US2975994A - Picture hanging bracket - Google Patents

Description

March 21, 1961 J. w. (5088 PICTURE HANGING BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1959 IN VEN TOR. Ja/mes Wloss ATTORNEYS March 21, 1961 J. w. GOSS PICTURE HANGING BRACKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1959 INVENTOR. Jwmes Wfoss ATTORNEYS United States Patent This invention pertains to brackets for hanging pictures, mirrors, shadow boxes, and similar objects upon walls. More particularly, it relates to a hanger for hanging a picture or similar object closely against a wall.

Heretofore various devices for hanging pictures, mirrors or the like have been used but they have been inadequate to the extent that any portion of the picture is spaced from the wall. The greater the spacing between any portion of the picture and the wall, the more unsightly the appearance. Moreover, most prior picture hanging devices have been inadequate because they are not easily adjustable for readily hanging the picture permanently in an upright, straight position.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a bracket for hanging pictures or the like snugly against a wall in a neatly appearing manner.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bracket for hanging pictures or the like on a wall in an easily adjustable and permanently straight manner.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bracket for hanging pictures and the like on a wall, which bracket is composed of a minimum of parts composed of sheet metal and having a relatively flat side view.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bracket for hanging pictures having an easily adjusted spring pawl engageable with a ratchet for readily positioning a picture in a straight position.

Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved picture hanging device which accomplishes the foregoing objects and desiderata in a simple, elfective and inexpensive manner.

These and other objects and advantages apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and claims may be attained, the stated results achieved, and described difficulties overcome by the discoveries, principles, apparatus, parts, combinations, subcombinations and elements which comprise the present invention, the nature of which is set forth in the following statement, preferred embodiments of which, illustrative of the best modes in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, are set forth in the following description, and which are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims forming part hereof.

The improved picture hanging bracket of the present invention may be stated in general terms as including .an attaching plate having screw holes for attachment to the back of a picture frame, a slide bar having a keyhole at the upper end for attachment by a nail or screw to a wall, the slide bar being slidably'mounted on the attaching plate and having a ratchet portion, a spring pawl pivotally mounted on the attaching plate and operatively engageable with the ratchet portion of the slide bar, a spring attached at one end to the attaching plate and connected to the pawl for holding the pawl in operative or nonoperative positions with respect to the ratchet, the slide bar having shoulder means at upper ice and lower ends of the ratchet portion for actuating the V pawl into operative and non-operative positions with respect to the ratchet, and a cover plate for the operating parts including the pawl, ratchet and spring, which cover plate includes side flanges for limiting movement of the pawl in the non-operative position.

In the drawings which are illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of example:

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a picture or the like, showing the manner in which the improved brackets are attached to the rear surface of the picture;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the bracket shown in Fig. 1, showing a minimum of space occupied by the bracket between the picture and the wall;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation with a portion broken away, showing the pawl in the ratchet-engaged position and showing in broken line the pawl .at the upper end of the ratchet in the disengaged position;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the bracket with a portion broken away to show the manner in which the pawl is actuated from the disengaged to the ratchet-engaging position and showing in broken line the position of the pawl in the disengaged position;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of another embodiment of the bracket, showing the pawl in the ratchet-engaged position and showing in broken line the pawl at the upper end of the ratchet in the disengaged position;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of another embodiment of the invention with sides reversed from Fig. 5, showing a pawl in the ratchet-engaged position, and showing the pawl in broken line in the disengaged position; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of Fig. 3.

-. Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In Fig. 1 a pair of similar brackets generally indicated atl are mounted on the back of a picture, mirror or similar object 2 by means of screws 3 as. shown. The bracket 1 includes an attaching plate 4, a slide bar 5, a spring pawl 6, a spring 7 (Fig. 3), and a cover 8. The attaching plate 4 includes a number of vertically spaced holes 9 for securing the bracket 1 by the screws 3 to the back of the picture 2. The plate 4 also includes a pair of slides 10 and 11 which are offset from the plane of the plate for slidable mounting of the slide bar 5. As shown in the drawings, the slide bar 5 is slidable on and adjacent to the plate 4 where it is retained by the slides 10 and 11.

