GB2208062A

GB2208062A - Hanger

Info

Publication number: GB2208062A
Application number: GB8707492A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Wilkes
Original assignee: STONEHAVEN PACKAGING PRODUCTS
Current assignee: STONEHAVEN PACKAGING PRODUCTS
Priority date: 1987-03-28
Filing date: 1987-03-28
Publication date: 1989-02-22
Also published as: GB8707492D0

Abstract

A hanger for suspending a bag (5) on a rail (2) is formed of resiliently deformable plastics material and comprises an elongated support portion (4) permanently attached to the bag. A further portion (3) projects from the support portion to define therewith an elongated opening (13) and a gap (8) through which the rail can enter the opening when the hanger is temporarily deformed. <IMAGE>

Description

Clip on hanger.

Description of Invention This invention relates to a hanger for suspending an article on a rail and is primarily but not exclusively concerned with the display of articles for sale in a shop.

According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a hanger for suspending an item from a rail, comprising a rail engagement member which, in use, engages a top surface of the rail and provides part of a boundary surface of an opening which receives the rail, the boundary surface having a gap to permit the rail to be passed out of the opening to disengage the hanger from the rail, the gap not being of substantially greater extent thon a minimum dimension of the rail.

The gap may be of smaller extenf than the minimum dimension of the rail, the rail engagement member and/or the remainder of the hanger being resiliently deformable to permit the gap to be enlarged to permit of passing the rail through the gap.

The hanger may be made of a resiliently deformable material such as polypropylene, pvc, nylon or any other suitable material.

The hanger may comprise a support portion from which the item is suspended, the support portion, in use, extending generally horizontally and transverse relative to the rail.

At least a major part of the rail engagement member may be generally parallel to the support portion and the support portion may provide the remainder of the boundary surface of the opening.

An end of the engagement member may be connected to or integral with the support portion, and the gap may be provided between an opposite end of the engagement member and the support portion.

Alternatively, opposite ends of the engagement member may each be connected to or integral with the support portion and the gap may be provided in the engagement member intermediate the ends.

Sufficient clearance may be provided between the boundary surface of the opening and the rail to permit the hanger to be readily moved longitudinally of the rail.

The engagement member may have provided, on its boundary surface, a rail location region which contacts the upper side of the rail.

The rail location region may comprise an indentation or recess in the boundary surface to receive the rail and inhibit movement of the hanger relative to the rail in a direction transverse to the rail.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a hanger for suspending an item from a rail, comprising a rail engagement member which, in use, engages a top surface of the rail and provides part of a boundary surface of an opening which receives the rail, the boundary surface having a gap to permit the rail to be passed out of the opening to disengage the hanger from the rail, the opening being generally elongate and extending in a direction generally transverse to the rail.

The hanger of the second aspect of the invention may have any of the features of the hanger according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a third aspect of the invention we provide a combination of a rail and a hanger according to the first or the second aspect of the invention.

The hanger may be releasable from the rail by movement of the hanger in a first direction which is perpendicular to the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rail, release of the hanger by movement thereof in the first direction necessitating reversible deformation of the hanger.

Where the rail terminates in a free end, of course the hanger may be released from the rail by movement of the hanger in a second direction which is substantially coincident with the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rail, until the hanger is clear of the free end of the rail.

Release of the hanger from the rail by movement of the hanger in this second direction may or may not require reversible deformation of the hanger.

However when the hanger is released from the rail by movement of the hanger relative to the rail in any direction other than the second direction reversible deformation of the hanger must occur.

At least part of the rail engagement member of the hanger may be reversibly deformed.

The engagement member of the hanger may at least partly comprise a resilient material.

The item suspended from the hanger may be a container such as a bog, within which an article may be contained.

The hanger may resist accidental displacement thereof from the rail by virtue of the configuration of the engagement member which may permit of removal of the hanger from the rail only upon reversible deformation of at least part of said engagement member.

The rail may comprise a single rod member, or alternatively and preferably a pair of rod members which extend generally parallel to one another side by side, the rod members each being connected to or integral with a cross member which extends between the rod members. The rod members may extend through the elongate opening at opposite extremes of the opening.

Hangers are known which have a hole formed therein through which a rail protrudes and such hangers can only be removed from a free end of the rail. Thus they may only be used with displays having free ended rails and such rails are a nuisance to shoppers because they catch on their clothing and may be hazardous to children. Moreover to reach a desired item on the rail the other items which are nearer to the free end of the rail must first be removed and afterwards replaced on the rail when the desired item has been obtained and this is inconvenient.

It is also known to use a hanger with a simple hook for engaging a rail but such hangers suffer from the disadvantage that they are readily displaced from the rail by accident.

The present invention thus overcomes the disadvantages of such known hangers.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the hanger for suspending an article from a rail FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the hanger shown in use with a rail comprising a pair of rod members which extend generally parallel to one another side by side.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the hanger shown in use with a rail comprising a single rod member.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of a hanger in accordance with the invention and a rail.

FIGURE 5 is a front elevation of a second embodiment of a hanger in accordance with the invention.

