Method and apparatus for aligning a wall hanging

#It is clearly desirable to hang pictures, mirrors and other objects on walls in a manner that is pleasing to the eye of even a casual observer. In the case of a plurality of objects hung in a manner intended to be aligned, even minor errors in alignment are noticeable. Therefore, decorators take great care in insuring that wall hangings are appropriately arranged to avoid even the slightest alignment error. Importantly, proper hanging of pictures and mirrors greatly reduces the warping of picture frames and the need for constant straightening of the picture or mirror.

#Many pictures, mirrors and other wall hangings are secured using one or more wall anchors, such as nails, screws or special purpose hanging brackets, that catch or otherwise mechanically communicate with a wire horizontally disposed, and attached to, the rear or “wall side” of the picture, mirror or object to be hung. Thus, in addition to attempting to insure alignment of the various objects to be hung, a decorator must also control the relative position of the wall hanging brackets and the wire used to secure the wall hanging. In the case of mirrors, non-wire mounting is typically provided by including fixed mounting hardware on the back of a mirror which may or may not be properly aligned, thereby leading to poor hanging alignment. This situation is typically resolved by repeated moving of one or more objects after an initial hanging of the object on the wall, resulting in possible damage to the wall and/or object to be hung. Additionally, two people are typically required to hang a picture unless the picture is very small.

#Therefore, it is seen to be desirable to provide a system and method for aligning an object to be hung on a wall and for determining a priori the points upon the wall which will receive an anchor, prior to hanging the object on the wall.

#FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary grouping of components suitable for use in a method according to the present invention;

#FIGS. 2A and 2B depict a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

#FIGS. 3-12 depict graphical representations of the use of the components shown in FIG. 1;

#FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary grouping of components suitable for use in practicing a method according to the present invention. The exemplary components comprise a sheet or grid sheet 110, a stabilizer bar 120, a plurality of pegs 130, an optional plurality of peg caps 140, a plurality of distance tabs 150 and a plurality of wire positioners 160. Specifically, a grid sheet 110 comprises a relatively large piece of paper or other thin sheet material having preferably disposed or inscribed thereon a grid pattern.

#The stabilizer bar 120 comprises a strip or angular extrusion of a resilient material such as plastic including a center marking (C) and a plurality of distance markings emanating from the center marking and approaching respective end markings (C+1, C+2 . . . C+N) (C−1, C−2 . . . C−N) on either end of the stabilizer bar. It is noted that each of the distance markings has associated with it a respective hole adapted to receive a peg 130. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the stabilizer bar comprises an angular plastic bar having markings disposed every inch with holes at each marking. The preferred stabilizer bar 120 has a preferred side view 120A. A straight stabilizer base 120 may be used (i.e., non-angular), though a straight stabilizer base 120 is not as effective as the angular stabilizer base due to possible movement of the stabilizer base during the various alignment steps discussed in more detail below.

#The distance tabs 150 and wire positioners 160 comprise strips of a thin sheet material such as paper or Mylar having a first perforation or hole at one end adapted to receive the peg 130. Preferably, the distance tabs 150 include a plurality of equi-distantly spaced markings indicative of length and emanating from the first perforation or hole. While such markings are not necessary to practice the invention, the markings are perforated and do assist a user practicing the invention. The wire positioners 160 comprise a similar plurality of equi-distantly spaced holes adapted to receive pegs 130 emanating from a first hole at a respective first end of the wire positioners 160. In the preferred embodiment, the wire positioners 160 and distance tabs 150 include perforations at each of the equi-distantly spaced markings. The perforations are appropriately sized to receive the pegs 130.