Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MERCHANDISE DISPLAY SUPPORT STAND
This invention relates to merchandise display support stands and more
particularly to
merchandise display support stands which are foldable to a collapsed condition
for storage and
transportation and self-erectable easily from the collapsed condition to the
erected condition
usable for supporting a variety of merchandise displays.
Merchandise items are commonly displayed at retail facilities by placing them
directly on
a stand or on shelving provided on a stand such that the merchandise items are
readily viewable
by the purchaser to select and to obtain them for purchase. The support stands
may be made with
metal, cardboard or corrugated board. Metal support stands are costly to
fabricate and difficult to
erect. Cardboard display support stands are the most preferred type due to
their lower fabrication
cost.
However, known cardboard display support stands are composed of a plurality of
component parts which are formed in separate processes and then the separate
component parts
must be glued to a main body of the support stand during fabrication. Such
gluing process of a
plurality of separate component parts is time consuming and messy to carried
out due to the
necessity of having to position carefully together all the mating parts
properly and securely, and
then applying adhesive onto these mating parts, and the time required for the
adhesive to set
while maintaining the component parts properly engaging with one another.
Another difficulty in the fabrication of cardboard display support stands is
that the
plurality of separate component parts must be formed separately in several
different stamping
operations and they must then be assembled together by hand to form the stand.
Thus, they are
labor intensive to fabricate.
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Another drawback of the known display support stands is the difficulty in
their erection at
the display site since most display support stands are fairly large in
physical size such that it is
difficult to be handled by one person during their erection. Furthermore, the
various component
parts must be attached together at the display site to form the support stand;
the plurality of these
component parts and the bulkiness of the support stand rendering the erection
of the support
stand time consuming and unwieldy to carry out particularly in a display
location of a retail
outlet having a relatively little available space for the erection of the
display stand.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide merchandise
display support
stands which are simple in structure and easy to fabricate all the component
parts in a single
cardboard in a single stamping operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide merchandise display
stands which
are foldable into a collapsed condition for convenient storage and/or
transportation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide merchandise display
support stands
which can self-erect automatically so that they may be erected quickly and
readily from the
collapsed condition with ease.
It is another object of the present invention to provide merchandise display
support stands
which can be erected readily by a single person.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide merchandise
display support
stands usable for supporting and displaying a variety of merchandise items.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide merchandise
display support
stands which can be provided with removable display trays for displaying
particularly
merchandise items of relatively small physical size.
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The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from the
following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof in
connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a top perspective elevation of the configuration which may be
formed in a
single stamping operation on a single cardboard to provide all basic component
parts required for
fabricating the merchandise display support stand of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a left front and top perspective elevation view of the merchandise
display
support stand in the erected condition according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a right rear and top perspective elevation view thereof.
Figure 4 is the left front and top perspective elevation view thereof with the
pedestal
platform turned outward to show a portion of the self-erecting bracing board
located in the
transverse position within the stand.
Figure 5 is a front perspective elevation view of the display support stand in
the initial
folded condition with the side walls folded inwards and the pedestal platform
folded outwards to
lie on top of the front panel.
Figure 6 is a front perspective elevation view of the display support stand in
the
completely folded condition with the top portion also folded over the folded
pedestal platform.
Figure 6 is a front perspective elevation view of the merchandise display
support stand in
a partially collapsed condition with the pedestal shelve folded outward and
downward.
Figure 7 is a left side perspective elevation view of the display support
stand in the
erected condition with the bracing board therein shown in dotted line.
Figure 8 is a front and top perspective elevation of the merchandise display
support stand
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with a merchandise holding case or box placed on the pedestal platform.
Figure 9 is a front perspective elevation of a second embodiment of
configuration of the
merchandise display support stand of the present invention having two pedestal
shelves formed
by stamping in a single cardboard.
Figure 10 is a left side and top perspective elevation of the second
embodiment thereof in
the erected condition..
Figure 11 is a left rear and top perspective elevation view of the second
embodiment.
Figure 12 is a side and top perspective elevation of the second embodiment
with
merchandise holding trays removably mounted thereon.
