Patent Application
20190257351
None.
A safe soft hanger hook for hanging small object replacing metal hanger hooks retaining a variety of shapes which reduces risks and hazards to children and small pets who might attempt to consume them, reduces the potential of damage to household appliances used to clean floors and carpets, and will not penetrate the skin in the event the safe hanger hook is stepped on, the safe soft hanger hooks made of a material which dissolves and softens when exposed to moisture, water or saliva, the safe hanger hooks being recyclable and disposed of in an ecological manner.
A preliminary review of prior art patents was conducted by the applicant which reveal prior art patents in a similar field or having similar use. However, the prior art inventions do not disclose the same or similar elements as the present safe hanger hooks, nor do they present the material components in a manner contemplated or anticipated in the prior art.
Several examples on the market involve hanging hooks made of metal or plastic used to hang ornaments from a tree or from a nail or wall mount. In U.S. Pat. No. D654,351 a hanging hook made of paper is shown defining an upper hook portion and a lower portion having a pair of split angular tabs defining a shaped opening in each tab wherein a hook may be inserted or some other vertically oriented object may be inserted and held. Two clothing hangers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,230 to Yeh, describing a clothing hanger being made entirely of pressed paper formed into a hanger, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,034 to Chang which has linear sections made of paper stock and glue and connectors made of metal. None appears to meet the design, utility or functional objectives of the present safe hanger hooks.
Wire hooks are commonly used to hang ornamental items. These hooks have been used for years to hang Christmas ornaments on trees, to attach items to wreaths and garlands, and to hang items on doors, windows, sashes, hearths and about anywhere one would attach a decorative item. Common complaints include entanglement of these hooks, which is a minor inconvenience, with major harmful events include being stepped on, being aspirated by or causing a choking hazard to small children or household pets, damage to a digestive system and injury the mouth. Along with damage to person or pet, they are often caught in carpets, picked up by vacuum cleaners, scratch wooden floors or get caught in furniture fabrics.
The present invention provides a functionally similar hook made of a fibrous or paper product which may or may not include a binding agent, which is supplied to serve as a hanger for the same items while avoiding the above noted hazards and inconveniences noted above. The physical characteristic of the material used in this product would possess the characteristics including being biodegradable, flexible, non-penetrating to flesh, significantly reduced as an oral and digestive hazard, and harmless in the event of ingestion by a person or pet. It would also break down and partially dissolve when contacting moisture and reduce or eliminate damage to a vacuum or other cleaning machine.
The following drawings are submitted with this utility patent application.
A safe hanger hook 10 for hanging objects,
Each safe hanger hook 10 defines a central hook body 20, an upper hook portion 30, and a lower hook portion 40,
The shape of the safe hanger hook 10 may be C-shaped,
The central hook body 20 may optionally provide the ornamental expansion 25, as illustrated by example in
The orientation of the upper and lower hook portion 30, 40, may provide same side openings,
Required traits of the safe hanger hooks 10 include accelerated degradation by liquid exposure after use for enhanced environmental responsibility. For example, by using a paper product for the production of the hooks, water or saliva would accelerate the decay of the waste or disposed hook after damage or concluded use, which would render the disposed hooks soft and easily incorporated into either a recycled product or a friendly waste product which can be used for soil enhancement instead of contamination. Reuse or recycling is encouraged.
It is the primary intent, however, to reduce choking hazards to children and pets in the event they place the safe hanger hook 10 in their mouths and to avoid internal damage in the event they hooks are ingested, and a secondary intent to reduce damage to carpet or floor cleaning devices in the event they are on the floor or in the carpet to reduce the damage potential to the cleaning apparatus, i.e. vacuum cleaners, wet mops, dry mops or brooms, which could also harm the floors if embedded within the cleaning apparatus during use.
Although the embodiments of the safe hanger hooks 10 have been described and shown above, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as herein described.
