US 5,205,526 A · Collapsible display easel

Abstract

A collapsible display easel is provided which can be easily extended into a sturdy, erect easel for holding display material, and easily retracted and folded into a compact configuration for transport. The display easel includes a two-legged supporting stand, a vertical brace, and one or more crossbar members. The display material is held against the vertical brace between the crossbar members. The legs are provided with extending support feet for securely supporting the easel in an upright position. The various components are connected by sliding or pivoting attachment mechanisms which allow the components to be easily extended or retracted. The sliding and pivoting connection mechanisms are manually operable and do not require the use of any tools or special equipment. The display easel is retracted into a compact configuration solely by pivoting or sliding the various components with respect to each other, and does not require the disassembly of any of the components. Thus, the display easel provides a sturdy, lightweight easel for displaying relatively large display materials, yet which can quickly and easily be retracted into a compact, lightweight configuration for easy transport. A carrying case is also provided.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A collapsible display easel comprising:

two, and only two, support legs;
leg connection means for pivotably connecting one leg to the other;
a brace;
brace mounting means for slidably mounting the brace to the legs;
and
one or more crossbars having means for holding a display board, a crossbar mounting means provided with each respective crossbar for pivotably mounting each respective crossbar to the brace, the legs pivoting within a plane generally parallel to said brace and crossbars between an extended position wherein the legs are disposed at an angle with respect to each other for standing on a surface, to a collapsed configuration, wherein the legs are parallel to each other and parallel to the brace;
wherein the legs each have a foot, each foot being connected to a lower end of a respective leg by a hinge means for varying an angle between the leg and the foot from a extended position, wherein the foot extends rigidly outward from the leg for supporting the leg, and a contracted position wherein the foot is disposed parallel to the leg;
with the easel being expendable into an erect configuration for holding a display board and collapsible into a compact configuration for transport.

5 more elements

In a collapsible display easel having a brace mounted to a support stand, the improvement being that the support stand comprises a pair of support legs pivotably attached to each other at upper ends thereof, the support legs pivotably between an extended position wherein the legs are disposed at an angle with respect to each other and a collapsed position wherein the legs are adjacent and parallel to each other, the improvement further comprising that the legs each have a foot, each foot being connected to a lower end of a respective leg by a hinge means for varying an angle between the leg and the foot from an extended position, wherein the foot extends outward from the leg for supporting the leg, and a collapsed position, wherein the foot is disposed parallel to the leg, and wherein the pair of support legs are pivotably attached to each other by a pivot joint having a first pivot member attached to an upper end of a first leg of the pair, a complementary pivot member attached to an upper end of a second leg of the pair, each pivot member having a flat side surface, the flat side surface of the pivot member of the first leg being pivotably connected at a pivot point of the pivot member at the second leg for pivoting in a plane parallel to the side surfaces, the pivot joint having means for limiting outward pivoting of the legs with respect to each other.

A collapsible display easel comprising:

a pair of support legs;
leg connection means for pivotably connecting one leg to the other;
a brace;
brace mounting means for slidably mounting the brace to the legs;
one or more crossbars having means for holding a display board, a crossbar mounting means provided with each respective crossbar for pivotably mounting each respective crossbar to the brace;
with the easel being expandable into an erect configuration for holding a display board and collapsible into a compact configuration for transport;
and
wherein the leg connection means comprises a pair of pivot members mounted to top ends of the legs, the pivot members each having an outward-facing cylindrical surface, a disk surface, and an inward-facing annular surface, the cylindrical surface of each leg abutting the annular surface of the other leg, with a releasable bolt being mounted through the pivot members connecting the pivot members to each other.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Collapsible display easel

Life of this patent

Collapsible display easel

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22