Figure 13 is a left side perspective elevation view of the second embodiment
with the
merchandise holding trays mounted thereon and the bracing board in the
transverse position in
the stand shown in a dotted line.
Figures I4A and 14B are top front and top rear perspective views respectively
of the
removably mountable merchandise holding trays of the second embodiment.
With reference to the drawings, the merchandise display stand 10 of the
present
invention may be readily fabricated by a configuration 11 of all its basic
component parts formed
in a single cardboard. The configuration 11 has a generally rectangular main
portion 12 with two
foldable side edges formed by two vertical fold lines 13 and 14. An upper
panel 15 extends
upwards from a horizontal fold line 16 located at.the top edge of the upper
panel 15. Two vertical
opened slots 17 and 18 are formed at the top edge 19 of the upper panel 15 and
they are located
opposite to the horizontal fold line 16 and adjacent to the side edges 20 and
21 of the upper panel
15, so that the opened slots 17 and 18 are spaced from each other. A foldable
panel 22 is formed
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at the center of the main portion 12 by stamping two elongated vertical spaced
slots 23 and 24 in
the main portion 12 such that the foldable panel 22 is foldable relative to
the main portion 12
along a horizontal fold line 25. A tab 26 is formed at the middle of the lower
edge 27 of the
foldable panel 22 and it extends beyond the lower edge of the foldable panel
22. An opening 28
is formed adjacent to the tab 26. The foldable panel 22 may be pivoted
relative to the main
portion 12 along the horizontal fold line 25 by conveniently inserting a
finger into the opening 28
to pivot the foldable bracing panel 22 relative to the main portion 12. A
trapezoidal shape panel
29 extends sideway from the vertical fold line 13 of the main portion 12 and
another trapezoidal
shape panel 30 extends sideway from the vertical fold line 14. The panels 29
and 30 have a
mirror image and similar dimensions of one another. The trapezoidal shape
panel 29 has a
sloping top edge 31 sloping upwards from a vertical fold line 32 to the left
outer edge of the
horizontal fold line 16. The trapezoidal shape panel 30 also has a sloping top
edge 33 sloping
upwards from a vertical fold line 34 to the right outer edge of the horizontal
fold line 16. An
outer trapezoidal shape panel 35 extends sideway from the vertical fold line
32 and another outer
trapezoidal shape panel 36 extends sideway from the vertical fold line 34. The
outer trapezoidal
shape panels 35 and 36 have a height equal to the total height of the main
portion 12 and the
upper panel 15; and the outer trapezoidal shape panel 35 has a sloping upper
edge 37 sloping
upwards from the top end of the vertical fold line 32 to the top end of an
outer vertical fold line
38 while the outer trapezoidal shape panel 36 has a sloping upper edge sloping
upwards from the
top end of the vertical fold line 34 to a top end of an outer vertical fold
line 40. The outer
trapezoidal shape panels 35 and 36 have a mirror image and dimensions equal to
one another.
A further rectangular panel 41 extends sideway from the vertical fold line 38,
and it has a
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width equal to that of the main portion 12. A generally rectangular cut out 42
is formed at the
middle of the lower edge 43 of the rectangular panel 41. The generally
rectangular cut-out 42
preferably having side edges sloping downwardly and outwardly of one another
is formed in the
lower middle edge portion of rectangular panel 41. A mounting flap 44 extends
sideway from the
outer vertical fold line 45 of the outer trapezoidal shape panel 36. A common
horizontal fold line
46 is formed in both the outer trapezoidal shape panel 35 and the rectangular
panel 41 at a
position about midway of the top edge 37 of the outer trapezoidal shape panel
35, similarly a
common horizontal fold line 47 is formed in both the outer trapezoidal shape
panel 36 and the
mounting flap 44 at a position about midway of the top edge 39 of the outer
trapezoidal shape
panel 36.
The merchandise display support stand 10 is formed by attaching the mounting
flap 44 to
the outer vertical side edge of the rectangular panel 41. It can be understood
by those skilled in
the art that the rectangular panel 41 may be alternatively formed on the side
of the configuration
11 with it extending from the vertical fold line 40 and the mounting flap 44
is formed on the side
extending sideway from the vertical fold line 38 to provide the same purposes.
