EP0741645A1 - Document display stand - Google Patents

Abstract

A document display stand with document pockets (20) mounted on a holder (40). The stand is modular, flexible and versatile and it is suitable for a variety of pocket formats. Said stand comprises a connecting member (30) along one side (28) of each pocket (20), and receiving means (60) on a front surface (42) of the holder (40). Each of the connecting members comprises projections (31, 31a, 31b) that are spaced apart from the clear shell of the pocket and may be inserted into front openings (63, 64) in the holder (40) in a direction (B) perpendicular to the pivot axis so that they engage at least one row of recesses (66, 67) in an axial direction (C) perpendicular to said axis. Each connecting member (30) further comprises a guiding device (32, 35) so that the pocket cannot be placed upside-down on the holder (40). Said stand is useful as an organisational tool in office environments.

Description

DOCUMENT DISPLAY

The present invention relates to a document display comprising at least one row of pockets provided with transparent envelopes arranged to contain said documents, a support arranged to support said pockets and a removable connecting device arranged to fix said pockets on said support in such a manner that these pockets can pivot about an axis substantially parallel to one of their sides in the manner of the pages of a book, said connecting device comprising a connecting piece disposed along one side of each pocket, and means receiving devices arranged on a front face of the support and arranged to pivotally and removably support said connecting pieces of said row of pockets, each of said connecting pieces comprising protruding means which define a pivot axis parallel to said side of the pocket and located at a distance from said envelope, and the reception means comprising at m oins a row of housings in which said protruding means engage by an axial movement parallel to the pivot axis, said protruding means comprising a pivot rod arranged parallel to said side of the pocket, the connecting piece comprising a retaining strip between this rod and the envelope, and the receiving means comprising for each pocket at least one groove arranged to receive the pivot rod of the pocket.

It is well known that one of the best solutions for correctly presenting information contained on documents such as sheets of paper, cardboard or of any synthetic material, a display unit is used as described above which makes it possible to protect said documents. documents against soiling while offering good readability and quick access to the information sought. There are several types of display depending on the place where said information must be, for example of the "desk" type to be placed on a work surface, "wall" or "rotating", in the latter case. Er is to be flat. There are known transparent pockets which are stiffened on their periphery by a metallic or synthetic wire and comprise, as an extension of the ends of one of their sides, attached pivots rigidly linked to said pocket by crimping or welding , this side defining the pivot axis of the pockets on the support. Music stand or wall supports generally consist of a simple metal plate supported by a back leg or fixed to a wall and whose upper edges and lower are bent at right angles forward. These folded edges are each provided with a row of through holes and arranged to receive the corresponding pivots of said pockets. The known supports are designed to receive a defined number of transparent pockets and cannot be assembled together so as to multiply this number. Bones are therefore not modular. Furthermore, to insert or remove a pocket from a support, the user must use both hands to slightly deform the corresponding pocket so as to introduce or disengage the pivots from said orifices in the support. In addition, when placing the pockets on a support, it is easy to position them upside down since no orientation arrangements are provided. Depending on the size of the documents to be protected and presented, there are several formats of transparent pockets, for example for document formats A5, A4, A3 (European formats) and US American format. The length of the pivot axis of said pockets being different for each format, it is then necessary to provide a support adapted to the corresponding format. There are therefore as many different supports as there are transparent pocket formats. These supports are of a very simple construction, as described above, which makes them easily realizable by any third party, thus penalizing the designers and distributors specialized in organizational materials. 0 is still important to specify that these supports must be supplemented by lateral stops making it possible to maintain the pockets to the right and to the left of the support. These stops are usually in the form of a rod, the ends of which are curved so that they can be mounted in corresponding notches provided on the support. They are easily removable and can therefore be dismantled or lost quickly, thus disrupting the use of the display.

