According to the invention there is provided a support system for supporting articles comprising a number of panels connectible together in edge- to-edge relationship, and at least one connector adapted for fitting to adjacent corners of at least two panels to connect said panels together to form an integral structure, said connector being provided with locating means adapted for engagement with cooperating means provided on said panels to prevent relative movement of the panels in a plane containing portions of the panels at said corners, and clamping means comprising two parts adapted to clamp the said corner portions of the panels between them.

Preferably the panels are rectangular although they may be of other shapes, for example polygonal so that they can be connected together to form a geodesic structure.

The panels may be flat so that they can be connected together to form a flat wall-or board-like structure. Alternatively, or in addition, curved or other appropriately shaped, non-flat panels may be provided enabling structures of other shapes to be constructed.

In the case of a wall-like structure base units may be provided to support the interconnected panels so that the structure is free-standing.

Preferably the locating means comprise channels provided in the connector for receiving lips provided on the panels.

The connector is preferably itself formed in two parts and means such as nuts and bolts are provided to secure the parts together and clamp the adjoining corner portions of the panels between them in sandwich fashion. This sandwich clamping design enables an integral structure to be constructed without the need for any supporting framework as used in many conventional structures.

A number of panels or/and connectors may be provided with means adapted to support articles on the structure. Preferably these means are provided on the panels and they are of the form described below in reference to a further aspect of the invention.

According to this aspect of the invention there is provided a support system for supporting articles comprising a panel and a support element mountable on the panel, the panel being formed on a front face thereof with a recess and an aperture extending through the panel from the bottom of the recess, and the supporting element having a first portion capable of being passed through the said aperture and being provided with a formation adapted to engage the rear face of the panel to prevent withdrawal of said portion from the aperture, the supporting element also being provided adjacent said first portion with a second, enlarged portion arranged to engage in the recess.

Preferably the recess and the enlarged portion are of complementary shapes, for example part-spherical. The said formation is preferably a hook-like formation provided at the end of the first portion of the element.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a support system according to the invention, FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of another form of support system according to the invention, FIGURES 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 3) are respectively two side views at 90° to one another, a perspective view and a plan view of one form of panel which may be provided in a support system according to the invention, FIGURES 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 4) are similar views of another form of panel, FIGURES 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 5) are similar views of another form of panel, FIGURES 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 6) are similar views of another form of panel, FIGURES 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 7)

are similar views of yet another form of panel, FIGURES 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 8) are respectively an end view, a front view, a perspective view and a rear view of one form of base unit which may be provided for a support system according to the invention, FIGURES 9A, 9B, 9C and 9D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 9) are respectively an end view, a front view, a perspective view and a plan view of another form of base unit, FIGURES 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 10) are respectively a perspective view, an end view, a further perspective view and a plan view of another form of base unit, FIGURES 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 11) are respectively two side views taken at 90° to one another, a perspective view and a plan view of one of the two parts of one form of connector which may provided in a support system according to the invention, FIGURES 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D (referred to collectively as FIGURE 12) are similar views of the other part of the connector of Figure 11, FIGURE 13 is a perspective view from below showing the manner in which the connector illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 is fitted to a panel, and FIGURES 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D (referred to collectively as FIGURE

14) are respectively a front view, side view, top view and perspective view of one form of support element which may be provided in a support system according to the invention.

The support system illustrated in the drawings comprises a number of rectangular panels generally designated 10 which may be of various shapes, a number of connectors 11 for connecting the panels together in edge-to-edge relationship to form a wall-or board-like structure, and a number of support elements 12 for supporting articles on the structure. These components are moulded from a suitable plastics material, for example ABS formed by heat and pressure.

The support system may be supplied with any number of panels of any one or more of a number of different shapes. Five examples are shown in the accompanying drawings. FIGURES 3,4, 6 and 7 show panels which are rectangular and curved in cross section to provide, respectively, a 112° concave panel 10a, a 112° convex panel lOb, a 90° concave panel 10c and a 90° convex panel 10d. FIGURE 5 shows a square flat panel 10e.

Each panel 10 is formed on its front face with rows of part-spherical recesses 13 each provided with a central hole 13a passing from the bottom of the recess through the panel to its rear face to enable the panel to support articles, the holes being intended to receive support elements which may support the articles direct or carry a support such as a shelf for articles.

Each corner 14 of each panel is made of reduced thickness by forming a triangular rebate at the front face of the panel, and is formed with an aperture 15 for engagement by a connector 11 connecting the panel to an adjacent panel.

Each panel 10 is also formed with rearwardly projecting lips 101 along its edges which meet at the corners.

Each connector 11 comprises two square parts lla, llb shown in FIGURES 11 and 12. The part lla shown in FIGURE 11 is intended to be located at the rear of the panel structure and is formed with four equidistantly spaced recesses 16 adapted to receive, respectively, four spigots 17 formed on the part 1 lb. Each recess 16 is formed in a separate triangular portion 18 of the part lla, the four portions being joined together by thin webs 19 forming two channels 19a perpendicular to one another between the portions 18. Both parts 1 la, 1 lb are formed with a central aperture 102.

In order to connect together the adjacent four corners 14 of four panels 10 the part lla is positioned behind the corners as shown in FIGURE 13 with the abutting lips 101 of the panels located in the respective channels 19a. The other part llb is then located at the front of the structure and its spigots 17 are inserted through the holes 15 in the corners of the panels and into the recesses 16 in the part 1 la. The spigots 17 may be a friction or snap-in fit in the recesses 16. A bolt (not shown) is inserted from the front through the aligned apertures 102 in the parts lla and llb and fitted with a nut at the rear, the nut and bolt

then being tightened to clamp the corner portions of the panels between the two parts of the connector. The panels are thereby clamped together.

Connectors 30 having only two triangular portions with recesses and two spigots are provided for connecting together the two corners of only two adjacent panels.

If desired, the or each outer face of the connector which is visible in use, may be provided with a complementarily shaped cover 33 as shown in FIGURE 13. This cover may be a moulded element carrying graphics or a logo.

The cover may be attached to the connector by"Velcro" (Trade mark).

Any number of flat panels 10e may be connected together to provide a flat board-like structure which may be mounted on a wall or other support such as a metal framework 31 as shown in FIGURE 1, in which event the structure is attached to the framework by the bolts passing through the apertures 102 in the parts 11 a, lib of the connector 11. Alternatively the panels may be connected together to form a flat wall-like structure. Such a wall-like structure may be made free-standing by mounting it on a number of straight base units 20 of the form illustrated in FIGURE 8 placed end-to-end.

Walls of different (non-flat) shapes may be formed using any combination of panels of the shapes shown in FIGURES 3,4, 6 and 7 with or without flat panels of the form shown in FIGURE 5. As shown in Figure 2 correspondingly shaped base units 20 are used to make the wall free-standing,

two examples of which are shown in Figures 9 and 10, namely a 112° convex base unit and a 112° concave base unit. Top units 31 similar in shape to the base units may be mounted on top of the structure.

Each base unit 20 comprises a horizontal part 20a intended to rest on the ground and an upwardly extending part 20b, the upper corners of which are rebated and formed with apertures 21 enabling an adjacent panel of the structure to be connected to it by connectors 11. The top units 31 may be secured to the panel structure in the same way.

The support elements 12 enabling articles to be supported on the structure may be of the form shown in FIGURE 14, being designed to support a shelf (not shown) on which articles can be placed. Each element comprises an elongate member 22 formed with a hook 23 at one end and provided at a spacing from the hook with a greater diameter part 24 of spherical form. In use the hook is passed from the front through one of the holes 13a in one of the panels 10 of the structure and the element is manipulated so that the hook is engaged behind the panel with the spherical part 24 seated in the associated part-spherical recess 13 in the front face of the panel whereby the element is supported by the panel in cantilever fashion.

The support system of the present invention, being modular, enables structures of a wide variety of shapes and sizes to be assembled. Such structures have a wide range of uses, for example exhibition display stands, interior

displays for retail premises, interiors for restaurants and entertainment establishments, sound insulation for recording studios. The structures can support or display a wide range of articles, for example shelves, cabinets, hanging rails, poster displays and mirrors.

The system relies solely on the components of the structure itself for its integrity and stability without the need for the other external elements.