US1680034A - Display apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 7, 1928.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Aug. 7, 192s.

a. J. BUCKINGHAM nrsmv Arrm'rus rma nu. za. 1924 26 @f ff d? 5 99 5% 2 gli.

19 .5 J3 Z 19 11 l s Z3] I3-U Aug. 1, 192e; 1,680,034

B. J. BUCKINGHAM DISPLAY AIPARATUS fifa Patented Aug. 7, 1928.

UNITEDY .STATES PATENT GFFICE.

BENJAJHN J. BUCKINGHAM, or cHiCAGo., ILLINoIs, Assmmron-m .umronn-m'zam or CHICAGO, unimaas.

ADISPLAY APPARATUS.

Application filed February 28, 1924. Serial No. 695,648.

resent invention is the provision of a disp ay apparatus for the exhibition of articles of merchandise while such articles are travelling through a predetermined path. The articles, therefore, may be displayed in regular succession to the observer, and in convenient access for removal from the apparatus when such is desired. v

More specifically, the invention contemplates an apparatus of the character mentioned designed -for the combined storage and display of clothing, its construction being such as to economize in the space required for storage, thereby enabling a maximum number of garments to'be stored in a minimum area, and permitting the garments successively to be displayed while so stored. The economy of storage space thus obtained is effective to eliminate tov a .large extent the shelving and display cases heretofore used for .such purposes, and enables the proprietor of a store to reducethe floor .space necessary for such shelving and cases.

Furthermore, the invention' has inview the product-ion of a display apparatus 'wheres in provision is made to'insure proper travel of the garments through the machine without liability vto .injury of the garments or entanglement thereofwitl the moving 'parts of the machine. Y

The invention also aims to provide a display apparatus such as referred to wherein the operative parts are so related as to af.- ford a mest compact' organization-thereby saving in the material for the construction of the apparatus, .andi` rendering the parts of the latter readil" accessible .for repair or replacement when amaged or Worn.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing, and other objects which will appear'as the nature of the vimprovements is better understood, the invention consists substantially in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in 'the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

The embodiment of the vinventionherein disclosed is believed'to be fully illustrative of the same, and incorporates a practical adaptation of the invention for the uses and purposes for which the same is intended. However, it is 'to be taken in auillustrative sense, and therefore is not to be considered The primary object of the as restricting the invention to that form which is herein delineated.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a display apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 Fig. '2;

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the driving mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a 'sectional plan view ouv the line 5 5, Fig. l;

Fig. '6 is a detail 'sectional view, also on an enlarged scale, of onelof the supporting members and the guardsfcarried thereby. Referring now in detailato the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that the apparatus includes 'a substantially rectangular base frame 10 which is made up of corner supporting posts 11,. preferably formed of angle iron. The lower endsv of the posts 11 at the sides of the frame 10 are connected 'by tie plates 1Q, and'ltheir upper ends are tilcewise connected 'bysimilar-plates 13.. The plates .12 j and 1'3 4are designed to prevent spreading vo'f'rth'e conrer posts l11,'and thereby impart to the same a fixed relation without the necessity of resorting to material of heavy gaugeA for 'such purpose. The base frame 1'0 thus is relatively ightin Weight, and indsuch embodiment the machine as ma a' apt it for Iporta iit whereb to enale 'the machine to be .moved to diil'gi'ent positions in a store room 'orfother place of display, the -frame '10 'may be provided with casters '14 or the. like' to permit easy movement of 'the machine overthe floor.

