Lighting Assembly

Abstract

A support assembly comprising a vertical wall and a supporting bar secured to the wall. A rod is secured in the supporting bar, and the rod serves to support other items, such as a shelf or lighting fixture.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 720,617, filed Apr. 11, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,175 and entitled "Shelf".

Description

This invention relates to a support assembly, and more particularly, to a support assembly that is adapted to be mounted on walls or ceilings.

It is now a current practice to erect shelves directly on the walls of a building, such as a home. Various types of brackets have been developed for maintaining the shelves in place. One problem which is existent in substantially all of the shelves currently in use is that the brackets are visible. In most cases, these brackets will detract from the appearance of the shelf assembly.

Attempts have been made at concealing the supporting means for the shelves. Thus, screws have been inserted directly into the walls with an extended shank of the screws being received in rear recesses of shelving. However, these structures, although overcoming the problem of unsightliness, still suffer from the disadvantage that they are not load-bearing. Thus, they are adapted only to receive very light loads, such as soap or towels. In many instances, decorative brackets have to be used to aid in supporting the shelves.

A solution to the problem of concealing the supporting hardware for a shelf, while at the same time maintaining full load-bearing characteristics for the shelf, was made by the shelf disclosed and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,555. In the shelf covered by this patent, elongated rods were secured in the studs behind a wall and shelving was placed over the extended forward portions of the rods. The forward portions were received in channels formed in the shelving. In this way, the supporting hardware for the shelving was completely hidden in use. Furthermore, the securement of the rods in the studs gave extremely great load-bearing qualities to the finished shelving.

The shelf assembly covered by my prior patent has been found to be completely satisfactory for its intended use. However, one of the problems of the shelf assembly of my patent is that it can be used only where studs are available for supporting the rods which in turn support the shelves. It has been found that quite often the shelving is to be replaced on walls wherein studs are not readily accessible or wherein the studs are positioned in such a manner that it is not possible to take advantage of a pair of studs for supporting the shelving. In these cases, the shelf assembly of my prior aforementioned patent cannot be used.

The shelf assembly disclosed in my aforementioned application, Ser. No. 720,617 is usable on any wall wherein the use of studs is not possible or is inconvenient. The shelf assembly of my copending application enjoys all of the advantages of the patented assembly without requiring the use of the studs for supporting the shelf. In my copending application there is disclosed a shelf assembly wherein the load-bearing qualities are effectuated through the use of elongated rods and load-distributing means on the back of the wall. Thus, such load-distributing means as screw anchors or toggle bolts could be used. Load-distributing means are also placed on the front surface of the wall, and the rods pass through the front load-distributing means.

In one aspect of the invention of this application, the shelf assembly of my copending application is improved in that all but one of the load-bearing rods can be eliminated in order to support the shelf. Thus, using the structure of this invention, a shelf can be supported utilizing a single rod. This can be particularly advantageous where relatively narrow shelves are used, and it would not be possible to utilize a pair of supporting rods. Furthermore, utilizing the structure of this invention, a novel support is provided for the shelves, which support is adapted for using a plurality of rods.

In another aspect of this invention, the supporting structure is adapted for use with a lighting system. The lighting system is particularly adapted for use in display lighting. In display lighting, it is a common practice to have a source of light at the ceiling projecting downwardly onto items, such as vendable commodities or artwork, which are secured on a wall. The manner of securing the display lighting in place is to secure the same to the ceiling. Utilizing the support structure of this invention, the display lighting can project horizontally outward from a vertical wall and be focused against the wall. This facilitates the wiring for the lighting and can provide a more decorative assembly. Furthermore, the support structure of this invention permits the use of display lighting from free standing supports which can be positioned in the middle of a room. This results in the use of the display lighting at the point of display, without having to depend on permanently mounted ceiling fixtures.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel support structure.

It is another object of this invention to provide a support structure for supporting shelving, which support structure is completely hidden by the shelving during use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a support structure adapted to hold lighting fixtures in cantilever.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a support assembly comprising a wall, a bar secured to said wall, and a rod secured in said bar, said rod adapted to support loads thereon.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the support assembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shelf usable on the support assembly of this invention, and taken from the rear of the shelf;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shelf of this invention as it appears when mounted on the support assembly of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the support assembly of this invention when used with a bank of fluorescent light fixtures;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a modified embodiment of the lighting assembly of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the lighting assembly of this invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a support assembly embodying the present invention is generally shown at 20 in FIG. 1. Device 20 basically comprises a bar 22 secured on a wall 24 and a rod secured in bar 22.

As best seen in FIG. 4, bar 22 is mounted on the front face 28 of wall 24. The bar 22 is hollow, and in the embodiment shown, is square. The bar 22 is held in place by screws 30 which are received in countersunk holes in the bar (FIG. 4). The screws 30 are received in load-distributing means 32 mounted against the rear face 34 of wall 24. In the embodiment shown, the load-distributing means 32 are screw anchors. Any of the screw anchors generally known to the art can be used, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,881,973, 2,559,281 or 2,610,013. Bar 22 can be made of any load-bearing materials. Metal, such as steel, is preferred. However, other load-bearing materials, such as wood or plastic, can be used.

