GB2475861A - Modular electronic display, in particular for house numbers. - Google Patents

Abstract

A modular display assembly comprises a master display element module and one or more slave display element modules. The display element modules are stacked together to form the required sign, in particular for indicating a house number. The master display element module is provided with control buttons to set the correct alphanumeric information to be displayed and a photocell to automatically turn the sign on or off. The display elements may be in the form of NxM LED dot matrix type displays or a segmented display device, e.g. a 16 segment display for forming letters and numbers. The display elements may be held together by dovetail tongue and groove connections. Solar panels may be provided for providing power and these may connect to the display elements and to each other by similar tongue and groove connections. Alternatively the display may be wind powered. Remote control means may be provided for remotely operating the display.

Description

Display Apparatus and Method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for realising portable and convenient illuminated sign displays, preferably empowered with a rechargeable power source that can be energised by solar power andlor wind power.

Background

Signs have been used for many years for multitude of purposes -but this patent specifically deals with the sign that displays the street number of either a private or business property. There is always a need to make the property number visible so that they can be readily seen from a distance, as and when viewed from the street. Such a sign is used to attract attention to a particular private or business property.

Many different types of conventional real estate signs have been developed over time. However, most of such conventional signs are made up of metal, wood, plastic, composite materials, clay or a combination of the foregoing, and are typically not visible to any first time visitor, whether it to be police or paramedics in case of emergency, to a property at the time of low ambient lighting or when in dark (i.e., nights). Hence, in most places, in order to make the Street number of a property visible, external lighting is required.

Dependence on such external lightings, however, has a significant environmental impact. Unnecessary use of external lighting nowadays is becoming increasingly unacceptable and coming under strict scrutiny in every household or business as a way to bring down the ever increasing energy cost and carbon footprint. Hence, the need for an illuminated sign displaying a property number that can be readily installed and self-powered using renewal energy source is apparent.

Use of LEDs to illuminate the sign display has become an attractive solution.

This is because LEDs are nowadays cheap and renowned conventionally for its low-current usage, dissipating uniform lumen (hence no light pollution) and durability (i.e., excellent life-time).

On a different note, awareness of solar-energy becomes rapidly increasing because of world's commitment to cut-down carbon emission. In Europe, each state is required to commit to the 2020 target, and this in turn requires each household to cut down unnecessary energy usage. Hence, external lighting required to make the property number visible is no longer be a wise and cheap option. However, in order to make the property number visible, the present invention comes up with self-illuminated property signs in a very novel way that do not require any external lighting.

In order to solve the visibility problem associated with the property sign, illuminated signs have been developed to allow the signs to be easily noticed by any by-passer of a property. These signs are either self-glittered or have light sources to illuminate the indicia. There exist many examples of illuminated property signs.

A US patent US 7549245 proposes an illuminated sign mechanism where a plurality of light sources which are powered by solar energy projects light on a reflector and through a plate displaying opaque digits. A similar mechanism for illuminating indicia is proposed in US5778579, US5020253, US4254457, U54298869, US6774403, US6601984 and US7101056 B2, although they are not necessarily powered by a solar panel.

Another similar patent US495 1406 envisages an illuminated sign which is powered from the circuits that supply electricity to a door bell, and the proposed solution is not economical as the sign will be illuminated constantly during the whole day and night. Similar mechanism that enables an illuminated sign having selected indicia lighted using a plurality of LEDs is proposed in US4929936. This sign display mechanism uses 7-segment display and hence has difficulty showing clearly alphabets whereas the present invention makes use of LED dot-matrix display and a 16-Segment alphanumeric display technique being powered by renewable energy to display alphanumeric clearly.

An invention to provide a transformer-less energization circuit for a clock radio using LEDs for time indication is presented in US4201039. A self-illuminated sign device is proposed in the US patent US4854062 where a wire consisting of a plurality of LEDs runs to follow the contour of each numeral -5 to provide the necessary illumination. In other words, the contour of an alphanumeric character is provided with several LEDs connected in series via a piece of wire. Given that it is hard-wired, the user does not have the flexibility to use the sign device for a different property unless both have the same property number. Further, this sign device is fed from the same power available for conventional house-hold bells and chimes -hence not powered by any renewable energy source.

On the other hand, the present invention proposes a sign mechanism where each alpha-numeral of indicia is illuminated with a help of LED nxm dot-matrix display (e.g., 8X8) or 16-Segment alphanumeric display technique as it will be described later.

A US patent US6263 601 proposes a solar-powered illuminated sign.

However, the sign is bulky and requires the entire sign to be replaced if a single component develops a fault.

In contrary the proposed mechanism of the present invention (i.e., ours) is capable of displaying alphanumeric wherein the display assembly comprises a plurality of aligned numbers/characters where each number/character is standalone and can be stacked together to form the required property sign.

Further, each number/character panel of the display assembly can be easily and individually removed/replaced in the event of developing a fault using the tongue-and-groove arrangement. In other words, a plurality of display elements can be stacked together in a row/column to form the required property sign along with a single or plurality of solar panels or wind turbines.

This way the solutions proposed by the present invention targeting the problem of illuminating a display sign is efficient (with the use of very visible 16-Segment alphanumeric display mechanism or LED nxm dot-matrix display), convenient (being able to be stacked together or dismantled to form the required property sign) and economical (mainly solar/wind powered) to the end-user when compared to the solutions as envisaged by other patents as described earlier.

The use of LEDs to illuminate a property sign is beneficial since their power consumption and heat dissipation are very low. Further, given that it does not necessitate ducting, its installation is safe. In addition, given the envisaged LED display mechanism operates at low-voltage, its life expectancy will be much higher. On the other hand, its light intensity is good enough for it to be seen from a distance of up to 80 metres. Hence, the present invention believes that the proposed self-illuminated property number display mechanism is much more effective than placing the conventional property sign always under a high energy rated light bulbs.

Disclosure of the Invention

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising: 1) a master display element consisting of colour-control button, necessary -display setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive onloff commands and setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a timer setting to turn off the display after the set time-out and a photocell; 2) one or plurality of additional slave display elements being stacked together with the said master element on either side depending on the size of the property sign to be displayed; and, 3) single or plurality of solar panels, wherein each display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix being capable of displaying one alphanumeric character and all display elements andlor solar panels are stacked together using a tongue-and-groove arrangement, and each display element slidably engaging an adjacent display element and/or a solar panel by means of a tongue-and-groove arrangement having a dove tail tongue interlocking with a complimentary groove in order to lock adjacent display elements and/or solar panels against relative lateral displacement, male and female portions of said tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of each display element being arranged in a complimentary maimer so that as many slave display elements and/or solar panels can be connected to the said master in a row and/or column as desired, such that respective contact means provided on opposing surfaces of adjacent interlocking elements in order to come into abutting contact when said male and female portions are fitted and thereby transfer both electric and control signal between adjacent elements, and the said master element controls the overall setting of the display assembly.

It is preferred that all solar panels connection are made in parallel from the electrical wiring perspectives wherein each solar panel feeds the generated electrical energy to the re-chargeable batteries located in the rear of the master unit individually via the respective display element to which the solar panel is connected.

Preferably the said display assembly can be wind-powered.

It is preferred that the said display assembly can be connected across the terminals of buttons of a house bell/chimes (i.e., energised by the current provides at the terminal conventional house-hold bells or chimes button).

It is preferred that the said master element is equipped with a photocell being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that that the display assembly can be turned on automatically at dusk and turned off at dawn.

According to the second aspect of the present invention there is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising a master display element and none or as many number of additional slave display element being connected on either side of the said master element as required in order to form the correct indicia using the tongue-and-groove arrangement, and the said master display element comprises an electronic circuitry and necessary setting buttons in order to manage the overall control and power supply of the said display assembly including each of the other slave display elements connected on either side of the said master element, wherein the said electronic circuitry has a pre-set start-up procedure/method that can be triggered either automatically on the very first switch on or manually, and the said start-up procedure/method comprising the steps of: 1) first sensing whether any display element is connected to the master unit on either side appropriately and if so, detecting the exact number of elements connected on both sides; 2) subsequently detecting the lowest significant alpha-numeral, most significant alpha-numeral and their locations with respect to the master element's location together with the directions (i.e., either right or left) 3) setting each display element of the said display assembly to display zero; And subsequently allows the user to manipulate the settings button such that: a) the first single short-press of the settings button gets the first automatically set alpha-numeral (i.e., 0) being appearing on the said display assembly to start blinking; b) manipulation of up-down arrow keys together with the side-arrow key will let the user gradually set the correct property alpha-numeral gradually by i) first starting at the lowest significant display element; ii) subsequently enabling the user to press the left side arrow key and setting the second lowest significant display element and so on until the most significant alpha-numeral is set; iii) long pressing the middle button will permanently set the required alpha-numeral on the full assembly by storing the indicia locally in a non-volatile memory and stop the blinking; 4) the second short-press of the settings button allowing the user to set the timer in terms of days, hours and/or minutes and which enables the whole display assembly to go off on a regular basis (i.e., daily) after the elapse of the set time-period once powered on; 5) the third short-press allowing the user to set/change the illumination colour; Wherein Continuous short pressing of the setting button rotates through all the three setting control (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these three settings and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the settings button and each setting is locally stored in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle. l0

Preferably the said settings button of the said master element enables each user to make indicia selection, timer settings and colour settings as many times as preferred.

