GB2278049A - Foldable stand - Google Patents

Abstract

A stand, for example for displaying a china plate, is formed by two stand parts 10, 11 which are interengaged so as to be relatively foldable together to lie flat or to be opened out to support a plate. Each stand part has a rear, upright support portion 12, a forward support leg 14 at 90 DEG thereto and a rearward stabilising leg 20 also at 90 DEG to the upright support portion. The stabilising leg is joined to the upright support portion through a hinge half 25, 26 which halves are engaged one on the other with a central pivot 35, 38 formed thereby. A similar upper hinge 23 is also provided between the stand parts. Locking means (39 Figure 5) automatically releasably lock the stand parts in their relatively fully unfolded position and stop means (42) prevents unfolding beyond a maximum predetermined angle. <IMAGE>

Description

STAND This invention relates to a stand, particularly, but not exclusively, for displacing items of china, earthware and glass.

Stability is a problem with many known types of such stands, and various attempts have been made to prevent the possibility of the stand tipping over, particularly when used to support large objects. One known such stand is of acrylic, being formed of two generally L-shaped legs which are hinged together along their respective longer limbs to allow the legs to be folded together or apart as required. This stand attempts to reduce the possibility of it tipping over by angling the longer limb forwardly relative to the shorter limb, which is horizontal, in use. Alternatively the two limbs can be at 900, but the whole leg is inclined forwardly by making the length of a front foot at the free end of the shorter limb less than the length of a rear foot at the bottom of the longer limb.

There can still be a problem, however, in that particularly where a large non-circular, i.e. square or rectangular, object is supported by such a stand, its opened apart legs may tend to close up under the weight of the object, resulting in the stand becoming less stable.

An object of the invention is to provide a stand which at least reduces the above mentioned problem.

A stand constructed according to the present invention comprises first and second members each having a rear, upright, support portion, a forward, support portion, having means for engaging a support surface, and a rearward portion, having means for engaging a support surface, the members being connected together by at least one hinge, the arrangement being such that, in use, the members can be folded by means of said at least one hinge to lie one against another or adjacent one another.

As used herein, 'upright' is not limited to vertical relative to a support surface on which the stand rests, and covers equivalently functioning members which may be angled forwards or rearwards.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a stand of the invention, the stand being shown in its fully unfolded condition; Figures 2 is a similar view to Figure 1, with the stand in its fully folded condition; Figure 3 is a view of one side of the stand of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a view of the opposite side of the stand of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the stand of Figure 1; Figure 6 is an enlarged, schematic fragmentary sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 3; and Figure 7 is an enlarged, schematic fragmentary view like Figure 6, but from underneath and with the stand in its fully unfolded condition.

The stand of the invention is for displaying items of china, earthenware, glass, pictures, mirrors, place mats, display cards and the like, but will be described herein, by way of example, as for displaying a plate.

The plate stand shown in the drawings is formed in two parts, each preferably being formed in one piece and of plastics material such as crystal polystyrene of high molecular weight. The right and left hand stand parts 10, 11 respectively are of generally similar construction, but are effectively handed, so that, as will be described, each provides one half to each of two hinges connecting the parts foldably together.

Each stand part has a rear, upright support portion 12 having a forwardly facirig support surface 13. Extending forwardly from the bottom of portion 12, at 900 thereto, is a further support portion 14, having an upwardly directed support surface 15, which at its free end terminates in an upstanding stop 16 against which the rim of a plate engages, in use.

This free end of the portion 14 is extended downwardly below a flat undersurface 17 of portion 14 to provide a foot 18 having a flat lower surface 19 for engaging a display surface on which the stand is disposed, in use.

