Picture frame stand

Abstract

A picture frame stand has a bracket (10) for mounting to the rear of a picture frame or to a panel at the rear of a frame. A support (12) is mounted pivotally to the bracket (10) by a cylindrical bar (16) received in a channel (33). The surface of the cylindrical bar is smooth and the channel (33) is a part-cylindrical section of the bracket (10) whose surface also is smooth, but with an inherent radial springiness to grip the smooth bar sufficiently to hold a selected angular position between the bracket and support. However, the frictional grip can be overcome by manually so that the angular disposition of the bracket and support can be adjusted. The channel (33) is defined so that the mouth of the part-cylindrical channel will face towards the rear panel or picture frame.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Filed of the Invention

The present invention relates to stands for picture frames.

2. Description of the Related Art

There is a long standing need for picture frames which can stand upright on a desk, shelf etc. and which can be economically manufactured for a mass market. Frames of this general type exist.

One such mass produced picture frame has a perimeter frame, a transparent front panel of plastics or glass, and a rear opaque backing panel typically of fibre board or plastics. The picture—be it a painting, photograph, print etc.—is sandwiched between the front and rear panels, which are themselves received in a recess formed in the rear of the perimeter frame and held in position typically by flexible metal tabs driven into the perimeter frame, which are bent into position against the rear panel. To enable the frame to stand upright, the rear panel has cuts or perforations pre-formed in it to define a leg which can be bent backwardly out of the plane of the panel. The cuts do not form a closed loop, so that the leg and the panel remain connected through a region of material which, being flexible, acts as a hinge. The frame can thus be rested on a horizontal surface, being upright but inclined somewhat backwardly with the leg serving to prevent it from falling backward.

While commercially successful, such frames are not without shortcomings. Their appearance is not appropriate in some contexts; the leg can sometimes fold inward allowing the frame to topple backwards, and extended use can cause the material forming the hinge to fail.

In another common version of the aforegoing picture frame, the backing panel carries a leg member which is usually tie-shaped and is pivotally hinged about a horizontal axis disposed on the panel so that, in use it can be angularly displaced between a first position in which it lies generally flush with the rear face of the back panel and a second or extended limiting position in which it lies at an angle to the rear face, thereby diverging from the plane of the rear face to provide a support to the frame. With the leg in its extended position, the frame can stand stably on a horizontal surface in an upright or slightly leaning back attitude, being supported in this state by the leg.

The leg is of metal or plastics material, the hinge being riveted or otherwise securely and permanently fixed to the backing panel.

Although it works well this structure suffers from several disadvantages which limit its use. A first disadvantage is that one must know in advance whether the frame is to be hung on a wall or be placed freely standing on a supporting surface. A second disadvantage is that a different leg/hinge arrangement must be assessed/ordered/fitted, in advance, depending on the frame size. Furthermore, a further, different component must be provided to enable the picture to be hung.

According to our earlier GB-A-2 396 296, we proposed an alternative picture frame stand comprising a bracket adapted for mounting at the rear of a picture frame and a support member pivotally mounted by the bracket by means of a bar received in a channel, the channel and bar being shaped to engage with each other to define a plurality of discrete angular positions of the support member relative to the bracket. This was achieved by the provision of co-operating lugs and recesses on/in the bar and channel such as to restrict pivotal movement of the supporting member with respect to the bracket member.

In one embodiment described in GB-A-2 396 296, the co-operating lugs and recesses are to be sized to restrict, but not prevent entirely, pivotal motion of the support member. In this case, the co-operating lugs and recesses engage to an extent sufficient to support the weight of a picture frame received in the holding member when the supporting member is pivoted with respect to the holding member at an angle effective for displaying the picture frame on a surface. The co-operating lugs and recesses are sized to allow pivotal movement of the support member when a force in excess of that provided by the weight of a picture frame is applied. Thus, the supporting member may be deliberately pivoted when desired (to change the angle of picture display or flat pack for storage purposes, for example) but unintentional pivoting (by the weight of the picture frame in use of the stand) is avoided.

