GB2417883A - Modular showcase - Google Patents

Abstract

The showcase 10 is made up with units having an upper planar frame 16 and lower planar frame 12 which are surrounded by glass side walls 22 and a lease a glass door 20. Units may be connected together with the aid of connecting members 14. The upper and lower frames are constructed from four extruded members 26 and 24 respectively. The glass walls are fitted with extruded members (34, Figs. 14, 15) which in use have a protrusion that abuts against a receiving channel defined in extruded members 24 and 26 (see Figs. 19, 20) which also have seal housings (24c, 26c, Figs. 2 and 6) for receiving seals that abut against the walls. The connecting member 14 has two lugs (14b, Fig. 4, 5) which also fit into the said receiving channel defined in extruded members 24 and 26. Extruded members 24, 26 and 34 facing a door 20 are slightly modified to accommodate a hinge mechanism that includes two arms 42 and 44 hinged at both ends to housing members 39, 40, to form a non-parallel linkage mechanism where one arm 44 is approximately three times as long as the other.

Description

1 Showcase 3 The present invention relates to showcases, 4 particularly

but not exclusively, modular showcases.

6 Showcases are used for a variety of display purposes 7 and typically find application in locations such as 8 museums where they house exhibits which may be 9 fragile or valuable. The available space for the showcases in different locations can vary widely and 11 it is advantageous to provide a modular showcase 12 assembly which can be modified in shape, size and 13 configuration to suit individual locations.

According to a first aspect of the present invention 16 there is provided a modular showcase including at 17 least one upper planar frame, one lower planar 18 frame, one side wall connecting the upper and lower 19 planar frames, one further upper or lower planar frame and a connecting member for releasable 21 fastening of two like frames together wherein each l 1 like frame has at least one side adapted to receive 2 the connecting member.

4 Preferably the upper planar frame or frames are structurally connected to the lower planar frame or 6 frames by one or more side walls only.

8 Preferably the side wall is sealingly fixed to the 9 upper and lower planar frames.

11 Preferably the connecting member is sealingly 12 connected to the upper or lower planar frames.

14 Preferably the connecting member is an elongate member, more preferably substantially the same 16 length as a side of an upper or lower planar frame.

18 Preferably the connecting member connects to a frame 19 by a protrusion and corresponding channel, and it is further preferable for the protrusion to be bolted 21 into the channel.

23 Preferably the channel is on the frame and is also 24 adapted to receive a protrusion on a side wall of the showcase.

27 Preferably the modular showcase further includes at 28 least one door panel enabling access to the interior 29 of the showcase.

31 Preferably the at least one door panel comprises a 32 door frame and a door, wherein one side of the door 1 is pivotally connected to the door frame, and 2 further including a hinge mechanism connected to the 3 door and door frame comprising a first hinge member 4 and a second hinge member, the first hinge member being shorter than the second, and the attachment 6 points of the first and second hinge members being 7 spaced apart by a first distance on the door and a 8 second distance on the door frame, each of said 9 hinge members being pivotally connected to the door and door frame at their respective attachment 11 points.

13 Preferably the first distance is less than the 14 second distance.

16 According to a second aspect of the present 17 invention there is provided a hinge mechanism for a 18 door wherein one side of a door is pivotally 19 connected to a door frame, wherein the hinge mechanism is connectable to the door and door frame 21 and includes a first hinge member and a second hinge 22 member, the first hinge member being shorter than 23 the second, and the attachment points of the first 24 and second hinge members being spaced apart by a first distance on the door and a second distance on 26 the door frame, each of said hinge members being 27 pivotally connectable to the door and door frame at 28 their respective attachment points.

Preferably the first distance is less than the 31 second distance.

1 According to a third aspect of the present invention 2 there is provided a system for the assembly of a 3 modular showcase comprising a plurality of upper 4 planar frames, a plurality of lower planar frames, a plurality of side walls, and a plurality of 6 connecting members, wherein at least one side of the 7 upper and lower planar frames is adapted to receive 8 either a connecting member or a side wall, the 9 system being adapted to permit: 11 connection of at least two upper or lower 12 planar frames together with a connecting member to 13 form a frame assembly; connection of a first edge of a side wall to 16 the frame assembly; and 18 connection of a second edge of the side wall to 19 at least one corresponding lower or upper frame.

