Card Supporting Device

Abstract

A display device for supporting cards such as price tags, product identification cards, posters and the like. The device is manufactured from flat cardboard or paperboard or the like and distributed flat. It can be set up into card supporting position without the use of staples, adhesive, etc. The device includes a sloping front wall and a sloping rear wall connected at a junctional apex having a card-receiving slit extending from one lateral edge of the apex to a median portion. The bottom ends of the front and rear walls are connected by a base wall connected to the front wall and having means interlocking with cooperating means on the rear wall.

Description

This invention relates to devices for supporting price tags, memo cards, posters and the like whereby such articles are supported in an upright position and is an improvement over the invention of my prior U. S. Pat. No. 2,600,429.

It is an object of the invention to provide a card supporting device adapted to be distributed in flatwise condition and subsequently set up into operative position without the use of extraneous fastening means such as staples, adhesive or the like.

A particular feature of the invention is to provide a card supporting device comprising front and rear upright wall members disposed in angled relation relative to one another wherein the apex of the device comprises the junctional apex of the front and rear wall members with the wall members diverging downwardly therefrom in straight lines respectively to the supporting horizontal base surface upon which the device is positioned, and a slit in the apex extending inwardly from one lateral edge of the wall members to a median portion thereof. By this means the upper ends of the wall members are secured together across only part of their width with the remaining upper end portions being unsecured and providing separate opposed upper edge portions disposed in contiguous relation adapted to frictionally receive a lateral edge portion of a card therebetween. In this way the card is maintained in an upright position between the wall members.

Other features of the invention include the provision of a base member for maintaining the lower ends of the upright wall members in spaced relation wherein the base member extends rearwardly from the lower edge of the front wall member in a straight line at an angle to the supporting surface to its juncture with the rear upright wall member; interlocking means at the rear end of the base member adapted to interlock with a lower portion of the rear upright wall member at a point above the lower edge thereof. Additionally the lower edges of the front and rear upright wall members provide a pair of parallel straight-line supporting means for maintaining the device in a stable upright position upon a flat supporting surface.

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of the flat blank from which the device of the invention may be formed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device formed from the blank shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view on an enlarged scale of the device with a card supported thereby; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevation along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, the card supporting device according to the present invention is formed from the blank 1 of FIG. 1. As shown, the device comprises front and rear upright wall members 2 and 3, respectively, and a base member 4. The front and rear upright wall members are disposed in angular relation with respect to one another with the upper ends of the wall members being joined together to provide the junctional apex 5A of the wall members with the wall members diverging downwardly therefrom in straight lines, respectively, to the supporting surface 16 upon which the device is positioned, as shown in FIG. 5.

The blank 1 of FIG. 1 for forming the device may be die-cut from flat semi-rigid sheet material such as paperboard, plastic or light metal. The blank 1 is preferably provided with lateral spaced apart parallel score or crease lines which provide positive means whereby the blank may be correctly folded into the set up position of the device of FIG. 2. Thus the portion of the blank 1 between the score lines 5 and 6, as viewed in FIG. 1, provides the front upright wall member 2 of the device. The portion of the blank above the score line 5 provides the rear upright wall member 3 and the portion of the blank below the score line 6 provides the base member 4 of the device. A slit 7, coinciding with the score line 5, extends from one lateral edge of the blank 1 to a median portion thereof and an extension 8 of the slit 7 extends at an angle thereto into the portion 3 of the blank 1, as shown. A terminal hook member 12 and cooperating slot 13 are provided upon the free end of portion 4 of the blank 1, and at the opposite end of the blank there is provided a lateral re-entrant slot 14 disposed a relatively short distance from the terminal edge 15 of the portion 3 of the blank.

Thus with the blank 1 folded into the set-up position of the device, as shown in FIG. 2, the apex 5A of the device comprises the junctional apex of the front and rear wall members 2 and 3 defined by the bend line 5. The wall members 2 and 3 diverge downwardly from the apex in straight lines, respectively, with the lower edge 6 of the front upright wall member 2 and the lower edge 15 of the rear upright wall member 3 engaging the supporting surface 16 upon which the device is positioned, as shown in FIG. 5. Thus the front and rear upright wall members 2 and 3, respectively, are disposed in angular relation with respect to one another with the lower ends thereof disposed in spaced apart parallel relation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the slit 7 extends inwardly from a lateral edge of the front and rear upright wall members to a median portion thereof. As the slit 7 coincides with the bend line 5 which defines the junctional apex of the upright wall members, the slit 7 will thus be disposed in the apex 5A of the device. Thus, it will be noted that the upper ends of the upright wall members 2 and 3, respectively, are secured together across only part of their width along the bend line 5 with the remaining upper end portions being unsecured. By this means the unsecured upper end portion of the front upright wall member 2 provides a separate upper edge portion 9 and the unsecured upper end portion of the rear wall member 3 provides the separate upper edge portion 11, thus providing separate opposed upper edge portions 9 and 11 disposed in contiguous relation adapted to frictionally receive the lateral end portion of a card 20 therebetween, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the separate upper edge portions 9 and 11 are normally disposed in contacting relation thereby to frictionally receive a card disposed therebetween. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, card 20 is substantially larger than the card supporting device which holds it, that is, the area of the card 20 is several times greater than the area of front wall member 2.