The American publication US-A-4426007 describes a storage device for flexible floppy disks using several pockets arranged to receive said floppy disks and designed to be removably mounted in a support. Each pocket is carried by a connecting piece fixed along one of its edges and provided with a pivot rod. The support comprises several parallel grooves arranged to pivotally receive said pivot rod. Each groove has a relatively flexible retaining element for engaging the pivot rod in said groove. In this device the establishment of a pocket in the support requires the introduction of one end of the rod into an upper housing of said support then the forceful engagement of the rod in the groove. Furthermore, the pocket can be mounted in either direction.

The European publication EP-A-0438034 describes an album whose pages are removable. Each page is provided with a connecting piece equipped with a pivot rod. The back of the album is provided at its upper and lower ends with two rows of aligned and opposite housings, arranged to receive the ends of said rod. One of the rows of housings can be provided with a removable closing cover to facilitate the positioning of the pages. As in the device described in the American publication, the operations of placing and removing a page are not instantaneous and no orientation device has been provided.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above by producing a display unit, the design of which has been the subject of a more in-depth study, in particular in the form of the various constituent elements, so that said display unit is easily modular in order to increase the number of pockets per support, flexible to receive several pocket formats, versatile to be used both in desk and wall version, simple to handle and can preferably be equipped with orientation means to avoid '' invert the pockets on their support.

These aims are achieved by a display as defined in the preamble, characterized in that the connecting device advantageously comprises an orientation device arranged to prevent a pocket from being mounted upside down on the support, this device comprising, on the support and on the connecting piece of each pocket, respective parts arranged to abut one against the other to prevent the engagement of said protuberant means in the receiving means, or to prevent the pivoting of the connecting piece, when the pocket is arranged upside down.

In a preferred embodiment, the receiving means comprise, near said housings, at least one front opening enabling said protruding means to be engaged in the housings first by a movement perpendicular to the pivot axis, then by said axial movement. The pivot rod advantageously comprises at least one protruding free end which has an additional thickness to form an indexing head.

Preferably, the orientation device comprises an asymmetrical configuration of the retaining strip and may include a spout formed on this strip.

The receiving means advantageously comprise at least one insertion opening arranged as an extension of the groove and wider than the groove to allow the indexing head of the pivot rod to pass during said perpendicular movement.

The grooves can be delimited laterally by guide elements which extend in front of housings arranged to receive said indexing heads.

The front face of the support may laterally comprise at least one pair of prominent stops, integrated into said support and arranged to limit the pivoting of said pockets.

According to the preferred embodiment, the support comprises, on its lateral faces, removable coupling means arranged to assemble several supports together.

These removable coupling means advantageously comprise a male part provided on one of the lateral faces and a complementary female part provided on the other lateral face, these coupling means additionally comprising latching means.

The present invention and its advantages will appear more clearly in the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a transparent pocket intended to contain a document,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view along the line D-IT of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 represents a front elevation view of the support of the display rack according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. S is a side view of the display unit according to the invention in section along the line N-N in FIG. 3, and

Figures 6a to 6d show other embodiments of a transparent bag according to the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the display according to the invention comprises a plurality of transparent pockets 20, arranged to contain documents carrying information, and at least one support 40 arranged to receive said pockets 20 by means of a removable connection and pivotable so as to be able to rotate the pockets 20 like the pages of a book.

The transparent pocket 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises an envelope 21 produced in a known manner by two rectangular sheets 22, 23 made of flexible synthetic material, superimposed and assembled by welding. The sheet 23 located on the back of the envelope has a height less than that located at the front to leave an opening 24 allowing the passage of a document 25. The complete perimeter of this pocket is rigidified by a metal wire 26 or other, covered with a protective profile 27 of flexible synthetic material placed around said wire and welded on the four sides of the envelope 21. On one of the lateral sides 28 of the pocket is provided a connecting piece 30 intended to couple removably this pocket 20 to the support 40 which will be described later. This connecting piece 30 is made of semi-rigid or rigid synthetic material, for example according to an injection process. It comprises a rod 31 serving as a pivot and an orientation device 32, these elements being connected by a retaining strip 33. The retaining strip 33 extends along the side 28 of the pocket 20 and is rigidly attached to it at the by means of one or two lips 33 ′ which may be on one or two sides of the protective strip 27. The rod 31 is carried by the middle part of this strip 33 over a height Hl. It is arranged parallel to the side 28 of the pocket, distant from it by a distance Dl and defines a pivot axis 34. It has two free ends having a 591 ₁

