Patent Publication Number: US-2009224119-A1

Title: Mounting system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a mounting system for mounting items to surfaces. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When mounting items such as shelves or other similar furniture to walls, the most common method is to fit one or more support brackets to the wall and then mount the shelf on the top of the brackets. 
     While the installation of shelves is something that people commonly undertake themselves, installation kits for shelves generally available have a number of drawbacks for those wishing to install shelves in their own homes. Firstly, as most shelf arrangements require the fitting of at least two brackets independently to the wall, the person installing must go through a number of steps to ensure that each bracket is both aligned correctly vertically and positioned horizontally with respect to the previously installed brackets so that the shelf is level. 
     Also, this type of arrangement results in visible brackets which often can be considered to detract from the appearance of the shelf and foreshorten depth perception of the room. While it is possible to have shelves installed without brackets, this often requires employing a trained tradesperson to construct the shelf and supporting arrangement so that the brackets are hidden. 
     The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part the aforementioned problems of mounting items, such as shelves, to walls. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a mounting system for mounting an item to a surface comprising a mounting bracket securable to the surface, a recess on the item for receiving the mounting bracket, the recess being provided in the item on a side to be located adjacent the surface and a securing means for securing the mounting bracket to the item when the mounting bracket is received in the recess. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mounting system in accordance with the present invention, in which the item to be mounted comprises a wall shelf; 
         FIG. 2  is an upper perspective view of the shelf of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an upper perspective view of the mounting bracket of the mounting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4   a  is a rear perspective view of the mounting bracket received within a recess of the shelf; 
         FIG. 4   b  is a side view of the shelf mounted to a wall; 
         FIG. 4   c  is a side cross sectional view of the shelf mounted to the wall; 
         FIG. 5  is a front perspective of the shelf secured to the mounting bracket showing the internal connection of the mounting bracket to the shelf, 
         FIG. 6   a  is an exploded view of the mounting bracket showing installation of support rods to the mounting bracket; 
         FIG. 6   b  is a side cross-sectional view showing the securing of the shelf to the support rods of the mounting bracket; 
         FIG. 7   a  is a front view of the mounting bracket of the mounting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7   b  is a rear view of the mounting bracket of the mounting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 7   c  and  7   d  are end views of the mounting bracket of the mounting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8   a  is a rear view of the shelf of the mounting system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8   b  is a side cross sectional view of the shelf of  FIG. 8   a  through the line A-A; 
         FIG. 9   a  is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a mounting bracket in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 9   b  is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 1  including a cable channel; and 
         FIG. 9   c  is a perspective view of the embodiment of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 9   a  including a cable channel. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the Figures, there is shown a mounting system  10  for mounting an item to a wall  16 . In the embodiments shown, the item comprises a shelf  12 , however it will be appreciated that the mounting system  10  could be applied to the mounting of other items to a surface. 
     The mounting system  10  comprises the shelf  12  and a mounting bracket  14 . The mounting bracket  14  is securable to a wall  16  and securing means are provided to secure the shelf  12  to the mounting bracket  14 . 
     The mounting bracket  14  comprises a hollow elongate member  20  having a quadrilateral cross section. The elongate member  20  includes a plurality of first holes  22  in a first side  24  thereof the first side  24  being the side to be secured to the wall  16 . The first holes  22  are provided to receive suitable fixing means to fix the mounting bracket  12  to the wall  16 . The fixing means may be any devices suitable for securing the mounting bracket  12 , such as known wall fasteners  27 . The elongate member  20  is provided with a second set of holes  26  of a second opposed side  25 , the second holes  26  being in alignment with the first holes  22 . The second set of holes  26  are of larger diameter than the first set of holes  22  and provide access to the first set of holes  22  for insertion of the wall fasteners. 
     The shelf  12  is provided with a recess  28  in a side  30  of the shelf  12  that is to be located adjacent the wall  16 . The recess  28  is of a shape complementary to the shape of the elongate member  20  such that when the elongate member  20  is secured to the wall  16 , the elongate member  20  may be received in the recess  28  such that said side  30  of the shelf  12  comes into contact with the wall  16 . That is, the elongate member  20  is completely contained within the recess  28 . 
     The mounting bracket  14  includes at least one support member  32  arranged to extend from the mounting bracket  14  in a direction perpendicular to the wall  16  and into the body of the shelf  12 . In the embodiment shown, the support members  32  comprise first and second support rods  34 . Each support rod  34  extends outwardly from the elongate member  20 . The recess  28  in the shelf  12  is provided with first and second openings  36  in the inner surface of the recess  28  aligned such that when the elongate member  20  is received within the recess  28 , the first and second support rods  34  are received in corresponding first and second openings  36 . The first and second support rods  34  thereby extend throughout at least a portion of the depth of the shelf  12  providing additional strength. Preferably the first and second support rods  34  extend throughout the majority of the depth of the shelf. 
