Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – Portable
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-29
2004-08-10
Purol, David (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
Portable
Reexamination Certificate
active
06772816
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a display system which is portable, free-standing, and can be packed, unpacked and/or prepacked, transported and utilized readily for display purposes at sales presentations, conventions, seminars or the like.
The display system is preferably a portable, self-contained folding panel system having compartments for housing accessories, such as halogen lights, a header, literature, graphics, power cords, sales literature and the like. The portable display, display system or portable display case includes a number of display panels which are connected by pivots to effect rapid opening and closing of the portable display case between a closed position in which the panels or panel members are in face-to-face contiguous relationship and an open position in which the panel members are substantially in open, upright, self-supporting position.
A portable display case of the latter type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,594 B1 granted to Wallace T. Carter on Feb. 20, 2001. The patented portable display case includes four panels which are connected together along three substantially parallel pivot axes which promote the open-to-closed and closed-to-open movement just described. The latter portable display case is self-supporting its open position, can be latched in its closed position, includes compartments for various items, and has an extendable and contractible handle in furtherance of portability. The totality of the latter patent with respect to conventional details is incorporated herein by reference.
Other examples of conventional display systems include those listed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,594 B1, namely:
2,549,306
Greene
2,707,538
Mayer, Sr. et al.
3,297,118
Skyhawk et al.
3,938,772
Andrusiak
4,147,198
Ytter
4,524,852
Hess
4,678,018
Grundstedt et al.
4,785,565
Kuffner
4,833,802
Volkert
4,852,498
Judd
4,893,711
Gstafson
5,220,952
Beaulieu
5,439,043
Carter
5,791,391
Carter
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A novel portable display of the present invention includes a portable display case formed of a plurality of panel members with adjacent panel members being pivotally connected to each other. The portable display case preferably includes four such panel members with each panel member having upper, lower and side edges or edge portions with adjacent side edge portions being pivotally connected to each other for movement between a closed position in which panel faces of the panel members are in substantially face-to-face opposing relationship in substantially parallel planes and an open display position in which the panel members are in substantially side-by-side upright relationship. In addition to the latter structure, the portable display case of the invention includes one or more of the following structural features:
1. At least one of the panel members has pivoted thereto along its upper edge a handle member which can be gripped by a user when carrying or pulling the portable display case along a supporting surface. Preferably, there are two such handle members, carried one each by adjacent panel members, with each handle member including a hand opening and a hand grip which in the closed position of the portable display case collectively define an opening which can be spanned by a person's hand and a hand grip which can be gripped thereby.
2. A base member is pivotally connected to at least one of the panel members and preferably to two panel members along lower or bottom edges thereof. In one position, the base members serve as support feet or stabilizing feet for the portable display case in its open position and in the closed position of the portable display case one of the base members includes at least one wheel which facilitates the wheeling of the portable display case along a supporting surface.
3. The handle members and the base members each include projections and recesses which register with projections and recesses of adjacent outermost panels in the closed position of the portable display case and register with projections and recesses of an identically constructed portable display case when two such portable display cases are stacked one upon the other.
4. Each handle member includes a downwardly projecting tongue which overlies an exterior surface of an outermost panel member in the closed position of the portable display case, and each base member includes a latch for cooperatively latching with a lower edge of an associated outermost panel member in the closed position of the portable display case. The tongue and latching mechanisms prevent each of two innermost and outermost panel members from being inadvertently unfolded.
5. Additional cooperatively latch members secure edges of two of the center-most panels in the closed position of the portable display case which, in conjunction with the aforesaid tongue and latching mechanisms, assures that the portable display case remains locked in its closed position.
6. Two of the portable display cases have identical but mirror images of pairs of adjacent projections and recesses can be aligned thereby in vertically stacked relationship.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2549306 (1951-04-01), Greene
patent: 2707538 (1955-05-01), Mayer, Sr. et al.
patent: 3297118 (1967-01-01), Skyhawk et al.
patent: 3565152 (1971-02-01), Cohn et al.
patent: 3938772 (1976-02-01), Andrusiak
patent: 4147198 (1979-04-01), Ytter
patent: 4200254 (1980-04-01), Nelson
patent: 4524852 (1985-06-01), Hess
patent: 4678018 (1987-07-01), Grundstedt et al.
patent: 4785565 (1988-11-01), Kuffner
patent: 4833802 (1989-05-01), Volkert
patent: 4852498 (1989-08-01), Judd
patent: 4893711 (1990-01-01), Gustafson
patent: 5220952 (1993-06-01), Beauleu
patent: 5439043 (1995-08-01), Carter
patent: 5651405 (1997-07-01), Boeddeker et al.
patent: 5791391 (1998-08-01), Carter
patent: 5875591 (1999-03-01), Jines
patent: 6189594 (2001-02-01), Carter
Carter Wallace T.
Forrest Paul Bradley
McRorie, III Robert Grant
Carter Wallace T.
Diller Ramik & Wight
Purol David
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