Abstract:
A picture hanging system comprised of a horizontally extending rail attached to the upper portion of a wall on which pictures are to be displayed. Said rail is spaced a precise horizontal distance away from the wall. Visual exposure of the rail and associated hardware can be eliminated by covering it with a decorative moulding that is quickly and easily attached. Cable assemblies can be quickly and easily connected at any desired location on the rail with the associated small diameter cables extending vertically downward. One or more clamp and hook assemblies can be directly attached to the cables at any point on the cable. The pictures are then hung from the hooks. If re-positioning of the pictures is required this can be done quickly and easily. With pictures installed the system achieves the highest possible aesthetic standards by virtue of the fact that only the molding and the very small diameter cables are visible.

Description:
PRIOR APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/424,153, filed Apr. 25, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/375,672, filed Apr. 26, 2002. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to picture hanging systems and more particularly to a system that permits quick and easy placement of pictures on walls at desired locations while minimizing wall damage.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     A picture is normally suspended from its hanging wire by a single hook that is fastened to the wall by a nail. A well-known problem arises in installing the picture in the exact desired location on the wall when using the above noted method. Typically the hook is first installed on the wall at a location judged to be approximately correct. The picture is then hung and a determination is made as to where to relocate the hook to achieve a placement closer to the desired location. This trial and error method may involve several repetitions until the exact desired location is obtained. It is also noisy, time consuming and damages the wall due to the multiple nail holes that are created. The problem becomes particularly acute in art galleries where numerous pictures are displayed on the walls, which are frequently replaced or moved.  
         [0004]     Various picture-hanging systems have been developed, such as disclosed in Schuite, U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,021; Hayde, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,987; Keers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,813 and Fleishman, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,999, which are particularly for use in galleries, to overcome the above noted problems. Such systems however suffer from one or more of the following impediments.  
         [0005]     First, tools are often required to hang the pictures. Second, typically, additional pictures cannot be installed in the same area without first removing existing pictures and their associated hangers and then re-installing them. Thirdly, the picture hook cannot be directly connected to the cable that supports the artwork. Rather, the cable has to be fed through the hook until the hook reaches its intended location on the cable. This is often time consuming and cumbersome. Fourthly, the cable hook can impart kinking on the support cable which, if exposed by later moving the picture can be unsightly. Fifthly, the systems typically use specialized equipment which can be costly to manufacture, and difficult to install.  
         [0006]     There is therefore a need for a picture hanging system, which overcomes some, or all of the above identified shortcomings.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     The instant exemplary embodiments provide an adjustable, inexpensive, and easy to install track-based picture hanging system.  
         [0008]     Some embodiments provide a low cost, unobtrusive, aesthetically appealing, adjustable picture hanging system that allows quick, quiet, easy and precise placement of pictures at numerous locations on a wall, is easily and quickly adjustable and does not require special skills or tools to operate. Some embodiments utilize standard commercially available components for parts of the system.  
         [0009]     Some embodiments provide a system having a rail mounted horizontally near the top of a wall section, a cable suspended from the rail and a combination clamp and picture hook that can be directly engaged and clamped from the side to the cable. In some embodiments the clamp and picture hook is tightened or loosened on the cable by an integral thumbscrew incorporated in the assembly thereby precluding the need for any tools. In some embodiments the clamp and picture hook assembly can be quickly attached or detached from the lengths of a cable at any time without affecting other pictures already hanging on the cable or on other adjacent cables on the wall.  
         [0010]     When installing a picture the cable is first connected to the rail at the approximate desired horizontal location on the wall. Next the clamp and hook assembly is installed on the cable at the approximate desired vertical location on the wall. The picture is hung and a determination is made if it is necessary to shift it vertically and/or horizontally. If a change in location is necessary the desired position is readily achieved by moving the clamp and hook assembly vertically on the cable lengths and/or by moving the point of cable to rail attachment horizontally.  
         [0011]     In some embodiments two clamp and hook assemblies can be employed for each picture, spaced apart horizontally in cases where the picture is very heavy, or where it is desired to eliminate any possible lateral movement of the picture on the wall, or where additional support redundancy is deemed necessary.  
