WO2013128156A1

WO2013128156A1 - Display stand

Info

Publication number: WO2013128156A1
Application number: PCT/GB2013/000084
Authority: WO
Inventors: Julian Brewer; Kate Brewer
Original assignee: Julian Brewer; Kate Brewer
Priority date: 2012-02-28
Filing date: 2013-02-28
Publication date: 2013-09-06
Also published as: GB2499790A; GB201203375D0

Abstract

A foldable display stand for a planar article (10) produced from a substrate comprising an elongate sheet of planar material from whose lower edge extend two fold lines (12,14) generally perpendicularly between the substrate lower and upper edges and about which the substrate can be folded to define a front panel (2) bordered by two side panels (4). Sections of each side panel are separated by a slot (8) and edges of the sections define a neck (48) of sufficient width to enable a planar article to be supported by the stand to enter and travel through the slot in an upright manner to the floor of the slot.

Description

Display Stand

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a foldable display stand. More especially the invention relates to a display stand produced by folding a single sheet of a substrate material such as corrugated card about two or more fold lines.

Background to the Invention

Relatively inexpensive display stands for supporting a generally planar article of a known thickness, or limited range of thicknesses, such as a work of art, photograph, advertisement or envelope, are well known. One example is a display stand which is produced by folding a plastics coated wire into an easel shape. Disadvantages of this particular type of stand include a lack of compactness for bulk transportation and a tendency to cause indentions in the surface of displayed items of a relatively soft material. They are also relatively expensive to manufacture and are potentially dangerous to children.

Display stands produced from planar material such as card have also been proposed. However these are generally difficult to assemble (particularly for children), and in many cases, are difficult to use and do not provide the required support for the article to be displayed. Examples of such display stands appear in US patents 1,820,685 and 582,333. A major problem encountered by each of these display stands is that neither provides easy location of a planar article onto the assembled stand while, at the same time, avoiding the possibility of damage occurring to the article during such location and for the period of time that it is supported by the stand.

Another example of a known display stand comprises a block of wood or like material formed in one surface with an inclined or vertical slot. Such a stand is not foldable, is relatively bulky and expensive to produce, is often difficult for the user, particularly if a child, to insert an article into the slot, and is liable to cause damage to the displayed article through friction.

A further example of a foldable display stand for .displaying advertising material is disclosed in US patent application 2009/0179124. In this display stand, braced panels of plastics or wood connected through pivotable joints are provided for assembly and disassembly of the stand. Such a stand is relatively expensive to produce and difficult to assemble, especially for children.

One objective of this invention is to provide a foldable display stand which does not suffer from all, or at least some, of the disadvantages discussed above.

Thus, foldable display stands in accordance with this invention enable planar articles to be supported simply by locating the lower edge of the article into slots formed in the stand, the slots being shaped to enable the article to pivot about its lower edge when in contact with the floor of each slot to cause its rear surface to come into contact with and be supported by suitably inclined upper edge lengths of the slots.

Statement of Invention

In one aspect, the invention provides a foldable display stand for a planar article produced from a substrate comprising an elongate sheet of planar material from whose lower edge extend two generally perpendicular fold lines between the substrate lower and upper edges and about which the substrate can be folded to define a front panel bordered by two side panels, each side panel having a first section alongside the respective fold line of height equal or substantially equal to the height of the front panel and a second section more remote from the fold line whose height is greater than that of the first section, the first and second sections of each side panel being separated by a slot which is defined by the opposed side edges of the first and second side panel sections and extends downwardly from the upper edge of the side panel to the floor of the slot, . the edge of the first section of each side panel including an upper length which is inclined towards the closest of the two fold lines and a lower length which is inclined with respect to the upper length to define an elbow which protrudes towards the edge of the second section of the respective side panel and defines with the opposed edge of the second section a neck, and the second section of each side panel including a lower length and an upper length which is inclined away from the lower length and towards the edge of the side panel remote from the fold line, the slot defined between the edges of the first and second sections of each side panel enabling a planar article to enter and travel through the slot in an upright manner to the floor of the slot and then to pivot to cause its rear face to be supported by the inclined upper lengths of the second sections of the side panels.

