There is described provides a wall anchor for fixing to a hollow wall, such as a plasterboard wall, wherein said anchor comprises an L-shaped portion with a first arm and a second arm, an elongate back portion adapted to engage the inner surface of the wall, a hinge which connects the second arm of said L-shaped portion to said elongate back portion, and a resilient member which urges the elongate back portion to adopt a substantially perpendicular position relative to the second arm of the L-shaped portion. A method of deploying the wall anchor is also described.
1 . A wall anchor for fixing to a hollow wall, wherein said anchor comprises an L-shaped portion with a first arm and a second arm, wherein the first and second arms are held in a fixed arrangement substantially perpendicular to each other, a hinge which connects the second arm of said L-shaped portion to an elongate back portion adapted to engage an inner surface of the wall, and a resilient member which urges the elongate back portion to rotate around the hinge to adopt a substantially perpendicular position relative to the second arm of the L-shaped portion, wherein said resilient member is attached to the elongate back portion and to the first arm of the L-shaped member.
2 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said elongate back portion comprises a pointed region.
3 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said elongate back portion and the first arm of said L-shaped portion contain apertures for receiving a holding means, and wherein said apertures are aligned when said elongate back portion and the first arm of said L-shaped portion are parallel.
4 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 3 , wherein an internal surface of one or more of said apertures is adapted for engagement with a screw.
5 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is formed from an elastics material.
6 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is in the form of a loop.
7 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the said elongate back portion and the first arm of said L-shaped portion contain at least one aperture for attachment of the resilient member.
8 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said at least one aperture for attachment of the resilient member includes an internal lug to hold said resilient member.
9 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the said elongate back portion and/or said L-shaped portion have a recess sized to contain the resilient member on an internal surface thereof.
10 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said first arm is formed from two struts with a gap therebetween.
11 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first arm of the L-shaped portion is adapted to be removed after deployment of the wall anchor.
12 . A method of attaching a wall anchor to a hollow wall, said method comprising forcing an elongate back portion of the anchor as claimed in claim 1 into said wall, rotating the L-shaped portion so that the second arm of the L-shaped portion forms a continuation of said back portion, further forcing said second arm of the L-shaped portion into the wall so that the first arm of the L-shaped portion is flush with the external face of the wall and allowing the elongate back portion of the wall anchor to rotate so that said elongate back portion is flush with an internal surface of the wall and parallel to the first arm of the L-shaped portion.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising fastening a holding means through the first arm of the L-shaped portion and the elongate back portion once the anchor is deployed in the wall.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein said holding means is a screw.
15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising removing the first arm of the L-shaped portion once the holding means has been fastened.
16 . A kit comprising a wall anchor as claimed in claim 1 together with a holding means suitable for use with the wall anchor.
17 . The kit as claimed in claim 16 wherein said holding means is a screw.
18 . The wall anchor as claimed in claim 10 , wherein one or each strut includes a retaining lug for retaining the resilient member.