GB2388949A

GB2388949A - Illuminated advertising display device

Info

Publication number: GB2388949A
Application number: GB0211768A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Alan Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-05-22
Filing date: 2002-05-22
Publication date: 2003-11-26
Also published as: GB0211768D0

Abstract

An advertising aid consists of a box with an upper lid/cover 15 which is releasably fastened to the box and which is at least partially transparent. Elements within the box retain a laminar insert 21 adjacent to the lid or cover. An illuminating lamp 12 provided within the box illuminates the underside of the inserts. The insert may be an advertisement and the box may be mounted in the ground or floor so that the upper lid or cover is flush with the ground or floor. The box may be provided with an inwardly directed support flange 14, the lid/cover 15 being releasably fastened to the flange by elements 16. A seal 17 may be provided between the lid/cover and flange 14. Optical diffuser 11 may be provided above the lamps 12.

Description

i ! DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

"IMPROVEMENTS IN RELATION TO AN ADVERTISING AID"

THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an advertising aid and more particularly relates to an advertising aid which may enhance the noticeability of advertisements. Advertisements appear in many places where they may be viewed by people during everyday life. In addition to being provided in magazines and other publications, advertisements are frequently presented as advertising hoardings or as posters or as displays at point of sale. The present invention seeks to provide a novel advertising aid.

According to this invention there is provided an advertising aid, the advertising aid comprising a box, the box having a base and side walls, and being provided with an upper lid or cover, the lid or cover having at least part thereof which is transparent, the lid or cover being releasably fastened to the box, there being elements within the box to retain a larninar insert adjacent the lid or cover, there also being at least one illuminating lamp provided within the box adapted to illuminate the underside of the insert.

Preferably an insert is provided, the insert being transparent or translucent and being provided with indicia.

Conveniently the upper part of each side wall is provided with an inwardly directed support flange, the lid or cover being connected to the support flange by fastening elements.

Advantageously wherein a sealing element is provided between the support flange and the peripheral part of the upper lid or cover.

Preferably in the lower part of the box, a plurality of said illuminating lamps are provided, an optical diffuser being provided located above the lamps.

Conveniently the lamps are associated with a power supply.

In one embodiment the power supply is adapted to be connected to a mains supply of electricity.

In an alternative embodiment the power supply is associated with at least one "solar panel" element provided on the lid or cover of the box.

Conveniently the extension box is provided with an outwardly directed element such as a peripheral flange to facilitate mounting the box in position.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features are much more appreciated, the arrangement will now be described, by way of an example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

! FIGURE 1 is the perspective view of an advertising aid in accordance with the invention demonstrated as advertising the product "iX".

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of part of the advertising aid of Figure 1, taken on the line by II-II of Figure 1.

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view taken on line III-III of Figure 1.

An advertising aid in accordance with the present invention is intended to be floor or ground mounted and is provided with a transparent upper cover or lid which is intended, in use, to be flush with the ground or floor. The upper cover or lid is intended to be sufficiently strong to withstand ordinary usage, and is thus capable of supporting the weight of a person standing on the advertising aid or a vehicle.

Within the advertising aid a mounting arrangement is provided to enable a transparent or translucent advertisement to be located in position adjacent but immediately beneath the upper cover. Located within the advertising aid is a source of light. It will thus be understood that when the advertising aid is in use, an illuminated advertisement is provided at floor level, which can be indoors or outdoors, and which will be readily observed by passing people, thus ensuring that the advertising message is adequately delivered.

Turning now to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention the illustrated advertising aid I is in the form of a substantially square box 2 having a base 3 and four upstanding side walls 4, 5, 6, 7. The exterior of the box is provided, part way up, with an outwardly projecting flange 8 which extends outwardly from side walls 4, S. 6, 7, the

flange 8 being provided with a plurality of apertures 9 therein. The flange 8 may be of use when securing the box to its position, especially if the box is to be mounted in position within a building which is provided with so called "suspended floors".

Each side wall 4, 5, 6, 7 is provided with an inwardly direct flange 10 located immediately above the base 3 of the box. The inwardly directed flanges 10 support, across them, a "frosted'' sheet 11 of glass or plastic material which acts as a light diffuser. Located beneath the sheet 11 are a plurality of light emitting lamps which, in the described embodiment, are fluorescent tubes 12.

