GB2124479A - Display unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A display unit e.g. for displaying clothing in shops and exhibitions comprises a stand having attached to it a plurality of radially extending arms 36,7, each arm having a bearing unit 7, 10 on its end remote from the stand, a circular support ring 11 rotatably mounted on the bearing units, and a circular rail 14 for clothes hangers attached (12) to the support ring. The height of rail 14 can be adjusted by passing a square section bar through a square section hole 18 in a shelf 17 fixed to ring 11 and placing it in a square section recess 6 in a rod 5, such that rotation of ring 11 causes rod 5 to screw into and out of atube2. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Display unit The present invention relates to a display unit particularly, but not exclusively, for use in displaying clothing in shops and exhibitions.

At present clothing is displayed on a variety of racks and units. One sort of rack comprises a circular tubular steel rail supported by five or six radial arms. The arms in turn are attached to a central hub which is supported on a central stand.

The hub frequently includes a bearing so that the rail can be rotated by customers. The stand commonly has five or six radially extending feet.

The feet are generally of about the same length as the radial arms so that the rack when loaded is stabie.

Racks of this type have certain disadvantages. If they are unevenly loaded, it is difficult to rotate the rail as the bearing in the hub becomes distorted.

The height of the rail cannot easily be adjusted. To adjust the height it is generally necessary to remove the clothing and replace the stand with one of a different height. The rack cannot in general be very heavily loaded unless the bearing in the hub is made very robust. This can detract from the visual impact of the rack.

According to the present invention, a display unit comprises a stand having attached to it a plurality of radially extending arms, each arm having a bearing unit on its end remote from the stand, a circular support ring rotatably mounted on the bearing units, and a circular rail attached to the support ring.

Preferably, the circular rail is of greater diameter than the support ring, and is attached to the support ring by a plurality of radially extending members.

The arms may be fixed or removably attached to the stand or may be integral therewith.

Preferably there are at least four and, most preferably five or six, arms. Conveniently the stand has a corresponding number of feet. However, the stand need not necessarily have feet, and may be attached to a pedestal or fixedly secured in the floor.

Tho display unit of the present invention can easily support large loads and still rotate smoothly because the load will be distributed on a plurality of bearing units. In preferred embodiments, the height of the rail can easily be altered to accommodate display items of different lengths.

The display unit is easily assembled and dismantled and can be easily transported.

In one embodiment of the invention the stand and arms are each made up from a number of tubular pieces formed into a U shape. The pieces are welded together along the bases of the U's.

The arms of the U's form the arms of the unit and feet for the stand. The bases of the U's may be welded to a central element to add strength to the structure.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the arms of the unit each comprise one limb of one of a set of substantially L-shaped tubular members and the feet of the stand comprise one limb of one of another set of substantially L-shaped tubular members of different diameter. An equal number of arm and foot forming members are fitted together by co-operation of the other limbs of the L-shaped members in telescopic manner.

Preferably each set of members is independently welded together with a strengthening element.

The sets of members may be fitted in fixed relationship or, preferably, may be telescopically movable relative to one another.

In the latter case means are provided to enable the set of members to be locked in a desired position. In a preferred embodiment, the foot forming members are fixed onto a strengthening element in the form of an internally threaded tube and the arm forming members are fixed onto a mounting for an externally threaded rod. The rod is able to rotate in, but cannot move longitudinally of, the mounting. The rod co-operates with the threaded tube such that rotation of the rod causes it to move into or out of the tube, thereby raising or lowering the arm forming members.

Clearly other means by which relative movement of the sets of arm and foot forming members can be fixed relative to each other are possible, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Preferably, the bearing units comprise cylindrical ball or roller races disposed coaxially with the arms and on or around the free ends of the arms to support the weight of the support arms. Conveniently, a roller or ball bearing is also disposed at the end of each arm with its axis of rotation disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm. The purpose of the roller or ball bearing will become apparent from the description of the supporting ring given below.

