HK1088198B - Modular protective structure for floor display - Google Patents

Description

Module protection structure for ground display

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60/385,579 filed on 2002, 6/5/35 as 35U.S. C119 (e). Further, this application is a continuation of part of the contents of a co-pending application entitled "interactive nature floor display system" filed on 5/16/2003, identified herein by title and filing date (application number not available). The "interactive property floor display system" was a continuation of a portion of the contents of co-pending serial No. 10/285,639 applied on 11/1/2002, and the application serial No. 10/285,639 was applied on 5/3/2002 and was continued on 14/1/2003 as the contents of application serial No. 10/137,357 disclosed in U.S. patent No. 6,507,285. Application serial No. 10/137,357 was filed on 24/1/2001 and was continued as the content of application serial No. 09/767,846 disclosed in U.S. patent No. 6,417,778 on 9/7/2002. Application serial No. 09/767,846 continues with application serial No. 09/418,752, which was a disclaimer of the 10/15 application in 1999. Application serial No. 09/418,752 was filed on 5/4/1999 and was continued on 24/4/2001 as part of the published application serial No. 09/304, 051 of U.S. patent No. 6,219,876. All of the above identified applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a floor display system, and more particularly, to a module protection structure of a floor display system.

Background

Many media are known for delivering information, such as advertising information, to the public. Most commonly, this type of media utilizes "vertical space". That is, such media are typically such as billboard displays, wall or ceiling mounted displays, and displays on electronic devices such as substantially vertical television screens and computer monitor screens.

However, there is a large amount of "horizontal space" that is largely unused for conveying information to the public. Such horizontal spaces include ground space areas of public transportation, such as commercial establishments or other public buildings.

U.S. patent No. 6,417,778, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses an electronic messaging system through a floor display. The present disclosure relates to a modular structure of such a floor display. Other advantages of such a structure disclosed are its effectiveness in protecting the display from damage associated with the floor environment, and its convenience in designing the size (enlargement or reduction of the display area). It is desirable for such a modular structure to maintain a very thin form factor.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a floor display system comprised of an electronic display assembly including a modular protective structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the floor display system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are partial enlarged views of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2;

4-6 show three different views of an electronic display assembly according to an embodiment of the invention embedded in the ground;

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the increased segmentation of the electronic display assembly as compared to the display of FIGS. 1-6;

fig. 9, 10, 11A, 11B and 12 are plan views showing alternative embodiments of vertical supports for electronic display systems in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to floor display systems. The floor display system may be installed in public places such as commercial establishments or other public buildings, and may be configured to display any content that may be electronically altered, such as advertising or other informational content. Due to the environment in use, the floor display system may be subject to possible damage from foot traffic, wheeled objects, and the like. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a display module protective structure that efficiently distributes forces applied to a display in a vertical support system to prevent the concentration of forces in one location that may damage the display. This modular structure may further provide a very thin form factor for the floor display system.

As mentioned above, US6,417,778 discloses an electronic messaging system using a floor display. More particularly, the floor display may incorporate a modifiable electronic display surface, such as a liquid crystal display. Such a display may be connected to a computer and computer generated images can be displayed on the display. Thus, the image displayed in the display may be altered by generating a different computer image and displaying that computer image on the display. The display may be associated with a base portion of a floor covering, such as contained within a recess, or may be contained on an inserted, upwardly facing bottom surface of the floor covering. Alternatively, the display may be integrated with the base portion or the insert portion. The modifiable display may utilize a plurality of different graphics that can be displayed on the display in a variety of different manners. For example, graphics may be displayed in a generally fixed location on a display or may scroll through a display in two exemplary ways that display several graphics, either individually or in combination.

Other alternative methods of modifying the graphics displayed on the floor covering include the use of light emitting polymers to create the graphics and so alter the graphics. The light emitting polymers may be applied to, attached to, or incorporated into a floor covering. The light emitting polymer may be utilized on any portion of the floor covering, such as on the base portion or the insert portion, or on any other portion of the different embodiments of the floor covering. Luminescent polymers are known and have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,945,502, 5,869,350, and 5,571,626, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Other options for the display are to use electronic ink or electronic paper. Electrotechnical paper is available from Xerox corporation (Xerox) and is described in U.S. patents 5,723,204, 5,604,027, 4,126,854, 4,143,103, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Electro-paper uses thousands of tiny, electrically charged beads, called Gyricon, each about the width of a person's hair to create a pixel. The bi-colored beads are embedded in a liquid-filled plastic sheeting that forms the paper surface. Each bead is half black and half white, and is continuously rotated according to an electric field. Whether the beads are black side up or white side up determines the image. Because there is no need to update the image, and because the screen is not backlit, the electronic paper uses only a small portion of the power used by conventional electronic displays. Electromagnetic styluses and printer-like devices may be used to present images to paper.

