EXTENDABLE DISPLAY FOR COVERING PANELS

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a structure that is used in commercial establishments and various exhibitions, to support ceramic tiles in a vertical position, keeping them on display for convenient viewing by customers/buyers. The present display stands out from those already known in the state-of-the-art due to the fact that it supports the ceramic tile directly, not requiring fastening bases (normally plywood or MDF boards); and also stands out for allowing size adjustment, which makes it possible to accommodate ceramic tiles of varying dimensions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE ART

It is known that in regard to ceramic tiles, it is very important to provide the customer/buyer with a good view of the products, whether at the store or in exhibition events, so that the customer can view in a comfortable and satisfactory way the aesthetic characteristics of that coverings. It can be logically concluded that, due to its vertically thin, but horizontally extensive, format, the best way to arrange a ceramic tile for display is in a vertical position, as if it were applied to a wall. Thus, industries in the segment have developed some models of structures for supporting and displaying ceramic tiles, appropriately called as Displays, as is the case with the subject of patent document ES2355667, among others. The displays currently in the state of the art, and which are most popularly used by store owners, basically comprise a framework consisting of metallic shapes, preferably with “U” or “L” (angle bar) section, which contours and supports a plywood or MDF board—fastened by screws—on which the ceramic tiles are fixed on its front face, generally by using some adhesive substance (glue). And the referred metallic frame—containing the wooden board and the ceramic tiles—receives the assembly of lower and upper casters, which are operatively mounted on a set of bottom horizontal rails and top guides, which in turn are mounted inside compartments in the form of portable boxes, thus being suitable for transport and storage in exhibition spaces; the metal frames are arranged vertically inside these compartments, either individually or in multiple sets mounted on a corresponding number of rails and guides, which are arranged parallel to each other.

Despite their popularity, these display models for ceramic tiles present considerable drawbacks and limitations. The metal frames are industrialized with a single and unchangeable size, so that, in order to fix a ceramic tile on one of these frames, you must first provide the aforementioned wooden board, which in turn presents the suitable size for fitting and fixing inside the frame, being fastened there by using screws. This operation proves to be inconvenient, and also expensive, as it requires a skilled employee to fix the ceramic tiles with glue, which is also a required input, in addition to the operation of fastening the wooden boards on the metal frame. On the other hand, when replacing older covering panels with most modern ones, it is necessary to detach the ceramic tiles from the wooden boards to enable fixing the new coverings, which rarely occurs satisfactorily, as it is very common to damage the wooden board, and almost invariably breaking the ceramic tile removed; and even if the covering panel is removed in one piece, its use is compromised, as its back surface becomes contaminated with the glue that kept it fastened to the wooden board, thus causing it to be unusable on a work site.

Equally relevant is the inconvenience that the displays currently known in the state of the art have their vertical elements and horizontal elements permanently fastened each other—by means of welding—which implies the need for suitable packaging for their transportation, which are significantly large, in order to package these parts already joined together, resulting in higher packaging costs and requiring greater physical space for storage and transportation, increasing the costs of the display in question.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

In order to address these inconveniences, the present invention has been developed, which proposes a display, also in the form of a metal frame. However, this metallic frame is divided into two parts, which are joined together by means of telescopic segments, so that the width of the frame becomes adjustable, making it possible to adapt precisely to the dimensions of the ceramic tile, thus enabling to eliminate the use of the wooden board as base of the ceramic tile. Another new characteristic of the proposed display is the fact that its side segments provide tightening and fastening capabilities for the ceramic tiles by their side edges, which remain compressed between two faces of two respective shapes, thus eliminating the need for screws, glue or any other fixing resource. And the proposed display also presents its vertical and horizontal elements—the ones that interconnect each other—mounted together in a non-permanent way—dismountable—which allows the display to be stored and transported dismounted, thus occupying up less space, and providing savings in packaging and transportation; and can only be mounted at its use site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, a detailed description is given below, with references to the attached drawings, where:

FIG. 1 shows the display in perspective and mounted arrangement;

FIG. 2 shows the display in perspective and exploded arrangement;

