Patent Application
20080315063
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
The present invention relates generally to wall mounted decorations and/or fixtures. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for securing a support frame or similar support structure to a wall.
Walls are commonly decorated with wall decorations. Examples of such decorations may include paintings, pictures, mirrors, shelves, frames, etc. Typically, a wall decoration is secured to a wall by hanging the wall decoration on a nail, which has been inserted into the wall. The decoration may itself be supported by the nail, or it may include a wire or bracket which hangs on the nail.
Many wall decorations include a keyhole for mounting the decoration to the wall. A keyhole is a cutout built into the wall decoration and typically includes a slot which communicates with an adjacent hole. The hole opening is generally larger than the diameter of the nail head, while the slot opening is typically smaller than the diameter of the nail head. As such, the nail head may be placed within the hole, and then confined within the slot after being advanced from the hole into the slot. When the nail head is positioned within the slot, the wall decoration is effectively secured to the wall.
Although a keyhole mounting system is operative to secure a wall decoration to a wall, the process of mounting a wall decoration employing a keyhole mounting system can oftentimes be tedious and difficult. The first step usually involves finding a location on the wall where the wall decoration is to be hung. It may be desirable to center the wall decoration on the wall and also ensure the wall decoration is level with a horizontal plane. As such, a number of measurements may be made to find a level and central location. The user then marks the wall to indicate where fasteners, such as screws or nails should be inserted such that the wall decoration will be supported by the fasteners in the level and central position. A mark is commonly made on the wall with pen, pencil, or chalk. It is critical that the fasteners are correctly spaced. If the spacing between the fasteners is slightly incorrect, the fasteners may not fit into the narrow slot of the keyhole opening. If the fastener spacing is incorrect, the user may be forced to remove the fasteners from the wall, and repeat the process until they are correctly spaced. This process may be repeated multiple times before the fasteners are correctly spaced. Consequently, throughout this process, numerous holes and markings are created on the wall.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved method and system of hanging wall mounted decorations/fixtures on a wall.
According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a wall mounting kit. The wall mounting kit includes a pair of fasteners. Each fastener is capable of being cooperatively engaged to a wall. The wall mounting kit further includes a wall fixture. The wall fixture includes a reference edge and a contact surface. The contact surface is adjacent to the wall when the wall fixture is secured thereto. The wall fixture also includes a pair of keyhole openings disposed within the contact surface. The spatial separation between the keyhole openings and the reference edge defines a first distance. Each keyhole opening includes an aperture portion. The spatial separation between the centers of the keyhole aperture portions defines a second distance. The keyhole openings are operative to receive a respective one of the pair of fasteners which are used to secure the wall fixture to the wall.
The wall mounting kit additionally includes a template having a marking guide. The marking guide is operative to illustrate the second distance. The template may have a height which is slightly less than the first distance.
The wall mounting kit may further include a leveling device that is operative to ensure that the wall fixture is level with a horizontal plane. In addition, the wall mounting kit fasteners may be double headed screws. The double headed screws may include high-helix angle threads to support larger weights.
The present invention also includes a methodology of securing a wall fixture to a wall. The method includes the step of holding the wall fixture adjacent to the wall in the desired location. A reference mark is drawn on the wall adjacent to the reference edge. The template includes a first edge which is placed adjacent to the reference mark. A pair of fastener marks is drawn on the wall in accordance with the marking guide. The spatial separation between the fastener marks is equal to the second distance. A pair of fasteners is inserted into the wall. Each fastener is inserted at a respective one of the pair of fastener marks. The wall fixture is secured to the wall by connecting the pair of fasteners with the wall fixtures such that a respective one of the pair of fasteners is inserted into a respective one of the keyhole openings.
It is contemplated that the present invention addresses the aforementioned deficiencies in the art. In particular the present invention allows a user to quickly and easily hang a wall fixture on a wall. As mentioned above, one of the most difficult and frustrating aspects of many prior art wall hanging systems and methods is ensuring that the fasteners are correctly spaced, such that they will connect with the wall fixture and that the wall fixture will be level. The template assists a user in this regard by instructing a user as to where to make the fastening marks. Such a system and method should simplify and alleviate the process of hanging a wall fixture.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and sequences of steps for constructing and operating the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.
Referring now to
It is understood that many different types of wall fixtures 16 are hung on a wall 14. A wall fixture 16 may include, but is not limited to, a frame, shelf, mirror, or other similar wall decoration or wall hanging member. The wall fixture 16 shown in
According to one embodiment, the wall fixture 16 is secured to the wall 14 via a pair of fasteners 12. The fasteners 12 may include nails, screws, tacks, hooks, or similar hardware known by those skilled in the art. Each fastener 12 is engageable with the wall 14. In this regard, the fastener 12 may be inserted or secured to the wall 14 and capable of supporting a load. In the preferred embodiment, the fastener 12 is a double headed screw 46 with high-helix angle threads, as is shown in
The wall fixture 16 includes a reference edge 18 and a contact surface 20. The reference edge 18 is the edge along which the user traces a reference mark 38 on the wall 14, as is shown in
The wall fixture 16 further includes a pair of keyhole openings 22. The keyhole openings 22 are disposed within the contact surface 20, as is shown in
It is contemplated that the wall fixtures 16 will be available in different sizes. Consequently, the distance between the keyhole openings 22 will vary among wall fixtures 16. Therefore, the wall mounting kit also includes a template 28 which is used to ensure that the fasteners 12 are correctly spaced so they will be received within the keyhole openings aperture portions 24 on a specific wall fixture 16. Each keyhole opening aperture portion 24 defines a central axis. The spatial separation between the axes of the keyhole opening aperture portions 24 defines a second distance. The template 28 includes a marking guide 30 which illustrates the second distance. According to one particular implementation of the present invention, the marking guide 30 illustrates the second distance for wall fixtures 16 having different sizes. For example, the template 28 shown in
Preferably, the template 28 is of a height “H” that is slightly less than a first distance, which is defined by the spatial separation between the distal end of slot portion 26 and the reference edge 18. The template height H is preferably slightly less than the first distance so the reference mark 38 is covered by the wall fixture 16 when the fixture 16 is hung on the fasteners 12, as can be seen in
According to another embodiment, the wall mounting kit may also include a leveling device 32, as is shown in
As was mentioned above, wall fixtures 16 may be available in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The wall fixture 16 shown in
In addition to the foregoing, it is expressly contemplated that the present invention also includes a methodology of securing a wall fixture 16 to a wall 14. The method includes drawing a reference mark 38 on the wall 14, as is shown in
When the wall fixture 16 is connected to the fasteners 12, the fixture 16 may become disconnected from the fasteners 12 if the fixture 16 is inadvertently bumped. Therefore, the wall mounting kit may include an attachment device 48 that is capable of preventing the fixture 16 from inadvertently disconnecting from the fasteners 12.
The method may also include the step of affixing an attachment device 48 to the contact surface 20. The attachment device 48 may be placed near the bottom corners of the contact surface 20. The attachment device 48 may also be placed anywhere along the contact surface 20 of the wall fixture 14. As shown in
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
