Grommet cover assembly
The present invention provides a grommet cover assembly for selectively substantially blocking view of at least one opening in a planar member surface. The assembly comprises a mounting coupler mounted to the planar member surface proximate the first opening and a cover. The cover includes a flat cover member and a cover coupler, wherein the cover member includes at least one supporting leg. The cover coupler links to the mounting coupler to provide a hinged axis the cover member is rotated around. Thus, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, at least a portion of the opening is blocked from view. Methods of use and assembly are also provided.
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to table grommet covers and more specifically to a hinged grommet door.
Devices for passing a flexible cord such as a telephone cord or computer cable through one or more elements such as a desk top, a piece of furniture, a wall or other type of installation are known. Unfortunately, known devices of this type have one or more shortcomings. For instance, many known grommet covers can be complex, expensive and difficult to use. Further, many known grommet covers are difficult and costly to manufacture and install. Further still, many known grommet covers must be designed and dimensioned to fit a specific grommet opening. In many cases, at least a portion of a grommet cover is designed to fit within a grommet opening so that if there are ten openings of various dimensions, ten different grommet cover configurations are required. Thus, the inflexible design of many known grommet covers represents a long-standing problem in the field.
Many known grommet covers are also aesthetically objectionable. For example, in many cases a grommet cover assumes a half-cocked position when a cable or wire is accommodated through a grommet opening. In these cases, the grommet cover does not fully shut over the cable/wire, causing the cover and cable/wire to appear relatively sloppy. Further, in many such cases, when a grommet cover is half-cocked, a person can see through the opening to other components below a top member forming the opening.
Therefore, a need exists for a grommet cover assembly that is easy and efficient to use, that is easy to manufacture and install, and that can be used to cover many differently dimensioned grommet openings. It would also be advantageous if a grommet assembly met the above objectives and was aesthetically pleasing.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn a first version, the present invention provides an assembly for substantially blocking view of at least one opening in the surface of a planar member (such as a furniture top member and a wall member) surface. The assembly comprises a mounting coupler mounted to the planar surface proximate the first opening and a cover. The cover comprises a flat cover member and a cover coupler. The cover member has first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge. A portion of the first surface proximate the lateral edge is a peripheral surface. The cover coupler extends from the peripheral surface of the cover member. The cover coupler is linkable to the mounting coupler to support the cover member adjacent the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the planar member. When the cover member is adjacent the opening, the peripheral surface along the entire lateral edge of the cover member is spaced apart from and faces the surrounding surface. Thus, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, at least a portion of the peripheral surface is spaced apart from and faces the surrounding surface.
The space between the peripheral surface and the surrounding surface is between one eighth of an inch and one inch. The portion of the peripheral surface that faces the surrounding surface includes between one sixteenth inch and one inch ore more of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
The mounting coupler includes at least a first hinge member linkable to at least a second hinge member on the cover coupler. When the hinge members are linked, the cover member is rotatable about a hinge axis between a closed position, wherein the cover member is adjacent and substantially blocking view of the opening, and an open position, wherein the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the planar member and the opening can be accessed. The second hinge member of the cover coupler is releasable from the first hinge member of the mounting coupler.
In an alternate version, the first hinge member includes a first retainer feature and the second hinge member includes a second retainer feature. When the cover member is in the open position, the first and second retainer features cooperate to retain the cover member in the open position. The first and second retainer features comprise a rib and a recess.
In an alternate version, the mounting coupler includes at least two first hinge members that cooperate with at least two second hinge members on the cover coupler. The hinge members of the cover member are positioned on the lateral edge, which includes at least a first straight edge portion that extends between first and second straight edge ends. Thus, the two second hinge members extend from the peripheral surface adjacent the first straight edge and the two second hinge members are spaced away from the first and second straight end edges. The hinge members facilitate rotation of the cover member between open and closed positions. The two hinge members of both the cover coupler and mounting coupler are separated by a space.
