U.S. patent application number 11/117835 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-02 for hanger assembly for vehicle use.
Invention is credited to Chin-Fu Chiang.
Application Number | 20060243764 11/117835 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37233474 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060243764 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chiang; Chin-Fu |
November 2, 2006 |
HANGER ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLE USE
Abstract
A hanger assembly includes a flexible gripping member and a
hanging member. The gripping member has two gripping portions
adapted for gripping two headrest rods of a headrest of a car seat,
and an intermediate segment provided with two insert holes. The
hanging member includes a hanger body and a leg unit having left
and right shanks that are insertable removably into the insert
holes to thereby couple the hanging member to the gripping
member.
Inventors: |
Chiang; Chin-Fu; (Tainan
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICE OF KENNETH C. BROOKS;Suite 510 F
6507 Jester Boulevard
P.O. Box 10417
Austin
TX
78766-1417
US
|
Family ID: |
37233474 |
Appl. No.: |
11/117835 |
Filed: |
April 29, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
223/85 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 7/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
223/085 |
International
Class: |
A41D 27/22 20060101
A41D027/22 |
Claims
1. A hanger assembly adapted for mounting detachably on a car seat
that includes a headrest unit having a headrest body and two
headrest rods extending downward from the headrest body, said
hanger assembly comprising: a gripping member formed from a
flexible material, and including left and right gripping portions
opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction and adapted to
respectively grip the headrest rods in a state of use, an
intermediate segment interposed between said left and right
gripping portions and including a major wall surface which extends
in an upright direction transverse to the longitudinal direction,
and a mounting wall surface which extends in a transverse direction
relative to both the upright and longitudinal directions, said
mounting wall surface having an insert hole unit that extends in
the upright direction, said intermediate segment being bent to
enable said gripping portions to be placed in the state of use such
that said insert hole unit is moved away from the headrest rods;
and a hanging member adapted for hanging an article of clothing,
and including an elongated hanger body which has left and right end
portions opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and
a middle portion interposed between said left and right end
portions, and a leg unit extending downwardly from said middle
portion in the upright direction to terminate at at least one
engaging end that is insertable removably into said insert hole
unit to thereby connect said hanging member to said gripping
member.
2. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said leg unit
includes left and right shanks which extend in the upright
direction to terminate respectively at left and right ones of said
engaging ends, which are spaced apart from each other in the
longitudinal direction, said insert hole unit including two insert
holes for receiving said engaging ends, respectively, said
intermediate segment having two inner peripheral wall surfaces
respectively defining said insert holes, which extend from said
mounting wall surface in the upright direction.
3. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said major
wall surface has left and right ends opposite to each other in the
longitudinal direction, each of said left and right gripping
portions including a gripping wall which extends integrally from a
respective one of said left and right ends outwardly and in the
longitudinal direction and which bends inwardly to cooperate with
the respective one of said left and right ends to define a gripping
space adapted to accommodate the respective one of the headrest
rods, said gripping wall terminating at a snap end which is spaced
apart from the respective one of said left and right ends to define
a clearance that is of a dimension slightly smaller than that of
the respective one of the headrest rods and that is communicated
with the gripping space, said gripping wall being configured to
impart said snap end with a biasing force which urges said snap end
to move toward the respective one of said left and right ends such
that, when a respective one of said gripping portions is being
fitted onto a respective one of the headrest rods, said snap end is
forced to move away from the respective one of said left and right
ends against the biasing force thereof so as to enlarge said
clearance.
4. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said
left and right gripping portions includes a guiding wall that
extends from said snap end to be away from the respective one of
said left and right ends and that cooperates with said major wall
surface to define an access opening communicated with said
clearance and having a dimension greater than that of said
clearance.
5. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said hanger
body is formed by bending a bendable wire into an open-ended
straightened loop which has left and right bent portions to serve
as said left and right end portions, and two terminal ends that are
spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction and that
form a part of said middle portion, said left and right shanks
being integrally formed with and extending from said terminal ends,
respectively.
6. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said left and
right engaging ends are configured to be in a splined engagement
with said inner peripheral wall surfaces of said intermediate
segment of said gripping member, respectively.
7. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a
friction unit which is configured to be retained and shiftable in
said straightened loop so as to be shifted to be adjacent to one of
said left and right bent portions to thereby help prevent slippage
of the article of clothing from said one of said left and right
bent portions.
8. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of said
inner peripheral wall surfaces of said intermediate segment of said
gripping member is provided with a plurality of teeth, said hanger
assembly further comprising two adaptors, each of which includes a
tubular body having upper and lower ends opposite to each other in
the upright direction and insertable into a respective one of said
insert holes, an outer wall surface provided with a plurality of
teeth for engaging said teeth on said inner peripheral wall surface
of the respective one of said insert holes, and an inner wall
surface radially opposite to said outer wall surface and confining
an engaging hole for receiving a respective one of said left and
right shanks of said leg unit, thereby connecting said hanger body
to said intermediate segment of said gripping member.