Electronic Ink is supplied by E Ink corp., at 45 Spinelli Pl., Cambridge, MA 02138(E Ink). Electronic ink uses a micro-encapsulated micro-structured display system. Tiny microcapsules are trapped between two plastic sheets to create a pixel. Alternatively, the capsules may be sprayed on a surface. The result is a plastic display material. The microcapsules are transparent and contain a mixture of black ink and white pigment fragments. An electrical charge is passed through the capsules. Depending on the electrostatic charge, the pigment chips either float on the top of each capsule or stay on the bottom of each capsule. When the paint chips float on top, the surface appears white. When they rest on the bottom, thus under the ink, the surface appears black. Each of the two states is static: black or white. A transparent electromagnetic grid covering the surface of the sheet controls the shape of the image. This display system can be wirelessly connected to, for example, a computer to connect to the world's internet by using, for example, a motorola imaging system. If multiple displays are used, the text on all displays can be changed at once by an editor through a web page.

Additional or alternative techniques to those described above may be used to implement a floor display system according to embodiments of the present invention. A floor display system 100 according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 1. Floor display system 100 includes an integrated electronic display assembly 120 coupled to a floor covering, and more particularly, display assembly 120 may be at least partially coupled to, supported on, or received by the floor covering, or otherwise coupled to floor covering 110. The floor covering 110 and associated electronic display assembly 120 may take many structural forms and may be constructed from various types of materials and are not limited to the specific forms illustrated herein. The floor covering may comprise, for example, footwear cleaning materials such as carpeting, rubber, plastic, and the like. The floor covering 110 may be attached to the floor or portable so as to be easily moved to a different location. In an embodiment, the floor covering 110 and the electronic display assembly 120 are designed for use in places where there is foot traffic or other traffic (e.g., wheeled shopping cart), such as entrances to stores, public buildings, or homes. In such an environment, high forces may be applied to the floor covering and the electronic display device. Accordingly, the floor covering and electronic display device should be sufficiently sturdy and durable that they can be repeatedly stepped on, walked over, or passed over by a wheeled shopping cart or other rolling or sliding object with negligible adverse effects on the floor covering and display device.

To this end, the electronic display assembly 120 may include a plurality of display modules. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, there are four display modules 125, 130, 135, 140, each of which is connected to a modular protective enclosure, as described in further detail. The present invention is not limited to four display modules; there may be more or less. A coherent display may be presented on a plurality of display modules. That is, when a single display module can only present a portion of a display, then the multiple display modules can provide a complete or unified display in the collection of modules. For example, in FIG. 1, a coherent text message, "On salt Today OnlyMen's Cotton T-Shirts," is displayed in its entirety On four display modules, although each module displays only a portion of the entire message individually. Alternatively, each module may be configured to display unrelated images and/or text.

More particularly, the display module may be an electronic display device incorporating any display technology, including those disclosed herein, and others not specifically disclosed. The display module may be configured to electronically display graphical images and alphanumeric data in a static (not moving or changing) or dynamic (e.g., scrolling or other movement or changing) format. More particularly, the display module may be coupled to a controller (not shown) by wired or wireless means and may be altered by the controller to display any content selected by the user. For example, the display module may be coupled to the controller through a display driver circuit such as a video graphics adapter card. The controller may comprise any type of electronic logic circuit, such as a general purpose microprocessor or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that configures the software. The driver of the display module may be integrated into the controller or built into an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The controller may also be in the form of a single board computer with a processor, memory, and one or more display driver circuits built onto the motherboard, or may be provided with a wireless element for communicating with the outside world or downloading data to memory. The controller may be coupled to a storage medium which may be any form of medium suitable for storing digital data, including RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), flash or other non-fixed vacuum tube electronic storage, EEPROM (electronically erasable and programmable read only memory), or magnetic and/or optical disk storage. These storage media are capable of storing, for example, control software executed by the controller and video content selectively displayed under control of the control software via the display module.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the display modules of assembly 120 may be arranged in separate protective enclosures comprising a bottom member, a top member, and vertical supports or side panels. In an embodiment, the elements in the protective enclosure may be common to the display module; for example, the protective enclosures may have a common top member, bottom member, and one or more common side panels. In other embodiments, each display module may have a separate protective enclosure with different bottom members, top members, and side panels.

Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the floor display system 100 along line 2-2. It can be seen in this figure that the floor covering 110 may include a tapered portion or inclined surface 145 to enable a smooth transition from a central portion of the floor covering to the floor, and that the tapered portion or inclined surface 145 may be configured to be received within the display assembly 120. For example, if the floor covering is placed in a hallway of a commercial establishment, such an inclined surface may make it easier for the floor covering to pass over, either by a person walking over the floor covering or by a wheeled shopping cart.