         [0012]     In some embodiments there is provided a system for hanging a picture on a wall, said system comprises: a rigid support member comprising an elongate ledge terminating at a rear edge; said member being secured to said wall so that said edge is substantially parallel with and spaced apart from said wall, thereby forming a gap between said edge and said wall; a clip comprising: a backing portion having a first substantially planar surface oriented to bear against said wall; a prong portion extending from said backing portion at a first angle; and, said prong portion having a first dimension greater than said gap and a second dimension narrower than said gap, whereby said prong portion passes through said gap in a first orientation and will not pass through said gap in a second orientation; and, means for releasably mounting said picture to said clip.  
         [0013]     In some embodiments, said first orientation relates to said second orientation by a rotation angle commensurate with said first angle. In some embodiments, said clip further comprises a spring arm resiliently connected to said backing portion and oriented to bear against one of a pair of opposing surfaces formed between said wall and said member. In some embodiments, said spring arm is oriented to bear against said edge. In some embodiments, said prong portion and said backing portion form a substantially L-shaped structure. In some embodiments, said spring arm comprises a substantially L-shaped structure dimensioned to nest within said prong portion and said backing portion. In some embodiments, said prong portion connects to said backing portion at a rounded bend.  
         [0014]     In some embodiments, said means for releasably mounting comprise: a length of cable having first and second end portions, and a medial portion between said end portions; said first end portion being secured to said clip; a picture hook clamp assembly releasably secured to said medial portion. In some embodiments, said assembly comprises a generally U-shaped body member comprising: first and second clamping plates connected by an apex; said plates being frontwardly spaced apart a first distance; said second plate having a first angled projection thereby forming a picture hook; said body member having opposite lateral edge portions; and, said body defining a substantially vertical centerline. In some embodiments, said clamp further comprises an adjustable fastener engaging said clamping plates, said fastener being actuated to adjust said first distance. In some embodiments, said fastener comprises a screw bonded to said first plate and penetrating opposing drillings through said plates and engaging a wing nut. In some embodiments, said body member is shaped to have a cutout extending medially along said apex from a lateral edge and terminating at a stop surface beyond said centerline of said clamp. In some embodiments, said screw is located to have a lateral surface substantially vertically in line with said stop surface, thereby providing two contact points upon which said cable is centered.  
         [0015]     In some embodiments, said rigid support member consists of a standard commercially available slotted bookshelf mounting rail.  
         [0016]     In some embodiments the system further comprises a spacer having a thickness determining said gap. In some embodiments, said spacer comprises first and second concentric and adjacent washers, wherein said first washer is formed to have a centerhole having a first diameter and said second washer is formed to have a centerhole having a second diameter, and wherein said first diameter is larger than said second diameter. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is an elevation view of a wall on which a horizontally extending rail is attached near the top of the wall according to the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is an elevation view of a portion of the rail of  FIG. 1  at a rail to wall attachment point.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view at the rail to wall anchorment of  FIG. 2  taken along the line  3 - 3 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view at the rail to wall anchorment of  FIG. 2  taken along the line  4 - 4 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the cable and retainer clip assembly.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the cable and retainer clip assembly of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is an elevation front view of the clamp and hook assembly and of the associated cable to which it is attached.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of the clamp and hook assembly of  FIG. 6  taken along the line  8 - 8 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 11  are side views of the wall, retainer clip and rail showing the sequential engagement of the retainer clip into its final operating position.  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  is an isometric view of the installed picture hanging system on a wall showing all elements of the system including the rail, cable assembly and clamp and hook assembly.  
         [0027]      FIG. 13  is an elevation view of a wall showing typical installation options that are available for pictures to be displayed on a wall. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]     Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in  FIGS. 1-4  the horizontal deployment of a rigid support member or rail  1  to which the cables are connected on a typical section of wall  2 . The rail is a standard commercially available slotted bookshelf mounting rail generally used in book shelving systems that can be purchased in varying lengths in most hardware stores. The rail has a generally U-shaped cross-section forming an elongate channel  3 . In a horizontal orientation the rail has a substantially planar front panel  4  having top and bottom edges  5 ,  6 . Top and bottom panels  7 ,  8  extend orthogonally back from the front panel edges to define the inner channel  3 . When horizontally anchored to a wall  2 , the bottom panel  8  forms an elongate ledge having a rear edge  9 . The rail is anchored and spaced a controlled distance apart from the wall to form a gap G so that the rear edge  9  of the ledge is substantially parallel to the plane of the wall  2 .  
