Mounting assembly and installation

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/414,457, filed Apr. 28, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/676,696, filed Apr. 29, 2005, entitled MOUNTING FIXTURE FOR MOUNTING FLEXIBLE ITEMS ON DRYWALL, the contents of which are each hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention relates to devices for hanging or mounting items on walls or ceilings, especially relatively large items such as curtains, drapes, swags and the like.

The art is replete with devices far hanging items on drywall, many of which result in the punching, drilling or otherwise providing a relatively large hole into the drywall. When the device is removed from the drywall, there remains a hole which requires substantial repair to the drywall.

For example, mounting fixtures for curtain rods and other large items often use wall anchors in which a plastic or metal sleeve is inserted into a pre-drilled hole through the drywall. The sleeve expands when a screw is screwed into the hole. The part of the sleeve that has penetrated the back side of the drywall expands the most, thereby supporting the fixture from the back side of the drywall and making it more difficult for the anchor to be pulled out of the drywall. Another option for mounting large fixtures is to use a toggle bolt, which involves making a hole in the drywall large enough to insert one end of a bolt having a spring-loaded toggle nut threaded thereon through the opening. The toggle nut is held in a smaller configuration while it is being passed through the opening. Upon reaching the back side of the drywall, the toggle nut converts to a larger configuration due to bias from the spring. In its larger configuration, the toggle nut is too large to pass through the opening and supports the fixture from the back side of the drywall upon tightening of the bolt. The use of anchors and toggle bolts is inconvenient because it requires the user to first make a suitable hole in the drywall and then install the anchor or toggle bolt. Further, the hole that is required is usually rather large, increase the difficulty in repairing the hole if the mounting fixture is to be removed. Thus, the anchors and toggle bolts are fairly inconvenient to use.

There also exists in the prior art a self-locking unitary wire-type hook which is adapted to be self-drilling through the thickness of a drywall and thereupon further threaded through the relatively small hole created through the drywall, with a hook portion of the device remaining exposed on the front side of the drywall for receiving an item hung thereupon and the forward end of the wire engaging the back side of the drywall to lock the hook in place. Wire hooks of this sort have been sold as a “Heavy Duty Wall Hanger” from NB Industries Inc. of Golden, Colo. This hook (which is shown in FIG. 17) has several advantages including its relative simplicity, the fact that no tools are required to install the hook in drywall, and the self-locking feature. However, the hook portion of this device is relatively small and projects away from the drywall only a short distance. It is therefore limited as to the types of items which can be successfully hung on the hook. While the hook is suitable for hanging pictures, for example, flexible items are not readily held in place on the drywall by using this, prior art hook device. Likewise, the hook is not suitable for supporting curtain rods or other items that are spaced away from the drywall in use.

Thus, there is a need for a simple, user-friendly, and secure system for mounting decorative items such as curtains, canopies, drapes, and the like on drywall.

One aspect of the invention is an assembly for mounting an object on a wall or ceiling panel having a front side and a back side opposite the front side. The assembly includes a wire hook configured so that it can be received in an opening extending through the panel from the front side to the back side so that only a relatively short hook portion extends from the front side of the panel, while a relatively longer segment of the wire hook at an opposite end thereof extends from the opening at the back side of the panel to engage the back side of the panel at a location spaced from the opening. The assembly also includes an object holder for holding the object. The object holder has a mounting portion adapted to be supported by the relatively short hook portion of the wire hook when the wire hook is in the opening of the panel and engaged with the back side of the panel. The object holder also has an arm extending from the mounting portion and defining a support surface for supporting the object.

Another aspect of the invention is a mounting installation. The installation includes a panel having a front side and a back side opposite the front side. An opening in the panel extends between the front and back sides thereof. A wire hook is received in the opening. The wire hook has a relatively short hook portion extending from the front side of the panel and a relatively longer segment at an end of the wire hook opposite the relatively short hook portion. The relatively longer segment extends from the opening at the back side of the panel to engage the back side of the panel at a location spaced from the opening. The installation also includes an object holder for holding an object. The object holder has a mounting portion supported by the relatively short hook portion of the wire hook. The object holder also has an arm that extends from the mounting portion and defines a support surface for supporting the object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a mounting assembly of the present invention shown in an unassembled state;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the mounting assembly showing an end of a wire hook of the assembly received in a bore in an object holder;

FIG. 3 is a side view of one embodiment of a drywall mounting installation of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the mounting assembly showing the object holder after it has pivoted in a plane containing the wire hook to provide clearance for the end of the wire hook to be withdrawn from the bore to release the object holder from the wire hook;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the drywall mounting installation showing the drywall obstructing pivotal movement of the object holder in a plane containing the wire hook sufficient to release the object holder from the wire hook;

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