The slide bar 5 is an elongated member having an inverted keyhole slot 12 at its upper end by which the bracket 1 is attached to a wall surface 13 by means of a screw 14 or the like as shown in Fig. 2. Moreover, as shown in 'Fig. 3, the slot 12 has a horizontally elongated or T-portion 15 at the upper end which, together with a similar portion in the bracket 1 at the other side of the picture 2, cooperates to compensate by horizontal adjustment for any error in relative location of two screws 14 to support the picture.

The intermediate portion of the slide bar 5 has a recess 16 from one edge and the recessed edge of the bar has a ratchet surface 17, which surface operates with the spring pawl 6 (Fig. 3) in a manner to be described below. In addition, the upper end of the recess includes pawl-actuating means or shoulder 18. Likewise, the lower end of the recess is provided with pawl-actuating means or shoulder 19 as shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in the several views of the drawing, the attaching plate 4 includes an outwardly extending portion or transverse projection 20. The spring pawl 6 is mounted on one side of the attaching plate 4 and is supported by the projection 20 thereof. The pawl 6 is pivotally mounted (Fig. 3) on the plate 4 by a pivot pin or rivet 21 which is secured on the plate 4. The pawl 6 is a relatively short member having a pivot-pin-receiving hole 22 near its upper side and having ratchet teeth 23 along one end thereof adjacent the ratchet 17. The end of the pawl 6 remote from the ratchet teeth 23 includes a notch 24 and opposite edges of the pawl have notches 25 and 26 near the ratchet teeth and on the side of the pivot hole 22 adjacent the ratchet teeth.

One end 27 of the spring 7 is mounted on the attaching plate 4. The spring 7 is substantially arcuate, having the lower end pressing against the outer end of the pawl 6, in which position the spring 7 holds the pawl in operative engagement with the ratchet 17. As was stated above, the upper end 27 of the spring is fixedly attached to the plate 4, preferably by an out-turned or transverse portion 28 (Fig. 7) which extends through an aperture in the plate. A small flange 23 is provided on the plate 4 near the upper end, which flange holds the lower end of the spring 7 in place against the outer end of the pawl 6.

Moreover, the lower end of the spring 7 is rounded or arcuate at 30 to facilitate sliding of the end of the spring along the end of the pawl 6 and into and out of the notch 24, as shown by the broken line portion of Figs. 3 and 4. The operating parts of the bracket including the slide bar 5, the pawl 6, and the spring 7 are disposed between the plate 4 and the cover 8. The cover 8 is secured to the plate 4 by the pivot pin or rivet 21 which extends through a pin-receiving aperture 31 (Fig. l) in the cover 8.

The cover 8 is spaced from the plate 4 by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the slide bar 5, pawl 6, and spring 7, which distance is maintained by a pair of oppositely disposed flanges 32 and 33 extending toward and contacting the surface of the plate 4. The cover 8 serves to hold all of the operating parts in alignment with each other and to prevent their becoming disengaged for any reason.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the slide bar is movable vertically with respect to the pawl 6, or conversely, the pawl together with the attaching plate 4 is movable upwardly with respect to the slide bar 5.

When a pair of brackets 1 are mounted on the back of a picture 2 or the like as shown in Fig. l and the upper end of the slide bars 5 is secured on a wall by screws 14, the picture is then raised until the upper side thereof covers the upper end of the slide bars 5. In raising the picture 2, the resulting position may be crooked and it may therefore be necessary to move one end without the other; that is, it may be necessary to move the pawl 6 of one bracket 1 without moving the other in order to get the picture horizontal.

If by such manipulation the pawls 6 of both brackets 1 reach the upper end of their corresponding ratchets 17 and the picture is either too high or is still crooked, it may be necessary to disengage the pawls 6 from their ratchets in order to lower the entire assembly upon the slide bars 5 and subsequently re-arrange the pawls at the lower end of their ratchet 17 and start the adjustment again. For that purpose the pawls 6 are simply raised upwardly until their upper sides, and more particularly the notches 25, are brought into contact with the pawlactuating means or shoulders 18. Further raising there after of the pawls 6 cause the pawls to rotate about their pivot pins 21 and out of engagement with the ratchet 6. At the same time, the lower end 30 of the springs 7 slide into the notches 24 (broken line portion of Fig. 3), whereby the pawl 6 is maintained in the disengaged position.

