AU646035B2

AU646035B2 - A display stand

Info

Publication number: AU646035B2
Application number: AU76198/91A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Allan Robert Nelson; Keith William Nelson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-05-18
Filing date: 1991-04-29
Publication date: 1994-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2011-04-29
Also published as: AU7619891A

Description

SA S T R A L I A PATENTS ACT COMPLETE SPECIFICATION OR IGINAL 6 46035 (FOR OFFICE USE) Class Int Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: S Name of Applicant(s): NELN A R NELSON Address of Applicant(s): .Cnr Whit.e &yrtSleStreetsMordialloc V ictor ia. .3.9 o Actual Inventor(s) ALLAN ROBERT NELSON and KEITH WILLIAM NELSON I Address for Service: PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade, S Box Hill, Victoria 3128 Complete specification for the invention entitled: A DISPLAY STAND The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to DISPLAY STAND This invention relates to display stands for merchandise, such as for use in supermarkets.

Display stands in supermarkets and the like are of several types. For example, there is the permanent structure in which shelves are permanently secured to a frame so that merchandise can be arranged and displayed on the shelves. Temporary or movable display stands are also known such as collapsible cardboard structures which are erected in the general form of a S* crate and which are placed at the ends of aisles at the ooo 0 supermarkets to support relatively small displays of merchandise oe oo ••on top of the cardboard structures. Another kind of display 0 stand comprises a frame having space between opposite side walls c in which metal baskets or shallow trays can be mounted so as to be supported at their opposite ends by the frame.

All of these display stands have various limitations such 000000 o as relatively large cost of manufacture or, in the case of the o° 0 cardboard display crates, limited capacity for displaying merchandise and limited strength.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a "o display stand which is readily assembled, and disassembled if desired, and which is effective to provide display space for merchandise on a cost effective basis.

According to the present there is provided display stand for displaying merchandise, the display stand including two spaced side frames, each frame including a back corner post and a front corner post and a plurality of supports extending from the back corner post to the front corner post, the supports at one of the two side frames being generally level with corresponding supports at the other side frame so as to enable a display tray for merchandise to rest on and be supported by the supports, the spacing between the front corner posts of the two side frames being different to the spacing between the back corner posts of the two side frames, whereby the supports at one side frame are not parallel to the supports at the other side frame and a display tray resting on corresponding supports at the two side frames is supported along a substantial portion of its transverse width by the non-parallel supports supporting that tray, at least one of the side frames having a first corner defined at a corner post thereof which has supports extending therefrom to only the other corner post of the respective side frame, the display stand further including a selectively :i 15 detachable lateral tie, the first corner of the side frame in the assembled condition of the display stand having the lateral tie connected thereto and to another part of the display stand, S the lateral tie restraining the corner post at the first corner against lateral movement.

:'Z0 In the prefered ermbodiment, each of the two spaced side eo oa S frames includes a respective corresponding first corner, the lateral tie being detachably connected to both of the first corners of the two side frames so as to maintain those first corners in their desired positions at a distance apart equal to the length of the lateral tie.

Preferably, the front corner posts of the two opposed side frames are closer together than the back corner posts so that, in plan view, the supports converge towards the front of the b.rI 3 display stand so that each tray for merchandise can rest on the supports along substantial portions of the transverse width of the tray and enable access to the merchandise on the tray from both sides as well as from the front of the display stand.

The lateral tie may be releasably connected to the top end of the post at the first corner of the side frame during assembly of the display stand, the or each lateral tie being removable so as to enable disassembly of the display stand.

In one possible embodiment of the display stand, the two spaced side frames are connected together both at the front of the display stand by a front lateral tie connected to and extending between the front corner posts and also at the rear of the display stand by a back lateral tie connected to and extending between the back corner posts.

In an alternative possible embodiment of the display stand, the two spaced side frames comprise left and right side frames, the display stand further including two intermediate frames, the left and right side frames and the two intermediate ova:% frames together defining a generally W shape in plan view, each ooooo S of the intermediate frames comprising a number of supports extending from the front corner post of the adjacent one of the S left and right side frames to an intermediate back post located between the back posts of the left and right side frames. In this construction, the lateral tie may comprise a back lateral See...

tie having three connection points to connect with the'upper 0* e ends of the two back corner posts and with the intermediate post so as to maintain those three posts in their desired relationship. Furthermore, each of the front corner posts may :comprise two adjacent uprights, the intermediate post also comprising two adjacent uprights, each pair of adjacent uprights being coupled together for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis, the arranagement being such that the left side frame can be hinged about the left front corner post to lie flat against the adjacent intermediate frame, the two intermediate frames can be hinged about the intermediate post so as to lie flat against each other, and the right side frame can be hinged about the right front corner post to lie flat against the adjacent intermediate frame, whereby the side and intermediate frames can be collapsed to a generally flat compact condition.

Possible and preferred features of the present invention will now be' described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the display stand according to one possible embodiment of the present invention, e Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a second possible o S embodiment of a display stand, and Fig. 3 shows at a larger scale the section marked III in S Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 the display stand includes a left side frame having back and front corner posts 11, 12 which are upright and a right side frame 15 which is similarly constructed. Extending from the back to the front of each side frame 10, 15 are supports 13, 18 shown as support rods. These rods may be permanently secured to the corner posts 11, 12, 16, 17 or may be selectively removable so as to enable selective variation of the ".height at which trays 20 are supported. The support rods may be supported at an angle to the horizontal so that a supported tray inclines downwardly towards the front.

Preferably the top and bottom support rods 21, 22 are fixed in position while the intermediate support rods 13, 18 are movable. The attachments of the rods 13, 18 to the corner posts 11, 12, 16, 17 may be by any convenient construction and for example may include mounting clamps which can be slid along the corner posts 11, 12, 16, 17 enabling selective adjustment of the rod heights.

