ANCHOR ASSEMBLY FOR FASTENER
An anchor assembly for walls comprises a toggle member and a strap member pivotally mounted together, and a locking member. In a first position, the toggle member is aligned with the strap member for insertion through the wall, whereas in a second position, the toggle member extends behind the wall at an angle relative to the strap member which extends from the toggle member through the hole in the wall. The locking member is adapted to be displaced along the strap member until it engages the wall and to be locked on the strap member. Therefore, the locking member and the toggle member are connected by the strap member and imprison the wall by abutting respectively the visible and hidden sides thereof. A fastener introduced through the locking member and the wall threadably engages an opening defined in the toggle member.
N/A.
FIELDThe present subject-matter relates to wall anchors and, more particularly, to a wall anchor for use typically in hollow walls, such as those made of friable materials, e.g. gypsum.
BACKGROUNDU.S. Pat. No. 4,294,156 issued on Oct. 13, 1981 to McSherry et al. discloses an anchor assembly for retaining an elongated fastener within an opening defined in a wall. The anchor assembly includes a channel member acting as a toggle, and a pair of straps extending from the channel member and being pivotally mounted thereto. A pulling ring is provided at the ends of the straps opposite their ends connected to the channel member. A collar is engaged around the two straps and can be displaced, ratchet-type, towards the channel member. A hole is first defined through the wall and the channel member, oriented parallel to the straps is inserted through the hole such as to extend behind the wall, the channel member adopting once having passed the opening in the wall an orientation generally perpendicular to the straps and lying against the hidden surface of the wall after the straps have been pulled on via the pulling ring. The collar is then displaced along the straps and towards the wall until it firmly abuts the visible surface of the wall, the wall being imprisoned between the channel member and the collar which are connected by the straps. The pulling ring and the sections of the straps which extend forwardly of the collar can then be cut and a fastener can then be engaged through the collar and through a threaded opening defined in the channel member thereby allowing the fastener to be secured to the wall and to hold an article Thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,924 issued on Feb. 28, 1978 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,386 issued on Mar. 17, 1987, both to McSherry et al., are also of interest.
SUMMARYIt would thus be desirable to provide a novel anchor assembly typically for use with a fastener in hollow walls.
The embodiments described herein provide in one aspect an anchor assembly for walls, comprising a strap member, a spring member, a toggle member pivotally mounted to said strap member, and a locking member slidable along said strap member, said toggle member being displaceable between first and second positions thereof, wherein in said first position said toggle member is substantially aligned with said strap member for insertion through a hole in the wall while biasedly engaging said spring member, wherein in the first position the toggle member is engaged to the strap member, wherein said toggle member once behind the wall is adapted to be displaced towards said second position by said spring member, and wherein in said second position said toggle member extends behind the wall at an angle relative to said strap member with said strap member extending from said toggle member through the hole in the wall, said locking member being adapted to be displaced along said strap member and towards the wall and said toggle member, whereby once the anchor assembly is installed, said locking member and said toggle member are connected by a distal section of said strap member and imprison the wall by abutting opposed sides thereof, said toggle member being adapted to be engaged by a fastener introduced through said locking member and through the hole in the wall.
For a better understanding of the embodiments described herein and to show more clearly how they may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, which show at least one exemplary embodiment, and in which:
The toggle member 10 defines at a leading, i.e. rear, end thereof a threaded cutting member 22 defining a pointed end and cutting edges 24 for cutting through a friable wall W material when the toggle member 10 is rotated using, for instance, a screwdriver while the toggle member 10 is in its position shown in
Accordingly, a proximal, i.e. trailing, end of the toggle member defines a cruciform recess 26 adapted to be engaged by a Phillips-type screwdriver. It is understood that other types of female recesses or even male extensions, engageable respectively by suitable screwdriver bits or by suitable rotatable sockets, could also be used.
