U.S. patent application number 13/868059 was filed with the patent office on 2013-09-05 for concrete wall with optical fibers display device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Taiwan Plastic Optical Fiber Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is TAIWAN PLASTIC OPTICAL FIBER CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chu-Yih Yu.
Application Number | 20130227899 13/868059 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49042024 |
Filed Date | 2013-09-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130227899 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yu; Chu-Yih |
September 5, 2013 |
CONCRETE WALL WITH OPTICAL FIBERS DISPLAY DEVICE
Abstract
A concrete wall with optical fibers display device comprises a
concrete wall having plurality outer surfaces for display purpose,
multiples optical fibers are embedded within the concrete wall for
guiding light from one surface to another, and said optical fibers
are arranged in a matrix fashion with each optical fibers is spaced
by a predetermined space to form a figure or characters, a
projecting device placed away from the concrete wall by a
predetermined distance as light source, and a layer is painted onto
the whole outer surfaces of the concrete wall for reinforcing the
junction portion where the tip of optical fibers with the surfaces
of the concrete wall.
Inventors: |
Yu; Chu-Yih; (Taipei,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TAIWAN PLASTIC OPTICAL FIBER CO., LTD. |
Taipei |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Taiwan Plastic Optical Fiber Co.,
Ltd.
Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
49042024 |
Appl. No.: |
13/868059 |
Filed: |
April 22, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12656648 |
Feb 12, 2010 |
|
|
|
13868059 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/173.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 2/00 20130101; G02B
6/08 20130101; G09F 19/22 20130101; G09F 19/226 20130101; G09F
9/305 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/173.1 |
International
Class: |
E04B 2/00 20060101
E04B002/00 |
Claims
1. A concrete wall with optical fibers display device which is
comprised of: A concrete wall (1); Multiple optical fibers (2), and
A projecting device (3); Said concrete wall (1) comprises several
outer surfaces (11) and said optical fibers (2) are embedded within
said concrete wall (1); each optical fibers (2) includes a first
end (21), a second end (22) and a light guiding body (23) between
said ends; the optical fibers (2) are applied for guiding light
from a side of said concrete wall (1) to another side hereof; said
first and second ends (21, 22) of the optical fibers (2) are
visible from said surfaces (11) and are arranged in a matrix
fashion, spaced with a predetermined distance (h) between each
other to form figures or characters; the projecting device (3) is
provided at a side of the concrete wall (1) with a projecting
distance (W) away from said concrete wall (1), projecting a light
to the surface (11) where first ends (21) of said optical fibers
(2) are provided.
2. A concrete wall with optical fibers display device defined in
claim 1, wherein each surface (11) of said concrete wall (1) is
painted with a light-preamble titanium compound layer (4).
3. A concrete wall with optical fibers display device defined in
claim 1, wherein said projecting device (3) is selected from one of
following: a multi-color spot light, a mono-color spot light, a
projector, a LED or LCD illuminating device or ambient light.
4. A concrete wall with optical fibers display device defined in
claim 1, wherein said two surfaces (11) where the first and second
end of an optical fibers (2) are exposed are facing each other or
adjacent.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a
continuation in part (CIP) application of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/656,648 filed Feb. 12, 2010, which is pending.
[0002] 2. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
[0003] Advertising is a form of a communication, sending message to
viewers, readers or listeners, to persuade them to take some
actions, such as purchasing a product or service of a specific
brand. The using of the advertising can be traced back to the
Egyptian who used posters or messages. A billboard is an outdoor
advertising structure having large size which usually placed in a
visible site where lots of viewers passing by every day, such as
alongside the road or hung up in a wall of a building. Some
billboards, such as those sited in the time square of New York,
have even become the landmarks or tourist spots. For attracting the
attention of the viewers, the billboard must be eye-catching, thus
colorful and vivid color are commonly used; as for modern
billboard, paint is replaced by neon light or LED, allowing the
message can be seen during the night time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Aforementioned billboard possesses following drawbacks:
1. For the billboards with painting, neon light or LED, a constant
maintenance is necessary. With a high rent for a good location at
aside, such maintenance will become an extra burden for the tenant.
Thus, to find an advertising structure with less maintenance has
become an objective of the present invention. 2. Motion advertising
can be display by an electronic or LCD billboard. However, cost for
purchasing or renting these types of billboards is relatively high.
Besides, electronic devices like these are delicate and complex and
exposing outdoor is usually affected by the weather, such as rain,
storm or snow and causing malfunction. Therefore, to invent an
outdoor advertising structure with low cost, simple structure, not
affecting by the weather and able to display motion advertising has
become the second objective of the invention. 3. Most of billboards
are limited by its size and shape which is placed, especially when
is placed on a wall of the building. The variations and creations
are also confined by such limitations. Thus, to design a billboard
with less limitation for being more creative has become another
objective of the present invention.
[0005] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, a billboard is
realized by illuminated utilizing multiples optical fibers, such as
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,872, however, the displaying structure
is only a board, and the fibers part don't be covered with solid
material, thus, the displaying structure is too weak to stay stable
in bad weather such as wind or rain, and the optical fibers is easy
to be broken by outside forces. To overcome the disadvantages, the
present invention provides a concrete wall with optical fibers
display device mentioned above. Said concrete wall comprises
multiple outer surfaces, plurality of optical fibers passing
through the concrete wall for guiding the light emission from one
outer surface to another. Each optical fibers consists of a first
end, a second end and a light guiding body. Said first and second
ends are exposed and provided onto two different outer surfaces of
the concrete wall, a light-preamble layer which is mainly composed
of Titanium compound is painted on the whole surfaces of the
concrete wall for reinforce the junction between the concrete wall
and optical fibers to prevent loosing of the optical fibers due to
the cracks or slits occurred on the surface of the concrete wall,
while the light guiding body is embedded within the concrete wall
for guiding the light. The optical fibers are arranged in a matrix
fashion to form a figure or message of the advertisement and each
one is spaced by a predetermined distance. Said concrete wall is
lighten by a projecting device, such as a projector, spot light or
an illumination display. The concrete wall is primarily to be a
wall of the building and the concept is to have a wall incorporates
multiple optical fibers, with the light projected from the
projecting device, the whole surface of the wall can be utilized
for advertising purpose. The present invention can also achieve
further the goal of energy-saving by replacing the light from a
projecting device with the ambient light, such as the sunlight or
the indoor illumination. The second embodiment also can reduce the
cost of the device and maintenance.
[0006] In comparison with the previous design, the advantages of
the present invention are listed as following:
1. The concept of the concrete wall contains multiple optical
fibers within illuminated by a projecting device provides an
outdoor displaying device with creativity and easy installation. It
can be used to display still or motion advertisement by changing
the projecting device. No need of complex programming or
maintenance for the modern electronic billboard, the present
invention saves the installation time and is cost effective. 2.
Weather is always the critical factor for the outdoor advertising
structure, rain will wash out the painting and damaging the
electronic component, the hurricane can blow off the structure and
causing casualty. With the device being combined with the outer
wall of a building or infrastructure, the human safety is secure
and the light-preamble Titanium compound layer isolates the
displaying structure from the influence of climate, thus the safety
is increased and the possibility of malfunction can be reduced. 3.
Those concrete wall set outside of the building or skyscraper are
often criticized as blocking the light inlet. The optical fibers,
as a light guiding element, not only can display shapes or words,
but also guide the light inside the building, thus reduce the
energy consumption of the building. Another innovation point is
that the structure is illuminated by a projecting light from a spot
light or a projector and a shading effect can be generated if an
object or a person passing between the projecting device and the
concrete wall. The unexpected shading effect can attract the
viewers' attention, to achieve the advertising purpose.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the FIG. 1 focusing on
the optical fibers.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the present
invention.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the function of
the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating the function of
the present invention with a possible lighting effect.
[0012] FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the present invention
introducing a curved type of installation of the optical
fibers.
[0013] FIG. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating the function of
FIG. 6.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the present invention
introducing an intercross type of installation of the optical
fibers.
[0015] FIG. 9 is an explanatory view demonstrating the function of
FIG. 8.
[0016] FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of illuminating the concrete
wall by a light bulb.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are
described in detail hereinafter.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1-9, the present invention provides a
concrete wall with optical fibers display device which is comprised
of a concrete wall (1), multiple optical fibers (2) and a
projecting device (3). Said concrete wall (1) comprises several
outer surfaces (11) and said optical fibers (2) are embedded within
said concrete wall (1). Each optical fibers (2) includes a first
end (21), a second end (22) and a light guiding body (23) between
said ends. The optical fibers (2) are applied for guiding light
from a side of said concrete wall (1) to another side hereof. Said
first and second ends (21, 22) of the optical fibers (2) are
visible from said surfaces (11) and are arranged in a matrix
fashion, spaced with a predetermined distance (h) between each
other to form figures or characters. The projecting device (3) is
provided at a side of the concrete wall (1) with a projecting
distance (W) away from said concrete wall (1), projecting a light
to the surface (11) where first ends (21) of said optical fibers
(2) are provided. A light-preamble titanium compound layer (4) is
painted on each surface (11) of said concrete wall (1) for covering
said first end (21) and second end (22) of each optical fibers (2),
and filling the slit where the optical fibers (2) jointed with the
concrete wall (1), securing the tips of said optical fibers (2)
onto the surface (11) of said concrete wall (1).