The display stand may be assembled together by connecting the lateral ties 25, 26 to the top ends of the corner posts 11, 12, 16, 17. The lateral ties are shown as a back transverse tie which is longer than the front transverse tie 26 so that in plan view the support rods 13, 18 converge towards the front of the display stand. With this arrangement, display trays 20 for merchandise can extend along and be supported by the support rods 13, 18 at the opposite side frames 10, 15 with the support rods extending at an angle so as to support the trays 20 along significant proportions of the lateral width of the trays. The lateral sides of the trays 20 project outwardly from the display stand enabling merchandise on the trays 20 to be taken by customers from the trays from the sides or from the front with equal ease.

S

f. In Fig. 1 the side frames 10, 15 are also secured together by bracing rods 27 which are crossed at the back of the structure and which are fastened to posts 11, 16 e.g. by bolts.

These bracing 27 rods provide further rigidity to the display stand.

S. In Fig. 2 there is shown a display stand having left and right side frames 10, 15 and two intermediate frames 30, 31 which together define a general W shape in plan view. The intermediate frames 30, 31 comprise a number of support rods 33, 34 extending from the front corner posts 12, 17 of the left and right side frames to an intermediate back post 35. The back lateral tie 25 is shown as a strut which has three downwardly extending legs to engage with the upper ends of the two back corner posts 11, 16 and with the intermediate post 35. A transverse tie is not needed for the two front corner posts 12, 17 since they will be maintained in fixed positions by the support rods 33, 34 extending to the intermediate post The display stand in Fig. 2 may be collapsible by hinging of the frames 10, 31, 32, 15 to lie flat against each other.

This may be achieved by providing two adjacent uprights 12a, 12b, 17a, 17b at the front corners (see Fig. 3) and by providing a similar pair of uprights as the intermediate post 35, the S adjacent uprights 12a, 12b, 17a, 17b being hinged together at so that, for example, the left side frame 10 can be hinged flat against the adjacent intermediate frame 31, the two intermediate frames 31, 32 can be hinged about the intermediate post 35 so as to lie flat against each other and the right side frame 15 can be hinged about the right front corner post 17 to lie flat against the adjacent intermediate frame 32.

The display tray 20 which can be used with the display stand of the present invention can be of any convenient construction and operation. For example, the display tray may be made of a cardboard material so as to be cheap and disposable. The display trays may be made of fluted cardboard material to have sufficient strength.

The rods 13, 18 are slightly shorter than the distance from the back face of the rear post to the front face of the front post so that they can be fitted into any one of a series of holes extending up the corner posts so that the heights of the rods can be adjusted. The rods 13, 18 can be releasably secured in position by providing collars which slide on the post and which rest on the rods or nest in notches provided near the ends of the rods to resist removal of the rods without lifting the collars.

It will be seen that the display stands as herein described and illustrated enable the display of merchandise at a number of levels and which can be readily varied. The display stand can be readily stored in a knocked down condition and can be quickly and easily assembled. The support rods can be variable so as to enable different sized trays and spacing of e• trays to be achieved. The trays, if desired, can be inclined towards the front by having the support rods lower at their front ends.

a* It is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be made to the features of the possible and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as 00000o herein described witbhut departing from the scope of the 500 0 invention as defined in the appended claims.

9S* 0

Claims

2. A display stand as claimed in Claim 1 wherein each of the two spaced side frames includes a respective corresponding first corner, the lateral tie being detachably connected to both of the first corners of the two side frames so as to maintain those 9 first corners in their desired positions at a distance apart equal to the length of the lateral tie.
3. A display stand as claimed in Cla or 2 wherein the front corner posts of the two opposed side frames are closer together than the back corner posts so that, in plan view, the supports converge towards the front of the display stand so that each tray for merchandise can rest on the supports and 0 0 :20 0* 2 enable access to the merchandise on the tray from both sides as well as from the front of the display stand.
4. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the lateral tie is releasably connected to the top end of the post at the f=tecorner of the side frame during assembly of the display stand, the or each lateral tie being removable so as to enable disassembly of the display stand. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the two spaced side frames are connected together both at the front of the display stand by a front lateral tie connected to and extending between the front corner posts and 4*400: at the rear of the display stand by a back lateral tie b 4 connected to and extending between the back corner posts. G 6. A display stand as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said two spaced side frames comprise left and right side frames, the display stand further including two intermediate frames, the left and right side frames and the two intermediate frames together defining a generally W shape in plan view, each :a* of the intermediate frames comprising a number of supports extending from the front corner post of the adjacent one of the S" left and right side frames to an intermediate back post located between the back posts of the left and right side frames.
7. A display stand as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the lateral tie comprises a back lateral tie having three connection points to connect with the upper ends of the two back corner posts and with the intermediate post so as to maintain those three posts in their desired relationship.
8. A display stand as claimed in Claim 6 or 7 wherein each of the front corner posts comprises two adjacent uprights, the intermediate post also comprising two adjacent uprights, each pair of adjacent uprights being coupled together for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis, the arranagement being such that the left side frame can be hinged about the left front corner post to lie flat against the adjacent intermediate frame, the two intermediate frames can be hinged about the intermediate post so as to lie flat against each other, and the right side frame can be hinged about the right front corner post to lie flat against the adjacent intermediate frame, whereby the side 'I',38 and intermediate frames can be collapsed to a generally flat compact condition.
9. A display stand substantially as herein before described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 24th day of April, 1991 PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES Attorneys for ALLAN ROBERT NELSON and KEITH WILLIAM NELSON 4