Patent Application
20060277779
The invention relates to a mounting template and more specifically to a mounting template and method for mounting accessories, such as a towel bar and paper holder in an expedited manner.
In today's house construction industry, houses are being built at a rapid pace. House builders require tools that help increase the speed and accuracy of their work. In the bathroom in particular, it becomes tedious and time-consuming to mount accessories such as towel bars and toilet paper holders. Most bathroom designs include at least one towel bar and a toilet paper holder. Typically, to mount a towel bar or paper holder, one must first determine the location on the wall to hang the accessory posts. Then, a pair of holes for the mounting fasteners must be drilled at a precise distance from each other and horizontally level. This requires measuring, marking, leveling several times to ensure the mounting holes are level and the correct distance apart. Add to this that there are usually multiple bathrooms in a single house. As a result, the process of mounting towel bars and toilet paper holders is a tedious and time-consuming process.
The template of the present invention allows for quicker and more precise mounting of towel bars and paper holders. The template includes a plurality of holes or marking devices at predetermined distances oriented in such a way that the template provides holes or marking devices to drill or mark fastening holes for a first accessory, such as a towel bar, and holes or marking devices to drill or mark fastening holes for a second accessory, such as a paper holder. A first line of holes and a second line of holes are aligned at a right angle such that in operation, the template is held in a first position when drilling for the first accessory and the template is held in a second position when drilling for the second accessory. The second position is obtained by rotating the template 90° from the first position. The template also includes a pair of level indicators, such as bubble gauges, which are oriented at a right angle with respect to each other.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.
The invention as well as embodiments and advantages thereof are described below in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which:
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.
The template 1 has a T-shaped frame made from a hard clear plastic, although other shapes and materials are within the scope of the present invention. The template has a plurality of holes disposed therein where at least two of the holes form a first line and at least two of the holes form a second line. The first and second lines are at right angles to one another.
In the embodiment shown in
At one end of the template 1 are paper holder holes 5, 6. Paper holder holes 5 and 6 are a predetermined distance apart (approximately 6 inches) from each other corresponding to a paper holder. Holes 2, 3, 4, which correspond to the towel bars, form a first line that is at a right angle to a second line formed by holes 5, 6, which correspond to the paper holder. In other embodiments, a particular hole may fall within both the first line and the second line.
All holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are large enough to allow a drill bit or other marking instrument such as a pencil to pass through. Furthermore, instead of holes, marking devices may be employed such as small pins or pointed projections extending from the back side of the template. These marking devices, when pressed against the wall would mark the location where fastening holes should be drilled. As used herein, marking includes not only making marks on a wall, such as with a pencil or marker, but also includes making indentations, drilling or creating holes in the wall.
The template 1 also includes a pair of bubble gauges 7, 8 oriented at a right angle to each other, although other types of leveling devices are within the scope of the present invention. Although the bubble gauges 7, 8 are shown adjacent to each other, each bubble gauge may be positioned at different locations on the template 1 as long as they remain at right angles to each other. The towel bar bubble gauge 7 allows a user to know when the towel bar holes 2, 3, 4 are horizontally level. Similarly, the paper holder bubble gauge 8 allows a user to know when paper holder holes 5, 6 are horizontally level.
In the template 1 of
Also included on template 1 are ruler markings 10. This provides additional functionality to the template 1. Furthermore, the template 1 has gripping pads 11 positioned at various places on the backside of the template. The rubber gripping pads 11 allow the user to press the template 1 against the mounting wall without damaging the wall while also preventing the template 1 from undesirably sliding or moving while the template 1 is being used.
In one embodiment of the invention, the template 1 is used to mount a first accessory, such as a 24 inch towel bar by first choosing a location on a mounting wall. The template 1 is then lifted to the desired location on the wall, pressed against the wall until the gripping pads 11 make contact with the wall, and held by the user such that towel bar holes 2 and 4 align horizontally level. The user can them make small adjustments based on the bubble gauge 7 reading to ensure that towel bar holes 2, 4 are horizontally level. Once the towel bar holes 2, 4 are level, the user may simply drill holes in the wall by placing the drill bit through holes 2 and 4 to create fastening holes in the wall. The user may also simply mark the wall using other types of marking instruments such as a pencil by inserting the pencil into each of holes 2, 4 and making a mark on the wall. The template 1 can then be removed and fastening holes drilled at the marked locations.
The same template 1 can also be used to mount a second discrete accessory, such as a paper holder. To do so, the user would rotate the template 1 by 90° such that end surface 9 is located below paper holder holes 5, 6. The user would then determine the desired location of the paper holder and place the template 1 against the wall at that location such that the end surface 9 abuts the floor beneath the desired location of the paper holder. By abutting the end surface 9 of the template 1 against the floor, the user is assured that the paper holder will be located 24 inches above the floor, as is the industry standard.
The template 1, with gripping pads 11 pressed against the wall, is adjusted slightly to level the paper holder holes 5, 6 based on the readings of bubble gauge 8. Once the bubble gauge 8 indicates that holes 5, 6 are horizontally level, the user may then drill the fastening holes in the wall by placing the drill bit through holes 5, 6. Alternatively, the user may mark the wall by placing a different type of marking instrument (other than a drill) though each hole 5, 6. With the wall marked, the template 1 may be removed and the fastening holes may then be drilled at the marked locations.
As can be seen, the template 1 of the present invention allows for quicker mounting of different accessories without the need for multiple tools.
The above description of the invention has been given by way of example. From the disclosure given, those skilled in the art will not only understand the present invention and its attendant advantages, but will also find apparent various changes and modifications to the structures and methods disclosed. It is sought, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.