ExtendingupwardlyA from 'each :side of the frame 10 'rs a supporting standard 15 positioned midway-of the ends 'ofthe plates 13, each of said standardsjizinclndin two inrlttingtelescopic n iembersr '1o-an "17. These members preferably are formed of channel iron to attainl the. intentittingrela; ton 'referred to, the up ver member l? of each standard .being vrelativelyacljustable to the lower m'ember A16 by 'elongated'adjusting -screws '18, the upper` ends of` whichare threadably engaged withconnect'ingfbrack ets 19 carried by the nppenmembers 17. The screws 18 are loosely received at their lower ends by Connecting bracke'tSQU; and each screw is provided with' a colla-r 21 by which the screw is 4held Ain proper operative relation in the bracket 20 with which it is associated. The rotation of the screws 18 is effected by hand wheels or cranks 22, and when suitably operated relative movement is effected between the members 17 and 16 of the standards 15.

Suitably journalled in the lower member 16 of the st-andards 15 is a transversely extending shaft 23, and connected to each end of the shaft 23 within the base frame 10 so as to rotate with the shaft is a sprocket wheel 24 over which is trained a sprocket chain 25. The diameter of the sprocket wheels 24 is relatively large so as to get the greatest width between the stretches of the chains 25 which engage these wheels, and thereby provide the maximum space between such stretches to accommodate the merchandise which is stored and displayed by the apparatus. These chains 25 are also trained over sprocket wheels 26, one of which is arranged at the upper end of each member 17 of the standards l5, and rotatably mounted in relation thereto by an inwardly extending trunnion or spindle 27. By the use of the trunnions or spindles 27 clearance is had between the wheels 26, and free passage of the articles is obtained as they move from one side of the apparatus to the other in the movement of the'. chains 25.

The driving mechanism of the herein described apparatus includes an electric motor 28 to the armature shaft of which is con nected a worm 29 which Vmeshes with a worm gear 30 carried by a shaft 31. Between the shaft 31 and the shaft 23 is a train of gears including a spurgear `32l and a pinion 33. The shaft 31 is suitably journalled to the lower member 16 of one of the standards l5, the shaft 23 havin@ one of its ends extended sutliciently beyond the end of the frame 1(),to position the spur gear 32 at the exterior of that frame and for convenient meshing with the pinion 33 which is also at the exterior ofl the' frame.

The motor 28 is mounted on la vsupporting table 34, which is also at the exterior of the frame 10 and properlyfsustained in osition by an inclined strut 35 connecte at its upper end to the table 34 and at its vlower endtoanarm36..; 1.

For energizingthe motory 28 any suitable switch mechanism for controlling the flow of current thereto maybe employed. Preferably, such switch. mechanism :is so lrelated to the motor as to control flow of the current thereto when the *braking mechanism, vabout toV be described, is released, and by which that flow is caused tov cease when the braking mechanism is applied to the motor. This enables operation of the display apparatus to be started expeditiously likewise expeditiously stopped when it is desired to bring the apparatus to rest. This braking mechanism includes a brake wheel or drum 37 which is mounted on the shaft 31V adjacent to the Apinion 33 and with which a brake lever 38 co-operates. The lever 38 is pivotally connected to an arm 39 at one of its ends, its other end being connected to a dependingr link 40 which passes through a perforated arm 41 connected to the adjacent standard l5. The lower end of the link 40 is connected to the inner 'end of a pivoted foot lever 42 mounted at-the lower portion of the base frame l0, said lever being pivoted between its ends, so that on downward pressure being applied to the outer end of said lever 42 the link 40 is moved upwardly, with corresponding upward movement of the brake lever 38, resulting in release of that lever from its engagement with the brake wheel 37. The lever 38, however, normally is held in frictional engagement with the brake wheel 37 by a coil spring 43 which encircles the link 40, said spring being interposed between the arm 41 and an adjustable collar 44 which is carried by the link 40. The adjustment of the collar 44 -will permit varying degrees of compression of the spring 43, thereby permitting varying Vdegrees of frictional contact of' the brake lever .38 with the brake wheel 37. A

By referring to Fig.' 1', it will be noted that the shaft 3l is of sufficient length that its outer end projects beyond the worm gear 30, said projecting end having mounted thereon a hand wheel 45 provided with an extensible crank 46, thus enabling the apparatus to be operated by hand when such may be desired.'l