21 An embodiment of the first aspect of the present 22 invention will now be described, by way of example 23 only, with reference to the following drawings in 24 which: 26 Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a 27 modular showcase according to a first aspect of 28 the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a bottom frame 31 elongate extruded member of the modular 32 showcase of Fig. 1; 2 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a profile 3 section of the bottom frame elongate extruded 4 member of Fig. 2; 6 Fig. 4 is a side elevation of an elongate 7 connecting member of the modular showcase of 8 Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a profile 11 section of the elongate connecting member of 12 Fig. 4; 14 Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a top frame elongate extruded member of the modular 16 showcase of Fig. 1; 18 Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a profile 19 section of the top frame elongate extruded member of Fig. 6; 22 Fig. 8 is a side elevation of an alternative 23 top frame elongate extruded member compatible 24 with the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 26 Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a profile 27 section of the alternative top frame elongate 28 extruded member of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a plan view of a bottom frame of 31 the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 1 Fig. 11 is a detailed plan view of a triangular 2 connecting bracket of the frame depicted in 3 Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a side view in section of the 6 connection between the bottom frames and 7 the elongate connecting member of the modular 8 showcase of Fig. 1; Fig. 13 is a side view in section of the 11 connection between the top frames and the 12 elongate connecting member of the modular 13 showcase of Fig. 1; Fig. 14 is a side elevation of a side wall 16 extruded connecting member of the modular 17 showcase of Fig. 1; 19 Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a profile section of the side wall extruded connecting 21 member of Fig. 14; 23 Fig. 16 is a side elevation of a vertical 24 extruded seal member of the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 27 Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a profile 28 section of the vertical extruded seal member of 29 Fig. 16; 31 Fig. 18 is a plan view of the top of a modular 32 showcase according to the present invention 1 detailing the seal locations on the side walls; 3 Fig. 19 is a side view in section depicting the 4 connection between the top frame and the side wall of the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 7 Fig. 20 is a side view in section depicting the 8 connection between the bottom frame and the 9 side wall of the modular frame of Fig. 1; 11 Fig. 21 is perspective view showing detail of 12 the connection between the top frame elongate 13 extruded members of Figs. 6 & 7 and the 14 elongate connecting member of Figs. 4 & 5; 16 Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing detail of 17 the connection between the top frame elongate 18 extruded members of Figs. 6 & 7 and the side 19 wall extruded connecting member of Figs. 14 & 15; 22 Fig. 23 is a side view in section depicting the 23 connection between the top frame and the 24 glass side doors of the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 27 Fig. 24 is a side view in section depicting the 28 connection between the bottom frame and the 29 glass side doors of the modular showcase of Fig. 1; 1 Figs. 25 to 28 depict the hinge mechanism of 2 the glass side doors of the modular showcase of 3 Fig. 1 and an embodiment of a second aspect of 4 the present invention; and 6 Figs. 29 to 31 depict various alternative 7 configurations of a modular showcase according 8 to a first aspect of the present invention.

A modular showcase generally referred to as 10 is 11 shown in Fig. 1 and comprises two bottom frames 12, 12 two elongate connecting members 14, two top frames 13 16, two glass side doors 20 and four glass side 14 walls 22.

16 Although represented here with two corresponding 17 lower and upper frames 12,16 it will be understood

18 from the following description that the modular

19 construction of the showcase 10 allows an almost infinite variation in the number and arrangement of 21 such frames.

23 The bottom frames 12 are constructed from four 24 bottom frame elongate extruded members 24, details of which are illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Four 26 such members 24 are provided to form a square bottom 27 frame 12. Although square frames are shown in this 28 embodiment, it will be understood to those skilled 29 in the art that the invention encompasses the possibility of another quadrilateral shape or even 31 triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal or other 32 polygonal-shaped frames.

2 The bottom frame elongate extruded members 24 3 include a lower front flange 24a and an L-shaped 4 bracket 24b. The L-shaped bracket 24b extends beyond the main body of the member 24 by 6 approximately the same length as the lower front 7 flange 24a and both bracket and flange co-operate to 8 form a U-shaped channel in front of the members 24.

9 When formed into frames 12, this channel goes around the outmost edges of the frames 12.

12 At the distal end of the L-shaped bracket 24b from 13 the main body of the member 24 there is provided a 14 seal housing 24c. A standard extruded silicone bubble seal 24f (see Figs. 12,19 & 24) can be fitted 16 within this seal housing 24c.

