Patent Application
20200305615
This invention relates to a wall-mounted organizer rack. In particular, the invention relates to a wall-mounted organizer that may be used for organizing personal items and articles of clothing such as shoes, ties, scarves, coats, belts, hats, jewelry and bags.
Organizer racks of many designs are known in the art. Organizer racks for various purposes may be mounted on walls to provide space in which objects may be suspended for easy access. In some common domestic applications organizer racks may be provided in closets, hallways, garages and kitchens. In commercial circumstances organizer racks may be provided at workstations and in storefronts.
A typical organizer rack might include one or more horizontal bars and one or more attachments from which to suspend items. In some applications an organizer rack might include protrusions shaped to suspend or receive a particular type of object, or might provide a platform on which an object can be placed.
A challenge in the development of a wall organizer is that fasteners and other minor parts can break an otherwise clean look of an organizer and can therefore worsen the aesthetic value. It can be difficult to develop a stable and sturdy organizer that can support potentially significant weight while hiding, as best as possible, any minor parts.
In some previous wall organizers, hooks and other attachments may be permanently fastened by screws from the rear side of a horizontal bar, or may hook around the top of a bar so that they are secured by their own weight and the weight of anything suspended from them. Some of these hooks are disadvantageous in that they are either too difficult to remove, difficult to adjust the distribution across the wall rack for different purposes, or too easy to remove, in that they may be inadvertently dislodged.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the specification and studying the drawings.
The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.
One aspect of the invention provides an organizer rack in which each horizontal bar connects to one or more vertical bars through fasteners engaging a rear channel in the respective horizontal bar and connecting through a front wall of the vertical bar.
A further aspect of the invention provides an organizer rack in which a fabric is wound tightly around the front wall of a horizontal bar and is secured at each end in one or more rear channels in the horizontal bar by the insertion of one or more corresponding inserts.
An aspect of the invention provides a horizontal bar for an organizer rack, the horizontal bar having a horizontal bar front wall and a horizontal bar rear central channel, the rear central channel including a channel front wall and a channel mouth in which a height of the channel front wall is greater than a height of the channel mouth for substantially all of a length of the horizontal bar. The horizontal bar may further include a fastening structure, the fastening structure connecting into the horizontal bar rear channel and engaging either or both of the channel front wall and the channel mouth to attach the horizontal bar to a structure of the organizer rack. In some embodiments the fastening structure comprises a plate and one or more threaded fasteners, each plate having a length and a height greater than the height of the channel mouth.
In such embodiments the horizontal bar may further include an organizer rack attachment, the organizer rack attachment comprising a support structure and an attachment mechanism. The attachment mechanism may include one or more T-nuts and one or more corresponding threaded fasteners wherein each T-nut has a first dimension in which it is wider than the height of the channel mouth and a second dimension in which it is thinner than the height of the channel mouth. The attachment mechanism may also include a fixed hook and a sliding catch wherein the sliding catch can slide between a first position and a second position and in the first position a combined height of the fixed hook and the sliding catch is greater than the height of the channel mouth.
The horizontal bar may also include a pair of lateral channels, each adjacent to the rear central channel; a pair of inserts; and a fabric cover, wherein the fabric cover is wrapped around the front wall of the horizontal bar and secured behind the horizontal bar by insertion of the inserts in to the lateral channels. The inserts may each comprise a V-shaped portion and a height of the lateral channels is greater than a spread of the V-shaped portion such that insertion of the inserts compresses the inserts and applies pressure to the lateral channel and the fabric cover. The inserts may each comprise a roughened surface and the lateral channels each comprise a roughened surface. The inserts may also each comprise an exterior portion, wherein the exterior portion projects rearwards to provide an engaging surface for a support structure of the organizer rack.
A further aspect of the invention provides an organizer rack fixable to a wall, the organizer rack comprising a number i of horizontal bars, each horizontal bar comprising a horizontal bar front wall and a horizontal bar rear central channel, and each rear central channel comprising a channel front wall and a channel mouth; a number k of vertical bars, each vertical bar comprising a vertical bar front wall; and a vertical bar rear wall; i*k bar fasteners, the bar fasteners indexed as {fn,m: n∈{1, 2 . . . i}; m∈{1, 2 . . . k}}, the fn,m bar fastener extending from the front wall of the mth vertical bar into the central channel of the nth horizontal bar and engaging either or both of the channel front wall and the channel mouth; four or more stanchions extending in a rearwards direction from the rear walls of two or more of the k vertical bars; wherein a height of the channel front wall is greater than a height of the channel mouth for substantially all of a length of each horizontal bar, i is an integer greater than or equal to one, and k is an integer greater than or equal to two.
