GB2519187A

GB2519187A - Suspended illuminated display

Info

Publication number: GB2519187A
Application number: GB1411079.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Schottlander
Original assignee: Bay Media Ltd
Current assignee: Bay Media Ltd
Priority date: 2013-10-08
Filing date: 2014-06-20
Publication date: 2015-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 2034-06-20
Also published as: GB201411079D0; GB2519187B; GB201317763D0

Abstract

An illuminated display for displaying an image carried by a substrate 26 made of flexible sheet material comprises an open frame formed of members 20 that are jointed to one another at corners of the frame and formations, e.g. grooves, provided on the members for gripping edge regions of the substrate. The display is double sided and substrate sheets are secured to both the front and rear faces of the frame. A lighting system is housed in the space bounded by the frame members and the two substrate sheets to enable the substrate sheets to be backlit. The lighting system is formed by an array of LEDs distributed over the interior space of the frame, either in the form of a chain of LEDs supported on a net or by a plurality of double sided LEDs boards. The frame members are preferably formed as aluminium extrusions. The frame may be suspended by suspension cables 12 which may be wound directly onto a winch or which may be attached to a bar 14 that is suspended by further cables 16 from a remotely controlled hoist 18.

Description

SUSPENDED ILLUMINATED DISPLAY

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an illuminated a display intended to be suspended from a high ceiling.

Background of the invention

In large enclosed spaces, such as shopping malls, a prominent way to advertise goods and services is to suspend a banner or a poster from the ceiling. In order to avoid the need to erect scaffolding whenever the displayed material is to be changed, it has been proposed in EP 1 672 608 to mount a remotely controlled hoist on the ceiling, so as to allow the structure on which the banner or poster is mounted to be lowered and raised.

For maximum effect, it is desirable to have a display with as large an area as possible and more preferably the display should be lit. Tf advertising material or any other image to be displayed is printed on a fabric, plastics or paper substrate, a substantial frame is reguired in order to maintain the substrate taut and a lighting system would add still further to be weight. However, a limit is placed on the weight of the support frames by the load that the ceiling can withstand and the capacity of the hoist.

It has previously been proposed to form a suspended poster as an open frame over which substrates bearing images to be displayed are stretched to provide a double sided display. Futhermore, lighting strips have been positioned on the frame members to provide the substrates with back lighting. Such a construction, however, provides uneven illumination and the edges of the poster images are always illuminated more brightly than the centre.

Object of the invention The present invention seeks therefore to provide a light yet rigid frame over which substrates bearing images to be displayed may be stretched and back lit uniformly.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a display for displaying an image carried by a substrate made of flexible sheet material, wherein the display comprises an open frame formed of members that are jointed to one another at corners of the frame and formations are provided on the members for gripping edge regions of the substrate, wherein the display is double sided and substrate sheets are secured to both the front and rear faces of the frame, and wherein a lighting system is formed by a plurality of light sources distributod ovcr thc intcrior of tho volumo boundcd by thc frame members and the two substrate sheets so as to enable the substrate sheets to be backlit uniformly.

In the invention, the light sources are not all positioned on the frame members but distributed, generally uniformly, over the entire plane bounded by the frame members to ensure more even back lighting of the image-bearing substrates.

In some embodiments, the lighting system may comprise a plurality of double sided LED boards plugged into supply cables that serve additionally to support the weight of the LED boards. In such an embodiment, the lighting system may be constructed as a ladder-like structure in which the LED boards are positioned as rungs and the supply cables are positioned as stiles.

In an alternative embodiment, the lighting system may comprise a string or chain of light emitting diodes (LED's) supported on a fine net stretched across the open frame.

The frame members may be made from extrusions having grooves on their front and rear faces for receiving edge regions of the two substrates. For lightness and strength, the frame member may suitably be made of aluminium.

Commonly, the frame is rectangular with two longer horizontal members and two shorter vertical side members but it is alternatively possible to make the frame with a different number of sides.

is The display may be suspended from cables that are directly wound onto a remotely controlled hoist to allow the display to be raised and lowered. Alternatively, the display may bo suspondod from cablos that aro attachod to a bar that is itself suspended by different cables from a remotely controllable hoist.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a display of the invention, and Figure 2 is a partial section along the line II in Figure 1.

Detailed description of the embodiment(s)

In Figure 1, there is shown a display 10 suspended by means of cables 12 from a bar 14 that is itself suspended by cables 16 from a hoist 18. The hoist 18 is mounted on a ceiling and may be constructed in the manner taught in EP 1 672 608, which allows the display 10 to be raised and lowered.

