This invention relates generally to display cases, and more particularly to display cases for baseball bats.
Many people collect elongate objects such as guns, swords, baseball bats, and the like. Many of such items may be sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. Furthermore, many of such items are valuable or potentially valuable and must be protected from physical damage. However, collectors may also wish to display their collections, exposing them to light and potential damage.
Traditional display systems for elongate items typically consist of pairs of hooks suspended from walls on which the object rests. However, objects suspended from the hooks are easily knocked off or removed by children. Other display systems consist of wooden or plastic boxes with glass or transparent plastic covers. The object typically mounts on a cushion within the box. However, these display cases are not readily wall mounted. In order to do so, the object must be secured within the box by fasteners, which, in addition to complicating the mounted process, obstruct the view of the object and interfere with its aesthetic appearance.
In view of the foregoing it would be an advancement in the art to provide a display system for elongate objects that protects the object from UV radiation and physical damage and yet readily mounts the object to a wall or other support structure.
A display case for elongate objects, such as a bat, includes a display conduit having first and second ends. The display conduit may be made of a transparent tube having a round, square, or other cross-sectional shape. First and second mounting blocks secure to the first and second ends of the display conduit. In an embodiment of the invention, the mounting blocks each have a planar surface and a mounting structure substantially coplanar with the planar surface and adapted to secure the mounting block to a wall. Locking tabs secured to the display conduit may engage corresponding grooves in the mounting block to selectively secure the display conduit to the mounting blocks.
The mounting blocks may have a square cross section having a cylindrical portion secured thereto to receive the display conduit. The mounting blocks may have an aperture formed therein to receive a nail head. A cap secured to an interior surface of the mounting block may seal off the aperture from the inner portions of the mounting block.
Locking tabs secured to the display conduit engage corresponding grooves in the mounting block to selectively secure the display conduit to the mounting blocks.
Offsets may be positioned within the mounting blocks to support the ends of an elongate object, such as a baseball bat. Alternatively, the offsets are positioned within the display conduit. In one embodiment, the offsets are toriodal shaped structures, which may be formed of a compressible material, such as foam rubber.
Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.
Referring to
The display conduit 12 is typically adapted to receive elongate objects and therefore may be embodied as a tube having constant cross section. In the illustrated embodiment, the display conduit 12 is a circular tube. However, square, triangular, elliptical, and other cross sections may also be used. The display conduit 12 may be a straight or curved according to the shape of the object stored therewithin.
The mounting blocks 14a, 14b may mount the display conduit 12 to a support structure to a vertical wall or a horizontal support surface such as a mantelpiece or shelf. The mounting blocks typically secure to the ends 16a, 16b of the display conduit 12. However, in some embodiments the mounting blocks secure to the display conduit 13 offset from the ends 16a, 16b.
The display case 10 is particularly useful for displaying collector's baseball bats 18, such as autographed bats or those having other historical or sentimental value. Other collectible elongate objects may also be stored within a display case 10, such as a sword, rifle, golf club, or the like.
Referring to
A mounting surface 26 is secured to the mounting block 14a, 14b and serves to engage a support structure such as a wall, shelf, or another mounting block 14a, 14b. The mounting surface 26 may be embodied as any one of the sides 28a-28d of a square-, rectangular-, or other polygon-shaped frame. A square-shaped frame may be beneficial inasmuch as it enables stacking of multiple display cases 10. The aperture 24 may be embodied as a cylindrical portion 30 secured within the sides 28a-28d of the mounting block 14a, 14b. Alternatively, the sides 28a-28d may be the sides of monolithic block and the aperture 24 may be an aperture formed in the block.
Referring to
The tabs 40 may be slightly tapered, having a narrower end 44a and a wider end 44b. The smaller end 44a of the tab 40 is brought into engagement with the circumferential groove 38 followed by an increasingly wider portion of the tab which engages the sides of the circumferential groove 38. The tapered configuration of the tab 40 may facilitate insertion of the tabs 40 into the groove 38 and draw the end 16a, 16b of the display conduit into the mount block 14a, 14b to create a substantial seal between the end 16a, 16b of the display conduit 12 and the mount block 14a, 14b. The lower surface 46 of the tab 40 may slope upwardly from the wider end 44b, such that forcing the lower surface into engagement with the circumferential groove 38 draw the end 16a, 16b of the display conduit into the mount block 14a, 14b. A sealing element may be interposed between the mount block 14a, 14b to further seal off the display conduit 12 from air and moisture to preserve the contents of the display conduit 12.
The tabs 40 may be secured to the display conduit 12 or formed monolithically with the conduit 12. In the illustrated embodiments, the tabs 40 are secured to or formed on an annular portions that secured to an inside or outside surface of the ends 16a, 16b of the display conduit 12. The annular potion may secure to the display conduit 12 by means of glue, friction fit, or other fastening means.
A mounting block 14a, 14b may include a cap 50 covering an aperture 52 (
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.