US2289042A - Curtain display device - Google Patents

Description

July 7, 1942. J. b. ROBERTSON CURTAIN DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 9, 1939 2 2AM. WWQ w \-Y 8 2 w/ m7 w/ a w r M/ wi M I a a v y z W! y 7, 1942 J. D. ROBERTSON 2,289,042

CURTAIN DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 9, 1939 3 Shets-Sheet 2 I I I y ,1 J. D. ROBERTSON 2,289,042

CURTAIN DISPLAY DEVICE Filed May 9, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 '48 jrlven 701;

Patented July 7, 1942 i CURTAIN DISPLAY DEVICE John Douglas Robertson, flaunton, Mass, assignor to Robertson Factories, 1nc., Taunton, 'Mass., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 9, 1939, Serial No. 272,587

13 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in display devices and particularly to display devices of the type having a collection of pivotally mounted side-wise disposed brackets on which articles and particularly curtains to be displayed may be suspended, the brackets being capable of being swung away from any selected bracket to more completely expose the article on the selected bracket. v

The display of articles by suspending them upon pivotally mounted brackets, while convenient, has not been entirely satisfactory. It is apparent that when a number of the pivotally mounted brackets are swung collectively there is relative movement between the brackets which causes the articles suspended thereon to rub against each other if in contact and'impair the appearance of delicate suspended articles like curtains or draperies; To overcome this difficulty and to prevent the suspended articles from rubbing against each other, it has been proposed to provide spacer members attached to' the'pivotally mounted brackets. These spacer members, however, have not remedied all of the objections to the prior devices.' In some cases the spacer members have not entirely eliminated undesired rubbing contact between the suspended articles or have resulted in constructions which were expensive to build or prevented easy removal from or placing of the articles on .the brackets. For example, in displaying curtains it is desirable to provide a construction which not only prevents the curtains from coming into contact with each other but also a construction which permits the curtains to be easily put on and removed from the display device. This is particularly important in headed. curtains having rufiled edges, to insure that the rutiied headings will not be cru'shedin' any position of the supporting devices,

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved display device wherein" the above mentioned difi'iculties will be overcome and wherein the suspended articles will be prevented from coming into undesired contact with each other.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a display device having a plurality of pivotally mounted article supporting brackets provided with spacing members to maintain the brackets spaced from each other, and so arranged that the articles can be mounted on and removed from the brackets without removing parts thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a display device having improved means for suspending articles at both sides of a substantially'horizontally positioned pivotally mounted supporting member. To this end, another feature'of the invention resides in improved suspending means having substantially parallel spaced arms spaced from the sides of a supporting member, this suspending means being fixed to the supporting member at one end and releasably secured or hooked to the supporting member at its other end.

A yet further object is the provision of a series of swinging display brackets each having a cam member that engages a part of the immediately adjacent bracket to hold the brackets apart and to transmit the swinging motion imparted to one bracket to the contacting series of brackets, the cam members being so arranged that they can overlap or nest in close positions of the brackets and also so arranged that the closed series can be opened at any desired bracket, the cam members also being so located and arranged that they do not interfere with the mounting of the articles on the brackets or their removal therefrom.

The collection of display brackets is adapted to be mounted upon a wall or equivalent support to swing from one position approximately parallel with the wall across the normal to the wall, to a similar opposite parallel position. It is an object of the present i-nventionto mount the display brackets in such manner that they are biased for movement into a predetermined position from a different position thereof and particularly for movement towardthewall from any displaced position, so that an unselected'bracket will automatically sta away from a selected bracket that is held generally normal to the wall, thereby to facilitate the display of the article on the selected bracket,

A further object is the provision of a collection of swinging display brackets having spacing means, the spacing means of one bracket engaging a part of an adjacent bracket, the spacing means and brackets having cooperating parts that limit the swinging movement of the brackets.

A still further object of the invention is to improve generally the construction of article display devices.