Weight constraints are place on the display 10 suspended in this manner both by the load bearing capacity of the oeiling and by the strength of the hoist 18. The display 10 in the drawings is designed to minimise weight and avoid sagging, in order to maximise the area of the display while remaining within the weight constraints.

In order to achieve these objectives, the display 10 is formed as an open frame, that is to say a frame having members that are joined to one another at the corners of the frame and bound an open space. This is in contrast to a closed frame where the area bounded by the sides of the frame would be occupied by a rigid body, such as a board.

Thc illustratod framo is roctangular with long horizontal upper and lower members 20 and shorter vertical side members 22. Each of the members 20, 22 is formed as an extrusion having, for example, the cross section shown in Figure 2. The extrusions are conveniently made of aluminium, which offers the advantage of strength combined with low weight. In cross section, each extrusion is essentially a box with converging front and rear walls (to avoid casting a shadow on the substrate sheet) and one side wall thicker that the other three walls. The increased thickness of one side wall allows the front and rear faces of the extrusion to be formed with grooves 24 for receiving reinforced edges of substrate sheets 26 stretched over the frames. As an alternative, a bead may be forced into the grooves 24 to clamp a fold of the edge region of the substrate 24 within the groove after the substrate sheet 26 has been stretched to overlie the groove, excess substrate then being trimmed.

The frame members 20, 22 are joined to one another at each corner by mitring the two members 20, 22 and inserting an elbow piece into their box sections. As the stretched substrates 24 also act to hold the members together, no other reinforcement is needed.

The suspension cables 12 pass through the upper horizontal member 20 of the frame and through the inner space 30 bounded by the franc members 20, 22 and the substrate sheets 26, to be attached securely to the lower horizontal member 20. In this way, the weight of the display is supported from below and any tendency for the frame to sag is avoided. As the suspension cables 12 pass through the upper member 20, there is no tendency for the display to move out of the vertical plane. If desired, the upper member may also be clamped to the cables 12 so long as the sections of the cables 12 lying within the space 30 remain under tension by supporting the weight of the display.

In tho invontion, tho two substrate shoots 26 boaring the images to be displayed are backlit. To enable the lighting system to be seen in Figure 1, the front substrate 26 is shown in Figure 1 as partially transparent and part of it has been cut away to reveal the lighting system clearly.

The lighting system comprises a ladder-like structure of which the rungs are double-sided LED boards 30 and the stiles 32 are cables supplying DC power to the LED boards 30 and also serving to support their weight. This arrangement achieves even illumination and because the suspension cables 12 are arranged to lie flat against the LED boards 30, as shown in Figure 2, their shadow is not cast onto the substrates, to mar the displayed images.

As an alternative, LED's may be wired in a string or chain, as used for example for Xmas decoration, and a lightweight net or mesh may be attached to the frame member to allow the individual LED's to be positioned at will.

The DC cables may, if desired, be connected to a plug that registers with a socket only when the display 10 is raised into its operating position. Tn this way, when the display is lowered for maintenance work to be carried cut, such as replacement of the substrate sheets 26, the electrical power to the lighting system will be disconnected automatically.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A display for dispiaying an image carried by a substrate made of flexibie sheet material, wherein the display comprises an open frame formed of members that are jointed to one another at corners of the frame and formations are provided on the members for gripping edge regions of the substrate, wherein the display is double sided and substrate sheets are secured to both the front and rear faces of the frame, and wherein a lighting system is formed by a plurality of light sources distributed over the interior of the volume bounded by the frame members and the two substrate sheets so as to enable the substrate sheets to be backlit uniformly.
2. A display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lighting system comprises a plurality of double sided LED boards pluggod into supply cablos that sorvc additionally to support the weight of the LED boards.
3. A display as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lighting system is constructed as a ladder-like structure in which the LED boards are positioned as rungs and the supply cables are positioned as stiles.
4. A display as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the lighting system comprises a chain of light emitting diodes (LED's) supported on a fine net stretched across the frame.
5. A display as claimed in claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the frame members are made from extrusions having grooves on their front and rear faces for receiving edge regions of the two substrates.
6. A display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the frame members are made of aluminium.
7. A display as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display is rectangular with two longer horizontal members and two shorter vertical side members.
8. A display as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display is suspended from cables that are directly wound onto a remotely controlled hoist to allow the display to be raised and lowered.
9. A display as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the display is suspended from cables that are attached to a bar that is suspended by different cables from a remotely controllable hoist.