U.S. patent number 3,890,777 [Application Number 05/411,711] was granted by the patent office on 1975-06-24 for display device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Poster Products, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert B. Stanish.
United States Patent |
3,890,777 |
Stanish |
June 24, 1975 |
Display device
Abstract
A display device is provided containing a transparent or
translucent panel having a display on the front or back of said
panel, illuminating means mounted back of said panel to cause light
to be transmitted around or through said display, and a plurality
of discs mounted for rotation in front of said illuminating means
to the rear of said panel and to one side of said display, said
discs having radial light transmitting sections and means to cause
the rotation of said discs, preferably a clock mechanism, to
produce a flashing radial light.
Inventors: |
Stanish; Robert B. (Chicago,
IL) |
Assignee: |
Poster Products, Inc. (Chicago,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23629999 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/411,711 |
Filed: |
November 1, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
368/77;
362/23.18; 968/382; 368/234; 968/213 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G04B
45/0007 (20130101); G04B 19/30 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G04B
19/30 (20060101); G04B 45/00 (20060101); G04b
019/30 (); G04b 019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;58/5R,126A
;240/6.43 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Jackmon; Edith Simmons
Claims
The invention is hereby claimed as follows:
1. A clock comprising a clock driving mechanism, a first pattern
disc rotatable in response to said mechanism including radial
transparent sections on an opaque background, a second disc
rotatable in response to said mechanism at the rate of one
revolution every 12 hours and having a radial transparent section
and otherwise being colored with the colored portion being light
transmitting, and a third disc rotatable in response to said
mechanism at the rate of one revolution every hour and having the
same characteristics as the second disc except that it is a
different color, said discs being aligned with one another, a light
source adapted to produce light rays which are transmitted through
said first, second and third discs in the order named, the second
and third discs blocking light everywhere except at locations
aligned with one of the transparent sections in the second and
third discs so that whenever a transparent section in the second
and third disc is aligned with a transparent section on the first
disc a colored radially moving flashing illuminated hour and minute
hand is presented to the viewer.
2. A clock as claimed in claim 1 in which said first disc has a
greater diameter than the second and third discs and contains means
to transmit light in an orbit around said second and third
discs.
3. A clock as claimed in claim 1 in which said clock driving
mechanism includes concentric second, hour and minute shafts on
which said first, second and third discs, respectively, are
mounted.
4. A clock as claimed in claim 1 in which said transparent sections
in said second and third discs are slots.
5. A clock as claimed in claim 1 in which said second disc is
colored red and said third disc is colored blue whereby the radial
transparent section of said second disc will show blue and the
radial transparent section of said third disc will show red.
Description
BACKGROUND
Many different types of illuminated advertising displays have
heretofore been proposed such as, for example, illuminated signs
and flashing signs. It would be desirable to have an advertising
display in which the display is illuminated and auxiliary means are
provided to call attention to the display with the display and the
auxiliary means contained in a compact unit. It would also be
desirable to have an advertising device of the type described in
which the display is in color and attention is directed to the
display by auxiliary means in the form of a flashing light also in
color. It would likewise be desirable if said auxiliary means had
the dual function of serving as a clock and providing a flashing
light to direct attention toward the display.
OBJECTS
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a new and
useful display unit wherein an illuminated display and a rotating,
radially disposed, flashing light are placed side by side in a
compact unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide an illuminated
display of the type described in which the rotating flashing light
is provided by a clock mechanism.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
clock display comprising a plurality of rotatable discs of
different colors with radial light transmitting sections or slots,
said discs being driven by a synchronous clock motor and a gear
train and including a first disc rotatable with the second shaft of
a clock having a radial light transmitting section on an opaque
background, a second disc rotatable with the hour shaft having a
slot or transparent section and otherwise being colored, for
example, red, and a third disc rotatable with the minute shaft
having the same characteristics as the second disc except that it
is a different color, for example, green or blue, the second and
third discs being sufficiently thick to block out light everywhere
except at locations aligned with one of the transparent sections or
slots in the second or third discs so that whenever a transparent
section or slot in the second or third disc is aligned with a light
transmitting portion on the first disc a colored illuminated
flashing hour or minute hand is presented to the viewer.
Another object of the invention is to provide a clock display of
the type described in which means forming a pair of or attached to
the first disc is rotatable around the outer rim of the second and
third discs and transmits light that appears as a dot moving as an
indicator of seconds in an orbit around the outer rim of the second
and third discs.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new type of clock
mechanism in which indicating means for hours, minutes and seconds
are illuminated in a novel manner.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the
following description in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of a clock display device
illustrating one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of a modified form of the
device shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a portion of
the housing of the display device shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the essential components of a display
device of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and
FIG. 5 is a view, partly in section, of an assembly of certain of
the components of the display device shown in FIG. 4.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention a display device is provided
containing a transparent or translucent panel having a display on
the front or back of said panel, illuminating means mounted back of
said panel to cause light to be transmitted around or through said
display, and a plurality of discs mounted for rotation in front of
said illuminating means to the rear of said panel and to one side
of said display, said discs having radial light transmitting
sections and means to cause the rotation of said discs, preferably
a clock mechanism, to produce a flashing radial light which moves
in an orbit and at times during the course of said movement is
directed toward said display.
The invention also provides a new type of clock mechanism in which
indicating means for hours, minutes and seconds are illuminated in
a novel manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the
display devices comprises a panel 1 having a display 2 printed on
the front or back of a transparent or translucent portion of said
panel, preferably by screen printing, using either opaque or light
transmitting printing inks.
To one side of the printed display portion 2 is a clear or
transparent portion 3 which forms a cover for a clock generally
indicated at 4. Referring to FIG. 2, the clock 4 is driven by a
synchronous motor 5 through a gear train generally indicated at 6
in a conventional manner.
Illuminating means are mounted back of panel 1 to cause light to be
transmitted around or through the printed display area 2. In the
drawing as shown by FIG. 2 the illuminating means is a fluorescent
lamp 7 mounted on fixtures 8 and 9 in a conventional manner and
operated through a starter 10 and a transformer 11 connected by
wires 12. The lamp 7 and the synchronous motor 5 are connected
together in the conventional manner in an electrical circuit which
in turn is connected to the usual 115-125 volt 60 cycle alternating
current source of electrical energy. It will be understood that any
other source of illumination can be used as, for example, a
conventional incandescent lamp.
The housing 13 consists of the front panel 1, a back panel 14, two
side panels 15 and 16, a bottom panel 17, channel members 18, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23 and a removable top 24, which is adapted to fit
inside the housing and be held in place by any suitable means, for
example, by inserting screws into the holes 25, 26, 27 and 28.
Similar fastening means can be provided on the opposite sides of
the top of the housing. By removing the fastening means, the top of
the housing can be removed and the front panel 1 can also be
removed by pulling it upwardly so that it will slide out of the
channels or grooves in members 21 and 23. It will be understood
that the channels or grooves 29 and 30 as shown in detail in FIG. 3
can be integrally formed with the side walls 15 or 16. Similar
channels or grooves can be provided at 18 and 19, and the bottom
member 17. The sides and bottoms are connected in a conventional
manner by right angle brackets 31.
Referring to FIG. 4 it will be seen that the synchronous motor 5
and the conventional clock gear train mechanism 6 are mounted to
the rear and to one side of the panel 1 and the display area 2
directly behind the transparent area 3 of panel 1. The remaining
area 32 of panel 1 is preferably opaque or possibly in some cases,
translucent and contrasting in color to the printed design in area
2 and to the flashing radial lights produced behind area 3 of panel
1 by the mechanism hereinafter described.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention a disc 33,
which may also be called a pattern disc, is mounted for rotation in
front of the illuminating means previously described on the shaft
34 which corresponds to the operating mechanism for the second hand
of an electric clock. Thus, when the motor 5 is running, disc 33
will make one complete revolution in 60 seconds. Disc 33 is made of
plastic or other suitable material and has a plurality of radial
light transmitting sections 35 in the general configuration of a
daisy on an opaque background 36. A transparent circular area 37
which can also be a hole or an opening permits light to pass
through disc 33. Instead of a hole or light transmitting opening
37, a translucent rod can be attached to the first disc which is
rotatable around the outer rim of the second and third discs
hereinafter described.
