Abstract:
The hangar embodiments disclosed relate to a device and method for quickly changing out old pictures, quilts, etc. The device includes a back board that is attachable to a wall. A faceboard is rotateably attachable to the back board. A friction material is disposed between the backboard in the faceboard and used to hold up the flat object when the faceboard is traversed to the closed position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The embodiments disclosed herein relate to a hangar used to mount a flat object to a wall. 
         [0004]    Current methods of mounting a flat object to a wall are quite cumbersome. They typically require modifications to the upper edge of the flat object. By way of example and not limitation, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,586 discloses a flat object (i.e., banner) that has a modified upper edge. The upper edge is reinforced and has a plurality of holes which receive a plurality of pins that are formed in the mounting device. An outer cover prevents the upper edge of the flat object from slipping out of the pin when the outer cover is traversed to the closed position. The same general concept is also shown in United States Publication No. 2004/0163295. U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,892 requires that the upper edge of the flat object be modified with a bar that is entrapped within a cavity of the mounting device. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved mounting device. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The various embodiments of the mounting device disclosed herein addresses the needs disclosed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art. 
         [0007]    A mounting device is disclosed herein which does not require the flat object to be modified to work with the mounting device. Rather, the mounting device works with any type of flat object for mounting the flat object to a wall. Moreover, the mounting device allows for quick changeovers so that the user can quickly and easily replace a first flat object with a second flat object and vice: versa. In particular, the mounting device may have a backboard that is mountable to a vertical wall. A hinge may be mounted to the upper edge portion of the backboard. The hinge may also be attached to a faceboard which is traversable between a closed position and an opened position. In the open position, the flat object may be inserted between the backboard and the faceboard or removed therefrom. In the closed position, the flat object is compressed or held in place between the backboard and the faceboard. The faceboard is biased to at least the closed position but may be biased to both the open and closed positions. The biasing of the faceboard to the closed position may be accomplished via spring, magnets or other methods known in the art developed in the future. One or more friction materials may be mounted to the front side of the backboard and/or the backside of the faceboard. When the faceboard is in the closed position, the flat object is in frictional engagement with the friction material. This frictional engagement there between secures the flat object to the mounting device. 
         [0008]    More particularly, a device for quick release and attachment of a flat object to a vertical structure is disclosed. The device may comprise a backboard, a faceboard, a friction material, and one or more hinges connecting the backboard and faceboard. The backboard may have a length about equal to or greater than a width of the object. The backboard may define an upper edge and a front surface. The backboard may be attached to the vertical structure. The friction material may be attached to the front surface of the back board. The friction material may extend or protrude out of the front surface. The faceboard may be pivotally attached to the upper edge of the backboard. The faceboard may be traversable between an opened position wherein the faceboard does not cover the front surface of the backboard and a closed position wherein the faceboard covers the front surface of the backboard. 
         [0009]    The one or more hinges may be attached to the back board and the faceboard for allowing pivotal movement of the faceboard with respect to the backboard. The hinges may be biased to the closed position for biasing the faceboard to the closed position. Alternatively, the hinges may be unbiased or freely rotatable and the faceboard may be biased to the closed position by magnets. As a further alternative, the hinges may be biased to the opened position with springs, whereas the faceboard is biased to the closed position. 
         [0010]    The back surface of the faceboard may contact the friction material when the faceboard is in the closed position so that the object can be attached between the back board and the faceboard and quickly changed out by traversing the faceboard to the opened position. Alternatively, there may be a small gap between the friction material and the back surface of the faceboard. This small gap may be smaller than a thickness of the flat object so that the back surface of the faceboard may press against the flat object and the flat object a press against the friction material. 
         [0011]    The device may comprise additional faceboards which are lined end to end and collectively extend across the length of the back board. As such, the device is scalable so that wider or narrower flat objects can be hung with the device. Moreover, for very wide flat objects, one person can hang the wide flat object to the device by sequentially mounting small sections of the flat object to each of the faceboard and backboard combinations. 
         [0012]    The friction material may be an elongate material that is attached to the front surface of the backboard along the length of the back board. The friction material may be disposed closer to an upper edge of the faceboard compared to a lower edge of the faceboard. The friction material may be fabricated from a rubber or an elastomeric material. An additional friction material may also be attached to a back surface of the faceboard. Multiple combinations and arrangements of the friction material to the front surface of the backboard and the back surface of the faceboard are contemplated. 