extra thickness forming indexing heads 31a, 31b. Upstream and downstream of its middle portion, the retaining strip 33 runs along the side 28 of the pocket 20 with a width D2 less than Dl. In its upper part, it ends with the orientation device 32 provided with a spout 35 whose width D3 is at least equal to D1, this spout 35 being at a distance H3 from the upper end 31a of the rod 31. This orientation arrangement makes it possible to quickly identify the direction of orientation of the bag 20 and to avoid introducing it upside down in the support 40.

The support 40, as illustrated by FIGS. 3 to 5, comprises a box-shaped frame 41, provided with a front face 42 equipped with means 60 for receiving said transparent pockets 20, with a rear face 43, with two faces lateral 44, 45, of a lower face 46, arranged to be placed on a horizontal support surface 47, and of an upper face 48. The lower face 46 forms an acute angle ce with the front face 42 so that this the latter is disposed in a plane inclined towards the rear relative to said bearing surface 47. The frame 41 is stabilized on this bearing surface 47 by two lateral feet 49 fitted into notches 50 provided at the base of the frame 41 Other suitable links can also be envisaged. These feet 49 are removable so that the same support 40 can be used in the desk version, according to FIGS. 3 to 5, when they are mounted and in the wall version when they are removed. The rear face 43 of the frame 41 includes wall fixing means, consisting of a slot 51 arranged to cooperate with a retaining plate (not shown) fixed to the wall, or of drilled holes 52 to receive at least one fixing screw (not shown), or possibly other appropriate means. The frame also comprises on its lateral laces 44, 45 members making it possible to couple several supports 40 with one another in a removable manner and thus to increase the number of pockets 20 available on a single support. These members have complementary male 53 and female 54 shapes arranged to fit together. The female complementary form 54 can be provided with snap-in elements ("clipping") 55 arranged to cooperate with corresponding recesses 56 in the male complementary form 53, in order to rigidly link the supports together and avoid involuntary disassembly. Other suitable coupling means can be provided. The frame 41 is preferably made of two molded parts 41a, 41b made of synthetic material, assembled by interlocking, which makes it possible to simplify and considerably reduce the manufacturing costs. O can also be made of any other suitable material. The front face 42 of the frame 41 coπφorte in its upper part of the receiving means 60 comprising: a defined number of positioning grooves 61 parallel to each other and to the pivot axis 34, and arranged to receive the pivot rods 31 of an equivalent number of pockets 20, front insertion openings 63, 64 making it possible to engage the indexing heads 31a, 31b of the rod 31 towards housings 66, 67 by a movement

B perpendicular to the pivot axis 34, and - housings 66, 67 in which the said indexing heads engage by an axial movement C parallel to the pivot axis 34 according to the movement B.

The grooves 61 are delimited laterally by guide elements 62, mutually parallel and arranged in front of the housings 66, 67. The guide elements 62 are arranged in two separate rows, one upper and the other lower delimited by two edges 68 and 69, these guide elements being in correspondence from one row to another. They are made by molding in one piece with said front face 42 and can be projecting or recessed with respect to this face. Bones can also be added by welding and have another suitable shape. The upper 63 and lower 64 introduction openings are arranged in extension of said grooves 61 and arranged to allow the indexing heads of the rod 31 of the pockets 20 to pass. The upper introduction openings 63 comprise a slot made in the front face 42 over its entire width and over a height at least equal to twice the diameter of an indexing head, this slot being defined by two edges 63 'and 63 ". These same upper insertion openings 63 are delimited laterally by the free ends of the corresponding guide elements 62. To facilitate the introduction of the upper indexing heads 31a into these openings 63, the edge 63 ′ is provided with notches 65 in the form of a semicircle arranged opposite said grooves 61 At the rear of these openings 63, a relief is provided which defines a housing 66 serving as a stop for an upper indexing head 31a.

