US3351211A - Display rack - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 7, 1967 Filed Oct.

L. H. BEST DISPLAY RACK ll, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet l lll Hill' I Leon H Be S' mfemjwm, MEM

fH-torrzes Nov. 7, 1967 L.IH. BEST 3,351,211

DISPLAY RACK Filed Oct. 11, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 dll rtorne Nov. 7, 1967 H. BEST 3,351,211

DISPLAY RACK Filed Oct. ll, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet-S vaupg.:

geraak' Inventor Leon 'iest United States Patent C) 3,351,211 DISPLAY RACK Leon H. Best, Galva, Ill., assignor to John H. Best & Sons, Inc., Galva, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 494,318 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-169) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A rack for displaying rugs is constructed in Such a fashion as to support many foraminous metal sheets enabling the rug samples to be hung thereon for effective display and easy examination.

This invention relates to display racks for displaying rug samples and the like at a point of sale, and the primary object of the present invention is to enable a Wide variety 0f samples to be neatly and conveniently displayed for comparison by a customer. Another object of the present invention is to construct such a rack inexpensively and in a fashion so that the individual samples may be easily compared as to texture, color and design; `and an object of the present invention related to the foregoing is to construct a display rack for rug samples and the like that enables many samples to be appealingly displayed within a minimum space.

Another object of the present invention is to be able easily to convert to various degrees of utility a display rack for rug samples or the like.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In. summary, the invention resides in a floor-mounted rack made up of many sections, including swinging frames, supporting foraminous metal sheets which enable rug samples to be hung thereon. The rack is stabilized by angled end sections, and there is a center section so arranged as to enable two sets of such swinging frames to be used.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a front elevation of one form of rack structure constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the structure illustrated in FIG. l substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in FIG. l but illustrating rug samples supported by the rack;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation similar to FIG. l but illustrating swinging frames hinged to the center section of the rack;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale of a portion of a frame;

FIG. 5A is a view taken substantially on the line SA-SA of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the upper face of the lower cross bar of the center section;

FIG. 7 is a schematic top elevation of a modified form of rack structure under and in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective View of the structure schematically illustrated in FIG. 7.

One form of rack constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated at 10 in FIG. 1 as inclusive of a center section 11 and a pair of end sections 12 ICC and 14 in the form of rigid frames which respectively extend from opposite ends of the center section at a predetermined angle sufficient to impart stability to the rack as a whole, while presenting rug samples in a neat, compact array for inspection as will be apparent from the description to follow.

The center section 11 comprises a pair of spaced, parallel uprights 16 and 17. These are joined and spaced by a pair of upper and lower cross bars 20 and 21 secured at their ends to the inner faces of the uprights in any desired way, thereby presenting a rigid rectilinear supporting structure.

The center section as thus constructed serves to support a sheet of perforate material of sufiicient strength to enable many individual rug samples to be arranged thereon, and advantageously for this purpose I employ a rectilinear sheet of expanded metal 25, the openings of which enable' clips or similar fasteners to be pivotally arranged therein for supporting rug samples as shown in my Patent No. 3,195,733.

The sheet of perforate, expanded metal is edged off with edging or molding 26 that may be fastened thereto, and the edging that confines the sheet 25 is secured to the center section in lany desired fashion as by finishing nails or the like, thereby disposing the sheet 25 in a vertical plane.

The two end sections 12 and 14 are similar in construction, such that each includes an outer upright 30 and a pair of upper and lower end section cross bars 31 and 32. The outer ends of the end section cross bars are rigidly secured in spaced relation to the related upright 30. The

inner ends of the cross bars 31 and 32 are beveled at a 45 angle, and tie plates 35 are fastened thereto. Each of the tie plates includes a pair of openings into which are entered bolts which secure the end sections to the forward faces of the center section uprights 16 and 17 as shown in FIG. l. Resultantly, the two end sections extend outward 0f the ends of the center section at a convient 45 angle.

Each of the end sections includes an inner, upright spacer 37 fastened at the upper and lower ends thereof to the cross bars 31 and 32 inward of the tie plates as shown in FIG. l. The arrangement is rectilinear so far as concerns the members which define the limits of the end sections. Again, each end section 12 and 14 supports a rectilinear sheet of firm, perforate material 39 such as expanded metal. To this end, edging 40 is arranged about the periphery of each sheet 39, and the edging is secured to the members of the related end frame by finishing nails or the like. The openings in the perforate sheets 39 enable rug sample support clips to be entered therein as disclosed in my aforesaid patent.

Referring to FIG. 3, I have shown one aspect of utility of the present invention wherein rug samples RS are arrayed in a cascade 4relationship from top to bottom of the -center section and the two end sections. FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the structure illustrated in FIG. l demonstrating that rug samples can be arranged at bot-h the front and rear sides of the rack structure 10, and it will be recognized from this that the arrangement of parts described above enables a stable support to be realized while at the same time presenting many 4samples for customer inspection in a neat, convenient and compact array.

