GB2367941A

GB2367941A - Hand held message board.

Info

Publication number: GB2367941A
Application number: GB0025261A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Russell Winston Laikin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-10-14
Filing date: 2000-10-14
Publication date: 2002-04-17
Also published as: GB0025261D0

Abstract

A hand held message board comprises a handle 2, a frame (3, Fig. 1A) and a plurality of message bearing pages 8 supported on the frame. The pages are preferably supported by a hinge arrangement in the form of rings 7 attached to the frame. The message board is designed to be used to send messages between drivers or occupants of vehicles.

Description

Message Board This invention relates to a message board for displaying selective messages to viewers. It is particularly useful for automotive use, to send messages between drivers or occupants of vehicles on the road, but it could be used in a variety of other situations.

Traffic congestion on roads causes road rage and also introduces opportunities for social exchanges which were not possible hitherto. Communications between drivers or other occupants of the road vehicles can significantly dissipate road rage or avoid it in the first place by removing misunderstandings; they can also establish new personal contacts or develop existing relationships. The difficulty in the past has been providing a convenient means of communication.

The invention solves this problem by providing a hand held message board with a handle and a frame supporting a plurality of superposed message-bearing pages such that any page can be selected by the holder of the message board and exposed for view as the board is held up.

The board may be paddle-shaped and generally flat, such as in the shape of a vanity mirror.

The message-bearing pages are preferably supported by a hinge arrangement that is on the upper edge of the frame remote from the handle, for example by providing rings attached to the frame.

The pages, which are preferably pre-printed with messages useful to the owner, are preferably substantially of the same size as a flat support surface of the frame, and they may be formed of paper, card or plastic sheeting. The messages should of course preferably be readable from a typical distance separating two cars being driven in adjacent lanes, such as from 3 metres to 4 metres.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1a is a front view of a message board embodying the invention, but without the message-bearing pages; Figure 1 b is a side elevation of the message board of Figure 1a ; Figure 1c is a perspective view of the message board of Figure 1a, fitted with a plurality of pages on its hinges; Figure 1d is a cross section taken along the line A to A of Figure 1a showing the fixture for the hinge arrangement; Figure 2 is a plan view of a page, but not showing any pre-printing of a message.

The message board shown in the drawings is substantially paddle shaped and flat, resembling a hand held vanity mirror. The message board 1 has a handle portion 2 and a frame 3 with a large aperture 4 which minimises the weight of the board. The board is formed as a unitary plastics moulding. A hinge arrangement 5, which is also a separate plastics moulding, comprises a strip from which projects a pair of

lugs 6 and, between the lugs, a pair of plastic rings 7. The lugs 6 are pushed, during assembly, into cylindrical bores 10 in the frame 3, as shown in Figure 1 (d). Several pages 8 of paper, card or plastic sheeting, of a similar size to the flat support surface of the frame 3, hang from the rings 7 which are threaded through pairs of holes 9, as shown in figures 1c and 2. Although not shown in the drawings, the pages are pre-printed with messages which would be useful to the particular purchaser, such as"my mobile number is xxxxxxx","Sorry !","Hello, you look great!","Your fog lights are on", "Thank you"and so on. These messages would normally be printed on both sides of the pages, so that the selected message could be displayed from the appropriate support surface of the message board.

In this example, the message board is approximately 180mm across at its widest, and 10mm thick. The width of the frame 3 around the aperture 4 is about 12mm, and the thickness of the plastics base strip 5 is 5mm. The handle is formed with two apertures, as shown in figures 1a and 1c, for decoration and to dissipate heat from the hand, to reduce sweating.

Claims

Claims 1. A hand held message board with a handle and a frame supporting a plurality of superposed message-bearing pages such that any page can be selected by the holder of the message board and exposed for view as the board is held up.
2. A message board according to Claim 1, in which the board is substantially paddle-shaped and generally flat.
3. A message board according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the messagebearing pages are supported by a hinge arrangement at an upper edge of the frame remote from the handle.
4. A message board according to Claim 3 in which the hinge arrangement comprises rings attached to the frame.
5. A message board according to any preceding claim, in which the pages are of substantially the same size as a flat support surface of the frame.
6. A message board according to Claim 5, in which the pages are of paper or card or plastic sheeting.
7. A message board according to any preceding Claim, in which the pages include pre-printed messages readable from a typical distance separating two cars being driven in adjacent lanes, such as from 3 to 4 metres.
8. A message board according to any preceding claim, formed as a plastics moulding.
9. A message board according to any preceding claim, in the shape of a handheld vanity mirror.
10. A message board substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.