9. The hanger assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said hanger
body is a tubular body having two tubular end portions, said hanger
assembly further comprising a friction unit that includes two
anti-slip members fitted respectively into said tubular end
portions to help prevent slippage of the article of clothing from
said hanger body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a hanger for use in a vehicle, more
particularly to a hanger assembly that can be conveniently attached
to or detached from a headrest unit of a car seat.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A car hanger is a device specifically designed for use in a
car to facilitate hanging of clothes in a car compartment. A
conventional car hanger includes two sleeves that are sleeved onto
two headrest rods of a headrest unit of a driver seat or a
passenger front seat. During assembly, the entire headrest unit is
detached from the seat to permit the sleeves to be sleeved onto the
headrest rods, and the headrest unit is then mounted in place. This
is very inconvenient especially under the circumstances that the
car hanger is required to be removed from the headrest unit after
use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a
hanger assembly which can be conveniently attached to or detached
from a headrest unit of a car seat to overcome the problem of the
aforesaid conventional car hanger.
[0006] Accordingly, a hanger assembly of this invention is Adapted
for mounting detachably on a car seat that includes a headrest unit
having a headrest body and two headrest rods extending downward
from the headrest body. The hanger assembly includes a gripping
member and a hanging member. The gripping member is formed from a
flexible material, and includes left and right gripping portions
opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction and adapted to
respectively grip the headrest rods in a state of use, an
intermediate segment interposed between the left and right gripping
portions and including a major wall surface which extends in an
upright direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, and a
mounting wall surface which extends in a transverse direction
relative to both the upright and longitudinal directions. The
mounting wall surface has an insert hole unit that extends in the
upright direction. The intermediate segment is bent to enable the
gripping portions to be placed in the state of use such that the
insert hole unit is moved away from the headrest rods. The hanging
member is adapted for hanging an article of clothing, and includes
an elongated hanger body which has left and right end portions
opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and a middle
portion interposed between the left and right end portions, and a
leg unit extending downwardly from the middle portion in the
upright direction to terminate at at least one engaging end that is
insertable removably into the insert hole unit to thereby connect
the hanging member to the gripping member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the first
preferred embodiment of a hanger assembly according to the
invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a top sectional view of the preferred embodiment
in part, showing a gripping member in a normal state;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the gripping
member in a bent state;
[0011] FIG. 4 is view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the gripping
member in a state of use;
[0012] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the second
preferred embodiment of a hanger assembly according to the
invention; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is a top sectional view of the second preferred
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] Before the present invention is described in greater detail,
it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first preferred embodiment
of a hanger assembly according to this invention is adapted for
mounting detachably on a headrest unit 1 of a front seat (not
shown) of a car. The headrest unit 1 includes a headrest body 11,
and two spaced-apart headrest rods 12 that extend downward from a
bottom end of the headrest body 11 and that are connected to the
seat.
[0016] The hanger assembly includes a gripping member 2 attached
removably to the headrest rods 12, and a hanging member 3 connected
releasably to the gripping member 2.
[0017] The gripping member 2 is formed from a flexible material,
and includes left and right gripping portions 21 opposite to each
other in a longitudinal direction and adapted to respectively grip
the headrest rods 12 in a state of use, an intermediate segment 23
interposed between the left and right gripping portions 21 and
including a major wall surface 231 which extends in an upright
direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, and a mounting
wall surface 232 which extends in a transverse direction relative
to both the upright and longitudinal directions. The mounting wall
surface 232 has two insert holes 221 that extend in the upright
direction. The intermediate segment 23 is bent to enable the
gripping portions 21 to be placed in the state of use such that the
insert holes 221 are moved away from the headrest rods 12, as best
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The major wall surface 231 has left and
right ends opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction.
Each of the left and right gripping portions 21 includes a gripping
wall 211 which extends integrally from a respective one of the left
and right ends outwardly and in the longitudinal direction and
which bends inwardly to cooperate with the respective one of the
left and right ends to define a gripping space 213 that is adapted
to accommodate the respective one of the headrest rods 12. The
gripping wall 211 terminates at a snap end 215 which is spaced
apart from the respective one of the left and right ends to define
a clearance therewith, which is of a dimension slightly smaller
than that of the respective one of the headrest rods 12 and which
is communicated with the gripping space 213. The gripping wall 211
is configured to impart the snap end 215 with a biasing force which
urges the snap end 215 to move toward the respective one of the
left and right ends such that, when a respective one of the
gripping portions 21 is being fitted onto a respective headrest rod
12, the snap end 215 is forced to move away from the respective one
of the left and right ends against the biasing force thereof so as
to enlarge the clearance to a dimension corresponding to that of
the respective headrest rod 12. Each of the left and right gripping
portions 21 further includes a guiding wall 212 that extends from
the snap end 215 away from the respective one of the left and right
ends, that cooperates with the major wall surface 231 to define an
access opening 214 communicated with the clearance, and that has a
progressively decreasing thickness such that the access opening 214
has a dimension greater than that of the clearance to facilitate
attachment of the gripping portions 21 to the headrest rods 12. The
intermediate segment 23 has two inner peripheral wall surfaces
defining the two insert holes 221, which extend from the mounting
wall surface 232 in the upright direction. In this embodiment, each
of the inner peripheral wall surfaces is configured such that each
of the insert holes 221 includes a circular portion 222 and two
radially extending recessed portions 223.
