Patent Application
20120091294
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to strap hangers, and, more specifically, to a universal heavy bag hanger for securing a heavy bag or the like to an overhead horizontal support member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heavy punching bags can weigh as much as 150 lb. Such bags, especially those for professional use, can exert significant forces on any mounting structure on which they are supported. Heavy bag hangers come in many different forms. Some of such hangers are metal brackets configured to be screwed into wooden beams, with or without swivels. Heavy bag hangers are also made for attachment to joists. Some heavy duty bag hangers are also designed to be supported by I-beams and are adjustable to accommodate a range of I-beam widths.
Aside from overhead mounting structures, heavy duty wall mounts are also known, typically in the form of a horizontal cantilevered beam or member attached to a wall at one end with the heavy bag mounted from the other end. However, to stabilize the cantilevered beam or member lateral braces are typically provided to maintain the horizontal beam in a fixed position normal to the wall or support surface. Also, because some heavy bags are extra long, reaching approximately 4 feet, they cannot be mounted too close to a wall since the bag would hit the supporting wall or surface. For this reason, some wall mounted hangers have supporting beams that reach 26 inches or more from the wall. However, the longer the supporting beam and the further the bag is mounted from the wall, the more heavily the supporting beam must be braced to the wall to prevent undesired movements. This makes some wall hangers massive, heavy and costly.
The disadvantages of all of the aforementioned heavy bag hangers is that they require tools and fasteners to be mounted. Because heavy bags weigh, as indicated, up to 150 lb, the fasteners tend to be substantial and inserting the fasteners into joists or wooden beams can be difficult and may require the use of power tools.
Heavy bags have, accordingly, also been supported by free-standing heavy bag stands or multiple station gyms. However, such stands and gyms tend to have large footprints and require extensive assembly. Furthermore, such bag stands and gyms can be very costly, ranging into the thousands of dollars.
Some hangers for suspending other objects that do not require installation or use of tools are also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,376 to Montgomery discloses a hanger holder for use in the laundry cleaning industry. The patent discloses a device for organizing and holding a group of clothes hangers in a laundry basket. The hanger holder includes an elongate strap in two different embodiment. In both cases, the strap is designed to loop about the laundry basket and Velcro pads or strips are used to secure the hanger or hangers to the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5.293,657 to DeAth discloses a suspension device for hammocks and other objects. The device includes a shorter and wider gripping belt and a more narrow and longer spanning belt, loops being used to secure the belt to the gripping belt or strap. The remote ends of the belt are provided with securing means, such as a snap hook, for securing to a hammock. The device is intended to suspend a variety of objects from a variety of load bearing members. Although the device is shown used to secure a hammock to a tree, which is vertical, it is believed that the intention of the patented device is to a secure variety of objects to numerous load bearing members with little or no slippage. The gripping belt is described as being made of a material of sufficient strength and quality to support the load of the hammock and be sufficiently pliable to conform to the shape of the load bearing members and made of a material such as polypropylene, nylon or polyester. However, the patent does not teach or suggest the use of reinforcing members, such as steel bars or strips nor the use of a rubberized or other like inside surface to enhance friction. Additionally, the suspension device of this patent is not a self adjusting and self-locking or tightening device that increases the grip and frictional forces on the support member as a function of the weight or load applied.
In Kemper patent No. 5,075,933 a cable locking and retaining device is disclosed for supporting relatively light weight objects, such as extension cords, by means of a belt using a simple VELCRO strap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,740 to Scherb a flexible strap hanger is disclosed for use in hanging fresh meats, such as beef, to be suspended from an overhead support. The device uses a sliding bar fastener that can slide along the straps to receive an upper loop and allow the strap to be secured to an overhead bar.
However, none of the known hanging or suspending devices allow a heavy bag to be easily, quickly and conveniently mounted on or removed from any horizontal beam or support member without the use of hand tools or power tools.
Accordingly, it is object of the invention to provide a heavy bag hanger that does not have the disadvantages inherent in existing heavy bag hanging devices.
It is another object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger that can be used to mount a heavy bag on any elongate beam or support member irrespective of its girth, circumference, perimeter, periphery or cross-sectional configuration.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger that is simple and convenient to use.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger for mounting a heavy bag on any elongate horizontal support member that prevents the heavy bag from slipping and moving along the length direction of the support member even after extended use of the heavy bag.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger of the type under discussion that distributes the forces, reflecting the weight of the heavy bag as well as the blows thereto, over a surface area greater than the surface area of a supporting belt or strap to thereby prevent or reduce damage to the supporting member.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger that is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a universal heavy bag hanger as in the previous objects that has the ability to adjust the height of the heavy bag when mounted on an overhead support member.