It is then possible to lower the assembly of the picture 2 with the bracket 1 downwardly with respect to the slide bars 5, the pawls 6 maintaining their non-operating positions as shown by the broken line portion of Fig. 4-. When the pawls 6 reach the lower end of the ratchets 7, the lower side of the pawls and particularly the notch 26, engages the pawl-actuating means or shoulder 19 and subsequent lowering of the pawl forces the ratchet teeth 23 thereof into engagement with the ratchet 17, which movement forces the lower end 30 of the spring out of engagement with the notch 24. Thereafter the entire assembly including the picture 2 and the brackets 1 may be raised together on the stationary slide bars 5 until the desired horizontal position is achieved. During such raising operation the lower end 30 of the spring 7 again rides upon the outer end of the pawl 6 to hold the pawl teeth 23 in engagement with the ratchet teeth 17.

Another embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at 34- in Fig. 5, which includes an attaching plate 35 and a slide bar 36, both of which are similar to the attaching plate 4 and slide bar 5 as set forth above with respect to Figs. 14. The bracket 34 also includes a pawl 37 which diifers from the pawl 6 only to the extent that the pawl 37, being slightly longer, has an outer end 38 which extends beyond a side 39 of the plate 35. Moreover, the pawl 37 includes a notch 40 along the lower side thereof, which notch is engaged by the upper end 4-1 of a spring 42, the lower end of which has an outturned transverse portion (not shown) secured in an aperture 43 in the plate 35 in a manner similar to that of the bracket 1.

The bracket 34 includes a cover 44 having an edge flange 45 abutting the plate 35 on one side of the slide bar 36 and having a pair of similar flanges 46 and 47 engaging the plate 35 on the other side of the slide bar 36. The cover 44 is held in place by a pivot pin or rivet 48.

In operation, the pawl 37 having ratchet teeth 49 which engage the ratchet 50, is held in engagement with the ratchet 50 by the spring 42. In such position the notch 40 of the pawl 37 is disposed on the left side of an imaginary line 51 passing through the centers of the pin 48 and the aperture 43. On the other hand, when the pawl 37 is disposed in the non-operative position as shown by the broken line portion of Fig. 5, which position may be attained by manipulating the bracket 34 in a manner similar to that described with regard to bracket 1, the notch 40 is disposed on the right of the imaginary line 51. The spring 42 maintains the pawl 37 in either the operative or non-operative positions with the notch 40 on either side of the line 51 and either position may be achieved by rotating the pawl 37 with sufficient force either clockwise or counterclockwise against the force of the spring.

In addition to manipulating the pawl 37 between operative and non-operative positions by pawl-actuating means or shoulders 52 and 53 in a manner similar to that described for the bracket 1, the pawl 37 may be manipulated manually by contacting the end 38 of the pawl 37 and rotating the pawl in either direction. When the pawl is moved to the non-operative position as shown by the broken line portion of Fig. 5, an upper corner 54 engages the flange 46 to prevent the spring 42 from rotating the pawl 37 too far out of position.

Another embodiment of the invention is generally indicated at 55 in Fig. 6. The bracket 55 is reversed from the two other embodiments and includes an attaching plate 56, a slide bar 57 having a ratchet portion 58, a pawl 59, a spring 60, and a cover 61. The attching plate 56 and slide bar 57 are substantially the same as the attaching plates 4 and 35 and the slide bars 5 and 36. The pawl 59 differs from the pawl 37 in that it is provided with one ratchet tooth 62 and has a notch 63 on the upper side thereof. In addition, the pawl 59 includes an outer end portion 64 which extends beyond the cover 61 and may be manually manipulated in a manner similar to that of the pawl 37 (Fig. 5). The assembly of the attaching plate 56, the pawl 59, the cover 61, and the spring is maintained by a pivot pin or rivet 65 in a manner similar to the pins or rivets 21 and 48. The pawl 59is actuated into and out of engagement with the ratchet 58 by pawl-actuating means or shoulders 66 and 67 which strike the sides of the pawl forming the ratchet tooth 62 as shown by the broken line portion of Fig. 6.