         [0029]     The rail has a number of regularly spaced holes  10  extending through from the front surface of the front panel  4  to the channel  3 . Each hole is sized to accommodate a screw  11  inserted for the purpose of anchoring the rail  1  to the wall  2  as shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 . Each hole  10  is countersunk into the front panel so that the fastening screws are flush with the outer surface of the rail after installation.  
         [0030]     To maximize the load carrying capability of the screws at the rail hole locations, particularly when installing the screws into dry wall, commercially available expansion anchors  15  may be employed as shown in  FIG. 4 . The rail  1  is anchored spaced a controlled amount apart from the wall to form a gap G, using spacers  16  whose thickness T can determine the size of the gap. The gap can be about ⅛ of an inch. Each spacer  16  can be formed using two concentrically aligned adjacent washers  18  and  19 . Washer  18  has a centerhole  20  having an internal diameter that is slightly larger than the widened head  14  of the expansion anchor so that it can be accommodated without interference. Washer  19  has a centerhole having an internal diameter slightly larger than the screw  11  shaft but smaller than the diameter of the expansion anchor head  14 . This arrangement prevents the expansion anchor from backing out of the wall when the screw is fastened to the wall and also provides a solid mounting of the rail gapped ⅛″ away from the wall. The two washers  18  and  19  may be bonded to each other using an adhesive to assure concentricity of the mounting and ease of installation.  
         [0031]     The regularly spaced screw holes  10  incorporated in rail  1  also serve as a template for locating the attachment points on the wall. Attachment points  25  on the wall are therefore not governed by stud locations on the wall but rather by the predetermined hole spacing on the rails. In this way, installation of the system is simplified so that relatively unskilled persons can accomplish it quickly and easily. Full load capability is achieved by the use of the wall expansion anchors  15 . The incorporation of the holes in the rail eliminates the need to explore the wall for stud locations and also precludes the need to for the installers to make metal drillings into the rail.  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIGS. 5 and 6  show respectively the front and side views of cable assembly  28 . It is comprised of a length of multi-strand cable  29 , retainer clip  30 , and cable compression ferrules  31  installed on both ends of the cable. A hole  32  is incorporated on the centerline of retainer clip  30  allowing the cable  29  to pass through. The compression ferrules  31  at both ends serve to keep the multi-strand cable from unraveling at its end portions, to retain the cable so that it cannot be extracted from retainer clip  30 , and to carry the full load imparted by pictures connected to the cable. The clip  30  is formed by a backing portion  35  having a substantially planar back surface  36  to bear flatly against the wall surface when the clip is properly engaging the rail. A prong portion  37  extends forwardly from an upper portion of the backing at an angle A to form a substantially L-shaped structure. The clip also has a substantially similarly angled L-shaped spring arm structure  40  extending forwardly from a lower portion  38  of the backing  35  and oriented to resiliently nest into the backing and backing prong. This provides a pair of surfaces to bear against the opposing surfaces formed by the wall  2  and edge  9  of the ledge thereby increasing friction between the clip and rail to help prevent the clip from being inadvertently moving. The spring arm also has a prong forwardly projecting from an upper portion of the arm. Both the backing prong and spring arm prongs slidingly contact each other to allow compression of the clip and provide added strength to the clip.  
         [0033]     The transition from backing to prong is made by a gradual rounded bend  41  so that rotational movement of the clip can be made smoothly.  
         [0034]     The retainer clip is typically made of a corrosion resistant spring type metal alloy such as stainless steel. The cable is typically made of corrosion resistant stainless steel and although small in diameter has a load rating sufficiently high to be able to carry several heavy pictures with a sizeable safety factor included.  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  shows a front view of an integral cable clamp and picture hook assembly  52  and  FIG. 8  shows a sectional side view of the assembly. The assembly is comprised of a body member  53  having a substantially U-shaped cross-section. In an orientation to engage a vertically hanging cable  29  and to have a frontwardly projecting picture hook  54 , the body member has front and back clamping plates  55 ,  56  connected in a frontwardly spaced apart manner by an upper apex  57  to allow the cable  29  to pass between the inner clamping surfaces  60 ,  61  formed by the plates. The body member incorporates two concentric drillings  62 , 63  orthogonally through the plates. A screw  64  is pressed into the drilling  63  in the front plate and inserts through the other drilling in the back plate to engage a wing nut  65 . The screw and wing nut form an adjustable fastener so that tightening fastener creates a powerful clamping action on the body plates to reduce the distance between the plates and thereby clamp onto a medial portion of the cable placed in the space between the plates. In this way, the cable is not kinked by the clamping plates.  
