Releasable mounting apparatus

Abstract

Apparatus for releasably mounting an article in a blind opening in a wall. The apparatus comprises: a body having a base for attachment to an article to be mounted in a wall opening; a member supported on the body and spaced from the base; an arm mounted on the member and moveable from an inoperative position to an operative position projecting to one side of the body for bearing against a surrounding wall surface; and a mechanism for releasably securing the arm in the inoperative position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to related Great Britain Patent Application Serial No. GB 04 15965.3 filed Jul. 16, 2004, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to apparatus for releasably mounting an article in a blind opening in a wall or the like and, more specifically but not exclusively, to apparatus for mounting a loudspeaker in an opening in a wall. [0004] 2. Related Art [0005] It is well known in the art to provide discreet loudspeaker installations in a building. In-wall clamps, which are intended to be mounted in a wall (e.g., stud wall) and clamp a loudspeaker thereto, are often used in such installations as an alternative to unsightly brackets or other forms of external support. However, in use, part of an in-wall clamp is mounted inside the wall, thus compromising accessibility and making servicing (e.g., fitting or r...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] In this way, apparatus is provided for forming an in-wall clamp that may be locked or at least held in the inoperative (or service) position during installation and removal of the clamp in or from a surrounding wall (e.g., stud wall) or the like, such as furniture. In the inoperative position, the arm is retracted to an extent whereby the article may be removed from the opening in the wall without the arm fouling the surrounding wall (i.e., close enough to avoid snagging of the arm).

[0011] The carriage may be mounted on a rotatable shaft housed by the body, the carriage and the rotatable shaft having interengaging threaded profiles. The rotatable shaft may be constrained to rotate within the body, with shaft rotation producing linear movement of the carriage relative to the body between the first and second positions. The rotatable shaft may have a drive face accessible adjacent or through the base. In this way, the rotatable shaft may be rotated via the drive face even once the apparatus is mounted in a wall.

[0015] The arm may further comprise a resilient part for mechanically decoupling or isolating the arm from a surrounding wall surface. In this way, vibrations originating from an article (e.g., loudspeaker) may be damped to reduce unwanted interaction between the article and the wall. In one form, the arm may comprise a rubber foot for engaging a surrounding wall surface when the arm is in the operative position and bearing against the surrounding wall surface.

[0018] The carriage may be mounted on a rotatable shaft housed by the body, the carriage and the rotatable shaft having interengaging threaded profiles. The rotatable shaft may be constrained to rotate within the body, with shaft rotation producing linear movement of the carriage relative to the body between the first and second positions. The rotatable shaft may have a drive face accessible adjacent or through the base. In this way, the rotatable shaft may be rotated via the drive face even once the apparatus is mounted in a wall.

[0021] The arm may further comprise a resilient part for mechanically decoupling or isolating the arm from a surrounding wall surface. In this way, vibrations originating from an article (e.g., loudspeaker) may be damped to reduce unwanted interaction between the article and the wall. In one form, the arm may comprise a rubber foot for engaging a surrounding wall surface when the arm is in the operative position and bearing against the surrounding wall surface.

Problems solved by technology

However, in use, part of an in-wall clamp is mounted inside the wall, thus compromising accessibility and making servicing (e.g., fitting or removal) of in-wall clamps difficult.

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