US3222807A

US3222807A - Panel display apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3222807A
Application number: US204530A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard E Swank
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-06-22
Filing date: 1962-06-22
Publication date: 1965-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 1982-12-14

Description

Dec. 14, 1965 sw 3,222,807

PANEL DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed June 22, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l H H [l [1 I INVENTOR. j .I RICHARD E. SWANK )5 My BY MmJMfl/Zb/ w AT TO RNEYS Dec. 14, 1965 R. E. SWANK PANEL DISPLAY APPARATUS m ma 3 Sheet -Sheet Filed June 22, 1962 INVENTOR. RICHARD Ev SWANK ATTORNEYS Dec. 14, 1965 R. E. SWANK PANEL DISPLAY APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 15 Filed June 22, 1962 H42 76 75 74 XI INVENTOR. RICHARD E. SWANK 96 XII a/ndlwq 5MWZ- jig /Z ATTORNEYS nited States Patent 3,222,807 PANEL DISPLAY APPARATUS Richard E. Swank, Battle (Ii-eels, Mich. (12520 Pacific Ave, Los Angeles, Calif.) Filed June 22, I962, Ser. No. 204,530 4 Claims. (Cl. 436) This invention relates in general to an apparatus for supporting a plurality of articles, such as substantially parallel panels, and for moving said panels endwise in substantially horizontal directions into and out of display positions which are substantially parallel and superimposed.

The need for and advantages of an inexpensive apparatus for reciprocating a plurality of articles between spaced horizontal positions have long been recognized. For example, it is well known that moving displays or messages, even though repetitive, are far more effective than motionless displays, even where the motionless displays are more artistic, more expensive and more carefully prepared. As a result, many attempts have been made in the past to provide apparatus by which panels, each containing a message or image, are introduced successively into a display zone. Existing structures of this type are disclosed in my Patents No. 2,707,345, No. 2,839,856 and No. 2,995,846. These patents also set forth in considerable detail the advantages of moving display panels and at least some of the problems which have been encountered heretofore in the development of an apparatus for effecting such movement.

In a continuing effort to improve upon, and reduce the cost of card or panel display apparatuses, it was dis covered that many types of mechanisms have been developed to effect the movement of panels. However, most of these mechanisms are not in use, apparently because they are too complicated, too erratic in operation, and/ or too expensive to manufacture, particularly in view of the services for which card display apparatuses are designed.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provision of an apparatus having a simplified and inexpensive mechanism for effecting movement of a plurality of articles into and out of selected, adjacent positions, said mechanism being at least as effective, efficient and reliable in operation as existing mechanisms used for the same or similar purposes, and being less expensive and less complicated than most of said existing mechanisms.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a display apparatus, as aforesaid, which is capable of either indoor or outdoor use, and is equally adaptable for relatively large installations or relatively small installations, so that said apparatus can be used in conjunction with either large or small panels.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a display apparatus, as aforesaid, which is capable of holding the panel for a substantial and adjustable period of time in the display position, which permits changes in the duration of such display period, which permits variations in the sequence and speed of movement of the panels into and out of their display positions, and which can be adapted for use with a wide range of different quantities and sizes of panels.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a card display apparatus, as aforesaid, which is pleasing in appearance, which can be compact in size, which requires very little more room than the actual space required for the housing and movement of the panels, and which can be produced according to production procedures by relatively unskilled workmen.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of 3,222,807 Patented Dec. 14, 1965 equipment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a display apparatus embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line II-II in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a broken fragment of a sectional view taken along the line IV1V in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a broken fragment of a sectional view taken along the line VV in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a broken sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view similar to that shown in FIGURE 7 with the parts thereof in different positions of operation.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view as taken along the line IXIX in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view similar to the sectional view appearing in FIGURE 2, but disclosing an alternate structure.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XIXI in FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII in FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIIIXIII in FIGURE 12.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, front, rear and words of similar import will have reference to the apparatus embodying the invention in its normal position of operation as appearing in FIG- URE 1 which shows the left end, front side and top of the apparatus. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said apparatus and parts thereof.

