EP0246164B1 - Display device with images composed in strip form - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to devices for the sequential display of images decomposed in the form of bands, used in particular for advertising display.

It is known, for example, from US Pat. No. 4,006,545 to display images sequentially by mounting each image on a pallet driven along a raceway forming a loop path. Each support is independently driven to be brought in front of a window.

In such a device, each image remains whole, which, taking into account the usual dimensions of posters, poses risks of deterioration thereof. This is why, we tried to use the images by cutting them into strips to be connected to each other during the display, as shown by the English patent GB 510 943.

Another device of this kind is described in French patent No. 2 029 479, the images, each broken down into a group of bands, are fixed in groups on supports associated with one or more cams driven by the shaft of a motor. electric which drives said supports in a back and forth movement. The various groups of bands are interleaved and the profile of the cams is provided to successively bring the groups of bands constituting complete images into the exposed position. The assembly is mounted in a frame contained in a closed box comprising a window behind which the reconstituted images appear successively.

One of the main drawbacks of the known devices results from the fact that the bands constituting the image parts are integral with the supports which animate them.

It is therefore necessary, when we want to replace an image, to drop all the supports, to separate the group of bands of the image to be replaced by the other groups, then place the new bands on the corresponding support, respecting the order of insertion of the new bands with those of other groups.

The change of images in known devices therefore requires the intervention of specialized personnel and makes the device unavailable for a relatively long period. It is practically excluded that this replacement is carried out by the user himself.

The object of the invention is to provide a device for the sequential display of images broken down into groups of bands, in which the replacement of the images is simplified and faster.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the aforementioned type, which can operate continuously for a long period of time, without deterioration of the images and jamming, or even blockages, of the device caused by a defective interfoliation of the bands of the various groups.

According to the invention, these results are obtained because the strips are mounted on movable pallets independent of each other, said pallets being grouped together according to the relative position of the strip which they carry in the reconstituted image. Each group is guided by means arranged on either side of each pallet, along a raceway, (each pallet remaining independent of the other pallets constituting the same group), according to a loop path.

The entire device comprises as many stages of raceways as there are bands for reconstructing an image.

The different groups of pallets and their respective raceways are arranged so that in the exposed position, the superimposed strips of the various groups are connected together to reform the complete image, the connection lines being practically invisible.

The assembly is housed in a box provided with a window behind which the reconstructed images are displayed.

Compared with known devices, the invention provides numerous advantages.

Because the pallets are no longer interleaved, but driven individually to their exposed position, the replacement of a single pallet, and therefore of the image portion which it carries, can be done individually, very simply, without using specialized personnel.

On the other hand, the pallets being in contact with each other only over a small part of their journey and by an edge bearing on their rear face, the strips themselves are not subjected to friction and the image wear is very significantly reduced.

According to a first embodiment, the loop path of the raceway of the groups of pallets comprises an elevation portion of each pallet individually up to a higher level, a horizontal portion in which the pallets pile up and exert on each other. the others a thrust which, in cooperation with a stop integral with the housing disposed in front of the raceways, tends to bring the first pallet of the row into a vertical position of exposure, and an oblique portion in which the pallet which comes from being displayed falls individually by its own weight to the low level of the elevation portion.

An elevator controlled by a rod-crank assembly driven by an electric motor, cyclically collects each pallet at the low point of the portion elevation and raise it to the level of the horizontal upper portion of the raceway.

A shutter controlled by a cam preferably driven by the same electric motor, temporarily blocks the exposed pallets in the display position.

The raceways have, on their front face, openings intended to allow the pallets to be removed and put in place individually.

According to a second embodiment, the loop route includes an elevation portion of each pallet individually to a higher level, a first descent portion parallel to the previous one is located below the latter, in which each pallet is individually accompanied, a second descent portion in which the pallets pile up by gravity one behind the other and exert on each other a thrust which in cooperation with a movable stop tends to raise the first pallet of the row in vertical position and bring it to the display position after clearing the movable stop.

A first endless chain, the links of which carry a finger directed outwards at regular intervals, ensures the individual transport of the pallets along the elevation portion of the loop circuit. A second endless chain analogous to the first and of which links also carry outwardly directed fingers at regular intervals accompanies the individual descent of each pallet along the first descent portion.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows, of a nonlimiting example of embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic overview of a housing comprising a display device according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial schematic sectional profile view of a raceway with a group of pallets according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pallet intended to cooperate with the raceway of Figure 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic view in profile section, of a step of an image display cycle with a device according to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rocker and the shutter being shown separately;

Figure 5 is a view, similar to that of Figure 2, of another improved embodiment for the purpose of eliminating operating noise.

Figure 6 is a partial schematic sectional profile view of a raceway according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial view in elevation of a pallet intended to cooperate with the raceway of FIG. 6.

Seen in Figure 1, the housing 1, which encloses the device, is a parallelepiped provided with a glass front face 2, articulated to the rest of the housing by a hinge 3. The dimensions of the glass determine those of the images to be displayed.

The images are, in known manner, cut into strips. These bands are mounted on pallets 4.

Each pallet 4 is constituted, as can be seen in FIG. 3, by a plate 4, of substantially rectangular shape, comprising on either side of a bottom 5, projecting wings 6.

The base of the plate 4 is partially wound around a rod 7 projecting on either side of the wings 6 and on the ends of which two pairs of rollers 8, independent with respect to each other, are mounted at free rotation.

On the bottom 5 of the pallet are arranged fixing means, for example, adhesives, intended to ensure the maintenance of a portion of image, the dimensions of which coincide with those of the bottom.

The wings 6, on either side of the strip, are intended to cooperate with stop means, not shown, carried by the housing 1, on either side of the image exposure area, said abutment means preventing the pallets 4 from tilting forward, beyond their vertical position of exposure.

The preferred arrangement of the projecting wings 6 furthermore protects the image strips, keeping them set back, so that throughout the course of the pallets, said strips do not rub against other parts of the device, all contacts operated by the wings 6.

This protection of the strips is also ensured along their lower edge, by the fact that the base of the bottom 5 of the pallet 4 is only partially wrapped around the rod 7. In this way, the lower edge of the pallet wrapped around the rod cannot come into contact with the lower edge of the strip.

The rollers 8 are intended to cooperate with two symmetrical raceways 9, mounted in the housing 1, perpendicular to the plane of the exposed image.

The drawing of a raceway 9 is visible in detail in FIG. 2. It can be seen that the drawing is of substantially triangular shape, with a substantially horizontal upper portion 10̸, an oblique front portion 11 and a rear portion also oblique 12.

The width of the raceway 9 is substantially equal to the diameter of the rollers 8.

At the connection point between the rear portion 12 and the upper portion 10̸, the lower edge of the raceway has a projection 13 which forms a non-return stop preventing the pallet which has just been raised from accidentally falling back.

The passage between the front part of the upper portion 10̸ and the oblique front portion 11, forms a hairpin bend 14.

At the top of this elbow 14, the upper edge of the raceway has an opening 15, of sufficient dimensions to allow the rollers 8 to pass.

When the abutment means described above are removed, the paddles 4 can be removed or selectively replaced one by one, by releasing the rollers 8 from the raceways 9 through the openings 15.

Preferably, the stop means consist of at least one rod arranged substantially vertically in the housing 1, in the immediate vicinity of the plane image exposure, at one of the wings of the pallets 4. Said rod is preferably removably mounted in the housing 1.

Immediately after the elbow 14, the oblique front portion 11 is deflected rearward, as seen in FIG. 2, then it extends in a rectilinear manner until it connects to the base of the rear oblique portion 12.

As indicated previously, in each raceway 9 is introduced a group of pallets 4, on the bottom of which are fixed the strips of the various images which, in the exposed position, must be displayed at the same height in the housing.

Thus, unlike known devices, the strips intended to form the same image are not assembled on a common support, then interleaved with the strips of the other images mounted on other supports.

According to the invention, each image portion performs an independent route in a raceway which is common to it with the bands of the other images which have the same relative position as it, on the display.

Therefore, to be able to display a complete image, the device comprises as many stages of pallets and juxtaposed raceways as there are bands in the same image.

Thus, the number of images that can be displayed with the device according to the invention only depends on the length of the horizontal upper portion 10̸ of the raceway 9, for a given width of said raceway.

Also shown in Figure 2, very schematically and partially: the elevator 16 and the shutter 17, which, in combination with the pallets 4 and the raceways 9, ensure the movement of said pallets and their maintenance in the exposed position .

The elevator 16 is constituted by an oblique displacement rod extending over practically the entire height of the housing 1 and the upper end of which is articulated on a rod-crank assembly 20, driven by an electric motor, not shown, fixed in upper part of the housing.

Thus, the rod of the elevator 16, guided in the oblique rear portion 12 of the raceway 9, is driven in a cyclic back-and-forth movement, the stroke of which is substantially equal to the height of the rear portion 12.

At each raceway 9, the lift rod 16 carries a finger 18, arranged obliquely at the same angle as the rear portion 12 of the raceway, with which it cooperates and whose upper edge forms an oblique reach 19 in the opposite direction. The reciprocating movement of the rod causes the finger 18 to go up and down cyclically between a low point, located at the connection between the oblique portions 11 and 12 of the raceway 9 (shown in solid line in FIG. 2 ), and a high point, located slightly above the connection of the rear portion 12 with the upper portion 10̸ of the raceway (shown in dotted lines in Figure 2).

During its upward movement, the finger 18 attacks, by its oblique reach 19, the inner roller 8 of the pallet 4, which has just dropped to the low point and pushes the said pallet upwards.

At the top of the lift stroke 16, the inner roller is released by rolling on the oblique surface 19, while the outer roller rolls against the upper part of the raceway until it comes to rest against the rollers of the pallet former.

During this passage at the high point, the two rollers roll in opposite directions. This arrangement of two juxtaposed rollers which are free to rotate with respect to one another makes it possible to avoid the risks of jamming or blocking at the connection points of the raceways.

As shown in the figures in this exemplary embodiment, throughout their journey, the bottom 5 and the wings 6 of a pallet 4 are always located above the rod 7 carrying the rollers 8.

During their ascent, the pallets 4 adopt an inclination substantially parallel to the portion 12 of the raceway 9.

Thus, when they are unloaded on the horizontal portion 10̸ and come to bear by their upper edge against the back of the preceding pallet, they exert a torque which tends to cause the vertical straightening of the first pallet in the row, as well as 'It has been said previously, the wings 6 are supported on the vertical rod forming a stop.

By passing the stop 13, the pallet 4, which is unloaded on the portion 10̸ of the raceway, pushes the previous pallets, until the one which is immediately behind the exposed pallet comes to appear above the plate 24 of the shutter which will be described below.

At the front of the raceways, a shutter 17 cyclically closes the two arms of the elbow 14, after the passage of a pallet 4 and blocks said pallet in the exposed position for a predetermined period.

The shutter 17 is constituted by a rod 21, vertical, extending over practically the entire height of the housing, the upper end 22 of which cooperates with a cam 23, driven in rotation by the electric motor. At its base, the rod 21 is provided with elastic return means, such as a spring.

The shutter 17 is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the front part of the raceways 9 and parallel to said paths.

On the rod 21 are mounted plates 24. There is one plate 24 per raceway stage 9.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the stroke of the shutter 17 is such that the plates 24 pass cyclically from a service position (shown in solid lines) in which they close the two branches of the elbow 14, at a position inactive (shown in dotted lines), in which they release said elbow.

The plate 24 has two active edges 25 and 26, intended to cooperate with the rollers 8 during the passage of the pallets 4 in the elbow 14 of the raceway. The plates 24 are arranged on the rod 21, so that the edge 25 is parallel to the upper edge of the portion 10̸ of the raceway and that the edge 26 is parallel to the bottom of the elbow 14 which has the opening 15 .

Thus, during the passage of a pallet in the bend 14, the rollers 8 are attacked by the edge 25 which, in combination with the upward movement of the rod 21, pushes the roller in the bottom of the first branch of the elbow 14, then the rollers 8 roll on the edge 26 to the level of the second branch of the elbow, where they are blocked as long as the rod 21 has not started its downward movement.

In this position, the corresponding palette is displayed. It is kept vertical by the abutment rods described above, which cooperate with the wings 6 of the pallet and by the support of the following pallets against the rear face of its bottom, as seen in FIG. 2.

The descent of the shutter 17 gradually releases the lower branch of the elbow 14 and the rollers 8 can then engage in the oblique front portion 11 of the raceway, to the low point where the pallet falls by its own weight.

During this downward movement, the pallet is prevented from tilting below its rod 7 by the abutment rods previously described.

In the example shown, a tilting device 27 is provided, intended to straighten the pallet 4, so that it adopts the oblique position parallel to the portion 12 of the raceway.

The rocker 27 is constituted by a rod 28, the upper part 29 of which cooperates with a cam 30̸, driven in rotation by the motor. The rod 28 carries a series of rack portions 31 (one per raceway stage), arranged substantially at the low points of said raceway. On a rack portion meshes with a pinion 32, integral with a shaft on which a finger 33 is also fixed.

The rocker is arranged in the housing so that the fingers 33 act on the wings 6 of the pallets 4. As for the shutter 17, the rod 28 of the rocker is equipped at its base with elastic return means.

In the example shown, the rocker 27 is used to raise the pallets in an oblique position parallel to that of the elevation portion 12 of the raceway.

According to a variant embodiment not shown, this lifting can be carried out automatically if the front oblique portion 11 of the raceway is connected to the rear oblique portion 12 slightly above the bottom of said rear portion and if slides are arranged at the connection point between these two portions and cooperate with the wings of the pallets to operate the lifting when the pallet falls at the bottom of the rear portion 12 of the raceway.

Only one side of the device has been described, but it goes without saying that the pallets being equipped with rollers on their two sides, the housing comprises a symmetrical construction combining several stages of raceways, an elevator and a shutter of each side.

By cons, it is not necessary to provide two stop rods cooperating with the wings 6 of the pallets along the display face. a single rod is sufficient and in this case, the replacement of the pallets is faster.

According to another alternative embodiment, not shown, the raceway has a perfectly triangular external contour. The hairpin elbow 14 is replaced by a corner vertex. The lower edge of the 10̸ portion of the path rolling is very slightly sloping forward and ends with a notch which has the function of blocking the pallet located immediately behind the exposed pallet, as long as the latter is not released. The upper edge of the raceway is constituted by a flexible flexible blade forming a spring. The shutter plate has a single oblique upper edge. Said edge is surmounted by a hook which grips the top of the roller of the exposed pallet, in order to ensure in a safe manner the initiation of the downward clearance of the corresponding pallet. In this variant, the pallets are replaced by removing the flexible blade.

In the embodiment which has just been described with reference to Figures 1 to 4, the pallets 4, once released by the erasing of the shutter 17, fall by their own weight at the low point of the raceway 9 , along the oblique portion 11 of said raceway.

This results in a repetition of shocks generating unwanted noise.

The variant embodiment schematically represented in FIG. 5 aims to solve this problem by providing on the shutter means for retaining the downward movement of the rollers of the pallets on at least the major part of the oblique portion of the raceway. In addition, with this variant, a positive drive of the rollers is obtained for initiating the downward movement of the pallets along position 11 of the raceway.

In FIG. 5, the parts corresponding to those of FIG. 2 keep the same reference numbers.

Compared to the previous example, the main modification concerns the locking finger 24 which, instead of being a single plate fixed on the rod 21 of the shutter 17, is constituted by a first finger 34, fixed on the rod 21, and directed obliquely backwards and downwards, cooperating with a second finger 35 pivotally mounted about an axis 36 integral with the finger 34 and provided with a stop 37 cooperating with a protuberance 38 of the raceway 9 to cyclically cause the finger 35 to be raised and lowered.

As seen in Figure 5, the tilting finger 35 is shown only in the high position while the guide finger 34 is shown in solid lines in its high position and partially in dotted lines in various positions during its descent along of portion 11 of the raceway 9.

The guide finger 34 has a front part 39 forming a housing for a roller 8 of the exposed pallet 4; this part 39 is extended at its base by a ramp 40̸ oblique downwards and backwards.

