Merchandising table

Jan. 7, 1941.

J. E. BALES

MERCHANDISING TABLE Original Filed Aug. 2, 1934

2,228,221

<img file="US2228221A_D0001.tif" />

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 7, 1941

2,228,221

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,228,221 MERCHANDISING TABLE

James E. Bales, Aurora, HI., assignor to Lyon Metal Products, Incorporated, Aurora, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Original application August 2, 1934, Serial No. 738,164, now Patent No. 2,148,892, dated February 28, 1939. Divided and this application March 4, 1938, Serial No. 193,964

Claim. (Cl. 24—81)

This invention relates to a merchandising or display table or the like, and it is an object of the invention to provide such a device which may be cheaply and readily constructed, and 5 which is durable and wholly efficient in use for its intended purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a merchandising or display table or counter in which the partitions for articles being displayed 10 or carried thereon are readily adjustable to accommodate the table to the particular articles being displayed;

An additional object of the invention is to provide in such a table or counter means whereby 15 the partitions for the merchandise may be adjusted by manipulation only of those partitions which are to be moved to a new position.

A still further object of the invention consists in the provision of a merchandising or display 20 table or the like having merchandise compartment partitions, readily movable means for supporting the partitions, said means comprising clip members which may be applied to any part of the table top and which may be placed in position 25 by a simple manipulation thereof, the clip and the partition supported thereby being mutually interlo eked by each other.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a merchandising table or counter which ³⁰ can be readily cleaned.

It is furthermore an objept.of the invention to provide in such a table or the like, a single plate perforated top construction to facilitate cleaning, the perforations being evenly spaced ³⁵ to· facilitate flexibility of adjustment of the merchandise compartments.

Still another object of the invention is to provide in a merchandising table having side and end rails, means for readily adjusting the position ⁴⁰ of the posts which support said rails.

The present application is a division of applicant’s co-pending application Serial No. 738,164, filed August 2,1934.

_ Numerous other objects and advantages of this ⁵ invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein there is set forth certain preferred embodiments of the invention.

₅₀ In the drawing, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete merchandise display table embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the table taken substantially along the line 2—2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a perspective detail of one form of side post for supporting the rail glass.

Figure 4 Is a perspective view of a modified 6 form of side post support.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an end or corner post for supporting the rail glasses.

Figure 6 is a view of a modified form of end post. 10

In the drawing the invention has been shown applied to a merchandising or display table supported upon spaced legs. However, it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to counters or the like, wherein the top 15 on which the merchandise is carried is supported upon a box-like support enclosing the space beneath the top. Further, it is to be understood that the invention is applicable to tables or counters having tiltable tops, as well as to a table 20 or counter of the flat type shown.

As indicated in the drawing in the embodiment illustrated, the table top 15 or support member on which the merchandise to· be displayed is carried, is perforated. As seen more particu- ^9Λlarly in Figure 1, the perforations 17 are evenly and symmetrically spaced laterally and longitudinally of the table top. The perforations are of uniform size and may be conveniently formed by the drilling, of the table top which may be ³³either metal, wood or other desirable material. The table top may be supported in any convenient or well-known manner upon the legs 18 of the table.

The side rail pieces 19 and the end rail pieces ³⁵21, which in the embodiment shown are indicated as being constructed of glass, are held in vertical position peripherally of the table top by means of. corner supporting posts 23 and side posts 25 and 26 forming supplemental supporting means 40 for the relatively long side rail glasses. Preferably arranged around the outside of the rail glasses is a rail guard member 27, which may be of metal. The guard member gives an ornamental appearance to the table assembly and 45 protects the rail glasses. It may be of any suitable construction; in the preferred embodiment I have shown it as constructed to be slipped downwardly into position around the outside of the rail glasses and supported on the table top, as 50 shown in Figure 2. Alternatively it may be formed as a part of the table top.

The corner, posts 23 and the supplemental side posts 25 and 26 are formed at their upper ends with reversely bent spring clip portions 30 55

2,228,321 which hold the glass in position. At the bottom, these members are supported upon the perforated table top in any desirable manner, preferably by self-tapping screws which pass 5 through horizontal flanges formed on the bottoms of the support posts and through the perforations in the table top. An ordinary nut and bolt could be used as a securing means, but I prefer to use a self-tapping screw, various 10 forms of which are well-known. By reason of the fact that the table top is perforated throughout its length the side rail support members 25 and 26 may be located at substantially any point longitudinally of the table where support is dels sired. This is a material advantage for it will be seen that it secures a desirable flexibility of adjustment. The side rail support member 26, unlike side support member 25, not only supports the side rail glass 19, but also forms the 20 support for a merchandise cross divider or partition 29. The side glasses 19 and various partitions may be formed of glass, metal, composition, wood or any desirable material. One preferred form of side rail support post 25 is shown 2o in Figure 3. In this embodiment the horizontal base flange 31 of the post is secured to the table top by means of self-tapping screws 33 which pass through drilled openings in the flange base and in the table top. A tab 35 is struck from the base and turned vertically upwardly and forms the support for one side of the partition glass 29. A similar tab 31 is struck away from the metal of the horizontal base and bent vertically upward in the opposite direction, forming the support for the other side of the partition glass 29.

