Patent Publication Number: US-2015083873-A1

Title: Drywall attachment device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to construction materials, and more particularly to a drywall attachment clip for allowing items to be secured onto new and damaged drywall. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
     In order to mount brackets, fixtures and other objects provided with mounting holes against the outer surface of hollow interior walls such as drywall, sheetrock, plasterboard and fiberboard, for example, it is common to utilize a fastener such as a screw or nail, for example. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the use of a fastener  4  creates an opening  2  within the material. This is fine so long as the items remain secured together, but creates a problem if/when the object  5  needs to be removed and reinstalled. For this reason, the common practice is to utilize a generally hollow anchor having an outside diameter that is slightly larger than the fastener itself. These anchors which are typically constructed from metal such as zinc, or of plastic such as PVC, are typically sized for a particular thickness of drywall and therefore require a user to purchase multiple sizes. 
       FIGS. 1C and 1D  illustrate one embodiment of a conventional anchor  1  in accordance with background art. As shown, the anchor  1  can be hammered into the existing opening  2  (or a new pre-drilled hole) of the drywall  3  prior to receiving the threaded fastener (e.g., mounting screw)  4  of the object  5  being secured onto the wall. Once secured together, the anchor  1  is able to expand within the small hole  2  and functions to secure the object  5  onto the drywall  3 . 
     Although these conventional anchors function suitably for one time installation of objects onto new drywall, they are not reusable in nature. To this end, whenever the object is removed from the wall, the counter force applied to the anchor in removing the fastener also functions to remove or otherwise damage the anchor itself, thereby also causing damage to the drywall. As such, whenever the object is re-secured to the same location, a larger drywall anchor must be utilized. This continues until, after several of these procedures, the drywall is too damaged to be used again and must be replaced. Alternatively, the item itself must be relocated to another undamaged portion of the drywall. 
     This represents a serious concern when working with objects such as HVAC vents, for example, which must often be removed from the ceiling or wall for cleaning, or when painting the room. Unlike pictures or other such objects, HVAC vents cannot be easily moved to a different location without great expense, and each of the HVAC vents include pre-drilled apertures through which the fastener is to be installed onto the wall or ceiling. 
     Accordingly, there remains a need for a drywall attachment device which can be utilized with a plurality of different sized drywall members in a reusable manner that does not suffer from the drawbacks of the above noted anchors. Additionally, it would be beneficial to provide such a device that can function equally well with both new and damaged drywall. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a drywall attachment device. One embodiment of the present invention can include a main body having an elongated slot and a plurality of small holes disposed along a central axis. The main body functioning to bend the slot above at least one of the plurality of holes to create a clip having a distance that approximates a distance of the drywall. A plurality of drywall fasteners can function to secure the device to the drywall, and a fastener can function to penetrate an object to be secured to the drywall, the slot and one of the small holes to secure the object to the drywall. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention can include a reference line and a plurality of distance lines, each of the distance lines being separated from the reference line in an amount equal to the thickness of conventional drywall members. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention can include a kit having at least one of the drywall attachment devices, a plurality of shims and at least one fastener. 
     This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are perspective views of a traditional fastening system in accordance with background art. 
         FIGS. 1C and 1D  are perspective views of a traditional anchor system in accordance with background art. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a drywall attachment device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the drywall attachment device in accordance with the one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the drywall attachment device in operation, and in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the drywall attachment device in operation, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of a kit for attaching objects to drywall, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention. 
     Identical reference numerals are used for like elements of the invention or elements of like function. For the sake of clarity, only those reference numerals are shown in the individual figures which are necessary for the description of the respective figure. For purposes of this description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of a drywall attachment device that is useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosed herein. As will be described throughout this document, the device  10  can be constructed to bend at predetermined locations in order to engage drywall of varying thicknesses, and to receive a fastener in order to allow objects to be repeatedly secured onto the drywall without causing damage to the same. 
     As shown, one embodiment of the device  10  can include an elongated generally rectangular main body  11  having a top end  11   a,  a bottom end  11   b  and a pair of opposing side ends  11   c  and  11   d,  respectively. An elongated open slot  12  is positioned along the central axis of the main body (i.e. equal distance between ends  11   c  and  11   d ) at a location adjacent to the top end and extending toward the bottom end. Additionally, a plurality of small holes  13  suitable for receiving and engaging a conventional fastener are positioned along the central axis between the open slot  12  and the bottom end  11   b.  Each of the small holes preferably being separated by a uniform distance D 1 . 
     The device  10  can further include a plurality of drywall engagement members such as the generally triangular shaped raised teeth  14  and/or strips of double sided tape  15 . As described herein, the teeth  14  can function to penetrate and engage the drywall surface, in order to create a strong friction bond between the device  10  and the drywall, whereas the tape  15  can function to affix the device to the drywall in a conventional manner. Of course, any number of other known materials can also be utilized such as conventional adhesives, glues and the like. 
