US2579240A - Tank hanger - Google Patents

Description

-w. :J. MAISONYER HANGER Dec. 18, 1951 I fvz/rzl ar'. Wlliam f Vaaorwr Filed Oct. 13, 1947 jar Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE TANK HANGER William J. 'Masoner, Chicago, Ill.

Application October 13, 1947, Serial No. 779,549

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to tank hangers and more particularly to an arrangement which iulfills the primary purpose of supporting a tank in any desired position and which may be used to hoist the tank to such position.

While primarily intended for suspending from joists expansion tanks forming part of closed hot water heating systems, the invention is not limited in this respect,- but may be used with any tank'whose size is such that it is usually sup. ported manually while being installed. Expansion tanks, for example, are customarily supported by metal straps whose ends are nailed or fastened to the floor joists by screws, a common size for home use being thirty gallons and weighing seventy-two pounds, although the size will be larger or smaller depending upon the amount of radiation. This arrangement not only requires at least two men to position the tank, one to support the tank and the other to apply the fastenings, but the fastenings cannot be readily removed when it becomes necessary to replace or repair the tank or remove it to a new location.

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a tank hanger which is easily and quickly attached to a supporting member and enables the tank to be suspended at any desired distance from the member.

A further object is to provide a hanger of the character indicated which is arranged for quick I detachment to permit removal of the tank and which may be utilized to hoist the tank to operative position. 7

'A further object is to devise a method of hoisting a tank to desired position by utilizing the ence being'had to the accompanying drawing,

and the novel means b which said objects are efiectuated will be definitely pointed out in the claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation showing a preliminary step in the hoisting of the tank to final position.

Fig. 2 is a view in reduced scale looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the tank in final suspended position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of one of the hanger :plates, as viewed in Fig. 2, showing the relation thereto of a tank supporting strapand a screw that is threaded in a fioor joist.

Fig. 5 is a section along the line '5-5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the hanger plate before being conditioned to grip a strap.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of 'a swivel block which enables the plate to swing relative to the associated screw.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, of the drawing, the numeral designates a hanger plate of generally rectangular shape whose upper end, considered with reference to its final position in the assembly, is reversely bent to provide a flange H which is spaced from and is parallel to the adjacent portion of the plate and defines therewith a pocket I2. The bight of the bent portion of the plate includes an elongated aperture l3 for a, purpose presently explained. The opposite or lower end of the plate may be reduced in width as at [4, and extending normally therefrom on the same side of the plate It) as the flange H is a pair of spaced ears ll5. Gut through the plate and included whollywithin the marginal outline thereof is an opening I6 whose lower boundary is defined by an edge I! from which centrally extends a tooth I8 that is positioned in the plane of the opening [6. The plate Ill may be originally formed as a stamping and subsequently bent to provide the flange II and ears l5. V

The hanger pocket 12 isprovided to receive a swivel block [9 which may be semi-cylindrical in shape and is transversely apertured at to receive a wood screw 2| which additionally ex tends through the elongated aperture H for reference will now be made.

erally indicated in Fig. l.

attachment to a convenient supporting member, suchas a floor joist. The block [9 enables the plate 10 to swing relative to the screw 2| as permitted by the elongated aperture I3. The opening 56 is intended to receive a tank supporting strap 22, preferably made of flexible metal, which includes apertures 23 spaced along the length thereof while the tooth I 8 lockingly engages with one of these apertures, all as presently described.

The manner in which a tank 24 is hoisted and held in operative position is more particularly illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, to which The number of straps employed will generally depend upon the length and weight of the tank, but assuming that two straps are sufilcient, two spaced, hanger plates [0 are fastened to a first floor joist 25, for example, by means of screws 2! which are equipped with swivel blocks I 9 and, in opposite relation, another pair of hanger plates are similarly attached to the next adjacent joist, as gen- The plates I0 are preferably hung so that the ears I5 face away from the tank, thereby rendering them accessible for bending to clamp the strap 22. The locations of the screws 2! may be varied, i. e., they may be threaded in the opposed faces of the joists 25, as actually shown, or in the lower edge faces of the joists. Considerations afiecting the placement of the screws, where joists are involved, are the diameter of the tank and the spacing of the joists, as well as the final position of the tank. It will be understood that the joists 25 generally indicate any type of supporting member to which my improved strap hanger may be attached.