The inclination and the length of the ramp 40̸ are chosen so that it gradually releases the oblique part 11 from the raceway 9 during the descent of the rod 21 from the shutter 17.

The intermediate and final positions of the end of the ramp 40̸ are schematically represented by the dotted lines 40̸a, 40̸b and 40̸c in FIG. 5.

When the rod 21 of the shutter 17 is in the high position, as shown in FIG. 5, the rocking finger 35 has pivoted about its axis 36 under the effect of the cooperation of its stop 37 with the protuberance 38 of the path of bearing 9, thus both blocking the roller 8 of the pallet 4 exposed in its housing with the finger 34 and closing the part 10̸ of the path of rolling to prevent the rollers 8 of the following pallets from coming into contact with that of the exposed pallet.

During the descent of the rod 21 when the stop 37 emerges from the protuberance 38, the finger 35 rocks slowly downward, accompanying the roller 8 until it rests on the ramp 40̸ which itself initiates then accompanies the downward movement of said roller along portion 11 of the raceway.

When the roller 8 leaves the end of the ramp 40̸ (position 40̸c), the distance which separates it from the bottom of the part 11 of the raceway is so small that the rest of the travel is carried out practically without noise.

According to another advantageous alternative embodiment also shown in FIG. 5, the opening 15 in the raceway 9, intended to allow the replacement of the pallets 4 is located not in the passage between the upper horizontal part 10̸ and the oblique part 11 of the raceway but above the horizontal part 10̸.

In this way, any risk of accidental release of a pallet 4 is avoided.

According to another embodiment shown in Figures 6 and 7, the loop path of the raceways instead of being substantially triangular is generally oval flattened and arranged obliquely. As for the pallets, they are no longer carried by a lower rod fitted with rollers cooperating with the raceways, but suspended on an upper rod carrying rollers cooperating with the raceways while their lower edge is provided with pairs of small rollers. .

The pallet drive is no longer carried out by rods driven by cams, but by two chains placed on either side of the raceway and some of the links of which are provided with fingers directed outwards.

In Figure 6 is shown schematically a raceway 41 according to this embodiment.

It comprises a substantially oblique upper portion 42 whose ceiling is defined by a plate 43 raised at its rear end. The floor 44 of this upper part comprises near its front part, an opening 45 closed by a rocker 46 and connecting to the second part 47 of the lower descent portion of the pallets. The floor 44 also has a projecting part 48, which extends substantially over the entire length of the second part 47.

At its upper end, the part 42 is connected to the first part 48 of the lowering portion by an elbow 49 whose ceiling has a projection 50̸ cooperating with a shutter 51. Near the front end of the first part 48 leads to 'raised end of the plate 43 forming the ceiling of the raceway of a group of lower pallets. This end carries a damper block 52.

The passage between the rear part 48 and the front part 47 of the lowering portion of the raceway 41 forms a slight rise in the level of the front part 47 relative to that of the rear part 48.

Above the ceiling of the upper portion 42 is arranged an endless chain 53, at least one link of which carries a finger 54 directed outwards; of analogously, below the upper part 48 of the descent portion is disposed a second endless chain 55, at least one link of which is provided with a finger 56 directed towards the outside.

As can be seen in FIG. 7, the pallet 57 intended to cooperate with the above loop path differs from that previously described in relation to the first embodiment in that, instead of being carried by its base, it is suspended by its top. Its upper rod 58 carries only one roller 59 at each end instead of two.

In addition, the base of the projecting wings 60̸ of each pallet 57 carries a pair of additional rollers 61. The external roller being set back relative to the roller 59 carried by the rod 58.

The construction being symmetrical, there is therefore for each group of pallets carrying the strips a raceway 41 and a pair of chains 53, 55 on each side of the device.

The assembly works as follows.

From the display position of a pallet 57, the finger 54 of a link of the upper chain 53 comes to attack the upper rod 58 of the pallet and drives it towards the upper end of the portion 42 of the path of rolling. The rocker 46 is in the active position, which closes the communication with the portion 47.