The lower introduction openings 64 are arranged according to the same principle as the upper introduction openings 63, in particular in the form of a slot extending in the front face over its entire width and over a height at least equal. the diameter of an indexing head, this slot being defined by edges 64 ′ and 64 ". the rear of these openings 64 is provided with a relief which defines a housing 67 serving as a stop for a lower indexing head 31b The distance H4 separating the edge 63 "from the upper face 48 of the frame 41 is equal to or less than the distance H3 separating the be 35 from the orientation device 32 from the upper end 31a of the rod 31. In this way , the spout 35 remains outside the support 40 and does not hamper the rotation of pockets 20. The lateral faces 44, 45 of the frame 41 are extended forward by a prominent element 70 defining lateral stops allowing retaining laterally the pockets 20 and thus limit their pivot angle.

The support as described above can receive several formats of etan pockets given that the shape and the dimension of the connecting pieces 30 integrated into the pockets 20 can remain identical from one format to another.

To set up a transparent pocket 20 on such a support 40, as illustrated by FIG. 5 in solid lines, it suffices to hold it with one hand and to approach it according to arrow B perpendicularly to the front face 42 of the support. , the orientation device 32 located upwards, to engage the rod 31 in one of the positioning grooves 61 until it rests at the bottom of this groove, and the two indexing heads 3 la, 3 lb in the corresponding introduction openings 63, 64. When the bag 20 is released, it slides by gravity downwards along arrow C to the position illustrated by FIG. 5 in broken lines in FIG. 5. the rod 31 being guided in its corresponding groove 61, until its indexing heads 31a, 31b are positioned in the housings 66, 67 provided. In this position, the pocket 20 can pivot to the right and to the left without risking escaping from the support. To remove it, you must grasp it with one hand, place it perpendicular to the support, move it by sliding upwards in the opposite direction to arrow C, until you release the indexing heads 31a, 31b from their housing 66, 67 and place them in their respective insertion opening 63, 64, then remove the bag in the opposite direction to the arrow B. If the bag is held upside down during its introduction into the support, the spout 35 the orientation device being located downward will abut against the front face 42 of the frame below the receiving means 60 and thus prevent the establishment of this pocket. If the pocket is presented upright, the distance H3 is sufficient so that the spout 35 always remains above the upper face of the frame 41, as shown in FIG. 5, and therefore does not prevent the establishment or the pivoting of the pocket 20 on the support 40.

There are obviously many other possible embodiments of the connecting piece integrated into the pocket and corresponding receiving means integrated into the support, while retaining the characteristics of the invention. Figures 6a to 6d illustrate some examples of other embodiments of the connecting piece. In FIG. 6a, the connecting piece 80 is close to that described above, its orientation device 82 being constituted by the pivot rod 81 itself, the upper part of which is longer than its lower part. In FIG. 6b, the connecting piece 90 is split into an upper part and a lower part, the orientation device 92 being constituted by the retaining strip 93 having a different height in these two parts. In Figure 6c. the connecting piece 100 comprises a pivot rod 101 whose ends 101a and 101b are connected to the retaining strip 103 which has two pivoting holes 104. The orientation device 102 is obtained by an asymmetry of these two holes. In FIG. 6d, the connecting piece 110 is similar to that of FIG. 6c, the pivoting orifices 114 being more elongated and the orientation device 112 also being obtained by an asymmetry of these orifices. It is obvious that the support must be adapted to each of these different connecting pieces. In the case of FIGS. 6c and 6d, the rod 101. 111 of the connecting pieces 100, 110 must be slidably engaged in a groove having the shape of a split tube and arranged in correspondence with the orifices 104, 114 to allow the pivoting of the pocket on its support. This type of embodiment complicates handling but ensures better pocket maintenance.

