FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to device for hanging items from a wall such as artworks, pictures, certificates or the like.

BACKGROUND

There are proposed numerous solutions for devices for hanging items from a wall such as artwork or certificates, not limiting it two those items. One of the problems encountered s where there is more than one item to be hung and it is desirable to ensure that they are ail hung in a symmetric manner, that is, the items to be hung a e n parallel or at times vertical or even in preferred horizontal spaemg's. Typically one uses a measuring tape to determine the location where one drills a hole to use a fixing means to affix the suspending means, such, as a picture hanger, to ensure that the items when hung will, be aligned, if one ho ever gets the position of the locatio wrong (mostly in the vertical direction) it necessitates re-measuring and re-drilling a hole that is obviousl time consuming and undesirable. Much thus depends on the user accurately measuring the loc ation of the "hook" to be attached to a wall to hang the Hem as well as understanding the tension in the wire or string that typically supports the item being hung.

The present invention is directed to a wall mounted hanger offering adjustability in the hanging positioning of the item such as a picture on a wall. This adjustment need may arise by incorrect positioning of the fixing plug in the wall thus causing the picture to hang either too high or low or even left or right. When attempting to align several pictures, the act of alignment can be cumbersome. To assist with alignment, another fixing point or points may be required resulting in numerous h les in the wall This is completely undesirable.

Even where the hanger is attached to a wall or surface by an adhesive it may he difficult to achieve the correct position and with strong adhesives removing the hanger when adhered to the wail may be difficult or at least potentially cause damage to the wail or surface that, it is adhered to.

The invention is typically intended for the use of hanging a picture weighing under 2kg onto a suitable interna! wail or surface. However thai is not to say that it cannot be used on pictures and the like being substantially heavier. The Intent of this invention is to overcome the issue of difficulty to locate -the exact hanging position on the wall, The invention provides a means for the user to reposition the hook or projection in the correct position without having to re-drill a hol in the wall for the correct placement or to try and remove and reattach a hanger that has been adhered to the surface by the user of glue. Of course it may also apply to any other means of attaching a banger to a surface such as magnetic means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form of the invention there is proposed an adjustable hanger for an item including;

a body having at least one slot adapted to he fixedly engaged by a support thai is attached to a surface;

a projection extending from the body and adapted to support the item;

whereby before, the body is fixediy engaged by the support the body slot can move with respect to the support so as to position the projection in a desirable location.

In preference the support is a fastener having a head and is screwed through the slot and into the surface and where the fastener head li s a footprint that is greater than the width of the slot

In preference the hanger further includes a fixing washer adapted to be engaged by the fastener head, the iking washer engaging the body.

In preference the slot includes integral grooves disposed around the edge of the slot to assist in fictionally engaging the fastener.

In preference the fixing washer has teeth on its underside surface adapted to engage the body. in preference the support is adhesively attached to the surface.

In preference the body can be removably fixed to fee support, in preference the surface is a wail. In preference the surface is a post. In preference the body has at least two projections, each projection located on the outer surface and at the opposite side of the body, fin preference the face of the body adjoining the surface include at least one foot to distance the body form the surface. In preference the foot is made from a soft material such as rubber.

In preference the body has ai least two slots and multiple projections

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention ma e discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to he regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows. It is to be noted that whilst, reference is made to a picture hanger it is not intended to limit it to this but rather to a hanger for any item, Figure 1 illustrates a picture hanger according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a picture hanger of Figure I when it has been adjusted for affixing to a wall;

Figure 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention where there are two means of hanging a picture from the hanger; Figure 4 illustrates the front and side view of the hanger;

Figure 5 illustrates yet a farther embodiment of the invention where there are numerous slots and hanging means embodied in the device;

Figure 6 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention where the support is affixed to the wall by means of an adhesive in an exploded perspective view; and Figure 7 is the support of Figure 6 in an assembled view. DRAWING LABELS

The drawings include Items labeled as follows:

10 device

1.2 body

14 upper end

16 projection

18 slot

20 corrugations or teeth

22 fixing washer

24 second projection

26 rubber or silicon feet

28 cylindrical extension

30 cap

32 ihird projection

34 first slot

36 second slot

38 backing support plate

40 adhesive pad

42 thr aded pin

44 screw holder

46 screw DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same arid like parts. As used herein, any usage of terms that suggest an absolute orientation (e.g. "top", "bottom", "front", "back", "horizontal* ⁵ , etc.} are for illustrative convenience and refer to t orientation shown in a particular figure. However, such terms are not to he construed in a limiting sense as it is contemplated that various components may in practice he utilized in orientations that are the same as, or different than those, described or shown. Dimensions of certain parts shown in the drawmgs may have been modified aad/'or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.

Referring now to drawings in detail there Is shown in Figure 1 a device 10 attaching to a surface such as a wall and for hanging an item (not shown) such as a picture, the device 10 including a body 12, extending from an upper end 14 a projection 16 adapted to provide support tor the item.

The body 12 includes a slot. 18 of a dimension suitable for g fastener such as a screw to pass there through but not too wide so that the head of the fastener cannot pass through the slot 18, Thus the dimension of the slot will be dictated by the weight of the item to be hung for the heavier the item the ^' bigger a fastener will be required. Typically the slot will have a width of around 8mm and a length of some 40 - 60 mm, but again this may be varied.

In use a hole is pre-drilled in the wall and a fastener such as a screw is inserted into the hole through the slot. As the screw is screwed into the wall the device abuts the wail and can then be moved and/or rotated such that the projection 16 is in the right location for supporting a hung item (see Figure 2). The reader should appreciate the advantage of the present invention in that the slot enables the device to be moved up and down and rotated to accommodate for a hole in the wall thai may be located in the wrong position to hold an item. The screw Is then tightened in place ensuring that the device remains fixed in position.

In order for the screw to tightly hold the device on the wall, embedded into the edges of the slot may be located corrugations or teeth 20 to be gripped by the underside of the fastener. To yet further improve the fractional engagement of the fastener to the device, a fixing washer 22 is designed to house a eountersunk p Jlips or similar screw head. The underside of the fixing washer may also include a tooth design on the underside which locates into he body tooth design. The invention allows for the easy adjustment of t e hanging position either in a vertical or horizontal movement.

The invention thus allows for the projection on the body to he repositioned as needed to allow the correct alignment of the hanged item such as a picture by loosening the screw fixing so that the body can he moved and rotated as required and thenmightened. The invention will allow for any mis lacement of the .fixing point. This may be caused due to incorrect drilling into a masonry wall which can easily occur due to either drilling into the mortar or brick. It may also occur when drilling into a plaster board and striking a stud which may prevent the screw from being tightened sufficiently. The invention allows tor the body to be positioned away from the stud and then allow the projection or hook to be positioned as required even though it may He over the stud in the plaster wall.

In another embodiment of the invention and as illustrated in Figure 3 there may be a second projection 24 located at the other end of the body, Rubber feet 26 as illustrated in Figure 4 may be located on the underside of the body.

These rubber feet provide additional grip to assist, with the holding of the picture when not located above the centre fixin point.

The projection 16 typically includes a cylindrical extension 28 at the end of which is located at cap 30 whose footprint is greater than thai of the extension. This ensures that the item hung remains effectively locked in place when hanging on a wall.

In a yet further embodiment of the invention there may be a third central projection 32 separated by two slots 34 and 36 as described above. This is illustrated in Figure 5.

In an alternate embodiment illustrated in Figures and 7 instead of using a fastener to engage the wail one may equally well use an adhesive, A backing support plate 38 is attached to a surface using well-known double sided adhesive pad 40. Extending from the backing support is a threaded pin 4.2 that extends at least partially into the body 12. A screw holder 44 engages the body and a female type screw 46 extends through the screw holder 44 to threadably engage pin 42. By tightening the screw 46 onto the pin 42 the body is firmly affixed to the support plate 38. It is to be understood that the description, above was by way of example only. Oilier ways of fixedly attaching the body to the support may equaliyweU be employed. It is to be understood that the present invention is directed towards a hanger that has a means for moving the projection located on the body to assist in locating the. projection in a desired location without limiting how the support is fixed to the surface such as a waU.

The following description refers to specific dimensions for a hanger that supports a light item such as a small picture. The reader will of course appreciate that this is not intended to be limiting bin rather by way of example only. Thus the body is symmetrical down its length. The cap is a circular disc positioned at one end of typically !2mm diameter that is raised by 5mm from the bod surface forming the projection of the invention by projection 16. The central slot 18 at 45mm centre is positioned along the longitudinal axis of the main body starting from the opposite end to the projection. The central slot is typically 8mm. width with equally spaced teeth 20 along the perimeter of the slot The overall body size is some 30mm width x 90mrn length xl 4mm height. The underside of the body has a rib design again being symmetrical along the longitudinal axis. The underside of the body at the projection end has a silicon disc at 17mm diameter which protrudes by 2mm from the body underside. The opposite end has typically two silicon discs and pads thai provide extra surface friction that assists in holding the body in place when screw fixed to the wall surface. The underside of the fixing washer may have six protruding needles (nor shown) at a height of I ram. which are used to lock the washer from rotating when the screw has been tightened.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described hi what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full, scope o f the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in this field.

The current adjustable wall bangers offer vertical adjustment and or horizontal adjustment, The invention offers vertical, .horizontal and angular adjustment within a certain radius of at least 60mm from the fixing point. This allows a true adjustable picture hanging device for pictures. 'Typically pictures weighing up to 2kg may be supported although other weights may be supported provide that engineering calculations are performed.

In the present specification and claims (if a ty), the word "comprising" and its derivatives including "comprises" and "comprise" include each of the stated integers but does mi exclude the inclusion of erne or more farther integers.