It is preferred that the settings can be made using a remote controller wherein the said master-element comprises a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls for all three settings from a remote-controller.

Preferably the said low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver is based on Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4) standard or Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) standard.

Preferably the timer-setting of the said display assembly allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour and/or minutes wherein the whole display assembly will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout.

According to the third aspect of the present invention there is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising: 1) a master display element consisting of colour-control button, necessary display setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, a low-bit, low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a timer setting to turn off the display after the set time-out and a photo-sensor; 2) one or plurality of additional display elements being stacked together with the said master element on either side depending on the size of the property sign to be displayed; and, 3) single or plurality of solar panels, wherein each display element consisting of an I 6-segement display device with each segment being selectively illuminated to form one alphanumeric character and each segment comprising an aligned row/column of a plurality of LEDs on top of reflecting mirror-like surface and all display elements and/or solar panels are stacked together using a tongue-and-groove arrangement, and each display element slidably engaging an adjacent display element and/or a solar panel by means of a tongue-and-groove arrangement having a dove tail tongue interlocking with a complimentary groove in order to lock adjacent display elements and/or solar panels against relative lateral displacement, male and female portions of said tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of each display element being arranged in a complimentary maimer so that as many display elements can be stacked together in a row as desired, such that respective contact means provided on opposing surfaces of adjacent interlocking elements in order to come into abutting contact when said male and female portions are fitted and thereby transfer both electric and control signal between adjacent elements, and the said master element controls the overall setting of the display assembly.

Description of the Drawings

Non-limited and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description of the invention, which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is an illustrative front view of one display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix, a solar panel and a tongue-and-groove arrangement allowing easy stacking of a plurality of display and solar panels together according to this invention.

Figure 2 shows the view of the master display element's rear side consisting of mechanisms for setting the correct property number/character (i.e., indicia) and the timer, choosing the display colour and a battery compartment according to this invention.

Figure 3 is a block schematic diagram of the circuitry of the sign of this invention.

Figure 4 illustrates the bootstrap procedure along with the process of making necessary settings of display assembly of this invention.

Figure 5 is an illustration of a 1 6-segement display mechanism being capable of displaying any alphanumeric, logo, design or the like according to this invention.

Figure 6 illustrates the components of each segment of the 16-segment display mechanism of this invention.

Figure 7 is a chart showing the mechanisms for lighting a particular segment of the 1 6-segment display of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 illustrates different display assembly arrangements being possible in order to suit different users' requirements according to this invention.

Figure 9 illustrates an exemplified driver circuit for an 8x8 dot matrix LED display according to this invention.

Description of Specific Embodiments

Fig. 1 is an illustrative front perspective view of one display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix 110, a solar panel 108 and a tongue-and-groove 102 arrangement allowing stacking of a plurality of display and solar panels together according to one embodiment of this invention.

Although only one display element is shown in Fig. 1, it will become apparent that as many such display elements along with sufficient number of solar panels can be inter-fitted as are needed to display the required property number or alphanumeric character.

The relative position of the solar panel with respect to the position of the display element can be changed using 106 depending on the intensity of solar light being available in a place where the display assembly is to be mounted/hanged.

The display assembly 100 can contain a single display element or as many display elements as required by way of connecting one or plurality of slave display elements to the master display element. Both the master display element and a slave display element consists of either an nxm LED matrix display device according to one embodiment of the present invention or a 16-Segment display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention in order to display one character (i.e., alphanumeric). Further, each display element has a flat front transparent or translucent surface.

A master display element, however, is much different from the slave display element, and it is the master that supplies electrical energy and control signals to any slave display element through the connectors 104.

Another important aspect is that electrical contacts 104 are provided on the opposing surfaces of the interlocking tongue-and-groove arrangements.

Respective opposing contacts make an electrical contact with each other when the tongue-and-groove arrangements are fitted together. In this way, electrical power is carried from one element to the other -both from solar panels and between display elements. In addition, control signalling that originates from any master display element and flows among display elements being connected to each other is possible through the connectors 104.

These connectors 104 located on either side of a display element DEA further help each display element DE4 to figure out whether any other display element DEB is connected on either side of the display element DEA. This will also help the master display element to determine the least significant display element's position and the most significant display element's position with respect to its own position.

The difference between the master display element and a slave display element is apparent from Fig. 2. A master display element consists of necessary display setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, to set the desired colour of the display, and for a timer setting to turn off the display after the set timeout, a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a photocell and a re-chargeable battery compartment.