In another embodiment described in GB-A-2 396 296, the co-operating lugs and recesses are sized to prevent (barring the use of excessive force which may damage the stand) pivotal motion while engaged. In this case the lugs and recesses are disengageable to allow pivotal movement when desired. For example the lugs and recesses may be provided at one end of the co-operating bar and channel, and the bar may be movable transversely within the channel to effect disengagement of the co-operating lugs and recesses when desired and allow pivotal motion of the bar within the channel. The co-operating lugs and recesses may then be re-engaged to prevent further pivotal motion when a desired change in the relative pivotal orientation of the supporting member and the holding member has been effected.

It has been found in practice, however, that the aforegoing proposal described in our earlier GB-A-2 396 296 has fundamental flaws in practice in that it requires the use of co-operating lugs and recesses to allow variation of the angle between the support member and the bracket. Because of the length of the support member and the relatively tiny diameter of the bar, it would be necessary for the lugs and recesses to be correspondingly tiny for any useful number of adjustments positions to be provided. In practice the device is unable to provide sufficient adjustment positions of the support member because the angles dictated at the free end of the rotating support member/lug arising from just a tiny adjustment of the rotary axis are angularly wide apart. The result is that only one or two discrete angles can be provided with no adjustment in between. The same limitations in regard to lack of angular flexibility applied to the embodiments where the lug rotates and moves laterally to lock into internal serrations.

The design led to operator confusion when a useful available angle could not be found.

In order to be made in huge volume/low cost numbers, the device would have to be made of a plastics material which would be difficult to machine or mould and the lugs/recesses arrangement would wear down and deteriorate easily with use.

Finally, the arrangement described would only fit to one board thickness which limited its value since different versions would be necessary for boards of different thickness.

From GB 556 877 there is known a stand for mirrors, photo-frames and the like which comprises a spring clip part adapted to be clipped onto the photo-frame or the like, and which is rolled over at one end to hingedly engage a co-operating bar carried by a supporting legs component. It is said in GB 556877 that the arrangement described can grip the bar part with sufficient friction to maintain the leg part in an adjusted position to hold the frame or the like at any desired angle to a plane supporting surface. However, in the structure described and illustrated in GB 556877 it is doubtful that this can in practice be achieved sufficiently effectively. The structures described and illustrated in GB 556877 have two drawbacks in this connection. Firstly, it would be difficult to achieve the necessary tight grip on the bar even initially. Because of its springy nature the rolled over end of the clip must be rolled over initially more tightly than when it is in its operational state and it can therefore not be formed by simply being rolled in situ around the bar itself. To achieve the necessary operational grip, it must be rolled over first and then forceably unrolled somewhat to allow entry of the bar. The fully rolled-over structures illustrated do not permit the bar to be inserted laterally for this purpose without severe distortion of the rolled-over section and it would be very difficult to insert the bar axially into a rolled up section of smaller diameter. Secondly, because the rolled-over section of the clip is rolled in a direction away from the clip section which engages the picture frame, when the leg part is rotated downwardly in a direction to take up its operational position, the friction between the bar and the rolled-over portion tends to cause the rolled-over portion to roll up further and therefore increase the grip on the bar. Conversely, when the leg part is rotated upwardly, the opposite occurs and the rolled-over section is opened up slightly to thereby reduce the grip on the bar. When the frame is supported in its operational position on a flat surface, its weight seeks to rotate the supporting leg in this upward direction so that it is when the grip needs to be greatest that it will tend to be reduced. Thus, the tendency would be for the weight of the frame, particularly with larger frames, to cause upward rotation of the support leg and thereby cause the angle of the frame to the vertical to creep backwards undesirably.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a picture frame stand which overcomes the drawbacks of the stands disclosed in GB 556877, of conventional strut-type backs and of our earlier proposed design, and provides a universal support for a wide range of frame sizes, moulding width and back thickness. It would be useful if it could in itself also provide a hanging facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a picture frame stand comprising:

