Patent Publication Number: US-4225202-A

Title: Apparatus for supportingly organizing and displaying miscellaneous articles

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to article supporting structures and more particularly to an apparatus for demountably supporting and displaying miscellaneous articles. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Many article supporting and/or carrying structures have been devised for various articles such as tools, fishing tackle, sewing supplies, and the like, with those prior art structures most often being in the form of a box with a hinged lid and having a multiplicity of trays, drawers, or other compartments formed therein. Such structures, although serving the purpose, are not always convenient to use in that the various types of compartments usually contain a multiplicity of articles which can make access to an individual article somewhat difficult and often delays locating of a desired one of the articles. 
     In addition to box shaped article carrying structures, the prior art is replete with cabinet structures for containing various articles which are usually supported on shelves or contained within drawers. These cabinet structures often provide the same difficulties as the above described boxes with regard to access to and location of individual articles. 
     In general, the prior art article supporting and/or carrying structures make no provisions for organized display of the various articles either within the structure or externally thereof, but simply contain those articles in a more or less disorganized manner. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to provide a new and useful apparatus for supportingly displaying and/or carrying various articles which overcomes some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus is disclosed for supporting and/or carrying miscellaneous articles in an organized display like arrangement, with the apparatus including a plurality of cantilever arms demountably and pivotably carried between a pair of spaced mounting plates, with the mounting plates affixed to any suitable vertical surface. The cantilever arms are provided with means for demountably suspendingly supporting planar display panels, with those display panels having fastener means thereon for supportingly carrying miscellaneous articles in organized arrays. Due to the demountability of the display panels, they may be easily removed from the cantilever arms for remote display purposes or to provide improved access to the individual articles carried thereon. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus of the present invention is in combination with a special carrying box which includes a base having a floor with one upstanding wall to which the mounting plates of the apparatus are affixed, so that the cantilever arms are spaced above the floor of the base with the display panels depending from the cantilever arms towards the floor. A cover, including a top with three depending walls, is removably attached to the base and has a handle by which the entire assembly may be carried. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus which may be affixed to any vertical surface. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus in which various miscellaneous articles are demountably supported in organized arrays on removable display panels. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus of the above described character in which the display panels are carried on cantilever arms which are pivotably and demountably carried between a spaced pair of fixed mounting plates. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article supporting and displaying apparatus of the above described character in combination with a special carrying box which includes a base having a floor with one upstanding wall on which the mounting plates of the apparatus are affixed, and a cover having three depending walls with the cover being demountably connectable to the base. 
     The foregoing and other objects of the present invention, as well as the invention itself, may be more fully understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the apparatus of the present invention showing the various features thereof and illustrating the apparatus in combination with a special carrying box. 
     FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along a vertical plane which passes through the assembled special carrying box in which the apparatus is mounted, with portions of that apparatus being broken away to show the various features thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the article supporting and display apparatus, which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, in combination with an especially configured carrying box that is indicated generally by the reference numeral 12. It should be understood that the combination of the apparatus 10 and the box 12 is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but that the apparatus 10 can be employed in other environments as will hereinafter be described. 
     The article supporting and display apparatus 10 includes a mounting assembly 14 which may be affixed to any suitable vertical surface such as the interior surface of a cabinet (not shown), on the wall over a workbench (not shown), or in the carrying box 12 as will hereinafter be described. 
     In any event, the mounting assembly 14 preferrably includes an upper plate 15 and a lower plate 16 with those plates being spaced from each other and horizontally disposed in parallel relationship. Although shown as two separate plates, it should be obvious that the same results could be achieved by employing a channel member (not shown) of the well known type in which a pair of flanges extend normally in the same direction from opposite longitudinal edges of a flat plate. 
     The upper plate 15 of the mounting assembly 14 is provided with a plurality of apertures 17 formed therethrough and arranged in spaced increments along the length thereof. Likewise, the lower plate 16 has a similar number of apertures 18 formed therethrough with each of the apertures 18 lying on a vertical axis which is common with one of the apertures 17 of the top plate 15. Thus, the mounting assembly 14 is provided with a plurality of spacedly arranged vertically aligned pairs of the apertures. 
