Display system for sample articles

A display system for sample articles having a variety of display configurations supported on a plurality of upright support members. The sample articles can be arrayed in various hanging configurations or on either horizontal or angled shelves. Each display configuration has support members including brackets with standard shaped hooks for attachment to the upright support members.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a display system adapted to support flat sample 
articles in a variety of display configurations. The preferred embodiment 
of the invention will be described in terms of displaying carpet samples 
for wholesale or retail trade but the display system may be used equally 
well to display tile samples, wall panel samples, wall paper samples or 
any other generally flat material. 
A primary object of the invention is a display system which is so devised 
and constructed that the user can easily assemble it at the point of sale 
using simple fasteners, connectors and supports. 
Another object is a display system which will accomodate a multitude of 
display configurations. 
Another object is a display system which supports a plurality of samples 
such that a customer may easily glance at and handle several samples for 
comparison. 
Another object is a display system wherein samples may be displayed 
attractively as a feature of customer appeal. 
Another object is a display system wherein various display configurations 
utilize standard shaped hooks so that a single type of upright support 
will accomodate a variety of display methods. 
Another object is a display system which can be adapted to either wall 
mounting or a free standing display. 
Other objects will appear from time to time in the following specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
A display system constructed in accordance with the present invention is 
shown in FIG. 1. This system is constructed to display carpet samples or 
other articles in a variety of configurations. The configurations include 
display shelves 10, a vignette shelf 12, hanger rails 14, cantilever arms 
16 and binder hangers 18. The top of each display may have a header 20 or 
message board 21 on which identifying or informational material may be 
printed. All parts of the display system are supported on upright support 
members such as that shown at 22. In FIG. 1 the support members are shown 
as being fastened to a wall 24 with the bottom of the support resting on a 
floor 26. 
The present invention can also be utilized in a freestanding display as 
shown in FIG. 2. The upright support members 22 are joined by a top cross 
brace 28 with a suitable base member 30 holding the assembly up. FIG. 2 
shows a plurality of carpet samples 32 being supported by cantilever arms 
16. This particular display also includes vignette headers 34 on each side 
of the display. These headers support a hanging sample 36 in a manner 
which will be described below. The sample 36 extends on each side to a 
single display shelf 10. It will be understood that a variety of display 
configurations could be used in this free-standing display. For example, a 
binder hanger could be added to the support member which is shown in the 
foreground. 
The upright support members are shown in FIG. 3. The support members 22 are 
slotted channel members, preferably made of aluminum but other materials 
could be used. In a wall mounting, these upright support members rest on 
the floor and are held to the wall by screws shown schematically at 38. 
The channels have a double row of slots 40. In a typical installation, the 
support members may be on the order of seven feet high with the slots 
starting about 11/2 feet from the floor 26. In such a typical application, 
the support members are spaced on the order of 27 inches apart, although 
half channel spacing of 13 inches may be used where economy of wall space 
is critical. Spacer sticks 42 may be supplied with the display system to 
assure proper spacing. Half channel spacing results in the positioning of 
a central upright support member 22C which can be used for cantilever arm 
and binder hanger applications, as will be explained more fully below. 
Details of a display shelf 10 can be seen in FIGS. 4-7. This shelf 
comprises a frame member 44 which may be a stamped part from a single 
piece of aluminum stock. The frame has a pair of 90.degree. notches 46 cut 
therein. A portion of the frame is bent at essentially 90.degree. to form 
flanges 48. In addition, the portion of the frame between the two notches 
46 is bent slightly inward towards the flanges 48 to form a lip 50. At the 
ends of the frame 44, are brackets 52. The brackets have a pair of hooks 
54 suitably shaped to fit into the slots 40 of a selected support member 
22. The hooks fit in a sliding interlocking engagement with the slots, 
that is, a shelf frame will be supported by a selected pair of uprights; 
the brackets 52 and hooks 54 are so oriented that the shelf frame will 
project forwardly from the upright at a downwardly inclined angle. 
The frame member 44 may be shipped to the user in the form shown in FIG. 4. 
The user then simply bends the frame member at the notches 46 to form the 
three-sided frame shown in FIG. 5. The frame consists of a pair of side 
arms 56 joined by a front bar 58. The user can then latch the frame to the 
slotted channel. 
A shelf 60, preferably made of corrugated cardboard, has a pressure 
sensitive adhesive along two sides (FIG. 6). The adhesive is covered by 
removable tape 62 until the shelf is ready for installation into a frame 
member. The shelf simply sets into the frame where it is supported by the 
flanges 48. Once pressed firmly in place, the adhesive on the underside of 
the shelf 60 will hold the shelf in the frame. A carpet sample or other 
similar item can then be placed in the display shelf with the lip 50 
serving to retain the sample in the shelf. A cutout 64 is provided in the 
shelf 60 to allow a customer to remove a sample by reaching underneath the 
shelf and pushing the sample out. 