Considering the left hand plates 10, as viewed in Fig. 1, one end of a strap 22 is inserted through the opening I6 of one'of the plates [0 and bent downwardly to lie between the ears |5-l5. This bending is made at a point such that the tooth I8 will project through one of the strap apertures 23, thus providing a locking engagement between the strap 22 and the plate [0. The ears l5 are then bent to overlie and clamp the end of the strap against the plate and thus prevent any tendency of the bent strap portion to straighten when subjected to the weight of the tank. The same procedure is followed with a second strap 22 for the other left hand plate 56.

Both straps are then looped around the underside of the tank 26 which is resting on the cellar floor 28, for example, and the free extremities of the straps are respectively passed through the openings IS in the right hand plates H), the several parts occupying the relative positions shown in Fig. 1.

To hoist the tank, it is merely necessary to pull on the free end of one of the straps 22 until one end of the tank is raised a distance such that it will not slip lengthwise along the straps,

whereupon the strap just pulled may be temporarily anchored by engaging one of its apertures 23 with the tooth 18 of the associated, right hand plate [0. The free end of the other strap is then pulled to raise the other end of the tank from the floor and possibly above the opposite end of the tank, after which the latter strap may be temporarily anchored in its right hand plate l9 as indicated. Hence, by alternately pulling on the respective straps, the tank is raised to the desired position, the number of separate pulls generally depending upon the distance through which-the tank is to be raised. For

relatively short distances, one pull on each strap may be sufiicient. After the free end of each strap has been anchored by engagement with a tooth 18, the excess part of each strap is cut away and the new extremities are bent downwardly and clamped by bending the ears l5 of the right hand plates I0.

The tank 24 may then be permanently suspended as shown in Fig. 3, or in any selected lower position, either parallel or at'any desired angle to the joists 25. An outstanding advantage of this arrangement is its capacity to hoist the tank in addition to performing its primary function of supporting the tank. With tanks of the size contemplated, one man can hoist and suspend the tank, thus materially reducing labor costs. A further advantage resides in the fact that the tank may be easily taken down by simply bending backward the ears I 5 along one side of the tank to unclamp one end of each strap and thereafter disengage the latter ends from the teeth [8. I

If the ears I 5 fail for any reason, suc as where the plate It has been used in a 11111 51361 of installations, the strap may be clamped y a bolt and nut (not shown) which is passed through registering apertures 23 in the strap and an aperture 27 in the plate. In installations where it is not possible to use wood screws, such as where the permanent supporting member comparable to the joists 25 is made of metal, the latter may be drilled to receive bolts as substitutes for the Wood screws.

I claim:

In tank hanger construction, the combination of a flat plate having laterally extending spacedv ears at its lower end and a reversely bent flange at its upper end forming a downwardly opening, curved pocket, the ears and flange extending from the same side of the plate, the flange including an elongated aperture, a swivel block rockable in the pocket and having fastening means extending through the elongated aperture for attaching'the plate in depending relation to a support, the plate including an opening there through and having a tooth extending into the opening from the lower portion. thereof, and a tank carrying, flat strap having a reverselybent end providing opposed portions on opposite sides of the plate and extending downwardly from the tooth, the bent portion of the strap being apertured to receive the tooth for locking engagement therewith, one of the opposed portions being clamped against the plate by the ears.

WILLIAM J. MASONER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 278,506 Cassell May 29, 1883 351,079 Teague Oct. 19, 1886 989,612, Kohn Apr. 18, 1911 1,375,917 La Paugh Apr. 26, 1921 1,801,377 Sutlifi A r. 21, 1931 1,804,420 Kelly M y 12, 1931 1,944,833 Barnes Ja 23, 1934 2,050,841 Haughton Au 11, 1936 2,286,118 Sleith June 9, 1942 2,433,523 Mahan et al. Dec. 30, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 569,330 Germany Jan. 12, 1933

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