     The lower plate 16 of the mounting assembly 14 has a plurality of grooves 20 formed therein which are arcuate in cross section and disposed transversely of the lower plate. The grooves 20 are arranged along the length of the lower plate 16 so that each groove has a different one of the apertures 18 lying therein. Thus, the common axis of each aligned pair of apertures 17 and 18 normally intersects the longitudinal axis of a different one of the grooves 20. 
     The mounting assembly 14 also includes a plurality of L-shaped pins 22 with there being one pin demountably carried in each pair of the vertically aligned apertures 17 and 18. As seen best in FIG. 1, each of the pins 22 is provided with an elongated shank 23 having a head portion 24 formed thereon by which the pin is grasped for manual insertion and removal thereof as will hereinafter be described. 
     The above described mounting assembly 14 is employed for demountably and pivotably supporting a plurality of identical cantilever arms 26, with there being as many as one of those arms for each aligned pair of the apertures 17 and 18. The cantilever arms 26 may be of any suitable length and, since they are connected to the mounting assembly 14 in an on-edge position, the height dimension is somewhat critical in that it must be less than the spacing between the plates 15 and 16 of the mounting assembly 14. The required height dimension may be achieved by forming a longitudinally extending notch 28 along the top edge of each of the arms 26, with the notches being disposed adjacent the mounting ends 29 of the arms, or alternately, by fabricating the arms with the proper height dimension along their entire length (not shown). The bottom longitudinal edges 30 of the cantilever arms 26 are rounded so as to be arcuate in cross section so that when the arms are mounted in the mounting assembly 14 and are positioned to extend normally therefrom, as will hereinafter be described, those portions of the arcuate edges 30 which are adjacent the mounting ends 29 of the arms 26 will nestingly rest within their respective ones of the grooves 20 of the mounting assembly 14. The cantilever arms 26 are each provided with a bore 32 formed transversely through the mounting end 29 thereof so that mounting of the arms is accomplished by inserting the pins 22 so that they pass downwardly through the apertures 17 of the top plate 15, the bores 32 of the arms 26, and the apertures 18 of the bottom plate 16. 
     As mentioned above, the cantilever arms 26 will extend normally from the mounting assembly 14 when their arcuate bottom edges 30 are positioned in the grooves 20 of the lower plate 16, and due to the grooves and the height dimension of the arms being less than the spacing between the plates 15 and 16, a gap 33, which is approximately equal to the depth of the grooves 20, will exist between the top edge of the arms and the downwardly facing surface of the top plate 15 as seen in FIG. 2. This relationship allows the arms 26 to be pivotably moved about their respective mounting pins 22, with such movement resulting from the exertion of a laterally applied force on the extending ends of the arms 26, which causes them to ride upwardly out of their grooves 20. This mounting arrangement of the cantilever arms 26 results in their being normally yieldingly held in the position of extending perpendicularly from the mounting assembly 14, with the pivotable movement capability being provided for access reasons as will become apparent as this description progresses. 
     The cantilever arms 26 are provided with a pair of headed pins 36 which extend from opposite sides of the arms and are located adjacent opposite ends thereof, with the headed pins 36 being employed for demountable suspension of display/organizer panel means 38 from the arms. 
     The display/organizer panel means 38 are each of planar configuration, and may be fabricated of any suitable material such as wood, metal, fabric, plastic, and the like, with the choice of such materials being determined by the articles that are to be displayed thereon. Each of the display panels 38 are formed with a pair of spaced apart apertures 39 formed adjacent the top edge, with those apertures being provided to engage the fastener pin means 36 of the cantilever arms when the display panels are demountably suspended therefrom. Thus, the headed pins 36 on the arms 26 and the apertures 39 of the display panels 38 cooperate to form complimentary elements of a demountable fastening means which may be in any suitable form. 
     As shown, the display panel means 38 are each provided with connector means thereon such as projecting pegs 43, hooks 44, Velcro fasteners 45, spring clips 46, and the like. The choice of the type of connector means and the arrangement of those connectors on the display panels is determined by the types of articles that are demountably connected thereto. 
