GB2361796A

GB2361796A - Multiple image illuminated sign

Info

Publication number: GB2361796A
Application number: GB0015525A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Patrick Marsh
Original assignee: W M SIGN CONSULTANTS Ltd
Current assignee: W M SIGN CONSULTANTS Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-26
Filing date: 2000-06-26
Publication date: 2001-10-31
Also published as: GB0015525D0

Abstract

An illuminated sign comprises a light source 46, an image panel 42 for illumination by the light source which is translucent in image areas and reflective in other areas; and a front panel which is a two way mirror. The panels may be non-parallel and are arranged for repeated reflection of the image between them so that when the sign is illuminated the repeated versions become visible. The image panel may be a transparent sheet of acrylic or other plastics that carries a translucent image and an opaque reflective film covering non-image areas. Light 46 may be fluorescent or incandescent. The front panel may be a sheet of acrylic or other plastics that carries film that partly transmits and partly reflects light. The method of making the image panel comprises providing a transparent sheet, applying an image to the sheet, masking the image; applying an opaque reflective film to the sheet; and removing the mask. The image may be applied to one face and the opaque film to the other face of the sheet. The sheet may be heated and mechanically deformed. Switching of the light may be timed.

Description

2361796 MULTIPLE IMAGE ILLUMINATED SIGN

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an illuminated sign for use e.g. in point of sale advertising.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Patent Specification US-A-4922384 (Torrence) discloses an illuminated display using a half-silvered or two-way front mirror and a rear mirror parallel to the front mirror provided with an opening in the middle to hold a transparency showing a product to be advertised. The transparency is illuminated from the rear. The transparency is multiply reflected between the parallel mirrors, and the half- silvered front mirror permits the resulting multiple images to be seen from in front of the display in a variation of the so-called "infinity mirror" concept. However, the multiple images are apparent only at high viewing angles and not face on to the sign, and the effects achievable are in practice limited. The inventor is not aware of any commercialization of the Torrence sign.

Patent specification US-A-5657562 discloses a display device in which an image-bearing transparency that is normally concealed behind a two-way mirror becomes visible when a lamp behind the transparency is illuminated. A motion detector is provided for turning the lamp on when a person comes in front of the device. Use of the device for point of purchase signs or other advertising signs is neither disclosed nor suggested.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an illuminated sign for use in point of purchase or other advertising or the like, and that produces an image e.g.

2 of an article to be advertised that is attractive and easy to view from a wide range of positions in the near or far field.

That problem is solved, in one aspect of the invention, by an illuminated sign comprising:

a light source; an image panel for illumination by the light source which is translucent in image areas and reflective in other areas; and a fTont panel which is a two way mirror, the image panel and front panel being non-parallel and being arranged for repeated reflection of the image between them so that when the sign is illuminated the repeated versions of the image become visible.

The image panel is preferably a transparent sheet of acrylic or other is plastics material that carries a translucent image and an opaque reflective film covering non-image areas. The image panel may be planar and directed at a small acute angle to the front panel, or it may be folded to define two planar regions each directed at a small acute angle to the front panel. The front panel may be a sheet of acrylic or other plastics material that carries a film that transmits and reflects light. The sign may further comprise comprising:

a rear panel; a frame comprising members of generally channel section having a web portion and front and rear flanges that respectively hold the front and rear panels; means on the interior of frame members to opposite sides of said frame defining channels directed parallel to the web portion; and carrier strips in the channels, said carrier strips having formations for holding opposite edges of the image panel for supporting said panel in spaced relationship behind the front panel.

The invention also relates to an image panel for rear illumination for use with the above sign, said panel being translucent in image areas and reflective in 3 other areas, and comprising a transparent sheet that carries a translucent image and an opaque reflective film covering non-image areas.

The invention also relates to a method of making an image panel as aforesaid, which method comprises: providing a sheet of transparent material; applying an image to the sheet; masking the image; and applying an opaque reflective film to the sheet; and removing the mask.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with 15 reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows an illuminated sign according to the invention with the internal illumination switched off; Fig. 2 shows the sign of Fig 1 with the internal illumination switched on and with a first embodiment of the image panel in place within the sign; Fig. 3 shows the sign of Fig 1 with the internal illumination switched on and with a second embodiment of the image panel in place within the sign; Figs 4 and 5 are horizontal sectional views of the sign with the image panels of Figs. 2 and 3 respectively in place within the sign; Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the sign with its front and image panels partly removed to reveal the internal components; 4 Fig. 7 is an internal perspective view of part of the frame showing a mounting strip for the image panel; Fig 8 is an internal perspective view of an extrusion from which the frame 5 is formed and of the image panel mounting strip that fits within the extrusion; Fig. 9 is a front perspective view of the sign as in Fig. 6 but with an alternative light source; Fig 10 is a block diagram of a circuit for fitting into the sign for controlling the operation of the lamp; Figs I I a- I If show successive stages in the production of an image panel for fitting to the sign of Fig. 1; and Fig 12 is a front view of an alternative form of the sign showing the effects of masking.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In Fig. I there is shown a sign 10 which may be used in an outdoor environment, but which will more usually be used indoors in a building to which the public has access, for example a room or corridor of a hotel, airport or railway station, a waiting room, a showroom e.g. for vehicles, a shop or department store or a bar. The sign may be wall-mounted and may typically be about A2 or A3 in size. It could, however be larger and be floor-standing, or it could be smaller, e.g. A4 or less, and stand on a table or counter-top.

