Abstract:
A display stand assembly comprising a plurality of display stand modules joined together. Each display stand module comprises an upper and lower base or spanner having a plurality of spanner members generally bisecting each other medially. A plurality of vertical uprights extends between the end portions of the spanner members of the upper and lower spanners and are joined to the ends of the upper and lower spanners with a plurality of wedges. A portion of each wedge fits around a clover defined on the vertical uprights and a bracket attached to each spanner member end slides over and attaches to each wedge.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/448,370, filed on Nov. 23, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,464, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/240,969, filed on Jan. 29, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,034 which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29,091,303 filed Jul. 27, 1998, now U.S. Design Pat. No. 420,537 and U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/091,292 filed on Jul. 27, 1998, now U.S. Design Pat. No. 420,836, each disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to display stands for merchandising products; and more particularly, to a display stand assembly made by joining together a plurality of display stand modules. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Display stands are typically used to store and display product in both refrigerated and non-refrigerated environments. Such display stands usually comprise a base, a plurality of vertical support members or posts extending upwardly from the base, and a top supported by the posts. A plurality of shelves are commonly supported by the vertical posts in any number of ways. Such display stands or shelving units are usually rectangular, and the shelves adapted to be used with the display stands are rectangular as well. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,016,765 and 3,788,242 disclose such display stands. In each of the display stands disclosed in these patents, a generally rectangular base has four members extending upwardly from the base, which members are used to support vertically oriented posts. Generally rectangular shelves may be supported by the posts at the desired heights. Similarly, the tops of each of the display stands disclosed in these patents have four members which are turned downwardly and inserted into the posts at the top of the display stand. 
     Each of the display stands disclosed in these patents is self-standing and is not adapted to be joined with other display stands in order to create a larger display stand. If more product is to be displayed, a second display stand must be purchased and placed adjacent to the first display stand. The display stands lack structure which would enable multiple display stands to be joined together to create a larger display stand or assembly. 
     In addition, such display stands are of a fixed width, length and height which cannot be modified or changed. Thus, if a merchant desires to display additional product above or beside the display stand, an additional display stand must be purchased and placed on top of or beside the existing display stand. Thus, the merchant has to pay for two or more display stands. Furthermore, if an additional display stand is placed on top of an existing display stand, the upper display stand may be unstable and may fall off the lower display stand. 
     Thus, a display stand which is modular in nature so that different modules may be secured to one another to create the desired structure is needed. With such a structure, modules may be placed on top of one another or connected to each other lengthwise or widthwise in order to create the desired display stand assembly. 
     Therefore it has been one objective of the present invention to provide a display stand module which may be quickly and easily joined to other display stand modules in order to create an attractive and useful display stand assembly. 
     It has further been an objective of the present invention to provide a display stand module which may be assembled from a limited number of similar components, reducing the cost of manufacturing. 
     It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide a display stand module which may be joined with other display stand modules in order to create a display stand assembly specifically configured for a unique environment. 
     Still another objective of the invention has been to create a multiple module display stand which utilizes components of one module as a common component of an adjacent module so that the total number of components in a multiple module display stand is minimized with a corresponding cost reduction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention of this application which accomplishes these objectives comprises a display stand assembly having of a plurality of display stand modules joined to one another. Each display stand module comprises a lower base or spanner having a pair of spanner members generally bisecting each other medially, e.g., X-shaped, an upper base or spanner having a pair of spanner members generally bisecting each other medially, e.g., X-shaped, vertical posts or uprights extending between spanner end portions of the upper and lower spanners, a bracket attached to each spanner end portion connecting the vertical post to the spanner, and a stabilizing wedge member sandwiched between each bracket and each vertical upright. 
     Each vertical upright of the present invention extends from and between respective end portions of spanner members of the upper and lower spanners. Each of the vertical uprights is slotted along its length so that shelves may be supported from the vertical uprights at desired heights by support means locked into engagement with the slots. One type of support means used in accordance with the present invention is a sheet metal clip which is inserted into a slot of a vertical upright and secured into an adjacent slot to position the clip at a predetermined vertical height. The clip is secured around a single segment or clover which partially defines adjacent slots in the vertical upright. The shelves are lowered downwardly into engagement with plural clips secured at a desired height on opposing vertical uprights so that the shelf rests on the clips. The shelves may be vertically adjusted as necessary by moving each clip to a desired height. 
     In use, a plurality of display stand modules are joined together to form a display stand assembly, each successive display stand module attached to a preceding display stand module by the same method that the first display stand module was erected. That is, a second display stand module may be joined to a first display stand module by connecting second upper and lower spanners to uprights common to the first display stand module. Because each upright has a plurality of clovers, each upright may receive and hold multiple spanner ends of multiple upper or lower spanners. 
     Therefore, the present invention allows the creation of numerous different configurations of display stand assemblies with the use of a relatively few number of interchangeable parts. According to the practice of the invention, relatively few parts are needed to assemble a display stand module and join a plurality of display stand modules together to create a display stand assembly. Therefore the number of molds or fixtures necessary to make parts is reduced and if parts are lost or stolen, additional parts can be easily obtained. Additionally, no hardware such as screws, nuts or bolts is needed to assemble a display stand module or the display stand assembly according to the practice of the invention. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display stand assembly made up of two display stand modules of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the circled portion of the display stand assembly shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a partial cut-away view of a spring clip of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of an end portion of an X-shaped spanner and a wedge member being attached to a vertical upright. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  7 — 7  of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  8 — 8  of FIG.  10 . 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 10 is a side assembled view of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As can be seen generally in FIG. 1, a display stand module  10  of the present invention is adapted to be joined to other display stand modules  10   a  to form a display stand assembly  12 . Each display stand module  10 ,  10   a  has plurality of extruded columns or vertical uprights  14  defining a plurality of slots  15 , adjacent slots  15  partially forming clovers  16 , as seen in cross-section (FIG.  8 ). In a presently preferred embodiment, the vertical uprights  14  are hollow to save in materials cost and to lighten the assembly  12 . In another preferred embodiment, the vertical uprights  14  may also be solid. In a presently preferred embodiment the vertical uprights  14  are made of aluminum or plastic. However, any other suitable material may be used to form the vertical uprights  14 . 
     In a presently preferred embodiment, a single module  10  is comprised of four vertical uprights  14 , the vertical uprights  14  being secured together by an upper X-shaped spanner  18  and a lower X-shaped spanner  20 . The upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are preferably made of aluminum, however, any other suitable material may be used. The upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are attached to opposed ends  22 ,  24  of the vertical uprights  14 . The upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are secured to the vertical uprights  14  so that the X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are substantially parallel to each other to stabilize and strengthen the module  10  when in use and bearing the weight of a load (not shown). Each of the upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are comprised of a pair of spanner members  26  which generally bisect each other medially. In a preferred embodiment, the spanner members  26  comprising the upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  generally intersect each other at about right angles. In a presently preferred embodiment, a medial X-shaped spanner  28  is attached to the vertical uprights  14  to lend further strength and stability to the display stand module  10 . 
     Each of the spanner members  26  has a pair of opposed ends  30   a,    30   b.  Each of the opposed ends  30   a,    30   b  has a bracket  32  attached thereto, as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 9. In a presently preferred embodiment, the brackets  32  are made of aluminum and are welded to the spanner members  26 . However, any suitable method of attachment may be used. Also, the brackets  32  may be made of any other suitable material. 
     When assembling the display stand module  10 , a wedge member  34  is sandwiched between the bracket  32  and the clover  16 . The wedge member  34  has a pair of wedge flanges  36  (FIG. 7) adapted to grip the clover  16  at clover flanges  38  and a pair of end flanges  40  received against the clover  16  to stabilize the wedge member  34  thereagainst. The wedge member  34  has a male projection  42  which mates with a female aperture  44  defined in the clover  16  to secure the wedge member  34  at a desired location. 
     The bracket  32  attached to the end of the spanner member  26  is slidably received over the wedge member  34  and the clover  16 . The wedge member  34  is configured so that it has a tapering external cross-section along its vertical extent, as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7. The bracket  32  has a similarly tapering interior cross-section throughout its vertical extent which, when slidably received over the wedge member  34  frictionally secures the bracket  32  upon the wedge member  34 , as best seen in FIGS. 8-10. The wedge member  34  sandwiched between the bracket  32  and the vertical upright  14  prevents the X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  from moving relative to the vertical upright  14 . The bracket  32  has bracket flanges  46  that embrace the wedge flanges  36  and frictionally engage the clover flanges  38  to help secure together the bracket  32 , wedge member  34  and vertical upright  14 . 
     After the brackets  32  of the upper and lower X-shaped spanner  18 ,  20  have been assembled to respective uprights  14  in the presently preferred embodiment, a shelf  48  may be secured thereto with spring clips  50 . As best seen in FIGS. 3-5, the spring clip  50  is securely located around a single clover  16  on each of the uprights  14  of the display stand module  10 . The clovers  16  used are those to which the upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  are attached. The spring clips  50  are located at substantially the same height upon respective vertical uprights  14 . The shelf  48  is then clipped into a clip recess  52  defined in each respective spring clip  50 . 
     In the presently preferred embodiment, the shelf  48  is made of a wire grid. Also in the preferred embodiment, the spring clips  50  are preferably made of eighteen or twenty gauge steel, and the wedge member  34  is preferably made of polyurethane or polypropylene. 
     As best seen in FIG. 5, the spring clip  50  has a shelf portion  54  and a clover portion  56 . The shelf portion  54  and the clover portion  56  are integrally connected with a clip bend  58 . Each clip  50  has a pair of clip recesses  52 , which are mirror images of each other so that plural shelves  48  may be attached to a common vertical upright  14 . 
     The spring clip  50  defines a pair of tab apertures  60  in which a pair of tabs  62  are integrally attached to the clover portion  56 . As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tabs  62  are bent inwardly so as to enable the clip  50  to be fixedly located at a desired height upon the vertical upright  14 . Each tab  62  has a pair of integral barbs  64  which frictionally grip the clover flanges  38  to prevent the clips  50  from sliding down the clover  16  once assembled therewith. Also, the clover portion  56  frictionally engages the clover  16  when a shelf  48  with a load placed thereon is engaged with the clip  50 . 
     In use, after a first display stand module  10  is assembled, additional upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  may be secured to vertical uprights  14  common with the already assembled display stand module  10  to assemble the second display stand module  10   a.  To the upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  attached to the assembled display stand module  10  additional uprights  14  are secured according to the method described above. In a preferred embodiment, the resultant display stand assembly  12  is comprised of a pair of upper X-shaped spanners  18  and a pair of lower X-shaped spanners  20 , the pairs of upper and lower X-shaped spanners  18 ,  20  being attached to a pair of common uprights  14 . 
     Although a detailed description of several preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore the applicant&#39;s intention to be bound only by the scope of the following claims and not to the detailed specifics provided in the specification above.