With the above and other objects and features in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a viewin elevation illustrating one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. la is a sectional detail taken along line Ila-4a of Fig. 1 and illustrating particularly a spacer member at the bottom part of the frame.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the device of Fig. 1 and which shows one extreme position of the supporting members in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a View, partly in section, of the means for securing the article supporting or suspending members taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, taken. along the line l4 of Fig. 2 showing the spacer member in end elevation;

Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation showing the spacer member illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation illustrating a modified form of a spacing member;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view on an enlarged scale partly in section illustrating the spacing member shown in Figs. 6 and 7, taken along the line 38 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view illustrating a still further modification of the spacing mechanism;

Fig. 10 is an elevational view illustrating a modifying form of display devices;

Fig. 11 is a view in end elevation showing a section of an end elevation of the spacing means shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of means used for securing a suspending member tothe display device shown in Fig. 10

Fig. 13 is an end View partly in section of the securing means shown in Fig. 12, taken along line l3l3 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary plan View of a modification illustrating a method of securing the spacing member to the spacing means;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary end elevation of the modification shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary plan view of a still further modification for securing the spacing members to their respective brackets; and

Fig. 17 is a view in front elevation of the modification of the invention shown in Fig. 16.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of thedrawings which illustrates one embodiment of the present invention which is particularly adapted for displaying curtains, the device is formed to simulate a window and includes a frame member 20 which is pivotally mounted upon substantially horizontal fixed supporting members 22, specifically angle bars. The frame member 20 is formed of a plurality of rods which are welded or other- Wise suitably secured together. The frame includes a. rod 24 which is circular in cross-section and the ends of which are bent downwardly to form vertical pivot members 25 for the frame. As illustrated, the member 24 is made of one piece and forms three sides of the frame, namely, the top, bottom and the outer side. A separate inner side member 26 is secured by welding to the member 24 adjacent to the pivot members 25. The frame member 20 is also provided with window-simulating vertical rods 26 and horizontal rods 36 which are secured at their ends to the members 24 and 26 by welding and are secured to each other at the points where they intersect by welding or any other suitable means. The middle horizontal member 36 is provided with a downwardly extending pivot member 3| which cooperates with the pivot members 25 to provide pivotal support for the frame 26.

The plurality of frame members 20 as shown in Fig. l are pivotally connected to the fixed horizontal supporting members 22 on suitably spaced centers. Thus, a substantial separation of the frame members 20 is insured when the members 20 are extended at right angles to the horizontal supporting members 2.

To insure that the frames 20 will tend to stay in their extreme positions close to the supporting members on the wall which carries said members, the frame is so mounted that the forward part of the frame is higher than the rear part. To this end, the uppermost member 22 is provided with a pivot hole for the pivot member 25 located a certain distance from the vertical wall or other member carrying the horizontal support 22. The pivot holes for the other two pivot members are located progressively increased distances outwardly of the wall, or the vertical line of the uppermost pivot member. Thus the line of the pivotal support is displaced more at the bottom than at the top in a plane normal to the wall and hence the frame is caused to be tilted and to be biased for swinging movement as described. It is apparent that, by so hanging the frame members, they will tend to swing toward the wall and tend to remain in such extreme position.

Each of the frame members 20 is provided with means for suspending a curtain or other article. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, each frame member 29 is provided at the top part thereof with an elongated horizontal U-shaped resilient member 32 which supports the curtains or the like. Said member is rigidly secured at its closed end to the upper portion of the frame member 20 adjacent to the pivoted end thereof. As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the closed end of the elongated member 32 is bent downwardly and welded or otherwise suitably secured to the frame member 24. A securing hook 34 is provided to secure the elongated member 32 more firmly and rigidly to the frame member 24. This hook 3a is welded to the lower surface of the member 24, the hooked end portions 35 thereof extending upwardly and inwardly thereabove.

The horizontal resilient arms 33 of the elongated member 32 are located within these hooks and are welded thereto at their points of contact. It is to be noted that the arms of the elongated member 32 are so spaced laterally on each side of the frame 24 that there is substantial clearance between the member 24 and the respective arms. It is to be noted that this method of securing the elongated suspending member 32 to the frame insures that the arms of the member 33 will be in a substantially horizontal plane. The forward end parts of the arms are hooked releasably to the frame by means of a hook member 36 which is of substantially the same shape as or identical with the hook member 3%. This hook member 36 is secured to the frame member 24 by welding. Thus, the free ends of the re silient arms of the elongated member 33 can be pressed toward each other and inserted between and under the upper end or hook parts 31 of the hook 36 which holds them, releasably in position. The ends of the arms of the suspending member 32 because of the natural springiness of the metal from which they are formed, are normally widely separated and when they are placed within the hook member 36, bear against the inner partof the hooks 36 and consequently are not readily accidently removed therefrom. This method of detachably securing the forward ends of the arms of the elongated member 32 insures that curtains or other articles may readily be applied to or removed from the arms, since it is necessary only to remove either one or both of the arms from the hook member 36 and, since these ends are straight, and there are no obstructing parts in front of the ends, removal of the curtains is not interfered with. For the same reason, curtains may easily be threaded on these arms.

