AU655473B2 - Storage and display system - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

655473 Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION For a Standard Patent

ORIGINAL

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TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: Eddie John IUSTINI Maurice Anthony IUSTINI Vincenzo IUSTINI Actual Inventor(s): Maurice Anthony IUSTINI Address for Service: WRAY ASSOCIATES, Primary Industry House, Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, 6000.

239 Adelaide

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i Attorney code: WR Invention Title: "STORAGE AND DISPLAY SYSTEM" Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Nos: PK6812 .1

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The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 4 jil !Ii# ;il-~I~ 2 THIS INVENTION is directed to a system for storage and display purposes.

Due to ever increasing rental costs for leasing office space in built up areas there is an apparent ineed for a storage system that is compact yet which enables ready display of the product to its maximum potential whilst still maintaining an aesthetically pleasing form to the eye.

There is also a need for a system to be easily transported to enable displays to be set up at various locations with the minimum of fuss and cost involved.

The present invention has been devised with the above objectives in mind.

Thus, in one form the invention resides in a storage and display system having a top and a base comprising a plurality of support members for supporting items to be displayed arranged in spaced parallel relation to each other along a horizontal axis, each support member being mounted between a pair of opposed tracks provided on said top and base for slidable and pivotal movement thereon, the length of said tracks exceeding the width of said support members whereby each support member is slidable between a stored position wherein the storage member is fully located between said tracks and a display portion wherein the storage member is at least partly located between said tracks, and whereby when in said display position said support member is pivotable about said tracks between a first position wherein said support member is substantially parallel to and in alignment with said track and a second position wherein said support member is inclined to said track, and having locking means for releasably locking said support members in a fixed position with respect to said track.

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i i 1-8 u;; I 3 When the support member is arranged in the second position it is preferable that it is located substantially transverse to the track.

The storage and display system may be made modular for ready disassembly when no longer required.

It is also preferable that the storage and display system be provided with wheels or rollers for mobility.

Locking means may be provided between each support member and a track to allow the support member to be displayed at a number of positions about the track. Preferably the locking means comprises a plurality of spring seated ball bearing members provided in circular arrangement on a mounting plate fixedly attached to the top of said cabinet, and a locking plate having at least two apertures located at the top end of each of said support members for diametrically receiving said ball bearing members so as to lock said support members in a position in relation to said tracks.

In another form the invention resides in an arrangement comprising a plurality of storage and display systems of the type described above arranged in an end to end relationship.

The invention will be better understood by the following description of one specific embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the mounting arrangement of the embodiment; Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the locking means of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of the embodiment; Fig. 4 is an inverted perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 3;

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-'Ct 4 i L; o in 3a Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of the embodiment showing a support member in the first position; Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the embodiment showing a support member in the second position; Fig. 7 is a front elevation view of said embodiment; Fig. 8 is a side elevation view of said embodiment; and Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side cross-sectional view showing the top and bottorm ends of the support member arranged for movement within the tracks.

The embodiment is directed to a storage and display system as best depicted at Figs. 3 and 4, comprising a top 11 and a base 12 of generally rectangular configuration and arranged directly opposite each other. The system 10 is 00 *o 4 4 9

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4 provided with a pair of opposing side walls 13 which extend only part way along the sides of the top 11 and base 12 the reason for which will be explained later on. The system is also provided with a rear wall 17 thereby providing an open compartment. A number of reinforcing rods 15 are made integral with the top 11 and the base 12 during manufacture for strengthening purposes.

The inner faces of the top 11 and base 12 are provided with a pair of tracks 14 such that the track 14a provided on the 1, 0 inner face of the top 11 is substantially parallel and directly opposite to track 14b provided on the inner face of the base 12. A plurality of such pairs of tracks 14 are arranged on the top 11 and base 12 in identical fashion.

Each pair of tracks is spaced apart and parallel to each adjacent pair of tracks.

A support member 16 of substantially planar and rectangular configuration is mounted between each pair of tracks 14 at its central longitudinal axis. A number of such support

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members 16 are arranged in a similar manner to correspond with the number of paired tracks provided.

,i In this particular embodiment each support member 16 is in the form of a rectangular frame and is intended for the display of doors, However in further embodiments the support members 16 can be made to accommodate and display a series of different products such as tiles, carpeting, t fabrics, paintings, tools etc.

iJ As depicted at Fig. 9 the bottom end 16b of each support member is provided with a cylindrically shaped guide 21 which is mounted onto a threaded bolt 22 connected to the bottom end 16b. The guide 21 is adapted to be seated within the confines of the track 14b which is of generally U-shaped cross-section. The cylindrical configuration of the guide r 21 allows it to be slidable within the track 14b and pivotal about the track 14b thereby permitting corresponding movement of said support member 16.

The top end 16a of each support member is also provided with a cylindrically shaped guide 24 which is receivable in the upper track 14a as depicted at Fig. 9. This arrangement will be described in further detail later on.

