Patent Application
20100230368
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to product storage and display stands and more particularly to a tiered, rotatable, and enclosed stand for appealingly displaying a plurality of hats, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stands are commonly used to store and display collectibles, as collectors have a need to safely and attractively present and preserve their collections. The use of vertically oriented, rotatable stands to accomplish this end is also known. Rotatable stands are well suited to display collections of hats because they offer an efficient use of space while at the same time engaging the viewer in a more personal and tactile experience as they manipulate the stand.
In a similar situation, the presentation of the merchandise in a store is a very important factor in the decision of a consumer to purchase a particular item. While at the same time needing to present their merchandise in an attractive manner, stores are pressured to make these presentations as compact as possible so as to maximize the amount of merchandise they can place on the sales floor.
Existing stands in this category are generally non-rotatable, rotatable in whole, or rotatable in different parts independently. The rotation of the stand allows the user to view articles placed at different points around the circumference of the stand without changing their position. This allows for the simultaneous use of the stand by multiple users or the efficient use of an otherwise wasted portion of the sales floor or home such as a corner or counter to display the articles on the stand.
These stands generally allow for the display of multiple levels of articles and vary in their presentation of the articles. Some present the articles individually or in groups, while others present them in bulk.
Stands of this type have also been adapted for use in displaying particularly valuable articles such as watches or jewelry by surrounding the stand with a clear, locked enclosure. A means for rotating the articles displayed on the interior is generally located externally if the stand is of the rotating type.
These various combinations of functionality and presentation do not satisfactorily address the particular problem of displaying hats, particularly baseball style hats, in a home or retail store setting. Stands developed in an attempt to satisfy this need have typically been of the type using individual posts or clips to display the various hats in a “tree” format. Multiple levels of posts or clips are fixed to the central vertical support and extend generally radially outwards from the central support. The entire body of posts or clips is either static or rotatable about the central vertical axis.
The stands developed previously to display hats are insufficient in many respects to fulfill all the possible needs of a vendor selling hats or a collector displaying their collection of hats. In a store environment, these stands require the constant attention of store employees to keep the stands fully stocked. In a particularly brisk sales environment, eager consumers could quickly deplete the number of hats displayed on the stand, and a partially stocked stand is a deterrent to further sales. It is the goal of store employees to keep the displays in the store appearing fully stocked at all times. Further, display stands which are unenclosed pose problems such as consumers or viewers inadvertently knocking hats off of the display, dust collecting on the hats, and theft. Also, displays for hats have typically not allowed the independent rotation of the various display levels, resulting in increased wear in and failure of bearing supports, while also preventing the user from easily rearranging the presentation of items on one display level relative to another.
Accordingly, there is a need for a display stand which minimizes the attention required by store employees, provides for the attractive, safe, efficient, and dust-free display of hats, and is robust.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rotatable display stand, for use in displaying hats.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stand which stores multiple hats on a single support to keep the stand appearing fully stocked for as long as possible before restocking is needed.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide multiple levels of hat supports which rotate independently of one another to minimize wear on the bearing surfaces.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an enclosure around the stand to keep dust from accumulating on the hats and consumers from knocking the hats off of the stand.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lockable door to the enclosure and external means to rotate the display to prevent theft or enhance the hats' appeal.
To these and other ends, the present invention broadly contemplates a display stand having a central support oriented vertically and held at the bottom by an enclosed surrounding structure, around which one or more sleeves may be stacked such that they are rotatable with respect to the central axis, and removably attached to each may be several arms which support a plurality of hats oriented generally radially outwards from the central support and are generally downward sloping so as to induce the hats to slide radially outwards from the central support, and each may have a rail at their distal end and may have a rail on their sides to prevent the hats from sliding off of the support or tray.
In one embodiment, a door is attached to the enclosure.
In another embodiment, removable panels form the sides of the enclosure.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, each sleeve is independently rotatable with respect to the other sleeves and the central axis.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the door is lockable.
A display stand according to one embodiment of the present invention will be discussed with reference to the attached
In one embodiment, the arms are attached to one or more sleeves 36, 38, 40 which are stacked vertically on the central support 14. The sleeve or sleeves 36, 38, 40 are rotationally adjustable about the central axis and the sleeves 36, 38, 40 are rotationally adjustable relative to one another. In one embodiment, the sleeve or sleeves 36, 38, 40 are provided their rotational adjustability by the inclusion of friction reducing devices 42 at the interface between the sleeve or sleeves 36, 38, 40 and flanges 44 extending circumferentially outward from the central support 14 and at the top 18 and bottom 16 of the central support 14.
In another embodiment, the central support 14 is comprised of several subparts, which are vertically stacked upon each other, and which are rotationally adjustable relative to the central axis and relative to each other.
In another embodiment, the trays 28 are removable and installed onto the central support 14 by inserting the tabs 46 into a hole 48 in the sleeve wall 50 whilst tilting the tray surface 52 to be lower at the tab end 54 than at the radially distal end 56. In this embodiment, once inserted, the tray 28 is tilted down to its final position, with the radially distal end 56 of the tray lower than that of the end closest to the central support 54.
A door 58 may be movably attached to the side wall of the enclosure 22 such that the rotational hinge 60 of the door 58 runs parallel to the central support 14. In one embodiment, a locking mechanism is attached to the door 58 which keeps the door 58 shut until unlocked.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the features and embodiments hereinabove specifically set forth, but may be carried out in other ways without departure from its spirit.
