Adjustable mounting device

A device for hanging an object on a supporting structure such as a wall comprises a one-piece backing plate having a plurality of co-planar bars extending between co-planar side rails and forming slots between the bars, with the backing plate including offset shoulders for offsetting the planes of the side rails and the bars to provide a space between the bars and the wall when the backing plate is affixed to the wall. A one-piece hook for supporting the object includes a planar body portion and a protrusion forming with said body portion a U-shaped receptacle for accepting an object to be mounted to the wall. The hook also includes an L-shaped hook retainer at one location on the body portion for removably fitting into a first slot with the upright of the “L” extending behind the bar adjacent to the slot, and a hook support finger at another location on the body portion for removably fitting into a second slot disposed below the first slot and bearing against the wall when the backing plate is affixed to the supporting structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for hanging an object on a wall, and more particularly, to a device that facilitates precise placement of the object being hung.

2. Description of Background Art

Devices for hanging objects (such as pictures) on walls are well known in the prior art, and there are many such devices that are adjustable in the sense that they permit the object to be located in various positions. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,418. This device includes a bracket with a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending flanges and a picture-hanging hook that rests on the flanges. The hook can be moved horizontally along one flange to adjust its horizontal position, and moved to a higher or lower flange to adjust its vertical position.

While this device permits the position of the picture to be adjusted, it suffers from several drawbacks. For one thing, the hook does not positively engage the flanges, which will make it subject to being dislodged during a picture-hanging operation. That is, hanging a picture typically involves moving it around until a wire or other support on the back of the picture engages a hook secured to the wall. Since the hook in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,418 merely rests on the flanges, it will be prone to moving, or even being completely dislodged, as the picture is maneuvered into position. This problem will be exacerbated with large and/or heavy pictures. (The hook might be dislodged from the flanges in at least two ways: the back of the picture could engage the hook from below and lift it out of the flange on which it is positioned, or the hook could slide off either end of the flange while the picture is being maneuvered.) A related drawback is that the picture wire could engage the top flange, since the flanges protrude from the wall to support the hook. In addition to those operational shortcomings, the device would be relatively difficult, and therefore expensive, to make since it appears to require a complicated mold to make the bracket with integral flanges.

What is needed is a convenient to use adjustable mounting device that permits an object to be precisely located on a wall, or easily moved if the original location is later deemed unsatisfactory. The device should be capable of being cheaply manufactured and therefore inexpensive for the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of these and other shortcomings of known mounting devices, the present invention provides a new adjustable mounting device that can be utilized for hanging a conventionally constructed object like a picture from a structure such as a wall and adjusting the position of the object both vertically and horizontally.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new adjustable mounting device that can be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new adjustable mounting device of a durable and reliable construction.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new adjustable mounting device that is capable of low-cost manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and that accordingly is capable of being sold for a reasonable price to consumers, thereby making such mounting devices widely available.

In its broadest aspects the present invention is a device for hanging an object on a supporting structure, the device comprising a backing plate having a plurality of bars extending between side rails and forming slots between the bars, the backing plate including structure for enabling the backing plate to be affixed to the supporting structure, and a hook for supporting the object, the hook including a body portion and a protrusion forming with the body portion a U-shaped receptacle for accepting an object to be mounted to the supporting structure, a hook retainer at one location on the body portion for removably fitting into a first slot and extending behind at least one of the bars adjacent to the slot, and a hook support at another location on the body portion for removable fitting into a second slot disposed below the first slot when the backing plate is affixed to the supporting structure.

In accordance with more specific aspects of the invention, the backing plate and the hook are each made from a single piece of material. The device is particularly adapted for hanging an object on a planar wall, wherein the side rails are co-planar and the bars are co-planar, with the backing plate including offset shoulders for offsetting the planes of the side rails and the bars to provide a space between the bars and the wall when the side rails are in contact with the wall, and wherein the body portion is planar and the retainer is L-shaped with the upright of the “L” being planar and parallel to the plane of the body portion for extending into the space between the bars and the wall. The device can also include an adhesive on said side rails for temporarily holding said backing plate on the wall prior to being more securely affixed thereto.

For a better understanding of these and other objects of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and description of preferred embodiments of the invention that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before explaining particular embodiments of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring now toFIGS. 1 and 2, the adjustable mounting device10according to the present embodiment includes a backing plate12that has two side rails14and a center section16. The center section includes offset shoulders18that raise the center section16slightly relative to the side rails14for a purpose described later. The center section16comprises a series of bars20connecting the side rails14. The bars20are spaced apart to form slots22running between the side rails14. An adhesive is applied to regions23(not shown inFIG. 1) generally at the corners of the backing plate12on its rear side (as viewed inFIG. 2), for a purpose explained below. It will be appreciated that the backing plate12can advantageously be constructed by stamping and forming a single piece of sheet metal, although the invention is obviously not limited to any particular manner of construction. If the backing plate is stamped from sheet metal, it will facilitate formation of the hangers24, used with mounting holes26for attaching the backing plate to a mounting structure such as a wall, as described below. More specifically, the device can be formed by stamping from a single piece of sheet metal a blank with slots between two opposing sides. In the same or different step, the offset shoulders18can be formed. The blank can be made with legs extending from two ends of the side rails14, and the legs can be bent into the desired shape to form the hangers24.

