Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to picture hanger locating devices and more particularly to devices for marking the location on a wall for installation of a support for hanging an article such as a picture.
2. Prior Art
Objects intended to be displayed on a wall, such as pictures and minors, are typically hung on a nail in a wall with hanger hardware. Hanger hardware, such as a wire, hole/slot, D-ring, or saw-tooth, are attached to the back side of the object. The problem is locating where to install the nail on the wall so that when the picture is hung on the nail the picture is in the desired location. It is difficult to determine where on the wall to install the nail because the hanger hardware is on the back of the picture and not visible when deciding where to place the picture. Various devices have been conceived for marking the wall in the exact location where a nail should be positioned, but these devices all have serious issues that prevent them from being widely adopted. Aydelotte discloses a wall marking device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,906 which requires various configurations to accommodate the different hanger hardware commonly attached to pictures, such as wire, saw-tooth, D-Rings, and hole/slots. One such configuration requires several components including a spring. This complexity causes confusion and increases the cost of manufacturing. Other disclosures, such as Karon in U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,917, Muchnik in U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,887, and Prevost in U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,184, are highly complex and expensive to manufacture. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,887 cannot be used on wire support hardware. Grillo disclosed a wall marking device in U.S. Pat. No. 7,185,442 that includes a target patch that sticks to the wall, marking the nail location. The target patch is not reusable, requiring the user to continuously purchase additional target patches. What all of the current art lacks is a wall marking device that is easy to use on all common hanger hardware, is simple in design, and low in cost to manufacture.
The present invention provides a device for marking a wall or other surface when mounting picture frames, shelves, mirrors, or other objects. The device uses a protrusion to engage hanger hardware on the back side of an object to be mounted. A hinge allows the device to rotate so that a reusable adhesive patch can temporarily attach the device to the back of the object to be mounted. A marking member is located opposite of the protrusion accurately locating the device's marking member where a nail type fastener should be located on the wall. Once the wall marking device is in position on the object to be mounted, the user positions the object in the desired location on a wall and simply applies pressure to the object. The marking member produces a mark on the wall surface. When not in use the device is folded up using the hinge, protecting the tacky adhesive from getting soiled. The device has areas for advertising.
The present invention provides a device for marking a wall or other surface when mounting picture frames, shelves, mirrors, or other wall mounted objects.
A first embodiment is comprised of two plates hinged together. Referring to
A second embodiment comprises a base 150 made of a flexible plastic, a marking member 60, reusable adhesive patches 30, and a protrusion 50. Reusable adhesive patch 30 is made from a reusable adhesive such as silicone. Protrusion 50 is attached to base 150 on the same side as reusable patches 30. Marking member 60 is also attached to base 150 on the opposite side from protrusion 50.
A third embodiment, shown in
When mounting objects with wire hanger hardware, such as a picture frame, the user opens the wall marking device as shown in
When mounting objects with saw-tooth type hanger hardware, such as a picture frame, the user opens the wall marking device as shown in
When mounting objects with a hole/slot 140, such as a picture frame, the user opens the wall marking device as shown in
When mounting objects with D-ring type hanger hardware, such as a picture frame, the wall marking device is used in the same way as described above. Protrusion 50 is engaged with the D-ring hanger hardware of the object to be mounted with marking member 60 facing away from the object to be mounted. With protrusion 50 still engaged with the D-ring, the user presses reusable adhesive patches 30 against the object to be mounted. Now the wall marking device is secured in place on the object to be mounted. Two wall marking devices can be affixed as described above if there are two D-rings on the object to be mounted. The user places the object to be mounted in the desired mounting location on the wall. As the user adjusts the position of the object on the wall, spring tabs 80 protect the wall from being scratched or marked by marking member 60. This is due to spring tabs 80 contacting the wall before marking member 60 when spring tabs 80 are in the un-deflected state. Once the object is in the desired location on the wall, the user simply presses the object against the wall. Spring tabs 80 deflect in towards the marking member 60 allowing the marking member 60 to make a small indentation on the wall, marking the exact location where a nail type support element should be placed. If two wall marking devices were used there will be two indentations in the wall. The user now removes the marking device by peeling the reusable adhesive patches 30 from the object to be mounted and disengaging protrusion 50 from the D-ring. The wall marking device can now be closed by rotating the bottom plate 10 and top plate 20 together about hinge 40 with reusable adhesive patches 30 in between as shown in
The second embodiment operates the same as the first embodiment, with the exception of opening and closing the wall marking device. The second embodiment does not have two halves hinged together, so it is always “open”.
The third embodiment shown in
Advantages
From the description above, a number of advantages of some embodiments of our wall marking device become evident:
a) Simplicity of use. A reusable adhesive patch that allows the user to simply stick the wall marking device in position on the back of the object to be mounted. The current art has complex hardware that must be fastened to the object's hanger hardware.
b) A protrusion that easily positions the marking member with respect to the hanger hardware of an object to be mounted.
c) Only one configuration is needed for all common hanger hardware: Wire, saw-tooth, D-ring or hole/slot.
d) Does not require the purchase of expendable supplies. The adhesive patch is reusable. Other current art (U.S. Pat. No. 7,185,442 B2) requires the user to purchase expendable components.
e) Low cost to manufacture. The device has few components and each component is inexpensive to manufacture.
f) Ease of use. The user simply holds the object to be mounted against the wall in the desired location and presses it against the wall. The current art requires the object to be mounted to be held with a long rod or stick, which is quite awkward.
Marking member 60 could be replaced with an ink marking member which makes an ink mark on the mounting surface rather than an indentation.
Reusable adhesive patch 30 could be replaced with various other adhesive materials.
Protrusion 50 could be a hook or other shape that can engage the various types of hanger hardware.
The wall marking device could be without spring tabs 80 and without compressible pad 170 and without hinge 40.
The reader will see that, according to one embodiment of the invention, we have provided a wall marking device which is simple to use and manufacture. The device can accommodate the most common hanger hardware used on pictures, minors, and other objects mounted on walls. While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments thereof. Many other variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.
This application claims benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/943,039 filed 2007 Jun. 9 by the present inventors.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4220309 | Eisen et al. | Sep 1980 | A |
5398906 | Aydelott | Mar 1995 | A |
5867917 | Karon | Feb 1999 | A |
6286803 | Pellino et al. | Sep 2001 | B1 |
6421928 | Miller | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6470585 | Barr | Oct 2002 | B2 |
6952887 | Muchnik | Oct 2005 | B2 |
6971184 | Prevost | Dec 2005 | B2 |
6978551 | Krake et al. | Dec 2005 | B2 |
7185442 | Grillo | Mar 2007 | B2 |
7334342 | Barr et al. | Feb 2008 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60943039 | Jun 2007 | US |