SECURITY MOUNT
A security mounts includes a shield surrounding a socket head screw. The shield has a hole in it that generally aligns with the socket portion of the socket head screw. The perimeter of the shield hole has a geometric shape that corresponds to the geometric shape of the cross section of the shank of a wrench used to turn the socket head screw. An unconventional tool has a reduced cross section portion of the shank that is able to rotate around in the shield hole.
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The present invention is directed to a mount for use with, for example, televisions and computer monitors. The mount includes a shield that makes difficult the dismounting of the electronics product without the use of a special, nonstandard tool.
BACKGROUNDThere exists an ongoing concern in the hospitality industry over the theft from hotel rooms of expensive electronics including televisions and large computer monitors. Patrons and uninvited visitors can easily walk off with these electronic products unless they are reasonably secured or the would-be thief is otherwise deterred from taking the device. Many existing mounts for electronics products are secured simply by screws or bolts to a surface (wall or cabinet or table) or to the electronics product itself. There are some efforts at a permanent attachment. However, the use of completely inaccessible and permanent attachment of a device to a surface must be balanced with the foreseeable future needs of a hospitality facility owner to have access to and remove electronics products for service or replacement.
SUMMARYAccordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a security mount that is easily accessible and detachable by a hospitality owner, but which is difficult for a potential thief to dismount.
In one example a security mount includes a base plate and shield fixed to the base plate and a socket head screw. The base plate has a flat surface having a first hole therethrough configured to allow the shaft of the socket head screw to pass through the first hole. The shield has a wall that substantially surrounds the first hole and forms a chamber over the first hole, the wall having a second hole therein wherein the second hole is generally aligned with the first hole. The second hole has a geometric shaped perimeter that corresponds to the geometric shape of the cross section shape of the shank of a wrench to turn the socket head screw. The socket head screw may have a hexagonal socket and the second hole may have a hexagonal shaped perimeter substantially the same size as the hexagonal socket. The security mounts may include a plurality of first holes in the base plate, a plurality of socket head screws, and a plurality of second holes in the shield wherein each first hole has a corresponding second hole in the shield, and each second hole is generally aligned with its corresponding first hole, and wherein the shield substantially surrounds all the first holes in the base plate. The first hole and second hole may be separated by a first distance, and the socket head screw defines a length, and the first distance is at least about as long as the screw length. A security mount kit comprises a security mount as described herein and a wrench. The wrench has a tip and a reduced cross section portion of its shank, the tip having an outside geometric shape adapted to mate with the socket head screw. The reduced cross section portion has a cross sectional diameter that is less than the shortest diameter of the geometric shape of the cross section of the shank of the wrench to turn the socket head screw. In this way, the tip of the wrench may be inserted through the second hole, and the reduced cross section portion of the wrench is able to rotate freely in the second hole. The wall mount may have a socket head screw having a hexagonal socket and the hole has a hexagonal shaped perimeter substantially the same size as the hexagonal socket. The wall mount may include a kit that also includes a wrench. The wrench comprises a tip and a shank, the tip having an outside geometric shape adapted to mate with the socket head screw, and the shank having a cylindrical portion having a circular cross section. The diameter of the circular cross section is less than the shortest diameter of the geometric shape of the socket portion of the socket head screw.
The security mount invention described herein includes the use of a shield surrounding a socket head screw. The shield has a hole in it that generally aligns with the socket portion of a socket head screw. The perimeter of the hole has a geometric shape that corresponds to the geometric shape of the cross section of the shank of a wrench used to turn the socket head screw. The corresponding shape of the socket wrench shank and the shield hole means that conventional socket wrenches can access the socket head screw, but conventional wrenches cannot turn it. Instead, a special, unconventional tool is needed having a circular or reduced cross section portion of the shank of the wrench in order to both engage the socket head screw and rotate in the shield hole. This requirement of an unconventional wrench in combination with a mount is a significant deterrent to theft of electrical products that may be attached to the mount.
One example of a security mount is shown in
Telescoping wall mount 15 may be vertically mounted, for instance on a wall or on a cabinet wall. Alternatively, however, the telescoping wall mount 15 could be used horizontally, for instance, mounted on a table or ceiling. The mount could be oriented at other angles depending on the surface that will support the mount and the necessary orientation therefrom.
In
Referring still to
The base plate assembly 16 includes a flat back panel 50 having holes 51 therethrough. The holes 51 allow for the base plate assembly 16 to be secured to a surface. Different fasteners (not shown) could be used including, for example, screws, nuts and bolts, or nails. The base plate assembly 16 further includes sidewalls 52 that have one end of struts 20 slidably and rotatably mounted therein. The struts 20 are mounted onto rivets 28. The rivets 28 are the end sections of cross members 26. The struts 20 are rotatably mounted on the rivets 28 and slide in slots 30 that are formed in the sidewalls 52.
