GB2153574A - Display screen - Google Patents

Abstract

A display screen comprising a rigid or semi-rigid or self-supporting transparent or translucent cover sheet 10 of synthetic plastics material, a pair of spaced channel portions 20, 21 disposed on one side of said sheet to receive and locate (sheet) presentation material such that it can be viewed through the sheet and means for mounting, fastening or otherwise supporting the screen on a support surface or member. The mounting means may comprise an adhesive strip along the channel portion(s) or a suspension loop or a flap hinged to a supplementary backing sheet (Figure 3). The sheet may be flat, curved or contoured and the sheet 10 itself may be overprinted or silk screened. Two such display screens may be mounted back to back. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Display screen This invention relates to the display of presentation material, and is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with the display and protection of sheet presentation material, such as posters, notices, showcards, advertisements, etc.

Many varieties of such displays, ranging from sleeves or wallets to picture frames have been proposed hitherto, but have generally failed to provide a rigid or semi-rigid or self-supporting display means, which is not unduly elaborate and thus expensive, such as for example a glazed or acrylic sheeted picture frame might be.

It is also well known to use synthetic plastic sheet material in flexible wallet or sleeve form as a means for holding sheet material, but such wallets generally are only intended to cover or accomodate relatively thin sheets and are not themselves self-supporting and afford no means of ready mounting or attachment or fastening to a support surface or member.

Similarly sleeves for slotted index card systems are also known, but suffer from similar disadvantages and are of only very limited surface area, which is not suitable for expansion.

Very rigid, relatively very thick, (at least as compared to the flexible wallets just discussed) photo or picture frame holders of moulded or formed plastics materials such as acrylic sheet are known, but these are generally complex and are commonly moulded into a self-supporting shape which does not readily admit of a variety of different attachment, fastening or mounting configurations.

The present invention is concerned to provide a relatively simple, straightforward, self-supporting display screen (which term is used herein to embrace a variety of different display configurations, including display sleeves and display stands) at modest cost and in which the display material can readily be inserted and changed and which thus admits of a wider scale usage and obviates the need for special printed or finishing services to the presentation material, such as laminating or plastic coating or printing on expensive card or like material.

According to the invention there is provided a display screen comprising a rigid or semi-rigid or self-supporting clear cover sheet of synthetic plastics material, a pair of spaced channel portions disposed on one side of said sheet to receive and locate [sheet] presentation material, and supporting mounting, fastening or.attachment means therefor.

In a particular preferred construction, a display screen comprises a rigid or semi-rigid acrylic sheet, generally of some 500 microns in thickness, which is of generally rectangular outline form and two of whose spaced edges are folded over to form two channel or sleeve portions to one side of the sheet and within and between which sheet display material may be inserted and accommodated securely to face the sheet and thus be visible therethrough; the channel members themselves either incorporating an adhesive strip for fastening to a wall surface of the like or a further backing sheet being provided accommodated behind the display material itself incorporating a hinged bracing or support leg in the manner of known photographic frames in the like.

There now follows a description of a particular embodiment of the invention, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a display screen according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a side elevation of the display screen shown in Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows an alternative side elevational view of the display screen shown in Figures 1 and 2, with an additional optional backing member.

Referring to the drawings, a display screen comprises a generally rigid or semi-rigid clear sheet 10, conveniently of crystal-clear synthetic plastics material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) - a convenient thickness being some 500 microns, in order to strike a reasonable balance between self-supporting rigidity and some limited flexibility to facilitate mounting and insertion of display materials discussed later.

The sheet 10 is of generally rectangular outline form and two spaced edges 11 and 12 thereof are folded over to form spaced elongate channels 20 and 21 respectively, in which may be accommodated the corresponding opposite edges of sheet display or presentation material, as illustrated by the broken line 16 in Figure 3.

The shape, size and orientation of the sheet is chosen to correspond to the desired display material to be accommodated.

Each of the folded edges 11 and 12 incorporates an adhesive strip 13 by means of which the cover sheet 10 as a whole may be mounted or fastened or otherwise supported on a support surface or member. Adhesive employed in the adhesive strips 13 may be of a pressure contact type and protected by a peel off backing strip when required for use.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cover sheet 10 is suitable for mounting on surface, such as a wall etc and indeed the sheet 10 can be left permanently in situ and the presentation material incorporated therein changed by sliding sideways through the channels 20 and 21.

