Abstract:
The current invention provides an improved display device for displaying coins, medals and medallions. The display device is designed to focus the viewer&#39;s attention on the object on display without blocking a substantial portion of the object from the view. Additionally, the current invention provides a display device suitable for displaying a coin, medal or medallion along with a related secondary object. Finally, the current invention provides a device suitable for display a plurality of coins, medals or medallions.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The current invention relates to display devices particularly suited for showcasing medals, medallions and coins. While display stands for exhibiting objects such as medals are available, many such devices preclude viewing of the entire object. For example, devices such as easels and display racks do not allow for easy viewing of the reverse side of a coin or medal and frequently block a portion of the obverse side. 
   Frequently, the armed forces recognize individual and unit performance by awarding medallions. Currently available display racks do not present such medallions with the degree of prominence and access befitting such honors. Further, the available display devices are not adaptable to displaying the medallion with another related object. Therefore, a need exists for a display device that prominently exhibits the medallion, coin or medal without blocking a substantial portion of the item on display. Additionally, a need exists for a display device adaptable to displaying the medallion, coin or medal in conjunction with another object related to the subject matter of the award. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The current invention provides a device for displaying objects such as coins, medals and medallions. In one embodiment, the current invention comprises a pedestal, a first support member and a second support member carried by the pedestal. The object to be displayed is placed on the pedestal between the first and second support members. 
   In another embodiment, the display device comprises a substantially vertical support member projecting upwards from the pedestal and an inclined support member. The inclined support member and vertical support member retain the coin, medal or medallion on the pedestal. Optionally, the pedestal may be mounted or carried by a base. 
   Still further, the present invention provides a device for displaying objects such as coins, medals and medallions in conjunction with another object of interest. The coins, medals or medallions are positioned between a vertical support member and an inclined support member carried by a pedestal. The pedestal is carried by a base and the base further includes an arm suitable for supporting or displaying the other object of interest. 
   Finally, the current invention provides a device suitable for displaying multiple coins, medals and/or medallions. The device comprises a base having a transverse section and at least two arms joined to the transverse section. At least one pedestal is carried by each arm and the transverse section. The pedestal includes a substantially vertical support member projecting upwards from the pedestal and an inclined support member. The inclined support member and vertical support member retain the coin, medal or medallion on the pedestal. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  are side views of alternative embodiments of the display device. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a front view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a rear view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 10  is a top view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 11  is a side view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 14  is a front view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 15  is a top view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 16  is a rear view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 12 . 
       FIG. 17  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 18  is a front view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 17 . 
       FIG. 19  is a side view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 17 . 
       FIG. 20  is a top view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 17 . 
       FIG. 21  is a rear view of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 17 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   One preferred embodiment of the current invention is displayed in  FIGS. 1–5 . As shown in  FIGS. 1–5 , the current invention provides a display device  5  suitable for holding an object  7  such as a medallion, coin or medal. Display device  5  comprises a pedestal  10  and two support members  12  and  14 . Support member  12  is preferably inclined towards support member  14  at an angle between about 30 degrees and 89 degrees. More preferably, support member  12  is inclined at an angle between about 40 degrees and 80 degrees. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of support member  12  also carries an outwardly projecting lip  13 . Lip  13  aids in positioning object  7  between support members  12  and  14 . 
   Preferably, support members  12  and  14  are integrally formed with pedestal  10 . However, support members  12  and  14  may be formed separately and subsequently secured by any convenient means to pedestal  10 . Object  7  rests on surface  16  between support members  12  and  14 . 
   An alternate embodiment of the current invention is depicted in  FIG. 6   a . In this embodiment, surface  16  is inclined at an angle between about 20 and about 45 degrees from horizontal. Support member  12  is angled between about 0 and about 15 degrees from vertical towards support member  14 . As depicted, this embodiment displays object  7  at an angle other than vertical. 
   Another embodiment of the current invention is depicted in  FIG. 6   b . In this embodiment, support members  12  and  14  are inclined towards each other with each having an angle between about 0 degrees and about 15 degrees from vertical. 
   Each embodiment of display device  5  is designed to focus the viewer&#39;s attention on object  7 . Thus, to preclude obstruction of object  7 , support members  12  and  14  are formed from a transparent material. For example, use of clear plastic compounds such as, but not limited to, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile or any other similar substance to form support members  12  and  14  will permit unobstructed viewing of object  7 . Alternatively, support member  12 ,  14  may be formed from glass. More preferably, pedestal  10  and support members  12 ,  14  are prepared from the same substantially transparent material. As noted above, in the preferred embodiment, support members  12 ,  14  are integrally formed with pedestal  10 . For example, pedestal  10  and support members  12 ,  14  may be formed in a single step by injection molding. 
   While display device  5  has been described only with regard to pedestal  10 , surface  16  and support members  12 ,  14 , the current invention also contemplates the provision of a base  18  as depicted in  FIGS. 1–5 . As part of display device  5 , base  18  supports pedestal  10 . In the preferred embodiment, base  18  is prepared from wood and has at least one hole  20  sized to receive pedestal  10 . Alternatively, base  18  and pedestal  10  may be prepared as an integral unit from a single composition. For example, base  18 , pedestal  10  and support members  12 ,  14  may be formed in a single step by injection molding, casting or other similar technique. 