     The above described article supporting and display apparatus 10 is preferrably mounted in the especially constructed carrying box 12 as hereinbefore mentioned, with that box 12 including a base 50 with a cover 52 demountably connected thereto. 
     The base 50 of the box 12 is formed with a planar floor 54 of generally rectangular configuration having opposed side edges 55 and 56, and having a free end edge 57 with the opposite end edge having an integral upstanding end wall 58 formed thereon. The planar floor 54 is provided with channels 59 formed in the upwardly facing surface thereof, with the channels each disposed adjacent a different one of the opposed side edges 55 and 56 of the floor and extending longitudinally thereof. As seen best in FIG. 3, the floor 54 is also provided with ledges 60 which depend from the bottom surface of the floor, and are located adjacent the opposite side edges 55 and 56 and extend longitudinally therealong. 
     As will hereinafter be described, the channels 59 and ledges 60 are provided in the floor 54 of the base 50 so as to provide means for connecting the cover 52 to the base 50. 
     The upstanding end wall 58 of the base 50 has the mounting assembly 14 of the apparatus 10 suitably affixed to the inner surface thereof so that the cantilever arms 26 extend from the end wall 58 in spaced relationship above the floor 54, and the display panel means 38 depend from the arms 26 towards the floor. The upstanding wall 58 is formed with opposed side edges 62 and 63, a top edge 64, a and is provided with a pair of vertically spaced slots 66 formed adjacent each of the side edges 62 and 63, with the slots being employed for connecting the cover 52 to the base 50. 
     The cover 52 is formed with a top 68 which is of the same configuration and size as the floor 54 of the base 50, and the top has integral depending side walls 69 and 70 with one integral depending end wall 72, so that the end which is opposite the wall 72 is open. The side walls 69 and 70 each have a tongue 73 depending from the bottom edge thereof, and the end wall 72 has an angle bracket 74 affixed to its lowermost edge. Further, the side walls 69 and 70 each have a pair of tabs 76 extending from the free vertical edges thereof. 
     Demountable connection of the cover 52 to the base 50 is accomplished by placing the tongues 73 of the cover in the channels 59 of the base in an offset position, and slidably moving the cover 52 so that the open end thereof will move toward the upstanding wall 58 of the base. Such sliding movement will bring the angle bracket 74 into hooked engagement with the free end edge 57 of the base floor 54, and will move the tabs 76 of the cover 52 into the slots 66 of the upstanding wall 58 of the base 50. In this manner, the cover 52 is demountably coupled to the base 50 and is prevented from being decoupled as a result of lifting of the box 12. 
     The cover 52 of the box 12 is provided with a suitable handle 78 affixed to the top 68 by which the box may be carried, and a suitable hasp 80 is provided for locking the cover to the base. Further it will be appreciated that the above described demountable coupling of the base and cover will relieve all strain on the hasp 80, in that such hasps or similar devices, in conventional boxes of this general type usually provide the only interconnecting elements which results in them being normally the first elements to fail due to the strain applied thereto. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 52 is provided with a shelf means in the form of an angle bracket 82 affixed on the inner surface of the end wall 72 so that upon mounting of the cover to the base 50, the angle bracket 82 will supportingly engage free ends of the cantilever arms 26, thus, preventing damage thereto which could occur as a result of vibration, jarring, and the like during transport of the carrying box 12. 
     The same inner surface of the end wall 72 of the cover 52 has a peg 84 extending therefrom for demountably carrying a stand means 86 thereon. The stand means 86, as best seen in FIG. 1, includes a strap member 87 with a spaced pair of ribs 88 extending therefrom intermediate the opposite ends. The stand means 86 is employed for supporting the display pannels 38 in an upright position when removed from the mounting assembly 14 for remote display purposes. Although only one of the stands 86 is shown, it will be understood that a plurality of such stands, or similar structures, may be mounted within the box 12. 
     While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in an illustrated embodiment, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art, many modifications of structure, arrangements, proportions, the elements, materials, and components used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operation requirements without departing from those principles. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace any such modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.