Communications: electrical – Visual indication
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-29
2004-11-02
Lee, Benjamin C. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Visual indication
C340S425500, C340S691600, C340S693300, C345S212000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06812851
ABSTRACT:
All of these related applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for displaying information to the public.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Communication of information to the public is a major industry. One of the major means of such communications is by publicly visible signs, including advertising signs. Signs have been in use for centuries, and have performed a valuable service of informing consumers about choices that are available to them. But advances in technology have made traditional signs seem somewhat out of date.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,993 issued to Eyal Cohen (the “Cohen Patent”) discloses one possible system for displaying messages in advertisements on mobile signs, such as those placed on the tops of motor vehicles such as taxis. In this system a geographic area is divided up into separate zones and when a mobile unit makes a transition from one zone into another the controller located on the mobile unit determines when it has made such a transition based on a positioning system within the mobile unit, on a series of geographic zone definitions which it stores in its memory, and on a schedule indicating which messages are to be shown in which zones at which times. The Cohen patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide for more flexible, effective, and/or profitable usage of signs.
According to one aspect of the invention, a system for publicly displaying messages comprises an automotive vehicle and the following elements carried by the vehicle: a publicly visible electronic display (i.e., a display which can easily be seen by people external to the display); a sensor for sensing the brightness of light in the vicinity of the display; and illumination varying circuitry for varying the brightness of light generated by the display in response to brightness detected by the sensor.
In some embodiments of this aspect of the invention, the display is a backlit display illuminated by a backlight and the illumination varying circuitry varies the brightness of the backlight. The display can be a high bright backlit displays, by which we mean a displays having an illumination of over s over 1000 NITs, where one NIT is one candella per square meter of surface radiation. In some embodiments the backlit display is a transreflective display which can be lit either by reflected light or by backlighting, and the degree to which the display is lit by backlighting is controlled by the illumination varying circuitry.
In some embodiments the vehicle carries at least two of the publicly visible displays, and each display has an associated light sensor and illumination varying circuitry for varying the generated brightness of each display in response to the brightness detected by its associated light sensor. In some such multiple-display embodiments each displays is lit both by light incident upon display and by light generated by display under control of the illumination varying circuitry. Examples of such displays include transreflective displays, which can pass either generated or reflected light through a display's light valve to brighten its image, as well as displays that generate an images by spatially varying reflective shade or color, which can be light by either ambient or generated light. The illumination generated for each display can be controlled as a function of the amount of light falling on its associated light sensor, either dependently or independently of the amount of light generated for other displays and/or the amount of light falling on other the sensors associated with the position of other displays.
According to another aspect of the invention a system for publicly displaying messages comprises an automotive vehicle carrying the following elements: a publicly visible display formed by ganging together a plurality of individual electronic displays, each having at least a resolution of 640×480 pixels; and video drive circuitry for generating signals to cause images to be shown on the ganged display, with different portions of individual images being shown on each of the individual displays.
In some such ganged display embodiments, the individual display are high bright backlit displays having over 1000 NITs of illumination. In some such embodiments a light sensor senses external light on the display and circuitry varies brightness of the entire ganged display in response to the sensor. This system includes these elements carried by the vehicle: a sensor for sensing the brightness of light in vicinity of the ganged display and illumination varying circuitry for varying the brightness of the entire ganged display as a unit in response to brightness detected by the sensor.
In some such ganged display embodiments, there are at least two of such ganged displays and
the video drive circuitry is capable of driving separate images on each ganged display.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for publicly displaying messages comprising of an automotive vehicle having an automotive electrical system and also the following elements carried by the vehicle: a publicly visible high-bright display, capable of providing over 1000 NITS illumination and having 640 by 480 or greater pixel resolution; and video drive circuitry for generating signals to cause images to be shown on the display.
In some such high-bright embodiments, the vehicle includes a computer and a radio connected to provide received digital data to the computer. The computer is programmed to generate animated images from vector-based animation files received over the radio.
In some such high-bright embodiments, the display is a backlit display having a light filter to provide an electronically controlled spatial pattern of variable opacity and one or more backlights to provide illumination behind the light filter. In some such embodiments the display is an LCD display and the light filter is a liquid crystal light filter. In some embodiments the display is a transreflective display that can be lit by reflected light and/or by backlighting.
According to another aspect of the invention, a mobile display system for publicly showing messages includes an automotive vehicle which carries a publicly visible electronic display and a computer. The computer has: video drive circuitry for generating signals to cause images to be shown on the display, a memory device capable of storing representations of animated display images represented in vector-based form; and programming for enabling the computer to generated animated images from the vector-based animation representations. When a memory device is referred to in this specification, it should be understood than it can include RAM, ROM, flash or other nonvolatile memory, hard disk, CD or DVD ROM, including recordable and/or rewritable CD or DVD ROM, and other memory storage devices now or hereafter known.
In some embodiments, the system includes a radio for conveying digital information to the computer about which messages the computer should cause to be shown on the display, and information including the vector-based animation representations of such messages.
According to one aspect of the invention a system for publicly displaying messages comprise an automotive vehicle having an automotive electrical system including an ignition system and a generator for generating electricity when the vehicles ignition system is on. The vehicle further includes a publicly visible electronic display; video drive circuitry for generating signals to cause images to be shown on the display; and display-power circuitry. The display-power circuitry receives power from the vehicle's automotive electrical system, supplies it to the display, and automatically reduces the power supplied to the display after the vehicle's ignition is turned off.
In some embodiments of this aspect of the invention, the display-power circuitry automatically increases power to the display after
Dukach Semyon
Fridman Leonid
Harkavy Brad
Mankins Matt W. D.
Platsidakis Michael
Burns & Levinson LLP
Lan Yan
Lee Benjamin C.
Vert Inc.
Williams Frederick C.
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