GB2214969A

GB2214969A - Hooks

Info

Publication number: GB2214969A
Application number: GB8803034A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Squirrel
Original assignee: FIXIT
Current assignee: FIXIT
Priority date: 1988-02-10
Filing date: 1988-02-10
Publication date: 1989-09-13
Also published as: GB8803034D0

Abstract

A hook assembly 1, which may be supplied mounted on a roll 3 of support material, comprises a hook 5 and a generally planar extension 7 which is held on the support material 3 by a double-sided adhesive film 9. The top of the adhesive film 9 is covered by a release liner 11. In use, the assembly 1 is peeled off the support material 3 and applied, using a 1st section of the adhesive film 9, to an article 13 with the hook 5 downwards and not substantially protruding from the article (fig 3a). In this configuration the article can be stored or close-packed for display. To prepare the hook for hanging the article from a support, the release liner 11 is removed and the hook 5 and its planar extension 7 pivoted upwards so that a 2nd section of the adhesive film 9 attached to the planar extension 7 adheres to the originally adhesive film 9 which is attached to the article 13. The hook assembly 5 is now in a second configuration (Fig 3b) so that the article can now be hung, by means of the hook, from a support such as a bar or rail for display. <IMAGE>

Description

HOOKS This invention relates to a hook assembly for suspending an article from a support; such a hook assembly finds particular application in the retail trade, where it is desired to display articles for sale.

In recent years, the trend has been to sell, at least in the retail trade, articles which are individually packaged, rather than supplied out of a bulk pack.

Although this might have been expected for perishable goods, the trend has been even for non-perishable goods such as clothes, including lingerie, to be sold in this way. As a convenient and effective method of displaying individually packaged articles, it has been common to supply the article (particularly a packaged article) to be sold with a hook or eye, which can be looped over a support, generally in the form of a rail or hanger by the store keeper; the customer can then select the article of choice from the support.

Clearly, for this method of displaying and supporting individually packaged articles, the hook or eye will for preference protrude from the bulk of the article, to allow for easy stocking of the support by the shopkeeper and easy access by the customer. Herein, however, lies a problem. The articles for sale will generally be supplied to the shopkeeper in a bulk package, in which a protruding hook or eye will cause packing difficulties, both in terms of the time taken to arrange articles within the pack and in terms of lost space within the pack due to the protruding hook or eye. Further, the shopkeeper may want to have a choice of displaying articles either supported by means of the hook or eye or in the alternative closely packed together in, for example, a display cabinet.

This problem has in the past been partially overcome by providing a hanging device which comprises an adhesive portion for attaching to the article and a hook portion for hanging the article from a support. Typically, the hanging device has been made out of PVC. Such devices, however, have generally had to be applied to the article by hand, which is a time consuming (and therefore costly) exercise, particularly in a large retail undertaking.

A prior proposal for reducing the amount of labour involved in applying hooks or eyes to packaged articles was to supply a series of hook assemblies, each having a hook or eye, on a reel of backing paper. Semiautomated or automated equipment could be used to peel each hook assembly off the backing paper, to which it was fixed by an adhesive pad, and use the adhesive pad to fix the hook assembly to the article. Although this was desirable from the point of view of cutting down on the amount of labour involved, the hook assembly could only be fixed in one position on an article, thereby reintroducing the problems of the hook or eye protruding from the article when bulk-packed or on display in close packed fashion.

An attempt was made to solve both the above problems of protrusion and the amount of time involved in fixing by hand individual hooks or eyes by providing adhesive hook assemblies on backing paper, each having an adhesive pad as before, with each hook assembly being provided with a line of weakness so that the hook or eye could be bent from a first position at which it did not protrude from the pack to a second position at which it did protrude so as to be convenient for hanging the article on a support.

However, this apparent solution posed its own problems: first, if the hook or eye did not bend properly along the line of weakness, there was a tendency for the hook assembly to fracture. Secondly, the assemblies tended to be made out of PVC which, although a desirable material in itself, had different pliability characteristics at room temperatures and at cold temperatures (such as those which might be found in a store room). The PVC tends to be more brittle at lower temperatures, and so if the PVC hook or eye is bent along the line of weakness when it is cold (for example, when it has just been brought out of store), the incidence of failure of the hook assembly through brittle fracture can be unacceptably high.

This invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate some of these disadvantages.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a hook assembly for hooking an article to a support, the hook assembly comprising a hook or eye for engaging the support, and first adhesive means attached to the hook or eye by means of a flexible film, the hook assembly being adherable to an article, so that the hook or eye is in a first configuration relative to the article, by means of the first adhesive means, the hook assembly further comprising second adhesive means, and the hook or eye being movable with respect to the article when the hook assembly is adhered to the article from the first configuration by flexure of the flexible film to a second configuration relative to the article at which the hook or eye can be held by means of the second adhesive means.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the first adhesive means and the flexible film are embodied in a filmic adhesive tape having an adhesive surface. The adhesive surface of the filmic adhesive tape may be uniformly or non-uniformly coated with adhesive. The adhesive itself may serve to attach the flexible film to the hook or eye, which for preference has a generally flat area to enhance adhesion.

