Patent Publication Number: US-2012031860-A1

Title: Adjustable plate stand

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to a plate stand for displaying foodstuffs in an attractive manner, and more particularly to an adjustable plate stand that allows for the plate stand to be customized and/or the plates to be vertically adjustable. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Numerous devices exist that allow for the display of foodstuffs in a multiple level manner. Oftentimes these devices include numerous positioned plates in order to provide an arrangement of the foodstuffs. However, these devices have a number of limitations. For example, the devices typically have a set number of plate arrangements that are not adjustable. For example, the plates in such devices typically do not allow for the vertical movement of the plates for different customized arrangements. Additionally, these devices do not allow for the plates to be added, removed, and/or replaced with varying sizes of plates as desired. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a display device having a number of plates that are vertically adjustable and also may have the ability to have varying number and sizes of plates for use therewith. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the invention is directed to an adjustable plate stand that has the ability to exchange plates for varying number and/or sizes of plates and also has the ability to vertically move the plates as desired by the user. 
     In one aspect, the invention includes an adjustable plate stand including a plurality of plates configured to hold foodstuffs thereon, a support rod configured to be arranged vertically and support the plurality of plates thereon, and a locking mechanism associated with each of the plurality of plates to lock each of the plurality of plates with respect to the support rod and further configured to allow the plurality of plates to move with respect to the support rod. 
     The locking mechanism may include a knob that is configured to be actuated by a user to lock and unlock the locking mechanism. The adjustable plate stand may include an ornamental cap arranged at the top of the support rod. The locking mechanism may include a ring associated with each of the plurality of plates. The plurality of plates may include at least one of circular, oval, square, rectangular, and polygonal geometric shapes. The adjustable plate stand may include a support rod connector configured to hold the support rod. The adjustable plate stand may include a stand configured to hold the support rod. The adjustable plate stand may include a non-moving plate. The locking mechanism may be configured to increase the friction with respect to the support rod and the plurality of plates. 
     In another aspect, the invention includes adjustable plate stand including a plurality of plates having an aperture and a flat surface configured to hold items thereon, a support rod configured to be arranged vertically and support the plurality of plates thereon through the aperture, and a locking mechanism associated with each of the plurality of plates to lock each of the plurality of plates with respect to the support rod and further configured to allow the plurality of plates to move with respect to the support rod along the aperture. 
     The locking mechanism may include a knob that is configured to be actuated by a user to lock and unlock the locking mechanism. The adjustable plate stand may include an ornamental cap arranged at the top of the support rod. The locking mechanism may include a ring associated with each of the plurality of plates. The plurality of plates may include at least one of circular, oval, square, rectangular, and polygonal geometric shapes. The adjustable plate stand may include a support rod connector configured to hold the support rod. The adjustable plate stand may include a stand configured to hold the support rod. The adjustable plate stand may include a non-moving plate. The locking mechanism may be configured to increase the friction with respect to the support rod and the plurality of plates. 
     Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following attached detailed description and drawings. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following attached detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and the various ways in which it may be practiced. 
       The construction and function of preferred embodiments of the plate stand arrangement will be better understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like components are designated by the same reference numeral in the several figures. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an adjustable plate stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a plate of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of part of the locking mechanism of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another part of the locking mechanism constructed according to the principles of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following attached description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an adjustable plate stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the adjustable plate stand  100  may include a plurality of plates and one or more of the plates may be vertically adjustable with respect to a support rod. The support rod and plate combination may be adjustable vertically, and the plates may be added, removed, and/or replaced with varying size plates to provide the desired customized adjustable plate stand  100 . 
     In a particular aspect, the adjustable plate stand  100  may include plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  having apertures therein and arranged vertically along a support rod  108 . In this regard, plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may have varying diameter sizes as shown in  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may be the same size. Moreover, the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may have one or more plates being the same size, and the plates may be larger at the top and smaller at the bottom for a different look. Additionally, plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may have any type of ornamental look. In this regard, the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  as shown in  FIG. 1  have a circular construction with an attractive edge there around. Any type of plate with any type of attractive ornamental attributes may be used as plates  102 ,  104 ,  106 . Additionally, plates of different geometric shapes may also be used. These geometric shapes may include oval, square, rectangular, polygonal and the like. Finally, although only three plates are shown in  FIG. 1 , greater than or fewer than three plates may be used in the practice of the invention. In this regard, the adjustable plate stand  100  may accommodate any number of plates of any size having any ornamental characteristics. 
