Electronic devices are used in many applications. In some applications, however, the physical presence of the electronic devices may obstruct access to people or things. For example, in medical applications, medical electronic devices with their accompanying cabling may impede access to a patient or block traffic flow through a confined area.
While some reduction of this obstruction may be achieved by positioning the electronic on fixed shelves or mobile carts, each of these approaches has significant drawbacks. Shelves extend outwardly from walls, blocking access even when no electronic device is present. While this problem may be reduced by mounting the shelf high upon a wall, access to electronic devices in such an elevated position may be difficult and cause delays in accessing and activating such devices. In particular, in medical electronic devices, such delays may cause delays in providing medical attention where time is of the essence.
Although electronic devices mounted upon mobile carts provide easier access to the electronic devices, such carts often block important walkways and other means of access. Once again, in medical applications, this impediment may be costly and/or life threatening.
A third alternative is to provide a mount on a wall within the environment in which the electronic device is to be used. However, it is disadvantageous to mount the electronic devices permanently to the wall. Returning once again to the example of the medical environment, electronic components for medical applications often must be interchanged between various locations quickly. In such environments, interchanges require the devices to be demounted from the first location and remounted in the second location, often very quickly.
To overcome the drawbacks of permanently affixed wall mounts, detachable wall mounting systems have been developed. Typical detachable wall mounting systems utilize a wall mounting base affixed to a wall with a catch mechanism for engaging the base. Such catch mechanisms usually incorporate levers or screws to secure the device to the base. Each of these mechanisms has significant drawbacks. Where screws are used, they must be tightened or loosened, either by hand or with a special tool such as a screwdriver. Use of tools is undesirable due to the possibility of them being misplaced or causing delays in mounting and demounting. Where hand tightening is used, care must be taken to ensure that the screws are sufficiently tight to maintain the device in its mounted position. Otherwise, the mounting may fail, causing damage to the devices and interrupting their operation. When binding occurs in hand tightened systems, critical delays may result. Also, when screws are used, care must be taken to prevent the threads from being crossed, making the device less secure and causing screws to bind.
Where a lever mechanism is employed, care must be taken to ensure that the lever is fully engaged. In high stress applications, such as medical environments, focus on this aspect detracts from attention to often critical tasks. Moreover, where a level system is employed, the electronic device structure must often be modified to provide access to engage and/or release the lever. This limits flexibility in design of electronic devices.