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An adjustable food shield includes a panel mounting mechanism that enables extensive adjustability of the food shield. The food shield may include a post having a longitudinal axis, and a carrier coupled to the post, the carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism. The carrier clamping mechanism

An adjustable food shield includes a panel mounting mechanism that enables extensive adjustability of the food shield. The food shield may include a post having a longitudinal axis, and a carrier coupled to the post, the carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism. The carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the carrier to be moved along at least a portion of the length of the post, and is also tightenable to fix the carrier at a certain location on the post. The mounting mechanism may also include a link having a proximal end pivotally coupled to the carrier. An arm may be pivotally coupled to the distal end of the link and extend from the link. The adjustable food shield may include a clear panel coupled to the arm such that the clear panel is movable to different positions by rotating the link, the arm, or both.

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1. An adjustable food shield, comprising: at least one post having a longitudinal axis defining a length;a carrier coupled to the post, the carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism, wherein the carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the carrier to be moved along at least a portion

1. An adjustable food shield, comprising: at least one post having a longitudinal axis defining a length;a carrier coupled to the post, the carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism, wherein the carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the carrier to be moved along at least a portion of the length of the post, and the carrier clamping mechanism is also tightenable to fix the carrier at a certain location on the post;a link having a proximal end pivotally coupled to the carrier such that the link is rotatable with respect to the carrier about an axis that is defined by the pivotal coupling of the carrier and the link, the link also having a distal end;an arm pivotally coupled to the distal end of the link and extending from the link such that the arm is rotatable with respect to the link about an axis defined by the pivotal coupling of the arm and the link; anda clear panel coupled to the arm such that the clear panel is movable to different positions by rotating the link, the arm, or both, wherein the link and panel are configured such that when the post is vertically oriented relative to a horizontal surface and food is positioned behind a rear side of the post, the panel is movable forward of a front side of the post, with the distal end of the link being completely forward of the front side of the post, thereby permitting the post to be positioned closer to the food while still permitting the panel to be forward of the food by a specified distance. 2. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the axis defined by the pivotal coupling of the carrier and the link is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the post. 3. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the carrier defines a passage through which the post passes, and wherein the clamping mechanism comprises: a nut that defines a passage through which the post passes and that threadably engages with the carrier; anda sleeve that also defines a passage through which the post passes and that engages the carrier and the nut such that the sleeve engages the post more tightly as the nut is turned in a first direction, and the sleeve engages the post less tightly as the nut is turned in a second direction opposite the first direction. 4. The adjustable food shield of claim 3, wherein the sleeve includes a wedge portion that converts relative motion of the carrier and the nut to a clamping motion of the sleeve against the post. 5. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, further comprising a link fixing mechanism that is actuatable to fix the link in relation to the carrier and is also actuatable to enable rotation of the link with respect to the carrier. 6. The adjustable food shield of claim 5, wherein the link fixing mechanism includes a knob with a threaded stud, the threaded stud passing through the link and engaging a threaded hole in the carrier. 7. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, further comprising detent features that define a set of preferred rotational positions of the link in relation to the carrier. 8. The adjustable food shield of claim 7, wherein the detent features comprise a set of radial ribs on one of the carrier or the link, each of the radial ribs aligned substantially perpendicular to the axis about which the carrier and the link relatively rotate, and wherein the detent features further comprise a set of radial slots on the other of the carrier or the link, the radial slots of a size and position to complementarily engage the radial ribs in the preferred rotational positions. 9. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, further comprising an arm fixing mechanism that is actuatable to fix the arm in relation to the link and is also actuatable to enable rotation of the arm with respect to the link. 10. The adjustable food shield of claim 9, wherein the arm fixing mechanism includes a knob with a threaded stud, the threaded stud passing through one of the link or the arm and engaging a threaded hole in the other of the link or the arm. 11. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, further comprising detent features that define a set of preferred rotational positions of the arm in relation to the link. 12. The adjustable food shield of claim 11, wherein the detent features comprise a set of radial ribs on one of the link or the arm, each of the radial ribs aligned substantially perpendicular to the axis about which the link and the arm relatively rotate, and wherein the detent features further comprise a set of radial slots on the other of the link or the arm, the radial slots of a size and position to complementarily engage the radial ribs in the preferred rotational positions. 13. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the arm defines two holes through which threaded fasteners pass to couple the clear panel to the arm, and wherein the adjustable food shield further comprises two caps, each cap having a shank and an enlarged head, wherein the clear panel is disposed between the heads and the arm and is drawn toward the arm by the threaded fasteners. 14. The adjustable food shield of claim 13, wherein in each cap shank includes a flattened portion that engages a flat-sided hole to prevent rotation of the caps by the threaded fasteners. 15. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the post is substantially vertical. 16. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the post is substantially horizontal. 17. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the post is a first post, the carrier is a first carrier, the link is a first link, and the arm is a first arm, the adjustable food shield further comprising: a second post displaced from the first;a second carrier coupled to the second post, the second carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism, wherein the carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the second carrier to be moved along at least a portion of the length of the second post, and the carrier clamping mechanism is also tightenable to fix the second carrier at a certain location on the second post;a second link having a proximal end pivotally coupled to the second carrier such that the second link is rotatable with respect to the second carrier about an axis that is defined by the pivotal coupling of the second carrier and the second link, the second link also having a distal end; anda second arm pivotally coupled to the distal end of the second link and extending from the second link such that the second arm being is rotatable with respect to the second link about an axis defined by the pivotal coupling of the second arm and the second link;wherein the clear panel is also coupled to the second arm. 18. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the carrier is a first carrier, the link is a first link, the arm is a first arm, and the clear panel is a first panel, the adjustable food shield further comprising: a second carrier coupled to the post, the second carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism, wherein the carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the second carrier to be moved along at least a portion of the length of the post, and the carrier clamping mechanism is also tightenable to fix the second carrier at a certain location on the post;a second link having a proximal end pivotally coupled to the second carrier such that the second link is rotatable with respect to the second carrier about an axis that is defined by the pivotal coupling of the second carrier and the second link, the second link also having a distal end;a second arm pivotally coupled to the distal end of the second link and extending from the second link such that the second arm is rotatable with respect to the second link about an axis defined by the pivotal coupling of the second arm and the second link; anda second panel coupled to the second arm. 19. The adjustable food shield of claim 18, wherein the first carrier and link are comprised in a first panel mounting assembly, and the second carrier and link are comprised in a second panel mounting assembly, and wherein the second carrier is inverted with respect to the first carrier. 20. The adjustable food shield of claim 18, wherein the first carrier and link are comprised in a first panel mounting assembly, and the second carrier and link are comprised in a second panel mounting assembly, and wherein the axes of rotation of the two links are coincident. 21. The adjustable food shield of claim 18, wherein the first carrier and link are comprised in a first panel mounting assembly, and the second carrier and link are comprised in a second panel mounting assembly, and wherein the axes of rotation of the two links intersect. 22. The adjustable food shield of claim 1, wherein the position of the clear panel can be adjusted without the use of tools. 23. A method of protecting displayed food items, the method comprising: providing a food shield of claim 1 comprising at least one post having a longitudinal axis defining a length, wherein the post is vertically oriented relative to a horizontal surface, with food being positioned behind a rear side of the post; a carrier coupled to the post, the carrier including a carrier clamping mechanism, wherein the carrier clamping mechanism is loosenable to enable the carrier to be moved along at least a portion of the length of the post, and the carrier clamping mechanism is also tightenable to fix the carrier at a certain location on the post; a link having a proximal end pivotally coupled to the carrier such that the link is rotatable with respect to the carrier about an axis that is defined by the pivotal coupling of the carrier and the link, the link also having a distal end; an arm pivotally coupled to the distal end of the link and extending from the link such that the arm is rotatable with respect to the link about an axis defined by the pivotal coupling of the arm and the link; and a clear panel coupled to the arm such that the clear panel is movable to different positions by rotating the link, the arm, or both; androtating the link, the arm, or both to position the clear panel in a certain position such that the clear panel is between the displayed food items and a viewing location, with the panel being forward of a front side of the post and the distal end of the link being completely forward of the front side of the post, thereby permitting the post to be positioned closer to the food while still permitting the panel to be forward of the food by a specified distance. 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: engaging a link fixing mechanism and an arm fixing mechanism to hold the clear panel in the certain angular position. 25. The method of claim 23, further comprising adjusting the position of the carrier on the post in conjunction with rotating the link, the arm, or both, to position the clear panel in a combination of a certain angular position and a certain translational location.