EP0545075A1

EP0545075A1 - A system for the illumination of a transparent or translucent rotating unit of an advertising bill-board

Info

Publication number: EP0545075A1
Application number: EP92118577A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gianni Ferrari
Original assignee: SPAS Srl
Current assignee: SPAS Srl
Priority date: 1991-11-06
Filing date: 1992-10-30
Publication date: 1993-06-09
Also published as: ITMI910963U1; IT222001Z2; ITMI910963V0

Abstract

This advertising bell board comprises parts (4,16) within each of a number of translucent rotating units (3), which remain immobile even as unit rotates about its axis, said parts used to bear at least one lamp (23) of roughly the same lenght as rotating unit, the lamp being held in a position as far as possible from the face (3A) of rotating unit exposed to the public in order to ensure substantially even illumination of exposed face.

Description

The present invention concerns a system for the illumination of a transparent or translucent rotating unit of an advertising bill-board, in particular it concerns a triangular section prismatic unit made of transparent or translucent material the three faces of which bear on their outer surface part of an advertising image or script. The complete advertising image or script appears to be made up of all the part images or scripts borne by a number of rotating units.
Up untill now said advertising bill-board are illuminated from outer light sources.
Drawback of the prior art is a not even illumination of the bill-board surface.
The purpose of the present invention is to obviate said drawback and to provide for the advantage of an even illumination of all the parts of each single unit and of the bill-board as a whole.
The invention comprises within said rotating units parts that remain still even during the rotation of said unit and bear still even at least one lamp nearly as long as the same unit inside each one of them; preferably the lamp is held in a position as far as possible from the face exposed to the public in order to cause substantially the same luminous intensity to the face surface exposed to the public.
The invention as characterized in the claims is described in detail below with reference to the attached diagrammatic drawings in which

- FIG. 1 is a side elevation and
- Fig. 2 is a cross section along I-I in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 is relevant to a preferred embodiment of the invention and shows the frame 1 of an advertising bill-board, a forward frame 2 fixed to said frame, a unit 3, that rotates around the vertical axis A-A with triangular section formed by three equal rectangles of plexiglass, the face of said rotating unit 3 that is exposed to the public is defined as 3A and said rotating unit 3 is associated to said frame 1 thorugh a number of parts: underside, a lower fixed support means 4 is engaged and free to be removed to a lower shelf 5 fixed to the frame 1 and supports, through ring 6 fastened by screw 7, a first triangular element 8 engaged in the lower triangular aperture of said rotating unit 3; said lower fixed support means 4 extends within the rotating unit 3 in the form of a disk 9; said lower fixed support means 4 has an aperture 10 that connects the outside and inside of the rotating unit 3; above, an upper support means 11 moved by the coupling of two bevel gears 12 and 13; gear 12 is solid with the upper support means 11 and gear 13 rotates with a transmission horizontal shaft 14, driven by a motor that is not shown; a second upper triangular element 15, solid with said support 11, is engaged within the upper triangular aperture of said rotating unit 3 and is supported by a fixed upper support 16 connected to frame 1 that comprises solid among one another : a lower disc 17 and a shaft 18 bearing an axial cavity 19 and a shelf 20 that is fixed to the upper crossbar of frame 1 and a passage 21, said shaft 18 being coaxial with said vertical rotation axis A-A and said axial cavity 19 and passage 21 being in communication so as to connect the inside with the outside of said rotating unit 3; said upper triangular element 15 rotates by sliding on the lower disc 17.
Adjacent to the periphery of discs 9 and 16, fixed within the system as far as possible from the face exposed to the public 3A, two bulb-sockets 22 are installed with a neon lamp 23; the upper bulb-socket is connected via an electric cable 24 that runs through passages 19 and 21 and the lower bulb-socket is connected via an electric cable 25 that runs through passage 10; obviously the two electric cables will lead to a suitable source of electric power, not shown, that is common to all the rotating units in the bill-board.
By section lining lamp 23 is shown in its possible position coaxial with the rotation axis A-A.
Figure 2 shows that the lamp 23 is fixed within the rotating unit 3 in a position as far as possible from the face 3A exposed to the public on the bill-board, not shown; the figure also shows the lower fixed disk 9 bearing the lower bulb-socket 22.

Claims

A system for the illumination of a transparent or translucent rotating unit (3) in an advertising bill-board comprising a number of said rotating units (3) characterized in that a lamp (23) is fixed still even within said rotanting unit (3) connected by electric power cables (24, 25) and the rotating unit (3) rotates around a longitudinal axis (A-A) and has its ends solid with, respectively, a first element (8) and a second element (11) that can rotate with it (3), said first and second rotating elements (8, 11) featuring cavities that are coaxial with the rotation axis (A-A) of the rotating unit (3) in each of which passes one support (4, 16) fixed to the frame (1) of the advertising bill-board, these fixed supports having passages (10 - 19, 21) to connect the inside with the outside of said rotating unit and to allow the passage of said electric power cables (24, 25) for said lamp (23) fixed with its ends in respective sockets (22) located on said fixed supports (4, 16).
A system according to claim 1 characterized in that said lamp (23) is fixed with its ends in respective sockets (22) located, respectively, on an extension (9, 17) of said fixed supports (4, 16) so as to keep said lamp (23) in a position as far as possible from the face exposed to the public (3A) of said rotating unit (3).
A system according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that said rotating unit (3) has its transverse section in the shape of an isosceles triangle and comprises, solid with one of its end, a first triangular support means (8) engaged in a rotation on a first fixed element (4) connected to the frame (2) of the bill-board, said first fixed element (4) has an extension (9) within said rotating unit (3) thorugh a passage in said first triangular support means (8) coaxial with said longitudinal rotation axis (A-A); solid to its other end, a second support means (11) engaged with a triangular part (15) in said other end is engaged in a rotation in a second element (16) fixed to the frame (2) of the bill-board, this second support means (11) is associated with and moved by a bevel gear (12) engaged to a bevel gear (13) driven by an electric motor to rotate said triangular rotating unit (3) and said second fixed element (16) has a part that extends (17) within said rotating unit (3) through a passage in said second support means (11) that is coaxial with the rotation axis (A-A) of the rotating unit (3), said first and second fixed elements (4-16) bear passages (10-19,21) that connect the inside with the outside of said triangular rotating unit (3) and said fixed parts (9, 17) extended within said rotating unit (3) each carry the end of a lamp (23) in a fixed position as far as possible from the face (3A) of said rotating unit (3) exposed to the public, where said lamp is powered by electric cables (24, 25) that run within said passages (10 - 19,21).