Adjustable Hanger Mechanism for Four-Way Wall Repositioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hangers face challenges in achieving desired orientations when attached to a supporting surface with immovable fasteners or hidden support members, requiring users to remove and reattach them for adjustments, which is cumbersome and difficult.
Innovation Solution
A hanger system with a horizontal and vertical bar arrangement that allows four-way adjustability after initial attachment, enabling users to adjust the orientation of supported objects without reattaching, using sliding mechanisms and engagement elements to secure the position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hanger attaches to the supporting surface with a fastener in a relatively immovable manner, then the attachment is secure and stable, but the re-positioning of the hanger is thwarted unless a user undertakes the arduous task of removing and re-attaching the fastener
Solution Approach 1:
The hanger incorporates a movable carriage that can slide along a vertical bar while maintaining attachment to the supporting surface. The carriage includes engagement elements that can selectively engage with the vertical bar to secure the hanger at desired positions, transforming the static attachment into a dynamic, adjustable system.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanger is divided into separate functional components: a horizontal bar for mounting to the supporting surface, a vertical bar for providing adjustment range, and a carriage for positioning the supported object. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's function while maintaining overall system flexibility.
2Reliability
If the hanger attaches to a wire or other support member of the supported object, particularly if either is hidden from view, then the supported object can be securely held, but a user may have difficulty predicting the influence or variability associated with the wire and/or the additional influence or variability associated with the hidden support member
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical bar acts as an intermediary element between the horizontal bar and the supported object's wire. It provides a visible, controllable reference that mediates the relationship between the hidden wire and the user, allowing prediction and control of the system's behavior without exposing the wire itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the vertical bar visible and trackable, creating a visual reference that allows users to observe and predict the system's behavior. This visibility compensates for the hidden nature of the wire and support members, enabling users to understand the influence and variability of the attachment system.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional hangers use immovable fasteners for attachment, then the initial placement is fixed, but achieving the desired orientation requires removing and re-attaching the fastener to another portion of the supporting element
Solution Approach 1:
The carriage is designed to slide smoothly along the vertical bar and can be positioned at various heights, then secured in place. This dynamic positioning system allows rapid adjustment without the time-consuming process of removing and re-attaching fasteners, while maintaining secure attachment at the desired position.
Solution Approach 2:
The horizontal bar is pre-mounted to the supporting surface with the vertical bar attached, creating a ready-to-use framework. The carriage can then be quickly positioned and secured at the desired location without requiring removal of the pre-mounted components, saving adjustment time while maintaining placement accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A hanger, support and other component or system capable of supporting one or more objects is contemplated. The hanger may be configured to provide four-way adjustability sufficient to facilitate adjustably supporting objects after being affixed to a supporting surface and/or to facilitate adjustably supporting objects having a wire or other support member hidden from view or otherwise difficult to orientate relative to a support surface. The hanger may be configured to enable four-way re-positioning in an up, down, left or right direction, optionally while the one or more objects are supported thereon, without requiring removal or manipulation of fasteners anchoring it to a support.