Wall-mount Hanger

Abstract

A wall-mount hanger includes: a casing; an article-hanging piece connected slidably to the casing and having a stem portion extending into the casing, and an article-hanging end portion extending from the stem portion and disposed outwardly of the casing; and a cover mounted on the casing and having an extension that cooperates with the casing to define a protrusion-hiding recess therebetween such that the article-hanging end portion of the article-hanging piece is received in the protrusion-hiding recess when the article-hanging piece is moved to a predetermined position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates to a wall-mount hanger, more particularly to a wall-mount hanger with a cover and an article-hanging piece that is slidable to a position to be hidden behind the cover.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional wall-mount hanger 1 is adapted to be mounted on a wall surface 10 for hanging an object (not shown). The wall-mount hanger 1 includes a panel 11 and an article-hanging piece that has a stem portion 12 extending downwardly from the panel 11 and an article-hanging end portion 13 extending from the stem portion 12.

[0005] The conventional wall-mount hanger 1 is disadvantageous in that since the article-hanging piece protrudes from the wall surface 10, and since the shape of the article-hanging piece is not attractive, the appearance of the wall surface 10 is adversely affected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a wall-mount hanger that can overcome the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art.

[0007] According, a wall-mount hanger of the present invention comprises: a casing adapted to be mounted on a wall, and having first and second open ends that are transverse to each other and that define respectively first and second openings, the casing defining an inner space in spatial communication with the first and second openings; an article-hanging piece connected slidably to the casing and having a stem portion that extends in a longitudinal direction through the second opening and into the inner space in the casing, and an article-hanging end portion that extends from the stem portion and that is disposed outwardly of the inner space in the casing, the article-hanging piece being slidable in the longitudinal direction relative to the casing between first and second positions; and a cover mounted on the first open end of the casing to cover the first opening and having an extension that extends outwardly from a junction of the first and second open ends of the casing so as to cooperate with the second open end to define a protrusion-hiding recess therebetween. The article-hanging end portion of the article-hanging piece is disposed outwardly of the protrusion-hiding recess when the article-hanging piece is disposed at the first position, and is received and hidden in the protrusion-hiding recess when the article-hanging piece is disposed at the second position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] 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:

[0009] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view to illustrate a conventional wall-mount hanger;

[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a wall-mount hanger according to the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the first preferred embodiment with a decorative object attached thereto;

[0012] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a state where an article-hanging piece of the first preferred embodiment is disposed at a position;

[0013] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating another state where the article-hanging piece of the first preferred embodiment is disposed at another position;

[0014] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger according to this invention;

[0015] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger according to this invention;

[0016] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the fourth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger according to this invention;

[0017] FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger according to this invention, illustrating how a clamper engages a headed rod;

[0018] FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment, illustrating how the damper is disengaged from the headed rod; and

[0019] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of a wall-mount hanger 2 according to the present invention is shown to be adapted to be mounted on a wall 100. The wall-mount hanger 2 includes: a casing 3 adapted to be mounted on the wall 100 and having first and second open ends 35, 36 that are transverse to each other and that define respectively first and second openings 350, 360, the casing 3 defining an inner space 33 in spatial communication with the first and second openings 350, 360; an article-hanging piece 4 connected slidably to the casing 3 and having a stem portion 41 that extends in a longitudinal direction (I) through the second opening 360 and into the inner space 33 in the casing 3, and an article-hanging end portion 42 that extends from the stem portion 41 and that is disposed outwardly of the inner space 33 in the casing 3, the article-hanging piece 4 being slidable in the longitudinal direction (I) relative to the casing 3 between first and first positions (see FIGS. 4 and 5); and a cover 32 mounted on the first open end 35 of the casing 3 to cover the first opening 350 and having an extension 320 that extends outwardly from a junction of the first and second open ends 35, 36 of the casing 3 so as to cooperate with the second open end 36 to define a protrusion-hiding recess 30 therebetween (see FIG. 4). The article-hanging end portion 42 of the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed outwardly of the protrusion-hiding recess 30 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the second position (see FIG. 5), and is received and hidden in the protrusion-hiding recess 30 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position (see FIG. 4).

[0022] In this embodiment, the casing 3 further has a base wall 31 opposite to the first open end 35. The cover 32 is provided with a pair of spaced apart confining plates 325, 326 that extend toward the base wall 31 and that have free ends which are spaced apart from the base wall 31 by a confining gap 327 such that the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 is received fittingly and slidably in the confining gap 327.

