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'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.
Patent Application
20120031860