The invention is therefore not limited to the embodiments described but extends to any modification and variant obvious to a person skilled in the art.

Claims

claims 1. Document display comprising at least one row of pockets provided with transparent envelopes arranged to contain said documents, a support arranged to support said pockets and a removable connecting device arranged to fix said pockets on said support so that these pockets can pivot about an axis substantially parallel to one of their sides in the manner of the pages of a book, said connecting device comprising a connecting piece (30, 80, 90, 100, 110 arranged along one side (28) of each pocket (20), and receiving means (60 arranged on a front face (42) of the support (40) and arranged to pivotally and removably support said connecting pieces of said pocket row (20 ), each of said connecting pieces comprising protruding means (31 31a, 31b. 81, 91, 101, 111) which define a pivot axis (34) parallel audi side (28) of the pocket and located at a distance (Dl) of the said envelope (21), the receiving means (60) comprising at least one row of housings (66, 67) in which said protruding means engage by an axial movement (C) parallel to the pivot axis (34) , said protruding means comprising a pivot rod (31 disposed parallel to said side (28) of the pocket (20), the connecting piece (30 comprising a retaining strip (33) between this rod (31) and the casing ( 21) and the receiving means (60) comprising for each pocket (20) at least one branch (61) arranged to receive the pivot rod (31) of the pocket (20), characterized in that the connection device comprises an orientation device (32. 82. 92, 102, 112 arranged to prevent a pocket (20) from being mounted upside down on the support (40), this device comprising, on the support (40) and on the connecting piece (30. 80, 90 , 100, 110) of each pocket (20), respective parts (42, 35) arranged to abut against each other to prevent the engagement of said protuberant means in the receiving means, or to prevent the pivoting of the connecting piece, when the pocket (20) is arranged upside down. 2. Display according to claim 1. characterized in that the receiving means (60) comprise, near said housings (66, 67), at least one front opening (63, 64) allowing to engage said protruding means (31 , 31a, 31b, 81. 91) in the housings first by a movement (B) perpendicular to the pivot axis (34), then by said axial movement (C). 3. Display according to claim 1, characterized in that the pivot rod (31) has at least one protruding free end which has an extra thickness to form an indexing head (3 la, 3 lb). 4. Display according to claim 1, characterized in that the orientation device (32, 82, 92, 102, 112) comprises an asymmetrical configuration of the retaining strip (33). 5. Display according to claim 4, characterized in that the orientation device (32) comprises a spout (35) formed on said retaining strip (33). 6. Display according to claim 3, characterized in that the receiving means (60) comprise at least one introduction opening (63, 64) arranged in extension of the groove (61) and wider than the groove to allow passage the indexing head (31a, 31b) of the pivot rod (31) during the perpendicular movement (B). 7. Display according to claim 6, characterized in that the grooves (61) are delimited laterally by guide elements (62) which extend in front of housings (66, 67) arranged to receive said indexing heads (3 la. 3 lb). 8. Display according to claim 1, characterized in that the front face (42) of the support (40) laterally comprises at least one pair of prominent stops (70), integrated into said support and arranged to limit the pivoting of said pockets (20) . 9. Display according to claim 1, characterized in that the support (40) comprises, on its lateral faces (44, 45), removable coupling means (53, 54) arranged to assemble several supports together. 10. Display according to claim 9, characterized in that the removable coupling means comprise a male part (53) provided on one of the lateral faces (44) and a complementary female part (54) provided on the other lateral face ( 45), these coupling means (53, 54) further comprising latching means (55, 56).