A second disc 38 is mounted on shaft 39 which corresponds to the
hour hand shaft of a clock and is adapted to make one complete
revolution in a period of 12 hours. Disc 38 is made of plastic or
other suitable material and has a radial light transmitting section
40 which can be in the form of a transparent area in disc 38 or a
radial slot in disc 38 with a colored background in the area 41
which may be, for example, red.
A third disc 42 is mounted for rotation on the minute hand shaft 43
and is adapted to make one complete revolution in a period of one
hour. Disc 42 is similar to disc 38 in that it has a radial light
transmitting area 44 which can also be in the form of a slot and a
colored background area 45 which is normally a different color from
the color of background area 41 on disc 38. For example, when the
background area 41 is red, the color of the background area 45
might be blue or green.
The discs are aligned so that light from the illuminating means
will pass through their light transmitting sections and the
combination of the colors in the second and third discs is
preferably such, or the discs are sufficiently thick, so as to
block light everywhere except at locations aligned with one of the
radial transparent sections or slots in the second or third discs,
so that whenever a transparent section or slot in the second or
third discs is aligned with a transparent section on the first disc
a colored illuminated radially moving flashing hour or minute hand
is presented to the viewer.
The discs 38 and 42 are normally of the same size and the disc 33
normally has a greater diameter so that the hole or transparent dot
37 which acts as a "seconds" indicator moves in an orbital path
around the outside of discs 38 and 42 and can be viewed from the
front of panel 1.
As shown by the assembly of the discs in FIG. 5 a knob 46 which
extends through an opening 47 in panel 1 can be used to set the
positions of the discs 33, 38 and 42 in the same manner as in the
setting of the hands of a clock. The knob 46 can be made removable
and the panel 1 can be made of any suitable flexible plastic
material so that when it is assembled by sliding it in the channel
members shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 it can be bowed outwardly to permit
the opening 47 to pass over knob 46 and thereafter to allow the
sides of panel 1 to snap into place in the channels in members 21
and 23. In this way, it is possible to insert different panels 1
with different display areas 2.
The rotation of the discs 33, 38 and 42 at variable speeds with
respect to one another produces a flashing radial light which moves
in an orbit and at times during the course of said movement is
directed toward the display area 2, thereby attracting the
attention of the viewer. At the same time the mechanism which
produces the orbital flashing radial light also has the dual
function of serving as a clock and therefore provides a new type of
clock mechanism in which indicating means for hours, minutes and
seconds are illuminated in a novel manner.
It will be recognized that the use of a plurality of discs mounted
for rotation in front of the illuminating means to the rear of the
panel and to one side of the display, said discs having radial
light transmitting sections and means to cause the rotation of said
discs to produce a flashing radial light moving in an orbital path,
does not necessarily have to use a clock driving mechanism to
provide relative movement between said discs. Furthermore, while it
is necessary to have a plurality of discs, it is not always
essential to have three discs because a flashing orbital radially
moving light can be achieved with two or more discs. In addition,
it should be understood that the discs do not have to be driven by
concentrically arranged shafts 34, 39 and 43 as in the embodiment
used for illustration but can be driven by any other suitable
means, for example, driving means mounted at or adjacent the outer
peripheries of the discs. It will also be understood that the
arrangement of the discs may be changed. This would require some
alteration in the setting mechanism previously described as used in
a conventional clock mechanism. Of course, the driving means for
the discs can be mechanical (e.g., wound spring type) or electrical
or any other type of driving mechanism.
* * * * *