Picture position marking tool

A picture position marking tool comprises an arm having an element for marking a position on a wall, as by penetration of the wall. The arm supports a picture either by a wire hanger or a strap hanger, so that the hanger is in substantially horizontal alignment with the wall marking element. A protrusion may be provided on the arm, located on the same side as the marking element, and spaced from it. A handle is provided which includes a grip portion which, in a preferred embodiment, is connected to the arm by a connecting portion, the connecting portion being at right angles to both the arm and the grip portion and providing a tool of generally U-shaped configuration. The handle portion may also be, in other embodiments, in other orientations relative to the connecting portion. In still other embodiments, the handle portion may extend directly to the arm, spaced from the marking element and forming an angle with the arm: the angle may be either a right angle, or an acute or obtuse angle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a tool for marking the desired position 
for placement of a picture hanger on a wall. 
It has long been recognized that a tool for assisting in marking of the 
desired location of a picture hanger on a wall is desirable, and many 
suggestions have been made for such tools. 
Among the tools of this general nature is that disclosed in Pfeffer U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,516,165, in which a supporting element in the form of a flat 
wooden ruler is provided at its lower end with a picture hanger on one 
side, and a wall marking element on the other side, in substantially 
horizontal alignment. The wall marking element is disclosed as being a 
thumb tack having the head secured, as by gluing, to the wooden stick. In 
use, a picture is suspended on the hanger by a hanger wire attached to the 
picture, and the wooden stick, with the picture supported on it, is moved 
to different locations on the wall until a suitable location is found. The 
wooden stick is held against the wall with one hand, and the other hand 
pushes against the picture, the force being transmitted through the wooden 
stick to the tack, causing the tack to penetrate into the wall to mark the 
location. Then a picture hanger or nail is appropriately attached to the 
wall using the marking of the wall by the penetration of the tack as a 
reference point. 
Bendick U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,337 provides a body having a pin extending from 
it, the pin having a groove which receives the cord or wire of a picture. 
A picture is placed so that the picture and frame are on the side of the 
body opposite the side from which the pin extends, the hanger wire being 
in the groove of the pin. A hand-held suspension cord supports the body 
and the picture supported by it. Using the suspension cord, the picture is 
moved until the desired location is reached, and then the wall is marked 
by pushing against the picture with the other hand, transmitting the force 
through the body and into the pin. 
Pressing on pictures is not desirable because this action will soil the 
pictures, such as a glass pane covering the art work, soil the art work 
such as prints and oil paintings which are not covered with glass. In 
addition, where the item to be hung is an oil painting or a print and has 
no strong backing, there is substantial danger that there will be tearing 
or other damage to it. 
Greene U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,756 discloses an elongated metal support having 
an opening in it between its ends, with a picture hook in the opening 
supported by a ledge and held by adhesive tape. The support with the 
picture on it is moved about until the desired location is found. Then, 
the picture is removed from the support and is put down with the intent 
that the support be held in place and not be moved. The installer then 
acquires a hammer which is used to drive the nail of the picture hanger 
into the wall while holding the support with the other hand. When the 
elongate support is moved, the adhesive tape is ruptured, thereby 
releasing the connection between the elongate support and the picture 
hanger. This construction requires either an assistant to remove the 
picture and hand the hammer to the installer, or requires the installer to 
remove the picture from the support after the location is determined, 
deposit the picture in a manner not to injure it, then secure a hammer and 
hammer the support, all without moving the support. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A position marking tool comprises an arm on which is a wall marking 
element, preferably in the form of a penetrating point, having a groove in 
its upper surface located adjacent the arm, to receive the hanger wire of 
a picture. On the side of the arm opposite the marking element is a hook 
which is configured to engage a strap-type hanger secured to the back of a 
picture frame and having a portion in spaced relation to the picture 
frame. Near the upper end of the arm on the same side as the marking 
element, there is a protrusion, which functions as a fulcrum. The tool 
includes a handle or grip which is connected to the arm, and is out of 
alignment with the arm: the handle is grasped in order to support the arm 
while the picture is supported either by its wire or strap hanger on the 
arm, and by means of the handle the tool and the picture supported on it 
are moved to a proper location. Then, the handle is moved to cause the 
marking element to mark the wall at the desired location: this marking 
action may be facilitated by the protrusion which serves as a fulcrum. 
Further, the handle or grip may be connected to the arm by a connecting 
portion which is substantially perpendicular to both the handle and to the 
arm, so that the tool has a general U-shape; alternatively, the handle may 
extend in the direction opposite to the arm. In another configuration, the 
connecting portion ma extend perpendicular to the arm, and the handle or 
grip portion may be at an acute or obtuse angle to the connecting portion. 
Further, in accordance with the present invention, the handle or grip 
portion and the arm may have adjoining ends, and being at right angle, or 
the grip portion may be at an acute or obtuse angle to the arm. In all of 
these exemplary configurations of a picture position marking tool in 
accordance with the present invention, the correct position for a nail or 
similar picture supporting element may be marked on a wall while the 
picture is supported thereon, and without either touching the picture or 
removing the picture from the device. 
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of a picture 
position marking tool which enables the desired position of a picture 
hanger to be marked on a wall while supporting a picture in the desired 
position, and with marking achieved without touching, soiling or damaging 
the picture and without removing the picture from the tool. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a picture position 
marking tool which is economical to manufacture, and which has no moving 
or jointed parts. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a picture 
position marking tool which may be readily used for the positioning of a 
picture whether the picture has a wire hanger or a strap hanger. 
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of such tool 
which will accommodate pictures having a substantially large distance 
between the top of the picture and the top of the hanger wire. 
Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention 
will be readily understood from the following specification, claims and 
drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like or corresponding reference 
numerals are used for like or corresponding parts throughout the several 
views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a picture position marking tool 10 in 
accordance with the present invention. The tool 10 is preferably made by 
conventional plastic molding operations and is a one piece unitary device. 
The picture position marking tool 10 comprises an arm 12 having at the 
lower end thereof a wall marking element 14 in the form of a sharp 
protruding point. At the inner end or base of marking element 14 is a 
groove 16 for receiving a picture hanger wire. The bottom of groove 16 is 
substantially in alignment with the point of the marking element 14. On 
the opposite side of the arm 12 from the marking element 14 is a hook 18 
which is dimensioned so as to engage a hanger of the strap type, entering 
at least in part between the hanger and the picture frame. 
At the upper end of arm 12 is a protrusion 22, located on the same side of 
the arm 12 as the marking element 14. 
For supporting the arm 12 and a picture supported thereon, there is 
provided a grip portion 24 and a connecting portion 26. As will be seen, 
the grip portion 24 and the arm 12 are both substantially perpendicular to 
the connecting portion 26, and extend in the same direction from the 
connecting portion 26. Grip portion 24 is preferably provided with 
finger-receiving indentations 24a. 
In FIG. 2, there is shown a portion of the picture position marking tool 10 
in accordance with the present invention, there also being shown the top 
part of a picture P with a hanger wire H engaged in the groove 16, so that 
the picture P is thereby supported by the tool 10. As will be seen, the 
top of the picture P is spaced from the connecting portion 26, due to the 
fact that the length of the arm 12 is sufficient to accommodate the 
vertical extent of the picture P above the uppermost part of the hanger 
wire H. 
In FIG. 3, there is shown a portion of the picture position marking tool 10 
supporting a picture P' by a strap hanger S secured thereto. The strap 
hanger S is of known construction, having two portions in engagement with 
top of the picture frame, and an intermediate portion spaced from the top 
of the picture frame. The hook 18 on the arm 12 enters at least partly 
into the noted space, and thereby the picture P' is supported on the hook 
18. 
In FIG. 4, there is shown the manner of use of the generally inverted 
U-shaped picture position marking tool 10. With the picture P supported 
thereon by the hanger wire H in the groove 16, the tool 10 and the picture 
P are moved to various locations on a wall W. When the desired location is 
reached, the protrusion 22 is caused to engage the wall W, and the tool 10 
is rotated to cause the marking element 14 to engage and penetrate the 
wall W. The force applied to the marking element 14 is transmitted from a 
hand gripping the grip portion 24 through the structure of the tool 10, 
without applying force to or engaging the picture P. After the wall W is 
marked, the installer separates the picture P from the tool 10, and places 
them both on a suitable support. Then nail N may be driven into the wall W 
at the mark made by the penetration of element 14, and then the picture P 
is hung on the nail N by the wire W, as shown in FIG. 5. As will be 
apparent, other types of picture supports may be secured to the wall, 
using the penetration mark for placement thereof. The picture hanger is 
positioned so that the hanger wire H will be supported at a position which 
holds the picture P at substantially the identical position which was 
determined to be the desired position when the picture P was supported by 
the tool 10. 
In FIG. 6, there is shown an alternate embodiment of a picture position 
marking tool 30 in accordance with the present invention. The tool 30 will 
be seen to have an arm 12' which is of substantially greater length than 
the arm 12 of the tool 10. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the grip portion 24' 
may be substantially longer than the grip portion 24 of the first 
disclosed embodiment of the tool in accordance with the present invention. 
The tool 30 may have the arm 12' as long as desirable, to accommodate 
pictures with larger distances between the picture top and the hanger 
wire. 
Within the scope of the present invention, many different embodiments of a 
picture position marking tool may be provided which accomplish the goals 
of the present invention, and examples of such alternate embodiments are 
shown in FIGS. 7-11. Thus, in FIG. 7, the tool 35 will be seen to have an 
arm 12, a connecting portion 26 which is at right angles to the arm 12, 
and a grip portion 24 which is at right angles to the connecting portion 
26, but which extends oppositely to the arm 12. 
In FIG. 8, the picture position marking tool 40 has an arm 12 and 
connecting portion 26 at right angles to it, and a grip portion 24 
extending at an obtuse angle to the connecting portion 26. In the 
embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, the indentations 24a are located as shown. 
As will be understood, grip portion 24 could extend at an acute angle to 
connection portion 26 in which case the positioning of the finger 
receiving indentations 26a thereof will be in accordance with that shown 
in FIGS. 1 and 10. 
In FIGS. 9-11, there are shown picture position marking tools 45, 50 and 
55, in which the grip portion 24 is directly attached to or is integral 
with the arm 12, with no significant connecting portion. In FIG. 9, the 
tool 45 extends at right angles to the arm 12, while in FIGS. 10 and 11 
the grip portions 24 extend, respectively, at an acute angle and at an 
obtuse angle to the arm 12. 
There have been provided embodiments of picture position marking tools 
which are capable of supporting a picture having either a hanger wire or a 
strap hanger, and moving a picture supported on the tool to a desired 
position, and then marking the desired position on a wall without engaging 
the picture other than by the support thereof by the tool. Force to cause 
the marking of the wall by the tool, as by penetrating the wall, or 
marking on the wall (e.g. pen or pencil), is applied from the hand of the 
person supporting the tool and picture to and through the tool to the 
marking element, without applying any force to or engaging the picture. 
The tool herein provided is of economical construction and is strong, and 
is easily used. 
The claims and specification describe the invention presented, and the 
terms that are employed in the claims draw their meaning from the use of 
such terms in the specification. Some terms employed in the prior art may 
be broader in meaning than specifically employed herein. Whenever there is 
a question between the broader definition of such term as used in the 
prior art and the more specific use of the term herein, the more specific 
meaning is meant.