GB2401821A

GB2401821A - Portable guide fan

Info

Publication number: GB2401821A
Application number: GB0311955A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Michael Lambert; Oliver John Lambert
Original assignee: MICHAEL LAMBERT Ltd
Current assignee: MICHAEL LAMBERT Ltd
Priority date: 2003-05-23
Filing date: 2003-05-23
Publication date: 2004-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 2023-05-23
Also published as: GB2401821B; GB0311955D0

Abstract

A portable guide fan (10) comprises a plurality of panels (11a, 11b) having display areas (12) for pictorial and/or textual material and pivotably connectible by a pivot pin (13) to be movable between a closed configuration of the fan in which the panels form a block and a variable open configuration in which a selectable one or combination of the panels is displaced relative to the other panels to expose one or more of the display areas (12). The two outermost panels (11a) can be of cardboard and plastics material laminate construction to have greater durability and rigidity than the other panels (11b), which can consist of, for example, a thin card. A resilient band (14, Fig. 1) retains the fan in the closed configuration.

Description

PORTABLE GUIDE FAN

The invention relates to a portable guide fan.

Portable guides for use in museums, in exhibition halls, on tourist routes and in other situations where pictorial and/or textual guidance is provided to visual displays or features are typically in the form of small books or folding charts. Both forms of guide have disadvantages with respect to size and convenience of use. Books are often relatively bulky, thus not able to be comfortably accommodated in a pocket of the user, and frequently have to be held by both hands, or firmly by one hand, in order to remain open at a selected page. Charts which can be unfolded in one form or another can usually be reduced to a small size for the purpose of storage, but are correspondingly large in size when unfolded and often difficult or impossible to hold in use state by one hand.

These difficulties can be overcome, in the case of compact guides intended to provide a comparatively limited amount of feature information and/or illustration, by a concertina folding format or fan format. The former, although capable of folding to a small size, is limited in the amount of display space it can provide without becoming unwieldy in the unfolded state and consequently is suitable only for specific applications. A fan-type information unit, such as that depicted in the United Kingdom Design No. 2012128, is not only capable of collapsing to a small size, but also can provide a relatively large amount of display space depending on the thickness of the constituent panels and the degree of thickness acceptable for the unit in its closed state. However, considerations of size, cost and perceived quality impose constraints on the construction of fans and this form of information unit has not achieved commercial prominence.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a portable guide fan which combines an economic form of construction with a user perception of quality when handled and used.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following

description.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable guide fan comprising a plurality of panels having display areas for pictorial and/or textual material and pivotably interconnected for movement between a closed configuration of the fan in which the panels are disposed in overlying relationship to form a block and a variable open configuration in which a selectable one or any selectable plurality of the panels is displaced relative to the other panels to expose one or more display areas of the displaced panel or panels, wherein at least one of the two outermost panels disposed at mutually opposite sides of the fan in the closed configuration is constructed or treated to have at least one of a greater durability and a greater rigidity than all or the majority of the remaining panels.

A guide fan embodying the invention can be produced in a relatively economic manner inasmuch as the panels between the two outermost panels, which function as cover panels, can be made of, for example, inexpensive card which is perhaps optimised with respect to surface texture to ensure clarity of pictorial and/or textual material carried in the display areas, but which does not have to fulfil the more rigorous demands of rigidity, durability or other criteria relating to appearance and perceived quality. The inner panels can thus consist of lightweight card with just sufficient rigidity to be self-supporting and without specific protection against absorption of liquid or against other forms of contamination or soiling. The use of lightweight card or other sheet material of small thickness also has the advantage that the guide fan is of compact size in its closed configuration, so that a maximum number of information and/or illustration panels can be included without increasing the size of the closed fan to the extent that it becomes inconvenient or uncomfortable to accommodate in, for example, a pocket of a user.

The at least one outermost panel can be constructed or treated to be, for example, substantially stiff in bending, substantially liquid-repellent and/or resistant to staining or soiling. Equally, the panel can have, at the exterior side of the fan, a surface quality differing from that of all or the majority of the remaining panels, especially a difference in terms of tactility. The at least one outermost panel can thus have any one or any combination of these qualities or other such qualities whereby the panel can serve to impart rigidity to the fan as a whole and/or can provide exterior protection to the fan.

Consequently, regardless of the flexibility, absorbency or other aspects of the inner panels liable to render them less able to resist various forms of degradation in use, the or each outermost panel will give an appearance of substance and quality of the fan and, depending on the specific construction or treatment, enhance its tactile characteristics.

