BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to interior decoration and, more particularly, an image mounting plate for door decoration that is installable behind a doorknob or handle.

Other than a coating of paint, doors are typically unadorned of any decoration that enhances the decor and/or motifs contained in the room. True, there are other types of decoration products that are permanently fastened to a door or hung at front of the door via a strap that hangs from the top of the door or the doorknob. Permanently decorations, however, are installed with screws that damaged the door and its surface. Decorations merely hung via strap are loosely held and so may obstruct the door from opening and closing properly and may be unintentionally dislodged or undesirably adjusted or unlawfully removed. Current research shows no existing door decoration product that is installed behind a doorknob.

As can be seen, there is a need for an image mounting plate for door decoration that is installed behind a doorknob.

The image mounting plate embodied in the present invention is securely installed to sit behind a doorknob. The removal and reinstallation of the doorknob is required to install the image mounting plate. Because not all doorknobs are of the same size or configuration, the mounting plate is cut with a circular opening that allows any doorknob cylinder body to pass through the image mounting plate without any interference to the proper operation of the doorknob. Furthermore, the removal and reinstallation of a doorknob requires the usage of two hands. To allow the use of two hands, placement guides are utilized to hold the image mounting plate in place in the bore hole, thereby allowing the use of two hands to reinstall the doorknob. Accordingly, the image mounting plate requires no fasteners that would permanently damage the door. This is accomplished by the use of placement guides that hold the plate in place in the doorknob bore hole.

The image mounting plate may be decorated with any image that the user/consumer desires. Thereby the decorative images of the image mounting plate can be commercialized by a manufacturer to offer the consumer a wide variety of designs and accents to complement a user's interior décor. The image mounting plate could also be utilized for imagery featuring professional sport team logos/scripting and for imagery featuring corporate branding such as logos and trademarks.

Should the user desire a different image they can remove the image mounting plate by removing the doorknob, and replace the image mounting plate and then reinstalling the doorknob.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a device for installing an image to a surface of an object with a handle, the device including the following: a mounting plate; a void in the mounting plate; at least one elongated slot tangentially associated with a void perimeter of the void at a contact point; and a placement guide operatively associable with each elongated slot. By elongated, it is understood that the length of the slot is greater that its width. In certain embodiments, the length may be two to one hundred times the width.

In another aspect of the present invention, the device for installing an image to a surface of an object with a handle includes wherein each elongated slot extends on both sides of the contact point, wherein each elongated slot extends a longitudinal width that is less than a width of the void perimeter, wherein the placement guide has a head portion and a blade portion, wherein the head portion dimensioned to engage each elongated slot, wherein the blade portion is narrower than the head portion, wherein the one or more elongated slots are two elongated slots having diametrically opposing contact points along the void perimeter, wherein the void is a circle, wherein the circle has a diameter of approximately two and ⅛ inch; and including an image surface along a front surface of the mounting plate. Approximately two and ⅛ inch may be between two inches and two and one-quarter.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of installing an image between a handle and an object supporting the handle by way of a bore hole in the object, the method includes mounting the above-mentioned device to the object in such a way that the two blade portions operatively associate with an inner surface of the bore hole. It being understood that the handle is removed prior to said mounting and then the handle is re-installed after mounting the device.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

