WO2009105494A2

WO2009105494A2 - Electronic display panels for street posts

Info

Publication number: WO2009105494A2
Application number: PCT/US2009/034437
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kammy W Au; Barry Hartsfield
Original assignee: Kammy W Au; Barry Hartsfield
Priority date: 2008-02-20
Filing date: 2009-02-18
Publication date: 2009-08-27
Also published as: WO2009105494A3

Abstract

Techniques for display boards for streets are disclosed. A display unit includes at least one display panel, the display unit is mounted onto a street post (e.g., a street light pole) with the display panel facing the incoming traffic on the street. Various contents such as texts, videos, images or graphics are displayed on the display panel so that people passing by can see what is being displayed. According to another embodiment, a display unit includes at least two display panels, mounted to back to each other. When the display unit is mounted on a street post, passengers in cars or pedestrians could see the displayed contents from either direction.

Description

Electronic Display Panels for Street Posts

Kammy W. Au Barry Hartsfield

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the area of presenting information for advertising or other purposes, and more specifically to a combination of a street post and an electronic display board.

Description of the Related Art

[0002] There are a lot of poles or posts on a commercial street. A post is a piece of wood, concrete or metal, usually long and square or cylinder, set upright to support something (e.g., a street lamp). During a festival, a post may even be decorated with additional banners or flags. FIG. 1 shows an example where a street light post 100 is decorated with a flag or banner 102. Depending on the event, the banner 102 may be used for different purposes.

[0003] Unless it is event-independent, the banner has to be replaced every time there is an event to be more consistent with the theme of the event. For example, it is more appropriate to have the banners on all street light posts in a major road replaced with national flags when the time is around a national holiday. Likewise, the banners on all street light posts in a road towards a shopping mall are preferably replaced with signs of snow flakes when the time is in the Christmas season. However changes of the banners on the street light posts could be laborious. Further, these banners contribute little when there are no events.

[0004] The present invention discloses electronic display boards for street posts. Contents to be displayed could be readily changed to be synchronized with the theme of an event. Further, the electronic display boards may be used to display commercial information when needed to recover the cost of deploying these electronic display boards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the present invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions in this section as well as in the abstract and the title may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of this section, the abstract and the title. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0006] The invention pertains to a display system mounted on street poles or posts such as street light posts. According to one aspect of the present invention, a display unit includes at least one display panel, the display unit is mounted onto a street post (e.g., a street light pole) with the display panel facing the incoming traffic on the street. Various contents such as texts, videos, images or graphics are displayed on the display panel so that people passing by can see what is being displayed. According to another aspect of the present invention, a display unit includes at least two display panels, mounted back to back of each other. When the display unit is mounted on a street post, passengers in cars or pedestrians could see the displayed contents from either direction.

[0007] According to another aspect of the invention, a central station is configured to provide contents to the display units in an area. Depending on their locations, the display units are caused to display identical contents at the same time on at least one side of the display units to create a synchronized image/video or different contents on different display units.

[0008] To facilitate the deployment of the display units, each of the display units is mounted directly onto a street light post and powered directly from the power that energizes the light. In one embodiment, the display unit is equipped with a transceiver to communicate wirelessly with the central station to receive contents therefrom.

[0009] The present invention may be implemented in different forms.

According to one embodiment, the present invention is a display system comprising a street post in a street; and a display unit mounted on the street post, the display unit including at least a display panel facing an incoming direction of traffic of the street, the display unit having a height longer than a width thereof. The display unit includes another display panel facing an opposite direction of traffic of the street.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the present invention is a display system comprising: a plurality of street posts distributed in major streets and branch streets; a plurality of display units, one or two of the display units mounted on each of the street posts, each of the display units including at least a display panel facing an incoming direction of traffic on the major or branch streets, wherein all of the display units on one of the major streets or the major and branch streets are caused to display same videos, images or texts in a synchronized manner. [0011] One of the objects, features, advantages, benefits of the present invention is to provide a solution for conveying media information via electronic display boards to people on streets.

