IE78013B1

IE78013B1 - Information display device

Info

Publication number: IE78013B1
Application number: IE922756A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Frederic Houache
Original assignee: Jean Marie Vigroux S A
Priority date: 1991-10-22
Filing date: 1992-10-20
Publication date: 1998-02-11
Also published as: WO1993008557A1; NZ244809A; IE922756A1; DE69124607T2; DK0538532T3; AU2948092A; EP0538532A1; ES2099741T3; MC2323A1; MX9206053A; CN1076046A; EP0538532B1; PT100986B; PT100986A; CN1046365C; DE69124607D1; ATE148801T1; UY23492A1; ZA928161B; GR3023320T3

Abstract

Information display device, especially for advertising information, comprising a support frame (10) equipped with a display window (12), characterised in that it comprises a magazine (16) with at least one information support panel (28), means of selecting (34) and of gripping (32) one of the said panels, and means (14) for transferring this panel into line with the display window.

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying information.

Various apparatus for displaying information, particularly advertisements, are known. Thus, there are display boards which comprise a display window in which information appears that has previously been printed on a film wound onto a first roller arranged at the lower end of the display board, whilst a receiving roller at the upper end winds the film over a length corresponding to the height of the board.

Display boards of this kind are generally motordriven and the advertisement is changed periodically. There is even provision for the direction of winding and unwinding to be reversed so that it is possible to return to previous displays.

This type of display board is without doubt an advance compared with the fixed advertising boards which hold pasted posters, but it is unsatisfactory for a number of reasons.

The main reason is the lack of flexibility of this type of display board. In fact, a film has to be produced with a succession of images in a given order and these images are presented in this order in either one direction or the other but without fail one after the other.

Moreover, the transition from one display to another can be studied in one direction of movement but, on the other hand, this transition may be very disagreeable to watch in the opposite direction.

There is also a reason of cost, as the entire film has to be screen-printed with no possibility of intercalating one image between two others, with the result that the programming has to be preset in its entirety and the films produced on demand. Moreover, the only control is a delay mechanism which keeps a particular image visible in the window for a given length of time.

The use of display apparatus of this kind also has drawbacks in that it is a long and difficult process to change the image.

Other apparatus propose rollers with a nonremovable support film stretched between the rollers inside the advertising structure. As the image is made up of a number of pieces arranged in transparent recesses provided in the film, these have to be introduced one by one into the corresponding recesses in the manner of a jigsaw puzzle.

In the case of displays measuring four metres by three metres, eight separate images measuring one metre by one metre fifty have to be installed in the support film in accordance with the standards currently in force. It will be understood that, consequently, it is a long and tricky process to change the display, generally requiring two people working simultaneously for lengthy periods.

It is also clear that during these long changeover periods, the display apparatus is immobilised and hence unusable and uneconomic. This changeover operation is made all the more tricky in the case of display boards arranged at a considerable height, on posts in the centre of towns and when the climatic conditions are poor.

Any remote control of a display apparatus of this kind is also made impossible in that the order of display of the images is preset and any modification will require lengthy periods of immobilisation.

On the other hand, from the document EP-A-419 732, an apparatus is known which makes it possible to display boards which carry information contained in a store by means of selecting and gripping means. These boards are taken from the store to be put in place on the front of the apparatus by transfer means.

However, in this apparatus, the order of presentation of the boards is invariably identical to the order of the arrangement of these boards in the store.

Advances in publicity and communications require great flexibility of use and it might be useful to be able to modify the order of presentation of the different pieces of information, to modify one of the items of information without changing the others, or quite simply to prevent one of the items of information from being displayed whilst not interfering with the others.

In sports meetings, for example, it may be necessary to increase the duration of presentation of the notice for an announcer, as he requires, as a function of the audience which will view a televised rebroadcast of the meeting. This is currently impossible with existing apparatus.

It should also be noted that, for reasons of economics, halls are used for more and more purposes and the various types of meetings follow one another very rapidly and may be of totally different types, which require rapid changes in the information displays.

During certain sports events it is also impossible for the meeting to overrun or for events to occur which delay the broadcasting of the publicity or information messages, with the result that, in preset systems, it is often difficult to modify the programming.

Similarly, there is a type of publicity information which consists in having vehicles travelling around on which there are fixed billboards to which bills are pasted. A system of this kind is not flexible in use as any change in the publicity material requires the vehicle to return to base for the removal of one poster and the attachment of another, whilst automatic windingfilm systems such as that described above still have all the disadvantages of use mentioned hereinbefore, whether they are on a post or on a vehicle.