During this drive, the lower rollers 61 roll on the oblique projection 62, which has the effect of gradually bringing the pallet into a substantially horizontal position.

While the movement continues, the pallet is maintained in this position thanks to the projection 48. When the roller 59 reaches the entrance of the elbow 49, the bottom of the pallet abuts against the damping block 52.

The shutter 51 forms the passage of the roller 59 until a finger 56 of the lower chain is present at the outlet of the elbow 49. The shutter 49 retracts under the effect of any suitable means (for example a timed electromagnet) and the rod 58 of the roller 59 abuts on the finger 56. The movement of the chain 55 accompanies the descent of the pallet 57 along the first part 48 of the descent portion. During this journey, the pallet gradually straightens up under the effect of the rollers 61 rolling on the raised edge of the plate 43.

During the passage between the first part 48 and the second part 47 of the descent portion the level rise allows the rod 58 to escape the finger 56 and the pallet freely accumulates against the pallets previously released. During the retraction of the rocker 46, the first pallet under the effect of gravity and the pressure exerted on it by those which follow it straightens completely and comes into display position in abutment against the front of the housing.

Like the shutter 51, the rocker 46 can be controlled by any suitable means such as a timed electromagnet.

Claims (8)

1. Device for the sequential display of images, these being broken down into groups comprising strips, this device being of the type in which the strips are mounted on carriers (4, 57), these being mobile, independent and guided by a means provided on each side of each carrier along a rolling surface (9, 41) in accordance with a path in the form of a loop, characterised in that :

   - the said carriers (4, 57) are grouped together in accordance with the relative position of the corresponding strip which it supports as part of the reconstituted image

   - each group of carriers (4, 57) is guided along its own rolling surface (9, 41), the device comprising as many rolling surfaces as there are strips necessary to constitute the image

   - during the display stage, those carriers which are visible are in a vertical position and in contact with each other in order that the superimposed strips comprising the various groups are joined together in order to reform the complete image

   - when the carriers are not in the display area, they pass over the rolling surface in a position which is not vertical.
2. Device in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the path in the form of a loop and comprising the rolling surface for each carrier includes a portion (12) used to elevate each carrier (4) individually up to a higher level, together with a basically horizontal portion (10) in which the carriers accumulate and exert a thrust on each other which tends to bring the first carrier (4) of the row in a vertical position for display and includes an oblique portion (11) in which the carrier which has just been displayed is guided individually to a lower level forming part of the elevating portion (12).
3. Device in accordance with claim 2, characterised in that the carriers (4) are again raised along the elevating portion (12) of the rolling surface by an elevating device (16) controlled by a crank and link assembly (20) driven by the motor.
4. Device in accordance with claim 3, charccterised in that the elevating device (16) includes, for each stage of the group of carriers (4), an extension piece (18) positioned obliquely at the same angle as the rear portion (12) of the corresponding rolling surface (9), the upper edge of the said extension piece including an oblique bearing surface (19) arranged in the opposite direction.
5. Device in accordance with any one of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that an immobilising device (17) is located in front of the rolling surfaces (9), this bringing the carriers (4) individually into the display position and maintaining them in that position for a specified period of time.
6. Device in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the path in the form of a loop (41) includes a portion (42) used to elevate each carrier (57) individually, a first descending portion (48) parallel to the preceding portion and situated below this latter portion, in which each carrier is individually accompanied by a second descending portion (47) in which the carriers are accumulated by gravity, one behind the other, each one exerting a thrust on the other carriers which, in cooperation with a mobile pivoting device (46) tends to raise the first carrier in the row into the vertical position and bring it into the display position, following retraction of the mobile pivoting device.
7. Device in accordance with claim 6, characterised in that the means used to drive the carriers (57) in the elevating portion (42) and in the first descending portion (48) comprises two chains (53, 55), the links of these chains being provided, at regular intervals, with extension pieces (54, 56) which are arranged so that they are directed externally.
8. Carrier for use with a display device, in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the carrier comprises a plate of basically rectangular form provided, on each side of its base, with axes (7) on which are independently mounted, so that they are free to rotate, each of the two rollers (8) designed to operate in conjunction with the rolling surface (9).

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