GB2236207A

GB2236207A - Display device

Info

Publication number: GB2236207A
Application number: GB9018269A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Matthew Osborne
Original assignee: Orion Design & Display Ltd
Current assignee: Orion Design & Display Ltd
Priority date: 1989-08-18
Filing date: 1990-08-20
Publication date: 1991-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2010-08-20
Also published as: GB2236207B; GB9018269D0

Abstract

A display device comprises a holder 10 and a flexible strip 16 bearing characters which can be selectively displayed in a display portion 14. The strip 16 has apertures 27 between adjacent characters which can be selectively engaged by projections 24 coupled to a manually depressible member 21. Normally the projections 24 hold the strip against movement relative to the holder 10. However, on pressing the member 21 (which can be done in the same action as moving the strip 16 from one character to another), the projections 24 disengage from the apertures to permit the strip to be moved. <IMAGE>

Description

Title - DisPlay Device This invention relates to a display device.

Display devices are known which comprise a holder and an elongate flexible strip bearing characters (such as numbers or letters) which can be selectively displayed in a display portion of the holder. The strip has a natural curl, so that its parts on either side of the display portion form respective rolls. In order to change the display, the strip is simply moved by hand to unroll the strip from one end and roll it up at the other, thereby altering the character appearing in the display portion.

In conventional constructions, however, the strip is not positively retained against movement relative to the holder.

Consequently, if the device is subjected to a sudden jolt (such as if the device is dropped or is accidentally knocked), the urging force created by the natural curl on the rolled-up parts of the strip can often cause the strip to move thereby altering the character with the display portion of the holder.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate this problem.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising a holder having a display portion, an elongate flexible strip which bears characters (such as numbers or letters) for selective display in the display portion, the strip having a series of first formations at intervals along its length, at least one second formation provided on the holder and arranged for engagement selectively with the first formations to retain the strip against movement relative to the holder, and disengaging means enabling the first and second formations to be disengaged to permit the strip to be moved relative to the holder.

Desirably, the first and second formations are disengaged in the same action as touching the strip to move the latter from one character to another. For example, an operative part of the disengaging means can be located in the display portion and behind the strip.

Conveniently, the disengaging means is operated by means of a manually depressible member to which the second formation or formations are operatively coupled.

Advantageously, the manually depressible member has at least one arm extending therefrom laterally to its direction of movement, and said at least one second formation is provided at or adjacent an end of the arm remote from the manually depressible member.

Preferably, two such arms extend in opposite directions from the manually depressible member, and the two respective second formations engage simultaneously with respective ones of first formations on the strip.

In a first embodiment, the or each arm is flexible, and the holder includes a cam surface against which the or each arm bears as said member is depressed, the arm thereby flexing to retract the respective second formation. In a second embodiment, the or each arm is operatively coupled to the manually depressible member for movement generally parallel to the direction of movement of the latter, and the respective second formation extends laterally with respect to the arm.

Preferably, the display portion includes a bearing surface over which the strip passes and the second formations are provided at one or both ends of the bearing surface. The manually depressible member can itself form part of the bearing surface.

Conveniently the or each first formation comprises an aperture recess or cut-out in the strip, and the or each second formation comprises a projection on the holder. Preferably, the disengaging means is operative to retract the projection or projections relative to the holder.

Advantageously, the strip has a natural curl so that it forms a roll to either side of the display portion of the holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a strip for a display device, the strip bearing a series of characters (such as letters or numbers) and having a series of formations such as apertures or recesses at intervals along its length.

Preferably, at least one formation is associated with each character on the strip. For example, one such formation can be provided between each pair of adjacent characters on the strip.

The formations can be in the form of apertures, recesses or cutouts, for example.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded front perspective view of a first embodiment of a display device according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of the display device, showing a strip of the device in a retained condition; Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3 but showing the strip in a released condition; Figure 5 is an exploded front perspective view of a second embodiment of a display device according to the present invention; Figure 6 is an exploded rear perspective view of the device shown in Figure 5; and Figures 7 and 8 are partial sections through the device of Figure 5, showing a strip respectively in retained and released conditions.

