Abstract:
Disclosed are wall mountable accessories which have a bracket with an axial extension and a plate adjacent an inward end of the extension. An escutcheon shrouds the bracket. A recess and projection connection is provided between the plate and escutcheon that restrict relative rotation there between so that the escutcheon can be properly positioned. An accessory, such as a bathroom accessory, is removably linked to the escutcheon adjacent its outer end.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/212,978, filed Jun. 21, 2000. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention relates to bathroom accessories and other wall mountable fittings.  
           [0004]    Towel rings, towel bars, robe hooks, soap dish holders, toothbrush holders, toilet paper holders, glass holders, bathroom shelves and other accessories are attached to walls by a variety of known techniques. The simplest systems rely on exposed screws or bolts that screw into the supporting structure, or screw into structures positioned thereon.  
           [0005]    However, it is desirable to hide the means of connection to the wall. Some systems which do this exist, but do not provide a sufficiently secure connection, or rely on a complex and expensive assembly of parts. Other systems, such as that depicted in FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,940, use a bracket that is mounted to a wall with screws to provide a secure connection. An integral tubular extension projects outward from the plate into a bore of a decorative escutcheon. An axial screw attaches the escutcheon to the tubular extension. The accessory is then connected to the escutcheon via a transverse connection. While this assembly is useful for certain applications, it constrains the aesthetic appearance that the final accessory can have.  
           [0006]    In still other known accessories a bracket is mounted to a wall and a set screw is provided that projects inward from the accessory itself against the bracket. These accessories often have a connection which loosens over time. Also, the optimal alignment of the set screw is sometimes difficult to achieve.  
           [0007]    Apart from the deficiencies in existing prior art systems, there is sometimes a desire to replace certain accessories on a temporary basis. For example, for a themed party it may be desirable to have fittings of one color, decoration or type, and then change back to the every day fittings after the party. Also, for certain events it may be desirable to have fewer towel bars and more clothing hooks, while for other the opposite may be true. Existing wall mountable accessories are often difficult to replace on a temporary basis without leaving visible damage to the wall.  
           [0008]    It can therefore be seen that a need exists for improved wall mountable accessory systems.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a wall mountable accessory assembly is provided. It has a bracket with an axial extension and a plate adjacent an inward end of the extension. There is an elongated escutcheon having an axial through bore that receives the axial extension.  
           [0010]    A recess and projection connection is provided between the plate and escutcheon that restricts relative rotation there between, the connection being activated by relative axial movement there between. An accessory is linked to the escutcheon adjacent an outer end of the escutcheon.  
           [0011]    In preferred forms the through bore is configured so as to receive a shaft of the accessory, and there is a screw extending radially through the escutcheon against the shaft to retain the shaft in the through bore. There can also be a flange that is positioned in the through bore at the narrowed portion and a bolt inserted axially through the narrowed portion such that an inward end of the bolt is in the bracket extension and a head of the bolt is prevented from passing inward all the way through the escutcheon by the flange.  
           [0012]    Preferably the projection is a lug formed on the plate extending outward from the plate, and the recess is a socket formed on an inwardly directed surface of the escutcheon. If desired, the plate can have two through holes, at least one of which is arcuate, to facilitate alignment of the escutcheon.  
           [0013]    These as well as other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows. In the detailed description below preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments do not represent the full scope of the invention. Rather the invention may be employed in other embodiments, and reference should therefore be made to the claims herein for interpreting the breadth of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a right, upper, frontal perspective view of a towel ring, in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 1;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a second radial position of the bracket relative to the escutcheon;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of FIG. 3; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken along line  6 - 6  of FIG. 5.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a towel bar  20  includes a wall bracket  21  having a generally flat mounting plate  22  with oppositely disposed straight walls  24  that are connected by rounded walls  26 . The mounting plate  22  has a circular aperture  28  and a kidney shaped aperture  30 , both of which are configured to receive a screw  29  therein. The screw is inserted through the holes and screwed into a wall support.  
         [0021]    Typically the wall is a vertical room wall (e.g. a bathroom wall). However, the walls could be a horizontal wall of an island installation, or a vertical or horizontal walls of some other structure.  