It is most convenient for the filmic adhesive to be double-sided and thereby also to constitute the second adhesive means. A first surface of the filmic adhesive tape can therefore constitute the first adhesive means and may attach the film to the hook or eye and a second surface of the adhesive tape can therefore constitute the second adhesive means and is for preference provided with a release layer.

The article may be any suitable article, but the invention is envisaged to have particular application in the area of retail sales, and so it is preferred that the article be a packaged article. It will be understood that in such an application, the first configuration may conveniently be a configuration in which the hook or eye does not protrude from the bulk of the article, thereby rendering the article suitable for storage and for close packed display. In the second configuration, the hook or eye for preference does protrude so that it can engage with a support to be hung for display.

The hook or eye may be made of plastics material.

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polystyrene are preferred materials.

The hook assembly may be supplied on a roll, which may function as a release layer for the first adhesive means.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a roll of hook assemblies comprising a roll of support material bearing a plurality of hook assemblies in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be put into effect, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a partial sectional view through a hook assembly in accordance with the invention; FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a roll of support material bearing a number of hook assemblies in accordance with the invention and showing the line (I-I) along which the section of Figure 1 is taken; and FIGURES 3A and 3B are perspective views of an article bearing a hook assembly in accordance with the invention, the hook of Figure 3A being in a first configuration and the hook of Figure 3B being in a second configuration.

Referring now to the drawings, a hook assembly 1 in Figures 1 and 2 is supplied mounted on a roll 3 of support material. The hook assembly 1 comprises a hook 5 which has a generally planar extension 7. The planar extension 7 is held in place next to the support material 3 by the adhesive on one side of a doublesided adhesive film 9, which adheres both the planar extension 7 and to the support material 3. To the other side of the adhesive film 9 is attached a liner 11, which covers the entire side of the adhesive film 9 and protrudes to form a tab 13.

The length of the hook assembly shown in Figures 1 and 2 is 65mm and the width 30mm. The hook 5 and the planar extension 7 are constructed out of a single piece of PVC.

The hook assembly 1 in accordance with the invention can be used as follows. The assembly 1 is peeled off the support material 3 either manually or by an automated mechanism and applied to an article 13 with the hook 5 downwards and not substantially protruding from the article, as is shown in Figure 3A. The hook is now in its first configuration, in which the article can be stored or close-packed for displa:.

To reconfigure the hook for hanging display from a support, the release layer 11 can be removed by gripping the tab 13 and pulling it away from the outer side of the double-sided adhesive film 9 (see Figure 1). The hook 5 and its planar extension can then be pivotted upwards so that the region of the adhesive film 9 which is attached to the planar extension 7 of the hook 5 adheres to the region of the adhesive film 9 which is attached to the article 13, thus forming a firm bond. The hook 5 is now in its second configuration, as shown in Figure 3B. The article can now be hung, by means of the hook, from a support such as a bar or rail (not shown).

Claims

1. A hook assembly for hooking an article to a support, the hook assembly comprising a hook or eye for engaging the support, and first adhesive means attached to the hook or eye by means of a flexible film, the hook assembly being adherable to an article, so that the hook or eye is in a first configuration relative to the article, by means of the first adhesive means, the hook assembly further comprising second adhesive means, and the hook or eye being movable with respect to the article when the hook assembly is adhered to the article from the first configuration by flexure of the flexible film to a second configuration relative to the article at which the hook or eye can be held by means of the second adhesive means.

2. A hook assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first adhesive means and the flexible film is a filmic adhesive tape having an adhesive surface.

3. A hook assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the adhesive surface of the filmic adhesive tape is uniformly or non-uniformly coated with adhesive.

4. A hook assembly as claimed in claims 2 or 3 wherein the adhesive serves to attach the flexible film to the hook or eye.

5. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the flexible film has a generally flat area.

6. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 wherein the filmic adhesive is double-sided and constitutes the second adhesive means.

7. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 wherein a first surface of a filmic adhesive tape is the first adhesive means and attaches to the film to the hook or eye and a second surface of the filmic adhesive tape is the second adhesive means.

8. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the first and/or second adhesive means is provided with a release layer.

9. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the article is a packaged article.

10. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the first configuration is a configuration in which the hook or eye does not protrude from the bulk of the article.

11. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 wherein in the second configuration the hook or eye for preference protrudes so that it can engage with a support to be hung for display.

12. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11 wherein the hook or eye is made of plastics material.

13. A hook assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the plastics material is polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polystyrene.

14. A hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 which is affixed to a roll which functions as a release layer for the first adhesive means.

15. A roll of hook assemblies comprising a roll of support material bearing a plurality of hook assemblies, at least one of which is a hook assembly as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14.