The supporting frames are maintained in spaced relation to each other in all positions by spacing members 38, which prevent adjacent frames from rubbing against each other and provide ample room for curtains suspended on and between the frames and also effect the parallel swinging of the frames. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5, these spacing members 38 may each be formed as an extension of one of the vertical bars or rods 28 of the frame.

As shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5, the rod 28 extends upwardly beyond the top of the frame 20 to form a substantially straight vertical upstanding portion 40. The rod is bent backwardly and rearwardly to form a gooseneck section 42. The rod is then bent to the right to form an approximately straight section 43 and then rearwardly and forwardly to form an arcuate cam section 44. The rod is then bent to the right to form a second and approximately straight section with the end of the rod extending beyond the gooseneck section 42. free end of the rod is then welded or otherwise suitably secured adjacent to the gooseneck section 42.

The cam section 44 is formed as shown in Fig.

2, in such manner as to permit relatively easy movement between individual supporting members 20 when they are in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2. In other words, the cam is formed with an easy rise at the beginning of movement in either direction. This, of course,

makes it easier to rotate the frames. The cam section 44 on one supporting frame is arranged to engage the upstanding substantially straight vertical section 48 of the spacing members of the adjacent frame in all positions of the same when they are moved collectively, the line of contact rising and falling and also moving over the cam surface during the parallel swinging movement of the frames. The supporting frames Zil are separated a maximum distance when they are rotated at substantially right angles to the supporting members 22 in which they are pivotally mounted and a minimum distance when the supporting frames reach the extreme limits of their movements toward these horizontal supporting members. It is to be noted that the cam ma. bers are inclined downwardly so that adjacent cam members can overlap or nest as illustrated in Fig. 2 when the frames are close to the wall. At the ends of the cam section 44 the rod is provided with outward bends 4! which provided recesses between the cam sections and the bends into which the upstanding part 40 of the rod of the next adjacent display device is seated at the ends of the swing of the two display devices. This provides definite stops or limiting means that defines the extent of swing. Parts of a display device, as the loop 34 also engage the edge of the upper supporting member 22, to limit the swing of the display devices in the direction of the wall.

The spacing members may be formed in different ways to obtain substantially the same results as those obtained with the spacing member 42 shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4,and 5. In Fig. 6, a

This 53 spacing member 48 is provided which is substantially .circular in shape. As illustrated, the spacing member 48 is formed of a plurality of contacting turns of square wire. The ends of the square wire are turned inwardly and downwardly and are secured to the top of a supporting member 50 which may be in the form of a single strand rod, as shown in Fig. 6, or which may be in the form of the supporting frame 20 described above. In this construction, the spacin members 48 are arranged to engage the peripheries of adjacent spacing members 48. It is apparent that this form of spacing member operates effectively to prevent undesired contact between the articles hung on adjacent supporting members 58. The rods 50, shown in Figs. 6 and '7, are provided with article suspending rods 52 which are substantially identical to the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5. The closed end of the member '52 is secured to the supporting rod 50 by welding and is maintained in horizontal position by a hook member 56 which is of the same shape as the hook member 34 shown in Fig. 3. The free ends of the arms of the rod 52 are maintained substantially in parallelism by and are held releasably by a hooked member 58 which is welded to the free end of the supporting member or rod 50.

The rods 50 may be pivotally supported in the manner hereinbefore described to bias the rods for movement by gravity toward the supporting wall in either direction from an intermediate position.

The circular spacing members 48 are prevented from moving into dead center positions, in which position a swinging force applied to one supporting member could not move the next adjacent member, by causing a part of the supporting member, as the hook 56, to engage the wall bracket 22 in such position as to prevent movement of the supportin member into such dead center position.

Fig. 9 illustrates still another form of spacing member 65 which is formed from a thin fiat strip of metal. The spacing member 60 is circular and is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed downwardly extending legs 62 which are welded to the top of the supporting member 58. The member 60 operates to maintain the supporting rod or members 50 spaced from each other in the same manner that the spacing mem bers 48 operate.

Fig. 10 of the drawings discloses still another modification of the invention wherein a supporting rod 64 is pivotally mounted at one end in a bracket 66. The rod 64 is substantially straight and is bent downwardly at one end to fit into holes formed in the supporting member or bracket 66. In this form of the invention, there is provided a single article suspending rod 68 which is secured to the supporting rod 64 by a hooked securing member 1|]. As shown most clearly in Fig. 12, the securing member 16 is formed from relatively heavy wire and encircles the supporting rod 64 and is welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto. The ends of the wire are curved upwardly and inwardly to receive the bent end of the article suspending rod 68. The bent end portion of the rod 68 is secured to these upstanding hooked portions of the securing member 10 by weldin or other suitable means.

The forward or free end of the article suspending rod 68 is maintained in article suspending position by another securing member 12 which is substantially the same as andwhich is formed and secured to the free end of the supporting rod 64 in the same manner as the securing member 10. modification only one article suspending rod 68 is used but it is apparent that article suspending rods located at opposite sides of the supporting member 64 could be used if desired.

The device shown in Fig. is also provided with a spacing member 14. This spacing member 1'4 is provided with a lower end portion arranged partially to encircle the supporting rod 64 and is secured thereto by welding or other suitable means. The rod is then extended substantially vertically to form a straight section 16 adapted to be engaged by the adjacent spacing member. The wire is then bent downwardly and rearwadly to form a section 18. The wire is then bent toward the right and then rearwardly and forwardly to form a cam section 80. The wire is then bent toward the right and downwardly, the free end of the wire or rod being bent into substantially circular shape to fit the rod 64 to which the free end is welded. The cam portion 80 of the spacing member 14 is of substantially the same shape as the cam member 44 shown in Fig.2.

The section 18 forms an abutment or head that overhangs the top part of the vertical member 1'5 and prevents the cam member of the next adjacent hanger from sliding upwardly off the end of the member 16.

Figs. 14 to 17, inclusive, show still different forms of spacing members. In Figs. 14 and 15, the spacing member 90 is formed in the general shape of the spacing members 30 shown in Figs. 2 and 10 but the spacing member is made of two pieces, a cam section 92 and a supporting member 94. As shown in Fig. 15, the supporting member 94 is in the form of a substantially vertical loop, the lower end of which is secured to a horizontal pivoted supporting member 96. The cam section 92 is formed of one continuous piece of wire, the ends of which cross and are secured together by welding at the point of crossing 98. The forwardly extending ends of cam section 92 are secured to the top of the spacing member 514 at opposite sides thereof by welding.

Figs. 16 and 17 disclose a spacing member I02 which is substantially the same as the spacing member shown in Fig. 2 but which is not formed as an extension of one of the vertical rods 39. The member N32 is provided with a substantially straight vertical supporting section I04 having at its lower end a portion I06 bent substantially at right angles to the portion I64 and secured to a supporting rod or member I68 at two spaced points by welding.

The spacing members shown in Figs. 2, 1'0, 14 and 17 are so shaped that the cam sections of these respective spacing members are inclined downwardly away from the supporting section ends so that these members may nest as their associated supporting rods or frames are moved into their extreme positions. This insures that the spacing members will not lock or interfere with each other during movement into and out of their extreme positions.

When the frames 20 of Figs. 1 and 2 are swung about their pivots for positioning a selected frame and the curtain thereon in display position, a frame is usually grasped by the outer wire 29 and pushed or pulled sidewise, thereby moving, through the top spacers, all the frames in front of it. The frames are .broad and the wires are light. Thus when the salesperson attempts to swing the frames rapidly and thus applies a con- It is to be noted that in this siderable pressure on the outer wire, there'is a tendency for the frame to warp and displace the lowermost outer corner of the frame forwardly of the normal plane of the frame so that it may enter and catch in the similar'corner of and interlock with the next frame. To prevent such action the frames 20 at the lower parts thereof and specifically at the lower outer corners thereof are also provided with frame spacing means.

Said spacing means, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 1a, and 2, comprises a Wire or rod H0 bent into U-shape to provide two closely confronting parallel legs I I2, H4 disposed on opposite sides of the frame at the lower outer corner thereof and inclined diagonally. The bend H6 of the spacer encloses the outer vertical frame rod 20 above the corner and is welded thereto and the end parts I I8, I20 of the spacer are separately welded to the opposite sides of the bottom frame rod 30a. The location of the spacer is sufficiently close to the corner to prevent the frame corner of 'an adjacent frame from entering and interlocking therewith. The spacer construction described forms a convenient means for accomplishing the desired result but equivalent means can be employ-ed.

The invention has been described with particular reference to several embodiments thereof, but it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto, but that changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a swinging display device, a pair of swinging members, article suspending rods carried by said swinging members having an anchored end part and a free end part and constructed and arranged to receive the articles over the free ends, said swinging members having spacing means independent of the free ends of said rods and one engageable with the other above said rods.

2. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted article supporting members on which the articles are adapted to be threaded, and spacing means for maintaining said supporting members in spaced relation, said spacing means being located out of contact with the suspended articles and out of the path of application of the articles to and their removal from said supporting members.

3. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting members, and spacing members secured to said supporting members, said spacing members having a curved portion located above said supporting members and arranged slidably to engage the spacing member on an adjacent supporting member to maintain the supporting members spaced from each other.

4. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting members, and spacing members, said spacing members having a substantially straight vertical portion secured to and located above said supporting member, and a curved portion secured to the upper end portion of said straight portion and arranged to 5. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting members, and means located above said supporting members for maintaining the supporting members in spaced relation, said last mentioned means having laterally extended parts arranged to overlap as the supporting members approach their limits of pivotal movement.

6. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting members, and spacing members having a substantially straight vertical portion secured to said supporting members and a curved portion extending from said straight portion and arranged to engage the substantially straight portion of said spacing members on adjacent supporting members.

7. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting members, and spacing members having a substantially straight vertical portion secured to said supporting members and a curved portion extending downwardly away from said straight portion and arranged to engage the substantially straight portion of a spacing member on an adjacent supporting member.

8. In a display device, a supporting member, supporting means pivotally mounted on said member, and an article suspending member comprising a rod refiexed into U--shape to provide a pair of integral approximately parallel arms, said rod being fixed to said supporting means adjacent to the reflexed part and the body portions of said arms being spaced from and being free from fixed connection to said supporting means, said supporting means having means releasably engaging the free ends of said arms.

9. In a display device, a pivotally mounted supporting member, article suspending means having a pair of substantially straight arms and a connecting portion integral with said arms rigidly connected to said supporting member, means secured to said supporting member and to the arms of said supporting member adjacent to said connecting portion to support said suspending means in a plane substantially parallel to said supporting member, and a hook member secured to said supporting member having a pair of opposed integral hooks to detachably secure the free ends of said arms to said supporting member to maintain said arms substantially parallel to each other and to said opposite sides of said supporting member.

10. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted supporting members, article suspending means secured to said supporting member, said suspending means having a downwardly bent end portion rigidly secured to said supporting member and straight portions extending from said downwardly bent portion, and means located above said suspending means and connected to said supporting members for maintaining the supporting members and the article suspending means carried thereby in spaced relation to each other.

11. In a display device, a pivotally mounted supporting member, article suspending means secured to said supporting member, said article suspending means having a pair of straight arms and a connecting portion rigidly connected to the supporting means, means secured to said supporting member and to the arms of said suspending member adjacent to said connecting portion to support said suspending means in a plane substantially parallel to said suspending member, means secured to said supporting member detachably to secure the free ends of said arms to said supporting member and to maintain said arms substantially parallel to each other, and means secured to said supporting member above said suspending means for maintaining the supporting means in spaced relation, said last mentioned means comprising a curved portion and a substantially straight portion connecting said curved portion and said supporting member, the curved portion of said spacing member being arranged to slidably engage the straight portion of an adjacent spacing member to maintain the supporting members substantially in parallelism.

12. In a display device, a plurality of pivotally mounted article supporting members disposed side b side and adapted to swing about their pivots, means carried by one member and enageable with the next adjacent member for maintaining the spacing therebetween, and means for limiting the swinging movement of said members, said spacing means including a cam member carried by one supporting member and engageable with a part of the next adjacent supporting member, said cam member having a stop-part which engages said adjacent member in a predetermined position of the adjacent member to limit the swinging of said members.

13. In a display device, a pivotally mounted supporting member including a horizontal rod having a pair of hook members near each end thereof, each hock member being fixed to said rod and extended upwardly thereabove and terminated in a pair of hooks located on opposite sides of the rod, and an article suspending member comprising a rod bent midway of its ends into U-shape and providing a pair of approximately parallel springy article-engaging arms, said U- shaped rod being secured in the hooks of one hook member near the bend and the free ends of said arms being releasably engageable with the hooks of the other hook member.

JOHN DOUGLAS ROBERTSON.

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