Rod 26 is a solid steel cylinder and has one end 36 externally threaded. Rod 26 is threadedly secured in bar 22 and passes through a hole 38 in wall 24.

A shelf usable with support assembly 20 is generally shown at 40 in FIG. 2. Shelf 40 is provided with a slot 42 that extends across substantially its entire width at the rear thereof. However, as is apparent from FIG. 2, slot 42 terminates short of the lateral sides of shelf 40. Shelf 40 is also provided with a longitudinally extending channel 44 therein. As seen in FIG. 4, channel 44 is slightly greater in diameter than the diameter of rod 26. In use, shelf 40 is mounted on support assembly 20 by inserting rod 26 in channel 44 and sliding the shelf onto the rod until the rear edge of the shelf abuts front face 28 of wall 24 (FIG. 4). At this time, bar 22 will be received in slot 42.

The shelf can be secured in place by any of a number of means. In a preferred embodiment, the height of slot 42 will be substantially equal to the height of bar 22. Accordingly, the shelf will be held on the bar 22 by a forced or pressed fit. In this embodiment, shelf 40 will be made of a resilient material, such as wood, pressed wood or plastic. The shelf can be held in place by having the diameter of channel 44 substantially equal to the diameter of rod 26, and by providing a knurled surface on the exterior of rod 26. Thus, the knurling on the rod will grip the shelf when the shelf is placed over the rod, thereby holding the shelf in place. Other means, such as adhesive or set screws, can be used for holding the shelf in place.

As seen in FIG. 3, when the shelf 40 is placed on the support assembly 20, there are visible means of support for the shelf. Thus, all of the supporting structure is completely hidden by the shelf. It has been found in actual practice that the assembly shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will support substantial weights for indefinite periods of time. Thus, the structure has been found to support weights of up to 100 pounds. For larger shelves, bar 22 can be made longer, additional screw anchors 32 can be used, and additional rods 26 can be used.

The load-bearing qualities of the assembly are accomplished because of the fact that the load is distributed on the rear face 34 of wall 24 by the load-distributing means 32, and the load is distributed on the front face 28 of wall 24 by bar 22, which distributes the load across its entire width. Using the combination of the load-distributing means on both faces of the wall prevents the crushing of the wall, in the case of gypsum board, or the tearing or shredding of the wall, in the case of plywood or panelling. In place of using the screw anchors 32 as the load-distributing means, other load-distributing means known to the art can be used, such as toggle bolts. Where the rear face of the wall 24 is accessible, as would be the case when the wall 24 is a free-standing display panel, other load-distributing means such as washers or wing nuts can be used. Furthermore, when the wall 24 is a display panel, the load-distributing means can comprise a bar 22 on each face of the wall. The bars 22 can be aligned, and can be secured in place by conventional nuts and bolts. In this case, the rods 26 can pass completely through the aligned bars 22, and have projections extending an equal distance from both faces of wall 24. Thereafter, a shelf 40 can be secured on both faces of the wall 24 by sliding it over the projections of the rods 26.

Although the screw anchors 32 and the bars 22 distribute the load across the wall 24, the actual load of the shelf 40 and the items put thereon is borne by rod 26. Accordingly, the rod is formed from a load-bearing material such as steel. The securement of the rod 26 in bar 22 anchors the rod against any downward movement by the weight of the object placed on shelf 40. The threads 36 on rod 26 can be self-tapping in order to secure the rod rigidly within bar 22. Although the bar 22 has been shown as being hollow, it is to be understood that it can also be solid, and be made of materials other than metal, such as wood or plastic. Since the rod 22 will be covered in use, it can be provided with a plurality of predrilled holes, and the rod or rods 26 can be placed in whichever holes are usable or necessary. When the weight of the shelf is being borne by the single rod 26, all pivotal movement of the shelf around the rod is prevented by bar 22. Thus, if an object were placed on the shelf 40 at a position remote from rod 26, or if the objects placed on the shelf are heavier on one side of rod 26 than the other, the shelf will still not rotate, in view of the engagement of bar 22 in slot 42.

A modified embodiment of the support assembly of this invention is generally shown at 50 in FIG. 5. Device 50 basically comprises a bar 52 mounted on a wall 54 and a plurality of rods 56 secured in bar 52 and projecting outwardly therefrom. As seen in FIG. 6, bar 52 is hollow, and in the embodiment shown, is square. Here again, bar 52 can be made of metal. Bar 52 is mounted on the front face 58 of wall 54 by screws 60. The screws 60 pass through the wall and are secured in load-distributing means, such as screw anchors 62, which are mounted on the rear face 64 of the wall.

