US2635178A - Combined candelabra and flower holder - Google Patents

Description

April 14, 1953 E. J. WOLTER COMBINED CANDELABRA AND FLOWER-j-HOLDER Filed Feb. 1, 1949 IN VEN TOR. WW

Patented Apr. 14, 1953 COMBINED CANDELABRA AND FLOWER HOLDER Ernst J. Wolter, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 1, 1949, Serial N0. 73,973

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined candelabra and flowerholder, and more particularly to such devices as are generally used at weddings, receptions and similar occasions.

- Ordinarily in such casesa caterer is employed. whose duty it is to arrange the settings, and in such settings candles and flowers are constantly used. Such caterers of necessity do not employ expensive candelabra or flower'holders and great difiiculty has been encountered in obtaining devices suitable for such, purposes.

' The occasion for which such devices are used is generally ornate and the host or hostess is concerned in having the premises decorated in the smartest fashion possible. The candelabra and ilowerholder must, therefore, present a pleasing appearance to be acceptable. Because of repeated use and the necessary shape of the candelabra now employed they soon become dented and otherwise damaged and appear ugly to the eye. Furthermore, the matter of storage becomes a problem, for as now' designed the candelabra are all of an awkward shape, incapable of being properly or compactly stored, and the flower containers which are generally separate devices complicate the storage problem. In addition, the matter of placement of such devices is often complicated by the fact that no proper support for them can be found in the desired location.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined candelabra and flowerholder which will avoid the faults of the prior art and which may easily be hung from any support.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a combined candelabra and flowerholder which is easily and inexpensively manufactured and which can be hung in any convenient place.

Still another object is to provide a device which, when not in use, can be easily disassembled and just as easily stored in a minimum amount of space.

These and many other objects and advantages will appear throughout the progress of the following specification.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the selected embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the combined candelabra and flowerholder showing in dotted outline an adjustable position of the swingable brackets;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the back plate with the flower container broken away and the candle carrying rods removed showing the clamping elements for the candle rods and swingable brackets;

Fig. 3 is a side view partially broken away showing the candle carrying rod in position on the clamping element and the sleeve on the outside leg of the swingable bracket;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view taken on line 4# of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 6-B of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the elastic grommet;

Describing the invention in detail and referring to the illustrated embodiment, the numeral Ill designates a back plate which is shown to be rectangular in form but which may be of any desired shape. It is preferred to make such back plate of steel although any desired material such 4 as tin, alvanized iron, wood or plastic may be used. Permanently secured to the back plate in by spot welding, riveting or by any other well known method and in spaced relation to each other is a plurality of identical clamping elements l2, each of said clamping elements having a transversely extending ear I4 at its upper end and an identical transversely extending ear It at its lower end. The said ears l4 and I6 form with apertures 58 and 2d the upper and lower apertures ofeach clamping element l2, bel ng in register with each other.

While the embodiment of the back plate as shown and above described designates the employment of the clamping elements l2, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, for it is fully appreciated that the back plate i ii may be formed by stamping or otherwise with a plurality of transversely extending apertured 'fianges in series, the flanges of each series being disposed in longitudinal alignment one above the other, having their apertures in longitudinal register, and that such construction is the full equivalent of the construction shown.

' Inserted in each of the apertures l3 and 20 is a resilient grommet 22 made of rubber or other suitable resilient material having an opening 23, the said grommets 22 being firmly anchored in position by the groove 26 as shown in Fig. 6. The cross-sectional area of the openings of said grommets are of a predetermined size and shape for reasons hereinafter set forth. There is provided a plurality of candle-carrying rods 26 and a pair of swingable bracket members 28 and 30 for mounting in clamping elements 12 on back plate I0 It is important that the cross sectional area of the rods and brackets be slightly greater than the opening 23 of the grommets 22.

The candle-carrying rods 26 and the swingable brackets 23 and 33 are mounted on the back plate It] by inserting said rods and brackets in the aligned openings 23 on each clamping element l2, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The cross sectional area of each rod and bracket being slightly greater than the opening 23 of the resilient grommet 22, the said rods and brackets are firmly gripped and held in any desired longitudinal position without possibility of independent movement. Yet by application of a slight external force the rods may be adjusted either, upwardly or downwardly and may even be easily removed from their mountings when desired.

The swingable brackets 28 and 30 are shaped in the form of an inverted U, the inner leg of each bracket member being mounted upon the 7 back plate as previously described and the outer legs extending beyond the sides of the back plate as shown in Fig. 1. The lower portion of the inner leg of each of said bracket member is bent substantially at right angles, as shown at 32 in Fig. 4, to prevent removal of said swingable brackets from the back plate, and a spring tension member 34 detachably secured to each bent portion, as shown in Fig. 5, urges the outer legs of said bracket members forwardly. The said outer legs of each bracket member when the said brackets are swung rearwardly may be hooked on any available support. The tension created by the spring member 34 which urges said legs to a forward position keeps the holder s'ecureupon any support. Said outer legs may be provided with sleeves 36 made of soft cushioning material to prevent marring or scratching the support.

The flower container 38 is permanently secured to said back plate ID by clamping, welding, riveting or otherwise. It has been found that good results may be achieved by folding the side edges of the back plate over the corresponding side ends of the container as shown at 40 in Fig. 4, although equally satisfactory results may be achieved by other well known methods.

It is preferred that the flower container be made in the form of a basket using material such as brushed expanded metal, the openings being employed for the passage of flower stems. The container 38 may be of any desired breadth and depth and when the flowers are inserted therein they effectively conceal all of the back plate. The swingable brackets being also concealed by the support on which the holder is hung, all of the holder that is exposed to view when in use are the graceful candle-carrying rods 24 emerging from a mass of flowers. The said rods 24 may be bent at any designated place along their longitudinal axis, as at 42, to impart further attractiveness to their appearance, and the combined candelabra and flowerholder may be bronzed or painted for similar reasons.

There is thus provided a new and improved candelabra and flowerholder which is easily and inexpensively manufactured, attractive in appearance and capable of being disassembled and stored in a minimum of space. It may also be seen that the said device, because of its construction, will maintain its appearance and may be hung much more conveniently than the devices of the prior art.

It is to be understood that the above described embodiment of the invention is merely by way of illustration and that changes may be made in form and construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A combination candelabra and flowerholder comprising a back plate, a plurality of flanges extending transversely from said back plate, said flanges being positioned in pairs in predetermined relation on said back plate, one flange of each pair being disposed above the other in iongitudinal alignment, an aperture of predetermined size and shape in each flange, the apertures in each pair of flanges being in register with each other, a resilient grommet securely anchored in the flange aperture, each of said grommets having an opening therein slightly less in cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of candle-carrying rods and swingable brackets to be mounted therein, a plurality of candle-carrying rods mounted in said grommet openings and longitudinally adjustable therein, a pair of swingable inverted U-shaped bracket members carried by said plate, the inner legs of said bracket members being mounted in preselected grommet openings, the lower end of each inner member being bent to prevent re moval of said brackets from said openings and the outer leg of each bracket extending beyond the sides of said back plate to permit said brackets to swing rearwardly for hanging said holder upon a support, spring tension mean connecting the lower ends of the inner legs of said brackets, said tension means being adapted .to urge each bracket to a forward position, and a, front flowers.

2. A combination candelabra and flowerholder comprising a back plate, a plurality of clamping elements permanently secured to said back plate,-

each clamping element having a transversely extending ear at its upper and lower end in longitudinal alignment, an aperture of predetermined size and shape in each ear of each clamping element, said apertures being in register with each other, resilient grommets securely anchored in each aperture, said grommets having openings slightly less in cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of candle-carrying rods and swingable brackets to be mounted therein, a plurality of candle-carrying rods mounted in spaced relation in said grommet openings, a pair of swingable inverted U-shaped bracket members carried by said plate, the inner legs of said bracket members being mounted in preselected grommet openings, the lower end of each innerleg being bent to prevent removal of said brackets from said openings and the outer leg of each bracket extending beyond the side of said back plate to permit said brackets to swing rearwardly for hanging said holder upon a support, spring tension means connecting the lower ends of the inner legs of said brackets, said tension means being adapted to urge each bracket to a forward position, and a front plate affixed to said back plate and spaced therefrom to form a container to receive and retain flowers.

ERNST J. WOLTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 D. 129,286 Hayt Sept. 2, 1941 D. 154,901 Bussey Aug. 23, 1949 D. 156,472 Wolter Dec. 13, 1949 347,873 'Gehnrich Aug. 24, 1886 363,679 Reed May 24, 1887 1,204,134 Connolly Nov. 7, 1916' 2,101,578 Hall Dec. 7, 1937- 2,115,962 Orme May 3, 1938 2,151,192 Crosser Mar. 21, 1939- 2,332,286 Winsick' 1-; Oct. 19, 1943 2,381,253 Bierwert Aug. 7, 1945' FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 1 Date 677,188 France Dec. 7, 1929.

Images