GB2280213A

GB2280213A - Portable hand-held display device

Info

Publication number: GB2280213A
Application number: GB9314946A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Cecil Foster
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-07-16
Filing date: 1993-07-16
Publication date: 1995-01-25
Also published as: GB9314946D0

Abstract

A portable, hand-held display device comprises a display portion 12, power source means 14 and handle means 16, the display portion including at least one illuminated area 18. The display portion is suitably double-sided and has a periphery which may comprise alternate portions of illuminated and non-illuminated border. Any illumination e.g. of the border or of graphics, is suitably formed from a multiplicity of point light sources e.g. LEDs, fibre optics etc.

Description

DISPLAY DEVICE The present invention relates to a portable, hand-held illuminated display device particularly, though not exclusively, a device for use at supervised children's crossings for example for arresting traffic.

Presently, at supervised crossings, a hand-held sign is used to warn the drivers of vehicles that they must stop to allow children to cross. Sometimes these signs are used at sites where there are permanent traffic signals which are the primary means of controlling the traffic flow. More frequently however they are used in situations where there are no other traffic control signals and it is the task of the person with the sign to step into the road at an appropriate moment to halt the traffic. The hand-held signs currently in use are not very visible, particularly in conditions of poor visibility and in the dark.

As a result of this lack of visibility, accidents of the rear-end shunt type are extremely common at crossings where such signs are in use. This is due to the fact that following vehicles cannot generally see the sign in front of other vehicles and are caught unawares when the vehicle in front stops, apparently for no reason.

Another disadvantage of the signs currently in use is that their construction in metal results in their being used as offensive weapons by vandals.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable, hand-held sign that is more visible than signs currently in use.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable, hand-held display device, the device comprising a display portion, power source means and handle means, the display portion including at least one illuminated area.

The display portion may conform to local, national or international standards with regard to shape and/or colourings.

For example, the shape may be round, rectangular, triangular or any other desired shape.

The display portion may preferably be double-sided, i.e. any message on the device may be seen from both directions of oncoming traffic for example.

In the case of known signs for children's crossings, for example, the sign is usually round and has a painted red border at the periphery. The main area of the sign within the border is yellow and has the words "STOP" and "CHILDREN" prominently displayed.

In the display device of the present invention, the red border may be of red translucent material such as a plastics material and be illuminated from behind. The material may also be reflective.

The display device of the present invention may be almost entirely made of plastics material apart, of course, from the actual illuminating devices and power source. Areas of the display portion bearing particular messages can be of either reflective material or have a coating of reflective material.

Any illuminated border may be continuous or intermittent, i.e.

there may be a complete translucent and illuminated periphery or there may be a periphery which comprises alternate portions of illuminated and non-illuminated border.

Similarly, on the display portion, wording such as "STOP" or graphics for example, may be formed in translucent material of any desired colour such as red and illuminated from behind.

Alternatively, on the display portion, words such as "STOP" or graphics for example, may be accentuated by being formed from discreet illuminating devices such as light emitting diodes (LED) or fibre optics for example. Any such illuminating devices may be positioned on a background of the appropriate word having a light reflective surface.

The means of illumination may be any that is appropriate and may include, as noted above, LED, fibre optics, fluorescent tube, light bulbs or any other which is appropriate to the illumination of translucent material from behind or for the provision of discreet light points to spell out a word or produce graphics for example.

The mode of illumination may be any that is desired. For example, the illumination may be continuous, flash ON and OFF at a desired frequency or areas of the display portion such as words or graphics for example may light up in a sequential manner. As an example of the latter mode, the letters of the word "STOP" may be formed from a multiplicity of LEDs or fibre optic lenses, each letter being lit up in a sequential cumulative manner until all the letters are lit, the illumination then being extinguished and the sequence starting again.

The illumination of the display portion may be controlled by known circuitry and devices. For example, the sequential lighting of LEDs or other illumination means may be accomplished by the inclusion of a microchip in known manner.

Words or graphics being formed from LEDs, fibre optic lenses or other illumination means for example may comprise printed circuit boards for example.

The power source may be any which is suitable and may comprise for example disposable dry battery cells, rechargeable batteries or solar cells where the display device is primarily for daytime use.

The power source may be housed in either the display portion or in the handle means or may be housed in a portion substantially outside the periphery of the display portion but connected thereto and may receive the handle means.

Illumination of the display portion may be initiated by any suitable switching device such as push-on push-off switch, or a spring loaded switch which must be held in the ON position by the person holding the display device. Suitable switch means may be incorporated into the handle means for convenience.

The electrical circuit for the illumination devices may also include a timer so as to switch off the illumination after a predetermined time.

The handle means may comprise an elongate tubular portion of metal or plastics material. Where the handle is formed from plastics material, this may also be translucent, of any desired colour and illuminated in any of the ways described above.

Where the handle means is formed from elongate tubular material, it may preferably be sectional in construction, allowing it to be broken down into shorter portions to improve portability to and from the site where it is to be used and to facilitate storage.