General description The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing a panel display apparatus including a rectangular, elongated housing containing rail means upon which a plurality of panels or cards can be supported in substantially parallel and adjacent positions for movement lengthwise of said rails into and out of parallel display positions disposed at one end of said housing. In this embodiment, the housing has windows on opposite sides thereof adjacent the display positions through which the sides of the panels can be viewed when they are in said display positions.

An elongated, endless and flexible element is supported within the housing and arranged in a plurality of loops which substantially encircle the zone containing the panels. Each of said loops substantially defines a plane parallel with and adjacent a panel. The element is supported upon rotatable means and each loop has a pair of parallel reaches arranged for movement lengthwise of the said rails by drive means mounted upon the housing. Releasable and cooperating engaging means is connected to the element and to a portion of each panel adjacent said reaches for effecting movement of said panels lengthwise of the rails.

Detailed construction The card display apparatus (FIGURE 1) which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, is comprised of a substantially rectangular and horizontally elongated housing It) having a front wall 11, top wall 12 and left end wall 13. The rear wall 14, bottom wall 15 and right end wall 16 appear in FIGURE 2. The top wall 12 is preferably, but not necessarily,

movable with respect to the remainder of the housing in order to provide an easy access to the interior of the housing. For this purpose, the top wall 12 may be connected to the rear wall 14 by a hinge 17, so that said top wall 12, can be pivoted between the broken and solid line positions thereof, as appearing in FIGURE 2. The front wall 11 and rear wall 14 have aligned windows or openings 18 and 19, respectively, which may be covered by transparent panes or

sheets

22 and 23 fabricated from glass, plastic material or the like. The walls of the housing 10 can be fabricated from wood, heavy paperboard, sheet metal, plastic materials or the like.

A plurality, here 5, of upper rails 24 (FIGURE 2) is mounted upon and extend between the end walls 13 and 16 (FIGURE 3). Each upper rail has

abutments

26 and 27 which project upwardly, like the abutment 26 appearing in FIGURE 4, near the opposite ends of the rails. Each of the panels 28 has a pair of upper rollers 31 and 32 which ride upon a rail 24 to support the panels 28 in upright, substantially parallel positions. Lengthwise movement of each panel 28 is limited by engagement of its roller 31 with an abutment 26, and by engagement of its roller 32 with an abutment 27.

A plurality of lower parallel rails 33 is mounted upon the bottom wall so that, in this embodiment, they are disposed directly below each one of the upper rails 24. The lower rails 33 have upwardly extending abutments 34 and 35, which are preferably disposed directly below the

abutments

26 and 27, respectively. A pair of

rollers

37 and 38 is rotatably supported upon each panel 28 adjacent the lower edge thereof and directly below the rollers 31 and 32, respectively. The

rollers

37 and 38 are arranged so that they engage one of the rails 33 when an upper rail 24 is engaged by the rollers 31 and 32 to share in the support of the panels.

A pair of

upper pulley shafts

41 and 42 is mounted upon and extend between the front wall 11 and rear wall 14 adjacent to and slightly above the opposite ends of the upper rails 24. That is, the pulley shaft 41, which is rotatably supported upon the walls 11 and 14, is disposed between the abutments 26 and the end wall 13. The pulley shaft 42, which is preferably non-rotatable, is disposed between the abutments 27 and the end wall 16. A plurality of pulleys 43 is secured upon the shaft 41 and a plurality of pulleys 44 is rotatably supported upon the pulley shaft 42, so that one of the pulleys 43 is preferably disposed in radial alignment with one of the pulleys 44 and adjacent one of the upper rails 24. As shown in FIGURE 2, the

pulleys

43 and 44 may be mounted upon the

pulley shafts

41 and 42 so that they tilt slightly for reasons appearing hereinafter.

A pair of lower pulley shafts 46 and 47 (FIGURE 5) extend between and are supported upon the front wall 11 and rear wall 14 near the opposite ends thereof and adjacent the bottom wall 15. The

pulley shafts

46 and 47 are preferably disposed directly below the

pulley shafts

41 and 42, respectively. A plurality of

pulleys

48 and 49 is rotatably supported upon the

pulley shafts

46 and 47, respectively, so that the pulleys 48 are preferably directly below the pulleys 43, and the pulleys 49 are preferably directly below the pulleys 44. The

pulleys

48 and 49 are preferably tilted sidewardly with respect to the central axes of their

pulley shafts

46 and 47, respectively.

