The present invention relates to a hanging device for mounting an object on a wall, comprising an intermediate body having on the one hand mounting means for receiving the object thereon and on the other a fixing opening for receiving a shank of a fixing member which is able and configured to connect the intermediate body permanently to the wall.

Such a hanging device can be applied particularly to hang paintings, mirrors and other such objects on a wall of a space. An existing hanging device comprises a hook body from which extends a hook on which the object can be received, wherein the hook body is provided with a bore through which a shank of a fixing member, such as a nail or screw, can be received, whereby the hook body is fixed permanently to the wall. The fixing member is received here in a drilled hole prearranged in the wall or itself forces a hole therein. Although the hook body will thus be connected permanently to the wall, the object remains freely removable by hand so that it can for instance be replaced by another object after a period of time, and the mounting of the object on the wall does not therefore cause any damage to the object itself.

A drawback of the known hanging device is however that, when more than one object has to be hung in the same space, the drilled hole or cavity in the wall for the purpose of fixing the hook body has to be arranged extremely accurately and mutually aligned with corresponding drilled hole or cavities for other objects. If the object is mounted via a cord, it is moreover necessary here to make allowance for a certain stretch in the cord which can vary from object to object depending on the weight of the object.

The present invention has for its object, among others, to provide a hanging device for mounting an object on a wall with which this and other drawbacks are obviated to at least significant extent. In order to achieve the stated object a hanging device of the type described in the preamble has the feature according to the invention that the fixing opening of the intermediate body comprises an elongate slotted opening with a wall thickness decreasing from a first outer end to a second outer end, and that the mounting means for mounting the object are provided on a side of the intermediate body remote from the first outer end. Because of the slot-like fixing opening the intermediate body thus provides for an adjustment option with which the intermediate body, and thereby a hanging height of the object to be mounted thereon, can also still be adjusted at a later time. Because the wall thickness of the slotted opening increases toward the first outer end and a load exerted by the object engages on a side remotely thereof on the intermediate body, the intermediate body will clamp fixedly under a head of the fixing member, such as a nail and preferably a screw, under the influence of this load. A hanging height of the object can thus be lowered or raised by having the fixing member respectively protrude further or less far from the wall. This adjustment option provides a solution when a number of objects have to be hung adjacently of or close to each other at the same height in a space, but also when the object is replaced by another object which causes more or less stretch in a hanging cord or has different dimensions.

In a preferred embodiment the hanging device according to the invention is characterized in that the intermediate body comprises a monolithic body in which both the slotted opening and the mounting means are formed, which monolithic body has a thickness gradually decreasing between the first outer end and the second outer end. Such a monolithic intermediate body provides strength and it is found in practice that it can be manufactured at a relatively favourable cost price. Use is made particularly here of an intermediate body of a suitable plastic which can be realized for instance by injection moulding in a single manufacturing step.

In order to save material in the intermediate body, according to a further preferred embodiment of the hanging device according to the invention good use is made of the decreasing thickness of the body in the direction from the first outer end to the second outer end of the slotted opening. The hereby resulting space is utilized in this further preferred embodiment of the hanging device according to the invention in that the intermediate body comprises at the position of the mounting means a shoulder with a height which does not exceed a thickness of the body at the first outer end of the slotted opening. The

intermediate body is thus bounded between two planes which lie at a distance from each other which is defined by a thickness of the body at the first outer end of the slotted opening, while the decreasing wall thickness within allows a shoulder of the fixing member on which the object can be received.

A particular embodiment of the hanging device has the feature according to the invention that the mounting means comprise a disc-like part which extends adjacency of the second outer end of the intermediate body and has in at least a part of a periphery thereof a peripheral groove for receiving a hanging cord of the object therein. The intermediate body can thus remain relatively flat without sharp protruding parts, and can moreover be manufactured in relatively advantageous manner. ΐη order to simplify mutual adjustment and readjustment of objects a further preferred embodiment of the hanging device according to the invention has the feature that on at least one longitudinal side of the slotted opening a visually discernible scale division is arranged between the first outer end and the second outer end of the slotted opening. An immediately discernible feedback for an adjustment of the hanging device is thus possible as soon as the fixing member is forced further into the wall or moved away therefrom. This feedback can be compared one-on-one to an intended height adjustment of the object on the wall. The intermediate body can be manufactured not only from plastic but for instance also from metal. A particular preferred embodiment of the hanging device has for this purpose the feature that the intermediate body comprises a bent metal body, a first part and a second part of which gradually come closer to each other between the first outer end and the second outer end. The metal body is for instance a strip-like body punched from a plate and subsequently bent with a gradually decreasing, i.e. narrowing, progression. The mounting means preferably likewise comprise an upward bent part of the body on an opposite side which thus forms a hook on which the object can be received.

For fixing of the hanging body use is preferably made of a screw which can optionally be screwed via a plug body into the wall, but which can also be rotated back out of the wall by an opposite screwing movement in order to realize a correct hanging height.

