AU2008207671B2

AU2008207671B2 - An Adjustable Hanging Rack

Info

Publication number: AU2008207671B2
Application number: AU2008207671A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Daal Hallam Jaffers
Original assignee: INVIRACK HOLDINGS Pty Ltd
Current assignee: INVIRACK HOLDINGS Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-01
Filing date: 2008-09-01
Publication date: 2010-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-01
Also published as: AU2008207671A1; WO2010022476A1

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention Title: An Adjustable Hanging Rack Applicant: InviRack Holdings Pty Ltd The invention is described in the following statement: 2 AN ADJUSTABLE HANGING RACK Field of the Invention. The present invention relates to devices used for hanging objects and items and particularly relative to a wall or similar. 5 Background Art. Racks and other devices to hang objects relative to a planar surface such as a wall or post or similar are known. Possibly the closest prior art device to that of the present invention are the devices which are currently used to hang plates, particularly display plates relative 10 to walls. These devices have a pair of opposed hook assemblies that grip opposing sides of the plate. Each hook assembly has a pair of hook members, usually formed wire or similar and spaced apart by a transverse arm. One of the transverse arm members is provided with an opening to attach the device to the wall. 15 The transverse arms of the opposed hook assemblies are attached together with a pair of spring members which in order to install the plate, are stretched apart and the plate gripped between the hook assemblies to attach the plate relative to the wall. These devices are sold in a variety of sizes as they cannot be used to 20 grip a plate which is smaller than the biased spread of the hook assemblies. Nor can one of these devices be used to grip a plate which is larger than the limit of the spread of the springs which if left spread across a large plate for an extended period, can lose their resilience and thence its grip on the plate. It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to 25 herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country. Summary of the Invention. The present invention is directed to an adustable hanging rack, which may at least partially overcome at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages or 30 provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice. With the foregoing in view, the present invention in one form, resides broadly in an adjustable hanging rack for hanging an object substantially parallel to 3 the plane of a wall or similar, the rack including a head piece with a first portion extending substantially parallel to the wall and a second portion adapted to extend at least partially over the object, a foot piece with a first portion extending substantially parallel to the wall and a second portion adapted to extend at least partially beneath 5 the object and an adjustable length, flexible connector, connecting the head piece with the foot piece and adapted to adjust the separation distance between them to releaseably clamp the object therebetween. The rack of the present invention is particularly adapted to hang elongate objects relatively close to the plane and to the surface of the wall such that 10 the object can easily be viewed, but due to its location close to the wall, is out of the way. According to the most preferred embodiment, the rack will be located between the object and the wall with the majority of the rack hidden behind the object. The head piece of the rack of the invention will normally be formed of either metal or plastic but other materials such as composite materials can be used. 15 The head piece will preferably be substantially J-shaped with the piece oriented in an inverted position with the second portion uppermost and at least a part of the second portion extending downwardly in use. The head piece will normally have a substantially planar first portion and an arcuate second portion. Typically the two portions are formed integrally. In use, the arcuate second portion will normally 20 form a part of a clamp assembly, typically one jaw of the assembly. The head piece and particularly the arcuate second portion will preferably be internally lined with a resilient material or padding. The arcuate second portion will preferably extend only partially downward so as not to obstruct the view of the object. 25 The head portion is normally provided with an attachment portion for attachment of the flexible connector thereto. This attachment portion is normally located at or adjacent a lower portion of the head piece and typically the planar first portion. According to the most preferred embodiment, a lower, rear side of the planar first portion of the head piece is provided with an opening into which a part of the 30 connector can be received and at least temporarily retained. The attachment portion will typically include an upturned hook means. There will also preferably be a facing, downwardly canted member which together 4 with the hook means, defines the opening. Typically each of the hook means and the canted member will have a free end and the respective free ends will preferably be spaced from one another for insertion and removal of the connector. The opening between the respective free ends may be closed or occluded by provision of a 5 removable cover member. Where provided, the cover member is a substantially T-shaped member in cross-section with a portion occluding the opening between the free ends of the hook member and canted members and a separator portion extending substantially perpendicularly thereto, and into the attachment portion, towards the first portion of 10 the head piece. The separator portion typically retains one a connector ring in an upper portion of the opening of the attachment portion and the other connector rings below this as will be explained further below. The cover member is typically removably attachable to the head piece. The cover member will typically also cover and smooth 15 any protrusions from the rear of the head piece to prevent damage to the wall. Still further, the cover may act as a rest and together with the attachment portion, assist with spacing the head piece from the wall. Alternatively, the attachment portion may be provided in the form of a closed ring structure, preferably extending substantially transversely to the plane of 20 the first portion of the head piece. When provided in this form, the connector is typically located in the ring during formation of the ring and then the ring is closed about the connector. Normally this configuration will be used when the rack is manufactured of metal. The foot piece is preferably similar in many respects to the head piece 25 but oriented in the opposite direction. The foot piece is normally an elongate structure and oriented perpendicularly to the head piece which normally hangs substantially vertically. The foot piece will have at least one and preferably a pair of upturned arcuate second portions to form the other half of the clamping assembly with the second portion of 30 the head piece. In contrast to the first portion of the head piece, the first portion of the foot piece will extend substantially horizontally.