The support ring may be either L- or U-shaped in cross section. For an L-shaped ring, one flange of the ring rests on the bearing units and the other flange is in contact with the roller or ball bearing.

A disadvantage with this type of ring is that it may be dislodged from the bearings. It is therefore preferred to use a U-shaped support ring. In this case the top flange of the ring rests on the bearing unit and the bottom of the U is in contact with the roller or ball bearing, as with the L-shaped ring.

The bottom flange of the U-shaped ring serves to prevent dislodgement of the ring from the arms.

In the case of a U-shaped ring, it will be necessary to arrange for its location on the arms during assembly. This may be done by constructing the ring in two or more separate parts which are bolted together around the arms.

However, it is preferred that the arms are telescopic. Conveniently they are compressible against a strong bias, such as a coil spring. During assembly each arm in turn is compressed and the ring is fitted over it. The arm is then allowed to extend again into the U-shaped channel. The arms are held in their extended position by the spring.

This also gives a degree of flexibility in the structure which can be advantageous in that it protects the unit to a certain extent from damage caused by customers leaning on or colliding with it.

Preferably, the surfaces of the support ring which are in contact with the bearings units and, where present, the ball or roller bearings are coated with nylon or a similar low friction material so that the ring may freely rotate on the arms.

The radially extending members may be fixedly or removably attached to either the support ring or to the rail. Preferably they are fixedly attached to the support ring but removably attached to the rail so that different rails may be used on the same stand.

Conveniently the circular rail is tubular and has a diameter suitable for receiving coathangers.

A shelf, for instance of perspex or other strong material, may be fixed onto the top of the support ring so that it rotates therewith. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, where a threaded rod is used to raise or lower the arms, a square section hole is provided in the shelf immediately above the rod and a recess of similar square section is provided in the top of the rod. If it is desired to alter the height of the rail, for instance to enable a different type of clothing to be exhibited, a square section bar is located in the recess and passed through the hole. Rotation of the rail or support ring will cause the rod to rotate.

This provides a very simple means whereby the height of the rail may be altered. In normal use, the bar would not be present.

It is envisaged that the display unit of the present invention will be of special use in displaying clothing, such as gowns, shirts, blouses, trousers etc. in clothing shops. The display unit will enable these items to be displayed anywhere on the floor area of the shop and will enable customers to rotate the items easily for selection.

One embodiment of a display unit according to the present invention is now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a sectional side view of the display unit; Figure 2 is a top view of the display unit.

Referring to the drawings, the display unit comprises a base formed by welding one limb 1 a of each of a set of five L-shaped tubular members 1 onto an internally threaded strengthening tube 2 so that the axes of the limbs 1 a are parallel to the axis of strengthening tube 2. The other limbs 1 b of the members 1 form radially extending feet for a base.

One limb 3a of each of another set of five L-shaped tubular members 3 is welded onto a mounting 4 in similar fashion. The members of the second set are of smaller diameter than those of the first and the limbs 3a are slidably fitted into the limbs 1 a.

A threaded rod 5 is rotatably located in the mounting 4, but cannot move longitudinally therein. The threaded rod 5 cooperates with the internal thread of the tube 2. A square section recess 6 is formed in the top of the rod 5.

Tubular sections 7 are fitted over each of the limbs 3b and a spring 8 mounted internally of each limb 3b and section 7 operates to bias the limbs 3b and sections 7 away from one another.

A roller bearing 9 is mounted on the end of each section 7 remote from the members 3. Each roller bearing 9 is mounted on its section 7 so that its axis of rotation is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of its section 7. A ball bearing 10 is mounted at the end of each section 7.

A support ring 11 of U-shaped cross-section is supported on the ends of the sections 7 by the roller bearing 9. Due to the action of the springs 8, the ball bearings 10 bear against the "bottom" of the U-section ring 1 The inside of the support ring 11 is coated with nylon to reduce friction.

A number of radially extending members 12 having upturned outer ends are welded onto the support ring 11. A knob 13 is formed on each of the upturned ends.

A rail 14 of tubular section is mounted on the knob 1 3 by means of recesses 1 5 formed on the rail 14 co-operating with the knobs 1 3. The rail is held in place by grub screws 1 6.

A circular perspex shelf 1 7 is fixed onto the top of the support ring 11 and has a square section hole 1 8 at its centre, directly above the square section recess 6 in the top of the rod 5.

If it is desired to alter the height of the rail 14, a square section bar (not shown) is placed in the recess 6 and passed through the hole 18. Rotation of the support ring 11 will be transmitted to the bar, thus causing the rod 5 to rotate and screw into or out of the tube 2. Thus the height of the rail 14 is variable.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in the Figures, the angles between the limbs 1 a and 1 b and 3a and 3b respectively are both about 1200. In another embodiment, these angles are both 900 so that the limbs 1 b and 3b are parallel. In this embodiment the "bottom" of the support ring 11 is vertical and the members 12 are L-shaped. The arm of the member 12 remote from the support ring 11 is upturned and vertical.

Bosses are formed on the underside of the rail 14 and a drilling is made through each boss and the part of the rail 14 on which it is formed. The rail 14 is located on the members 1 2 by cooperation of the drillings and the upturned arms of the members 1 2. The rail 14 is fixed onto the members 12 by use of grub screws passing through the bosses.

The display unit of the present invention is able to support heavy loads, can be easily rotated and its height is easily varied. It thus represents an improvement over display units presently available.

Claims (20)

1. Display unit comprising a stand having attached to it a plurality of radially extending arms, each arm having a bearing unit on its end remote from the stand, a circular support ring rotatably mounted on the bearing units, and a circular rail attached to the support ring.

2. A display unit according to claim 1, wherein the circular rail is of greater diameter than the support ring, and is attached to the support ring by a plurality of radially extending members.

3. A display unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein there are at least four arms.

4. A display unit according to claim 3, wherein there are five or six arms.

5. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the height of the rail can be altered to accommodate display items of different lengths.

6. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the stand and arms are each made up from a number of tubular pieces formed into a U shape, the pieces being welded together along the bases of the U's and the arms of the U's forming the arms of the unit and feet for the stand.

7. A display unit according to claim 6, wherein the bases of the U's are welded to a central element to add strength to the structure.

8. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the arms of the unit each comprise one limb of one of a set of substantially L-shaped tubular members and the feet of the stand comprise one limb of one of another set of substantially L-shaped tubular members of different diameter, an equal number of arm and foot forming members being fitted together by cooperation of the other limbs of the L-shaped members in telescopic manner.

9. A display unit according to claim 8, wherein each set of members is independently welded together with a strengthening element.

10. A display unit according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the sets of members are telescopically movable relative to one another.

1 A display unit according to claim 10, wherein means are provided to enable the set of members to be locked in a desired position.

12. A display unit according to claim 11, wherein the foot forming members are fixed onto a strengthening element in the form of an internally threaded tube and the arm forming members are fixed onto a mounting for an externally threaded rod, the rod being able to rotate in, but unable to move longitudinally of, the mounting, and the rod co-operating with the threaded tube such that rotation of the rod causes it to move into or out of the tube, thereby raising or lowering the arm forming members.

1 3. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the bearing units comprise cylindrical ball or roller races disposed coaxially with the arms and on or around the free ends of the arms to support the weight of the support arms.

14. A display unit according to claim 13, wherein a roller or ball bearing is also disposed at the end of each arm with its axis of rotation disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm.

1 5. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the support ring is U shaped.

1 6. A display unit according to claim 15, wherein the arms are telescopic to facilitate location of the support ring on the arms.

17. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 1 6, wherein the surfaces of the support ring which are in contact with the bearings unit and, where present, the ball or roller bearings are coated with nylon or a similar low friction material so that the ring may freely rotate on the arms.

18. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the circular rail is tubular and has a diameter suitable for receiving coathangers.

1 9. A display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 1 8, wherein a shelf is fixed onto the top of the support ring so that it rotates therewith.

20. A display unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.