A bracket made of springy material and having a first portion defining a generally u-sectioned clip part adapted to be clipped onto a panel at the rear of a picture frame, or to the rear of the picture frame itself, and a second portion which is curved to define a channel part of part-circular section, and

An elongate support member pivotally coupled to the bracket by means of a cylindrical bar section adjacent one end of the support member which is received within the channel part of the bracket such that the bar is frictionally gripped within the channel sufficiently to normally hold a selected angular position between the bracket and support member but whose frictional grip on the bar can be overcome by manually applied force to the support member to enable the relative angular disposition of the bracket and support member to be adjusted over a continuous range, the channel part being defined by the bracket with its mouth facing towards the clip part such that when the bracket is operationally mounted to a rear panel of a picture frame, or to the picture frame itself, the mouth of the part-circular channel faces towards said rear panel or picture frame.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the curved portion of the bracket defining the channel part of part-circular section is oriented relative to the clip part of the bracket such that when the support member is pivoted relative to the bracket in the rotary direction which causes the vertical angle between a picture frame or picture frame panel mounted to the bracket to be increased, frictional drag between the bar and the channel part causes the curvature of the part-circular channel to decrease and reduce the grip on the bar but when the support member is pivoted relative to the bracket in the opposite rotary direction to cause the vertical angle between a picture frame or picture frame panel mounted to the bracket to be reduced, frictional drag between the bar and the channel causes an increase in the curvature of the part-circular channel to result in an increase in its grip on the bar, thereby providing increased resistance to relative pivoting of the bracket and the support in said opposite direction.

In some embodiments, there are two part-cylindrical channel sections on the bracket which receive respective opposite end sections of the bar.

In other embodiments there can be a single part-cylindrical section on the bracket which receives said cylindrical section of the bar.

Preferably, u-shaped clip part of the support member comprises an elongate leg having said bar at its one end. Advantageously, the bar is formed integrally with the leg.

Preferably, u-shaped clip part of the leg is curved adjacent its end opposite the bar to provide a smoothly curved portion for engaging a support surface.

Preferably, the bracket has a generally u-shaped body comprising a front panel connected by a coupling portion to one or more rearwardly inclined rear flaps to form a recess for receiving a back panel of a picture frame or the picture frame itself. Advantageously, the front panel contains one or more flaps which are inclined rearwardly towards the rear flap or flaps, the springy material of the bracket causing a back panel of a picture frame, or the picture frame itself, inserted into the recess to be positively gripped between the opposed front and rear flaps.

In some embodiments, the front panel includes a lower straight portion extending substantially perpendicularly to said coupling portion and an upper, outwardly curved portion coupled to said part-cylindrical section.

Advantageously, the outwardly curved portion of the bracket contains an aperture or recess for acting as a hanger receiving location to enable the picture frame to be suspended from a hanger, such as a hook, when the picture frame stand is mounted to the top of the picture frame.

Preferably, the free ends of the rear flaps are inclined outwardly to form a lead-in mouth which facilitates slipping the bracket recess over the back panel of the frame, or over the frame itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described further, hereinafter, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above and one side, showing one embodiment of a picture frame stand in accordance with the present invention in its operational position supporting a picture frame;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view from below of a leg part of the picture frame stand of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a bracket portion of the stand of FIG. 1 for receiving the leg of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the bracket portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the picture frame stand of FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 fitted to a picture frame and disposed in a hanging mode;

FIG. 6 is a side view, to an enlarged scale illustrating the connection between the leg and the bracket portion;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are side views illustrating the same stand in use with two different perimeter frame widths;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are exaggerated diagrammatic views to illustrate the apparatus of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 8;

FIG. 11 illustrates how the present device can accommodate a range of moulding widths;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view from above and one side, showing a second embodiment of a picture frame stand in accordance with the present invention in its operational position supporting a picture frame;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG. 12 in a folded, hanging or transit state;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the bracket of the embodiment of FIG. 12 from the front and one side;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the bracket of the embodiment of FIG. 12 from the rear and said one side;

