Patent Application
20080053932
The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numeral refer to like or corresponding parts throughout,
The support grid structure 4 includes a perimeter frame 20 and a plurality of transverse support members 22 connected with the perimeter frame 20. The perimeter frame 20 includes a top rail portion 20a, a bottom rail portion 20b and opposed side rail portions 20c,20d extending from the top 20a to the bottom 20b rail portions. In the illustrated embodiment, the support members 22 comprise horizontal rods extending from one side rail 20c to the opposite side rail 20d portion.
In the illustrated embodiment, the rack 2 includes back plates 24 connected with the support grid 4. The back plates 24 have generally planar surfaces facing the wall surface 18 to which the stretch removable adhesive strips 16 are affixed, thereby to adhesively bond the support grid 4 to the wall surface 18.
In the illustrated embodiment, the grid structure 4 includes three looped mounting rods 26,28,30 that serve to space the frame 20 from the wall surface 18 and serve as support members for one or more of the accessories 6,8,10,12,14. Each looped mounting rod 26,28,30 comprises a pair of spaced generally parallel rod portions 26a,b, 28a,b 30a,b. Referring to looped rod 26, one rod portion 26a is connected with a back plate 24, and the other rod portion 26b is connected with the perimeter frame 20, whereby the looped mounting rod 26 serves to maintain the perimeter frame 20 in spaced relation from the wall surface 18. The other rod portion 26b serves as a support member to which accessories may be attached. In this manner, the rearward portion of the mounting rods 26a,28a,30a is arranged adjacent the wall surface, and the forward portion of the mounting rods 26b,28b,30b is arranged in spaced relation with the wall surface 18 and serves as a support to which accessories 6,8,10,12,14 may be secured.
In the illustrated embodiment, the two upper looped mounting rods 26,28 extend between the side rail portions 20c near the top rail portion 20 and are connected with the back plates 24, and the lower looped mounting rod 30 extends between the side rail portions 20c near the bottom rail portion 20b. The two support members 22 arranged between looped mounting rods 28,30 are single rods that extend between the side rail portions 20c,20d and serve to support accessories.
In the illustrated embodiment, each accessory 6,8,10,12,14 includes a curved end portion 6a,8a,10a,12a,14a that fits over either one of the support rods 22 or the forward portion 26b,28b,30b of one of the looped mounting rods 26,28,30. In the case of the looped mounting rods 26,28,30, the forward and rear rods are spaced to define an elongated opening 32 through which the end portion 6a,8a,10a,12a,14a of the associated accessory 6,8,10,12,14 may extend.
In the illustrated embodiment, accessory 6 is a unitary hook attached to the lower most looped mounting rod 30. Accessory 8 is a unitary tray configured to hold a bar of soap Accessory 10 is a unitary shelf structure designed to hold, for example, a bottle of shampoo or conditioner. Accessory 12 is a unitary hook including a pair of spaced raised regions 12a defining a recessed region there between configured to hold a conventional razor. And accessory 14 is a cup shaped article designed to hold, for example, tooth brushes.
As shown in broken lines in
Stretch removable adhesives are high performance pressure-sensitive adhesives that combine strong holding power with clean removal and no surface damage. The double-sided adhesive strips 16 may be any conventionally known stretch removable adhesive tape including a stretch removable adhesive tape with an elastic backing, a stretch removable adhesive tape with a highly extensible and substantially inelastic backing, or a stretch removable adhesive tape comprising a solid elastic pressure sensitive adhesive, but are preferably stretch removable adhesive strips that are moisture resistant (i.e. they maintain their holding power in the presence of water and/or in high humidity environments).
Specific tapes suitable for use in the various embodiments of the present invention include the pressure sensitive adhesive tapes with elastic backings described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,312 (Korpman), the pressure sensitive adhesive tapes with highly extensible and substantially inelastic backings described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,516,581 (Kreckel et al.) and 6,231,962 (Bries et al.), 6,569,521 (Sheridan et al.), 7,078,093 (Sheridan et al.), and the solid elastic pressure sensitive adhesive described in German Patent No. 33 31 016. Other suitable stretch removable adhesive constructions include the stretch removable adhesive tape laminate including a separable fastener described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,141 (Bries et al.), and the elongate stretch removable tape constructions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,641,910 (Bries et al.), and 6,541,089 (Hamerski et al.).
The stretch removable adhesive strips 16 include an adhesive portion 16a, which is typically concealed by the back plate 24 when the back plate 24 is mounted to the wall surface 18, and a non-adhesive pull tab portion 16b that extends outwardly beyond the bottom of the back plate 24 as shown in
If the adhesive strips 16 include a separable fastener, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,141 (Bries et al.), the adhesive strips 16 may be arranged such that both the adhesive portion 16a and the non-adhesive pull tab portion 16b of the adhesive strip may be concealed by the back plate 24. This is possible because each adhesive strip can be removed by first separating the adhesive strip via the separable fastener and then stretch removing each remaining half from its respective surface. In this case, the cover plate 34 may be omitted.
The support rack 4, including the perimeter frame 20, the support members 22 and the looped mounting rods 26,28,30, is typically formed of metal rods, such as vinyl coated metal rods, but may be formed of any suitable material such as an injected molded synthetic plastic material. The accessories 6,8,10,12,14 are typically formed of injected molded synthetic plastic material but may be formed of any suitable material including metals. The back plate 24 and cover plate 34 may also be formed of metals and/or synthetic plastic materials.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention described above without deviating from the inventive concept. For example, it will be recognized that although the rack 2 is illustrated as being mounted with two back plates 24 each having two adhesive strips 16, one or more such mounting plates and adhesive strips may be used. In addition, it will be recognized that the rack 2 may be provided with any practical number of support members 22. Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the structures described in this application, but only by the structures described by the language of the claims and the equivalents of those structures.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/842,452, filed Sep. 6, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60842452 | Sep 2006 | US |
