WO2007116117A1

WO2007116117A1 - Impact resistant electronic information board

Info

Publication number: WO2007116117A1
Application number: PCT/FI2006/050146
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pasi Karppanen; Niko Suomela; Markku PYYKÖNEN
Original assignee: Symbicon Oy
Priority date: 2006-04-11
Filing date: 2006-04-11
Publication date: 2007-10-18

Abstract

An impact and vibration resistant electronic information board according to the invention comprises a frame (40), a flat display element (54) for presenting information, and electronic equipment for controlling the display element. The display element has been placed in a closed display casing (10) and the display casing has been fastened to the frame of the information board by flexible fastening means (52). Due to the flexible fastening of the display casing, vibrations and shocks applied to the frame are significantly attenuated before they are transmitted to the display casing and further to the display element. The display casing comprises a back wall (22), a front plate (46) preferably made of shock-resistant glass and an edge part (44), which has a flange-like fastening collar (48) matching the direction of the front plate. The front plate has been fastened to the fastening collar by flexible sealing means (50). The display element inside the display casing is supported on the walls of the display casing by flexible support means (56) in a way that there remains a gap between the walls of the display casing and the outer surface of the display element. The information board also has a device casing (12), in which the electronic equipment needed in the control of the display element have been installed. The device casing has been fastened to the frame of the information board by flexible fastening parts, like the display casing. Preferably, the information board has an openable cover, and the device casing has been fastened to the cover.

Description

Impact resistant electronic information board

The invention relates to an electronic information board comprising a frame, a flat display element for presenting information and electronic equipment for controlling the display element.

The conventional means used by advertisers to pass on information are illuminated advertisement boards containing a paper poster, which are updated by replacing the poster with a new one. Replacing the poster is laborious, and it may take place at intervals of several days or even weeks. New posters have to be printed, transported, replaced and finally disposed of. The changing of the posters thus causes unnecessary stress on the environment and costs. The problems entailed by paper posters are avoided by using electronic information boards instead of them.

The display of an electronic information board can be implemented by using any prior art display device technology. For the present, the most advantageous dis- play technology for display devices of a few square metres and less is the TFT LCD technology, which provides the advantages of a large viewing angle, a short response time, good contrast and reliability of the display. In addition to TFT LCD displays, other electronic display solutions, such as plasma displays, can be used in information boards.

Information boards are needed most in places that are frequently visited by a large number of people. Places like that include railway stations, airports, public transport means, public premises and street areas. The prior art electronic information boards have the problem that they can poorly withstand vibrations and mechanical shocks. For example, vibration always occurs in transport means, such as metros, buses and trains, and it has a direct effect on the internal structures of the display. In some situations, information boards may also become the targets of direct mechanical shocks, e.g. in connection with the cleaning and maintenance of the premises or as a result of vandalism. Information boards located outdoors are especially exposed to such shocks. As a result of vibrations and shocks, e.g. con- nectors tend to come loose, solder joints of components on the circuit boards are stressed and break, and the fluorescent tubes, for example, may become damaged. One strong, mechanical shock may break the whole display. The prior art electronic information boards usually completely lack the solutions for attenuating vibration and mechanical shocks, and therefore they are unnecessarily damaged and their service life remains shorter than normal. It is clear that the effect of vibrations and shocks on the display device itself and the electronics required around it should be minimized.

It is an objective of the invention to provide an electronic information board, by which the drawbacks and disadvantages related to the vibration attenuation and shockproofness of prior art electronic information boards can be significantly reduced. In addition, it is an objective of the invention to provide an electronic information board which is suitable for installation outdoors and by which a conven- tional illuminated advertising board containing a paper poster can be replaced.

The objectives of the invention are achieved by an electronic information board, which is characterized in what is set forth in the independent claims. Some preferred embodiments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims.