   A further embodiment of the current invention is depicted in  FIGS. 7–11 . As shown therein, several objects  7  are displayed by a single embodiment of the current invention. The embodiment of the current invention depicted in  FIGS. 7–11  comprises a base  28 , suitable for supporting a plurality of pedestals  10 . In this embodiment, base  28  has a transverse section  22  and at least two arms  24  and  26  joined to transverse section  22 . In a preferred embodiment, at least one pedestal  10  is carried by each arm  24  and  26  and by transverse section  22 . More preferably, each arm  24  and  26  carries a plurality of pedestals  10  in holes  20 . To improve viewing of objects  7 , base  28  provides an increase in elevation from leading edge  27  to trailing edge  29  for pedestals  10 . The incline of base  28  from leading edge  27  to trailing edge  29  is between about one degree and about 35 degrees. More preferably, the incline is between about 10 degrees and 15 degrees. 
   In the embodiment of  FIGS. 7–11 , pedestal  10  has the same optional configurations discussed with regard to  FIGS. 1–5 . Thus, pedestal  10  preferably carries two support members  12  and  14 . Support member  12  is preferably inclined towards support member  14  at an angle between about 30 degrees and 89 degrees. More preferably, support member  12  is inclined at an angle between about 40 degrees and 80 degrees. As shown in  FIG. 11 , the preferred embodiment of support member  12  also carries an outwardly projecting lip  13 . Lip  13  aids in positioning object  7  between support members  12  and  14 . In the preferred embodiment, support members  12  and  14  are transparent thereby providing an unobstructed view of object  7 . More preferably, support members  12 ,  14  and pedestal  10  are integrally formed of the same transparent material. 
   Yet another embodiment of the current invention is depicted in  FIGS. 12–16 . As shown in  FIGS. 12–16 , the current invention provides for display of object  7  with a related object  32 . The embodiment of  FIGS. 12–16  comprises a base  38  and an arm  30 . Preferably, arm  30  is an arcuate arm capable of positioning object  32  over object  7 . Preferably, object  32  is secured to arm  30  by a screw (not shown) or other similar device passing through a hole  34 . 
   The embodiment of display device  5  depicted in  FIG. 12  demonstrates the relationship between object  7  and object  32 . For example,  FIG. 12  depicts object  32  as a model airplane in hidden line format to demonstrate how a secondary object  32  may be displayed in conjunction with object  7 . This arrangement is particularly useful for displaying a military award and an object associated with the recipient&#39;s military service. Although depicted with only a single pedestal  10 , the embodiment of  FIGS. 12–16  may be easily combined with the embodiment of  FIGS. 7–11  or  17 – 21  to provide display of related object  32  with multiple related awards. 
   In the embodiment of  FIGS. 12–16 , pedestal  10  has the same optional configurations discussed with regard to  FIGS. 1–6   a ,  6   b . Support member  12  is preferably inclined towards support member  14  at an angle between about 30 degrees and 89 degrees. More preferably, support member  12  is inclined at an angle between about 40 degrees and 80 degrees. As shown in  FIG. 13 , the preferred embodiment of support member  12  also carries an outwardly projecting lip  13 . Lip  13  aids in positioning object  7  between support members  12  and  14 . Thus, pedestal  10  preferably carries two support members  12  and  14 . In the preferred embodiment, support members  12  and  148  are transparent thereby providing an unobstructed view of object  7 . More preferably, support members  12 ,  14  and pedestal  10  are integrally formed of the same transparent material. 
   A still further embodiment of device  5  is depicted in  FIGS. 17–21 . Device  5  of  FIGS. 17–21  has a base  48  with a generally horseshoe appearance. In this embodiment, device  5  does not provide an elevational change from leading edge  47  to trailing edge  49 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 17–21 , a transverse portion  42  of device  5  joins at least two arms  44  and  46 . Transverse portion  42  has at least one hole  20  for receiving pedestal  10 . Additionally, each arm  44 ,  46  has at least one hole  20  for receiving pedestal  10 . More preferably, transverse section  42  has at least one hole  20  for receiving pedestal  10  and each arm  44 ,  46  has at least two holes  20  for receiving pedestals  10 . 
   In the embodiment of  FIGS. 17–21 , pedestal  10  has the same optional configurations discussed with regard to  FIGS. 1–6   a ,  6   b . Thus, pedestal  10  preferably carries two support members  12  and  14 . Support member  12  is preferably inclined towards support member  14  at an angle between about 30 degrees and 89 degrees. More preferably, support member  12  is inclined at an angle between about 40 degrees and 80 degrees. As shown in  FIG. 19 , the preferred embodiment of support member  12  also carries an outwardly projecting lip  13 . Lip  13  aids in positioning object  7  between support members  12  and  14 . In the preferred embodiment, support members  12  and  14  are transparent thereby providing an unobstructed view of object  7 . More preferably, support members  12 ,  14  and pedestal  10  are integrally formed of the same transparent material. 
   While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1–14 , other embodiments of the device will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the foregoing specification is considered exemplary with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.