Interlocking modular display rack system, component units therefor, and methods

Claim 1

A modular display rack system formed from a plurality of interlocked component units, said system being useful for the point-of-sale display of several different types of related consumer articles that are packaged in caddies according to article type and are sold individually at sales counters or like sales locations, the individual component units of said system comprising: a base defining perimetric sides, said base having an upper support surface and an underside suitable for resting on a sales counter, or like surface; a plurality of upstanding members extending upwardly from the perimetric sides of said base; interior surfaces of said upstanding members being so configured as to define support and containment means for engaging the exterior of an upstanding consumer article caddy positioned on the base support surface and for holding the caddy such that the bottom of the caddy may be supported by the base support surface and such that the caddy may be held against lateral shifting by at least some upstanding members; and the upstanding members of adjacent units defining cooperative, mating interlock means joining the units side to side by a sliding fit; wherein said mating interlock means joining the component units together comprises each component unit having interlock means defined by said upstanding members on the unit and comprising at least one male member at one of said base sides of the component unit and at least one female member at another one of said base sides, said male member being defined by one of said upstanding members comprising an upright tongue-like blade, and said female member comprising an upstanding member having an outwardly offset portion thereon defining a vertically oriented opening therein perpendicularly arranged with respect to the base, and being of a size so as to slideably receive therein the tongue-like blade male member of an adjacent component units to join the component units with each other in a horizontal side-by-side coplanar arrangement, whereby a caddy containing a selected multiple number of consumer articles of a particular type may be held by each of the component units of said system to provide an orderly display of several types of related consumer articles in a desired array.