The base plate assembly 16 also includes end walls 45 and 53. The end walls 45 and 53 have turnbuckle screw 36 rotatably secured therein. One end 29 of screw 36 is mounted onto end wall 53. The first end 29 of screw 36 includes a bearing that allows rotation of the screw 36. The other end 33 of screw 36 is rotatably secured onto end wall 45. Again, second end 33 of screw 36 includes a bearing that provides for rotation of the screw. The second end 33 of screw 36 includes a socket head screw 34. Cross members 26 are threadably engaged to the screw 36. When the screw 36 is rotated, the first end 25 of screw 36 will move the cross member backwards and forwards along the length of that first end 25. Similarly, the second end 27 of the screw 36, once rotated, moves the cross member 26 back and forth along the length of the screw. The threads of the first portion 25 and second portion 27 of the turnbuckle screw 36 are oppositely oriented so that when the screw 36 is rotated, the cross members 26 either move towards each other or away from each other. This movement toward and away from each other by the cross members 26 is the movement that lifts the struts 20 and the support plate 17 away from the base assembly or contracts then back toward the base assembly 16.
Shield 19 is fixed to the end wall 45 of the base plate assembly 16. The end 45 of the base plate assembly 16 is the end where the socket head end 34 of the turnbuckle screw 36 is accessible. The socket head screw 34 turns the screw 36. The shield 19 includes a shield hole 35. The shield hole 35 has a geometric shaped perimeter that matches the cross sectional shape of the shank of a socket wrench 40 that turns the screw. The shape of the shield hole 35 may be the hexagonal shape shown in the figures, which is the most common shape for the shank of the socket wrenches that fit the socket screws head shapes shown in
The strut arms 20 are connected on one end to the rivets 28 and connected by second rivets 31 to the side walls 55 that carry the support plate 17. The strut arms 20 are rotatably connected around the rivets 31 so that the struts 20 will freely move up and down in lifting the support plate 17. With specific reference to
In operation, the support plate 17 is actuated in motion away from the base plate assembly 16 through rotation of the turnbuckle screw 36. The screw 36 is turned by inserting a socket head wrench into the socket head 34. The socket head wrench 40 includes a tip 42 and a reduced cross section portion 41 of its shank, in this example, that has a circular cross section. The wrench 40 is inserted through the shield hole 35 and inserted into the socket screw 34. The reduced cross section portion 41 of the shank of the wrench 40 is aligned with the shield hole 35. Because the circular cross section portion 41 has a diameter less than the shortest diameter of the shield hole 35, the wrench 40 rotates freely. Please note that if a conventional socket head wrench were inserted through the shield hole 35, it would not be able to turn as it would be locked or retained by the shield hold 35 that has the same geometric shape as the socket geometric shape.
The material that forms the shield 19 must be a robust and rigid material. In some examples, it is formed from steel or other hard metal material. In this way, the shield hole 35 is a rigid hole that cannot be easily deformed to allow access to and control of the turnbuckle screw 36 by way of the socket head 34. Of course, the shield 19 may be made of other rigid materials suitable for this purpose.
In use, the security wall mount is effective in a number of ways. First, all of the fasteners that anchor the mount to a surface or wall through holes 51 are not visible and are inaccessible once the mount has been installed and the support plate turned to the closed position shown in
Turning now to
The shield 65 is essentially a chamber that includes shield hole 64 oriented or aligned over holes through the base plate 62 that are underneath the shield hole 66. As is best seen in
Turning now to
Shield plate 115 includes downwardly extending walls 117 that have holes 118 therein. The holes 118 in the walls 117 are positioned to align with the threaded holes 112 and the vertical walls 110 of the base plate 105. The shield plate 115 also includes shield holes 120. In operation, socket head screws 122 will feed through the holes 118 in the shield plate 115 and be anchored in the holes 107 in the base plate 105 to secure the top of the shield to the base plate. Those socket head bolts 122 are accessible only through the shield holes 120 which are aligned therewith. Accordingly, a conventional socket wrench is not acceptable for use, since it would not rotate around in the shield hole 120. Only a specialized wrench like the wrenches described earlier herein would be acceptable.
Just like the shank 131 of a wrench 130 can be any non-round shape, likewise the shield hole 141 would typically be the same non-round cross sectional shape. However, the shield hole and wrench shank shape do not have to be identical. For instance, in
This invention is susceptible to considerable variation in its practice. Therefore the foregoing description is not intended to limit, and should not be construed as limiting, the invention to the particular exemplifications presented hereinabove. Rather, what is intended to be covered is as set forth in the ensuing claims and the equivalents thereof permitted as a matter of law.