The invention will now be further elucidated on the basis of several exemplary

embodiments and an associated drawing, in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of a hanging device according to the invention;

figure 2 shows a longitudinal section of the hanging device of figure 1 ;

figure 3 is a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of a hanging

device according to the invention; and

figure 4 shows a longitudinal section of the hanging device of figure 3.

Tt is noted that the drawings are purely schematic and not drawn to scale. Some dimensions in particular may be exaggerated to greater or lesser extent for the sake of clarity.

Corresponding parts are designated in the figures with the same reference numeral. Figure 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a hanging device according to the invention. The device of this embodiment comprises a monolithic intermediate body 20 formed wholly from a suitable plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene. The body is advantageously produced in a single manufacturing step, for instance by injection moulding of the respective plastic in a suitable mould, whereby a cost price thereof can remain exceptionally low. Intermediate body 20 of this embodiment typically has a length in the order of 45 millimetres and a width in the order of 15 millimetres, although if desired these dimensions can of course be chosen differently from case to case. A slotted opening 25 extends in body 20 from a first outer end 21 to a second outer end 22. The slotted opening has a length in the order of 25 millimetres and a width which is sufficient to receive a shank of a suitable fixing member such as a screw or nail therein, while a head of the fixing means protrudes outside the slot and, when fixed in a wall, will ultimately hook behind opening 25. A wall thickness of the slotted opening, i.e. in the present embodiment a local body thickness of the monolithic solid body 20, runs gradually according to the invention from first outer end 21 toward second outer end 22. This is indicated clearly in the longitudinal section shown in figure 2. The wall thickness, or body thickness, Wl amounts at first outer end 21 to the order of 3 millimetres and runs in linear manner toward second outer end 22 to a thickness W2 in the order of less than 2 millimetres. In order to mount an object on a wall of for instance a space, the intermediate body is fixed to the wall roughly at a desired height at the intended location. The intermediate body is screwed here against the wall with a suitable screw member, such as a wood screw, which penetrates optionally via a plug into the wall. On a side remote from first outer end 21 intermediate body 20 has mounting means for receiving the object, such as for instance a painting, thereon. In the present embodiment these mounting means comprise a disc-like part 26 of the body which as such protrudes a little in relation to the adjacent part of body 20. A peripheral edge of this part 26 thus comprises a shoulder 28 in which a peripheral groove is provided in order to receive therein a hanging cord of the object for hanging. As the screw is driven further into the wall, an intermediate space between a head thereof and the wall will decrease, whereby the intermediate body is urged upward until the shank of the screw reaches second outer end 22. The increasing wall thickness of the slotted opening in the direction toward the first outer end ensures that intermediate body 20 will clamp fixedly behind the screw head, particularly under the influence of the weight (i.e. the gravitational force) of the object engaging on disc-like part 26. As the screw is driven less far into the wall, or is screwed back out of the wall, the higher this point will lie in slotted opening 25, so that after the intermediate body has been fixed a height adjustment of the object nevertheless remains possible over a distance defined by the slot length of slotted opening 25. It will be apparent that this height adjustment can be greater or smaller by making the intermediate body longer or shorter in order to provide therein respectively a longer or shorter slotted opening with a wall thickness decreasing along the length thereof.

In order to simplify a later adjustment of the object over a predetermined distance, a scale division 29 in millimetres is provided on at least one of the longitudinal sides of the slotted opening so that no further aids are required for this purpose. The intermediate body comprises in disc-like part 26 a central drilled hole 27 in which an additional fixing member such as a screw, spike or nail can be received and driven into the wall so that the body is fixed against a rotation on the wall. A second embodiment of a hanging device according to the invention is shown in figures 3 and 4, respectively in perspective and in longitudinal section. The application and the use thereof are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, so that for the sake of brevity reference is made thereto. In this embodiment the intermediate body is formed from a metal strip body 40 which has for instance been released from a plate body of for instance optionally preserved steel, stainless steel or aluminium by punching. An elongate slotted opening 45 runs centrally in the strip body.

Strip body 40 is bent about halfway along and thus comprises a first part 41 and a second part 42 on either side of a fold 43. Both parts are bent further here to some extent relative to each other so that they come closer to each other between fold 43 and a second outer end 44. A wall thickness of slotted opening 45 is formed by a total span of the two parts 41, 42 of strip body 40, see also figure 4. The wall thickness thus runs from a value Wl of about 5 millimetres close to fold 43 to about 2 to 3 millimetres at second outer end 44. At second outer end 44 the second part 42 of strip body 40 is bent round once again in order to form a hook 46 here as mounting means for an object to be hung thereon. A hanging cord of the object can for instance be received for this purpose in a bowl 48 formed inside the hook. Slotted opening 45 continues into this hook part 46 so that a second fixing member can if desired be driven therein for further fixation of intermediate body 40 to the wall. Although the invention has been further elucidated above on the basis of only several embodiments, it will be apparent that the invention is by no means limited thereto. On the contrary, many variations and embodiments can still be envisaged and are possible within the scope of the invention for a person with ordinary skill in the art.