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(11) | EP 1 834 550 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Display stand for ceramic tiles for lining |
| (57) This invention is a stand for displaying ceramic tiles (5) of the type that is commonly
used to line walls and/or floors, the stand being of the type that is used in shops
that sell these ceramic products, the aim of which is to improve its basic function
by enabling the observer not only to see the ceramic tiles (5) that are on display
directly, but also to see any of these pieces indirectly or virtually lining and decorating
the surface of any environment. This display stand is characterised by the fact that
it is provided with a body (1) that is equipped with the means for storing and displaying
a large number of different ceramic tiles, with the particularity that this body is
also equipped with a video screen (6) at the front, which is provided with a keyboard,
a mouse (7) and a CPU that stores a computer program to display on the screen a variety
of different virtual environments created with the real ceramic tiles (5) that are
featured on the display stand.
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OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention is a display stand for ceramic tiles of the type that are generally used to line floors and/or walls, the stand being of the type that is frequently used in shops that sell these ceramic products, to show potential customers the range of ceramic products that are available and for sale.
[0002] The object of the invention is to provide a display stand that enhances its basic function by enabling the observers not only to directly see the ceramic tiles that are being offered, but also to indirectly see any of these pieces performing their functions of lining and/or decorating the surface in any environment, just as they would in a real situation.
[0003] The user will thus not only be able to select a ceramic tile from the wide range that is offered on the display stand, but also be able to see the effect of that piece, forming part of an extensive and specific lined surface, such as for example on the wall of a kitchen or a bathroom, or the floor of either of these rooms or a living-room floor, etc.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0004] Different types of display stands for ceramic tiles for lining are well known, and these can be used in shops that sell these kinds of products, but as has already been pointed out, the ceramic tiles are generally placed on trolleys that make it possible to store and display a maximum number of pieces occupying as small a volume as possible. These types of display stands enable the potential purchaser to closely examine the appearance, quality, etc. of each ceramic tile on display, but they do not allow the customer to have an overall view of the assembly, and in many cases a piece might appear to be attractive in isolation, but it could lose its appeal when it is repeated throughout the entire length and width of a surface area.
[0005] In an attempt to overcome this problem, display stands have been invented that instead of showing the ceramic tiles in unit form, display groups of these pieces covering, for example, one or two square metres of surface area, in such a way that the potential consumers can have a much clearer idea of the what each type of ceramic tile on the display stand will look like on the floor or wall. However, the problems with these display stands are basically twofold, on the one hand, the amount of room that they take up in the establishment where they are displayed is considerably greater than the space occupied by display stands that show individual ceramic tiles, and it is precisely the room that they take up that considerably reduces the potential of these stands, so only a limited number of ceramic tiles are put on display, usually only the ones with the best designs and/or those that the consumers might find most appealing.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The display stand for ceramic tiles that the invention proposes overcomes the aforementioned problem in a totally satisfactory manner, in such a way that although it is only small and thus highly functional with respect to its capacity for displaying real ceramic tiles, it also offers consumers information about the appearance of each type of ceramic tile after it has been placed on a large surface area, which could be either a floor or a wall.
[0007] With a view to this, the display stand that is proposed is composed of a body that is preferably of a prismatic-rectangular shape and vertically elongated, which can contain a large number of individual ceramic tiles that can all be concealed within the body of the stand, but which can be extracted from the sides, individually and with the aid of individual guiding devices, in such a way that each and every one of the ceramic tiles is accessible from the right-hand side or the left-hand side, so that each one of the pieces can be displayed and examined directly.
[0008] The display stand is also provided with a video screen on the front and at a suitable height, together with an extractable keyboard inside it equipped with a cordless mouse so that potential consumers can use this mouse to select any of the real ceramic tiles that they have just examined and see the result of using that ceramic tile on different surfaces and in different types of environment, all with the aid of a computer program that can create virtual environments and ambiences.
[0009] Therefore, in accordance with the aforementioned explanation, the display stand enables the distributor to display a large number of different ceramic tiles, up to two hundred models on a surface area no greater than two square metres, and potential consumers can use this display stand to accurately check the actual colour of each ceramic tile, its quality, etc, and once they have preselected any of the ceramic tiles, they can display on the video screen, the results of using those particular ceramic tiles, as well as making combinations of pieces in different colours, such as for example for the floor and the wall, to see what those combinations will really look like.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In order to complement the description that is being made and with the aim of allowing a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to an example of the preferred embodiment of same, we include one single sheet of plans of an illustrative and non-restrictive nature, and the one single figure shows a front-on and side-on view of a display stand for ceramic tiles used for lining purposes realised in accordance with the object of this invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The aforementioned figure shows how the display stand that is proposed comprises a a body (1) of a prismatic-rectangular shape and vertically elongated, suitably stabilised with the aid of a pedestal (2) below it covering a large surface area, this body (1) being open on both sides, through which a support structure (3) can be seen, for a series of horizontal guides (4) to which different ceramic tiles (5) are attached and arranged vertically, in such a way that each and every one of the pieces (5) can be extracted from the side, as can be clearly seen in the figure, so that they can be visually examined by the consumer, in such a way that this individual mobility of the ceramic tiles (5) makes it possible to store a large number of these pieces in a minimum amount of space, and any of them can be observed correctly by merely moving out the guide (4) concerned.
[0012] As a complement to the structure described, on the front side of the body, shown with reference (1) in the figure, the display stand is equipped with a video screen (6) and a cordless mouse (7), and these are arranged on the front surface of the main body (1), being placed at a suitable level to provide potential purchasers with an optimum view, which means that extensive information is available and stored in a CPU, and consumers can use these devices to see a wide variety of different environments and ambiences that have been created, for example, using the different ceramic tiles (5) on the display stand, thus enabling consumers to take two courses of action, on the one hand they can display on the screen a ceramic ambience or environment that is to their liking, and then check the real colour and the quality of the ceramic tiles used therein, through the physical samples that are on the display stand, or, on the other hand, they can act in reverse, that is to say, they can first select the actual ceramic tile that they like, and then, on the video screen, see what it is like to use that piece.
[0013] Regardless of which course of action they use, they will have extensive information that is quite sufficient to ensure that they do not make a mistake with their choice, because they can directly observe the real ceramic tiles and can also observe the virtual result of actually using the pieces.
1. st. - A display stand for ceramic tiles that are used to line walls or floors, of the
type that is used in establishments that sell these items to the general public, which
shows real ceramic tiles, characterised by the fact that it contains a body that is equipped with means for storing and displaying
a large number of different ceramic tiles, with the particularity that the body of
the stand is also provided with a video screen at the front, together with a keyboard,
a mouse and a CPU that has a computer program for displaying on the screen a variety
of virtual environments and ambiences that can be created with the actual ceramic
tiles that are featured on the display stand.
2. nd. - A display stand for ceramic tiles that are used to line walls or floors, as in
Claim 1, characterised by the fact that the aforementioned body is of a prismatic-rectangular shape and vertically
elongated, open at the two sides and equipped with an inner supporting structure that
contains a series of transversal guiding devices arranged on different levels, which
not only support the different ceramic tiles but enable them to be extracted from
their place of storage, the video screen being positioned on the closed front surface
of the body at a height that is suitable to allow for perfect viewing when the potential
purchaser is standing in front of it.