GB2215617A

GB2215617A - Score display devices

Info

Publication number: GB2215617A
Application number: GB8806637A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Albert Frank Haynes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-03-21
Filing date: 1988-03-21
Publication date: 1989-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2008-03-21
Also published as: GB2215617B; GB8806637D0

Abstract

A display device comprises two or more packs of cards 8, 9, the cards in each pack carrying digits on the obverse and reverse faces, a card at the front of each pack being movable to the back of the pack to reveal the next underlying card, such that the cards at the front of the packs display the same number in identical form as those at the back. Preferably, one pack of cards 8 is U-shaped and a second pack 9 is received between the arms of the U. The packs may be suspended by rings 10 from a bar 7 extending between posts 3. One or more of the devices 6 may form a bowls scoreboard 1. <IMAGE>

Description

Description of Invention Improvements in or relating to a display device The present invention relates to a display device and more particularly to a device for displaying numbers so as to indicate the score of a game.

In the present document reference will be made to numbers consisting of a plurality of digits. In this context the term digit is to be understood to cover any number and additionally, in relation to the first digit of a multi-digit number, the term should be understood to cover a blank space.

It has been previously proposed to provide a display device in the form of a scoreboard comprising one or more packs of cards, each pack of cards being supported adjacent their top edge in such a way that the card displayed at the front of the pack may be "flipped over" to the rear of the pack in order to display the next underlying card at the front of the pack. Each card carries a digit between zero and nine, the cards in each pack being arranged so that the digits run in sequence through the pack. With several packs of cards ranged in juxtaposition it is possible to display any desired number simply by "flipping over" the cards in each pack to display the appropriate number at the front of each pack.

It is often desirable for a display device in the form of a scoreboard to display the score of a game both to the front and to the rear of the scoreboard such that spectators positioned on all sides of a playing area where the game is being played may readily see the score of the game, or such that players positioned at different regions of the playing area may readily see the score.

It will be appreciated that the simple application of appropriate numbers to the reverse side of the cards in each pack of cards will not result in the same number being displayed to the rear of the device as to the front of the device due to the fact that the positions of the digits constituting the number become transposed. Thus, for example, when displaying a two-digit number the position of the tens and the units become transposed at the rear of the device.

The present invention seeks to provide a display device of the general type described which is capable of displaying the same number both to the front and to the rear of the device.

According to the present invention there is provided a display device for displaying numbers, said device comprising a first pack of cards located centrally within the device, each card in said first pack carrying a digit, as herein defined, upon both its obverse and reverse face, and a second pack of cards, each card in said second pack defining two display surfaces, one or either side of said central pack of cards, the first of said display surfaces on each card carrying a digit, as herein defined, on its obverse face and the second display surface on the same card carrying a digit as herein defined, on its reverse face which is the same as the digit carried on the obverse face of the first display surface of the next underlying card in the pack, the card at the front of a pack being movable to the back of the pack to reveal the next underlying card, the arrangement being such that at any one time the cards at the front of the two packs display a number to the front of the device whilst the cards at the back of the packs display the same number in identical form to the rear of the device.

Preferably each card in said second pack of cards is substantially U-shaped, the arms of each U-shaped card defining said two display surfaces, the base of each U-shaped card extending beneath the first pack of cards to interconnect said two display surfaces.

Conveniently wherein the reverse face of the first display surface and the obverse face of the second display surface each carry a marking associated with the number displayed by the device.

Advantageously said marking serves to identify a team and the number displayed by the device represents a score achieved by that team in a game.

Preferably each pack of cards incorporates one card, part of the periphery of which extends beyond the periphery of the remaining cards in the same pack such that said one card may be readily moved to the back of the pack of cards in order to leave a predetermined card displayed at the front the pack of cards.

Conveniently each pack of cards is suspended from a support bar by means of rings passing through apertures adjacent the upper edge of each pack of cards, the rings passing around the support bar, the support bar being contoured such that it consists of a plurality of peaks and troughs, said rings being received in the troughs formed by the supporting bar.

Advantageously each card in said packs of cards is formed from a PVC material having a smooth exterior surface and a foamed internal structure.

The digits applied to each card may be applied by means of a silk screen printing technique.

The present invention also provides a scoreboard incorporating one or more display devices as described above.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a scoreboard incorporating display devices in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a front perspective view of a display device in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 3 is a rear perspective view of the device shown in Figure 2; and FIGURE Lt is a sectional view on the line IV-IV in Figure 2.

Figure 1 shows a scoreboard 1 having a peripheral frame 2 consisting of two vertical posts 3 which are interconnected at their top and bottom ends by horizontal members 4. At its lower edge the frame 2 has support means in the form of a pair of spike projections 5 which may be pushed into soft ground. The support means may alternatively be in the form of a flat base or flat feet or the frame may be provided at its lower end with wheels for easy transportation.