A spring-loaded tab 28 is provided at the rear, i.e. leading, end of the strap member 12 such as to be engaged by the toggle member 10 when the latter is aligned, as in
Accordingly, when it is desired to install the anchor assembly A in the wall W, the toggle member 10 is substantially brought into alignment with the strap member 12, as shown in
The strap member 12 is then pulled away from the wall W, such that the pointed teeth 30 of the toggle member 10 engage the hidden surface of the wall W. The collar 16 is then slid towards the wall W along the ratchet teeth 20 of the strap member 12 that is until a skirt 32 of the collar 16 is inserted in the hole defined in the wall W, and a flange 34 of the collar 16 abuts the visible side of the wall W. The grip member 18 is held onto by the user while the collar 16 is displaced towards the wall W. The collar 16 is slid longitudinally along the strap member 12, and without being able to rotate with respect to the strap member 12 as a result of the non-circular opening 36 defined in the collar 16, which defines shoulders 37 (
Once the wall W is firmly imprisoned between the toggle member 10 and the collar 16, the grip member 18 and the section of the strap member 12 extending between the grip member 18 and the flange 34 of the collar 16, can be discarded, for instance, by cutting or, as in the present embodiment, by bending as the strap member 12 is provided with weakened areas which allow the strap member 12 to be separated in two. The remaining portion of the strap 12 thus connects the toggle member 10 to the collar 16 within the hole in the wall W.
A fastener can then be engaged through the central opening 36 defined in the collar 16, within a semi-circular channel 38 defined longitudinally along the strap member 12, and through an opening 40 defined in the toggle member 10. The opening 40 in the toggle member 10 may be, for instance, tapped by the fastener such that the fastener becomes firmly secured to the anchor assembly A which itself is firmly secured to the wall W, as explained hereinabove. If the opening 40 is provided with a machine tap, a bolt can be used as the fastener. If the fastener is provided at its head, for instance, with a hook, the anchor assembly A can be used in a ceiling.
Generally, both anchor assemblies A and A′ are very similar, except for their toggle members, as explained hereinbelow. The anchor assembly A′ is also adapted to be mounted to a wall for use with a fastener (not shown), such as a screw. The anchor assembly A′ comprises a retention member 110 hereinafter referred to as the toggle member 110, a strap member 112 pivotally connected at pivot 114 to the toggle member 110, and a locking member, such as collar 116. The strap member 112 is thus pivotally connected at its rear, leading, end to the toggle member 110 and is provided at its front end with a grip member 118.
The strap member 112, preferably made of plastic, is of substantially semi-circular cross-section and defines a series of ratchet teeth 120 on an outside surface thereof. The collar 116 is displaceable along the strap member 112, that is only towards the toggle member 110, the collar 116 including inner locking elements (not shown) which co-act with the ratchet teeth 120 in order to prevent the collar 116 from being displaced away from the toggle member 110, i.e. from being retracted back towards the grip member 118.
The toggle member 110, as opposed to the toggle member 10 of the anchor assembly A of
A spring-loaded tab 128 is provided at the rear, i.e. leading, end of the strap member 112 such as to be engaged by the toggle member 110 when the latter is aligned with the strap member 112 (this position is generally shown in
Once the toggle member 110 has been introduced completely past the hidden surface of the wall, the spring-loaded tab 128 biasedly releases the toggle member 110 to its transversal retention position shown in
Accordingly, with reference to
The strap member 112 is then pulled away from the wall W, along arrow 148 in
Once the wall W is firmly imprisoned between the toggle member 110 and the collar 116, the grip member 118 and the section of the strap member 112 extending between the grip member 118 and the flange 134 of the collar 116, can be discarded, for instance, by cutting or, as in the present embodiment, by bending (see
Still referring to
Furthermore,
Generally, the anchor assembly A″ of
The anchor assembly A″ is also adapted to be mounted to a wall for use with a fastener, such as a screw S shown in
The strap member 212, preferably made of plastic, is of substantially semi-circular cross-section and defines a series of ratchet teeth 220 on an outside surface thereof. The collar 216 is displaceable along the strap member 212, that is only towards the toggle member 210, in that the collar 216 for instance includes the inner locking elements 221 (part of the pair of spring-loaded arms 262), which co-act with the ratchet teeth 220 in order to prevent the collar 216 from being displaced away from the toggle member 210, i.e. from being retracted back towards the grip member 218.
The toggle member 210, as opposed to the toggle member 10 of the anchor assembly A of
The spring-loaded tab 228 is provided at the rear, i.e. leading, end of the strap member 212 such as to be engaged by the toggle member 210 when the latter is aligned with the strap member 212 (this position is shown in
In this insertion position, the spring-loaded tab 228 is in a biased state. Also, in this insertion position, the toggle member 210 is retained to the strap member 212 by way of the inwardly curved pointed teeth 230 of the toggle member 210, which grasp the longitudinal edges 239 of the strap member 212 and so retain the toggle member 210 and the strap member 212 engaged together (in the aligned insertion position), and against the spring force of the spring-loaded tab 228 that is in a collapsed position.
