Bracket support for utility basket

• US 5,865,409 A
• Filed: 04/28/1997
• Issued: 02/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fred Nimer
• Original Assignee: Fred Nimer
• Inventors: Nimer, Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): Braun, Leslie A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Tan
• Application Number:
  US08/844,105
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 248/210, 248/238, 248/312, 248/224.41, 248/271, 248/224.43, 248/312.1, 248/313, 248/225.11, 220/570, 220/571, 220/572, 220/500, 220/752, 220/771, D 3/306, D 3/307, D 3/308, D 3/206, 206/164, 206/198, 206/199, 206/201
• US Class Current: 248/210
• CPC Class Codes: E06C 7/14 Holders for pails or other equipment on or for ladders

Abstract

A suspending system for supporting one or more brackets from a utility basket includes a pair of conventional, vertically-aligned keyhole slots in a side wall of the basket, but further utilizes a slot in an adjacent horizontal lip of the basket to add rigidity to the basket as well as support for the bracket after installation. The use of the keyhole slots enables a bracket to be installed or removed quickly if desired, without requiring tools for the installation or removal.

Claims

1. In a molded utility basket having an open top, a generally rectangular bottom wall, pairs of opposed side and end walls extending to essentially the same height vertically upwardly from outer edges of said bottom wall and a horizontal outwardly-directed lip surrounding said open top at the upper edges of said side and end walls, at least one manually-attachable and detachable bracket having a narrow, relatively thin, vertical straight elongated portion mounted to an outer vertical wall of said basket for suspending an object from the bracket, and an improved mounting for said bracket comprising;

a pair of spaced attaching buttons extending perpendicularly from one side of said bracket elongated portion, each button having a head on its distal end and a necked-down portion affixing said head to said bracket, which necked-down portion is of a length corresponding to the thickness of the basket walls to which said bracket is to be mounted;

a pair of vertically-aligned spaced keyhole slots in at least one of said walls, each said keyhole slot comprising an upper hole to accommodate passageway therethrough of a head of one of said attaching buttons and a narrow vertically-depending slot the width of said necked-down portion of said attaching button;

a hole in said lip vertically aligned with said keyhole slots, said hole having a shape and size generally corresponding to the cross-sectional shape and dimensions of of the elongated portion of said bracket;

said bracket having a distal portion of a length relative to an upper one of said attaching buttons whereby, during assembly of said bracket to one of said walls, said bracket distal portion enters said hole angularly relative to said wall from below into and upwardly beyond said lip hole until said heads align with said upper holes of said keyhole slots, said bracket is then pressed against said wall to pass said heads through said upper holes, and then slid downwardly to cause the necked-down portions to contact the bottoms of said vertically-depending slots; and

said bracket distal portion remaining within said lip hole when said attaching buttons have reached the lower end of their travel.

2. The bracket according to claim 1 wherein the end of said bracket distal portion is generally cooplanar with the upper surface of said lip when said bracket is assembled to said lip.

3. The bracket according to claim 1 wherein a pair of said brackets are provided, said brackets being generally U-shaped, mounted at the same horizontal level and spaced apart along one side wall of said basket for supporting an elongated object horizontally between the pair of brackets.

4. The bracket according to claim 3 wherein at least one additional pair of corresponding keyhole slots and lip hole is provided in an end wall, enabling one of said brackets to be selectively removed from the side wall and installed in said additional pair of keyhole slots.