U.S. patent application number 12/485181 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-08 for modular hook strip.
Invention is credited to Yung-Tsai LAI.
Application Number | 20100084530 12/485181 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42075032 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100084530 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LAI; Yung-Tsai |
April 8, 2010 |
MODULAR HOOK STRIP
Abstract
A modular hook strip includes a strip and a plurality of hooks.
The strip is adapted to be mounted on a support, and has a top edge
and a plurality of grooves that are indented from the top edge.
Each of the hooks has a main body that has a back side confronting
the strip, and a front side opposite to the back side, a first hook
element that extends from the front side of the main body, and a
first engaging element that projects from the back side of the main
body and that detachably engages a respective one of the
grooves.
Inventors: |
LAI; Yung-Tsai; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LADAS & PARRY LLP
224 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE, SUITE 1600
CHICAGO
IL
60604
US
|
Family ID: |
42075032 |
Appl. No.: |
12/485181 |
Filed: |
June 16, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/304 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 25/0678 20130101;
A47B 96/067 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/304 |
International
Class: |
A47B 96/06 20060101
A47B096/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 3, 2008 |
TW |
097217743 |
Claims
1. A modular hook strip comprising: a strip adapted to be mounted
on a support, and having a top edge and a plurality of grooves that
are indented from said top edge; and a plurality of hooks, each of
which has a main body that has a back side confronting said strip,
and a front side opposite to said back side, a first hook element
that extends from said front side of said main body, and a first
engaging element that projects from said back side of said main
body and that detachably engages a respective one of said
grooves.
2. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first
engaging element of each of said hooks projects rearwardly from
said back side of said main body into the respective one of said
grooves, and thereafter extends curvedly and downwardly behind said
strip.
3. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of
said hooks further has a second engaging element that projects from
said back side of said main body below said first engaging element
and that engages said strip.
4. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 3, wherein said strip
further has a bottom wall that extends in a first direction, a top
wall that extends in the first direction above said bottom wall and
that is offset from said bottom wall, and a shoulder that extends
forwardly from said bottom wall to said top wall so as to
interconnect said top and bottom walls.
5. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 4, wherein said
second engaging element of each of said hooks projects rearwardly
from said back side of said main body and inclines upwardly to
engage said shoulder.
6. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 3, wherein said strip
further has a plurality of positioning holes, said second engaging
element of each of said hooks being retained in a respective one of
said positioning holes.
7. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 6, wherein said
second engaging element of each of said hooks has a positioning
neck portion, and an enlarged head that is formed on one end of
said positioning neck portion, said positioning hole having a large
hole section that permits said enlarged head to extend
therethrough, and a small hole section that is connected to said
large hole section and that retains said positioning neck portion
therein.
8. The modular hook strip as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of
said hooks further has a second hook element that extends from said
front side of said main body above said first hook element.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese application
no. 097217743, filed on Oct. 3, 2008.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to a hook strip, more particularly to
a modular hook strip that includes detachable hooks.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional hook strip 1 includes a
strip 11 and three hooks 12. The strip 11 has two opposite ends and
two first screw holes 111 that are respectively formed on the two
opposite ends. Each of the hooks 12 has a second screw hole 121
that is formed therein. When the hook strip 1 is assembled, three
of five screws 2 are respectively inserted into the second screw
holes 121 of the hooks 12 so as to fixedly attach the hooks 12 to
the strip 11. When the assembled hook strip 1 is installed, the
remaining two of the five screws 2 are respectively inserted into
the first screw holes 111 in order to fixedly mount the strip 11 on
a support such as a jewelry cabinet, a kitchen cabinet, or an
indoor wall.
[0006] However, the hook strip 1 has the following drawbacks.
Assembly of the hook strip 1 is complicated since the screws 2 are
required to fix the hooks 12 to the strip 11, and to fix the strip
11 on the support, thereby leading to inconvenience of using the
hook strip 1.
[0007] To facilitate the use of the hook strip 1, if the hooks 12
are fixed to the strip 11 by manufacturers during production of the
hook strip 1, and the assembled hook strip 1 is subsequently
packaged, transported, and supplied in the market, since the
assembled hook strip 1 is bulky and may take up more space upon
transport, the transport cost for the hook strip 1 may be
increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a modular hook strip that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of
the prior art.