[0012] Other objects, features, advantages, benefits of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an example where a street light post is decorated with a banner;

[0015] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show respective functional block diagrams for a display unit and a central station according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 3C shows an exemplary layout of streets where the display units in accordance with the present invention have been deployed on the street posts there; and [0018] FIG. 4 shows one exemplary installation of a display unit onto a street light pole.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The detailed description of the invention is presented largely in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices. These process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Reference herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the order of blocks in process flowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations in the invention.

[0020] Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. FIG. 2 shows an exemplary configuration 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The configuration 200 includes a street light post 202 and an electronic display unit 204. The electronic display unit 204 includes at least one display panel 206 (e.g., a LED, LCD, Plasma or OLED). The display panel 206 reassembles a shape of a traditional banner commonly seen on a street light post. In one embodiment, the height of the display panel 206 is longer than the width thereof. In another embodiment, the electronic display unit 204 includes two of the display panel 206, mounted back to back. As a result, passengers in cars or pedestrians could see displayed contents on the electronic display unit 204 from either direction of the street.

[0021] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show respective functional block diagrams for a display unit 300 and a central station 350 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The display unit 300 includes a power unit 302, a display driver 304 and a transceiver 306 while the central station 350 includes a synch unit 352, a processing unit 354 and a transceiver 356. The power unit 302 is to energize the display unit 300. In one embodiment, the power unit 302 is designed to drive electricity directly from the power that is used to energize the lamp on the straight light post. In most cases, the light post electricity is a high voltage in AC, the power unit 302 converts the electricity into a DC source to power the display unit 300. In another embodiment, the power unit 302 includes one or more solar panels (also mounted on the post) to derive power from the solar panel to power the display unit 300.

[0022] The display driver 304 is provided to drive the display panel to display images, texts or videos on the display unit. The transceiver 306 is provided to receive the images, texts or videos from a central station or a local storage device. In one embodiment, the transceiver 306 is designed to communicate wirelessly with the central station to receive signals (e.g., contents) to be displayed on the display panel. In another embodiment, the transceiver 306 is a network interface designed to communicate with a network to receive signals (e.g., contents) to be displayed on the display panel. In still another embodiment, the transceiver 306 (e.g., USB) is designed to work with a local storage device stuffed with contents to be displayed. In yet another embodiment, among all deployed display units, one of the display units is caused to communicate with a central station and relay received contents to other display units via wired or wireless network (e.g., a local area network).

[0023] The central station 350 may be remotely located with respect to the display unit 300. The central station 350 is provided to control a plurality of display units deployed in an area. In one embodiment, the synch unit 352 is provided to control the display of contents in the display units. To create a synchronized image of content, the display units on the street light posts along a street are caused to display same images, texts or videos at the same time. In one example of celebrating a national holiday, all the display units controlled by the central station 350 display the same video of patriotic and flag animations. Depending on the implementation, the synch unit 352 may be designed in different ways. In another example, a set of commercial advertisements are shown on some or all of the display units depending on the payments from the advertisers.

[0024] According to one embodiment, advertisements on the display units mounted on the street posts may be priced differently depending on the time selected for display, the street where the posts are located, and the number of the display units selected. For example, costs of running advertisements on these display units may be charged much higher in rush hours than afternoons. FIG. 3C shows a layout of streets where the display units in accordance with the present invention have been deployed on the street posts there. Running advertisements on the display units along a boulevard (major street), especially in synchronized manner, would be more impressive than those on a street (branch street). Accordingly, same or higher charges would be charged. Likewise, all display units may be synchronized to run the same advertisements, leaving an immersive impression on people on the streets. All could be controlled via the central station 350. In addition, the central stations 350 may be configured to control the intensity of the display panels in the field in response to the ambient lighting condition (e.g., via a sensor) or times (e.g., via a timer). For example, in a very sunny day, the sensor may cause the display panel to increase the intensity of the display panel so that people on the street may still see the displayed contents. In the evening or dark time, the sensor may cause the display panel to decrease the intensity of the display panel to minimize illumination distraction. Likewise, the timer (either locally installed or via the central station) causes the display units to be on or off automatically.

