MOLDED FLEXIBLE HANGER WITH WIRE INSERT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to hangers for relatively lightweight objects and decorative items for household, commercial, industrial or institutional use, and more particularly, to lightweight objects and items having bodies made of molded plastic or metal to which the hanger can be attached by a screw, rivet or other similar fastener. The hangers are easily bent to facilitate attachment to many different articles and structures, but are sufficiently resistant to bending that they can support the weight of lightweight objects without disengaging from a support member.

2. Description of Related Art Many hangers for relatively lightweight objects and decorative items are well known. Such hangers include, for example, picture hangers, ornament hangers, tool and utensil hangers, over-the-door hangers, and the like. Many conventional hangers are made of metal or molded plastic. Many are two part hangers, with an eye, loop, bracket, or the like attached to one object that releasably engages a hook member attached to another object or support surface. Some hangers, such as holiday ornament hangers, are made of lightweight wire or resilient plastic and are adapted to be hooked through a loop on an ornament and also hook over a branch of a tree or shrub.

At least three difficulties are frequently encountered in the use of conventional hangers. One difficulty is that at least one, and sometimes two, parts of the hanger must be permanently attached to a wall surface or other object. This can permanently mar a support surface when the hanger is later removed. Another difficulty is that hangers having parts which are loose when not in use are often lost prior to the next use. A third difficulty is that many hangers can only be attached to structures of a certain type or size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A hanger useful for supporting lightweight objects and decorative items from a support member is disclosed herein, the hanger comprising an elongated, bendable wire that is sufficiently stiff to hold its shape when bent, and with the supported object suspended from it; a generally cylindrical, flexible, polymeric outside layer formed around the wire; and an attachment block formed integrally with the outside layer. The attachment block is preferably used to attach the hanger during manufacture to an object or decorative item that is to be supported by the hanger. Most preferably, the attachment block further comprises an aperture through which a screw, rivet or similar fastener is inserted for attachment to the body of the supported object or item. Alternatively, where the body of the supported object or item comprises mating, interconnected parts, the attachment block can be nested in a suitably sized recess within the body and held in place by the mating, interconnected parts. A round knob is desirably formed at the free end of the hanger to assist in securing the hanger to a support member and to reduce slippage.

According to one particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the internal wire is bent back against itself inside the round knob to help prevent the wire from poking through the polymeric outer layer during use.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the internal wire extends into and around an aperture in the attachment block to provide a more secure anchor that is not dependent only upon the tensile strength of the polymeric material used to form the outer layer. The free end of the subject hanger can be attached to the supporting object in many different ways such as, for example, by hooking it over a support member, or by wrapping it around a support member, or by wrapping it over a support member and back around itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The apparatus of the invention is further described and explained in relation to the following figures of the drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the hanger of the invention, showing the hanger as installed in part of the body of an object to be supported by the hanger, with a dashed line depicting the hanger as it can be folded over into a"hook"configuration ; FIG. 2 is an enlarged, front perspective view of the hanger as in FIG.

1, with the free end shown in cross-section, and with the attachment screw shown in coaxial alignment with the aperture in the attachment block prior to its attachment to the object; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

2; and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional elevation view as in FIG. 3, but illustrating the embodiment of the invention wherein the internal wire does not extend into the attachment block and loop around the aperture.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, hanger 10 of the invention preferably comprises an elongate, flexible section 12 having a free end 14 and a fixed end comprising an attachment block 16 that is secured to an object 20 that is supported by hanger 10. Dashed lines 22 depict a portion of elongate, flexible section 12 of hanger 10 bent over a supporting object 40, from which supported object 20 is suspended by hanger 10. Flexible section 12 is preferably manually bendable by a user into various configurations, depending upon the geometry of supporting object 40, and yet is desirably stiff enough to hold the bent shape and resist straightening, thereby preventing detachment, while suspending supported object 20 from supporting object 40.

