GB2298275A - Level indicator for articles on a wall - Google Patents

Description

LEVEL INDICATOR FOR ARTICLES ON A VERTICAL WALL 2298275 The present

invention relates to a device for levelling items such as plaster guards or escutcheon plates on walls or other surfaces.

When a plumber is installing a fitting, such as a shower/tub control valve, it is important that the casing for the valve cartridge be properly aligned vertically and horizontally, from the standpoint, both of operability and of aesthetics. Once the fitting is in place, an escutcheon plate will be fitted over the control shaft of the valve cartridge, and will cover the opening in the wall through which the shaft protrudes. The escutcheon plate is usually attached to the valve casing by a pair of mounting screws, and if the casing is not properly aligned then the escutcheon plate will appear crooked and will be unattractive to the viewer.

During the installation phase the plumber uses a plaster guard to protect the plumbing fitting from the masonry materials. The plaster guard is also used as an installation template to fix the location of the valve casing prior to completion of the wall in the shower or bathroom. If it can be ensured that the plaster guard is horizontal, then the escutcheon plate to be added later will also be horizontal.

There are other instances in which it is desirable to ensure the horizontality of plates or other articles mounted to a wall or other vertical surface. For example, electrical switch or outlet plates should appear to be perfectly vertical on the wall surface. Picture frames and other such decorative items should also appear to be properly mounted on a wall in a horizontal or vertical attitude.

The present invention provides a simple and economical mechanism for achieving proper horizontal (or vertical) orientation of articles positioned on a vertical wall surface, the mechanism including a guide element built into the article itself so that a removable indicator element can be used with the guide element to achieve horizontality during installation and then removed. For decorative articles, the guide element is preferably designed into the article so that it is very inconspicuous. It may even be nothing more than a simple reference line drawn on, or engraved into, a decorative part of the article. The indicator element is small and can be reused over and over again with different articles of the same type. If, as in the case of a plaster guard, the article will not be seen on the finished wall, then the guide element can be more evident, and perhaps easier to use, than the guide element for a decorative article.

The guide element preferably takes the form of a fine horizontal knife edge formed into the article during its manufacture with a small hole positioned thereabove, between the ends of the knife edge. With a decorative article the knife or guide edge or reference line may be part of a frame portion of the article and the hole may appear as a slight depression or recess above the reference line itself. The indicator element of the present invention preferably takes the form of a small pendulum, having a pendulum mass at the bottom of a relatively thin shaft. At the upper end of the shaft there is a pivot bar extending at right angles to the shaft, the pivot bar being receivable in the hole of the guide element. In use, when the pivot bar is inserted into the hole the shaft will hang vertically because of the pendulum mass at the bottom of the shaft. The pendulum mass has an indicator line at right angles to the shaft, preferably at the top of the pendulum mass, the indicator line being located relative to the pivot bar such that it is aligned with the reference line, or the knife or guide edge, when the article itself is in a proper horizontal attitude. A tilted article can be rotated until the proper alignment has been achieved.

Broadly speaking, therefore, the present invention may be considered to provide means for orienting an article horizontally on a vertical wall surface, the means comprising: guide means on the article, the guide means including a (preferably generally horizontal or vertical) reference line portion and a pivot hole thereabove; and an indicator element including a shaft, a pendulum mass at one end of the shaft, a pivot bar at the other end of the shaft, and an indicator line portion on the pendulum mass; whereby with the article suspended on the wall surface and the pivot bar received in the pivot hole the indicator line portion will be parallel to the reference line portion when the article is properly horizontally oriented.

The present invention also provides an indicator element for use in orienting an article in a generally horizontal attitude on a generally vertical surface, the article having at least one reference line or edge thereon which will preferably be horizontal or vertical when the article is properly oriented, the indicator element comprising: shaft means; pivot means at an upper end of the shaft means and extending at right angles thereto; and means defining an indicator edge preferably extending normal to the shaft means below the pivot means; whereby with the pivot means engaging the article near the reference line or edge the shaft will hang vertically from the pivot means and the article can be rotated until the reference line or edge is aligned with, or is parallel to, the indicator edge.

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a plaster guard with the level indicator means, showing the plaster guard in a horizontal attitude; Figure 2 is a front view similar to Figure 1 but with the plaster guard in a tilted attitude; Figure 3 is a partial front view of the plaster guard, to a larger scale than Figure 1, showing the components of the guide means; Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, to a larger scale than Figure 3; Figures 5 and 6 are front and side views of a preferred form of the indicator element, to a larger scale than Figure 1; Figure 7 is a front view of a simpler form of the indicator element; and Figure 8 is a front view of a decorative article.

Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings show a plaster guard 10 which might be used by a plumber during the installation of a shower/tub mixing valve in a bathroom wall, the guard protecting the plumbing fixture from masonry materials and serving to orient the valve casing properly during installation. The guard is typically moulded from a thin plastics material and includes a plate portion 12 having screw holes 14 through it. A generally cylindrical boss portion 16 projects forwardly from the plate portion and has a flat forward face 18 with a through hole 20 at the centre, through which the shaft of the mixing valve can pass.

With particular reference to Figures 3 and 4 it will be seen that during the moulding process the plaster guard 10 is provided with guide means 22 that includes a raised knife edge portion 24 on the face 18, extending along the lateral centreline L of the plaster guard 10, on each side of the hole 20. When the plaster guard is properly oriented, the knife edge portion 24 will be perfectly horizontal, as will the valve casing behind it, to which the guard is attached by screws passing through the holes 14. The knife edge portion 24 is generally triangular in cross-section (see Figure 4), having sloping walls 26 and a sharp knife edge 28 at its apex forming a reference line for the plaster guard.

The guide means 22 also includes a small diameter pivot hole 30 passing through the front face 18 of the boss 16, the hole 30 being positioned on the vertical centreline V of the plaster guard 10 above the knife edge portion 24.

An indicator element 32, shown in Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6, includes a shaft 34 having a pendulum mass 36 at one end thereof and a pivot bar 38 at the other end, the pivot bar extending at right angles to the shaft 34. The pendulum mass 36 can take any shape as long as it is relatively thin and has a mass considerably greater than that of the shaft 34 and the pivot bar 38. In its preferred form the pendulum mass 36 is generally semi-circular and has an indicator line or edge portion 40 at the top, the edge portion 40 being perfectly normal 6 - to the shaft 34. Additional weight for the pendulum mass can be provided by tabs 42 at each end of the edge portion 40. The diameter of the pivot bar 38 is slightly less than the diameter of the hole 30 provided as part of 5 the guide means 22.

Figures I and 2 illustrate the use of the indicator element 32 with the plaster guard 10. In Figure 2, the plaster guard 10 is shown tilted or skewed such that the lateral centreline L is at an angle to the horizontal.

The pivot bar 38 of the indicator element 32 has been positioned in the hole 30 and the indicator element has been allowed to hang freely from the hole 30, suspended by the pivot bar 38. Because of the relatively large pendulum mass 36, the indicator element hangs vertically and the indicator edge portion 40 is horizontal. since the plaster guard 10 is tilted, the knife edge 28 is also tilted and it is not aligned with the indicator edge portion 40. The plaster guard can then be rotated so that the knife edge 28 is perfectly aligned with or parallel to the edge portion 40 of the pendulum mass 36, as shown in Figure 1, indicating to the installer that the plaster guard is in its desired orientation. The valve casing can be fixed in location with the knowledge that the escutcheon plate to be assembled later also will be perfectly horizontally aligned.

The present invention was designed primarily for use with plaster guards as described hereinabove. The invention can also be used to align horizontally or orient other items on vertical wall surfaces, including decorative items such as picture frames or electrical wall plates. Figure 8 shows a picture frame 44 having a guide edge 46 as part of the frame itself, which edge will be horizontal when the frame is properly oriented. Above the guide edge 46 is a tiny hole 48 to receive the pivot bar 1 38 of the indicator element 32. With the pivot bar 38 received in the hole 48, the indicator edge portion 40 will be parallel to the guide edge 46 when the picture frame is horizontally oriented.

Instead of a hole 48 in the picture frame, for example if such a hole would be too conspicuous, it is possible to provide a tiny depression or recess 50 in the top edge of the picture frame into which the pivot bar can be placed. The pendulum mass of the indicator element then still causes the indicator element to assume a vertical orientation such that the picture frame is horizontal when the indicator edge portion 40 is parallel to the guide edge of the frame. In fact, as long as the pivot bar 38 can be suspended from the upper edge of the decorative article, be it a picture frame, a clock, a switch plate or whatever, without falling from the article it is possible to obtain proper horizontal orientation of the article on a vertical wall by using the indicator element of the present invention in conjunction with any reference line, guide line or edge of the article that should be horizontal in the desired orientation of the article. Thus, the indicator element of the invention can be used on its own, if desired, to help orient almost any article on a vertical wall, even if that article is not provided with a specifically designed guide line or edge such as is disclosed for the plaster guard 10 hereinabove.