Fig. 3A shows an enlarged view of a portion of fig. 2. In particular, fig. 3A shows a cross-sectional view including display modules 125 and 135 in greater detail and illustrates a protective enclosure, according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 3A, the display modules 135, 125 can be arranged in separate protective enclosures that include a common bottom member 170, a common top member 165, and vertical support assemblies or side panels 150, 155, and 160, where 155 is a common side panel. In addition to being configured to receive a display module, the protective enclosure can also provide containment spaces 175 and 180 between the top layer 165 and the display modules 135, 125, respectively. The volume space may be, for example, an empty space to avoid transmitting shocks to the top member of the display module to the display module. The top layer 165 may be composed of a transparent material, for example plexiglass (plexiglass)^TM) Plastic or glass, so that the display module can be viewed. The bottom layer 170 may be disposed on a backing layer 190 of the floor covering. The substrate layer may be integrated with the floor covering. In alternative embodiments, the substrate layer may be absent; alternatively, there may be an open channel through the floor covering material and configured to receive the display assembly 120. In this configuration, the bottom layer 170 of the protective modular railing can be in direct contact with the ground.

According to alternative embodiments, separate protective enclosures with different top, bottom and vertical supports may be provided for each display module. Such an embodiment is illustrated in fig. 3B. In fig. 3B, display module 135 has a single protective enclosure formed by bottom member 170.1, vertical supports 150 and 155.1, and top member 165.1. A volume 175 may be provided between the top member 165.1 and the display module 135. Similarly, display module 125 has a single protective enclosure consisting of bottom member 170.2, vertical supports 155.2 and 160, and top member 165.2. A volume 180 may be provided between the top member 165.2 and the display module 125. The vertical supports and bottom members of the protective enclosures may be comprised of materials including, for example, plastic, metal, glass, or wood.

Advantages of the modular structure shown in fig. 3A and 3B include that the structure provides good protection for the display module from pressure and shock applied to the device 120, at least in part due to the pressure and shock being shared by the vertical support system distributed throughout the device, namely: for example, vertical supports 150, 155, and 160 and vertical supports disposed laterally with respect thereto, as shown in fig. 1 and subsequent figures. In this way, the pressure and impact are not concentrated at any particular point, but are distributed and spread among the different components forming the protective enclosure.

Another advantage is that the modular structure allows the display area to be easily enlarged or reduced. An area of the floor covering 110 may be configured to receive the display assembly 120 within, for example, a recess or opening of some predetermined size. The display module may be removed from or added to the device to reduce or increase the display area within the recess or opening. Alternatively, as described in further detail, a display module of a given size may be replaced by a greater number of smaller modules and associated protective enclosures to increase the number of vertical supports within the same area. On the other hand, a display module of a given size may be replaced by a smaller number of larger modules. The display module removed from the device can be replaced with other similarly sized materials in order to maintain the floor display system with an aesthetically pleasing surface.

For example, the top member of the protective enclosure is removable to enable access to the display module, which is also removable. To reduce the display area, selected display modules may be removed from their respective protective enclosures and replaced with "blank spaces" of the same size to fill the space within the protective enclosure, e.g., of the same material as the floor covering, to prevent unsightly gaps. Such an arrangement also enables convenient repair or replacement of a damaged display module without forcing removal of the entire assembly. In the embodiment shown in fig. 3B, where each display module has a separate protective enclosure with different top and bottom members and vertical supports, the protective enclosure is removable as a unit and can be replaced by some member of other material.

According to embodiments, the display assembly 120 need not be associated with the floor covering 110. Instead, as shown in fig. 4-6, the display assembly 120 may be received by a recess in the floor 410.

As discussed above, by providing a distributed vertical support system in the protective enclosure of the display module of assembly 120, the forces applied to the top member or members of the device are shared among the vertical supports and thus the structure as a whole, with a corresponding increase in the ability of the device to resist impact damage. This effect can be further enhanced by increasing the number of display modules and associated protective enclosures over the same overall area. This is illustrated in fig. 7, where a display assembly 120 having the same overall upper surface area as the assembly of fig. 1 has twice the number of display modules 710 and associated protective enclosures of fig. 1. Increasing the degree of segmentation of the display module in this manner may allow the display assembly to be constructed more compactly. Generally, a smaller display device is desirable because it creates less traffic obstruction and may be lighter. Increasing the division allows the vertical support of the protective enclosure to be shorter, and the top member or members can be made smaller. In particular, embodiments of the present invention provide a display device having a thickness of less than 1 inch, preferably less than 0.5 inch.

Fig. 8 illustrates increasing the overall display area while maintaining structural integrity by adding segmentation. More specifically, in fig. 8, the overall area of the display assembly 120 is approximately twice that of the assemblies shown in fig. 1 and 7, and more information can be displayed by adding the display module 810 and associated protective enclosures while maintaining structural integrity.

