Rotating display device

• US 6,230,440 B1
• Filed: 01/20/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Deutsch, Richard
• Original Assignee: Deutsch, Richard
• Inventors: Deutsch, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Palo, Francis T.
• Application Number:
  US09/009,018
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 47/281, 47/26, 47/29, 47/30
• US Class Current: 47/67
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2007/048 Flower tables, stands or hangers with means for automatically rotating the plant pot
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 7/041 Flower tables or stands
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 7/047 Devices for suspending flower-pots by wires or the like A47G7/042 and A47G7/045 take precedence

Abstract

A rotatable display device that is suspendable from a ceiling and allows a planter to be rotatably suspendable therefrom. The device includes a lower housing. An upper housing is replaceably attached to the lower housing. A top hanger assembly extends upwardly from the upper housing and suspends the rotatable display device from the ceiling while providing a means for grabbing the upper housing when the upper housing is to be removed from the lower housing. A rotatable plate is contained in, and rotatable relative to, one of the lower housing and the upper housing. A bearing assembly rotatably connects the rotatable plate to the other of the one of the lower housing and the upper housing. A driven gear is fixedly attached to, for rotation with, the rotatable plate. A bottom hanger assembly extends downwardly from, and rotates with, one of the rotatable plate and the driven gear for rotatably suspending the planter therefrom. A motor is contained in the other of the one of the lower housing and the upper housing for rotating the rotatable plate. A motor shaft extends from the motor. A driver gear is fixedly attached to the motor shaft for rotation therewith and is contained in the lower housing, and is rotatably operatively connected to, the driven gear.

Claims

1. A rotatable display device suspendable from a ceiling and allowing a planter to be rotatably suspendable therefrom, comprising:

a) a shallow and bowl-like lower housing;

b) a shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing replaceably attached to said shallow and bowl-like lower housing;

c) a top hanger assembly extending upwardly from said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing for suspending said rotatable display device from the ceiling and providing a means for grabbing said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing when said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing is to be removed from said shallow and bowl-like lower housing;

d) a rotatable plate contained in, and rotatable relative to, one of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing;

e) a bearing assembly rotatable connecting said rotatable plate to other of said one of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing;

f) a large and horizontally-oriented driven gear fixedly attached to, for rotation with, said rotatable plate;

g) a bottom hanger assembly extending downwardly from, and rotating with, one of said rotatable plate and said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear for rotatable suspending the Planter therefrom;

h) a motor contained in said other of said one of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing for rotating said rotatable plate;

i) a motor shaft extending from said motor; and

j) a small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear fixedly attached to said motor shaft for rotation therewith and being contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing;

said small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear being smaller than, and rotatably operatively connected to, said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, so that when said motor shaft rotates, said small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear rotates, which in turn rotates said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, which in turn rotates said rotatable plate and said bottom hanger assembly which is suspended from said one of said rotatable plate and said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, and which in turn rotates the planter suspendable therefrom, wherein said shallow and bowl-like lower housing has a circular-shaped and downwardly tapering side wall, wherein said shallow and bowl-like lower housing further has a circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom that extends downwardly from, and is integral with, said lower edge of said circular-shaped and downwardly-tapering side wall of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, wherein said circular-shaped and downwardly-tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing has a centrally-disposed throughbore that is defined by a radially-inwardly tapering perimeter with an outwardly diverging upper edge and an outwardly diverging lower edge, wherein said shallow and bowl-like lower housing further has an open top defined by said upper edge of said circular-shaped and downwardly-tapering side wall of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, wherein said rotatable plate is a shallow dish-like rotatable plate contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and has a circular-shaped and downwardly tapering side wall that is inward of, and in close proximity to, said circular-shaped and downwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and has a lower edge.

2. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein said shallow dish-like rotatable plate further has a flat and circular-shaped bottom that extends across, and is integral with, said lower edge of said circular-shaped and downwardly tapering side wall of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, and is spaced above said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

3. The device as defined in claim 2, wherein said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate has a circular-shaped perimeter, a flat upper surface, a flat lower surface, and a center that is in vertical alignment with said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

4. The device as defined in claim 3, wherein said bearing assembly is a circular-shaped thrust bearing assembly that has a circular-shaped lower race disposed on said flat upper surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, at said circular-shaped perimeter of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, and a circular-shaped upper race.

