US20070278168A1

US20070278168A1 - Decorative wall hanging assembly

Info

Publication number: US20070278168A1
Application number: US11/433,211
Authority: US
Inventors: Wayne Li
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-05-11
Filing date: 2006-05-11
Publication date: 2007-12-06

Abstract

A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, the vertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surface appended to the vertical wall and a front surface facing away from the vertical wall. The front surface of the mounting board is provided with a plurality of horizontally extending grooves, each of the grooves having a channel opening at the front surface of the planar mounting board and a flared cut out region extending within the planar mounting board extending from each of the channel openings. The structural members are provided with at least one vertical surface for mounting upon the planar mounting board and includes at least one hook-shaped bracket sized to fit within a first one of the horizontally extending grooves only upon rotating the structural member diagonally with respect to the planar mounting board and at least one straight bracket sized and positioned upon the at least one vertical surface to extend within a second one of the horizontally extending grooves after the hook-shaped bracket has been inserted within the first one of the horizontally extending grooves and the structural member has been rotated to assume a vertical orientation against the planar mounting board.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improved system for mounting a structural member, such as a shelf, pedestal, desk, cabinet, pinboard or veneer. Not only is the shelving system of the present invention straightforward in its execution but, when properly configured, provides a degree of stability and adjustability far greater than corresponding systems currently available.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There has not been significant innovation for quite some time relating to the mounting of shelves and similar objects on substantially vertical walls. Most mounting systems involve the use of planar sheet material composed of lumber or synthetic substitutes which are joined to L-shaped brackets. The L-shaped brackets structurally are composed of metal or wood and are provided with a first leg which is screwed or otherwise joined to the shelf while its perpendicular counterpart is joined directly to the wall by screwing the bracket into a structural support member, such as a stud. Alternatively, a longitudinally extending wall bracket can be provided which, itself, is joined to a substantially vertically extending wall and which has a series of key slots for accepting corresponding keys made part of the L-shaped bracket discussed previously.
Each shelf mounting system described above has its own set of advantages and limitations. For brackets which are screwed or otherwise joined directly to the wall, the shelf is rigidly secured to its supporting structure and resists inadvertent removal. However, the positioning of the shelf upon a suitable wall cannot be altered without removing the L-shaped bracket from the wall leaving behind unsightly holes which must be patched to provide an acceptable aesthetic appearance. Shelves which employ longitudinally extending brackets, keys and keyhole supports do allow for some degree of shelf repositioning but such a shelf system is still fraught with inherent limitations. For example, often times, a user of such a shelving system may inadvertently contact the shelf either with one's body or with an object being handled. The key slot can inadvertently disengage resulting in the shelf falling from its associated vertical wall spilling its supported contents onto the surrounding floor. Further, even when a catastrophic disengagement does not occur, a user of such a shelving system oftentimes finds its difficult to line up appropriate keys and key slots particularly in dealing with shelving of significant length. When misaligned, the shelves will not orient horizontally. It is clearly apparent there is much room to improve such systems making them more versatile and user friendly.
In addition, there does not appear to be a viable system which is capable of a single installation and which can accommodate platforms and structures of various types without significant modification. In other words, there does not appear to be a system currently available which can properly support a shelf, pedestal, desk, cabinet and the like.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a system for supporting shelving, pedestals, desks, cabinets, pinboards and veneers within a single installation without the need for employing elaborate or difficult to use hardware.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for supporting and displaying shelving, desk, cabinets, pinboards and veneers and the like which can be readily applied and removed from a substantially vertical wall structure and repositioned along said structure easily and conveniently without the need for the employment of any tools or elaborate hardware.
These and further objects of the present invention will be more readily appreciated when considering the following disclosure and appended drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, the vertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surface appended to the vertical wall and a front surface facing away from the vertical wall. The front surface of the mounting board is provided with a plurality of horizontally extending grooves, each of the grooves having a channel opening at the front surface of the planar mounting board and a flared cut out region extending within the planar mounting board extending from each of the channel openings. The structural members are provided with at least one vertical surface for mounting upon the planar mounting board and include at least one hook-shaped bracket sized to fit within a first one of the horizontally extending grooves only upon rotating the structural member diagonally with respect to the planar mounting board and at least one straight bracket sized and positioned upon the at least one vertical surface to extend within a second one of the horizontally extending grooves after the hook-shaped bracket has been inserted within the first one of the horizontally extending grooves and the structural member has been rotated to assume a vertical orientation against the planar mounting board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a planar mounting board used in practicing the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3A is a side plan view of a planar mounting board and structural member showing how these members engage one another.