The present invention proposes an apparatus for displaying information, notably advertisements, which is highly flexible in use, wherein the preset programme can be changed instantly, wherein the order or presentation of the display panels can be modified, which is capable of accommodating an additional panel or a whole set of new panels, and which can be controlled manually or by internal programming or by remote control, which can accommodate a plurality of juxtaposed modules so as to produce an extremely large display, which is not expensive either for the maintenance of the apparatus itself or for the use of the apparatus, which is not too bulky, so that it can be transported on a mobile unit or mounted on posts at fixed sites or on a unit which can be moved manually by rolling along the ground.

To this end, the apparatus for displaying information, notably advertisements, according to the invention is characterised in that it comprises a support frame provided with a display window, a store having at least two information support panels, means for selecting and gripping one of said panels and means for transferring this panel into alignment with the display window. The selecting means of the apparatus according to the invention comprise, more particularly, pointers carried by the panels, opposite gripping means, integral with the transfer means.

According to one particular embodiment, the transfer means comprise at least two rollers, upper and lower, at least one of which is a drive roller, around which is wrapped a closed-loop carrying belt on which are mounted the means for gripping the panels.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gripping means comprise electromagnets arranged in a line, parallel to the rotation axis of the rollers, the plunger of the electromagnets constituting the actual gripping means for the panel and the pointers comprising at least two tabs projecting over the upper edge of each panel and each provided with a hole intended to cooperate with the end of the plunger of the electromagnet opposite.

According to a further feature of the invention, the frame is substantially parallelepipedal, its width and height corresponding substantially to those of the panel which is to be displayed, and is of limited depth, corresponding substantially to the diameter of the rollers plus the thickness of the store which is located on the rear surface opposite the surface which comprises the display window.

According to another feature, the frame comprises a unit for controlling the selecting, gripping and transfer means .

According to another feature of the invention, the store is a removable cassette comprising a programmed memory for the order and duration of transit of the panels which it contains, as well as connections enabling the contents of the programmed memory of the cassette to be downloaded to the control unit.

Moreover, the modules are also capable of being juxtaposed and connected along the longitudinal axis so as to produce a full width display.

According to one particular embodiment, the frame is tilted backwards so as to enable the panels to be disengaged and stacked automatically by the effect of gravity alone.

According to one particular embodiment, the panel comprises a board which carries the pointers, which is deformable so as to adapt to the radius of curvature of the rollers, the actual information being carried on said board.

The invention is described hereinafter according to one particular embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of a display apparatus according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a front view, partly cut away, of the display apparatus, Figure 3 shows a side view of the display apparatus according to the invention with the side casing removed, Figure 4 shows a rear view of the display apparatus according to the invention, Figure 5 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of the arrangement of the panels within the cassette, and Figure 6 is a detailed view showing an electromagnet of the selecting and gripping means.

Figure 1 shows a display apparatus according to the invention which comprises a support frame 10, a display window 12, transfer means 14 and a store 16.

The support frame 10 is shown in Figure 2, viewed from in front and partially cutaway. This support frame may be regarded as being substantially parallelepipedal, of considerable width and height but of limited depth.

Moreover, the support frame 10 comprises a foot 18 which is integral with the parallelepipedal part oriented towards the back, so as to give the support frame as a whole a certain stability, in view of the fact that the parallelepiped is tilted slightly backwards. Moreover, wheels 20 are integrated in the foot 18 so as to allow the display apparatus as a whole to be moved along.

The display window 12 has a width substantially equal to that of the parallelepiped, its thickness being similar to that of the casing which surrounds the parallelepiped and defines the display window 12.

This display window 12 faces the front of the apparatus and is delimited by an upper strip 22 and a lower strip 24 intended to conceal the transfer means 14, which will be described hereinafter.

Figure 2 shows a front view of the apparatus, partially cut away.

The display window 12 has a transparent front wall fixed relative to the support frame, more particularly relative to the upper strip 22 and lower strip 24 so as to protect and seal off the interior of the support frame and the components which it contains.

The transfer device 14 for the panels 28 comprises a mechanical transfer system 30 for the gripping means 32 and selecting means 34.

As shown in detail in Figure 6, the gripping means 32 consist of the end of the plunger of an electromagnetic jack 36 comprising an electromagnet 38.

Excitation of this electromagnet 38 causes the gripping means 32, in this case the plunger, to move in the direction indicated by the arrow 40. This jack 36 is fixed directly to a support bar 41, integral with a closed-loop belt 42 mounted around two notched pulleys 44, rotationally driven by a shaft 46, the upper and lower mechanical systems 30 being synchronised by a notched strap 48 cooperating with the pulleys and integral with said belt.

The motorised drive means themselves are not shown since they are well known in the art and can be arranged between the upper and lower pulleys 44.

Pressing elements 50, such as leaf springs, for example, are also provided on the notched straps.

