US2149978A - Display and retainer device - Google Patents

Description

March 7, 1939. NOEL DISPLAY AND RETAINER DEVICE Filed June 10, 1937 ATTORNEYJ.

Patented Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a display device, displaying a plurality of like articles for display or operatiVe purposes.

The chief object of the invention is to provide a display support for a plurality of articles and to retain the same thereon during the useful life of the articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a suitable support for an intermediate portion of the display device. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail support arrangement for retaining certain of the articles in non-exposed or non-working position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support for a different article, the same being arranged for operative association with any one of the other like articles, which support serves as a reenforcement for a portion of the display device.

The chief feature of the invention consists in the formation of a device embodying the several parts whereby the aforesaid objects are accomplished. I

Other objects and features will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims:

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the device with articles thereon.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the main portion of the device.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the invention-shown in Fig. 1, the articles being omitted from Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawing 10 indicates a forward support having at its lower end an inwardly directed, inturned, lateral flange ll. l2 indicates a rear- Ward support portion having an inwardly directed flange l3 at its lower end.

The intermediate portion includes two divisions, portions l5 and [6, the two being separated from each other by a rail structure I! that extends upwardly therefrom and is substantially U-shaped in cross section to form a nesting groove or channel [8, which is downwardly directed. The two portions l5 and iii are oifset angularly of each other in the preferred form of the invention. In other words, portion l 5 is but slightly inclined to the horizontal while portion l6 has a greater inclination thereto. 7

The rail i! has an aperture 19 extending therethrough and seated in said aperture is a loop or ring 20 having a hinge portion 20a and complementary interfitting ends 2017.

Nested in the U-shaped seat I8 is the flange 2| of an intermediate support 22 having a laterally directed flange 23 at its lower end. Each of the flanges H, I 3 and 23 are preferably provided with suitable surface contacting members, such as the rubber heads 24, provided with stem portions 25 which are wedgingly seated in the apertures 26 in the several lower flanges mentioned.

Extending rearwardly from the rear support [2 are aligned socket members 21, there being two of said members in alignment and with each pair having an alignment parallel to that of another pair. As shown clearly in Fig. 2, the socket portions 21 are substantially triangular and are offset from the plane of the rear support l2. A pair of substantially triangular or channel shaped members 28 having inturned edges 28a are seatable in the aligned pairs of sockets 21 and the upper ends are secured to a base plate 29 having a lower groove forming flange 30 and two inwardly directed side forming flanges 3|. There is no flange provided at the top of member 29 so that a display card or the like 32 longer than member 29 may be readily mounted upon the plate 29 and retained thereon.

Each of the articles associated with the intermediate portion of the display device includes, for example, a stiif sheet 33 provided with a metallic eyelet 34 providing an opening 34a adapted to receive the loop 20. A suitable number of said articles 33 may be so mounted on the intermediate portion of the device and it will be apparentsee Fig. l-that a certain article will be exposed on the lower portion 15 of the intermediate portion of the display device, while others will be supported in non-displayed or nonworking position rearwardly and thereabove, and are prevented from interfering with the beforementioned article by reason of engagement of the last mentioned articles with the rail I1.

In the present disclosure, the article 33 may broadly be that of a structure such as shown in' the William Wright Patent No. 1,867,432, dated July 12, 1932, and associated therewith is the article 32 which contains certain indicia, legending or other characters or means 32a, with which the portions 33a of article 33 may be associated. The master display card 32 thus is adapted to cooperate in the playing of any game wherein a plurality of individual playing cards or articles 33 are utilized, each of which has certain divisions, such as indicated at 33a.

Another use of the invention consists in the provision of certain bookkeeping sheets, stock records or the like, each of which may bear certain classification data, this being the article indicated by the numeral 33 and associated therewith may be utilized a rate sheet such as indicated broadly by numeral 32 in Fig. 1, which rate sheet may bear any desired classification information, such as mileage distances to be used in connection with individual accounts, each of which would be associated with one of the articles 33, or a price classification, which would be common to all ofthe individual articles 33. If the device be used for stock record purposes, it will be readily apparent that a part stock card may be exposed on the portion I5 and the superposed stock cards will be retained by the portion l6 and the rail 11; It is believed no further description of the various types of articles with which the device may be em-,

ployed is necessary for an understanding of the construction, utility and operation of the device, the subject matter of this application.

The form of the device is such that it readily lends itself for production from relatively thin sheet metal and by reason of its construction, as illustrated, the use of relatively thin sheet metal is not objectionable, since suflicient support and rigidity is incorporated in the device by reason of the formation of the same, as specifically illustrated herein, and more especially by the reenforcement of the rear support I2 by reason of the U-shaped arrangement 28, 29, 30 which is detachably associated therewith and which has its upper portion formed to serve as a support for another article having a cooperative relationship with the similar articles secured to the device by the split ring 20.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the accompanying drawing-and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restricted in character.

Various embodiments of the invention have been devised and there has been herein illustrated and described the preferred form of the same. The various modifications, such as has been hereinbefore mentioned, as well as others which will suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, including such embodiments which have not been illustrated and described herein, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a display device, front support structure, an upright rear support structure, and intermediate means therebetween and supported thereby'and having a forward support portion and the rearward support portion for supporting articles in'either of two positions, and arranged at progressively increasing angles to the horizontal and with an upstanding rail at the vertex, and article retaining means secured to the rail and permitting movement of an article from one side of the rail to the other side thereof.

2. A device as defined by claim 1, characterized by the rail being U-shaped in transverse section and by the addition of an intermediate depending support nested therein and projecting downwardly therefrom.

GUY E. NOEL.

Images