Patent Application
20180156382
The present disclosure relates generally to an improved mounting assembly.
Double-faced adhesive tapes (i.e., tapes bearing adhesive on both major opposing surfaces) are widely known and used to attach articles to surfaces. For example, stretch-releasing adhesive tapes have found use in a wide variety of assembling, joining, attaching, and mounting applications. One example of a commercially available double-sided, stretch-releasing adhesive product is COMMAND® strips sold by 3M Company. These double-sided, stretch-releasing adhesive products can be attached to an article support device that has a hook, clip, hanger, etc. Utensils, decorations, tools and various other articles (generally referred to as accessories) can then be hooked, clipped, hung, or otherwise attached to the support device. Examples of such assemblies are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,802,766; 8,020,820, and 8,814,112.
Article support devices using a stretch-releasable adhesive tape often comprises a base comprising a planar surface configured to be attached to the stretch-releasable adhesive tape, in combination with a support body that comprises an article support member and that is removably attachable to the base, so that, when it is desired to remove the device from a mounting surface, the body can be detached from the base so as to access and activate the stretch-releasable adhesive.
One specific example of an attachment or mounting assembly 1 is shown in
Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a mounting assembly, comprising: a cover plate having a front surface and a rear surface; the front surface of the cover plate including an attachment device capable of attaching an accessory to the cover plate; the rear surface of the cover plate capable of being slid into (or otherwise attached to) a backplate; a frame having both a bottom member and a top member that are each closely adjacent to at least a portion of the cover plate such that the bottom and top members limit or prohibit lateral motion of the cover plate relative to the frame when the cover plate is in the frame and attached or adhered to a vertical surface; and adhesive strips capable of adhering the backplate to a vertical surface.
In some embodiments, the accessory is at least one of a utensil, a decoration, a tool, and/or another device or article. In some embodiments, the frame includes opposed side members. In some embodiments, the frame includes opposed top and bottom members. In some embodiments, the frame includes opposed side members and opposed top and bottom members and the opposed top and bottom members each connect with and are generally perpendicular to each of the opposed side members. In some embodiments, the attachment device is a hook. In some embodiments, the accessory snaps into the attachment device. In some embodiments, the adhesive strips are double-sided adhesive strips. In some embodiments, the adhesive strips are stretch-release adhesive strips. In some embodiments, the adhesive strips include a tab.
The inventors of the present disclosure invented a mounting assembly that is capable of mounting an accessory such as, for example, a utensil, a decoration, a tool, and/or another device or article. In general, the mounting device includes a cover plate, a frame (at least a portion of which is adjacent to the cover plate), and an accessory that is attachable to the cover plate. The frame includes a generally horizontal bottom portion or member and an opposed, generally parallel generally horizontal top portion or member that cooperatively limit or prohibit lateral motion of the cover plate relative to the frame when the cover plate is attached to the frame and is attached to a wall or vertical surface. More specifically, the bottom and top portions or members of the frame (when attached to cover plate and when the mounting assembly is attached or adhered to wall) limit or prohibit lateral motion of the cover plate relative to the frame. The presence of the bottom and top portions or members facilitate faster and easier application and removal of the mounting assembly to a wall or other vertical surface by permitting the mounting assembly to be removed from the backplate on the wall in a single step (instead of requiring the user to first remove the accessory and then remove the cover plate from the backplate).
One exemplary embodiment of a mounting device in accordance with the present disclosure is shown in
In the specific embodiment shown in
In the specific embodiment shown in
In the specific embodiment shown in
Adhesive strips 260 can be any desired adhesive strip including, for example, stretch release adhesive strips, double-sided adhesive strips, etc. Double-sided (also referred to as double-faced adhesive strips) can comprise any suitable sheet, film, layer, etc. that comprises pressure-sensitive adhesive functionality on oppositely-facing major surfaces. The double-faced adhesive can comprise any suitable adhesive that is available in the form of a sheet, tape, roll good, etc., from which a discrete piece of adhesive can be obtained that is suitable for being contacted with and bonded to bonding surface. Suitable adhesives thus include double-stick tapes, laminating adhesives, double-faced foam tapes, and the like, as are commonly known in the art.
In some embodiments, the adhesive strips include a stretch-release adhesive. Such a stretch-release property can allow the adhesive to be securely attached to a surface and to be later removed from the surface without visual disfigurement of, or leaving adhesive residue on, the surface. An exemplary suitable stretch-releasing adhesive can include an elastic backing, or a highly extensible and substantially inelastic backing, with a pressure-sensitive adhesive disposed (e.g. coated) thereupon. Or the stretch-releasing adhesive can be formed of a solid, elastic pressure sensitive adhesive. Thus, in this context, the term stretch-releasing adhesive encompasses products that comprise a unitary, integral, or solid construction of adhesive (in addition to products that comprise a backing with separate layers of adhesive residing thereupon). Suitable exemplary stretch-releasing adhesives are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,312 to Korpman; German Patent No. 33 31 016; U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,581 to Kreckel et al.; and PCT International Publication No. WO 95/06691 to Bries et al, all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. Such stretch-release adhesives can range, for example, from about 0.2 mm in thickness to about 2 mm in thickness.