Figure 7 shows a very simple alternative embodiment of the indicator element of the present invention. In this embodiment the shaft 52 is provided with a pivot bar 54 at the top thereof and a pair of colinear laterally extending arms 56 which are perfectly normal to the shaft 52, giving the indicator element 52 a cruciform appearance. The arms 56 define an indicator edge portion 58 for the indicator element, serving the same purpose as the indicator edge portion 40 of the first embodiment. The indicator element of Figure 7 is less expensive to produce than the first indicator element but it may not be quite as effective as it lacks the relatively heavy pendulum mass of the first embodiment.

The indicator element of the present invention can be moulded from a suitable thermoplastic material or it could be cast from any suitable metallic material as desirable.

The present invention allows the rapid and accurate orientation of almost any article in a horizontal attitude on a vertical surface. It is easy and economical to produce the component(s) of the invention and the indicator element thereof can be used over and over again for the orientation of many different articles. It is understood that various details of the embodiments described above could be altered without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the shaft 34 could be aligned with a vertical reference line of the article, such as the vertical centreline V of the plaster guard 10, to achieve the same end as the horizontal alignment described above.

claims: - 1. Means for orienting an article horizontally on a generally vertical wall surface, said means comprising: an article having guide means including a reference line portion and a pivot hole; and an indicator element including a shaft, a pendulum mass at one end of the shaft, a pivot bar at the other end of the shaft arranged to be received within the pivot hole, and an indicator line portion, so arranged that with the article suspended on the wall surface and the pivot bar received in the pivot hole the indicator line portion will be parallel to the reference line portion when the article is properly horizontally oriented.

2. Means according to claim 1, wherein said reference line portion is defined by a knife edge portion raised on the article, said knife edge portion including a straight knife edge thereon.

3. Means according to claim 2, wherein said knife edge portion is generally triangular in cross-section and said knife edge is at the apex of said knife edge portion.

4. Means according to claim 1, wherein said reference line portion is defined by a straight line provided on a face of the article.

5. Means according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reference line portion of the guide means is arranged to be horizontal when the article is properly oriented.

li 6. Means according to claim 5, wherein the indicator ne portion is on the pendulum mass.

- 10 7. Means according to claim 6, wherein said indicator edge is provided along the upper edge of the pendulum mass.

8. Means according to claim 7, wherein the said pendulum mass is generally semi-circular in shape, with its straight side uppermost, forming the said indicator line portion.

9. Means according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein said indicator edge is defined by a pair of colinear arms extending laterally from said shaft means between the upper and lower ends thereof.

10. Means according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reference line portion of the guide means is arranged to be vertical when the article is properly oriented.

11. Means according to claim 11, wherein the indicator line portion is provided by the shaft of the indicator element.

12. Means for orienting an article horizontally on wall, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

13. Means as claimed in claim 12, modified substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figure 7 and/or Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.

14. An indicator elenent for use in orienting an article horizontally on a generally vertical surface, said article having a reference line portion that will be in a known orientation with the article properly oriented; the said indicator element comprising a shaft, a pendulum mass at one end of the shaft, a pivot means at the other end of the shaft, and an indicator line portion, so arranged that, with the article suspended on the wall surface and the pivot means suitably engaging the article near the reference line, the indicator line portion will be parallel to the reference line portion when the article is properly horizontally oriented.

15. An indicator element according to claim 14, wherein the indicator line portion of the guide means is arranged to be horizontal in use.

16. An indicator element according to claim 15, wherein the indicator line portion is on the pendulum mass.

17. An indicator element according to claim 16, wherein said indicator edge is provided along the upper edge of a pendulum mass at the lower end of said shaft means.

18. An indicator element according to claim 17, wherein the said pendulum mass is generally semi-circular in shape, with its straight edge uppermost, forming the said indicator line portion.

19. An indicator element according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein said indicator edge is defined by a pair of colinear arms extending laterally from said shaft means between the upper and lower ends thereof.

20. An indicator element according to any one of claims 14, wherein the indicator line portion is arranged - 12 to be vertical in use.

21. An indicator element according to claim 20, wherein the indicator line portion is provided by the shaft.

22. An indicator element for use in orienting an article horizontally on a vertical wall, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 1, 2, 5, & 6 of the accompanying drawings.

23. An indicator element as claimed in claim 22, modified substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.