Patent Application
20150204376
The present invention relates to a device designed to permit various items to be hung on a vertical surface (e.g., the hanging of a picture or other piece of framed art or memorabilia on a wall), to a method of making such a device and to a method of using same. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece device where a first body, or rail, piece and a second body, or rail, piece each engage one of either the object, regardless of whether or not such object is framed or unframed, to be hung or the wall on which the object to be hung is to be placed, wherein the first piece and the second piece are formed so as to engage one another thereby resulting in the hanging of the object on a desired place on a wall or surface. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece wall hanging device that permits the level hanging of an object on a wall regardless of whether or not each of the two pieces of the device are attached in a level manner to each of the wall and the object to be hung.
As is well known to those who have hung objects on walls, various wall hanging devices are available. Such devices include, for example, picture hooks, adhesive hooks, and eye screws. As would be apparent to those who have utilized such devices, all of these devices suffer from one or more drawbacks. For example, picture hooks need to be selected in the appropriate size so as to hold the correct amount of weight and require at least one nail to be inserted into, or through, the wall surface on which the object in question is to be hung. Turning to adhesive hooks, these devices can leave behind undesirable adhesive residue on the wall surface on which they are placed and/or damage the wall covering and/or painted surface of the wall on which the object is to be hung. Furthermore, eye screws need to be placed into supporting wall studs and/or secured in the wall material using a molly or some other anchoring device. Additionally, some of the above mounting and/or hanging devices require an installer to utilize tools to achieve the desired hanging of an object on the wall and/or to achieve a level hanging of the object on the wall.
As such, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to accurately and/or easily use the various wall mounting and/or hanging devices of the prior art. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved wall mounting and/or hanging device that overcomes one or more of the various shortcomings detailed above.
The present invention relates to a device designed to permit various items to be hung on a vertical surface (e.g., the hanging of a picture or other piece of framed art or memorabilia on a wall), to a method of making such a device and to a method of using same. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece device where a first body, or rail, piece and a second body, or rail, piece each engage one of either the object, regardless of whether or not such object is framed or unframed, to be hung or the wall on which the object to be hung is to be placed, wherein the first piece and the second piece are formed so as to engage one another thereby resulting in the hanging of the object on a desired place on a wall. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece wall hanging device that permits the level hanging of an object on a wall regardless of whether or not each of the two pieces of the device are attached in a level manner to each of the wall and the object to be hung.
In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a wall hanging system comprising: a wall portion, the wall portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side and an adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the wall portion and is formed so as to cover only a lower portion of the first side of the body of the wall portion; and an object portion, the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side and an adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the first side of the body of the object portion, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein the lack of an adhesive strip on an upper portion of the first side of the wall portion creates a space between the body of the wall portion and the wall that the lower portion of the body of the object portion is able to securely engage.
In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a wall hanging system comprising: a wall portion, the wall portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip and an adhesive guard, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the wall portion and is formed so as to cover only a lower portion of the first side of the body of the wall portion and the adhesive guard is formed from a raised horizontally oriented ridge located above a top edge of the adhesive strip; and an object portion, the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip and an adhesive guard, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the first side of the body of the object portion and the adhesive guard is formed from a raised horizontally oriented ridge located below a bottom edge of the adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein the lack of an adhesive strip on an upper portion of the first side of the wall portion creates a space between the body of the wall portion and the wall that the lower portion of the body of the object portion is able to securely engage.
In still another embodiment, the present invention relates to a wall hanging system comprising: a folded wall portion, the folded wall portion comprising a body having a first portion and a second portion that are joined together along an edge, an adhesive strip and a slot, wherein the adhesive strip is located on a first side of the second portion of the body of the wall portion and the slot is formed in a portion of the edge that joins the first portion and the second portion of the body of the wall portion; and an object portion, the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip, and a curved bottom edge, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the second side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the second side of the body of the object portion, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein at least a portion of the curved edge of the body of the object portion is formed so as to pass through the slot formed in the body of the wall portion.
In still another embodiment, the present invention relates to a wall hanging system comprising: a folded object portion, the folded object portion comprising a body having a first portion and a second portion that are joined together along an edge, an adhesive strip and a slot, wherein the adhesive strip is located on a first side of the second portion of the body of the object portion and the slot is formed in a portion of the edge that joins the first portion and the second portion of the body of the object portion; and a wall portion, the wall portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip, and a curved top edge, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the second side of the body of the wall portion and is formed so as to cover only a bottom portion of the second side of the body of the wall portion, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface so that the curved top edge of the wall portion is facing up and the adhesive strip of the folded object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein at least a portion of the curved edge of the body of the wall portion is formed so as to pass through the slot formed in the body of the object portion.
