DISPLAY SYSTEM

Abstract: A frame for a sheet of a display material such as a photograph, comprising a backing support (1) having a locating means (2, 3) to receive and locate the sheet of display material to be displayed, a transparent cover sheet for holding said display material in position while enabling said sheet to be visible and a holding means (4) for holding said transparent cover sheet in position, said holding means being removable from the front to enable said transparent cover sheet to be removable for replacement of said sheet of display material from the front of said frame.

Description: "Display System" The present invention relates to frames for display of material such as photographs . Many known photo frames are inconvenient in use because the photograph has to be inserted from the rear of the frame and it is not easy to ensure that the photograph is correctly positioned. This is a particular problem in the case where several photographs are linked together in a display on a wall and it becomes necessary to replace one of the photographs without removing the whole display. The problem also arises when a single photo frame is permanently attached to a wall or other display surface. The present invention is thus concerned with provision of a frame for display of photographs and other material where ease of operation is combined with an arrangement which is visibly pleasing. Accordingly the invention provides a frame for a sheet of a display material such as a photograph, comprising a backing support having a locating means to receive 2 and locate the sheet of display material to be displayed, a transparent cover sheet for holding said display material in position while enabling said sheet to be visible and a holding means for holding said transparent cover sheet in position, said holding means being removable from the front to enable said transparent cover sheet to be removable for replacement of said sheet of display material from the front of said frame. Enabling the sheet of display material to be replaceable from the front is particularly useful in the case where a number of photographs are linked together as a multiple display. Thus photographs may be displayed in a plurality of similar frames linked together by a plurality of spacing links which are arranged to connect adjacent frames to one another in a predetermined relationship. The transparent cover sheet may be held to the frame support in a number of different ways. 3 At least two edge protuberances, each for example in a triangular shape, may be arranged to slot into a groove at a peripheral edge of the front of the backing support, so that each protuberance slightly overlaps the transparent cover sheet without detracting from the displayed material. Another form of holding means allowing access from the front - when using a rectangular frame - comprises a plurality (generally four) of edge pieces which overlap the corners of the transparent cover sheet. A third possibility (again for a rectangular frame) is to use a rectangular peripheral edge over frame which overlaps the edges of the transparent cover sheet. In the cases of the corner pieces on the peripheral over frame, these can be detachably attached by plastic snap- in inserts or by magnetic means to the backing support. The backing support is preferably rectangular and includes at least two rectangular edge defining recesses to enable different sized sheets of display material to be accommodated for display. Thus different standard sizes of photograph can be accommodated. 4 When providing a display of linked similar frames, these can be held in a predetermined relationship. To achieve this, it is preferred to provide a series, for example five or seven, equi-spaced holes along each side edge of the frame support, and spacing bars of substantially constant length can then be slotted in some of these holes, generally two per edge, to provide a linked display at predetermined spacings. A rectangular sheet of display material may be located by locating means defined by a shallow rectangular cavity of the same order of depth as the thickness of the display material. In a preferred form of the invention the backing has at least two cavities of different sizes, for example different standard photograph sizes, where the smaller is located wholly within the larger in a stepped configuration. This enables different standard sizes of photographs to be accommodated within one frame, and in the case of the smaller photographs a border formed from part of the backing support will then normally be visible. The invention therefore enables photographs or other 5 material to be located quickly and easily from the front and to be held in place by removable pieces which can be designed to look pleasing in use. Moreover the rectangular cavity enables the photograph to be quickly and easily aligned. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a plan view of a photo frame; Figure 2 is a section on the lines X - X of Figure 1 in an exploded assembly position; Figure 3 is a view of a peripheral over frame; Figure 4 shows a display of linked photo frames; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a corner piece. Figure 6 is an edge view of the backing support; Figure 7 is a fragmental view of part of the backing support; and 6 Figure 8 is a sectional side view of the Figure 3 peripheral over frame . Referring to Figure 1 a backing support 1 of black plastics material shown in section in Figure 2 incorporates two rectangular cavities 2, 3 of different standard dimension corresponding to that of two standard photograph sizes 13 x 17.5 cm and 10.2 x 16.5cm with the smaller wholly within the larger in a stepped configuration (see Figure 2). Two triangular holding protuberances 4 are located in a peripheral groove (not shown in Figure 2) in an upstanding bead edge 4a of the frame support 1 (see Figure 7), being slotted through from the outer edge. A transparent plastic cover 5 (see Figure 2) overlies one or other of two photographs 6 , 7 depending on whether a larger or smaller photograph is to be displayed, and the respective larger or smaller photograph locates in the respective larger or smaller rectangular cavity 2 or 3. Thus in use, one or other of the photographs is placed in the appropriate shallow cavity, the transparent plastic or glass cover 5 is placed over the photograph and then the holding protuberances 4 are finally pushed 7 into position by being slotted through the beading from the outside (see arrow in Figure 7) to hold the photograph together. Referring to Figures 3 and 8, a peripheral over frame 9 as an alternative to the protuberances 4 is used to hold the glass cover 5 in position. This can be achieved by use of magnets 10 adhering to a metallic section of the backing frame or by plastic snap-in inserts on the underside (see Figure 8). In practice there is a plurality of semi-circular holes 12 in each side edge of the photograph frame (see Figure 6 ) . This enables the frame to be supported in various ways. For example, a number of frames can be displayed and held together by spacing rods 11 inserted in these holes for linking to spaced adjacent photographs (see Figure 4), or hooks can be inserted in the holes for carrying the frame on a wall. Finally Figure 5 shows a third means of holding the glass cover in place. This consists of four triangular pieces having snap-in inserts 13 on their undersides which fit in corresponding holes (not shown) on corner regions of the upper face of the backing support 1.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A frame for a sheet of a display material such as a photograph, comprising a backing support having a locating means to receive and locate the sheet of display material to be displayed, a transparent cover sheet for holding said display material in position while enabling said sheet to be visible and a holding means for holding said transparent cover sheet in position, said holding means being removable from the front to enable said transparent cover sheet to be removable for replacement of said sheet of display material from the front of said frame . 2. A frame according to Claim 1 in which said backing support includes at least two rectangular edge defining recesses to enable different sized sheets of display material to be accommodated for display. 3 A frame according to any preceding claim in which 9 said holding means is in the form of at least two edge protuberances each overlapping said transparent cover sheet and being arranged to be located in a slot of the backing support . . A frame according to Claim 1 or 2 in which said backing support is rectangular and the holding means is in the form of a plurality of detachable corner pieces to hold said transparent cover sheet in position. 5. A rame according to Claim 1 or 2 in which said holding means is in the form of a removable peripheral overlying border to the transparent cover sheet. 6. A frame according to Claim 4 or Claim 5 in which the holding means is attached to the frame support by snap-in plastic inserts. 7. A frame according to Claim 4 or Claim 5 in which the holding means is attached to the frame support by magnetic means . 8. A multiple display system comprising a plurality of frames in accordance with any preceding claim, said 10 frames being connected to one another by a plurality of spacing links in a predetermined relationship. 9. A display system for display of a plurality of pictures in frames, comprising a plurality of similar frames and a plurality of spacing links which are arranged to connect adjacent frames to one another in a predetermined relationship.

Inventors: CAHILL HELEN THEA, CAHILL, HELEN, THEA
Applicants: CAHILL HELEN THEA, SNAP DRAGON DISPLAYS LTD, CAHILL, HELEN, THEA, SNAP DRAGON DISPLAYS LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A47G1
IPC codes: A47G1, G09F1, G09F15