As shown in FIG. 5, the base member 4, disposed at an angle to the supporting surface 16, forms an acute angle with the front upright wall member 2. Thus, with a lateral end portion of the card 20 disposed between the separate upper edge portions 9 and 11 and with its lower end resting upon the base member 4 at its junction with the lower end 6 of the front upright wall member 2, the card will be maintained in parallel relation against the front wall member 2 in upright position between the wall members 2 and 3, respectively.

To facilitate flexing of the separate upper edge portions 9 and 11 when a card is disposed therebetween, the slit 7 is provided with an angled extension 8 extending downwardly into the upper end portion of the rear upright wall member 3. By this means the separate upper edge portion 11 of the rear upright wall member is adapted to flex rearwardly with no distortion of the separate upper edge portion 9 of the front upright wall member 2.

When a relatively thick card is to be supported by the device, it is anticipated that a slot in lieu of the slit 7 in the apex of the device may be provided wherein the separate opposed upper edge portions are disposed in contiguous, slightly spaced apart relation adapted to frictionally receive a portion of the card therebetween.

For maintaining the lower ends of the upright wall members 2 and 3 in spaced relation, the base member 4 extends rearwardly from the lower edge along score line 6 of the front upright wall member 2 in a straight line at an angle to the supporting surface 16 to its juncture with a lower portion of the rear upright wall member 3. A hook member 12 and cooperating slot 13 on the rear end of the base member 4 interlocks with the re-entrant slot 14 disposed a relatively short distance above the lower edge 15 of the rear upright wall member 3, as shown in FIG. 3, whereby the lower ends of the upright wall members will be maintained locked in spaced relation. With the angular disposition of the base member 4 with respect to the supporting surface 16, it will be noted that the lower edge 6 of the front upright member 2 and the lower edge 15 of the rear upright wall member 3 provide parallel straight-line supporting edges for maintaining the device in a stable upright position so that the device may be positioned upon a flat surface with a thin fabric 17 thereon, if desired.

It is apparent that many modifications and variations of this invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are given by way of example only and the invention is limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A card supporting device for holding a card substantially larger than the supporting device, said device comprising front and rear upright wall members disposed in angled relation relative to one another, the upper ends of said wall members being joined together to form a junctional apex for said device, said wall members diverging downwardly from said apex in straight lines respectively to the supporting surface upon which the device is positioned, the lower edge of said front upright wall member and the lower edge of said rear upright wall member being parallel providing parallel straight-line supporting edges adapted to maintain said device in a stable upright position, a base member extending rearwardly from the lower edge of said front upright wall member in a straight line at an angle to the supporting surface to its juncture with a lower portion of said rear upright wall member at a point above the lower edge of said rear wall member, a slit in said apex extending inwardly from one lateral edge of said wall members to a median portion thereof whereby the upper ends of said wall members are secured together across only part of their width with the remaining upper end portions being unsecured, said unsecured upper end portions providing separate opposed upper edge portions disposed in contiguous relation adapted to receive and frictionally engage therebetween a lateral end portion of a card whose area is several times that of the front wall member, thereby to maintain said card in an upright position between said wall members.

2. A card supporting device according to claim 1 further characterized in that a further slit is provided in the upper end of said rear upright wall member, said further slit intersecting said first named slit adjacent said median portion of the junctional apex and disposed at an angle thereto.

3. A card supporting device according to claim 1 wherein interlocking means are provided at the rear end of said base member adapted to interlock with a lower portion of said rear wall member thereby to maintain the lower ends of said wall members in spaced relation.

4. A blank for forming a card supporting device said blank being formed from semi-rigid sheet material and comprising:

A. a front wall portion,

B. a rear wall portion connected thereto along a score line,

C. a slit in longitudinal alignment with said score line extending from one lateral edge of the blank to a median portion thereof,

D. a further slit intersecting said first named slit adjacent said median portion of the blank and disposed at an angle relative to said first slit,

E. a base wall portion connected to said front wall portion along a further score line spaced from and parallel to said first score line, and

F. cooperating interlocking means at the opposite ends of said blank adjacent the free edges of said rear and base wall portions opposite from the respective score lines connecting said wall portions to the front wall portion.