US3370702A - Jewelry display tray - Google Patents

Description

' Feb. 27, 1968 s, M. ROSEN 3,370,702

JEWELRY DISPLAY TRAY Filed Aug. 18, 1966 jamue M /705er@ United States Patent O M 3,370,702 JEWELRY DISPLAY TRAY Samuel M. Rosen, 333 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60601 Filed Aug. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 573,350 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-76) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A jewelry display tray comprising a central panel and side walls extending upwardly and outwardly from the front side of the central panel and joined at their inner margins to the outer margins of the central panel. The side walls are joined together at their ends. The rear side of the Acentral panel has support-engaging means attached thereto which comprise bands of fa-bric, or the like, secured at their extremities to th-e central panel. One of the bands is connected to opposite side margins of the central panel while another of the bands is connected to adjacent side margins of the central panel. This arrangement enables the tray to provide either a rectangular or a diamond shaped frame for jewelry displayed thereon. The ont side of the central panel has an outwardly extending, jewelry support member attached to it. The support member is swivelablev or rotatable to enable jewelry supported thereon to be properly oriented with respect to a viewer when the tray is used as either a rectangular or a diamond shaped frame for the jewelry. The support member advantageously is made of a llexible material to enable it to be -bent around a portion of an article of jewelry by nger pressure thereby to secure the article thereon and to prevent it from being inadvertently disengaged from the support member.

Heretofore, it has been the practice of jewelers, particularly at the retail level, t0 display a ring, for example, in a small box having a hinged-top and a slotted, ringholding container portion. Several of these boxes generally are arranged in sidesby-side relation, with their tops open, on a counter or a shelf of a display case. Apart from the fact that such boxes have a certain sameness about them and, thereforefail toaccentuate or enhance to any appreciable extent the beauty or distinctive features of the jewelry item contained therein, they have structural characteristics which place limitations on their utility as a jewelry display vehicle.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a jewelry display tray having unique versatility not only from the standpoint of its capabilities for displaying jewelry, especially a diamond ring, in its most fav0rable and attention-getting aspects, but also from the standpoint of its ability to be placed and/or arranged in a position by a jeweler where it will display to the best possible advantage the item of jewelry held by it. The tray of the present invention can be supported on a horizontal, inclined or vertical surfa-ce with equal facility. In addition, it can be supported on any such surface in either one of two positions to provide either a distinctive rectangular frame for the jewelry item or an equally distinctive diamond-shaped frame for it. This result can be achieved, furthermore, while maintaining the jewelry item in a properly oriented position with relation to a viewer. The tray is provided with means for securely retaining an item of jewelry in position on it irrespective of the manner in which the tray is supported. Apart from its functional features, the tray has an appearance in keeping with the type of jewelry for which it has utility, and yet can be made from inexpensive, readily available materials.

Briefly, the preferred jewelry display tray of the present invention comprises a rectangularly shaped central 3,370,702 Patented Feb. 27, 1968 ICC panel and outward extending side Walls joined at their inner margins to the outer margins of the central panel. "The side walls are joined together at their ends. A cover- 1ng panel advantageously is secured to the back of the central panel and carries two strips or bands for engaging support means for holding the tray in a substantially upright position. One of the bands extends across the covering panel and is secured at its ends along opposite side margins thereof. The other band is diagonally disposed on the covering panel and is secured at its ends along two adjacent side margins thereof. The bands, as indicated, enable the display tray to be supported in at least two substantially upright positions, one of said positions being at approximately a forty-five degree angle to the other position. The front of the central panel has an outwardly ex` tending, llexible, hooklike, article-engaging member Inova-bly mounted thereon for supporting an article of jewelry, such as a ring, to be displayed on the tray. The hook-like article-engaging member is swivelable or rotatable to enable an article of jewelry supported thereon to be maintained in a properly oriented position withy respect to a viewer. The tray desirably is constructed with a cellular plastic or foam rubber material which is covered with a suitable fabric to give the tray a full, soft-ap pearing elfect which is pleasing to the eye and the touch.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upo-n making reference to the specification to follow, the claims, and the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an embodiment of the display tray of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a front view in elevation of said embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a rear view in perspective of said embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view in elevation of said embodiment at an angle of forty-live degrees to the View thereof shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

Referring, now, more particularly to the drawings, the embodiment of the display tray illustrated and designated generally by reference numeral 10, has a substantially rectangularly shaped central panel 12 and outwardly extending, trapezoidally shaped side walls 14a, 1411, 14C and 14d. The side walls are joined at their inner margins to the outer margins of the central panel, and are joined together at their ends. The central panel and the side walls can be fabricated of any suitable rigid or semirigid sheet material such as paperboard, cardboard, berboard, or the like. The inner surface of the central panel 12 and the inner surface of each of the side walls 14a, 14h, 14e and 14d desirably have a thin layer 18 of a foamed or cellular material adhered thereon. The material used for this purpose can be a foamed rubber or any of various foamed plastics. Exemplary of the last mentioned type of materials are polyethylene, polypropyylene, styrene resins, acrylic resins, vinyl resins, cellulosic resins, nylon resins, and the like. The central panel and the side walls, with the foarned or cellular material adhered thereon, advantageously are covered with a fabric 2l) such as velvet, velour, satin, silk, or other smooth-finished fabric. The fabric 20 tends to depress the foamed layer 18 along its edges thereby imparting a smooth curvature to the inner surfaces of the covered side walls and the central panel which adds to the attractive appearance of the tray. The appearance of the display tray can be further enhanced by applying a contrastingly colored accent strip 22 along the junctures of the ends of the side walls ano the inner margins of the side walls with the outer margins of the central panel. The strip 22 may take the form of a thick with two support-engaging tapes or bands 28 and 30.

The band 2S extends across the back of the panel 26 and is maintained in position near the top thereof by securing it-s ends between the inner surface of the panel 26 and the outer surface of the panel 12. The band 30, on the -other hand, is diagonally disposed on the panel 26 and is maintained in this position by securing one of its ends between the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of the panel 26 and the panel 12, along one of the lateral margins of the panel 26, and by securing, in the same Vmanner, its other end along the bottom margin of the panel 26. The bands 28 and 30 are adapted to engage suitable support means for the tray 1t? to enable the tray to be supported, when the band 28 is used, in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, or, when the band 30 is employed, in the posiion shown in FIG. 5.

Positioned substantially centrally on the panel 12 is an outwardly extending, relatively wide, movable hook-like article-engaging member 32. The member 32, at its inner end, advantageously is swivelably joined to the shank 34 of a pin or rivet 36 which passes through an opening in the panel 26 and the panel 12. The rivet 36 has a head 38 for engaging the outer surface of the panel 26, and is provided with a washer 4d to prevent longitudinal movement of the shank 34 relative to the panels 12 and 26. The member 32 advantageously is formed from a thin strip of flexible metal to enable the free 4or hook-like end 42 thereof to be easily inserted into the finger opening of a ring 44, for example, and then bent around the band 45 of the ring thereby to hold the ring securely on the member 32 in any desired position. The exposed areas of the member 32 desirably are Vcovered with fabric to match the fabric employed to cover other portions of the tray 10.

In use, the tray may either be supported on a horizontal or inclined surface, or it may be suspended in a substantially upright position on a suitable support. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the band 28 may be engaged on a nail or tack 50 driven into a wall 52. In this position, the tray will form a substantially rectangularly shaped framework for the ring (see FIG. 3). When the band 30 is used to support the tray on the tack 5G, on the other hand, the tray will provide a diamondshaped framework for the ring (see FIG. 5). The member 32 can be easily rotated to properly orient the ring with respect to the line of vision of a viewer in either of the aforementioned positions. Irrespective of the manner in which the tray is supported, the ring, or other article of jewelry, will be securely maintained on the member 32 at all times.

It should -be understood that various modicaiions in the specic embodiment of the invention disclosed and described will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, and that it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative andl not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: Y 1,. A jewelry vdisplay tray comprising a central panel having a front and rear side and side walls extending upwardly and outwardly from the front side of the central panel and joined at their inner margins to the outer margins of the central panel, said side walls being joined t0- gether at their ends, supporting-engaging means attached to the rear side of the central panel, said means compus-V ing bands secured at their extremities to the central panel, one of'said bands being substantially parallelly disposed with respect to two opposite -side margins of the ceny tral panel and another of said bands being diagonallyV disposed with respect to two adjacent side margins of the central panel, said bands enabling the display tray to be supported in at least two substantially upright positions, one of said positions being at approximately a forty-tive degree angle to the other of said positions, and an articleengaging member swivelably mounted at theV front side of the central panel extending outwardlyv therefrom for supporting an article of jewelry to be displayed on the tray, said member being adapted to be gripped by the fingers and rotated over an angle of about forty-live degrees about an axis transverse to the plane of the central panel to enable an article of jewelry supported thereon to be maintained in a properly oriented position with respect to a viewer when the tray is supported in one or the other of said at least two positions.

2. A jewelry display tray a-s claimed in claim 1 wherein one surface of the central panel and the side walls is provided with a layer of a soft, pliable foamed material, the exposed surface of said material being covered with fabric. Y

3. A jewelry display tray as claimed in claim 1 wherein the article-engaging member is ilexible to enable it to be bent in a manner to securely retain an article of jewelry thereon irrespective of the position of the tray.

4. A jewelry display tray as claimed in claim 1 wherein a covering panel is provided for the rear side of the central panel and underlies saidbands.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1902 Angell 20G-76 1/ 1953 Edwards 206-69

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