A shock and vibration resistant electronic information board according to the in- vention comprises the frame of the device, a flat display element for presenting information and electronic equipment for controlling the display element. The basic idea of the invention is that the display element has been placed within a closed display casing. The display casing has been fastened to the frame of the information board by flexible fastening means that attenuate shocks and vibrations. Due to the flexible fastening of the display casing, vibrations and shocks directed to the frame are significantly attenuated before they are transmitted to the display board and further to the display element.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the display casing comprises a back wall, a transparent front plate and an edge part. The front plate of the display cas- ing has been fastened to the display casing by flexible sealing means that attenuate shocks and vibrations. Preferably, the edge part of the display casing has a flange-like fastening collar matching the direction of the front plate, and the front plate has been fastened to the fastening collar by sealing means. The front plate is preferably made of shock-resistant glass.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the display element is supported on the display casing by flexible support means that attenuate shocks and vibrations in such a way that there remains a gap between the walls of the display casing and the outer surface of the display element. In a third preferred embodiment of the invention, it comprises heating means and/or cooling means for the temperature control of the display casing. These means have been mechanically fastened to the back wall of the display casing as separate from the display element.

In a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention, the information board also comprises a device casing, inside which the electronic equipment needed in the control of the display element have been installed. The display casing has been fastened to the frame of the information board by flexible fastening parts that attenuate shocks and vibrations. Preferably, the information board has an openable cover, and the device casing has been fastened to the cover.

In a fifth preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing means, fastening means, support means and fastening parts are made of rubber or silicone or some other corresponding, flexible material.

The invention has the advantage that it increases the service life of the electronic information board and reduces the need for maintenance and repair. Thereby the operating costs of the information board are reduced.

The invention has the advantage that it increases the possibilities of using an electronic information board, because it enables placing information boards at places where it has formerly been impossible to use them or where there has been a high risk of the information board being broken. Places like this are, for example, railway stations and airports and the sides of traffic routes. The information board also withstands strokes directed to it as a result of possible vandalism.

In addition, the invention has the advantage that it reduces the damages caused by transport and installation, because the device withstands the stress during transport and installation without being broken.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that it is suitable for use both outdoors and indoors.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail. Reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective drawing of an electronic information board according to the invention, presented as an example;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional drawing of an electronic information board according to the invention, presented as an example;

Fig. 3 shows an example of the cover of an information board according to the invention as seen from the direction of the cooling space; and

Fig. 4 shows the structure of a fastening part used for fastening the device casing as a cross-sectional drawing.

In Fig. 1 , an electronic information board according to the invention is shown as an example, as depicted obliquely from behind. The information board has a frame 40, to which a closed display casing 10 and a cover 24 opening on hinges 14 has been fastened. The cover is trough-shaped, i.e. it has a flat bottom and edges turned to an angle from the plane of the bottom. A closed device casing 12 has been fastened to the bottom of the cover. The display element 54 of the informa- tion board (Fig. 2) has been placed inside the display casing, and the electronic equipment needed in the control of the display element have been placed inside the device casing. Typically, this equipment includes a programmable control unit with its power supply for controlling the display, and the power supplies of the background light of the display. The separation of the display element and control electronics from each other and placing them in their own casings makes it easier to arrange the vibration attenuation of the information board. In this way, the structure of the information board also becomes modular, which makes the manufacture of the device simpler and faster and facilitates the performance of maintenance and updating.

Fig. 1 shows an information board according to the invention in the opened position, in which the cover 24 of the information board has been turned on the hinges so as to be separated from the display casing. In this position it is easy to perform updating and maintenance measures of the information board. The cover has been connected to the display casing by a hold-open device 16, which keeps the cover at a certain angle in relation to the display casing. The enclosure class of the display casing and the device casing is such that it enables updating and maintenance measures taking place outdoors. In normal use, the display casing and the device casing are turned against each other to a closed position and locked to each other by locking means 18 on one side of the casings. A cooling space 20 then remains between the display casing and the cover. In the cover 24 there are cooling fans 36, by which the circulation of air through the cooling space is regulated. The information board according to the invention can be fastened to a wall or a support pole. Fastening to a wall takes place simply by fastening the cover of the information board directly to the surface of the wall by screws, for example.

In Fig. 2, an example of an electronic information board according to the invention is shown as a cross-sectional drawing. The information board has a frame 40 manufactured of metal piping, to the edge surface of which a lining plate 42 form- ing the visible outer surface has been fastened. The lining plate is preferably made of aluminium or steel. A display casing 10 comprising a back wall 22, a transparent front plate 46 and an edge part 44 having a flange-like fastening collar 48 matching the direction of the front plate has been fastened to the frame by flexible fastening means 52. The back plate and the edge parts have been preferably formed of aluminium sheet by some known sheet machining method. The transparent front plate has been fastened to the fastening collar of the edge parts by means of flexible sealing means 50 so that the front plate, the edge parts and the back wall form a closed display casing. The front plate is preferably made of shock-resistant glass, but it is also possible to use other materials. Flexible sealing means, pref- erably made of rubber, silicone or some corresponding material, absorb the energy of shocks directed to the front plate, in which case the shocks are not transmitted to the display casing with their full force. The sealing elements also prevent the possible vibration of the front plate from being transmitted to the edge parts of the display casing.