The sign comprises a back panel 12, a frarne 14 and a front panel 16 that when the sign is not illuminated has the appearance of a plain mirror. However, as seen in Fig 2, when illuminated the sign shows, as generally indicated by the reference numeral 18, a main image and multiple reflected ghost images one behind the other. The image may, for example, be of an article e.g. in this case a bottle, or it may be a message (e.g. a name or logo), or it may be a combination of an article and a message against a background view. Fig. 2 shows multiple images formed along a single direction, but there are other possibilities, as in Fig. 3 where two sets of multiply reflected images 20, 22 are fon-ned along different directions.

The ability to change the appearance of the sign at will from that of a plain mirror to that of an image, and the ability to produce a sign having multiple images of a single object significantly improves the interest created by the sign and the aesthetic appeal of the sign to the public, so that the attention that members of the public give to the image being displayed is also increased.

The internal arrangements of the sign for producing the effects shown in Figs 1-3 are shown in Figs 4 and 5. The front panel 16 is a two-way mirror formed e.g. by aluminizing a thin sheet of transparent material e.g. glass or preferably transparent acrylic sheet so as to produce a translucent reflective film thereon. As best seen in Figs 7 and 8, the frame is generally channel-shaped with front and back flanges 24 and 26 formed at their ends with inwardly-facing slots or grooves 28 and 30 into which the front panel 16 and the back panel 12 respectively fit. A further pair of flanges 32, 34 on the blind side of the frame face inwardly from the flanges 24, 26 to define with the web-part 36 of the frame a channel for slideably receiving an insert strip 38 e.g. of acrylic plastics that carries a plurality of longitudinally spaced plastics clips 40. An image panel 42 is supported behind the front panel 16 by means of the clips 40 and defines a front cavity 46 with the front panel 16 and a rear cavity 44 with the back panel 12. The rear cavity 44 contains a lamp 46. As best seen in Fig 6 the lamp 46 is a fluorescent tube, and the sides 47 of the back panel are beveled so that light transmitted sideways by the lamp 46 is reflected forwardly. The inner face of the panel 12 is white and is diffusely reflective, which assists in producing even illumination of the image.

The image panel 42 is formed from a transparent sheet of glass or plastics, preferably acrylic sheet. It is printed e.g. by screen printing to form a translucent image 50 and aluminized in non-image areas 52 to form an opaque reflective 6 surface. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the image panel 42 is supported at a small angle relative to the front panel 16. This may be achieved, for example, by locating the clips 40 at positions offset from the centre-line of the strip 38 and inserting the strip 38 at different orientations on opposite sides of the lamp, as shown in Fig. 4. When lamp 46 is illuminated, rays are transmitted directly to give a main image 50a, and are successively partially internally reflected within the cavity 46 between the front panel 16 and the reflective non-image areas 52 of the image panel and are partially transmitted through the front panel 16 to give ghost images 50b-50f that appear to be reflections by an "infinity mirror". The ghost images appear as if by magic and change position with change in the place from which they are viewed, which adds to their interest and helps to focus the attention of the viewer on the image being displayed.

In Fig. 4 the panel is planar whereas in Fig. 5 it has a single central vertical fold to produce images 50b-50f and 50b' - 50f'. A variety of other shapes of image panel 42 may be used. Where a folded panel is used, for example, the image may be laterally offset from the center line of the sign, the fold may be offset from the center line of the sign and/or from the center of the image, and the non-image areas may be non-planar so as to give rise to distortions in the ghost image e.g. enlargements of vertical regions thereof The image panel 42 need not be planar or simply folded, and for example it may be convexly curved or sinuous. The effects have been illustrated with a single image on the image panel, but it is equally possible to have two or more images that are made to produce similar or different sets of ghost images. Routine experimentation by those familiar with the use of plane or curved mirrors and in particular distorting mirrors familiar from use in funfairs enables a wide range of effects to be produced.