Fig. 9 illustrates a top or plan view of the display assembly 120 discussed in conjunction with fig. 1-3B. In fig. 9, it can be seen that vertical supports 150 (or 155.1, 155.2) and 160 can form or be formed as a unitary or composite structure (e.g., if the modular protective enclosures are separate and distinct) as a "beam" vertical support, i.e.: the continuous member extends substantially along the entire display area. The member 900 is a transverse beam vertical support.

In contrast, FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment that utilizes vertical supports that do not extend continuously as beams along the display area. Rather, the column 1000 acts as a vertical support as opposed to a continuous beam. This type of construction is more economical in material. The cylinder 1000 is shown in fig. 10 as a small circle corresponding to a cylindrical support cylinder, although the support cylinder may be any shape.

In still further embodiments, the display module may have an aperture formed therein configured to receive the vertical support. For example, as shown in fig. 11A and 11B, the display modules 125, 130, 135, and 140 have holes 1001 formed therein configured to receive the vertical supports 1000. Also, the vertical support 1000 is shown by way of example as a cylinder, but may take other shapes: for example, a cylinder or block of material having a square or rectangular cross-section, or any other type of discrete protrusion configured to be received in a corresponding hole of a display module. When received in the aperture of the display module, the vertical supports 1000 may protrude above the upper surface of the display module to support the top protective member of the protective enclosure and provide a volume space between the top member and the module, as described above.

With the features illustrated by fig. 11A and 11B, the protective structure can allow for a substantially thin top member or members of the protective enclosure or enclosures of the display assembly 120, since such a structure provides distributed vertical support for the top member throughout the device as described above. Moreover, such a structure may be used in the form of a unitary or integral display device as opposed to modular display devices such as 125, 130. As shown in fig. 12, wherein reference numeral 1100 denotes a single display device as opposed to a display module apparatus.

Some embodiments of the present invention are specifically described and/or illustrated herein. It is contemplated, however, that modifications or variations of the present invention are covered by the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.

Claims (25)

1. A floor display system, comprising:

a floor covering; and

an electronic display assembly coupled to the floor covering and comprising a plurality of distinct display modules configured to display electronically modifiable arbitrary content, each display module being arranged within a module protective enclosure comprising a common transparent cover or one of a plurality of independent transparent covers, and a vertical support, wherein each display module is configured to display electronically modifiable arbitrary content through the transparent covers.

2. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein the modular protective enclosure comprises a top member and a bottom member.

3. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein each display module is removable with respect to the assembly.

4. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein each modular protective enclosure is removable with respect to the assembly.

5. The floor display system of claim 2, wherein the top member comprises a transparent material.

6. The floor display system of claim 5, wherein the transparent material comprises at least one of glass and plastic.

7. The floor display system of claim 2, wherein the vertical support comprises at least one of plastic, metal, and wood.

8. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein the floor covering comprises one of carpet, rubber, and plastic.

9. The floor display system of claim 2, wherein the vertical support is a beam.

10. The floor display system of claim 2, wherein the vertical supports are columns.

11. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein the electronic display assembly has a thickness of 1 inch or less.

12. The floor display system of claim 1, wherein the electronic display assembly has a thickness of 1/2 inches or less.

13. A floor display system comprising an electronic display assembly including a plurality of electronic display modules having protective covers, the electronic display modules configured to display electronically modifiable arbitrary content, the displayable electronically modifiable arbitrary content including at least one of:

an unrelated image on a single module;

a composite image, portions of which are formed on each of the modules,

wherein each of the plurality of electronic display modules is disposed within a respective module protective enclosure, wherein the vertical supports are comprised of side panels of the module protective enclosure and are distributed throughout the electronic display assembly.

14. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein a volume of space is provided between the top member of each modular protective enclosure and the display module received therein.

15. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of display modules are configured to display a consecutive display that is divided.

16. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein each display module is removable with respect to the assembly and replaceable with a replacement material of the same size.

17. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein each of the modular protective enclosures is removable with respect to the assembly and replaceable with a replacement material of the same size.

18. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the electronic display assembly is coupled to the floor covering.

19. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the electronic display assembly is housed in the floor.

20. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the vertical support is a beam.

21. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the vertical supports are columns.

22. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the electronic display assembly has a thickness of 1 inch or less.

23. The floor display system of claim 13, wherein the electronic display assembly has a thickness of 1/2 inches or less.

24. A floor display system, comprising:

an electronic display device; and

a protective structure comprising a vertical support configured to receive an aperture formed in the display device and to highlight an upper surface of the display device to support a top component of the display device protective enclosure.

25. The floor display system of claim 24, wherein the electronic display device comprises a plurality of display modules.