Wall anchor assemblies and related wall mount systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wall anchors are difficult to install, provide insufficient support strength, and cause significant damage to drywall, making them impractical for securing a wide variety of objects, especially in drywall or friable wallboards, and do not allow for minor position adjustments without tools or without referencing stud locations.
Innovation Solution
A dual-component anchor assembly with pivotable components featuring curved wall penetrating retainers that form a jaw-type arrangement, allowing for staged installation without tools and minimal wall damage, along with a template system for precise positioning, enabling secure mounting of objects without requiring stud location identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional nails and screws are used to mount objects on drywall, then the installation process is simple, but the support strength is insufficient and the wallboard is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor assembly is divided into multiple components including a base component, a retainer component, and a mounting component. The retainer component features segmented curved retainers that penetrate the wallboard to engage with the base component, distributing the load across multiple engagement points rather than a single penetration point, thereby increasing support strength while minimizing wallboard damage
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer component is nested within the base component during installation, with the curved retainers penetrating the wallboard and engaging with the base component's receiving structure. This nested arrangement allows the anchor to secure itself within the wallboard without requiring extensive damage to the surrounding material
2Strength
If anchors with large wall penetration are used to achieve high support strength, then the support strength is improved, but the wallboard is weakened and left with large holes that are difficult to repair
Solution Approach 1:
The curved retainers are designed with specific geometric properties including a radius of curvature between 0.5 to 1.5 times the wallboard thickness, and a tip angle between 30 to 60 degrees. These localized geometric qualities optimize the penetration depth and engagement strength while minimizing the size of the penetration holes, allowing small repair patches to effectively seal the openings after anchor removal
3Ease of operation
If traditional anchors are installed without referencing stud locations, then the installation is simpler, but the support strength is insufficient for securing various objects
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor assembly is designed as a self-contained system that creates its own anchoring mechanism within the wallboard material. The curved retainers automatically engage with the base component upon insertion, eliminating the need for external stud structures or complex alignment procedures. The system serves itself by generating the necessary anchoring force through the wallboard material alone
4Adaptability or versatility
If anchors are installed close to the original hole for position adjustments, then the positioning flexibility is improved, but it is impractical to reposition these types of anchors after initial insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting component is designed with movable features including a mounting plate with slots or adjustable fasteners that allow the mounted object to be repositioned along the anchor assembly. This dynamic adjustment capability enables users to modify the horizontal and vertical positioning of the mounted object after installation without requiring removal of the anchor from the wallboard
Data Source
AI summary
An anchor assembly for hanging an object on a wall includes a first anchor component and a second anchor component. The second anchor component is pivotably associated with the first anchor component for movement between an anchoring orientation and a non-anchoring orientation to enable staged installation of the anchor assembly into a wall. At least one wall penetrating retainer extends from each of the first and second anchor components. When the second anchor component is in the anchoring orientation a curved configuration of the wall penetrating extent of the retainer of the second anchor component opposes a curved configuration of the wall penetrating extent of the retainer of the first anchor component to form a jaw-type arrangement.