AU656646B2

AU656646B2 - Games board mounting bracket

Info

Publication number: AU656646B2
Application number: AU30418/92A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Thomas Edward Guy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-12-23
Filing date: 1992-12-23
Publication date: 1995-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 2012-12-23
Also published as: AU3041892A

Description

C1-l _I U-Q ii 656646

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: rr o r r r D c~ r r oa THOMAS EDWARD GUY THOMAS EDWARD GUY CULLEN

CO.,

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

GAMES BOARD MOUNTING BRACKET 0* Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Applications: No. PL0150 Filed 23 December, 1992 No. PL2714 Filed 2 June, 1992 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:a, C S SC 2 THIS INVENTION relates to a mounting for attaching a games board to a wall or other surfaces.

The invention will be described by way of example with reference to mounting a dart board but it should be appreciated that the mounting of the invention may be used for game boards other than dart boards and the description in relation to dart boards is given by way of example only.

The conventional dart board is a pig bristle board with a particle board backing and has a wire grid for lQ demarking scoring zones. The dart board is mounted to a wall by fastening a screw in the centre of the back of a dart board and fitting the head of the screw into a groove in a bracket which is fixed to the wall. The bracket is fixed to the wall at the height of 176 cm so that the mounted board is at the 1i regulation height of 173 cm from the centre of the board to the floor. Generally three spacers are fastened by screws at predetermined positioio around the periphery of the back of the dart board. The spacers are 7 inches from the central screw and 13 inches from each other. The spacers are in continual contact with the wall and serve to keep the entire boa firmly pressed against the wall so as to prevent movement of the board. The centre screw is fastened tightly to firmly press the spacers against the wall.

A number of problems however are associated with the conventional manner of mounting a dart board. Firstly, it is difficult to position the dart board on an adjacent wall where the centre screw in the back of a dart board must engage with a groove in a bracket fixed to the adjacent wall. The positioning of boards is a continual problem, for boards need

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r r3 to be turned relative to the grid on a weekly basis so as to distribute wear caused by play. Turning requires removing and repositioning the board. Secondly, with continual play and in particular with the removal of darts from the board, the board requires constant adjustment by tightening the centre screw to maintain the firm contact with the wall. This adjustment requires removing and repositioning the board to the wall and adds to the frustration in the first mentioned problem.

Thirdly, the centre and spacer screws in the back of the board 1Q, obstruct the path of a penetrating dart and prevent the dart from lodging in the board and/or blunt the point of the dart.

The continual tightening of the centre screw compounds this problem.

6 Apart from the conventional mounting for dart boards there are other forms of mountings for securing articles to 0.

vertical surfaces.

The Australian Patent AU619817 is directed to a t C system for mounting an article in a desired orientation by the use of two supports on the wall and two corresponding 2bi engagement members on the back of the article. The disclosed t 9 invention is suitable for the hanging of a picture and photograph frames on walls.

The invention disclosed in the Australian Patent AU80634/87 is for a support comprising a fabric hook fastener which can fasten to a vertical surface covered with an appropriate receptive material and a means to support or mount an article. The preferred fabric hook fastener is material sold under the trade mark VELCRO.

Neither of the two mountings disclosed in the _L 1 I 4 aforementioned Australian patent specifications specifically apply to games boards.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting for games boards which alleviates the disadvantages of the conventional dart board mountings.

In one aspect the invention is a mounting for attaching a games board to a wall or surface which includes a mounting bracket having at least one abutment on which the games board may locate, means to secure the mounting bracket to the wall or surface and releasable fastener means to enabie the board to be releasably mounted, said fastener means comprising a two part press-on, tear-off fastener with one said part being securable to a rear surface of the board and the other said part being secured either to the bracket or the wall or surface.

The mounting bracket may be an arm or a plate. The mounting bracket is preferably of rectangular shape.

