US2783565A - Desk calendar construction - Google Patents

Description

March 1957 F. s. ELLIOTT, JR 2,783,565

DESK CALENDAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 10, 1956 INVENTOR. FRANK S. ELLIOTT, JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patento i DESK CALENDAR CONSTRUCTION Frank S. Elliott, Jr., Creve Coeur, Mo., assignor to Skinner & Kennedy Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application January 10, 1956, Serial No. 558,229

4 Claims. (Cl. 40-420) This invention relates to desk calendar constructions in general and to rocker calendar constructions in particular.

Prior rocker calendars were made from a pad holder having integral end sections with rounded bottoms. The necessary weight required to keep the rocker calendar in an upright position was attached to the integral unit transversely along the bottom portion of the pad holder between the end sections. The difliculty with this construction was that it required an expensive mold to make the integral pad holder and end sections, it used a relatively large quantity of plastic material, and required a weight to be attached in some suitable fashion by separate securing means.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a rocker calendar wherein the weight itself and the pad holder form the connecting means between separate end sections.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel means for securing a pad holder to separate end sections.

Another object is to provide end sections with locking means thereon for securing a weight and a pad holder therebetween in fixed assembled relation.

Another object is to provide a pad holder having upper and lower locking means which cooperate with locking means on separate and spaced end sections. This pad holder is easily removable and can be replaced as desired, such as from year to year.

Another object is to provide a knock-down construction which can be shipped in relatively fiat or knockeddown form. Still another object is to provide a construction wherein a separate pad holder is firmly held in fixed relation against vertical or horizontal move-' ment with respect to the end sections and wherein the weight performs the function of a weight and a connector between the end sections.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

This invention is embodied in a desk calendar construction comprising two end sections connected by. a weight with a pad holder secured to said end sections.

This invention also consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification and wherein like 2,783,565 Fatented; Mar.

' the slot between the boss and the flange into which the:

numerals and symbols refer to like parts wherever they 'Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the use 44'of Fig. 2 with the pad holder removed and shows' locking tongue of the pad holder projects,

. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the weight or connector bar,

Fig. 6 is aplan view of the pad holder with the month sheets removed, and

'Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of the top portion of the end section showing the locking members in greater detail.

-Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that the present desk calendar construction is formed,

from four separate parts, namely, two end sections 1, a connector or weight bar 2, and a pad holder 3.

Each end section 1 is provided with'a relatively flat rocker end 4 having a generally curved rocker bottom 5- with a small central relatively flat portion 6 on which the calendar rests in its normal upstanding position. An upstanding flange 7 extends inwardly from each rocker end 4 substantially perpendicular thereto but inclined slightly rearwardly, preferably about twenty degrees from vertical. The upper portion of said upstanding flange 7 is provided with a pair of rearwardly extend-ing resilient locking buttons or rivets 8 having enlarged portions 9 with sloping surfaces 10 thereon and an undercut portion 11 formed in the stem 12 thereof for receiving the padholder 3. The undercut portion 11 is slightly greater than the thickness of the pad holder 3 which rests flush,

on the rear surface of said flange 7. These resilient pro-'- jections 8 have a slit 13 therebetween so that they can be forced together thereby closing said slit 13 and allowing an opening in the pad holder 3 to he slipped there-v over, after which said projections spring outwardly to. their normal position best shown in Fig. 2. The inner face 14 of the rocker end 4 is provided with a cylindrically shaped boss 15 in the lower portion 16 thereof and.

adjacent to the curved rocker bottom 5. In the embodiment shown, each end 1 is symmetrical and the boss 15. is positioned substantially along the vertical geometric axis thereof. The boss ,15 is provided with acircular hole 17 which forms a socket18 for receiving the end of the weight or connector bar 2. A rib 19 connects the innermost portions of the boss 15 and the upstanding flange 7,, thereby forming a lockingslot 20 therebetween, which is' slightly wider than the thickness of pad holder material. The lower forward face of the flange 7 is provided with an inwardly extending sheet retainer 21 which extends inwardly from the inner face 14 of the end section 1.

The pad holder 3 is. best shown in Fig. 6 and may be made from any suitable sheet material. such as paperboard or plastic if desired. The pad holder 3 is pro,- vided with an. upper advertising area 22 having two flange when the calendar is assembled. The openings 23 are slightly larger than the projected area ofeach set of buttons 8 after they have been forced together to close the slit 13. The upper -area'22 of the pad holder 3. has a small overhanging portion 24 at each end whose outer edge 25 is preferably in vertical alignment withthe outer face 26 of the rocker end 4. A pad of month sheets 27 is secured to the pad holder'3 by means of staples 28 or other suitable fastening means. A locking tongue 29 projects downwardly from each outer edge of the pad holder 3 formed by a notch 30: inwardly thereof. Each locking tongue 29is provided with-an:

outer edge 3l whi ch con tac ts the-rocker end 4 and-an. inner edge 32 which contacts the rib 19 thereby. preventing lateral movem ent in. all directions. .The upper, per. tion of each notch 30 on the rib 19.

forms a seat 33 whichrests The weight connector 2 may be made from any suitable heavy material and may be of any "type of cross section so long as the end portions 34 thereof are adapted to cooperate with and be held firmly in the socket 18 in each end section 1. In practice, a suitable weight has been found to be an ordinary steel rod about inch in diameter. This rod 2 can be provided with a decorative coating 35 either of a plastic material or paint so that .the connector bar will be of a desired pleasing color and will not detract from the appearance of the rocker calendar.

The end sections :1 are preferably made from a plastic or rubber material which can be molded withoutdifficulty. Polyethylene plastic material has been found -to give especially good results since it is resilient so as to firmly receive and grip the ends ofthe connector ear and provide resilient locking mcans,- cannot be broken, and resists marking, cracking, or splitting in the event the calendar is accidentally dropped.

