The present invention relates to display stands, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, foldable plastic-board stands.
Display systems made of plastic material are known in the art. These systems are usually made from plastic boards. These boards feature flexibility that allows bending as well as folding. To save on transportation volume, plastic boards display system are assembled on site, which is time-consuming and requires training. Erroneous assembly creates a shaky display system that eventually collapses under the weight of the displayed items. There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have a method and a system for foldable display system devoid of the above limitations.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display stand including a plurality of folding partitions, each partition including a foldable vertical rear plate, a flexible vertical front plate, and a foldable horizontal display plate; where the partitions are joined side-by-side by their vertical rear plates; whereby the folding display stand can be compressed into a storage mode by folding the partitions so that the foldable vertical rear plates are folded against each other; and whereby the folding display stand can be opened into a display mode by opening the vertical rear plates so that the foldable horizontal display plates are horizontal and substantially flat.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display stand including a plurality of vertical and radial first board elements; at least one flexible second board element connecting outer edges of at least two of the first board elements; a plurality of foldable horizontal display third board elements, each connected to at least two of the two adjacent first board elements and the second board element connecting the outer edges of the two adjacent first board elements; where the folding display stand is foldable so that the outer edges of the first board elements come close together and the third board elements are folded vertically; and where the folding display stand is circularly expansive so that the outer edges of the first board elements are spaced out and the third board elements are flattened horizontally.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display stand including a plurality of vertical boards curved or folded as a sector; a plurality of foldable horizontal display board elements, each connected one of the plurality of vertical boards; where the folding display stand is foldable so that the vertical boards are compressed together to minimize sector area and the horizontal display board elements are folded as well; and where the folding display stand is circularly expansive so that the vertical boards are spaced out to maximize sector area and the horizontal display board elements are flattened horizontally.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display where at least one of the front board and the vertical board is folded outside when the folding display is compressed and folded inwardly when the folding display is expanded.
Further according to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display where the vertical boards, when the folding display is expanded, form a vertically elongated cavity at the center of the folding display, the vertically elongated cavity forming a receptacle for a vertically elongated part.
Still further according to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display where at least one of the vertical boards and the display boards are of different height.
Yet further according to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a folding display where at least one of the vertical boards and the display boards extend to a different distance from the center of the folding display.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The materials, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. Except to the extent necessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular order to steps or stages of methods and processes described in this disclosure, including the figures, is intended or implied. In many cases the order of process steps may vary without changing the purpose or effect of the methods described.
The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in order to provide what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
In the drawings:
The principles and operation of a foldable display system and method according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and accompanying description.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
In this document the term “display system” refers to a structure that includes shelves for placing articles for display and/or for sale and/or for storage. This “display system” is also called “stand”, “rack”, “point of sale display”, “point of sale stand”, etc.
The present invention includes a foldable display system made of plastic material. Typically, the display system includes one or more boards made of a plastic material. Other materials may be used too, such as for fastening, for decoration, etc. It is appreciated that plastic boards are preferred for their low cost and low weight; however, other materials may also be used.
The plastic material used is in the form of a board, or a plane or a sheet having thickness of few millimeters. The plastic material is typically polypropylene, or high impact polypropylene resin, though other materials are possible. Such plastic boards can be constructed of a plain sheet of plastic material, coated skeleton, multiwall board, etc.
Multiwall board typically includes two (or more) sheets (or surfaces) separated by a structure of spacers forming a structure of long tunnels or bores. The direction of the tunnels is named herein fiber direction. In this document the term multiwall board refers to corrugated plastic, which may also be referred to as twinwall plastic, corrugated fiberboard, multiwall structure, extruded plastic sheet, etc. as well as other combinations of these terms.
In this document, an element of a drawing that is not described within the scope of the drawing and is labeled with a numeral that has been described in a previous drawing has the same use and description as in the previous drawings. Similarly, an element that is identified in the text by a numeral that does not appear in the drawing described by the text, has the same use and description as in the previous drawings where it was described.
The drawings in this document may not be to any scale. Different Figs. may use different scales and different scales can be used even within the same drawing, for example different scales for different views of the same tag or different scales for the tag and the bag.
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It is appreciated that when partition 11 is folded into closed mode the outer edges, or side plates 12 come close together and display plate 14 is folded vertically. It is appreciated that when partition 11 is folded into closed mode the vertical boards including the side plates 12 and support part 16 are compressed together to minimize the sector area of partition 11.
It is appreciated that when partition 11 is expanded into open mode the outer edges, or side plates 12 are spaced out and said the display plate 14 is flattened horizontally. Therefore, the open mode maximizes the sector area of partition 11.
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Partition 20 is a part of a round foldable display system 10, similarly to partition 11. However, when connecting together a plurality of partitions 20, each partition provides a radial wall 21 to the adjacent partition. As seen in
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Partition 24 is a part of a round foldable display system 10, similarly to partition 20 or partition 11, however, containing a single board that functions as a radial wall, a front wall, a display plate, and a support part.
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It is appreciated that any number of sector-shaped partitions 33, or 24, or 11, can be joined to form a circular collapsible display system providing circularly, or radially, arranged display partitions, which can be compressed to preserve space or volume.
It is therefore appreciated that a folding display stand such as display system 10 includes a plurality of folding partitions such as partitions 11, 20, or 24 described above. Each partition typically includes:
The partitions are joined side-by-side by their vertical rear plates so that the folding display stand can be compressed into a storage mode by folding the partitions so that said foldable vertical rear plates are folded against each other. Additionally, the folding display stand can be opened into a display mode by opening or expanding the vertical rear plates so that the foldable horizontal display plates are horizontal and substantially flat.
Alternatively, the folding display stand includes:
This folding display stand is circularly foldable (compressed) so that the outer edges of the first board elements come close together and the third board elements are folded vertically.
Alternatively, this folding display stand is circularly expansive (opened), so that said outer edges of said first board elements are spaced out and the third board elements are flattened horizontally.
Alternatively, the folding display stand includes:
Alternatively, the folding display stand is foldable so that the vertical boards are compressed together to minimize the sector area and the horizontal display board elements are folded as well.
Alternatively, the folding display stand is circularly expansive so that the vertical boards are spaced out to maximize sector area and said horizontal display board elements are flattened horizontally.
It is noted that the terms board, plate, and sheet may be used interchangeably.
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It is appreciated that the folding displays of
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.
The present application claims priority from US provisional application for a patent No. 61/754,659, filed in Jan. 21, 2013, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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1028147 | Stranders | Jun 1912 | A |
3203124 | Stoessel | Aug 1965 | A |
4302897 | Deckys | Dec 1981 | A |
4334683 | Campbell | Jun 1982 | A |
5000717 | Pfeiffer | Mar 1991 | A |
6269570 | Miles | Aug 2001 | B1 |
7634865 | L'Hotel | Dec 2009 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20140205772 A1 | Jul 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61754659 | Jan 2013 | US |