EP0918311A1

EP0918311A1 - Snap-on assemblage of poster hanging structure

Info

Publication number: EP0918311A1
Application number: EP97830601A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Monterisi; Piercarlo Crespi
Original assignee: SYNCO ITALIANA Srl
Current assignee: SYNCO ITALIANA Srl
Priority date: 1997-11-14
Filing date: 1997-11-14
Publication date: 1999-05-26

Abstract

Tubular aerial structures for hanging promotional/information signs in supermarkets and stores are rendered less cumbersome to store, transport and erect by making them assemblable from an inventory of relatively standard components, including essentially special snap-on angular coupling joints capable of receiving horizontal tubular arms for hanging sign boards thereto. Preferably the snap-action socket of the angular joints has a screw adjustment for correcting bending and slanting of the sign supporting arm and restore it to a perfectly horizontal posture.

Description

The present invention relates to assemblable tubular structures and in particular to structures for hanging promotional/informative sign boards.
Supermarkets and more in general shops make large use of special furniture and/or shelves for displaying articles and goods for sale, and it is common practice to hang relatively large promotional and/or informative signs using special tubular structures of various shapes and dimensions that may be erected at strategic locations along, and also at the head of shelvings.
These aerial structures have a pole or tubular post that is usually installed vertically in a substantially permanent manner on the shelving or on other supporting furniture, by means of common brackets.
Depending on its location, the tubular structure may have one or more horizontal arms placed at different positions. Often, these structures consist of a non dismountable welded metal tube structure, or only partially dismountable. These structures though intrinsically lightweight are rather cumbersome to transport and store.
It is evident the need for structures of this kind, that may be readily assembled from an inventory of component parts, easy to transport and store, without the use of tools for reducing the time for assembling and modifying these structures typically of temporary usage.
It has now been found an assemblable structure for hanging promotional signs, which beside solving optimally the problems related to storing, transporting and assembling it in a less burdensome manner, also has other important advantages.
The structure is composed of a tubular pole, on one end of it is mounted a coupling joint having one or more snap-action sockets for receiving horizontal tubular arms for hanging signs boards thereto.
Each snap-action socket is defined by a plurality of longitudinal ridges of a substantially cylindrical hole, parallel to the socket axis, with the exception of diametrically opposed ridges located on or around a cross sectional horizontal median plane of the socket, which differently from the other ridges diverge from each other towards the mouth, or which alternatively may be absent altogether, thus defining a "preferential" insertion track of a specially designed fork terminal of the horizontal tubular arm.
The fork terminal of a "snap-on" horizontal hanging arm has two diametrically opposed arms, each provided with a rounded protrusion on its outer surface.
The fork terminal is inserted in the above described preferential insertion track which is so univocally defined in terms of mutual angular position between the fork-terminated horizontal arm and the socket. Upon pushing the fork terminal into the socket, the two protrusions of the two arm of the fork terminal fall with a definite elastic clock into two rounded transversal holes or diametrically opposed cavities of the socket situated on the cross sectional horizontal median plane because of the release of the compression of the fork arms and in that snapped-in position they effectively prevent any accidental slip off.
By forcibly twisting the tubular arm in either direction eventually forces the rounded protrusions out of the accommodating holes or cavities, through an elastic compression of the two arms of the fork terminal, and they eventually fall in the valley between two adjacent linear ridges, parallel to the socket axis. Once held compressed in diametrically opposed parallel valleys, the fork terminal may be then taken out of the socket without any further effort.
The joints may be advantageously equipped also with a screw device near the mouth of each snap-action socked to adjust the position of the horizontal arms on the vertical plane.
The various aspects and advantages of the structure of the invention will be even more evident through the ensuing description of some embodiments and by referring to the attached drawings, wherein:
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 show different forms of the sign-hanging structure of the invention;
Figures 5, 6 and 7 show the fork (male) terminal of horizontal arms of the structures of the invention;
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 show in detail the coupling socket (female) of a horizontal tubular arm equipped with a fork terminal as described in Figures 5, 6 and 7;
Figures 13 and 14 show an optional embodiment that include a socket-head adjustment device for setting in a truly horizontal position a horizontal arm.
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 show as many embodiments of structures for visual communication realized according to the present invention. For each of the different configurations the relative joints GF, Gfr, GI, GT2 and GV for a snap-action insertion of one or more horizontal arms (B) supporting informative/promotional sign boards, according to the present invention, are highlighted.
Conventionally, all the structures comprise a pole or tubular post M fixable to the furniture or the shelving by the use of one or more common brackets. The pole may eventually be modularly extended vertically by coupling together one or more pole segments, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4.
Only for the specific case of Fig. 3, the pole M may be "L"-shaped and thus have an upper horizontal position Mo, as shown in the detailed view of the same figure.
The joint snap-action GF; GT; GT2, GV, Gfr for the horizontal arms of the sign hanging structures of the invention, are preferably of molded plastic material, for example of a polyamide, and they are insertable at the top of a pole or tubular part M or of a horizontal portion Mo thereof, in any conventional manner, for example by virtue of a correct dimensioning of the internal diameter of the mounting hole of each joint in function of a standardized external diameter of the tubular poles M, commonly made of chromed steel or of stainless steel, that may range between 10 and 15 mm (for example 13 mm).
The mounting at the top of a pole M of a joint of the invention does not require any fasteners such as socket screws or clamps; the single insertion being statically stable. Only for the special case shown in Fig. 3, the mounting of the GP joint of the invention takes place at the end of a horizontal part Mo of the supporting metal tube. In this particular application, a normal fixing device would be required such as for example a socket screw vB, as shown in Fig. 3.
As shown in the details of Figures 1-4, the horizontal arms B for hanging the promotional signs C thereto, using normal clips or supporting elements, are removably inserted into the respective sockets making these structures easy to assemble and disassemble and simplifying considerably transportation and storage thereof.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in Fig. 4, the snap-action couplings for the horizontal arms of the structures of the invention my be equipped with a socket-screw device to adjust regulate the posture of the horizontal arm B in order to recover for any slanting that may be induced by the weight of the promotional sign and restore a perfectly horizontal position. This is done by regulating the socket-screw device, the angular adjustment range of which will be defined by the clearance that deliberately exists between the arm B and the ridged inner surfaces of the coupling's socket.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are respectively two orthogonal views and a cross sectional view of the coupling tip 1 of each arm B. The tip 1 is preferably of a molded plastic material with adequate characteristics of mechanical resistance and elasticity such as for example an acetalic resins or equivalent material. The commercially available product "Hostaform" of Hoechst (Germany) is perfectly suitable. The tip 1 has a fork shaped functional part 2 and a tail portion 3, of a varying diameter with conical portions between portions of different diameter. The tail portion is forcibly inserted into the end of a metal tube, commonly of chromed steel or of stainless steel, that constitutes a horizontal arm B of the structures of the present invention, and remains solidly and permanently fastened to the tube.
Therefore, the fork-shaped portion of the tip constitutes the coupling terminal (male part) of a horizontal cantilever element B. The two arms of the fork have on their outer side a rounded protuberance, respectively indicated with the numbers 4 and 5 in the figures.
Each insertion socket (female part) of a horizontal arm B provided with the fork-shaped tip 1, of the snap-action joints GF, GT, GT2, GV and Gfr, may have, according to an embodiment of the invention, a structure as that illustrated in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Each socket is defined by a plurality of longitudinal inner ridges 6, parallel to the axis of the socket with the exception of the diametrically opposed ridges (6h) laying on a horizontal median plane, which are preferably divergent as shown in the cross section of Fig. 10.
The locking or restraining position of the quick action, snap-on coupling is established by a transversal hole 7, having its axis laying on the horizontal median plane of the substantially cylindrical socket and a diameter coordinately of a size as to form two diametrically opposed "cavities" suitable to receive and accommodate the rounded protrusions 4 and 5 of the fork terminal 1 of the horizontal arm B.
The divergence or conicity opening out towards the insertion mouth of the socket of the ridges laying on or about the horizontal median plane of the cylindrical socket (6h in Fig. 10) or alternatively the deliberate absence altogether of any diametrically opposed ridge on or about the horizontal median plane of the socket define a preferential insertion track of the fork terminal 1 of a horizontal arm B, in an univocal mutual radial orientation between the coupling parts, in the sense of implying a relatively moderate elastic compression of the two arms of the fork 2 of the terminal 1, when the horizontal arm B is being pushed inside the coupling socket till reaching the position of the transversal hole 7. Upon the falling of the two rounded protrusions 4 and 5 of the two fork arms 2 of the coupling terminal 1 into the accommodating holes 7, the elastic compression of the two fork arms 2 is released thus establishing a stable retention of the inserted terminal 1, impeding any accidental slip-off of the horizontal arm B.
By forcibly twisting the arm B, set in its coupling socket in either direction, the fork-shaped terminal 2 is forcibly compressed while the rounded protrusions 4 and 5 are dislodged out of the respective accommodating recesses, constituted by the transversal hole 7, and eventually will be seated into diametrically opposite valleys or grooves defined between two adjacent ridges 6 of the inner cylindrical surface of the socket. The compression of the fork against substantially cylindrical (straight) abutting surfaces of the socket inner ridges 6, makes the horizontal arm B easily extractable without any further effort when disassembling the structure.
These snap-action insertion and twist release and extraction operations are illustrated in the sketches of Figures 13 and 14.
The quick action couplings of the horizontal arms for hanging promotional sign boards of the invention may be optionally realized in a manner to also include a device for adjusting the posture of the horizontal arm supporting the promotional sign, to recover any improper slanting bending of the arm or of the whole structure because of an imprecise installation of the pole or of an excessive weight of the sign hanged to the horizontal arm.
Figures 15 and 16 illustrate an embodiment inclusive of such an adjustment device for the case of a GF joint, though it may be included in any of the other joints.
Substantially, in the joint structure and more precisely near the insertion mouth, there is a socket-screw that may be screwed in to push up the arm B inserted in the snap-action coupling socket of the joint to adjust the posture of the arm on the vertical plane, in an axe of approximately 3° of inclination.
Of course, this alternative embodiment of the joints may dictate a deliberate dimensional modification of the socket, that is of the ridges situated about it median vertical plane, in order to provide for a certain clearance (larger than would otherwise be required) in respect to the external diameter of the horizontal arm B. The presence of a certain clearance provides for an adequate range of adjustment of the posture by said socket screw device of up to a few degrees of rotation of the arm B in the vertical plane.
An embodiment of such an adjusting device is clearly shown in Figures 15 and 16. The Gfr joint has a vertical hole 10 that intercepts the insertion socket of the horizontal arm B, near the mouth of the socket.
The threaded metal insert (nut) 8 is housed in a nonturnable manner inside a dedicated cavity 9 traversed by the vertical hole 10.
An adjustment screw 11 is screwed through threaded insert 8 until its tip abuts against the tubular arm B inserted in the coupling socket, eventually pushing it upwards, practically acting as a rest pin.
By the screw 11 it is possible to adjust the posture of the horizontal arm B for correcting an eventual slanting of the structure, to recover a correct horizontal posture.

Claims

A structure for hanging promotional and/or informative sign boards (CP) on display shelvings comprising a pole or a tubular post (M) permanently or removably fastened to a shelving, having one or more horizontal arms (B) to which said sign boards (CP) are hung, characterized in that each of said arms (B) has a coupling fork-shaped terminal (1) whose two flexible arms (2) have a rounded protrusion (4,5) onto their outer side and at least a coupling joint is installed on top of said post and has at least a coupling socket (5) of said fork-shaped terminal;

each of said sockets (S) is defined by longitudinal ridges (6) parallel to the axis of the cylindrical socket with the exception of diametrically opposed ridges (6) laying on or about the horizontal median plane of the socket (S) which extend divergingly towards the mouth of the socket and define a preferential insertion track of said fork-shaped terminal (1), univocally defined in terms of mutual radial orientation of the two coupling parts, said two protrusions (4, 5) fitting into two diametrically opposed accommodating upon full insertion of said fork-shaped terminal (1) into said socket (S) transversal holes or cavities (7) laying on said median plane preventing an accidental slip off;

a deliberate twisting of the coupled tubular arm (B) in either direction dislodging said protrusions (4, 5) out of the respective locking holes or cavities (7) by compression of the arm (2) of said fork-shaped terminal (1) between two adjacent longitudinal ridges parallel to the socket axis for an effortless extraction thereof.
The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said sockets (S) has a socket-screw device (8, 9, 10, 11) for adjusting the posture position on the vertical plane of said tubular arm (B) coupled into a socket (S) within an adjustment range of 1° to 3°, in function of the clearance existing between the external diameter of said tubular arm (B) and the socket (S) and defined by the longitudinal ridges laying on or about the vertical median plane of the socket.
The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that said terminal (1) has a fork shaped operative portion (2) and a tail portion (3) forcibly and permanently fitted, in a substantially rigid manner to one end of a metal tube constituting a horizontal arm (B).
The structure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said joints with coupling sockets (S) are of polyamide and said terminals (1) are of acetalic resins, and said post (M) and said tubular arms (B) are of chromed steel tube.