When the mounting flap 44 is attached to the outer edge of the rectangular
panel 41, the
main portion 12 forms the front panel and the rectangular panel 41 forms the
rear panel of the
merchandise display support stand 10 of the present invention. The trapezoidal
shape panel 29
and the outer trapezoidal shape panel 35 form one side panel of the display
stand 10 which is
foldable vertically along the vertical fold line 32 by pushing the side panel
inwards. The
trapezoidal shape panel 30 and the outer trapezoidal shape panel 36 form the
opposite right side
panel of the display stand 10 which is foldable vertically along the vertical
fold line 34 by
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pushing the right side panel inwards. The upper panel 15 is then pivoted
upwards until it lies on
top of the top edges 33 and 35 of the trapezoidal shape panels 29 and 30 to
form a platform
which is tilted slightly downwardly and inwardly toward the rectangular rear
panel 41. The slots
17 and 18 engage with the lower end of the sloping top edges 37 and 39
respectively to maintain
the platform mounted to the side panels of the stand.
An elastic cord 48 is connected between the lower edge portion of the foldable
bracing
panel 22 and the rear panel 41 of the display stand. The elastic cord 48
maintains the foldable
bracing panel 22 to position normally in a horizontal position transversely
across the interior of
the stand with the tab 26 abutting and extending outward from the upper edge
49 of the cut out
42 to provide a brace for retaining the display stand 10 in the erected
condition.
The display stand 10 may be folded into a collapsed condition by first
detaching the
engagement of the slots 17 and 18 of the platform 15 and then pivoting the
platform along the
horizontal fold line 16 forwardly and outwardly as shown in Figure 4. The
foldable bracing panel
22 may then be folded downward by pivoting it against the elastic force of the
elastic cord 48
until it lies close to the front panel 12 while pushing the side panels to
fold inwards towards one
another relative to the vertical fold lines 32 and 34 until the front panel 12
lies juxtaposed to the
rear panel 41. The platform 15 may then be folded on top of the front panel 12
as shown in
Figure 5. The top portion of the rear panel and the side panels may be folded
downward along the
horizontal fold lines 46 and 47 until they lie on top of the folded platform
as shown in Figure 6.
The display support stand 10 in the compact collapsed and folded condition is
convenient for
storage and transportation.
The display support stand 10 in the collapsed and folded condition may be
easily and
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readily erected at the display site by holding the top edge of the folded rear
panel 41 and then
raising the unit upwards. The elastic force of the extended elastic cord 48
will automatically pull
the foldable bracing panel 22 towards the horizontal position and the movement
of the bracing
panel 22 towards the horizontal position also forces the side panels to unfold
outwards. The
position of the bracing panel 22 in the horizontal position with the tab 26
abutting the upper edge
49 of the cut-out 42 maintains the stand in the erected condition. The stand
is further rigidly
formed by pivoting the platform 15 upwards until the slots 17 and 18 engage
firmly with the
lower portion of the top edges 37 and 39 to form the platform sloping
rearwardly and
downwardly on the support stand.
Merchandise items may be placed directly on the platform 15 or contained in a
rectangular case 49 placed on the platform 15 as shown in Figure 8 to display
them at the display
site. The sloping top edges 37 and 39 of the outer trapezoidal shape panels
form sloping supports
of the rear panel of the rectangular case 49 to tilt the case 49 rearwardly at
the top so as to
provide a clear view of the display items in the case 49 to the purchaser.
A second embodiment of the display support stand of the present invention
having more
than one platform may be formed with the configuration provided on a single
cardboard. An
exemplary embodiment having two platforms, for simplicity of illustration, is
shown in Figure 9.
