Background

This disclosure relates to a stand for supporting an item for viewing or display.

A plethora of stands are available to support books, photographs, mobile phones or tablets at a desirable angle.

Some such stands are non-foldable and have a wide and heavy base, which makes for a stable stand upon which to place an item. They are light enough to move regularly from one room to another. However, because they are non-foldable it is impractical to carry them around beyond the occasional movement from one room to another. Also available are stands with a rigid front and a rear support that is hinged to the rigid front to allow collapse. Their foldable nature allows for greater mobility, but they may still be too cumbersome to be carried around.

Stands with a hinged rear support have even been proposed to be attached to the back of a specific mobile phone or tablet. As a result, these stands axe as mobile with the specific mobile phone or tablet, but cannot be used for general support of items.

The present disclosure results from Applicant’s work seeking to provide a relatively light, but stable stand for general utility to support an item for viewing or display.

Summary of the Disclosure According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a stand for supporting an item for viewing or display, such as, but not limited to, books, photographs, mobile phones, and tablets, at a predetermined viewing angle to the vertical; said stand being erectable from and collapsible to a generally flat configuration, and comprising: a front panel upon which the item may rest, a bottom panel adapted to rest said stand on a stable surface, a forward edge of the front panel being foldably coupled to the bottom panel at or adjacent a forward edge of said bottom panel, respective rearward edges of the front panel and the bottom panel being connected via a back panel, and respective side edges of said front panel and said bottom panel being connected via respective side panels; each side panel having a generally Y-shaped rearward edge, and being foldable along a line extending from the apex of said V-shaped rearward edge towards the forward edge of the bottom panel; and the back panel being foldable about a line parallel to the rearward edges of the top panel and bottom panel and defining an upper back panel and a lower back panel to bring reverse faces of the upper back panel and lower back panel into engagement with the V-shaped rearward edge of each side panel to lock the front, bottom, side and rear panels in position with said front panel at said viewing angle.

In a preferred embodiment, the front panel additionally has a foldable shelf structure adjacent the forward edge of the front panel, said shelf structure being erectable from and collapsible to a generally flat configuration relative to the surface of the front panel, and comprising a ledge panel and a support therefor; the ledge panel being adapted to support a lower edge of a said item resting on the front panel, and being defined between forward and rearward ledge edges parallel to the said front panel forward edge, the rearward ledge edge being joined to the front panel at a position displaced from the bottom panel forward edge; and the support having a top edge foldably joined to said forward ledge edge, and a lower edge foldably joined to the forward edge of the bottom panel, and being foldable about a line between and parallel to the respective top and bottom edges of the support to define an upper support panel and a lower support panel and to bring a reverse face of the lower support panel into engagement with edges of the side panels to lock the shelf into an erected configuration.

Where reference is made herein to panels being hingedly or foldably joined, or to a panel being foldable along a line, it will be understood, depending on the way in which the specific structure is manufactured and panels or parts of panels are coupled together, that this reference could be to the presence of a true foldline or to any alternative structure that allows one panel or part of a panel to move in a hinged fashion relative to another panel or part of a panel.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Reference should now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a blank adapted for folding and gluing to form an embodiment of stand in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure;

Fig. 2 shows the blank of Fig. 1 in a partially folded configuration;

Fig. 3 shows the blank of Figs. 1 and 2 in a more advanced folded configuration;

Fig. 4 shows the fully folded and glued blank as a stand in a collapsed and generally flat configuration;

Fig. 5 shows a first stage in erecting the stand of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows a subsequent stage to that of Fig. 5 with the side panels pushed inwards beyond dead centre;

Fig. 7 shows a side and rear perspective view of the partially erected stand of Fig.