Extending rearwardly of the portion 12 at 900 thereto, and thus in the opposite direction to portion 14, is a stabilising leg 20 of the same form as portion 14 but having its straight part shorter. Like portion 14 it has a foot 21 at its free end with a flat lower surface 22, the surface 22 lying in the same plane as surface 19 so as also to engage said display surface, in use. With the surfaces 19 and 22 engaged on a flat support surface, the portion 12 is vertical and portion 14 horizontal. However in an alternative embodiment one or both of portions 12 and 14 could be inclined forwardlyidownwardly relative to the vertical/horizontal respectively, in use.

The two parts 11, 12 are foldably connected together by upper and lower spaced hinges 23, 24 respectively, the pivot axis of each hinge being parallel to the portions 12, i.e. vertical in use, and the hinge centres being co-axial.

With regard to the lower hinge, this is formed in two halves, namely an upper half 25 and a lower half 26. The upper half connects one leg 20 to portion 12 of stand part 10 whilst the lower half connects one leg 20 to portion 12 of stand part 11. The halves are however not identically formed nor identically disposed relative to their associated legs 20 and portions 12, thereby leading to the handing of the two stand parts.

Considering firstly stand part 10, it can be seen best from Figure 3 that the upper half 25 of the lower hinge extends from portion 20 at a position spaced above the undersurface 17, the spacing being equal to the vertical height of the lower half 26. The upper half 25 has at its outward facing side a flat surface 27 which lies in a vertical plane through the common centres of the portions 12 and 14. The surface 27 merges into a convex surface 28 which extends to a flat side surface 29 of leg 20 which is an inner surface, in use, the surface 29 lying in a vertical plane which includes an inner side surface 30 of portion 14, this vertical plane also including the centre axis '0' of the lower hinge.A rear surface 31 of portion 12 is formed across its width with an inner half, which the upper half 25 joins, and an outer half, the whole surface 31, in one embodiment, being angled forwardly away from said inner half at the top and bottom of portion 12 adjacent the upper and lower hinge parts, the two halves meeting, between the hinge parts, at a central apex.

At its opposite side, the upper half 25 has a flat surface 32 forming a planar continuation of the other side surface 33 of leg 20, which is an outer surface in use, this surface 32 then merging into a convex surface 34, of the same form as surface 28, which extends to surface 31.

Extending downwards from the bottom of the hinge part 25 and with its central axis on pivot axis '0' is a peg 35, shown in phantom in Figures 1 and 3, which is of circular transverse cross-section. The central peg extends generally equally at both sides of said above mentioned plane through the axis '0'.

From Figures 4 and 5 it can be seen that the flat top surface of hinge half 25 is substantially flush with the upper surface of leg 20 at its junction, whereas the flat bottom surface of the hinge half 25 merges into a straight downwardly extending vertical surface 36 of leg 20, space for reception of lower hinge half 26 being defined between surfaces 31 and 36 below hinge half 25.

The stand part 11 is formed with an arrangement of hinge half 26 and leg 20 which is substantially a mirror image of that for stand part 10.

There are, however, certain differences.

Firstly the hinge half 26 extends from surface 31 at the extreme lowermost part thereof so that it can be received in the space already mentioned which is provided below hinge half 25 at the extreme lowermost part of surface 31 of stand part 10. This means that the flat bottom surface of the hinge half 26 is flush with the undersurface of leg 20, whilst the flat top surface of the hinge half merges into a straight upwardly extending vertical surface 37 of leg 20, space for reception of hinge half 25 being defined between surfaces 31 and 37 above hinge half 26.

Secondly the hinge half 26 has therethrough a circular hole 38 (shown in phantom in Figures 1 and 3), with its central, vertical axis coincident with axis '0', the opening thus being of the same cross-sectional shape as peg 35 and receiving the peg therein as a close rotational fit. The hole can be open, as shown, or closed, as its lower end.

Thirdly the hinge half 26 and adjacent part of its associated leg 20 are preferably formed respectively with a locking means, for holding the two stand parts in positions 90" or substantially 90" apart when the stand is fully unfolded, and stop means preventing unfolding by greater than said angle of full unfolding. Either one of these two features could alternatively be provided independently of the other.

The locking means is in the form of a projection 39 from the convex surface 28 facing outwardly of the hinge half 26 and extending from leg 20. The projection is formed with a curved outer surface, the curvature being centred on axis '0', with the radius of curvature increasing away from leg 20. The projection extends for 90" of arc only, terminating in a flat catch surface 40 at 900 to the length of portion 14. Additionally, the upper surface 41 of the projection can start below the top of hinge half 26 and spiral downwardly. Instead, however, it can extend for the whole depth of the hinge half 26 for its whole 90" extent.

The stop means is formed as a rib 42 on the outwardly facing side of leg 20, the rib extending outwardly at the side of the vertical surface 37 and extending for the whole length of surface 37.

The upper hinge 23 of the foldable stand is formed in two halves, namely a half 43 uppermost in use and a half 44 lowermost in use, the half 43 being formed on stand part 11 and the half 44 on stand part 10.

Each upper hinge half is of substantially the same form as the lower hinge part on the same stand part and is positioned exactly in line so that the axis '0' passes through the centres of the respective upper and lower hinge parts. Each upper hinge half has a flat surface 45 extending from surface 31, surface 45 being aligned vertically with equivalent surface 27, and a curved surface 46 extending from surface 45 around the remainder of the upper hinge half and back to surface 31.

The upper hinge half 43 has a circular opening 47 therethrough centred on axis '0' and the upper hinge half 44 has a convexly domed pip 48 (shown in phantom) centred on the pivot axis to be snap-fitted in the hole 47 to form the hinge.

Instead of the 'ball-joint' type upper hinge described, the hinge halves could instead be pivotally interconnected by a conventional hinge pin in aligned holes in the respective halves, but this is less preferred, in requiring a further component. The use of plastics material is clearly advantageous in providing the resiliency required for the snap-fit of pip 48.

It is believed that from the foregoing description, assembly and subsequent use of the foldable stand is largely self-explanatory. However this will be briefly described.

Firstly with the stand parts relatively orientated between the almost fully folded and the almost fully unfolded states of the stand, the portion 12 of part 10 is placed adjacent portion 12 of part 11 and then manipulated to pass the peg 35 down into the hole 38. Thereafter the hinge half 44 is forced underneath the hinge half 43 to deform the resilient pip 48 until it snap-fittingly engages in opening 47 to complete the upper hinge 23.

With- the two parts so assembled, the stand can be used normally to display a plate by unfolding the two parts 10, 11 about their hinges 23, 24. For the whole of the angular unfolding movement the surface 37 on part 11 is clear of surfaces 28 and 27 on part 10. Moreover the curved outer surface of projection 39 is clear of surface 36 on leg 20 of part 10 until the stand parts are unfolded by about 80". The increasing radius of curvature of the projection means that beyond said 80" of opening it is necessary to apply pressure to separate the parts further, as the outer surface of the projection engages surface 36. The pressure forces the projection to snap past the surface 36 to a position where the catch surface 40 engages surface 29 of leg 20 at a position adjacent the edge of surface 36 (Figures 5 and 7).Thus the parts are releasably locked against automatic folding together under the weight of a supported plate or for any other reason. This locked, and unfolded position is preferably with the parts 90" apart, but the angle of separation can be smaller or slightly greater.

The rib 42 on leg 20 of part 1 1 comes into engagement with the outer half of surface 31 of stand part 10 at the fully unfolded position of the parts, the rib preventing further opening separation of the parts (Figure 7).

Preferably there is little or no 'play' between the parts in the fully opened state, the projection preventing any closing and the rib preventing any opening. The plastics material allows sufficient deformation to permit passage of the projection past surface 36.

However the 'lock' could be at an angle less than maximum opening of the stand.

To fold the stand parts together, the most convenient way is to turn the stand upside down, slightly press outwards as though to open wider, press stand part 11 with (right) forefinger and slowly close. This action enables the projection 39 to move back past surface 36.

The fully folded state of the stand is shown best in Figure 2. Here the stand parts lie one against the other to provide a flat assembly for case of packing and storage. In particular the inner surfaces 30 of the respective portions 14 engage one another, as do the inner surfaces 29 of the legs 20.

In the fully unfolded state of the stand, a plate can be displayed thereon by its rim being engaged against the stops 16 at two lower points of contact respectively, an upper point of contact being against the composite 'upright' support formed by the uprights 12 of the two parts 10, 11. The provision of the legs 20 adds stability to the stand in its 'in use' state, there effectively being a smaller triangle of support formed at the rear of the stand by the legs 20, in addition to the larger support triangle formed by portions 14, thereby giving classical four point stability. The provision of the lock is a preferable feature of the invention in that it overcomes, in particular, previous problems with prior art stands when supporting square or other non-circular items, where the front legs, which are the sole support, tend to creep inwards and reduce stability.

Any suitable alternative form of locking could be used, for all or only some of the stand states, at one or both hinges. With the use of locking, the non-locking hinge could be merely a pivot pin type of conventional hinge, and both the upper and lower hinges could be so if the locking is omitted. Also it is of course possible to provide only a single hinge, or more than two, appropriately located on the uprights 12.

Claims (12)

1. A stand comprising first and second members each having a rear, upright, support portion, a forward, support portion, having means for engaging a support surface, and a rearward portion, having means for engaging a support surface, the members being connected together by at least one hinge, the arrangement being such that, in use, the members can be folded by means of said at least one hinge to lie one against one another or adjacent one another.

2. A stand as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the forward support portion extends forwardly from the rear, upright, support portion, whilst the rearward portion extends rearwardly from half of said at least one hinge which itself extends rearwardly from said rear, upright, support portion.

3. A stand as claimed in Claim 2, wherein for each member the axis of said at least one hinge lies in a plane containing a side of the forward, support portion facing in one direction and a side of the rearward portion facing in the opposite direction.

4. A stand as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the members are interengaged with their respective halves of said at least one hinge lying one over the other so that when folded together said sides of the forward support portions respectively are against or adjacent one other and said sides of the rearward portions respectively are against or adjacent one another.

5. A stand as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the respective hinge halves of the or one hinge provided by said members are interconnected by means of an axial projection on one half being received in an axial opening of the other haif.

6. A stand as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein the or one hinge is formed by a lower hinge half on one member and an upper hinge half on the other member, one of the hinge halves being formed with a projection which, when the members are relatively moved apart by a predetermined angle, moves past part of the rearward portion associated with the other of the hinge halves, subsequent relative movement of the members in the opposite direction to a spacing less than said predetermined angle being resisted by engagement of said projection with said rearward portion associated with the other of the hinge halves.

7. A stand as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the projection extends around said one of the hinge halves for a predetermined angle of arc and has an increasing radius of curvature to define a catch face at its free end, so that for relative angular opening movement of the members up to said predetermined angle the projection can move past the rearward portion associated with the other of the hinge halves, the projection snapping past said rearward portion at said predetermined angle and engaging it by way of said catch face to resist closing together of the members to a spacing less than said predetermined angle, thereby releasably locking the members apart.

8. A stand as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein said predetermined angle corresponds to the maximum possible unfolding of the stand members relative to one another.

9. A stand as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 8, wherein the rearward portion associated with one half of the or one hinge has stop means which, in use, engage with the rear, upright, support portion associated with the other half of the or one hinge to prevent relative unfolding movement of the members beyond a predetermined maximum angle.

10. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are two hinges at the respective upper and lower ends of the rear, upright, support portions, each hinge having its two hinge halves on the two rear, upright, support portions of the members respectively.

11. A stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each member is of plastics material and in one piece.

12. A stand substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.