In some embodiments of such an organizer rack each of the bar fasteners may comprise a plate and a pair of threaded fasteners, each plate having a length and a height greater than the height of the channel mouth. The organizer rack may further comprise an organizer rack attachment, the organizer rack attachment comprising a support structure and an attachment mechanism. The attachment mechanism may comprise one or more T-nuts and one or more corresponding threaded fasteners wherein each T-nut has a first dimension in which it is wider than the height of the channel mouth and a second dimension in which it is thinner than the height of the channel mouth. The attachment mechanism may comprise a fixed hook and a sliding catch, wherein the sliding catch can slide between a first position and a second position and in the first position a combined height of the fixed hook and the sliding catch is greater than the height of the channel mouth. The stanchions may comprise a male threaded end and one or more stanchions are fixed to one or more of the vertical bars through the rear wall of the vertical bar into a female threaded bolt. The stanchions may further comprise a male threaded end and one or more stanchions are fixed to one or more of the vertical bars through the rear wall of the vertical bar into a female thread of a vertical bar end cap. Each stanchion may comprise a stanchion core and a stanchion exterior, each stanchion core and stanchion exterior being fixable together by a stanchion fastener.
In a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of mounting an organizer rack to a wall comprising assembling an organizer rack, the organizer rack comprising a rack structure and two or more stanchion cores; affixing two or more stanchion exteriors to the wall; lifting the organizer rack to align the stanchion cores with the stanchion exteriors; inserting the stanchion cores into the stanchion exteriors; and fastening the stanchion cores to the stanchion exteriors. The stanchion cores may each further comprise a sharp protrusion and the method may further comprise pressing the assembled organizer rack into the wall at a desired mounting location so that the sharp protrusions mark the relative locations of the stanchion cores.
In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions.
Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
Throughout the following description specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding to persons skilled in the art. However, well known elements may not have been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
A table listing each reference numeral with its associated element is provided here.
Turning now to the accompanying drawings, there is shown in
Each vertical bar 12 is offset from a wall or other supporting structure (not shown) by one or more stanchions 16 extending from the rear side of the vertical bar 12 and terminating at the wall. The stanchions 16 may be fixable to the wall by means of any of a variety of positionable anchoring devices such as drywall plugs and screws. An example of a suitable anchoring device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,999.
Each horizontal bar 14 may support one or more attachments 18. Various attachments may be used and examples of such attachments will be described later herein.
In the embodiments shown, the stanchion core 16a passes through a clearance hole in central channel 24a and then threads into vertical bar end cap 26, thereby simultaneously securing the stanchion 16 to the vertical bar 12 and the vertical bar end cap 26 to the end of the stanchion. In wall organizers of extended height or length additional stanchions may be desirable to distribute the weight of the rack across more points of attachment. In such circumstances a stanchion 16 may attach into the central channel 24a without attaching further into a vertical bar end cap 26. Instead, a fastener component such as a nut (not shown) may be dropped into the central channel 24a for the stanchion to thread into.
While the stanchion 16 has been described with reference to the central channel 24a, it should be understood that this is not necessary in all embodiments of organizer rack. For example, in some embodiments a stanchion could thread into a threaded hole in a solid section of the rear side 22 of a vertical bar 12.
The horizontal bar 14 attaches to the front side 20 of the vertical bar 12. The horizontal bar 14 has a front side 30, a rear side 32, and at least one rear channel 34. The mouth 34a of the rear channel is shorter than the height of the interior space of the rear channel. To affix the horizontal bar 14 to a vertical bar 12 a plate 36 is inserted into an end of the rear channel 34 of the horizontal bar. The plate is taller than the channel mouth 34a, shown in more detail in
A horizontal bar end cap 38 may be partially inserted into an end of the rear channel 34, as shown in
A fabric covering 46 can be wrapped around the front face 40 of the horizontal bar and be wrapped around on each side into the lateral channels where the ends of the fabric are secured. The fabric covering 46 may be secured at each end by the insertion of an insert 48. In one embodiment, the inserts are made of a resilient material with limited flexibility and are sized to be at least slightly too large in the vertical dimension to fit into the lateral channel alongside the fabric covering 46. Insertion of the inserts therefore requires compression of the inserts and therefore wedges the inserts 48 in the lateral channels 44, applying pressure to the fabric covering. As shown in
The inserts 48 may also have an exterior portion 48c. This exterior portion may provide a surface that projects rearwards from the horizontal bar and that engages the front side 20 of the vertical bar when the organizer rack is assembled (see, for example, in
The rear channel 34 of the horizontal bar 14 may support a variety of possible attachments 18.
The basic hook 50 attaches into the horizontal bar 14 from the rear side using T-nuts 50a. The T-nuts are wider than they are tall, such that their width is greater, and their height is less, than the height of the channel mouth 34a. When the threaded fasteners 50b in the rear of the basic hook 50 are tightened the T-nuts initially rotate by up to 90°, but catch on the upper and lower walls 34d of the channel 34. Further tightening the threaded fasteners 50b compresses the interior walls 34b between the T-nuts 34a and the rear portion of the basic hook, fixing it in place.