     As further shown in  FIG. 1 , the adjustable plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  are arranged vertically along the support rod  108 . The plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may include a mechanism to allow the vertical movement of the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  with respect to the support rod  108 . Accordingly, any desired vertical placement of plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  may be achieved by the user to accommodate varying types of foodstuffs. In this regard a user may have a cake, cupcakes, hors d′oeuvres, or the like of varying sizes and arrangements and adjusting the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  vertically allows the user to provide an attractive arrangement of the same. Additionally, depending on the needs of the user, additional plates may be included in the adjustable plate stand  100  or less plates may be included in the adjustable plate stand  100  to accommodate the user&#39;s needs and the physical attributes of the foodstuffs that are desired to be displayed. This includes, for example, cakes of varying heights that may be arranged on the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  in a tiered fashion to provide an attractive arrangement of the same. 
     As further shown in  FIG. 1 , the adjustable plate stand may also include a support stand  110 . The support stand  110  may have any type of ornamental attributes and may have any geometric shape. The support stand  110  may provide stability for the adjustable plate stand  100  for arranging foodstuffs thereon. Alternatively, the adjustable plate stand  100  may not include the support stand  110  and the adjustable plate stand  100  may be fully supported by the lowest most plate, for example, plate  106  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The adjustable plate stand  100  may also include an ornamental cap  112  that may be mounted to the top of support rod  108 . This cap  112  may have any type of ornamental or geometric shape. Additionally, the cap  112  is not necessary for the practice of the invention. Accordingly, the adjustable plate stand  100  may not have a cap  112 , and the support rod  108  may just end at the very top thereof with any type of construction. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention.  FIG. 2  in particular shows the adjustable plate stand  100  with the plates  102 ,  104 ,  106  held along the support rod  108 . In this regard, plates  102 ,  104  may include a plate lock  202 ,  204 , respectively. The plate lock  202 ,  204  may be arranged along the bottom center of the plates  102 ,  104  to provide a locking fastener arrangement between the plates  102 ,  104  and the support rod  108 . It is noted that plate  106  may not have a plate lock  202 ,  204  as shown on  FIG. 2 . However, it is contemplated that plate  106  may be constructed with a plate lock such as plate lock  202 ,  204  to provide vertical adjustment of the plate  106 . 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention.  FIG. 3  in particular shows the arrangement of the adjustable plate stand  100  and how the various parts may interconnect. As further shown in  FIG. 3 , the cap  112  may include a smaller diameter portion  312  at the bottom thereof that may be inserted into the inside diameter portion  314  of the support rod  108 . Of course, other types and manners of connecting cap  112  to support rod  108  are contemplated. Additionally,  FIG. 3  shows the manner in which the plate locks  202 ,  204  are arranged with respect to plates  102 ,  104 . In particular, plate lock  202 ,  204  may include a knob  304 ,  308  and a ring  302 ,  306  respectively. The plate lock  202 ,  204  may of course have any contemplated construction to vertically lock plates  102 ,  104  to the support rod  108 . The knob  304 ,  308  may be sized and arranged such that a user may grip knob  304 ,  308  and rotate the knob with respect to ring  302 ,  306  to lock the plates  102 ,  104  to the support rod  108 . In this regard, the plate locks  202 ,  204  may increase the diameter of the internal parts of the plate lock  202 ,  204  to provide the locking function. Accordingly, the plate lock  202 ,  204  with the increased diameter is then capable of easily sliding up and down support rod  108  and allowing the plates  102 ,  104  to slide up and down as well. Rotating knob  304 ,  306  in the opposite direction may reduce the diameter of the plate lock  202 ,  204 , thus gripping the support rod  108  with respect to plates  102 ,  104 . This reduced diameter creates a friction fit between the plate lock  202 ,  204  and the support rod  108 , holding the plates  102 ,  104  firmly vertically along support rod  108 . As further shown in  FIG. 3 , the knobs  304 ,  308  and rings  302 ,  306  are arranged on the bottom side of the support plates  102 ,  104 . However, any positioning of the plate lock  202 ,  204  is contemplated by the invention, including on top, in the middle or underneath, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     As further shown in  FIG. 3 , the support rod  108  extends through plate  102 , ring  302 , knob  304 , plate  104 , ring  306 , and