The width of the neck is typically between two and four times the thickness of a planar article to be supported by the display stand.

The lower edges of the side panels may comprise straightline extensions of the lower edge of the front panel or may be inclined with respect thereto.

The substrate preferably includes a third fold line positioned to the rear .of one side panel, the substrate being foldable about this third fold line to define a rear wall for the display stand.

The fold lines may be printed onto the substrate. The fold lines may be scored and/or slit scored.

The rear wall may include a shallow slot extending downwards from the upper edge of the rear wall and positioned close to one end of the substrate, this slot cooperating with an upwardly extending slot formed in a tab extending from the other end of the substrate to join the substrate ends together.

The edge of the second side panel section between the aforesaid inclined upper edge and the floor of the slot of each side panel may follow a line which is normal to, or substantially normal to, the lower edge of the substrate.

The floor of each slot may be straight and may be parallel to or generally parallel to the bottom edge of the substrate.

The substrate may comprise an elongate sheet of card, preferably corrugated card.

In another aspect, the invention provides a foldable substrate for producing a display stand for a planar article, the substrate comprising an elongate sheet having a lower edge from which two fold lines extend generally normal to a bottom edge of the substrate and upwardly to the upper edge thereof, the substrate including two open-ended slots one positioned alongside each fold line and each being a mirror image of the other, each slot including along its edge remote from the respective fold line an upper edge surface which is inclined such that its upper end is further away from the respective fold line than is its lower end, the slot including a neck of reduced width between the aforementioned inclined edge surfaces of sufficient width to enable a planar article to be supported by the stand to pass generally vertically to the floor of the slot and then to pivot to cause its rear face to be supported by the inclined upper edge surfaces of the slots. W

6

In a still further aspect, the invention provides a display stand for a planar article produced from an elongate substrate in the form of a sheet which includes two fold lines, the display stand, when assembled, including a front panel bordered by side panels produced by folding the substrate along the fold lines, each side panel including a first length adjoining its fold line of a height equal or substantially equal to the height of the front panel and a second length of a height greater than the first length, a slot extending downwardly from the upper edge of each side panel between the aforesaid first and second side panel lengths and including a neck of reduced width, the slot perimeter being defined by the opposed edges of the aforesaid first and second lengths and including an upper edge surface furthest from the respective fold line which is inclined with its upper end further from the fold line than its lower end.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which :

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a foldable display stand in accordance with the invention when assembled;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a foldable planar substrate from which the display stand of Figure 1 is produced; Figure 3 is a plan view of a side panel of the illustrated stand to an enlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a plan view of an alternative side panel of a display stand in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of a planar substrate of an alternative display stand in accordance with the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

As will be seen from Figure 1, when assembled the illustrated display stand comprises a generally rectangular front panel 2, two side panels 4 and a generally rectangular rear panel 6. Each side panel is formed with a slot 8 which extends downwards from the upper edge of the respective panel to a position below the height of the front panel. The slots are mirror images of each other so that, when the stand is assembled as shown in Figure 1, the shapes of the slots 8 within and between which an article 10 such as a work of art or photograph is supported are identical or substantially identical .

The substrates is preferably made from card or corrugated card or the like. It is envisaged that substrate may be made from other suitable materials such as plastic or corrugated plastic. The front panel 2 may be decorated to include, for example, annotations, messages, advertisements or the like.

The substrate from which the display stand is produced is shown in Figure 2. The lower edge of the substrate is straight to provide a flat and stable base for the display stand when assembled. It will be appreciated that the lower edge may provide sufficient stability to the substrate through having several discrete points of contact with the floor once assembled, in which case the lower edge may not necessarily be straight. As will be more clearly seen from Figure 2, the substrate includes perpendicular fold lines 12, 14 and 16. These lines may simply be printed lines or, preferably, are scored or slit scored to assist folding. The fold lines 12 and 14 are positioned one to each side of the front panel 2 and the fold line 16 is positioned between one of the side panels 4 and the rear panel 6.

