GB2519985A

GB2519985A - Wall furniture hanging aid

Info

Publication number: GB2519985A
Application number: GB1319428.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Craig Smith
Original assignee: MATERIAL CONCEPTS Ltd
Current assignee: MATERIAL CONCEPTS Ltd
Priority date: 2013-11-04
Filing date: 2013-11-04
Publication date: 2015-05-13
Also published as: GB201319428D0

Abstract

A wall furniture hanging aid 1 comprises a rod 2 or other suitable elongate member and at least three hole-markers 3, 4, 5 slidably attached to the rod. The hanging aid also comprises a ruler and a spirit level 6. The rod is preferably hollow and rectangular in cross section or may be planar. The hole-markers may comprise a protrusion extending from the side of the rod and may have a circular aperture (15, figure 6) through which a mark may be made on the wall. The hole-markers may be provided with a projection (13, figure 7) that engages with a track (12, figure 5) formed in the rod. The hanging aid is adapted to assist a user in drilling holes in a wall such that they correspond to the position of fixings found on items of wall furniture.

Description

Wall Furniture Hanging Aid The present invention relates to a wall furniture hanging aid.

Many contemporary cupboards, shelves, mirrors, pictures and other items of wall furniture comprise recesses as means for attachment to a wall. Such recesses are typically keyhole' shaped and adapted to fit over the head of a screw. Thus, in order to hang an item of wall furniture comprising such recesses it is necessary to drill holes and position screws in a precise position on the wall so as to correspond to the positions of the recesses.

A high degree of accuracy is required in positioning screws on a wall for this purpose. If a screw is located only a few millimetres away from the correct position then the item of wall furniture either cannot be hung or if it can be hung will be off level.

The problem is compounded when attempting to hang multiple items of wall furniture all at the same level and evenly spaced from each other.

The present invention seeks to address these issues.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a wall furniture hanging aid comprising: a rod; and at least three hole-markers slidably attached to the rod.

By providing a rod having at least three hole-markers slidably attached to the rod a user is able to accurately mark a wall with markings corresponding to fixings on two or more items of wall furniture. Holes may then be drilled at these markings and the items of wall furniture hung easily with assurance that holes are being drilled in the correct locations.

Preferably the rod comprises a rule.

The provision of a rule allows a user to measure distance if necessary, and is particularly of use in ensuring that the holes are being marked the correct distance from the ceiling or floor.

Preferably the rod comprises a spirit level.

Providing the rod with a spirit level ensures that a user can hold the rod horizontally.

In some embodiments the hanging aid comprises at least four hole-markers.

The provision of at least four hole-markers is particularly useful when the items of wall furniture being hung are not identical.

Preferably the rod is at least 50cm long. More preferably the rod is at least 75cm long. Even more preferably the rod is at least 100cm long. In some embodiments the rod is at least 150cm long.

In some embodiments the rod is substantially hollow. In some embodiments the rod is substantially rectangular in cross-section. In some embodiments the rod is substantially square in cross-section.

In some embodiments the rod is substantially planar.

In some embodiments a hole-marker comprises a protrusion extending from a side of the rod.

Preferably the protrusion comprises an aperture adapted for marking a hole when the hanging aid is in use. Preferably the aperture is substantially circular.

In some embodiments a hole-marker is slidably attached to the rod by means of at least one projection extending from the hole-marker engaging with a track formed in the rod.

In some embodiments a hole-marker is slidably attached to the rod by means of a clip.

Preferably the hole-markers are retained in a desired position on the track by static friction.

Preferably the rod is formed of metal. In some embodiments the hole-markers are formed of metal.

In some embodiments the hole-markers are formed of plastic. Preferably the plastic is at least partially transparent. Preferably the plastic is substantially transparent.

By providing hole-markers formed of substantially transparent plastic a user is able to see through the hole marker so as to assess the exact position of hole or mark.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of hanging items of wall furniture comprising the steps of: a. providing a hanging aid formed in accordance with any preceding claim; b. aligning at least three hole-markers with the positions of at least three fixings on at least two items of wall furniture; c. marking a wall using the positions of at least three hole-markers as a guide.

