Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6527244
-
Patent Number
6,527,244
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, October 16, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 4, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Chan; Korie
- Weinhold; Ingrid M
Agents
- Cowan, Liebowitz & Lutman, P.C.
- Montague; Mark
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 248 476
- 248 477
- 248 495
- 248 496
- 248 498
- 248 466
- 248 4751
- 248 80
- 248 22252
- 248 29212
- 248 339
- 248 307
- 248 304
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An assembly for hanging picture frames and other objects to a vertical support includes a base with locking grooves that is mounted to the vertical support and a wheel disposed on the base and which is movable thereon. The wheel includes a set of teeth disposed around its perimeter and where one of those teeth is received within one of the base's locking grooves. A mounting knob fixed off-center to the front surface of the wheel is designed to receive the item to be mounted thereon. To mount a picture frame or other object, the assembly is mounted to the vertical support, the object to be mounted is mounted on the assembly's knob, the amount of correction to the mounted object's vertical and/or horizontal position is ascertained, the object is removed from the knob, the wheel of the assembly is moved accordingly and then locked in place, and the object is re-mounted on the knob.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adjustable picture hanging hook and, more particularly, to a picture hanging hook capable of allowing the vertical and/or horizontal position of an item to be hung thereon to be adjusted without having to re-mount the picture hanging hook.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A variety of picture hangers have been previously designed and sold for the purpose of hanging picture frames and other items on walls and other vertical surfaces. Standard picture hangers typically are formed pieces of metal mounted to a wall by one or more nails and that include some sort of hook on which a picture frame is supported. Typically, wire extending across the rear side of a picture frame is supported by the picture hanger's hook.
One common problem associated with such standard picture hangers is the difficult task of positioning the picture hanger on the wall at an appropriate location such that the picture to be mounted thereon is located at the exact, desired location. A picture hanger is mounted to a wall usually by a nail. Mounting a picture hanger too high or too low, or too far to the right, or too far to the left, of the desired location, even by a fraction of an inch, in turn leads to the undesirable task of remounting the picture hanger itself, this time at a different location on the wall. Such remounting is wasteful, time consuming and results in the creation of unnecessary holes in the wall. These additional, unnecessary holes are aesthetically undesirable, may result in reduced wall strength, and ultimately need to be repaired. Still further, an already mounted picture frame may later need to be remounted as a result of shifting of walls which often occurs after a newly constructed structure has settled.
In addition to standard picture hangers, a variety of hangers have been designed that attempt to overcome the above-mentioned problem of standard hangers. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,330,525, 4,611,780, and 5,605,313 disclose just a few examples of hangers designed to provide multiple positions on which a picture frame may be mounted. However, while such prior art designs attempt to simplify mounting, none provide the user with both ease of use and a range of mounting positions to enable for quick and efficient mounting of a picture frame or other item to be hung.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a picture hanging hook (sometimes called picture hanger or, simply, hanger herein) that is easy to use and manufacture and, at the same time, overcomes the above-mentioned problem associated with standard picture hooks.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a picture hanging hook that enables for the easy modification of the picture hanging position in the vertical and/or horizontal directions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a picture hanging hook that, once mounted to the wall, alleviates both the need to re-mount the picture hanging hook and alleviates any need to lengthen or shorten the wire which is attached to the frame.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an assembly for hanging picture frames and other objects to a vertical support includes a base with locking grooves that is designed to be mounted to the vertical support and a wheel disposed on the base and which is movable thereon. The wheel includes a set of teeth disposed around its perimeter and where one of those teeth is received within one of the base's locking grooves. A mounting knob fixed off center to the front surface of the wheel is designed to receive the item to be mounted thereon.
As an aspect of the present invention, the wheel is movable to a raised position where none of the wheel's teeth is disposed in any of the locking grooves, and the wheel is longitudinally movable relative to the base in the raised position and the wheel is not longitudinally movable in the lowered position.
As another aspect of the present invention, the wheel can be rotated when it is in the raised position.