Located between the guide 24 and the top end 16a of the cr. support member 16 is a locking arrangement 30. As best 10 depicted in Figure 1 the locking arrangement 30 consists of a hollow elongate support section 31. Extending through one end of the support section 31 is a threaded bolt 32 on which is mounted locking means in the form of a elongate plate 33 provided with four spaced and aligned apertures. The apertures comprise two outer apertures 34a and two inner I. apertures 34b which are provided for different purposes.

.The elongate plate 33 is pivotal about the threaded bolt 32.

Provided between the support section 31 and the elongate plate 33 and also on the threaded bolt 32 is a locking member 40 comprising a square-like base 41 one surface of which is provided with eight ball bearings 42 arranged in a regular circular pattern. As more clearly seen in Figure 2 the ball bearings 42 are spring seated in recesses 43 provided in the base 41 such that they partially protrude from the surface of the base 41. The diameter of the circular arrangement corresponds with the distance between A the two inner apertures 34b. The locking member 40 is supported in a fixed position by the support section 31.

The elongate plate 33 is located on a washer 35 which is seated on one end of a coiled spring 37. At the other end of the coiled spring is a second washer 38 which rests against a nut 36. The compressive force of the spring 37 6 against the elongate plate 33 can be adjusted by tightening or loosening the nut 36.

The elongate plate 33 is arranged to bear against the ball bearings 42 such that when the elongate plate 33 is pivoted about the threaded bolt 32 the compressive force of the spring 37 pushes against the elongate plate 33 thereby forcing the ball bearings 42 deeper within their recesses 43. When the inner apertures 34b move into alignment with radially opposing ball bearings 42, the pressure against 10 these ball bearings 42 is released thereby pushing the ball bearings 42 back into their rest position within the inner apertures 34b. This causes the elongate plate 33 to be locked firmly into place. To pivot the elongate plate 33 further, pressure is required to be applied by the elongate plate 33 against the one side of the ball bearings 36 which results in the ball bearings 30 being pushed up within their recesses 43.

9$09 In this embodiment the elongate plate 33 can be held locked at four positions as illustrated by the broken lines at Fig.

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The top end 16a of the support member is connected to the locking arrangement 30 whereby the elongate plate 33 is aligned and in contact with the edge of the top end 16a of the support member and held in position by rivets or bolts extending through the outer apertures 34a and into the support member 16.

The edge of the top end 16a of the support member is also provided with a recess (not shown) located substantially midway thereon to receive the portion of the bolt 32 carrying the washers 35 and 38, spring 37 and nut 36. This allows the support member 16 to be located flush against the elongate plate 33.

Ji 7-7 7 The top end 16a of each support member 16 is supported from the upper track 14a by means of a second cylindrically shaped guide 24 which is receivable in the upper track 14a which is also of generally U-shaped configuration. The guide 24 is mounted at the free end of the threaded bolt 32.

The guide 24 is held in position in the upper track 14a by the provision along the longitudinal sides of the upper track 149 of a pair of inwardly extending flanges 23. The top guide 24 is slidable in and pivotable about the upper 10 track 14a thereby rendering the support member 16 likewise.

0 :Q A pair of such guides 24 are provided at each end of the ooo° support section 31.

0o o "":The side edge of the support member 16 which is visible when the support member 16 is slid within the open compartment for storage purposes is provided with a handle 18 for manoeuvring purposes.

o0 0 The top 11 of the storage and display system is provided with eyelets 19 to enable the system 10 to be lifted from 0° "above or for the attachment of signage. The base 12 has caster wheels 20 to provide mobility to the storage and display system o 0 Anchoring means (not shown) is also provided to firmly fix the storage and display system 10 to the floor. The ends of the tracks 14 which extend out of the open compartment are each provided with stop means in the form of a rubber stopper (not shown).

The embodiment will now be described in use in relation to j the storage and display of doors provided by way of example only. The support members 16 are in the form of a frame dimensioned to receive and securely hold the decorative face of a door.

For storage, all the support members 16 holding the door displays are slid into the open compartment created within the system 10 thereby resulting in a neat, well ordered and aesthetically pleasing appearance as shown at Fig. 3.

To display a door, the required support member 16 is pulled out by the handle 18 along the tracks 14 until it contacts the stop means such that the support member 16 is entirely out of the compartment and completely visible as seen at Fig. 1 1.

To display the door the support member 16 is pivoted in the 4999 earlier described manner until the desired viewing angle is reached and locked into place by the locking arrangement When the display is no longer required the support member 16 is pivoted its initial position so that it is in alignment 15 with the tracks 14 and slid back into the compartment.

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9 II As mentioned earlier, in further embodiments the invention can be used for the displaying and storage of a wide variety of products and with only the support member 16 and the spacing of between paired tracks 14 requiring modification in order to accommodate each specific embodiment.

It In further embodiments (not shown) the support member 16 may be provided with locking arrangements 30 located at both the top and bottom ends 16a, 16b of the support member 16 in order to further stabilize and maintain the support member in place when pivoted about the tracks 14.

In further embodimpnts the elongate plate 33 and support members 16 may be displayed at any number of positions by the locking arrangement ir: i, ~I 9 In yet further embodiments the invention can be made modular in order to allow ready dismantling and transport of the storage and display system.

Various other changes and/or modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

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