18 Adjacent the L-shaped bracket 24b is a floor support 19 24d, which itself is in the form of an L-shaped bracket. Once assembled into frames 12, the floor 21 supports 24d form a support on which can be placed 22 an interior floor 100.

24 On the opposite side of the members 24 from the L shaped bracket 24b and lower front flange 24a is a 26 C-shaped channel 24e.

28 Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, there is shown detail 29 of the elongate connecting member 14. In this case the elongate connecting members 14 used for 31 connecting the top and bottom frames 12,16 are of 32 identical configuration and are generally T-shaped.

1 It is to be understood that differently shaped 2 connecting members may be used for connection of the 3 top and bottom frames 12,16.

The elongate connecting member 14 comprises a central 6 core 14a which is flanked by two lugs 14b. The 7 central core 14a is greater in height than the two 8 lugs 14b and includes a raised section 14c at the 9 centre of the thickness of the central core 14a (shown at the top of the elongate connecting member 11 from the perspective of Figs. 4 and 5) and a core 12 flange 14d also at the centre of the thickness of the 13 central core 14a but located on the opposite side of 14 the central core 14a to the raised section 14c (shown at the bottom of the elongate connecting member from 16 the perspective of Figs. 4 and 5).

18 The top frames 16 are constructed from four top 19 frame elongate extruded members 26, details of which are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. Four such members 21 26 are provided to form a square top frame 16.

22 Although square frames are shown in this embodiment, 23 it will be understood to those skilled in the art 24 that the invention encompasses the possibility of another quadrilateral shape or even triangular, 26 pentagonal, hexagonal or other polygonal-shaped 27 frames.

29 The top frame elongate extruded members 26 include an upper front flange 26a and an L-shaped bracket 31 26b. The L-shaped bracket 26b extends beyond the 32 main body of the member 26 by approximately the same 1 length as the upper front flange 26a and both 2 bracket and flange co-operate to form a U-shaped 3 channel in front of the members 26. When formed 4 into frames, this channel goes around the outmost edges of the top frames 16. The top frame elongate 6 extruded members 26 are in general form a mirror 7 image to the bottom frame elongate extruded members 8 24.

At the distal end of the L-shaped bracket 26b from 11 the main body of the member 26 there is provided a 12 seal housing 26c. A standard extruded silicone 13 bubble seal 26f (see Figs. 13,18 & 23) can be fitted 14 within this seal housing 26c as will be described below.

17 On the opposite side of the top frame elongate 18 extruded members 26 from the L-shaped bracket 26b 19 and the upper front flange 26a is a roof support 26d, which itself is in the form of a flange. Once 21 assembled into top frames 16, the roof supports 26d 22 form a support on which can be placed a roof 102.

24 An alternative top frame elongate extruded member 126 is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The upper section of 26 the alternative top frame elongate extruded members 27 126 is generally similar to top frame elongate 28 extruded member 26 and includes an upper front 29 flange 126a and an L-shaped bracket 126b combining to form a generally U-shaped channel. A seal 31 housing 126c is also provided on the distal end of 32 the L-shaped bracket 126b and an upper roof support 1 126d is provided on the opposite side of the top 2 frame elongate extruded members 126 from the L 3 shaped bracket 126b and the upper front flange 126a, 4 again in the form of a flange.

6 However, in the alternative top frame elongate 7 extruded members 126, the main body extends downward 8 approximately double the height of the top frame 9 elongate extruded member 26 and includes a lower roof support 126e. When assembled into a frame, the 11 combination of the upper roof support 126d and lower 12 roof support 126e allows a cavity space in the roof 13 of the modular showcase 10 to be formed. This 14 cavity can be used to mount, for example, interior lighting (not shown) , such as a fibre optic light 16 system well known in the art.

18 A similar modification may also be made to the 19 bottom frame elongate extruded members 24 to provide a cavity below the floor of the modular showcase 10.

22 Figs. 10 and 11 show the interconnection of the 23 elongate extruded members to form the lower frames 24 12.

26 The bottom frame elongate extruded members 24 have 27 450 fillets on either end to enable them to be 28 formed into a square frame. Triangular brackets 28 29 are used to attach the bottom frame elongate extruded members 24 together to form the bottom 31 frames 12. The triangular brackets 28 are attached 32 with a bolt and nut arrangement 30. The bolt and 1 nut arrangement 30 attaches via the C-shaped channel 2 24e, as can be seen in Fig. 12.