The construction of the chains 25 is that now commonly used in chain and sprocket gearing, the same including the usual alternating male and female links, these links beingl connected by bushings or sleeves 47, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Advantage is taken of this construction to provide a novel form of supporting means by which the merchandise to be stored and exhibited may be conveniently applied to the chains. It will be observed from Fig.v 6 that withinv the sleeves 47 is disposed a supporting rod 48, the ends of which are co-extensive with the outer sides of the links in thetwo chains 25. The supporting rods 48 thus are loosely received by the sleeves 47, and may be read-A ily introduced to and removed therefrom when such is desired, thereby 'permitting the number of supporting rods to be increased or decreased with respect to vthe length of the chains 25, and giving more or less sup` port for the articles to be displayed by increasing or decreasing the number employed. Each rod 48 is surrounded by an elongated sleeve 49, whiclris relatively shorter than the rod 48, and each of these sleeves 49 has a closure plug 50 fitted in each of its ends; The plugs 50 areprovidedwith peripheral flanges 51 against which the 4ends of the sleeves 49 abut, and said plugs likewise are provided with longitudinal bores for receiving the ends of the rod 48.` Set screws 52 are associated with the ends of the sleeves 49, said screws passing through the sleeves, and also the plugs 50, and impinging against the rods 48. This locks the sleeves 49- to the closure plugs 50, and also the latter t0 the rods 48. It will also be observed that the length of the sleeves 49 is such that the outer ends of the closure plugs 50 will serve as stops against .which the links of the chains 25 will abut, so that the rods 48 are precluded sliding out of the sleeves 47 until the set screws 52 have .been released, whereupon the entire structure may be readily detached from the chains 25.

It will be understood that in the display of the merchandise suitable shelving may be suspended from the sleeves 49, or the merchandise itself may be directly applied to these sleeves. It has been stated previously that in the particular embodiment of the in vention herein disclosed the same is adapted for the storage and display of clothing. In this use the garments., are appled to the usual hangers, and the hangers themselves sus ended from the sleeves 49, thereby enabllng a suit of clothes, or a ladys garment.I either individually or in groups, tobe suspended from these sleeves and readily detached therefrom when occasionl arises therefor. In other articles of merchandise, however, such as candy and similar commodities which require to be displayed through the medium of shelving,I a shelf may. be4 sus; pended from each of the sleeves 49, and carried thereby in .the travel of the chains 25 through' the path of travel of the latter.

Where the apparatus is intended. for displaying clothin provision is made to pre'- vent damage or the clothing byits Contact with the operating' parts of the apparatus, or its entanglement. with such parts. For

this purpose each of the sleeves 49-hasapplied thereto one or more pendent guard loops.53. To:- balance these loops in their suspension from the sleeves 49v their' upper ends are caused to converge, the converging portions terminating in sus nsion sleeves 54 which loosely receive en.' supporting sleeves 49. The guards 53'may-be moved to any point along the sleeves 49, either towards or away from the chains 25, and as the guards occupy positions between the. garments and the chainsfit'will be seen that. the garments are precluded 1 from.;l contacting with the chains and the sprocket wheels during the travel of the'chains.-

A spring clip 55 may be attached to each of the guards 53 for applying thereto a price ticket or tag which denotes the sale price of the articles displayed, and if garments of different prices are assembled on any one of the supporting sleeves 49, those garments of one price may be separated from the gar ments of another price by utilizing the guards 53' as partitions between the groups of the differently priced garments.l