The rear panel 6 includes a perpendicular slot 18 spaced from its side edge 20 which extends from the upper edge of the side panel 6 to a position close to the its mid-height. Protruding from the end of the other side panel is a tag 22 formed in its lower surface with an upwardly extending perpendicular slot 24. The height of the tag 22 is less than that of the edge 20 in order to relieve stress at the fold lines when the ends are lifted over one another during connection. The length of slot 24 is less than that of slot 18 to ensure that the tag section above the slot 24 is less susceptible to bending or tearing during assembly. Each slot 18, 24 is of a width equal to the thickness of the substrate so that the slots inter-engage when the substrate is folded to produce a stable rectangular display stand. The thickness of the substrate ensures that the engagement of the inner faces of the substrate within the slots ensures that the joined ends lie normal, or substantially normal, to one another and that this in turn ensures that the corners of the assembled display stand do likewise.

The shaded areas 26 are provided to indicate that the slots 18 and 24 are to be joined together.

The thickness of the substrate is conveniently between 2 and 4mm, typically 3mm.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the slots 8 are mirror images of one another and are positioned an equal distance from the respective fold lines 12, 14.

As will be seen most clearly from Figure 3, the side panel sections 28 between the fold lines 12, 14 and the edges of the slots 8 closest to the front panel 2 are of the same height as that of the front panel. The side panel sections 30 furthest from the front panel are of greater height than that of the front panel. Each slot 8 is bordered by the opposed edges 32, 34 of the side panel sections 28, 30 respectively and terminates in a generally flat floor 36 which is positioned below the height of the front panel 2. The edge 34 of each side panel section 30 has an inclined length 38 which defines one side of the entrance to the respective slot 8. The edge length 38 is inclined with its upper lip closer to the fold line 16 than the fold line 14. The inclined edge length 38 terminates in an elbow 40 which is positioned at a height equal to, or substantially equal to, the height of the panel section 28 and the front panel 2. Below the elbow 40 the edge 34 extends downwards generally perpendicularly to the floor 36.

The upstanding edge 32 of each panel section 28 has an inclined edge length 42 extending upwardly from the floor 36 and terminating in an elbow 44. As shown, the angle of inclination of the edge length 42 is the same, or substantially the same, as that of edge length 38.

In an un-illustrated embodiment the angle of inclination of the edge length 42 is initially greater than that of the edge length 38. This difference accommodates any relaxation of the material from which the display stand is produced.

The edge length 46 above the elbow 44 is inclined towards the fold line 14 and defines with the opposed length of the edge 34 a neck 48.

The width of the neck is greater than the thickness of an article to be supported by the display stand and is typically between two and four times the article thickness, or greater. This neck width enables articles to be supported by the display stand to pass to the floor 36 without making contact with the slot edges 32, 34, or only making limited contact with these edges. In this way, any possible damage to the article caused by frictional forces caused by contact with the slot edges is either removed or marginalised. Moreover, the presence of the neck allows the article 10 to be located on the stand easily making use of the stand particularly applicable to children.

The angle which the edge length 46 subtends may differ from that illustrated. Also, the floor 36 need not be horizontal. Indeed, either or both could be curved. The edge 34 could also be angled or curved. Furthermore, the height of the elbows 40, 44 may be varied. Moreover, the top edges of the sections 28 may be sloped or curved, even to the degree that the bases of the slots 8 are higher than the front panel 2.

Extensions of the inclined lengths 38, 42 are referenced 50, 52 respectively. For each slot 8, the spacing between these extension lines is equal to or marginally greater than the thickness of planar articles likely to be supported by the display stand.

As an article makes contact with the floor 36 it pivots about its lower edge to cause its face furthest from the fold line 12 or 14 to make contact with and be supported by the inclined length 38. At the same time its face closest to these fold lines comes to rest against and is supported by the inclined edge length 42 with the lower edge in contact with the corner defined by the floor and the edge length 34. As shown in Figure 4, the shape of the edge 34 may be replicated by parallel score lines 54 to enable the display stand to support articles of several different thicknesses simply by the user tearing along a selected score line to increase the width of the respective slot.