The fastening means 52 are parts made of flexible material, e.g. rubber or silicone, which absorb vibration and shock energy and thus prevent vibrations and shocks directed to the frame of the information board from being transmitted to the display casing. In addition, the flexible fastening of the display casing provided by the fastening means reduces the risk of the front plate being broken when a strong im- pact is applied to the front plate.

Inside the display casing there is a display element 54, which is supported at its edges by flexible support means 56 to the edge part of the display casing in a way that there remains a gap enabling the circulation of air between the walls of the display casing and the outer surface of the display element. The display element is preferably a TFT LCD display or some other suitable, flat electronic display ele- merit, such as a plasma display, a LED display or an organic LED display. The support means 56 are also parts made of flexible material, e.g. rubber or silicone, which absorb vibration and impact energy and thus prevent vibrations and impacts applied to the outer surface of the display casing from being transmitted to the dis- play element 54.

In the back wall of the display casing there are cooling elements 32, which have a first heat transfer part 60 extending to the inside of the display casing and a second heat transfer part 62 extending to the cooling space 20 outside the display casing. Preferably, inside the display casing on the back wall 22 there are fans 64, which circulate air in the space between the display element and the walls of the display casing. In the display casing there can also be electrically operated warming elements 68 for raising the temperature of the display casing. In addition, on the surface of the back wall 22 of the display casing on the side of the cooling space there can be other parts related to the control and adjustment of the tem- perature of the information board, such as cooling fans or air flow controllers (not shown in the drawing). In an information board according to the invention, all the parts and devices needed in the cooling and warming of the display element have been mechanically fastened to the display casing as separate from the display element. It is thus ensured that vibration cannot be transmitted to the display ele- ment through these parts.

For cooling the display element, it is also possible to use cooling elements based on the conduction of heat, having a first heat transfer part in contact with the display element. In this case, flexible fastening paste must be used between the first heat transfer part and the display element to enable the transfer of heat from the display element to the cooling element but to prevent the transfer of harmful vibrations from the display casing to the display element.

Double shock and vibration attenuation to protect the display element 54 has been implemented in the information board shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The display element has been placed in a separate display casing 10, and separated from the walls of the display casing by flexible support means 56. The front plate 46 of the display casing has been fastened to the edge part 44 of the display casing by flexible sealing means 50, and the display casing itself has been fastened by flexible fastening means to the frame of the information board. The display element in the information board is thus protected from shocks and vibrations coming from the outside of the board by double shock and vibration attenuation. The information board ac- cording to the invention can naturally also be implemented with single shock and vibration attenuation, in which case the vibration and shock attenuation has been arranged only between the frame and the display casing of the information board. The fastening of the front plate to the edge part can also be implemented without flexible sealing means, when required. Such a preferred embodiment of the invention can be applied when the information board is not required to have a high shock and vibration resistance.

Fig. 3 shows an example of the cover 24 of an information board according to the invention as seen from the direction of the cooling space. In the vicinity of both vertical edges of the cover there is a plate-like fastening rib 80 running in the direction of the vertical edge. The fastening ribs have been fastened by mechanical connecting means (not shown) or by welding to the surface of the cover 24 on the side of the cooling space 20. The ends of the fastening ribs pointed downwards turn towards each other, whereby they form brackets 82 to support the device cas- ing. The device casing 12 has been fastened to the vertical parts and brackets of the fastening ribs by flexible fastening parts 84. The fastening parts are preferably made of rubber, silicone or some other corresponding material. Due to the flexible fastening parts, the vibrations of the cover and shocks applied to the cover are not transmitted directly to the device casing, but a significant part of the shock and vibration energy is absorbed in the fastening parts.

Because the electronics contained by the device casing are known to withstand vibrations and shocks better than the display element itself, the vibration attenuation of the device casing can be implemented as single vibration attenuation in the manner described above. However, it is possible to implement the vibration at- tenuation of the device casing as double vibration attenuation by applying the vibration attenuation solution used in the display casing, when required.