As shown in more detail inFIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting device10also includes a hook30that is received in the slots20. The hook30includes a main body portion32with a protrusion34on one side that forms a generally U-shaped receptacle with the main body32. There is an L-shaped hook retainer36at one end of the hook32and a hook support finger38at the other end of the hook. The retainer36fits into one of the slots22, as shown inFIG. 3, to retain the hook in place on the backing plate12. The supporting finger38fits into another slot22to provide the main vertical support for the hook when it is in use. The hook is most conveniently manufactured by stamping and forming a single piece of sheet metal.

The manner of using the adjustable mounting device10is best understood by reference toFIGS. 1 to 3. Typically, a user has in mind a place on a wall W where he or she wants to locate the object to be hung. With the present invention, embodied in a device such as that described above, the user will attach the backing plate12to the wall W with the slots extending horizontally using nails N (shown in phantom inFIG. 3) hammered into the wall through the hangers24and mounting holes26. The adhesive areas23assist in holding the backing plate at the desired location while the nails are driven into the wall. In a preferred embodiment, the adhesive is strong enough to hold the backing plate in place temporarily while it is being positioned, without damaging the finish on the wall. The hangers24provide two openings and provide access to the holes26through which the nails extend before penetrating the wall, thus assisting in positioning the nails at a suitable angle to the wall to provide optimum support for the backing plate when the object is hung. It will also be appreciated that the hangers24form extensions of the side rails14, thus positioning them away from the backing plate12to make it less likely that the backing plate will be damaged when hammering in the nails. Contrast this with the arrangement shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,418, in which the flanges are proximate to the nail holes, thus increasing the likelihood that flanges could be damaged when the bracket is nailed to the wall.

After the backing plate12is in place on the wall W, the L-shaped retainer36is inserted into one of the slots22and the supporting finger38fits into another of the slots22. In the present embodiment, the side rails14are co-planar for mounting to the planar wall W, and the bars20are also co-planar, with the shoulders18offsetting the planes of the side rails and the bars. This provides a space between the bars and the wall when the backing plate is mounted with the side rails in contact with the wall. Likewise, the body portion32of the hook30is planar, as is the upright of the “L” of the retainer36, which is parallel to the plane of said body portion32. The hook retainer36thus extends into the space between the bars20and the wall W. In addition, the spacing between the bars and the wall permits the hook support finger38, which in this embodiment is also planar and perpendicular to the body portion, to extend sufficiently through the slot22to securely support the hook30under the weight of the object being hung.

The hook is now ready to hang a picture or other object from the wall. This is represented inFIG. 3, which depicts a picture wire P that fits into the U-shaped receptacle formed by the main body32and the protrusion34.FIG. 3also illustrates the manner in which the planar upright of the L-shaped retainer extends upward behind the bar adjacent the slot through which it was inserted to retain the hook under the weight of the object being hung, with the support finger bearing against the wall, so that the hook30is held securely in place. The hook is also supported vertically at two points, the horizontal portion of the L-shaped retainer and the supporting finger, which increases the load bearing capacity of the device, as compared to devices like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,418. Accordingly, longer bars can be used (because the weight of the object being hung is distributed between two bars), thus affording the hook a greater range of motion in positioning the object.

It will be immediately appreciated that the hook30can be moved either horizontally along the slots supporting it, or it can be moved vertically simply by reversing the operation by which it was inserted into the backing plate and inserting it into different slots at a different level. This enables the user to easily reposition the object being hung because it does not require removing the backing plate from the wall. In addition, it permits the picture to be more precisely located than with a conventional picture hook that is attached directly to the wall, since it can be difficult to judge the final position of the picture after it is hung just from the location of a hook secured to the wall. In addition, the hanging device of the embodiment of the invention illustrated here comprises only two separate parts, both of which can be inexpensively manufactured, and can be readily scaled to different sizes and strengths for mounting heavier or lighter objects.

The mounting device described here overcomes other disadvantages of the prior art, as well. Since the hook30is received in closed-end slots, the hook cannot slide off the mounting bracket. Moreover, the retainer36and the support38cooperate to more positively secure the hook30to the backing plate12, rather than retaining the hook solely by the force of gravity. Accordingly, the hook will not be dislodged while a picture or other object is maneuvered into position. Finally, there are no protruding parts for the picture wire to engage and interfere with the hanging operation.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been depicted and described, it will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made other than those specifically mentioned above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims that follow.

In this respect, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the above description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. For example, the hangers that form a part of the described embodiment can have other configurations more suited to accepting screws driven into the wall at a right angle, or the hangers can be omitted altogether and replaced by holes at desired locations in the backing plate. Nor do the backing plate and hook need to be stamped and formed from sheet metal. Other manufacturing methods that provide a device within the following claims are within the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that terms such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” and “behind” are used to facilitate the description of the embodiment shown in the drawings, and should not be regarded as limiting in any way.