5 The first portion of the foot piece is therefore preferably a planar pelvic or central portion extending perpendicularly to the direction of suspension, and substantially parallel to the plane of the wall or structure to which the rack is attached in use. 5 The foot piece also preferably includes a flange, normally from an upper, rear portion of the foot piece which extends at approximately 900 to the first portion to stiffen or strengthen the first portion. There is preferably a lower, hook member provided approximately midway across the width of the foot piece which also extends rearwardly toward the 10 wall or support structure. The hook member will typically be integrally formed with the foot piece and may be used to attach additional racks to each other. There is further typically at least one and normally a plurality of openings or slots located approximately centrally across the width of the foot piece. The slots are preferably located in a substantially vertical line spaced from one 15 another and are adapted to receive a portion of the flexible connector to attach the connector to the foot piece according to one embodiment. The pair of arcuate second portions of the foot piece are preferably located on either side of the center of gravity of the object when the rack is used. There may be stiffening or strengthening ridges positioned transversely to the arcuate 20 portions. The arcuate portions of the foot portion are also preferably provided with resilient means or padding to limit damage to the object. There may be at least one spacer provided on the rear of the foot piece to space the foot piece from the wall or support structure and which may also protect 25 or limit damage to the wall or support. Any spacers may have friction pads or similar associated with the surface that abuts the wall in order to assist with levelling the object when hanging it. The connector will typically be formed from multiple components which allow attachment to both the head piece and foot piece and also allow length 30 adjustment of the connector. The connector is preferably flexible and formed from a strap or webbing or similar. The strap is preferably woven to provide high strength. The 6 connector strap will normally be associated with a number of connector rings which are provided on the head piece and are used to attach the connector strap thereto in a length adjustable configuration. At a lower end of the connector (not necessarily the other end of the 5 connector strap), a hook means may be provided to engage one of the slots in the foot piece. Alternatively, a portion of the connector strap can be woven through the plurality of slots in the foot piece to attach the foot piece to the connector. The connector is length adjustable. In order to achieve the length adjustability, one end of the strap can be fed through the slots in the foot piece and the 10 slots used as a friction lock, to fix the length of the strap or alternatively, the strap may be moved relative to the connector rings on the head piece to adjust the length of the strap. The head piece is therefore typically located at the top of the rack and suspended from a support with the connector rings of the connector used to suspend 15 the connector strap and the foot piece from the head piece. The connector hangs downwardly and the separation distance between the head piece and foot piece is adjusted to grip the object located between the respective first portions. Due to the length of the arcuate first portions of the head and foot pieces, only a minimal part of these portions will typically be seen from the front of 20 the rack and object when used. According to the invention, more than one rack may be joined together by use of a rack connector strap. The rack connector strap will typically be manufactured of materials similar to the connector used to connect the head and the foot piece of a single rack. 25 Normally, a connector ring is provided at a first end of the rack connector strap. The connector ring will typically be permanently attached to the strap. One preferred method of attachment is to double over a portion of the strap to form a fold and stitch the connector ring in the fold. A hook means can be provided at a lower portion of the rack connector 30 strap. The hook means will preferably also be located in a fold formed by doubling the strap over but in contrast to the connector ring, the fold formed to attach the hook means will not be permanently closed. Normally, the rack connector strap is doubled 7 back on itself in use and the overlapping portions forming the fold for the attachment of the hook means are at least temporarily fixed relative to one another to fix the length of the rack connector. In order to achieve this fixing, a Figure-8-shaped or lemniscate shaped 5 device is normally used, through which the downward portion of the rack connector strap extends, through the hook member and then back up through the Figure-8 device. According to this device (forms of which are conventionally available), the weight of the objects (or the adjacent rack) locks the strap in position due to friction between the adjacent strap portions. 10 One end of the rack connector strap connects to the hook member of the foot of an upper rack via the connector ring and the other end connects to the upper ring on the head piece of the lower rack via the hook means. Other racks can then be hung in the same way. In this way multiple racks can be hung together and only a single anchor point is required in the support. 15 The connector and adjustment means described above uses friction locks(s) to at least temporarily lock the adjacent or overlying portions of strap relative to one another. A variety of alternative configurations can be used to achieve this. In use, the planar portions of the head and foot pieces will extend parallel to the mounting surface but be spaced therefrom. 20 Depending upon the configuration of the adjustment means used, two or three connector rings may be provided at the head piece. Normally one ring will be provided to attach the rack to the support surface. Either one or two additional rings may be provided, one if the strap is permanently attached to a ring which is attached to the head piece, or a pair of rings where these rings are to be used as a part 25 of the length adjustment means of the connector strap, utilising a friction lock arrangement. Whilst the above configurations of connectors (both to connect the head piece of a rack to the foot piece of a rack and also to connect adjacent racks to one another) are preferred, it is anticipated that any method or mechanism to 30 accomplish the length adjustability of the connectors can be used. The particularly preferred embodiment will include a strap member with one or more friction locks, 8 however, it is anticipated that clamps, clips or other mechanisms can be used to accomplish the same length adjustable functionality. The foot piece and head piece are interchangeable such that two head pieces or alternatively two foot pieces may be used to clamp the object. 5 When two head pieces are used the upper most head piece is as described herein. The lower most head piece is as described herein except that it has preferably the hook member of the foot piece provided approximately between the planar first portion and arcuate second portion of the head piece. This hook member also extends rearwardly toward the wall or support structure. This hook member will 10 typically be integrally formed with the lower head piece and may be used to attach additional racks to each other. When two foot pieces are used the lower most foot piece is as described herein. The upper most foot piece is as described herein except that the plurality of slots is removed and the attachment portion of the head piece replaces 15 them. This attachment portion will typically be integrally formed with the foot piece. Due to the length of this attachment portion, the lower part of the attachment portion will extend below the central portion of this foot piece. Further the upper most foot piece is as described herein except that the lower, hook member provided approximately midway across the width of the foot piece which also extends 20 rearwardly toward the wall or support structure is removed. Brief Description of the Drawings. Various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an end view of an adjustable hanging rack according to a 25 preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a front view of the rack illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a rear view of the rack illustrated in Figure 1 holding a surfboard. Figure 4 is a front view of the rack illustrated in Figure 1 holding a 30 surfboard. Figure 5 is a rear view of the rack illustrated in Figure 1 holding a skateboard.