[0018] The hanging member 3 is adapted for hanging an article of
clothing, and includes an elongated hanger body 32 which has left
and right end portions 323 opposite to each other in the
longitudinal direction, and a middle portion 321 interposed between
the left and right end portions 323, and a leg unit which includes
left and right shanks 31 that are insertable removably into the
insert holes 221, respectively, and that extend downwardly from the
middle portion 321 in the upright direction to terminate
respectively at left and right engaging ends 310, which are spaced
apart from each other in the longitudinal direction. In this
embodiment, the hanger body 32 is formed by bending a bendable wire
into an open-ended straightened loop which has left and right bent
portions to serve as the left and right end portions 323, and two
terminal ends 322 that are spaced apart from each other in the
longitudinal direction and that form a part of the middle portion
321. The left and right shanks 31 are integrally formed with and
extend from the terminal ends 322, respectively. Each of the left
and right engaging ends 310 has two radial protrusions 311 for
engaging the recessed portions 223 of the respective insert hole
221 such that the left and right engaging ends 310 are respectively
in a splined engagement with the inner peripheral wall surfaces
defining the insert holes 221, thereby preventing undesired
rotation of the left and right shanks 31 relative to the insert
holes 221.
[0019] A friction unit 4 includes two friction blocks 41 which are
configured to be retained and shiftable in the straightened loop so
as to be shifted to be adjacent to the left and right bent portions
323, respectively, thereby helping prevent slippage of the article
of clothing from the hanger body 32. Each of the friction blocks 41
has an outer surface provided with a plurality of anti-slip bosses
411.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows the gripping member 2 of the preferred
embodiment in a normal state, i.e., an unbent state. In this state,
the two gripping portions 21 are spaced apart by a distance greater
than that between the two headrest rods 12. When the gripping
member 2 is to be attached to the headrest unit 1, a force is
applied to bend the intermediate segment 23 of the gripping member
2 in a manner as shown in FIG. 3 such that the distance between the
gripping portions 21 is smaller than that between the headrest rods
12. In this bent state, the intermediate segment 23 of the gripping
member 2 acquires a biasing force that urges the gripping walls 211
to abut against the headrest rods 12, respectively, when the
gripping portions 21 are respectively fitted onto the headrest rods
12 from behind the car seat and the bending force is released,
thereby holding the gripping member 2 firmly between the headrest
rods 12, as shown in FIG. 4. Thereafter, the hanging member 3, with
the friction blocks 4 mounted thereon, is coupled to the gripping
member 2. To detach the hanger assembly from the headrest unit 1,
the hanging member 3 is first detached from the gripping member 2,
and the intermediate segment 23 is bent to permit removal of the
gripping portions 21 from the headrest rods 12.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the second preferred embodiment
of a hanger assembly according to this invention is substantially
similar to the first preferred embodiment in construction. In this
embodiment, the inner peripheral wall surfaces defining the insert
holes 221 are each provided with a plurality of teeth 224. In
addition, the hanger assembly further includes two adaptors 5, each
of which includes a tubular body 51 having upper and lower ends
opposite to each other in the upright direction and insertable into
a respective one of the insert holes 221, an outer wall surface
provided with a plurality of teeth 511 for engaging the teeth 224
on the inner peripheral wall surface of the respective one of the
insert holes 221, and an inner wall surface radially opposite to
the outer wall surface and confining an engaging hole 53 for
receiving a respective one of the left and right shanks 31 of the
leg unit. The upper end of the tubular body 51 has an enlarged
diameter and protrudes from the mounting wall surface 232 after the
tubular body 51 is fitted into the respective insert hole 221. The
engaging hole 53 includes a circular portion 531 and two radially
extending recessed portions 532 so as to match the configuration of
the left and right engaging ends 310 of the left and right shanks
31, thereby preventing undesirable rotation of the leg unit after
the hanging member 3 is connected to the intermediate segment 23 of
the gripping member 2. Furthermore, the hanger body 32 of the
hanging member 3 in this embodiment is a tubular body having two
tubular end portions 326. The friction unit 4 includes two
anti-slip members 41 which are fitted respectively into the tubular
end portions 326 and which are provided with a plurality of
anti-slip bosses 411 thereon.
[0022] As shown hereinabove, the hanger assembly of this invention
can be attached to or detached from the headrest unit 1 of a car
seat with relative ease.
[0023] While this invention has been described in connection with
what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it
is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed
embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included
within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *