GB2576734A

GB2576734A - Interactive window display

Info

Publication number: GB2576734A
Application number: GB1814028.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lee Green Ryan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-08-29
Filing date: 2018-08-29
Publication date: 2020-03-04
Also published as: GB201814028D0

Abstract

An interactive window display for a double glazed window, e.g. of a real estate agent or retailer, comprises a touch sensitive layer 20 and an electronic display screen 22 aligned with the touch sensitive layer. The touch sensitive layer, e.g. a capacitive film or foil 20, is disposed within the window cavity 18 and is carried by the inner face of the outer pane 16. The touch sensitive layer is responsive to touch inputs applied to the outer face of the window to control a display provided on the screen. The touch sensitive layer is preferably incorporated in the window during its manufacture and is sealed within the window.

Description

INTERACTIVE WINDOW DISPLAY

The present invention is concerned with interactive window displays.

Interactive window display systems are typically but not exclusively used at premises such as estate agents (realtors), retailers etc. as a means of giving information to potential customers and of attracting custom. A screen of some form presents an image which is visible through a window to passers-by and a control interface is implemented in conjunction with the screen so that a person who stops to view the display (a user) is able to interact with the display system in some manner. Thus for example in the case of a display system in an estate agent's window, the display system might provide the user with a search facility through which to select properties to view, and might further enable the user to navigate records for a particular property to move through floor plans, photographs, descriptive material and so on. The control interface may be of touch activated type so that the user exercises control by selective application of a fingertip to the outer face of the window.

Touch screen display units suitable for the purpose are commercially available and can simply be sited immediately adjacent the window glass, within the building. Where the window in question is singleglazed (that is, it has a single layer of glass), conventional touch screens are able to detect user inputs through the glazing. However single glazing offers poor thermal insulation. Display windows are often large in area. So use of single glazing can lead to considerable wastage of heat. Use of a touch screen in conjunction with double glazing proves problematic. The user's fingertip is separated from the screen by two layers of glass and by the cavity within the glazing, and the result can be poor - if any response to control inputs.

W02016/203105A1 (Seloy Oy) discloses a window element to be used in conjunction with a projector. The window element is said to have two panes forming an intermediate space. An interactive film, presumably transparent, is disposed in the intermediate space and attached to a first of the panes, providing for touch control through the first pane. A projection film is disposed in the intermediate space and is attached to the second of the panes in depicted embodiments. A projector mounted within the premises projects an image onto the projection film.

A problem encountered with projection-type window displays such as this is that in the context of a window display there is little or no scope for control of ambient light levels. Projectors can give suitable images under low ambient light conditions but on a sunny day the light intensity from the projector can be small in comparison to that from the sun, making the projector's image faint, if it can be discerned at all. There is also the problem of reliably aligning the projector with the interactive film, or calibrating the system, so that user control inputs evoke the required response (a minor misalignment may cause control inputs to be misinterpreted).

According to the present invention there is an interactive window display comprising a double glazed window panel having an inner face formed by an inner pane, an outer face formed by an outer pane, and a window cavity between the inner pane and the outer pane, a touch sensitive layer disposed within the window cavity and carried by the outer pane, the touch sensitive layer being responsive to touch inputs applied to the outer face of the window, an electronic display screen, an arrangement for mounting the screen adjacent the window on its inner side, in alignment with the touch sensitive layer, and a processing device which controls a display on the screen in response to touch inputs received through the touch sensitive layer.

As compared with the first type of touch screen unit described above, where the screen itself provides the touch sensitive control function, the present invention differs in that the touch sensitive function is provided separately from the screen itself, by the touch sensitive layer, and in that the touch sensitive layer is sited within the window cavity, on the outer pane. It is thus separated from the fingertip of a user providing control inputs only by the thickness of the outer pane, and so can respond reliably to such inputs. The touch sensitive layer is nonetheless protected from damage within the window cavity, making for a tidy and robust installation.