The display device illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a holder 10 formed from a front moulding 11 and a rear moulding 12 of plastics material which are secured together e.g. by welding.

The holder 10 is of generally rectangular configuration and is divided into a number of display sections 13, each of which includes a bearing surface 14 of generally curved profile and two slots 15 disposed at the ends of the surface 14, respectively.

Each section 13 accommodates a respective elongate flexible strip 16 bearing a series of characters 17 thereon (in this case, numbers), with the strip extending over the bearing surface 14 and through the slots 15 so that a desired one of those characters is displayed within the section. The strip 16 has a natural curl so that parts thereof on either side of the displayed character form respective rolls 18. In the illustrated embodiment the device comprises six sections 13, and can be used to display e.g. a price in pounds and pence, including the decimal point.

Each bearing surface 14 has a circular aperture 20 which slidably receives a push button 21, the button in turn having two resiliently flexible arms 22 extending laterally therefrom in opposite directions. These arms 22 are accommodated in respective channels 23 formed between the front and rear mouldings 11, 12 of the housing, and ends of the arms form projections 24 which extend from respective openings 25 at either end of the bearing surface 14. The surface of each channel 23 has a cam profile (referenced 26) so that, when the button.21 is depressed, the arms 22 are caused to flex thereby retracting the projections 24 into the openings 25 (see Figure 4). The resilience of the arms 22 ensures that the button 21 returns to its starting position (shown in Figure 3) each time it is depressed.

Each of the strips 16 is provided with a series of apertures 27 at intervals along its length, so that one aperture occurs between each pair of adjacent characters 17. When a particular character is displayed in the relevant section 13, the apertures 27 on either side of that character become aligned with the respective openings 25 and are therefore positioned for engagement by the projections 24. Under normal circumstances, the device occupies the condition shown in Figure 3 wherein the button 21 extends forwardly of the bearing surface 14 and the projections 24 are extended to engage in the apertures 27, so that the strip 16 is retained against movement relative to the holder 10. However, the strip can be released for movement to display a different character simply by pressing the button 21, which thereby retracts the projections 24 in the manner described previously and disengages them from the openings 27. Since a user of the device will have to touch the displayed part of the strip 16 in order to move the latter, and since the button 21 is disposed directly behind that part of the strip, pressing of the button can be performed in the same action as moving the strip.

Once the apertures 27 have been taken out of register with the projections 24, the strip can be further moved until the desired new character is displayed, whereupon the projections 24 will engage the relevant new apertures 27 and once again retain the strip against movement.

The button 21 and its arms 22 can be made of any suitable material which is relatively rigid but still flexible and which has a good shape memory. A suitable example of such a material is nylon. The strips 16 are preferably made of polyester, which is heat-set into the desired shape.

The display device illustrated in FIgures 5 to 8 is similar in general construction to that described above, and similar components are therefore designated by the same reference numerals but with 100 added. However, in the present device the bearing surface 114 of each display section 113 is of flat, rather than curved, profile and the aperture 120 in that surface is rectangular rather than circular. The push-button 121 is also of rather different construction from that described previously, and more particularly its manually operable portion 130 is of rectangular section to fit slidably in the respective aperture 120, and its forward surface 131 is of curved profile so that it constitutes part of the bearing surface for the strip.

Behind the portion 130, there is a relatively thin stem portion 132 from which two arms 133 extend laterally in opposite directions. Each of the arms 133 terminates in a projection in the form of a finger element 134 which extends forwardly of the device through a respective opening 135 at the end of the bearing surface 114, the finger elements 134 being shaped so as to engage a respective one of the apertures 127 in the strip 116.

Under normal conditions, the push-button 121 occupies the position shown in Figure 7, wherein the strip 116 is held against movement by engagement of the finger elements 134 in the apertures 127. However, the strip 116 can be released for indexing movement in one direction or the other by depressing the button 121, which thereby causes the elements 134 to retract in a direction parallel to the movement of the button and thereby disengage from the apertures 127. As with the device described above with reference to Figures 1 to 4, because the button 121 is located directly behind the strip 116, pressing of the button can be performed in the same action as moving the strip.

As can be seen to advantage in Figure 5, the stem portion 132 of the push-button 121 and the arms 133 locate in a channel 136 formed in the rear moulding 112 of the holder 110. Extending in opposite directions from the base of each arm 133 are a pair of resilient lateral projections 137 which locate in respective recesses 138 extending transversely from the channel 136. These recesses 138 have sloping bases so that they deepen towards the channel 136, and this causes the projections 137 to flex as the button 121 is depressed. The resilience of the projection 137 thus imposes a bias on the button 121, which causes the latter to return to the relatively extended condition shown in Figure 7 after being pressed.

Although not shown, in both of the above-mentioned embodiments each strip 16/116 has at both of its ends generally V-shaped flap. As the end of the strip is reached in either direction, the natural curl of the strip causes the flap to move out of the plane of the strip itself and come into abutment with the respective end of the bearing surface 14/114. Such abutment prevents the end of the strip from being inadvertently disengaged from the holder.

Although the display device has been described a having two projections 24/124 for simultaneous engagement with two of the apertures 27/127, one of these projections could be omitted if desired. In addition, it is possible that the apertures 27/127 can be replaced by other formations, such as recesses or simple indentations in each strip 16/116.

Claims

Claims

1A display device comprising a holder having a display portion, an elongate flexible strip which bears characters for selective display in the display portion, the strip having a series of first formations at intervals along its length, at least one second formation provided on the holder and arranged for engagement selectively with the first formations to retain the strip against movement relative to the holder, and disengaging means enabling the first and second formations to be disengaged to permit the strip to be moved relative to the holder.
2 A display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and second formations are disengaged in the same action as touching the strip to move the latter from one character to another.
3 A display device as claimed in claim 2, wherein an operative part of the disengaging means is located in the display portion and behind the strip.
4 A display device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the disengaging means is operated by means of a manually depressible member to which the second formation or formations are operatively coupled.
5 A display device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the manually depressible member has at least one arm extending therefrom laterally to its direction of movement, and said at least one second formation is provided at or adjacent an end of the arm remote from the manually depressible member.
6 A display device as claimed in claim 5, wherein two such arms extend in opposite directions from the manually depressible member, and the two respective second formations engage simultaneously with respective ones of the first formations on the strip.
7 A display device as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the or each arm is flexible, and the holder includes a cam surface against which the or each arm bears as said member is depressed, the arm thereby flexing to retract the respective second formation.
8 A display device as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the or each arm is operatively coupled to the manually depressible member for movement generally parallel to the direction of movement of the latter, and the respective second formation extends laterally with respect to the arm.
9 A display device as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the display portion includes a bearing surface over which the strip passes, and part of the bearing surface is formed by the manually depressible member.
10 A display device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display portion includes a bearing surface over which the strip passes, and the second formations are provided at one or both ends of the bearing surface.
11 A display device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each first formation comprises an aperture, recess or cut-out in the strip, and the or each second formation comprises a projection on the holder.
12 A display device as claimed in claim 11 wherein the disengaging means is operative to retract the projection or projections relative to the holder.
13 A display device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the strip has a natural curl so that it forms a roll to either side of the display portion of the holder.
14 A strip for a display device, the strip bearing a series of characters and having a series of formations at intervals along its length.
15 A strip as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one such formation is associated with each character on the strip.
16 A strip as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein one such formation is provided between each pair of adjacent characters.
17 A strip as claimed in claim 14, 15 or 16, wherein the formations are in the form of apertures, recesses or cut outs.
18 A display device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 or Figures 5 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.
19 A strip for a display device, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.