The configuration 50 has a generally rectangular central panel 51 having an
upper
rectangular portion 52, a middle rectangular portion 53 and a lower
rectangular portion 54. An
upper generally rectangular opening 55 is located between the upper
rectangular portion 52 and
the middle rectangular portion 53. An upper extension rectangular panel 52A
extending above
the horizontal upper edge 52B of the upper rectangular portion 52. The upper
extension
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rectangular panel 52A is foldable rearward along the horizontal upper edge
5213.The upper
rectangular opening 55 has downward opened slots 56 and 57 formed at its upper
corners of its
upper edge. A similar middle rectangular opening 58 is formed between the
middle rectangular
portion 53 and the lower rectangular portion 54. The upper rectangular opening
55 and the
middle rectangular opening 58 have an equal height. The middle rectangular
opening 58 also has
downward opened slots 59 and 60 formed at the upper corners of its upper edge.
An upper
pivotable panel 61 is located in the upper rectangular opening 55. The upper
pivotable panel 61 is
pivotable relative to the middle rectangular portion 53 along a first
horizontal fold line 62. A
similar middle pivotable panel 63 is formed in the middle rectangular opening
58 and it is
pivotable relative to the lower rectangular portion 54 along a second
horizontal fold line 64. A
lower cut out opening 65 is formed in the middle lower edge portion of the
lower rectangular
portion 54. A generally rectangular pivotable bracing panel 66 is formed in
the lower cut out
opening 65. The pivotable bracing panel 66 is pivotable relative to the lower
rectangular portion
54 along a third horizontal fold line 67. An extension tab 68 is formed in the
middle of the lower
edge of the bracing panel 66. An opening 69 is formed adjacent to the lower
edge of the bracing
panel 66. The opening 69 facilitates a finger to be inserted therein for
pivoting the bracing panel
66 relative to the lower rectangular portion 54. A left triangular portion 70
is located on the left
side of the central rectangular panel 51 and it is foldable along a left
vertical fold line 71 relative
to the central rectangular panel 51. Portions of the vertical fold line 71
also form the left side
edge of the upper rectangular portion 52 and the middle rectangular portion
53. The left
triangular portion 70 has a vertical middle fold line 72 extending throughout
the entire vertical
length of the left triangular portion 70. A generally rectangular left
extension portion 73 is
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located on the left side edge portion of the left triangular portion 70, and
it is foldable relative to
the left triangular portion 70 along vertical fold line 74. An inverted L-
shaped cut out 75 is
formed at the lower left edge portion of the left extension portion 73.
A right triangular portion 76 is located on the right side of the central
rectangular panel
51, and it is foldable along a right vertical fold line 77 extending
throughout the entire vertical
length of the central rectangular panel 51. Portions of the vertical fold line
77 also formed the
right side edges of the upper rectangular portion 52 and the middle
rectangular portion 53. A
vertical fold line 78 extending throughout the middle of the entire vertical
length of the right
triangular portion 76. A generally rectangular right extension portion 79 is
located on the right
side of the right triangular portion 76, and it is foldable along a vertical
fold line 80 relative to the
right triangular portion 76. An inverted L-shaped cut out 81 is formed at the
lower right side edge
portion of the right extension portion 79.
An elastic cord 82 is connected between a lower edge portion of the pivotable
bracing
panel 68 and the middle rectangular portion 53. The elastic cord 82 is
stretched when the bracing
panel 68 is located at the position parallel with the central rectangular
panel 51 as best shown in
Figure 9.
A horizontal fold line 83 is formed along the middle of the entire width of
the
configuration 50.
The second embodiment of the display support stand is formed by folding the
configuration 50 along vertical fold lines 71, 77, 74 and 80 with the vertical
edge portion of the
left extension portion 73 overlapping and attached to the vertical edge
portion of the right
extension portion 79 so that the central rectangular panel 51 forms the front
panel of the support
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stand. The overlapping left extension portion 73 and the right extension
portion 79 forms the rear
panel of the support stand. The left triangular portion 70 forms the left side
panel of the support
stand, while the right triangular portion 76 forms the right side panel of the
support stand as best
shown in Figures 10 and 11. The support stand is maintained in the erected
condition by the
elastic cord 82 pulling the bracing panel 66 to locate in a horizontal
position within the stand
with its extension tab 68 abutting the upper edge of the cut out in the rear
panel of the stand
formed by the combination of the inverted L-shaped cut outs 75 and 81. Support
platforms are
formed by turning the upper pivotable panel 61 along the horizontal fold line
62 to locate in a
generally horizontal position within the upper rectangular opening 55 and the
middle pivotable
panel 63 along the horizontal fold line 64 to a generally horizontal position
within the middle
rectangular opening 58.
