Modular display unit for articles of merchandise

Claim 1

A modular display unit for supporting articles of merchandise and adapted to be secured to an upright support structure, said display unit comprising: (a) a pair of elongated, laterally grooved, posts adapted to be secured to the support structure in vertical orientation and at a horizontally spacing from one another with one groove of one post facing and aligned with one groove of the other post, (b) an apertured carrier board having a front surface and a back surface, said carrier board being adapted to be engaged by and extend between said posts, with each of the opposite side edges of said board being fitted into the proximate one of said grooves of the adjacent one of said posts, and to be secured thereby to said support structure with said front surface of said carrier board facing away from said support structure and with at least a portion of each of said vertical posts projecting frontwardly of said front surface of said carrier board; and (c) at least one pair of article-supporting fixture members adapted to be mounted on said carrier board, said fixture members each having a front end wall, a rear end wall, a bottom wall and a side wall extending along one side of said bottom wall between said front and rear end walls, (i) said side wall of one of said fixture members being located to the left of its associated bottom wall, and said side wall of the other of said fixture members being located to the right of its associated bottom wall, when said fixture members are viewed in the front to rear direction, (ii) a respective pair of generally hook-shaped prongs extending rearwardly from said rear end wall of each fixture member, said prongs being adapted to enter respective apertures in said carrier board for mounting said fixture members on said carrier board, and (iii) said side wall of each fixture member and its associated rear end wall being foreshortened at their juncture with each other to define over the entire height of the respective fixture member a step region, the depth of said step region of each fixture member frontwardly of said rear end wall of that fixture member being sufficient, when said prongs of that fixture member are received in a pair of said apertures adjacent and either to the left or to the right of a respective one of said posts depending on whether the side wall of that fixture member is located to the right or to the left of the associated bottom wall, to accommodate the portion of said respective one of said posts which projects frontwardly of said front surface of said carrier board when the latter is engaged by said respective one of said posts, (iv) said fixture members, when mounted on said carrier board and having their bottom walls substantially in transverse alignment with each other and having their side walls located at the sides of said bottom walls which are directed away from each other, cooperating to define an upwardly open compartment having a split article-supporting surface constituted by said bottom walls and having lateral boundary surfaces constituted by said side walls.