EP0379311A2

EP0379311A2 - A display element

Info

Publication number: EP0379311A2
Application number: EP90300341A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jonathan George Cordy Angell; Dirk Adriaan Spiers
Original assignee: SMI DISPLAY Ltd
Current assignee: SMI DISPLAY Ltd
Priority date: 1989-01-16
Filing date: 1990-01-15
Publication date: 1990-07-25
Also published as: GB8900867D0; EP0379311A3

Abstract

A display element 3 of polygonal cross section having a multiplicity of display surfaces, which display element 3 comprises a pair of spaced apart display supports 9, rigid connecting means 11 connecting together said display supports 9 and a display sheet 13 folded, in use, to surround the connecting means 11 between the display supports 9 to provide the display surfaces, each display support 9 including retaining means 17, 19 for retaining the display sheet 13 when folded, the retaining means 17, 19 comprising means 19 permitting passage of the sheet material thereover in a direction towards the connecting means 11 but retaining the display surface once passed over. The display element 3 is suitable for use in a display unit comprising a plurality of rotating display elements.

Description

This invention relates to display elements for mounting in either stationary or rotating display units.
Display units which incorporate a plurality of display elements to make up a complete picture are well known. It is also known to rotate by a predetermined angle each display element individually to produce a different overall picture. In these rotating display units, it is usually preferable to incorporate elements having a triangular cross-section, since this allows the elements to rotate without colliding with each other.
It is desirable to change the information on the display from time to time. Accordingly, it is often necessary to change all sides on the or each display element, and this can be a time consuming task. Proposals have included a complete change of display element, or using material presented on adhesively attached sheets.
According to the invention, there is provided a display element of polygonal cross section having a multiplicity of display surfaces, which display element comprises a pair of spaced apart display supports, rigid connecting means connecting together said display supports and a display sheet folded, in use, to surround the connecting means between the display supports to provide the display surfaces, each display support including retaining means for retaining the display sheet when folded, the retaining means comprising means permitting passage of the sheet material thereover in a direction towards the connecting means but retaining the display surface once passed over.
Preferably each display support includes a plate portion corresponding in shape to the cross-section of the folded sheet, the retaining means extending substantially perpendicularly to the edge of the plate portion to overlap the exterior of the folded sheet, in use.
As mentioned previously, this invention has an advantageous application to a rotating display unit with a multiplicity of display elements, since a plurality of displays on a single element can be replaced in a single operation without a need to remove the display support and connecting means from the display unit. The present invention is particularly applicable to display elements which have a triangular cross-section.
The retaining means may comprise retaining walls extending from two edges of each triangular plate portion and catch means at the third edge. Preferably, the retaining walls extend along the length of their respective sides and meet at an apex of the triangular plate portion. For a display element of n display surfaces there are preferably retaining walls for retaining n-1 display surfaces and catch means for one surface, although it would be possible to have catch means for more than one display surface or for each display surface.
The catch means may comprise one or more protrusions extending from the surface of the plate portion, which protrusion or protrusions each comprise a sloping surface rising towards the connecting means to ease passage of sheet material thereover and a stop surface to act against and retain the sheet material once it has passed over the protrusion.
The catch means may alternatively comprise a biased, movable protrusion, passage of the sheet material thereover being permitted by moving the protrusion against said bias, for examples spring bias, the bias moving the protrusion to a retaining position once passed over by the sheet material.
Each display support is preferably a mirror image of the other display support, the two display supports being connected preferably by means of a rod therebetween.
The folded sheet may be made of cardboard, plastics or other suitable material, and will preferably have information printed thereon before it is folded.
Each display support is preferably a plastics moulding, but any other suitable material may be used.
The edges of the sheet which meet to surround the rod may be folded inwards and these folds may be held together by clips or the like.
According to another application, a display unit may comprise a plurality of display elements incorporating the present invention. Preferably the display elements are rotatable within the display unit.
A specific embodiment of the present invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a display unit having three such display elements;
Fig 2. is a single display element during assembly; and
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view along a display element.