Fig. 4 shows the structure of the fastening part 84 as a cross-sectional drawing. The fastening part includes a head part 85 fitted in the device casing 12 and a base part 86 remaining outside the device casing. The head part has a smaller cross-section than the base part. The fastening part is fastened to the device casing simply by pushing the head part to the fastening sleeve 90 in the wall of the device casing, whereby the head part remains in place in the sleeve by means of the friction forces between the walls of the sleeve and the head part. The base part of the fastening part is attached to the fastening ribs by fastening screws 92 running through the wall of the fastening ribs. The fastening ribs and the base part have prefabricated holes for the fastening screws. The fastening means 52 (Fig. 2) used for fastening the display casing 10 have preferably a similar structure as the fastening parts 84.

Information boards can be made in different sizes according to the user's needs and desires. In particular, the information boards can be made to the same size as the prior art illuminated advertisement boards, in which case the physical dimensions of the display element correspond to the dimensions generally used in paper posters. The depth of the information board in the direction of the normal of the front plate is under 25 cm, which is of the same order of magnitude or smaller than in conventional illuminated boards. Because the physical size of an information board according to the invention is essentially the same as the size of an illuminated board with a paper poster, the replacement of a conventional illuminated board by an information board according to the invention does not require new permissions from the authorities and long permission procedures. The information board can be implemented as one-sided or two-sided. A two-sided information board is formed by joining together two one-sided information boards. As an alternative, the other side of the information board can be a conventional, illuminated poster board. Mechanical fastening of the information boards to the support structures can be implemented at the upper or lower edge of the board, from behind or from the side of the board.

Some preferred embodiments of an electronic information board according to the invention have been described above. The invention is not limited to the above described solutions only, but the inventive idea can be applied in numerous ways within the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An electronic information board having a frame (40), a flat display element (54) for presenting information and electronic equipment for controlling the display element, characterized in that - it has a display casing (10),

- the display element (54) has been placed inside the display casing, and

- the display casing has been fastened to the frame by flexible fastening means (52) that attenuate shocks and vibrations.

2. An information board according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the display casing (10) comprises a back wall (22), a transparent front plate (46) and an edge part (44), and the front plate has been fastened to the display casing by flexible sealing means (50) that attenuate shocks and vibrations.

3. An information board according to Claim 2, characterized in that the edge part (44) of the display casing (10) has a flange-like fastening collar (48) matching the direction of the front plate (46), and the front plate has been fastened to the fastening collar by the sealing means (50).

4. An information board according to Claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the front plate (46) is made of shock-resistant glass.

5. An information board according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, character- ized in that the display element (54) is supported on the display casing (10) by flexible support means (56) that attenuate shocks and vibrations, in a way that there remains a gap between the walls of the display casing and the outer surface of the display element.

6. An information board according to any one of the claims 2 to 5, character- ized in that it comprises warming means (68) and/or cooling means (32, 64) for the temperature control of the display casing (10), and said means have been mechanically fastened to the back wall (22) of the display casing as separate from the display element (54).

7. An information board according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, character- ized in that the display element (54) is a TFT LCD display, a plasma display, a

LED display or an organic LED display.

8. An information board according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it also comprises a device casing (12), inside which the electronic equipment needed in the control of the display element have been installed, and the device casing has been fastened to the frame (40) by flexible fastening parts (82) that attenuate shocks and vibrations.

9. An information board according to Claim 8, characterized in that it has an openable cover (24) and that the device casing (12) has been fastened to the cover.

10. An information board according to Claim 9, characterized in that there are fastening ribs (80) on the cover (24) for fastening and supporting the device casing

(12).

11. An information board according to any one of the claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the display casing (10) and the device casing (12) have been made weatherproof for performing updating and maintenance measures outdoors.

12. An information board according to any one of the claims 8 to 11 , characterized in that the sealing means (50), fastening means (52), support means (56) and fastening parts (82) are made of rubber or silicone or some other corresponding, flexible material.

13. An information board according to any one of the Claims 2 to 12, character- ized in that its depth in the direction of the normal of the front plate (46) is under

25 cm.

14. An information board according to any one of the claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the dimensions of the display element (54) correspond to the size class of paper posters generally used in illuminated advertising boards.