An elongated, flexible and endless element 52 (FIGURE 2), which may be a cable, cord or V-belt, for example, is threaded around the

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49 (FIGURE 5) to provide a plurality of similar loops 53, each of which defines a plane substantially parallel with and adjacent to a panel supported upon a pair of upper and

lower rails

24 and 33, respectively. Thus, each of the loops 53 defined by the element 52 passes around one each of the

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49, and the reaches 58 of the element 52, which extend between adjacent loops 53, are preferably located adjacent the left end wall 13 of the housing 10. That is, the reaches 58 extend from an upper pulley 43 supporting one loop to the lower pulley 48 supporting the next adjacent loop. The element 52 returns from the last or rear loop 532 to the first or front loop 53a (FIGURE 2) by the span 57 which extends from the rear pulley 43e to the front lower pulley 48a at the leftward end of the housing.

A pair of guides 54 and 55 (FIGURE 2) are secured respectively to the rear wall 14, directly below the rear pulley 43e, and to the front wall 11, directly above the front pulley 48a. The

guides

54 and 55 are arranged and constructed so that they hold the span 57 of the element 52 away from the end reaches 58 which extend between the upper pulleys 43 and lower pulleys 48. Also, the

guides

54 and 55 help to align the element 52 as it leaves the upper pulley 43c and as it engages the lower pulley 48a.

Drive means 61 (FIGURE 2), such as an electric motor, is mounted upon the rear wall 14 and is directly connected to the pulley shaft 43 for rotating same and thereby effecting a lengthwise movement of the endless element 52 around the pulleys supporting same. Obviously, the motor 61 could be connected to any one of the

pulley shafts

41, 42, 46 and 47, either directly or indirectly through gears or others means.

The

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49 are disposed so that a panel 28 can be located between each loop 53 and a pair of upper and

lower rails

24 and 33, when the rollers of the panel are appropriately engaged with said rails.

A pair of magnetized members 64 and (FIGURES 7, 8 and 9), which are preferably wedged-shaped in this particular embodiment, are securely fastened to the element 52. The

members

64 and 65 are designed so that they will pass freely around the

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49.

Each panel 28 has a pair of

magnets

66 and 67 secured thereto near the upper and lower edges thereof, respectively, so that they extend adjacent the upper reach 62 and the lower reach 63, respectively, of the adjacent loop 53. The magnets 66 are arranged so that they will attract the magnetized member 64, which is of negative polarity, and will repel the magnetized member 65, which is positive in polarity, as said members move past the magnets 66. The magnets 67 are arranged so that they will repel the magnetized member 64 and attract the magnetized member 65. Accordingly, as the element 52 moves around the

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49, in the direction indicated by the arrows M in FIGURES 2 and 3, the magnetized member 64 is attracted to the upper magnets 66 and thereby moves the panels 28 (FIGURE 3) rightwardly into the display position. The magnetized member 65 is attracted to the lower magnets 67 whereby the panels 28 are moved leftwardly out of the display position. However, the

magnetized members

64 and 65 are repelled by the

permanent magnet

67 and 66, respectively, so that no movement of the panels 28 is effected when a magnetized member 64 passes a magnet 67 or when a magnetized member 65 passes a magnet 66.

Operation With the card display apparatus assembled as appearing in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, a plurality of panels 28 are supported upon the

rails

24 and 33 for movement lengthwise of the housing 10 into and out of their display positions at the rightward end of the housing. When the motor 61 is energized, it rotates the shaft 41 and the pulleys 43 secured thereto. Accordingly, the endless element 52, which extends partially around each of the pulleys 43, is moved in a direction indicated by the arrows M. The motor 61 is selected so that its rotational speed will produce the desired linear movement of the element 52.

As the element 52 (FIGURES 3 and 5) moves around its supporting

pulleys

43, 44, 48 and 49, the

magnetized members

64 and 65 will move, one at a time, past the

magnets

66 and 67, which are mounted upon the panels 28.