In order to achieve the above objects as well as others that will become here and thereafter, a universal heavy bag hanger in accordance with the invention for securing a heavy bag to an overhead horizontal support member having a predetermined cross-sectional girth or perimeter includes an elongate generally flat pad. The pad defines a length direction and a transverse width direction and has a length along said length direction sufficient to at least partially wrap around the support member. The pad has an inside surface for contacting the support member and an opposing outside surface. A slip resistant material is provided on at least part of said inside surface. A strap is secured to said outside surface extending beyond the longitudinal ends of said flat pad. Said strap has two free ends. First attachment means is attached to one free end of said strap for attaching to a heavy bag or the like. As second attachment means is attached to the other free end of said strap for cooperating with said free end to form a slip joint for tightening said strap about said flat pad and the support member for increasing tension applied to said other end. In this manner, resulting constricting action of said strap about said pad increases the frictional forces between said slip resistant material and the support member to thereby prevent sliding movements therebetween when force components along said length and transverse width directions are applied to said first attachment means and the heavy bag or the like attached thereto. In accordance with one presently preferred embodiment, force distributing means are provided for distributing forces applied to the strap to the support member to minimize or eliminate damage to the support member with extended use.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the improvements and advantages that derive from the present invention upon reading the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, in which:
Referring now specifically to Figures in which similar or identical parts are designated by the same reference numerals troughout, and referring first to
Still referring to
The pad 12 has an inside or internal surface 12a for contacting the support member S, as to be described, and an opposing outside or exterior surface 12b.
Referring also to
The top sheet 14 is preferably formed of a PVC sheet material, advantageously formed with reinforced polyester backing to provide strength and reduce stretch of the pad along the length direction.
A strap 28 is slidingly secured to the outside surface 12b and extends beyond the longitudinal ends of the pad, the strap having two free ends 28a, 28b, as shown. However, the strap 28 may also be permanently attached to the outside surface, with different degrees of advantage. One free end 28a of the strap is secured to an attachment member used to attach the hanger to a heavy bag or other like heavy object. In the presently preferred embodiment, such attachment member is a first closed ring 32 having a width w′. While any sufficiently strong closed ring can be used, including a split ring, the ring in the presently preferred embodiment is in a form of a D-shaped ring 32. The second or opposing free end 28b is connected to a second attachment member in the form of a second closed ring 34. Again, if sufficiently strong, the second ring can also be a split ring, and has dimensions 1 and w to allow the first or D-shaped ring 32 with its width w′ to freely pass theretrough.
The strap 28 is movably secured to the outside surface 12b by means of a series of spaced parallel loops 30, restricting the relative movements between the strap 28 and the flat pad 12 to longitudinal directions along the length direction of the pad. The loops extend over a central region L2 (
In order to allow the strap 28 to be adjusted in length, the end 28b of the strap extends through the rectangular ring 34 and loops around to double up (28, 28′ in
The strap 28 is preferably formed of a polypropylene webbing, although any other suitable or appropriate material can be used, with different degrees of advantage.
A force distributing design to relieve concentrated points of stress on the support member S consists, in the presently preferred embodiment, of a plurality of spaced parallel transverse rigid bars 22 that are spaced along the length direction of the pad and are relatively narrow, compared to the length dimension L1 and are substantially uniformly spaced at a distance s to allow the pad 12 to freely bend along the length direction of the pad while conforming to the cross-sectional configuration and dimensions of the overhead horizontal support member S on which the hanger is to be mounted.
In the presently preferred embodiment, the flat pad 12 is formed, as noted, of superimposed top and bottom sheets 14, 16, respectively. The top and bottom sheets are attached, such as by stitching, to form elongate transverse pockets 20 therebetween to receive the bars 22 to thereby prevent shifting or movements of the bars relative to each other. This assures that the pad can continue to be bent or flexed along the length direction of the pad even after extended use.
In order to facilitate the application of the hanger 10 to a support post S, there is advantageously provided suitable connecting means for connecting the longitudinal ends of the flat panel to each other when wrapped around the horizontal support member S prior to the application of tension to the strap or constriction of the pad about the support. This is primarily intended to be a temporarily connection to prevent the strap from separating from the post during the mounting procedure. In accordance with the presently preferred embodiment, such connecting means is in a form of mating loop and hook fasteners 24, 26, best shown in
Referring to
The universal heavy bag hanger is quick, convenient and requires no tools whatsoever to secure to an overhead support member. Removal of the bag hanger from the support S is equally simple, simply requiring that the heavy bag be removed from the D-shaped ring 32 and the slip joint loosened and the joint opened by removing the D-shaped ring 32 and the free end of the strap 28a from the rectangular ring 34.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