The upper rectangular extension panel 52A is foldable along the horizontal
fold line 52B
rearward to cover over the top of the stand 50.
The display support stand may be folded into a collapsed condition by pivoting
the
bracing panel 66 downwards while pushing the side panels inwards to fold along
the vertical fold
lines 72 and 78 until the front panel lies juxtaposed to the rear panel. The
collapsed stand may
then be folded to about half its vertical length by folding the top portion
forward along the
horizontal fold line 83 until the top portion lies on top of the lower
portion.
To erect the display support stand, it is unfolded along the horizontal fold
line 83 by
holding the folded top portion and raising the entire folded stand upwards,
the elastic force of the
stretched elastic cord 82 will automatically pull the bracing panel 66 to the
transverse position
with its extension tab 68 abutting the upper edge of the cut-out in the rear
panel of the stand. The
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movement of the bracing panel 66 to the transverse position it will also force
the side panels to
unfold outwards for unfolding the stand to the erected condition. The entire
erection operation
can easily be carried out by a single person.
A merchandise display tray 84 may be removably mounted at each to the stand in
the
erected condition so that merchandise items may be placed in the display trays
84 on each
support platform for display and sale. The merchandise tray 84 as best shown
in Figures 14A and
14B has a width larger than the width of the display support stand. It has a
rear panel 85 having a
height equal to the height of the upper rectangular opening 55 and the middle
rectangular
opening 58. Two opened top vertical slots 86 and 87 are formed in the upper
edge of the rear
panel 85. The vertical slots 86 and 87 are spaced from one another equal to
the upper rectangular
portion 52 and the middle rectangular portion 53 of the front panel of the
stand. The tray 84 has a
front panel 88 having a height lower than the rear panel 85, and a rectangular
bottom panel 89,
and two trapezoidal side panels 90 and 91. The upper edge of the side panels
90 and 91 slopping
downward from the higher rear panel 85 to the lower front panel 88.
Trapezoidal shaped
reinforcing panels 92 and 93 are provided in the tray 84 for strengthening the
tray. The
reinforcing panels 92 and 93 may also serve as partitions in the tray for
separating various
displayed merchandise items particularly various different merchandise items
having relatively
small physical sizes.
The display tray 84 may be mounted for example to the display stand by first
inserting the
rear panel 85 upwards in a tilted angle upwards into the upper rectangular
opening 52 of the
display stand with the open slots 86 and 87 engaging with the downward opened
slots 56 and 57
at the upper edge of the upper rectangular opening 52 respectively, then the
tray is pushed
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inwards into the rectangular opening 52 until it rear edge portion of its
bottom panel 89 rests
securely on the front edge portion of platform 61 as best shown in Figures 12
and 13. A second
display tray may also be mounted in the middle rectangular opening 58 in the
similar manner.
The display tray may be removed from the rectangular openings in the reverse
manner.
An inverted U-shaped form 94 may be stamped at the middle portion along the
horizontal
fold line 62 of the upper pivotal panel 61, similarly an inverted U-shaped
form 95 is stamped at
the middle portion along the horizontal fold line 64 of the middle pivotal
panel 63 as shown in
Figure 9. Upstanding rectangular tabs 94 and 95 will be formed at the front
edge of the support
platforms respectively as shown in Figure 10 when the pivotal panels 61 and 63
are pivoted to
the horizontal position to form the support platforms. A rectangular opening
96 having a length
equal to the rectangular tabs 94 and 95 at the support platforms is formed at
the middle of the
rear edge portion of the bottom panel 89 of the display tray 84. The
rectangular opening 96 will
engage with the rectangular tabs 94 and 95 respectively when the display tray
84 is mounted to
the display stand to avoid accidental disengagement of the display tray 84
from the mounted
position in the display support stand.
While the present invention has been shown and described in the preferred
exemplary
embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications can be
made therein without
departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired
therefore that only such
limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the appended claims.
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