STATEMENT OF CORRESPONDING APPLICATIONS

This application is based on the Complete specifications filed in relation to New Zealand Patent 5 Number 590239 and Australian Patent Number 2010101472, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for hanging a framed picture. Particularly,

[0 although not exclusively, the present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting the height and horizontal angle of inclination of a framed picture after fixing to a support surface.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional methods of hanging a framed picture or the like on a support surface such as a ί5 wall involves the use of attaching a picture hook to the wall and engaging a wire, string or eyelet attached to the back of the picture frame to the hook.

A disadvantage of this method of attachment is that the framed picture is frequently in an incorrect position on the wall particularly when aligning multiple pictures in relation to one another. Repositioning frequently requires removing and reaffixing the fixing means such as a >0 screw or nail in the wall causing damage to the wall or physical failure of the mounting and

resulting in a time consuming trial and error process to achieve the correct fine tuning of the position of the picture frame.

A further disadvantage is that the picture wire can move relative to the hook thereby resulting in the picture not hanging level. Further, the picture frequently tilts forward on the wire creating a 15 gap between the top edge of the picture frame and the wall which can result in obscuring of the picture.

Picture hanging apparatus have been developed to try to solve the above problems. However, these apparatus (such as that disclosed in US 4,61 1 ,780) do not provide for ease of adjusting both the vertical and horizontal position of the picture relative to the wall, including the horizontal 50 angle of inclination of the picture, without the use of tools (such as that disclosed in US l 5,069,41 1 ). Frequently the known apparatus require detachment of the picture from the apparatus before readjustment of the apparatus and then reattachment of the picture to the apparatus which still requires trial and error in reaching the correct fine tuning of the position of the picture (such as that disclosed in US 4,557,455). In other examples, known apparatus result in the framed picture being positioned proud of the wall as a result of a gap between the framed picture and the wall (such as that disclosed in US 4,892,284) or are otherwise visible after attachment of the framed picture so detracting from the aesthetic (such as that disclosed in US 4,549,713). Alternatively known devices are complicated in their construction and expensive to produce making them impractical for the average user (such as that disclosed in US 6,095,479). It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.

All references, comprising any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.

Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for hanging a framed picture on a support surface such as a wall. The apparatus comprises a housing which is fixed to the wall with a nail or the like. The housing has a channel with at least one first toothed surface positioned along a surface of the housing adjacent the channel. The channel is configured to receive a pair of hinged opposing arms which are biased away from each other and engage the first toothed surfaces at least one second toothed surface positioned on a surface of the arms. Each pair of opposing arms also comprises a support portion configured to support an edge of a picture frame and provide for movement of the framed picture relative to the housing. By adjusting the position of a first pair of opposing arms relative to the height of a second pair of opposing arms, adjustment of the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture is achieved. In this way adjustment of the vertical height, horizontal position and horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture is achieved in situ after the housing has been fixed to the wall thereby compensating for incorrect initial fixing of the housing to the wall by allowing subsequent fine tuning of the position of the framed picture.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for hanging a framed picture which comprises: · a housing configured for fixing to a substantially vertical support surface via at least one fixing means, the housing comprising:

o a channel through a length of the housing; and

o at least one first engagement surface positioned along a surface of the housing adjacent the channel

· at least one pair of opposing arms configured to be biased from each other and moved longitudinally within the channel, each pair of arms comprising:

o at least one second engagement surface configured to engage with the first engagement surface

• a support portion configured to support an edge of a picture frame and provide for adjustment of the horizontal position of the framed picture relative to the housing wherein adjustment of the vertical height of the framed picture relative to the support portion after the housing has been fixed to the support surface is provided for by the position of the opposing arms relative to the housing. For the purposes of the specification the term "framed picture" means any object which is framed for mounting on a support surface such as a wall for display and/or storage purposes or any unframed object which includes a mounting surface for support by the support surface of the present invention and which therefore may be adjustably held in position on a support surface. Preferably, the first and second engagement surfaces comprise teeth.