[0019] The optical fibers (2) can make the light projected from the
projecting device (3) become downy, to reduce the luminous
pollution, such as over-illumination or sky-glows. The only thing
needs the electricity for displaying is for projecting device (3),
thus, the power consumption of present invention is lower than
conventional displaying device such as LED display or LCD (liquid
crystal display) TV wall.
[0020] Unlike the conventional illuminating elements (e.g. light
bulb, neon light or LED) which have limited service life for
thousands of hours, the optical fibers (2), as a light guiding
element, has relatively longer life of operating under normal
condition. With proper maintenance for the projecting device (3),
the displaying device endures longer than other types of
display.
[0021] Crack or slit may occur by the different coefficients
expansion of the optical fibers (2) and material of the concrete
wall (1), thus, the light-preamble titanium compound layer (4) or
equivalent material is painted on the whole surfaces (11) of said
concrete wall (1) for securing and reinforcing the junctions
between the tips of said optical fibers (2) and the surfaces (11)
of said concrete wall (1).
[0022] The projecting device (3) utilized for displaying can be
selected from the multi-color spot light, mono-color spot light,
projector or illuminating display (e.g. LED screen, LCD screen).
The concrete wall with optical display device is designed to be
able to display static or motion advertisement, for the static
advertisement, such as still imagine, multi-color or mono-color
spot light can be utilized, as for commercials or other types of
advertisements, projector or illumination display can be
selected.
[0023] The projecting distance (W) can be adjusted depending on the
type of the projecting device (3) or size of the concrete wall (1);
while the distance (h) is determined according to the required
luminous effect and the material of the concrete wall (1).
[0024] Said first and second ends (21, 22) of each optical fibers
(2) are provided on respective surfaces (11) of the concrete wall
(1), said surfaces (11) can be two at opposite ends facing each
other or two adjacent surfaces. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the
surface (11) includes a rear surface (11A), a frontal surface
(11B), a right surface (11C), a left surface (11D) and an upper
surface (11E).
[0025] The light emission can be guided horizontally from the rear
surface (11A) to the frontal surface (11B), as illustrated in FIG.
1. As shown in FIG. 6, the optical fibers (2) can also be set in a
curved fashion to transmit the light from the rear surface (11A) to
the adjacent surfaces (11C, 11D, 11E), creating multi-directional
displaying when one of said surfaces (11) is illuminated by the
projecting device (3).
[0026] FIGS. 8 and 9 showing an intercross installation of the
optical fibers (2), by placing the light-inlet end (A) and
light-outlet end (A') at an intercross fashion, an inverted image
will be displayed on the frontal surface (11B).
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the projecting device (3) could
also be replaced by the ambient light, such as sunlight (S) or
indoor lighting (e.g. light bulb or fluorescent lamp) to reduce the
power consumption of the high-power projector or spot light.
[0028] Conventional billboards, whether is electronic or not is
made of opaque materials such as fabrics, wood, plastic, thus when
said billboards are placed outdoor, especially on the outer wall of
a building, would block the light inlet form outside and increasing
the power usage as more lights have to be turned on.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 10, through using of the optical fibers
(2), the sunlight (S) is allowed to enter in the concrete wall to
keep the displaying in daytime. For the night time, indoor
illumination is guided toward outside through the optical fibers
(2), which is functional as said projecting device (3).
[0030] The materials for manufacturing the concrete wall (1) can be
selected from concrete, stone, metal, ceramic material or
translucent or light-proof polymer material. The concrete wall (1)
can also be functional as an outer wall of a building.
[0031] The light-preamble titanium compound layer (4) acts as a
shield to protect the concrete wall (1) from the weather, and the
property of the Titanium can also prevent the structure being
soiled by the smoke or air contamination.
[0032] The present invention has been described but not limited via
the detailed illustration of the preferred embodiment. Those who
skilled in the art derive variations without departing from the
scope of the present invention, might meet the characteristic as
claimed hereafter.
* * * * *