GB2558331A

GB2558331A - A banner

Info

Publication number: GB2558331A
Application number: GB1707661.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gary Shoveller Wayne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-12-23
Filing date: 2017-05-12
Publication date: 2018-07-11
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-12
Also published as: GB201622157D0; GB201707661D0; GB2558331B

Abstract

An illuminated inflatable banner comprises front 12 and rear 14 panels formed of a flexible material and connected together around their periphery 16 so as to enclose an interior space. At least one of the panels has one or more light transmitting, e.g. transparent or translucent, regions 18 shaped to form letters, numbers, etc. A substantially transparent flexible protective sleeve 20 is disposed within the interior space, a plurality of light sources, e.g. LED 24, being disposed within the protective sleeve. The light sources 24 are spaced apart to span the length of the protective sleeve and positioned to illuminate the message. A source of electrical power for the light sources and one or more switches 34 for switching them on or off are provided. An air inlet 42 and sealing means to prevent air escaping from the banner through the air inlet are also provided. The rear panel may have a reflective inner surface to reflect light back through the indicia of the front panel. Further symbols may be adhesively attached to the outer surface banner.

Description

(56) Documents Cited:

GB 2498991 A WO 2006/071729 A1 CN 002881864 Y

G09F17/00 (2006.01)

GB 2300128 A WO 1988/008601 A1 US 8508382 B1 (71) Applicant(s):

Wayne Gary Shoveller Unit 3, Inside South East Caravan Centre, Belmont Road, WHITSTABLE, Kent, CT5 1QP, United Kingdom (58) Field of Search:

INT CL A63H, G09F

Other: Online: EPODOC, WPI.

(72) Inventor(s):

Wayne Gary Shoveller (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Schlich

St. Catherine's Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN17 5HS, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: A banner

Abstract Title: Illuminated inflatable banner (57) An illuminated inflatable banner comprises front 12 and rear 14 panels formed of a flexible material and connected together around their periphery 16 so as to enclose an interior space. At least one of the panels has one or more light transmitting, e.g. transparent or translucent, regions 18 shaped to form letters, numbers, etc. A substantially transparent flexible protective sleeve 20 is disposed within the interior space, a plurality of light sources, e.g. LED 24, being disposed within the protective sleeve. The light sources 24 are spaced apart to span the length of the protective sleeve and positioned to illuminate the message. A source of electrical power for the light sources and one or more switches 34 for switching them on or off are provided. An air inlet 42 and sealing means to prevent air escaping from the banner through the air inlet are also provided. The rear panel may have a reflective inner surface to reflect light back through the indicia of the front panel. Further symbols may be adhesively attached to the outer surface banner.

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

12 17

FIGURE 1

12 17 o

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 4

12 17

A BANNER

Greetings banners have become increasingly popular in recent years and are often put up in homes to celebrate an event such as a birthday.

My earlier patent application GB2499126 discloses a greetings banner in which the message carried by the banner is illuminated. It has now been found that the illuminating effect of the banner is greatly enhanced if the banner is inflated.

Accordingly, the invention provides an inflatable banner, the banner comprising:

first and second panels formed of a flexible material and connected together so as to enclose an interior space;

at least one of the panels having one or more light transmitting regions, the light transmitting regions being shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which together constitute a message;

a substantially transparent flexible protective sleeve disposed within the interior space and extending along a greater part of the length of the interior space;

a plurality of light sources disposed within the protective sleeve, the light sources being spaced apart so as to span the greater part of the length of the protective sleeve and being positioned so as to illuminate the message;

a source of electrical power for the light sources;

one or more switches for switching the light sources on or off;

an air inlet in fluid communication with the interior space enclosed by the first and second panels; and sealing means to prevent air escaping from the banner through the air inlet.

The banner may also comprise a mouthpiece for blowing air into the air inlet to inflate the banner.

The flexible material is typically sufficiently flexible that it can be rolled up or folded, for example for packaging purposes or for storage. The flexible material may therefore be a plastics film such as a polyester film, or a metallised (e.g. aluminised) film such as aluminised polyester. The flexible material is typically non-resiiient (e.g. not formed of balloon rubber), as use of a resilient material would cause the sequence of letters or numbers or other characters on the material to deform when the banner is inflated.

The light transmitting regions are shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which together constitute a message. In one embodiment, the letters, numbers or other characters are defined by light transmitting regions in the strip of flexible material and they may take the form of transparent or translucent regions of the flexible material. For example, the light transmitting regions may be defined by transparent regions of the flexible material along all or part of its length.

In another embodiment, the letters, numbers or other characters are defined by substantially opaque regions, or regions of relatively reduced transparency, that are set within a light transmitting region so that the letters, numbers or other characters appear as darker regions (e.g. silhouettes) against an illuminated background.