Three display devices 6 in accordance with the invention are incorporated in the scoreboard 1 of Figure 1. Each display device 6 consists of a supporting bar 7 which extends between and is supported by the vertical posts 3. Two packs of cards 8, 9 are suspended from the support bar 7 by way of rings 10 which pass through apertures in the cards of each pack and which pass around the support bar 7.

The support bar 7 is contoured so as to have a plurality of peaks and troughs, the number and spacing of the troughs corresponding to the number and designed spacing of rings 10 required to support the two packs of cards 8, 9. Thus in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 each support bar consists of four troughs within which the four rings 10 are received. The troughs serve as a means for positioning the two packs of cards 8, 9 at their correct spacing along the support bar 7, since the rings 10 will automatically tend to settle in the troughs of the support bar.

The first pack of cards 8 is a pack of U-shaped cards, the U-shape having broad arms which present display surfaces 11, 12 and a shallow base which interconnects the two display surfaces 11, 12. The pack of U-shaped cards 8 is suspended from the support bar 7 by way of two rings 10 which each pass through respective apertures positioned adjacent the upper edge of each display surface 11, 12.

The second pack of cards 9 is of conventional, rectangular configuration and is received between the arms of the pack of U-shaped cards 8 and is suspended centrally from the support bar 7 by a pair of rings 10 passing through apertures adjacent the upper edge of each of the cards. Thus, when the scoreboard is viewed from the front the central pack of cards 8 presents a third display surface 13 between the display surfaces 11, 12.

Thus the device may be considered to have three juxtaposed display positions, the two arms of the Ushaped pack of cards and the centrally positioned pack of cards each presenting a display surface at one of the three display positions.

It will be appreciated that at each display position there will be a display surface to the front of the display device and a display surface to the rear of the device.

The suspension of the cards from the support bar 7 in the above-described manner allows the cards to be "flipped over" the support bar 7 such that a card which is at the front of a pack and thus at the front of the device may be moved to the back of pack in order to.

reveal the next underlying card.

The frame of the scoreboard illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings is dimensioned such that the cards may pass over the support bar 7 without engaging the adjacent pack of cards or the adjacent frame member, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

In order to display a two-digit number in identical form to the front and to the rear of the display device the cards in the two packs of cards 8, 9 are marked in the following manner: The left hand display surface 11 carries a marking to identify the team to which the score displayed by the two remaining display surfaces relates.

Thus, the left hand display surface 11 may carry the letter H or the letter A to signify a home team or an away team. Alternatively the left hand display surface may carry the word HOME or AWAY arranged diagonally across that surface. The scoreboard illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings is intended for use in displaying the score of a bowls match and the central display device is used to display the number of ends which have been played and in this particular case the left hand display surface 11 carries the letter E in order to denote the number of ends. Alternatively the surface 11 may carry the END or ENDS arranged diagonally across the surface. The display surface 11 of each card in the pack of U-shaped cards will carry the same marking, i.e. the letter H, A or E.The right hand display surface 12 of each U-shaped card carries a digit between zero and nine and the pack of cards 8 is arranged such that the digits on the display surfaces 12 run in increasing sequential order through the pack.

Thus moving the front card on the uppermost device illustrated in Figure 1 to the back of the pack reveal the next U-shaped carrying the letter H on its left hand display surface 11 and the digit 8 on its right hand display surface 12.

On its reverse face behind the letter H on the left hand display surface 11 each card in the U-shaped pack of cards 8 carries a digit which is the same as the digit carried on the right hand display surface 12 of the next underlying card. Thus, the digits appearing on the reverse face behind the letter H are arranged in decreasing sequential order through the pack, when viewed from the rear of the scoreboard. On the reverse face behind the digits carried on the right hand display surface 12, each U-shaped card carries the letter H or other marking which is the same as the marking on the front display surface 11. Thus it will be appreciated that the information displayed on the surfaces 11, 12 is displayed in a transposed manner to the rear of the display device.

Each card in the central pack of cards 9 carries a digit between zero and nine on its obverse face and a digit which is one greater than the digit carried on the obverse face, and which is the same as the digit carried on the obverse face of the next underlying card, on its reverse face. Thus, the same digit is simultaneously displayed by the central pack of cards 9 both to the front of the device and to the rear of the device.

Instead of a card carrying a zero, one card in the central pack of cards 9 may have an obverse face which is blank whilst a further card in that pack has a reverse face which is blank, thus allowing the simultaneous display of a blank to the front and the rear of the device.

It will therefore be appreciated that the overall display is identical to the front of the device and to the rear of the device, with the units of the two digit number being displayed being transposed at the rear of the device as compared with the front of the device.