As a further aspect of the present invention, the base includes an aperture that extends along its length, a stem is fixed to and extends from the center rear surface of the wheel, and a holding disk is fixed to the stem. The stem extends through the aperture in the base so that the holding disk is disposed behind the base. The holding disk has a diameter greater than the largest height of the base's aperture so that the wheel cannot be separated from the base.
As an additional aspect of the invention, the stem is sized to be received within a respective one of the cavities of the aperture when one of the wheel's teeth is received by one of the base's locking grooves.
As yet a further aspect of the invention, the base includes a ridge that extends along its rear surface so as to provide a gap adjacent to the vertical support on which the base is mounted, and where the holding disk is disposed in this gap and is freely movable therein.
In accordance with a method of mounting a picture frame on a vertical support, the base of the hanger assembly of the present invention is mounted to the vertical support, the wheel of the hanger assembly is moved relative to the mounted base, the wheel is locked on the base, and then the picture frame is mounted on the knob that is fixed off-center to the wheel.
As an aspect of this method, after the hanger assembly is mounted to the vertical support, the picture frame is mounted on the knob, an amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position of the mounted picture frame is ascertained, the picture frame is removed from the knob, and the wheel is moved relative to the base to a position in accordance with the ascertained amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position.
As a further aspect, both vertical and horizontal correction amounts of the picture frame mounting position are ascertained.
As another aspect, the locking step is carried out by lowering the wheel to a lowered position whereby one of the wheel's teeth is positioned within one of the base's locking grooves.
As an additional aspect, the moving step is carried out by rotating the wheel to a position where the knob fixed to the wheel is at a desired vertical position.
As yet a further aspect, the moving step is carried out by moving longitudinally the wheel to a position where the knob is at a desired horizontal position.
As yet another aspect, the wheel may be both moved longitudinally and rotated so that the knob is at desired vertical and horizontal positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto, will best be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and parts, in which:
FIG. 1
is a schematic illustration of a front view of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention, shown with the hook's wheel in a first position;
FIG. 2
is another schematic illustration of the front view of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention, shown with the wheel in a second position;
FIG. 3
is a further schematic illustration, partially in phantom, of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a side view illustration of the movable wheel of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention;
FIG. 5
is a rear view of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention; and
FIG. 6
is another rear view of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings,
FIGS. 1 and 2
thereof are front view illustrations of the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention. As shown, the adjustable picture hanging hook
10
(or simply, hanger
10
) includes two main components: a support base
12
and a movable wheel
30
. Support base
12
(or simply, base
12
) and wheel
30
are movable relative to each other, as described further below. Base
12
includes a number of structural features including a set of rectangular teeth-shaped locking grooves
14
disposed on the bottom of base
12
. Locking grooves
14
includes alternating teeth
14
a
and recesses
14
b
and, as will be discussed, operate to prevent the rotation of wheel
30
once locked in place. Base
12
further includes a rim
16
extending along the base's top portion and which is disposed apart from the base's central portion
20
to provide a longitudinal gap
18
that extends along the base's top and in which a portion of wheel
30
is disposed, as will be further described. As is appreciated, rim
16
assists in retaining wheel
30
to base
12
, and provides additional strength to the device so that it can suitably support heavy items to be mounted. However, since holding disk
36
also retains wheel
30
to base
12
(to be discussed below), rim
16
can be removed.
Base
12
further includes a central aperture
22
disposed in its central portion
20
. Central aperture
22
extends along base
12
's width and includes, extending along its bottom, a number of rounded cavities
24
. As will be discussed, central aperture
22
and its cavities
24
serve to maintain the established horizontal position of wheel
30
.
Base
12
includes two holes
26
that are used for the purpose of mounting hanger
10
of the present invention to a wall, other surface or generally vertical support. In a preferred embodiment, holes
26
are angled slightly downward (from the hanger's front to back) so that two nails are hammered through the holes at an angle (e.g., 45 degree angle) relative to the mounting surface (e.g., wall).