It is clear from the foregoing that the display device of the present invention constitutes a considerable advance over known signs and greatly enhances visibility thus greatly increasing safety, especially at times of poor weather and darkness.

In order that the present invention may be more fully understood, examples will now be described by way of illustration only with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows an elevation of a "STOP CHILDREN" display device according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a section along the line 2-2 of the display portion of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an elevation showing a modification of a "STOP CHILDREN" sign according to the present invention; Figure 4 shows a side view of the sign of Figure 3; and Figure 5 which shows a detail of an alternative method of connecting the handle means to the display portion.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and where the same features are denoted by common reference numerals. A handheld display device is shown generally at 10 and comprises a display portion 12, a power source 14 and a handle 16. The display portion 12 comprises two display faces 18, 20 set 1800 opposed to each other. Each face 18, 20 displays essentially the same information and has a base panel 22 in a substantially opaque plastics material which may be either inherently reflective or have a reflective coating applied thereto. Around the periphery 24 of the base panel 22 is a border 26 in a red translucent plastics material. The word "STOP" is formed in the base panel 22 by removing material therefrom.A printed circuit board 28 is fixed behind the word "STOP", the board 28 having red coloured LEDs 30 forming the word "STOP" coincident with the word in the panel 22. The two faces 18, 20 are joined by brackets 32 which also retain LEDs 34 for the purpose of illuminating the translucent red border 26. The LEDs 30, 34 are controlled by known circuitry shown schematically at 36 and are powered by batteries 38 switched on and off by a switch 40 in the handle 16 connected by wiring 42. The control circuitry 36 and power source 38 are housed together in a box-like portion 44 having a removable closure 46 for access.The display portion 12 is connected to the handle 16 by a bracket 48, the handle also being in two parts and plugging together at 50.

In the embodiment described above LEDs 30 flash ON and OFF at a predetermined frequency controlled by a chip (not shown) in the control circuitry 36 whilst the LEDs 34 illuminating the border 26 are permanently ON.

Figures 3 and 4 show a modification of the above embodiment. The same or similar features to those shown in Figures 1 and 2 are denoted by common reference numerals. In addition to the word "STOP" being illuminated by point light sources 30, there is an additional illuminated graphics display 70 indicating, in this instance, a child 72 being escorted by an adult 74. The graphics 70 are formed by removal of material from the base panel 22 and have a translucent red material covering the aperture so formed.

The graphics are constantly illuminated from behind. Instead of being fixed to brackets 32 as shown in Figure 2, the lighting means such as LEDs or fibre optics for example may be retained in recesses 76 formed in the plastics material of the border 26 or the words or graphics. The recesses may be formed during manufacture by, for example, vacuum moulding. The border 26 is formed with alternate illuminated portions 78. The handle 16 is connected to the display portion 12 by bolts or rivets 80. There is also a soft material edging 82 (shown only in part) around the peripheries of the faces 18, 20. The edging material may be a plastics or a rubber.

Figure 5 shows an alternative method of connecting the handle 16 to the display portion 12. Two recesses 90 are formed in the faces 18, 20 of the display portion to receive the handle 16 which is of a cooperating cross sectional shape, e.g. round. The handle 16 is attached to the display portion by one or more bolts or rivets 92.

Clearly, many variations are possible within the scope of the present invention which is not limited to the particular embodiment described above. For example, The border 26 may comprise alternate segments of translucent 62 and opaque 64 material as indicated by the dashed lines 60. Similarly, the various areas may be differently lit with continuous instead of flashing light or vice versa or any combination thereof as circumstances suggest or necessitate. The illumination means may not necessarily be 'white' light but may be coloured as required, the cooperating translucent areas being clear or white or coloured as desired.

Claims

1. A portable, hand-held display device, the device comprising a display portion, power source means and handle means, the display portion including at least one illuminated area.

2. A display device according to claim 1 wherein the display portion is double-sided.

3. A display device according to either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the display portion has a periphery which has an at least partially border.

4. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the display portion contains an illuminated message.

5. A display device according to claim 4 wherein the message is in word or graphics form.

6. A display device according to claim 5 wherein the word is illuminated from behind through a translucent portion.

7. A display device according to claim 5 wherein the word or graphics are illuminated by being formed from a multiplicity of point light sources.

8. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the means of illumination is selected from one or more of the group comprising LEDs, fibre optics, fluorescent tubes and light bulbs.

9. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the illumination is continuous.

10. A display device according to any one of preceding claims 1 to 8 wherein the illumination is intermittent.

11. A display device according to any one preceding claim from 1 to 8 wherein the illumination is sequential.

12. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the power source is selected from the group comprising disposable dry batteries, rechargeable batteries and solar cells.

13. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the handle means comprises an elongate tubular member.

14. A display device according to claim 13 wherein the handle is in sectional form.

15. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein at least a part of the handle is illuminated.

16. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the illumination means are housed in recesses formed in the material of the display portion.

17. A display device according to any one preceding claim wherein the device is in the form of a "STOP CHILDREN" crossing sign.

18. A display device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying description and drawings.