In embodiment 50, rods 56 again pass through bar 52. However, the rods 56 are secured in the bar 52 by a pressed or friction fit. Additionally, the rods 56 are angled upwardly and away from the wall. Another distinction between rods 56 and rods 26 is that instead of being solid, rods 56 are hollow cylindrical tubes. As best seen in FIG. 7, each rod 56 that passes through bar 52 is held in place by a friction fit, and passes into a hole 66 formed in wall 54. Wires 68 pass through rod 56, hole 66 in wall 54, and are connected to a source of current.

The outer ends of rods 56 have mounted thereon fluorescent fixtures 70. If desired, swivel connections 72 can be used in order to permit the aiming or directing of the light from the fixtures.

A modified embodiment of the lighting system is generally shown at 74 in FIG. 8. Embodiment 74 is substantially identical to embodiment 50, with the exception of the fact that the fluorescent fixtures 70 are replaced by an incandescent fixture. Thus, a socket 76 is secured on the end of rod 56. A pair of incandescent bulbs 78 is secured in the socket. If desired, shades or other diffusers can be furnished for the bulbs, and the socket 76 can have swivel mounts for each of the bulbs.

A third embodiment of the lighting assembly is generally shown at 80 in FIG. 9. The assembly 80 is shown as being mounted on a free-standing display board 82. Display board 82 comprises framing lumber 84 having a decorative facing 86. The facing can be peg board, paneling or plastic sheeting, such as Formica. Display boards of this type are generally known to the art and are used for displaying and vending various commodities and works of art. In this embodiment, the bar 52 is mounted on the top 88 of the display board. Rods 56 are inclined upwardly and pass diagonally through the bar 52. The bar 52 is held in place by wood screws 90. As with embodiments 50 and 74, wires will pass through rods 56 and be connected to a suitable source of current. Lighting fixtures will be secured on the outer ends of rods 56 and will be aimed at the facing 86 of the display board in order to illuminate the items on the display board.

One of the particular advantages of the lighting systems shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 is that the lighting fixtures can be mounted on vertical walls or boards and held in cantilever therefrom. In the prior art, when it was desired to provide overhead lighting for walls or for objects on the walls, the lighting had to be secured on the ceiling if it was desired to space the lighting away from the wall. When lighting was secured directly to the wall, there was very little space between the vertical plane of the light and the vertical wall. Utilizing the lighting system of this invention, the lighting fixtures can be held in cantilever from wall mounted supports, and the lighting fixtures can be spaced substantial distances from the wall. Thus, it has been found that there is sufficient supporting strength in the bar 52 and its method of mounting, and in the rod 56, to permit the spacing of the lighting substantial distances from the wall on which the light is focused. The wiring passes through the rigid metal rods 56, and therefore is completely protected. The wiring can be connected at the wall by any means known to the art, such as plugging into receptacles or wiring directly back to the fuse box or to wall-mounted switches. The method of connecting the lights with a source of current forms no part of this invention, as any of the methods known to the art can be used.

Although the rod 56 has been shown as being a rigid metal tube, other tubes having sufficient load-bearing qualities can be used. Thus, rods 56 can be plastic or plastic covered metal. Additionally, where the lighting fixture is lightweight, rod 56 can be a semirigid flexible spiral-wound tube, such as that which is commonly used in a gooseneck lamp. Utilizing such a rod, it is possible to infinitely vary the direction and position of the lighting fixtures suspended from the rod.

In all of the embodiments of this invention, instead of using load-distributing means on the rear surface of the wall, the supporting bars 22 or 52 can be secured to the wall by inserting wood screws through the wall and into the studs behind the wall. Likewise, when using the free-standing display shown in FIG. 9, wood screws can be screwed directly into the framing lumber of the display. If desired, the bars 22 and 52 can be provided with a series of predrilled holes for reception of the rods. Thus, the user of the support assembly can vary the positioning of the rods to suit the specific use for which the rods will be adapted. The number of rods used in any of the disclosed embodiments can be infinitely varied by increasing or decreasing the length of bars 22 and 52. The invention is adapted for providing a lighting assembly across the entire width of a wall or for providing a shelf, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, going across the entire width of a wall. Thus, the greater the width of the lighting assembly or shelf, the greater the number of rods that will be used.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.

Claims

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A lighting assembly comprising a vertical wall, a bar secured on said wall by means passing through said bar and said wall, with load distributing means on the side of the wall opposite the side of which said bar is secured, a hollow rod having two ends, one of said ends of said rod being secured in said bar, a lighting fixture secured on the other end of said rod, and electrical wires connected to said fixture and passing through said rod.

2. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein said wires additionally pass through said bar and through said wall.

3. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein said bar is elongated and is adapted to distribute a load across said wall, and a plurality of hollow rods is secured to said bar, with a lighting fixture being secured to each of said rods and electrical wires connected to said fixtures and passing through said rods.

4. The lighting assembly of claim 3 wherein said bar is hollow.

5. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein said means passing through said wall have threaded portions thereon and said load distributing means comprises screw anchors secured on said threaded portions.