US2883792A - Receptacle support - Google Patents

Description

United States Patet RECEPTACLE SUPPORT Herbert W. Marano, Summit, N.J., assignor to Wilson Jones Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 22, 1958, Serial No. 762,601

7 Claims. (Cl. 45-57) The present invention relates generally to an improved pedestal or support, and in particular it relates to an improved sheet metal pedestal or support for desk calendars, pads and the like.

The conventional ornamental pedestals or supports employed for desk calendars, pads and the like have been formed of wood, synthetic organic plastics and sheet metal and have been generally characterized by their relatively high cost. This high cost is a result of the expensive material employed, the intricate and costly molds required and the high labor costs. Sheet metal pedestals or supports are least expensive so far as the cost of material is concerned. However, in fabricating sheet metal pedestals, numerous forming operations are required, necessitating the employment of many intricate and expensive dies.

It is thus a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved pedestal or support.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved pedestal or support for use for desk calendars, pads, trays and the like.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro vide an improved sheet metal pedestal or support for use for desk calendars, pads, trays and the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved sheet metal pedestal or support for calendars, trays and the like, characterized by its ruggedness and low cost.

The above and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view downward onto the top of a tray pedestal or support embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom view thereof; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 in Figure 2.

In a sense, the present invention contemplates the provision of a unitary, integrally formed sheet metal pedestal or support of the character described, comprising a platform plate having a rear edge and side edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platform side edges and rear edges and integrally formed with said platform plate, said side skirt members extending rearwardly of said platform rear edge to define outer wings members, and inner wing members projecting rearwardly from the sides'of said rear skirt member and formed integrally therewith, the upper portion of said outer and inner wing members being integrally joined to define leg members.

In accordance with a preferred form of the present invention, the platform is defined by a planar, upwardly rearwardly inclined frame member having a rectangular opening formed therein. The upper and rear edges of the wing members are of upwardly convex arcuate contour and adjacent wings are joined by upwardly convex bridge sections. An upwardly concave trough is disposed 2 along the forward edge of the platform and has an underface substantially coplanar with the wing bottom edges. A tray member separably nests in tl'e frame opening, supported along the marginal edges thereof.

Referring now to the drawing which illustrates a pre-' ferred embodiment of the present invention, numeral 10 generally designates the improved pedestal or support, and numeral 12 designates a mating tray member associated therewith. Pedestal or support 10 is preferably fabricated of an easily formed sheet metal such as a 31 mil. cold-rolled soft steel sheet, and includes a platform defining a rearwardly upwardly inclined planar frame member 14. Frame member 14 is formed of front and rear strips 16 and 18 respectively and side strips 20 surrounding a rectangular opening 22.

Depending from the outer edges of side strips 20 are vertical skirt members 24 extending rearwardly of strip 18 to form outer rearwardly directed substantially vertical wing members 26. The bottom edges of each of the skirt members 24 slightly rearwardly diverges from the plane of the platform 14 and joins a downwardly concave arcuate edge 30 which extends to the linear base edge 32 of the corresponding wing member 26. A skirt member 34 depends from the rear edge of rear frame strip 18, being downwardly rearwardly inclined and having a downwardly concave bottom edge 36, the outer ends of which are at the level of base edges 32 of wings 26, 26.

Projecting rearwardly from the vertical side edges of the skirt 34 are a pair of wing members 40 spaced inwardly from and parallel to outer wing members 26. Wings 26 and 40 are substantially of the same configuration, the upper outer edges thereof being arcuately convex, the lower edges 42 of inner wings 40 being coplanar with the outer wing bottom edges 32.

The upper and outer edges of adjacent wing members 26 and 40 are joined by integral bridge sections 44 projecting rearwardly from frame strips 20, 20 and of transverse upwardly convex arcuate cross-section. A pair of rubber foot pieces 46, including hemispherical base portions 48, are located at the bottom rear corners of the legs defined by adjacent wings 26 and 40. Frusto-conical shanks 49 project upwardly from the base portions of foot pieces 46 and are snugly embraced by the corifronting faces of the wings 26 and 40.

A penor pencil-accommodating upwardly concave trough 46a extends forwardly of the outer edge of front strip 16 of frame 14, and is provided with a finger receiving recess 48a intermediate the sides thereof. The underface of the trough 46a, the forward lower corners of skirts 24, 24 and the wing bottom edges 32 and 42 of the underfaces of the foot pieces 46 are substantially coplanar.

