Supports – Mirror or picture type – Bracket
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-06-05
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Mirror or picture type
Bracket
C248S496000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241210
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of the present invention pertains to the art of picture hangers, and securing devices and mounting devices for items that have a substantial vertical aspect. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mounting or positional securing device that can be adjusted to different fixed positions (of the item vis-à-vis the support that it is secured to) without requiring that fastening means into the supporting surface be removed and reaffixed.
The prior art reflects a long-standing endeavor to create mounting devices which simplify the process of positioning and mounting an item and which expand the latitude concerning where and how a mounted, hanging, or otherwise secured item can be repositioned. For example, as has been repeatedly noted in a multitude of patents granted over the last century (including those discussed below, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference), hanging an item such as a picture or painting in a precise desired position on a wall can prove frustrating and time consuming. For one thing, it is often difficult to discern exactly where an item will look best until it has already been hung in the vicinity of the desired position, and then, from the proper perspective, viewed hanging. Even when an exact desired position is known in advance, imprecision or errors in measurement usually occur (to different degrees depending on the hanging hardware used) and commonly prevent that location from actually being obtained on the first try. Finally, even when an exact position is known in advance, and it is satisfactorily obtained through luck or work, the addition or rearrangement of furniture or other hanging items is often discouraged or rendered less attractive because of the disincentive to tamper with the location of the existing item. In addition to the time that is wasted and the less than aesthetically satisfactory arrangements that are often lived with, the removal and reaffixing nails or screws is a common occurrence that causes damage to the wall surface and sometimes failure of support for the hanging item. While prior artisans in the field have long recognized these difficulties and have created myriad devices aimed at solving them, the devices have fallen short of providing satisfactorily robust yet simple ways for the end user to hang an item.
Definitions
The following definitions generally apply throughout this specification to the defined terms themselves as well as their roots, derivatives and other variants, as long as the same concept is sought to be invoked thereby. Also, the definitions of further terms peculiar to this specification will become evident from their usage herein.
First, “automatic” adjustability means that the hanging position of an item can be adjusted (in the applicable directions): (1) without disengaging the item from the support such that letting go of it then would allow it to fall to the ground (i.e., “in situ”), (2) without requiring movement of the hanging item to a position significantly removed from that position being sought, and (3) without requiring direct manipulation (by hand or by tool) of any portion of the device residing substantially recessed (i.e., inconveniently concealed from reach) between the hanging item and the support. Automatic activation of adjustment can be achieved by the user manually applying a selected force or series of forces on the item itself, and/or on a part of the assembly that is conveniently accessible (for example, an activation “trigger” or “lever” placed conveniently at or lying flush or near flush with an item's frame edge). The term “automatic” is not meant to exclude devices which incorporate the automatic nature of the invention taught herein, but simply add an additional locking means technically or nominally requiring some user interaction with a recessed part of the assembly (e.g., an added security locking means that requires a tool for initial unlocking) prior to an otherwise automatic process of adjustment.
Also, “continuous” adjustability means that adjustment occurs over a substantially continuous range rather than falling into a discrete group of selectable positions. This definition is not intended to exclude mechanisms having a minor degree of discontinuities imposed by supplemental means, such as relatively fine incremental teeth, which are added to improve an otherwise continuous mechanism's holding of a vertical position (as exemplified by the embodiment of FIGS.
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Further, when it is indicated herein that an embodiment provides for “ready engagement and disengagement of the item,” or is “readily engageable and disengageable from the support,” or the like, it is meant that an item may be readily hung on a support and removed therefrom as desired, through facile manipulations that do not involve any significant disassembly or any detachment of parts of the assembly affixed to the support or the subject item.
Finally, terms such as “item” and “frame” are used herein with some overlap. For example, depending on the logical context, the term “item” may refer only to an item such as a diploma or picture, or it may also be inclusive of the “frame” in which such an item is framed, and/or inclusive of an attached or incorporated mounting device. Likewise, the term “frame” may refer just to the object in which an item is framed, or it may include the framed item and/or mounting device. These terms are simply chosen as a convenience in illustrating the concepts of the present invention, and are not meant to limit the types of items that may be adjustably held in position thereby. For example, a shelf might be considered a “hanging item” for the purposes of the present invention, despite the fact that it does not have a distinct “frame.”
The Prior Art
The prior art includes a series of patents directed to devices that provide two-way adjustability that is only horizontally continuous and automatic. These patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,120, issued Jan. 2, 1996 to Bruner; U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,599, issued Mar. 23, 1976 to Spier et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,666, issued Nov. 13, 1962 to Morrison; U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,890, issued Aug. 7, 1956 to Sutton et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,602, issued Apr. 3, 1956 to Wofford. The devices taught in each of these patents essentially comprise a first portion having a series of horizontal slots (or pairs of slots) and a second portion comprising an opposing hook(s) or the like which seats in any member of the series of horizontal slots. Some of the aforementioned patents disclose devices with the first portion attached to the wall and the second to the picture, while the others teach the converse arrangement. In either case, a measure of vertical adjustability is provided by disengaging the hanging item and its associated hanging means from the wall support means, and reseating the hook in a different member of the series of horizontal slots. In most of the devices, horizontal adjustability is provided by the hook(s) or the like being free to slide laterally along the horizontal length of the opposing slot(s) with which it is engaged. Most significantly, however, in each of these patents, the vertical adjustability is not substantially continuous in nature, and instead falls into a group of discrete selectable positions. Also, in each of these patents, vertical adjustment requires disengagement of the hanging item from the wall support, meaning that if the person hanging the item were to let go of the item, it would presumably drop to the floor. Moreover, reengagement during vertically adjustment can involve somewhat of a “blind” process.
The prior art also teaches devices which provide for continuous, two-way, but non-automatic adjustability, requiring that adjustments be made directly to an assembly which is not conveniently accessible behind the hanging item. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,284, issued Jan. 9, 1990 to Kelrick, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,388, issued May 7, 1957 to Hirt, both teach devices that allow for continuous, two-way adjustability eff
HangGlider Partners
Ramirez Ramon O.
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