         [0013]    The front surface may have an elongate groove sized and configured to receive the elongate material. A depth of the groove may be smaller than a height of the friction material so that the friction material protrudes out of the front surface of the backboard. 
         [0014]    In the device, a biasing force of the hinge may be sufficiently strong to hold the flat object. The biasing farce may be produced with a spring or magnet. 
         [0015]    In another aspect, a device for quick release and attachment of a flat object to a vertical structure is disclosed. The device may comprise a backboard, faceboard, friction material and one or more hinges. The backboard may have a length about equal to or greater than a width of the object. The backboard may define an upper edge. The backboard may be attached to the vertical structure. The faceboard may be pivotally attached to the upper edge of the backboard. The faceboard may be traversable between an open position wherein the faceboard does not cover the front surface of the backboard and a closed position wherein the faceboard covers the front surface of the backboard. The faceboard may define a back surface. 
         [0016]    The friction material may be attached to the back surface of the faceboard. The friction material may extend out of the back surface. It is also contemplated that the friction material may be attached to the front surface of the backboard. The friction material may extend out of the front surface. 
         [0017]    The one or more hinges may be attached to the backboard and the faceboard for allowing pivotal movement of the faceboard with respect to the backboard. The hinges may be biased to the closed position for biasing the faceboard to the closed position. Such biasing may be accomplished with the spring or magnet. It is also contemplated that the hinges may be freely rotating and that the biasing may be accomplished with the magnet. 
         [0018]    The back surface of the faceboard may contact the friction material when the faceboard is in the closed position so that the object can be attached between the back board and the faceboard and quickly changed out by traversing the faceboard to the opened and closed positions. 
         [0019]    In another aspect, a method of hanging a flat object on a vertical structure is disclosed. The method may comprise the steps of pivoting a faceboard of a device upward to an opened position; positioning an edge of the flat object against a backboard of the device; rotating the faceboard downward toward a closed position; and biasing the faceboard against the flat object and a friction material attached to a front surface of the backboard. 
         [0020]    The method may also further comprise the steps of pivoting the first and second faceboards of the device upward to the opened position; positioning a first portion of the edge of the flat object against the backboard of the device; rotating the first faceboard downward toward the closed position; biasing the first faceboard against the flat object and the friction material attached to the front surface of the backboard; positioning a second portion of the edge of the flat object against the backboard of the device; rotating the second faceboard downward toward the closed position; and biasing the second faceboard against the flat object and the friction material attached to the front surface of the backboard. 
         [0021]    In the method, the friction material may be an elongate strip extending across a length of the backboard or a plurality of small members attached to the front surface of the backboard. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0022]    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: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a device for quick attachment and removal of a flat object to be mounted on a vertical structure; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2A  is an enlarged perspective view of the device shown in  FIG. 1  wherein faceboard is in a closed position; 
           [0025]      FIG. 2B  is an enlarged perspective view of the device shown in  FIG. 1  wherein the faceboard is in an open position; 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the device shown in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the device shown in  FIG. 2A  with an additional friction strip illustrating a second embodiment; 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the device shown in  FIG. 2A  illustrating a third embodiment wherein the friction strip is mounted to the faceboard instead of the backboard; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the device shown in  FIG. 2A  illustrating a fourth embodiment wherein the friction strips are mounted to both the faceboard and the backboard. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0030]    Referring now the drawings, a mounting device  10  is shown. The mounting device  10  may be attached to a vertical wall  12 . The device  10  may have one or more faceboards  14  that can be traversed to the closed position shown in  FIG. 1  to hold a flat object  16 . To change out the flat object  16  with a different flat object  16  or to remove the flat object  16 , the faceboards  14   a, b  can be rotated toward the opened position as shown in  FIG. 2B . When the faceboards  14   a, b  are flipped up to the opened position, the flat object  16  may be removed from the mounting device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , the mounting device  10  may have a backboard  18  which may have a friction material  20  which extends across the length of the backboard  18  and frictionally engages the flat object  16  when the faceboards  14   a, b  are in the closed position to prevent the flat object  16  from falling out of the mounting device  10 . 
