United States Patent: 3592424

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United States Patent	3,592,424
Hargrave	July 13, 1971

SPRAY HOLDERS

Abstract

A flower spray holding device for use in the holding room of a funeral home, said holding device comprising a backboard adapted to be mounted to the wall of the holding room, said device also including a multiplicity of spikes for receiving a block of styrofoam around which funeral sprays are built, said spikes being normally folded upwardly against said backboard by spring action and held outwardly in a receiving position upon mounting a single spray, the spikes being returned automatically to a normal, safe position when the last of the sprays has been removed from the device.

Inventors:	Hargrave; Joseph C. (Hot Springs, AR)
Appl. No.:	04/843,623
Filed:	July 22, 1969

Current U.S. Class: 248/27.8 ; 211/100; 211/104; 211/125; 248/291.1; 248/304

Current International Class: A01G 5/00 (20060101); A01G 5/04 (20060101); A47g 007/00 (); A47f 005/08 ()

Field of Search: 248/201,291,292,293,304,308,309,27.8 211/99,100,104,123,125

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


403996	May 1889	Gloekler
988468	April 1911	Harth
2071257	February 1937	Hansen
2459024	January 1949	Gipson
2647642	August 1953	Kosash
3289989	December 1966	Ferenz

Primary Examiner: Schultz; William H.

Claims

I claim:

1. A spray-holding device for use in the holding room of a funeral home, said holding device comprising a backboard adapted for mounting on the wall of the room, a rod pivotally attached to the backboard at each of its ends for movement about its axis, a multiplicity of spikes affixed to the rod, each spike adapted to engage a block around which a spray of flowers is built, a torsion spring biasing the rod about its axis so as to move said spikes to a folded position and means for operating said rod to move said spikes from a folded position to an open position.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the means for operating said rod is a lever affixed thereto.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said spikes are mounted in a horizontal spaced relationship.

Description

The present invention pertains to a flower spray holding device for use in the flower room of a funeral home. The general public is quite familiar with various types of funeral services and the procedures practiced by the many religious groups as well as those not affiliated with any religious group at all.

The public is not so familiar, however, with the necessary work that goes on behind the scene to keep the service in good taste and to prevent unnecessary delays in either the service at the funeral home or at the graveside.

Upon the demise of an individual, the funeral home is contacted and the body is prepared for burial on a given date and hour after consultation with surviving relatives or friends. These same relatives and friends begin sending flowers and funeral sprays almost immediately and continue to do so even up to the day and hour of the funeral.

Since other services may also be in progress, particularly in the funeral homes of larger cities, these flowers must be kept separate and apart from others and in a convenient place until the time of the service. This is usually done by providing a holding room adjacent the main sanctuary with a private door leading to the outside of the building where the flower truck or other vehicle is stationed.

While some rooms are supplied with tables where the flowers may temporarily be held, the usual method of supporting them is to fasten wooden strips around the room, the strips being provided with long nails protruding inwardly into the room. While the nails provide a ready means of supporting the sprays and keep them from being injured, it should also be quite obvious that such construction is extremely dangerous should a person fall against these nails. Occasionally so many wreaths are sent to a funeral home that considerable time is spent in arranging them in the sanctuary where the final service is to be held. At the close of this service, all of these flowers must be removed from the sanctuary and placed in the flower truck which precedes the funeral procession to the cemetery. It should be obvious, now, that speed in handling of the flowers is of extreme importance and a funeral home should welcome any assistance along these lines.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spray-holding rack which is capable of holding a multiplicity of sprays and which folds, automatically, its spray holding spikes into a safe, folded position upon removal of the last spray therefrom.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description when viewed together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view, in elevation, of a conventional method of supporting a spray of flowers in the flower room of a funeral home.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the present device for supporting sprays of flowers.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the invention as taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a broken front view illustrating the manner in which a rod of the device is rotatably journaled in the base member.

In the drawing numeral 10 designates a backboard having a mounting hole 11 at each end thereof for receiving a nail or screw to mount the board to the wall. In the present instance the board is cut from ordinary dimensional lumber, although it may be made of plastic or metal. In constructing a model of the invention, it was found to be convenient to make the length of the board 10 some 30 inches, or sufficient to hold four sprays of normal size.

Along one edge of the backboard 10 is a recess 12 disposed along the length of the board and into which is positioned a metal rod 13, the ends of which are pivotally journaled. in the ends of the backboard as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Spaced along the rod 13 are pointed metal spikes 14 which are welded to the rod 13 at one end and curved outwardly and upwardly in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 discloses a torsion spring 15 which encircles the rod 13 and which normally urges the spikes 14 of FIG. 4 upwardly against the backboard yet permits them to be forcibly moved away from the same as indicated by the dotted lines.

As mentioned above, nearly all sprays prepared by florists are prepared by inserting the stems of the flowers and other floral pieces of the arrangement into a small block of sponge plastic called styrafoam 20 which, when the arrangement is completed, is completely hidden and yet which will permit the entire arrangement to be handled with ease, including hanging the arrangement on a nail or spike for storage or display. Such is illustrated in FIG. 3. Here, as at A, the spike 14 of the present invention has been pulled downwardly and is used to support the spray of flowers 16.

As was pointed out earlier in the specification, the usual manner of holding flowers in a holding room is to utilize ordinary nails and nailing strips as disclosed in FIG. 1. Here, wood strips 17, through which long nails have been previously been driven, are fastened to the wall and extended around the room for as many spaces as desired. One can imagine a room full of these permanently exposed nails and the danger of brushing against them, particularly in the rush to remove flowers during a funeral service. If the room is small to begin with, or a narrow hall used, the danger of an accident becomes more imminent.

In order to facilitate the moving of the spikes 14 of the present invention outwardly and into a working position, there is a lever 19 fastened to the rotatable rod 13 as shown in FIG. 5 which, when pressed against, partially rotates the rod 13 on its bearings in the backboard 10, thus moving the mounting spikes 14 outwardly as illustrated in FIG. 4. The lever is so constructed that it may be operated by the elbow or shoulder should an attendant have both hands full of flowers or other equipment.

It can also be seen at this time that only a single spray is needed to hold the rest of the mounting spikes outwardly in readiness to receive additional sprays since the styrafoam block serves as a wedge to block the action of the torsion spring 15. However, as soon as the last spray is removed from a series of spikes making up a unit, the spikes will return to a safe, folded position as shown at B in FIG. 3.

The safety and convenience of the present invention cannot be over emphasized. As mentioned before, such a device is not known to have been used before. The majority of methods known to be used at the present time include the use of exposed nails as described above. While the backboard of the present invention holds only a few sprays, it was intentionally so. A funeral home may install as many of the units as desired for their home arrangement and to suit their purpose.

The device is simple in its construction and is designed for long life. Actual changes could be made of course in the above described construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims:

* * * * *

Current U.S. Class:	248/27.8 ; 211/100; 211/104; 211/125; 248/291.1; 248/304
Current International Class:	A01G 5/00 (20060101); A01G 5/04 (20060101); A47g 007/00 (); A47f 005/08 ()
Field of Search:	248/201,291,292,293,304,308,309,27.8 211/99,100,104,123,125