4 Frame support legs 32 also attach to the triangular brackets 28 to raise the modular showcase 10 off the 6 ground when in use. The frame support legs 32 are 7 adjustable to allow the distance the modular 8 showcase 10 is raised from the ground to be varied 9 and also to allow levelling of the frames prior to the complete construction of the modular showcase 11 10.

13 Upon construction of the modular showcase 10, the 14 lower frames 12 are arranged in the same plane with the U-shaped channel formed from the L-shaped 16 bracket 24b and flange 24a on adjacent frames facing 17 one another (see Fig. 12). An elongate connecting 18 member 14 is placed between the adjacent frames with 19 the lugs 14b placed within the U-shaped channels.

The lower front flange 24a of the bottom frame 21 elongate extruded members 24 is approximately equal 22 in thickness to the raised section 14c of the 23 elongate connecting member 14, and approximately 24 equal in length to the lugs 14b. Likewise, the horizontal section of the L-shaped bracket 24b is 26 approximately equal in length to the lugs 14b, and 27 thus a smooth fit between U-shaped channel and lug 28 14b is obtained. Furthermore, the height of the 29 vertical section of the L-shaped bracket 24b from the vertical section to the seal housing 24c is 31 equal to the difference in height between the 1 central core 14a and the lugs 14b of the elongate 2 connecting member 14.

4 The seal housings 24c, which project slightly from the L-shaped bracket 24b, fit over the central core 6 14a and face the core flange lid. When seals 24f 7 are fitted to the seal housings 24c, a seal is 8 formed between the frames 12 and the elongate 9 connecting member 14. Bolts are used to form a more permanent attachment between the bottom frames 12 11 and elongate connecting members 14 (see Fig. 1).

13 The bottom frames 12 can then be levelled by 14 adjustment of the frame support legs 32.

16 A similar construction principle applies to the top 17 frames 16 as can be seen from Fig. 13.

19 Bolts 33 are used to form releasable connections between the elongate connecting member 14 and the 21 lower and upper frames 12,16 23 Detail of a side wall extruded connecting member 34 24 is shown in Figs. 14 and 15. The side wall extruded connecting member 34 is generally box-shaped with a 26 downward projecting ribbed flange 34a. The ribbed 27 flange 34a is located approximately halfway through 28 the thickness of the side wall extruded connecting 29 member 34.

31 Referring to Figs. 16 and 17 there is shown a 32 vertical extruded seal member 35. The vertical 1 extruded seal member 35 is an elongate generally C 2 shaped member, incorporating a channel 35a and a lip 3 35b. The vertical extruded seal member 35 is bonded 4 to an edge of a glass side wall 22 with the channel 35b facing away from the glass side wall 22. A 6 standard extruded silicone bubble seal 35c is placed 7 within the channel 35a. When assembled, the 8 extruded silicone bubble seal 35c forms a seal 22a 9 between adjacent side walls 22, as can be seen in Figs. 11 & 18.

12 Only one seal 35c is required per side wall 22 to 13 ensure sealing around the showcase 10. Provided 14 that all seals are attached on the same edge (in this case the right hand edge when facing the side 16 wall 22) effective sealing of the showcase is 17 achieved. The seals 35c function when the side 18 walls 20 are arranged in the same plane as well as 19 in a perpendicular arrangement as shown in Fig. 18.

21 Referring to Figs. 19 and 20, it can be seen that 22 the side wall 22 is constructed from two side wall 23 extruded connecting members 34 and a glass pane 37.

24 Although glass is used in this particular embodiment it will be understood that other materials can be 26 used such as a clear plastic or indeed an opaque 27 material.

29 Adhesive is used to connect the glass pane 36 to the bottom frame elongate extruded members 24 via the 31 ribbed flange 34a. Adhesive is painted onto the top 32 and bottom edges of the glass pane 36 and attached 1 to the ribbed flange 34a. The surface texture of 2 the ribbed flange 34a allows a greater contact area 3 for the adhesive to act over. By painting the 4 adhesive onto the glass pane 37, it mitigates the tendency of the adhesive to turn cloudy or opaque 6 and thereby obtain a more attractive finish for the 7 side wall 22.