With reference to the drawings, a rotating display unit (1) comprises three display elements (3), mounted within a casing (5) and a drive motor (7) for rotating the display elements (3) at the appropriate times. Each display element (3) is substantially triangular in cross-section and rotates about its longitudinal axis.
Each display element (3) comprises two display supports (9) which are mirror images of each other, a rod (11) connecting the two display supports (9) and a folded sheet of card (13) which forms a triangular tube surrounding the rod (11)
Each display support (9) comprises a plate portion (15) having two walls (17) formed perpendicularly to the plane of the plate portion (15) along two sides of the triangular plate portion (15). The outer surface of the folded sheet bears against these walls (17). The third side of each display support (9) has two protrusions (19) extending perpendicularly to the plane of the plate portion (15). These protrusions (19) also bear against the outer surface of the folded sheet. Since the distance between the two display supports is substantially the same as the length of the triangular tube formed by the folded sheet (13), so the walls (17) and projections (19) on the two display supports (9) hold the folded sheet in position around the rod (11).
On assembly of a display element (3), the folded sheet is slid between the display supports (9) such that the rod (11) enters the triangular tube formed by the sheet through the opening (21) between the ends of the sheet. During assembly, the ends of the triangular tube are guided into position by means of the walls (17). When in position, the ends of the third side of the triangular tube are held in position by means of the projections (19). The triangular tube is sufficiently resilient to enable the projections (19) to be overcome during assembly to allow a snap fit of the tube into its final position.
In this preferred embodiment, the triangular tube is made from a sheet of folded card upon which information has been printed. Further, the display supports (9) are made of moulded plastics.
In an alternative embodiment, in which each face of the display element is rigid rather than resilient, the protrusions (19) are biased into their restraining position but are retractable.
Due to the arrangement of the walls (17) and the two display supports being mirror images of each other, it is automatic that the three faces of the triangular tube are in the correct order and correct orientation with regard to the overall display unit. Hence, when in the past it was somewhat complicated dealing with a multitude of display faces, the present invention ensures that each overall display is simple to construct.
It will of course be appreciated that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example and that modifications in detail can be made within the scope of the invention. In this regard, other shaped display elements, such as those having square or hexagonal cross-sections, can be produced in the same way.

Claims

1. A display element (3) of polygonal cross section having a multiplicity of display surfaces, which display element (3) comprises a pair of spaced apart display supports, rigid connecting means (11) connecting together said display supports and a display sheet (13) folded, in use, to surround the connecting means (11) between the display supports to provide the display surfaces, each display support including retaining means (17,19) for retaining the display sheet (13) when folded, the retaining means (17,19) comprising means (19) permitting passage of the sheet material thereover in a direction towards the connecting means (11) but retaining the display surface once passed over.

2. A display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein each display support includes a plate portion (15) corresponding in shape to the cross-section of the folded sheet, the retaining means (17,19) extending substantially perpendicularly to the edge of the plate portion (15) to overlap, in use, the exterior of the folded sheet.

3. A display element as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 which has a triangular cross-section.

4. A display element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the retaining means (17,19) comprise retaining walls (17) extending from two edges of each triangular plate portion and catch means (19) at the third edge.

5. A display element as claimed in claim 4, wherein the retaining walls (17) extend along the length of their respective sides and meet at an apex of the triangular plate portion (15).

6. A display element as claimed in claim 1, having n display surfaces, which incorporates retaining walls (17) for retaining n-1 display surfaces and catch means (19) for one surface.

7. A display element as claimed in claim 4, claim 5 or ciaim 6 wherein the catch means (19) comprise one or more protrusions extending from the surface of the plate portion (15), which protrusion or protrusions each comprise a sloping surface rising towards the connecting means to ease passage of sheet material thereover and a stop surface to act against and retain the sheet material once it has passed over the protrusion.

8. A display element as claimed in claim 4, claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the catch means (19) comprise a biased, movable protrusion, passage of the sheet material thereover being permitted by moving the protrusion against said bias, for example spring bias, the bias moving the protrusion to a retaining position once passed over by the sheet material.

9. A display element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the edges of the sheet which meet to surround the connecting means (11) are folded inwards, in use, and these folds are held together by clips or the like.

10. A display element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display element (3) is incorporated in a display unit (1) which comprises a plurality of display elements (3).