On the other hand, a slave display element does not have any of these components. Instead, it needs the help of the master for its operation. In this respect, if the property sign or indicia are of one character length, the display assembly will contain only one master display element and one or plurality of solar panels only. In other words, one character property sign does not require any slave display element to be connected on any side of the master element.

Each Solar panel 108 consists of a plurality of solar cells for generating electricity, and with the help of the tongue-and-groove arrangement it can be positioned on any side of the display element 110. Arrangements are made such that Solar panels 108 are connected in parallel from electrical closed circuit perspectives.

Each Solar panel 108 generates direct electrical current from the Solar energy and that is transmitted by wire to the rechargeable battery being housed in the master element. Hence, the battery is charged during the day and illuminated signs come to life at dusk and it is powered by the said rechargeable battery although the use of other sources of electrical energy is not ruled out.

Fig. 1 illustrates the display of number 2 according to one embodiment of the display. For example, to display the number 18A, two slave display elements needs to be connected on either side of the master element which displays 8 while one slave element which is located in the most significant position has to display 1 and the other in the least significant position should display the character A. However, in this particular example, the master element will automatically work out how to display 18A even if two slave elements are connected on one side of it.

House numbers are not of fixed length, hence the said device of the present invention is also modular and hence is convenient to be assembled or dismantled to suit each house owner's requirement. The described assembly can be conveniently prepared by first getting the master element and stacking slave display elements (i.e., non-master or slave) on either side of the master element depending on the size of the indicia to be displayed and then by inter-fitting the adjacent elements using the tongue-and-groove arrangements.

Each user has to buy the master display element and none/one or more of slave display elements depending on the size of the property sign along with a single or more solar panels and/or a wind turbine depending on the intensity of light the user get on average during the months when the days tends to be much shortest (i.e., considering the worst-case scenario).

If a slave display element is connected on to the right-hand side of 100, in case 100 is a master display element, its position has a lower significance when compared to the master element in terms of the character/numeral forming part of the indicia to be displayed. In contrary, in case a slave display element is connected on to the left-hand side of any master, it has more significance in terms of the character/numeral to be displayed.

In this respect, as mentioned before, as many slave display elements as required can be connected on either side of any master display element and the master will in turn work out every display element's significance in terms of the alphanumeric to be displayed.

All solar panel connections are made in parallel from the electrical wiring perspectives. With this arrangement, each solar panel 108 feeds the generated electrical energy to the re-chargeable batteries 220 located in the rear of the master unit individually via the respective display element to which the solar panel 108 is connected.

The complete assembly is robust such that in case a single element develops a fault, it can be replaced. More over, an already purchased sign display device can be reused even when a different size indicia needs to be displayed. This is possible because each element (i.e., both display element and Solar panel) interlocks with an adjacent element through a tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of the master element being arranged in a complementary maimer so that as many elements can be stackedlfitted together in a row/column as desired. In other words, one side of each element contains a tongue and the other does a complementary groove so that elements can be fitted together in a row in any order.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the display assembly mainly consists of a single or plurality of nxm LED dot matrices (e.g., 8x8) that is used to display the required indicia and solar panels. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the display assembly mainly consists of a single or plurality of 16-Segment display device that is used to display the required indicia and solar panels.

The indicia may be in various forms including, without limitation, alphanumeric, logos, design or the like and this is more likely in the first embodiment when the said display assembly employs nxm LED dot matrices display.

As shown in Fig. 2, the master display element 200 contains a manual switch 284 in order to manually turn off'on the display assembly. The main control settings button 210 allows the user to set the required property number/indicia, to choose the appropriate colour for the illumination at the user's discretion and to set the timer in 290 for an automatic shutdown of the display assembly after a timeout once it has been switched on. In other words, the timer helps any user set as to how long the display has to be on once switched on. The display and time settings are possible using the side-arrow keys 240 and 244 and the up-and-down arrow keys 248 and 252.

As mentioned before, it is the master display element that contains a re-chargeable battery compartment 220. The colour of the illuminated display can be altered and it can be made to display in red, green or blue using such buttons as 260, 270 or 280 respectively.

It is one of the main objectives of the present invention to device illuminated property sign that is powered by renewal energy, namely solar and wind -however, powering the display assembly using the conventional house-hold electrical energy is not ruled out. In order to conserve energy such a device is equipped with a photocell 288 that helps the device be turned on automatically at dusk and be turned off at dawn.

Each display element may contain one or plurality of hook-hole arrangement which can help any user either mount the display assembly straight onto the property wall or run a wire through a multitude of hook-holes in case the sign consists of a multitude of solar panels and display elements and hang the display assembly up on the hook of a property wall.

