HANGING DEVICE AND METHOD OF HANGING AN OBJECT FOR DISPLAY

Abstract

Disclosed is a hanging device for displaying objects on a mounting surfaces. The hanging device broadly comprises a first piece attachable to either the mounting surface or an object for display. A second piece is attachable to another of the mounting surface or the object for display. The first a second pieces are movable relative to one another, such a through a key which is slidable within a slotted channel, to position the object at a selected position along the mounting surface. A method of hanging an object for display is also provided.

Claims

1. A hanging device for displaying an object on a mounting surface, comprising: a first piece attachable to one of the mounting surface or the object, said first piece comprising a channel; and a second piece attachable to another of the mounting surface or the object, said second piece including a key adapted to be moveably received with said channel to position said object at a selected position on the mounting surface.

2. The hanging device of claim 1 wherein said channel is an elongate horizontal channel and wherein said key is slideably received within said elongate horizontal channel to position said object of display at a selected horizontal position on the mounting surface.

3. The hanging device of claim 1 wherein said first piece comprises a pair of vertical, oblong mounting holes to allow for vertical adjustment of said first piece when attached to the mounting surface.

4. The hanging device of claim 1 wherein said first piece further comprises at least one level bubble.

5. The hanging device of claim 1 wherein said horizontal channel has divergent end walls to facilitate registration of said key with the horizontal channel.

6. The hanging device of claim 1 wherein each of said first piece and said second piece comprises plastic.

7. A hanging device for use in mounting a picture frame to a wall, comprising: an elongate wall mount comprising a first base attachable to the wall and a slotted channel protruding from said first base; and an elongate picture frame mount comprising a second base attachable to the picture frame and a key protruding from said second base, said key adapted to be slidably received within said slotted channel to mount the picture frame at a selected horizontal position on the wall.

8. The hanging device of claim 7 wherein said slotted channel extends a majority of a length of said first base, and said key extends a majority of a length of said second base.

9. The hanging device of claim 7 wherein said slotted channel has divergent walls on at least one channel end portion, and wherein said key has converging walls on a least one key end portion to facilitate registration of said key within the slotted channel.

10. The hanging device of claim 9 wherein said slotted channel has divergent walls on opposed channel end portions, and wherein said key has converging end portions to facilitate registration of said key within the slotted channel.

11. The hanging device of claim 7 wherein said elongate wall mount includes a pair of vertically oblong mounting holes to allow for vertical adjustment of said elongate wall mount when mounted to the wall.

12. The hanging device of claim 7 wherein said elongate wall mount includes at least one integrated level bubble.

13. The hanging device of claim 12 wherein said at least one integrated level bubble is a horizontal level bubble.

14. The hanging device of claim 7 wherein each of said elongate wall mount and said elongate picture frame mount comprises plastic.

15. A method of hanging an object for display, comprising: attaching a first mounting piece to one of a mounting surface and the object for display; attaching a second mounting piece to another of the mounting surface and the object for display; moveably registering at least a portion of said first mounting piece relative to at least a portion of said second mounting piece, thereby orienting said object for display at a selected position on the mounting surface.

16. The method of claim 15 whereby the first mounting piece is attached to the mounting surface and the second mounting piece is attached to the object for display, and whereby the second mounting piece of moveable registered within a channel of the first mounting piece to orient the object for display at a selected position on the mounting surface.

17. The method of claim 15 whereby moveably registering comprises slideably registering a key of said second mounting piece horizontally within a channel of said first mounting piece, thereby orienting the object for display at a selected horizontal position on the mounting surface.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising vertically adjusting said first mounting piece on the wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hanging device being used to mount an object on a mounting surface;

[0004] FIG. 2 is a front plan view showing the hanging device's first and second pieces;

[0005] FIG. 3 is a rear plan view of the hanging device's first and second pieces;

[0006] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the mounting of the first piece on a mounting surface, such as a wall;

[0007] FIG. 5 is perspective view illustrating the mounting of the second piece on an object, such as a picture frame;

[0008] FIG. 6 is side view in partial cross-section showing the first and second pieces attached to one another;

[0009] FIG. 7 is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment for the second piece;

[0010] FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of another alternate embodiment for the second piece; and

[0011] FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating vertical adjustment of the first and second pieces relative to one another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] As introduced in FIGS. 1-3, a hanging device 10 according to some aspects of the disclosure is adapted for displaying an object 20 on a mounting surface 30. Object 20 may be any suitable type of item that is desired to be displayed on mounting surface 30, such as a picture as shown in various figures. The artisan will appreciate, however, that other types of objects may be suitable for display without limiting the teachings herein, such as a painting or other piece of artwork, decorative items and the like. Moreover, mounting surface 30 may be any appropriate surface such as a wall or other suitable support structure.