To assemble a rocker calendar embodying this invention from the four main pieces, the ends 34 of the connector bar 2 are inserted into the sockets i8 oftwo opposite end sections 1 thereby forming a rigid three-piece assembly for receiving the pad holder 3. The pad holder 3 is secured to the three-piece assembly by inserting the locking tongues 29 into the slots 20 in the end sections 1 between the bosses 15 and the upstanding flanges 7 until the seats 33 of the notches 30 abut against the upper surface of the rib 19 in the end section 1. The holes 23 in the pad holder 3 are then pushed over the resilient locking members 8 which because of the sloping surfaces 10 of the enlarged portions 9 are automatically forced together thereby closing said slits 13 and allowing the pad holder 3 to be positioned in flat contacting relation with the rear surface of the upstanding flanges 7, at which time the locking members 8 automatically spring outwardly to their normal position thereby locking the pad'holder 3 to the'end sections 1. The calendar is thus completely assembled with the retainers 21 automatically holding the month sheets 27 in place and preventing said sheets from springing outwardly as is their inherent tendency.

The pad holder 3 can be easily removed and replaced with another pad holder by simply forcing the locking members 8 together to close the slits 13 and pushing the pad holder 3 rearwardly over the enlarged portions '9 thereof. The pad holder 3 is then merely lifted upwardly leaving the two end sections V1 with the connector bar 2 therebetween. Anew pad holder ,may then be inserted as previously explained.

The rocker calendar embodying the present invention capnot tip over and always automatically rights itself. If it is accidentally struck with sufficient force .to knock it over, the calendar merely tilts or tips backwardly or forwardly and then rocks to its normal position as shown in Fig. 1 wherein the pad holder 3 is slightly rearwardly inclined for better visibility. The lower portion '36 of the pad holder 3 is positioned forwardly of the connector bar 2 to conceal the bar 2 and the top edge 37 of the pad holder 3 is rearwardly of the bar 2.

With the present construction, the weight itself forms the co nect ng m a s b n t e epa a end se t nshe red holder also h p to form a n a y rig d cont uct nce h p d h e secu ed t he top portion of each upstanding flange and is provided with a downwardly projecting locking tongue at each lower corner which fits into a slot in each end section thereby holding the parts rigid against horizontal or vertical movement. Obviously, the precise fastening means may be var'iedwithout departing from this invention.

invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of thednvention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is: a

l. A rocker calendar comprising a pair of spaced end sections each having a curved bottom portion adapted to rest on a supporting surface, said end sections each having an inwardly extending upstanding flange with upper locking means thereon and a socket positioned in the lower portion thereof above said curved bottom portion, said end sections each having a slot adjacent to said flange, a connector weight bar positioned above the level of the curved bottom portions and out of contact with said supporting surface and having end portions mounted in said sockets, and a pad holder, said pad holder having upper locking means thereon for cooperating with the upper locking means on said upstanding flanges and downwardly projecting tongues which fit into said slots.

2. A rocker calendar comprising a pair of spaced ,end sections each having rocker end with a curved bottom portion adapted'to rest on a fiat supporting surface, said end sections each having an inwardly extending upstanding flange with upper locking means thereon positioned above the level of said rocker ends and a socket positioned in the lower portion thereof above said curved bottom portion, said end sections each having a slot positioned adjacent to said flange, a connector bar having end portions mounted in said sockets, said connector bar being above the lower level of said curved bottom portions'iand .out .of contact with said supporting surface, and a pad holder, said pad holder having upper locking means thereon for cooperating with the upper locking means on said upstanding flanges and projecting tongues which fit into said slots, said pad holder being inclined so that the lower portion thereof is positioned forwardly of said connector bar and the top edge thereof is positioned rearwardly of said connector bar.

3. A rocker calendar comprising a pair of spaced end sections each having a rocker end with a curved bottom portion, said end sections each having an inwardly extending upstanding flange with rearwardly projecting spaced locking buttons thereon each having an enlarged portion with sloping surfaces, each of said end sections having an inwardly extending boss positioned adjacent to the bottom of said rocker end, said boss having a socket therein, a transverse rib positioned between said boss and said flange and spaced from said rocker end thereby forming a slot therebetween, a connector bar having end portions mounted in said sockets, and a pad holder, said pad holder having upper openings adapted to be pressed over the sloping surfaces of said spaced locking buttons thereby forcing said buttons together until said pad holder has passed over said enlarged portion ,and is fixedly secured to said upstanding flange, and notches in the lower edge of said pad holder forming downwardly projecting tongues which fit into said slots between said bosses and said flanges with the upper portion of said notches seating on said ribs.

4. A rocker calendar comprising a pair of spaced end sections each having .a rocker end with a curved bottom portion, said end sections each having an inwardly extending rearwardly inclined flange with upper locking means thereon and an inwardly extending boss positioned in the lower portion of said rocker end and rearwardly of the lower portion of said inclined flange, said boss having a socket therein, a transverse rib positioned between said boss and said flange and spaced from said rocker end thereby forming a slot therebetween, a connector bar having end portions mounted in said sockets, and a'pad'holder, said pad holder having upper locking means thereon for cooperating with the upper locking means on said upstanding flanges and notches in the lower edge thereof forming downwardly projecting References Cited in the file of this patent tongues on said pad holder which fit into said slots UNITED STATES PATENTS with the upper portions of said notches seating on said ribs and the outer edges of said tongues being in con- 626356 Web}, June 1899 tacting relation with said ribs and said rocker ends. 5 1972'024 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 19,453 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1898 45,810 France Sept. 23, 1935

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