FIG. 16 is a sectional side view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 12 in its operational state;

FIG. 17 is a partial front view of the support leg of the second embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the bracket of a third embodiment of a picture frame stand in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a side elevation of the bracket of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is a partial perspective view showing the third embodiment when in a picture hanging or transit state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the first embodiment of the stand comprises a bracket 10 and a leg 12 which are pivotally coupled together. The leg 12 comprises a rigid elongate body 14 which carries at its one end an integral cylindrical bar 16, coupled to the body 14 by way of a narrowed neck portion 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical bar 16 extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the elongate body portion 14. In the presently illustrated embodiment, the elongate body 14 of the leg is curved upwardly near the end opposite to the bar 16 so as to provide a curved surface region 20 on its underside for minimizing the possibility of scratching a surface 22 on which the stand supports a picture frame in use (see also FIGS. 7 and 8).

The bracket 10 is made of a springy material, which is preferably a metal but may also be a suitable plastics material, and comprises a generally rectangular front panel 24 connected at its lower end to a pair of upstanding springy rear flaps 26a, 26b via a coupling portion 28 and connected at its upper end to portions 32a, 32b defining respective part-cylindrical, generally smooth surfaced bearing-forming portions which together form an open channel 33. The front panel 24 includes a pair of depending, flap portions 30a, 30b which are inclined out of the plane of the front panel 24 so as to extend towards the rear flaps 26a, 26b. The rear flaps 26a, 26b are themselves inclined somewhat forwardly towards the front panel 24 as best seen in FIG. 6 but have outwardly directed lead-in regions 25 adjacent their free ends for facilitating the slipping of the bracket onto a backing panel as described hereinafter.

As is best seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, the part-cylindrical recesses 32a, 32b of the bracket receive and partially embrace respective substantially smooth end portions of the cylindrical bar 16 whereby to pivotally couple together the leg and the bracket.

The relative radial dimensions of the part-cylindrical portions of the bar 16 and the springiness of the material forming the part-cylindrical portions 32a, 32b are chosen to be such that the part-cylindrical portions firmly grip the bar 16 but nevertheless allow their relative angular positions to be adjusted by overcoming the tight friction coupling therebetween. The surfaces of the part-cylindrical bearing portions 32a, 32b and the end portions of the cylindrical bar received therein are generally smooth, but can nevertheless be roughened to increase the friction therebetween.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the springy flaps 30a, 30b on the front panel 24 are disposed so as to face and oppose the rear flaps 26a, 26b whereby when the bracket is applied to the rear panel 36 of a picture frame by introducing the rear panel 36 between these opposed pairs of springy flaps (see FIGS. 1 and 5), the rear panel 36 is positively gripped between these pairs of flaps to hold the bracket in place. It will be appreciated also that this arrangement of the opposed springy flaps will grip virtually any rear panel having a thickness not greater than the width of the coupling portion 28, (dimension ‘A’ in FIG. 6). The bracket is therefore not restricted to use with any particular rear panel thickness. It will also be appreciated that the opposed springy flaps of the bracket could grip the picture frame itself, although in this case the rear flaps 26 would be disposed at the front of the picture frame.

In use, the bracket is normally fitted centrally to the lower edge of the rear panel 36, corresponding to the lower edge of the picture which is to be mounted. As shown in FIG. 1 and in FIGS. 7 and 8, in this condition, the leg is pivoted manually relative to the bracket, by rotating the bar 16 within the part-cylindrical bearing-forming portions 32a, 32b so as to achieve a stable attitude for the picture frame on a supporting surface 22. It will be appreciated that a wide range of stable angular positions can be obtained using this arrangement.

The principal advantage of the present stand over that provided by our earlier Application No. GB-A 2 396 296 is that the bracket and leg are not limited to discrete angular relative positions but can assume an infinite number of relative angular positions due to the spring-assisted friction coupling therebetween provided by the bar 16 and the springy part-circular channels 32.

