U.S. patent application number 11/508640 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-13 for anchored hanger rod for vehicle cabins.
This patent application is currently assigned to Volvo Trucks North America. Invention is credited to Alan James Kenny, Gregory Gene Riker, Gareth Howard Spensley.
Application Number | 20080061203 11/508640 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39107403 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080061203 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Riker; Gregory Gene ; et
al. |
March 13, 2008 |
Anchored hanger rod for vehicle cabins
Abstract
An anchored clothes hanger rod for a truck sleeper cab,
recreational vehicle or the like includes a rod supported by
brackets, the rod having an axial cavity, and a tether disposed in
the cavity and extending from opposite ends of the rod. The tether
is secured to the rod brackets or supporting structure in the
vehicle to prevent separation of the rod from the rod brackets.
Inventors: |
Riker; Gregory Gene; (High
Point, NC) ; Spensley; Gareth Howard; (Jamestown,
NC) ; Kenny; Alan James; (High Point, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Volvo Corporate Patents
Mail Stop AP1-3/41, 7825 National Service Road
Greensboro
NC
27409
US
|
Assignee: |
Volvo Trucks North America
|
Family ID: |
39107403 |
Appl. No.: |
11/508640 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/251 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 7/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/251 |
International
Class: |
A47H 1/14 20060101
A47H001/14 |
Claims
1. An anchored hanger rod system, comprising: rod brackets
mountable in spaced relationship for supporting the hanger rod; a
hanger rod supported by the rod brackets and having an elongated,
axially extending cavity; a tether disposed in the axially
extending cavity in the hanger rod and having free ends extending
from the opposite ends of the hanger rod; and, means for securing
the free ends to a supporting structure.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each free end has a loop formed
therein and wherein each rod bracket includes an element around
which a loop is engageable.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the rod brackets each comprise a
mounting bracket for supporting a shelf, and wherein the loop
encircles the mounting bracket.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein each rod bracket includes a
projection around which the loop is engageable.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for securing the free
ends comprises clamps fastenable to a supporting structure which
clamp the tether.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the tether is a cable.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the tether is a strap.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said means for securing the free
ends of the tether comprises a headed fastener inserted through a
hole in the tether and fastenable a supporting structure.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said means for securing the free
ends comprises means for securing the free ends to the rod brackets
and means for securing the free ends to a supporting structure to
which the rod brackets are mounted.
10. An anchored hanger rod apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a
pair of rod brackets mounted to a surface of the cab in spaced
relationship, the rod brackets having engaging structure for
supporting a hanger rod; a hanger rod engaged with the rod brackets
and extending therebetween, the hanger rod having an axially
extending cavity forming openings at opposite ends of the hanger
rod; and, a tether disposed in the axially extending cavity of the
hanger rod, opposite ends of the tether extending from the openings
in the ends of the hanger rod and being secured to the respective
rod bracket.
11. The anchored hanger rod apparatus of claim 10, wherein each rod
bracket includes a mounting bracket for supporting a shelf, the
tether including a loop engaged around the mounting bracket.
12. The anchored hanger rod apparatus of claim 10, wherein each rod
bracket includes a protuberance and the tether including looped
ends for engaging the respective protuberances.
13. The anchored hanger rod apparatus of claim 10, wherein the
opposite ends of the tether are clamped to the respective rod
bracket.
14. The anchored hanger rod apparatus of claim 10, wherein the
tether is a cable.
15. The anchored hanger rod apparatus of claim 10, wherein the
tether is a strap.
Description
[0001] The present invention is directed to a hanger rod apparatus
for clothing or other items intended for use in a vehicle cabin
such as a truck sleeper cab. More specifically, the invention is
directed to a device for anchoring a hanger rod to a hanger bracket
to prevent separation of the rod from the bracket.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In certain situations, clothes hanger rods in vehicle
cabins, such as truck sleeper cabs and recreational vehicles, for
example, may be subject to forces that could dislodge the rod from
the supporting brackets. Abrupt decelerations and collisions are
events that can produce forces sufficient to cause the rod to
become separated from the bracket. The rod and the items hanging on
the rod could be thrown in the cabin, presenting a hazard to the
driver and other occupants.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention presents a solution with an apparatus
including a means for anchoring the rod to the bracket.
[0004] According to the invention, a hanger rod is anchored to rod
bracket and/or a mounting surface by a tether disposed in an
elongated cavity in the hanger rod. Ends of the tether extend from
the hanger rod and are fastened to the rod bracket, a mounting
surface such as a wall or cabinet panel, or to both.
[0005] The tether may be a cable made of steel or another suitable
material, wire rope, a webbing strap, a braided wire belt or strap,
a chain, or a similar elongated element having sufficient tensile
strength to anchor the rod.