In Figures I and 2 a hanger I is shown which is used for suspending an item 5 from a roil 2, which rail 2 is in the form of a pair of rod members 10 which extend parallel to one another side by side and which rod members 10 are each connected to or integral with a cross member II which extends between them. The hanger I comprises an engagement member 3 and a support portion 4 to which support portion 4 an item 5 is attached. The item 5 may comprise a polythene or other plastic bag containing an article 6 represented by a pair of gloves.

It will be appreciated that the item 5 may comprise a net or other suitable means for containing an article 6 and the article 6 may be any suitable consumer article.

The item 5 may be attached to the support portion 4 of the hanger I by any suitable means. For example where the item 5 comprises a plastic bag the bag may be attached to the support portion 4 by means of adhesive or by partially melting the plastic so that it fuses to the support portion 4. The support portion 4 is a rectangular bar which has, at a surface thereof which is uppermost when the hanger is in use, a further portion 7 which is rigidly attached to or formed integrally there with. The further portion 7 extends along the longitudinally extending upper edge of the support portion 4 and protrudes slightly on either side thereof so that the support portion 4 and the further portion 7 together comprise a member having a substantially Tshaped transverse cross section. This is seen more clearly in Figure 4.

Preferably the hanger I comprises a plastics material and the hanger as a whole may be resilient.

Preferably the engagement member 3 is resilient as a whole and may be reversibly deformed at least in the region 12 of the engagement member 3 which connects with the support portion 4.

The engagement member 3 extends from the further portion 7 of the hanger I and provides part of a boundary surface of an opening 13 which receives the rail 2. The boundary surface has a gap 8 to permit the rail 2 to be passed out of the opening 13 by movement of the hanger I relative to the rail 2 in a direction other than the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rail.

The engagement member 3 has provided therein a rail location region with which an upper surface of the rail 2 may engage when the rail 2 is in the form of single elongate rigid rod as shown in Figure 3.

The mouth of the gap 8 at its widest point is narrower than the diameter of the rods 10 or the rail 2 so that the hanger is not readily displaced accidentially from the rail.

In order to attach and detach the hanger I from the rail 2 the rail is pushed into the gap 8 which gap widens because at least part 12 of the engagement member 3 comprises a resilient, reversibly deformable material.

When the rail 2 is clear of the gap 8 the gap closes agoin to its original size.

Of course the hanger I may also be removed from the rail 2, provided that the rail has a free end, by moving the hanger along in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rail 2 until it is clear of the free end of the rail.

When the hanger I is thus removed no reversible deformation of any part of the hanger is necessary unless the free end of the rail is provided with a knob or other similar means.

Figure 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which similar parts of the previously described embodiments are given the same reference numbers. The gap 8 is provided in a middle portion of the engagement member 3 both opposite ends of which are connected to or formed integrally with the further portion 7 of the hanger 1. The engagement member 3 should not in this embodiment, be so resilient as to permit the rail 2, which is a simple rod, to pass through gap 8 under the weight of the item 5 and any article contained therein. However upon pulling the hanger I in the direction of arrow A with sufficient force, the gap 8 may be enlarged sufficiently to enable the rail 2 to pass through to release the hanger from the rail.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description or the accompanying drawings expressed in their specific forms, or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method of process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:

I. A hanger comprising an elongated support portion and a rail-engaging portion projecting from the support portion, wherein an opening is defined between said portions, there is also between said portions a gap leading to the opening, whereby a rail can be introduced through the gap into the opening, and wherein the width of the gap is substantially smaller than is the largest dimension of the opening.
2. A hanger according to Claim I wherein the width of the gap is smaller than each transverse dimension of the opening.
3. A hanger according to Claim I or Claim 2 wherein the opening is elongated and the length of the opening extends in the same general direction as does the length of the support portion.
4. A hanger according to Claim 3 wherein the gap is at one end of the opening.
5. A hanger according to Claim 3 wherein the gap is between ends of the opening.
6. A hanger according to any preceding Claim wherein the rail engaging portion includes first and second mutually inclined limbs, the first limb is substantially parallel to and is spaced from the support portion and the second limb connects the first limb with the support portion.
7. A hanger according to Claim 6 wherein the first limb is longer than is the second limb.
8. A hanger according to Claim I or Claim 2 wherein said opening extends from the gap in opposite directions along the support portion.
9. A hanger according to any preceding Claim wherein the entrance to the gap is tapered towards the opening.
10. In combination, a hanger and a rail wherein the hanger defines are opening through which the rail extends, the hanger rests on an upwardly facing surface of the rail, there is in a boundary surface of the opening a gap through which the rail can pass when the hanger is removed from the rail in a direction transverse to the length of the rail and wherein the gap has a width which is less than the corresponding dimension of the rail.
II. A combination according to Claim 10 wherein the opening is elongated, the rail comprises two mutually spaced, parallel elements and said elements occupy respective end portions of the opening.
12. A combination according to Claim 10 wherein the opening is elongated, the rail is spaced from both ends of the opening and the rail is seated in an indentation at the boundary of the opening.
13. In combination, a container and a hanger according to any one of Claims I to 9 wherein the container is attached to the support portion of the hanger.
14. A combination according to Claim 13 wherein the container is permanently attached to the hanger.
15. A hanger substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures I to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
16. A hanger substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
17. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein or in the accompanying drawings.