The present structure also provides important practical advantages over devices of the type described in GB 556877 for the following reasons which are explained in connection with diagrammatic FIGS. 9 and 10 and with FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 to which reference is now directed. It should be noted that FIGS. 9 and 10 are highly diagrammatic and show gaps between components that are highly exaggerated for the purposes of explanation.

As evident from these Figures, the part-circular, bearing-forming channels or recesses 32a, 32b are formed by continuations of the first panel 24 of the bracket 10, these continuations being curved in a direction such that the mouths of the part-circular channels 32a, 32b open towards an imaginary plane containing the front wall 24 (see FIG. 6). Furthermore, the open mouths of the channels 32a, 32b are wide enough to enable the ends of the bar 16 to be inserted simply with a snap-in fit.

The effect of this structure is that when the bracket 10 and support leg 12 have been applied to a picture frame as in FIG. 1 so that the back panel 36 of the frame is gripped between the front and rear panels 24, 26 of the bracket, and the support leg 12 is rotated downwardly in direction B (FIG. 9), the front panel 24 is levered away from the back panel 36 somewhat so that the bar 16 leaves frictional contact with the back panel 36 and the curvatures of the part-circular channels 32a, 32b are opened-up somewhat as a result of the rotational frictional drag from the rotating bar 16, whereby to cause the relaxation of the frictional grip on the rotating bar 16. As a result, the frictional forces resisting rotation of the leg 12 are reduced and the leg can be rotated easily to bring it into its operational position shown in FIGS. 1 and 9.

However, when the rotation of the leg in direction B is discontinued, the front panel 24 returns to its original position shown in FIG. 10 in which the bar 16 is urged against the back panel 36 as a result of the inherent springiness of the bracket material. In this condition, the weight of the frame provides a force component F which acts so as to try to pivot the leg in direction C. In this case, the frictional drag between the bar and the part-circular channels tends to distort the bracket material defining the channels so that they wrap more closely around the bar and thereby increase the friction therebetween. Furthermore, there is friction between the bar and the back of the rear panel 36 in contact therewith. The combined effect is to increase significantly the frictional forces acting to resist rotation of the leg in direction C and thereby to assist retention of the selected angle of the leg relative to the frame. The resulting arrangement is therefore significantly more stable when in its operational position than in the case of structures of the type shown in GB 556877.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the leg can include an aperture 40 whereby when a picture is to be hung from a vertical wall surface rather than be positioned on a horizontal surface 22, if the bracket is positioned on the upper edge of the rear panel 36 rather than the lower edge and then folded flat against the rear panel 36, the aperture 40 can be used to hang the picture from a conventional picture hook 42 applied to the vertical wall.

The second embodiment of FIGS. 12 to 17 is essentially the same in principle as the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 11 but is intended to provide a simpler and cheaper alternative.

The principal difference is that the support 12′ is constructed from a plain elongate bar of circular section which is bent at one end into a triangular shape whereby to provide a pivot portion 16′ which extends perpendicularly to a leg portion 14′. The pivot portion 16′ is received with a friction fit within a channel 33′ formed by a part-cylindrical section 32′ of the bracket 10′ which is sufficiently tight to be capable of holding a selected angular orientation of the support and bracket but which can be overcome by manual manipulation of these elements to select a desired angular orientation therebetween.

Advantageously, the bracket is modified compared to that of the first embodiment so as to have a flat/straight portion 52 connected to the coupling portion 28′ and extending perpendicularly, or generally perpendicular, thereto, and an outwardly curved or bowed portion 54 having the part-cylindrical section 32′ at its free (upper) end. This curved section 54 can usefully include an aperture 56 to which, when the stand is fixed to the top of the picture frame, as compared to its usual position at the bottom of the frame, can provide a means by which the picture frame can be suspended from a hanging fixture such as a wall mounted hook (not shown).

The bracket 10″ of the embodiment of FIGS. 18 to 20 is very similar in principle to the bracket 10′ of FIGS. 12 to 17 except that the outwardly bowed portion 54 of the bracket 10′ is replaced in the bracket 10″ by a flat portion 60 and the part-cylindrical section 32′ of the bracket 10′ is now spaced laterally from the main body of the bracket 10″ via a straight section 62. The generally triangular aperture 56 in the bowed portion 54 of the bracket 10′ is replaced by an aperture 64, located partly in the flat portion 60 and partly in the substantially perpendicularly extending flat portion 62.

Furthermore, as best seen in FIG. 18, the aperture 64 consists of a rectangular section 64a in the flat portion 62 and a half-moon section 64b in the flat portion 60.

By virtue of these changes, when the picture is to be hung on a wall rather than supported on a horizontal surface by the support 12′, more space is provided to enable the tongue 66 of a conventional picture hook 68 to engage through the triangular aperture 70 formed by the support bar 12′ and enter the half-moon shaped section 64b of the aperture 64 in the bracket. In this condition, the part-cylindrical portion 32″ lies within the upwardly facing v-section defined by the tongue 66 and main body 72 of the hanger 68 to firmly and positively engage the bracket 10″ and support the picture in a stable manner.

The above described stands possess a number of further practical advantages as follows.

• • (1) Although the present stands comprise two parts in use, these parts fit together in a semi-permanent manner so as to effectively constitute a single component to be slipped onto a picture frame to enable the frame to stand upright in use. This same single component also provides a hanging facility as described hereinabove. The provision of such a ‘single-component’ slip-on device means the industry needs only to store flat backs, so reducing inventory considerably.
  • (2) The flexibility of the spring bracket enables it to fit all conventional thicknesses of back panel, making the device a commercial product in its own right which can for example, be sold to DlY/hobby stores and the like, as a stand-alone picture frame support system.
  • (3) The device can be manufactured in a variety of materials including metal and plastics, in order to suit all price sectors.
  • (4) The spring assisted grip allows the leg to rotate and offer support in an infinite number of positions. It is suitable for all frame sizes, at least up to and including 10×8 inches, which covers 98% of the current market.
  • (5) The curved shape of the leg will not damage support surfaces on which a picture frame is to sit. The innate elegance of the delicate leg design will give confidence to the user that damage to the support surface is unlikely.
  • (6) The simple, single operation of the device will be understood instantly by the consumer, without the need for potentially confusing instructions.

By the expressions “substantially smooth” and “generally smooth surfaced” as used in this specification and the claims attached thereto, we include the possibility that the surfaces in question can be roughened, for example as by sand-papering or knurling, but exclude the possibility that the engaging surfaces are deliberately provided with surface protuberances and recesses designed to mate together to define particular angular orientations between the support member and bracket.

Claims

1. A picture frame stand comprising:

a bracket made of springy material and having a first portion defining a generally u-sectioned clip part adapted to be clipped onto a panel at the rear of a picture frame, or to the rear of the picture frame itself, and a second portion which is curved to define a channel part of part-circular section, and

an elongate support member pivotally coupled to the bracket by means of a cylindrical bar section adjacent one end of the support member which is received within the channel part of the bracket such that the bar is frictionally gripped within the channel sufficiently to normally hold a selected angular position between the bracket and support member but whose frictional grip on the bar can be overcome by manually applied force to the support member to enable the relative angular disposition of the bracket and support member to be adjusted over a continuous range, the channel part being defined by the bracket with its mouth facing towards the clip part such that when the bracket is operationally mounted to a rear panel of a picture frame, or to the picture frame itself, the mouth of the part-circular channel faces towards said rear panel or picture frame.

2. The picture frame stand of claim 1, wherein there are two channels of part-cylindrical section on the bracket which receive respective opposite end sections of the bar.

3. The picture frame stand of claim 1, wherein there is a single channel of part-cylindrical section on the bracket which receives said cylindrical section of the bar.