[0013] It should also be recognized that a user may wish to display a plurality of objects together as a set, such as plurality of pieces of art horizontally aligned with one another and spaced apart equidistantly, or horizontally spaced apart but vertically displaced so they are displayed along a sloped orientation. These represent only a few possibilities, but the artisan will appreciate that multiple hanging devices 10 as described herein can be used for such purposes.

[0014] Hanging device 10 comprises a first piece 100 and a second piece 200. First piece 100, sometimes referred to herein as a wall mount, may be an elongate rectangular member formed from any suitable material and process, such as injection molded plastic. First piece 100 comprises a base surface 118 which is attachable to the mounting surface 30 (FIGS. 1 & 3). To this end, first piece 100 may include a pair of oblong mounting holes 110 which can receive mounting screws 112 for attaching it to mounting surface 30. Where the mounting surface is a conventional drywall, screws 112 can be secured directly to a stud in the wall, or secured through the use of mollies 114 (FIG. 4), all as known in the art. When initially displaying the object, such as picture 20, it is desirable to position first piece 100 in an orientation appropriate for its display, such as horizontally on mounting surface 30 as shown in various figures. A level bubble 130 may be provided and integral with, or removably disposed on, first piece 100 at appropriate location to assist with this initial placement. Two possible locations for level bubble 130 are shown, for example, in FIG. 4. Level bubble 130 can be used in conjunction with the incremental vertical adjustments afforded by the oblong mounting holes 110 to insure a horizontally level initial wall mount.

[0015] Second piece 200, sometimes referred to herein as a picture frame mount, is introduced in FIGS. 1-3. Second piece 200 may also be an elongate rectangular member formed from injection molded plastic or other suitable process. Second piece 200 is preferably attachable to the object 20 and also includes a pair of spaced apart mounting holes 210. Where the object 20 to be displayed is a picture, suitably sized wood screws 212 or the like may be utilized for securing it to the back of a picture frame 214, for example, as perhaps best shown in FIG. 5.

[0016] Once first and second pieces 100, 200 are attached to the wall 30 and picture frame 124, respectively, the picture 20 may be easily mounted on the wall 30 as illustrated in FIG. 1. To facilitate this, first piece 100 includes slotted channel 120 which protrudes from base 118 surface and second piece 200 includes a key 220 which protrudes from its base surface 218 that is sized to be slideably received within channel 120, as perhaps best appreciated with reference to FIG. 6. Since a user's view of both the channel 120 and the key 220 may be blocked by the picture itself, channel 120 is partially bounded by upper and lower walls, 130 and 140, respectively, (FIGS. 1, 2 and 4) which have divergent end portions, and key 220 has convergent end portions 230, 240 (FIG. 2) to facilitate registration of key 220 within channel 120.

[0017] Channel 120 and key 220 preferably extend along a majority of a length of their respective pieces. These relative lengths allow the picture to be position at a desired horizontal position. For example, the picture 20 may be oriented with the key 220 centrally located within channel 120, or the key 220 could be oriented at either a left or right offset locations within channel 120. This allows a user the freedom to orient the picture 20 at different horizontal positions even after the first piece 100 is attached to the wall 30. This feature can be particularly advantageous, for example, where multiple pictures are hung in alignment and it is desirable to have a common horizontal spacing between them such that they are equidistantly spaced apart along a horizontal axis. In such a situation, even if their associated first pieces are not initially positioned equidistantly from one another, this can be rectified once the pictures are mounted by making appropriate left and/or right incremental adjustments.

[0018] Once the picture 20 is mounted on the wall 30, it may also become desirable to make incremental vertical adjustments. This might arise for a variety of reasons. For example, over time it is common for objects displayed on walls to become displaced from their original positions due to forces of gravity, or movement of walls caused by structural changes, foundational adjustments of a building, etc. Even movement of individuals or objects in a room can cause objects to become displaced from their originally mounted positions. Irrespective of the cause, it can be appreciated that certain features of hanging device 10 discussed herein are provided to make incremental vertical adjustments either when the object is initially placed on the wall, or such adjustments can subsequently be made over time as needed.