The abutment may be at or adjacent an end of the mounting bracket. The abutment is preferably a lip. There is o preferably a lip adjacent either end ol the mounting bracket so as to locate and support the games board. The location of the mounting bracket on the games board depends on the length 0 of the mounting bracket. The length of the mounting bracket is preferably about 20.5cm.

The mounting bracket may be secured by one or more fasteners. The fasteners may pass through one or more holes K in the mounting bracket. Preferably, there are holes at i either end of the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket may be fixed to the wall or the surface by fasteners extending through the holes in the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket may be fixed at any height above the floor. The mounting bracket is preferably fixed at a height above the i!L .CA> 4 floor that allows the games board to be located at a regulation height. The regulation height for a dart board is 1.73 metres from the centre of the dart board to the floor.

Where the mounting bracket has a length of about 20.5 cm, the mounting bracket may be fixed to the wall or surface at about 1.515 metres from the bottom of the mounting bracket to the floor.

In one embodiment the games board mounting bracket may be an arm or a plate. The mounting bracket may comprise 1Q of a plurality of interconnecting arms. The arms may be of 0 e.

different lengths. The arms may also be of adjustable lengths. Preferably, two or more arms interconnect substantially at right angles. The preferred form of the mounting bracket is cruciform.

The abutment may be at an end of the mounting bracket. The abutment is preferably a lip. In the case where the mounting bracket is an arm, the lip may be at an end of the arm and the length of the arm is at least equal to the radius of the games board. Preferably, the mounting bracket has two arms which have lips at the ends on which to mount and locate the games board.

The mounting bracket may be secured to a surface by any number of methods which prevent movement of the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket may be secured by fasteners through one or more holes in the mounting bracket.

Preferably, when the bracket is of cruciform shape, there is at least one centre hole in the mounting bracket which aligns with the centre of games board. The fastener is suitably a screw. Preferably, the mounting bracket is secured to the 6 surface by two extending through holes in the mounting bracket. The holes in the mounting bracket are preferably countersunk so as to present a flush surface. The mounting bracket may be fixed to the surface at any height above the floor. Where the mounting blacket supports a dart board the mounting bracket is preferably fixed at a height of about 173 cm from the centre hole of the mounting bracket to the floor.

The mounting bracket may be made from a variety of materials. The mounting bracket is preferably made from metal 1. such as steel.

1 o o 0 09 The releasable fastener may be a two part hook and 0 .to. eye fastener. A suitable two part hook and eye fastener is 0 0 00 V" 0o the material sold under the trade mark VELCRO. Attachment of the releasable fastener is preferably by an adhesive.

Suitably, one part of a two part hook and eye fastener is 0 attached to the back of the games board and the corresponding part of the two part hook and eye fastener is attached to either the wall or surface or to the mounting bracket. Where 0 the mounting bracket has one or more arms the first part of 2 the two part hook and eye fastener is attached to at least one *4 of the arms. Preferably the first part of the two part hook and eye fastener is attached to all the arms. The second part of the two part hook and eye fastener may be attached in any position to the back of the games board providing it can mate with at least one of the pieces of the first part of the two part hook and eye fastener attached to the arm(s).

A particular preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which _m -L l L- 7 Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a dart board positioned on a mounting bracket which is mounted to a wall; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dart board fixed relative to the mounting bracket; and Figure 3 is an exploded view of an alternative mounting according to another embodiment of the invention.

In both Figures 1 and 2 the wall, mounting bracket and dart are indicated by the numbers 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

With reference to Figure 1, the mounting bracket 2 0 has arms in a cruciform shape. Two arms 10 have lips 8. The 0 arms 10 of the mounting bracket are all approximately the same length and correspond to the radius of the dart board 3. Four o o one part pieces 7 of the two part hook and eye fastener sold under the name of VELCRO are glued to the arms 10 of the mounting brackets.

A central countersunk hole 5 allows the mounting b,.acket 2 to be secured to the wall 1. To prevent rotation of the mounting bracket 2, a second screw is fastened to the wall 2b through countersunk hole 6.