Referring now to wheel
30
, the wheel is circular in shape and includes a set of teeth
32
extending outward along the wheel's perimeter. Teeth
32
are sized and spaced sufficiently apart so that each tooth can be disposed within an opposing recess
14
b
of the locking grooves
14
of base
12
, such as shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. Wheel
30
, along with its teeth
32
, is of sufficient size (i.e., diameter) so that when a tooth
32
is disposed within an opposing recess
14
b
, wheel
30
has at least another tooth
32
that is disposed within the longitudinal gap
18
that extends below the base's rim
16
. This also is illustrated in
FIG. 3
, where rim
16
is shown partially in phantom. Moreover, there is sufficient distance between the tooth
32
that is disposed within gap
18
and the hidden end surface
16
a
of rim
16
(
FIG. 3
) so as to allow wheel
30
to be raised upwards (towards surface
16
a
) thus freeing the other tooth
32
from the opposing recess
14
b
of the locking grooves
14
. Then, in such raised position, wheel
30
is freely rotatable. As will be further described below, these features enable for the varying of a picture frame's mounting position after the hanger of the present invention is mounted to a wall.
Referring again to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, and also to
FIG. 4
, a knob
34
is fixed to and extends from wheel
30
and operates as the “hook” on which a picture frame is mounted. As shown in
FIG. 4
, which is a side view of wheel
30
and the attached elements, knob
30
is comprised of a relatively flat, round button-like portion
34
a
coupled to or integral with a narrow stem
34
b
that is fixed to wheel
30
(component dimensions not drawn to scale in FIG.
4
). In the preferred embodiment, both button
34
a
and stem
34
b
of the knob are round in shape and are concentric with one another, so that knob
34
sufficiently is able to retain the wire of a picture frame regardless of the angular position of wheel
30
(further discussed below).
In both
FIGS. 1 and 2
, it is seen that knob
34
is fixed to wheel
30
at a position offset from the wheel's center. Preferably, knob
34
is fixed on wheel
30
at a position that maximizes the knob's vertical movement, which is achieved by fixing the knob on the wheel at a position that is able to come in close proximity to rim
16
(when wheel
30
is rotated), such as shown in FIG.
1
. Then, knob
34
can be positioned adjacent to the locking grooves
14
, adjacent to rim
16
(FIG.
1
), or at any vertical position in between (e.g., FIG.
2
).
To prevent wheel
30
from being fully separated from base
12
, a holding disk
36
is fixed via a locking stem
38
(disk
36
and locking stem
38
may comprise a single element or separate elements) to the rear of wheel
30
, as shown in
FIG. 4
, and during assembly of the picture hanger of the present invention, the holding disk is disposed behind the base with locking stem
38
extending through central aperture
22
.
FIG. 5
is a rear view of the picture hanger and shows disk
36
disposed behind base
12
with wheel
30
disposed in front of the base (locking stem
38
not shown in FIG.
5
). Disk
36
preferably has a diameter D greater than the largest height H of central aperture
22
so that disk
36
is unable to pass through central aperture
22
regardless of the wheel's position relative to the base. However, while it is preferred for disk
36
to be sufficiently large so as to keep wheel
30
and base
12
always together, it is not critical to actually keep these components together when the hanger of the present invention is not in use.
Stem
38
, in addition to coupling disk
36
to wheel
30
, serves as a locking mechanism by being retained within one of the rounded cavities
24
of the central aperture
22
, as shown in
FIG. 6
(in
FIG. 6
, stem
38
shown in phantom, wheel
30
and ridge
40
not shown). Both disk
36
and locking stem
38
are round and concentric to one another, and are concentric to wheel
30
(see FIG.
4
). Locking stem
38
has a diameter of sufficient size so that it is supported by one of the rounded cavities
24
when wheel
30
is fully lowered, that is, when one of the wheel's teeth
32
is disposed within an opposing recess
14
b
of the locking grooves
14
of base
12
. Moreover, the distance between the centers of adjacent cavities
24
is the same as the distance between the centers of adjacent recesses
14
b
(or teeth
14
a
) of locking grooves
14
so that locking stem
38
is accommodated by a respective cavity
24
for each possible horizontal position of wheel
30
. Then, in the lowered position, the peaks
24
a
(shown in
FIG. 6
) of cavity
24
in which locking stem
38
is disposed prevent wheel
30
from moving horizontally. Conversely, when wheel
30
is raised, locking stem
38
is disposed above peaks
24
a
of cavities
24
so that wheel
30
is able to be moved horizontally (longitudinally). In this raised position, wheel
30
and all of its teeth
32
are disposed above locking grooves
14
(
FIGS. 1 and 2
) so that wheel
30
also is freely rotatable, as previously discussed.