With advantage, the at least one outermost panel can comprise plastics material, preferably a cardboard and plastics material laminate. Such a laminate can comprise a cardboard sheet sandwiched between plastics material sheets sealed together around the periphery of the cardboard sheet. This represents a simple and economic form of construction of a panel to be liquid-repellent and resistant to soiling, as well as relatively rigid and strong and with a smooth surface pleasant to handle.

It may be sufficient for merely one of the outermost panels to be appropriately constructed or treated, but preferably both outermost panels have the same or similar characteristics.

Costs may be minimised if they are substantially identical with one another.

For preference the panels making up the fan are of substantially the same size and shape.

A preferred shape for the panels is oblong, but other shapes are equally possible - including shapes defined wholly or partly by curves - depending on the intended use of the guide, particularly the nature and/or amount of pictorial and/or textual material it is intended to carry. If the panels are polygonal, whether square, oblong, triangular or any other form, the pivot interconnection of the panels is preferably disposed in the region of corresponding corners thereof. Alternatively, if the panels are substantially oblong, the pivot interconnection can be at the centres of corresponding shorter sides of the panels.

Those shorter sides could be, for example, convexly curved. The pivot interconnection itself can be provided by a rigid pivot pin, for example of metal or plastic.

The fan preferably also includes, as a further feature, releasable retaining means for retaining the panels in the closed configuration of the fan. The retaining means can be, for example, a resilient band encircling the panels, such a band preferably being attached to a designated back one of the outermost panels. The band or other form of retaining means represents a simple method of keeping the panels in the overlying relationship defining the closed configuration so that the fan is prevented from undesired opening out at points-of- sale or when being carried.

In a preferred format of the fan each of the panels, or each panel in the majority of panels, between the outermost panels has a respective one of the display areas at each major face thereof. In that case, the display area at one major face of each of those inner panels is preferably provided with pictorial material, particularly a photograph or drawing. The areas with pictorial material preferably face towards a designated front one of the outermost panels in the closed configuration of the fan, so that, for example, a user can be provided with a successive presentation, by progression from one panel to the next, of illustrations relating to a particular subject or range of subjects.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic front elevation of a portable guide fan embodying the invention, shown in a closed configuration; Fig. 2 is a side view of the fan; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the fan in a variable open configuration.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a portable guide fan 10 which is of such a size that it can be conveniently carried in the hand of a user and stored in a pocket, small bag or other receptacle and which is intended to carry pictorial and/or textual material providing guidance to features to be viewed by the user, for example exhibits in a museum, gallery or other exhibition, sights on a tourist route, goods at an auction viewing, etc. The guide fan 10 is principally composed of pivotably interconnected oblong panels designated as two outermost panels 11a and a selectable number of inner panels 11b disposed between the outermost panels, at least the inner panels 11b having display areas 12 for the pictorial and/or textual material, preferably a respective display area on each major face of each inner panel. Each panel can have, for example, a length of approximately eleven centimetres and a width of approximately five centimetres. The display areas 12 at the panel major faces directed towards an intended front side of the fan, i.e. a side intended to be presented to the face of a user holding the fan, can, in one specific example of use of the fan, carry photographs or other illustrations, perhaps together with relevant titling or legends, and the display areas 12 at the opposite major faces of the panels can carry explanatory text.

The outermost panels can have similar display areas, in which case the outermost panel at the intended front side of the fan can be provided with, for example, graphical matter to identify the content or purpose of the guide and possibly general information helpful to the user, for example details of a gallery or museum hosting an exhibition.

The panels 11a, 11b are pivotably interconnected at corresponding corners thereof by a rigid metal pivot pin 13 which extends through provided openings in the panels and has 9 heads ensuring retention of the panels on the pin. The pivot interconnection is such that the panels 11a, 11b can be moved between a closed configuration of the fan in which the panels overlie one another to form a compact, cuboidal block, for example of two to three centimetres depth, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and a variable open configuration in which any one or any combination of, In particular, the inner panels 11 b can be displaced relative to the remaining panels to expose one or more of the associated display areas 12. Fig. 3 shows one of the inner panels 1 1b displaced relative to the remaining panels 11a and 1 1b, the display area 12 towards the intended front of the fan thus being presented to the user.

Another one or several of the inner panels 11b can be similarly displaced relative to all other panels so that several display areas 12 are visible, at least party, at the same time.