[0025] The processing unit 354 is provided to reformat images, videos or texts to better fit the size or format of the display panels in each of the display units. In one embodiment, a video for a normal display screen (e.g.: 4:3 or 16:9) is preprocessed to fit a display panel of 3:4 or 9:16 without distortion.

[0026] The transceiver 356 is provided to communicate each of the transceivers in the display units deployed in the field. Depending on the implementation, the transceiver 356 is provided to send the images, texts or videos from a database or storage device to the display units deployed in the field. In one embodiment, the transceiver 356 is designed to communicate wirelessly with the central station to receive signals (e.g., contents) to be displayed on the display panel. In another embodiment, the transceiver 356 is a network interface designed to broadcast, multicast or unicast selective contents in data format to one or more display units in the field.

[0027] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary installation of a display unit 502 mounted to a street light pole 508. To avoid obscuring the display panel, there is an array of voids or holes made on the side of the display unit 502. These voids or holes are so designed to accommodate corresponding mechanism 506 mounted on the light pole 508. As a result, the display unit 502 could be readily mounted to or demounted from the light pole 508.

[0028] The present invention has been described in sufficient detail with a certain degree of particularity. It is understood to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by way of examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement and combination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. While the embodiments discussed herein may appear to include some limitations as to the presentation of the information units, in terms of the format and arrangement, the invention has applicability well beyond such embodiment, which can be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments.

Claims

.ClaimsWe claim:

1. An invention comprising: a street post in a street; and a display unit mounted on the street post, the display unit including at least a display panel facing an incoming direction of traffic of the street, wherein the display unit is configured to display various contents including commercial information or pertaining to a theme of an event.

2. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the display unit includes another display panel facing an opposite direction of traffic of the street.

3. The invention of claim 1 , wherein the display unit includes: a power unit to energize the display panel; a display driver to drive the display panel; and a transceiver to receive contents to be display on the display panel.

4. The invention of claim 3, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate wirelessly with a central station to receive the contents that have been processed to fit the display panel.

5. The invention of claim 3, wherein the transceiver includes a network interface to enable communication of the display unit with a central station to receive the contents that have been processed to fit the display panel.

6. The invention of claim 3, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive contents from a local storage device.

7. The invention of claim 3, wherein the power unit is designed to draw electricity powering lamps on the street posts to power the display panel.

8. An invention comprising: a plurality of street posts distributed in major streets and branch streets; a plurality of display units, one or two of the display units mounted on each of the street posts, each of the display units including at least a display panel facing an incoming direction of traffic on the major or branch streets, wherein all of the display units on one of the major streets or the major and branch streets are caused to display same videos, images or texts in a synchronized manner.

9. The invention of claim 8, wherein each of the display units includes another display panel facing an opposite direction of traffic on the major or branch streets.

10. The invention of claim 8, wherein each of the display units includes: a power unit to energize the display panel; a display driver to drive the display panel; and a transceiver to receive contents to be display on the display panel.

11. The invention of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate wirelessly with a central station to receive the contents that have been processed to fit the display panel.

12. The invention of claim 10, wherein the transceiver includes a network interface to enable communication of the display unit with a central station to receive the contents that have been processed to fit the display panel.

13. The invention of claim 10 wherein the transceiver is configured to receive contents from a local storage device.

14. The invention of claim 10 wherein the power unit is designed to draw electricity powering lamps on the street posts to power the display panel.

15. The invention of claim 10 wherein costs of running advertisements on all of the display units on one of the major streets are more expensive than the same on the branch streets.