9 Figure 6 is a front view of the rack illustrated in Figure 1 holding a skateboard. Figure 7 is an end view of the rack illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Figure 8 is an end view of the rack illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. 5 Figure 9 is a front view of a pair of adjustable hanging racks according to a preferred embodiment. Figure 10 is a rear view of a head piece according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 11 is an end view of the pair of racks illustrated in Figure 9. 10 Figure 12 is an end view of a head piece according to a preferred embodiment with the cover member in figure 14 removed. Figure 12A is an end view of an opening formed in a head piece of a preferred embodiment. Figure 13 is a rear view of the head piece illustrated in Figure 12. 15 Figure 14 is an end view of a cover member according to a preferred embodiment. Figure 15 is a rear view of the cover member illustrated in Figure 14. Figure 16 is an end view of the head piece illustrated in Figure 12 with attachment rings and cover member in place. 20 Figure 17 is a view from above of a foot piece according to a preferred embodiment. Figure 18 is a front view of the foot piece illustrated in Figure 17. Figure 19 is an end view of a section of the arcuate portion of the foot piece along line C-C illustrated in Figure 17. 25 Figure 20 is an end view of a section of the foot piece along line A-A illustrated in Figure 17. Figure 21 is an end view of a section of the foot piece along line B-B illustrated in Figure 17. Figure 22 is an end view of the head piece with an adjustable strap 30 used according to the preferred embodiment to connect the head piece and the foot piece. Figure 23 is a front view of an adjustable strap to connect two racks 10 together according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 24 is an end view of the adjustable strap illustrated in Figure 23. Figure 25 is an end view of the rack using two head pieces holding an elongate object. 5 Figure 26 is a front view of the rack illustrated in Figure 25. Figure 27 is a rear view of the rack illustrated in Figure 25. Figure 28 is an end view of the rack using two foot pieces holding an elongate object. Figure 29 is a front view of the rack illustrated in Figure 28. 10 Figure 30 is a rear view of the rack illustrated in Figure 28. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment. According to a preferred embodiment, an adjustable hanging rack 10 for hanging an object 80 substantially parallel to a wall 11 is provided. As illustrated in the Figures, the adjustable hanging rack 10 includes a 15 head piece 12 with a first portion 13 extending substantially parallel to the wall 11 and a second portion 14 adapted to extend at least partially over the object 80, a foot piece 15 with a first portion 16 extending substantially parallel to the wall 11 and a second portion adapted to extend at least partially beneath the object 80 and an adjustable length, flexible connector 18, connecting the head piece 12 with the foot 20 piece 15 and adapted to adjust the separation distance between them to releaseably clamp the object 80 therebetween. The rack of the present invention is particularly adapted to hang elongate objects relatively close to the plane of the surface of a wall such that the object can easily be viewed, but due to its location close to the wall, is out of the way, 25 as is illustrated particularly well in Figures 7 and 8. The head piece of the preferred embodiment is substantially J-shaped, oriented in an inverted position with the second portion 14 uppermost and the free end 19 of the second portion 14 extending downwardly in use. The head piece 12 has a substantially planar first portion 13 and an arcuate second portion 14 as illustrated in 30 Figure 12, with the two portions formed integrally. In use, the arcuate second portion 14 forms a part of a clamp assembly, typically one jaw of the assembly.

