Optical: systems and elements – Mirror – Plural mirrors or reflecting surfaces
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-01
2001-11-20
Spyrou, Cassandra (Department: 2872)
Optical: systems and elements
Mirror
Plural mirrors or reflecting surfaces
C359S630000, C359S633000, C359S864000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318868
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an apparatus, useful as a store window or other commercial display, for displaying a three-dimensional image at any position relative to what appears to be a pane of glass, and may also include a background and/or a nasal/olfactory stimulus related to the three dimensional image.
BACKGROUND
Over the years, the structural characteristics of in-store and streetside product displays have remained essentially unchanged. Generally, store window displays comprise an arrangement of the products being offered, together with sometimes whimsical decorations or other supplemental display materials. Such store window presentations are often put together by professional artists that specialize in such work, and, once decorated, a store window is likely to remain unchanged for an entire selling season, or longer. This is on account of the high cost of hiring such a store window decoration specialist.
Accordingly, a store window does not change in response to the different things which may be experienced during a selling season. Likewise, such store windows cannot change in response to the desires of persons passing by the store. Similarly, the display in a store window cannot change over time as a person is viewing the display. Accordingly, once the display is seen by the person looking in the store window and studied for the period of time which the person wishes to devote to the store display, the person's attention will the terminated and he or she will turn their attention to something else. In accordance with the invention, means are provided for varying the display with time in order to maintain viewer interest in a store display.
In addition, the store window display remains static and unchanged throughout the entire day and night, and regardless of whether the store is open or closed.
The above observations with respect to the inadequacies of store displays in the context of store windows apply equally as well to other commercial displays in stores, such as menus at fast food restaurants, tables with arrangements of goods on them, and the like.
Still another disadvantage of such prior art displays is the fact that the display is limited to the actual size of the goods if one desires to present a three dimensional representation of the particular product available for sale. While, in principle, large statues of products have been used commercially, the high cost of such models or sculpture is prohibitive and the same are, in the commercial retail sales context, extremely unusual.
Nevertheless, the value of such large displays has been known for some time.
For example, a small frozen custard vendor of the 1950's built a very large franchise based upon his stands which sported larger than life roof-borne ornaments consisting of an ice cream cone with a swirling structure simulating frozen custard above it.
In accordance with the invention, the above inadequacies of the prior art are avoided. In particular, the present invention provides means for the display of numerous three dimensional objects and associated background material in a larger than life context. Moreover, the system of the present invention may be employed to selectively present one of a number of objects to a viewer. The displayed object may be varied in order to maintain viewer interest. At the same time that this is achieved, the image of the objects is placed in close proximity to a viewer, allowing minute examination of details even at a distance.
In accordance with the invention, the above is achieved through the use on a store window pane comprising an optical member which blocks all direct transmission of light from an object on display behind the pane, while projecting an image of the object on display at a position in front of the store window. The objects may be portrayed as life size, or larger with appropriate background, lighting and the like, while at the same time, on account of the blocking of the direct light, selective presentation of a number of objects is possible in virtual space either in sequence or beside one another.
In accordance with the present invention, means are provided for projecting the image of a model or an actual object for viewing by an observer. The object to be used is placed on one side of what appears to be an ordinary window. All direct light from the object is blocked by the optical characteristics of the window. Instead, light from the object is collected and focused to form a virtual image in space having a desired magnification and position determined by the optics of the window, as more fully appears in the specification below.
Thus, in accordance with the invention, a perfume bottle may be suspended on one side of a window, while the observer is positioned on the other side of the inventive window. The perfume bottle is caused to appear, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, as a three dimensional image, in front of the window with a desired degree of magnification. Thus, the image of the perfume bottle appears to be suspended in space in front of the window.
The invention provides a dynamic three dimensional full color image in space of any item or items for advertising with a combined remote background so that proper parallax is obtained between the wanted image and the background thereby enhancing the realism and the three dimensional quality. The same is achieved using sandwiched structures such as that those in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,858, 3,940,203, 4,163,542 and 4,708,438.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In this inventive design, the optical system is much simpler and much less costly, as compared to prior art systems, due to the use of spherical mirrors rather than the conventional parabolic mirrors. A second inventive feature is that the present invention not only utilizes the human audio and visual senses but also addresses the sense of smell because the human olfactory nerves provide inputs into the brain that are an important factor in determining whether an observer will accept or reject a three dimensional visual presentation as being real.
This is especially true in the areas of food or perfume or other items that exude strong stimuli. As an example of the use of such stimuli, the invention can be used to provide an aerial image with background where the food advertised such as a hamburger, or steak with onions or fries, approaches the viewer in space, together with a mechanically propelled scent associated with the food displayed.
The inclusion of a background is a matter of choice and may, in the above example, advertise the cost of the meal. The desirable odor is propelled to surround and emanate from the aerial image. Such a presentation is readily achieved with pressurized air saturated with the odor desired and propelled to a desired observer at a range of distances.
In addition, such display may be made to sequentially display different things. Such a sequential display of this type can be programmed to provide a number of the items on the menu of a restaurant or a fast food establishments and synchronize their display to the projection of corresponding smells.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, and particularly in the case where the displays are used outdoors, the scent should be propelled by a vortex generator to prevent dispersion of the scent in the air by wind before the scent reaches the desired location in space e.g. surrounding and in front of the image in space.
A second example of the use of this invention is a perfume sampler display in department stores or cosmetic shops. Here, a model consisting of an arrangement in the form of a matrix of all available perfumes in their bottles is the source for the image of a particular perfume bottle to be projected as an aerial image in space, selective lighting or other means may be used to select or emphasize one of the perfume bottles. Push buttons associated with the display are depressed by the shopper to select a particular perfume. Upon depressing the button for a desired scent, the f
Handal & Morofsky
Spyrou Cassandra
Treas Jared
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