It will be appreciated that the two further display devices illustrated at the centre and the lower portion of the scoreboard 1 are designed in the same manner as the device described above.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate one display device 6 when viewed from the front and the rear respectively.

It can be seen that the same information id displayed in identical manner both to the front and to the rear of the device.

The individual cards constituting the two packs of cards 8, 9 are each formed from a PVC material having a smooth exterior surface and a foamed internal structure. Such a material is available under the trade name FOAMEX. The letters and numerals to be applied to the display surfaces of the cards may be applied by way of silk screen printing or any other suitable printing technique. The cards may alternatively be formed from sheet metal.

The lower, outer corner regions 14, 15 of each pack of cards 8, 9 may be cut away as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 with the exception of one card in order to allow a zeroing facility. Thus the card carrying the digit 9 on the front display surface 12, 13 may be left complete with the corner regions of all the remaining cards being cut away. The display device may then be set to the zero display as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 simply by moving the complete card, i.e. the card which has not had its corner regions removed to the rear of each pack of cards.

Figure 4 of the drawings illustrates more clearly the manner in which the individual cards of each pack are supported upon the rings 10. It can be seen that the curvature of the ring 10 causes the individual cards within a pack to be offset from one another slightly in a vertical direction. This particularly facilitates the manual grasping of the card at the front of the pack of U-shaped cards when it is desired to move that card to the back of the pack, since the upper edge of the base of that card (i.e. the portion which interconnects the display surfaces 11, 12) will project slightly above the edge of the next underlying card and will enable that individual card to be grasped most readily by way of a finger placed upon the upper edge of the base.

When the device is used in order to display the score of a game the device may initially be zeroed in the above-described manner. The score may then be displayed by "flipping over" cards in the U-shaped pack of cards 8 in order to increment the digits representing units and the cards in the central pack of cards 9 in order to increment digits representing tens. As previously mentioned the number displayed to the front of the device will always be displayed in identical form to the rear of the device.

It will appreciated that the letters and digits carried on the two packs of cards 8, 9 may be provided in different colours in order to represent the scores of different teams or the background colour of the cards in separate devices within a scoreboard may be different in order to distinguish between the scores for separate teams. Alternatively, for example, in the embodiment of Figure 1 the cards carrying team scores may be of one colour whilst the cards denoting the number of ends played may be of a different colour.

It will be appreciated that the display device would work in a satisfactory manner if the digits of the number to be displayed were carried upon the left hand and central display surface rather than the central and right hand display surface. The device may, of course, be used to display numbers having more than two digits by the simple addition of further packs of U-shaped cards outside of the pack 8. A scoreboard may incorporate several display devices 6 arranged side by side rather than in a vertical manner as illustrated in Figure 1. Further modifications and alterations may be made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A display device for displaying numbers, said device comprising a first pack of cards located centrally within the device, each card in said first pack carrying a digit, as herein defined, upon both its obverse and reverse face, and a second pack of cards, each card in said second pack defining two display surfaces, one on either side of said central pack of cards, the first of said display surfaces on each card carrying a digit, as herein defined, on its obverse face and the second display surface on the same card carrying a digit as herein defined, on its reverse face which is the same as the digit carried on the obverse face of the first display surface of the next underlying card in the pack, the card at the front of a pack being movable to the back of the pack to reveal the next underlying card, the arrangement being such that at any one time the cards at the front of the two packs display a number to the front of the device whilst the cards at the back of the packs display the same number in identical form to the rear of the device.

2. A display device according to Claim 1 wherein each card in said second pack of cards is substantially U-shaped, the arms of each U-shaped card defining said two display surfaces, the base of each U-shaped card extending beneath the first pack of cards to interconnect said two display surfaces.

3. A display device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the reverse face of the first display surface and the obverse face of the second display surface each carry a marking associated with the number displayed by the device.

A A display device according to Claim 3, wherein said marking serves to identify a team and the number displayed by the device represents a score achieved by that team in a game.

5. A display device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each pack of cards incorporates one card, part of the periphery of which extends beyond the periphery of the remaining cards in the same pack such that said one card may be readily moved to the back of the pack of cards in order to leave a predetermined card displayed at the front the pack of cards.

6. A display device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each pack of cards is suspended from a support bar by means of rings passing through apertures adjacent the upper edge of each pack of cards, the rings passing around the support bar, the support bar being contoured such that it consists of a plurality of peaks and troughs, said rings being received in the troughs formed by the supporting bar.

7. A display device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each card in said packs of cards is formed from a PVC material having a smooth exterior surface and a foamed internal structure.

8. A display device according to Claim 7 wherein the digits applied to each card are applied by means of a silk screen printing technique.

9. A scoreboard incorporating one or more display devices in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

10. A display device substantially as herein described, with reference to it as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A scoreboard substantially as herein described with reference to it as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

12. Any novel feature or comnbination of features disclosed herein.