Patent Application
20050214095
The present invention relates to mounting systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for mounting fasteners to hollow walls and ceilings.
Most walls and ceilings of residential and commercial structures are hollow cavity construction. Typically, “drywall”, also known in the trade as gypsum board, is nailed, glued and/or screwed to a suitable frame which includes as wood or metal studs and/or joists, spaced sixteen or twenty-four inches on center, to form these walls. Another less common wall and ceiling material with similar characteristics is plaster. A variety of fastening systems are commercially available for attaching fasteners to these walls to hang or secure objects such as pictures, mirrors and shelving, cabinetry, towel racks, hand rails or any object that requires anchorage at a location in the wall or ceiling other than where a framing member is located. Most fasteners can be divided into several general categories: toggle, expansion and auger fasteners.
One common toggle fastener is the spring-wing toggle bolts in which a pair of toggles is folded together at the end of a screw. The assembly is inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the wall where the toggles are released. Both toggles spring about ninety degrees away from the screw to form a retainer. Disadvantages include the need to pre-drill an oversized hole, difficulty in keeping the toggles from spinning while trying to tighten the screw against the toggles, multiple fastener sizes for multiple screw sizes, and the higher cost associated with manufacturing metal anchors.
Another toggle design is a single toggle fastener in which the middle of the toggle is attached to end of the screw. The toggle is folded against screw and inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the wall. Gravity causes the toggle to be released thereby forming a retainer. Disadvantages include the need to pre-drill an oversized hole, difficulty in keeping the toggle stationary while trying to tighten the screw against the toggle, multiple toggle sizes for multiple screw sizes, and the higher cost associated with manufacturing metal anchors.
Yet another toggle system uses a pair of folding plastic flaps that initially are lying flat against the screw. Upon insertion into a pre-drilled hole in the wall, the tightening of the screw draws the far end of the plastic flaps towards the inside surface of the wall, thereby causing the flaps to begin bending in the middle and eventually form two plastic toggles perpendicular to the screw. Disadvantages of this system include the need for pre-drilling an oversized hole. In addition, if the flaps are improperly drawn toward the inside surface of the wall, the inside surface is crushed thereby weakening the load bearing ability of the wall.
Expansion anchoring systems include alligator anchors which are hollow plastic screws receptacles with split sleeves. When the assembly is inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the wall, the screw is tightened which causes the sleeve to expand along the split. This method is disadvantageous because pre-drilling is needed. In addition, the opening of the split sleeves often crushes the back of the wall thereby reducing the load-bearing capacity of the wall. Often, as increasing torque is placed on the anchor as the screw is driven in, the anchor will often cause the wall to fail, enabling the anchor to begin spinning in place and severely compromising the wall's capacity to grip the anchor securely.
There is also a class of hybrid toggle/expansion fasteners, known as metal expansion anchors, where several narrow metal stripes fold and collapse outwards in a radial pattern as the far end of the anchor is drawn towards the wall. Disadvantages include the need for pre-drilling, and crushing of the inside surface of the wall from the pressure of the narrow metal stripes.
Self-drilling and self-tapping auger-type anchors can also be used as hollow wall fasteners. Unfortunately these auger anchors do not work well in drywall because gypsum board is easily crushed into a powder. Often, the anchor is over-torqued during installation causing the drywall to fail structurally and decompose into a loose powder. Consequently, the wall loses the ability to hold the anchor securely, and the resulting anchorage is weak and detaches easily from the wall, leaving a large unsightly hole where a functional anchor needs to be located.
In sum, the different commercially available fasteners described above have significant disadvantages such as having to select the correctly-sized anchor for the screw and to select the correctly-sized drill bit for the anchor so as to avoid poor anchorage. Other disadvantages include the need for pre-drilling the wall for the anchor, difficulty in tightening properly since over-torquing the anchor or the screw often results in a failure of the wall and an unsightly oversized hole when the anchor is removed in such an over-torqued condition. Some of these fastening systems are also non-removable or difficult to remove without leaving a large unsightly hole in the wall. Hence there is a need for an improved wall and ceiling fastening system that is superior to these fasteners without most of these drawbacks.
To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention, a wall and ceiling fastening system and method is provided. Such a system is useful for applications such as hanging or securing objects to hollow walls or ceilings. In the following discussion, wallboard is used interchangeably to describe a sheet material, such as drywall, suitable for forming both hollow walls and ceilings.
In one embodiment, the fastening system includes a drivable anchor having at least one pivotable section and a pin configured to be inserted into a channel of the anchor. The anchor is driven into the wallboard with a hammer or a suitable tool. As the pin is inserted into the anchor, a lever action between the pin and the pivotable section causes the pivotable section to pivot towards and come into contact with an interior surface of the wallboard.
Depending on the fastening application, the pin can have a suitable head such as a pan screw head, a flat screw head, a round screw head, an oval screw head, a countersunk screw head, a machine screw head, a hook head, an eye hook head, a ring head, a swivel head, a shoulder head, a nut, or a bolt head. In addition, the pin can have a ratcheted body, a threaded body, or a ribbed body.
In some embodiments, the external cross-sectional profile of the anchor is elongated, e.g., oval or rectangular, so as to provide a larger and hence more secure load-bearing surface area between the anchor and the wallboard. In addition, the internal cross-sectional profile of the anchor channel can be elongated, e.g. oval or rectangular, so that a wider range of pin body types and sizes can be accommodated. The anchor body may also have one of more stabilizing fins to enhance rotational stability and reduce the risk of rotational blowout.
Modifications are also possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, instead of lever action, a rack and pinion action between the pin and the pivotable section can be used to cause the pivotable section to pivot towards and come into contact with an interior surface of the wallboard.