The lateral edge of the grommet cover assembly includes at least a first straight edge portion that extends between first and second straight edge ends. The second hinge member extends from the peripheral surface adjacent the first straight edge. The second hinge member is spaced away from the first and second straight end edges.
The mounting coupler may be mounted to the planar surface by either one of adhesive and/or screws and/or other mechanical devices.
The cover also may comprise at least one supporting leg member that extends from the peripheral surface of the cover member to a distal end. Thus, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, the distal end of the supporting leg contacts the surrounding surface of the planar member adjacent the opening. The support members are positioned on the distal end of the cover. However, in alternate versions, the cover member may not have any supporting leg members.
The cover member may be square, rectangular, circular, oval, triangular or polygonal in shape.
In an alternate version, the present invention provides an assembly for substantially blocking view of an opening in a furniture member having a substantially flat surface such as a table top member. The assembly comprises a cover and a mounting coupler mounted to the surface of the furniture member proximate the opening. The cover includes a flat cover member and a cover coupler, with the cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge. A portion of the first surface proximate the lateral edge is a peripheral surface, and the cover coupler, extending from the peripheral surface, may be linkable to the mounting coupler. Thus, the coupler supports the cover member adjacent the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the planar member. Therefore, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, at least a portion of the peripheral surface faces the surrounding surface.
When the cover member is adjacent the opening, the peripheral surface faces and is spaced apart from the surrounding surface, thus forming a space for cable to pass between the first surface of the cover member and the first surface of the furniture member. The space rages between one eighth of an inch and includes at least one sixteenth to one quarter of an inch of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
The mounting and cover couplers comprise complimentary first and second hinge members, thereby facilitating rotation of the cover member between open and closed positions.
In an alternative version, the present invention provides a cover assembly for substantially blocking view of an opening in a furniture member having a substantially flat surface. The cover assembly comprises a coupler and a flat cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge. The coupler is linked to and extends from the first surface of the cover member. Once linked, the cover member is supported over the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the furniture member with the cover assembly located completely outside the opening. The coupler is adhered to the surface of the furniture member.
The coupler offsets the cover member from the furniture member so that a space exists between the first surface of the cover member and the first surface of the furniture member.
The cover assembly also comprises a mounting coupler linkable to the first surface of the furniture member, wherein the cover coupler extends from the cover member and is linkable to the mounting coupler. The mounting and cover couplers include complimentary first and second hinge members that facilitate rotation of the cover between open and closed positions. The coupler is adhered to the furniture member.
In an alternate version, the present invention provides a method for providing a cover of an opening in a substantially flat first surface of a planar member. The method comprises forming an opening in the planar member, providing a flat cover member and mounting the cover member to the first surface of the planar member. A mounting coupler may be provided to mount the cover coupler.
The cover member has first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge, the portion of the first surface of the cover member adjacent the lateral edge being a peripheral surface. When mounted, at least a portion of the first surface of the cover member is facing the opening and substantially parallel to and spaced apart from the first surface of the planar member.
The flat cover member is provided by extruding the cover member. The cover coupler may be integrally formed with and extruded from a portion of the cover member.
In another version, the present invention provides a method for installing a cover for an opening in a substantially flat first surface of a planar member. The method comprises mounting a mounting coupler to the first surface of the planar member adjacent the opening, linking the mounting coupler to a cover coupler attached to a cover member, and rotating the cover member between a closed position, wherein the cover member is adjacent and substantially blocking view of the opening, and an open position, wherein the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the planar member and the opening can be accessed.
The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description. In the description that follows reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration, and not limitation, expected versions of the invention. Such versions of the inventions do not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, and reference should therefore be made to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the several views, and more specifically, referring to
The grommet cover assembly 10 is intended for installation on the surface of a planar member such as a furniture surface or a wall surface. For purposes of brevity, the present disclosure refers to a planar member 12 as a table or desktop member.