FIG. 3B is a side plan view of the mounting board structural member of FIG. 3A, once engaged.
FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a cabinet/desk configured for use in the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a pinboard/veneer for use in the practicing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As noted previously, the present invention involves a system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall. Turning first to FIG. 1, vertical wall 10 is depicted supporting planar mounting board 11 having a back surface appended to said vertical wall. Mounting can be done through the use of any mechanical or chemical fasteners, such as screws, nails, glue, etc. Further, planar mounting board 11 can be removably hung upon vertical wall 10 by simply providing complimentary hangar elements (not shown), the nature of which would be quite obvious to anyone skilled in this art.
Front surface 16 of planar mounting member 11 is provided with a plurality of horizontally extending grooves. Although planar mounting board 11 can have any number of such grooves, for the sake of simplicity in explaining the present invention, the present figures depict only four such grooves, namely, grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15. It is to be noted that each of these grooves is provided with a channel opening 23 having an expanded cross sectional dimension 24 as shown in FIG. 3A. Ideally, each of grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15 are identical in their dimension and in their spacing from one another.
It is contemplated that the system of the present invention can be employed to conveniently install such structural members as shelves, pedestals, desks, cabinets, pinboards and veneers. Such a structural member is shown schematically in FIGS. 3A and 3B as element 20. Specifically, structural member 20 is shown having at least one vertical surface 26 having mounted thereon, at least one hook-shaped bracket 21 sized to fit within a first of said horizontally extending grooves 13 only upon rotating structural member 20 as shown in FIG. 3A. Upon doing so, straight bracket 22 is sized and positioned upon said at least one vertical surface 26 to extend within a second one of said horizontally extended grooves 12 after hook-shaped bracket 21 has been inserted within groove 13. As noted by reference to FIG. 3B, after structural member 20 has been rotated to assume an orientation such that surface 26 aligns vertically and next to planar mounting bracket 11, hook-shaped bracket 21 is seated within groove 13 while straight bracket 22 is seated within groove 12.
Once considering the present invention, the benefits derived therefrom become quite obvious. The joining of structural member 20 with planar mounting board 11 provides a structure which cannot be dislodged without first lifting straight bracket 22 out of groove 12 whereupon hook-shaped bracket 21 is then slid diagonally downward thus removing it from groove 13. Inadvertent dislodgement is very difficult if not impossible. Further, in that grooves 12, 13, 14 and 15 extend horizontally across planar mounting board 11 and are evenly spaced from one another, structural member 20 can easily be repositioned both horizontally and vertically by merely repeating the operation shown in FIG. 3A.
As noted previously, structural member 20 can take on a number of physical embodiments. For example, structural member 20 can become a shelf or pedestal supporting horizontal surface 8. As noted previously, the present invention is capable of readily applying, repositioning and supporting a number of structural members, each of them being related by having the appropriately positioned hook-shaped and straight brackets appended from a vertical surface to mate with the appropriate planar mounting board. FIGS. 4A and 4B further illustrate the flexibility of this system.
Turning first to FIG. 4A, cabinet 40 is shown having a top horizontal surface 41 and vertical surface 42 creating a box-like structure which can, for example, support a number of parallel shelves 43. Vertical edge 46 constituting the rear edge of vertical member 42 is shown supporting hook-shaped bracket 44 and straight bracket 45. Similar brackets would also be positioned on the opposite side of the rear vertical edge, parallel to vertical member 42. Cabinet 40 could also function as a desk by eliminating shelves 43 to provide a space for one's knees to enter structure 40 using top horizontal surface 41 as a writing surface.
FIG. 4B shows a pinboard 50 containing a border surrounding a corked planar sheet 51. Pinboard 50 is provided with rear vertical edge 54 which in turn supports hooked-shaped bracket 52 and straight bracket 53 as shown. As was the case with the embodiment of FIG. 4A, several shaped and straight brackets would also be configured within a vertical edge on the opposite side of pinboard 50 in order to appropriately support this structural member upon a suitable planar mounting board. Further, pinboard 50, in eliminating corked region 51 or merely providing an artistic pattern to its front surface would create an aesthetic enhancement to the appropriate vertical wall and planar mounting board.

Claims

1. A system for mounting a structural member upon a vertical wall, said vertical wall supporting a planar mounting board having a back surface appended to said vertical wall and a front surface spaced away from said vertical wall, said front surface having a plurality of horizontally extending grooves, each of said grooves having a channel opening at the front surface of said planar mounting board and a flared cut out region extending within said planar mounting board extending from each of said channel openings, a structural member having at least one vertical surface for mounting upon said planar mounting board, at least one hook-shaped bracket sized to fit within a first one of said horizontally extending grooves only upon rotating said structural member diagonally with respect to said planar mounting board and at least one straight bracket sized and positioned upon said at least one vertical surface to extend within a second one of said horizontally extending grooves after said first hook-shaped bracket has been inserted within said first one of said horizontally extending grooves and said structural member has been rotated to assume a vertical orientation against said planar mounting board.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said structural member comprises a member selected from the group consisting of a shelf, a pedestal, a desk, a cabinet, a pinboard and a veneer.