[0023] The casing 3 further has two opposite side walls 37 extending from the base wall 31 and formed with a plurality of tongues 313. The cover 32 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 323, each of which defines a groove and each of which engages a respective one of the tongues 313 in a tongue-and-groove engaging manner.

[0024] Referring back to FIG. 2, one of the side walls 37 is formed with a notch 314 that is disposed adjacent to one of the tongues 313. The wall-mount hanger 2 further includes a cover-limiting insert 34 that is insertable into the notch 314 and that is engageable with an adjacent one of the protrusions 323 so as to prevent undesired removal of the cover 32 from the casing 3.

[0025] The second open end 36 of the casing 3 has two opposite stopping wall portions 51 that confine two opposite sides of the second opening 360. The stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 has a top end that is provided with two opposite stopping protrusions 52 which are spaced apart from the stopping wall portions 51 of the second open end 36 of the casing 3 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position and which abut respectively against the stopping wall portions 51 of the second open end of the casing 3 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the second position so as to prevent undesired removal of the article-hanging piece 4 from the casing 3 through the second opening 360. The stopping wall portions 51 cooperate with the stopping protrusions 52 to define a stopping mechanism 5 of the wall-mount hanger 2.

[0026] The wall-mount hanger 2 further includes a positioning unit 6 including first and second engaging members 61, 62 that are provided respectively on the casing 3 and the article-hanging piece 4 and that are magnetically engageable with each other. The first and second engaging members 61, 62 are magnetically attracted to each other when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position, and are uncoupled to each other when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the second position. Preferably, the first engaging member 61 is a magnet embedded in the base wall 31 and exposed from the inner space 33, and the second engaging member 62 is a magnetically attractive metal piece mounted on the article-hanging piece 4. Alternatively, the second engaging member 62 may be a magnet with an opposite magnetic polarity with respect to the first engaging member 61.

[0027] Referring back to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the wall-mount hanger 2 further includes an ejecting mechanism 7 that is mounted in the inner space 33 in the casing 31 and that includes a housing 71, a fixed rod 70 that is fixed in the housing 71 and that extends in the longitudinal direction (I), an abutting seat 73 that defines a recess 730 opening toward and aligned with the fixed rod 70 in the longitudinal direction (I) and movable in the longitudinal direction (I), an urging member 74 that is sleeved on the fixed rod 70 and that extends into the recess 730 to abut against the abutting seat 73, and a pushing rod 72 that is connected to the abutting seat 73 so as to be co-movable with the abutting seat 73, that extends outwardly therefrom in the longitudinal direction (I) through the housing 71, and that has a free end 721 disposed outwardly of the housing 71 and extending into the inner space 33 in the casing 3. The stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 has a top end formed with an abutting plate 412 that abuts against the free end 721 of the pushing rod 72 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position, thereby permitting ejecting movement of the article-hanging piece 4 in an ejecting direction from the first position (see FIG. 4) to the second position (see FIG. 5) when the article-hanging piece 4 is pushed to move in a direction opposite to the ejecting direction against an urging action of the urging member 74 and is subsequently released from the pushing action. In this embodiment, the housing 71 of the ejecting mechanism 7 is provided with first and second retaining members 75, 76 that are spaced apart and that are aligned with each other in the longitudinal direction (I). The abutting seat 73 is movable relative to the housing 71 in such a manner that the abutting seat 73 is arrested by the first retaining member 75 when the article-hanging piece 4 is moved to the first position, and is arrested by the second retaining member 76 during ejecting movement of the article-hanging piece 4 from the first position to the second position.

[0028] Preferably, the cover 32 is planar in shape. A decorative object 101 can be attached to the cover 32 of the wall-mount hanger 2 through an adhesive (not shown) to enhance the appearance of the wall-mount hanger 2 attached to the wall 100.

[0029] FIG. 6 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger 2 according to this invention. The second preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that the stopping mechanism 5 includes a stopping protrusion 51 that is provided on one of the base wall 31 of the casing 3 and the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 (which is the base wall 31 in this embodiment), and an elongated slot 52 that is formed in the other of the base wall 31 of the casing 3 and the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 (which is in the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 in this embodiment) The stopping protrusion 51 extends into and is movable limitedly within the elongated slot 52 so as to prevent undesired removal of the article-hanging piece 4 from the casing 3.

