CN1128573A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a display device (30), particularly for use as a menu board in a restaurant or the like. The device (30) has at least two rotatable roller members (31 or 32) located in substantially parallel spaced apart relationship. Carrier means (38) is provided, tightly supported by and rotatable about the rollers (31 and 32) and adapted to receive at least one display means (36) thereon. Each of the carrier means (38) and said display means (36) are constructed at least partially of substantially flexible and translucent material. Illumination means (37) are provided behind at least a portion of said carrier means (38), to illuminate a viewing portion of said carrier means (38) and said display means (36) thereon. Most preferably, each display means (36) is sized and shaped to fit between a pair of adjacent rollers such that one or more discrete rest position(s) is/are automatically identified after said display device (30) is rotated, whereby, in said rest position(s), one of said display means (36) is centrally positioned between a respective pair of rollers (31 and 32).

Description

display device

The present invention relates to a display device, in particular to a rotating display device particularly suitable for, but not limited to, rotating menu boards in fast food restaurants.

The menu boards used in fast food restaurants are generally located behind and/or above the service counter at a height of more than two meters from the ground or in parallel lanes so that passing cars can see them. The difficulty encountered in using this type of menu board is: due to the limitation of the size and position of the menu board, it is difficult to change the menu, even if the replacement is also very troublesome.

Some fast food restaurants often use two or more menus throughout the day, such as breakfast or lunch and/or dinner menus. If the menu board of the prior art is used, fast food restaurants with two or more menus generally display all of their menus all day long, so that customers can delay time or order wrong dishes because they are too cumbersome to read the wrong menu.

For overcoming the above-mentioned problem, people have devised various rotating menu boards, such as the described rotating menu board of Australian Patent No.640211 of Flori-da Plastics Midwest Company. AU640211 describes a rotatable display plate consisting of a circular member 56 (FIG. 7) having a plurality of recesses on its circumference. The longitudinal sides of a plurality of rigid panels 34 are interconnected by hinge means. The hinge means 40, 41 engage the recess 58 so that when the handle 62 is turned by hand, the drum 56 conveniently moves the display panel 34 through the transmission mechanism 55.

It can be seen that the device of AU640211 is difficult to manufacture due to the large number of parts, laborious to operate because of having to move the handle 62, which is generally located at a height of 2 meters above the ground, and susceptible to damage due to its complex design and many moving parts.

The present invention aims to provide a display device which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

The present invention also aims to provide a display device which can alternately place a display member in a visible position and one or more hidden positions so as to perform different displays at different predetermined times of the day.

According to a structure in a broad form, the present invention provides a display device, comprising:

at least two rotatable rollers spaced apart from each other and placed in parallel;

a vehicle rotatably fitted over said rollers on which at least one display unit may be mounted, all of said vehicle and at least a portion of said display unit being made of a flexible and translucent material; and

Lighting means disposed behind at least a portion of the vehicle for illuminating visible portions of the vehicle and the display unit thereon.

According to a most preferred construction, the display unit is sized and shaped to fit between a pair of adjacent rollers so that when said display unit is rotated, one or more separate rest positions are automatically determined, thereby , when in the rest position, one of the display parts is located in the middle between the pair of rollers.

When implementing the display device, the carrying device is preferably a belt or the like rotatably sheathed on the two rollers.

As another preferred solution, when implementing the display device, the carrier device is wound on at least two of the roller members like a roll.

In a preferred construction, the vehicle is made of a lightweight polycarbonate type plastic such as "LEXAN".

The display device preferably comprises light-transmitting films and/or light-transmitting slats.

In a preferred configuration, said light transmissive film is adhered to said carrier with a transparent/translucent adhesive material.

In another preferred structure of the present invention, the light-transmitting film is mounted on the carrier device with a cover attached to substantially the entire carrier device, so that each light-transmitting film is located between the carrier device and the carrier device. between coverslips.

In another preferred configuration, the light-transmitting film is attached to the carrier with hook-and-loop fasteners such as Velcro.

All of the aforementioned slats are preferably loaded onto said carrier means by slat carrier means.

The carrier means for each of said slats preferably has a lip for supporting one side of a slat.

Each slat can preferably be provided with at least one window portion, after which a marking module can be fitted.

In a preferred configuration, each marking module includes:

at least one substantially translucent carrier in which is removably housed an indicium card;

At least one attachment means for attachment of said marking module to said slat carrier means.

Said connecting means preferably comprise at least one protrusion on the side of each module, which protrusion is retainable by said slat carrier means.

In a preferred embodiment, the display device further includes a driving device, which is used to drive at least one of the roller members, so as to move at least one display part to a visible position or a hidden position.

In one embodiment, said drive means continuously moves said carrier means.

