Abstract:
A holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall. The device comprises a base means and a holding means connected with said base means for supporting a foreign article. An impervious securing sheet is connectable air-tightly onto the wall and extends outwardly beyond a backside of the base means. A friction plate is connected to the base means and the securing sheet. If the friction plate and the securing sheet pull away from the wall, a negative pressure prevents the article from falling.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE  
       [0001]     The present application is a continuation application based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/380,023 that had been filed on Oct. 27, 2003. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a holding device, more particularly, to a holding device for mounting onto a wall.  
       PRIOR ART  
       [0003]     A holding device for mounting onto a wall is mounted onto the wall surface for holding or hanging articles, such as a coat and hat, a soap holder, a bathroom towel rack and the like. The known holding devices for mounting onto a wall generally comprise a base and a holder connected with said base, wherein said holder is appropriately shaped for holding or hanging articles. In order to hold articles securely without damage and influence to the surface of the wall, the base of the holding device has to be securely and durably attached to a wall. In the prior art, the base means are fixed onto a wall by nails hammered into the wall, or by a suction cup generating negative pressure and sucking onto the wall, or by a double-side adhesive or hot-melt adhesive and the like. However, if the base is fixed by nails, the wall surface would be damaged easily; if the base is fixed by a suction cup, the adhesive force and duration is not satisfactory due to the limitation of the sucking area and the air tightness of the suction cup; if the base means is fixed by double-side adhesive or hot-melt adhesive, the fastness is not satisfactory either due to the limitation of the adhesive force. A kind of holding device with a securing sheet is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,367 in which a PVC securing sheet with a large area provided under a base is attached to a wall. Since the contacting area between the device and the wall is increased, the adhesive force is increased. Another kind of holding device a securing sheet is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,912 in which the holding device is also attached to a wall through a securing sheet with large area, wherein the securing sheet includes an interlayer and the base is disposed between the interlayer and the securing sheet. However, because the area and therefore the strength of the securing sheet is limited, the bearing capacity of the holding device is greatly restricted due to the limitation of the adhesive force.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall which has an improved bearing capacity.  
         [0005]     It is found that, in order to prevent the article hung on the holder from falling down, an upward force equal to the weight of the article has to be provided. The air pressure provides a horizontal force, i.e. a normal force which is necessary for generating a friction force and presses the base and the underlying securing sheet towards the wall, so that a static upward friction force is generated between the wall and the securing sheet. This upward force to prevent the article from falling down is provided by the adhesive and the friction force if the securing sheet has adhesive on its back side, as long as the maximal static friction force is not less than the weight of the article, falling of the article can be prevented. According to the analysis of the forces acting on the device, the friction effect can be improved and the friction force can be increased if friction plates are provided near (at the left side, right side, upper side and lower side of) the plate-shape base.  
         [0006]     In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall, comprising a base; a holding means for supporting foreign articles, said holding means is connected with said base; a securing sheet of good air-tight, which can be tightly secured onto a wall at its back side and is connected to said base at its front side, and said securing sheet extends beyond the boundary of said base; at least one friction plate, which is connected with said base by a connecting means such that said friction plate presses against the wall and an upwardly statistic friction force is generated.  
         [0007]     Said friction plate may be located beyond the border of said securing sheet and presses directly onto the wall surface.  
         [0008]     In addition, an air barrier layer may be provided on the surface of said securing sheet, or an air barrier layer may be provided between said base and said securing sheet.  
         [0009]     In this invention, the most important function of the securing sheet is to provide air-tightness. The securing sheet may be made of paper and film with adhesive or fluid solid (viscous or gelatiniform) filling substance on its back side. Alternatively, the securing sheet may be made of electrostatic paster having a highly smooth surface with no adhesive on its back side. The electrostatic paster can be used for smooth wall surfaces, such as glass, ceramic tile, plastic and baking finish surfaces; the securing sheet with adhesive on its back can be used for the general wall surface; while the securing sheet with fluid solid filling substance on its back side can be used for the rough surface so that the filling substance can fill in the depression on the surface and the securing sheet can be tightly mounted on the wall.  