4. The picture frame stand of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises an elongate leg having said bar at its one end.

5. A picture frame stand comprising:

a bracket made of springy material and having a first portion defining a generally u-sectioned clip part adapted to be clipped onto a panel at the rear of a picture frame, or to the rear of the picture frame itself, and a second portion which is curved to define a channel part of part-circular section, and

an elongate support member pivotally coupled to the bracket by means of a cylindrical bar section adjacent one end of the support member which is received within the channel part of the bracket such that the bar is frictionally gripped within the channel sufficiently to normally hold a selected angular position between the bracket and support member but whose frictional grip on the bar can be overcome by manually applied force to the support member to enable the relative angular disposition of the bracket and support member to be adjusted over a continuous range, wherein the curved portion of the bracket defining the channel part of part-circular section is oriented relative to the clip section of the bracket such that when the support member is pivoted relative to the bracket in the rotary direction which causes the vertical angle between a picture frame or picture frame panel mounted to the bracket to be increased, frictional drag between the bar and the channel part causes the curvature of the part-circular channel to decrease and reduce the grip on the bar but when the support member is pivoted relative to the bracket in the opposite rotary direction to cause the vertical angle between a picture frame or picture frame panel mounted to the bracket to be reduced, frictional drag between the bar and the channel causes an increase in the curvature of the part-circular channel to result in an increase in its grip on the bar, thereby providing increased resistance to relative pivoting of the bracket and the support in said opposite direction.

6. The picture frame stand of claim 5, wherein there are two channels of part-cylindrical section on the bracket which receive respective opposite end sections of the bar.

7. The picture frame stand of claim 5, wherein there is a single channel of part-cylindrical section on the bracket which receives said cylindrical section of the bar.

8. The picture frame stand of claim 7, wherein the support member comprises an elongate leg having said bar at its one end.

9. The picture frame stand of claim 8, wherein the bar is formed integrally with the leg.

10. The picture frame stand of claim 8, wherein the leg is curved adjacent its end opposite the bar to provide a smoothly curved portion for engaging a support surface.

11. The picture frame stand of claim 10, wherein a generally u-shaped body of the bracket comprises a front panel connected by a coupling portion to one or more rearwardly inclined rear flaps to form a recess for receiving a back panel of a picture frame, or the picture frame itself.

12. The picture frame stand of claim 11, wherein the front panel contains one or more flaps which are inclined rearwardly towards the rear flap or flaps, the springy material of the bracket causing a back panel of a picture frame, or the picture frame itself, inserted into the recess to be positively gripped between the opposed front and rear flaps.

13. The picture frame stand of claim 11, wherein the front panel includes a lower straight portion extending substantially perpendicularly to said coupling portion and an upper, outwardly curved portion coupled to the part-cylindrical channel section.

14. The picture frame stand of claim 13, wherein the outwardly curved portion of the bracket contains an aperture or recess for acting as a hanger receiving location to enable the picture frame to be suspended from a hanger, such as a hook, when the picture frame stand is mounted to the top of the picture frame.

15. The picture frame stand of claim 11, wherein the free ends of the rear flaps are inclined outwardly to form a lead-in mouth which facilitates slipping the bracket recess over the back panel of the frame or over the frame itself.

16. The picture frame stand of claim 11, wherein the part-cylindrical channel section of the bracket is connected to said front panel by way of a portion extending substantially perpendicularly to said front panel.

17. The picture frame stand of claim 16, which contains an aperture in the bracket, a first portion of which lies in said front panel and second portion of which lies in said portion extending substantially perpendicularly to said front panel.

18. The picture frame stand claim 17, wherein said first portion of the aperture is substantially half-moon shaped.

19. The picture frame stand of claim 17, wherein said second portion of the aperture is of substantially rectangular shape.

20. The picture frame stand of claim 5, wherein the channel is disposed on the bracket such that when the stand is in use to support a picture frame, a portion of the circumferential periphery of the bar lies in frictional contact with said picture frame panel or picture frame itself.