Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a wall mount system for mounting an item on a wall and to use of a wall mount system according to the present invention for holding gaming units such as PlayStations, Wiis, Xboxes or controllers on a wall.

Background art It is well known that most electrical items such as televisions or similar need wall mounts in order to hang on a wall. Hence, all television sets adapted to hang on a wall have various means for connecting to such wall mounts. However, an increasing number of items, e.g. gaming stations, are delivered without such connecting means, because the manufacturer thought of them as being intended to stand on a shelf or similar substantially horizontally arranged means. This renders it difficult for a user to freely furnish and arrange the room in which e.g. the gaming station is positioned in accordance with his/her requirements.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to wholly or partly overcome the above disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. More specifically, it is an object to provide an improved wall mount that does not require specially adapted means on the item to be hung on the wall for connecting to the wall mount.

The above objects, together with numerous other objects, advantages, and features, which will become evident from the below description, are accomplished by a solution in accordance with the present invention by a wall mount system for mounting an item on a wall, comprising :

- at least one mounting member comprising a front surface and a back surface,

- a tensioning member comprising a first face and a second face, and

- at least a first cord having connected cord ends forming an endless cord, wherein the at least one cord in the mounted state of the wall mount system is arranged to be in contact with the back surface of mounting member(s) and the second face of the tensioning member. In this way it is achieved that the cord is kept in a position that allows the item to be mounted by the wall mount system in a certain position. Furthermore, the at least one cord may be forced around the item in order not only to keep the item at a certain vertical position but also to keep the item close to the wall. The cord may hold the item by the lower corners of the item and in this way ensure a desired vertical position.

The mounting member(s) may comprise an inclined back surface. Moreover, the second face of the tensioning member may be is inclined.

Further, the inclination a of the second face of the tensioning and/or the back surface of the mounting member may be 15° to 80°, or 20° to 70°, preferably 25° to 60°, or more preferred 30° to 50°.

In addition, the back face, i.e. the friction surface of the tensioning member, may comprise cut-outs.

In this way it is achieved that small sections of the cord may be forced into the cut-outs and thereby lock the cord in relation to the tensioning member.

The outer perimeter of the mounting member(s) and the tensioning member may be round, triangular, square or multifaceted. In a substantially round embodiment, the mounting member and/or the tensioning member may have a diameter of 10 mm to 50 mm, 15 mm to 40 mm, or 20 mm to 30 mm.

The mounting member and/or the tensioning member may be made from a number of materials such as POM, plastic and polymers suitable for injection moulding, stainless steel, and metals such as brass, copper or composites.

Furthermore, the members may be made of wood. Also, the friction surface may be uniformly distributed at least on a part of the back face of the tensioning member. Furthermore, the wall mount system further comprises a second cord.

Additionally, the mounting member(s) may have a back surface that is substantially parallel to the wall from the perimeter of mounting member to the shoulder of the back surface. In this way the cord may slide freely on the shoulder without being restricted in the longitudinal direction of the cord.

The cords or wires may be made of nylon, cotton, bast fibre or steel. Moreover, the second cord may be connected with the first cord .

In addition, the ends of the cord may be held together by welding, gluing, heat- shrinkable tubing or by splicing. Furthermore, the cord ends may be sewed together. The sewing may be carried out by an automatic industrial sewing machine.

Further, the wall mount system may comprise at least one disc, a pressure disc, to be arranged between the wall and the mounting member and/or the tensioning member. In this way, it is achieved that the wall mount system may spread the load from the cord via the pressure disc. The pressure disc may be arranged in a non-rotatable manner on the tensioning member. The pressure disc may comprise friction on the side of the disc arranged to be in contact with the cord(s). Also, the mounting member may comprise a shoulder.

In this way, it is achieved that the cord may slide on the backside of the mounting member. Hence, before tightening the cord to be firmly positioned between the wall and the tensioning member, the cord may be slid in order to adjust the level of the item to be held by the wall mount system.

The mounting member may comprise an annular shoulder.

Moreover, the tensioning member and/or the mounting member(s) may comprise a central aperture. In this way, it is achieved that the members may be easily affixed to a surface, e.g. a wall, by means of a screw, a nail or similar. The edges of the aperture may be chamfered. Furthermore, the cord(s) may be tied together in a connection point such as a knot or similar. In this way, it is achieved that one or two cord(s) may form loops and/or form loops of equal length to grasp the lower corners of an item such as a gaming station. Also, the cord(s) end(s) may be glued or knitted together to form an endless cord/endless cords

Moreover, the cord(s) may have a diameter of 0.5 mm to 10.0 mm, or 1.0 mm to 7.5 mm, or 1.5 mm to 5.0 mm.

In addition, the cord(s) may be in contact with less than 180° of the perimeter at the point of contact of the back surface i.e. the cord(s) may not encircle the mounting member and/or the tensioning member. Also, the cord(s) may be slidably arranged before the item is mounted in the cord(s).

Furthermore, the cords may be made of nylon, leather or stainless steel. The cord(s) may be an endless cord/endless cords.

Moreover, the substantially vertical side of the item to be mounted may be in contact with the cord(s). In this way, positioning along the horizontal axis is achieved.

The present invention also relates to use of the wall mount system as described above for holding gaming units such as PlayStations, Wiis, Xboxes or controllers on a wall. Brief description of the drawings

The invention and its many advantages will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which for the purpose of illustration show some non-limiting embodiments and in which

Fig. 1 shows a wall mount system according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of the wall mount system comprising two cords,

Fig. 3 shows the embodiment of the wall mount system of Fig. 1 holding a gaming station, e.g. a Sony PlayStation, Fig. 4 shows the embodiment of the wall mount system of Fig. 2 holding a gaming station, e.g. an Xbox,

Fig. 5 shows the back surface of a mounting member, Fig. 6 shows the second face of a tensioning member,

Figs. 7A and 7B show side views of further embodiments of the tensioning member in particular to show the second face of a mounting member, and Figs. 8A and 8B show a cord locked between the tensioning member and a wall.

All the figures are highly schematic and not necessarily to scale, and they show only those parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the invention, other parts being omitted or merely suggested.

Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 shows a wall mount system 1 for mounting an item on a wall 2. In this embodiment, the wall mount system comprises two mounting members 3 each having a front surface 4 and a back surface 5 (not visible). Furthermore, the system comprises a tensioning member 6 having a first face 7 and a second face 8 (not visible). The second face 8 is also a friction face. The mounting members 3 and the tensioning member all comprise chamfered edges 9 around a centrally arranged aperture 10 (not visible). The mounting members 3 and the tensioning member 6 are mounted on the wall 2 by means of a screw 11 inserted in the aperture. In this embodiment, the fastening means, i.e. the screw 11, is the same for all members, but may, in other embodiments, be different. A first cord 12 and a second cord 13 are hanging on the mounting members 3. Both cords 12, 13 are guided under the tensioning member 6. It is shown that the first cord

12 is shorter than the second cord 13. Both the first cord 12 and the second cord

13 have connected ends so as to form a first loop and a second loop, respectively. The point of assembly of the cord ends are not shown in detail and may be carried out in various ways, e.g. by a nut, by glue or by splicing them together.

The part of each loop being near the members may be named the upper loop parts 14, 15 and the parts being substantially below the tensioning member 6 may be named the lower loop parts 16, 17. Considering that each loop 12, 13 is arranged above the mounting members 3 and below the tensioning member 6, the lower loop parts 16, 17 are arranged substantially below the tensioning member 6 seen horizontally. It is shown that the lowermost points of each loop 12, 13 are substantially above each other seen along the vertical line VL. It is to be understood throughout all embodiments of the present wall mount system that the cords may be wound around the members. Hence, it is shown that cords 12, 13 in the mounted state of the wall mount system 1 are arranged to be in contact with the back surface of mounting members 3 and the second face of the tensioning member 6. The tensioning member 6 comprises a friction surface, and in this way it is achieved that the cords 12, 13 are kept in a position that allows the item (not shown) to be mounted in the desired position. In the following figures, it will be shown that the cords may be forced around the item in order not only to keep the item at a certain vertical position but also to keep the item close to the wall. The cord may hold the item by the lower corners of the item and in this way ensure a desired vertical position. As will be explained later, the cords 12, 13 are arranged behind the members between the wall and the members. Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of the wall mount system 1. In this embodiment the system comprises two mounting members 3 and a tensioning member 6 similar to that of Fig. 1. However, in this embodiment the system may comprise either two or just one cord. In an embodiment comprising two cords, a first cord 12 and a second cord 13are held together at a connection point 20. The connection point 20 serves to split the cords 12, 13 in a manner that provides two lower loop parts 16, 17 having substantially the same length and therefore having their lowermost points at the substantially same vertical level. Hence, the lower loop part 16, 17 may each grasp e.g. a corner of an item (shown in detail later). Fig. 2 may also show that just one cord is used, i.e. that the first and the second cord 12, 13 are combined to one cord. In such embodiment, the connection part may be arranged in a manner that causes the cord to cross from the one side of the vertical line VL to the other.

Fig. 3 shows the wall mount system of Fig. 1 when mounted with a gaming station 30 (shown with dotted lines). It is shown that the gaming station, e.g . a PlayStation, comprises an annular recess 31 in which the cords 12, 13 are arranged. The first cord 12 is positioned between the wall 2 and the tensioning member 6 and the mounting members 3. Furthermore, the first cord 12 is arranged horizontally below the centre of the tensioning member 6 and around the mounting members 3 and in the uppermost part of the recess 31 of the gaming station. In this way, the gaming station 30 is firmly kept in place on the wall 2. The second cord 13 is, in a similar manner, arranged horizontally below the centre of the tensioning member 6 and above the centre of the mounting members 3. As will be shown later, both the mounting members 3 and the tensioning member 6 may have a shoulder that keeps the cord in a desired position in relation to the radial extension of each member 3, 6. In order to hold the item 30, i.e. the gaming station, horizontally arranged, the second cord 13 is arranged in the lowermost part of the recess 31 of the gaming station 30. Hence, the upper part of the second cord 13 is mainly behind the gaming station 30. The lower part of the second cord 13 is partly arranged on the exterior of the sides of the gaming station and partly on the lowermost part of the recess 31.

Fig. 4 shows the wall mount system shown in Fig. 2 holding an item 30 such as a gaming station, e.g. an Xbox, on a wall 2. The item 30, e.g. the Xbox, does not have a recess like the PlayStation, and hence the lowermost cord parts 16, 17 are wrapped around the corners 40, 41 of the gaming station 30. It will be understood that other items may have similar properties and may be held in a similar way. In order for this embodiment to function, the connection part 20 is arranged in such way that the two lower loop parts 16, 17 are of substantially equal length.

Fig. 5 shows the back surface of a mounting member 3. It is seen that the mounting member 3 comprises a shoulder 51 on which cords rest or are wound (not shown). The extension of the shoulder 51 is related to the cord because the cord may slide freely on the shoulder 51 in order to level the item to be mounted by the system. It is seen that the outer perimeter 50 of the mounting member is round, but the outer perimeter may have various shapes such as triangular, square, multifaceted or curved. A centrally arranged aperture 10 is seen extending from the front surface 4 of the mounting member through the body of the member to the back surface 5, i.e. through the extended part forming the shoulder 51. Fig. 6 shows the second face of a tensioning member 6. It is seen that the tensioning member 6 comprises a shoulder 61. However, contrary to the mounting member, the cord may not rest fully on the shoulder 61. The shoulder 61 extends less from the second face of the tensioning member 6 compared to the shoulder of the mounting member. This is due to the fact that it is desired to have the cord forced in between the wall (not shown) and the second face of the tensioning member 6. In this way, the cord is kept fixed in a desired position.

Similar to the mounting member in Fig. 5, it is seen that the outer perimeter 50 (see Fig. 5) of the tensioning member is round, but the outer perimeter may have various shapes such as triangular, square, multifaceted or curved. A centrally arranged aperture 10 is seen extending from the first face 7 of the tensioning member through the body of the member to the second face 8, i.e. through the extended part forming the shoulder 61. A number of equidistantly arranged friction cut-outs 62 are arranged in a part of the second face 8 of the tensioning member. The cut-outs 62 may have various shapes such as oval, round, square, straight recesses extending radially or wobbling recesses extending substantially radially. The cut-outs 62 are adapted to have edges 63 firmly grabbing the cord when the cord is forced towards the centre of the tensioning member and hence pressed between the wall 2 (not shown) and the tensioning member 6. In this way, it is achieved that small sections of the cord may be forced into the cut-outs 62 and thereby lock the cord in relation to the tensioning member 6. The effect of these cut-outs 62 is further enhanced by having the second face 8 arranged with an inclination in relation to the wall. The inclination of the second face is arranged in such a manner that the distance to the wall gets smaller the closer you get to the centre of the tensioning member 6. Hence, when a cord is drawn towards the centre of the tensioning member, e.g. by the weight of the item to be held, the cord will be better and better locked from sliding on the second surface in a substantially horizontal direction of the tensioning member 6. The harder the cord is pushed towards the centre of the member, the stronger the locking between the tensioning member 6 and the cord. The inclination of the second face 8 of the tensioning member 6 and/or the back surface of the mounting member may be 15° to 80°, or 20° to 70°, preferably 25° to 60°, or more preferred 30° to 50°.

In Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the shown mounting member 3 and the shown tensioning member 6 may be made from a number of materials such as POM, plastic and polymers suitable for injection moulding, stainless steel, and metals such as brass, copper or composites. Furthermore, the members may be made of wood.

Figs. 7A and 7B show different embodiments of the tensioning member 6. The friction of the second face 8 is provided by longitudinal cut-outs 62, i.e. grooves of different shapes. In Fig. 7A, the cut-outs 62, or grooves, follow a radial path.

In Fig. 7B, the cut-outs 62 are wobbling grooves hence following a curved path although still in a general radial direction. The cut-outs 62, i.e. the wobbling grooves of Fig. 7B, may provide friction not only in a direction perpendicular to the radial direction but also in a radial direction. Fig. 7A shows the inclination a of the second face 8. In this embodiment, the inclination is approximately 45°.

Fig. 8A shows a cord 12/cords 12, 13 forced in the space between the wall 2 and the second face 8 of the tensioning member 6. It is seen that the cord 12/the cords 12, 13 has/have bulging areas 80 that extend into the cut-outs 62. In this way the cord 12/the cords 12, 13 is/are prevented from sliding along the longitudinal direction of the cord.

Fig. 8B shows a side view from which it is seen that the cord 12/the cords 12, 13 is/are pressed in a way that the cord(s) is/are no longer round but oval or similar. This is due to a pull in the cord 12/the cords 12, 13 in the direction of the arrow Al . The stronger the pull, the more the cord 12/the cords 12, 13 will be forced towards the narrowing space near the centre axis of the tensioning member 6. Therefore, the edges of the cut-outs will be forced into the cord(s) and the cord(s) will be better and better locked against sliding along the longitudinal direction of the cord.

Although the invention has been described in the above in connection with preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be evident for a person skilled in the art that several modifications are conceivable without departing from the invention as defined by the following claims.