         [0010]     In use, the securing sheet is attached onto a wall, and it comes into tight contact with the wall with excellent air-tightness by the adhesive on its back or by the attaching force generated on its surface. When the holder bears an article, the force applied to the base causes the securing sheet to be detached from the wall and generates a negative pressure in the gap therebetween. Under the air pressure, the base and the securing sheet are pressed against the wall so that the holding device can be attached on the wall securely and durably.  
         [0011]     In holding device with a securing sheet according to the present invention, with at least one friction plate connected with the base provided, when the holder connected to the base bears an article, because the base connected with the friction plates is movable, in the case that the base and the securing sheet connected therewith have a tendency to depart from the wall under the force applied to the base, the friction plate will press against the wall and an upwardly statistic friction force is generated, so that the base can be prevented from falling down. Therefore, the attaching force between the holding device and the wall can be enhanced and the bearing capacity of the holding device is improved. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a kind of holding device with a securing sheet invented by the applicant of this invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing another kind of holding device with a securing sheet invented by the applicant of this invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view showing the lower portion of the holding device shown in  FIG. 2  when it is assembled;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view with a partial section showing the holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing the back side of the lower friction plate of the holding device shown in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is an inverse schematic view showing the back side of the base means and the upper friction plate of the holding device shown in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing the holding device shown in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing the holding device shown in  FIG. 7  when it is subject to an external force;  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is an exploded view showing the holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall according to the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is a schematic view with a partial section showing the structure of the holding device shown in  FIG. 9  when it is assembled;  
         [0022]      FIG. 11  is a sectional view along the line A-A of  FIG. 10 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 12  is a sectional view along the line B-B of  FIG. 11 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 13  is an exploded view showing the holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall according to the third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view with a partial section showing the structure of the holding device shown in  FIG. 13  when it is assembled;  
         [0026]      FIG. 15  is a sectional view along the line C-C of  FIG. 14 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 16  is a schematic view showing the holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall according to the forth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]     In the first embodiment of the present invention, two friction plates are connected with the base means through the movable joints and are attached on the front surface of the securing sheet.  
         [0029]     The above joints may be a bendable hinge or an appropriate cam structure. When the cam structure is used as the joint, it can cause the base means and the friction plate to move horizontally with respect to each other when the base means moves towards the friction plate in the vertical direction, so that the base means and the securing sheet connected with the base means are lifted up and separated from the wall surface, while the friction plate is maintained to be tightly attached to the wall. The cam may be of a slope structure or a diagonally upward pushing mechanism or the like.  
         [0030]     The cam should be provided at the middle of the interface between the base means and the friction plate, so that when the cam acts, the force applied by it is focused on the center position; as a result, the middle portion of the base means adjacent to the friction plate uplifts higher from the wall, while the edge portion remains relatively closer to the wall, so that the securing sheet at the edge portion of the base means is only slightly pulled upwards and has less possibility to get ruptured.  
         [0031]     In order to be better attached to the curved surface, the base means can be divided into a plurality of sub-base means which are connected with one another by movable joints.  
         [0032]     In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the  FIGS. 4-6 , a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall includes a securing sheet  301 , a base means  302  and a holder  303 . The securing sheet  301  is an electrostatic paster of a square shape. The base means  302  in the shape of a plate is stuck on the front side of the securing sheet  301 . The holder  303  embodies as two side by side hooks which are adjacent to each other and are connected to the base means  302 . The base means  302  is provided with an upper friction plate  322  and a lower friction plate  323  respectively attached to the front side of the securing sheet  301  on its upper portion and its lower portion. The upper friction plate  322  is connected with the base means  302  through a hinge  321  and the lower friction plate  323  is connected with the base means via a slope-shaped cam structure  324 . Moreover, the base means  302 , the upper friction plate  322  and the lower friction plate  323 , are provided with hinges  320 ,  326  and  325  formed by longitudinal grooves, so that the base means  302 , the upper and lower friction plates can be bent easily, and can smoothly fit to the curved wall surface.  