Claims
1. A security mount comprising
- a base plate and a shield fixed to the base plate;
- a socket head screw;
- the base plate comprising a flat surface having a first hole therethrough configured to allow the shaft of the socket head screw to pass through the first hole; and
- the shield comprising a wall that substantially surrounds the first hole and forms a chamber over the first hole, the wall having a second hole therein wherein the second hole is generally aligned with the first hole, and the second hole has a geometric shape perimeter that corresponds to the geometric shape of the cross section shape of the shank of a wrench to turn the socket head screw.
2. A security mount as described in claim 1, wherein the socket head screw has a hexagonal socket and the second hole has a hexagonal shape perimeter substantially the same size as the hexagonal socket.
3. A security mount as described in claim 1, further comprising
- a plurality of first holes in the base plate, a plurality of socket head screws, and a plurality of second holes in the shield wherein each first hole has a corresponding second hole in the shield, and each second hole is generally aligned with its corresponding first hole, and
- wherein the shield substantially surrounds all the first holes in the base plate.
4. A security mount as described in claim 3, further comprising a plurality of shields, each shield surrounding a first hole, and each shield having a corresponding second hole.
5. A security mount as described in claim 1, wherein the first hole and second hole are separated by a first distance, and the socket head screw defines a length, and the first distance is at least about as long as the screw length.
6. A security mount as described in claim 1, wherein the socket head screw is selected from the group consisting of a hex (or Allen) socket, a square socket, torx socket, tri-wing socket, clutch drive socket, torq-set socket, polydrive socket, triple square socket, spline drive socket, double hex socket, snake eyes socket and Bristol socket.
7. A security mount kit comprising a security mount as described in claim 1 and a wrench,
- wherein the wrench comprises a tip and a reduced cross section portion of its shank, the tip having an outside geometric shape adapted to mate with the socket head screw, the reduced cross section portion having a cross sectional diameter that is less than the shortest diameter of the geometric shape of the cross section of the shank of the wrench to turn the socket head screw;
- whereby the tip of the wrench may be inserted through the second hole, and the reduced cross section portion of the wrench is able to rotate freely in the second hole.
8. A security wall mount comprising
- a base plate assembly, a support plate, and a strut assembly connected on one end to the base plate, and on its opposite end to the support plate;
- a screw connected to the strut assembly for actuating the strut assembly to move the support plate toward or away from the base plate assembly, wherein the screw has a socket head screw assembly that actuates the movement of the strut assembly;
- the base plate assembly comprising a base plate and a shield fixed to the base plate, the shield comprising a wall that extends from the base plate and substantially covers the socket head screw assembly and forms a chamber over the socket head screw assembly, the wall having a hole therein wherein the hole is generally aligned with the socket head portion of the socket head screw assembly, and the hole has a geometric shape perimeter that corresponds to the cross section shape of the shank of a wrench usable to turn the socket portion of the socket head screw assembly.
9. A security mount as described in claim 8, wherein the base plate and support plate have holes therethrough to allow fasteners to be inserted through them;
- wherein the wall mount has a closed position where the base plate and support plate are secured by the strut assembly in an adjacent relative position; and
- wherein when the wall mount is in the closed position, there is no access to the inside of the holes in the base plate and support plate.
10. A security wall mount as described in claim 8, wherein the socket head screw has a hexagonal socket and the hole has a hexagonal shape perimeter substantially the same size as the hexagonal socket.
11. A security wall mount as described in claim 8, wherein the socket head screw is selected from the group consisting of a hex (or Allen) socket, a square socket, torx socket, tri-wing socket, clutch drive socket, torq-set socket, polydrive socket, triple square socket, spline drive socket, double hex socket, snake eyes socket and Bristol socket.
12. A security wall mount kit comprising a security wall mount as described in claim 8 and a wrench,
- wherein the wrench comprises a tip and a shank, the tip having an outside geometric shape adapted to mate with the socket head screw, the shank having a cylindrical portion having a circular cross section, and the diameter of the circular cross section is less than the shortest diameter of the geometric shape of the socket portion of the socket head screw;
- whereby the tip of the wrench may be inserted through the second hole, and the cylindrical portion of the shank of the wrench is able to rotate freely in the second hole.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 27, 2009
Publication Date: Apr 28, 2011
Applicant: (White Stone, VA)
Inventors: William F. Geier (White Stone, VA), Roger Donaldson ( White Stone, VA), John P. Tomillon (Deltaville, VA)
Application Number: 12/606,388
International Classification: A47B 47/03 (20060101);