FIG. 3 shows the display in front view;

FIG. 4 shows the display with partial section;

FIG. 5 shows the display in side view;

FIG. 6 shows the display in top view; and

FIG. 7 shows the display in perspective, representing its mounting on the bottom rail and under the top guide.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the drawings and their details, the present invention comprises two tubular columns (C) arranged vertically and parallel to each other, where each one receives on one of its oppositely outer faces the overlap of a respective vertical cap (K), with “U” cross-section, which has three oblong pass-through holes drilled (1) horizontally on its mid wall, one of them is located close to its lower end; one near its upper end; and one in its mid region. While that, on one of its smaller faces, the referred cap (K) has at the same heights corresponding to the oblong holes (1), three respective nuts (2) permanently fastened there, each one being fixed over a pass-through hole in that mid wall of the cap (K). Each nut (2) receives a bolt provided with the respective knob (3)

By its turn, each column (C) has three pass-through holes (4) aligned respectively with each of the oblong holes (1) on the cap (K); and on its opposite outer face, the tubular column (C) receives, on each hole (4), the definitive fixation of a respective nut (5), which receives a bolt (6) provided with knob, also passing through the oblong hole on the cap (K), thus securing column (C) and cap (K) together.

By its turn, on the internal side face of one of the columns (C), adjacent to each nut (5), a pair of slots (7) aligned horizontally, and a hole (8), are arranged, in which a horizontal tubular shape (P1) is mounted horizontally in a removable way, which is fastened there by a pair of tongues (9) and screwable appendage (10). The horizontal tubular shape (P1) has on its opposite end a housing (11) for a locking device (T) and respective spring (M); and this lock (T) is equipped with an outer tongue (A) for handling. While, on the opposite column (C), a pair of slots (7) and a hole (8) are also arranged, in which a horizontal shape (P2) with “U” cross-section is mounted horizontally, which is also mounted there in a removable way by using a pair of tongues (9) and a screwable appendage (10). The horizontal shape (P2) has its lower wall provided with a longitudinal row of rectangular and equidistant openings (R), inside which the lower end (E) of the lock (T) fits, providing the interlocking of shapes (P1) and (P2).

By its turn, on the lower end of the column (C) a bearing (12) is fixed, which receives the caster (13) assembly, and on the front face of the bearing (12) a support (14) is fastened with “J” section. While, on the upper end of that column (C), a roller (15) is fixed by means of a vertical threaded rod (16), which is mounted on a nut (17), fastened on the top of the referred column (C).

The mounting/dismounting and use of this invention is simple and practical. First, the set must be kept dismounted for transport and storage, so that shapes (P1) and (P2) must be kept disconnected from the respective columns (C). On the other hand, to assemble the display, shapes (P1) and (P2) must just have their tongues (9) fitted inside the slots (7) of the respective columns, and the appendage (10) must be screwed onto the column (C), promoting the rigidity of the assembly. By its turn, for using this display, its two sides must be interconnected by the—telescopic—introduction of profiles (P2) inside the respective shapes (P1) of the opposite column (C); this assembly is immobilized by the lock (T) action. And under this condition, the display must have its lower casters (13) and upper rollers (15) mounted respectively on a bottom rail (18) and top guide (19), which are generally fastened inside a parallelepipedal compartment (not shown) Thus, the width determined by the distance between the internal faces of both columns (C) must be adjusted according to the width of the ceramic tile (20) to be accommodated. Therefore, this plate (20) must have its two side edges fitted between the inner face of the smaller front side of the cap (k) and the front face of the column (C), when then, screws (3) must be installed and tightened, so that column (C) is forced forward against the rear face of the covering panel (20), close to its side edge, thus resulting in the entrapment—under pressure—of the side edge of the panel (20) in the structure. Highlighting the fact that more ceramic tiles can be aligned vertically on the first lower tile (20), having their respective lower and upper edges as the contact point, but also being equally secured to the display by their side edges.

This invention and its elements can be made with geometric shapes and varied proportions. The materials used may also be different, if the basic particular characteristics that are essential to its realization are maintained.