On the sides, flanges 52 integral with the casing simultaneously guide the closed loop belt 42 over its side part masked by the upper strip 22 whilst at the same time acting as a bearing for the shaft 46 and holding the panel flat against the belt.

Moreover, the bore which acts as a bearing inside the flange opens out and the lateral casing is also provided with a hole opposite the bore in the flange and provided with a removable cover.

The store 16 is shown in detail in partial view in Figure 5. It comprises a casing 54 in which are arranged panels 28 parallel to one another and provided with tabs 56 designated A, £ and £, respectively, for the three panels shown, these tabs being at variable spacings from the edges, the panels being aligned.

Each protruding tab has a hole 58 at its upper end, i.e. above the panel itself.

Moreover, this cassette has a memory 60 and a contact pin 62 adapted to connect to a corresponding contact pin, not shown, integral with the support frame of the display apparatus.

These panels are oriented so that the tabs are at the top.

The support frame of the display apparatus according to the invention comprises a foot 18 directed backwards which stabilises the assembly, as shown in detail in Figure 3.

Inside this foot 18 there is a unit 64 for controlling the selecting, gripping and transfer means, this control unit being supplied with the data contained in the memory 60 by means of the connecting pin 62 of the cassette.

Operation of the apparatus will now be described.

The user positions a module of the display apparatus according to the invention, as described hereinbefore, at the place where he wants the information shown on the display panels 28 to appear.

A cassette 54 contains different panels 28, 28 A, B, 28 C, which are arranged in any order in the cassette, the tab being located at the top and the side bearing the information being directed towards the back of the apparatus.

The memory 60 of the cassette has been programmed with the presentation times of the panels and the order of transit thereof. As soon as the cassette is connected to the support frame 10, the information contained in the memory 60 is downloaded, through the contact pin 62, into the control unit 64.

The control unit 64 now has in its memory the presentation cues, the periods of presentation and the coordinates of the panels to be displayed.

At a given moment £, panel A is to be displayed. From then on, the electromagnet 38 of the jack 36 A, i.e. of the jack located opposite the tab A, is supplied so that the plunger acting as a support projects beyond the body of the jack 36 and the plunger passes through the hole 58 in the tab 56 A- The control unit 64 then activates the drive motor so as to rotate the pulleys 44 which themselves drive the notched strap 48, which in turn drives the support belt 42 on which the jacks 36 are mounted. The display panel A is thus extracted from the store 54 and the tab, flexibly mounted relative to the panel, is driven along and curves so as to follow the profile of the closed-loop belt 42, the tab being pressed down and held by the inside of the strip 22 so that the tab does not jump from the end of the plunger of the gripping means 32. In order to limit the chances of disengagement, also, the end of the head of the plunger is slightly flattened so as to give it a blocking power.

In fact, as soon as the belt 42 has been set in rotation, the electrical supply to the electromagnet 38 of the jack 36 is cut off so that the plunger retracts relative to the body of the jack.

With the tab being driven, the semi-rigid panel curves in its turn and follows the profile of the belt 42 and, as soon as the panel starts to move down into the display window 12, it is pressed against the transparent outer protective wall 26 by the springs of the pressing elements 50.

As soon as the support system and the tab are concealed by the lower strip 24, the control unit stops the motor, so that the side of the panel A carrying the information is perfectly positioned in the display window 12.

Once the period of exposure of the panel A has elapsed, the control unit starts the motor up again to cause panel £ to be gripped by a second set of jacks 36 and at the same time panel A is returned to its original position.

During the rotation at the bottom, the tab is held by the strip 24 on the gripping means 32 and after rotation the tab is held by gravity, as the weight of the panel exerts a downward pull.

When the panel is aligned with the store, taking account of the tilt of the support frame, the lower part of·the panel is received into the store. The electromagnet of the jack 36 then only has to be excited for the tab to be released from the gripping means 32. The panel, of sufficient rigidity, is pressed onto the panel £ remaining in the store. During this stage, panel £ has been placed in alignment with the display window 12 where it remains for the programmed period.

The control unit thus causes the different panels to be displayed at different times for the required lengths of time.

The programming may be designed so that after panel £, panel £ appears, but it is also possible after panel £ for panel A to appear directly. In fact, the chronological order of presentation is irrelevant as the jacks are able to hook on to the tabs opposite. Thus, it is merely necessary to programme the movement of the jack corresponding to the tabs on the panel which is to be displayed; the order of presentation or the order of return of the panels to the store are not connected to one another.

The user may also change the display panels virtually instantaneously. In order to do this he simply has to prepare a cassette and enter the necessary data into the memory 60, then substitute the second cassette for the first, the information transmitted to the control unit by the first cassette being deleted and replaced by the data contained in the memory 60 of the second cassette.

