AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO: LODGED: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED: ACCEPTED: PUBLISHED: RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: RYAN MICHAEL D'ARCY ACTUAL INVENTOR: RYAN MICHAEL D'ARCY ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: LORD & COMPANY, Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA. INVENTION TITLE: A DISPLAY STAND DIVISIONAL OF AUSTRALIAN COMPLETE PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER AU 2004201205 FILED ON 24 MARCH 2004 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: TITLE "A DISPLAY STAND" The present invention relates to a display stand for displaying merchandise such as video cassettes, compact discs, digital versatile discs and the like. Retailers of products such as video cassettes and compact discs require a means of displaying their products to a prospective customer. A common display stand used for this purpose is substantially "A" shaped in cross section, having two angled display shelves extending outwardly of each other. Such a stand is inherently inefficient in its use of space, as only one side of each shelf can be used for display purposes. Further, the width of the stand is determined by the lowest point of the "A" shape, and thus the area of floor space taken up by the stand is disproportionate to the area taken by most of the display. A further disadvantage of known stands is that adjacent stands must be aligned along a central axis so that an unusable angular gap is not created between adjacent stands. The present invention attempts to overcome at least in part some of the aforementioned disadvantages of previous display stands In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a display stand for displaying articles, the display stand comprising a backing wall and a plurality of article supports, wherein each article support passes through the backing wall. 2 The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a display stand in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the display stand of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the display stand of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of the display stand of Figure 1; Figure 5 is an article support used within the display stand of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a locking member used in conjunction with the article support of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a side support used within the display stand of Figure 1; Figure 8 is a side elevation of the side support of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a plan view of the side support of Figure 7; Figure 10 is a support means used within the display stand of Figure 1; and Figure 11 is a display comprising a plurality of display stands as shown in Figure 1. Referring to the Figures, there is shown a display stand 10 including a substantially vertical backing wall 12. The backing wall 12 has a front face 14, a rear face 16, a first end 18 and a second end 20. The backing wall 12 has a plurality of article supports 22 arranged in a grid like pattern over the front and rear faces 14, 16. Each article support 22, as shown in Figure 5, comprises a substantially elongate body portion 24 which is slightly curved. The elongate body portion 24 is composed of a rigid, resilient material such as BL nylon. A pair of stops 26 are located approximately half way along the length of the elongate body portion 26, on alternate sides of the elongate body portion. The stops 26 are 3 substantially triangular in shaping, having a rear face 28 which is substantially perpendicular to the elongate body portion 24. A locking member 30 as shown in Figure 6 is used in conjunction with each article support 22. The locking member 30 comprises a pair of stops 26 which are connected by a web 32. The stops 26 are similar in shape to the stops 26 of the article support 22. Each stop 26 of the locking member 30 includes a groove 34 located adjacent the web 32. The grooves 34 and the web 32 cooperate to form a channel which is sized so as to slidably engage with the body portion 24 of the article support 22. In order to connect an article support 22 to the backing wall 12, a horizontal slot is created within the backing wall 12. The article support 22 is then inserted into this slot from the front face 14 of the backing wall 12, with the rear face 28 of the stops 26 being oriented towards the backing wall 12. The article support 22 is inserted until such time as the rear faces 28 of the stops 26 engage the front face 14 of the backing wall 12. The locking member 30 is then slid over the body portion 24 of the article support 22 from the rear face 16 of the backing wall 12. The locking support 30 is arranged such that its stops 26 engage the rear face 16 of the backing wall 12 in a similar way to the engagement of the stops 26 of the article support 22 with the front face 14. The article support 22 is thus secured in position by the engagement of the stops 26 on opposed sides of the backing wall 12. The article support 22 is inserted into the backing wall 12 such that body portion 24 curves slightly upwardly away from the backing wall 12. The backing wall 12 further includes a plurality of side supports 40. 4 The side supports 40 are positioned relative to the article supports 22 such that each article support 22 has two side supports 40 located above the article support 22, the two side supports 40 being equally spaced about a vertical line passing through the article support 22. Preferably, side supports 40 are spaced substantially equidistantly in the horizontal direction between adjacent article supports 22 such that each side support 40 is associated with two article supports 22. Each side support 40 is substantially rectangular and elongate in shape as shown in Figures 7 to 9. The side support 40 has a central portion 42 which is approximately equal in length to the width of the backing wall 12, and elongate outer portions 44 extending away from the central portion 42. Each outer portion 44 is slightly tapered in both width and depth, such that the maximum width and depth of the outer portions 44 is equal to that of the central portion 42. A pair of burrs 46 is provided at the intersection of one of the outer portions 44 and the central portion 42. In order to connect a side support 40 to the backing wall 12, a vertical slot of slightly small dimension than the central portion 42 is formed at an appropriate location in the backing wall 12. The side support 40 is then slid into the vertical slot. The tapered nature of the outer portion 44 means that the side support 40 will slide easily into the slot until the central portion 42 is engaged by the slot in a frictional fit. The burrs 46 will prevent the central portion 42 being pushed completely through the slot during installation. The side supports 40 may include apertures 48 located adjacent outer ends of the side supports 40. The apertures 48 are sized so as to allow a rod 50 to be passed therethrough, if desired. 5 The backing wall 12 includes a plurality of hinges 52 mounted at the first end 18 and the second end 20. Each hinge 52 comprises a pair of extending arms 54 which are arranged to be connected on either face 14, 16 of the backing wall 12 by suitable means such as bolting, and a cylindrical portion 56 which is arranged to be positioned adjacent the first or second end 18, 20 of the backing wall 12. The cylindrical portions 56 of adjacent hinges 12 are aligned so that a rod can be inserted through the hinges 52 on the first side 18 and on the second side 20. The rod acts as the hinge pin. All of the hinges 52 adjacent an end of the backing wall 12 may be connected to the backing wall 12, as shown in the drawings in relation to the first end 18. Where it is desired to join display stands 10 together, alternate hinges 52 along an end of the backing wall 12 may be joined to neighbouring backing walls 12. This arrangement is shown in the drawings in relation to the second end 20. The display stand 10 further comprises a pair of support means 60. The support means 60 is best seen in Figure 10. The support means 60 comprises a substantially flat base portion 62 which is arranged to rest along the ground, and two vertical supports 64 which extend upwardly and inwardly from the base portion 62 so as to create a substantially triangular shape. A first cylindrical member 66 is provided at the upper intersection of the vertical supports 64, and a second cylindrical member 68 is provided on the base portion 62, directly in alignment with the first cylindrical member 66. The first cylindrical member 66, is substantially the same size and shape as the cylindrical portions 56 of the hinges 52, and is arranged to align with the cylindrical portions 56 of the hinges 52 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. 6 The second cylindrical member 68 is smaller than the first cylindrical member 66, and is arranged such that a hollow rod passing through the cylindrical portions 56 of the hinges 52 locates about the periphery of the second cylindrical member 68. The pair of support means 60 thus rest on the ground, and act to hold the backing wall 12 in the vertical position. In use, articles being displayed are placed on the article supports 22. The articles are prevented from sideways movement by the side supports 40. Where appropriate, a rod 50 is provided to prevent an article toppling forwards. It is particularly envisaged that the rod 50 will be used when compact discs are displayed. It will be appreciated that several articles may be placed on each article support 22. It will also be appreciated that articles can be displayed on both the front face 14 and the rear face 16 of the backing wall 12. A plurality of display stands 10 may be joined together as described above and shown in Figure 11. It will be appreciated that the hinged connection of adjacent display stands 10 will permit the relative positions of adjacent display stands 10 to be adjusted to a desired configuration. Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. 7