In order that the present invention may be more fully understood a specific embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wall furniture hanging aid made in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the hanging aid of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic view of the hanging aid of Figure 1 indicating where a track is formed therein; Figure 4 is a schematic cross-section of the hanging aid at section B-B as indicated in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a schematic cross-section of the hanging aid at section A-A as indicated in Figure 3; Figure 6 is a plan view of an isolated hole-marker formed for use with a hanging aid made in accordance with the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic cross-section of the hole-marker of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a schematic view of a rear of an item of wall furniture that may be hung using the hanging aid as depicted in Figure 1; Figure 9 is a schematic view of two such items of wall furniture positioned together; and Figure 10 is a schematic view of the hanging aid of Figure 1 being used to measure the position of holes on the back of the items of wall furniture as depicted in Figure 9.

Referring to the drawings, a wall furniture hanging aid 1 comprises a rod 2 and three hole-markers 3, 4, 5.

Rod 2 is in the form of an elongate cuboid with a substantially square cross-section. Thus rod 2 has a front face 7, upper face 8, rear face 9 and lower face 10.

In the present embodiment rod 2 if formed of metal and substantially hollow, however, it will be appreciated that rod 2 could be formed of any suitable material and need not necessarily be hollow.

Substantially equidistant between the two ends of rod 2 and secured to front face 7 is spirit level 6.

On upper face 8 of rod 2 are found measurement markings 11, which may of course indicate metric measurement, imperial measurement or both. In the present embodiment the markings are in centimetres and is the rod is 100cm in length. Thus upper face 8 of rod 2 is in the form of a rule.

Turning to Figures 3 to 6, it can be seen that rear face 9 of rod 2 comprises a substantially centrally positioned cutaway track 12 running the length of rear face 9 in the direction of the longitudinal axis of elongate rod 2.

Track 12 is shown schematically by dashed lines in Figure 3 and is shown in cross-section in Figures 4 and 5.

Slidably retained in track 12 are three hole-markers 3, 4, 5.

Hole-markers 3, 4, 5 are each in the form of a substantially planar tab that extends beyond the upper edge of rear face 9 over upper face 8 adjacent measurement markings 11.

Turning to a single hole-marker 4, as shown in Figures 5 and 6 it can be seen that marker 4, in the form of a rectangular planar tab, comprises a projection 13 having a flange 14 that is adapted to retain hole-marker 4 in track 12 of rod 2.

Hole-marker 4 also comprises a substantially circular aperture 15 that may be used for measuring and marking the positions of holes when hanging aid 1 is in use.

Aperture 15 is located in that part of hole-marker 4 that extends beyond the upper edge of rear face 9 over upper face 8 adjacent measurement markings 11 when hole-marker 4 is retained in track 12 of rod 2.

Hole markers 3 and 5 are formed identically to hole marker 4.

Hole markers 3, 4, 5 are able to slide the length of track 12.

In the present embodiment hole markers 3, 4, 5 are formed of transparent plastic.

Hole markers 3, 4, 5 are formed such that they do not slide entirely freely, but will stay in a desired position owing to static friction between the respective hole-marker and rod 2.

Hole-markers 3, 4, 5 may be positioned by a user applying slight force to overcome the static friction and slide along track 12.

Thus, the static friction between rod 2 and each respective hole-marker is such that once the hole-markers have been positioned by a user, hanging aid 1 may be moved without the hole-markers sliding out of place. Thus, the hole-markers are retained in a desired position on the track owing to static friction.

In the present embodiment hole-markers 3, 4, 5 are formed of a plastics material, but it will be apparent that any suitable material might be employed.

Hanging aid 1 is provided with plastic end caps 16, 17 that seal the ends of rod 2 and track 12 such that hole-markers 3, 4, 5 cannot slide out of track 12 and become lost.

Turning to hanging aid 1 in use and referring to Figures 8 to 10, a user may wish to hang a two items of wall furniture 18, 19 by means of respective fixings 20, 21 and 22, 23.

For clarity a single item of the wall furniture 18 is shown in Figure 8 and both items 18, 19 are shown positioned next to each other in Figure 9.

