Wall mountable curvilinear display racks, hangers, and associated display methods

Abstract

The display systems include a plurality of wall-mountable racks for holding articles for display on an upstanding mounting wall or panel. Each rack includes an elongate rack having opposing spaced apart first and second end portions and an intermediate portion that together present a continuous curvilinear profile when viewed from the top. In position, the elongate rack projects outwardly a distance from the mounting wall or panel to laterally extend in a substantially horizontal orientation. The system also includes a plurality of hangers slidably mounted to the rack and plurality of discrete articles. The elongate rack is configured to releaseably engage with a selected slot or slots of a multi-slot panel or wall. The display systems are particularly suitable for displaying soft fabric drapery samples. Hangers used to display samples or consumable items and related methods are also described.

That which is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A wall-mountable rack assembly for holding articles for display on an upstanding mounting wall or panel having a plurality of elongate horizontal mounting slots, comprising: 
 an elongate rack having opposing spaced apart first and second end portions and an intermediate portion that together present a continuous curvilinear profile when viewed from the top, wherein, in position, the elongate rack projects outwardly a distance from the mounting wall or panel to reside in a substantially horizontal orientation, and wherein the elongate rack is configured to releaseably engage with at least one slot of a multi-slot mounting wall or panel;    a plurality of hangers slidably suspended from said rack; and    a plurality of articles are held by the hangers, wherein the hangers and respective articles are configured to slide along the rack so that the articles can be individually viewed.    
     
     
         2 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the articles are aligned with the primary surfaces substantially normal to the axial direction of the rack.  
     
     
         3 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein each article is held by a respective hanger, and wherein, in position, the articles have opposing end portions with a lowermost end portion extending a distance below a lowermost portion of the hangers and an uppermost end portion residing below an uppermost portion of the hangers.  
     
     
         4 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of articles is at least 10 articles.  
     
     
         5 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the rack is formed of a unitary tubular member.  
     
     
         6 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the curvilinear profile is a substantially semi-circular profile.  
     
     
         7 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the curvilinear profile includes a forwardmost arcuate portion.  
     
     
         8 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising fastener members attached to each of said rack first and second end portions, the fastener members being configured to releaseably mount the curvilinear rack to one slot in the upstanding support wall or panel.  
     
     
         9 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 8 , wherein the fastener members comprise a planar, substantially vertically oriented mounting plate.  
     
     
         10 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 9 , further comprising outwardly extending spaced apart channel members attached to said mounting plate, each channel member sized and configured to be able to receive a respective first or second end portion of the rack therein.  
     
     
         11 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the elongate rack is tubular, and wherein the channel members have cylindrical channels with an inner cross-sectional diameter that is greater than the diameter of the tubular rack.  
     
     
         12 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 11 , wherein the mounting plate has a lateral width that is at least as wide as the distance between the first and second end portions.  
     
     
         13 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 12 , wherein the mounting plate is substantially planar with a stepped edge portion.  
     
     
         14 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein, when viewed from the side, the stepped edge portion is formed to have a first segment that is substantially perpendicular to a planar vertical portion of the mounting plate with a second segment that is substantially perpendicular to the first segment and substantially parallel to the planar vertical portion of the mounting plate.  
     
     
         15 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 14 , further comprising a locking member that extends through a respective channel member and rack end portion to affix the rack to the mounting plate.  
     
     
         16 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 14 , wherein the mounting plate stepped portion is on an upper portion of the mounting plate and is configured and sized to reside in a selectable transverse elongate slot on the wall or panel.  
     
     
         17 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein the mounting plate comprises a pocket that is externally accessible to hold informational materials for consumers.  
     
     
         18 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate rack is tubular, and wherein the articles comprise discrete fabric samples, a respective one for each hanger, and wherein the hangers are configured to suspend the fabric samples with their primary surfaces generally facing a direction that is normal to an imaginary line extending through the centerline of the rack.  
     
     
         19 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the hangers are configured with an aperture formed in a top portion thereof, the aperture configured and sized to receive the elongate rack therethrough.  
     
     
         20 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 19 , wherein the hangers comprise a slot pattern formed through an intermediate portion thereof, the slot pattern configured to receive and hold the article to the hanger.  
     
     
         21 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 20 , wherein the hangers are substantially planar and formed of a thermoplastic material.  
     
     
         22 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 21 , wherein the hangers are translucent and/or transparent.  
     
     
         23 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 22 , wherein the planar hangers suspend the articles so that they are generally substantially normal to an imaginary line extending through the centerline of the rack.  
     
     
         24 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 20 , wherein the slot pattern is formed so as to provide at least one laterally extending tongue portion that is able to pivot relative to the primary surfaces of the hanger.  
     
     
         25 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 24 , wherein the intermediate slot pattern includes two laterally extending tongue portions that extend from opposing side portions of the hanger and face each other across a gap, and wherein the article is configured to engage the tongue members to hold the article on the hanger.  
     
     
         26 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 25 , wherein the sample includes a lateral channel portion, and wherein the intermediate slot pattern includes one laterally extending tongue portion that extends through the lateral channel of the article across a major portion of the width of the hanger to hold the article on the hanger.  
     
     
         27 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the articles are material samples, and wherein the intermediate slot portion is configured to hold the material sample in a substantially looped fashion.  
     
     
         28 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 24 , wherein the articles are soft drapery fabrics having a rod pocket portion and/or a header portion, and wherein, in position, the tongue is configured to reside in the rod pocket or header portion.  
     
     
         29 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the articles are samples of home-improvement items.  
     
     
         30 . A wall-mountable rack assembly according to  claim 29 , wherein the home improvement item sample is at least one of a bedding sample, sheet sample, tablecloth sample, towel sample, paper sample, paint sample, flooring sample, tile sample, cabinet sample, paneling sample, countertop sample, and wallpaper sample.  
     
     
         31 . A display system, comprising: 
 a plurality of wall-mountable racks for holding articles for display on an upstanding mounting wall or panel, each rack comprising: 
 an elongate rack having opposing spaced apart first and second end portions and an intermediate portion that together present a curvilinear profile when viewed from the top, wherein, in position, the elongate rack projects outwardly a distance from the mounting wall or panel to laterally extend in a substantially horizontal orientation;  
 a plurality of hangers slidably suspended to said rack; and  
 a plurality of discrete articles held by the hangers,  
   wherein the elongate rack is configured to releaseably engage a selected slot or slots of a multi-slot panel or wall.    
     
     
         32 . A display system according to  claim 31 , wherein the system comprises at least two elongate racks mounted in side-by-side relationship on a common mounting plate in the same slot of the multi-slot panel or wall.  
     
     
         33 . A display system according to  claim 31 , wherein the elongate racks are mounted on a common display wall or panel in different horizontal slots of the multi-slot panel or wall.  
     
     
         34 . A display system according to  claim 31 , wherein at least two of the plurality of the elongate racks are mounted in the same slot with at least one additional elongate rack being mounted in a different horizontal slot.  
     
     
         35 . A display system according to  claim 31 , further comprising a plurality of outwardly extending discrete display arms configured to releaseably engage a slot in the multi-slot wall or panel to hold articles thereon in a substantially straight line, and wherein the display arms are arranged to reside on a common wall or panel with the curvilinear elongate racks.  
     
     
         36 . A display system according to  claim 31 , wherein the arms are configured to reside under the plurality of elongate racks on the multi-slot wall or panel.  
     
     
         37 . A display system according to  claim 31 , wherein the articles comprise window covering samples, a respective one for each hanger, and wherein the hangers are configured to suspend the samples with their primary surfaces facing generally normal to a line extending through the centerline of the rack.  
     
     
         38 . A display system according to  claim 37 , further comprising a plurality of hangers suspended from the elongate racks, wherein the hangers and respective articles are configured to pivot in a direction that is substantially normal to a line extending through the centerline of the rack so that the articles can be individually viewed.  
     
     
         39 . A display system according to  claim 38 , wherein the articles comprise soft drapery fabric samples.  
     
     
         40 . A display system according to  claim 39 , wherein the soft drapery fabric samples include a rod pocket portion and a header portion, the hanger configured to have at least one laterally extending tongue that is insertable through at least one of the rod pocket and/or header portion to hold the sample on the hanger.  
     
     
         41 . A method of displaying window covering samples, comprising: 
 positioning a plurality of discrete hangers on an elongate curvilinear display rack;    mounting the curvilinear display rack to a desired slot in a multi-slot panel or wall so that the display rack is substantially horizontal and has a curvilinear profile when viewed from the top; and    attaching each of a plurality of display articles to a respective one of the hangers.    
     
     
         42 . A method according to  claim 41 , wherein the discrete hangers are positioned on the rack before the rack is mounted to the wall or panel.  
     
     
         43 . A method according to  claim 41 , wherein the articles are soft fabric drapery samples having a rod pocket channel and/or a header channel, and wherein the hanger includes at least one tongue portion that extends through one of the article channels to releaseably hold the article to the hanger.  
     
     
         44 . A hanger for displaying an article on a rack, comprising: 
 a rigid planar body having opposing top and bottom portions;    an aperture formed in the top portion of the planar body, the aperture sized and configured to engage with a display rack;    at least one slot formed through an intermediate portion of the planar body;    wherein, in use, a display sample is positioned about the slot so that the article is releaseably mounted to the hanger.    
     
     
         45 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the hanger is formed of a translucent and/or transparent thermoplastic material.  
     
     
         46 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the hanger intermediate slot pattern includes at least one laterally extending tongue portion.  
     
     
         47 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the intermediate slot pattern includes two laterally aligned tongue portions that face each other and are spaced apart, and wherein the article includes a loop segment with the loop segment configured to receive the tongue members to hold the article on the hanger.  
     
     
         48 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the intermediate slot pattern includes one laterally extending tongue portion, and wherein the article includes a loop segment with the loop segment configured to receive the tongue to hold the article on the hanger.  
     
     
         49 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the article is a drapery material sample with a header and/or rod pocket channel portion.  
     
     
         50 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the article is a drapery material sample, wherein the intermediate slot portion is configured with upper and lower slots spaced apart by a continuous center support segment, and wherein, in use, the material sample is inserted through the upper and lower slots to hold the sample on the hanger in a self-looped fashion.  
     
     
         51 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the planar body has a perimeter with the slots extending about an interior portion thereof, and wherein the perimeter has a substantially rectangular shape with opposing sides gradually traveling together toward an upper end portion to terminate at a highest center segment located above the aperture.  
     
     
         52 . A hanger according to  claim 51 , wherein the aperture is circular.  
     
     
         53 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the planar body is a unitary plexiglass body.  
     
     
         54 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , wherein the planar body comprises front and rear primary surfaces, said hanger further comprising at least one label affixed above the slot pattern on the front primary surface and at least one label affixed over the top and/or center portion of the rear surface.  
     
     
         55 . A hanger according to  claim 44 , in combination with a display article, wherein the display article is a window covering sample.  
     
     
         56 . A hanger and display article according to  claim 55 , wherein the window covering display article is a soft drapery fabric sample.