Fig. 3 depicts the schematic circuit diagram of the complete display assembly.

Here a block diagram enlisting all the necessary electronic components is shown. Refereeing to Fig. 3, the electrical energy needed for the display assembly can be from solar energy source 328, wind turbine 332 or even a conventional power supply 336. If powered from renewable energy sources such as solar panels andlor wind turbines, re-chargeable batteries 350 housed in the master display element will be charged when 328 andlor 332 generates electricity.

The part that handles the main settings 346 of the master element accepts control commands manually 320 and through a remote controller 310, which uses low-bit and low-power short-range wireless standard such as Zigbee (i.e., I]EEE 802.15.4) standard or Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) standard and the like. In order to accept remote-controlled commands, the master element possesses a low-bit and low-power Short-Range Wireless Receiver 340.

The display control unit 380 of any master element accepts control signals from the timer setting unit 354, colour setting unit 360, the indicia setting unit 364 and/or dawn/dusk control unit 390. The dawn/dusk control unit 390 contains a photocell that turns the display sign on when the ambient illumination decreases below a pre-determjned threshold. Depending on the control signals received from 354, 360, 364 or 390, the display control unit 380 will adjust indicia display 370.

The flow-chart 400 of Fig. 4 illustrates the pre-set bootstrap procedure/method required for a new purchased display assembly as soon as it is powered on for the first time. The same bootstrap procedure/method is triggered manually by long-pressing the settings button 210. It also illustrates the methodlprocedure being used to make necessary settings of any display assembly of this invention.

After the display unit has been assembled (i.e., after having connected the required number of slave display elements to any master element and/or solar panels and/or wind-turbines), this pre-set bootstrap procedure/method starts with 410. It is run in the master element, and this bootstrap procedure/method will then detects the number of slave display elements connected on either side of the master unit of the display assembly.

It is well apparent that any display assembly has only one master display element. With the help of decision making stages such as 418 and 432, the bootstrap procedure will determine the relative position of each slave display element being connected on either side of the master element of a display assembly. Processing steps 422 and 438 counts the relative position of each slave element being connected on the right-hand side and the left-hand side of the master element respectively.

The processing step 428 identifies the least significant character position in any display assembly whereas the processing step 442 determines the most significant character position. Once all relative positions are determined by the master element with the help of the bootstrap process, the processing step 446 will set all display elements to display zero. Now the display assembly is ready to receive setting commands from the user.

The first short press of the settings button 210 enables all the display elements to start blinking. By correctly manipulating the side arrow keys 240 and 244 and up-down keys 248 and 252, the user can set the correct indicia to be displayed. After each character setting, the user has to press the middle-key 256 of 230 to validate the setting. Once the required indicia are set, the user has to validate the whole indicia setting with the long press of the middle-key 256 of 230. Each setting is stored by the processing step 460 in an internal non-volatile memory of the master element.

The decision stage 462 of 400 detects the second short-press of the settings button 210 by the user. In the event of the second short-press, the user is able to set the timer in terms of days, hours andlor minutes and which enables the whole display assembly to go off on a regular basis (i.e., daily) after the elapse of the set time-period once powered on. With the second short-press, the timer display 290 will start blinking and by correctly manipulating the side arrow keys such as 240 and 244 and up-down keys 248 and 252 of 200, the user can set the required timer in terms of days, hours andlor minutes in the processing stage 470.

With the third short-press of the settings button 210, the processing stage 478 helps the user set/change the illumination colour using buttons 269, 270 and 280 of 200. All settings are stored internally by the processing step 460, and in case no user pressing is noticed by the bootstrap process, it will terminate at 490.

The continuous short pressing of the settings button 210 of 200 rotates through all the three setting control (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these three settings and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a Continuous short pressing of the settings button and each setting is locally stored in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle.

This bootstrap process can be initiated manually by any user with the long press of the settings button 210. This means that the settings button 210 of any master element enables each user to make indicia selection, timer settings and colour settings as many times as preferred.

The bootstrap process can also be initiated using a remote controller. This is possible with an inclusion of a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry by the master element of any display assembly. For this purpose it is preferred that a remote controller has identical keys to those shown in 200 except 288. In other words, the remote controller shall possess an on/off key 284, main settings button 210, arrow-keys, up-down keys and middle-key of 230, and colour setting buttons such as 260, 270 and 280.

It is possible to connect the said display assembly of this invention across the terminal buttons of a house belllchimes (i.e., energised from the power supply of any conventional house-hold bells or chimes button).

According to the second embodiment of this invention, each display element has a flat front surface bearing 1 6-segment display. An illustrative 1 6-segment display is shown in Fig. 5. Each of the 16 Segments is separately illuminatable as desired to form any of alphanumeric. A plurality of low-power LEDs are mounted in linear rows/columns behind the light transparent surface of the display segments. A transparent surface of the display segments may be made of any light-permeable material including, without limitation, glass, plastic or the like. These surfaces are translucent aid in the dispersion of illuminated light from each alphanumeric character passing through so that it can be visible.

As shown in Fig. 6, a plurality of LEDs is mounted in a channel having a reflective surface and form one segment of the 16-Segment display. In the present invention, it is possible to change the illumination colour. However, LED light is mostly monochromatic -i.e., it is made up of one single colour only. Multicoloured LED lights are made by incorporating two or more different colour chips, in a single package. *l0

Fig. 7 shows a table indicating the number of segments that need to be illuminated individually in order to display a given alpha-numeral. In the table, the segments are numbered along the horizontal columns, while the alpha-numeral desired to be displayed is shown in the vertical column to the left.

Fig. 8 illustrates different display assembly arrangements being possible in order to suit different users' requirements according to this invention.

Fig. 9 shows an easy schematic circuit 900 to realize 370 of Fig. 3 in case each display element consists of an nxm LED matrix according to one embodiment of the present invention. In order to reduce the number of pins needed to drive an LED display, this 900 uses the LED Display multiplexing technique. LED Display multiplexing simply means turning on one LED for a short period of time and doing this repeatedly for each LED. If this is performed fast enough then any eye will not notice any flicker. A dot matrix LED display is simply a grid of LEDs arranged for use by multiplexing. Multiplexing uses persistence of vision to reduce the number of pins needed to drive an LED display.

To save more pins it is common to use a helper chip and a typical helper chip would be a Johnson counter (a 401 7). To drive the 4017, two pins are needed -one for reset and one for clock. Hence, in order to fully drive an 8x8 matrix LED display, for example, a 10 microcontroller output pins may be needed.

To get more current through the LEDs, it is better to use a transistor at each row driver as the maximum current one can sink or source is low. For example an 8x8 dot matrix LED display 930 for any display element 110 can be realized using a module 910 used for the purpose of In-Circuit Serial Programming (ICSP) to directly program a PlC Microcontroller 920, a Johnson counter (e.g., a 4017) 950, 8 NPN transistor array (e.g., ULN2803) 940.

The next task is to define alphanumeric characters for the dot matrix LED display. The usual way is manually define the intended characters by drawing blocks where a pixel is on, subsequently translate each line into hex (binary to hex is very easy) and then transfer this information to the program source code.

In case each display element contains a 16-segement display mechanism according to the second embodiment of the present invention, either maxim's MAX6954 or Motorola's UAA2022 can be used to drive 16-segment monocolor LEDs. The MAX6954 utilizes a multiplex technique to reduce driver pin count by using ports alternately as cathode and anode drivers.

Claims (21)