Preferably, the apparatus for hanging a framed picture comprises two pairs of opposing arms and adjustment of the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture, after the respective housings has been fixed to the support surface, is provided for by adjustment of the height of the first pair of opposing arms relative to height of the second pair of opposing arms.

In this way, adjustment of the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture is achieved in situ after fixing of the housings to the support surface without the use of tools.

5 Preferably, the opposing arms are elongate and the at least one second engagement surface extends substantially the length of the at least one arm.

In this way, a range of vertical adjustment of the pair of arms relative to the housing is maximised.

Preferably, each pair of opposing arms is joined at one end at a first flexible hinge.

[0 More preferably, the flexible hinged portion is joined to the support portion at a second flexible hinge.

Preferably, the opposing arms and housing are configured to be confined within a cavity of the back surface of the framed picture.

In this way, the framed picture can be positioned flush with the support surface and eliminate [5 forward tilt associated with conventional forms of picture hanging such as hook and wire.

Preferably the fixing means is selected from the group consisting of: tacks, nails, pins, screws, staples, double sided tape.

Preferably, the edge of the frame supported on the support portion is a lower side edge of a frame.

10 Preferably, the support portion is elongate.

In this way, support of the lower side edge of the frame on the support portion is maximised.

Preferably, the pair of opposing arms comprises a top member configured to engage with the support portion.

More preferably, the top member comprises at least one surface configured to provide secure 15 contact with the underside of the support portion.

More preferably still, the at least one surface has teeth configured to engage with the underside of the support portion.

Preferably, the housing has at least one indicia on an external surface to aid a user in alignment of the housing relative to the support surface. Preferably, the at least one pair of opposing arms have at least one indicia on an external surface to aid a user in alignment of the opposing arms relative to the housing.

More preferably, the indicia are markings.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of hanging a framed picture with an apparatus comprising:

• a housing configured for fixing to a substantially vertical support surface via at least one fixing means, the housing comprising:

o a channel through a length of the housing; and

o at least one first engagement surface positioned along a surface of the housing adjacent the channel

• at least one pair of opposing arms configured to be biased from each other and moved longitudinally within the channel, each pair of arms comprising:

o at least one second engagement surface configured to engage with the first engagement surface

o a support portion configured to support an edge of a picture frame the method comprising the steps of: a. fixing the housing to a support surface with the at least one fixing means;

b. positioning an edge of a frame of a framed picture on the support portion of the at least one pair of opposing arms;

c. positioning a first pair of opposing arms relative to the housing to adjust the vertical height of the framed picture relative to the support surface; and

d. positioning a second pair of opposing arms relative to the first pair of opposing arms to adjust the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture relative to the support surface.

Preferably, the steps (c) and (d) comprises the steps: a. biasing the pair of opposing arms toward each other to disengage the second engagement surface from the first engagement surface;

b. repositioning the vertical height of the opposing arms within the channel relative to the housing; and

c. reengaging the second engagement surface with the first engagement surface by releasing the bias on the opposing arms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1a shows a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of an apparatus for hanging a framed picture;

Figure 1 b shows a back perspective view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a; Figure 2 shows a front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a with two pairs of opposing arms released from the housing;

Figure 3a shows a front perspective view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of an apparatus for hanging a framed picture;

Figure 3b shows a back perspective view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 3a; Figure 4 shows a front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 3a with two pairs of opposing arms released from the housing;

Figure 5a shows a front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a with the opposing arms in a fully extended position relative to the housing;

Figure 5b shows a front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a with the opposing arms in a mid extended position relative to the housing;

Figure 5c shows a front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a with the opposing arms in a retracted position relative to the housing;

Figure 6a shows a rear perspective view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a attached to a framed picture via a frame mounting plate;

Figure 6b shows a front perspective view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1a with fixing means and frame mounting plate attached; and Figure 7 shows a sectional view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 6a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred form of the invention, an apparatus for hanging a framed picture is generally indicated by arrow 1 . The apparatus has a housing 2 which is fixed to a support surface such as a wall via a fixing means such as a screw 100 (as shown in Figure 6a, b) passing through two countersunk screw holes 2a and/or locator slot 2b or nails which pass through nail holes 2a' and which are angled at 30° to aid in correct location of the nails. Alternatively, the housing 2 may be affixed to the wall with double sided foam tape or the like. The housing has a channel 2c extending through its length. At least one pair of opposing first engagement surfaces (best seen in Figures 2 and 4), in the form of teeth 2d, extends along surface of the housing 2 adjacent the channel 2c.