The user first position items 18, 19 on the floor relative to each other as they wish to hang the items 18, 19 on a wall. In the example shown in Figure 9 the user wishes for items 18, 19 to be hung directly adjacent each other.

The user may then employ hanging aid 1 and position it over items 18, 19.

The user may line up the aperture of hale-marker 3 with fixing 20, the aperture of hole-marker 4 with fixing 21 and the aperture of hole marker 5 with fixing 22.

The user may then move hanging aid 1 to the wall on which items 18, 19 are to be hung.

Using spirit level 6 the user may ensure that rod 2 is level. The user may then make markings on the wall using a pencil that is inserted through the respective apertures in each of hole-markers 3, 4, 5.

These three initial markings mark out the positions to drill holes corresponding to fixings 20, 21 and 22. In order to mark the position to drill a hole corresponding to fixing 23 the user may simply position hanging aid 1 such that the aperture of hole-marker 3 sits over the marking made in respect of fixing 22. An appropriate drilling point may then be marked via the aperture of hole-marker 4. The user may then drill holes in the wall with the assurance that they are in the correct position.

It will be apparent that more than three hole-markers might be employed.

Indeed it may be beneficial in some circumstances for a hanging-aid to comprise four or even more hole-markers depending upon the objects being hung and the number of holes that must be measured. This is particularly the case where the items being hung are not identical and may have different distances between their respective fixings.

Thus, in the present embodiment end caps 16, 17 are removable so as to allow a user to add and remove hole-markers to or from track 12 as required.

In the present embodiment the term rod' is not intended to have any connotations other than a substantially straight elongate member that is substantially rigid.

It will be apparent that in order to create a hanging aid in accordance with the present invention the rod need not been substantially square in profile, but might be rectangular.

Indeed, the rod may be substantially planar, perhaps in the form of a standard metre ruler but with a track that extends the length thereof and hole-markers slidably retained in the track.

In other embodiments the hole-markers might be slidably retained on the rod, but without use of a track. For example the hole-markers might clip to the side of a standard metre ruler and slide along its edge.

Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims

Claims: 1. A wall furniture hanging aid comprising: a rod; and at least three hole-markers slidably attached to the rod.
2. The hanging aid of claim 1 wherein the rod comprises a rule.
3. The hanging aid of claim 1 or 2 wherein the rod comprises a spirit level.
4. The hanging aid of any preceding claim comprising at least four hole-markers.
5. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is at least 50cm long.
6. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is at least 75cm long.
7. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is at least 100cm long.
8. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is at least 150cm long.
9. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is substantially hollow.
1O.The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is substantially rectangular in cross-section.
11. The hanging aid of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the rod is substantially square in cross-section.
12. The hanging aid of any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the rod is substantially planar.
13. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein a hole-marker comprises a protrusion extending from a side of the rod.
14. The hanging aid of claim 13 wherein the protrusion comprises an aperture adapted for marking a hole when the hanging aid is in use.
15. The hanging aid of claim 14 wherein the aperture is substantially circular.
16. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein a hole-marker is slidably attached to the rod by means of at least one projection extending from the hole-marker engaging with a track formed in the rod.
17. The hanging aid of any of claims ito 15 wherein a hole-marker is slidably attached to the rod by means of a clip.
18. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the hole-markers are retained in a desired position on the track by static friction.
19. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein the rod is formed of metal.
20. The hanging aid of any preceding claim wherein a hole-marker is formed of metal.
21. The hanging aid of any of claims 1 to 19 wherein a hole-marker is formed of plastic.
22. The hanging aid of claim 21 wherein the plastic is at least partially transparent.
23. The hanging aid of claim 21 wherein the plastic is substantially transparent.
24. A method of hanging items of wall furniture comprising the steps of: a. providing a hanging aid formed in accordance with any preceding claim; b. aligning at least three hole-markers with the positions of at least three fixings on at least two items of wall furniture; c. marking a wall using the positions of at least three hole-markers asaguide.
25. A hanging aid substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
26. A method of using a hanging aid substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.