ll the connector (not illustrated in Figure 12). The opening 24 between the respective free ends of this embodiment is closed or occluded by provision of a removable cover member 25 illustrated in more detail in Figures 14 and 15. The cover member 25 is a substantially T-shaped member in cross 5 section with a cover portion 26 occluding the opening 24 between the free ends of the hook 22 and canted member 23 and a separator portion 27 extending substantially perpendicularly thereto, and into the opening 24, towards the first portion 13 of the head piece 12. The cover member 25 of this embodiment is attached by aligning attachment pins 28 with openings 29 in the cover 25. 10 As illustrated in Figure 16, the separator portion 27 retains one connector ring 30 in an upper portion of the opening 24 of the attachment portion 21 and the other connector rings 30' below. The cover member 25 will cover and smooth any protrusions from the rear of the head piece 12 to prevent damage to the wall 11. Still further, the cover 25 will act as a rest and together with the attachment portion 15 21, assist with spacing the head piece 12 from the wall 11. Also illustrated in Figure 16 (as well as Figure 12) is a lateral finger member 70 extending from the canted member 23. Two fingers 70 are normally provided one on each side of the canted member 23. Due to the positioning of the ring 30 in the canted member 23, the ring 30 is maintained relative to the canted 20 member 23 by the pair of lateral fingers 70 in combination with the cover member 25 and the separator portion 27. A further benefit of the fingers 70 is that the ring 30 can be oriented in a substantially horizontal direction, usually only during the hanging of the rack, which makes it easier to mount the rack relative to a surface. According to the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 12A, the 25 attachment portion 21 may be provided in the form of a closed ring structure 31, extending substantially transversely to the plane of the first portion 13 of the head piece 12. When provided in this form, the connector is typically located in the closed ring during formation of the ring and then the ring is closed about the connector. The foot piece 15 of the illustrated embodiment is an elongate structure 30 oriented perpendicularly to the head piece 12 which normally hangs substantially vertically. The foot piece 15 has a pair of upturned arcuate second portions 17 to form the other half of the clamping assembly with the second portion 14 of the head piece 12 12. In contrast to the first portion 13 of the head piece 12, the first portion 16 of the foot piece 15 extends substantially horizontally. The first portion 16 of the foot piece 15 is a planar central portion extending perpendicularly to the direction of suspension, and substantially parallel to 5 the plane of the wall 11 or structure to which the rack 10 is attached in use. The foot piece 15 also incudes a flange 32, from an upper, rear portion of the foot piece 15 which extends at approximately 900 to the first portion 16 to stiffen or strengthen the first portion 16. There is also a lower, hook member 33 provided approximately 10 midway across the width of the foot piece 15 which also extends rearwardly toward the wall 11 or support structure. The hook member 33 of the illustrated embodiment is integrally formed with the foot piece 15 and is used to attach additional racks to each other such as illustrated in Figures 9 and 11. There is a plurality of slots 34 located approximately centrally across 15 the width of the foot piece 15. The slots 34 are located in a substantially vertical line spaced from one another and are adapted to receive a portion of the flexible connector 18 to attach the connector 18 to the foot piece 15 according to an embodiment. The pair of arcuate second portions 17 of the foot piece 15 are located on either side of the center of gravity of the object when the rack 10 is used. There are 20 stiffening or strengthening ridges 35 positioned transversely to the arcuate portions 17 and to the first portion 16 of the foot piece 15. Other stiffening or strengthening ridges 35 or folded portions 37 at 900 are also provided. The arcuate portions 17 of the foot piece 15 are also provided with resilient lining or padding 20 to limit damage to the object. 25 There may be a spacer provided on the rear of the foot piece 15 to space the foot piece 15 from the wall 11 or support structure and which may also protect or limit damage to the wall 11 or support. The connector strap 18 used to connect the head piece 12 to the foot piece 15 allows attachment to both the head piece 12 and foot piece 15 and also 30 allows length adjustment of the connector 18. The connector 18 is flexible and formed from a connector strap or webbing 38. According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the Figures, 13 the connector strap 38 connects to a pair of connector rings 30' provided on the head piece 12. In use, one end of the strap 38 is fed through the pair of connector rings 30' of the head piece with the rings functioning as a friction lock and the other end of 5 the strap 38 is fed through the slots 34 in the foot piece 15 and the slots 34 used as a friction lock 42. Either (or both) of the friction locks can be used to adjust and fix the length of the strap 38. The head piece 12 is therefore located at the top of the rack and suspended from a wall 11 using a fastener 44 and the attachment ring 30, with the 10 connector rings 30' of the connector 18 used to suspend the connector 18 and the foot piece 15 from the head piece 12. The connector 18 hangs downwardly and the separation distance between the head piece 12 and foot piece 15 adjustable to grip the object 80 located between the respective first portions. Depending upon the configuration of the adjustment means used, two 15 (not shown) or three connector rings (illustrated in Figures 10 and 22) may be provided at the head piece 12. According to the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 10 and 22, an attachment ring 30 will be provided to attach the rack 10 to the wall 11. Two additional rings 30' are provided to be used as a part of the length adjustment means of the connector strap 18, utilising a friction lock arrangement. 20 The rack connector strap 50 illustrated in Figures 23 and 24, is used to connect a first hanging rack to a second hanging rack as illustrated in Figure 9. This rack connector strap 50 is length adjustable. In the illustrated embodiment, the rack connector strap is of a different configuration to the connector 18 used to connect the head piece of a rack to the foot piece of a rack. 25 According to the particular embodiment illustrated in Figures 23 and 24, the webbing portion 51 of rack connector strap 50 is doubled back on itself in use and the overlapping portions are at least temporarily fixed relative to one another to fix the length of the rack connector strap 50. According to the illustrated embodiment, a connector ring 39 is 30 provided at one end of the webbing portion 51 and permanently attached thereto by stitching 40 the ring 39 into a fold of the strap 51 at the upper end. This ring 39 is then used to attach to the hook 33 provided on the foot piece 15 of an upper rack.