As compared with the back-projection arrangement of W02016/203105A1, the present invention differs in its use of an electronic screen adjacent the window to provide the display. The clarity of the display can be greatly superior as a result, especially under conditions of high ambient light (bright sunlight). Challenges involved in achieving and maintaining the necessary alignment of the display and the touch sensitive element are also greatly reduced.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 represents the frontage of a high-street premises, in this example an estate agent, including an interactive display according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows the interactive window display viewed from within the premises; and

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the interactive window display in a vertical sectional plane perpendicular to the plane of the window.

The interactive window display 10 depicted herein can be installed in any suitable premises whose frontage provides a window cavity at an appropriate height.

Double glazed window panel 12 is seen in Figure 3 to comprise inner pane 14, outer pane 16, and thermal window cavity 18. In accordance with the invention the panel 12 incorporates a touch sensitive layer 20, carried on the inner face of the outer panel (i.e. on the face of that panel lying toward the window cavity 18). In the present embodiment the touch sensitive layer 20 comprises a film adhered to the outer pane 16. Suitable touch sensitive films and foils are commercially available. One current example is marketed by Touchwindow S.r.l of Italy under the trade mark Touch Foil. The touch sensitive layer 20 lies between the user and electronic screen 22, and is sufficiently transparent not to obstruct viewing of the screen, which may be because its opaque components are of small dimension or because the materials used are transparent. The touch sensitive layer of the present embodiment uses capacitive sensing, although other touch sensitive technologies may be adopted in other embodiments. The touch sensitive layer 20 of the present embodiment is connected to a computer through a wired link although a suitable form of wireless connectivity may be adopted in other embodiments. The touch sensitive layer 20 serves to detect user input, typically provided through application of a fingertip to outer face 26 of the outer pane 16. The location of the fingertip on the outer pane's surface is determinable from the output of the touch sensitive layer 20, and in this way the user can for example make selections from the material displayed on the electronic screen 22.

The double glazed panel 12 will often be custom made for a particular installation, its peripheral dimensions and the size and location of the touch sensitive layer 20 being specified by the customer or installer prior to manufacture. Save for the provision of the touch sensitive layer 20, it can be of conventional type. While the present invention does not exclude the possibility that the double glazing could be formed by two separable panels to give access to the cavity, the double glazed panel 12 is a self-contained unit intended to be sealed for its working lifetime, the touch sensitive layer 20 being incorporated during its manufacture.

The electronic screen 22 has an array of light emitting or light modulating pixels electronically controlled to provide the required display. LCD or LED screens are both suitable, but the invention is not limited to any particular electronic screen technology and any suitable screen - currently existing or developed in the future - may be used. It is desirable in may installations to provide high brightness to ensure good visibility of the display under high ambient light levels.

The electronic screen 22 is mounted against or immediately adjacent inner face 28 of the window panel 12, in alignment with the touch sensitive layer 20. A range of different screen mountings could be adopted but in the present example the electronic screen 22 is disposed in a cuboidal enclosure 30 carried on a floor stand 32. The enclosure incorporates fans 34 to propel air through it and so dissipate 5 heat generated by the screen. It has a front face which is largely open to enable viewing of the screen, although in this case it has a border panel 36 serving as a screen surround.

Claims

1. An interactive window display comprising a double glazed window panel having an inner face formed by an inner pane, an outer face formed by an outer pane, and a window cavity between the inner pane and the outer pane,

5 a touch sensitive layer disposed within the window cavity and carried by the outer pane, the touch sensitive layer being responsive to touch inputs applied to the outer face of the window, an electronic display screen, an arrangement for mounting the screen adjacent the window on its inner side, in alignment with the touch sensitive layer.

10

2. An interactive window display as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a processing device which controls a display on the screen in response to touch inputs received through the touch sensitive layer.

3. An interactive window display as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the touch sensitive layer comprises a film or foil adhered to the outer pane.

4. An interactive window display as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 in which the touch sensitive layer

15 is a capacitive device.

5. An interactive window display as claimed in any preceding claim in which the window panel is sealed for its working lifetime, the touch sensitive layer being incorporated in the window panel during its manufacture.