It is an important aspect of the present invention that the pedestal 10 is integrally formed of a single metal sheet or blank and that it is characterized by the absence of any seams. It may be fabricated by a single cutting and forming operation employing only one set of dies by reason of the improved construction described. The conventional sheet metal pedestals or supports require a plurality of stamping and forming steps and a corresponding number of dies, thereby increasing tremendously the cost of the end product which at best is of quality inferior to that of the present device.

Tray member 12 associated with pedestal 10 includes a rectangular flat base plate 50 provided with upwardly directed walls 52 along the side edges thereof. A rear wall 54 projects upwardly from the rear edge of base plate 50, joining the side walls 52, and is provided with a forwardly directed lip or flange 56 along its upper edge. Formed in the rear wall 54 are a pair of laterally spaced outwardly and upwardly directed resilient tongues 3 58. The upper corners of the tray side walls 52 project rearwardly to form stop or abutment members 60 having linear bottom edges spaced above the upper ends of the tongues 53 a distance approximately equal to the thickness of rear strip 18 of frame Extending inwardly from the front edges of the tray side walls 52 are a pair of narrow panels 63, the confronting inner edges of which are substantially spaced from each other. A pair of laterally spaced forwardly directed tongue members 64 are located along and slightly below the forward underface of base plate 50 In assembling tray 12 and pedestal 10, tongues 64 are inserted under the trailing edge of the front strip 16 of frame 14 so that the trailing border of the strip 16 is embraced between the confronting faces of tray base plate 50 and tongues 64. Tray 12 is then pressed down-- wardly through opening 2 in the support and pedestal, tongues 58 sliding along the leading edge of rear strip 18 of frame 14, resiliently urging the tongues 58 inwardly. When the underface of the abutments 60 make contact with the upper face of rear strip 18, the tongues 58 clear the strip 18 and spring outwardly, thereby to lock tray 12 in assembled condition with the pedestal 1-0. The base plate 50 in the assembled article is preferably but not necessarily upwardly rearwardly inclined but at a lesser angle than the platform 14. Moreover, the tray side walls 52 substantially abut the inner edges of the frame side strips 20.

While there has been illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is apparent that numerous alterations and omissions may be made Without departing from the spirit of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A unitary, integrally formed sheet metal support of the character described, comprising a raised platform plate having a rear edge and side edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platform side edges and rear edges respectively and integrally formed with said platform plate, said side skirt members extending rearwardly of said platform rear edge to define outer wing members, and inner wing members projecting rearwardly form the sides of said rear skirt and formed integrally therewith, the upper portion of said outer and inner wing members being integrally joined to define leg members.

2. A unitary, integrally formed sheet metal support of the character described, comprising a rearwardly upwardly inclined substantially planar platform plate having a rear edge and side edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platform side edges and rear edges respectively and integrally formed with said platform plate, said side skirt member extending rearwardly of said platform rear edge to define outer wing members, inner wing members adjacent said outer wing members and having upper and rear edges of substantially the same configuration as the corresponding edges of said outer wing members projecting rearwardly from the sides of said rear skirt, and formed integrally therewith, and bridge sections connecting the upper and outer edges of said adjacent wing members.

3. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, wherein said upper and rear edges of said wing members are continuously upwardly convex.

4. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, wherein said bridge sections are of upwardly convex arcuate transverse cross-section.

5. An improved article in accordance with claim 2, including a laterally extending upwardly concave trough formed along the forward edge of said platform, the undersurface of said trough being substantially coplanar with the bottoms of said wing members.

6. A unitary, integrally formed improved sheet metal support of the character described comprising a platform defining a rectangular, substantially planar frame member having a substantially rectangular opening formed therein and having a rear edge and side edges, side and rear skirt members depending from said platform side edges and rear edges respectively and integrally formed with said platform plate, said side skirt members extending rearwardly of the rear edge of said platform to define outer Wing members, and inner wing members projecting rearwardly from the sides of said rear skirt and formed integrally therewith, the upper portion of said outer and inner wing members being integrally joined to define leg members.

7. An improved pedestal in accordance with claim 6, including a tray member having a base plate and rear and side walls directed upwardly from the edges of said base plate, a spring clip element formed along said rear wall and engaging the rear border of said platform and a clip element carried by said base plate and engaging the forward border of said platform opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 931,111 Antisdale Aug. 17, 1909 1,563,508 Maynard Dec. 1, 1925 1,690,137 Shulman Nov. 6, 1928 1,911,823 Harrison May 30, 1933 2,609,636 Stone Sept. 9, 1952 awhaaw

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