DISPLAY UNITS

Abstract: A display unit comprises a support (10) having a recess (12a; 12b) for use in receiving an item (28; 30) to be displayed characterised in that at least a part of a peripheral boundary (26a; 26b) of the recess (12a; 12b) is both undercut and resiliently deformable. The material of the support (10), at least in the region (22) of the resiliently deformable undercut, may be a high density foam which is laminated (20; 24) on its upper and lower faces. A floor of either or both of the recesses (12a; 12b) may be deeper (18) in the area of a finger access gap (16) for facilitating manual manipulation.

Description: Display Units The present invention relates to display units which are especially but not exclusively suitable for use in the display of items which are to be repeatedly removed from and replaced in the units by potential customers. There are several advantages in encouraging a customer to take an item from a display unit for closer inspection. For example, if the item is a card, both sides of the card can be printed with photographs and/or technical data, rather than just one side. This effectively doubles the usefulness of the card. Moreover, it can be particularly desirable for some items to be handled, rather than just looked at from a distance. It is already known for a presentation case, for use by funeral directors, to include a plurality of pairs of recesses. In each pair, one of the recesses carries a card showing photographs of a coffin, and the other recess carries a block of the wood or other material from which the coffin shown on the card is to be made. The cards and the blocks typically relate to coffins of different quality and thus different price. It is important that the cards and the blocks should not fall out accidentally, and consequently it has until now been necessary for the recesses to be provided with clips or other fasteners, such as Velcro (RTM) . According to the present invention, however, a display unit comprises a support having a recess for use in receiving an item to be displayed characterised in that at least a part of a peripheral boundary of the recess is both undercut and resiliently deformable. It will be appreciated that an item of appropriate dimensions can be securely retained in the recess by engagement with the undercut yet can be simply removed from the recess by resilient deformation of the undercut. Preferably, the material of the support, at least in the region of the resiliently deformable undercut, is a foam such as a high density foam, and more especially a high density foam of polyethylene such as that known as Microlan, which may be laminated on one or more of its faces. Preferably, the undercut extends around the entire peripheral boundary of the recess, apart from at a gap in the peripheral boundary to facilitate finger access when removing an item from the recess. The recess may be formed in the support by known technology - for example, a solid block of the high density foam may be routed and/or milled to form the recess with an undercut of any desired angle, such as between 5° and 50°. A similar pair of the recesses may be arranged side by side, sharing a common finger access gap in their peripheral boundaries, and a floor of either or both of the recesses may be deeper in the area of the finger access gap, for further facilitating manual manipulation. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the display unit is such that there are two recesses of which one is intended to receive and display a card whereas the other is intended to receive and display a block. The block may be of wood and of trapezoidal cross- section along either or both of the major and minor axes of a rectangle. A plurality of the recesses, or pairs of the recesses, may be provided in the same support which may, in practice, be in the form of an insert located in a surrounding frame which may, again in practice, be mounted on a vertical wall or screen. There may be a plurality of the frames hinged together by for example one or more metal hinges. Adjacent ones of the supports would thus be hinged together indirectly. In a row of three frames, each provided with its own insert, the outer frames may fold over like doors to cover the central frame. At least the outer frames may be formed of polished wood. Alternatively, adjacent ones of the supports may be hinged together either directly or even integrally. A display unit of the above-noted alternative construction is not only particularly inexpensive to manufacture but because of its light weight is particularly convenient to carry in for example a slip case as a portable display unit. Several display units, in accordance with the present invention, will now be described in greater detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a plan view of a simple display unit; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 1 also showing the intended locations of a picture card and a wood sample; Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view similar to Figure 2 but of an alternative display unit; and Figure 4 is a plan view of a one-piece but multi- recessed display unit. Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2, a display unit according to the present invention is shown to comprise a support 10, a pair of adjacent rectangular recesses 12a and 12b separated by a shared wall 14, a gap 16 in the shared wall 14 and a sunken floor portion 18 in the area of the gap 16. The support 10 is formed of a high density foam having a harder inner (upper) skin 20, a resiliently deformable microcell core 22 and a harder outer (lower) skin 24. The support 10 has been routed and/or milled whereby a peripheral boundary 26a of the recess 12a including the left edge (as shown) of the shared wall 14, and a peripheral boundary 26b of the recess 12b including the right edge (as shown) of the shared wall 14, are both undercut so that the mouths of the recesses 12a and 12b are of smaller dimensions than the floors of the recesses 12a and 12b. A picture card 28 of appropriate dimensions can be a push fit in the undercut recess 12a because of the resiliently deformable nature of the microcell core 22. Similarly, a wood sample 30 of appropriate dimensions can be a push fit in the undercut recess 12b because of the resiliently deformable nature of the microcell core 22. Removal of the picture card 28 and/or of the wood sample 30 from the display unit is facilitated by the provision of the sunken floor portion 18 aligned with the gap 16 in the shared wall 14. Figure 3 shows an alternative display unit with, inter alia, different floor levels for the recesses 12a and 12b, and much more steeply tapered undercuts for the peripheral boundaries 26a and 26b of the recesses 12a and 12b. Figure 4 shows another alternative display unit in which the support 10 includes a plurality of pairs of recesses which are all substantially the same as the recesses 12a and 12b shown in Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3. Here, however, the support is also formed with a pair of parallel grooves in its rear, indicated in phantom at 32, to allow left and right wings 34a and 34b of the support to be folded over a central part 34c of the support, with all of the recesses then being hidden from view and with the parts of the harder inner skin 20 in alignment with the grooves 32 acting as respective integral hinges.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A display unit comprising a support (10) having a recess (12a; 12b) for use in receiving an item (28; 30) to be displayed characterised in that at least a part of a peripheral boundary (26a; 26b) of the recess (12a; 12b) is both undercut and resiliently deformable. 2. A display unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the material of the support, at least in the region (22) of the resiliently deformable undercut, is a high density foam. 3. A display unit according to claim 2, characterised in that the high density foam is of polyethylene and is laminated (20; 24) on one or more of its faces. 4. A display unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the undercut extends around the entire peripheral boundary of the recess, apart from at a gap (16) in the peripheral boundary to facilitate finger access when removing an item from the recess. 5. A display unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that a similar pair of the recesses (12a; 12b) are arranged side by side sharing a common finger access gap (16) in their peripheral boundaries (26a; 26b) . 6. A display unit according to claim 5, characterised in that a floor of either or both of the recesses is deeper (18) in the area of the finger access gap for further facilitating manual manipulation. 7. A display unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that a plurality of the recesses, or pairs of the recesses, are provided in the same support. 8. A display unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that a plurality of the supports are provided with adjacent ones of the supports being hinged together either directly, or indirectly via frames surrounding the supports. 9. A display unit according to claim 8, characterised in that the supports are hinged together directly by integral hinges (32) . 10. A display unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that there are two recesses (12a; 12b) of which one receives and displays a card (28) whereas the other receives and displays a block (30) .

Inventors: WALKER RICHARD JOHN NEALE, WALKER, RICHARD, JOHN, NEALE
Applicants: INTERFACE MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WALKER RICHARD JOHN NEALE, WALKER, RICHARD, JOHN, NEALE
Application year: 1997
Main classification: G09F5
IPC codes: G09F5