It will be appreciated therefore that in one embodiment the invention provides an inflatable banner as defined herein wherein the light transmitting regions are shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which show up as lighter regions against a darker background, and that in another embodiment, the invention provides an inflatable banner as defined herein wherein the light transmitting regions are shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which show up as darker regions against a lighter background.

The transparent or translucent regions of the flexible material may be coloured so that the message shows up in one or more colours. The flexible material may additionally bear a sequence of letters or numbers or other characters which together constitute a message. In addition to the message, the strip of flexible material may also bear one or more images, symbols or logos which are also illuminated.

The letters, numbers or other characters, images, symbols and logos can be formed by printing on the flexible material. Alternatively, or additionally, letters, numbers or other characters, images, symbols and logos can be applied to the flexible material as adhesive patches.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a kit comprising a banner as defined herein together with a one or more adhesive patches for application to the banner, e.g. to form a supplementary message. Thus, the banner may provide a basic message (e.g. happy birthday) and the user can then add a further message (e.g. relating to the name or age of a person for whom the banner is intended) by applying the adhesive patch(es) to the banner. In this embodiment, the adhesive patches may each be shaped to form one or more letters or numbers or other symbols. In another embodiment, the adhesive patches may comprise opaque areas or areas of reduced transparency surrounding transparent areas in the shape of one or more letters, numbers or other symbols. In one particular embodiment, the kit comprises a plurality of patches of a substantially opaque material, each shaped in the form of a letter, number or other symbol and each being provided with an adhesive layer to allow them to be attached to the banner. Each of the said patches may be provided with a cover layer for covering the adhesive. Examples of adhesives suitable for use on the patches will be well known to the skilled person.

The first and second panels may be constituted by separate sheets of material joined together, or they may be constituted by a single sheet of material folded over to form two panels which are secured at the edges thereof.

In one embodiment, the first and second panels are typically formed of a plastics film and are typically joined together around their respective peripheries.

The two panels may be connected together by means of adhesive bonding or by heat sealing, for example. The panels are bonded together such that they form an air-tight enclosure, with the exception of the air inlet. In other words, the panels are bonded together such that the banner is air-tight when the air inlet is sealed. Once the air inlet has been sealed by the sealing means, the banner is typically sufficiently air-tight such that once inflated it remains inflated for at least 1 day, preferably at least 2 days.

A first of the panels may be provided with an array of light transmitting regions and a second of the panels may be provided with an inwardly facing reflective surface so as to reflect light from the light sources towards the light transmitting regions.

The terms “front” and “rear” in the context of the present invention refer to the direction from which the banner is viewed. Thus, the front surface is the surface on which the message is visible and the rear surface is the surface facing away from the message. In one embodiment of the invention, the banner is provided on both surfaces with an array of letters or other characters constituting a message and optionally one or more images, in which case each surface could be regarded as the front or the back depending on the orientation of the banner in use.

The banner may be provided as a single entity or as a plurality of banners separably linked together. For example, two or more banners may be linked together with a line or perforations between them so that they may be separated prior to use. The group of linked banners may be folded along the lines of perforations to provide a more compact package.

The protective sleeve holds the light sources in the centre of the banner. Without the protective sleeve, the light sources could fall to the bottom of the banner when inflated and would therefore not be aligned with the light transmitting regions.

The protective sleeve may be formed, for example from a transparent or translucent (preferably transparent) plastics material. For example, the protective sleeve may be formed from a length of flattened extruded plastics film material such as polyethylene.

Alternatively, the protective sleeve may be formed from a length of transparent or translucent plastics film material that has been folded along a longitudinal fold line and the opposed edges heat sealed together along their length. In a further embodiment, the protective sleeve may comprise a length of transparent or translucent plastics material formed into a roll which extends longitudinally along the interior space. The protective sleeve may be secured to the banner by heat sealing the edges of the protective sleeve in between the ends of the first and second panels.

At least one of the panels of the flexible material has one or more light transmitting regions along its length, the light transmitting regions being shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which together constitute a message. The light sources are positioned behind the strip of flexible material and light transmitting regions and is/are arranged so as to illuminate the light transmitting regions.

The light sources may provide constant (i.e. non-flashing) light or they may be arranged to provide pulses of light (i.e. they may be flashing lights). In one preferred embodiment, the light sources provide a flashing light.

When the light sources comprise or consist of LEDs, the LEDs can collectively emit light of a single colour or more than one colour. For example, they may be arranged so as to flash different colours.