Referring again to
FIG. 5
, the rear side of hanger
10
of the present invention includes a ridge
40
that extends along the perimeter of base
12
. Ridge
40
is of sufficient thickness (depth) so that the base's center
20
is disposed slightly away from a wall to which hanger
10
is mounted thus enabling the movement of wheel
30
, more particularly, disk
36
. Ridge
40
needs to be only slightly thicker than disk
36
to ensure a small gap between disk
36
and the wall to which the hanger of the present invention is mounted. That is, without providing a suitably thick ridge
40
, disk
36
is in immediate contact with a wall when hanger
10
is mounted, which in turn would make it difficult to move or turn wheel
30
. Moreover, ridge
40
also extends to the vicinity of holes
26
so that nails can be properly driven and secured to a wall.
To utilize the adjustable picture hanging hook of the present invention, hanger
10
is mounted to a wall in a manner similar to that of prior art-devices, namely, hanger
10
is appropriately Positioned on a surface onto which it is to be mounted (hereinafter, wall) and suitably sized nails are driven through holes
26
and into the wall thus securing hanger
10
to the wall. Next, the item to be hung (hereinafter, picture frame) is mounted on hanger
10
by, for example, hanging the mounting wire disposed on the rear of the picture frame onto knob
34
. Once mounted, the user determines whether the horizontal and vertical positions of the mounted picture frame are acceptable. If either the vertical or horizontal position is not acceptable or correct, then the picture frame mounting position needs to be adjusted. At this point, in most prior art devices, either the hanger itself will need to be remounted on the wall or the wire attached to the picture will need to be lengthened or shortened.
The present invention, however, allows the picture frame mounting position to be adjusted without remounting the hanger and without changing the length of the wire attached to the picture frame. To adjust the picture frame mounting position, wheel
30
is moved in the manner previously discussed. In particular, if the horizontal position of the picture frame mounting position needs to adjusted, then wheel
30
is manually raised and is moved to the left or right accordingly, without any rotation of the wheel, and then lowered.
FIGS. 1 and 2
show the hanger of the present invention with seven (7) recesses
14
b
(in locking grooves
14
) thus allowing for the placement of the picture frame mounting position in seven horizontal positions. Of course, seven recesses is merely exemplary, and the hanger of the present invention may include any reasonable number of recesses (i.e., horizontal positions). Moreover, additional recesses may be provided without increasing the relative size of the entire hanger itself, simply by reducing the size of each recess
14
b
and tooth
14
a
, as well as by reducing the size of each wheel tooth
32
and increasing the number of such teeth
32
on the wheel (as well as the size and number of rounded cavities
24
within central aperture
22
and the diameter of locking stem
38
).
If the vertical position of the picture frame mounting position needs to be adjusted, then wheel
30
is manually raised and is rotated so that knob
34
is moved upwards or downwards accordingly, and then lowered. Of course, if only the vertical position needs to be adjusted (i.e., the horizontal picture frame mounting position is acceptable), then wheel
30
may need to be moved slightly to the left or right to maintain knob
34
's horizontal position as wheel
30
is rotated. Similarly, if both the vertical and horizontal positions of the picture frame mounting position need to be adjusted, then wheel
30
(after being raised) may be both rotated and moved left or right as needed. Wheel
30
then is lowered and locked in place by both sets of locking devices (i.e., locking grooves
14
and rounded cavities
24
). Adjustment of the picture frame mounting position now has been achieved without remounting the hanger itself.
Referring back to
FIG. 2
, it is seen that it is possible to establish picture frame mounting positions at locations that extend beyond the hanger's support base
12
. Advantageously, the horizontal range of picture frame mounting positions extends past the left and right ends of hanger
10
of the present invention, and the vertical range of picture frame mounting positions extends between the bottom of base
12
to the base's rim
16
. Given such extended horizontal and vertical ranges, the hanger of the present invention allows a user to merely approximate the desired mounting position by mounting the hanger to a wall at such approximated position, and then to select the exact, desired picture frame mounting position by moving wheel
30
in the manner described herein. Moreover, after wheel
30
is locked in place (by lowering it fully), wheel
30
is prevented from moving in any direction and is prevented from rotating, even with the weight of the mounted picture frame on knob
34
, by means of the locking devices previously discussed. Still further, and as previously mentioned, additional mounting positions may be established by increasing the number of teeth
14
a
, recesses
14
b
, wheel teeth
32
, and rounded cavities
24
, and accordingly reducing their size as well as the diameter of locking stem
38
.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the various shapes of teeth
32
, recesses
14
b
, rounded cavities
24
, as well as other components of the hanger, may be different from that shown. For example, teeth
32
and recesses
14
b
may be pointed.
As another example, holes
26
may be provided in different positions than that shown, such as within the base's central portion
20
, with the nails being recessed within ridge
40
so that they do not interfere with the movement of wheel
30
. Also, the hanger of the present invention may be constructed from any suitable material, such as plastic or metal (or other material), with such suitable material being chosen by one of ordinary skill depending on the particular application necessary (e.g., weight of the item to be hung).
Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including the embodiments described herein, the alternatives mentioned above, and all equivalents thereto.
Claims
- 1. An assembly for hanging picture frames and other objects to a vertical support, comprising:a base adapted to be mounted to the vertical support, the base including a bottom surface on which is provided a plurality of locking grooves; a wheel disposed on a front surface of the base and adapted to be movable relative to the base, the wheel having a set of teeth disposed around the wheel's perimeter, one of the teeth disposed on a bottom of the wheel being received by one of the plurality of locking grooves in the base; and a mounting knob fixed off-center to a front surface of the wheel, the mounting knob adapted to receive an item to be mounted thereon.
- 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the wheel is adapted to be moved to a raised position so that none of the teeth disposed around the wheel are disposed in any of the plurality of locking grooves in the base, and the wheel is longitudinally movable relative to the base when the wheel is in the raised position and the wheel is not longitudinally movable relative to the base when not in the raised position.
- 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the wheel is adapted to be selectively rotated relative to the base when the wheel is in the raised position.
- 4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base includes an aperture extending along a length of the base;the assembly further comprising a stem fixed to and extending from a center of a rear surface of the wheel, and a holding disk fixed to the stem; the stem extending through the aperture in the base and the holding disk being disposed behind the base; the holding disk having a diameter greater than a largest height of the aperture in the base so that the holding disk prevents the wheel from being fully separated from the base.
- 5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base includes an aperture extending along a length of the base, the aperture having a plurality of cavities extending along its bottom;the assembly further comprising a stem fixed to and extending from a center of a rear surface of the wheel, and a holding disk fixed to the stem; the stem extending through the aperture in the base and the holding disk being disposed behind the base, the stem being sized to be received within a respective one of the cavities of the aperture when one of the teeth disposed on the bottom of the wheel is received by one of the plurality of locking grooves of the base.
- 6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the stem and cavities are sized to enable the stem to be raised above the cavities when the wheel is lifted relative to the base to a raised position.
- 7. The assembly of claim 6, wherein the teeth disposed around the wheel are sized to be disposed above the plurality of locking grooves when the wheel is in the raised position.
- 8. The assembly of claim 5, further comprising a ridge extending from a rear surface of the base and adapted to provide a gap between the base and the vertical support when the base is mounted to the vertical support; the holding disk being disposed in the gap and being movable relative to the base without interference by the vertical support.
- 9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the base includes a rim extending along the base's top surface, the rim extending away from the base and defining a longitudinal gap; and at least one of the teeth around the wheel being disposed within the gap.
- 10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said plurality of locking grooves includes alternating teeth and recesses disposed along the entire bottom surface of the base, the recesses being adapted to receive one of the teeth disposed around the wheel.