[0019] To this end, the channel 120 associated with first piece 100 is slightly wider than the width of the key 220 associated with second piece 200, which allows the second piece to move incrementally up once the key 220 is seated within channel 120. In order to make the incremental adjustments and retain the key 220 and its associated piece 200 at the desired orientation relative to channel 120 and its associated piece 100, sets screws 114 are provided (FIGS. 2, 6 and 9). Set screws 114 are received within slots 116 (e.g., FIGS. 2 & 4) formed within the base surface 118 of first piece 100. Screw holes 12230 (FIGS. 1 & 4) extend through a lower wall 140 to terminate in a lower interior region of channel 120. These sets screws 114 can be selectively adjusted to engage the key 220 when it is received within the channel 120, thereby urging the key 220 upwardly. Moreover, the set screws 114 can be adjusted to different vertical positions to engage the key 220 to move the left or right sides upwardly relative to one another, as desired. Thus, it can be appreciated that left and right vertical adjustments of the key 220, in uniformity or otherwise, can be made to affect the orientation of the picture 20 on wall 30.

[0020] A first alternative embodiment of a second piece 200(1) and its associated key 220(1) is shown in FIG. 7 which includes a plurality of protrusions or bumps 222(2) with valleys 224(2) therebetween. The sets screws can be positioned in the valleys to restrict left or right movement of the key 220(1) within the channel. This helps make the hanging device less susceptible to horizontal movement which might otherwise be caused by external forces. A second alternative embodiment of a second piece 200(2) and its associated key 220(2) is shown in FIG. 8 wherein the key 220(2) includes a plurality of vertical slits 226(2) which the set screws can engage when positioning the key within the first piece's channel to help restrict left or right movement of the key 220(2). Of course, the ordinarily skilled artisan will appreciate that FIGS. 7 and 8 only represent two possible surface features that could be associated with the second piece's key to accomplish this.

[0021] With the foregoing in mind, a method of hanging an object for display is also provided. According to the method a first mounting piece is attached to one of the mounting surface or the object for display, and a second mounting piece is attached to another of the mounting surface or the object for display. At least a portion of the first mounting piece is then moveably registered relative to at least a portion of the second mounting piece, thereby orienting the object for display at a selected position on the mounting surface.

[0022] In one aspect of the method, the first mounting piece is attached to the mounting surface and the second mounting piece is attached to the object for display. The second mounting piece of moveably registered within a channel of the first mounting piece to orient the object for display at a selected position on the mounting surface. The second mounting piece may be moveably registered by sliding the second mounting piece horizontally within a channel of the first mounting piece to orient the object for display at a selected horizontal position on the mounting surface. The method may also comprise vertically adjusting the first mounting piece on the mounting surface.

Remarks

[0023] The terms example, embodiment, and implementation may be used interchangeably herein. For example, references to one example or an example in the disclosure can be, but not necessarily are, references to the same implementation; and such references mean at least one of the implementations. The appearances of the phrase in one example are not necessarily all referring to the same example, nor are separate or alternative examples mutually exclusive of other examples. A feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an example can be included in another example of the disclosure. Moreover, various features are described that can be exhibited by some examples and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described that can be requirements for some examples but not for other examples.

[0024] The terminology used herein should be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with certain specific examples of the disclosure. The terms used in the disclosure generally have their ordinary meanings in the relevant technical art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. A recital of alternative language or synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. Special significance should not be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term. Further, it will be appreciated that the same thing can be said in more than one way.

[0025] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words comprise, comprising, and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense-that is to say, in the sense of including, but not limited to. As used herein, the terms connected, coupled, and any variants thereof mean any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling or connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the words herein, above, below, and words of similar import can refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number, respectively. The word or in reference to a list of two or more items covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

[0026] Details of the disclosed implementations can vary considerably in specific implementations while still being encompassed by the disclosed teachings. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing features or aspects of the technology should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosure with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific examples disclosed herein, unless the above Detailed Description explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims. Some alternative implementations can include additional elements to those implementations described above or include fewer elements.

[0027] Any patents and applications and other references noted above, and any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, except for any subject matter disclaimers or disavowals, and except to the extent that the incorporated material is inconsistent with the express disclosure herein, in which case the language in this disclosure controls. Aspects of the invention can be modified to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further implementations of the invention.