GB2063066A

GB2063066A - A device for holding articles

Info

Publication number: GB2063066A
Application number: GB7940149A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: FRENGO PLASTICS Ltd
Current assignee: FRENGO PLASTICS Ltd
Priority date: 1979-11-20
Filing date: 1979-11-20
Publication date: 1981-06-03

Abstract

The device comprises mounting means (6) for releasably mounting the device on a support (16), and one or more article-gripping portions (10), the mounting means being such that the device can be pushed onto the support and pulled off of the support by being moved substantially at right angles to the support, and the or each article-gripping portion being adapted to be flexed by an article when the article is pushed into the device whereby the article-gripping portion tries to return to its non-flexed position and so causes the article to be held in the device. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A device for holding articles This invention relates to a device for holding articles.

Accordingly, this invention provides a device for holding articles, which device comprises mounting means for releasably mounting the device on a support, and one or more article-gripping portions, the mounting means being such that the device can be pushed onto the support and pulled off of the support by being moved substantially at right angles to the support, and the or each article-gripping portion being adapted to be flexed by an article when the article is pushed into the device whereby the article-gripping portion tries to return to its nonflexed position and so causes the article to be held in the device.

The device of the present invention may be used for holding a wide variety of articles. Thus, for example, it may be mentioned that the device may be used to hold tea-towels, towels, ties, underwear, Christmas cards, drawings and maps. Obviously, the device can be used to hold many other articles.

Preferably, the device is produced to be substantially flat with the mounting means forming a hook member which advantageously extends from the back of the device. Usually, the device will be hung from a support with the mounting means being arranged above the or each article-gripping portion.

Preferably, the device of the invention only has one article-gripping portion. Advantageously, this article-gripping portion takes the form of a flexible tongue. Other shapes for the or each article-gripping portion may however be employed.

Preferably, the mounting means is a hook member as indicated above. Such a hook member enables the device to be easily mounted on and removed from a support line such for example as a cord, string or rope support line. If desired, the support can be other than a line, for example a rod or bar.

The device of the invention may be made of various materials, it only being necessary that the or each article-gripping portion be able to withstand repeated flexing. If the article is made of sheet metal, it will preferably be made of a non-rusting metal or alloy. It is presently preferred to make the device from plastics materials since the devices can then easily be produced in dyes. Various types of plastics materials may be employed with a preferred material being polypropylene.

The present invention also includes a plurality of the devices and a support line.

The support line may be a rotary line, for example a rotary clothes line, or it may be a straight line. The support line may be provided with adjuster members, e.g. one at each end of a straight line, to enable the support line easily to be mounted between two supports and then adjusted in length. The adjuster members are preferably made of the same material as the devices. The support line can be made from various natural or synthetic materials such for example as Nylon.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a device in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows part of the device of Figure 1 holding part of a tea-towel; and Figure 4 shows one end of a support line being mounted on a support post.

Referring to Figures 1-3, there is shown a device 2 for holding articles such for example as the teatowel 4 shown in Figure 3. The device 2 comprises mounting means in the form of a hook member 6 which projects from the rear surface 8 of the device 2 as shown most clearly in Figure 2. The device 2 also comprises an article-gripping tongue 10. The whole device 2 is formed as a one-piece moulding from polypropylene. Apart from the hook member 6 and as is seen most clearly from Figure 2, the device 2 is substantially flat, although the edgesl2 of the device 2 arethickerthan the tongue 10 and its surrounding body portion 14. Obviously, a relatively thin tongue 10 is required in order to give easy flexing, whilst the thicker edges 12 give the whole device 2 rigidity.The tongue 10 is provided with ridges as shown in Figure 1 to give a good grip for a person pressing the tongue 10 in orderto flex it.

When the tea-towel 4 shown in Figure 3 is pushed through the device 2, the tongue 10 flexes. The natural resiliency in the tongue 10, due to the material from which it is made, causes the tongue 10 to try and retain its original position and this causes the tea-towel 4 to be gripped between the tongue 10 and edge of the body portion 14 defining the slot 13 which forms the tongue 10. The tea-towel 4can be removed by pulling at right angles to the device 2, i.e. in the direction ofthe arrow 15.

The device 2 can be pushed onto a support line 16 and pulled off of the support line 16 by being moved substantially at right angles to the support line 16.

Friction is generated between the line 16 and the hook member 6 and this friction is sufficient to stop all the devices 2 on a line 16 sliding to one end of the line, e.g. under the action of the wind.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown one end of the support line 16. The line 16 is provided with an adjuster member 18 which, as shown, has a hole 20, 22 at each end and a central slot 24. By passing the line 16 through the holes 20, 22 and then through the slot 24, the line 16 can be held in position. The end of the line 16 is knotted at 26 to preventthe end ofthe line pulling through the slot. By pulling on the line loop 28 and appropriately taking up the slack in the line by pulling the end of the line with the knot 26, the overall length of the line 16 can easily be adjusted. The other end of the line 16 (not shown) can also be provided with an adjuster member 18.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the The drawing(s) originally filed was/were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

invention described above have been given by way of example only. Thus, for example, the hook member 6 could be of a different shape. Also, if desired, the shape ofthe tongue 10 could be varied as could the overall shape of the device 2. Further, articles other than tea-towels 4 can be held by the tongue 10, e.g. Christmas cards. The size ofthe device 2 can be varied to suit the size of the articles they are to hold.

Claims

1. A device for holding articles, which device comprises mounting means for releasably mounting the device on a support, and one or more articlegripping portions, the mounting means being such that the device can be pushed onto the support and pulled off the support by being moved substantially at right angles to the support, and the or each article-gripping portion being adapted to be flexed by an article when the article is pushed into the device whereby the article-gripping portion tries to return to its non-flexed position and so causes the article to be held in the device.

2. A device according to claim 1 which is substantially flat and in which the mounting means forms a hook member.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which the hook member extends from the back of the device.

4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the mounting means is arranged above the or each article-gripping portion.

5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which there is only one article-gripping portion.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the article-gripping portion is a flexible tongue.

7. A device according to any one ofthe preceding claims which is made of a plastics material.

8. A device for holding articles, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. The combination of plurality of devices as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and a support line.

10. The combination according to claim 9 in which the support line is a rotary line or a straight line.