The present invention relates to display clips that may be used to support and display plants and other articles on various types of railings.
There are many devices for displaying plants on balconies and deck railings. Traditionally, plants are often displayed on the top railing.
Display clips are provided that may include a front plant-receiving upper hoop and a lower support base for supporting the plant or other article. The display clips also include a rear railing support bracket with opposing spring clamps that allow the display clips to be removably mounted on railings between adjacent spindles. For installation, opposed vertical arms of the rear railing support bracket may be drawn together to elastically deform the display clip to allow the rear bracket to fit between the adjacent spindles. Once between the spindles, the opposed spring clamps can be released to spring back to engage the spindles in order to secure the bracket on the railing. The rear spring clamps may have resilient bumpers mounted thereon to cushion and help hold the display clip on the railing spindles.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a display clip for mounting on railings. The display clip includes an upper hoop, a lower support base, and opposing spring clamps extending between the upper hoop and lower support base. The opposing spring clamps may include a first upper clamp recess adjacent the upper hoop, a first lower clamp recess adjacent the lower support base, and a first rear connecting arm extending between the first upper clamp recess and the first lower clamp recess. The first upper clamp recess and the first lower clamp recess are structured and arranged to engage a first railing spindle when the display clip is mounted on a railing. The opposing spring clamps may also include a second upper clamp recess adjacent the upper hoop, a second lower clamp recess adjacent the lower support base, and a second rear connecting arm extending between the second upper clamp recess and the second lower clamp recess. The second upper clamp recess and the second lower clamp recess are structured and arranged to engage a second railing spindle when the display clip is mounted on the railing.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a display clip and mounting bumper kit that includes a display clip as described above and at least one resilient bumper tube structured and arranged for mounting on at least one of the first upper clamp recess, second upper clamp recess, first lower clamp recess and second lower clamp recess. The kit may also include a packaging pocket removably attached to the display clip that contains the bumper tube.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a method of mounting a display clip as described above on railing spindles. The method includes flexing the opposing clamps of the display clip to a flexed position allowing the opposing clamps to pass between adjacent railing spindles, and allowing the opposing clamps to spring back against the railing spindles to thereby secure the display clip on the railing spindles.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.
The lower support base 20 includes a first support rod 22 and a second support rod 24, which intersect each other at a transition nose 26 near the front of the display clip 10. The first and second support rods 22 and 24 terminate near the rear of the display clip 10 at rear base transition portions 28. In the embodiment shown, the lower support base 20 including the first and second support rods 22 and 24, and transition nose 26, lie in a lower plane that is typically horizontal when the display clip 10 is installed on a railing. Although the first and second support rods 22 and 24 shown in the figures are straight and intersect each other at the transition nose 26 to form a generally triangular shape, any other suitable support rod shapes and lower support base configurations may be used. For example, each of the first and second support rods may be curved to form circular arcs that meet at the front of the support base, e.g., the lower support base may include a generally circular lower hoop of the same shape and diameter as the generally circular upper hoop 12, or a generally circular hoop of smaller diameter than the upper hoop 12. In addition to the generally triangular shape of the support base 20 shown in the figures, or a generally circular lower support base as described above, any other suitable shapes or numbers of base support rods may be used. For example, additional support rod(s) may be connected to and extend radially inward from the front portion of the support base rods described above. Such additional base support rod(s) may be connected at any desired location(s) and may lie in substantially same lower plane as the other support rods of the lower support base 20.
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The upper hoop 12 may be provided in any suitable size. For example, when the upper hoop is circular in shape, it may have a typical diameter of from 4 to 12 inches, for example, from 5 to 10 inches, or from 6 to 9 inches. The height of the upper hoop 12 measured from the plane of the lower support base 20 may typically be from 2 to 6 or more inches, for example, from 3 to 5 inches.
The height or length of each of the rear connecting arms 30 may be the same as or similar to the height of the upper hoop 12. The opposed vertical arms may be located at a distance from each other of from 3 to 10 inches, and may be selected to be slightly larger than the distance between adjacent spindles of railings upon which the plant display mounting system is to be mounted. While the plant display mounting system is mounted on adjacent spindles in the figures, it is possible to secure the rear support arms on two spindles with at least one spindle in between.
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The display clips may be made from a single or multiple pieces of rod or wire. Any suitable cross-sectional shape and gauge or thickness of rod may be used, for example, diameters of from 0.1 to 0.3 or 0.4 inch, or from 0.12 to 0.25 inch, or from 0.15 to 0.2 inch. The rod may be made of any suitable material such as metal, e.g., steel, aluminum or the like. For example, the rod may comprise steel that may optionally be painted, powder coated or dip coated. Alternatively, the rod may be made of relatively rigid plastic, in which case the shape and thickness of the rod may be adjusted to provide sufficient support and flexibility for the display clips. The rod may be provided in any desired color.
In one embodiment, plants or other articles may be displayed up and down the spindles at any desired height. In another embodiment, plants or other articles may be displayed on the base of railings by using the spindles and bottom rail or ground for support. This allows the user an unencumbered top rail and a top-down view of a container garden as opposed to the face of a window box (resting on top of a railing) or the bottom of a hanging basket. The rear opposing spring clamps 30 may be squeezed together to be slipped between two spindles and then expand when released to partly wrap around the spindles. The contact with the spindles stabilizes the display clips 10 and 110 and prohibits more than a small movement side to side or front to back. Some spindles may require the additional support of a commercially available zip tie, washer, clip or the like around the spindles under the device. In one embodiment, the structure may slide down the spindles to meet the ground, floor or bottom rail. In this embodiment, the ground, floor or bottom rail may provide support for the weight of the plant and planter.
Installed on the exterior, the display clips may provide curb appeal and create more room for living on the interior of outdoor living spaces. Installed on the interior, the display clips may secure plants or other articles to railing spindles so they are not dislodged, e.g., by wind conditions. Installed indoors on railings or stairs, the display clips may provide a decorative element for house plants and seasonal decorations.
As used herein, “including,” “containing” and like terms are understood in the context of this application to be synonymous with “comprising” and are therefore open-ended and do not exclude the presence of additional undescribed or unrecited elements, materials, phases or method steps. As used herein, “consisting of” is understood in the context of this application to exclude the presence of any unspecified element, material, phase or method step. As used herein, “consisting essentially of” is understood in the context of this application in accordance with its customary meaning to include the specified elements or method steps, where applicable, and to also include any unspecified elements or method steps that do not materially affect the basic or novel characteristics of the invention, while excluding unspecified elements or method steps that would materially affect the basic or novel characteristics of the invention.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard variation found in their respective testing measurements.
Also, it should be understood that any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “1 to 10” is intended to include all sub-ranges between (and including) the recited minimum value of 1 and the recited maximum value of 10, that is, having a minimum value equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value of equal to or less than 10.
In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural and plural encompasses singular, unless specifically stated otherwise. In addition, in this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unless specifically stated otherwise, even though “and/or” may be explicitly used in certain instances. In this application and the appended claims, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless expressly and unequivocally limited to one referent.
Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/407,538 filed Sep. 16, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/450,605 filed Mar. 7, 2023, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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| 63407538 | Sep 2022 | US |