The present invention relates to devices for suspending articles, and more particularly, to labels including hangers and securable to articles.
It is often necessary or desirable to hang various articles from supports for storage and convenient access. For example, IV bottles and bags often must be suspended from stands for gravitational feed of the contents of the bottles or bags. Similarly, consumers often wish to hang bottles of shampoo, soap, suspension oils and the like in their showers or elsewhere. A number of hanging devices for such purposes have been proposed, including self-adhesive labels including integral hangers. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,125 to Andel et al. Additionally, some hanger devices are mechanically secured to an article, such as in the container and retractable hanger system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,497 to Davis.
It is desirable to minimize the cost of any such hanger, particularly in the case of relatively low cost consumer products such as shampoos and the like. However, it is also desirable to provide a hanger which will reliably suspend the article. In the case of hangers consisting of an open hook, there is the risk that the hanger will become dislodged from a support through the open portion of the hook. While closed loop hangers may obviate this risk, they limit the choice of supports to those having a free end over which the hanger may be looped. Commonly, consumers have a number of items in their shower which they wish to hang, but only a few suitable supports for closed loop hangers. Notably, a support having a free end (e.g., a shower head) presents a risk that the hanger may fall off the support.
The present invention is directed to a label for suspending an article from a support. The label has a lower surface and includes an adhesive on the lower surface to secure the label to the article. The label further includes a hanger defining an opening therein and an interlock tab. The interlock tab is adapted to selectively engage the opening to interlock with the hanger to form a hanging loop including the hanger and the interlock tab.
The label may include a hanger anchoring portion having a lower surface and connected to the hanger, and an interlock tab anchoring portion having a lower surface and connected to the interlock tab. The adhesive is disposed on the lower surfaces of the hanger anchoring portion and the interlock tab anchoring portion to secure the hanger anchoring portion and the interlock tab anchoring portion to the article. Alternatively, the label may include: a base layer having an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein the first adhesive is disposed on the lower surface of the base layer; a suspension layer overlying the base layer, the hanger forming a part of the suspension layer; a hanger anchoring portion forming a part of the suspension layer and being connected to the hanger; and a second adhesive securing the hanger anchoring portion to the upper surface of the base layer.
The present invention is further directed to a suspendable assembly including an article and a label as described above. The adhesive secures the label to the article. The article may include first and second sides, the hanger being mounted on the first side and the interlock tab being mounted on the second side, whereby the hanging loop extends from the first side to the second side. Alternatively, the hanger and the interlock tab may be mounted on the same side of the article.
The present invention is further directed to a method for suspending an article from a support. A label is applied to the article. The label has a lower surface and includes an adhesive on the lower surface securing the label to the article. The label further includes a hanger defining an opening therein, and an interlock tab. The interlock tab is adapted to selectively engage the opening. The hanger is looped over the support and down to the interlock tab. The interlock tab is interlocked with the hanger to form a closed hanging loop extending about the support and to the article.
The step of applying may include: supplying a web of hanger material having the adhesive thereon; applying a portion of the web to the article such that the portion of the web is secured to the article by the adhesive; and simultaneous with or following the step of applying a portion of the web to the article, cutting through the web to form the label.
The present invention is further directed to method for forming a molded suspendable assembly. The method includes molding an article and applying and securing a label to the article during the step of molding. The label includes a hanger defining an opening therein.
The present invention is further directed to a molded suspendable assembly. The molded suspendable assembly includes a molded article and an in-mold label secured to the article. The label includes a hanger defining an opening therein.
Objects of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the Figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments which follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.