.
In one embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes a locking or braking system for a spring-biased roller assembly that reduces the tendency for the assembly to unexpectedly “snap” to a retracted position. Also, the invention preferably includes alignment pads disposed to frictionally engage the line or lines attached to the roller assembly in order to keep the winding motion orderly (i.e., in a particular place on the roller) and to prevent line entanglement with other roller assembly components. Furthermore, some embodiments of the invention include a constant-tension spring-biased roller assembly, “break-away” lines for releasing the engagement means if too much force is applied, or an adjustable-tension hanging bar.
In another embodiment, the engagement means includes hangers, hoops, clamps, bars and other structures (such as a hamper or bag) useful for securing or hanging an article to the invention. Thus, depending upon the engagement means utilized, a variety of items may be displayed, hung, or raised, such as, but not limited to, clothing, signage, decorations, and the like.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the roller assembly includes a braking mechanism that includes an arm having one or more protrusions at a first end and a hole at a second end, wherein said arm to pivotally attached to said end at the hole and is held in a unengaged position by a magnet disposed upon the end of the roller assembly; and a cog arrangement disposed upon the bracket, wherein centrifugal force swings the arm free of the magnet such that the protrusions engage a cog of the cog arrangement disposed upon the bracket, thereby braking radial acceleration of the roller assembly.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the roller assembly is powered by a rotary motor.
Thus, in view of the disclosure herein, a new and improved retractable hanging apparatus is provided. Moreover, a new and improved article-hanging method is provided. The method involves providing a retractable hanging apparatus that includes a pair of mounting bracket means, a roller assembly mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis on the pair of mounting brackets means, at least one line connected in spooling arrangement with the roller assembly, and an engagement means for engaging an article disposed at the second end of the line; hanging or securing the article to the engagement means of the apparatus; and raising the article by applying either a manual or motorized pulling force to the line or engagement means.
Various other purposes and advantages of the invention will become clear from its description in the specification that follows. Therefore, to the accomplishment of the objectives described above, this invention includes the features hereinafter fully described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, and particularly pointed out in the claims. However, such description discloses only some of the various ways in which the invention may be practiced.
The invention relates to a retractable hanging apparatus that mounts to a wall or ceiling. The structure of the hanger includes an engagement means (for example, a bar) upon which an article (e.g., clothing) is hung or secured. The engagement means is suspended by one or more “lines” that are attached to a spring-biased roller assembly that is mounted between two bracket means alone or bracket means disposed inside a housing structure. The “lines” are secured to a roller assembly so that the article may be lowered to a particular height or may, through a short but gentle pull of the engagement means or activation of a motor, be elevated as desired.
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Thus, as indicated by arrow A and the illustrated phantom lines, the position of bar 4 is easily lowered. Conversely, the bar 4 may be raised through reversing the direction of the motorized roller assembly. Depending upon the line material (e.g., monofilament line, nylon rope, cables, twine, or fibers) and rating of the roller assembly utilized (e.g., light or heavy duty), a user may hang items that comprise a large range of weight.
A partially exploded view of a second embodiment of the invention is shown in
As indicated by arrows C, a cover 22 may be disposed atop the housing 16. The cover 22 preferably features alignment pads 24, the purpose of which is to keep lines 12 in place upon the roller 14 such that entanglement with pin 18 or tab 20 is prevented. However, the alignment pads 24 may be disposed upon a surface of the interior of the housing other than the cover or upon the ceiling itself if a housing is not used (not shown). Also preferably, cushions 26 are disposed at the bottom of housing 16 where each line 12 passes through so that noise may be minimized upon full retraction of bar 10.
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Thus,
Many “industrial ceilings,” such as those found in a retail shopping establishment, contain sub-ceilings that conceal a crawl space. Thus, the invention may be installed out of view by locating it within a sub-ceiling as shown in
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Various changes in the details and components that have been described may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention herein described in the specification and defined in the appended claims. Therefore, while the present invention has been shown and described herein in what is believed to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures can be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent processes and products.
This application claims priority to, and is a continuation-in-part of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/895,531, filed on Jul. 21, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 10895531 | Jul 2004 | US |
Child | 11625549 | Jan 2007 | US |