In an un-illustrated embodiment the slot in the edge of the side panel section is formed as a single inclined surface (i.e. the inclined edge 38 extends downwardly to the floor 36 with the elbow 40 absent) . The lower part of the edge 38 in such a case lies parallel to the edge 42 of side panel section 28.

In a un-illustrated embodiment, the substrate comprises only the front panel 2 and the side panels 4. Thus, the rear panel 6 is not present. In this embodiment, the slot 18 is positioned in one side wall 4 instead of the rear wall 6 as shown in the drawings. This slot then engages with slot 24 of the tag 22 to produce a generally triangular display stand.

A four sided display stand as illustrated is preferred because this leads to a rectangular base. It follows from this that the inner faces 38 of the slots 8 are generally parallel to the faces of an article supported by the display stand thereby maximising the surface area where the two make contact with each other. A greater contacting surface reduces the pressure between the display stand and the article supported by the display stand therefore reducing the risk of deformation to both the article and the display stand^'. Other ways of connecting one front and rear wall to the rear wall or other side wall may be adopted.

Following assembly of the display stand the vast majority of the article 10 protrudes above the front panel 2 for ease of viewing. The forces created between the side faces of the article 10 and the side edges of the slots 8 keep the article firmly in place but, because these forces are evenly distributed across an area, the risk of deforming either or both the article and the display stand are minimised. Also, because the centre of gravity of the article is positioned in and above the footprint of the stand, stability is ensured.

Efficient location of an article such as a picture, photograph or the like into the slots 8 of the assembled display stand is relatively easy for an adult or child to achieve. The article is simply held immediately above the relatively wide mouth of the slots 8 and allowed to fall. As the lower edge of the article makes contact with each floor 36 the article pivots until its rear face comes into contact with and is supported by the inclined slot lengths 38 with the lower edge of the article located in the corners between the floors 36 and the side edges 34.

The simple manoeuvre of dropping the picture into place makes the stand perfect for use by children, for example in a school environment. The stand and picture remain together due in part to the locking-under-rotation aspect of the slots which leaves the picture gripped under gravity between edges 38 and 42. Moreover, if the picture is jogged the gripping mechanism transmits a force which flexes the stand (which then tends to return to form) instead of the picture being dislodged. The fact that the stand can flex and return to form in this way is mainly due to the construction of the frame in the form of a flexible cardboard parallelogram. This is in stark contrast to previous products disclosed in the prior art that favour rigidity. If the stand were more rigid, the picture would be easily knocked out of the stand. This adds to the relevance of the present invention to the school environment where the potential of hundreds of pictures on display take frequent knocks from the many children and parents crowding around and where the pictures may be moved by gusts of wind as doors open and close.

An alternative display stand in accordance with- the invention, is illustrated in Figure 5 in which like integers to those illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 have been given the same reference numbers.

The main difference between the substrates illustrated in Figures 1 and 5 is that in Figure 5 the lower edge of each side panel 4 is inclined relative to the lower edge of the front panel 2. This means that when the display stand is assembled the front panel 2 is inclined towards the rear of the display stand.

The shape of the slot defined between the side edges of the side panel sections 28, 30 also differs from that illustrated in Figures 2 to 4, the neck of the former being wider than that of the latter. Furthermore, the edge 38 of each side panel section 30 is inclined with respect to the edge 42 of the respective side panel section and the corners of the slot 18 and the tags 22 are rounded for ease of assembly. Other differences will be apparent from the drawings.