The spring 60 functions in a manner similar to that of the spring 42. Like the spring 7 (Fig. 7), the spring 60 has an upper transverse portion (not shown) which is seated in an aperture 68 in the plate 56 and has a lower end portion 69 engaging the notch 63. When the pawl 59 is in the operative position, the notch 63 is disposed to the left of an imaginary line 70 extending through the center of the pin 65 and the aperture 68. Similarly, when the pawl 59 is disposed in the non-operative position, the notch 63 is disposed to the left of the line 70 as shown in the broken line portion of Fig. 6. 1n the non-operative position, the upper side of the pawl 59 contacts a flange 71 on the cover 61 as shown by the broken line portion of Fig. 6. The cover 61 also includes a lower flange 72 and a flange 73, which flanges maintain the proper spacing between the cover 61 and the plate 56 for housing the operating parts of the bracket 55.

As shown in Fig. 2 by the arrows 74, the spacing between the back of the picture 2 and the wall 13 is very small and equal to the over-all thickness of the bracket 1. The heads of the screws 3 and 14 do not interfere with such spacing and the resulting assembly is a very compact and neatly appearing picture hanging snugly against the wall.

The device of this invention sets forth a picture bracket which holds a picture or the like snugly against a wall in a neatly appearing manner. At the same time, the device includes easily adjustable means for hanging a picture in a permanently straight manner free from vibrations or other disturbing factors which usually cause pictures and the like to become crooked over extended periods of time. Moreover, the device includes a minimum number of parts composed of easily fabricated sheet metal having in their assembled form a minimum of thickness which results in the minimum spacing between the picture and wall.

in the foregoing description certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations have been implied therefrom as such words are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated and described herein is by way of example and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact construction shown.

Having now described the invention, construction, operation and use of a preferred embodiment thereof and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful picture hanging bracket and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for hanging framed pictures or the like upon :a wall, comprising a bracket member, means for connecting the bracket to a picture or the like, a slide bar member slidably mounted upon the bracket member,

means at the upper end of the bar member for attachment to a wall, a ratchet on one of the members, a ratch et-engaging pawl on the other of the members, the pawl being rotatable between ratchet-engaged and disengaged positions, spaced means at the ends of the ratchet on one of the members for separately rotating the pawl, respectively, to ratchet engaging and disengaging positions, and a spring on one of the members holding the pawl in either position.

2. A device for hanging framed pictures or the like upon a wall, comprising a bracket member, means for connecting the bracket member to a picture or the like, a slide bar member slidably mounted upon the bracket member, means at the upper end of the bar member for attachment to a wall, a ratchet on one of the members, a ratchet-engaging pawl on the other of the members, and spaced means at the ends of the ratchet on one of the members for separately rotating the pawl, respectively, to ratchet engaging and disengaging positions.

3. A device for hanging framed pictures or the like upon a wall, comprising a bracket member, means for connecting the bracket member to a picture or the like, a slide bar member slidably mounted upon the bracket member means at the upper end of the bar member for attachment to a wall, a ratchet on one of the members, a ratchet-engaging pawl on the other of the members, the pawl being rotatable between ratchet-engaging and disengaged positions, and spaced means at the ends of the ratchet on one of the members for separately rotating the pawl, respectively to ratchet engaging and disengaging positions.

4. A device for hanging framed pictures or the like upon a wall, comprising a bracket, means for connecting the bracket to a picture or the like, a slide bar slidably mounted upon the bracket, means at the upper end of the bar for attachment to a wall, a ratchet on the slide bar, a pawl on the bracket movable between ratchet-engaging and disengaged positions, a spring on the bracket holding the pawl in either position, and pawl-actuating means at each end of the ratchet for rotating the pawl by contact therewith in opposite directions between ratchetengaging and disengaged positions.

5. A device for hanging framed pictures or the like upon a wall, comprising a'bracket, means for connecting the bracket to a picture or the like, a slide bar slidably mounted upon the bracket, means at the upper end of the bar for attachment to a wall, a ratchet on the slide bar, a pawl on the bracket movable between ratchet-engaging and disengaged positions, a spring on the bracket holding the pawl in either position, first pawl-actuating means at the upper end of the ratchet for moving the pawl to the disengaging position, and second pawl-aetuab ing means at the lower end of the ratchet for moving the pawl to the engaging position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 167,786 Pope Sept. 14, 1875 210,251 Grosclaude Nov. 26, 1878 522,510 Church July 3, 1894 2,041,065 Hemphill May 19, 1936

Images