Patent Application
20210252678
The disclosure relates to mounting support brackets and, more particularly, to tools used in the process of mounting supporting brackets.
Many support brackets include holes for fasteners to mount the brackets to a wall. The holes are commonly aligned vertical so that when the holes are aligned vertical along a wall the bracket is aligned vertical. The alignment of the holes in the wall requires tools and writing instruments. For example, a level and a pencil are typically required to make sure the markings made on the wall for the fastener holes are aligned vertically. Then, one needs to use a tool, such as a powered driver or a manual screwdriver, to install the fasteners. It is desired to be able to reduce the number of tools required to properly install a bracket to simplify the process.
Referring to
More specifically, the tool 10 includes a main body 14 that can be in the form of a rectangular plate with opposing linear edges 16, a flat front surface 18 and a flat back surface 20. Other shapes, including any polygonal shape, for the plate 10 are contemplated as well.
The body 14 defines an upper aperture 22 and a lower aperture 24 used to locate an insertion of position of the fasteners 12 into a wall. The apertures 22, 24 are preferably centered on a longitudinal centerline axis 26 of the body 14. The upper aperture 22 may include a keyway shape with a smaller upper portion 28 and a larger lower portion 30. The keyway shape enables a fastener 12 to be installed in the smaller upper portion 28, and after installation, the tool 10 can be slid upward until a head 32 of the fastener 12 is aligned with the larger portion and removed from the fastener 12 by passing the head 32 of the fastener 12 through the larger lower portion 30.
The lower aperture 24 may be located along a lower edge 34 of the body 14 and take the form of an open-ended slot where an opening is along the lower edge 34. A fastener 12 may be installed in an upper portion 36 of the lower aperture 24, and then, the tool 10 can be slid upward to slide the tool 10 off the fastener 12. This occurs at the same time the tool 10 is being removed from the upper fastener 12. Thus, the vertical length of the apertures 22, 24 are coordinated so that when the head 34 of the upper fastener 12 is at the larger portion 30 of the upper aperture 22, the fastener 12 at the lower aperture 24 is out of the lower aperture 24. The spacing between the apertures 22, 24 is coordinated to match spacing between mounting holes in a bracket.
The number of apertures in the body for fasteners can be increased to accommodate brackets using more fasteners and can be spaced apart from one another at different distances to accommodate a bracket's spacing of its mounting holes. Also, additional apertures can be located off the longitudinal centerline axis. Also, the tool can be scaled up or down in size.
A top end 38 of the body 14 can include a handle or a tab 40 for moving the tool 10. The handle 40 can be used to move the tool 10 up and off the installed fasteners 12 during use. The handle 40 can be a single piece with the body 10 or it can be a separate component that is glued, welded or attached in any other conventional manner to the body 10. The handle 40 can be disposed at any angle relative to the body 10 that enables a user to easily grip it without interference by the body 14 or a wall. A preferred angle is 90 degrees. If the handle 40 is a single piece construction with the body 10, it can be bent from the same material if the material is metal or it can be made from the same mold if it is plastic.
The body 14 may have a lower portion 42 and an upper portion 44. The lower portion 42 may include the apertures 22, 24, and the upper portion 44 may be attached to the handle 40. The lower portion 42 may have a width that is greater than a width of the upper portion 44. A shoulder 46 at each side edge 16 may transition the lower portion 42 to the upper portion 44. The shoulder 46 may be include a rounded edge.
A level 48 is mounted to the body 14 to enable a user to ensure that the apertures 22, 24 are aligned vertically. The level 48 is a conventional bubble type level, but also could be any type of level, including a conventional digital level. The level 48 is mounted perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline axis 26 of the body 14. The level 48 has a transparent cylindrical body 50 with each end mounted to the body 14. The body 14 can include an elongated slot 52 and two semicircular recesses 56. The cylindrical body 50 can be elastic so that it can be snapped into the slot 52 and the recess 56 with a snap fit to hold attach it to the body 14. Alternatively, the elongated slot 52 and the recesses 56 can be large enough to receive the level 48 without elastically deforming the level 48, and then, the level 48 can be glued into the elongated slot 52 and the recesses 56.
The following table identifies dimensions of an exemplary and non-limiting tool.
One example of a bracket 64 that can be installed with the assistance of the tool 10 is illustrated in
A rod is supported by the cradles of at least two brackets, for example, at least two of the brackets 64 described above. The brackets are spaced apart from one another and positioned at the same vertical height so that the rod is level. The tool 10 can be used to assist in locating the vertical height of the second bracket without having to measure the vertical height. For instance, with the tool 10 mounted on the fasteners for the first bracket, a straight edge, such as a yardstick or a level, can be placed into engagement with the lower edge 34 of the tool 10. Since the lower edge 34 is straight and perpendicular to true vertical alignment, any straight edge placed along it can be used to extrapolate laterally to mark a location at the same vertical height. Once the vertical height is matched with the proper lateral spacing, the tool can be moved over to the new location, the lower edge 34 of the tool 10 can be placed along the vertical height marking for the location of the second bracket and, then, used as discussed above to set the fasteners for the second bracket.
The above discussion has referred to the tool 10 being used in the orientation with the handle 40 at the top. However, the tool 10 can used upside down. That is, in an orientation that is 180 degrees from that shown in the figures. When used upside down, the removal of the tool 10 from the installed fasteners 12 is done by moving the tool 10 down to clear the heads 32 of the fasteners 12 from the body 14.
The tool can be molded from plastic or metal. Alternatively, it can be stamped from metal with the handle being bent. The level can be attached as indicated above.
The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of the technological contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims.
