Patent Application
20070095997
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of decorating and more particularly to the field of hanging various decorative items on a wall.
2. Background Art
One popular method of decorating a home or an office is to hang pictures, posters, diplomas, etc. on a wall. For the most part, this is a fairly straightforward proposition. However, it can be a very difficult thing to do very well. For example, one of the most common methods for hanging items on a wall is to simply pound a nail or some other anchor point into the wall in the desired location. While the act of pounding a nail into the wall is a very simple task, getting the nail in the desired location can be somewhat challenging. It often seems that the nail is just a little too low, a little too high, too far to the left or two far to the right. This problem can be exacerbated when hanging a large item that requires two or more anchor points in the wall. In this situation, any misalignment in the location of the anchor points can make it very difficult to get the item to hang with the appropriate horizontal alignment.
To alleviate the difficulties associated with the hanging of items on a wall, various methods and devices have been adopted. For example, the use of measuring tapes and other tools are commonly employed to accurately located the desired anchor points for hanging an item on the wall. Additionally, the use of lasers and other light sources to ensure horizontal alignment has become quite common.
While a number of tools and devices have been developed for accurately locating an anchor point for hanging an item on the wall, the overall process is still somewhat “hit and miss.” The main problem is that once an anchor point has been placed in the wall, the movement and relocation of the anchor point inevitably leaves an unsighly hole that must be covered or repaired. It is not uncommon to see a series of holes made in a wall where numerous attempts are required to find the most desirable postion for the anchor point. This can be the result of hitting a stud in the wall, inadvertent misalignment of the anchor points, etc.
As shown by the previous discussion, without additional improvements in the methods for hanging objects on a wall, the efficiency and effectiveness of the process will continue to be suboptimal.
An appartus for hanging items on a wall comprises a backing plate with a substantially square mounting plate portion and a plurality of apertures formed in the backing plate. The backing plate is anchored in a wall and then a supporting peg is inserted into one of the plurality of apertures. An item can then be hung on the supporting peg. By selectively adjusting the position of the supporting peg, the exact hanging location for the item can be quickly and easily adjusted, without altering the position of the backing plate.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements and:
An appartus for hanging items on a wall comprises a backing plate with a substantially square mounting plate portion and a plurality of apertures formed in the backing plate. The backing plate is anchored in a wall and then a supporting peg is inserted into one of the plurality of apertures. An item can then be hung on the supporting peg. By selectively adjusting the position of the supporting peg, the exact hanging location for the item can be quickly and easily adjusted, without altering the position of the backing plate.
Referring now to
In order to maximize the probability of success for the desired location of mounting peg 130, the size and shape of mounting plate 110 and the number of supporting apertures 150 formed in mounting plate 110 can be varied as desired. In the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, mounting plate 110 is substantially square with at least 25-50 supporting apertures formed in a substantially square mounting plate 110. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the size and shape of mounting plate 110 and the number of supporting apertures 150 are highly variable and are not limited by any exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Mounting fasteners 120 are preferrably nails that are pounded into the wall until the heads of the nails are flush with the surface of mounting plate 110. Additionally, while mounting fasteners 120 are depicted in
Mounting peg 130 is most preferably a slender device with a retaining collar 135 positioned approximately halfway between the endpoints of mounting peg 130. Retaining collar 135 serves to prevent mounting peg from being over inserted into mounting plate 110 while ensuring that an appropriate amount of mounting peg 130 is available for hanging a picture or other item on the mounting peg 130. The diameter of retaining collar 135 is manufactured so as to be slightly larger than the diameter of supporting apertures 150. This prevents mounting peg 130 from being overinserted into supporting apertures 150.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In summary, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for hanging items on a wall without undue effort or trial-and-error. By implementing one or more of the preferred embodiments disclosed herein, varous items can be quickly and easily hung on a wall in the desired location. Lastly, it should be appreciated that the illustrated embodiments are preferred exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description provides those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in the various preferred exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