The present invention relates to a device designed to permit various items to be hung on a vertical surface (e.g., the hanging of a picture or other piece of framed art or memorabilia on a wall), to a method of making such a device and to a method of using same. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece device where a first body, or rail, piece and a second body, or rail, piece each engage one of either the object, regardless of whether or not such object is framed or unframed, to be hung or the wall on which the object to be hung is to be placed, wherein the first piece and the second piece are formed so as to engage one another thereby resulting in the hanging of the object on a desired place on a wall. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to a two piece wall hanging device that permits the level hanging of an object on a wall regardless of whether or not each of the two pieces of the device are attached in a level manner to each of the wall and the object to be hung.
Turning to
As can be seen in
As would be understood by those of skill in the art, depending upon the weight of the object to be hung and/or mounted on a wall the amount of adhesive could be increased. Alternatively, a different type of adhesive material can be utilized where the holding strength of adhesive material 108 is increased in response to the amount of weight that is desired to be secured by the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention. In one embodiment, adhesive portion 108 is formed from any suitable adhesive material and can be selected from a double-sided adhesive tape that has a permanent adhesive material on one side (the side that is secured to the wall portion 100 of the wall hanging system of the present invention) and a removable adhesive material on the other side (the side that is used to secure the wall portion 100 of the present invention to a wall surface). The adhesive tape can further include a foam core portion, which may be positioned between the permanent adhesive and removable adhesive. Such double-sided tapes are known to those of skill in the art and are available from Essentra Specialty Tapes of Forest Park, Ill., USA.
In another embodiment, adhesive portion 108 is formed from a double-sided tape material having an adhesive material that is selected so as to have a removable and reusable adhesive on both sides of the tape. Such double-sided tapes with removable adhesives on both sides are known to those of skill in the art, and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. In still another embodiment, at least the portion of adhesive portion 108 that contacts the wall surface is formed from an adhesive material that is selected so as to be removable, reusable and residue-free. Again, such adhesive materials are known to those of skill in the art and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. As used herein “residue-free” means that no undesirable stains or other residues are left on the wall surface onto which adhesive portion 108 is placed.
The thickness of adhesive portion 108 is not critical so long as adhesive portion 108 is of sufficient thickness to create a gap between the wall and an adhesive-free top portion 110 of first surface 104 of wall portion 100—the foam core of the adhesive portion 108 can provide the appropriate thickness of this operative gap. In one embodiment, adhesive portion 108 is formed so as to have a thickness of about 0.02 inches to about 0.25 inches, or from about 0.05 inches to about 0.15 inches, or from about 0.06 inches to about 0.1 inches, or even about 0.0625 inches. Here, as well as elsewhere in the specification and claims, individual numerical values can be combined to form additional and/or non-disclosed ranges.
Given the above, wall portion 100 of the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention is mounted and/or placed in a generally level position on any given wall at a desired position using adhesive portion 108 on the back of wall portion 100 to secure same to the wall. Such a mounting of wall portion 100 yields a gap between the portion of first surface 104 of wall portion 100 that is not covered with adhesive portion 108 and the wall. As will be explained in more detail below, this gap permits the other portion, object portion of the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention to engage wall portion 100 thereby permitting these two pieces to form an overall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention. This engagement also accomplishes the desired hanging and/or mounting of an object on a wall.
In another embodiment, wall portion 100 of the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention can optionally include one or more of an adhesive guard 112 in the form of a raised horizontal ridge; a bottom lip 114 formed from a raised horizontal, or slanted, ridge; and/or one or more raised locking features 116. In one embodiment, raised features 116 can be formed to be any suitable geometric shape including, but not limited to, rectangular shapes, square shapes, triangular shapes, etc. (see
In another embodiment, wall portion 100 and a corresponding object portion of the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention are identical in design and are represented by the various embodiments of wall portion 100 illustrated in
Turning to
As can be seen in
As would be understood by those of skill in the art, depending upon the weight of the object to be hung and/or mounted on a wall the amount of adhesive could be increased. Alternatively, a different type of adhesive material could be utilized where the holding strength of adhesive material 208 is increased in response to the amount of weight that is desired to be secured by the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention. In one embodiment, adhesive portion 208 is formed from any suitable adhesive material and can be selected from a double-sided adhesive tape that has a permanent adhesive material on one side (the side that is secured to the object portion 200 of the wall hanging system of the present invention), a removable adhesive material on the other side (the side that is used to secure the object portion 200 of the present invention to the object to be hung on a wall), and a foam core there between. Again, such double-sided tapes are known to those of skill in the art and are available from Essentra Specialty Tapes of Forest Park, Ill., USA.
