WO1992017099A1

WO1992017099A1 - Support for an object to be displayed

Info

Publication number: WO1992017099A1
Application number: PCT/BE1992/000009
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-Luc Laloux
Original assignee: Laloux Jean Luc
Priority date: 1991-04-04
Filing date: 1992-03-27
Publication date: 1992-10-15
Also published as: BE1004719A5

Abstract

A support (5) includes a plate (1) with at least one groove (2) having movably mounted therein at least one fastener (3, 4) for holding an object (12) to be displayed. Said support (5) is provided with a packing piece (13) placed on the opposite side of the plate (1) to the side on which the object (12) is placed. Said fastener (3, 4) comprises a rod (14) which is arranged to move substantially perpendicularly to said plate (1) on the same side thereof as the packing piece (13). The thickness of said packing piece (13) is at least as great as the maximum distance over which said rod (14) can travel.

Description

SUPPORT FOR AN OBJECT TO BE DISPLAYED

The invention relates to a support comprising a plate provided with at least one groove in which at least one clip is movably mounted, which clip is intended to hold in place an object to be displayed placed downstream of said plate, said support being provided with a shim placed on the opposite side of the plate to that intended for the placement of said object.

Such a support is known from German patent n ° 3411220. With the known support the object to be displayed, in the case of said German patent a collection plate, is held in place. using fasteners. These clips can move in the grooves in which they are mounted, thus allowing the position of the clips to be adjusted to the diameter of the object to be displayed. The thickness of the object is adjusted by sliding a front part of the fastener towards the front of the plate. When the clip has been adjusted to the thickness of the object to be displayed, it is locked in this position using a clamping screw placed at the rear of the plate. In order to hide this tightening screw, a peripheral shim is provided on the rear periphery of the plate. A disadvantage of the known support is that the adjustment of the fastener to the thickness of the object is carried out by moving a part of the fastener located in the front part of the support. This requires the presence of these adjustment means at the front of the plate, which affects the aesthetics of the support. In addition, by their construction, these means of tage have a certain dimension imposing, when fixing an object having a reduced thickness such as for example a photo, the use of an additional plate serving as an element of rigidity to the support of the photo. In the known support, the plate only serves to support the fasteners and not the object.

The object of the invention is to produce a support which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantage.

To this end, a support according to the invention is characterized in that said fastener comprises a rod arranged to move, when adjusting the fastener on the side where the wedge is located in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate, said shim having a thickness at least equal to the maximum distance over which said rod can move to the side where the shim is located. The well-defined dimension of the wedge makes it possible to create a space behind the plate, a space in which the rod of the fastener can then move freely. This in turn allows the visible effect of the adjustment of the fastener to be moved behind the plate and therefore offers a more elegant fastener in its part located at the front of the plate. The wedge according to the invention therefore no longer serves as a cover as in the known support but has a clearly determined function in adjusting the fastener. By allowing a displacement of the rod at the rear of the plate, the front part of the fastener can have a reduced dimension, which offers the advantage of being able to fix objects having a reduced thickness without having to use an additional plate. In addition, since the fastener extends from the front towards the rear of the plate, the adjustment of the fastener to the thickness of the object is possible from the front of the plate without that this interferes with the aesthetics of the plate, and without having to unhook the support to adjust the fastener. The invention is therefore based on the notion that, contrary to usual practice, it is at the rear of the plate that the visual effect of the adjustment of the fastener must occur and no longer at the front of the plate.

A first preferred embodiment of a support according to the invention is characterized in that said fastener comprises a screw and a nut mounted in the groove so that the nut is located on the side of the shim. The use of a screw and a nut offers an inexpensive solution which, mounted in this way, is perfectly suited as a fastener which can extend to the rear of the plate. A second preferred embodiment of a support according to the invention is characterized in that said nut is provided with a protuberance having a thickness comparable to the width of the groove and intended to be placed in the groove when the fastener is fixed. The protrusion allows the nut to be locked in the groove, thus facilitating the adjustment of the fastener from the front of the plate.

A third preferred embodiment of a support according to the invention is characterized in that said attachment comprises a shoulder ent intended to come into contact with said object, said shoulder having a conical profile which extends substantially from its periphery outside towards a center located inside said shoulder. When tightening the fastener against the object to be displayed, the shoulder goes slightly deviated from the parallel direction that it forms with the plate due to the back pressure generated by the object. This has the consequence that the shoulder will no longer be able to exert sufficient force to hold the object in place, which therefore leads to detachment of the object. The tapered profile of the shoulder ¹ is now possible to overcome this problem.