At present, fluorescent tubes are difficult to control by means of a dimmer, and apparatus for doing so is not readily available. If it is desired to fade between the mirror appearance and the image appearance of the sign, then an incandescent lamp 54 may be used. The lamp 54 may be illuminated by a driver 56 controlled by a microcontroller 58 which operates in accordance with instructions stored in a 7 RAM chip 60 having e.g. an area 62 for timing instructions and an area 64 for fade instructions. The above components can be provided on a small circuit board and fitted inconspicuously within the rear cavity 44. The chip 60 may simply have instructions to illuminate the lamp 54 at certain times of day and to switch it off at other times e.g. at night. The lamp 54 may also be driven through a cycle of states e.g. off - fade in - full illumination - fade out - off, each state occupying a few seconds. Interesting effects can be achieved, for example, by providing a cycle in which the off state occupies about 10 seconds with lesser periods e.g. about 2-5 seconds for the fade and fully illuminated states. The viewer than becomes familiar with the sign as a simple mirror, so that the revelation of the concealed image produces surprise. The instructions in RAM 60 may also provide for flashing the sign between its illuminated and non-illuminated states. Where there is more than a single image on the panel 42, these may be illuminated by respective individually controlled lamps that may be illuminated simultaneously or at different times to produce a range of effects. A wide range of possibilities is available to the sign designer to produce effects that are attractive to different users of the sign depending on the images to be displayed and the site where the sign is to be located.

Production of an image panel 42 may be by the process illustrated in Figs I I a - I If. A clear acrylic sheet 66 as supplied is protected on both faces with thin peelable protective films 68, 70. The film 68 is removed and the image 50 is printed e.g. in color on the raw side of the sheet e.g. by screen printing. The film 68 is then replaced over the printed image 50. The sheet 66 is then inverted and a stencil of the image 50 is cut in the film 70, after which non-image areas of the film 70 are removed to leave a region 70' overlaying and masking the image area.

An opaque reflective surface 52 is then produced on the sheet 66 in nonimage areas e.g. by aluminizing, after which the film 68 and the mask 70' are peeled away to give the finished image panel. In the embodiment shown the panel is planar, but the panel may if desired be post-treated by local heating and deformation e.g. heated along its centre-line and folded to produce the angled panel of Fig. 5. Although the production of a single image has been illustrated, it 8 will be apparent that the above process may be used to produce a plurality of images at different locations on the sheet 66. Furthermore, the sheet 66 may be supplied as a strip, images 50 may be printed thereon at spaced locations and the strip can be cut into individual panels at a convenient time later on, which enables 5 the image panels to be produced more rapidly.

Various modifications may, of course, be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the invention. For example, as shown in Fig. 12 a frame of opaque sheet e.g. vinyl sheet 70 may be adhered to the blind 10 face of the front sheet 16 with an image-defining opening e.g. an oval opening 72. The effect is that when the sign is illuminated, the main image 74 and image light from outside the opening that would normally emerge is prevented from so doing and the main image 74 together with the multiply reflected images 76 are framed within the outline of the opening 72.

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Claims

1. An illuminated sign comprising:

a light source; an image panel for illumination by the light source which is translucent in image areas and reflective in other areas; and a front panel which is a two way mirror, the image panel and front panel being arranged for repeated reflection of the image between them so that when the sign is illuminated the repeated versions of the image become visible.

2. The sign of claim 1, wherein the light source is a fluorescent tube.

3. The sign of claim 1, wherein the light source is an incandescent lamp driven by control means which cycles the lamp between on and off states.

is

4. The lamp of claim 3, wherein the dwell of the lamp in the off state of each cycle is longer than its dwell in the on state.

5. The sign of any preceding claim, wherein the image panel is a transparent plastics sheet that carries a translucent image and an opaque reflective film covering non-image areas.

6. The sign of claim 5, wherein the image panel is planar and directed at a small acute angle to the front panel.

7. The sign of claim 5, wherein the image panel is folded to define two planar regions each directed at a small acute angle to the front panel.

8. The sign of any preceding claim, wherein the front panel is a plastics sheet carrying a film that transmits and reflects light.

9. The sign of any preceding claim, further comprising:

a rear panel; a frame comprising members of generally channel section having a web portion and front and rear flanges that respectively hold the front and rear panels; means on the interior of frame members to opposite sides of said frame defining channels directed parallel to the web portion; and carrier strips in the channels, said carrier stnps having formations for holding opposite edges of the image panel for supporting said panel in spaced relationship behind the front panel.

10. For use with the sign of any preceding claim, an image panel for rear illumination that is translucent in image areas and reflective in other areas, said panel comprising a transparent sheet that carries a translucent image and an opaque reflective film covering non-image areas.

11. The panel of claim 10, wherein the sheet is acrylic.

12. The panel of claim 10 or 11, wherein the image is a screen-printed image.

13. The panel of claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein an opaque aluminum film covers non-image areas.

14. The panel of any preceding claim, wherein the screen-printed image is on one face of the sheet and the opaque reflective film is on the other face of the sheet.

15. A method of making the image panel of any of claims 10-14, which comprises:

providing a sheet of transparent material; applying an image to the sheet; masking the image; and applying an opaque reflective film to the sheet; and removing the mask.

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16. The method of claim 15, wherein the image is applied to one face of the sheet and the opaque reflective film is applied to the other face of the sheet.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the sheet carrying the image and 5 the opaque reflective film is heated and mechanically deformed.