Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation-in-part application from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/609,528, filed Jul. 3, 2000 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention is directed to a system for mounting an object (such as a shelf) to a support (such as a wall); and more particularly, to such a mounting system that allows the object to be mounted to the support, by hand, without necessitating the use of any tools, such as hammers, screwdrivers, drills, etc. 
     SUMMARY 
     The system of the present invention utilizes an improved push-pin that is adapted to be pushed or screwed into a support (such as a wall), without necessitating the use of hammers, screwdrivers, drills, etc. The improved push-pin includes a novel head that includes resilient projections or “grippers” for providing a friction fit within a hole or channel of the object (such as a shelf) to be mounted to the support. In an exemplary embodiment, the grippers are a plurality of resilient annular rings sized to be slightly larger in diameter than the dimension of the mating hole or channel so that when the mating hole or channel of the object engages with the larger diameter rings, the rings are deformed slightly upon entering the hole or channel, thereby, providing a friction fit between the head of the pin and the object to be mounted to the support. 
     Preferably, the resilient “gripper” head of the push-pin is injection molded over the threaded shaft to provide a singular device, where the “gripper” head and push pin are fixedly coupled together. The push-pin of the present invention, therefore, combines the substantially permanent mounting capabilities of a screw or nail with the removable friction-fit mounting capabilities of the “gripper” head in such a singular device. 
     In addition, the resilient material of the “gripper” head combined with its ergonomic shape uniquely enables the push-pin of the present invention to be mounted to the vertical support (wall) by hand, without the use of tools. The ergonomic shape includes an indentation between the annular “gripper” rings and the shaft, allowing a user to comfortably and securely grip the “gripper” head by placing his or her thumb and index finger in the indentation. The grip also facilitates increased stability while the push-pin is being thrust into the support. 
     Of course, while the exemplary embodiment of the push pin has a substantially cylindrical head, it is within the scope of the invention that the head of the push pin could have an alternate shape, such as a rectangular shape. With this alternative shape, gripper projections will extend from the upper and lower vertical surfaces of the head to engage with the upper and lower walls of the mating hole or channel of the object. 
     It is thereby an aspect of the invention to provide a system for mounting an object to a support that comprises: (a) an object having a substantially flat surface and a hole or a channel extending into the substantially flat surface, where the hole or channel has upper and lower inner surfaces and a vertical distance between the upper and lower surfaces; and (b) at least one fastener. The fastener includes: (1) a head having a resilient projection extending therefrom, where the projection provides the head with a vertical width that is slightly greater than the vertical distance between the upper and lower vertical surfaces of the hole or channel extending into the substantially flat surface of the object, and (2) a shaft rigidly affixed to, and extending from the head, which is adapted to penetrate the support and securely attach the head to the support. Therefore, the object is mounted to the support by driving the shaft of the fastener into the support, so that the head is securely attached to the support, and by pressing the hole or channel extending into the substantially flat surface of the object against the exposed head of the fastener so that the resilient projection deforms to allow the head to pass into the hole or channel, providing a friction fit between the head and the hole or channel. 
     The shaft is preferably pointed and threaded so that the fastener can be either pushed or screwed by hand into the support by a user, preferably using his or her thumb and index finger. In one embodiment, the projection is an annular projection and the head includes a plurality of the annular projections distributed axially therealong. In another embodiment, the head includes at least two projections, a first one of the projections extending vertically upwardly and the second one of the projections extending vertically downwardly, providing a projection pair, where the head includes a plurality of the projection pairs distributed axially therealong. 
     It is also preferred that the system includes a plurality of the fasteners and the object includes a channel that is at least partially horizontal, extending into the substantially flat surface of the object, where the plurality of fasteners are adapted to be distributed along the channel. 
