US2274165A - Display rack - Google Patents

Description

0. L. RITZAU DISPLAY RACK Filed Nov. 14, i959 Feb. 24, 1942,.

K INVENTOR C/a/"ence L fii/Zau A TORNE Patented Feb. 24, 1942 D; STATES PATENTTOFFICE DISPLAY RACK Clarence L. Ritzau, Redwood City, Calif. Application November 14, 1939, Serial No. 304,306

1 Claim.

My invention relates to means for assisting in the storing and display of articles for vending, and is concerned especially with a display rack which facilitates the storage and display of commodities in packaged form or loaf form, such as bread, although, of course, not being limited thereto.

The problem of displaying bread in an ordinary retail store is one involved not only with supplying adequate support for the loaves of bread but also with confining them as much as possible, due to the absence of available space ordinarily, and further in providing some display means so that the bread can be readily observed yet will be maintained in neat order despite the diminishing amount on display as sales proceed.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a display rack which is especially applicable to the support and confinement of material such as loaves of bread.

Another object of my invention is to provide a display rack which can readily be accommodated to display various quantities of a commodity.

Another object of my invention is to provide a display rack which can itself readily be stored in a very small space when not in use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a variable display rack which will maintain a given size once it has been set or adjusted to that size.

The foregoing and other objects are attained in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the display rack of my invention disclosed in its expanded condition for the display of a relatively large numbe of loaves of bread;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the display rack in use as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of my display rack shown in use with a smaller number of loaves of bread;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the display rack as illustrated in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an isometric perspective of the display rack of my invention.

In its preferred form, the display rack of my invention includes a number of L-shaped pieces I having legs arranged for mutual frictional en-.

gagement to complete the enclosure of a rectangular frame, there being a relatively wide base for stability of support and uprights and a bridge member, all of telescoping character, to

afford an adequate confining enclosure.

While the display rack of my invention can be utilized in conjunction with the display of various articles, it is preferably utilized in conjunction with the display of material such as loaves of bread which is somewhat yielding or resilient in character. For this purpose I provide a rack including a base, generally designated 6, including two members 1 and 8 which are horizontally flat rectangles in cross-section and which are in frictional sliding engagement one within the other to form a telescoping base. Since the member 8 is somewhat smaller than the member 1, it can be completely nested or telescoped for minimum length or can be drawn out from the member 1 to form a materially longer base member. This extensibility is important in accommodating the display rack to the display of commodities of different size or in displaying a different number of bread loaves, for example. The transverse or lateral flattening of the base members is effective to distribute the load over a relatively wide area so that the base is stable and is not readily overturned when placed upon a supporting surface.

To the base member I there is afiixed an upright 9, preferably of tubular form, secured permanently to the member I and projecting therefrom at substantially a right angle. In a similar fashion there is an upright ll mounted on and permanently secured to the base member 8, so that the uprights 9 and II are parallel. Telescopically or frictionally slidable with respect to the member 9 and disposable therein is a corner piece l2, preferably of tubing, which has a snug fit within the upright 9 and is also capable of slidably engaging and forming a bridge member with a piece l3 of L-shape which has both of its branches telescopically engaging the pieces H and I2.

In the use of the structure, for shipment and storage purposes the base 6 and the bridge formed of the members I 2 and [3 are readily disassembled to leave four pieces, generally of L-shape, which can be somewhat nested or stacked in a very small space. For use, these pieces are assembled as illustrated in Fig. 5 and are contracted to encompass the smallest opening, as shown in Fig. 3, wherein nine loaves of bread, for example, are supported in compact order. If it is then necessary to accommodate more material, the telescoping bottom pieces I and 8 are extended, the bridge members l2 and I3 are likewise extended in parallelism thereto, while the uprights 9 and II are also extended to increase the height, so that when extended a maximum amount the structure will accommodate sixteen loaves of bread, for example, as shown in Fig. 1.

To assure that the frame assembly and the displayed material are all quite firmly held, it is preferable, after introducing the bread into the display rack, to constrict the members into close abutment with the bread. This yields slightly and the holding pressure is effective to cock or cam the .various telescoping members 10 each upon the other slightly to increase the friction, so that when the frame is once set it does not readily change size except by manual al-,

teration.

porting variable sized enclosing frame.

CLARENCE L. RITZAU.

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