[0030] FIG. 7 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger 2 according to this invention. The third preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the stopping mechanism 5 includes a pair of stopping protrusions 53 that are provided on the base wall 31 of the casing 3, and a pair of elongated slots 54 that are formed in the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4. The stopping protrusions 53 extend respectively into and are movable limitedly within the elongated slots 54 so as to prevent undesired removal of the article-hanging piece 4 from the casing 31.

[0031] FIG. 8 illustrates the fourth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger 2 according to this invention. The fourth preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that, instead of forming the confining gap 327, the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 is formed with a guiding groove 413 extending in the longitudinal direction (I), and the cover 32 is provided with a guiding rail 329 that extends into the guiding groove 413 so as to permit sliding movement of the article-hanging piece 4 in the longitudinal direction (I).

[0032] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the fifth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger 2 according to this invention. The fifth preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that, instead of using the magnet and the metal piece to serve as the first and second engaging members 61, 62, respectively, the free end 721 of the pushing rod 72 is formed with a damper 61 that has a plurality of resilient claws 611. The pushing rod 72 is movable together with the abutting seat 73 relative to the housing 71 between first and second arresting positions (see FIGS. 9 and 10) such that the pushing rod 72 is disposed at the first arresting position when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position (see FIG. 9), and is disposed at the second arresting position when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the second position (see FIG. 10). The casing 3 is provided with a retaining seat 38 that is disposed in the inner space 33 in the casing 3, that defines a receiving space 380, and that has an end wall 381 formed with a restricting hole 3810 in spatial communication with the receiving space 380 such that the housing 71 of the ejecting mechanism 7 is mounted in the receiving space 380 in the retaining seat 38 in such a manner that the claws 611 are disposed in the restricting hole 3810 and are resiliently moved toward each other when the pushing rod 72 is disposed at the first arresting position, and that the claws 611 are disposed outwardly of the restricting hole 3810 and are resiliently restored to their original states when the pushing rod 72 is disposed at the second arresting position. The top end of the stem portion 41 of the article-hanging piece 4 is provided with a headed rod 62 that has a head portion 621 which is clamped resiliently by the claws 611 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the first position, and which is released from the claws 611 when the article-hanging piece 4 is disposed at the second position.

[0033] In the previous preferred embodiments, the article-hanging end portion 42 of the article-hanging piece 4 is in the form of a hook. FIG. 11 illustrates the sixth preferred embodiment of the wall-mount hanger 2 according to this invention. The sixth preferred embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the article-hanging end portion 42 of the article-hanging piece 4 is in the form of a slotted member that defines a hanging slot 420.

[0034] With the inclusion of the slidable article-hanging piece 4 and the cover 32 in the wall-mount hanger 2 of this invention, the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art can be eliminated.

[0035] While the present invention has been described in connection with what are 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.

Claims

1. A wall-mount hanger comprising: a casing adapted to be mounted on a wall, and having first and second open ends that are transverse to each other and that define respectively first and second openings, said casing defining an inner space in spatial communication with said first and second openings; an article-hanging piece connected slidably to said casing and having a stem portion that extends in a longitudinal direction through said second opening and into said inner space in said casing, and an article-hanging end portion that extends from said stem portion and that is disposed outwardly of said inner space in said casing, said article-hanging piece being slidable in said longitudinal direction relative to said casing between first and second positions; and a cover mounted on said first open end of said casing to cover said first opening and having an extension that extends outwardly from a junction of said first and second open ends of said casing so as to cooperate with said second open end to define a protrusion-hiding recess therebetween; wherein said article-hanging end portion of said article-hanging piece is disposed outwardly of said protrusion-hiding recess when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said second position, and is received and hidden in said protrusion-hiding recess when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position.

2. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing further has a base wall opposite to said first open end, said cover being provided with a pair of spaced apart confining plates that extend toward said base wall and that have free ends which are spaced apart from said base wall by a confining gap, said stem portion of said article-hanging piece being received fittingly and slidably in said confining gap.

3. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 2, wherein said casing further has two opposite side walls extending from said base wall and formed with a plurality of tongues, said cover being provided with a plurality of protrusions, each of which defines a groove and each of which engages a respective one of said tongues in a tongue-and-groove engaging manner.

4. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein one of said side walls of said casing is formed with a notch that is disposed adjacent to one of said tongues, said wall-mount hanger further comprising a cover-limiting insert that is insertable into said notch and that is engageable with an adjacent one of said protrusions so as to prevent undesired removal of said cover from said casing.

5. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second open end of said casing has two opposite stopping wall portions that confine two opposite sides of said second opening, said stem portion of said article-hanging piece having a top end that is provided with two opposite stopping protrusions which are spaced apart from said stopping wall portions of said second open end of said casing when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position and which abut respectively against said stopping wall portions of said second open end of said casing when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said second position so as to prevent undesired removal of said article-hanging piece from said casing.

6. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a positioning unit including first and second engaging members that are provided respectively on said casing and said article-hanging piece and that are magnetically engageable with each other, said first and second engaging members being magnetically attracted to each other when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position, and being uncoupled to each other when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said second position.

7. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing further has a base wall opposite to said first open end, said wall-mount hanger further comprising a stopping mechanism including a stopping protrusion that is provided on one of said base wall of said casing and said stem portion of said article-hanging piece, and an elongated slot that is formed in the other of said base wall of said casing and said stem portion of said article-hanging piece, said stopping protrusion extending into and being movably limited within said elongated slot so as to prevent undesired removal of said article-hanging piece from said casing.

8. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing further has a base wall opposite to said first open end, said wall-mount hanger further comprising a stopping mechanism including a pair of stopping protrusions that are provided on one of said base wall of said casing and said stem portion of said article-hanging piece, and a pair of elongated slots that are formed in the other of said base wall of said casing and said stem portion of said article-hanging piece, said stopping protrusions extending respectively into said elongated slots so as to prevent undesired removal of said article-hanging piece from said casing.

9. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said stem portion of said article-hanging piece is formed with a guiding groove extending in said longitudinal direction, said cover being provided with a guiding rail that extends into said guiding groove so as to permit sliding movement of said article-hanging piece in said longitudinal direction.

10. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an ejecting mechanism mounted in said inner space in said casing and including a housing, a fixed rod that is fixed in said housing and that extends in said longitudinal direction, an abutting seat that defines a recess opening toward and aligned with said fixed rod in said longitudinal direction and that is movable in said longitudinal direction, an urging member that is sleeved on said fixed rod and that extends into said recess to abut against said abutting seat, and a pushing rod that is connected to said abutting seat so as to be co-movable with said abutting seat, that extends outwardly therefrom in said longitudinal direction through said housing, and that has a free end disposed outwardly of said housing and extending into said inner space in said casing, said stem portion of said article-hanging piece having a top end that abuts against said free end of said pushing rod when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position, thereby permitting ejecting movement of said article-hanging piece in an ejecting direction from said first position to said second position when said article-hanging piece is pushed to move in a direction opposite to the ejecting direction against an urging action of said urging member and is subsequently released from the pushing action.

11. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 10, wherein said housing of said ejecting mechanism is provided with first and second retaining members that are spaced apart and that are aligned with each other in said longitudinal direction, said abutting seat being movable relative to said housing in such a manner that said abutting seat is arrested by said first retaining member when said article-ejecting piece is moved to said first position, and is arrested by said second retaining member during ejecting movement of said article-ejecting piece from said first position to said second position.

12. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 11, wherein said free end of said pushing rod is formed with a clamper that has a plurality of resilient claws, said pushing rod being movable together with said abutting seat relative to said housing between first and second arresting positions, said pushing rod being disposed at said first arresting position when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position, and being disposed at said second arresting position when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said second position, said casing being provided with a retaining seat disposed in said inner space in said casing, defining a receiving space, and having an end wall that is formed with a restricting hole in spatial communication with said receiving space, said housing of said ejecting mechanism being mounted in said receiving space in said retaining seat in such a manner that said claws are disposed in said restricting hole and are resiliently moved toward each other when said pushing rod is disposed at said first arresting position, and that said claws are disposed outwardly of said restricting hole and are resiliently restored to their original states when said pushing rod is disposed at said second arresting position, said top end of said stem portion of said article-hanging piece being provided with a headed rod that has a head portion which is clamped resiliently by said claws when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said first position, and which is released from said claws when said article-hanging piece is disposed at said second position.

13. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said article-hanging end portion of said article-hanging piece is in the form of a hook.

14. The wall-mount hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said article-hanging end portion of said article-hanging piece is in the form of a slotted member that defines a hanging slot.