         [0033]     When the holder  303  bears no load, as shown in the  FIG. 7 , the base means  302  is evenly attached to the wall surface, and the upper slope  3241  has not yet contacted with the lower slope  3242  of the cam structure  324 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , when a force is applied to the hook  303 , the base means  302  moves downwards, the upper slope  3241  slides onto the lower slope  3242  along the slope, so that the base means  302  and the securing sheet  301  connected to the base means  302  are detached from the wall  304 . A clockwise torque as shown in the  FIG. 8  is generated due to the force applied to the holder  303 , and the torque causes the upper portion of the base means  302  and the securing sheet  301  attached to the base means  302  to be detached from the wall  304 . As a result, the securing sheet  301  is pulled outwards by a little due to its elasticity, so that negative pressure is generated in the clearance  305  between the securing sheet  301  and the wall  304 , at the same time, negative pressure is also generated between the wall  304  and the portions of the securing sheet  301  beneath the upper friction plate  322  and beneath the lower friction plate  323 . Consequently, the air pressure presses the friction plates and the securing sheet  301  beneath the friction plates against the wall  304 . Thus, the resultant static friction force between the securing sheet  301  and the wall  304  produces an effect preventing the securing sheet  301  from sliding downwards so as to prevent the base means  302  from falling.  
         [0034]     A pressing roller for excluding the air between the securing sheet and the wall can further be provided in the present invention in order to keep well air tightness between the securing sheet and the wall.  
         [0035]     In the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the  FIGS. 9-12 , a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall includes a securing sheet  401 , a base means  402 , a friction plate  404 , a rolling ring  441 , a pressing roller  442 , a pressing plate  405 , a stripping piece  413  and a holder  403  (only shown in the  FIG. 11 ). The securing sheet  401  is of circular shape, the front surface  411  of which is stuck on the back surface of the base means  402  pressing against the wall and is stuck on the back surface of the friction plate  404  pressing against the wall. And adhesive is provided on the back surface of the securing sheet  401 , so that the securing sheet  401  can be stuck on the wall. The base means  402  is a circular plate provided with ligaments on the periphery thereof, said ligaments are connected with the circular shaped friction plate  404 . On the periphery of the base means  402  is provided with a slope structure mating with a corresponding slope structure provided on the inner periphery of the friction plate  404 . When the base means  402  moves outwards in any direction and meets with the friction plate  404 , the slope structure of the base means  402  rides on the corresponding slope structure of the friction plate  404  and thus the base means  402  is pushed up and detached from the wall, so that the securing sheet  401  attached to the base means  402  follows the latter to depart from the wall. Thus a clearance of negative pressure is generated between the securing sheet  401  and the wall, and negative pressure is also produced between the wall and the securing sheet  401  beneath and adjacent to the friction plate  404 . As a result, the air pressure presses the friction plate  404  against the wall, so that the securing sheet  401  beneath the friction plate  404  is tightly and securely pressed on the wall with the help of the resultant friction force.  
         [0036]     The base means  402  is provided along its center line with a groove  424  having a hinge  4241  on its bottom. As shown in the  FIG. 11 , the back side of the base means  402 , i.e. the attaching surface  4211 , is formed bulging towards the wall (downwards), so that the upper ends of the groove  424  close to each other when no force is applied thereto. As a result, when the base means  402  is pressed and attached onto the wall, the center portion of the base means  402  contacts with the wall first, so that the air between the securing sheet  401  and the wall is excluded outwards from the center portion.  
