Supports – Brackets – Adjustable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-16
2001-04-03
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Supports
Brackets
Adjustable
C248S279100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new or improved adjustable merchandise display structure that is designed primarily for use in retail premises to provide a prominent adjustably positioned display to selected items of merchandise.
b) Description of the Prior Art
Numerous display structures have been developed over the years and designed to display various items of merchandise in retail stores. Some of these display structures have involved the use of adjustably interconnected arms, and such arm structures have been used in many other applications to provide an adjustable support arrangement for various articles. For example U.S. Pat. No. 153,943 Gray and U.S. Pat. No. 249,587 Clark demonstrate the use over one century ago of adjustable arm mechanisms for supporting dental trays.
U.S. Pat. No. 339,061 Joseph discloses a furniture clamp which can support a shaft extending either horizontally or vertically, and which includes a clamping screw which can be used for attachment to tables or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 454,553 Whitten shows a book supporting attachment having three sockets arranged at right angles to one another and including a screw clamp which can be affixed to a furniture projection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable arm structure which is adaptable for attachment to various structures in a retail environment and which can be manipulated to display merchandise, e.g. tobacco products at a selected height above a countertop.
The invention provides a merchandise display system comprising a carrier supported by a plurality of adjustably interconnected arms, one said arm being received in a mounting base that is adapted for connection to a mounting structure, said mounting base comprising: a) a U-shaped clamping bracket comprising a flat web plate from a first side of which project two parallel limbs which define with the web a channel, an adjustable clamping means being associated with one said limb and operative to coact with the other said limb to clamp said bracket to the mounting structure; b) an attachment plate which lies parallel to an opposite side of said web plate and is detachably connected to said web plate by threaded screws that pass through aligned holes in said web plate and said attachment plate respectively, said holes being positioned for mutual alignment in a plurality of different orientations of said plate relative to said web; said attachment plate having connected thereto a sleeve that defines an axis lying parallel to said attachment plate, said sleeve being sized to slidably receive said one arm therein and including releasable locking means operative to secure said one arm at a selected longitudinal position therein; a first swivel joint inter-connecting an end of said one arm with an adjacent end of a second said arm, said swivel joint including a swivel clamp that is operative to lock together said first and second arms in a selected relative orientation thereof.
The U-shaped clamping bracket is preferably fabricated from a sheet steel plate bent to form a channel section, the flanges of the channel section constituting the parallel limbs. The sheet steel plate is of sufficient thickness to provide the desired degree of strength and rigidity to the mounting attachment. The web plate is substantially rectangular and has four regularly spaced threaded apertures therein. The attachment plate is similar in size to the web plate, and also has four apertures therein arranged at the same spacing as the threaded apertures. Threaded fasteners such as screws can be passed through the apertures in the attachment plate to engage with the aligned threaded apertures to secure the attachment plate to the web plate.
It will be appreciated that because of the uniform distribution of the apertures the attachment plate can be secured to the web plate in different orientations at 90° intervals. If desired, additional matching apertures could be provided in the web plate and in the attachment plate to enable their interconnection at angular intervals other than 90°.
The adjustable clamping means can be of any suitable structure, and conveniently comprises the arrangement of a clamping screw in threaded engagement with one limb of the clamping bracket and having at one end a toggle driver and at the other end a clamping head presented towards the other limb of the bracket so that rotation of the clamping screw can be utilized to clamp the bracket, e.g. onto the edge of a countertop in a retail premises. If no countertop is available, then the clamp can alternatively be attached to a vertically extending member, e.g. the edge of a partition wall or the like. In either situation the attachment plate can be oriented relative to the clamping bracket so that the arm of the display mechanism that is received in the attachment plate sleeve is arranged at the desired orientation.
In the event that no suitable structure is available for engagement by the clamping bracket, the mounting base can be disassembled by withdrawing the clamping bracket, and securing the attachment plate directly to a vertical wall surface, e.g. by screws passed through the holes in the attachment plate and engaged into the wall structure.
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Martin Andre
Walrath John
Chin-Shue Alvin
Imperial Tobacco Limited
Wolf Greenfield & Sacks P.C.
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