     In one embodiment, a tube  53  is provided secured within the opening  36 . The tube  53  is preferably of a suitable material, such as metal, so as to allow easy insertion of the support rod  34  into the opening  36  and provide additional strength to the assembly. The support rods  34  are engageable with and disengageable from the elongate member  20 . The elongate member  20  is provided with first and second slots  46  in the second side  25  thereof Each of the slots  46  includes a narrowed portion  48  at an end thereof. The first and second support rods  34  are each provided with a widened portion  49  which is receivable in a corresponding one of the first and second slots  46 . 
     The support rod  34  is then slidable along the slot  46  towards the narrowed portion  48 , in which the widened portion  49  is then not removable from the slot  46 . 
     The widened portions  49  of the support rods  34  are shaped to be complementary to the cross sectional shape of the elongate member  20 , providing the load bearing capability of the support rods  34  and transferring the load to the wall fasteners. 
     The mounting system  10  includes a securing means to secure the shelf  12  to the mounting bracket  14  when the mounting bracket  14  is received in the recess  28  of the shelf  12 . In the embodiment shown, the securing means comprises the support rods  34  and corresponding engagement screws  40 . The engagement screws  40  are inserted downwardly through apertures  42  provided in the upper surface of the shelf  12 . The apertures  42  are aligned with the openings  36  in the recess  28  such that the engagement screws  40  engage with the support rods  34 . In this way, the engagement screws  40  prevent removal of the support rods  34  from the openings  36  and thereby secure the shelf  12  to the mounting bracket  14 . While in the embodiment shown, the engagement screws  40  are inserted downwardly through the apertures, it will be appreciated that the apertures  42  may be provided on the lower surface of the shelf  12 , with the engagement screws  40  inserted upwardly. This alternative arrangement may be more suitable when the shelf  12  is mounted in a low position where the upper surface of the shelf  12  is more visible than the lower surface. 
     In use, the mounting bracket  14  is positioned against the wall  16  in the position in which the shelf  12  is to be mounted. As the mounting bracket  14  comprises the single elongate member  20 , levelling the shelf can be performed by simply placing a spirit level on the top of the elongate member  20  and adjusting the elongate member  20  until level. Holes to be drilled in the wall for securing the mounting bracket  14  to the wall can then be marked by placing a pen or suitable marker through the first holes  22  via the second holes  26  and marking the wall  16 . As an alternative embodiment, the mounting bracket  12  may be provided with integral levelling means in the form of spirit level type bubbles built into the elongate member  20 . In this embodiment, the elongate member  20  would simply need to be held against the wall  16  and adjusted until the bubbles indicated the elongate member  20  was level. 
     Appropriate sized holes can then be drilled in the wall  16  of the marked locations. This enables correct mounting of the assembly with one pair of hands. The elongate member  20  is then placed back against the wall and secured by passing suitable wall fasteners through the second holes  26 , first holes  22  and into the wall  16 . 
     The support rods  34  are then secured to the elongate member  20  by insertion of the widened portions  49  into the corresponding slot  46  and sliding the support rods  34  to the narrowed portion  48  of the slot  46 . The shelf  12  is then secured to the mounting bracket  14  by sliding the support rods  34  into the openings  36  in the recess  28  until the elongate member  20  is contained within the recess  28 . The shelf  12  is then secured by passing engagement screws  40  through the apertures  42  to engage with the support rods  34 . It is noted that even if the mounting bracket  14  has been installed off the horizontal, the shelf  12  will still fit to the mounting bracket  14 , which is not the case when using conventional individual mounting brackets. 
       FIGS. 9   a  to  9   b  show alternative embodiments of mounting systems in accordance with the present invention. In the embodiment of  FIG. 9   a , the elongate member  20  is provided with a single slot  50  running along the entire length of the elongate member  20  instead of the first and second slots  46 . The width of the slot  50  is less than that of the widened portions  49  of the support rods  34  and the widened portions  49  are received in the elongate member  20  by sliding into open ends  52  of the elongate member  20  as shown. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 9   a , it is envisaged that the elongate member and the shelf  12  are provided in long lengths for purchase that can be cut to any length desired. The number of support rods  34  used will be dependent on the length of the shelf  12  and mounting bracket  14  purchased. In this arrangement, the recess  28  in the shelf  12  will have open longitudinal ends resulting from the cutting and will therefore be in the form of a groove along the rear surface of the shelf  12 . Caps (not shown) will be provided that fit into the open ends of the elongate member  20  to cover the resulting opening. 
       FIGS. 9   b  and  9   c  show alternative embodiments of the mounting brackets  12  of  FIGS. 3 and 9   a . In each case, the elongate member is provided with an internal channel  60  adjacent the first side  22 . The channel  60  can be used for running cabling for devices to be placed on the shelf  12 . One or more holes through the upper surface of the shelf  12  into the channel  60  may be provided to pass the cabling from within the channel  60  to the devices on the shelf  12 . 
     The gauge, material type and dimensions used in the mounting system can provide a wide range of load bearing capabilities, especially for use with heavy loads, to mount a variety of items on a vertical surface. The is presently generally only possible using multiple individual brackets with the associated installation difficulty and often unsightly end result. 
     Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention