US2651127A

US2651127A - Rug display device

Info

Publication number: US2651127A
Application number: US78786A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry L Rubin; Rubin Albert; Rubin David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1949-02-28
Filing date: 1949-02-28
Publication date: 1953-09-08
Anticipated expiration: 1970-09-08

Description

Sept-8,1953 H. L. RUBIN HAL 2,651,127

RUG DISPLAY 'DEVICE Filed Feb. 28. 1949 Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITEusTATEs PATENT OFFICE Long Beach, Calif.

Application February 28, 1949, Serial No.' 78,786

(c1. ALIL-t) .4 Claims.

Our invention relates to the leldof merchandising displays, and more particularly to arug display device.

In the conventional retail furniture store it is common practice to place rugs one upcn the other, and to display the stacked rugs to prospective customers by the salesman throwing-a portion of the uppermost rugs rearwardly on the stack to display the rug situated thereunder. Displaying rugs in this manner has several disadvantages which include: the rugs occupying valuable Iioor space, the prospective purchaser being able to see lonly a portion ofthe rug, and the labor and inconvenience to the salesman in throwing back numerous rugs in order that the customer can see a particular rug which may be situated in the lower portion of the stack. The primary purpose of our invention is to eliminate the disadvantages and inconvenience of the present method of displaying rugs in mercantile establishments.-

A major object of our invention is to provide a rug display rack-which can be positioned on either the walls or ceiling of a furniture Astore and thus utilize what is normally waste space, is sufficiently easy to operate as to permit the desired rug to be inspected by a customer either with or without the assistance of a salesman,and is suiciently attractive in appearance as to'ad'd to rather than detract from the decorative motif of the store in which it is situated.

Another object of our invention is to supply a rug display device which has an extremely simple Vmechanical structure, is capable of being fabricated from standard commercially available materials, does not require the use of skilled personnel in its assembly, and can be sold to the furniture store trade at a sufficiently low price as to encourage its widespread use. Y

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent from the fol-1 lowing description of a preferred form thereof, and from the drawing illustrating that form in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational display device;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional viewlooking upwardly and taken on the line 2-2 of Fig.V l;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational View of the device;

Fig. 4 is 4a combined elevational and vertical cross-sectional view of the tension control mech-v anism taken on the line 4-4 o f Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the view o f our rug Fig. 2.

two laterally spaced hangers H and H ro tatably support a girder box B therebetween, with the box B having a rug R shown in phantom line' wrapped therearound. lA crank C engages one end of the girder box B rotatable mounting adjacent to the hanger H, and permits torsion to be placed on spring means whereby the weight of the rug R is compensated for when in a downwardly extending position. Y The girder box B on which the rug R is wrapped when not being displayed, as may best be seen in Fig. 5, has a Vrectangular cross-section, and is formed from four longitudinally extending members I0, each of which overlaps and is normal to an adjacent member. The members I0 when thus arranged have a bore II of rectangular cross-section extending longitudinally therethrough, with the members being held together by wood screws, cement, or other conventional means normally employed for this purpose.

Situated within the confines of the bore II are two laterally spaced wood blocks I2, with each of the blocks having-a longitudinally extending bore I3 of annular cross-section formed therein. Each of the blocks I2 is h eld in the desired position by a number of screws I4 which extend through the members IIlto engage the blocks.

rIwo rectangular metal caps I5, each having an` inwardly extending lip I6 formed around the edge thereof are mounted on the ends of the girder box B. Each of the capsl I5 has an inwardly extending boss I1 ofY rectangular crosssection thatengages the outer portion of the bore II'and at the same time the lips I6 engage the outer surface of the box. A bore I8 of annular cross-section extends longitudinally through each ofthe caps I5 and bosses IG, andis positioned in co-axial alignment with the bores I3 formed in the blocks I2. Each ofthe caps I5 has a number of bores formed therein through which wood screws I9 extend to engage the ends of the members I0 and hold the caps I5 in position thereon.

The girder Abox B is rotatably supported on two shafts 20 and 2 I, with each of the shafts 'exe tending through one of the caps I5 to engage one of the bores I3. The outer portion of the shaft 20 is rotatably supported from the hanger H' while the shaft 2| is similarly supported from thehanger H.

In Fig. 2 it will be seen that the shaft 29 has a helical spring 22 encircling the portion of the shaftsituated Awithin the connes ofthe bore II. One end of the spring 22 rests against a washer 23 that is situated against the outer face of one of the blocks I2, while the other end of the spring is held in place by a pin 24 which extends through the shaft 20 adjacent to the inner edge of one of the bosses I1. The helical spring 22 is at all times in compression and tends to move the shaft 28 outwardly. However, the shaft 20 has a ring 25 mounted thereon which is forced against the supporting" portion 4of the hanger H' to prevent appreciable "longitudinal movement of the girder box B.

The hanger H' as may best be seen in Figs. l and 2 includes a base portion 216 from which a rigid member 21 extends outwardly, with the member 21 having an angularlydisposedsslotzz formed therein which rotatably engages the outer portion of the shaft ZDandpermitsnur .rug display device to be positioned from eitherthe ceiling or the vertical walls of a showroom. The base 26 has two laterally spaced bores formed therein through which bolts 29 extend to l.engage the ceiling or wallon which ourdevice is mounted. Due to the spring -22 ibeing .at Tall :times compression, 'the ring 25 yon the shaft `2|) is :at .all times forced outwardly :into contact with the inner surface of the member .21, and thusprevents lateral movement lof the -girder box B .for reasons which will hereinafter .become apparent.

The hanger H is `similar in'construction tothe hanger Hf, but is preferably `formed with a substantially diamond shaped base 3|! having three bores formed thereinthrough which bolts 3| 'extend to fasten the hanger Hto the ceilingor .walls of the display room.. A .rigid member 21 extends downwardly from Athe base wand is provided with an angularly disposed slot 28 .therein that rotatably supports the Youter end of the shaft 2|.. Situated on the extremity of the member .21, and on the interior face thereof, is a bolt 33 on which a pawl 34 of conventional design is pivotally mounted. A ratchet 35 is mounted on the shaftv 2|, and is held in position thereon by a pin 36 which extends through .both 'fthe .ratchet #and the shaft.

lThe ratchet 35 as may best be seen in Fig.. 2 is positioned .on the shaft 2| adjacent to the interior face of the downwardly extending member -21-onthe hanger H. A vhelicalspring 31 is situated in the confines of the bore H and encircles the shaft 2l, with one vend of the .spring being affixed tooneof the caps |5 bya screw 38A as may best -be seen in Fig. 5. The `opposite end .of the spring 31 `terminates adjacent to the outer face of one of -the blocks |2, and is rigidly affixed to the shaft 2| by a pin l39 which extends through an eye formed in the spring and .a bore inthe shaft 2|.

The crank C is formed with a handle 4|), anda shaft engaging .portion 4| of annular cross-section which is adapted to be slidably inserted in the outer end of the tubular shaft 2|, with the portion 4| having a slot formed therein which is adapted to engage the pin-36. Thus, by .rotating the-crank C torsion is placed on `the helical spring 31, with the lresult that the girder .box B resists clockwise rotation and thus compensates for the weight of the rug .R when. .it is in. the downwardly extending position shown vin Fig. l.

The operation -of our invention .is extremely simple. The hangers H and H are mounted on the ceiling or one of the side walls of the display room in the desired position, and laterally spaced from one another at such a distance as. to permit the vgirder box B to be positioned therebetween. The shafts 2u and 2| are each positioned in the hangers H and H respectively, with the spring 22 at all times being in compression and forcing the girder box B to the left due to the ring 25 engaging the inner surface of the member 21. The desired torsion to compensate for the Weight of the rug R when in the downwardly extending displaying position is placed on the spring 31 by rotating the shaft 2| by use of the crank C as previously described. After `torsion has been placed on the spring 31 the spring is prevented from unwinding and assuming its initial posi- Vtion due to the pawl 31B engaging the ratchet wheel 35. Of course, .when it is desired to re- Vmove 'torsion from the spring 31 the paWl 34 is 'disengaged Y'from :the .'.ratchet wheel 35 which per- --the torsion on the spring to rotate the shaftzt.

'With 'the rug R wrapped on the girder box B and'ftorsion on the spring 31, the rug R can be moved downwardly as shown in Fig. 1 by use of a .-iiexible .strap d2 that extends downwardly froma rigid bar 43 which is clamped to the .lower horizontal edge of the rug. The bar .43 is suiciently .long so Athat when the rug .is .moved up- .Wardlydue to rotationof the girder box B by tor sion on thespring 31, the bar A3 will engage the hangers H and H .and prevent the girder .box rotating after the rug R has been fully wound thereon.V It will be apparent that .if the spring 31 has .been .adjusted so .as vto virtually exactly counterbalance and effectively support the rug R .in downwardly extended. display position, slight .upward .movement of -the suspended portion'of .therug-R caused iby manually lifting the bar lt3, the handle 42 -orthe lower .portion of the rug -Rto a slight extent so as` to eifectively reduce the weight of. the rug. supported by the spring 31., will cause :said Yspring .3.1 to immediately begin `to rewind the 'rug Ron the. girder .box B. Then the rug can be releasedandsince the effective weight of the depending portion of the rug. is now less than it was before, .the spring means will .exert a greater upward lforce than .the .downward vforce .exerted .by the weight of the depending portion .of the .rug R, thuscausing the rug -R to be entirely rol-led up.