The apparatus 1 also comprises at least one pair of elongate opposing arms 3 configured to be biased from each other via a hinge in the form of a flexible join 3a and pass through the channel 2c. The arms 3 each have a second engagement surface, in the form of teeth 3b (best seen in Figures 2 and 4) extending substantially the length of both arms 3 and which realisably engage with the first toothed surfaces 2d of the housing 2. In this way, the arms 3 are held in a stable position relative to the housing 2 and also provide for the maximum range of vertical adjustment of the arms 3 relative to the housing 2 (as shown in Figures 5a-c). Shoulders 3d on the arms 3 limit the extent the arms can be inserted into the channel 2c. The housing has alignment windows 2e to provide for viewing of the pairs of arms 3 located within the channel 2c. Indicia in the form of markings 3e on the arms 3 provide a visual means to adjust the height of the arms 3 in relation to the housing 2. Further indicia on both sides of the housing 2 in the form of a centre line 2f provides a visual indication to aid the user locating the housing 2 in a correct position on the wall surface.

The opposing arms 3 are joined to a support portion at a second flexible hinge 4a. The support portion comprises an elongate top member 4 which is configured to be received into a frame mounting 5 (shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8). The frame mounting 5 supports a lower edge of a side frame member 210 of the picture frame 200 (shown in Figures 6 and 7) to support the picture frame 200 on the apparatus 1 relative to the wall. The elongate frame mounting 5 provides for a maximum range of adjustment of the horizontal position of the picture frame 200 relative to the wall surface.

Adjustment of the position of the opposing arms 3 relative to the housing 2 by a user via finger cut outs 3c on the lower end of the arms 3 to bias the opposing arms 3 toward each other to disengage the second toothed surface 3b from the first toothed surface 2d and thereby allow movement of the opposing arms 3 within the channel 2c to provide for vertical adjustment of the opposing arms 3 relative to the housing 2 and therefore the height of the picture frame 200 relative to the wall surface. Figures 1 to 7 show the channel 2c extending straight through the length of the housing 2 substantially parallel to the vertical axis of the housing 2. However a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the toothed surfaces 2d may extend at a tapered angle with respect to the vertical axis of the housing 2 so that the opposing arms 3 are splayed when the second toothed

5 surface 3b of each arm 3 is engaged with the opposing first toothed surface 2d. In this way a greater angle of movement of the ends of the opposing arms 3 is required for disengagement of the second toothed surface 3b from the first toothed surface 2d of the housing 2 for movement of the arms 3 relative to the housing 2. This provides for improved ease of adjustment of the vertical height of a picture frame 200 relative to a wall surface by providing more clearance of

0 the second toothed surface 3b from the first toothed surface 2d at the top of the opposing arms 3 adjacent the elongate top member 4.

Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the apparatus 1 with two pairs of opposing arms 3. Adjustment of the level of the frame mounting 5 and therefore the supported framed picture 220 can be achieved by adjustment of the height of the first pair of opposing arms 3 relative to 5 height of the second pair of opposing arms 3. In this way, adjustment of the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture 220 is achieved in situ after fixing of the housing 2 to the wall without the use of tools.

Figures 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the apparatus 1 , with one pair of opposing arms 3. Adjustment of the level of the frame mounting 5 and therefore the supported framed picture '.0 220 can be achieved with the use of two apparatus 1 to support the picture frame 200 at different positions. Frame 200 level adjustments can therefore be achieved by adjustment of the height of the first pair of opposing arms 3 on the first apparatus 1 relative to height of the second pair of opposing arms 3 on the second apparatus 1.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7 both the opposing arms 3 and housing 2 are configured to be !5 confined within a cavity of the back surface of the picture frame 200. In this way, the framed picture 200 can be positioned flush with the wall surface and thereby eliminate forward tilt associated with conventional forms of picture hanging such as a hook and wire. In addition no part of the apparatus 1 is visible after mounting of the picture frame 200 on the frame mounting 5 which improves the aesthetics of the hung picture 220.

>0 Referring to Figure 7 the housing 2 is shown attached to the wall (not shown) via a nail 110. The housing 2 is configured to fit flush against the wall surface in the configuration shown in Figure 1 b with the recess 4' facing away from the framed picture 200 towards the wall. In this configuration, the back surface 5c of the frame mounting 5 fits between the top member 4 and the wall to create a flush surface against the wall. Alternatively the housing may be attached to the wall in the orientation shown in Figure 1 a with the recess 4' facing towards the framed picture 200 via double sided tape in the form of double sided foam tape. In this configuration the thickness of the tape will create sufficient clearance for the back surface 5c of the frame mounting 5 to fit between the top member 4 to create a flush surface against the wall. The frame mounting 5 comprises an adhesive surface (via double sided foam tape 5a) to aid in supporting the lower side edge of the picture frame 200. In addition, the holes 5b provide entry points for fixing means such as nails or staples 5e to fix the frame mounting 5 to the frame 200. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the profile of the frame mounting 5 may be varied to accommodate different designs of picture frame 200 without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example (referring to Figure 6b and the close up of the sectional view in Figure 7), the back surface 5c and the bottom surface 5d may be varied in length and/or shape. Similarly, the form of the top member 4 may be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the method of attachment of the frame mounting 5 to the top member 4 may include projections and corresponding recesses, double sided foam tape, teeth on both the frame mounting 5 to the top member 4 which are configured to engage with each other or a frictional surface such as rubber on the top member 4.

The apparatus 1 can be made by injection moulding of a flexible and resilient material such as plastic. The small number of parts to the apparatus 1 (three in total being the housing 2, opposing arms 3 and the frame mounting 5) results in a relatively low cost of production. The apparatus 1 is envisaged to have wide application in the home or business.

In use, a. the housing 2 of the apparatus 1 is fixed to a support surface with the at least one fixing means;

b. an edge of the frame 200 is positioned on the support portion to adjust the horizontal position of the framed picture relative to the wall;

c. positioning the arms 3 relative to the housing 2 to adjust the vertical height of the framed picture 200 relative to the support surface; and

d. (optionally) positioning a second pair of opposing arms 3 relative to the first pair of opposing arms 3 to adjust the horizontal angle of inclination of the framed picture 200 relative to the support surface.

Positioning of the pairs of arms 3 relative to the housing 2 in steps (c) and (d) comprises: e. biasing the arms 3 toward each other to disengage the second toothed surface 3b from the first toothed surface 2d; f. positioning the vertical height of the opposing arms 3 within the channel 2c relative to the housing 2; and

g. engaging the second toothed surface 3b with the first toothed surface 2d by releasing the bias on the opposing arms 3. In this way, adjustment of the vertical height, horizontal position and the horizontal level of the picture can be achieved in situ after the housing 2 has been fixed to the wall, thereby providing fine tuning of the position of the picture frame 200 on the wall surface. This ability to fine tune the position of the picture frame 200 make the apparatus 1 ideal for mounting and aligning multiple picture frames in close proximity. The method of adjusting the height and level of the picture frame 200 is achieved by the same mechanism, which is easy to use.

Thus preferred embodiments of the present invention have a number of advantages over the prior art comprising:

• improved ease of use in adjusting the vertical and horizontal position (including the horizontal angle of inclination) of a framed picture in situ after fixing of the apparatus of the present invention to a support surface without the use of tools;

• improved range of vertical and horizontal adjustment;

• improved positioning of a framed picture on a support surface by allowing the framed picture to be positioned flush against the support surface thereby eliminating forward tilt; and · relative low cost of manufacture due to a simplistic construction with a minimum of constituent parts.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.