Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Changing exhibitor – Variable reading stationary exhibitor
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-03
2001-05-08
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Changing exhibitor
Variable reading stationary exhibitor
C040S453000, C040S466000, C040S470000, C040S509000, C040S508000, C040S437000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226906
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to display units, and in particular to display units for displaying two or more consecutively changing images to be viewed by a viewer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Multi-image display devices of various kinds are known. Such devices are used for advertisement, instructional purposes, providing directions, games and many other uses. These devices usually contain prisms revolving about their axes, or alternatively, devices projecting movies in a closed cycle. All such devices, however, require a substantial amount of electrical power for their operation, hence requiring connection to electrical mains. Furthermore, such devices are of necessity of a substantial size, due to the relative complexity of the required drive means and other parts thereof.
The basic optical principle of displacing a complex lithographic print relative to a lenticular lens array has been known from the prior art, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,445, which discloses general know-how for alternatively displaying several images. However, to date, this knowledge has not been properly utilized for advertising purposes. There exists a need for a dynamic, multi-image display to be used in shopping centers and other locations, which is capable of functioning independently when affixed to walls or attached to shelves, and which will present information regarding the products to be sold.
Such a display should be self-powered, namely, free of any connection to the mains. It must have the ability to present high-resolution images at a wide range of viewing angles, sometimes on both of its sides, for viewing by observers approaching from different directions. Maintenance considerations require an operating period of at least 3 to 4 months without battery replacement. The advertising messages must be easily replaceable by an unskilled worker on site, without any difficulty. The display unit should be cost-effective; in other words, its cost should not exceed the price of the product(s) it promotes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a broad object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive display unit based on optical principles, which is capable of consecutively displaying several high-resolution images and does not require connection to electrical mains.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a display unit for displaying a multiplicity of small or large consecutively changing images, which is capable of operating over an extended period of time and is powered by an independent power source.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a cost-effective advertising display in which the message to be projected is easily replaceable and may be changed by an unskilled maintenance attendant having no technical background.
In accordance with the present invention, there is therefore provided a self-powered display unit for displaying at least two consecutively changing images to be viewed by a viewer, said unit comprising a housing, at least one wall portion of the housing being made of an array of linear lenses having a lenticular front face and a flat rear face; at least one displaceable, light-weight, substantially planar indicia carrier disposed inside the housing at a distance from the rear face at most equalling the focal length of the lenses, and a high efficiency, low energy consumption, battery-operated DC drive means for periodically displacing the indicia carrier for a distance at least equalling the distance between two adjacent lenses of the array.
The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.
With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
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patent: 5007190 (1991-04-01), Shyu
patent: 5276987 (1994-01-01), Honse
patent: 5416997 (1995-05-01), Dyment et al.
patent: 5426879 (1995-06-01), Hecker
patent: 5513458 (1996-05-01), Dehli
patent: 5724758 (1998-03-01), Gulick, Jr.
patent: 5760572 (1998-06-01), Takeda et al.
patent: 2-211437 (1990-08-01), None
patent: WO 90/14782 (1990-12-01), None
patent: WO 95/30176 (1995-11-01), None
M.V.T. Multi Vision Technologies Ltd.
Melius Terry Lee
Morales Rodrigo J.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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