Patent Publication Number: US-2007095997-A1

Title: Apparatus and method for hanging an item on a wall

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Technical Field  
      The present invention relates generally to the field of decorating and more particularly to the field of hanging various decorative items on a wall.  
      2. Background Art  
      One popular method of decorating a home or an office is to hang pictures, posters, diplomas, etc. on a wall. For the most part, this is a fairly straightforward proposition. However, it can be a very difficult thing to do very well. For example, one of the most common methods for hanging items on a wall is to simply pound a nail or some other anchor point into the wall in the desired location. While the act of pounding a nail into the wall is a very simple task, getting the nail in the desired location can be somewhat challenging. It often seems that the nail is just a little too low, a little too high, too far to the left or two far to the right. This problem can be exacerbated when hanging a large item that requires two or more anchor points in the wall. In this situation, any misalignment in the location of the anchor points can make it very difficult to get the item to hang with the appropriate horizontal alignment.  
      To alleviate the difficulties associated with the hanging of items on a wall, various methods and devices have been adopted. For example, the use of measuring tapes and other tools are commonly employed to accurately located the desired anchor points for hanging an item on the wall. Additionally, the use of lasers and other light sources to ensure horizontal alignment has become quite common.  
      While a number of tools and devices have been developed for accurately locating an anchor point for hanging an item on the wall, the overall process is still somewhat “hit and miss.” The main problem is that once an anchor point has been placed in the wall, the movement and relocation of the anchor point inevitably leaves an unsighly hole that must be covered or repaired. It is not uncommon to see a series of holes made in a wall where numerous attempts are required to find the most desirable postion for the anchor point. This can be the result of hitting a stud in the wall, inadvertent misalignment of the anchor points, etc.  
      As shown by the previous discussion, without additional improvements in the methods for hanging objects on a wall, the efficiency and effectiveness of the process will continue to be suboptimal.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An appartus for hanging items on a wall comprises a backing plate with a substantially square mounting plate portion and a plurality of apertures formed in the backing plate. The backing plate is anchored in a wall and then a supporting peg is inserted into one of the plurality of apertures. An item can then be hung on the supporting peg. By selectively adjusting the position of the supporting peg, the exact hanging location for the item can be quickly and easily adjusted, without altering the position of the backing plate. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements and:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an appartrus for hanging an item on a wall in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a side view of an apparatus for hanging an item on a wall in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart for a method of hanging an item on a wall in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      An appartus for hanging items on a wall comprises a backing plate with a substantially square mounting plate portion and a plurality of apertures formed in the backing plate. The backing plate is anchored in a wall and then a supporting peg is inserted into one of the plurality of apertures. An item can then be hung on the supporting peg. By selectively adjusting the position of the supporting peg, the exact hanging location for the item can be quickly and easily adjusted, without altering the position of the backing plate.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus  100  for hanging an item on a wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , apparatus  100  includes a mounting plate  110  with two mounting apertures  140  and a plurality of supporting apertures  150  formed in mounting plate  110 . Mounting fasteners  120  are inserted through mounting apertures  140  and then into a wall, thereby affixing substantially square mounting plate  110  to the wall. Once mounting plate  110  has been affixed to the wall, mounting peg  130  can be removably inserted into any of supporting apertures  150  and a picture or other item may then be hung from mounting peg  130 . If the first selected location for mounting peg  130  is not quite right, then it can be quickly and easily removed from the first supporting apeture  150  and relocated to a more suitable supporting apeture  150 . In this fashion, a single mounting plate  110  can be used for multiple locations of mounting peg  130 .  
      In order to maximize the probability of success for the desired location of mounting peg  130 , the size and shape of mounting plate  110  and the number of supporting apertures  150  formed in mounting plate  110  can be varied as desired. In the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, mounting plate  110  is substantially square with at least 25-50 supporting apertures formed in a substantially square mounting plate  110 . However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the size and shape of mounting plate  110  and the number of supporting apertures  150  are highly variable and are not limited by any exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Mounting fasteners  120  are preferrably nails that are pounded into the wall until the heads of the nails are flush with the surface of mounting plate  110 . Additionally, while mounting fasteners  120  are depicted in  FIG. 1  and described herein as nails, those skilled in the art will recognize that screws and other suitable types of fasteners may also be used.  
      Mounting peg  130  is most preferably a slender device with a retaining collar  135  positioned approximately halfway between the endpoints of mounting peg  130 . Retaining collar  135  serves to prevent mounting peg from being over inserted into mounting plate  110  while ensuring that an appropriate amount of mounting peg  130  is available for hanging a picture or other item on the mounting peg  130 . The diameter of retaining collar  135  is manufactured so as to be slightly larger than the diameter of supporting apertures  150 . This prevents mounting peg  130  from being overinserted into supporting apertures  150 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a side view of apparatus  100  from  FIG. 1  is depicted attached to a wall section  210 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , mounting apertures  140  and supporting apertures  150  are formed in mounting plate  110  at approximately a 45° angle to the surface of mounting plate  110  and the surface of wall section  210 . In this fashion, fasteners  120  and mounting peg  130  are inserted at a 45° angle to the surface of wall portion  210 , thereby allowing the force of gravity to assist in the supporting of mounting plate  110  and, in turn, the object that is hung on mounting peg  130 . This is similar to the inserting of a nail at a 45° angle when pounding a nail into wall  210  to support a picture or other item on the nail. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the angle for forming mounting apertures  140  and supporting apertures  150  in mounting plate  110  may vary substantially from 45° without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a method  300  for hanging an item on a wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first step is to attach or affix a mounting plate to a wall in approximately the desired location (step  310 ). Once the mounting plate is attached to the wall, a mounting peg can be inserted into one of the supporting apertures (step  320 ) and an object may be hung from the mounting peg (step  330 ). If the object is not hanging in the desired location on the wall, then the object can be removed from the mounting peg (step  340 ), a new location for the mounting peg can be selected (step  350 ) and then the mounting peg can be inserted into the new location by inserting the mounting peg into the appropriate supporting aperture (step  360 ). Then the object can be once again hung on the mounting peg (step  330 ). As shown in  FIG. 3 , step  330 - 360  can be repeated as necessary until the object is positioned in the desired location.  
      In summary, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for hanging items on a wall without undue effort or trial-and-error. By implementing one or more of the preferred embodiments disclosed herein, varous items can be quickly and easily hung on a wall in the desired location. Lastly, it should be appreciated that the illustrated embodiments are preferred exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description provides those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in the various preferred exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.