According to another construction, the invention provides another embodiment, wherein the above-mentioned drive means is activated intermittently, so as to move at least one of the two display elements to the visible position at a time.

Marking modules for use with displays such as slatted carriers include:

a modular frame sized and shaped to fit between a pair of slatted carriers; and

Display window means in the middle of said module frame, into which various display marks can be inserted and removed;

It is characterized in that said modules have at least one protrusion constituting connection means, said protrusions making it impossible for said modules to slide on said slat carrier.

The invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

In Fig. 1, Fig. 1 (a) is the three-dimensional schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the display device of the present invention; Fig. 1 (b) is the embodiment of the display device contained in a housing;

2 (a)-2 (f) of Fig. 2 is the schematic diagram that can be used in various roller devices of the present invention;

3(a)-3(d) of FIG. 3 show details of a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the display device is made up of a plurality of slats secured by a suitable slat carrier means; and

4(a)-4(c) of FIG. 4 show the details of a marker display cover used in the embodiment of FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the display device 30 includes a pair of rotatable rollers 31 and 32 spaced apart and positioned in parallel. A carrier 33 is mounted between the roller members 31 and 32 like a belt. It can rotate in the direction of arrow 34 in the direction of arrow 35 or in both directions 34 and 35 at a time. The carrier can be rotated manually or by a drive not shown in FIG. 4 . The driving device can drive one of the roller members 31 and 32 , and can also drive the roller members 31 and 32 simultaneously, thereby selectively moving the carrier device 33 . At least one display unit 36 is detachably mounted on the carrier device 33 . The embodiment shown in this figure is preferably provided with at least two display components, one at the front of the display device 30 and one at the rear of the display device 30 . By actuating the driving device, the display part 36 can be moved to a visible position or a hidden position. That is, the visible position is located at the front of the display device, while the hidden position is located at the rear of the display device.

Between the two roller members 31 and 32 is provided a lamp or other lighting means to illuminate the display unit 36 in a viewable position. To this end, at least part of the carrier 33 and the display 2 part 36 are made of a transparent and/or translucent material to allow light to pass through.

As shown in FIG. 1( b ), the display device 30 can be installed in a casing 39, which can be placed on the back and above the service desk in restaurants, bars, and restaurants. It can be seen that the display device 30 is installed in this casing 39, and the display device 30 just faces the customers in front of the counter.

As mentioned above, the display unit may be detachably attached to the carrier by any known method, such as with a substantially transparent or translucent adhesive material such as a window sticker or any other known method that is easily applied and removed, Such as velcro, adhesive tape and so on. Rotate the roller 31 or 32 intermittently or continuously with an electric or electric hand drive device so that one of the at least two display parts is moved to a visible position at a time, that is, the display device can be used to display two display parts alternately, intermittently or continuously. or multiple display components. This can be used, for example, in a fast food restaurant to display at least two menus, one at a time, so that one menu is displayed at breakfast and the other at lunch or dinner at a predetermined time. For example, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the display of the breakfast menu should be stopped. At this time, the menu needs to be changed to display the lunch menu. By manipulating the display means, the drive means moves the breakfast menu from the front to the rear of the display means to display the lunch menu.

This operation can be realized automatically by a suitable control circuit, and the driving means can be manually driven or driven by a switch, electrical component/circuit or the like.

One of the features that distinguishes the display device of the present invention from prior art display devices is the material used to make the strap of the display device. According to the present invention, the belt or carrier is made of substantially flexible and translucent material, that is, the carrier or belt is preferably made of plastic or a polycarbonate material such as "LEXAN", so that the belt is tensioned in the The pair of rollers 31 and 32 are rotatably sleeved therebetween. The use of such materials allows for easy movement of the display unit by hand without the need for cumbersome manipulation of handles as in the prior art such as that shown in Australian Patent 640211. Using a polycarbonate material such as LEXAN also has a translucent feature that allows light from the lighting device 37 to pass through. One of the most useful features of using this type of belt that fits snugly over the rollers but is lightweight is "self-positioning" as detailed below.

As mentioned above, a single transparency 36 or a number of board conditions can be placed in the outline shown at 36. It can be seen that a single transparency or a group of board conditions can also be attached to the back of the belt 78. Apparently, when used as a display mark, the bend or end of the entire device, that is, the part around the roller, is provided with a mark, thereby showing a unique effect of the present invention. That is, due to the natural balance effect, the display part can be automatically positioned to the "rest position", so that the display part can only be positioned at the front or the back, and will not stop in the middle of the front and back, that is, around the roller 31 or 32. This is easily achieved because the belt is made of light material and the rollers 31 and 32 run smoothly.