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Coupler 22 includes a female hinge member that is substantially C-shaped in cross-section (see
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In use, cover member 20 can be rotated about a hinge pivot axis 29 between an open position shown in
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In addition to forming opening 50, the internal surface of the female hinge portion may also form a second opening 52 positioned so that when the cover member 20 is in the open position (see
The mounting coupler 16, cover member 20 and cover coupler 22, regardless of shape, design or configuration, may be manufactured using either an extrusion process or molding techniques. For instance, referring again to
The grommet cover assembly 10 may be made from any material suitable for substantially blocking the view of at least one opening 14, including but not limited to plastic and/or metal.
According to another aspect, an inventive method includes forming an opening in a table or desk top member and mounting an cover member to the top member and over the opening so that the cover member is spaced apart from the top member and is substantially parallel to the top member. Here, in at least some cases the cover member will have dimensions that are larger than the opening. For instance, in at lease some cases the cover member may extend over one-quarter inch or more portions of the top member adjacent the opening edge. In some cases the cover member is extruded. In some cases the step of mounting includes adhering while in other cases it includes mechanical fastening. In some cases mounting includes hingedly fastening. In some cases the cover to top member gap is between one-eighth of an inch and one inch.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be appreciated that the invention could be used in a variety of other embodiments.
Thus, the principles of the present invention can be applied in a variety of other ways apart from those specifically noted herein and/or depicted in the drawings. Still other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the claims (rather than just the preferred embodiments) should be reviewed in order to understand the full scope of the invention.
Claims
1. An assembly for use with a planar member having a first surface and forming at least a first opening in the first surface where a portion of the first surface adjacent the at least a first opening is a surrounding surface, the assembly for selectively substantially blocking view of the opening, the assembly comprising:
- a mounting coupler mounted to the first surface of the planar member proximate the first opening; and
- a cover including a flat cover member and a cover coupler, the cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge wherein a portion of the first surface proximate the lateral edge is a peripheral surface, the cover coupler extending from the peripheral surface and linkable to the mounting coupler to support the cover member adjacent the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the planar member;
- wherein, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, at least a portion of the peripheral surface is spaced apart from and faces the surrounding surface.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, the peripheral surface along the entire lateral edge of the cover member is spaced apart from and faces the surrounding surface.
3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the mounting coupler includes at least a first hinge member and the cover coupler includes at least a second hinge member linkable to the first hinge member wherein, when the hinge members are linked, the cover member is rotatable about a hinge axis between a closed position wherein the cover member is adjacent and substantially blocking view of the opening and an open position wherein the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the planar member and the opening can be accessed.
4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the second hinge member is releasable from the first hinge member.
5. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the first hinge member includes a first retainer feature and the second hinge member includes a second retainer feature and wherein, when the cover member is in the open position, the first and second retainer features cooperate to retain the cover member in the open position.
6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the first retainer feature is one of a rib and a recess and wherein the second retainer feature is the other of a rib and a recess.
7. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the mounting coupler includes at least two first hinge members and the cover coupler includes at least two second hinge members that cooperate with the two first hinge members to facilitate rotation of the cover member between the open and closed positions.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the two first hinge members are separated by a space and wherein the two second hinge members are separated by a space.
9. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lateral edge includes at least a first straight edge portion that extends between first and second straight edge ends, the two second hinge members extend from the peripheral surface adjacent the first straight edge and wherein the two second hinge members are spaced away from the first and second straight end edges.
10. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the lateral edge includes at least a first straight edge portion that extends between first and second straight edge ends, the second hinge member extends from the peripheral surface adjacent the first straight edge and the second hinge member is spaced away from the first and second straight end edges.
11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the mounting coupler is mounted to the first surface of the planar member via at least one of adhesive and screws.
12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the planar member is one of a furniture top member and a wall member.
13. The assembly of claim 1 further including at least a first leg member that extends from the peripheral surface of the cover member to a distal end, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, the distal end contacting the surrounding surface adjacent the opening.
14. The assembly of claim 13 further including at least a second leg member that extends from the peripheral surface of the cover member to a distal end, the second leg member spaced apart from the first leg member, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, the distal end of the second leg member contacting the surrounding surface adjacent the opening.
15. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the cover member is one of square, rectangular, circular, oval, triangular and polygonal.
16. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the cover coupler is releasable from the mounting coupler.
17. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the space between the peripheral surface and the surrounding surface is between one eighth of an inch and one inch.
18. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the space between the peripheral surface and the surrounding surface is between one quarter of an inch and one half of an inch.
19. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the portion of the peripheral surface that faces the surrounding surface includes at least one sixteenth of an inch of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
20. The assembly of claim 19 wherein the portion of the peripheral surface that faces the surrounding surface includes at least one quarter of an inch of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
21. The assembly of claim 1 for use in substantially blocking view of at least a second opening in the planar member that is proximate the first opening wherein the surrounding surface includes the portion of the first surface of the planar member that surrounds the first and second openings.
22. An assembly for use with a furniture member having a first substantially flat surface and forming at least a first opening in the first surface where a portion of the first surface adjacent the at least a first opening is a surrounding surface, the assembly for selectively substantially blocking view of the opening, the assembly comprising:
- a mounting coupler mounted to the first surface of the furniture member proximate the first opening; and
- a cover including a flat cover member and a cover coupler, the cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge wherein a portion of the first surface proximate the lateral edge is a peripheral surface, the cover coupler extending from the peripheral surface and linkable to the mounting coupler to support the cover member adjacent the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the planar member;
- wherein, when the cover member is adjacent the opening, at least a portion of the peripheral surface faces the surrounding surface.
23. The assembly of claim 22 wherein when the cover member is adjacent the opening, the peripheral surface faces and is spaced apart from the surrounding surface thereby forming a space for cables to pass between the first surface of the cover member and the first surface of the furniture member.
24. The assembly of claim 23 wherein the space between the peripheral surface and the surrounding surface is between one eighth of an inch and one inch and wherein the portion of the peripheral surface that faces the surrounding surface includes at least one sixteenth of an inch of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
25. The assembly of claim 23 wherein the space between the peripheral surface and the surrounding surface is between one fourth of an inch and one half of an inch and wherein the portion of the peripheral surface that faces the surrounding surface includes at least one quarter of an inch of the first surface adjacent the lateral edge.
26. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the mounting and cover couplers include complimentary first and second hinge members.
27. The assembly of claim 23 wherein the mounting and cover couplers are complimentary first and second hinge members, respectively, that facilitate rotation of the cover member between a closed position wherein the cover member is adjacent the first surface of the furniture member and an open position in which the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the furniture member and the opening is accessible.
28. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the lateral edge includes at least a first straight edge portion that extends and has a straight length dimension between first and second ends, the second hinge member has a length dimension that is shorter than the straight length dimension and the second hinge member extends along a portion of the straight edge portion and is spaced apart from each of the first and second ends of the straight edge portion.
29. The assembly of claim 22 wherein the furniture member is a table top member and the opening is a passageway through the top member.
30. A cover assembly for use with a furniture member having a first substantially flat surface and forming at least a first opening in the first surface where a portion of the first surface adjacent the at least a first opening is a surrounding surface, the cover assembly comprising:
- a flat cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge; and
- a coupler linked to and extending from the first surface of the cover member and linkable to the first surface of the furniture member to support the cover member over the opening and substantially parallel to the first surface of the furniture member with the cover assembly located completely outside the opening.
31. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the coupler is adhered to the first surface of the furniture member.
32. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the coupler offsets the first surface of the cover member from the first surface of the furniture member so that a space exists between the first surface of the cover member and the first surface of the furniture member.
