JPH06242734A - Variable color block and sign panel using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the sign panel which is inexpensive and has a large screen by arraying plural variable color blocks, having three cold cathode-ray discharge tube emitting light in blue, red, and green in casings, in plane. CONSTITUTION:A milk-white surface cover 1 scatters light beams from the discharge tubes in the casing 2 to suppress the color irregularity of the illumination of the variable color block 20 and make the light nearly monochromatic. The three cold cathode-ray tubes 3 as light emission sources are put one over another in the order of red 3R, blue 3B, and green 3G as the primary colors. By making those one control unit, monochromatic light emission or light emission of mixed colors of the respective colors is possible. The sign panel is constituted by arraying many variable color blocks 20 as pixel units in plane. The respective blocks as pixels are given light emission indications individually to control all the pixels and then various characters and screen having many kind of colors can easily be displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variable color block suitable for indoor / outdoor signs and lighting equipment as stage equipment, and a sign panel using the variable color block.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional sign panel is equipped with a dimming neon.
(There was a neon sign of each color put in a display frame in the shape of letters so that the color of the letters could be changed). The red and green emission was clear, but the blue emission was difficult, and the color variation was poor.

In order to increase this color variation,
In some cases, a sign panel was constructed by mixing neon signs, LEDs, fluorescent lights capable of coloring, etc. to form letters and illustrations. Because these devices are complicated and easy to increase in size,
The installation location was often limited, and the installation work was difficult and maintenance work was troublesome. Also, since LEDs are expensive,
I could not control the cost of the sign panel.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, a sign panel which can express characters and illustrations without changing the colors themselves of figures and characters, which can be realized at a low cost and on a large screen was examined.

[0005]

As a result of studying the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has found that the three primary colors of light of blue 3B, red 3R, and green 3G are contained in a casing 2 having a light-transmitting milk semi-colored surface cover 1. We developed a variable color block 20 in which three cold cathode discharge tubes 3 that emit light are stacked and housed in an arbitrary order, and a sign panel in which a plurality of such blocks are arranged in a plane. The planar array includes, in addition to flat and curved surfaces, vertical and horizontal grids, and arrays along the outline of characters and illustrations.

[0006]

The operation of the variable color block 20 of the present invention will be described below. The milky-colored surface cover 1 scatters light rays from the discharge tube into the casing 2 to form a variable color block.
Suppresses the color unevenness of 20 emitted light and makes it close to a single color. The three cold cathode discharge tubes 3 serving as the light emitting sources of this block are formed by superimposing the three primary colors red 3R, blue 3B, and green 3G in an arbitrary order. By using these as one control unit, it is possible to emit light of a single color or a mixed color of each color, and it is possible to obtain the diversity of light emission of various colors in a continuous range. Further, in the combination of the three primary colors, white light using a complementary color can also be emitted.

The positional relationship between the cold cathode discharge tubes 3 is related to the color mixing condition, and the distance to the surface cover 1 affects the light emitting condition. When forming a large block, the discharge tubes may be arranged horizontally, but it is better to arrange them with a step in the vertical direction. Further, the larger the distance between the discharge tube and the cover, the more convenient it is for light emission of mixed colors, and this tendency becomes remarkable especially when white light is emitted.

The sign panel can be constructed by arranging a large number of the variable color blocks 20 in a plane unit for each pixel. Since the variable color block 20 is unitized, it is easy to handle and the sign panel configuration is relatively simple. By giving a light emission instruction to each block which is a pixel and controlling the whole pixel, the sign panel can easily display various characters and screens having various colors in a continuous range.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a grid 10 of a sign panel using a variable color block 20 of the present invention for each grid, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a block diagram of a sign panel using the variable color block 20 of the present invention.
The variable color block 20 has a diameter of 12 mm corresponding to each color in a metallic casing 2 having a square of 250 mm on each side and a thickness of 160 mm.
The cold cathode discharge tube 3 of mm is constructed by arranging blue 3B, green 3G, and red 3R in order from the bottom. This order is effective for the order of stacking the discharge tubes. Each cold cathode discharge tube 3 is attached to the front side of the mounting plate 8, and an inverter transformer 5 is attached to the back side of the mounting plate 8 corresponding to each discharge tube. Blue 3B of the discharge tube is fixed to the mounting plate 8 with a space,
The red 3R and green 3G of the discharge tube are mutually supported by the bracket 7 and the blue 3B of the discharge tube with a space therebetween.