         [0031]    More particularly, the backboard  18  may define an upper edge portion  22  and a front face  24 . The backboard  18  is attachable to the wall  12  with a wall screw, adhesive and other attachment means known in the art or developed in the future. The front face  24  is preferably parallel to an exterior surface  26  of the wall  12  but may be at other inclined or declined angles. The backboard  18  may also have an elongated groove that extends along the entire length  28  of the backboard  18 . Alternatively, the groove  30  may also be formed as a plurality of groove sections along the length  28  of the backboard  18 . In all cases, at least one groove  30  is lined up with the faceboard  14   a  and at least one groove  30  is lined up with the faceboard  14   b.  If the device  10  only has one faceboard  14 , then one or more grooves are formed in the backboard  18 . Preferably, one groove extends substantially along the entire length of the backboard  18  or a plurality of grooves is distributed substantially along the entire length of the backboard  18 . 
         [0032]    The friction material  20  may be disposed within the one or more of the grooves  30  and protrude out of the front face  24  of the backboard  18 . The friction material  20  may be secured to the groove  30  by way of friction between the friction material  20  and internal surface of the groove  30 . Additionally or alternatively, the friction material  20  may be secured within the groove  30  by other means known in the art such as adhesive, tacks, etc. By way of example and not limitation, the friction material  20  may be a strip of weather stripping. The friction material  20  may be fabricated from any type of material that exhibits a high coefficient of friction. These types of materials include but are not limited to: elastomeric materials, rubber materials, tack strip, carpet tack strip, etc. If a tack strip is used, the tacks may be pointed upward so that the weight of the flat object grips into the tacks and the object is securely held in place. 
         [0033]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , when the faceboard  14   a  is traversed to the closed position, the flat object  16  presses against the friction material  20  disposed in the groove  30 . Similarly, when the faceboard  14   b  is traversed to the closed position, the flat object  16  is frictionally engaged to the friction material  20  disposed within the groove  30 , protruding out of the front surface  24  of the backboard  18  and aligned with the faceboard  14   b.  The friction material  20  is shown as extending out perpendicularly to the front surface  24  of the backboard  18 . However, it is also contemplated that the friction material  20  may extend out at various other angles. By way of example and not limitation, the friction material  20  may extend out of the front surface  24  at an upward angle. The weight of the flat object  16  may cause the friction material  20  to bend slightly downward. This slight bending downward of the friction material causes the friction material  20  to further push against the faceboards  14   a, b.  This increases the friction force between the friction material  20  and the flat object  16  to help facilitate holding of the flat object  16  in the device  10 . The distal end surface  38  of the friction material may additionally have horizontal ribs (not shown) that extend along the length of the friction material  20 . These ribs further help frictional engagement between the friction material  20  and the flat object  16 . It is also contemplated that the friction material may extend out of the front surface  24  with a downward angle. 
         [0034]    The faceboards  14   a, b  may be pivotally attached to the backboard  18  through a hinge mechanism  32 . The hinge mechanism  32  may be biased to the closed position as shown in  FIG. 2A  and also biased to the opened position as shown in  FIG. 2B . In the closed position, the hinge  32  urges a back surface  34  of the faceboards  14   a, b  toward the friction material  20 . It is not necessary for the back surface  34  to contact the friction material  20 , but a gap  36  between the friction material  20  and the back surface  34  must be less than a thickness of the flat object  16  so that the faceboards  14   a, b  may press the flat object  16  against the friction material  20 . The hinge mechanism  32  may be hinge Amerock 7139 sold by Amerock Hardware. 
         [0035]    The hinge  32  may include first and second members  40 ,  42 . The first member  40  may be attached to the backboard  18  at the upper edge portion of the backboard  18  through one or more ways known in the art or developed in the future. The same is true for the second member  42  which may be attached to the back surface of the faceboard  14  through one or more ways known in the art or developed in the future. The hinge  32  is mounted behind the faceboard so that the hinge  32  is not visible from the front. The hinge  32  is hidden behind a veneer  44 . 
         [0036]    The friction material configuration may have various configurations as shown in  FIGS. 4-6 . By way of example and not limitation, as shown in  FIG. 4 , one or more additional friction materials  20  may be disposed above the existing friction material  20 . It is also contemplated that the friction material  20  may be disposed below the existing friction material  20 . As an additional alternative embodiment, it is also contemplated that there may be a 1st row of a plurality of friction materials  20  and a 2nd row of a plurality of friction materials  20 . The 1st row of the plurality of friction materials  20  may be staggered (or aligned) with the 2nd row of the plurality of friction materials  20 . 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the friction material  20  may be mounted to the back surface  34  of the faceboard  14  instead of the backboard  18 . To do so, a groove  30  is formed in the back surface  34  of the faceboard  14 . The groove  30  may extend across the entire length of the faceboard  14 . The friction material  20  may be inserted and mounted into the groove  30 . The friction material  20  may extend substantially along the entire length of the groove  30 . It is also contemplated that a plurality of grooves  30  may be formed along the length of the back surface of the faceboard  14 . A plurality of friction materials  20  may be inserted into the plurality of grooves  30 . In another embodiment, one single groove  30  may extend substantially across entire length of the faceboard  14 . A plurality of short segmented friction materials  20  may be distributed along the single groove  30 . It is also contemplated that one or more additional rows of friction material  20  may be disposed above or below the existing strip of friction material. If two or more rows of friction materials  20  are mounted to the back side of the faceboard  14 , the rows of friction material may comprise a plurality of short segmented friction materials  20  that are staggered (or aligned) with respect to the upper and lower rows of friction materials  20 . 