         [0036]     The body section  53  can be inexpensively formed from a single cut sheet of metal that has been folded twice, first to create the clamping plates  55 ,  56  and secondly to create the hook portion  54 . The apex  57  of the body member has a cutout  70  extending medially from one lateral edge  71  and terminating at an endstop  72  just beyond the centerline  75  of the body. The drillings in the body and the cutout are configured in a manner so that when a cable  29  is inserted into the body it is guided at two points that align the cable to pass precisely through the centerline of the body. This is important to achieve symmetrical loading and avoid any cocking of the clamp and hook assembly  52  when a picture is hung on the hook. In other words, the endstop  72  and the lateral edge  76  of the part of the thumb screw  64  bridging the space between the plates are located about ½ the width of the cable so that the center of the cable passes through the centerline. Insertion of the clamp into the cable and removal from the cable is directly from the side. This is very important in achieving speedy engagement and disengagement of the clamp and hook assembly  52  with the cable  29 .  
         [0037]      FIGS. 9, 10  and  11  show the stepwise connection process of the cable assembly  28  retainer clip  11  to rail  1 .  FIG. 9  shows the initial insertion and engagement of the retainer clip  30  into the rail. The retainer clip at this point is in an uncompressed state. Next, in  FIG. 10  it is rotated clockwise and partially compressed between the rail  1  and the wall  2  by the act of rotation. Finally, in  FIG. 11 , continuing the clockwise movement of the retainer clip, it is fully compressed between the rail and the wall with the cable  29  extending downward next to the wall. At this point the cable assembly is securely connected to the rail with both retainer clip prongs engaging the lower ledge of the rail and fully capable of carrying the load imparted by pictures connected to the cable.  
         [0038]      FIG. 12  shows an isometric view of the picture hanging system deployed on a wall section. The rail  1  is shown properly gapped G away from the wall  2 , the retainer clip  30  of the cable assembly  28  engages the rail and the cable clamp and hook assembly  52  is connected to cable  29 . The cable clamp and hook assembly is now ready to receive a picture. If initially the hook is not in the exact desired position it can be shifted horizontally by moving the retainer clip to a new location on the rail. This does not require a complete disengagement of the cable assembly from the rail but rather only a partial counterclockwise rotation of the retainer clip, slidement along the rail to its new location, followed by a clockwise rotation of the clip into its engaged position. Final vertical positioning of the hook is then accomplished if necessary by loosening the wing nut, sliding the cable clamp and hook assembly  52  vertically on the cable  29  to the desired location, followed by tightening of the wing nut. The picture is hung on the hook and the installation is complete.  
         [0039]     The rail  1  as installed is fully functional. However because of the aesthetic requirements of most gallery settings it is desirable but not essential to cover the rail and associated visible fasteners with a moulding. A typical cosmetic moulding  76  comprised of a wood, plastic or metal channel section that fits closely over the outer surfaces of the rail  1  is shown in  FIG. 12 . Other moulding shapes are also possible including angle sections, flat strips or contoured shapes. As necessary the mouldings can be attached to the rail using double sided adhesive tapes or adhesive backed Velcro strips, press fit channel wood or plastic etc. The mouldings can be painted if deemed necessary to blend in with the wall. Typically the mouldings are standard commercially available parts.  
         [0040]      FIG. 13  shows a variety of ways that pictures can be hung on a wall and the versatility of the picture hanging system. On the left side of  FIG. 13 a  picture  81  is hung in its intended location. Excess cable length is coiled up  82  upon itself before the picture is hung so that the cable is hidden behind the picture. Picture  83  is shown hanging below and slightly to the right of picture  81 . The cable that supports picture  83  is routed behind picture  81 . In the center of  FIG. 13  picture  85  is shown hanging directly beneath picture  84 , both suspended from a single cable assembly  28  that employs two clamp and hook assemblies  52 . If desired picture  84  can be removed from the wall without disturbing picture  85  by simply loosening and directly removing the associated clamp and hook assembly from the cable. A large and heavy picture  86  is shown on the right side of  FIG. 13 . It is supported by two cable assemblies and two clamp and hook assemblies. This suspension method doubles the load carrying capacity of the system and also prevents a picture from moving laterally on the wall due to some external disturbance.  
         [0041]     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, modifications can be made and other embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.