In one particular embodiment, at least some of the LED lights (e.g. all of the LED lights) are arranged to flash on and off. The LED lights may be connected together so as to form a chain that extends along the greater part of the interior of the protective sleeve. The LED lights are positioned so that they illuminate the light transmitting regions forming the letters or numbers or other characters which together constitute the message. Preferably, at least some of the light sources (e.g. LEDs) are aligned with the light transmitting regions.

There may be, for example, between five and thirty LEDs more typically between eight and twenty LEDs linked to form a chain.

The source of power for the light sources may be a connector for connecting to an external power source such as a mains supply or transformer but, more preferably, the power source is a battery. Where the banner has front and rear panels, the battery is typically located between the panels.

The switch for switching the light sources on and off is typically arranged so that at least a main body of the switch is behind the strip of flexible material (or between the front and rear panels when there are two strips forming such panels). The switch may be wholly between the two panels or an actuatable arm or lever of the switch may protrude through and forwardly of one of the panels.

The banner also comprises an air inlet through which air can be blown or pumped in order to inflate the banner. In one embodiment, the air inlet takes the form of a hole in one of the first and second panels. The hole penetrates one of the first and second panels, but does not penetrate through the flexible protective sleeve, which is disposed between the first and second panels. In another embodiment, the air inlet takes the form of a straw (for example, a plastic tube) or mouthpiece protruding through one of the panels. The hole through which the straw or mouthpiece protrudes is sealed to prevent air escaping through the hole but not through the straw or mouthpiece.

The air inlet can be sealed with a sealing means to prevent air from escaping once the banner is inflated. In one embodiment, the air inlet is a hole in one of the first or second panels and the sealing means takes the form of an adhesive patch. The adhesive patch is typically larger than the hole and when applied to the hole seals the hole to prevent air escaping from the interior of the banner.

In another embodiment, the air inlet takes the form of a valved inlet. In this case, the sealing means is a valve. The valved inlet allows air to the blown or pumped into the interior space between the first and second panels to inflate the banner, whilst preventing air from escaping, to prevent the banner from deflating. The valve may also contain a release mechanism, which opens the valve and allows air to exit the interior of the banner, thereby allowing the banner to be deflated after use.

In yet a further embodiment, the air inlet may be provided with a socket. The sealing means may then take the form of a bung or stopper which fits tightly in the socket to seal the banner.

Preferably, the air inlet is located on the rear panel, so that it does not interfere or 5 interrupt the message, which is typically displayed on the front of the banner.

Alternatively, the air inlet may be disposed between the sealed edges of the first and second panels.

The banner may be provided with mounting points (e.g. eyelets) for attaching the banner to an object or surface, e.g. by hooks or using cord. Alternatively, the banner may be provided with one or more peelable adhesive areas which may be used to secure the banner to a surface. The peelable adhesive areas are typically protected with a release paper (e.g. a silicone coated release paper) which may be removed before use and then replaced when the banner is taken down for storage.

Alternatively, if the banner is inflated with a gas lighter than air (such as helium), the banner can be tethered to a floor or wall such that the banner is suspended and floats in the air.

In addition to carrying an illuminated message, the banner can also be provided with a sound module. The sound module can provide a musical accompaniment for the message, for example a short musical composition, song or jingle.

Alternatively, or additionally, the sound module can carry a voice message, for example a voice message directed specifically to a recipient or viewer of the banner.

The invention also provides a kit comprising:

an inflatable banner as described herein;

- a straw for inflating the banner; and

- one or more sealing means for sealing the air inlet.

The straw for inflating the banner generally takes the form of a plastic, hollow cylinder. Typically, the straw has a diameter such that it fits tightly in a hole forming the air inlet. A user can therefore insert one end of the straw into the air inlet hole in the banner and blow through the other end of the straw to inflate the banner.

Once inflated, the straw can be removed and the air inlet hole can be sealed with the sealing means. The sealing means prevents the banner from deflating once inflated. In one embodiment, the sealing means is an adhesive patch. The sealing means may be removable so that the banner can be deflated and therefore reused. The sealing means may also take other forms, as described above.

The invention will now be described in more detail, but not limited, by reference to the specific embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings Figures 1 to 5.

Figure 1 is a partially cut-away view of a banner according to one embodiment of the invention before inflation.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inflated banner according to the invention, where the cross-section is taken through the banner at the position of the aperture.

Figures 3 and 4 are photographs of sections of a banner according to the invention banner when inflated.

Figure 5 is a photograph of the rear of the banner shown in Figures 3 and 4 connected to an air inlet straw.

Referring to the drawings, a banner according to one aspect of the invention comprises front (12) and rear (14) panels formed from a flexible, non-resilient plastics sheet or film material such as polyethylene terephthalate. Alternatively, the panels may be formed from foil sheets. The front (12) and rear (14) panels are heat sealed together around their peripheries to enclose an interior space.

