Easy Access Display Frame System for Pins and Medals
The invention is Display Frame System comprised of an outer unit and inner member which pivots where a female and male edge of each respectively meet. The inner member swings into the outer unit engaging the remaining edges by means of a locking mechanism. The combination of the outer unit and inner member serve to hold a display panel/board in place. Pins, medals or the like can be secured to the display panel/board. The system allows for extreme ease of accessing the pins or medals displayed as well as the ability to transport and use the assembled frame in other manners of display such as upon an easel as well as vertically or horizontally.
The displaying of 3 dimensional objects within a display case mounted upon the wall has traditionally fallen into 2 catagories the first is of the nature often seen in retail establishment. These usually are accessible via a hinged door. The second are those which are once mounted meant to be of the permanent nature. Like those used to hold a folded flag or autographed baseballs for example.
At times picture frames have also been used to display 3 dimensional objects, but these uses are much the same as the prior mentioned permanent display cases and at times the line between a wall mounted display case and a framed display of an item have been blurred.
There exists a category of items that while three dimensional in nature are only limitedly so, and thus can be displayed in generally a more two dimensional format. Examples of such items would be military medals, sports medals, cloisonné and enamel pins. While frames and display cases for such items do already exist none allow ease of access or exchange of items displayed.
There exists a great many collectors of pins who have no way of easily displaying their pins while at the same time protecting them from dust, smoke, and other contaminents. Most often such collectors resort to mounting the pins on cork boards and the like. This neither protects them nor does it create a necessarily pleasing visual display.
Likewise, the display cases that are available are both costly and difficult to use, allowing no easy method of access which is a key consideration to collectors who often wish to trade their pins with other collectors.
No currently available display device allows for both an ease of access important to collectors who often trade and add to their collection as well as a protected method of display found in a display case or frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe unique design of this invention grants ease of access as well as an ideal method where by the displayed items can be removed, replaced, exchanged in mere seconds. Yet it does so while still providing an extremely stable method of display. It does this utilizing a minimal amount of material and components making it readily affordable to the public market.
The object of this invention is to provide a wall mounted display case having an internal member which fits into the outer unit, this inner member can be inserted and removed from the outer unit in a simple one step action. This inner member is then able to support the entire load of the assembled display.
Additionally, the ability to easily remove the entire frame from the wall allows the frame with its display pieces to be easily transported, and thus used in a temporarily display situations such as a trade or art show.
With reference to the drawings
The invention is Easy Access Display Frame System for Pins and Medals.
The inner unit composed of it's two side pieces 10, top 4 and bottom 11 within which the preferred locking mechanism of magnets 12 have been mounted, is placed into the outer unit, composed of parts 1-3, 5-9, 16 & 17. This is done by aligning the inner unit so that the male edge 19 of piece 4 is moved into the female cavity of piece 3, once engaged piece 19 severs as a pivot point 21 from which the remainer of the inner unit swings 22 into a locking position 18. Once in this position the inner unit is held in place by the locking mechanisms within the outer unit 16 and inner member 12, which in the preferrred embodiment are magnets. The outer unit is composed of the frame face 1, frame edge side and bottom pieces 9, frame edge top piece 3 containing female edge, stop 2 creating viewing space and holding glass 5 in place, Side 17 and bottom 9 piece also contains magnets 16 used in this embodiment as the locking mechanism.
The outer unit and the inner member hold the panel/board 8 in place allowing the display of desired pieces 7, in the display area 6 as shown in
Claims
1. A Vertical Display Case, comprising outer unit that forms interior cavity; an inner member which when correctly placed within the outer unit's interior cavity becomes engaged by the mating of a female and male edge of outer unit and inner member, subsuqeuently the remaining edges are engaged by mechanism to further secure the engagement of the inner and outer pieces, serving to lock the pieces together.
2. The inner member of claim 1, pivoting from the edge where the male and female edges meet swings both towards and away from the outer unit to allow engagement and disengagement in a one step movement.
3. The mechanism used in claim 1 to lock the outer unit and inner member together, further secures the engagement of the outer unit and the inner member, by means phyiscal like a spring loaded ball and corresponding catch or magnetic or a combination there of. It also serves to bring the remaining edges of the inner member into the desired resting position which prevents the unintended disengagement (seperation) of the male and female mating edges of the inner member and outer unit.
4. The properly mated male and female edges of the outer unit and inner member of claim 1 creates a physical barrier which prevents disengagement of the outer unit and the inner member other then by the pivoting outward of the inner member as refered to in cliam 2.
5. A system for securing a display piece or a display mounting panel within a Vertical Display Case comprising outer unit that forms interior cavity; into which the piece to be displayed is placed, then an inner member which when correctly placed within the outer unit's interior cavity becomes engaged by the mating of a female and male edge of outer unit and the inner member, subsuqeuently the remaining edges are engaged by mechanism to further secure the engagement. This engagement securely holds the piece to be displayed in it's desired location.
6. In the preferred embodiment of claim 1, the mated female and male edges serve as the load bearing edge upon which the the Display Case is then mounted vertically upon a wall. This is done by hanging the case from the load bearing inner edge of the inner member. The hanging of the Display Case from this inner edge serves to use the weight of the Display Case as well as the displayed piece to maintain the engagement of the male inner member and the female outer unit.
7. In the preferred embodiment of claim 1, the inner member has angled edge shown in FIG. 1a on the opposite side of the male load bearing edge. This allows for the Display Case when assembled to be mounted upon a bracket with a complimentary angled edge attached approiately to a wall. This method of mounting the Display Case allows not only ease in removing and replacement of the displayed piece but also facilitates ease of left-right positioning as well as leveling the Case.
8. This interior cavity of claim 1 as well as the over all size of the Display Case is in no way limited to a given size either in height, width or depth.
9. The intended use of the system of claim 5 is to display a three dimensional piece or pieces within the interior cavity. The preffered manner in which this will be done is to mount pins, buttons or medals upon a board or panel that is placed within the frame as shown in FIG. 1a and then secured in place by the inner member as discribed in claim 5.
10. The preffered embodiment of claim 1 uses a stop along the inner edge of the outer unit against which the inner member when in place holds the display board/panel it also serves to hold the glass for the viewing area in place.
11. In the preferred embodiment the panel of claim 5 is created from penetrable substratum such as coraplast, foam core or cardboard which then can but need not be covered with fabric.
12. It could in another embodiment of claim 5 display a 2 dimensional piece.
13. In the preferred embodiment of claim 1 the an inner edge of the outer unit serves as the female edge and an outside edge of the inner member contains the male edge.
14. In another embodiment of claim 1 the an inner edge of the outer unit serves as the male edge and an outside edge of the inner member contains the female edge.
15. While the preferred manor of usage of the display case of claim 1, is that of being wall mounted it could in another embodiment be displayed freestanding or upon an easel or like base.
16. The preferred embodiment of claim 1, uses the outer unit to hold and support both the visible frame and glass.
17. Another embodiment of claim 1 uses the inner member to hold and support both the visible frame and glass with the outer unit being securing the Display Case to the wall.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 18, 2010
Publication Date: Feb 23, 2012
Inventor: Steven Brandes (Berkeley Heights, NJ)
Application Number: 12/859,250