DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] It has been discovered that the bond strength between an adhesive and a surface can be increased by rubbing an eraser, such as a rubber or soap eraser, on or against the bonding region of the surface prior to applying the adhesive. An example of eraser is a conventional pencil eraser, although other rubber or soap erasers may be used. The bonding or adhesion of the adhesive to the rubbed surface or an object that is being attached by the adhesive to the rubbed surface is noticeably enhanced, e.g., the strength of adherence is greater, as compared to adherence to an unrubbed surface.

[0021] The rubbing action of the eraser appears to remove at least some of the film which may cover the surface, thus providing an improved bonding region between the adhesive and the surface. The film may arise on the surface due to various contaminants, such dirt, dust, oil, air contaminants, smoke, grease, finger prints, etc. Film is removed from the surface by rubbing the eraser approximately six to eight times (or more or less, as needed) across the intended bonding region of the surface. The rubbing action by the eraser may cause an abrading of the surface. After rubbing the surface, the eraser dust is wiped away with a clean cloth or by hand.

[0022] Tests have shown that using the invention, e.g., rubbing the surface with an eraser six to eight times prior to applying the adhesive, results in a better bond, e.g., stronger adhesion, than cleaning the surface with alcohol prior to applying the adhesive.

[0023] Using the invention, the rubbed surface may be wood, metal, plastic, glass, etc., and may be painted, stained, varnished, waxed or not; relatively improved strength of adherence to the surface appears to apply to all of these materials and conditions.

[0024] Exemplary bonding material is adhesive tape, foam tape, rubber based foam tape, etc.; usually such tape has adhesive on both surfaces or sides of the tape. The tape is placed between the object to be attached to a surface and the surface itself. Non-limiting examples of tape are Avery 2116 or Kapco 4016. Direct application of adhesive also may be used between the surface and the object to be attached to the surface.

[0025] Various tape bases and adhesives may be used, such as rubber based adhesive or acrylics.

[0026] As one example of practicing the invention, double sided tape (tape with adhesive available at both sides or surfaces thereof), e.g., Avery 2016 or Kapco 4016, was applied to the surface of an object intended to be adhered to a wall of a room. An eraser was rubbed six or eight times against the area of the wall surface where attachment was to occur. Eraser dust was wiped away. The object and tape were pressed against the wall surface to adhere the object to the surface.

[0027] If desired, the surface of the object to which the tape was first applied also could be rubbed with an eraser and wiped clean before applying the tape to the object. Also, if desired, the tape could be applied first to the wall and then the object could be pressed against the tape to adhere the object to the wall.

[0028] The method of the invention may be used to attach a storage rack to a wall of a room, to a surface of furniture, etc. An example of a storage rack with which the invention may be used is shown in FIGS. 1-3 and 5 of the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of a storage rack 21 for storing small articles. It will be appreciated that the invention may be used for attaching other devices to various surfaces.

[0029] As is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rack 21 may be used for the storage of a variety of small articles of varying sizes, shapes and descriptions. Specifically, for purposes of illustration and not by way of limitation, a pencil 23 and a computer disk 25 are shown supported on the rack. It should be understood and appreciated that other articles such as measuring tapes, chalk, putty knives, erasers, paint brushes, cassettes, wire, cords, etc., may also be stored in such a rack.

[0030] The rack 21 includes a housing 29 which is elongated and is formed with a rear wall 31 which is adapted to be positioned adjacent a supporting surface such as a wall, partition, etc. The elongated housing 29 is also formed with top and bottom walls 33 and 35, respectively and a front wall 37. End walls 39 join the rear, top, bottom and front walls to complete the housing 29. The end walls extend well forwardly of the front wall 37 as can be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings to provide lateral support for the retainer loops which will be hereinafter described. An elongated opening 43 is formed in the front wall 37 and extends substantially the length of the housing 29. This opening is defined by inwardly bent portions 45 of the front wall which extend parallel to the top and bottom walls 33 and 35 respectively to effectively form hooks. The storage rack housing 29 may be formed of any suitable material such as metal or plastic although plastic is preferred because of its light weight, low cost and ease of forming.

[0031] The storage rack 21 further includes a multiplicity of retainer loops 51. Each retainer loop 51 is formed of a strip of a tough, resilient, abrasive-resistant resin, preferably a polyester resin or laminate. The preferred construction for each retainer loop is two layers of oriented polyethylene terephthalate laminated with a central layer of polyethylene, the same basic construction as is used in commercial identification cards and similar articles.

