US1053113A

US1053113A - Picture-frame-supporting means.

Info

Publication number: US1053113A
Application number: US59563910A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nils P Seaberg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1910-12-05
Filing date: 1910-12-05
Publication date: 1913-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 1930-02-11

Description

N. P. SEABERG.

PICTURE FRAME SUPPORTING MEANS.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG. 6, 1910.

Patented Feb. -11, 1913.

VV/T/VESSES 10 //v I/E/V 7'05 m /V/L s F 55mm; 0mm I 51 /-//5 A 7'7'0/7/VEV5 v F 5 W, Q/LMM r (In/ E sa'rs PICTURE-FRAME-SUPPORTING MEANS.

Application filed. December 5, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NILs P. SEABERG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Picture-Frame- Supporting Means, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to picture frames.

More particularly it relates to the supporting means for picture frames and the like, the object being to provide means by which a picture frame may be suspended with either side or either end upward, or may be made to stand on a shelf or table with either side of either end upward.

It is also the object to provide a frame having the other advantages of the improvement herein shown.

An embodiment of the invention by which these objects are accomplished is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of the back of a picture frame to which a device embodying the invention is attached, arranged to be suspended; Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same in section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an end view showing the frame standing as an easel on a longer side; Fig.

' 5 is an end view on a larger scale, showing the frame arranged to stand on an easel on a shorter side; and Fig. 6 is an elevation of the back showing the frame arranged to hang with a shorter side up; and showing also a modification of a detail.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents the back of a picture frame the edges of which are marked respectively 11, 12, 13 and 14. The back is preferably formed of sheet metal. In the middle of the back is a pivot 15, riveted thereto, on which is mounted a swivel piece 16, the free end of which is preferably shaped in two prongs 17 17, which terminate in claw-like formations marked 18, 19. In the preferred form this pivot is set in a raised portion of the back marked 20, at one point in which is a recess or dent marked 21 of suitable size for the function hereinafter described. The support 22, which may conveniently be made of wire, and which serves either as a hanger to suspend the frame from above or as a strut when the frame is standing on a table, is attached to the frame by the Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 595,639.

claw-like formations. It has a portion indicated by the reference numeral 23 which is bent with relation to the main part of the support so that it stands at right angles thereto, parallel to the back, and this part 23, is engaged under the claw forma-- tions, between them and the back or the raised portion of the back 20. It serves both as means for attaching the support and as a pivot on which the main part of the support may swing from the position parallel to the back which it occupies when used as a hanger, and to the position making an angle with the back which it occupies when used as a strut or support resting on a table. The end 24 of this piece is bent around a sharp curve so that it forms a small hook or lateral projection. The connection between the part 23, and the main portion of the piece 22, is also bent so that it is ofiset from the back, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 when the piece 22 hangs parallel with the back, and so that it swings against and engages the back as seen in Figs. 4 and 5 when the piece 22 is swung outward to make an angle with the back and to serve as a strut support there for. In this last position, it constitutes a rest or support for the upper portion of the back when the device is standing on the table. The hook 24, is large enough so that under ordinary conditions it prevents the part 23 from slipping out of place endwise; and yet is small enough so that it can slip under the

claws

18, 19, under the circumstances now to be described.

The portion 23 is made removable by providing the dent 21, which is at a suitable distance from the pivot so that when the claw 19 is near it, and the part 22 is parallel with the back, the hook 24 projects into this dent. In any other position of the swivel the turning of the part 22 into position parallel with the back turns the hook 24 against the back. The hook 24 which then presses against the back, forces the adjacent claw 19 outward away from the back; the swivel plate being made of spring metal to permit this action. This spring pressure between the claw and the back holds the part 23 in place by friction, and by the fact that the claw must be sprung still farther before the hook can pass under it. When however, the hook is turned into the dent 21 the spring pressure is absent and a person holding the device Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

in the hand can pull the part 2 1 through under the claw 19. Keeping the hook in the dent he can then swing the claw 18 on its swivel until it reaches the dent, when the hook end Qt may be drawn through claw 18 also, thus removing the support or

hanger

22, 23 entirely from the back.

The hook end 24 and the shaft 23 may be re-inserted in the same manner. The particular purpose in providing for their removal, however, is to enable their insertion in the opposite direction, 2'. 62., passing first through the claw 19 and then through the claw 18 as seen in Fig. 6. It will be seen by reference to the drawing that when thus inserted, the part 22 of the support will extend in the opposite direction from the

claws

18, 19, with respect to the swivel pivot 15, from that in which it previously extended. What may be called the net length of the support, 2'. e., the distance of the swivel 15 from the free end of the support 22 is in one arrangement approximately the length of the part 22 plus the distance of the

claws

18, 19 from the swivel pin, and in the other arrangement is the length of the part 22 minus the distance from the claws to the swivel pin.

The adaptability of the device to enable an oblong frame to stand on either end, or either side, or to hang with either end, or either side, up will now be manifest. For use to support the frame or to hang it with one of its long sides down as in Fig. 1, it may be arranged so that the prop 22 starting from where it is held in the claw runs across the swivel center. For supporting or hanging the frame with the other long side down, the support 22, and swivel plate 16 are to be turned 180 on the swivel. For standing or hanging the picture on one of the shorter edges, the prop thus arranged may not be considered long enough. It will be observed, for example, that in turning these parts on the swivel, as just described, the free end of the support as it swings by the short side of the frame does not reach the edge of the frame. The invention therefore provides means for extracting the hinge pin 23 and re-inserting it in the opposite direction, so that the part 22 does not lie across the swivel pin; but starts between the pivot and the side of the frame which it is to be up (Fig. 6) and when thus reinforced in length by the distance from the swivel to the claw, it is long enough to reach the more distant edge of the frame and beyond as far as needed for convenient hanging. It may also be used in this position to stand the frame on a shelf at a desirable angle, like an easel; but the picture would be upside down. The swivel 15 permit-s this inversion to be corrected, by turning the swivel plate 180 on its pivot. This avoids removal and readjustment of the picture in the frame, or

inversion of the frame, which sometimes is not feasible.

A modification of the construction illustrated in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. Gwhere the raised portion 20 of the back is omitted and the equivalent of the recess 21 is a hole 21, cut through the material of the back 10.

While the device has been shown in the drawings as applied to a picture frame of conventional form, it will be obvious that any method might be employed for attaching the part herein called, the back to the picture, placque, card or other article; and

in the claims the word frame is used in its broadest sense signifying the means or part by which the picture is sustained; and in other respects variations may be made from the precise form illustrated, without departing from the scope of the patent.

I claim as my invention '1. The combination, with a picture frame or the like having its length and its width of different dimensions, of a plate swiveled on the back of the frame, a rigid support of fixed length fastened to the plate at a distance from its swivel, and means whereby the said support may occupy a position on that side of its fastening which is toward the swivel or on that side of its fastening which is from the swivel, whereby the said distance equalizes said length of support with respect to the dimensions of the frame so that the fixed length is suitable for holding the frame with either its long or its short dimension upright.

2. A support for picture frames and the like comprising a plate swiveled on the back of the frame, a stiff support of fixed length detachably fastened to the plate at a distance from the swivel, means to attach the support so that it may occupy diverse positions, one with the support lying across the swivel and the other with it lying in the opposite direction, said support being arranged to swing between a position of parallelism with the frame and a position of angular projection therefrom, and means to limit the swinging of said support away from parallelism with the frame.

3. A support for picture frames and the like comprising a plate swiveled on the back of the frame, and a support fastened detachably to the plate at a distance from the swivel, the fastening comprising a hinge, one member of which is formed on said support and the other on the plate, these two members being separable and attachable together in reversed position.

4. A support for picture frames and the like comprising a plate swiveled on the back of the frame and having a claw at a distance from. the swivel in combination with a support having a member engaged between the claw and the back of the frame; said engagement constituting a hinge; means for engagement between the back and the support to limit the swing of the support about said hinge; said member being removable and reinsertible in the same place in reversed position.

5. A support for picture frames and the like comprising a plate swiveled on the back of the frame and having a spring claw pressing toward the back of the frame in combination with a support for the frame having a shaft normally positioned between the claw and the back, the end of the shaft projecting to one side thereof, whereby when the support is turned on the shaft said projection engages the back and causes a firmer frictional clasp; there being a recess in the back, wherein the projection may enter, thereby relieving the frictional grasp and facilitating extraction of the shaft from the claw; the said projection being formed to engage the claw and retain the shaft in position when not so turned toward the back.

6. A support for picture frames and the like comprising the combination of a back of the frame having an elevated central portion and an external recess therein, a spring plate swiveled in said elevated portion, a support having a shaft engaged between the plate and the back at a distance from the swivel, there being a projection formed on said shaft which normally holds the shaft in position by engaging the plate when the support is at one angle and by elevating the plate and increasing its pressure when the support is at another angle, the said projection being adapted to enter said recess when turned about the swivel, whereby the pressure is relieved and extraction of the shaft facilitated.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this 26th day of November, 1910.

NILS P. SEABERG.

\Nitnesses JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, MARY A. OBRIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.