9 The side wall 22 is attached to the U-shaped channel of the bottom frame 12 as can be seen in Fig. 20.

11 Once the side wall is in place, the upper frame 16 12 can then be attached to the upper side wall extruded 13 connecting member 34 as can be seen in Fig. 19.

14 Bolts 33 are used to form releasable connections between the side wall extruded members 34 and the 16 lower and upper frames 12,16. The side walls 22 in 17 combination with the glass side doors 20 provide the 18 vertical support for the upper frames 16 and the 19 invention does not require any further vertical support in the form of an additional extruded member 21 or the like. This has additional advantage in that 22 the outer surface of the main body of the assembled 23 modular showcase 10 can be glass only and there is 24 no pillars or the like to obstruct the view of the contents of the modular showcase 10.

27 As can be seen in Figs. 19 and 20, the seal housings 28 24c,26c of the top and bottom frame elongate 29 extruded members 24,26 face the glass pane 36 when the side wall 22 is attached to the frames. A seal 31 is formed between the frames 12 and the side walls 1 22 when seals 24f,26f are fitted to the seal 2 housings 24c,26c.

4 Fig. 21 further illustrates the connection of the top frame elongate extruded members 26 and the 6 elongate connecting member 14.

8 Fig. 22 further illustrates the connection between 9 the top frame elongate extruded members 26 and the side wall extruded connecting member 34.

12 Detail of the connection of the side doors 20 to the 13 top and bottom frames 12,16 is shown in Figs. 23 and 14 24.

16 The connection is largely similar to that of the 17 side walls 22 to the top and bottom frames albeit 18 with some minor modification to the extruded members 19 24,26 and 34 (referred to as 224,226 and 234 respectively in their modified forms) to enable a 21 hinge mechanism 36 to be mounted.

23 The hinge mechanism 36 includes a first housing 24 member 38, a second housing member 40, a first hinge member 42 and a second hinge member 44. The first 26 housing member 38 attaches into an interior channel 27 formed in the door pane extruded connecting members 28 234. The second housing member 40 attaches into an 29 interior channel formed in the top and bottom frame elongate extruded members 224,226 depending on 31 whether the hinge mechanism 36 attaches to the top 32 or bottom frame.

2 The first hinge member 42 is attached at either end 3 to both the first housing member 38 and the second 4 housing member 40, with each attachment point allowing a pivoting movement between the first hinge 6 member 42 and the two housing members 38,40. The 7 second hinge member 44 is also attached in a similar 8 pivotal manner to the two housing members 38,40.

The second hinge member 44 is approximately three 11 times as long as the first hinge member 42 and their 12 attachment points on the second housing member 40 13 are approximately three times as far apart as their 14 respective attachment points on the first housing member 38.

17 Referring to Figs. 25 through 28, the operation of 18 the hinge mechanism 36 as attached to the top frame 19 16 is detailed from a approximately quarter open (Fig. 25) through to fully open (Fig. 28).

22 The left hand edge of the door pane extruded 23 connecting member 234 is pivotally attached to the 24 top frame elongate extruded member 224 by the hinge mechanism 36. In the fully open position (Fig. 28), 26 where the door pane extruded connecting member 234 27 is perpendicular to the top frame elongate extruded 28 member 224, the left hand edge of the door pane 29 extruded connecting member 234 is located to the right of the edge of the top frame 16. In this 31 position the first hinge member 42 is fully extended 32 and is both parallel to the first housing member 38 1 and perpendicular to the second housing member 40.

2 The second hinge member 44 is at an angle of 3 approximately 45 to the first housing member 38 and 4 at an angle of approximately 45 to the second housing member 40.

7 As the side door 20 is closed, the left hand edge of 8 the door pane extruded connecting member 234 moves 9 towards the corresponding edge of the top frame 16 and the first and second hinge members 42,44 pivot 11 on their attachment points and fold into the second 12 housing member 40. When fully closed, the door pane 13 extruded connecting member 234 becomes flush with 14 the other members that make up the top frame.

16 An ABLOY (Trade Mark) lock arrangement 46 is also 17 provided to securely lock the side door 20 once it 18 is closed.

Figs. 27 to 30 depict various possibly combinations 21 of the modular showcase, including a single frame 22 variant (Fig. 29) through a two frame variant (Fig. 23 30) and onto three frame (Fig. 31). These are for 24 illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that the nature of the modular showcase 26 allows an almost infinite variation in the number of 27 frame sections and their layout.