While theparticular rug .display device herein. shown and describedin .detail is fully capable .of .attaining .the vobjects and Aproviding the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently .preferredembodimentV of our invention, and .that we do not mean to limit ourselves. to Athe details of construction or design. herein shown other than. asdei-"ined in the appended. claims.

We claim:

1. A, `rug displaying device which includes.: .a hollow Velongated rug supporting member; block means positioned within the. confines of said member, with. said means having a longitudinally extending bore formed therein; a pair of plates, with each of said plates being aiiixed .to one fof. the 4ends of said member, and each of said plates having a bore formed therein that is .in -co-axial .alignment with. the bore formed in said block means; a pair of shafts, with each of said. Yshafts longitudinally positioned in said member and journaled in said bores; a pair of supports, with each of. said supports rotatably supporting one of .said shafts; spring means situated withi'n .the confines of said. member and tending to prevent the rotation of said member in one direction; and means to regulate the torsion on said spring whereby the weight of a rug when in a downwardly extending displaying position is compensated for and said member remains stationary.

2. A rug displaying device which includes: a hollow elongated rug supporting member; a pair of shafts, with each of said shafts journaled in one of the end portions of said member and extending outwardly therefrom; a pair of supports, with each of said supports having an angularly disposed slot that rotatably supports one of said shafts to permit said supports to be positioned on either a horizontal or vertical surface; spring means positioned within the connes of said member, with said spring means tending to prevent the rotation of said member in one direction; crank means for regulating the torsion on said spring means; and ratchet means to hold the desired torsion on said spring means whereby a rug when extending downwardly from said member in a displaying position will have its weight compensated for and said member will remain stationary.

3. A rug displaying device which includes: a hollow elongated rug supporting member; a pair of shafts, with each of said shafts journaled in one of the end portions of said member and extending outwardly therefrom; a pair of supports, with each of said supports having an angularly disposed slot formed therein that rotatably supports one of said shafts which permits said supports to be positioned on either a horizontal or vertical surface; a ratchet mounted on one of said shafts; a pawl pivotally mounted on one of said supports and engaging said ratchet; a helical spring situated Within the confines of said member, With one end of said spring affixed to said member and the other end of said spring to said shaft on which said ratchet is mounted; and a crank which can engage said ratchet bearing shaft, with said crank by being rotated regulating the torsion on said spring, and said ratchet and pawl maintaining said torsion on said spring whereby the weight of a rug extending downwardly from said member is compensated for and said member remains in a stationary position.

4. A rug displaying device which includes: a hollow elongated rug supporting member; a pair of shafts, with each of said shafts having a portion thereof that extends longitudinally into the connes of said member; means for journaling the inwardly positioned ends of said shafts within the confines of said member; a pair of plates, with each of said plates aiixed to one of the ends of said member, and each of said plates having a bore formed therein in which one of said shafts is journaled; a pair of supports, with each of said supports rotatably supporting one of said shafts; a ratchet mounted on the outer end of one of said shafts; a pawl pivotally mounted on a pin extending outwardly from one of said supports, with said pawl engaging said ratchet; a helical spring encircling said ratchet bearing shaft within the confines of said member, with said spring on one end being connected to said member and on the other end to a pin extending through said ratchet bearing shaft; a helical spring situated within the confines of said member and encircling said shaft on which a ratchet is not mounted, with said spring being situated between one side of said journaling means and a pin extending through said shaft, and said spring being at all times in compression; a ring affixed to the outer portion of said non ratchet bearing shaft, with said ring being forced by said compressed spring into the interior surface of one of said supports to prevent lateral movement of said rug supporting member; a crank which can engage said ratchet bearing shaft, with said crank on being rotated regulating the torsion on said spring, and said ratchet and pawl maintaining said torsion on said spring whereby the weight of a rug extending downwardly from said rug supporting member is compensated for; and a hori- Zontally positioned bar axed to the lower edge of the rug mounted on said rug supporting member, with said bar striking said supports upon said rug being rolled up and preventing further rotation of said member.

HARRY L. RUBIN. ALBERT RUBIN. DAVID RUBIN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 971,319 Sheppard Sept. 27, 1910 1,457,026 Hanses May 29, 1923 1,975,633 Cakora Oct. 2, 1934 2,520,618 Winter Aug. 29, 1950