Patent Abstract:
A display table for displaying round objects having a a shelf member having a top surface and a bottom surface and at least one holding member affixed to said top surface for holding at least one round object and wherein the round object is prevented from rolling.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/582,161 filed on Jun. 23, 2004, entitled DISPLAY TABLE. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Collecting and displaying logo golf balls and other collectible round and curved objects such as autograph baseballs, collectible eggs and the like is a popular past time. Many types of wall cabinets and display stands have been used to display these items. For example, logo golf balls are commonly displayed in vertical wall cabinets or on individual stands in which the golf sits on an individual golf tee. The wall cabinets are generally small and are limited in the number of golf balls that can be displayed. In addition, the golf balls are easily displaced from the shelves if the cabinet is moved or jarred during cleaning.  
         [0003]     Display tables for displaying collectibles are also known in the art. These display tables generally have a box like structure having an interior shelf on which the displayed item is placed and a top through which the item is viewed. The interior shelf is attached to a plurality of mutually perpendicular side walls that form an enclosure. A transparent top is supported by the side walls. The display table may have one or more legs attached to the bottom of the interior shelf in the case of a pedestal table or to the outer edges of the side walls. Other display cabinets are box like structures that sit on top of a table or the floor.  
         [0004]     The display tables and display cabinets known in the art are not suitable for displaying round objects such as golf balls, baseballs, collectible eggs and the like. The balls and other round objects roll and are displaced in the cabinet if the cabinet is only slightly moved. The logo or autograph for which the object is being displayed is no longer in view when the object becomes displaced. Constant rearranging is required if the display cases known in the art used to display round objects. Therefore, there is a need for a display table with an interior shelf that is capable of holding round objects for display and preventing them from rolling.  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The invention relates generally to a display table. More specifically, the present invention relates to a display table and table top display cabinet with an interior shelf surface that is capable of preventing round or curved items form rolling and being displaced when the cabinet is moved. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention having a holding member with a convoluted foam holding surface.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a holding member with a convoluted foam holding surface.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a holding member with die cut cavities.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a side view illustration of a holding member with die cut cavities. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Turning now to  FIGS. 1-4 , the display table of the present invention has an interior shelf with a surface  10 ,  20 ,  30  capable of holding at least one round object that prevents the object from rolling. The preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated as a display table with an internal shelf member with a holding member  10  made of convoluted polyurethane foam rubber. This allows for golf logo balls, autographed baseballs and the like to be conveniently displayed without the constant need to rearrange the object if the display table is moved. The display table may be free standing with one or more legs  14  or may be a table top version. The display table has at least one or more mutually perpendicular side walls  11  connected to the interior shelf. Preferably, the display table includes a transparent top  12  such as a glass top  13  for viewing the items while protecting them from damage. The top rests on the top edges of the side wall or walls or may be connected to one of the edges by one or more hinges  14 .  
         [0011]     The holding surface  10 ,  20 ,  30  of the interior shelf can be formed on the shelf or be a separate holding surface such as a plastic or foam rubber mat that has been formed or cut with cavities  21 ,  31  that are sized to hold the particular item in place. The foam can be any type of foam rubber. However, the preferred rubber foam is polyurethane. The holding surface can also be made of convoluted foam  20  such as is commonly used in mattress foam such as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The cavities  21  formed by the convoluted shape  20  should be sized for the item being held so that the item does not roll. For example, the peaks of the convoluted foam should be spaced approximately 2 inches apart and the cavity formed by the peaks should be approximately one 1 inch deep. Preferably, the cavity or cavities  31  are half-round cavities cut or molded into the top surface of the foam or other suitable material such as is illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The diameter of the cavity is approximately the diameter of the object to be held. The depth of the cavity is approximately one half the diameter of the object being held. For example, a holding surface  30  for holding a golf ball would have at least one cavity 2″ in diameter and 1″ deep. Preferably, the holding surface  30  would have a plurality of cavities  31 .  
         [0012]     Another preferred embodiment would have removable plugs  32  in the cavity or cavities  31  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . It is well known in the art that polyurethane foam can be cut and the resulting plugs  32  removed to form the cavity  31  can be left in place. These plugs  32  can be removed as round objects are inserted for display thereby creating a flat surface on the remaining holding surface. This allows for other objects to be displayed along with the round object. For example, an antique golf club could be displayed on the flat surface while logo balls are displayed in the cavities.  
         [0013]     The holding surface could also be a plurality of golf tees placed perpendicular to the interior shelf and arranged relative to each other so that the golf balls touch each other thereby preventing the golf balls from moving when the display table is completely full. The holding surface may also be comprised of a series of interior walls arranged perpendicular to the interior shelve and arranged perpendicular to each other so that the interior walls form a shadow box formation wherein each box formed is sized to hold a round object in place and preventing the round object from moving.  
         [0014]     Although preferred embodiments have been described and depicted in detail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions and substitutions and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0