Although supporting object 40 is depicted in FIG. 1 as having a circular outline or cross-section such as that of a cylindrical rod to which hanger 10 is attached, it will be appreciated that supporting object 40 can be virtually any object or structural member having sufficient strength and rigidity to support the weight of supported object 20. Thus, for example, supporting object 40 can be a knob, frame member, brace, hook, eye, rail, tree or shrub limb, or anything else about which elongated, flexible section 12 can be hooked, wrapped or twisted. Free end 14 preferably comprises an enlarged cross-section compared to that of elongate, flexible section 12 to help reduce slippage or disengagement between hanger 10 and supporting object 40.

Depending upon the strength and configuration of supporting object 40, upon the weight and configuration of supported object 20, and upon the length and flexibility of elongate, flexible section 12, hanger 10 can be hooked over supporting object 40 as shown in FIG. 1, or can be wrapped repeatedly around a supporting object, or can be wrapped around a supporting object and then twisted back around itself.

The length and thickness of elongated, flexible section 12 of hanger 10 can vary within the scope of the invention according to the length and strength required for the anticipated use. Preferred uses for hanger 10

include, for example, use with supported objects 20 that are relatively lightweight, such as decorative items, hand tools, small appliances, and the like. Most preferably, supported objects 20 have molded plastic bodies or lightweight metal bodies to which attachment block 16 can be secured.

Referring to the preferred embodiment as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, attachment block 16 of hanger 10 is secured to a boss in supported object 20 by screw 18. It will be appreciated, however, that attachment block 16 can likewise be secured to supported object 20 by other similarly effective, conventional fastening means or, for example, by trapping attachment block 16 between parts of supported object 20 as might occur if supported object 20 comprises mating, engageable body parts that are themselves secured by fasteners, adhesives, or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, hanger 10 preferably comprises elongate wire 26 surrounded by a polymeric layer 32 that preferably constitutes the external surface of flexible section 12, enlarged free end 14 and attachment block 16. Polymeric layer 32 preferably comprises a flexible, durable polymer, copolymer or terpolymer that is unitarily molded around or coated onto wire 26, and can comprise an elastomeric polymer, as shown surrounding wire 38 in FIG. 4. Preferred polymers for use as polymeric layer 32 are polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane. Wire 26 preferably further comprises a tightly bent or recurved section 28 disposed inside free end 14.

Bending wire 26 inside free end 14 achieves the advantages of enlarging the free end to a cross-sectional area greater than that of section 12 and also reducing the likelihood that wire 26 will poke through polymeric layer 32 at free end 14 during repeated use. The preferred thickness of polymeric layer 32 can vary, depending upon factors such as the particular polymer, the type and gauge of wire, the weight of supported object 20, and the like.

The end of wire 26 that is opposite free end 14 of hanger 10 can extend into attachment block 16 and around aperture 24, as shown by curved end 30 in FIGS. 2 and 3, or can terminate in or closely adjacent to the attachment block, as with wire 38 in relation to attachment block 34 having

aperture 36 as shown in FIG. 4. Where wire 26 wraps around aperture 24 inside attachment block 16, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, elongate flexible section 12 is less likely to tear away from attachment block 16 under a heavy load or following repeated use. Hangers 10 with wire 38 terminating short of aperture 36, as shown in FIG. 4, are less expensive to make and can often be used satisfactorily with lighter supported objects. Although hangers 10 can be made in different ways, a preferred method is by inserting one of wires 26,38 into a mold cavity having the shape and dimensions of hanger 10, as shown in FIG. 2, and thereafter injecting polymeric material into the mold to form a hanger 10 with a polymeric layer 32 surrounding the wire.

Although not required, apertures 24,36 in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, facilitate the use of fasteners such as screw 18, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for securing the attachment block to the supported object. It will be appreciated upon reading this disclosure that shapes other than those depicted for free end 14 and attachment block 16 can also be used within the scope of the invention, subject to the other considerations stated herein.

Other alterations and modifications of the invention will likewise become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present disclosure, and it is intended that the scope of the invention disclosed herein be limited only by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims to which the inventors are legally entitled.