- 11. An assembly for hanging picture frames and other objects to a vertical support, comprising:a base adapted to be mounted to the vertical support, the base including a bottom surface on which is provided a plurality of locking grooves, the base including an aperture extending along a center portion of the base and extending lengthwise across the base, the aperture in the base including a plurality of rounded cavities extending along a bottom of the aperture; a wheel disposed on a front surface of the base and adapted to be movable relative to the base, the wheel having a set of teeth disposed around the wheel's perimeter, a respective one of the teeth around the wheel being adapted to be disposed within one of the plurality of locking grooves in the base when the wheel is in a lowered position, the locking grooves preventing rotational movement of the wheel relative to the base when the wheel is in the lowered position; a stem fixed to a center of a rear surface of the wheel and extending through the aperture in the base, the stem being received within a respective one of the rounded cavities of the aperture when the wheel is in the lowered position, the rounded cavities preventing horizontal movement of the wheel relative to the base when the wheel is in the lowered position; a holding disk fixed to the stem and disposed behind the base, the holding disk being adapted to hold the wheel on the base when the wheel is in the lowered position; and a mounting knob fixed off-center to a front surface of the wheel and adapted to receive an item to be mounted thereon.
- 12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the wheel is adapted to be moved to a raised position so that none of the teeth disposed around the wheel are disposed in any of the plurality of locking grooves in the base.
- 13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein the stem and rounded cavities are sized to enable the stem to be raised above the cavities when the wheel is in the raised position.
- 14. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the holding disk is of sufficient size relative a largest height of the aperture to prevent the wheel from being fully separated from the base.
- 15. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the assembly includes the same number of locking grooves and rounded cavities, and wherein each of the rounded cavities is disposed above a respective one of the locking grooves.
- 16. A method of mounting a picture frame on a vertical support, comprising the steps of:mounting to the vertical support a base of a hanger assembly having a wheel disposed on the base, the base mounted to the vertical support extending horizontally relative to the vertical support; moving the wheel horizontally across the mounted base; locking the moved wheel on the base; and mounting the picture frame on a knob fixed off-center to a surface of the wheel.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of moving the wheel includes the steps of:mounting the picture frame on the knob fixed to the wheel; ascertaining an amount of correction of a picture frame mounting position; removing the picture frame from the knob; and moving the wheel relative to the mounted base to a position in accordance with the ascertained amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of ascertaining an amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position is carried out by ascertaining an amount of vertical correction of the picture frame mounting position.
- 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of ascertaining an amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position is carried out by ascertaining an amount of horizontal correction of the picture frame mounting position.
- 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of ascertaining an amount of correction of the picture frame mounting position is carried out by ascertaining amounts of both vertical and horizontal correction of the picture frame mounting position.
- 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of locking the moved wheel on the base is carried out by lowering the wheel to a lowered position whereby one of a plurality of teeth extending from around the wheel's perimeter is positioned within one of a plurality of locking grooves disposed along a bottom of the base.
- 22. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of moving the wheel relative to the mounted base is carried out by rotating the wheel relative to the base to a position where the knob fixed to the wheel is at a desired vertical position on the vertical support.
- 23. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of moving the wheel relative to the mounted base is carried out by moving longitudinally relative to the vertical support the wheel to a position where the knob fixed to the wheel is at a desired horizontal position on the vertical support.
- 24. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of moving the wheel relative to the mounted base is carried out by both moving the wheel longitudinally and rotating the wheel relative to the vertical support so that a position of the knob fixed to the wheel is at desired vertical and horizontal positions.
- 25. An assembly for hanging picture frames and other objects to a vertical support, comprising:a base adapted to be mounted to the vertical support, the base including a bottom surface on which is provided a plurality of locking grooves; a wheel disposed on a front surface of the base and adapted to be movable relative to the base, the wheel having a set of teeth disposed around the wheel's perimeter, one of the teeth disposed on a bottom of the wheel being received by one of the plurality of locking grooves in the base; and a mounting knob fixed to a front surface of the wheel, the mounting knob adapted to receive an item to be mounted thereon.
US Referenced Citations (16)