Display rack
In one embodiment of a ball mount display rack, the rack includes a panel and an elongated member extending from the panel. The elongated member includes a first end attached to the panel, a second end located distal from the panel, an exterior surface, and an interior surface. The interior surface of the elongated member is accessible from the second end of the member. The elongated member is adapted to receive ball mount such that when the ball mount is received, either a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the exterior surface or a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the interior surface.
This non-provisional application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/674,205, entitled “Display Rack,” filed Apr. 22, 2005, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to display racks and relates specifically to racks for displaying ball mounts.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTIONBall mounts refer to a variety of apparatus that are designed to connect or attach to vehicles to provide the vehicle with a mechanism for towing a trailer or other such equipment. Ball mounts normally include a mechanism for mounting a hitch ball to the ball mount. Ball mounts are normally constructed or fabricated from metal and can be heavy and cumbersome for consumers to handle and evaluate in a retail environment. These limitations are particularly evident when a hitch ball is secured to a ball mount.
There exists a need for apparatus and methods that provide for conveniently displaying ball mounts in a retail environment to allow consumers to better compare and gauge the functionality and usefulness of various ball mounts.
SUMMARY OF INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to racks that display ball mounts. In one embodiment of a ball mount display rack, the rack includes a panel and an elongated member extending from the panel. The elongated member comprises a first end attached to the panel, a second end located distal from the panel, an exterior surface, and an interior surface. The interior surface of the elongated member is accessible from the second end of the member. The elongated member is adapted to receive a ball mount such that when the ball mount is received, either a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the exterior surface of the elongated member or a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the interior surface of the elongated member.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGSIn the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, embodiments of the invention are illustrated, which, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below serve to illustrate the principles of this invention. The drawings and detailed description are not intended to and do not limit the scope of the invention or the claims in any way. Instead, the drawings and detailed description only describe embodiments of the invention and other embodiments of the invention not described are encompassed by the claims.
The Detailed Description of the Invention merely describes preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims or specifications in any way. Indeed, the invention as described by the claims is broader than and unlimited by the preferred embodiments, and the terms in the claims and specifications have their full ordinary meaning.
While the described embodiments herein are presented in the context of display racks for ball mounts, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention may be used to display a number of different items. The examples presented in this specification are intended to illustrate the broad application of the invention for display racks. The specific design and operation of the display racks selected provide no limitation on the present invention.
An exemplary embodiment of a display rack 10 is shown in
Referring to
The elongated members 22 are tubes that have generally thin-walled rectangular cross-sections. Each tube 22 has a first end 24 that is coupled or otherwise attached to the back panel 16 and a second end 26 that is distal to the back panel 16 and is generally unencumbered by any attachments or couplings. The tubes 22 can be arranged such that the tubes 22 extend generally perpendicular to the back panel 16. Alternatively, as best seen in
The exemplary tubes 22 of
As seen in
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The channeled display panel 44 together with the top panel 20 can form a shelf 50 for storing or displaying additional items. The channeled display panel 44 can be secured to the top 20 and side 12 and 14 panels in such a manner that the channeled display panel 44 forms a vertical barrier that may restrain items from rolling or falling off the front of the shelf 50. The side panels 12 and 14 can be attached to the top panel 20 such that portions of the side panels 12 and 14 form vertical barriers to restrain objects from falling from the sides of the shelf 50. The wire sections 18 that comprise the top panel 20 can include bent portions 52 at the rear of the top panel 20 to form another vertical barrier to restrain objects from falling from the back of the shelf 50.
Although the top panel 20 is illustrated as a series of joined wire sections 18, one skilled in the art will recognize that the top panel 20 can be fabricated in a variety of ways and from a variety of materials. For example, a top panel can be constructed from a solid metal sheet similar to the side 12 and 14 and back 16 panels; from a wood based product, such as particle board; or from a polymeric material capable of providing the necessary structural integrity.
Similar to the embodiment described above and illustrated in
In the exemplary illustration of
Yet another embodiment is illustrated in
While various aspects of the invention are described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects may be realized in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects and features of the invention, such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, devices, and so on may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the aspects, concepts or features of the invention into additional embodiments within the scope of the present invention even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the invention may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present invention however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated
Claims
1. A rack for displaying ball mounts comprising:
- a. a panel; and
- b. an elongated member extending from the panel and comprising: i. a first end attached to the panel; ii. a second end located distal from the panel; iii. an exterior surface; and iv. an interior surface accessible from the second end of the member; wherein the member is adapted to receive a ball mount such that when the ball mount is received, either a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the exterior surface or a portion of the ball mount is in contact with at least a portion of the interior surface.
2. The rack of claim 1 wherein the elongated member extends from the back panel at an incline, such that the second end is positioned above the first end.
3. The rack of claim 1 wherein the member is a tube.
4. The rack of claim 3 wherein the cross-section of the tube is generally square.
5. The rack of claim 3 wherein the tube comprises:
- a. a first wall;
- b. a second wall attached to the first wall;
- c. a third wall attached to the second wall; and
- d. a fourth wall attached to the third wall.
6. The rack of claim 5 wherein the first wall and the fourth wall are arranged such that the first wall and the fourth wall define a slot in the tube.
7. The rack of claim 3 further comprising a plurality of tubes.
8. The rack of claim 7 wherein the plurality of tubes includes a first tube and a second tube and a height and width of the first tube are greater than a height and width of the second tube.
9. The rack of claim 1 wherein the member defines at least one aperture.
10. The rack of claim 9 wherein the at least one aperture is adapted to receive a securing mechanism of a ball mount when the ball mount is received by the member.
11. The rack of claim 10 wherein the securing mechanism includes a pin.
12. The rack of claim 1 further including a channeled display panel adapted to retain information cards.
13. A rack for displaying ball mounts comprising:
- a. a back panel comprising: i. a first end; ii. a second end; and iii. a front surface;
- b. a first side panel attached to the first end of the back panel;
- c. a second side panel attached to the second end of the back panel; and
- d. a plurality of tubes, each of the plurality of tubes comprising: i. a first end attached to the front surface of the back panel; ii. a second end; iii. an outer surface; and iv. an inner surface; wherein each of the plurality of tubes is arranged to receive a sleeve of a ball mount either along the inner surface of the tube or along the outer surface of the tube.
14. The rack of claim 13 wherein the plurality of tubes is attached to the back panel such that the second end is positioned above the first end.
15. The rack of claim 13 wherein the sleeve of the ball mount is received from the second end of the tube.
16. The rack of claim 13 wherein the rack includes at least one tab arranged to secure the rack to a generally vertical surface.
17. The rack of claim 16 wherein a first of the at least one tab extends from the first side panel and a second of the at least one tab extends from the second side panel.
18. The rack of claim 13 further comprising a top panel attached to at least one of the back panel, first side panel, or second side panel.
19. The rack of claim 18 wherein the top panel is arranged such that the top shelf is generally horizontal when the rack is secured to a generally vertical surface.
20. The rack of claim 18 further comprising a channeled display panel arranged to accept information cards and attached to at least one of the first side panel, second side panel, back panel, or top panel.
21. A display rack comprising:
- a. a body including a back wall;
- b. a plurality of tubes extending from the back wall, each of the plurality of tubes comprising: i. a first end attached to the back wall; ii. a second end located distal from the back wall; iii. an exterior surface; and iv. an interior surface accessible from the second end; and
- c. a ball mount including a sleeve, the sleeve received by a first of the plurality of tubes.
22. The rack of claim 21 wherein when the sleeve is received by the first tube, at least a portion of the sleeve is contiguous with the interior surface.
23. The rack of claim 21 wherein when the sleeve is received by the first tube, at least a portion of the sleeve is contiguous with the exterior surface.
24. The rack of claim 21 wherein a cross-section of the first tube is generally rectangle.
25. The rack of claim 24 wherein a height and width of the first tube is greater than a height and width of a second of the plurality of tubes.
26. The rack of claim 21 where the first tube defines a slot running from the first end to the second end.
27. The rack of claim 21 wherein the ball mount includes a securing mechanism.
28. The rack of claim 27 wherein the first tube defines an aperture to receive the securing mechanism.
29. The rack of claim 21 further comprising a channeled panel arranged to display information cards.
30. The rack of claim 21 wherein when the sleeve is received by the first tube, the sleeve and the first tube are generally coaxial.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 24, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2006
Inventors: Michael Sheridan (Lake Villa, IL), Jim Recknagel (Delafield, WI), Linda Rico (Wonderlake, IL), Randall Postle (Shawnee, KS)
Application Number: 11/409,777
International Classification: A47F 7/00 (20060101);