         [0037]     In order to make the back surface of the base means  402  into a curved surface with its center portion bulging outwards, as an alternative form to the above hinge structure, the attaching surface  4211  may be formed into a spherical surface bulging outwards, provided thereon with elastic material and a hollow cavity, so that the attaching surface  4211  can be pressed outwards from its center portion.  
         [0038]     Since it will take long distance for the air to penetrate beneath the friction plate from the margin of the securing sheet around the friction plate  404 , pressing the securing sheet tightly on the wall can effectively improve the air-tightness.  
         [0039]     In order to make the securing sheet around the friction plate  404  to tightly attach to the wall, provided around the friction plate  404  is the rolling ring  441 , which has a ring shape with its inner periphery bulging towards the securing sheet  401  and which may be made of elastic material such as resilient steel sheet. When the rolling ring  441  is pressed onto the wall, the inner portion of the rolling ring  441  firstly presses the securing sheet  401  against the wall, and the continuous pushing of the rolling ring  441  will cause the inner periphery of the rolling ring  441  to be bent upwards and the entire rolling ring  441  gradually bulges to the reverse side, so that the securing sheet  401  is continuously rolled outwards from its center portion by the rolling ring  441  and the air is excluded, thereby the securing sheet  401  is pressed tightly on the wall.  
         [0040]     The pressing plate  405  is disposed above the rolling ring  441  and is provided with two long springs having the shape of an arched plate which can be used to push the base means  402  and two short springs which can be used to push the friction plate  404 . The pressing plate  405  has circular ring shaped pressing foot  453  at its periphery for pushing the outer periphery of the rolling ring  441 . Thus, as long as the pressing plate  405  is pushed, the long springs  451  firstly presses the base means  402  against the wall, then, the short springs  452  presses the friction plate  404  against the wall, next, the pressing foot  453  pushes the rolling ring  441 , so that the air between the securing sheet  401  and the wall is continuously squeezed out from the center to the outside of the securing sheet  401 .  
         [0041]     Since the wall surface may be uneven, the back surfaces of the base means  402 , of the friction plate  404  and of the rolling ring may be covered with soft cushion  4311 , so that the securing sheet  401  can be evenly pressed onto the wall.  
         [0042]     Since the outer periphery of the securing sheet  401  may extend to a large region, to press the whole region of the securing sheet  401 , the rolling ring  441  has to be big, therefore, a pressing roller  442  is further provided on the base means  402 . The pressing roller  442  has the shape of a roller and is provided at the axis thereof with a shaft hole  4422  through which a shaft  406  is disposed. One end  461  of the shaft  406  is big enough to prevent the pressing roller  442  from detaching from the shaft  406  and the other end is bent and connected to a circular ring  463 . The circular ring  463  is fit into a groove  4251  provided on the upwardly projecting cylindrical portion  425  of the base means  402 , so that the pressing roller  442  can rotate around the base means  402 . In order to facilitate the rolling of the pressing roller  442  on the circular path, the rolling body of the pressing roller  442  is formed into an appropriate taper. The pressing roller  442  can be pushed to rotate and pressed by griping a gripe  464  provided on the shaft  406 . It can be seen from the  FIG. 10  that the axis of the pressing roller  442  is inclined by an angle with respect to the radius of the base means  402 . When the gripe  464  is griped and rotated clockwise, the portion of the securing sheet  401  which is closer to the center will be pressed earlier, while the portion of the securing sheet  401  which is farther from the center will be pressed later. Thus, the air between the securing sheet and the wall can be squeezed out from the center to the outside. The pressing roller  442  is provided with soft material on its rolling surface so that the securing sheet  401  can be evenly pressed onto the wall.  
         [0043]     A stripping piece  413  extending upwards is also provided on the edge of the front surface  411  of the securing sheet. By pulling the stripping piece  413  upwards, the edge of the securing sheet can be pulled and detached from the wall and thus the whole holding device can be removed from the wall.  
         [0044]     It has been proved by the test that the effect to prevent the holding device from sagging will be better if the friction plate is directly pressed against the wall, instead of attaching to the securing sheet.  