Advantages of display stands in accordance with the invention are that they are compact and readily transportable in their pre-folded flat configuration, that they are relatively inexpensive to produce and, in use, that they will cause no damage to articles to be displayed in the stand.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is merely exemplary of display stands and substrates in accordance with the invention and that modifications can readily be made thereto without departing from the true scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A foldable display stand for a planar article (10) produced from a substrate comprising an elongate sheet of planar material from whose lower edge extend two generally perpendicular fold lines (12, 14) between the substrate lower and upper edges and about which the substrate can be folded to define a front panel (2) bordered by two side panels (4), each side panel having a first section (28 ) alongside the respective fold line (12, 14) of height equal or substantially equal to the height of the front panel (2) and a second section (30) more remote from the fold line whose height is greater than that of the first section, the first and second sections of each side panel being separated by a slot which is defined by the opposed side edges of the first and second side panel sections and extends downwardly from the upper edge of the side panel to the floor (36) of the slot, the edge of the first section (28) of each side panel including an upper length (46) which is inclined towards the closest of the two fold lines and a lower length (42)which is inclined with respect to the upper length to define an elbow (44) which protrudes towards the edge of the second section of the respective side panel and defines with the opposed edge of the second section a neck (48), and the second section of each side panel including a lower length (34) and an upper length (38) which is inclined away from the lower length and towards the edge of the side panel remote from the fold line, the slot defined between the edges of the first and second sections of each side panel enabling a planar article (10) to enter and travel through the slot in an upright manner to the floor (36) of the slot and then to pivot to cause its rear face to be supported by the inclined upper lengths (38) of the second sections (30) of the side panels.

2. A display stand as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the width of the neck (48) is typically between two and four times the thickness of a planar article (10) to be supported by the display stand.

3. A display stand as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that the lower edges of the side panels (4 (comprise straightline extensions of the lower edge of the front panel (2) .

4. A display stand as- claimed in claim 1 ^'or claim 2 characterised in that the lower edges of the side panels (4) comprise inclined extensions of the lower edge of the front panel (2 ) .

5. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding ^' claims characterised in that the substrate includes a third fold line (16) positioned to the rear of one side_, panel, the substrate being foldable about this third fold line to define a rear wall (6) for the display stand.

6. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the fold lines are either printed onto the substrate or are scored and/or slit scored into the surface of the substrate.

7. A display stand as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 characterised in that the rear wall (6) includes a shallow slot (24) extending downwards from the upper edge of the rear wall and positioned close to one end of the substrate, this slot cooperating with an upwardly extending slot (18) formed in a tab (20) extending from the other end of the substrate to join the substrate ends ^' together.

8. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the edge of the second side panel section between the aforesaid inclined upper edge and the floor of the slot of each side panel follows a line which is normal to, or substantially normal to, the lower edge of the substrate .

9. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the floor (36) of each slot may lie parallel to or generally parallel to the bottom edge of the substrate.

10. A display stand as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the substrate comprises an elongate sheet of card or corrugated card.

11. A foldable substrate for producing a display stand for a planar article (10), the substrate comprising an elongate sheet having a lower edge from which two fold lines (12, 14) extend generally normal to a bottom edge of the substrate and upwardly to the upper edge thereof, the substrate including two open-ended . slots one positioned alongside each fold line and each being a mirror image of the other, each slot including along its edge remote from the respective fold line an upper edge surface (38) which is inclined such that its upper end is further away from the respective fold line than is its lower end, the slot including a neck (48) of reduced width between the aforementioned inclined edge surfaces of sufficient width to enable a planar article (10) to be supported by the stand to pass generally vertically to the floor of the slot and then to pivot to cause its rear face to be supported by the inclined upper edge surfaces (38) of the slots .

12. A display stand for a planar article (10) produced from an elongate substrate in the form of a sheet which includes two fold lines (12,14), the display stand, when assembled, including a front panel (2) bordered by side panels (4) produced by folding the substrate along the fold lines, each side panel including a first section (28) adj'oining its fold line of a height equal or substantially equal to the height of the front panel and a second section (30) of a height greater than the first length, a slot extending downwardly from the upper edge of each side panel between the aforesaid first and second side panel and including a neck (48) of reduced width, the slot perimeter being defined by the opposed edges of the aforesaid first and second sections and including an upper edge surface (38) furthest from the respective fold line which is inclined with its upper end further from the fold line than its lower end.