33. The assembly of claim 30 wherein at least a portion of the first surface of the furniture member adjacent the opening is a surrounding surface and a portion of the first surface of the cover member adjacent the lateral edge is a peripheral surface and, wherein, when the cover member is adjacent the first surface of the planar member, the peripheral surface faces the surrounding surface.
34. The assembly of claim 30 further comprising a mounting coupler linkable to the first surface of the furniture member, wherein the cover coupler extends from the first surface of the cover member and links to the mounting coupler.
35. The assembly of claim 34 wherein the mounting and cover couplers include complimentary first and second hinge members that facilitate rotation of the cover member between a closed position adjacent the opening and an open position wherein the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the furniture member and the opening is accessible.
36. The assembly of claim 30 wherein the coupler is adhered to the first surface of the furniture member.
37. A method for providing a cover for an opening in a substantially flat first surface of a planar member, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming an opening in the first surface of the planar member wherein the portion of the first surface of the planar member surrounding the opening is a surrounding portion;
- providing a flat cover member, the cover member having first and second oppositely facing surfaces and a lateral edge, the portion of the first surface of the cover member adjacent the lateral edge being a peripheral surface; and
- mounting the cover member to the first surface of the planar member with at least a portion of the first surface of the cover member facing the opening and substantially parallel to and spaced apart from the first surface of the planar member.
38. The method of claim 37 wherein the step of providing a flat cover member includes extruding the cover member.
39. The method of claim 38 wherein the steps of providing a flat cover member and mounting the cover member include extruding a cover member and a cover coupler member integrally formed with and extending from a portion of the peripheral surface of the cover member and mounting the cover coupler member to the first surface of the planar member.
40. The method of claim 39 wherein the step of mounting the cover coupler includes providing a mounting coupler, mounting the mounting coupler to the first surface of the planar member and linking the cover coupler to the mounting coupler.
41. The method of claim 40 wherein the cover coupler and the mounting coupler include a cover hinge member and a mounting hinge member and the step of extruding the cover member and the cover coupler includes extruding the cover coupler adjacent an edge of the cover member where the cover coupler extends between first and second ends
42. The method of claim 41 wherein the method further includes the steps of, after extruding the cover member and the cover coupler, removing at least a portion of the cover hinge member.
43. The method of claim 41 wherein the step of removing at least a portion of the cover hinge member includes removing portions of the cover hinge member at each of the first and second ends of the cover coupler.
44. The method of claim 41 wherein the step of removing at least a portion of the cover hinge member further includes removing a central portion of the cover hinge member, thereby creating first and second spaced apart cover hinge members, and wherein the step of providing a mounting hinge member includes providing first and second mounting hinge members; and wherein the step of linking the cover coupler to the mounting coupler includes linking the first and second cover hinge members to the first and second mounting hinge members, respectively.
45. The method of claim 37 wherein the step of mounting the cover member to the first surface of the planar member so that the first surface of the cover member is spaced apart from the first surface of the planar member includes mounting the cover so that the first surface of the cover member is spaced from the first surface of the planar member by one eighth of an inch to one inch.
46. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of providing a mounting coupler includes molding the mounting coupler.
47. A method of installing a cover for an opening in a substantially flat first surface of a planar member, the method comprising the steps of:
- mounting a mounting coupler to the first surface of the planar member adjacent the opening;
- linking the mounting coupler to a cover coupler attached to a cover member; and
- rotating the cover member between a closed position, wherein the cover member is adjacent and substantially blocking view of the opening, and an open position, wherein the cover member is angled with respect to the first surface of the planar member and the opening can be accessed.
48. The method of claim 47 wherein the cover coupler and the mounting coupler include a cover hinge member and a mounting hinge member.
Type: Application
Filed: May 23, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 29, 2007
Inventors: Kirt D. Martin (Alto, MI), Davinder Singh Dhanoa (Kentwood, MI), Francisco Javier Olvera (Kentwood, MI)
Application Number: 11/438,852
International Classification: A47B 97/00 (20060101);