In Figure 4 a modified form of base for the side support post 26 is shown. In this form two spring bracket members 39, one for supporting 1' each side of the glass partition 29, are arranged with their horizontal lower portions secured to the_ horizontal flange of the post 26 and with their upstanding vertical portions in parallel alignment for engagement with the glass. The lower horizontal portions of the brackets may be secured to the base flange of the post by any suitable means, such as by welding. The horizontal portions of the brackets are perforated for the reception of the self-tapping screws 33.

: One preferred form of corner post 23 is shown in Figure 5. In this embodiment the horizontal supporting flange of the post is perforated for the reception of the self-tapping screw 33 by -- which it is secured to the table top, and portions 41, similar to the portions 35 and 37 of the post 26, shown in Figure 3, are struck from the base flange and are bent vertically upwardly so· that the lie parallel with but spaced from the _fi0 vertical wall portions 42 of the post with which they are associated. The rail glasses are received between the tabs 41 and the upstanding wall portions in the post, being thus held in position at their lower edges. The upper edges (,_ύ of the rail glasses are held by the reversely bent portions 30 which, in the case of the corner posts, as shown in Figure 5, are formed into two substantially individual spring clips.

A modified form of base for the corner post ₇₀ support is shown in Figure 6. In this embodiment a separate plate member 43, having vertical upstanding walls 45 arranged at right angles with respect to each other, is perforated for the reception of the self-tapping screw 33 by 75 which it is secured to the horizontal base flange of the corner post and to the table top. The rail glasses are secured in this case at their lower edges between the portions 45 of the member 43 and the upstanding walls 42 of the corner post. Member 43 may be secured as by weld- 5 ing, to the horizontal base flange of the corner post, or it may be held in position merely by the self-tapping screw 33.

Means is provided in the form of clips adapted to be detachably inserted in the table top at ¹⁰desired points, for locking in position certain partitions in abutting relation to other partitions previously located in place and in such a manner that such partitions already in place need not be removed nor lifted out of position, ¹⁵These clips are constructed so that when a portion is inserted in one of a plurality of symmetrically spaced openings in the table top and turned angularly, another portion thereof engages under a partition already in place and in ²⁰such turned position receives or seats another or cross partition whereby the clip and partition are mutually and detachably held in position; the clip being locked in position by the portion underlying the partition already in place and ²³the second or cross partition seated in the clip being held from displacement longitudinally of the first mentioned partition by means of that clip portion which is lockingly inserted in the opening in the table top. This is indicated in ³³Figure 1 by the numeral 59. This form of the invention is fully described and claimed in my aforesaid co-pending application.

By reason of the perforations in the table top the table assembly may very easily be kept clean ³⁵as dirt, which tends to accumulate in the merchandise compartments, can be readily sifted through the perforations and thus removed from the table surface. By reason of the readily removable clips, partitions may be easily inserted 40 or removed, or changed from one position to the other.to accommodate the size of the articles being displayed and the merchandising conditions under which the table is to be used. The table is thus readily adaptable to various types of 45 uses. By reason of the multitudinous arrangement of the openings In the table top a very great number of adjustments and a wide flexibility is permitted. The partitions may be located or relocated by simple manipulation of the clips and ⁵⁰m several embodiments of the invention without the removal or manipulation of nuts or bolts or the like. The operation of adjusting the clips is one that any salesperson can readily perform. In inserting a partition it is not necessary to move ³³or otherwise disturb the previously located wall such as a rail or partition with which the new partition is to be associated.

The clips and the partitions which they hold in place are mutually interlocking, that is after the ⁰⁰clip and partition have been located the partition prevents the clip from rotation and accidental removal and the clip holds the partition in place. The clips when in position are held in upright alignment by the supported rail or par- θ⁵tition walls which permits the use of a table top constructed of but a single sheet of metal or the like, thus producing a construction which is cheap and yet efficient.

The multitudinous perforations in the table top 70 together with the use of seif-tapping screws, pro-’ vide a ready means for locating the corner support posts and more particularly the side rail supporting posts in substantially any desired position. 75

2,328,221

It is obvious that numerous changes might be made in the specific forms of the invention shown for purposes of illustration. For example, rail guards 27 could be omitted without departing 5 from the spirit of the invention. The invention contemplates the use of equivalents throughout. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise embodiments shown or described, but only as indicated in the following claim.