The dart board 3 has a back 9 which a piece of a second part 4 r p the two part hook and eye fastener sold under the trade mark VELCRO is glued in the shape of a square. The site of attachment for the one part fasteners 4 and 7 is such that when they are glued to the dart board 9 and the arms respectively the back of the dart board 9 and the arms 10 may be pressed together and secured to one another.

With reference to Figure 2, the mounting bracket 2 is fixed to a wall at a height of 173 cm from the central 8 countersunk hole 5 to the floor. After the mounting bracket 2 is secured to the nurface the dart board 3 is positioned to rest on the lips 8 and the dart board is then pressed against the mounting bracket 2 so that the respective parts 4 and 7 of the two part fasteners are brought into mating contact with each other. The positioning of the dart board onto the mounting bracket is such that the centre of the dart board is at the same height as the central countersunk hole With reference to Figure 3, a mounting bracket 12 is secured to a wall 11 by fasteners which extend through holes 15. Three one-part pieces 16 of the two-part hook and eye 4 fastener sold under the name of "VELCRO" are glued to the wall 4 11. Three corresponding part pieces 14 of the two-part hook o o ane eye fastener sold under the name of "VELCRO" are glued to Io. the back of a games board 13. After the mounting bracket 12 is fixed to the wall 11, the games board 13 is placed on the mounting bracket 12 by positioning the games board 1,3 to rest on the lips 17 of the mounting bracket 12 and the board 13 is then pressed towards the wall 11 so that the three one-part pieces 16 of the two-part hook and eye fastener mates with the three corresponding one-part pieces 14 of the two-part hook j and eye fastener.

The present invention has the following advantages.

The dart board can be quickly and easily mounted and demounted. Also, the dart board can firmly attach to the wall so that there is no movement. As well the present invention does not have screws projecting into the back of the dart board which prevent a dart from penetrating the board.

Claims

1. A mounting for attaching a games board to a wall or surface which includes a mounting bracket having at least one abutment on which the games board may locate, means to secure the mounting bracket to the wall or surface and releasable fastener means to enable the board to be releasably mounted, said fastener means comprising a two part press-on, tear-off fastener with one said part being sezurable to a rear surface of the board and the other said part being secured either to the bracket or the wall or surface.

2. The mounting of claim 1, wherein the releasable fastener means is adapted to mount the board to the wall or surface.

3. The mounting of claim 1, wherein the releasable t o o fastener means is adapted to mount the board to the mounting bracket.

4. The mounting of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mounting bracket comprises a plate and wherein the abutment comprises two outwardly directed lips depending from spaced loc&tions on the plate and on which the board may rest.

The mounting of claim 4, wherein the abutment lips extend at an inclined angle to one another and substantially at right angles to the plate, he

6. The mounting of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein *the mounting bracket includes at least one arm and having a lip extending outwardly therefrom at an end thereof upon which the board may rest.

7. The mounting of claim 6, wherein the mounting bracket includes two arms each having a respective said lip extending outwardly therefrom at respective ends of the arms upon which the board may rest.

8. The mounting of claim 7, wherein the lips extend substantially at right angles to the arms.

9. The mounting of claim 7 or 8, wherein the arms are arranged at right angles to one another and form a cruciform shaped mounting bracket.

The mounting of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein 1 3 'Yj i-nnl ;-II the mounting bracket has apertures for receiving fixing fasteners.

11. A mounting substantially as herein described with reference to figures 1 and 2 or figure 3 of the drawings. DATED this Sixteenth day of November 1994. THOMAS EDWARD GUY By His Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO :iii 9999 *9O *999 99 99 o 0a 0 0 99 99990 1ao D o Aoj l~ k' ABSTRACT A games board mounting bracket is disclosed for mounting a games board to a wall The bracket has lips on which the board may rest and press-on tear-off fasteners 7) releasably secure the board to the bracket. I i r e