The sign panel composed of the variable color block 20 can be freely arranged as described above. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the variable color block 20 is arranged in a grid 10 assembled in a grid pattern to form a sign panel. The blocks are
The flange 6 on the outer periphery of the block is fixed to the frame body 11 with screws or the like. In the present embodiment, the frame body 11 is formed by only the vertical beams, but if this is not structurally sufficient, for example, if it is necessary to secure bending rigidity and torsional rigidity, horizontal beams may be provided. .

The electronic blinker 9 is provided outside the sign panel,
Connected to the inverter transformer 5 of each discharge tube,
Control the sign panel. This flasher controls the discharge tube by sending signals for lighting, flashing, and extinguishing to the transformer corresponding to each color in order to make the variable color block 20 emit light of a desired color in pixel units, and blocks in any color mixture state. Light up. In this way, by controlling the blocks, which are each pixel of the entire sign panel, by the electronic blinker 9, it is possible to draw colored characters and illustrations on the sign panel. The electronic blinker 9 has a built-in CPU, so that in addition to manual operation of the sign panel, automatic operation by a program and remote operation using a communication line are possible. When it is not possible to directly confirm the display state of the sign panel such as in the case of this remote operation, the display state of the sign panel may be displayed on the electronic blinker 9.

On the light emitting surface of the variable color block 20, an acrylic resin cover is used as the semi-milky surface cover 1 which can maintain the performance as an insulator even when the humidity changes.
This milky-colored cover is yellow with a mixture of green 3G and red 3R,
Light blue can be uniformly emitted by mixing green 3G and blue 3B, purple can be obtained by mixing blue 3B and red 3R, and white can be uniformly emitted by mixing green 3G, red 3R and blue 3B.

The cold cathode discharge tube used in this embodiment is characterized in that it requires a high applied voltage but requires a small amount of current, resulting in low power consumption. This is a continuous discharge that does not require thermionic emission, and this point is different from the hot cathode discharge tube that requires heat application to the cathode.

However, since there is a risk that the current will increase with discharge and lead to the destruction of the discharge tube, when using a cold cathode discharge tube, as a stable reactor that keeps the current constant,
In the case of direct current, it is necessary to incorporate a resistor in the case of alternating current, and to incorporate a coil in the circuit. In particular, when a cold cathode discharge tube is used in an alternating current, a neon transformer having a large leakage magnetic flux is used in order to obtain the high applied voltage described above and to have the function of a stable reactor. In addition to the function of this neon transformer, the inverter transformer 5 of the present embodiment is provided with a function of preventing flickering caused by switching the polarity of the discharge tube due to alternating current.

[0015]

The variable color block and the sign panel using the same according to the present invention can express various colors by mixing the three primary colors of light in any combination. Therefore, it is not necessary to use an expensive LED, and a large sign panel can be realized at low cost.

Colored characters and illustrations on the sign panel can be easily controlled by an electronic blinker,
It is convenient because program control and remote operation using communication lines can be performed easily.

Since the variable color block is unitized, the construction is very easy when constructing a sign panel using this as a pixel. Considering this good handling, color expressiveness and convenience in control, it has versatility as a display and its application range is extremely wide.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of a variable color block of the present invention and a sign panel using the variable color block.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a variable color block of the present invention and a sign panel using the variable color block.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Surface cover 2 Casing 3 Cold cathode discharge tube 5 Inverter transformer 9 Electronic flasher 10 Lattice 20 Variable color block

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cold cathode discharge tube 3 for emitting three primary colors of blue 3B, red 3R, and green 3G, respectively, is stacked in a casing 2 having a light-transmitting milky semi-colored surface cover 1 in an arbitrary order. Variable color block that is stored. 2. A sign panel comprising a plurality of variable color blocks 20 according to claim 1 arranged in a plane.