GB2217502A

GB2217502A - Rotary display apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2217502A
Application number: GB8808971A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edward Maurice Pearce Butler
Original assignee: F S Displays Ltd
Current assignee: F S Displays Ltd
Priority date: 1988-04-15
Filing date: 1988-04-15
Publication date: 1989-10-25
Also published as: GB8808971D0

Abstract

A rotary display apparatus 10 of the kind having parallel vanes of triangular cross-section is driven by a common shaft 20 carrying a respective cam 22 for engaging each vane to rotate the vane through 120 DEG for each rotation of the shaft. The cams 22 are angularly offset in groups 24, 26, 28 about the shaft such that one set 14 of adjacent vanes is simultaneously turned to a fresh display position while at least one other set 12, 16 remains stationary. In this way the display, which conventionally provides a three-fold display, produces a total number of displays equal to three times the number of sets 12, 14, 16 into which the vanes are grouped. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: ROTARY DISPLAY APPARATUS This invention relates to a rotary display apparatus of the kind having a plurality of parallel elongate display members or vanes, each mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis, and each being co-operable with drive means to step-wise rotate each member through a plurality of display positions.

Conventional rotary display apparatus of this kind employs vanes of triangular cross-section all of which are synchronously driven at intervals to rotate the vanes so that each presents successively a different one of its three sides in a display position, whereby the whole display repeatedly provides three successive display surfaces. It is known in such displays to slightly stagger the application of drive to successive vanes of a display so that each starts to turn slightly later than its immediate successor. This eases drive torque requirements but essentially the whole display is changed as an entity.

In operating such displays, there are just the three displays possible and the dwell time of each display is chosen to balance the need to assimilate the display and the need to maintain attention by the repeated changing of the display.

It will be shown hereinafter how the present invention can be put into practice to provide rotary displays with a greater variety of displays than before.

According to one aspect of the invention in a rotary display of the kind set forth the timing of the drive to the respective display members is arranged such that members of a first set change their display positions at a different time to members of a second set.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a rotary display apparatus having a plurality of parallel elongate display members, each mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis, a drive shaft carrying a plurality of cams each engageable with a respective display member to rotate it step-wise through successive display positions as the drive shaft is rotated, characterised in that selected cams are angularly offset about the shaft to cause the display members of a first set to rotate from one display position to the next at a different time to the display members of a second set, the display members of one set being stationary as the display members of the other set rotate.

The principle can be extended to more than two sets or groups of display members. In one contemplated arrangement the overall display is divided into six sets, the members of each set being next adjacent to afford a unitary sub-display. In this case taking the sets in order from one end of the total display to the other, firstly the first and third sets change together, the remaining sets being stationary in their existing display condition. Then the second and fourth change, and then the third and sixth sets. The sequence is repeated so that the number of different display surfaces of the whole unit is multiplied, and by setting the drive rate and relative intervals, various multiple display effects can be produced.

The invention may be readily put into practice by a modification of the display units having the constructions described in patent specification EP 0249396. In this specification each vane assembly of triangular crosssection comprises at one end a driven cam-follower member having three wings mutually offset by 1200. The drive means comprises a shaft bearing a respective cam for each vane to engage a wing of its cam follower once per rotation of the drive shaft to rotate the vane by 1200 to its next display position. In practice the cams are aligned on the shaft to synchronously rotate the vanes to provide the usual three display surfaces.

This apparatus can be adapted in accord with the present invention by offsetting or staggering the cams about the drive shaft. The cams are offset in sets or groups in accord with the sets of vanes. The cams of a given group are all at the same angular position but the groups are offset one from another to obtain the required times of display change for each set of vanes. The locating of the cams on the shaft in the desired angular positions is conveniently done by having a shaft of polygonal cross-section, e.g. hexagonal, each cam having a shaft-receiving aperture shaped that the cam is positively located on the shaft in a selected one of, for example, six positions.

The invention and its practice will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a front view of a display unit illustrating one division of the vanes into sets in the manner already discussed; Fig. 2 shows an axial view of a drive shaft having cams mounted to it at different angular offsets; and Fig. 3 shows a modified vane construction that may be used in at least some portion of the whole display.

The embodiment of the invention to be described utilises the rotary display unit structure disclosed in EP 0249396, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Referring to Figures 5 and 5A in particular of EP 0249396, the cams 130 are aligned on common drive shaft 58 so that once per shaft revolution they simultaneously engage a wing, e.g. 52a, of each vane to simultaneously rotate all the vanes through 1200 and present the next of the three display surfaces. This is the conventional way of presenting the display surfaces.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing assume the display 10 is divided into three sets 12, 14 and 16 of next adjacent vanes each providing a unitary sub-display.

The cams associated with set 12 are all aligned on shaft 58. The cams associated with set 14 are all aligned but are angularly offset about shaft 58 by say 1200 from the cams associated with set 12. The cams associated with the set of vanes 16 are all aligned but are offset by another 1200. Thus in a single revolution of the drive shaft, all the vanes are moved through 1200 but the different sets change at different times. One set changes as an entity - set 14 is shown in the course of changing - while the other two remain stationary in their existing display positions. Consequently the number of different overall displays is multiplied to nine. As already mentioned the vanes may be divided into more sets some of which may in fact be arranged to change display simultaneously.It will be appreciated that the selections of the sets and the relative times of changing display provides a wide variety of displays and visual effects, all achieved by setting the cams on the drive shaft.

In order that the cams may be offset around the drive shaft, a construction such as shown in Fig. 2 is conveniently employed. In Fig. 2 the drive shaft 20, corresponding to shaft 58 above-mentioned, is illustrated as having a polygonal cross-section, specifically a regular hexagon. Each cam 22, which is otherwise of the construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 5A of EP 0249396, has a matching polygonal aperture therethrough - in this case hexagonal - to be a snug slide fit on the shaft 20.

This construction provides a convenient manner of mounting vanes in any one of six positively indexed offsets at 60 intervals. For the example given above of three sets of vanes 12, 14 and 16; first, second and third sets of cams 24, 26 and 28 respectively are located on shaft 20 mutually offset by 1200.

The vanes may either have the conventional plane surfaces for receiving poster or like material attached by adhesive or selected vanes may be adapted, to support reusable indicia-bearing means. For example, these may be plates bearing alpha-numeric characters or other symbols that are received in opposed slots provided at one or more of the display surfaces of each selected vane. Fig. 3 shows a cross-section through one such modified vane 30.

At the display surface 32 the vane is provided with projecting lips 34, 35 along opposite longitudinal edges that define the opposed slots 36, 37 in which an indicia bearing plate is receivable.

Claims

1. A rotary display apparatus having a plurality of parallel elongate display members, each mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis and each being cooperable with drive means to step-wise rotate each member through a plurality of display positions, characterised in that the timing of the drive applied to respective display members is arranged to rotate members of a first set from one display position to the next at a different time to members of a second set.

2. A rotary display apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 in which the drive means comprises a common drive shaft a respective cam mounted to the shaft for each display member to engage a part on the display member to rotate it to its next display position, and wherein the cams associated with the first set of members are angularly offset from the cams associated with the second set.

3. A rotary display apparatus having a plurality of parallel elongate display members, each mounted for rotation about a longitudinal axis, a drive shaft carrying a plurality of cams each engageable with a respective display member to rotate it step-wise through successive display positions as the drive shaft is rotated, characterised in that selected cams are angularly offset about the shaft to cause the display members of a first set to rotate from one display position to the next at a different time to the display members of a second set, the display members of one set being stationary as the display members of the other set rotate.