The

magnetized members

64 and 65 will be attracted to some of the

magnets

66 and 67 and will be repelled by others, For example, the magnetized member 64 (FIG- URE 3) will be attracted to the magnets 66 and, therefore, will successively move each panel 28 from the leftward end of the housing to the rightward end of the housing 10. As soon as the rollers 32 and 38 on each panel 28 strike the abutments 27 and 35, respectively, at the rightward ends of the

rails

24 and 33, respectively, the panel 28 will be stopped and the continuing movement of the endless element 52 will disengage the magnetized member 64 from the magnet 66, thereby leaving the panel 28 in the display position.

The magnetized member 64 (FIGURE 3) will then be moved around the adjacent pulleys 44 and 49 (FIG URE 5) and thence past the magnet 67 secured to the panel 28 near the bottom edge thereof. However, since the polarity of the magnet 67 is arranged to repel the magnetized member 64, said magnetized member 64 will pass beneath each magnet 67 without moving the panel 28 out of its display position.

The magnetized member 65, which has the opposite polarity of the magnetized member 64, is spaced a selected distance behind the magnetized member 64 in the direction of their movement around the pulleys. When the magnetized member 65 moves past a magnet 66, the panel 26 to which the magnet 66 is attached will normally be in its display position. Thus, a frictional engagement between the magnetized member 65 and the magnet 66 will have no material effect. However, when the magnetized member 65 has moved around the

pulleys

44 and 49 and reaches the magnet 67 on the bottom of the panel 280:, said member 65 will be attracted to the magnet 67 and will thereby move the panel 28 back into its leftward position within the housing 10.

When the panel 28 reaches the point where its

rollers

31 and 37 engage the

abutments

26 and 34, respectively, the continued movement of the element 52 will disengage the magnetized member 65 from the magnet 67, and the panel 28 will remain in its leftward position. Thus, it will 'be seen that the magnetized member 64 will engage the magnet 66 on each panel 28 to move the panel 28 rightwardly into the display position, and the magnetized member 65 will engage the magnet 67 on each panel 23 and thereby move said panel out of the display position.

By appropriate spacing between the

magnetized members

64 and 65 along the endless element 52, movement of each panel 28 into and out of the display position can be effected so that only one panel at a time is in the display position. On the other hand, the spacing between the

magnetized members

64 and 65 can be such that a given panel 28 is not removed from its display position until the next adjacent panel 28 is moved into the display position,

Alternate construction The card display apparatus disclosed in FIGURES 10 through 13, inclusive, is equipped with an alternate mechanism for effecting engagement and disengagement between the elongated endless element 71 and the panels 72. The structure supporting the panels 72 for movement lengthwise of the housing 73 also differs from that disclosed in FIGURES 2 and 3. However, the housing 73 may be substantially identical with the housing ltl of FIGURES 1 and 2.

A plurality of channel-shaped and substantially parallel, upper rails 74 are supported upon bars 75, which are secured to and extend between the

end walls

81 and 83 of the housing 73 adjacent the top wall 76. One flange 77 on each rail 74 is secured to one of the bars 75, and the other flange 78 is of relatively short extent. The web 79 (FIGURE 13) of each upper rail 74 has a downwardly extending end portion 82 adjacent the leftward end wall 83 for reasons appearing hereinafter. Each panel 72 has two or more rollers 34, which are pivotally secured by axles 86 to said panel near the opposite ends of its upper edge. The rollers 84 engage the web 79 to support the attached panel 72 in a substantially vertical position.

An L-shaped lever 87 is pivotally supported at the junction of its

legs

88 and 89 by a pivot pin 92 upon each panel 72 near the upper and leftward corner thereof (FIG- URE 11). The horizontal leg 89 has a roller 93 pivotally mounted thereon by an axle 94. The lever 87 and roller 93 thereon are arranged and constructed so that the roller 93 engages and is movable along the web 79 when the vertical leg 38 is in a substantially upright position. However, the lever 87 is also located so that the roller 93 moves beyond the end of the web 79 and down the end portion $2 therof, just before the panel 72 reaches it leftwardmost position within the housing 73. When the roller 93 drops off the end of the web 79, the lever 87 can pivot downwardly into its broken line position 87a, whereby the vertical leg 88 is moved into a substantially horizontal position.

A plurality of channel-shaped, substantially parallel lower rails 96 are supported upon the bottom wall 97 of the housing 73 by support brackets 98. Each lower rail 96 has upwardly projecting flanges 161 and 192 and a web 103. A plurality of rollers 194 are pivotally supported by axles 106 upon each panel 72 near the opposite ends of the lower edge thereof for engagement with the webs 103 of the lower rails 96 to assist in the support of the panels 72. An L-shaped lever 107 having

legs

108 and 109 is pivotally supported at the junction of its legs by a pivot pin 112 upon each panel 72 near the lower rightward corner thereof (FIGURE 11). A roller 113 is rotatably supported upon the leg 109 for engagement with the web 103 whereby the leg 1118 is held in a substantially vertical position. However, when a panel 72 is moved into the rightward or display position within the housing 73, the roller 113 will drop off the end of the web 103 and thereby permit the lever 197 to pivot downwardly so that the leg 1655 is in a substantially horizontal position. The roller 113 will now be adjacent the downwardly extending, end portion 111 of the web 1113.

A plurality of pulleys, such as the

pulleys

114 and 115 shown in FIGURES 10 and 11, are supported by shafts, such as the

shafts

117 and 118, which are mounted upon and between the front wall 119 and rear wall 126 of the housing 73 adjacent the end wall 83. In this particular embodiment, the pulleys 115 are rotatably supported upon the shaft 113 whereas the pulleys 114 are secured to and rotate with the shaft 117, which is rotatably supported within the bearings 123 mounted upon the front and rear walls. A motor 124 is connected, either directly or through drive means, to the upper shaft 117 for rotating the pulleys 114 mounted thereon. The shaft 118 is preferably located directly below the shaft 117, and the pulleys 115 are axially offset with respect to the pulleys 114.

The endless element 71 extends around the

pulleys

114 and 115, and around corresponding pulleys at the other end of the housing 73, to form a plurality of similar loops defining substantially parallel and vertical planes. The endless element 71 has a span 126 at the leftward end of the housing 73 whereby the endless element moves from the rear upper pulley 1114s to the front lower pulley 115a. A pair of

guide members

127 and 128, which are mounted upon the

walls

119 and 120, respectively, engage the span 126 of element 71 near the upper and lower ends of the span to facilitate the movement of the element 71 away from the upper pulley 114a and onto the lower pulley 115a (FIGURE 10).

The endless element 71 has a pair of crossbars 129 and 136 firmly secured thereto and extending sidewardly therefrom. The crossbars are arranged so that they preferably project from one side of the element 71 to engage one or the other of the upper and lower L-shaped levers 87 and 167. That is, one of the crossbars 129 is engageable with all of the L-shaped levers 87 and the other crossbar 130 is engageable with all of the L-shaped levers 107. By appropriately spacing of the

crossbars

130 and 129 along the endless element 71, movement of the element around the

pulleys

114 and 115 effects the engagement of the crossbar 129 with the L-shaped levers 87, whereby the panels 72 are moved toward one end of the housing 73. The subsequent engagement of the L-shaped levers 107 by the crossbar 130 moves said panels to the other end of the housing 73.

Just before each panel 72 reaches one end or the other of the housing 73, the L-shaped lever (87 or 107) being engaged by a crossbar (130 or 129) will pivot downwardly in the direction of movement as its associated roller (93 or 113) drops over the end of the associated web (79 or 103). This permits the

crossbars

130 and 129 to become disengaged from the L-shaped

levers

87 and 107, respectively, without stopping the movement of the endless elements 71, when the panels reach one end or the other of their supporting

rails

74 and 96. Thus, by rotating the motor 124 at a selected speed and by locating the