1. Claims There is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising: 1) a master display element consisting of colour-control button, necessary display setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive onloff commands and setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a timer setting to turn off the display after the set time-out and a photocell; 2) one or plurality of additional slave display elements being stacked together with the said master element on either side depending on the size of the property sign to be displayed; and, 3) single or plurality of solar panels, wherein each display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix being capable of displaying one alphanumeric character and all display elements andlor solar panels are stacked together using a tongue-and-groove arrangement, and each display element slidably engaging an adjacent display element andlor a solar panel by means of a tongue-and-groove arrangement having a dove tail tongue interlocking with a complimentary groove in order to lock adjacent display elements and/or solar panels against relative lateral displacement, male and female portions of said tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of each display element being arranged in a complimentary manner so that as many slave display elements andlor solar panels can be connected to the said master in a row and/or column as desired, such that respective contact means provided on opposing surfaces of adjacent interlocking elements in order to come into abutting contact when said male and female portions are fitted and thereby transfer both electric and control signal between adjacent elements, and the said master element controls the overall setting of the display assembly.
2. 2. The inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein all solar panels connection are made in parallel from the electrical wiring perspectives and each solar panel feeds the generated electrical energy to the re-chargeable batteries located in the rear of the master unit individually via the respective display element to which the solar panel is connected.
3. 3. The inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said display assembly can be wind-powered.
4. 4. The inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said display assembly can be connected across the terminal buttons of a house bell/chimes (i.e., energised by the power supply of any conventional house-hold bells or chimes button).
5. 5. The inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said master element is equipped with a photocell being controlledlactuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that that the display assembly can be turned on automatically at dusk and turned off at dawn.
6. 6. There is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising a master display element aid none or as many number of additional slave display element being connected on either side of the said master element as required in order to form the correct indicia using the tongue-and-groove arrangement, and the said master display element comprises an electronic circuitry and necessary setting buttons in order to manage the overall control and power supply of the said display assembly including each of the other slave display elements connected on either side of the said master element, wherein the said electronic circuitry has a pre-set start-up procedure/method that can be triggered either automatically on the very first switch on or manually, and the said start-up procedure/method comprising the steps of: 1) first sensing whether any display element is connected to the master unit on either side appropriately and if so, detecting the exact number of elements connected on both sides; 2) subsequently detecting the lowest significant alpha-numeral, most significant alpha-numeral and their locations with respect to the master element's location together with the directions (i.e., either right or left) 3) setting each display element of the said display assembly to display zero; And subsequently allows the user to manipulate the settings button such that: a) the first single short-press of the settings button gets the first automatically set alpha-numeral (i.e., 0) being appearing on the said display assembly to start blinking; b) manipulation of up-down arrow keys together with the side-arrow key will let the user gradually set the correct property alpha-numeral gradually by i) first starting at the lowest significant display element; ii) subsequently enabling the user to press the left side arrow key and setting the second lowest significant display element and so on until the most significant alpha-numeral is set; iii) long pressing the middle button will permanently set the required alpha-numeral on the full assembly by storing the indicia locally in a non-volatile memory and stop the blinking; 4) the second short-press of the settings button allowing the user to set the timer in terms of days, hours andlor minutes and which enables the whole display assembly to go off on a regular basis (i.e., daily) after the elapse of the set time-period once powered on; 5) the third short-press allowing the user to set/change the illumination colour; Wherein continuous short pressing of the setting button rotates through all the three setting control (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these three settings and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the settings button and each setting is locally stored in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle.
7. 7. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the said settings button of the said master element enables each user to make indicia selection, timer settings and colour settings as many times as preferred.
8. 8. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the settings can be made using a remote controller wherein the said master-element comprises a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls for all three settings from a remote-controller.
9. 9. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 8, wherein the said low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver is based on Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4) standard or Bluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) standard. a
10. 10. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the timer-setting of the said display assembly allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour and/or minutes wherein the whole display assembly will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout.
11. 11. There is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising: 1) a master display element consisting of colour-control button, necessary display setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a timer setting to turn off the display after the set time-out and a photo-sensor; 2) one or plurality of additional slave display elements being stacked together with the said master element on either side depending on the size of the property sign to be displayed; and, 3) single or plurality of solar panels, wherein each display element consisting of an 16-segement display device with each segment being selectively illuminated to form one alphanumeric character and each segment comprising an aligned row/column of a plurality of LEDs on top of reflecting mirror-like surface and all display elements andlor solar panels are stacked together using a tongue-and-groove arrangement, and each display element slidably engaging an adjacent display element and/or a solar panel by means of a tongue-and-groove arrangement having a dove tail tongue interlocking with a complimentary groove in order to lock adjacent display elements and/or solar panels against relative lateral displacement, male and female portions of said tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of each display element being arranged in a complimentary manner so that as many slave display elements can be connected to the said master in a row as desired, such that respective contact means provided on opposing surfaces of adjacent interlocking elements in order to come into abutting contact when said male and female portions are fitted and thereby transfer both electric and control signal between adjacent elements, and the said master element controls the overall setting of the display assembly.