5. The device as defined in claim 4, wherein said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear is fixedly attached to said flat upper surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, at said center of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, and has a center, and is contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

6. The device as defined in claim 5;

further comprising a slender, elongated, vertically-oriented, and cylindrically-shaped shaft fixedly attached to, and extending perpendicularly vertically upwardly from, said center of said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, and rotates with said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear.

7. The device as defined in claim 6, wherein said bottom hanger assembly is replaceably securable to said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, selectively enters and leaves said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, and has an extended position relative to said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom where the planter is suspended a maximal distance therebelow and a retracted position relative to said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom where the planter is suspended a minimal distance therebelow.

8. The device as defined in claim 7, wherein said bottom hanger assembly is suspended from said flat lower surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, at said center of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, by a cord that passes vertically and freely through said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, and rotates with said shallow dish-like rotatable plate.

9. The device as defined in claim 8;

further comprising a cylindrically-shaped cord housing fixedly attached to said flat lower surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, at said center of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, and rotating with said shallow dish-like rotatable plate.

10. The device as defined in claim 9, wherein said cylindrically-shaped cord housing houses said cord and a spiral retraction spring that is operatively connected to said cord for retracting said cord into said cylindrically-shaped cord housing when the planter is removed from said bottom hanger assembly.

11. The device as defined in claim 10, wherein said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing has a circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall with a lower edge that has a circumferentially-disposed lip that extends outwardly therearound, and an upper edge.

12. The device as defined in claim 11, wherein said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing further has a flat and circular-shaped bottom that extends across said lower edge of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing and has a centrally disposed throughbore that extends vertically therethrough and an upper surface.

13. The device as defined in claim 12, wherein said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing further has a circular-shaped and upwardly tapering top that extends across said upper edge of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing and has a centrally disposed collar that extends vertically downwardly inwardly thereform and which is vertically aligned with said centrally disposed throughbore in said upper housing flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing.

14. The device as defined in claim 13, wherein said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing is replaceably attached to said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, with said lower edge of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing abutting against said upper edge of said circular-shaped and downwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, with said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing abutting against said circular-shaped upper race of said circular-shaped thrust bearing assembly, and with said slender, elongated, vertically-oriented, and cylindrically-shaped shaft extending vertically upwardly and rotatively through said centrally disposed throughbore in said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing and rotatively into said centrally disposed collar of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering top of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, so that said shallow dish-like rotatable plate is rotatable relative to said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

15. The device as defined in claim 14, wherein said top hanger assembly has a thin and circular-shaped disk disposed on said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering top of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, opposite to said centrally disposed collar of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering top of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing.

16. The device as defined in claim 15, wherein said top hanger assembly further has a ring for suspending said rotatable display device from the ceiling and which extends vertically upwardly from said thin and circular-shaped disk of said top hanger assembly.

17. The device as defined in claim 16, wherein said motor is contained in said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing and is disposed on said upper surface of said upper flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, in close proximity to said lower edge of said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall of said shallow inverted bowl-like upper housing.

18. The device as defined in claim 17;

further comprising a pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped battery holders contained in said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, on said upper surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, and straddling said slender, elongated, vertically-oriented, and cylindrically-shaped shaft.

19. The device as defined in claim 18, wherein each holder of said pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped battery holders is formed by a pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped walls that extend perpendicularly vertically upwardly from, and along chords of, said upper surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing.

20. The device as defined in claim 19, wherein an outermost wall of one pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped walls of one holder of said pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped battery holders together with said circular-shaped and upwardly tapering side wall of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing define a space in which said motor is mounted.

21. The device as defined in claim 20, wherein each innermost wall of said pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped walls of said pair of parallel, spaced-apart, and rectangular-parallelepiped-shaped battery holders straddle said centrally disposed throughbore in said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, in close proximity thereto.

22. The device as defined in claim 21, wherein said motor shaft extends perpendicularly vertically downwardly from said motor, rotatively through a motor shaft throughbore in said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing, and into said shallow and bowl-like lower housing where it terminates in a distal end.

23. The device as defined in claim 22, wherein said small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear is fixedly attached to said distal end of said motor shaft, and is contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing above, and parallel to, said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear.

24. The device as defined in claim 23;

further comprising a vertically oriented idler gear shaft extending perpendicularly vertically downwardly and rotatively from said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow and inverted bowl-like upper housing to said flat upper surface of said flat and circular-shaped bottom of said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, and is disposed on a radius from said motor shaft to said slender, elongated, vertically-oriented, and cylindrically-shaped shaft.

25. The device as defined in claim 24;

further comprising a large and horizontally-oriented idler gear fixedly attached to, for rotation with, said vertically oriented idler gear shaft and being coplanar with, and rotatively engaging, said small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear;

said large and horizontally-oriented idler gear being identical to said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear and being contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

26. The device as defined in claim 25;

further comprising a small and horizontally-oriented idler gear fixedly attached to, for rotation with, said vertically oriented idler gear shaft and being below, and parallel to, said large and horizontally-oriented idler gear;

said small and horizontally-oriented idler gear being coplanar with, and rotatively engaging, said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, and being contained in said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, so that when said motor shaft rotates, said small and horizontally-oriented motor driver gear rotates, which in turn rotates said large and horizontally-oriented idler gear, which in turn rotates said vertically oriented idler gear shaft, which in turn rotates said small and horizontally-oriented idler gear, which in turn rotates said large and horizontally-oriented driven gear, which in turn rotates said shallow dish-like rotatable plate, which in turn rotates said bottom hanger assembly, and which in turn rotates the planter suspendable therefrom.

27. The device as defined in claim 26, wherein said bottom hanger assembly includes a thin and circular-shaped disk that selectively opens and closes said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, while being rotative therein;

said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly has an upper surface with a center to which said cord is attached, a lower surface, and a circular-shaped periphery.

28. The device as defined in claim 27, wherein said hanger assembly further includes an upper pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs that extend radially outwardly from said upper surface of said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly, at said circular-shaped periphery of said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly, and selectively engage with, and disengage from, said outwardly diverging upper edge of said radially-inwardly tapering perimeter of said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing.

29. The device as defined in claim 28, wherein said bottom hanger assembly further includes a lower pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs that extend radially outwardly from said lower surface of said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly, at said circular-shaped periphery of said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly, and selectively engage with, and disengage from, said outwardly diverging lower edge of said radially-inwardly tapering perimeter of said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing;

said lower pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs of said bottom hanger assembly is disposed intermediate said upper pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs of said bottom hanger assembly.

30. The device as defined in claim 29, wherein said bottom hanger assembly further includes a ring that extends perpendicularly vertically downwardly from said lower surface of said thin and circular-shaped disk of said bottom hanger assembly and from which the planter is suspendable.

31. The device as defined in claim 30, wherein said bottom hanger assembly further includes said radially-inwardly tapering perimeter of said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing having a pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending throughslots that open into said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing and have a configuration similar to that of said upper pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs of said mounted bottom hanger assembly so as to be able to selectively enter therein and leave therefrom.

32. The device as defined in claim 31, wherein said bottom hanger assembly further includes a pair of vertically-oriented and diametrically opposed stop pins that extend vertically upwardly from said outwardly diverging upper edge of said radially-inwardly tapering perimeter of said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, intermediate said lower pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending throughslots in said radially-inwardly tapering perimeter of said centrally disposed throughbore in said circular-shaped and slightly downwardly tapering bottom of said shallow and bowl-like lower housing, and function as stops for rotation of said ring of said bottom hanger assembly by being abuttable by said upper pair of diametrically-opposed and radially-outwardly-extending tabs of said bottom hanger assembly.

33. The device as defined in claim 1 further comprising a power circuit selectively powering said motor.

34. The device as defined in claim 33, wherein said power circuit includes a power supply that has a positive terminal and a negative terminal and which is one of batteries and voltaic photocells.

35. The device as defined in claim 34, wherein said power circuit further includes a timer that is connected in series to said negative terminal of said power supply of said power circuit.

36. The device as defined in claim 35, wherein said motor is connected in series to said positive terminal of said power supply of said power circuit.

37. The device as defined in claim 36, wherein said power circuit further includes a photocell gate that is connected in series to, and between, said timer of said power circuit and said motor.

38. The device as defined in claim 37, wherein said power circuit further includes a photocell that is connected in series to, and operated by, said photocell gate of said power circuit.

39. The device as defined in claim 38, wherein said power circuit further includes a timer override switch that is connected in parallel to said photocell gate of said power circuit.