In embodiments where the mounting system is to be mounted in a moist environment (e.g., if the accessory is to be mounted in a shower, tub, or bathroom), the composition of the stretch-releasing adhesive can be chosen so as to maintain appropriate adhesion in the presence of moisture.
In some embodiments, the stretch-release adhesive includes a pull tab portion (e.g., an end of the tab that does not comprise adhesive), which may be grasped by a user and pulled so as to activate the stretch-release properties of the adhesive when it is desired to detach the mounting assembly (or a portion thereof) from the wall.
A single piece or multiple pieces of adhesive can be used. If two (or more) pieces are used, the pieces may be bonded so as not to be in contact with each other. Alternatively, if two (or more) pieces are used, the pieces may be in contact with each other or may be directly adjacent to one another.
Assembly of the pieces of mounting assembly 200 of
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The user then slides or otherwise attaches cover plate 210 into or onto backplate 250.
Lastly, as shown in
When the cover plate 210 and back plate 250 assembly are attached to a wall with adhesive strips 260, cover plate 210 can no longer rotate at the hook 240 relative to the frame and thus effectively locks frame 220 and cover plate 210 together.
In this manner, the pieces of the mounting assembly can be attached, removed, and/or reattached to each other and to a wall.
A summary of the steps involved in removing the mounting assembly from the wall is as follows. First, the user holds onto either the accessory or the bottom or side members of the frame and slides the cover plate off of the backplate. Next, the user removes the backplate from the wall by following the directions of the specific type of adhesive strips that were used to adhere or attach the backplate to the wall. Viola—the removal process is complete!
One of the benefits of the mounting assemblies of the present disclosure is that they can be removed more quickly, easily, and more intuitively than alternative mounting assemblies. In some embodiments, the mounting assemblies of the present disclosure can be removed in fewer steps. Specifically, the accessory and cover plate can simultaneously (as a single unit) be removed (slid from) the backplate. This eliminates the step of removing the accessory from the cover plate.
Further, many users tend to grab onto the accessory and pull upwards when quickly removing the mounting assembly. In other constructions, this natural, intuitive action will result in disengagement of the accessory from the cover plate. At best, this results in a two-step process to remove the accessory and cover plate from the backplate attached to the wall. At worst, this can break the attachment mechanism or the portion of the accessory attached to the attachment mechanism, thereby destroying the re-usability of the apparatus. The mounting assemblies of the present disclosure, in contrast, will always slide off the backplate when the user pushes upwardly on the installed accessory. The mounting assemblies of the present disclosure will never disengage at the attachment point between the cover plate and accessory. Instead, they will always disengage at the attachment point between the cover plate and the backplate.
As stated above, the accessory used in the mounting assemblies of the type generally described herein can vary.
In general, the cover plates and accessories of the mounting assemblies of the present disclosure are attachable to each other in a removable manner. In the present disclosure, the term “removably attachable” means that the accessory and the cover plate can be attached to each other, can be separated from each other, and can be reattached to each other (e.g., multiple times).
In some embodiments, the cover plate and accessory are attachable to each other in a deflectable manner. In the present disclosure, the term “deflectably attachable” means that cover plate and accessory, when attached (e.g., connected) to each other, can be deflected (e.g., moved) relative to each other at least a small amount, without becoming detached from each other. In some embodiments, with the entire mounting assembly attached to a wall, it is possible to move at least a portion of the accessory at least a small amount, relative to the wall, while maintaining the attachment between the cover plate and the accessory.
Like reference symbols in the various figures indicate like elements. Unless otherwise indicated, all figures and drawings in this document are not to scale and are chosen for the purpose of illustrating different embodiments of the inventions. In particular, the dimensions of the various components are depicted in illustrative terms only, and no relationship between the dimensions of the various components should be inferred from the drawings, unless so indicated.
Although terms such as “top”, bottom“, “upper”, lower“, “under”, “over”, “front”, “back”, “outward”, “inward”, “up” and “down”, and “first” and “second” may be used in this disclosure, it should be understood that those terms are used in their relative sense only unless otherwise noted.
The term “wall” as used herein is not limited to items that are substantially vertical and/or that comprise, e.g., walls of buildings. Thus, the term “wall” as used herein encompasses such items as ceilings, shelves, and the like.
Those having skill in the art will appreciate that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments and implementations without departing from the underlying principles thereof. Further, various modifications and alterations of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2016/036126 | 6/7/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62173646 | Jun 2015 | US |