Preferably said screw comprises a pellet-shaped head, said shoulder being formed by a lower part of said head. This makes it possible to form an aesthetic attachment without compromising its reliability of use.

Preferably said wedge has a substantially u-shaped profile, the closed end of which is located substantially against said plate. This makes it possible to lighten the hold.

Preferably said wedge is placed substantially in the center of said plate. This makes it possible to use only one wedge while obtaining perfect alignment of the support with respect to the wall against which the support is fixed.

A fourth preferred embodiment of a support according to the invention is characterized in that the fastener comprises a strip which extends substantially perpendicular to the groove in which its fastener is mounted. The slider prevents the edges of an object with a reduced thickness such as a photo from bending over time. The invention will now be described in more detail using the examples given in the drawings where:

Figures 1 respectively 2 and 3 illustrate a first respectively a second and third embodiment of a support according to the invention; Figure 4 illustrates a cross section along the line IV-IV of the support according to Figure 1; Figure 5 illustrates a screw forming part of the fastener;

Figure 6 illustrates a nut making part of the fastener;

Figure 7 respectively 8 illus¬ trent the fastener in a tight position using a single fastener respectively a fastener having a shoulder provided with a conical profile.

In the different figures, the same reference is assigned to the same elements or to analogous elements.

In the first embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the support 5 comprises a plate l, for example a plexigas plate or another rigid material such as steel or schis¬ te, provided with a groove 2 which extends over part of the height and which crosses the plate. In this groove a first fastener 3, and preferably a second fastener 4 is mounted in a movable manner. The fasteners can be fixed in different places and preferably in each place of the groove. When we want to fix an object 12, such as for example a photo or a painting downstream of the plate 1, we move one or both fasteners 3 and 4 in the groove until they are in places where they abut against the object 12. Next, the fastener (s) are fixed in the groove at the place where they have just been brought. By fixing the fastener in the groove, this fastener will apply pressure against the object and thus keep it downstream of the plate. Thus by moving the fastener in the groove, it is possible to conveniently fix objects of different dimensions to a plate of standard size.

The groove 2 extends over the entire depth of the plate, which makes it possible to use fasteners which pass through the plate and which can thus extend in the space at the rear of the plate as illustrated in FIG. 4. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a second and a third embodiment of a support according to the invention. In the example of Figure 2 four grooves 6, 7, 8 and 9 are provided which extend substantially in the form of a rectangular cross. In the example of Figure 3 the grooves 10 and 11 extend diagonally. The presence of two or four grooves allows greater diversity in the choice of attachment points and moreover better fixation of the object which can thus be fixed in four different places.

It will be clear that other embodiments are also possible, so instead of extending over practically the entire height or width of the plate, the groove may extend only over a small distance and a number greater than four grooves can also be envisaged, for example to fix several objects on the same support. In another embodiment the groove has a curved shape, such as for example a single or a double spiral, or an oval. The shape of a spiral allowing a large number of attachment points.

The support comprises a wedge 13 placed on the opposite side of the plate to that intended for the placement of the object to be displayed, that is to say at the rear of the plate 1 when the latter is for example hung on a wall . The wedge preferably has a substantially U-shaped profile which makes it possible to reduce its weight. The closed end of the u-shaped profile is located substantially against said plate 1 which allows to have sufficient contact surface between the wedge and the plate. The wedge 13 is preferably placed in the center of the plate 1, which makes it possible to use only one wedge which, moreover, will be entirely hidden by the object displayed when the support is used. Another advantage of the substantially u-shaped profile and the placement of the shim in the center of the plate is that this allows the plate to be aligned in parallel with the wall against which the support is placed. Preferably, the wedge includes attachment means for the support such as, for example, a perforation 18 in one of the rising legs of the u-profile or a small bar which extends between the rising legs of the u-profile. These attachment means serve to cooperate with a hook placed in a wall and intended to suspend the support.

The fasteners 3, 4 each comprise a rod 14 and a fixing 15 as illustrated in FIG. 4. Preferably the rod is formed by a screw (FIG. 5) having a head 16 and a thread 17 which extends over all or over part of the length of the rod. The fixing 15 (FIG. 8) is preferably formed by a nut provided with a screw pitch corresponding to that of the screw 17. But it goes without saying that other embodiments are also possible such as a rod provided lugs that can snap into the binding.

The rod 14 and the fastener 15 are mounted in such a way that the fastener is placed on the same side as that of the wedge. When the object is fixed, the rod moves through the groove in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate and is housed on the same side as that of the wedge. To this end, the wedge 13 has a thickness at least equal to the maximum distance over which the rod of the fastener can move on the side where the wedge is placed. The presence of the wedge therefore makes it possible to create a space at the rear of the plate, space in which the removable part of the fastener can then move freely when the fastener is adjusted to the object to be fixed.

When 1 • fastener is formed by a screw and a nut, the nut 15 is placed on the same side as the shim 13 and the thread 17 passes through the groove to come to be aimed in the nut and extend through the nut at the rear of the plate. This therefore makes it possible to transpose the clearance of the fastener to the rear of the plate and to have an elegant fastener at the front of the frame giving an esthetic appearance to the support.

The nut 15 is provided with a protuberance 19, as illustrated in FIG. 6. This makes it possible to facilitate the manipulation of the fastener from the front face of the support and therefore not to have to unhook the support during an adjustment. This protuberance has a thickness comparable to the width of the groove and is intended to be placed in the groove when the fastener is fixed. Thus it is possible to block the nut in the groove to prevent rotation of the latter. The protrusion may extend over the entire thickness of the nut or over part of the thickness. Where appropriate, the protuberance can also be formed in two parts arranged on either side of the opening giving access to the thread.

The fastener comprises a shoulder 19 intended to come into contact with said object to be displayed. This shoulder has a conical profile which extends substantially from its outer periphery towards a center situated inside said shoulder, as illustrated in FIG. 5. When the fastener comprises a screw, its head is preferably in the form of a pellet. The lower part of the head then forms said shoulder. The use of the conical profile provides a solution to the problem described below. The base of the conical profile corresponds with the outer periphery of the screw head while the top, located inside the head, coincides with the pitch of the screw. If a flat head screw is used, the screw tends to be oblique in the groove when tightening the screw in the nut when it comes to tighten against the object. The counterforce exerted by the object against the head of the screw will, in fact, cause a deviation of a trajectory substantially perpendicular to the plate 1. This deviation, illustrated in FIG. 7, will cause the object to be fixed only on a line crossing the bottom surface of the flat head screw. The component parallel to the plate of the force exerted by the fastener against the object will then be exerted on this entire line. Since this component is generally oriented in the same direction as gravity, it will cause the object to detach which will then slide under the fastener.

The conical geometry of the shoulder will now substantially reduce this drawback as illustrated in FIG. 8. In fact, the conical geometry will cause the object to be held in two contact points on the shoulder, thereby substantially reducing said component by force parallel. In addition, the object's counter-force can only be applied on two points and its effect will thus be significantly reduced. The two points of contact are, when using a screw having a pellet-shaped head, substantially symmetrical with respect to the thread, which allows a balanced distribution of the force. The fastener preferably comprises a strip 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2, which extends substantially perpendicular to the groove in which its fastener is mounted. This rule, which is preferably detachably fixed to the rod of the clip, prevents, for example, when the object is formed from a photo or a sheet of paper, that the edges go in the long run. Bend.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Support comprising a plate provided with at least one groove in which at least one attachment is movably mounted, which attachment is intended to hold in place an object to be displayed placed downstream of said plate, said support being provided with 'A wedge placed on the opposite side of the plate to that intended for the placement of said object, characterized in that said fastener comprises a rod arranged to move, during an adjustment of the fastener, on the side where the shim in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate, said shim having a thickness at least equal to the maximum distance over which said rod can move to the side where the shim is located.

2. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that said fastener comprises a screw and a nut mounted in the groove so that the nut is located on the side of the wedge.

3. Support according to claim 2, characterized in that said nut is provided with a protuberance having a thickness comparable to the width of the groove and intended to be placed in the groove when the fastener is fixed.

4. Support according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said fastener comprises a shoulder intended to come into contact with said object, said shoulder having a conical profile which extends substantially from its outer periphery toward a center located inside said shoulder.

5. Support according to claim 2 and 4 or 3 and 4, characterized in that said screw comprises a pellet-shaped head, said shoulder being formed by a lower part of said head.

6. Support according to one of the claims cations 1 to 5, characterized in that said wedge has a substantially u-shaped profile, the closed end of which is located substantially against said plate.

7. Support according to one of revendi¬ cations l to 6, characterized in that said wedge includes attachment means for the support.

8. Support according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said wedge is placed substantially in the center of said plate.

9. Support according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the fastener comprises a strip which extends substantially perpendicular to the groove in which its fastener is mounted.

10. Fastener intended to be used in a support according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a rod.