         [0038]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a further alternative configuration for the friction materials  20  is shown. The friction materials  20  may be embedded into both the front surface  24  of the backboard  18  as well as the back surface  34  of the faceboard  14 . The friction materials  20  may be offset as shown in  FIG. 6 . The distal end surface  38  of the friction material  20  is embedded into the faceboard  14  and may also be disposed past a plane  44  defined by the distal end surfaces  38  of the friction materials  20  embedded in the backboard  18 . 
         [0039]    Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the device  10  is shown as having two faceboards  14   a, b . The length  46  of any one of the faceboards  14   a, b  may be 3 inches to 6 feet. Preferably, the length  46  of each of the faceboards  14  that make up the device  10  have a common length. The traversal of any one of the faceboards to the opened position or the closed position may be independent of the other faceboards. Preferably, each of the faceboards  14  has at least 2 hinge mechanisms  32  position at opposed ends of the faceboard  14 . This is to provide as much stability and structural support to the faceboard  14  as possible. 
         [0040]    To install the device  10 , the user attaches the backboard  18  to a wall with one or more attachment means known in the art or developed in the future. By way of example and not limitation, the backboard may be attached to the wall with a screw that engages a stud of the wall. Preferably, the backboard  18  is installed horizontally or leveled with the ground. The screws may be hidden behind the faceboards  14   a, b.    
         [0041]    To mount the flat object  16  to the device  10  after installation, the user traverses each of the  14   a, b  to the open position. The friction materials  20  are now exposed. The flat object  16  is laid against the backboard  18 . The user traverses one of the faceboards  14  to the closed position. The flat object  16  is adjusted. The flat object  16  can then be adjusted and the next faceboard  14  can be traversed to the closed position. This process is repeated until all of the faceboards  14  are traversed to the closed position. Throughout the entire process, the flat object  16  can be slightly adjusted to be squared with other fixtures on the wall for aesthetic reasons. When the device  10  comprises a plurality of faceboards  14 , the process may begin from the leftmost side and the user may work his or her way to the rightmost side, and vice versa. Alternatively, the user may begin from the middle and work his or her way to the leftmost side then to the rightmost side. 
         [0042]    The flat object  16  referred to in this description may be a quilt, picture, paper, sheet or any other generally planar material. The hinge mechanism  32  may be spring biased. Other types of biasing devices are also contemplated such as magnets. Attractive magnets may be embedded in the backboard  18  and the faceboards  14 . The user may lift up the faceboards  14  and slip the flat object  16  between the backboard  18  and the faceboard  14 . When the user traverses the faceboard  14  to the closed position, the attraction of the magnets biases the faceboard  14  against the backboard  18 . The hinge mechanism  32  is also described as being biased at both the opened position as well as closed position. However, it is contemplated that the hinge mechanism  32  may be biased solely in the closed position. By way of example and not limitation, the magnets may be embedded in the backboard  18  and the faceboards  14  to bias the faceboards  14  to the closed position. The hinge mechanism  32  may be a freely rotating hinge. 
         [0043]    The friction material  20  disclosed herein may be fabricated from an elastomeric material. This means that the friction material may compress and bend as needed. The backboard  18  may be fabricated from wood. As such, the backboard  18  may not be perfectly straight. Moreover, the vertical structure may also be a wall which is also known to be slightly curved due to modern construction techniques. Nonetheless, the elastomeric friction material accommodates such imperfection. When the faceboard  14  is traversed to the closed position, the backside of the faceboard  14  pushes the flat object  16  against the friction material  20 . Even though the wall and/or the backboard  18  may be curved or not straight, the friction material due to its elastomeric properties accommodates for such imperfection. 
         [0044]    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, including various ways of attaching the device to the vertical structure. 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.