Advantages of the fastening system of the present invention include eliminating the need for pre-drilling, reducing the risk of wall blowout resulting from both driving the anchor in and from over-torqued anchors or screws, compatibility with a wider range of screws sizes, lengths and configurations, and ease of removal.
Note that the various features of the present invention described above can be practiced alone or in combination. These and other features of the present invention will be described in more detail below in the detailed description of the invention and in conjunction with the following figures.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention. The features and advantages of the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and discussions that follow.
To facilitate discussion,
Depending on the application of the fastening system, pin 180 can include other suitable fastening head designs or configuration, materials, finishes, sizes, metric or standard specification, variety of lengths, known to one skilled in the art. Examples of suitable body designs or configuration for pin 180 include machine thread, wood screw thread, self-tapping thread, course or fine thread, a ribbed body, or a locking or ratcheting mechanism which allows pin 180 to be inserted securely into anchor 100. Other variations, modifications and combinations for pin 180 are also possible. For example, the cross-sectional body profile for pin 180 can be square, rectangular, round, or oval. The ratcheting mechanism may be on one or more sides of pin 180, or substantially around the whole body of pin 180.
Depending on the object(s) being anchored to wall 109, suitable head designs for pin 180 can include pan, flat, round, oval, and countersunk heads, while suitable head configurations for pin 180 can include hook, eye, ring, swivel, shoulder, nut, bolt heads, and any other suitable head designs know to one skilled in the art.
In some embodiments, anchor 100 can be driven into wallboard 190 without the need for pre-drilling a hole, thereby simplifying and speeding up the installation process. Ideally, pivotable section 220 has a pointed self-centering tip and sharp edges tapering towards wallboard support section 140. The sharp edges of pivotable section 220 may also be stepped and/or serrated for cutting cleanly through wallboard 190.
In some embodiments, as shown in
As shown in
Pivot point 250 can be accomplished by several techniques including a reduction in material thickness or using a pliable material at pivot point 250 to enable pivotable section 220 to bend at pivot point 250, or a hinge with a pivoting pin, cut or shaped hollow space with the material at pivot point 250 or any other suitable means to enable pivotable section 220 to pivot toward wallboard 190. In some embodiments, wallboard tensioning face 221 of pivotable section 220 compresses into the interior surface of wallboard 190 for additional stability.
As discussed above, many variations of pin 180 are possible. For example the shank or body of pin 180 may be threaded, serrated, or ratcheted. In addition, the shank of pin 180 may be straight or tapered. Pin 180 may be solid or hollow and can be made from a variety of plastics, metals or any suitable materials known to one skilled in the art, including nylon, polycarbonate, acrylic and aluminum.
In some embodiments, a secondary pin is pre-inserted into anchor channel 230 before primary pin 180 is inserted into channel 230. This permitted the use of a shorter primary pin 180 such as a short machine screw. In these embodiments, as primary pin 180 is driven into channel 230, primary pin 180 pushes on the secondary pin which in turn pushes against lever 260 or levers 360 & 365.
In this embodiment, stabilizer fins 410, 415 keep anchor 400 from rotating especially in applications where pin 180 has a threaded body, thereby reducing the risk of rotation blowout. In addition, by angling pivotable sections 420, 425 to wallboard 190, anchor 400 can be use with a wider range of wallboard thicknesses without increasing the risk of blowouts.
Referring now to
In
Since the final deployed angle between pivotable sections 120, 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 520, 522, 524, 526, 620, 625 and the respective anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 can be pre-determined by the design of the anchor/pin pivoting mechanism, blowouts of wallboard 180 from over-compressing is greatly reduced. In addition, by controlling the pivotable section angle, it is also possible to use anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 in an existing blown-out hole in wallboard 190 which resulted from a failure of an inferior anchor of the prior art.
As discussed above, the various embodiments of drivable anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 can have a substantially pointed tip end which tapers back and is chamfered to the main body of anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600, and in combination with a suitable rigid anchor material, eliminates the need for pre-drilling a hole in wallboard 190. In addition, the self-centering pointed tips and sharp edges of pivotable sections 120, 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 520, 522, 524, 526, 620, 625 enable drivable anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 to cut cleanly through wallboard 190, while the tapered and chamfered profile of drivable anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 clears wallboard debris away from the anchor body, thereby avoiding blowouts in wallboard 190.
It is possible to use an anchor material rigid enough so that drivable anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 can also be driven into the frame supports of wallboard 190, thereby permitting anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600 to be used in both the hollow and non-hollow sections of wallboard 190. Since the fully deployed pivot angle of pivotable sections 120, 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 520, 522, 524, 526, 620, 625 can be predetermined by the design of anchor and pin combination, it is also possible to avoid over-compression and the resulting blowouts of wallboard 190 during installation of anchors 100, 300, 400, 500a, 500b, 500c, 600.
Other embodiments and modifications are also possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, by changing the location of pivot points 250, 350, 355, 450, 455, 650, 655, instead of initially pivoting away from each other, pivotable sections 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 620, 625 can be configured to initially pivot towards each other, cross over each other, and then continue pivoting away from each other and towards the interior surface of wallboard 190, thereby using the opposing non-cutting sides of the pivotal sections 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 620, 625 to compress against wallboard 190. The pivoting action of pivotable sections 120, 220, 320, 325, 420, 425, 520, 522, 524, 526, 620, 625 can be accomplished by several mechanical means known to one skilled in the art.
In sum, advantages of the fastening system of the present invention include no need for pre-drilling, reduced risk of wallboard blowout from over-torqued anchors or screws, compatibility with a wider range of screws sizes, lengths and configurations, ease of removal, self-centering tip, elongated load-bearing anchor body, superior wall clamping surfaces, greater load-bearing capability from increased anchor/wallboard contact surface area, and stabilizer fins which are resistant to rotational blowout.
While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