At least the front panel (12) and preferably also the rear panel (14) are formed from a relatively opaque sheet. The front panel (12) provided with light transmitting regions (18) in the shape of letters and numbers. The rear panel (14) has no light transmitting regions but has an inwardly facing reflective surface. In the embodiment shown, the letters and numbers form the message “Happy 21^st Birthday”, but it will be appreciated that alternative messages such as “Congratulations on your exam success” and “Happy Christmas” may be formed instead.

The light transmitting regions may be transparent or translucent regions of the panel.

A sleeve (20) formed from a relatively tough transparent plastics film extends along the interior space and is anchored in the heat seals (16) at either end of the banner. Alternatively, it can be arranged loosely and without anchoring within the interior space. The sleeve (20) can be formed from a pair of elongate sheets heat sealed together around their peripheries or it can be formed from a single strip of plastics film folded over with the opposed edges heat sealed together.

The protective sleeve (20) is shown as having a wall of single thickness. However, in order to enhance its protective properties, the protective sleeve can have a multi-layer wall. For example, in one embodiment, a sleeve having a multi-layered wall can be formed from a single elongate strip of plastics material rolled about a longitudinal axis into a flattened coil.

The rear panel (14) is provided with a small aperture (42). The aperture extends into the interior space enclosed by the front (12) and rear (14) panels, but does not extend to penetrate protective sleeve (20).

Arranged inside and protected by the protective sleeve (20) is a chain of LED lights (24) linking by wiring (26). The wires from the LED are connected via soldered connections to a printed circuit board (30) which controls the operation of the LED lights. Mounted on the printed circuit board (30) are an on-off switch (34) and battery housings (32) in which are held “button cell” batteries. Plastic pull-out strips (not shown) can be positioned between each battery and an adjacent electrical contact surface to prevent premature activation and loss of power from the batteries.

In use, the pull-out strips are removed from the battery housings and the switch is moved to the “on” position to switch on the LED lights. The lights are typically arranged to flash on and off, although they can alternatively be set up in a non-flashing mode.

The flashing lights light up the light transmitting regions (18), thereby providing an illuminated message. The reflective inner surface of the rear panel (14) serves to enhance the brightness of the illumination.

In use, the banner is unrolled and a straw (44) is inserted into aperture (42), The user then blows into the straw in order to inflate the banner. Once the banner is inflated, the straw (44) is removed and the aperture is sealed with an adhesive patch. Alternatively, when the straw is sealingly attached to the banner, the straw can be blocked with a stopper or constricted (for example using a a clamp or clip, or folding back on itself to close the passage throught the straw and holding it, e.g. with a clip or rubber band, in the folded position) to prevent escape of air from the banner.

To deflate the banner, the adhesive patch is peeled from the banner to expose the aperture (42). The banner is compressed in order to allow air to escape from the aperture and deflate the banner. The banner is therefore reusable.

It will readily be apparent that numerous modifications and alterations may be made to the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the principles underlying the invention. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be embraced by this application.

Claims

1. An inflatable banner, the banner comprising:

a substantially transparent flexible protective sleeve disposed within the interior space and extending along a greater part ofthe length ofthe interior space;

a source of electrical power for the light sources;

one or more switches for switching the light sources on or off;

2. A banner according to claim 1 wherein the first and second panels are formed of a non-resilient flexible material.

3. A banner according to claim 1 or claim 2 which is substantially air-tight when the air inlet is sealed by the sealing means.

4. A banner according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the air inlet takes the form of a hole in one of the first or second panels.

5. A banner according to claim 4 wherein the air inlet takes the form of a hole in a rear panel of the banner.

6. A banner according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the first of the panels is provided with an array of light transmitting regions and the second of the panels is provided with an inwardly facing reflective surface so as to reflect light from the light sources towards the light transmitting regions.

7. An inflatable banner as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the light transmitting regions are shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which show up as lighter regions against a darker background.

8. An inflatable banner as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the light

5 transmitting regions are shaped so as to form letters or numbers or other characters which show up as darker regions against a lighter background.

9. An inflatable banner according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the inflatable banner bears a primary message which is printed onto the flexible material, and a supplementary message which is defined by one or more adhesive patches

10. A kit comprising:

a banner according to any one of claims 1 to 7;

a straw for inflating the banner;

one or more sealing means to seal the air inlet; and

15 optionally one or more adhesive patches shaped to define letters, numbers or other symbols for attachment to the banner to provide a supplementary message.

Go?

Intellectual

Property

Office

GB 1707661.3

1 to 10

10 applied to the banner.