Again in the insertion position, the extended curved tail 260 of the spring-loaded tab 228 extends past one of the longitudinal ends of the toggle member 210 and is, along with its spring-loaded tab 228, biased in a collapsed position. A curved free end 264 of the tail 260 extends outwardly away from the strap member 212, as well seen in
Generally, once the toggle member 210 has been introduced completely past the hidden surface of the wall, the anchor assembly A″ is pulled away from the wall such that the free end 264 engages the hidden side of the wall, causing the curved tail 260 to pull on the toggle member 210, thereby releasing the toggle member 210 from the strap member 212. The toggle member 210 then spring backs so as to assume its transversal retention position shown in
As for anchor assembly A′, the tab 228 includes a V-shaped tongue 244 that is forcibly folded or collapsed when the toggle member 210 is brought to the insertion position and that causes, as it plastically returns to its at-rest position (of
Accordingly, with reference to
As per
In
The strap member 212 is then pulled away from the wall W such that the linear edges 246 of the toggle member 210 engage the hidden surface of the wall W (or this may result when the collar 216 is moved towards the wall W, as described hereinafter). The collar 216 is then slid, along arrows 274 (
Once the wall W is firmly imprisoned between the toggle member 210 and the collar 216, the grip member 218 and the section of the strap member 212 extending between the grip member 218 and the flange 234 of the collar 216, can be discarded, for instance, by cutting or, as in the present embodiment, by bending (see
Now referring to
The steps shown in
While the above description provides examples of the embodiments, it will be appreciated that some features and/or functions of the described embodiments are susceptible to modification without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments. Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to be illustrative of the embodiments and non-limiting, and it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that other variants and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments as defined in the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. An anchor assembly for walls, comprising a strap member, a spring member, a toggle member pivotally mounted to said strap member, and a locking member slidable along said strap member, said toggle member being displaceable between first and second positions thereof, wherein in said first position said toggle member is substantially aligned with said strap member for insertion through a hole in the wall while biasedly engaging said spring member, wherein in the first position the toggle member is engaged to the strap member, wherein said toggle member once behind the wall is adapted to be displaced towards said second position by said spring member, and wherein in said second position said toggle member extends behind the wall at an angle relative to said strap member with said strap member extending from said toggle member through the hole in the wall, said locking member being adapted to be displaced along said strap member and towards the wall and said toggle member, whereby once the anchor assembly is installed, said locking member and said toggle member are connected by a distal section of said strap member and imprison the wall by abutting opposed sides thereof, said toggle member being adapted to be engaged by a fastener introduced through said locking member and through the hole in the wall.
2. An anchor assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein a proximal section of said strap member located forwardly of said locking member is adapted to be removed once the anchor assembly is installed and the locking member abuts the wall.
3. An anchor assembly as defined in any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein locking means are provided for preventing said locking member from being displaced away from said toggle member, once the anchor assembly is installed.
4. An anchor assembly as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said spring member includes an extended free end, which is adapted to release the toggle member from the strap member and thereby allow the toggle member to displace from the first to the second positions.
5. An anchor assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein the extended free end is curved and is adapted to disengage the toggle member from the strap member by pulling on the anchor assembly such that the free end engages a hidden side of the wall.
6. An anchor assembly as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, in the first position, the toggle member is engaged to the strap member by way of hooks provided on the toggle member and adapted to releasingly engage the strap member.
7. An anchor assembly as defined in claim 6, wherein the hooks include grasping teeth that extend inwardly from edges of the toggle member.
8. An anchor assembly as defined in claim 7, wherein the toggle member is hollow such as to accommodate therein part of the strap member, in the first position.
9. An anchor assembly as defined in any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein the grasping teeth are at least one of pointed and curved.
10. An anchor assembly as defined in any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein in the first position, the spring member extends between the toggle member and the strap member.
11. An anchor assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein the extended free end of the spring member extends past the toggle member, in the first position.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 3, 2022
Publication Date: Sep 15, 2022
Inventor: Pierre MCDUFF (Outremont)
Application Number: 17/592,495