As mentioned above, the single transparent film can be attached to the front or the back of the belt 38. In the dotted frame shown in the number 36 in Figure 1, the single transparent film can be pasted with glue, velcro, adhesive tape or the like.

Alternatively, multiple slat holders can be attached to the belt so that the slats can be easily inserted into the slat belt.

Figure 3 shows this slat structure, Figure 3(a) is a front view, and Figure 3(b) is a side view. Figures 3(c) and 3(d) show a detail of a slat in front and top views respectively, it can be seen that the slat slides into the slat frame behind a lip on each side forming the slat frame middle.

Fig. 4 shows a marker display cover used in conjunction with the slat structure in Fig. 3, and Fig. 4(a) and 4(b) are front view and side view respectively. Due to this unique design of the marker display sleeve, the marker can be easily inserted into the sleeve as shown in Figure 4(c), and then, because the sleeve is formed with a unique protrusion 40, it is convenient for the sleeve to be inserted in place and fastened in a between the slats. Sliding the slats in and out on the display sleeve does not move the display sleeve. Such modules can be used in display devices other than those shown in the drawings.

Various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, those skilled in the art will recognize that various types of display devices can be manufactured with different numbers of scroll wheels, depending on the amount of information to be displayed. FIG. 2 shows examples of these various types of display devices. Figures 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c) of Figure 2 show the use of multiple rollers of the same size, and Figures 2(d) and 2(e) show the use of smaller diameter rollers so that the front of the display device The viewing area on the "Longer". Figure 2(f) shows the use of the rollers on which the carrier is wound. The embodiment shown in Fig. 2(f) is especially suitable for occasions where space is limited.

However, these and all other changes and modifications which will be apparent to those skilled in the art are considered to be included within the scope of the invention as broadly described above and as broadly defined by the appended claims.

Claims (19)

1. display device comprises:

The rotatable roller spare of at least two spaced apart and parallel placement;

Tightly be enclosed within the toter on the described roller rotationally, can load onto at least one display unit on it, at least a portion of each described toter and described display unit is made by being roughly flexibility and translucent material; And

Be located at the lighting device at rear of at least a portion of described toter, be used for throwing light on described toter with and on a visual position of described display unit.

2. by the described display device of claim 2, it is characterized in that, the size of each display unit and shape are made and can be contained between a pair of adjacent rollers, thereby after rotating described display device, establish one or more " rest positions " of separating automatically, thereby, on described rest position, the middle part of one of described display unit between this pair roller.

3. by claim 1 or 2 described display device, it is characterized in that described toter is belt that is enclosed within rotationally all above-mentioned rollers parts and so on.

4. by claim 1 or 2 described display device, it is characterized in that described toter resembles and is wound at least two described roller spares the reel.

5. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that described toter is made with the light-duty polycarbonate-based plastics of " LEXAN " and so on.

6. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that described display unit comprises translite film and/or lath.

7. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that the described translite film usefulness roughly jointing material of transparent/translucent is adhered on the described toter.

8. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that described translite film installs on the described toter with a cover plate that roughly covers whole above-mentioned toter, thereby each translite film is between described toter and described cover plate.

9. by the described display device of arbitrary claim in the claim 1-6, it is characterized in that described translite film installs on the described toter with hook one ring fastener of Velcro and so on.

10. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that, can establish at least one window portion selectively on each lath, and can adorn a mark module behind the described window.

11., it is characterized in that having a lip to be used for supporting a limit of each lath on each described lath rack device by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim.

12., it is characterized in that by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, can be provided with at least one window portion selectively on each lath, and, can adorn a mark module behind the described window.

13., it is characterized in that each mark module comprises by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim:

At least one is for the translucent carrier that is roughly of badge card reeve or taking-up;

At least one coupling arrangement is used for described mark module is connected on the described lath rack device.

14., it is characterized in that described coupling arrangement is included at least one projection on the limit of each module by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it can be by described lath rack device fixing.

15. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that this display device also comprises drive unit, be used for driving at least one the roller spare in the described roller spare, thereby at least one display unit is moved on to viewing position or stowed position.

16., it is characterized in that described drive unit moves described toter continuously by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim.

17. by the described display device of above-mentioned arbitrary claim, it is characterized in that, operate described drive unit discontinuously and move on the viewing position mobile one at every turn to one at least two display units.

18., comprising with the matching used mark module of the display device with lath frame and so on:

One module frame, its size and shape are made and can be contained between a pair of lath frame; And

Be positioned at the display window device at described module frame middle part, insert wherein or therefrom take out for show tags;

It is characterized in that having a projection on the described mark module at least, thereby prevent that described mark module from sliding on described lath frame as coupling arrangement.

19. above-mentioned described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings display device and/or mark module.

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