         [0022]    It will be appreciated that the kidney shaped aperture  30  allows rotation of the plate  22  about the circular aperture  28  so as to provide some room for rotational adjustment when mounting the plate  22  to the wall. The wall bracket  20  further includes an axially disposed elongated cylindrical stem/extension  32  extending outwardly therefrom. It has a threaded internal bolt hole  34  configured to receive a bolt fastener  36  therein. A pair of oppositely disposed generally rectangular position pins/lugs  38  extend generally perpendicularly outwardly from the plate  22 . These may be integral with the plate, or may be attached thereto.  
         [0023]    An axially extending decorative escutcheon  40  has a base  42  and an elongated body  44  that tapers outwardly to tip  46 . There is an opening  53  that is configured to accept a mounting shaft  70  of an accessory such as a towel ring  68 . Alternatively, the shaft could be a support bar for a towel bar, an extension from a robe hook, or any other type of shaft extension linked to an accessory.  
         [0024]    A radially extending aperture  37  is formed within an outer wall of the tip  46 . It receives a radially extending set screw  49  that has a tip  51 .  
         [0025]    As shown in FIG. 5 the escutcheon  40  includes a through bore  48 . The bore can completely shroud the entire mounting plate  22  therein. As a result, when the wall bracket  21  is secured to the escutcheon  40 , only the escutcheon will be visible to a user.  
         [0026]    An annular seat  52  presents an outer surface  54  that engages the periphery of the mounting plate when the escutcheon is mounted onto the mounting plate. It is disposed within the inner chamber  48  and includes a pair of notches  58  extending axially therein and of a length slightly greater than the length of the position pins  38 . The through bore  48  tapers into a generally cylindrical inner bore  60  having a sufficient diameter so as to still be able to receive the stem  32 . A radially extending flange  62  is disposed within the bore  60  so as to provide a seat  64  at a further narrowing of the bore. Bolt  36  is inserted into the bore and fastened to the stem  32  to fix the wall bracket  21  to the escutcheon  40 .  
         [0027]    Once the mounting plate  22  has been fastened to the wall using the two screws  29 , and preliminarily positionally adjusted, the escutcheon  40  is mounted over the wall bracket  21 , thereby inserting the positioning pins  38  into the sockets  58 . It will be appreciated that this restricts relative rotation of the escutcheon with respect to the wall bracket  21 , and correspondingly with respect to the wall. Preferably, the mounting plate  22  is radially orientated such that the set screw  49  is pointed precisely downwardly when the escutcheon  40  is mounted onto the wall bracket  21  (so as to reduce the visibility of the set screw). Should the set screw end up slightly off the exact downward direction, the plate can be rotated slightly with respect to the escutcheon to correct this (by loosening the screw  29  through the kidney shaped hole, rotating the plate, and then retightening the screw).  
         [0028]    In an alternative embodiment the positioning pins or other projections could be disposed on the escutcheon  40  and configured to be received by corresponding recesses that are disposed within a surface of the wall bracket  21 .  
         [0029]    Towel ring  68  includes a mounting shaft stub  70  having an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the sleeve opening  53 . Accordingly, the towel ring  68  is mounted into assembly  20  by inserting the mounting shaft  70  into the axially disposed sleeve opening  53  so that the mounting fixture extends perpendicular with respect to the wall. The set screw  47  is then rotated until the tapered end  51  impinges against the mounting shaft  70 , thereby retaining the towel ring  68  in place.  
         [0030]    A different accessory can easily replace the towel ring simply by untightening the set screw, removing the towel ring, inserting a stub from another accessory (e.g. a prong from a towel bar), and then retightening the set screw. No damage to the wall need occur or be exposed and the replacement can take place quickly using only a conventional screw driver.  
         [0031]    Instead of using a set screw, one might (in an alternate embodiment) provide the inner walls of the escutcheon tip  46  and the stub  70  of the accessory with mateable threads so that the parts can be threaded together. This avoids any need for a special tool to secure the connection or permit the replacement. However, that assembly is somewhat more susceptible to vandalism.  
         [0032]    The invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments. However, these embodiments have been presented by way of illustration. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will realize that the invention is intended to encompass all modifications and alternative arrangements included within the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth by the appended claims.  
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
       [0033]    Disclosed are assemblies for mounting accessories such as bathroom accessories on walls.