Fig. 3 shows the displaced inner panel 11b at a relatively shallow angle to the remaining panels, displacement to a greater angle achieving full exposure of the related display area 12. It Is particularly convenient to displace a selected panel through approximately 180 relative to the remaining panels so that the display area of the selected panel is fully exposed and the remaining panels form, in effect, a handle below the selected panel.

The inner panels 11b can be made of relatively thin card so that the thickness of the closed fan, thus the state illustrated in Fig. 2, is not unduly large. The outermost panels 11a, by contrast, are constructed to be resistant to bending and also resistant to staining or soiling by liquid or dirt. For that purpose each outermost panel 11a consists of a laminate formed by a sheet of card sandwiched between two sheets of plastics material, which are heat-sealed together around the periphery of the card. Due to the double-layer of plastics sheeting such a panel 11a is comparatively stiff, non-absorbent and thus resistant to staining and soiling and has an enhanced tactile characteristic by comparison with the card of the inner panels 11b, so that the fan is pleasant to handle and may be perceived to be quality product, notwithstanding the use, if so desired, of a thin and thus inexpensive card for the inner panels 11b. The included card in the laminate of each outermost panel 11a serves to provide display areas 12 for, as previously mentioned, title material and general information. Other methods of construction of the outermost panels to achieve the stated objectives are equally possible. Alternatively, the outermost panels could consist of, for example, card of a heavier weight and suitably treated, for example coated or impregnated, to impart the desired characteristics.

The fan 10 further includes retaining means in the form of a resilient band 14 which is attached to the back face of an intended back one of the outermost panels 11a and which 9 encircles all the panels 1 1 a, 11 b to keep them in the closed configuration of the fan. Other forms of retaining means are equally possible, but a resilient band (shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but not Fig. 3) represents a simple and easily released and reapplied closure method.

A fan embodying the present invention represents a compact, but effective form of guide for a wide variety of uses and can be of economic construction without compromising the rigidity and durability of the fan at its wear-sensitive outermost panels.

Claims

1. A portable guide fan comprising a plurality of panels having display areas for pictorial and/or textual material and pivotably interconnected for movement between a closed configuration of the fan in which the panels are disposed in overlying relationship to form a block and a variable open configuration in which a selectable one or any selectable plurality of the panels is displaced relative to the other panels to expose one or more display areas of the displaced panel or panels, wherein at least one of the two outermost panels disposed at mutually opposite sides of the fan in the closed configuration is constructed or treated to have at least one of a greater durability and a greater rigidity than all or the majority of the remaining panels.

2. A guide fan as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one outemmost panel is constructed or treated to substantially stiff in bending.

3. A guide fan as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said at least one outermost panel is constructed or treated to be substantially liquidrepellent.

4. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one outermost panel is constructed or treated to be resistant to staining or soiling.

5. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one outermost panel is constructed or treated to have at the exterior of the fan a surface quality differing from that of all or the majority of the remaining panels.

6. A guide fan as claimed in claim 5, wherein said surface quality of said at least one outermost panel differs in tactility from that of all or the majority of the remaining panels.

7. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one outermost panel comprises plastics material.

8. A guide fan as claimed in claim 7, wherein said at least one outermost panel comprises a cardboard and plastics material laminate.

9. A guide fan as claimed in claim 8, wherein the laminate comprises a cardboard sheet sandwiched between plastics material sheets sealed together around the periphery of the cardboard sheet.

10. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panels are of substantially the same size and shape.

11. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panels are substantially oblong in shape.

12. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the panels are polygonal and the pivot interconnection of the panels is disposed in the region of corresponding corners thereof.

13. A guide fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the pivot interconnection of the panels is disposed in the region of the centres of corresponding shorter sides thereof.

14. A guide fan as claimed in claim 13, wherein said corresponding shorter sides are convexly curved.

15. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the two outermost panels are substantially identical with one another.

16. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pivot interconnection of the panel is provided by a rigid pivot pin.

17. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising releasable retaining means for retaining the panels in the closed configuration of the fan.

18. A guide fan as claimed in claim 17, wherein the retaining means comprises a resilient band encircling the panels.

19. A guide fan as claimed in claim 18, wherein the band is attached to a designated back one of the outermost panels.

20. A guide fan as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the panels, or each panel in the majority of panels, between the outermost panels has a respective one of the display areas at each major face thereof.

21. A guide fan as claimed in claim 19, wherein the display area at one major face of each of the said panels having display areas at both major faces is provided with pictorial material.

22. A guide fan as claimed in claim 20, wherein said areas with pictorial material face towards a designated front one of the outermost panels in the closed configuration of the fan.