Crossbars

130 and 129 in the proper positions with respect to each other, the movement of the panels 72 in response to endwise movement of the element 71 can be effected in a variety of patterns, as discussed above with respect to the apparatus disclosed in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which come within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for reciprocating a plurality of substantially parallel panels along adjacent paths parallel with said panels into and out of a display zone from a storage zone, said panels having ends extending in the direction of said parallel paths and connecting sides extending transversely of said paths, comprising;

a frame structure;

a plurality of rail means substantially parallel with said paths and secured to said frame structure, said rail means extending from said storage zone into said display zone;

support means connected to each panel supporting said panel upon one of said rail means for movement lengthwise thereof;

an elongated, flexible and endless element;

means on said frame structure guiding and supporting said element of lengthwise movement thereof with said element forming a plurality of adjacent spiral loops, axially aligned, each loop having spaced first and second reaches and substantially defining a plane parallel with and adjacent to one of said panels and extending substantially through said storage and display zones, said first reach being adjacent one of said ends of an associated panel and said second reach being adjacent the other end of said associated panel,

said means further guiding said endless element from the last of said spiral loops back to the first of said spiral loops;

drive means connected to said element for effecting said lengthwise movement of said element in said guide means, said first and second reaches being moved in opposite directions;

first and second engageable means on each panel adjacent said first and second reaches, respectively; and

a pair of spaced, releasable engaging means on said element for effecting releasable connections with said engageable means, one of said engaging means being connectible only with the first engageable means for moving respective panels into viewing positions and the other engaging means being connectible only with the second engageable means to return said respective panel to said storage zone in response to a unidirectional movement of said endless element.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said frame structure is a rectangular housing having a pair of side walls substantially parallel with and on opposite sides of said panels, each side wall having a window therein adjacent one end of said housing and on opposite sides of said display zone, said first and second reaches being near the spaced, opposed edges of said windows.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said engaging means include a pair of members secured to, and extending sidewardly in opposite directions from, said element, and said engageable means include a pair of L-shaped levers pivotally supported near its apex and upon each panel adjacent said first and second reaches, each lever having a first leg with roller means rotatably supported thereon and engageable with said adjacent rail means, and having a second leg movable with said lever into and out of a position of engagement with a said member on said element when said roller means is in engagement with said adjacent rail means, said roller means being movable with said panel beyond a position of engagement with said rail means, whereby said second leg moves out of said position for engagement by said member.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each engageable means includes a first magnetized member and each engaging means includes a second magnetized member, said first magnetized members being arranged and said reaches being located so that each of said second magnetized members is attracted into engagement with only one of said first magnetized members on each panel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,424 5/1935 Huggett 40-32 2,131,168 9/1938 Eitzen 40-36 2,609,915 9/1952 De Burgh 198--41 2,995,846 8/1961 Swank 4036 3,016,640 1/1962 Swank 4036 JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. AN APPARATUS FOR RECIPROCATING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL PANELS ALONG ADJACENT PATHS PARALLEL WITH SAID PANELS INTO AND OUT OF A DISPLAY ZONE FROM A STORAGE ZONE, SAID PANELS HAVING ENDS EXTENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID PARALLEL PATHS AND CONNECTING SIDES EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID PATHS, COMPRISING; A FRAME STRUCTURE; A PLURALITY OF RAIL MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID PATHS AND SECURED TO SAID FRAME STRUCTURE, SAID RAIL MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID STORAGE ZONE INTO SAID DISPLAY ZONE; SUPPORT MEANS CONNECTED TO EACH PANEL SUPPORTING SAID PANEL UPON ONE OF SAID RAIL MEANS FOR MOVEMENT LENGTHWISE THEREOF; AN ELONGATED, FLEXIBLE AND ENDLESS ELEMENT; MEANS ON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE GUIDING AND SUPPORTING SAID ELEMENT OF LENGTHWISE MOVEMENT THEREOF WITH SAID ELEMENT FORMING A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT SPIRAL LOOPS, AXIALLY ALIGNED, EACH LOOP HAVING SPACED FIRST AND SECOND REACHES AND SUBSTANTIALLY DEFINING A PLANE PARALLEL WITH AND ADJACENT TO ONE OF SAID PANELS AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGH SAID STORAGE AND DISPLAY ZONES, SAID FIRST REACH BEING ADJACENT ONE OF SAID ENDS OF AN ASSOCIATED PANEL AND SAID SECOND REACH BEING ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID ASSOCIATED PANEL, SAID MEANS FURTHER GUIDING SAID ENDLESS ELEMENT FROM THE LAST OF SAID SPIRAL LOOPS BECK TO THE FIRST OF SAID SPIRAL LOOPS;