29 The present invention provides a modular showcase assembly which is easily assembled and disassembled, 31 and finds particular application with temporary or 32 touring exhibitions. The modular showcase can be 1 assembled at one venue for a period of time, and can 2 be disassembled and move with the exhibition onto 3 further venues. The invention also allows the 4 ability for the exhibitors to modify the arrangement, shape and size of the showcase to suit 6 the requirements of different exhibitions and 7 different venues.

9 The use of the various extruded silicone bubble seals provide sealing to a high degree to ensure 11 that valuable or fragile exhibits are protected and 12 that desiccant material such as silica gel can be 13 introduced into the showcase in the lower or upper 14 frames to mitigate damage that can be caused by humidity.

17 The use of ALLOY (Trade Mark) locks also provides 18 museum standard security to prevent theft of the 19 exhibits.

21 In addition to the modifications discussed herein, 22 it is to be understood that the modular showcase may 23 be varied in both construction and detail without 24 departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1 Claims 3 1. A modular showcase including at least one upper 4 planar

frame, one lower planar frame, one side wall connecting the upper and lower planar frames, one 6 further upper or lower planar frame and a connecting 7 member for releasable fastening of two like frames 8 together wherein each like frame has at least one 9 side adapted to receive the connecting member.

11

2. A modular showcase according to Claim 1 wherein 12 the upper planar frame or frames are structurally 13 connected to the lower planar frame or frames by one 14 or more side walls only.

16

3. A modular showcase according to Claims 1 or 2 17 wherein the side wall is sealingly fixed to the 18 upper and lower planar frames.

4. A modular showcase according to any preceding 21 claim wherein the connecting member is sealingly 22 connected to the upper or lower planar frames.

24

5. A modular showcase according to any preceding claim wherein the connecting member is an elongate 26 member, and is substantially the same length as a 27 side of an upper or lower planar frame.

29

6. A modular showcase according to any preceding claim wherein the connecting member connects to a 31 frame by a protrusion and corresponding channel.

1

7. A modular showcase according to Claim 6 wherein 2 the protrusion is bolted into the channel.

4

8. A modular showcase according to Claims 6 or 7 wherein the channel is on the frame and is adapted 6 to receive a protrusion on a side wall of the 7 showcase.

9

9. A modular showcase according to any preceding claim wherein the modular showcase further includes 11 at least one door panel enabling access to the 12 interior of the showcase.

14

10. A modular showcase according to Claim 9 wherein the at least one door panel comprises a door frame 16 and a door, wherein one side of the door is 17 pivotally connected to the door frame, and further 18 including a hinge mechanism connected to the door 19 and door frame comprising a first hinge member and a second hinge member, the first hinge member being 21 shorter than the second, and the attachment points 22 of the first and second hinge members being spaced 23 apart by a first distance on the door and a second 24 distance on the door frame, each of said hinge members being pivotally connected to the door and 26 door frame at their respective attachment points.

28

11. A modular showcase according to Claim 10 29 wherein the first distance is less than the second distance. #

1

12. A hinge mechanism for a door wherein one side 2 of a door is pivotally connected to a door frame, 3 wherein the hinge mechanism is connectable to the 4 door and door frame and includes a first hinge member and a second hinge member, the first hinge 6 member being shorter than the second, and the 7 attachment points of the first and second hinge 8 members being spaced apart by a first distance on 9 the door and a second distance on the door frame, each of said hinge members being pivotally 11 connectable to the door and door frame at their 12 respective attachment points.

14

13. A hinge mechanism for a door according to Claim 12 wherein the first distance is less than the 16 second distance.

18

14. A system for the assembly of a modular showcase 19 comprising a plurality of upper planar frames, a plurality of lower planar frames, a plurality of 21 side walls, and a plurality of connecting members, 22 wherein at least one side of the upper and lower 23 planar frames is adapted to receive either a 24 connecting member or a side wall, the system being adapted to permit: 27 connection of at least two upper or lower 28 planar frames together with a connecting member to 29 form a frame assembly; 31 connection of a first edge of a side wall to 32 the frame assembly; and ) 2 connection of a second edge of the side wall to 3 at least one corresponding lower or upper frame.