In the operation of the apparatus -there maybe a tendency of the suspended articles to sway, particularly so when these articles are clothing, as the same are transferred from one side of the apparatus to the other. In such event, and toprevent the articles on one stretch of the chains interfering with movement of the articles on the other stretch of the chains inclined deflectors 56 are arranged atsuitable points between the supporting standards 15. These deflectors extend across the space between the chains 25, and as the articles pass the deflectors, if there be swaying movement in the articles at such time, the same contact with the delectors and ride over the surface thereof. In supporting the deflector 56 which is'next ad.- jacent to the shaft 23, the swaying of the articles being more vparticularly noticeable at this point, and it being thus essential that free movement ofthe articles around the shaft 23 shall be effected, theends of that delector are mounted in supporting brackets 57 the upper ends of which are turned out-L wardly in order to span the wheels 24, and the lower ends being turned inwardly in order to sustain the lowermost defiector 56 in proper relation to ther wheelsv 24s Thus as the articles descend on' one stretch of the conveyorthey will contact the deilector and be moved away from the shaft 23, while on their upward movement on the other stretch of the conveyor a similar condition arises, and free movement thereby is assured.

The apparatus may be braced additionally againststresses and strains by the interposition of tie rods 58 at suitable points, the ends of said tie rods being suitably connected within thechannels of the stand` ards I5; e l. 1

=As a.- means for conveniently loading 'and unloading' the apparatus, particularly when the same-is to beused for displaying articles of wearing apparel, an extensible supporting rod 59 maybe arranged. at each endof the apparatus, which rod is received by a tubular housing 6() one end of which is closed byl a plug 61.. Between the plug- 61 andthe inner end of' the rod 59 is connected a cable or cord62 for limiting the Ioutward movement ofthe rod 59, and the'l'atter carries.y at its outer end :a handle -63 for its. convenient manipulation. When withdrawn from the housing the articles to be loaded onxto vthe conveyor chains may beplaced on the rod froniwhich they aretransferred to the supporting sleeves 49 as the necessities of the display or storage may require. From the foregoing description the operation Lof the herein described apparatus will readrly appear. The 'braking mechanism normally holds the chains 25 against movement, and whether one stretch of the chains balances the other, due to any differential in weight between the stretches because of a pre nderance in the mechandise on one stretc over that on the other, there is no movement of the chains until the braking mechanism is released. This isl done by downward pressure being applied to the foot lever 42 at which time the brake lever 38 releases its braking action on the brake wheel 37. At that-time, however, current is fed into the electric motor 28, and movement of the chains 25 thus is started. The rate of travel of the chains is determined by the ratio of the gears and the movement of the motor, but preferably that ratio is such that the movement of the chains is relatively slow so that as the various supporting sleeves 49 pass by a given point full opportunity will be afforded the observer to inspect the mechandise which is displayed. If it be desired to bring the apparatus to rest, it is but necessary to release pressure on the lever 42, whereupon the spring 43 exerts itself to pull downwardly the brake lever 38 and establish its frictional engagement with the brake wheel 37, thereby stopping movement ofthe chains 25. I'Vhen the apparatus is in operation the merchandise stored and displayed thereby passes up one stretch of the chains 25 and down the other, and this movementcontinues so long as the electric motor 28 is energized. The adjusting screws 18 may be operated to compensate for any slackness inthe chains 25, the members 17 of the posts 15 beingv thus adj usted relatively to the members 16 thereof, so that the proper tension on the chains 25 may be established and maintained at all times.

The guard loops 53 insure prevention of damage to the merchandise by reason of the same coming into contact with the chains, and these loops also serve-to balance the merchandise against undue swaying as the same is transferred fromone side of the apparatus to the other. If the merchandise displayed be clothing, the garments are grouped, as above explained, inA accordance with the price variations, so lthat garments of one price will pass the inspecting point at the same time. In the storage and display of the garments the same are suspended in close. relation to each other along the supports 49, and as the number of supports employed inthe particular apparatus may be regulated or varied, it is obvious that the capacity of the machine or apparatus may be varied to meet the particular conditions of the business in which it -is used. Therefore, a greater or a less number of garments may be stored and displayed. While the embodiment of the apparatus is illustrated as of a portable character, it will be understood that the same may be built int'o a store or display room as a permanent fixture thereof, and the same may be extended through several stories of a building if the needs of the particular business require an apparatus of such capacity.