In another embodiment, adhesive portion 208 is formed from a double-sided tape material having an adhesive material that is selected so as to have a removable and reusable adhesive on both sides of the tape with a foam core there between. Such double-sided tapes with removable adhesives on both sides are known to those of skill in the art, and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. In still another embodiment, at least the portion of adhesive portion 208 that contacts the wall surface is formed from an adhesive material that is selected so as to be removable, reusable and residue-free. Again, such adhesive materials are known to those of skill in the art and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. As used herein “residue-free” means that no undesirable stains or other residues are left on the wall surface onto which adhesive portion 208 is placed.
The thickness of adhesive portion 208 is not critical so long as adhesive portion 208 is of sufficient thickness to create a gap between the wall and the adhesive-free top portion of the first surface 204 of the wall portion—the foam core of the adhesive portion 208 can provide the appropriate thickness of this operative gap. In one embodiment, adhesive portion 208 is formed so as to have a thickness of about 0.02 inches to about 0.25 inches, or from about 0.05 inches to about 0.15 inches, or from about 0.06 inches to about 0.1 inches, or even about 0.0625 inches. Here, as well as elsewhere in the specification and claims, individual numerical values can be combined to form additional and/or non-disclosed ranges.
In another embodiment, wall portion 100 and a corresponding object portion 200 of a wall hanging and/or mounting system according to the present invention are identical in design and are represented by the embodiment of object portion 200 illustrated in
Regarding the material from which any of wall portion 100 and/or object portion 200 can be formed, the present invention is not limited to any one material choice. Instead, each portion 100 and/or 200 of the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention can be independently formed from metal, plastic, wood, etc. When one or more of the pieces of the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention are formed from a metal, or alloy, material suitable metal materials include, but are not limited to, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, brass, bronze, copper, tin, titanium, etc. When one or more of the pieces of the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention are formed from a plastic, or polymer, material suitable polymer materials include, but are not limited to, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, etc. As would be apparent to those of skill in the art, each piece of the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention can be independently formed from any of the materials listed above. One potential key consideration to determine the appropriate material is the flexural modulus of the material, i.e., the flexibility of the material at a predetermined thickness. Using a test, such as the ASTM D790 one range of flexural modulus for one embodiment may be between approximately 1.1 GPa to 3.0 GPa. The present teachings, however, are not limited to this configuration.
Turning to
Turning to
Turning to this embodiment, the wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention is composed of a folded wall portion 400 that contains a slot 402 and an adhesive strip 404. As can be seen in
As would be understood by those of skill in the art, depending upon the weight of the object to be hung and/or mounted on a wall the amount of adhesive present on either one, or both, of portions 400 and 450 can be increased. Alternatively, a different type of adhesive material could be utilized where the holding strength of the adhesive materials of adhesive strips 404 and/or 452 is/are increased in response to the amount of weight that is desired to be secured by the overall wall hanging and/or mounting system of the present invention.
In one embodiment, adhesive strip 404 is formed from any suitable adhesive material and can be selected from a double-sided adhesive tape that has a permanent adhesive material on one side (the side that is secured to the wall portion 400 of the wall hanging system of the present invention), a removable adhesive material on the other side (the side that is used to secure the wall portion 400 of the present invention to a wall surface) and a foam core. In one embodiment, adhesive strip 452 is formed from any suitable adhesive material and can be selected from a double-sided adhesive tape that has a permanent adhesive material on one side (the side that is secured to the object portion 450 of the wall hanging system of the present invention), a removable adhesive material on the other side (the side that is used to secure the object portion 450 of the present invention to the object to be hung on a wall) and a foam core there between. Again, such double-sided tapes are known to those of skill in the art and are available from Essentra Specialty Tapes of Forest Park, Ill., USA.
In another embodiment, adhesive strip 404 is formed from a double-sided tape material having an adhesive material that is selected so as to have a removable and reusable adhesive on both sides of the tape. Such double-sided tapes with removable adhesives on both sides are known to those of skill in the art, and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. In still another embodiment, at least the portion of adhesive strip 404 that contacts the wall surface is formed from an adhesive material that is selected so as to be removable, reusable and residue-free. Again, such adhesive materials are known to those of skill in the art and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. As used herein “residue-free” means that no undesirable stains or other residues are left on the wall surface onto which adhesive strip 404 is placed. In another embodiment, adhesive strip 452 is formed from a double-sided tape material having an adhesive material that is selected so as to have a removable and reusable adhesive on both sides of the tape. Such double-sided tapes with removable adhesives on both sides are known to those of skill in the art, and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. In still another embodiment, at least the portion of adhesive strip 452 that contacts the wall surface is formed from an adhesive material that is selected so as to be removable, reusable and residue-free. Again, such adhesive materials are known to those of skill in the art and as such a detailed discussion herein is omitted for the sake of brevity. As used herein “residue-free” means that no undesirable stains or other residues are left on the wall surface onto which adhesive strip 452 is placed.