[0032] Each retainer loop 51 is formed with a bight portion 53 joining a pair of legs 55 and 57. A pair of L-shaped notches 61 are formed near the distal end of each leg 55,57, with the base leg of each L-shaped notch extending towards the distal end of its leg. The notches may be formed by stamping, cutting or in any conventional manner suitable for forming a notch in a laminate strip of plastic. The notches are complementary in shape to the inwardly extending portions 45 of the front wall 37 of the housing 29 being only slightly larger so as to be tightly received by the hook portions of the front wall as can be most clearly seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

[0033] The retainer loops 51 may be installed on the elongated housing 29 before the end walls 39 are installed on the housing. Additionally, to facilitate the ease of installation of retainer loops, a retainer loop insertion slot 65 is formed in the front wall 37 of the housing 29 and extends through the inwardly extending portions 45 thereof as is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

[0034] Circular passages 67 are formed in the rear wall 31 of the storage rack housing 29 near opposite ends thereof to receive the heads 69 of suction cups 71 to support the storage rack on a wall or other support surface. The circular passages 67 may also be used to receive nails or screws to fasten the storage rack to a supporting surface or a double sided adhesive tape may also be used.

[0035] FIGS. 4 and 6 of the drawings show another embodiment of the invention incorporated into a storage rack 81 which is similar to storage rack 21 and includes an elongated housing 83 having a rear wall 91, top wall 93, bottom wall 95, a front wall 97 and end walls 99. An elongated opening 103 is formed in the front wall 97 and extends substantially the length of the housing 83. This elongated opening is defined by inwardly extending portions 105 of the front wall 97 which are reversely curved as can be seen most clearly in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

[0036] The storage rack 81 includes a multiplicity of retainer loops 111 which are formed of the same material as used for retainer loops 51 which have been previously described. Each retainer loop has a bight portion 113 joining a pair of legs 115 and 117. A pair of semi-circular notches 121 are formed in each leg near its distal end as can be most clearly seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings. These notches may be formed in the same manner as the notches 61 previously described for the first embodiment of this invention. The notches 121 are slightly larger than the inwardly extending reversely curved portions 105 so that they will receive the inwardly curved portions 105 when the retaining loops 111 are installed in the elongated housing 83 as shown most clearly in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

[0037] Referring now to FIG. 7, a kit 149 is illustrated which includes hardware for mounting the storage rack to a support surface. The kit 149 includes a storage rack 21′, adhesive tape 155 and an eraser 159, all conveniently packaged in a container, such as a carton, blister pack, or the like. It is noted that the storage rack 21′ included with the kit 149 may be identical to the storage rack 21 described previously except that the storage rack 21′ does not include suction cups.

[0038] As is illustrated in FIG. 8, the storage rack 21′ is secured to a support surface 161 by the adhesive tape 155 located between the support surface 161 and the storage rack 21′. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, before applying the adhesive tape 155 to the support surface 161, the support surface 161 is prepared by rubbing the support surface 161 with the eraser 159, for example, six to eight times. The area prepared should be the intended bonding region 163 (e.g. the portion of the support surface that will be making contact with the adhesive) of the support surface 161. After rubbing the bonding region 163 with the eraser 159, the eraser dust is wiped away with a clean cloth, by a swipe of the hand or by some other means. Next, the protective backing 163 of the adhesive tape 155 is removed and the adhesive tape 155 is firmly applied to the bonding region 163 of the support surface 161. If desired, the rear wall 31 of the storage rack 21′ may be prepared using the method described above. Next, the remaining protective backing 165 of the adhesive tape 155 is removed and the storage rack 21′ is placed against the adhesive tape 155. Firm pressure is applied to the storage rack 21′ for example, for 10 to 15 seconds. The amount of time and pressure may vary with the adhesive material used and/or the surface materials to which the adhesive adheres. A slight rocking motion of the storage rack 21′ may be used to obtain complete contact between the adhesive tape 155 and the storage rack 21′. In order to allow the adhesive to properly set, the storage rack 21′ should not be used for at least one hour after application and possibly longer depending on the particular adhesive used to bond the storage rack 21′ to the support surface 161.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 10, the adhesive tape 155 includes a backing material 171 and an adhesive layer 173 and 175. The backing material 171 can be made by any known method of film forming, such as, for example, extrusion, co-extrusion, solvent casting, foaming, non-woven technology, and the like. Thinner backings tend to provide easier removal than do thicker ones. One example of adhesive tape 155 includes a single layer foam backing material having a thickness in the range of ⅛″ to ¼″.

[0040] The adhesive of the adhesive layer 173 and 175 may comprise any pressure-sensitive adhesive. An exemplary adhesive is a rubber based material, and exemplary pressure-sensitive adhesives suitable for this invention include Avery 2116 adhesive.

[0041] While the invention has been described herein with respect to a storage rack, the invention is not limited thereto and may be used to bond any object to any surface or to bond any two surfaces together. While embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope, but includes all changes, modifications and equivalents coming within the spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto.