The present invention relates to an apparatus for mounting photographs to a surface, and relates particularly, but not exclusively to a frameless, adjustable, self-levelling mount for displaying photographs on a vertical surface in either portrait or landscape orientation.

Conventional photo frames generally hold a photograph in a frame behind glass or clear plastic. The photo must therefore first be mounted in the frame and the frame then hung on a picture hook on a wall or other vertical surface such as the door of a refrigerator. Finally, the framed photograph must be levelled.

If a different photograph is to be mounted in the frame, it can be a time consuming process to remove the first photograph, insert a second photograph and re-hang the frame. Various solutions have been proposed to simplify the hanging of photographs and pictures on walls or other surfaces.

US445305 describes a picture hanger having two arms which are pivotally interconnected at their mid-points such that they can take any angle relative to each other. The arms are also telescopically extendable.

This hanger suffers from the drawbacks that there is no levelling mechanism to ensure that the arms are at equal angles and the hanger must also be hung on a wall in a conventional way with a cord. The picture held also cannot be changed without removing the apparatus from the wall and releasing the clamping mechanism. US20130097906 describes a picture frame which can be attached to a wall in manner that enables the frame to be rotated between portrait and landscape orientations without removing the frame from the wall. This frame also enables the changing of the picture in the frame without removal.

This frame suffers from the drawback that it has fixed outer dimensions and therefore can only hold pictures having dimensions smaller than that defined by the frame.

Conventional photo frames also often have other disadvantages. For example, they usually cannot readily accommodate small variations in photo size and they often have clips or hold a photographs in tension which can cause damage.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention seeks to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for mounting photographs to a surface, the apparatus comprising: support means defining a first guide slot and a second guide slot arranged in a non-parallel orientation to said first guide slot; first and second support arms pivotally interconnected by a first pin, wherein said first pin is slidably disposed in said first guide slot; at least one retaining member arranged to hold an edge of a photograph; wherein said first and second support arms each comprise respective first and second engaging members disposed thereon, and wherein each said first and second engaging member is slidably disposed in said second guide slot.

This provides the advantage of an apparatus for mounting photographs, cards or other items such as CDs to a wall that is self-levelling and adjustable to hold different sizes of photo. By providing first and second support arms pivotally interconnected at a first pin which is slidably disposed in a first guide slot and engaging members disposed on the first and second support arms which are slidably disposed in the second guide slot, this provides the advantage that when one of the support arms is moved, the other support arm automatically pivots and moves by the same amount such that the angles defined between the arms are always equal. Once the apparatus is mounted to a wall and has been initially levelled, any photograph held in the frame whether in portrait or landscape orientation is always therefore plumb and level.

This also provides the advantage that it is very straightforward to remove and replace different photographs in the apparatus in either portrait or landscape orientation. Furthermore, this provides the advantage that several mounting apparatuses can be grouped together to display several photographs in a more flexible manner than existing multi- aperture frames. Such multi-aperture frames have the inflexibility of using predetermined photograph orientations. On the other hand, using several apparatuses mounted to a surface in a line or other arrangement enables the selection of multiple different photograph orientations to be presented in a display which can be continually changed if required without removing and replacing the apparatuses.

In a preferred embodiment, the support means is a T-shaped bracket .

In a preferred embodiment, said first and second guide slots are substantially perpendicular. The apparatus may further comprise at least one retaining member disposed at each end of said first and second support arms .

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a third guide slot arranged substantially parallel to said first guide slot, wherein a third engaging member is slidably disposed in said third guide slot.

In a preferred embodiment, said first and second support arms are telescopically extendible.

This provides the advantage of extending the range of sizes of photograph that can be held in the apparatus. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a spacer member mountabie between a surface in use and said support means.

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises an alignment slot formed in said spacer member, wherein a second pin is mountabie through said alignment slot in a surface to fix said apparatus to the surface and wherein said second pin is slidable in said alignment slot to enable initial vertical alignment of the apparatus.

This provides the advantage of a straightforward means of ensuring vertical alignment of the apparatus. Once initial vertical alignment has been completed, the second pin can be tapped home to fix the aligned apparatus against a surface.

Said second pin may be mountable in a wall to fix said apparatus to a wall.

The apparatus may further comprising an adhesive or magnetic mounting portion to fix said apparatus to a surface. This provides the advantage of enabling the apparatus to be mounted non-destructively for example to a hard metallic surface such as the door of a refrigerator.

At least one retaining member may be disposed on the support means .

This provides the advantage of enabling different arrangements of apparatus to hold photographs. A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an apparatus for mounting photographs to a wall embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1 in the assembled condition holding a photograph shown in phantom lines in portrait orientation; Figure 3a is a front view corresponding to Figure 2;

Figure 3b is a view from underneath corresponding to Figure 3a; Figure 4a is a front view of the apparatus holding a photograph in landscape orientation;

Figure 4b is a view from underneath corresponding to Figure 4a;

Figure 5a is a rear view of the apparatus shown holding a photograph in portrait orientation;

Figure 5b is a side view corresponding to Figure 5a;

Figure 6 is a rear view of the apparatus shown holding a photograph in landscape orientation;

Figure 7 is a front view of the apparatus shown holding a larger photograph in portrait orientation with telescopic arms extended;

Figure 8 is a front view of the apparatus shown holding a larger photograph in landscape orientation with telescopic arms extended; Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of a photograph with mounting border and backing to be assembled to the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the apparatus having a magnetic or adhesive strip for use in mounting to a surface.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an apparatus 2 for mounting a photograph 4 (shown in phantom lines throughout) to a surface comprises support means 6 defining a first guide slot 8 and a second guide slot 10 arranged in a non-parallel orientation to the first guide slot 8. A first support arm 12 is pivotally interconnected to a second support arm 14 by a first pin 16. In the assembled condition as shown in Figure 2, the first pin 16 is slidably disposed in first guide slot 8.

At least one retaining member 18 is provided to hold an edge of a photograph as will be explained in further detail below. In the embodiment shown, retaining members 18 are disposed at each end of the first and second support arms 12, 14. The first and second support arms 12, 14 each comprise respective first and second engaging members 20 and 22, wherein each said engaging member is slidably disposed in the second guide slot 10.

Engaging members 20 and 22 are formed from stud members having shafts which are held in the respective support arms by corresponding retainers 24 and 26. Alternatively, small nuts and bolts could be used. The second slot 10 may be either continuous or formed in two sections as shown in Figure 1. Preferably, the second slot 10 is disposed perpendicularly to the first slot 8. A boss 28 is formed on the second support arai 14 to engage with a corresponding boss (not shown) formed on the underside of first support arm 12. The arms 12 and 14 may be formed from the same mould with one turned over for assembly.

To mount the apparatus 2 to a wall, the first pin 16 projects through first and second support arms 12, 14, through the support means 6, which in the embodiment shown is a T shaped bracket, through a spacer member 30, washer 32 and into a wall or other surface on which the apparatus is to be mounted. Spacer member 30 holds third engaging member 36 and first pin 16 in position relative to the wall or surface in use ensuring that the support means 6 cannot rotate to therefore force support means 6 to slide along the axis defined by first pin 16 and third engaging member 36. In this regard, a third guide slot 34 is arranged substantially parallel to the first guide slot 8 to slidably retain third engaging member 36 and retainer 38. Spacer member 30 comprises an alignment slot 40 through which a second pin 42 mountable into a wall is disposed. During mounting of the apparatus 2 to a wall, the user can pivot the apparatus slightly about first pin 16 whilst the second pin 42 slides in slot 40 to enable the apparatus to be correctly vertically aligned.

The first and second support arms 12 and 14 each comprise telescopic extensions 44 which are held at a desired extension from the arm by the interaction between resilient tabs (not shown) disposed inside the arms and notches 46. In the embodiment shown, retaining members 18 are formed from pins having heads 48 and shafts 50. The shafts 50 are mountable in holes 52 formed at the end of each arm extension 44 and when inserted, define a groove 53 (Figure 2) sized to hold the edge of a photograph and any backing or framing.

With reference to the drawings, the mounting of the apparatus 2 to a wall and adjustment to hold a photograph will now be described. The apparatus is held against a wall and first pin 16 and second pin 42 are loosely tapped into the wall such that the apparatus can swing about first pin 16 and second pin 42 is slidable in adjustment slot 40. When the user is satisfied that the apparatus is vertically aligned, for example by using a spirit level, the second pin 42 can be fully tapped into the wall.

In this configuration, if a user for example holds first support arm 12 and pivots it about first pin 16, engaging member 22 is caused to slide along second slot 10. This sliding motion along second slot 10 of engaging member 22 either pushes the support bracket 6 up or down such that first pin 16 and third engaging member 36 ride along their respective slots. The movement of the support bracket 6 causes the other engaging member 20 to slide along second slot 10 and therefore move the second support arm 14 by exactly the same amount as the first support arm 12 has been moved by the user to always make the angles defined between arms 12 and 14 equal.

For example, referring to Figures 3a and 4a, if a user pivots first support arm 12 clockwise in the direction of arrow A, engaging member 22 slides to the right in the drawing along second slot 10 and pulls support bracket 6 downwardly in the direction of arrow B. This causes sliding interaction between second slot 10 and other engaging member 20 of second support arm 14 to cause second support arm 14 to rotate in an anticlockwise direction as shown in arrow C of Figure 4a. This therefore moves the photograph orientation from portrait to landscape. A certain amount of frictional resistance can be provided to enable secure holding of photographs. Referring to Figures 7 and 8, telescopic arm extensions 44 are shown in an extended condition to hold a larger photograph 54.

Referring to Figure 9, in some instances, photographic prints might be made on relatively thin paper. To strengthen the photograph 4, a card backing 56 can be positioned behind photograph 4. To increase the aesthetic appeal of the displayed photograph, a frame 58 can be held in retaining member 18. Referring to Figure 10, an alternative embodiment of apparatus 60 has many parts in common with the embodiment of apparatus 2 with the exception that an adhesive or magnetic strip 62 is used to mount the apparatus to a surface. To facilitate this, rather than having first pin 16 which is tapped into a wall, the first pin 16 is replaced by a shaft 64 which pivotally connects the first and second arms 12 and 14. Shaft 64 projects through a wall mounting bracket 66, to the underside of which the adhesive arm magnetic strip 62 is attached. To enable vertical alignment, a second shaft 68 replaces second pin 42 of the Figure 1 embodiment. In use, the adhesives or magnetic strip 62 is pressed against a surface to which the apparatus is to be mounted and vertical alignment is conducted using second shaft 68 slideable in slot 40.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, embodiments are envisaged in which at least one retaining member 18 is disposed on an extended part of support means 6. Also, the guide slots do not have to be perpendicular. It has been found that an acute angle between the first and second guide slots 8 and 10 will also work.

Furthermore, the mechanism described could also be scaled up to hold larger objects such as monitors, mirrors, framed pictures and flat screen televisions or scaled down to hold smaller items such as business cards. The apparatus is also not limited to holding rectangular or square objects. Circular, oval or other shaped objects can also be mounted in the apparatus .