[0006] The ends of the tether are fastened by any convenient
method, including forming a loop in the ends of the tether and
securing the loop to the bracket by an interposed part of the
bracket or supporting surface. For example, a protuberance, such as
a post or post-like structure around which the loop may be placed,
may be provided in the bracket or supporting surface.
[0007] Alternatively, the tether may be clamped to the bracket or
supporting surface. According to yet another alternative, mounting
hardware may be provided on the ends of the tether for fastening
the ends to the bracket or supporting surface.
[0008] According to a preferred embodiment, the bracket is mounted
to a horizontal panel in the vehicle that defines a lower surface
of a cabinet enclosure. The tether extends through a hole in the
panel and a loop in the end of the tether is engaged around a leg
structure that supports a shelf in the cabinet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The invention will be better understood by reference to the
following detailed description in conjunction with the appended
drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a section view of an embodiment of a hanger rod
system in accordance with the invention; and
[0011] FIG. 2 is an end view of a rod bracket for the system of
FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] FIG. 1 shows a frontal view in section of a preferred
embodiment of an anchored hanger rod system in accordance with the
invention. The drawing is not to scale and is simplified for easier
comprehension.
[0013] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a hanger rod 20 is supported by a
pair of rod brackets 30. The rod brackets 30 are mounted to a
surface 5 of a vehicle cabin, in the illustrated embodiment, the
surface 5 is the bottom wall of a storage cabinet and the rod
brackets 30 depend downwardly. Alternatively, the rod brackets 30
may be mounted to a vertical surface or vertical surfaces and
depend horizontally. Of course, the rod brackets on a vertical
surface would have sufficient length to space the rod far enough
from the vertical surface to allow for hanging clothing or other
items.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows an end view of a rod bracket 30 according to a
preferred embodiment. The rod bracket 30 is mounted to the surface
5 by threaded fasteners 40 that pass through the surface 5 from an
opposite side and fasten to threaded holes formed or provided in
the rod bracket. A shelf mounting bracket 50 is fastened by the
fasteners 40 to the surface 5, and forms a unit with the rod
bracket 30. A shelf 10 is supported by the shelf mounting bracket
50 and is secured to the mounting bracket by a rivet 12.
[0015] The rod bracket 30 includes a circular wall portion defining
a recess 32 in which a free end of the rod 20 may be inserted and
thus engaged with the bracket. As shown in FIG. 1, the opposite
ends 22 of the rod 20 are received in the recess 32 in each bracket
30 to suspend the rod by the brackets.
[0016] According to the invention, the rod 20 defines an axially
extending cavity 26. In its simplest form, the rod 20 comprises a
steel tube. A tether 60 is disposed in the cavity 24 and free ends
62, 64 of the tether 60 extend from the opposite ends 22, 24 of the
rod 20 and are secured to a supporting structure in the cabin.
[0017] In the illustrated embodiment, the free ends 62, 64 of the
tether 60 extend from holes 26 formed in the rod 20 at the ends 22,
24. Alternatively, the free ends 62, 64 of the tether could extend
from the open end of the rod through a hole 36 formed in the
portion of the rod bracket 30 defining the recess 32.
[0018] The free ends 62, 64 of the tether 60 are secured to
supporting structure to anchor the rod 20 and prevent its
separation from the rod brackets 30. In the illustrated embodiment,
the free ends 62, 64 pass through holes 7 in the surface 5 and are
secured to the mounting brackets 50. As shown, the free ends 62, 64
are formed as loops, and encircle the mounting brackets 50.
[0019] Alternatively, a stud or other projection could be mounted
to the surface 5 on the side opposite the rod brackets 30 to engage
the loop. According to another alternative, the free ends 62, 64 of
the tether 60 could looped through holes 34 formed in the rod
bracket 30, shown in FIG. 2, and closed in a loop, thus being
secured to the rod bracket.
[0020] According to another alternative, the free ends 62, 64 could
be clamped or bolted to the rod bracket 30, as shown by the clamp
70 in FIG. 1, to the surface 5, or to another structure. According
to yet another alternative, the free ends 62, 64 of the tether 20
could extend through the hole 36 in the wall in the rod bracket
recess 32 and be secured to rod bracket.
[0021] The tether may be secured to both the rod bracket 30 and the
cab surface 5, which would anchor both the rod 20 and rod brackets
30 to the cab surface. According to one embodiment, illustrated in
FIG. 1, a clamp 70 secures the tether to the rod bracket 30 and the
tether is also looped around the shelf support bracket 50.
[0022] The tether 60 may be formed as a cable, wire rope, a webbing
material strap, a braided wire belt or strap, a chain, or a similar
elongated element having sufficient tensile strength to anchor the
rod. If a strap is used, the tether could be secured to a
supporting structure by providing a hole in the tether and using a
fastener to secure the tether to the structure.
[0023] The invention has been described in terms of preferred
structure, principles and embodiments. Those skilled in the art
will understand that variations and substitutions can be made in
practicing the invention without departing from the scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *