US1169845A - Display-tray. - Google Patents

Description

G. R. McALLASTER.

DISPLAY TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 1913.

1,169,845. Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

THB COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPH CO4, WASHINGTON, D. c.

enoiten R. MCALLASTER, or nooHEsTEnL, New T0113:

bIsrnAY-TnAx.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed May 15, 1913. Serial No. 767,795.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. MGALLAS- TER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in'Display-Trays, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

The present inventionrelates to display trays for jewelry and other articles of merchandise and an object of this invention is to provide a construction which will hold the articles against movement within the tray while, at the same time, giving a better display effect.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain parts and combinations of parts all of which will be hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the appended claims.

i In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a tray constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a section on the line a-ai, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 6-1), Fig. 1; Fig. 4: is a detail view of the shiftable and yielding support for the clasping strip; Fig. 5 is a detail View of the guide for the support; and Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the tray with some of the clamping strips removed and a plane bottom employed in place thereof' Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1 indicates the case of the tray which is preferably a rectangular frame having a surrounding supporting ledge 2 secured to the interior near the lower edge thereof and serving as a rest for the bottom 3. Arranged in the bottom of the tray are the clasps which preferably embody overlapping strips, made from sheet metal pieces covered with velvet 4:.

Each strip may be off-set at 5 to provide an overlapped portion 6 and an exposed portion 7, the exposed portion being in a lower plane than the overlapped portion and overlapping an overlapped portion of a proximate strip. This arrangement permits a card 8 with cuff buttons 9, or other articles with projections, to be held between two proximate strips without being bent or deflected as it would be if the strips were in the same plane throughout their widths.

The strips may be vieldingly supported so that they may move, one toward and from another, for the purpose of clasping articles between them. The strips may also be adjustable sidewise toward and from each other forthe purpose of accommodating articles of greater thicknesses than an ordinary card, this being due to the fact that, as one strip moves away from the other sidewise, the exposed portion of an overlapping strip slides downwardly on the overlapped portion of the other strip and, in this way, gives, to the overlapping strip, a greater range of movement.

The yielding supports for the strips may be in the form of spring arms 10 each pivotally connected at 11 to -one of the strips preferably midway between the side edges of such strips, thus permittingone side edge of such strip to rest upon the bottom 3 and serve as a fulcrum on which the strip swings away from the adjacent strip. In this instance, each strip has two spring arms connected thereto and each of these spring arms, in order to give greater resiliency, is connected to a coiled spring 11.

It willbe noted that the spring arms 10 are pivotally connected to the clasping strips at a point substantially midway between the two side edges of said strip. WVith this arrangement, the strips may be said to be mounted so as to float as the fulcrumed edge of each strip rests loosely upon the bottom 3 and the guide or channel members 13, thus permitting an article to be passed below the fulcrumed edge of the strip as will be seen by referring to the hatpin shown at 18 in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the hat-pin being passed between two clasping strips and then below the fulcrumed edges ofa number of other of said strips. Large cards and scarf pins may also be held in the same manner.

In addition to giving greater resiliency to the spring arms 10, these coil springs serve for retaining the strips in position while, at the same time, permitting relative adjustment of the strips. To this end, the bottom of the tray is provided with longitudinal ways in the form of substantially closed channels 13, the springs being mounted in said channels and the arms 10 extending through narrow slots 14 in the tops of the channels. To anchor each spring against turning at one end, an arm 15 is provided on the spring for cooperation with the inner wall of one of the channels 13. Preferably these channels 13 are arranged in slots in the bottom 3 in order that the overlapping clasping strips may rest on the bottom 3 of the tray. It is apparent that the springs 12 may move longitudinally in the channels 13 and, in this way, the overlapping strips are adjustable sidewise relatively to each other. It is apparent however that the channel piece may be supported incthe tray in any other manner.

The channel pieces 13 are removable from the slots in the bottom 3 and, being open at their ends, permit the springs to be with drawn from the channels so that any number of the strips may be removed. WVhen this is done, the tray may be adjusted as shown in Fig. 6 with oneha-lf thereof provided with clasping strips and the other half having a Hat or plane bottom which is formed by wrapping a piece of velvet 16 about a piece of cardboard 17 conforming in size to the portion of thebottom of the tray from which the strips have been removed.

In using the tray, either the articles themselves or cards to which the articles are attached, are introduced between two proximate strips by lifting upon the overlapping strip. If the articles are in the form of cards holding the jewelry, the strips are moved close together, as shown in Fig. 2, but if the articles are thicker than cards, the strips are moved sidewise away from each other, in which instance one or more of the strips will have to be detached entirely from the tray in order to give room for the greater separation.

With atray constructed in accordance with this invention, it is possible to hold the jewelry against movement therein and in a manner to give a better display, the latter being due to the fact that the articles, especially when upon cards, are held at an acute angle to the bottom of the tray. The tray also serves to inform the merchant when any of the articles have been surreptitiously removed, as the cards can be placed and held in definite positions with relation to each other so that, if all of the articles are not in such relation, the merchant is aware as to the number missing, it being well known that merchants lose quite a number of articles from their trays through dishonest customers who take advantage of the inattention of the merchant with the knowledge that their acts cannot be discovered when the articles are placed indiscriminately within the tray.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pate t What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A display tray having a plurality of clasping strips resiliently held in overlapping relation and adjustable sidewise with relation to each other to vary the distances between their lower edges.

2. A display tray having a plurality of overlapping clasping strips, the exposed portions of said strips being off-set downwardly with relation to the overlapped portions.

3. A display tray having a plurality of overlapping clasping strips, each strip being fulcrumed at one edge on the bottom of the tray, and spring means secured to such strips and adjustably connectedto the tray to permit the adjustment of the strips sidewise relatively to each other.

4. A display tray having a plurality of overlapping clasping strips, each strip being fulcrumed at one edge on the bottom of the tray, and springs secured to such strips, and adjustably and removably secured to the bottom of the tray to permit the strips to be adjusted sidewise relatively to each other and to be disconnected from the tray for the purpose of increasing the distances between the remaining strips.

5. A display tray having ways formed in the bottom thereof, overlapping clasping strips extending transversely of the ways, and springs connected to the strips and adjustable'on the ways.

6. A display tray having parallel channel members at the bottom thereof, overlapping clasping strips extending transversely of the channel members, coiled springs arranged in the channel members and adjustable longitudinally of said members, and spring arms on the coil springs connected to the strips to hold the latter in overlapped relation.

7. A display tray having overlapping clasping strips in the bottom thereof, said strips having spring means acting onthe same at points which will permit the lower edges of the strips to yield relatively to the bottom of the tray for the passage of articles beneath such edges.

GEORGE E. MoALLASTER.

Witnesses:

HAROLD H. SIMMs, ADA M. lVrIrrMoRE.

Washington, I). C.

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