         [0045]     In the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the  FIGS. 13-15 , a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall includes a securing sheet  501 , a base means  502 , a friction plate  506 , a rolling ring  541 , a pressing plate  505  and a holder  503  (only shown in the  FIG. 15 ). One difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that, the friction plate  506  is connected with the base means  502  via detachable connecting rods  534  and directly presses against the wall  507  beyond the border of the securing sheet  501 . Since some kinds of securing sheets tend to slide on the wall after they have been pressed for a long time, material with high friction coefficient such as foamed rubber and cork is provided on the back surface of the friction plate  506 . When assembling, the connecting rods  534  connected with the friction plate are inserted into the corresponding holes in the base means and connected with the base means, and the holding device may be attached onto the wall followed by assembling the friction plate on the base means; alternatively, the friction plate may be assembled followed by mounting the holding device onto the wall. The holder  503  may be connected to the base means  502  or to the connecting rods  534  of the friction plate  506 .  
         [0046]     The rolling ring  541  made of thick and soft materials has a ring shape with its inner periphery bulging towards the securing sheet  501 , similar to the structure in the second embodiment. Since the rolling ring  541  is thick, the pressing plate  505  needs not to have pressing foot projecting downwards as that in the  FIG. 11  and the short springs are no longer used. In assembling, the base means  502  is pressed onto the wall  507  by the pressing plate  505 , first, the long spring  551  presses the base means  502  towards the wall, then, the rolling ring  541  is pushed by the pressing plate  505  to be deformed and to gradually contact and press the securing sheet  501  from the center portion to the outer periphery of the securing sheet  501 . Thus, the air between the securing sheet  501  and the wall  507  is continuously squeezed out from the center to outside. After that, the friction plate  506  connected with the base means  502  by the connecting rods  534  are directly pressed against the wall  507 .  
         [0047]     It has been proved that the center portion of the securing sheet is easy to be penetrated by the molecules of the air due to the force applied on the base means, as a result, air penetrates in between the securing sheet and the wall through the base means and the securing sheet. Therefore, the air tightness of the center portion of the securing sheet should especially be enhanced. In order to achieve a desired air-tight effect, on one hand, the base means and the securing sheet can be made of materials with excellent air-tightness property, on the other hand, an air barrier layer may be provided on the surface of the center portion of the securing sheet and it may be metal foil or PVDC materials, and the like.  
         [0048]     In the forth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 16 , a holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall includes a securing sheet  601 , a base means  602 , a rolling ring  641 , a pressing roller  642 , a pressing plate  605 , a stripping piece  613  and a holder  603 . One difference between the forth embodiment and the second embodiment is that, a layer of aluminum foil  611  is stuck between the base means  602  and the securing sheet  601  and has an area slightly larger than that of the base means  602 . Thus, better air-tightness can be achieved by way of the excellent gas barrier property of the aluminum foil layer. The holder  603  is in the shape of a basket and is supported on the base means  602 . Two pieces of friction plates  606  are fixed to the basket shaped holder  603  on the side towards the wall. The two friction plates  606  are located under the securing sheet  601  and directly press against the wall surface. Each of the friction plates  606  is provided with a layer  616  of high frictional coefficient material on the side towards the wall. When a heavy article is placed inside the holder, a torque mechanism is formed, wherein the base means  602  acts as the fulcrum, the weight center of the heavy article is the point where external force is applied, and the friction plates  606  are the positions where reaction force is applied. The torque pulls and detaches the base means from the wall while it presses the friction plates onto the wall. The dimension of the friction plate can be so designed that the maximal static frictional force between the friction plate and the wall will be large enough to bear the weight of the article and the basket shaped holder. Thus, the friction plates bear all of the weight, while the base means only bears the force perpendicular to the wall. Therefore, the holding device with a securing sheet for mounting onto a wall according to the present invention can bear large load and can be fixed on the wall securely and durably.