Adjustable object hanger

• US 4,611,779 A
• Filed: 12/10/1984
• Issued: 09/16/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gustav Leonard Jr
• Original Assignee: Gustav Leonard Jr
• Inventors: Leonard, Gustav Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ramon O.
• Application Number:
  US06/679,923
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 248/476, 248/475.1, 248/489, 248/490, 248/327, 248/317, 248/234, 248/546, 248/544, 40/618, 40/620, 40/621, 40/622
• US Class Current: 248/476
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 1/168 Pads or the like preventing displacement of hanging pictures, mirrors, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 1/205 Devices for positioning picture hooks on a wall

Abstract

Temporary locaters, preferably magnetic, are used to mark with high accuracy the correct positions for attaching support means to a load-bearing surface, such as a wall, at two horizontally spaced positions. An object with a substantially flat side is then supported from these positions by securely held threaded individually adjustable rods whose lower ends are bent to receive the object'"'"'s weight from object hangers attached to the back of the object. One or more snubbers, preferably with resilient soft surfaces for safely contacting the adjacent wall surface, are attached to the object to obtain even spacing between the object and the wall. Initial fine adjustment and subsequent adjustment to compensate for any misalignments are obtained by individually turning threaded bushings holding up the rods.

Claims

1. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, comprising:

support means attached to said load-bearing surface for providing two fixed supports, one at each of two horizontally spaced positions on said load-bearing surface;

adjustable load transfer means, cooperating with said support means, for securely transferring therethrough the weight of said object at said supports to said load-bearing surface;

object support means, cooperating with said adjustable load transfer means, for securely transferring thereto the weight of said object, said object support means being attached to said substantially flat side of said object at locations that match said horizontally spaced positions of said supports; and

adjustment means, connected to said adjustable load transfer means, for adjusting the relative vertical juxtaposition of said object support means with respect to each of said supports individually, said adjustment means having the capacity for flexibly deforming said support means and said object support means at the user'"'"'s option.

2. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 1, wherein:

each of said support means has a first aperture therein in a horizontal plane;

each of said object support means has a second aperture in a horizontal plane and a third partially segmented aperture in a lower vertical plane thereof;

each of said adjustable load transfer means has a long segment, threaded at its topmost end, and a shorter segment essentially normal to said long segment at its lower end;

each of said adjustment means has a generally cylindrical shape and an axial bore threaded to mate with said threaded topmost end of said load transfer means; and

at each of said object support means said shorter segment of said load transfer means is positioned within said third partially segmented aperture while said long segment of said load transfer means passes through said second and first apertures so that said adjustment means is threaded to said topmost end thereof to adjustably and securely support said object from said load-bearing surface.

3. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bering surface, as specified in claim 2, wherein:

each of said adjustment means is shaped at its topmost end to allow its rotation by means of a screwdriver for threading on or off said topmost end of said load transfer means threaded therein.

4. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 3, wherein:

each of said adjustment means is provided with a lateral through aperture intersecting said threaded portion at approximately the midpoint thereof.

5. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 1, further comprising:

locater means, attachable to a vertical surface of each of said support means in assembly with said object support means via said load transfer means and said adjuster means in fully threaded-on position, while said object support means is attached to said object but said support means is not attached to said load-bearing surface, for locating with reasonable accuracy the position at which each of said support means should be attached to said load-bearing surface.

6. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 5, wherein:

each of said locater means has a sharp end, a flat head and a short stud.

7. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 6, wherein:

each of said support means is magnetically attractable; and

each locater means is magnetized to be temporarily attachable to said magnetically attractable support means.

8. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 5, wherein:

each of said locater means has a flat head, a short stud with a through aperture and an adhesive coating on said flat head on the side away from said stud.

9. An apparatus for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 8, wherein:

each of said support means is magnetically attractable; and

each locater means is magnetized to be temporarily attachable to said magnetically attractable support means.

10. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 2, further comprising:

snubber means attached to said substantially flat side of said object below said object support means, cooperating with said support means, for spacing said object evenly with respect to said load-bearing surface by contact therewith.

11. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 10, wherein:

said snubber means has a resilient smooth surface where it contacts said load-bearing surface.

12. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 1, further comprising:

snubber means attached to said substantially flat side of said object below said object support means, cooperating with said support means, for spacing said object evenly with respect to said load-bearing surface by contact therewith.

13. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 12, wherein:

said snubber means has a resilient smooth surface where it contacts said load-bearing surface.

14. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 5, further comprising:

snubber means attached to said substantially flat side of said object below said object support means, cooperating with said support means, for spacing said object evenly with respect to said load-bearing surface by contact therewith.

15. A method for adjustably and securely supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, comprising the steps of:

attaching object support means to said substantially flat side of said object at two positions horizontally spaced apart;

at each of said positions, through adjustable load transfer means and adjustment means, connecting said object support means to a support means in an assembly with full adjustment;

attaching temporary locater means to said support means;

holding said object at its intended position with respect to said load-bearing surface;

activating said locater means to determine proper positions for said support means on said load-bearing surface;

removing said temporary locater means, disassembling said assembly and attaching said support means individually to said load-bearing surface at said proper positions;

reassembling said assembly to support said object adjustably and securely on said load-bearing surface; and

adjusting said adjustable load transfer means as and when needed to obtain desired alignment of said supported object in relation to said support means attached to said load-bearing surface.

16. A method for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface as specified in claim 15, comprising the further step of:

attaching to said object, at positions below said support means, one or more snubbers to obtain even spacing of said object with respect to said load-bearing surface.

17. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, comprising:

approximately S-shaped support means attached to said load-bearing surface for providing two fixed supports, one at each of two predetermined horizontally spaced positions on said load-bearing surface, each of said support means being formed of an essentially flat strip having a first and a second coplanar flat sections respectively connected to a third parallel section offset therefrom by a first normal section and an inclined section, respectively, and having at one end a second normal section shorter than said first normal section, each section except said third parallel section having an aperture therein;

L-shaped adjustable load transfer means at each of said horizontally spaced positions, each having the top end of its vertical long segment threaded and its shorter segment essentially normal thereto, said long segment passing through said apertures in said first and second normal sections of said support means and said inclined section being located therebetween;

object support means attached to a generally flat surface of said object at locations to match said horizontally spaced positions and cooperating with each of said adjustable load transfer means, said object support means being formed preferably from the same material as said support means and having a fourth and a fifth coplanar flat sections, respectively, connected to a sixth parallel flat section offset therefrom by a third and a fourth normal sections, respectively, and having at one end a seventh parallel flat section offset from and between said fifth and sixth parallel flat sections, respectively, by a fifth normal section attached to said fifth parallel flat section, each of said sections except said sixth parallel and said fifth normal sections having an aperture therein, with said seventh parallel flat section having its aperture opened by a segment cut therein, and said load transfer means at each support means location passing through said apertures in said third and fourth normal segments and said segmented aperture in said seventh parallel flat section respectively; and

adjustment means rotatable by a screwdriver, threaded onto the threaded top end of each of said adjustable load transfer means, for adjusting the relative juxtaposition of said object support means with respect to each of said fixed support means locations individually, each of said adjustment means being provided with a lateral through aperture intersecting the threaded portion thereof to allow viewing of said threaded portion of said adjustable load transfer means threaded therein, said adjustment means having the capacity in conjunction with said adjustable load transfer means for flexibly deforming said support means and said object support means at the user'"'"'s option.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

snubber means attached to said substantially flat side of said object below said object support means, cooperating with said support means, for spacing said object evenly with respect to said load-bearing surface by contact therewith, each of said snubber means having a smooth resilient surface where it contacts said load-bearing surface and having at said contact end a recess and a bore to accommodate a screw or nail used to affix said snubber means to said object.

19. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 17, further comprising:

locater means having a sharp end, a flat head and a short stud, temporarily attachable at each of said apertures in said first and second coplanar flat sections of each of said support means with said adjustment means threaded onto said adjustable load transfer means to reserve all normal adjustment therefrom, before said support means are attached to said load-bearing surface for locating, by pressure via said object held in desired position, the proper positions for attaching said support means onto said load-bearing surface.

20. An apparatus for adjustably, securely and evenly supporting an object having a substantially flat side from a load-bearing surface, as specified in claim 17, further comprising:

locater means having a flat head with an adhesive surface and a short stud with a through aperture, temporarily attachable at each of said apertures in said first and second coplanar flat sections of each of said support means with said adjustment means threaded onto said adjustable load transfer means to reserve all normal adjustment therefrom, before said support means are attached to said load-bearing surface for locating, by pressure via said object held in desired position, the proper positions for attaching said support means onto said load-bearing surface.