The operation of the apparatus continues so long as the electric motor 28 is energized and the brake lever 38 is` out of frictlonal contact withthe brake drum 37. The foot lever 42 is the medium for maintaining this relation of the parts, but it will be understood that any suitable mechanism may be adopted for locking the parts in such position as to insure continuity of operation of the apparatus for any predetermined period of time, thus avoiding the necessity of maintaining pressure on the foot lever 42 by an operator of the apparatus.

I claim:

1. In a Conveyor device of the class described comprising a pair of lower sprocket wheels, a pair of upper sprocket wheels, a pair of sprocket chains trained around said wheels, means for driving said chains on said Wheels, said chains being arranged to move in spaced substantially parallel-vertical planes, and means disposed in the space between said chains and carried thereby' for suspending articles therefrom, a frame for supporting said wheels and the associated chains in operative relationship, said frame comprising a rectangular frame unit extending to a portion of thev height of said conveyor device and having the lower sprocket wheels mounted in oppositely disposed side walls thereof, a pair of standards upwardly extending from'. said sidewalls, each standard consisting of nested channel members, and means for supporting the upper wheels from the .upper ends of said standards, said nested channel members being relatively slidable to permit variation of the spacing between the upper chain vwheels and the lower chain. wheels.

2. A conveyor device comprising a rectangular self-supporting frame unit having a pair ofi vertically disposed spaced side walls and-bracing means for rigidly holding said side walls in spaced relationship, a pair of sprocket wheels supported on said side walls, a' pair of-posts extending from the top; of said side walls in the -direction above the sprocket wheels, a pair of sprocket wheels mounted at thev upper ends of 'said posts in spaced relationshipA to said lowersprocket wheels, a pair of endless sprocket chains trained on the correspondinglo'wer and upper sprocket Wheels, respectively, means for driving said chains, means for supporting articles betweenA the paralleldisposed chains to be carried thereby dur-r ing their movement, said posts bci-ng of telescopic construction for varying the length thereof, and means for'adjusting the Swheels.

3. In a display device comprising a supporting frame and a pluralitylof sprockets conveying endless chains on opposite sides of the frame and providing display and storage space therebetween, a carrier structure supported at its ends by said endless chains` said carrier structure comprising a central rod member engaging the endless chains and a tubular member mounted thereon and in spaced relation thereto, pendant guard and spacing means mounted on the carrier structure and longitudinally slidable along the'latter for confining articles suspended from the carrier structure to an arbitrarily determined portion of the width of the carrier.

4. In a display device comprising a supporting frame and a plurality of sprockets conveying endless chains arranged at opposite sides of the frame and providing display and storage space therebetween, a plurality of spaced article carriers supported at their ends by said chains, said carriers comprising a central rod member engaging the chains and a sleeve member supported on the rod, pendant guard loops mounted on the sleeve member and slidable to any desired position thereon, and delecting means mounted between opposite sides of the frame and between the opposite reaches of the endless chains.

5. In an apparatus of the character described comprising a pair of endless conveyer chains, sleeves 1n the links of the chain, a supporting rod having its ends loosely extending in the sleeves and axially removable therefrom, collar members mounted on the rod and locked thereto adjacent the chain engaging portions to prevent removal of the rod from the chain, and a tubular member surrounding the rod and held in spaced relation thereto by engagement with the collar members.

6. In an article carrier for endless chain display conveyers, a rod member, spaced collar members mounted on the rod providing limited bearing portions at the ends of the rod, a sleeve member mounted on the collar members in spaced relation to the rod member, and pendantloops having portions slidably mounted on the sleeve member to rovide longitudinal adjustment of the guard) loops lengthwise of the carrier.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

BENJAMIN J. BUCKINGHAM.

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