US3550786A - Display rack - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent lnventor Otto C. Brown 209 S. Main St., Rochester, N11. 03867 Appl. No. 799,698

Filed Feb. 17, 1969 Patented Dec. 29, 1970 DISPLAY RACK 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl. 211/177,

Int. Cl A471 5/10, 009i 1/ 10 FieldofSearch 211/177,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 406,921 7/1889 Lohagen 248/460 1,266,694 5/1918 Lieber 1,942,456 [/1934 Stark 211/2 2,269,303 1/1942 Backstrom 21 l/ l 77 2,277,302 3/1942 Chenette 211/1UX 2,959,293 11/1960 Von Meyer 211/40 Primary Examiner-Ramon S, Britts Attorney-Frederick D. Goode ABSTRACT: A novel merchandising display rack which is slidably connected together without the use of hardware or other fastening devices and which can be oriented in various attitudes depending on the character of the goods which are being displayed. The rack comprises a pair of substantially right angular-shaped end portions being joined together by sets of rigid tube portions received in aperture means adjacent the terminal ends thereof. Both terminal ends of each of the end portions are formed with abutment stops, whereby goods may be supported on the rack regardless of which attitude the rack assumes.

l DISPLAY RACK This invention relates generally to display racks and more particularly to a display rack whose width is selectively variable, and which may be oriented in various positions depending on the size of the displayed object being supported.

The prior art display structures may be characterized generally as .fixed in size and awkward in appearance and presenting annoying problems to stores which merchandise their goods from such racks because rarely do the goods actually fit the particular rack carrying them. Also, if extra racks are to be stored, their fixed size makes such storage cumbersome at best.

The display rack of my invention overcomes many of these prior art disadvantages by providing an adjustable device which can be adapted for various widths depending on the size and configuration of the article being displayed. Further, my novel rack is adaptable for different orientation of positions to further increase its versatility for displayingvariously shaped articles of merchandise or advertising.

It is accordingly among the various objects of this invention to provide a display rack for mounting flat goods, jewelry, or odd shaped goods. I

It is a further object of this invention to provide a display rack which can be easily disassembled for convenient storage with minimum space requirements.- I

A still further object of this invention is to provide an irregularly-shaped display rack which can be oriented to assume different attitudes for accommodating different shaped articles for display.

With these and other objects in mind as will hereinafter more fully appear and which will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference is now had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the display rack of this invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a front elevation view of the right-hand portion of the rack shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top plan view of the left-hand portion of the rack shown in FIG. 1; i

FIG. 4 illustrates a side elevation view of the rack shown in FIG. I when oriented in a different attitude;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side elevation view of the rack shown in FIG. 1 with a typical piece of flat goods merchandise shown in dotted line form; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a rack formed from the conjoining of similar pieces to form as long a structure as desired.

Referring now with greater particularity to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 the novel rack of this invention comprised of a pair of end pieces 10, 11 of general right angular configuration connected together, as shown, by three dowel members l2, l3, 14 which are frictionally fitted into corresponding apertures 12a, 13a, 14a in end piece 10, and 12b,

13b, and 14b in end piece 11. It is to be understood that though the fit is described as frictional, the dowels can be lengthsof dowels for a variety of widths in order that there would not be excess dowel portions extending beyond the end pieces.

Should it be desirable to position the rack in a different attitude in order to hold the displayed goods in a slightly different position, the illustration of FIG. 5 clearly discloses how this may be done, the bottom portion of the display resting on theinclined fact portions 15 of end pieces 10, 11. Similarly, the attitude of the rack shown in FIG. 4 provides a further positioning for a users convenience. In all positions, there is providedsome form of lip or stop means, generally indicated as 15 in FIG. 1 for the bottom portion of the displayed goods to rest against. In FIG. 4, this is indicated by numerals 16, 17.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 illustrates how one end piece 20 may have dowels 21, 22, and 23 extending from both sides thereof and whose end portions are fitted into end pieces 24,

25 to provide a rack item of display, or merely to provide a continuous rack arrangement to support various goods in side by side relation.

Though no specific material is herein disclosed for this device, it should be understood that the end pieces could easily be moulded from any number of a variety of plastics, such as phenolic or nylon polypropylene, or from metal or wood. Similarly, the dowel material may be of wooden dowels or plastic or metal tubing.

I have also found that by employing tubing of one diameter extending from, say, end piece 10; and using tubing of a smaller diameter extending from end piece 11, that the smaller set of tubes may be conveniently slid within the larger set of tubes and thus providing a telescoping effect for varying the span width of the display rack.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, setups and arrangement of the parts which have been herein illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilledin the art within the principle and scope of the appended claims. lclaim:

1. An adjustable display rack comprising:

a. a pair of substantially right angular-shaped end portions each being defined by a pair of angularly related sections of different length;

b. aperture means provided adjacent the terminal ends of said right angular end portions;

c. a first set of rigid tube portions connected to one of said pair of end portions;

d. 'a second set of rigid tube portions connected to the other one of said pair of end portions;

e. said second set of tube portions having a diameter relatively smaller than said first set of tube portions, and

v adapted to be slidably carried therewithin; and

f. an abutment stop carried at both terminal ends of each of said end portions, said abutment stops extending laterally beyond each of the peripheral surfaces of said end portions so as to support goods carried by said rack regardless of which attitude said rack assumes.

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