knob  308  and may be received by a support stand connector  310 . In this regard, support stand connector  310  may have a reduced diameter with respect to support rod  108  and, as such, the support stand connector  310  may be inserted into the hollow center  316  of support rod  108 . It should be noted that the support rod  108  may have any type of connection with respect to the support stand  110  and may be directly inserted into support stand  110  without the need for a support stand connector  310 . Moreover, the support stand connector  310  may have any other known or contemplated arrangement other than that as shown in  FIG. 3 . Additionally, the support stand connector  310  has a lower portion which may be inserted into support stand  110 . Accordingly, the construction of the support stand  110  with the support stand connector  310  arranged there above and the support rod  108  inserted over the support stand connector  310  provides for a sturdy construction. Although no additional fasteners are shown in  FIG. 3 , it is contemplated that additional fasteners may be used in order to provide greater stability when desired. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a plate of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention. In particular,  FIG. 4  shows the detailed construction of the knob  304 ,  308  as arranged with respect to the ring  302 ,  306 , both of which may be functionally arranged and associated with the support rod connector  402 . In this regard, the plates  102 ,  104  may include the support rod connector  402  arranged on the bottom portion thereof. The support rod connector  402  may include angular portions  404  extending therefrom. The ring  302 ,  306  may then be associated over and around the support rod connector  402  and angular portions  404 . In one aspect, the ring  302 ,  306  may be sonically welded to the bottom of plate  102 ,  104 . The knob  304 ,  308  may be inserted over the support rod connector  402  and angular portions  404  and below, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the ring  302 ,  306 . The construction shown in  FIG. 4  allows for a user to rotate knob  304 ,  308  with respect to the support rod connector  402  and ring  302 ,  308  and change the internal diameter of the support rod connector  402 , thus providing a gripping function between the support rod connector  402  and the support rod  108  (not shown). Rotating the knob  304 ,  308  may also increase the diameter of the inner portion of support rod connector  402  and the angular portions of  404 , thus allowing the support rod  108  and plate  102 ,  104  to easily slide with respect to one another. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of part of the locking mechanism of the adjustable plate stand constructed according to the principles of the invention and  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another part of the locking mechanism constructed according to the principles of the invention.  FIG. 5  shows a detailed view of knob  304 ,  308 . In particular, knob  304 ,  308  includes angular portions of  506 . The angular portions of  506  may interact with the angular portions  404  arranged on the support rod connector  402  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Changing the position of the angular portions  506  of the knob  304 ,  308  by rotating knob  304 ,  308  with respect to the angular portions  404  of the support rod connector  402  changes the force applied to the angular portions  404 , thus urging the angular portions  404  toward the center, reducing the diameter and increasing the friction between the support rod  108  and plates  102 ,  104 . The knob  304 ,  308  further may include a snap connector  502 . The snap connector  502  may include a hook portion, as shown in  FIG. 5 , that snap connects to the ring  302 ,  306 . In particular, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the ring  302 ,  306  includes an angular portion  604  and the external part of angular portion  604  includes a cooperating mechanism  406  for connecting to the snap connector  502  of the knob  304 ,  308 . As further shown in  FIG. 6 , the ring  302 ,  306  includes a slot  602  that may be configured to flex. The ring  302 ,  306  may include extended portions  606  that are used to interact and be associated with the support rod connector  402 . As noted above, the ring  302 ,  306  may be sonically welded to the bottom of plate  102 ,  104  or to the support rod connector  402 ; however, other types of fastening construction are also contemplated by the invention. 
     Accordingly, the adjustable plate stand  100  of the invention allows a user to have a customized arrangement and construction of a display for foodstuffs and the like. This customizable construction allows for the use of varying size plates and varying vertical placement of plates, the use various plate shapes, the inclusion of a stand and the possibility of having a cap at the very uppermost part of a support rod. This allows the user to have an infinite number of customizable arrangements that provide for a more beautiful and decorative arrangement of foodstuffs thereon. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention.