EP2688056B1

EP2688056B1 - An ecological information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism, and a gravitational unfolding mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP2688056B1
Application number: EP12181764.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andrzej Baczkowski
Original assignee: Uds Sp Z Oo; Uds Sp Z O O
Current assignee: Uds Sp Z Oo; Uds Sp Z O O
Priority date: 2012-07-20
Filing date: 2012-08-24
Publication date: 2019-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-24
Also published as: PL400063A1; PL223823B1; EP2688056A1

Description

The invention concerns an ecological information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism and a gravitational unfolding mechanism.
The invention refers to an information carrier with the gravitational unfolding mechanism for presenting the advertising or promotional information at points of sale, conference rooms, as well as at any other public areas, where relevant information is to be presented to recipients. The invention includes also a gravitational unfolding mechanism to be applied in an information carriers.
In the state of the art the standing information carriers, with a curved display area, which after transporting to the place of exhibition should be installed by appropriately trained personnel, are known. The specification of document EP2650862A discloses an information carrier which contains the unfolding mechanism including side working elements comprising fastening elements for connection of the mechanism with an information carrier , engaging elements, while the engaging elements are connected one with another with the use of at least one resilient element where engaging elements are distant from the fastening elements. Between the fastening elements and the engaging elements there is a regulatory area of a fixed length, whereas among engaging elements there is an adjustment area of a variable length.
The solutions known from the prior art provide for a need to use a resilient element in the structure of the unfolding mechanism, which aim is to support spontaneous unfolding of the information carrier. A resilient element may include a loop or elastic tape made of material other than the material of other elements of information carrier and other elements of unfolding mechanism, e.g. synthetic rubber which decomposes in the environment through a significant timeframe, and in order to be utilized it should be burnt in special furnace. The recycling of information carriers which include the unfolding mechanism with a resilient element will be hindered, as it will be necessary to apply two different recycling methods which, at the same time, involve a significant increase in the costs of conducting business activity. Document DE202006016749U is considered the closest prior art.
The subject matter of the invention is the information carrier according to claim 1, with the gravitational unfolding mechanism which includes elastic display walls connected with their edges, while the unfolding mechanism is fastened between the connected edges of the display walls and moreover contains a fixed length element and a variable length element, characterised in that the gravitational unfolding mechanism includes the gravitational expander connected with the variable length element, through hinged side expanders , and elements which block the gravitational expander.
Information carrier according to the invention, is characterised also by that the blocking elements of the unfolding mechanism arrange the lower position of the gravitational expander and set the gravitational expander at a location where hinged side expanders are set at a right angle towards the gravitational expander.
Moreover, according to the invention, the invention is characterised by that the gravitational mechanism also comprises two elements of a fixed length which are placed on the two sides of the element of variable length.
In addition, the subject matter of the invention is the gravitational mechanism having the fixed length element, the variable length element, which is also provided with the gravitational expander connected with the variable length element through hinged side expanders , and elements blocking the gravitational expander.
The use of the unfolding mechanism according to the invention, in the information carrier allows to eliminate from the structure the elements made of material which is not ecological as they do decompose in the environment for a long time and whose utilisation is impossible or results in a need to apply complicated, time-consuming and expensive processes.
The object of the invention in preferable embodiment is presented in a more detailed manner in the drawing, where :

Fig. 1 presents a view with a partial cross-section of the information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism, in a unfolded configuration;
Fig. 2 presents a view with a partial cross-section of the unfolded information carrier with two gravitational unfolding mechanisms;
Fig. 3A presents a gravitational unfolding mechanism in a folded configuration;
Fig. 3B presents an gravitational unfolding mechanism in an unfolded configuration;
Fig. 4A presents one plane of information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism, in a folded configuration;
Fig. 4B presents one plane of an information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism, in an unfolded configuration;
Fig. 5 presents an unfolded variable length element;
Fig. 6A presents a folded stretched variable length element;
Fig. 6B presents a folded pulled variable length element;
Fig. 7 presents the fixed length element;
Fig. 8 presents the gravitational expander in a perspective view with arranged hinged side expanders.

The information carrier 1 is composed of two elastic display walls 2 connected through longer edges. Each display wall 2 is made of a single sheet of elastic cardboard which was appropriately cut and bent at one or several places, to create a multi-segment information carrier 1. Also, due to bending, it is further possible to assemble it in a controlled manner along bending. Between longer edges of the information carrier 1 there are fastened gravitational unfolding mechanisms 3.
The gravitational unfolding mechanism 3 includes the gravitational expander 4 connected through hinged side expanders 5 to the variable length element 6 and the fixed length element 7 connected on one side with an edge of the information carrier 1 and, on the other side, to the variable length element 6.
The fixed length element 7 is an element in the form of a connector equipped with fastening elements 8B, allowing for joining a connector on one side with an edge of the information carrier 1 and, on the other side, with the variable length element 6.
The variable length element 6 is equipped with fastening elements 8A and is placed at a diagonal of the information carrier 1, between the fixed length element 7 and one longer external edge of the information carrier 1. In a unfolded configuration of the information carrier 1, the variable length element 6 is of a rhomboid form, whereas in a folded configuration of the information carrier 1 it is longitudinal. Favourably, the element with a variable length 6 is made of cardboard with bending which allows to unfold it in the manner whereby its diagonal set between the fastening elements 8A changes its length.
In an unfolded configuration of the information carrier 1, where the holding mechanism 2 is in a configuration of a maximum length, i.e. a diagonal of the variable length element 6 has its maximum length a+b, where a and b are lengths of the neighbouring walls of the variable length element 6.
Moreover, the gravitational unfolding mechanism 3 of the information carrier 1, according to the invention, is equipped with the gravitational expander 4. The gravitational expander 4 is an element of relatively high weight and which creates, when falling, in the earth gravitational field, a force sufficient to unfold the carrier 1. The gravitational expander 4 is equipped with hinged side expanders 5 fastened to the part of the main expander 4, and through which the expander 4 is connected to the variable length element 6. The main part of the gravitational expander 4 comprises the main body with the weight which is decisive for the force generated by the unfolding mechanism 3. Where the information carrier 1 is folded, the main part of the expander 4 is in the upper position, storing a potential energy being released at the time of unfolding the carrier 1. When the information carrier 1 is unfolded, the lifted main body of the gravitational expander 4 starts to fall down in the gravitational field and potential energy is changed into kinetic energy, which results in the downward movement of the expander 4. The movement of the gravitational expander 4, forces, through the kinematic connections in the forms of hinges 10 and hinged side expanders 5, the displacement of walls of the variable length element 6, and, therefore, the shortening of the entire length of the unfolding mechanism 3. The shortening of the length of the unfolding mechanism 3 results in the creation of the force affecting the display walls 2 into a radius direction. Under the force acting in this direction, the display walls 2 of the information carrier 1 are bulged, and the very carrier 1 gets an unfolded configuration. The movement of gravitational expander 4 is stopped by the blocking element 9 at the place where hinged side expanders 5 are located, at a right angle to the expander 4, which results in minimum length of the variable length element 6, at this location the unfolding mechanism 3 generates a maximum force to the walls of the carrier 1.
Side expanders 5 have preferably the form of triangle-shaped wings made of the same material as the gravitational expander 4.
The blocking elements 9 which block the gravitational expander 4 have preferably the form of a projection which cooperates with the upper edge 11 of the variable length element 6, to stop the movement of gravitational expander 4 downwards at the fixed position, which preferably corresponds to a minimum length of the variable length element 6.
Figs. 1 and 2 present a tri-segment information carrier 1 with two gravitational unfolding mechanisms 3. The tri-segment information carrier 1 is built of two elastic display walls 2 joined with longer edges. Each display wall 2 is made of a single elastic cardboard which was appropriately cut and creased at two places, to create a tri-segment information carrier 1. Also, due to creasing the sheet, it may be further bent in a controlled manner along creasing.
Between the longer edges of the information carrier 1, respectively at the height of the upper and lower segment 12, the gravitational unfolding mechanisms 3 are fastened. The gravitational unfolding mechanism 3, presented in Fig. 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B, contains the gravitational expander 4 which is connected, through hinged side expanders 5, to the variable length element 6.
The variable length element 6 presented in fig. 5, 6A and 6B, is in the form of a longitudinal belt made of cardboard, equipped with fastening elements 8A and bent at three places to allow its folding during the operation of the gravitational expander 4 (Fig. 3B, 4B). Also, the variable length element 6 has one horizontal cut at each extreme segment 13A and 13 B, which is used to fasten hinged side expanders 5 of the gravitational expander 4 and a vertical cut set along or on the central bending line 14, used to fix the fastening element 8B of the fixed length element 7. The variable length element 6 was folded in half along the central bending line (Fig. 6A), for the extreme parts of the fastening elements 8A to be placed on one side of the variable length element 6. As presented in Fig. 4A and 4B, the variable length element 6 is fastened on side to the first long edge of the information carrier 1, whereas on the other side of the variable length element 6, there is the fixed length element 7, which is fastened with its other end on the other edge of the information carrier 1.
The fixed length element 7, presented in Fig. 7, is an element in the form of a connector equipped with fastening elements 8B and 8C, that allow to join a connector on one side with the edge of the information carrier 1, and on the other side with the variable length element 6.
The gravitational expander 4 presented in fig. 8 contains the blocking elements 9 which block the gravitational expander 9, and which set a lower position of the gravitational expander 4, setting the expander 4 in the position where the hinged side expanders 5 are at a right angle to the gravitational expander 4. The gravitational expander 4 is preferably equipped with hinged side expanders 5 fastened to the part of the main expander 4, used to fasten the expander 4. The gravitational expander 4 is fastened on hinges through side expanders 5 to the variable length element 6 of the unfolding mechanism 3. The blocking element 9 which blocks the gravitational expander 4 constitutes a projection which cooperates with the upper edge 11 of the variable length element 6, to stop the downward movement gravitational expander 4 in the set position which preferably corresponds to a minimum length of the variable length element 6.

Claims

A gravitational unfolding mechanism (3) for an information carrier composed of two elastic display walls (2) connected through their longer edges, wherein the mechanism is equipped with a fixed length element (7) and a variable length element (6), wherein the fixed length element (7) is connected on one side with an edge of the display wall and, on the other side, to the variable length element (6), characterised in that the gravitational unfolding mechanism (3) is provided with a gravitational expander (4) connected to the variable length element (6), through hinged side expanders (5), as well as blocking elements (9) which block the gravitational expander (4).
The gravitational unfolding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the blocking elements (9) which block the gravitational unfolding mechanism (3) set the lower position of the gravitational expander (4), stopping the gravitational expander at the position where the hinged side expanders (5) are at a right angle to the gravitational expander (4).
The gravitational unfolding mechanism according to the claim 1 or 2, wherein the gravitational unfolding mechanism (3) further contains two fixed length elements (7) fastened on two sides of the variable length element (6).
An information carrier with a gravitational unfolding mechanism according to claim 1, the carrier composed of two elastic display walls (2), the walls connected to each other through their longer edges, the unfolding mechanism (3) fastened between the connected display walls edges.