[0009] According to this invention, a modular hook strip includes a
strip and a plurality of hooks. The strip is adapted to be mounted
on a support, and has a top edge and a plurality of grooves that
are indented from the top edge. Each of the hooks has a main body
that has a back side confronting the strip, and a front side
opposite to the back side, a first hook element that extends from
the front side of the main body, and a first engaging element that
projects from the back side of the main body and that detachably
engages a respective one of the grooves.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional hook
strip;
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first
preferred embodiment of a modular hook strip according to this
invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first preferred
embodiment in an assembled state;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a side view of the first preferred embodiment
illustrating a second engaging element of a hook before its
engagement with a shoulder of a strip;
[0015] FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 4 but illustrating the
second engaging element of the hook after its engagement with the
shoulder of the strip;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second preferred
embodiment of the modular hook strip according to this
invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a partly sectional schematic side view
illustrating that an enlarged head of the second engaging element
is passed through a large hole section of a positioning hole
according to the second preferred embodiment; and
[0018] FIG. 8 is the same view as FIG. 7 but illustrating that a
positioning neck portion of the second engaging element is retained
in a small hole section of the positioning hole according to the
second preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first preferred embodiment
of a modular hook strip 3 according to the present invention is
adapted to hang jewelry (not shown), and includes a strip 31 and a
plurality of hooks 32.
[0020] The strip 31 is adapted to be mounted on a support, and has
a top edge 30 and a plurality of grooves 314 that are indented from
the top edge 30. In this embodiment, the strip 31 further has a
bottom wall 311 that extends in a first direction, a top wall 312
that extends in the first direction above the bottom wall 311 and
that is offset from the bottom wall 311, and a shoulder 313 that
extends forwardly from the bottom wall 311 to the top wall 312 so
as to interconnect the bottom and top walls 311, 312. The top wall
312 has the top edge 30 and the grooves 314.
[0021] Each of the hooks 32 has a main body 321 that has a back
side confronting the strip 31, and a front side opposite to the
back side, a first hook element 322 that is adapted to hang the
jewelry and that extends from the front side of the main body 321,
and a first engaging element 324 that projects from the back side
of the main body 321 and that detachably engages a respective one
of the grooves 314. Preferably, the first engaging element 324 of
each of the hooks 32 projects rearwardly from the back side of the
main body 321 into the respective one of the grooves 314, and
thereafter extends curvedly and downwardly behind the strip 31
(best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5).
[0022] In this embodiment, each of the hooks 32 further has a
second hook element 323 that is adapted to hang the jewelry as
well, and that extends from the front side of the main body 321
above the first hook element 322, and a second engaging element 325
that projects from the back side of the main body 321 below the
first engaging element 324 and that engages the strip 31.
Particularly, the second engaging element 325 of each of the hooks
32 projects rearwardly from the back side of the main body 321 and
inclines upwardly to engage a bottom face of the shoulder 313 (best
shown in FIG. 5).
[0023] Assembly and installation of the modular hook strip 3 are
described as follows. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the first
engaging element 324 is inserted into the respective groove 314 so
as to engage the same. Afterward, the second engaging element 325
is moved in a direction of arrow (A) in FIG. 4. Referring to FIGS.
3 and 5, the second engaging element 325 engages the shoulder 313.
Therefore, each of the hooks 32 is securely attached to the strip
31. Through a plurality of screws (not shown) or other methods, the
strip 31 can be firmly mounted on a surface of a support, such as a
jewelry cabinet, a kitchen cabinet, or an indoor wall, thereby
accomplishing installation of the assembled modular hook strip 3.
The jewelry can be hung by virtue of the modular hook strip 3.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 6, the second preferred embodiment of the
modular hook strip 3 according to the present invention is similar
to the first preferred embodiment except that the strip 31 further
has a plurality of positioning holes 315, and that the second
engaging element 326 of each of the hooks 32 is retained in a
respective one of the positioning holes 315. Specifically, the
positioning holes 315 are provided in the top wall 312.
[0025] In this embodiment, the second engaging element 326 of each
of the hooks 32 has a positioning neck portion 327 and an enlarged
head 328 that is formed on one end of the positioning neck portion
327. Each of the positioning holes 315 has a large hole section 316
that permits the enlarged head 328 to extend therethrough, and a
small hole section 317 that is connected to the large hole section
316 and that retains the positioning neck portion 327 therein.
[0026] In assembly, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the first engaging
element 324 is inserted partially into the respective groove 314,
and the enlarged head 328 of the second engaging element 326 is
passed through the large hole section 316 of the respective
positioning hole 315. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8, when the first
and second engaging elements 324, 326 are pressed downwardly, the
first engaging element 324 engages the respective groove 314, and
the positioning neck portion 327 of the second engaging element 326
is retained in the small hole section 317 of the respective
positioning hole 315. Consequently, each of the hooks 32 is
securely attached to the strip 31.
[0027] In view of the aforesaid, the modular hook strip 3 can be
conveniently assembled. Furthermore, the hooks 32 and the strip 31
can be separated for packaging and shipping, thereby efficiently
reducing total packaging volume. Compared to the conventional hook
strip 1, an increased amount of the modular hook strips 3 can be
packaged in one packaging box, and the transport cost of the
modular hook strip 3 can thus be reduced.
[0028] 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 and equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *