Medal-mounting assembly

Abstract

A medal-mounting support bar assembly is especially constructed for mounting miniature military-type medals and consists of a rigid mounting bar and a pivotably attached, resiliently deformable clamping piece, securable in closed relationship to one another by detent coupling structure formed on the mounting bar and clamping piece at one end of the assembly. Jog elements adjacent the opposite ends of the clamping piece offset the arcuate central position thereof toward the mounting bar, thereby increasing the gripping force generated and reducing the length of the gaps that would otherwise be present, so as to better secure the endmost medals against inadvertent lateral displacement.

1 . A medal-mounting assembly comprised of an elongate, substantially rigid, one-piece mounting bar having opposite ends, and a substantially coextensive, resiliently deformable clamping piece having opposite ends, said clamping piece being pivotably attached at one of its ends to one of the ends of said mounting bar for movement between open and closed relative positions, said mounting bar comprising a substantially rectilinear front piece and fixed short end portions at said opposite ends of said mounting bar that extend toward one another in a common plane behind, and spaced rearwardly from, said front piece to define spaces behind said front piece of said mounting bar; said clamping piece being of arcuate form along a major, central portion of its length, with tab elements at the extremities of said opposite ends thereof dimensioned to seat within said spaces defined by said short end portions behind said front piece of said mounting bar, and to engage behind said short end portion of said clamping piece at the end of said mounting bar opposite the end at which said clamping piece is pivotably attached, said clamping piece thereby being disposed, in said closed position, in spanning relationship between said short end portions of said mounting bar and with said arcuate central portion thereof extending forwardly toward said front piece; said clamping piece having a jog element formed thereinto and joining each of said tab elements to said central portion of said clamping piece, said jog elements offsetting said tab elements inwardly of the arcuate plane of said central portion of said clamping piece and rearwardly of said front piece, said offset relationship substantially shortening the tapered gaps that would otherwise be present at the opposite ends of the assembly, between the front piece and the clamping piece, due to the substantially rectilinear form of the front piece and the arcuate form of a conventional clamping piece in which no offsets are present; said tab element at said one end of said clamping piece being attached to said one end of said mounting bar for pivotal movement on an axis normal to said common plane, and said tab element at the end of said clamping piece opposite to said one end having a first element of a detent coupling thereon, structure of said mounting bar at said opposite end having a second element of a detent coupling thereon positioned and configured to interengage with said first element of said detent coupling for disengageably securing said clamping piece, in restraint of pivotal movement in the space behind said common plane and substantially parallel to said common plane, in said closed relative position, one of said detent elements being a male detent element and the other of said detent elements being a dimple. 
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1  wherein each of said opposite end portions of said mounting bar carries a rearwardly projecting attachment pin thereon. 
     
     
         3 . A system of mounted medals comprised of the medal-mounting assembly of  claim 1  in combination with a multiplicity of military-type medals, each including a loop of ribbon and a medallion suspended therefrom, said medals being mounted substantially side-by-side on said mounting bar of said assembly with said front piece thereof inserted through said loops of said ribbons comprising said medals, with said clamping piece secured in said closed position, and with said elements of said detent coupling so interengaged, the section of ribbon of each of said medals, as supported by said front piece, being less than one inch in width. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  wherein said section of supported ribbon is less than three-quarters inch in width.