14 At a lower end of the rack connector strap 50 (not necessarily the other end of the webbing portion 51), a hook 41 is provided to engage the head piece 12 of an adjacent, lower rack. In order to achieve the length adjustability of the rack connector strap 5 50 to connect adjacent racks, a Figure 8-shaped or lemniscate shaped friction lock 42 is normally used through which the downward portion of the webbing portion 51 extends, through the hook 41, and then the free end 43 extends back up through the friction lock 42. The weight of the object locks the strap in position due to friction between the adjacent strap portions. 10 The foot piece and head piece are interchangeable such that two head pieces or alternatively two foot pieces may be used to clamp the object. An example of this configuration with two head pieces 12 is illustrated in Figures 25 to 27. When two head pieces 12 are used, the head pieces will normally be substantially as described above and one is simply inverted. The lower head piece 15 preferably includes a hook member provided approximately between the planar first portion and arcuate second portion of the head piece. This hook member also extends rearwardly toward the wall or support structure. This hook member will typically be integrally formed with the head piece and may be used to attach additional racks to each other. 20 An example of a configuration with two foot pieces 15 is illustrated in Figures 28 to 30. When two foot pieces 15 are used the foot pieces will normally be substantially as described above and one is simply inverted. The upper foot piece will typically lack the plurality of slots and the attachment portion 21 of the head piece (as illustrated in Figures 12 to 15) replaces the slots. This attachment portion 21 will 25 typically be integrally formed with the upper, inverted foot piece 15. Due to the length of the attachment portion 21, the lower part of the attachment portion 21 extends below the central portion of the upper foot piece 15. Further the hook member normally provided approximately midway across the width of the foot piece, is removed. 30 In the present specification and claims (if any), the word "comprising" and its derivatives including "comprises" and "comprise" include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an 15 embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all 5 referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations. In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described 10 since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims (if any) appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An adjustable hanging rack for hanging an object substantially parallel to the plane of a wall or similar, the rack including a head piece with a first portion extending substantially parallel to the wall and a second portion adapted to extend 5 at least partially over the object, a foot piece with a first portion extending substantially parallel to the wall and a second portion adapted to extend at least partially beneath the object and an adjustable length, flexible connector, connecting the head piece with the foot piece and adapted to adjust the separation distance between them to releasably clamp the object therebetween. 10

2. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 1 adapted to hang elongate objects adjacent a surface of the wall such that the object can easily be viewed, but due to its location close to the wall, is out of the way.

3. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the head piece is substantially J-shaped oriented in an inverted position with the 15 second portion uppermost and at least a part of the second portion extending downwardly in use.

4. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the head piece has a substantially planar first portion and an arcuate second portion. 20

5. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 4 wherein the arcuate second portion is internally lined with a resilient material or padding.

6. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the head portion is provided with an attachment portion for attachment of the flexible connector thereto. 25

7. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 6 wherein the attachment portion includes an upturned hook means located on the side opposite the second portion.

8. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 7 wherein a facing, downwardly canted member is provided which together with the hook means defining the attachment portion. 30

9. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of the hook means and the canted member has a free end and the respective free ends are spaced from one another for insertion and removal of a portion of the flexible connector. 17

10. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 9 wherein the opening between the respective free ends is closed or occluded by a removeable cover member.

11. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 10 wherein the cover member is a substantially T-shaped member in cross-section with a portion occluding the 5 opening between the free ends of the hook member and canted members and a separator portion extending substantially perpendicularly thereto, and into the attachment portion, towards the first portion of the head piece, the separator portion to retain a connector ring in an upper portion of the opening of the attachment portion. 10

12. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 6 wherein the attachment portion is provided in the form of a closed ring structure extending substantially transversely to the first portion of the head piece.

13. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the foot piece is an elongate structure and oriented perpendicularly to the 15 head piece which normally hangs substantially vertically.

14. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 13 wherein the foot piece has a pair of upturned arcuate second portions.

15. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in either claim 13 or 14 wherein the foot piece includes a flange extending at approximately 90* from an upper, rear region 20 of the first portion to stiffen or strengthen the first portion.

16. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 further including a hook member provided approximately midway across the width of the foot piece which also extends rearwardly toward the wall or support structure.

17. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 further 25 including a plurality of openings located approximately centrally across the width of the foot piece in a substantially vertical line spaced from one another.

18. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including a spacer provided on the rear of the foot piece to space the foot piece from the wall or support structure. 30

19. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the connector is flexible and formed from a strap or webbing.

20. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a hook means is provided at a lower end of the connector. 18

21. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the connector strap is doubled back on itself in use and the overlapping portions are at least temporarily fixed relative to one another to fix the length of the connector. 5

22. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the head piece and the foot piece clamp the object therebetween.

23. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 14 wherein the arcuate second portions are internally lined with a resilient material or padding.

24. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 wherein the connector is length adjustable using at least one friction lock mechanism.

25. An adjustable hanging rack system including at least two adjustable hanging racks as claimed in any one of the preceding claims hung in series with a first upper adjustable hanging rack connected to a second lower adjustable hanging 15 rack by an adjustable length rack connector.

26. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a hook means is provided at a lower end of the rack connector.

27. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in claim 25 wherein a connector ring is provided at an upper end of the rack connector. 20

28. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the connector strap is doubled back on itself in use and the overlapping portions are at least temporarily fixed relative to one another to fix the length of the rack connector.

29. An adjustable hanging rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 25 wherein the rack connector is length adjustable using at least one friction lock mechanism.