6;

Fig. 8 shows the partially erected stand of Fig. 7 in a similar view with the back panel pushed inwardly beyond dead centre;

Fig. 9 shows the partially erected stand of Fig. 8 from a front perspective view;

Fig. 10 shows the stand of Fig.9 in the same view with the shelf structure in partially erected configuration;

Fig. 11 shows the fully erected stand in the same perspective view as Figs. 9 and

10;

Fig. 12 shows an alternative configuration to that of Fig. 4 for the collapsed stand; and

Figs. 13 to 16 show alternative but equivalent structures from which the stand of Fig 11 could be erected.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

Turning first to Fig. 1, as explained below, a blank 1 which may be made of a suitable cardboard material or from Kraft paper as used for packaging cartons, or from plastics, is folded and glued to form a stand. As explained below with particular reference to Fig. 16, an equivalent stand can also be made from wood, metal or other lamellar material. When formed from plastics, the individual panels of the blank are suitably joined by live hinges enabling folding as described below. A cardboard material is suitably scored along the various foldlines.

The blank comprises a first panel 2 adapted to form a front panel of a stand, against which panel an item such as, but not limited to, a book, a photograph, a mobile phone, or a tablet, may rest at a predetermined viewing angle to the vertical when the stand is erected. A second panel 3 is adapted to form a bottom panel by which the stand may rest on a stable surface, a forward edge 4 of panel 3 is connected to a first edge 5 of panel 2 via intervening structure 6 adapted to form a shelf for the stand as described below with reference to Figs. 9 to 11. A third panel 7 is foldably joined to a second edge 8 of panel 3 opposite the first edge 4, and is adapted to form a back panel of the stand. Panel 7 is formed with a central foldline 9 parallel to its common edge 8 with panel 3 for a purpose to be explained. Fourth and fifth panels 10 and 10’ are foldably joined to side edges 11, 1 G of panel 3, and are adapted to form side panels of the stand. Each side panel 10, 10’ has a generally dart shaped configuration, with its respective side edges 11, 1 G, and 12, 12’ meeting at an apex 13, 13’ at or adjacent the ends of edge 4 where bottom panel 3 is connected to the structure 6. Respective rear edges 14, 14’ of side panels 10, 10’ are generally Y-shaped, formed with an apex 15, 15’. The respective apexes 15, 15’ are connected by a central fold line 16, 16’ which extends to the respective apex 13, 13’. Edges 12, 12’ of the side panels 10, 10’ and edge 17 of panel 7 opposite its common edge with panel 3 are provided with respective flaps 18, 18’ and 19 for gluing or otherwise joining the edges 12, 12’ to respective side edges 20, 20’ of front panel 2 and edge 17 to the remaining edge 21 of front panel 2.

Figs. 2 and 3 show successive stages in folding the flat blank 1 of Fig. 1 in the course of making a stand from the blank. As shown in Fig. 2, foldlines 9, 16, 16’, and 25 are partially folded to bring edges 12, 12’, and 17 upwardly and inwardly, and thus closer to respective edges 20, 20’ and 21. As shown in Fig. 3, foldlines 9, 16, 16’ and 25 are further folded inwards and flaps 18, 18’, and 19 are folded inwardly at their respective edges 12, 12’, and 17, enabling the underside of panel 2 to be glued or otherwise joined to flaps 18, 18’, and 19. Foldline 9 effectively bisects back panel 7 dividing it into upper back panel 7a and lower back panel 7b.

The resultant glued structure may be flattened into the Fig. 4 flattened stand configuration.

Figs. 4 to 11 show progression of the stand from a generally collapsed configuration to a fully erect configuration. In the flat configuration of Fig. 4, reverse faces of front panel 2 and bottom panel 3 are in facial contact with each other. Fig. 5 shows the first stage in erecting the stand as panels 2 and 3 are separated. Figs. 6 and 7 shows a subsequent stage to that of Fig. 5 after side panels 10 and 10’ have been pushed inwards beyond dead centre about respective foldlines 16 and 16’. Figs. 8 and 9 show a yet later stage after back panel 7 has been pushed inwardly beyond dead centre about central foldline 9 so that rear faces of the resultant upper back panel 7a and lower back panel 7b abut against the Y-shaped edges 14 and 14’ of side panels 10, 10’.

Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate how the shelf structure 6 is erected.

Referring again to Fig. 1, it will be seen that shelf structure 6 comprises a first shelf forming panel 22 adapted to form a ledge, as described below, and defined between foldable edges 5 and 23, both of which are parallel to edge 4, and further shelf forming panels 24 and 25 adapted to form a support for the ledge panel 22, as explained below. Edge 23 is adapted to serve as a forward edge of the ledge when the shelf structure is erected, and as a top edge of the support. Panel 24 is foldably joined to panel 25 along foldline 26 which is parallel to edges 5 and 23, and to bottom panel 3 along foldline 4. Foldline 26 effectively bisects the two panels 24 and 25 making up the support for ledge panel 22 in the erected shelf.

Starting from the configuration of Figs. 8 and 9, folding the shelf structure about foldline 4 will bring that structure into the partially erected configuration of Fig. 10. Thereafter, pushing the support about foldline 26 past dead centre will bring the reverse face of panel 24 into abutting relation with the edges 12, 12’ of side panels 10. 10’ and with end portions 27 of flaps 18, 18’ where they are not joined to the underside of front panel 2 to lock the shelf structure in position in the configuration of Fig. 11 so that an item such as a book, a photograph, a mobile phone, or a tablet, may rest on front panel 2 at a viewing angle to the vertical determined by side panels 10, 10’ with a lower edge of the item resting on the ledge panel 22 of the shelf structure.

The shelf structure may be collapsed by pushing the two panels 24, 25 forming the support back past dead centre. The remainder of the stand may be collapsed by pushing the two panels forming the back panel back past dead centre, and collapsing the side panels outwardly by folding about their central foldlines, resulting in the flat configuration of Fig. 4. Alternatively, if the side panels are folded inwardly about their central foldlines, the collapsed side panels will neatly lie between the font and bottom panels in the configuration shown in Fig. 12.

Persons skilled in forming structures from blanks will know that there are usually a family of alternative blanks that are geometrically equivalent in the sense that the same erected structure can be produced by appropriately folding and/or gluing the alternative blanks of the family. Figs. 13, 14 and 15 show a family of three alternative blanks that are each an equivalent for the blank of Fig. 1. Persons skilled in forming structures from blanks will readily be able to devise other alternative blanks of the same family that are equivalents for the blank of Fig. 1. Where, during erection, one panel needs to be hingedly attached along an edge thereof to another panel to which it is not already foldably joined in the blank, a foldable flap is suitably formed along that edge, allowing gluing of the flap to the said another panel. It will be appreciated that the alternative structure in which the flap is formed along the corresponding edge of the said another panel for gluing to the said one panel is an exact equivalent. Given this duality, for economy of illustration, the blanks of Figs 13, 14 and 15 are each illustrated without these flaps. It will be a routine matter of choice for the skilled person cutting the blank as to which of the one and the another panels in each case will have the flap along its edge.

Fig. 16 shows a collection of individual flat panels 28 formed from wood, plastics, metal, stone or other lamellar material from which a stand with the configuration of Fig. 11 can be manufactured, the panels being arranged in this case in a configuration corresponding to the blank of Fig. 13. It will readily be understood that at the start of manufacture, the panels 28 could be laid out with a configuration corresponding to the blanks of Figs. 1, 13, 14, 15 or any other alternative blank of the same family. The panels must first be hingedly connected together edge to edge to form the configuration of the corresponding blank. This may be achieved in various ways, including the use of hinges or wire through boles in two adjacent panels. In one arrangement, the panels are positioned edge to edge with slight gaps between them and then encapsulated in clear plastics. In the resultant encapsulated structure, the slight gaps will become live hinges. Thereafter, the encapsulated structure is erected in an entirely similar fashion to the corresponding blank.

Other arrangements in keeping with the teachings of this disclosure can readily be devised.