Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Signs – Sign support
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-01
2001-06-05
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Signs
Sign support
C040S602000, C040S606040, C040S624000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240666
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information carrier receiving at least one information banner comprising an inflatable hollow body made of a flexible, foldable material and of a blower blowing an airflow into the inner part of the hollow body. The blower is arranged in or on the hollow body in such a way that the airflow produced by the blower builds up an overpressure within the hollow body and, as a result, the hollow body adopts a stationary and stable outer shape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The DE 296 17 592 U1 discloses an inflatable, cylindrical information carrier being vertically installed like an advertisement pillar. In this case, an overpressure is built up within the hollow body by means of a blower arranged in the inner part of the hollow body so that the hollow body comes to stand upright, just as an advertisement pillar. Such an inflatable information carrier has a diameter of up to 2 m and a height of up to 12 m. To prevent these inflatable advertisement pillars from tipping over by the wind power, they are secured by anchoring cables anchored in the ground. This inflatable information carrier can easily be folded and transported, so that they can be installed in a fast and cheap way at the desired location.
Inflatable information carriers are either directly printed with the advertising or information to be shown or they carry information banners on the outer side of the hollow body, depending to the size of the advertisement to be shown. This entails that the advertising space available is limited by the circumference and the height of the said inflatable advertisement pillar.
The FR 2,598,541 discloses an inflatable, rectangular balloon carrying a screen printed with information inside. The balloon is to be filled with a gas, for example helium, so that the balloon lifts up to a height of 50 m to 100 m and is fixed with ropes or the like to make sure that the balloon does not disappear.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,847 discloses an inflatable frame like display banner having indicia located in the center thereof that may be collapsed for storage and/or shipment. Furthermore, this display banner comprises a number of bores or openings, through which securing elements like a band, a rope or the like can be adapted to secure the inflatable banner to a standard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a transportable, inflatable information carrier offering a bigger advertising space while keeping its transportability without occasioning too high manufacturing and installation costs.
The technical solution of this object is to develop the information carrier so that the hollow body forms a closed, more particularly rectangular frame, onto which the information banner may be fastened, preferably removably fastened, while at least partly covering the free space constituted by the frame.
An information carrier designed according to the teachings of the present invention has the advantage that a comparatively big surface is tenterable on the frame, whereas this surface may be provided with information or with advertisements, respectively. Simultaneously, the principle of an inflatable and again foldable hollow body is kept so that the information carrier may easily be transported. Thus, the manufacturing as well as the installation and removing costs remain low.
The frame may then be provided, on its front side as well as on its rear side, with one or several information banners bearing the respective printed information. In another embodiment, the information banner remains permanently secured on the frame.
In a preferred embodiment the hollow body has adopted a rectangular shape and is up to 20 m high and up to 30 m wide. It has been found that an information banner having a size of 10 m by 16 m may be realized at particularly low costs. In another preferred embodiment, a lip is provided on the front and/or on the rear side of the hollow body onto which the information banner and/or anchoring cables can be secured.
In an advantageous development, the lip is made by an outwardly extending fold at the inflatable hollow body and is provided with a number of eyes and/or Velcro fasteners by means of which the information banner is securable onto the hollow body.
Such a lip has the advantage that the information banner and/or the anchoring cables may easily be mounted and that the necessary mounting devices, more particularly the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners, may be arranged on the outside and not on the hollow body itself. By arranging the fastening devices, more particularly the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners, on the outside, the hollow body itself is spared from being damaged by torn out eyes or the like, so that its durability is thus considerably increased. Moreover, it is very easy to provide a fold on the hollow body by means of an additional seam, the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners being then integrated into said fold.
In a quite similar way, a holding lip may be provided on the inner side of the hollow body, onto which a view protection described hereinafter is mountable.
Another advantage of the lip or the holding lip is that it is easily accessible and still of a very solid design, so that the information banner and/or the view protector may easily be mounted or dismounted.
In another, preferred embodiment a view protection preferably composed of several lamellar and/or net-like strips of material is arranged in viewing direction, behind the information banner. The information banners are preferably made of a net-like linen cloth, and they are not only permeable to wind, but also to light, so that the information borne by the information banner can hardly be seen, especially when the sun is shining. The view protection arranged behind the information banner is preferably black and shields light sources arising behind the information banner, bringing thus the advertisement on the information banner to bear.
Since such a big information carrier may be tipped over by a strong wind, in a preferred embodiment the information banner and/or the view protection should be designed as being permeable to wind. Hence, the resistance of the information carrier against air or wind is reduced and its stability increased. In a particularly preferred embodiment, additional anchoring cables may be arranged on the hollow body of the information carrier for additionally securing the information carrier. The anchoring cables are moored in the ground for example by means of ground anchors, nails or the like.
The information carrier according to the invention should be installed in a location frequented by the corresponding public. Such locations are often large spaces in front of shopping malls, event halls or the like. It is normally difficult to use ground anchors, nails or the like in such places, since they are mostly provided with a closed asphalt pavement or any other closed surface which cannot be damaged. In order to install the information carrier according to the invention in such a place and to be able to secure it against gusts by means of anchoring cables, it is suggested to fasten the anchoring cables onto a ballast element which can be movably placed onto the ground and which is made of a liquid resistant, flexible and foldable material. This ballast element may then be filled with a liquid, more particularly with water, and thus reliably maintains the information carrier in the desired position.
In a preferred development, the ballast element has a pyramidal shape. The advantage thereof is that the center of gravity of the ballast element lies very low and that simultaneously a comparatively big base is provided, so that the ballast element is reliably prevented from turning over or wandering about. The pyramidal-shaped ballast element achieves an extremely high stability with a comparatively small amount of water, so that the ballast element can be filled or emptied rapidly without incurring high costs.
In order to further stabilize or increase the stabi
Apel Raimund
Lazar Michael
Hewitt James M
Melius Terry Lee
Vigil Thomas R.
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