A variable form of the display shelf 10 is the vignette shelf 12 shown in 
FIG. 8. The vignette shelf has a frame 66 which is constructed in a manner 
similar to the frame 44 with the exception of the bracket configuration. 
In the vignette shelf frame, the bracket 68 is constructed so that the 
shelf is horizontal. Thus, objects other than two-dimensional samples can 
be placed on this type of shelf. 
A suitable backdrop for the vignette shelf can be provided in conjunction 
with a vignette header 70. The header board, made of hardboard, may have 
suitable information material printed thereon. The board is fastened to a 
pair of brackets 72 having hooks 74 for insertion into one of the upright 
support members. There is a hole 76 in the brackets 72 through which a 
hanger rod 78 may be placed. The hanger rod extends through a hanger clip 
80 which in turn holds a backdrop 82 in a hanging manner. The backdrop may 
be a large size sample or any other suitable material. A hairpin clip 83 
is insertable into the hanger rod 78 to prevent the rod from sliding out 
of the hanger clip 80. 
The vignette header board 70 is fastened to the brackets 72 by insertion of 
the Christmas tree type fastener 84 (FIG. 9). The user can make this 
connection with no special tools required. 
The hanger rail type of display configuration is shown in FIG. 10. In this 
display form, a carpet sample 86 is held by a hanger clip 88 suspended by 
a wire hook 88A which is in turn placed on a hanger rail 14. The hanger 
clips 88 are U-shaped one-piece plastic extrusions presenting a pair of 
spaced flanges 88B having inherent leaf spring action of clamping the 
upper edge of a carpet sample inserted therebetween. The hanger rail 14 is 
preferable made from aluminum channel material. The hanger rail has corner 
mebers 90 at its ends, providing attachment elements for connection to a 
pair of side panels 92. A plurality of brackets 94 are attached to the 
inside edges of the side panels 92. The brackets 94 have the 
standard-shaped hooks 96 for insertion into the selected slots of the 
upright support members. Brackets are secured to the side panels by pop 
rivets and attachment of the brackets to the side panels may be performed 
by the user. 
Another form of hanging display is the cantilever arm arrangement shown in 
FIG. 11. This form of display has a cantilever arm 16 extending downwardly 
from and at an angle to an upright support member 22C. The cantilever arm 
is formed from two stamped parts, held back-to-back by rivets 98. The 
upper end of the arm has a pair of brackets 100 shown with the bracket 
hooks already inserted into the slot of the upright support member. These 
brackets are offset slightly from the plane of the cantilever arm by 
complemental bends as at 102 which create the desired separation between 
the bracketed pairs. This separation is equal to the distance between the 
rows of slots in a support member. The cantilever arm has a plurality of 
holes 104. A sample hanger such as that shown at 88 in FIG. 10 can be 
inserted into the holes 104. 
Another hanging type of display is the binder hanger 18 of which the 
details are shown in FIG. 12. This configuration utilizes a J-shaped 
finger hook 106 attached to a pair of brackets 108. The brackets having 
the standard-shaped hooks 110 for insertion into the support member slots. 
The J-shaped hook supports the handle 112 of a binder 114 in which carpet 
samples are captured as best shown in FIG. 1. 
It will be noted that both the cantilever arm and the binder hanger support 
the sample articles such that the surface of the article is in facing 
relation with a viewer who is standing in front of the display. Also, it 
is preferred to mount the cantilever arm and binder hanger on a central 
support member 22C, as shown in FIG. 1. The samples are thereby centered 
to present an overall symmetry when used with the other types of display. 
However, it is not absolutely necessary that this be done. 
As can be seen in FIG. 1, a preferred arrangement for the display system of 
the present invention is to use the various display configurations in 
generally columnar fashion. The central mounting of cantilever arms 16 and 
binder hangers 18 is with respect to these columns. The top of these 
columns may be provided with a header 20 or message board 21. These are 
simply signboards made of some suitable material, attached to brackets and 
fitting into the support members. One of the advantages of having a double 
row of slots in the support members is that support members located on the 
inside of the overall display system can receive bracket hooks from 
adjacent columns. That is, a single support member acts both as the 
left-hand side of one column and the right-hand side of the next adjacent 
column. 
It will be realized that whereas a practical and operable display system 
has been shown and described, nevertheless, many changes may be made in 
size, shape and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the invention. For example, the particular arrangement of display 
configurations in FIG. 1 is by no means the only arrangement which could 
be utilized. It is therefore desired that the description and drawings be 
taken in a broad sense as illustrative rather than as limiting the 
invention to the specific showing.