The present invention generally relates to clips for mounting photographs, documents or other planar objects to a wall.
Push pins are commonly used to mount photographs, posters, certificates and other documents on walls. While generally effective, push pins require that the document be punctured, which can lead to tearing. Further, there is a tendency for push pins to dislodge, which can create a dangerous situation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,185 describes an alternative to the conventional use of push pins in the form of a corner bracket having a slot for receiving the corner of a planer object, e.g., a poster or a picture in a mat frame, to be mounted on a wall. The device includes front and rear walls connected by an outer side wall which together form a slot having a uniform thickness. A pin extends rearwardly from the rear wall. The pin can be pushed into a wall to secure the bracket to the wall.
The invention comprises a wall clip used to mount photographs, certificates and other documents or thin panels (collectively referred to herein as “documents”) of varying thicknesses to a wall. The wall clip may be a generally L-shaped corner piece or a generally straight edge piece. The wall clip has a generally U-shaped cross-section and comprises a front wall having inner and outer edges and a rear wall having inner and outer edges. The front and rear walls are connected, preferably at their outer edges, by a side wall. The space between the front wall and the rear wall forms a slot for receiving the periphery of a document. the slot has a base portion adjacent the side wall which has a first thickness. The front and rear walls are configured such that the slot narrows to a second thickness (which could be zero) less than the thickness of the base portion and then widens to a third thickness to form a slot entrance into which the edge of a document is initially inserted. When a document having a thickness greater than the second thickness of the slot, but less than the first thickness of the slot, is inserted into the slot, the front and rear walls flex away from each other. This creates a spring force biasing the front and rear walls toward each other, thereby gripping the document within the slot. One or more pins extend rearwardly from an outer edge of the rear wall. The pins can be pushed or pressed into a wall to secure the clip. Alternatively, the outer edge of the rear wall may be secured to a wall surface using an adhesive.
In the drawings, like element designations refer to like parts throughout, and:
With reference to
With reference to
The front wall 11 includes an elongate portion 11a and a contact portion 11b which contacts the document for mounting, as described below. Along an inner edge 15 of the front wall 11 of the wall clip, the contact portion 11b extends towards and away from the rear wall 12. This provides for an entrance into the slot 14 which is narrower than the thickness of the document received into the slot 14. As illustrated in
The wall clip further includes means for securing the wall clip 10 to a wall on which it is to be mounted. A preferred means for mounting the wall clip 10 is a pin 19, e.g., made of metal and plastic, that is fixedly attached to, e.g., molded into, the rear wall and extends rearwardly from the rear wall 12 of the wall clip 10. The end of the pin 19 mounted from the rear wall 12 is preferably sharp. The pin 20 may be inserted into the wall by applying pressure to the wall clip 10. This embodiment is particularly useful for walls made of a soft material such as cork, fabric, or the like that is easily punctured.
In another preferred embodiment, the means for attaching includes a layer of adhesive, e.g., pressure-sensitive adhesive, double-stick tape or the like, or wall putty, which is applied to the rear wall 12. The adhesive is preferably protected by a removable covering which is removed before the wall clip is to be mounted to a wall. These embodiments are particularly useful for hard, flat walls.
Preferably, the wall clip 10 is made of a unitary construction, e.g., extruded plastic or metal, although other constructions, e.g., a two piece construction, may be used. Preferably, the wall clip 10 is formed of a uniform thickness as illustrated in
With reference to
The document 21 can pass into the slot 14 until it abuts the side wall 13, as illustrated in
Various designs of a “biasing” front wall are shown in
Near the area of the channel 17, the inner edge 15 of the front wall 11 may extend parallel to the rear wall 12, as shown in
The dimensions of the wall clip 10 are generally not critical and may vary as desired, generally becoming larger as the planar object or document to be mounted increases in size or weight. The width of the slot 14, at least at its base, i.e., the portion of the slot adjacent the side wall 13, is sufficient to receive the document 21. The width of the entrance to the slot is less than the width of the document 21 so that one or both of the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12 must flex outwardly when the edge of the document is inserted into the slot, to thereby grip the document.
Other dimensions, such as the length of and height of the front wall and rear wall of an edge piece wall clip or of each leg of a corner piece wall clip can vary as desired. In one edge piece embodiment, the wall clip measures about 2 inches in length, about 1 inch in height and about ¼ inch in depth. Each prong of a corner piece embodiment can include similar measurements, or the measurements of the prongs may vary with respect to one another or generally. A presently preferred material for making the wall clip is 1/16 inch thick plastic or any other suitable plastic material.
Because of the gripping ability of the wall clip of the present invention, a single wall clip can suffice to mount a document on a wall. However, it is generally preferred to use multiple wall clips in combination, as shown in
With reference to
While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are of words of description and not of limitation. Therefore, changes can be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.
This U.S. Patent Application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/634,740, filed Dec. 9, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60634740 | Dec 2004 | US |