The thickness of adhesive strip 404 is not critical. Additionally, the thickness of adhesive strip 452 is not critical so long as adhesive strip 452 is of sufficient thickness to create a functional gap between the object and the lower part of object portion 450 so as to permit the curved edge 454 of object portion 450 to be able to pass through slot 402 of wall portion 400 when engagement of wall portion 400 and object portion 450 are desired. In one embodiment, adhesive strip 452 is independently formed so as to have a thickness of about 0.02 inches to about 0.25 inches, or from about 0.05 inches to about 0.15 inches, or from about 0.06 inches to about 0.1 inches, or even about 0.0625 inches. Here, as well as elsewhere in the specification and claims, individual numerical values can be combined to form additional and/or non-disclosed ranges.
Turning to
As would be apparent to those of skill in the art, any of the adhesive portions or strips of the various embodiments of the present invention can further include a release strip, or liner, so as to protect the adhesive portions or strips of the various embodiments of the present invention when the adhesive is not in use. The nature of such a release strip, or liner, is well known to those of skill in the art. As such, any suitable release strip, or liner, material known in the labeling, tape, or mounting device arts can be utilized.
As noted above, the wall portion of the present invention and the object portion can be identical or different. Given this, a number of non-limiting examples of overall wall hanging systems in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail. In one embodiment, the wall hanging system of the present invention comprises: a wall portion (100 and/or 200), the wall portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side and an adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the wall portion and is formed so as to cover only a lower portion of the first side of the body of the wall portion; and an object portion (100 and/or 200), the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side and an adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the first side of the body of the object portion, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein the lack of an adhesive strip on an upper portion of the first side of the wall portion creates a space between the body of the wall portion and the wall that the lower portion of the body of the object portion is able to securely engage. In another embodiment, one, or both, of the wall portion and/or object portion further comprises an adhesive guard located on the first side of the wall portion's body and/or located on the first side of the object portion's body. In still another embodiment, one, or both, of the wall portion and/or object portion further comprises a bottom lip formed from a raised horizontal, or slanted, ridge located on the first side of the wall portion's body and/or located on the first side of the object portion's body. In still another embodiment, one, or both, of the wall portion and/or object portion further comprises one or more raised locking features located on the first side of the wall portion's body and/or located on the first side of the object portion's body.
In another embodiment, the wall hanging system of the present invention comprises: a wall portion (100 and/or 200), the wall portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip and an adhesive guard, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the wall portion and is formed so as to cover only a lower portion of the first side of the body of the wall portion and the adhesive guard is formed from a raised horizontally oriented ridge located above a top edge of the adhesive strip; and an object portion (100 and/or 200), the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip and an adhesive guard, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the first side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the first side of the body of the object portion and the adhesive guard is formed from a raised horizontally oriented ridge located below a bottom edge of the adhesive strip, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein the lack of an adhesive strip on an upper portion of the first side of the wall portion creates a space between the body of the wall portion and the wall that the lower portion of the body of the object portion is able to securely engage. In another embodiment, one, or both, of the wall portion and/or object portion further comprises a bottom lip formed from a raised horizontal, or slanted, ridge located on the first side of the wall portion's body and/or located on the first side of the object portion's body. In still another embodiment, one, or both, of the wall portion and/or object portion further comprises one or more raised locking features located on the first side of the wall portion's body and/or located on the first side of the object portion's body.
A wall hanging system comprising: a folded wall portion 400, the folded wall portion comprising a body having a first portion and a second portion that are joined together along an edge, an adhesive strip and a slot, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the back side of the second portion of the body and the slot is formed in a portion of the edge that joins the first portion and the second portion of the body; and an object portion 450, the object portion comprising a body having a first side and a second side, an adhesive strip, and a curved bottom edge, wherein the adhesive strip is located on the second side of the body of the object portion and is formed so as to cover only an upper portion of the second side of the body of the object portion, wherein the adhesive strip of the wall portion operatively engages a wall surface and the adhesive strip of the object portion operatively engages an object to be hung, or mounted, on the wall, and wherein the curved edge of the body of the object portion is formed so as to pass through the slot formed in the body of the wall portion.
In still another embodiment, the positions of wall portion 400 and object portion can be reversed such that portion 400 becomes the object portion and portion 450 becomes the wall portion. In this embodiment, the present invention relates to a wall hanging system comprising: a folded object portion 400 that serves as the object portion of the wall hanging system and a wall portion 450 having a curved edge. As would be apparent to those of skill in the art, this embodiment differs from the embodiment of
While in accordance with the patent statutes the best mode and certain embodiments of the invention have been set forth, the scope of the invention is not limited thereto, but rather by the scope of the attached. As such, other variants within the spirit and scope of this invention are possible and will present themselves to those skilled in the art.