Associated with the fluorescent tubes 12 is a power supply 13. The power supply 13 may be adapted to be connected to a source of"mains" electricity although, as will become clear from the following description, the power supply

may be associated with a "solar power" arrangement to enable the advertising aid to be utilised without being connected to a source of mains electricity.

Towards the top of each side wall there is a further inwardly directed flange 14. These inwardly directed flanges 14 serve as a peripheral platform for an upper translucent lid or cover 1 S. The lid or cover 15 may be secured to the flanges 14 by appropriate fastening elements such as, for example, screws or the like 16 which pass through apertures in the lid or cover. At least the central region of the lid or cover is transparent. An appropriate seal, such as a rubber sealing strip 17 may be provided located between the peripheral part of the upper lid or cover 15 and the supporting flange 14 so that, when the cover is tight, the box is substantially weather-proof.

The lid or cover may be made of glass or some other transparent material.

( Parts of the lid or cover, such as the corner regions, maybe provided with opto-electric energy conversion elements 18, such as maybe generally known as "solar panels". Each energy conversion element may be associated with a further component 19 forming part of a power supply which may be adapted to store energy. i The component 19 may be directly connected to the power supply 13 which is associated with the lamps 12.

If the advertising aid is out of doors, the energy conversion elements 18 may convert sunlight into electrical energy, which may be used to illuminate the lamps 12 at night. If the advertising aid is used indoors the energy conversion elements 18 may convert any ambient light into electrical energy which may be used to illuminate the lamps.

At the mid part of each of the four walls 4, 5, 6, 7, the upper surface of the supporting flange 14 maybe provided with a cut-away region 20, the cut-

away region 20 (as shown in Figure 3), being adapted to receive peripheral parts of a laminar insert 21. In the described embodiment the laminar insert 21 is an advertisement provided with markings or indicia corresponding to "iX".

The insert may be formed of transparent material, with the markings being opaque, although in a preferred embodiment the markings themselves are at least semi-transparent and are coloured. Alternatively the insert may be formed from a translucent sheet of paper provided with appropriate printing.

In any event it is to be appreciated that when the lamps 12 are operative, light from the lamps will be diffused by the diffuser 11, and will illuminate the lower surface of the insert 21, and thus the insert 21 will be clearly visible

through the transparent lid or cover 15, the insert thus being readily observable as a back-lit advertisement.

It is to be appreciated that the use of "solar panels" may facilitate the use of the advertising aid at locations where a mains power supply is not available, but will, in any event, facilitate the use of the advertising aid without the need to make complicated electrical connections. Such a "solar panel" arrangement may well work very satisfactorily in an indoor location, drawing energy from the artificial illumination already provided at that location It is to be appreciated that in use of the described embodiment of the invention, the lid or cover 15 may readily be removed from the box 2, simply by releasing the screws 16 constituting the fastening elements, and then the insert 21 may be replaced by a different insert. Thus the advertising message provided by the advertising aid may be changed in a very straightforward manner. In the present specification "comprises" means "includes or consists oft'

and "comprising" means "including or consisting of".

The features disclosed in the foregoing description or the following

claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An advertising aid, the advertising aid comprising a box, the box having a base and side walls, and being provided with an upper lid or cover, the lid or cover having at least part thereof which is transparent, the lid or cover being releasably fastened to the box, there being elements within the box to retain a laminar insert adjacent the lid or cover, there also being at least one illuminating lamp provided within the box adapted to illuminate the underside of the insert.

2. An advertising aid according to Claim I wherein an insert is provided,

the insert being transparent or translucent and being provided with indicia.

3. An advertising aid according to Claims 1 or 2 where the upper part of each side wall is provided with an inwardly directed support flange, the lid or cover being connected to the support flange by fastening elements.

4. An advertising aid according to Claim 3 wherein a sealing element is provided between the support flange and the peripheral part of the upper lid or cover.

5. An advertising aid according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein in the lower part of the box, a plurality of said illuminating lamps are provided, an optical diffuser being provided located above the lamps.

6. An advertising aid according to Claim 5 when the lamps are associated with a power supply.

(

7. An advertising aid according to Claim 6 wherein the power supply is adapted to be connected to a mains supply of electricity.

8. An advertising aid according to anyone of Claims 6 wherein the power supply is associated with at least one "solar panel" element provided on the lid or cover of the box.

9. And advertising aid according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the extension box is provided with an outwardly directed element to facilitate mounting the box in position.

10. An advertising aid substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. Any novel features or combination of features disclosed herein.