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: 1. There is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly comprising a master display element and none or as many number of additional slave display element being connected on either side of the said master element as required in order to form the correct indicia using the tongue-and-groove arrangement, and the said master display element comprises an electronic circuitry and necessary setting buttons in order to manage the overall control and power supply of the said display assembly including each of the other slave display elements connected on either side of the said master element, wherein the said electronic circuitry has a pre-set start-up procedure/method that can be triggered either automatically on the very first switch on or manually, and the said start-up procedure/method comprising the steps of: 1) first sensing whether any display element is connected to the master unit on either side appropriately and if so, detecting the exact number of elements connected on both sides; 2) subsequently detecting the lowest significant alpha-numeral, most significant alpha-numeral and their locations with respect to the master element's location together with the directions (i.e., either right or left) 3) setting each display element of the said display assembly to display zero; And subsequently allows the user to manipulate the settings button such that: a) the first single short-press of the settings button gets the first automatically set * alpha-numeral (i.e., 0) being appearing on the said display assembly to start blinking; b) manipulation of up-down arrow keys together with the side-arrow key will let the user gradually set the correct property alpha-numeral gradually by i) first starting at the lowest significant display element; ii) subsequently enabling the user to press the left side arrow key and setting the second lowest significant display element and so on until the most significant alpha-numeral is set; Wherein long pressing of one of the said settings button will permanently set the required alpha-numeral on the full assembly by storing the indicia locally in a non-volatile memory and stop the blinking.2. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim I, wherein the said master display element consists of a timer settings arrangement; wherein the second short-press of the settings button allowing the user to set the timer in terms of days, hours andlor minutes and which enables the whole display assembly to go off on a regular basis (i.e., daily) after the elapse of the set time-period once powered on.3. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated S * * sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said master display element consists of a colour-control button; wherein the third short-press of the settings button allowing the user to set/change the illumination colour with the aid of said colour-control button. *..S4. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein continuous short pressing of the setting button rotates through all the three setting control (i.e., the setting sequence goes through a cycle) and this sequence cycle enables any user to skip any of these three settings and get/revisit to the preferred setting sequence with a continuous short pressing of the settings button and each setting is locally stored in a non-volatile memory for them to be effective in every subsequent power cycle.5. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the said settings button of the said master element enables each user to make indicia selection, timer settings and colour settings as many times as preferred.6. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or preceding claims, wherein the said master display element consists of a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls from a remote-controller; wherein the said settings can be made using a remote controller wherein the said master-element comprises a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and setting controls for all three settings from a remote-controller. S. * * * .* 7. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated : sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the said low-bit and low- * .:. power short-range wireless receiver is based on Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4) standard orBluetooth (i.e., IEEE 802.15.1) standard.8. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer-setting of the said display assembly allows the user to set a timeout in terms of a day, hour andlor minutes; wherein the whole display assembly will be automatically turned off after the elapse of the set timeout.11. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein each display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix being capable of displaying one alphanumeric character.
12. 12. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly is solar-powered; wherein one or plurality of solar panels are stacked together with each display element using a tongue-and-groove arrangement.
13. 13. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1 or 12, wherein all solar panels connection are made in parallel from the electrical wiring perspectives and each solar panel feeds * : the generated electrical energy to the re-chargeable batteries located in the rear of the ****** * * master unit individually via the respective display element to which the solar panel is connected. **:
14. 14. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated ***Ssign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly can be wind-powered.
15. 15. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly can be can be connected across the terminal buttons of a house bell/chimes (i.e., energised by the power supply of any conventional house-hold bells or chimes button).
16. 16. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said master element is equipped with a photocell being controlledlactuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that that the said inter-locking illuminated sign display can be turned on automatically at dusk and turned off at dawn.
17. 17. The preset bootstrap procedure/method of the said inter-locking illuminated sign display assembly according to claim 1, wherein each display element consisting of a multi-segment LED display arrangement (e.g., 7-segment, 16-segment or the like).
18. 18. There is provided an inter-locking illuminated sign display system comprising: a.....1) a master display element consisting of colour-control button, necessary display * setting buttons to set the correct alphanumeric to be displayed, a low-bit and low-power short-range wireless receiver circuitry in order to receive on/off commands and : . setting controls from a remote-controller, manual on-off switch, a timer setting to turn -*e* off the display after the set time-out and a photocell; 2) one or plurality of additional slave display elements being stacked together with the said master element on either side depending on the size of the property sign to be displayed; and, 3) single or plurality of solar panels, wherein each display element consisting of an nxm LED dot-matrix being capable of displaying one alphanumeric character and all display elements and/or solar panels are stacked together using a tongue-and-groove arrangement, and each display element slidably engaging an adjacent display element and/or a solar panel by means of a tongue-and-groove arrangement having a dove tail tongue interlocking with a complimentary groove in order to lock adjacent display elements and/or solar panels against relative lateral displacement, male and female portions of said tongue-and-groove arrangements on opposite sides of each display element being arranged in a complimentary manner so that as many slave display elements and/or solar panels can be connected to the said master in a row and/or column as desired, such that respective contact means provided on opposing surfaces of adjacent interlocking elements in order to come into abutting contact when said male and female portions are fitted and thereby transfer both electric and control signal between adjacent elements, and the said master element controls the overall setting of the said display system.
19. 19. The inter-locking illuminated sign display system according to claim 18, * wherein all solar panels connection are made in parallel from the electrical wiring * perspectives and each solar panel feeds the generated electrical energy to the re-chargeable batteries located in the rear of the master unit individually via the respective display element to which the solar panel is connected. so.
20. 20. The inter-locking illuminated sign display system according to claim 18, wherein the said display system can be connected across the terminal buttons of a house bell/chimes (i.e., energised by the power supply of any conventional house-hold bells or chimes button).
21. 21. The inter-locking illuminated sign display system according to claim 18, wherein the said master element is equipped with a photocell being controlled/actuated by a predetermined increase in ambient lighting such that that the said display system can be turned on automatically at dusk and turned off at dawn.S L **. * S S* * * * . * **SW * *c,SS