     It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a fastener for mounting an object (such as a shelf) to a support (such as a wall) that comprises a head rigidly affixed to a shaft, where the head includes a resilient projection extending therefrom. Preferably, the shaft is metal, pointed and threaded so that it can be driven into the support by a user applying pressure to the head by using his or her thumb and index finger. In a preferred embodiment of the fastener, the projection is an annular projection and the head includes a plurality of the annular projections distributed axially therealong. In another embodiment, the head includes at least two projections, first one of the projections extending vertically upwardly and the second one of the projections extending vertically downwardly, providing a projection pair, where the head includes a plurality of the projection pairs distributed axially along the head. 
     Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method for mounting an object (such as a shelf) to a support (such as a wall) that comprises the steps of: (a) providing a hole or a channel in a substantially flat surface of the object; (b) providing at least one fastener including a head affixed onto a longitudinal end of a narrow shaft, where the head includes a resilient projection extending therefrom, and where the projection provides the head with a vertical width that is slightly greater than the vertical distance between the upper and lower vertical surfaces of the hole or channel extending into the substantially flat surface of the object; (c) securely attaching the head to a support by penetrating the shaft into the support; and (d) pressing the hole or channel extending into the substantially flat surface of the object against the head of the fastener so that the resilient projection deforms to allow the head to pass into the hole or channel, providing a friction fit between the head and the hole or channel. In one embodiment, the shaft is a threaded shaft and the penetrating step includes a step of turning the threaded shaft. 
     In another embodiment of the above method, the object is provided with a channel in its substantially flat surface, where the channel is at least partially horizontal. In this embodiment, the method includes the steps of: (i) providing a plurality of the fasteners; (ii) securely attaching the heads of the fasteners to the support; and (iii) pressing the channel extending into the substantially flat surface of the object against the plurality of heads of the fasteners so that their resilient projections deform, allowing the heads to pass into the channel and providing a friction fit between the plurality of heads and the channel. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for mounting an object (such as a shelf) to a support (such as a wall) that does not require the use of tools, such as hammers, screwdrivers, drills, etc. It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved push pin having a novel head which is adapted to mate with and provide an interference fit with a hole or channel extending into an object that is to be hung from or mounted to the push pin. Despite the above-stated objects and advantages of the present invention, it is to be understood that it is not necessary to meet any or all of the stated advantages or objects of the present invention disclosed herein in order to fall within the scope of any claims, since the invention is defined by the claims and since inherent and/or unforseen advantages of the present invention may exist even though they may not be explicitly discussed herein. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 provides an elevational side view of the fastener according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a step of mounting an object to a fastener, which is, in turn, mounted to a vertical support; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a comer shelf for use with the fasteners according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the corner shelf, taken along lines  4 — 4  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the comer shelf of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a step of mounting the comer shelf of FIG. 3 to a plurality of the fasteners shown in FIG. 1, which are in turn mounted to a pair of walls meeting at a comer; 
     FIG. 7 illustrates another type of shelf that could be used with the fasteners of the preferred embodiment; and 
     FIG. 8 provides a perspective view of a fastener according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a fastener  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a substantially cylindrical head  12  and a shaft  14 , coaxial with the substantially cylindrical head  12 , and extending from a longitudinal end of the head  12 . The head  12  is preferably formed from a resilient material that is preferably injection molded over the shaft  14 . Of course, it is within the scope of the invention to securely affix the head  12  to the shaft  14  using other known expedients, such as adhesives or mechanical couplings. 
     The shaft  14  preferably has a pointed end  16  and a helical thread  18  provided thereon so that the fastener  10  can be threaded into a vertical support. The head  12  preferably includes an ergonomic gripping element in the form of an annular indentation  19  approximate the shaft, allowing a user to comfortably and securely grip the head  12  by placing his or her thumb and index finger in the indentation  19 . The resilient material of the head  12  combined with its ergonomic shape uniquely enables the fastener  10  of the present invention to be gripped and driven into a vertical support (wall) by hand, without the use of tools. The grip also facilitates increased stability while the push-pin is being thrust into the support. While the use of the threads  18  is not necessary, the threads  18  will make it easier for the fastener  10  to be driven into the vertical support by the user (manually twisting the fastener) and will also provide additional surface area to retain the fastener  10  in the vertical support once installed. 
     The head  12  also includes a substantially flat longitudinal end surface  20  adapted to abut a flat surface of a wall or a vertical support and includes a plurality of resilient, annular projections  22  axially distributed therealong from the opposite longitudinal end  24  of the head. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, once the fastener  10  has been driven into a support  26  the annular projections  22  are provided to mount an object  28  to the support  26 . The object  28  includes a hole or channel  30  extending into a substantially flat end surface  32  thereof, where the hole or channel  30  includes upper and lower walls  34 ,  36  and where the distance between the upper and lower walls  34 ,  36  is slightly less than the diameter of the projections  22  of the fastener such than when the hole or channel  30  of the object  28  is pressed against the head  12  of the fastener,  10  as shown by arrows A, the resilient projections  22  will deform somewhat allowing the head  12  to be received within the hole or channel  30 . When the head  12  is received within the hole or channel  30 , the resilient projections  22  provide a friction fit between the head  12  and the walls  34 ,  36  of the hole or channel  30 , thereby facilitating in mounting the object  28  to the support  26 . Referring back to FIG. 1, the circumferential leading edges  37  of the annular projections  22  are preferably tapered to facilitate easy insertion of the head  12  into the hole or channel  30 . 
     Because of the unique design of the head  12 , the object  28  may be easily mounted to the support  26 , without necessitating the use of hand tools, such as hammers, screwdrivers, drills, etc. Of course, one may use such hand tools and still fall within the scope of the invention as defined herein. The friction fit between the head  12  and the object  28  also facilitates removal of the object  28  from the support  26  without necessitating the use of any hand tools since the friction fit provided by the head does not necessarily “lock” the object  28  to the fastener  10 . Referring again to FIG. 2, the longitudinal end surface  20  of the fastener abutting the support  26  assures uniform distance from the surface of support  26  to the opposite longitudinal end  24  of the fastener; and when the flat longitudinal end surface  20  hits the flat surface of the support  26  as the user is manually pushing the fastener into the support, the user will be assured that the fastener is successfully and securely installed. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the fastener  10 , the head  12  is molded from a resilient plastic material such as Nylon 66; the diameters of the annular projections are approximately 12 mm; the axial length of the head is approximately 12 mm; and the shaft  14  is heat treated #1022 carbon steel and extends approximately 15 mm from the longitudinal end  20  of the head. Of course, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other suitable materials and dimensions for the fastener may be used, while still falling within the scope of the invention as defined herein. With such an exemplary embodiment, a hole or channel  30  will be approximately 15 mm deep and have a spacing of approximately 10 to approximately 11 mm between the upper and lower walls  34 ,  36 . Again, other suitable dimensions will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, while still falling within the scope of the invention defined herein. 
     As shown in FIGS. 3-5, an example object to be mounted to a vertical support according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a comer shelf  38 . The corner shelf  38  is a triangular shaped, planar board having a pair of substantially flat side edges  40 ,  42  meeting at a 90° angle. Milled within each of these edges  40 ,  42  is a substantially rectangular (in cross-section) channel  44 , providing an upper wall  46  and a lower wall  48  within the channel  44 . The remaining edge  50  of the triangular board may include beveled surfaces for decorative purposes. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, the comer shelf  38  may be mounted to a comer formed by two adjoining walls  52 ,  54  according to the following steps. First, a straight edge is held against a first one of the walls  52  at a desired height and a light pencil line  56  is drawn along the top of the straight edge. This step is repeated for the other wall  54  to provide line  58 . Next, at least two of the fasteners  10  are driven into each wall  52 ,  54  along the pencil lines  56 ,  58 . Preferably, one of the fasteners should be two inches out from the comer and the other should be 1 inch in from the end of the comer shelf&#39;s mounting slot  44 . The remaining step is to push the comer shelf  38  against the exposed heads of the fasteners  10  as shown by arrow B in FIG. 6, such that the mounting slot  44  is pressed against each of the exposed heads of the fasteners  10  and such that the projections on each of the exposed heads of the fasteners  10  deform to allow the heads to be received within the slot  44 , thereby providing a friction fit between the exposed heads of the fasteners  10  and the slot  44 . This friction fit securely mounts the corner shelf  38  to the corner formed by the two walls,  52 ,  54 . 