The use described above is within the scope of an autonomous unit but it is also possible to control the order of presentation of the panels by remote control.

In this case, the cassette does not have a memory and the control unit 64 is linked either by a radio link or by cable to a control post which may be a programme previously introduced into a microcomputer.

The control unit is then directly connected to the preset seguence in the microcomputer, which makes it possible to modify the order of presentation of the panels or quite simply the length of presentation in real time.

If the user wants to add advertising panels, he merely has to introduce panels into the existing store, then control the order and duration of presentation of these new panels relative to the others using the programme of the microcomputer.

The foregoing description relates to a module of a display apparatus but it is also possible to juxtapose a plurality of modules so as to obtain extremely large panels. In this case, the covers provided on the lateral casings are removed, connecting members are inserted so as to connect the shafts 46 of the different modules to one another so that they then form a single display apparatus comprising a plurality of modules.

It is merely necessary to adapt the order of presentation of the panels, synchronisation being achieved by the mechanical linking of the rotation shafts .

Various alternative embodiments are derived directly from the invention.

Thus, the system of selection and gripping using a jack, tabs and holes may be replaced by simple tabs and pincer-type gripping means.

Similarly, the gripping means, i.e. the plunger, may itself be an electromagnet on which the tab covered with a metal film can be applied by magnetic forces.

As for the motor drive means and means for rotation between two rollers, it is possible to envisage solid rollers with an internal motor, bar-type rollers, pinions with a chain or any other transfer means within the capabilities of the person skilled in the art.

Similarly, the support frame may be modified, particularly in its angle of tilt or its general outer appearance.

A display apparatus of this kind may be mounted on posts, for use in a town, for example, or installed on a vehicle for a mobile urban display.

As for the materials from which the support frame is made, the preferred embodiment of the invention envisages the use of composite materials or, more generally, plastic materials which enable high precision components to be produced by moulding, whereas the various transparent fapades, the panels and the belt of the transfer means are to be made from suitable materials such as polycarbonate, plasticised sheets in the case of the panels and a transparent plastic film for the closed-loop belt.

The panels may advantageously be manufactured from plastic sheets the lateral edges of which are strengthened by a metal ribbon which is slightly curved transversely, similar to a tape measure, to ensure that the panel is sufficiently rigid when in the vertical position whilst readily enabling it to curve when the curving movement starts .

The system may be illuminated by means of neon lights, for example, arranged behind the panels. Similarly, the attachment means may consist of a retractable lug, an inflatable balloon or an expandable spike arranged at the end of a movable rod, these various means cooperating with the holes in the tabs on the panels .

Claims

1. Apparatus for displaying information, notably advertisements, comprising a support frame (10) provided with a display window (12), a store (16) with at least one information support panel (28), means for selecting (34) and gripping (32) one of said panels, and means (14) for transferring this panel into alignment with the display window, characterised in that the selecting means (34) and gripping means (32) are adapted to select the panels irrespective of their sequence in the store.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the selecting means (34) comprise pointers (56) carried by the panels, opposite gripping means (32), integral with the transfer means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the transfer means (14) comprise at least two rollers (44), upper and lower, at least one of which is a drive roller, around which is wrapped a closed-loop carrying belt (42) on which are mounted the means (32) for gripping the panels.

4. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the gripping means (32) comprise jacks (36) with electromagnets (38) arranged in a line, parallel to the rotation axis of the rollers, the plunger of this electromagnet constituting the actual gripping means for the panel and the pointers (56) comprising at least two tabs projecting over the upper edge of each panel and each provided with a hole (58) intended to co-operate with the plunger of the electromagnet opposite.

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the frame (10) is substantially parallelepipedal, its width and height corresponding substantially to those of the panel which is to be displayed, and is of limited depth, corresponding substantially to the diameter of the rollers plus the thickness of the store which is located on the rear surface opposite the surface which comprises the display window.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterised in that the frame (10) comprises a unit (64) for controlling the selecting, gripping and transfer means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the store (16) is a removable cassette comprising a programmed memory for the order and duration of transit of the panels which it contains, as well as connections enabling the contents of the programmed memory of the cassette to be downloaded to the control unit (64).

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises modules provided with connecting and synchronising means along the longitudinal axis in order to produce a full width display.

9. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the frame (10) is tilted backwards so as to enable the panels (28) to be disengaged and stacked automatically by the effect of gravity alone.

10. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each panel (28) consists of a board, carrying pointers, which is deformable so as - 15 to adapt to the radius of curvature of the rollers, the actual information being carried on said board.

11. Apparatus for displaying information substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the 5 accompanying drawings.