     The device  10  can also include a reference line  21  and a plurality of distance lines  22 - 27 . Each of the lines  21 - 27  can be scored into the main body and can extend between the opposing side ends  11   c  and  11   d.  As shown, reference line  21  can be positioned adjacent to the bottom of the open slot  12 , and distance lines  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 ,  26  and  27  can each be disposed along the main body at distances D 2 , D 3 , D 4  D 5 , D 6  and D 7 , respectively, from the reference line  21 . 
     Although described above as including scored lines, this is for illustrative purposes only, as any number of other means for providing predetermined bending locations can be included herein. For example, the main body can be manufactured with elongated grooves and/or thinner material along locations indicated as scored lines  21 - 27 , in order to achieve the same functionality. 
     As described herein, the main body can be constructed from any number of sturdy, slightly malleable and resilient materials such as aluminum or other soft metals, plastic and/or composite blended materials. While the dimensions of the elements are not critical, in the preferred embodiment the main body can include a length (i.e., from top end  11   a  to bottom end  11   b ) of about 3 inches, and a width (i.e., between side ends  11   c  and  11   d ) of about 1.25 inches. D 1  of ⅙ inches. As commercially available drywall members are most commonly available in thicknesses of ¼, ⅜, ½, ⅝, ¾, and 1″. Therefore, as the device  10  is intended to function with a plurality of drywall members, the separation distances D 2 , D 3 , D 4 , D 5 , D 6  and D 7 , can include lengths of ¼, ⅜, ½, ⅝, ¾, and 1 inches, respectively. 
     Although described above with respect to specific materials, construction methodologies and/or dimensions, this is for illustrative purposes only, as any number of other dimensions and materials suitable for functioning as described herein can also be utilized. To this end, those of skill in the art will immediately recognize that the device  10  can also be manufactured with any number of scored lines having separation distances that are greater or less than the above described dimensions. Such a feature can allow the device to accommodate both the standard, and non-standard sized drywall members. Additionally, other embodiments of the device  10  are contemplated, wherein only one or two of the distance lines  22 - 27  are provided, and the remaining lines are omitted. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the main body  11  can bend, see arrow A, along the scored line  21  and any one of the lines  22 - 27 , in order to form a clip that can engage the front and back side of a drywall member. In the present embodiment, scored lines  21  and  26  have been bent to approximately  90  degrees so as to form a clip for engaging a drywall member having a thickness of D 6 . When so positioned, the elongated opening  12  will be positioned directly above at least one of the plurality of holes  13 . As should be readily apparent, the main body can alternatively be bent along lines  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  and  27 , so as to engage drywall members having a thickness of D 2 , D 3 , D 4 , D 5  and D 7 , respectively. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of the drywall attachment device  10  in operation. In the present embodiment, the device  10  is utilized to secure an object  5 , such as an HVAC vent, for example, to a drywall member  3 . As shown, the main body can be bent along the scored lines  21  and  24 , so as to configure the device to engage the drywall member having a thickness of D 4 . When so configured, the device can inserted onto the edge of the drywall at a location wherein the pre-drilled aperture  5   a  of the object  5  is in line with each of the elongated opening  12  and one of the small holes  13 . At this time, each of the engagement members  14  can grip the drywall which can hold the device in place while a conventional fastener  4  is driven through each of the aperture  5   a,  opening  12  and small hole  13  in order to secure the object to the drywall. 
     By providing a device having a large surface area (when compared to a traditional anchor) that independently engages the drywall member along the front and rear sides forming a clip, the device  10  can allow objects to be securely and repeatedly secured to the same section of drywall without damaging the same. Additionally, the device  10  can function equally well in locations where the drywall has become damaged from repeated use of traditional anchors, due to the larger surface area. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of the device  10  that further includes a shim  50 . The shim can be utilized in instances where substantial drywall damage is present and/or where no intact drywall is encasing the original anchor opening. To this end, the shim can be placed between the location of the screw  4  and the vertical section of the clip, as shown. In this regard, the shim can function to replace the lost drywall, and to provide structural integrity to the installed device, so as to prevent it from being over tightened. When utilized as described above, the device utilizes the plurality of anchors  14  to remain attached to the drywall, and the screw  4  prevents separation of the same. 
     Accordingly,  FIG. 6  illustrates one embodiment of a kit  60  that includes a drywall repair device  10 , as described above, a fastener  4 , and a pair of generally rectangularly shaped shims  51  and  52 . In one embodiment, shim  51  can include a dimension of about ¼×⅜×½ inches, and cube  52  can include a dimension of about ⅝×¾×1 inch. Of course the kit can also include any number of additional devices  10 , fasteners  4  and shims, having any number of other shapes, sizes and dimensions. 
     As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.