In addition to the foregoing, the present structure enables swinging frames, displaying additional rug samples, to be arranged selectively at either the front or rear side, or both, of the center section of the rack 10. Thus, and referring to FIG. 4, a plurality of swinging frames 45 are disposed in vertical planes between the end sections 12 and 14. Each such frame is of rectilinear form including a pair of spaced uprights 46 and upper and lower cross bars 47 and 48 joined to one another. Within the rectilinear connes thus afforded, a sheet of expanded metal 50 is mounted and supported, and again the edges of the expanded metal are neatly faced off with edging as 51.

Preferably the frame elements 46, 47 and 48 are of thin metal tubing so configured as to present a pair of spaced flanges which afford the edging 51 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 5A, and between which peripheral portions of the expanded metal sheet 50 are disposed. The ends of the tubes 46, 47 and 48 can be joined together by tackwelds, or any other convenient way.

The frames 45 are thus yconstructed to enable rug ysamples to be supported thereon in the manner described above, and again both sides of each swinging frame may be used for this purpose. In order to facilitate inspection of the rug samples, each frame is hinged to the center section in a manner now to be described.

The upper and lower cross bars 20 and 21 of the center section are each formed with a pair of rows of openings 21A and 21B as illustrated in FIG. 6. The openings in the lower crossbar 21 face upwardly; those in the upper cross bar 20 face downwardly. The inwardmost upright 4 6 of each frame section, FIG. 5, surrounds a long hinge pin 55 which is of greater length than the tubular upright 46. Spaced upward from the lower end SSL of each hinge pin 55 is a spacer 56 rigidly secured thereto, and this serves as a support for the tubular upright 46, limiting downward movement thereof. The upper end 55U of the pin 55 projects free of the upper end of the tubular upright 46.

In hinging a frame as 45 to the center section, the frame is first arranged so that the ends 55L and 55U of the pin 55 are approximately at the lrelated openings in the center section cross bars, serving as hinge supports. The frame as 45 is then manipulated (and the parts are so dimensioned) as to enter the upper end SSU of the pin 55 in the related hinge support opening in the upper cross bar 20 of the center section. The lower end SSL of the pin 55 is then moved inward to be aligned with the related hinge support opening in the lower cross bar of the center section, whereupon the lower end of the pin 55 is then allowed to drop freely into this opening, with the upper end retained freely in the related hinge support opening in the upper lcross bar of the center section.

It was noted above that there are two rows of hinge support openings in the upper and lower cross bars of the center section,and in hinging the frames as 45, FIG. 4, to the center section, only one row of openings (as 21A) is utilized. These openings in the upper and lower cross bars of the center section are of course aligned on vertical axes. This is likewise true of the second row of openings as 21B, and this second row of openings enables yet another set of swinging frames 45B to be hingedly connected to the opposite side of the center section 11 as shown in FIG. 7. By the same token, additional end sections 12A and 14A, FIG. 7, identical in yconstruction to the sections 12 and 14, can be joined to the center section uprights, enabling additional rug samples to be displayed, and as illustrated in FIG. 8.

It will be seen from the foregoing that a rack constructed in accordance with the present invention has many degrees of utility insofar as concerns convertibility to numerous display arrangements for rug samples and the like. I am able to achieve a great degree of flexibility in this regard and in such a way as to enable numerous samples to be inspected and compared by a customer.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable 0f variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claim.

I claim:

A Hoor-supported display rack for supporting rug samples or the like and comprising a center section formed from a pair of spaced uprights (16, 17) having lower ends yfor engagement with the floor and `upper and lower spaced cross bars (20, 21) extending between and connected to the uprights, a pair of end sections each including a pair of rigid frames (12, 14-12A, 14A) extending at an angle from opposite ends of said center section, each of said end section frames including an upper and a lower cross bar (31, 32) joined to an inner upright (37), said upper and lower end section cross bars having inner ends provided with angled attaching plates (35) in turn rigidly joined to respective ones of the center section uprights and having an end section upright (30) joined to the outer ends of the end section Icross bars, said end section uprights having lower ends for engagement with the floor,

whereby the uprights (16, 17) serve to support in part the end sections which are supported in further part by the end section uprights, each of said rigid frames supporting a sheet of perforate metal (39) enabling rug samples to be hung thereon, the cross bars of the center section including a plurality of hinge support openings arranged in two rows (21A, 21B) on spaced predetermined vertical. axes, a rst set of swinging frames (45A) at one side of the center section and supporting sheets of perforate metal (50) for suspending other of such samples, said swinging frames each including an upright having hinge pins thereon hinged to respective ones of the hinge support openings in one row for free swinging move ment between the related end sections, and a second set of swinging frames (45B) at the other side of the center'` section and each supporting sheets of perforate metal for suspending still other samples, the frames in the second set each including an upright having hinge pins thereon i hinged to respective ones of the hinge support openings in i the second row for free swinging movement between the related end sections, said swinging frames being nested within the rigid frames ofthe end sections.

References Cited JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner.

A, FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner,

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