In an alternative mounting arrangement, the cover sheet 10 incorporates supplementary backing sheet 14, itself provided with a hinged bracing flap or support leg 15, with a crease or fold 17 adjacent an attachment point 18, such that the pivot stand may be swung away from the plane of the backing sheet 14 and used to stand the cover sheet 10 as a whole in an upright condition.

Alternatively, a suspension loop indicated by broken lines 19 in Figure 3, may be employed at one end of the cover sheet 10 for suspension mounting of the cover sheet 10 as a whole upon a hook or the like.

If required, 2 cover sheets 10 as illustrated in the drawings may be mounted back to back to protect both sides of sheet display material or to accomodate two such display sheets back to back facing outwards.

In addition, the sheet surface may be curved or contoured to suit the particular display or presentation material to be protected and supported thereby. For example, curved or cylindrical preformed or folded form flat sheet surface shapes may be employed.

The material of the cover sheet 10 itself may also be such as to accommodate additional presentational matter, for example by over printing or silk screening on the surface thereof.

The cover sheet 10 affords a simple, secure means of protecting and displaying presentation of material -- which is thereby preserved intact and protected from surface marking, creasing or otherwise deterioration and thus able to retain its original condition.

The sheet 10 may be used to overprint or over mark the display material, for example by temporary or permanent marking. Thus temporary information, such as prices and dates, may be written in, say, coloured felt tip pen upon the surface of the cover 10, whilst more permanent presentation or informational matter is retained securely behind the surface of the cover sheet 10 on the presentation sheet protected thereby.

By use of a high-quaiity plastics material, in particular high-clarity, smooth-finish material, what would otherwise be not particularly high quality presentation material may be enhanced in (surface) appearance. Thus, for example, ordinary printed thin sheet copy is presented as a glossy, smoothfinish sheet of more substantial overall depth just as if it had been reproduced originally on expensive showcard material or with a special laminated plastic finish.

For special effects, (single or multiple) coloured or diffuse (e.g. matt-finish) cover sheet materials may be employed.

Similarly rippled or corrugated surface finishes may be employed, and special optical (e.g. prismatic or lens) effects are achievable thereby. The locating channels need not be parallel, but may be, say, mutually inclined and/or even non-linear (e.g.

curved) to suit the presentation material.

Multipie adjacent or spacer channels may be util ised - for example by making appropriate multiple folds at the cover sheet edges - the inherent rigidity of the sheet material retaining the (e.g.

neat-) formed channel shape. Such multiple channels may particularly suit translucent display material - for example to achieve a visual special overlay effect.

Thicker presentation material may also be used by having grooves formed in its edges adjacent the front surface thereof to accomodate the folded edges 11, 12 of the cover sheet 10.

Claims (10)

1. A display screen comprising a rigid or semirigid or self-supporting translucent cover sheet 10 of synthetic plastics material, a pair of spaced channel portions 20, 21 disposed on one side of said sheet to receive and locate [sheet] presentation material and support, mounting, fastening or attachment means 13, 19 therefor.

2. A display screen as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said channel portions are formed integrally by folding over the edges of the cover sheet.

3. A display screen as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said cover sheet is generally rectangular in outline configuration and said channel portions are formed by opposite edges of the sheet folded to the same one side thereof.

4. A display screen as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said support, mounting, fastening or attachment means is selectively and re-usably operable and is arranged integrally with said sheet presenting said cover sheet in a desired position or orientation with respect to a support.

5. A display screen as claimed in any of the preceding claims formed of rigid polyvinylchloride of some 500 microns in thickness.

6. A display screen, as claimed in any of the preceding claims, incorporating two corresponding cover sheets arranged in alignment face-to-face, with the respective associated channel portions in abutment with one another on one side of each sheet.

7. A display screen, as claimed in any of the preceding claims, incorporating an adhesive strip along at least one of said channel portions for mounting the cover sheets.

8. A display screen, as claimed in any of the preceding claims, incorporating display or presentation material on the face thereof.

9. A display screen, as claimed in any other proceeding claims, comprising a sleeve with a sleeve embrace defined by spacing between said channel portions.

10. A display screen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawing.