Supports: racks – Specially mounted – Wall or window
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-09
2003-10-14
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Specially mounted
Wall or window
C211S090010, C211S123000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06631813
ABSTRACT:
APPLICATION AREA OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an arrangement for hanging articles or for securing a receiving means for supporting and displaying articles thereon, wherein the articles may be, for example, goods for sale, items for commercial or private use, exhibition exhibits or decorative elements.
PRIOR ART
A supporting-bar structure is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,547. Running on a vertical wall are two vertical, spaced-apart rails with a grid arrangement of holes, where in each case one short rail element can be plugged into each rail, in two holes at the same vertical level. The two rail elements project into space per-pendicularly from the rear wall, and a crossbar is positioned over the rail elements. It is possible to hang directly on the crossbar, for example, clothes hangers and support bars which project further into space and, for their part, have articles hanging on them. This supporting-bar structure is indeed vertically adjustable, but otherwise cannot be varied to any great extent as a result of the necessary rails with the grid arrangements of holes, and additionally involves relatively high outlay.
Fittings which are intended for hanging goods and have horizontally arranged profile rails are also known, for example, from WO 91 14388 and DE 38 03 829 A1. Support bars can be pushed laterally into the profile rails, or engaged by tilting, by way of their attached endpieces. This design is very material-intensive and limits the design freedom to a vast extent as a result of the profile rails, which are to be positioned on the supporting rear wall and can be seen on the outside. The profile rails are not envisaged for providing individual supporting-bar porting-bar arrangements. Furthermore, additional lateral arresting means would be necessary in order to prevent the horizontal displacement of the latched-in support bars along the profile rails and thus to maintain an ordered appearance for the sales surface even with a lot of activity taking place round about.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,992 discloses a supporting-bar arrangement which, in part, reduces the disadvantages of long profile rails by it being possible to fix on a rear wall short rail elements which are cut to size as plug-in mounts and into which, in each case, one support bar can be pushed laterally with the plug-in plate arranged right at the front. This arrangement would also require lateral arresting means in order to prevent the support bar, which has only been pushed in, from sliding out accidentally. Moreover, the plug-in mounts can only be positioned on rear walls, and are thus visible as an unsightly sheet-metal part and therefore not particularly suitable, for example, for aesthetically pleasing shop designs.
EP 0 519 349 B1 discloses a further supporting-bar arrangement, comprising a plug-in mount, which can be inserted into a panel, and a support bar. Each plug-in mount can be fitted with an individual support bar. The plug-in mount can be inserted into a cutout in the panel, the outer edge of the plug-in mount being positioned on the border of the cutout. The plug-in mount is retained by a top nose, which projects into the panel, and a screw-connection to the rear wall, which is located behind the panel. The plug-in mount has a slot which is bounded by a profile shoulder at the bottom and an inwardly bent buffer edge at the top, the buffer edge leaving a gap open. The support bar comprises a bar element and a tail plate which is fixed to the a rear bar end and, at the top, has a doubly angled portion, the horizontal section of which is adjoined by a downwardly extending plate segment with a planar surface. In the latched-in state, the horizontal section of the angled portion is supported on the profile shoulder, while the upwardly projecting vertical section of the angled portion projects through the gap located behind the buffer edge, and the plate segment rests on the front side of the plug-in mount. If the support bar is to be disengaged, it is necessary for the support bar to be positioned obliquely in order for it to be possible for the vertical section of the tail plate to be drawn out of the gap; the latching-in operation proceeds analogously. Although this supporting bar arrangement better fulfils the aesthetic requirements, does not require any rail material and makes it possible to fit out an arrangement of plug-in mounts quickly, a series of disadvantages still remains. First of all, the plug-in mount can only be inserted into a cutout in the panel, but cannot be positioned on the panel or arranged on the rear side of the same. The greatest drawback is that the support bars can be disengaged very easily by being raised at the front, which may be brought about merely by them being knocked. Furthermore, the inner contour of the plug-in mounts and the doubly angled portion of the tail plates result in the plug-in mounts and tail plates involving relatively high outlay to produce.
EP 0 716 825 B1 relates to a supporting-bar arrangement with a housing-like plug-in mount with inner undercuts. The window-like plug-in opening, which serves for accommodating the plug-in plate of a support bar, is enclosed by a positioning flange. The following variants are envisaged for the installation of the plug-in mount: a) positioning on the supporting structure from the front; or b) positioning on the supporting structure from the rear; or c) insertion into the supporting structure. In the case of variant a), the plug-in mount, with its frame-like covering, is seated, as a cuboidal housing, in a raised manner on the front side of the supporting structure. For design reasons, this variant of the arrangement of the plug-in mount is only possible for certain applications since the plug-in mounts are clearly visible, look conspicuous and disrupt the even proportioning, for example, of a display wall with multiple fittings. In the case of variant c), the plug-in mount is inserted into the supporting structure, the frame-like positioning flange being positioned on the front side of the supporting structure and thus likewise being the dominant feature over a relatively large surface area. The variant b) requires additional work since, for the rear-side positioning of the plug-in mount, the through-passage through the supporting structure has to be cut very precisely because it can be seen from the front. Moreover, it is possible to see the cut edges in the through-passage.
Finally, the designs from DE 299 03 019 U1 and WO 99/20094 are also known, these providing merely for supporting arms to be fitted or plugged into a profile rail or a plug-in sleeve, respectively.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
In summary, it should be stated that the hitherto known arrangements fulfil the practical requirements better and better. The object of the invention, however, is, by further developing the design, to render the visual appearance of the arrangement in the installed state even more discreet. Moreover, the intention is to extend the variability and design freedom in order for it to be possible to construct straightforward but also individual, complex structures. It has to be possible, with as little work as possible, during the installation for the plug-in mount to be inserted into a supporting structure, e.g. a rear wall, a panel or a rack element, and fixed.
The intention is for it to be possible for differently configured supports to be plugged straightforwardly into a plug-in mount, and the displacement within the plug-in mount or the changeover to another plug-in mount is to be just as straightforward. For more complex constructions, the intention is for it to be possible for a multiplicity of plug-in mounts to be positioned systematically in a plurality of planes which are horizontal, vertical and located spatially one behind the other. It is also intended for it to be possible for receiving means, such as shells or open boxes, to be installed on a plurality of supports. It is necessary for the individual plug-in supports to be arrested in a stable manner in the plug-in mounts witho
Uecker Manfred
Walter Herbert
Harris Erica B.
Selitto Behr & Kim
Stodola Daniel P.
Visplay International AG
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