A second example of an attachment, a coat hook 52, is shown in
To detach the coat hook the above steps are performed in reverse. A gap 54d may be present between fixed portions of the hook 52 and the sliding catch 54b leaving room for a tool or a person's finger to move the sliding catch 54b. The sliding catch 54b is slid out of the channel 34, the coat hook 52 is lifted so that the fixed hook 54a disengages the rear interior wall 34b, and the fixed hook 54a is then moved out of the channel 34. Since removal of the coat hook requires sliding the sliding catch out of the channel, it is difficult to inadvertently detach the coat hook. The coat hooks 52 can slide within the channel along the length of the bar and so can be redistributed across a bar by the user without requiring detaching the coat hooks. Additionally, the coat hooks 52 can be attached or detached by the user without requiring dismounting the organizer rack from the wall and without the use of any tools. The horizontal bar is displaced from the supporting wall by approximately the width of the vertical bar and the stanchion and therefore provides sufficient space for a person's fingers to manually operate the catching mechanism 54 without removing the organizer rack.
A third example of an attachment is provided in
For each of the exemplary attachments described above it should be understood that the different types of hooks (or other support structures for suspending or supporting objects) may be used in combination with the different mechanisms for attachment into the rear channel 34, such as the plate-type attachment, T-nuts attachment and catching mechanism.
An organizer rack could employ more than one type of attachment at one time, e.g. having one or more coat hooks, one or more shoe hooks, and one or more basic hooks. In many circumstances an organizer rack could be provided with extra attachments so that the user can choose which types and how many of each they would like to put on the assembled organizer rack. At times during the use of the rack a user could also choose to change the number, distribution and types of attachments
The organizer rack can be modular in its construction, in that by appropriate choice of lengths and quantities of vertical bars and horizontal bars an organizer rack of various lengths and heights may be constructed with many shared components.
When assembling and mounting an organizer rack of an embodiment of the invention, the user may assemble the various parts of the rack, but leaving the stanchion cores separate from the stanchion exteriors, prior to mounting the organizer rack. The stanchion exteriors should be fixed to the wall at their appropriate locations by appropriate means, such as screws in suitably sturdy drywall plugs. The assembled organizer rack can then be lifted so that the stanchion cores 16a align with the stanchion exteriors and the stanchion cores are then inserted into the stanchion exteriors 16b. The stanchion pins 16c can then be used to fix the stanchion exteriors 16b to the stanchion cores 16a, thereby attaching the organizer rack 10 to the wall.
Fixing the stanchion exteriors 16b to the wall may be performed by a number of conventional means. For example, a drywall plug or positional anchoring device (for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,999) can first be embedded in a wall, the stanchion exterior is then aligned with the plug or anchoring device and a screw is inserted through the stanchion exterior rear aperture 16g (see
In one embodiment, the stanchion cores 16a have a sharp protrusion 16f on their wall-facing end, as shown in
A wall-mounted organizer rack according to embodiments of this invention can be adjusted in size and structure at various times as desired by the user or installer. The width of an organizer rack can be shortened by cutting the horizontal bars 14 to a desired length and then covering the ends using horizontal bar end caps 38. Adjusting the width of the organizer rack may allow the user or installer to adjust the organizer rack to fit an environment with obstructions or other issues which might complicate the installation of an organizer rack of greater width. For example, an organizer rack of standard dimensions may be adjusted to fit between a light switch and a piece of furniture.
If the organizer rack has already been mounted on the wall, then if the user wants to adjust the width of the organizer rack, they can dismount the organizer rack from the wall, cut the horizontal bars to the desired length, attach the horizontal bar end caps at the ends of the shortened horizontal bars, and then remount the organizer rack.
A user or installer may also adjust the horizontal positioning of the stanchions 16 and vertical bars 12. Adjusting the horizontal positioning of the stanchions and vertical bars may be conducted in combination with, or separately from, adjusting the lengths of the horizontal bars. Adjusting the horizontal positioning of the stanchions and vertical bars may permit the user to select the length by which the ends of the horizontal bar extend past the vertical bars (the “overhang” of the horizontal bars). Adjusting the horizontal positioning of the stanchions and vertical bars may also allow the user to address issues with the anchoring of the stanchions to the wall. For example, the horizontal positioning may be adjusted to avoid a wall stud. To adjust the horizontal positioning of the stanchions and vertical bars, the organizer rack must first be dismounted form the wall if it has already been mounted. The plates 36 and plate fasteners 36a are then loosened to permit the vertical bar to move relative to the horizontal bar. The relative positions of the vertical bars and horizontal bars are then adjusted by sliding the bars to the desired positions and then refastening the plates. The organizer rack may then be remounted to the wall. If the relative positioning of the stanchions was adjusted during the repositioning of the horizontal and vertical bars then it may be necessary to re-fasten some of the stanchion exteriors 16b to the wall at the new positions.
While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are consistent with the broadest interpretation of the specification as a whole.