     The fasteners  10  provide a friction fit with the corner shelf  38  to prevent the shelf from easily pulling away from the walls,  52 ,  54 , while also providing a load bearing capability, so that the comer shelf  38  may bear a substantial surface load (the shelf  38  of the exemplary embodiment is rated at 25 lbs.). It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the use of more fasteners  10  will allow the comer shelf  38  to bear an even greater load. The annular projections  22  of the fasteners  10  provide a sufficient amount of axial surface area for the friction fit between the fasteners  10  and the slot  44  where it is not necessary for the angle between the two walls  52 ,  54  to be absolutely square (one will realize that many corners in homes or offices are not absolutely square when using the exemplary embodiment). 
     As shown in FIG. 7, an alternate object for mounting to a vertical support is a straight shelf  60  having a horizontal channel  62  milled into the substantially flat longitudinal end surface  64  of the shelf. This channel  62  is adapted to receive a plurality of the fasteners  10  previously secured into a vertical support. The fasteners  10  provide a friction fit within the channel  62 , thereby securely mounting the shelf  60  to the vertical support. In this embodiment, the shelf also includes a pair of brackets  66  extending downward from a lower surface  68  of the shelf, where the brackets  66  are adapted to abut the vertical support when the shelf is mounted to the vertical support using the fasteners  10 , thereby preventing the shelf  60  from pivoting downward on the fasteners  10 . 
     The above two shelves  38 ,  60  are merely examples of objects that can be mounted to a vertical support using the fasteners  10 . It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the fasteners of the present invention may also be used to mount other types of objects to other types of supports (even horizontal supports such as ceilings), while still falling within the scope of the present invention. For example, the system of the present invention may be obviously adapted to mount picture frames, towel hooks, wall accessories, and decorations. 
     It is not necessary for the head of the fastener to be cylindrical. As shown in FIG. 8, one alternate embodiment of the fastener  68  includes a head  70  that is substantially rectangular in cross-section and a threaded shaft  72  affixed to, and extending from the geometric center of the rectangle. The head  70  includes a plurality of rib projections  74  extending from an upper surface thereof and another plurality of rib projections  76  extending from a lower surface thereof (although it is within the scope of the invention to provide only one of such projections extending from either the upper or lower surface of the head). The vertical height of the head  70  provided by the projections  74 ,  76  is slightly greater than the vertical distance between the upper and lower walls  34 ,  36  of the channel (FIG.  2 ), thereby providing a friction fit when the channel  30  is pressed over the head  70  of the fastener. This head  70  would provide more gripping area than the head  12  of FIG. 1, but may make mounting of the object to the support slightly more difficult since the head  70  would have to be horizontally aligned with the channel extending into the object. The head may include indentations (not shown in this embodiment) respectively extending into the upper and lower surfaces of the head that provide ergonimic gripping areas on the head  70  to facilitate secure and comfortable gripping of the head  70  between a user&#39;s thumb and index finger (each of which are maintained within one of the indentations). 
     While the apparatuses and processes herein described in the above description and summaries constitute exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise apparatuses and processes, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the claims and it is not intended that any limitations or elements describing the exemplary embodiments herein are to be incorporated into the meaning of the claims unless such limitations or elements are specifically listed in the claims.

Technology Category: 4