[0001] The present invention relates to a display device.
[0002] In the field of advertising, it is known that it is of the utmost importance to have
equipment which allows one to "convey" visual messages to the public, to attract attention
to a specific desired subject.
[0003] These messages are "transmitted" by various means, such as radio and television media,
advertising panels, posters and others.
[0004] The need has been felt of equipment which allows the sequential conveyance of a plurality
of messages by means which are substantially economical, positionable without undue
difficulty, simple and quick to actuate in practice and of modest cost.
[0005] The technical aim of the present invention is to meet the needs described above by
providing a display device which indeed provides a simple and relatively economical
structure having the ability to sequentially display a plurality of advertisements
or messages to the public.
[0006] Within the above aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a display
device which allows the individual substitution of one or more of the plurality of
advertisement or messages without necessarily implying the disassembly of the totality
of the same.
[0007] This aim and object and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, are
achieved by a display device, which is characterized in that it comprises a frame
supporting a plurality of rollers, arranged substantially parallel to each other and
being adapted for tensioning and entraining a plurality of flexible panels adapted
for bearing subject matter to be displayed, said panels being joined to each other
in a closed-loop formation and attached to traction elements, adapted for movement
along guides located at substantially opposite faces of said frame, said device further
comprising elements for adjusting the tension of said closed-loop formation of panels.
[0008] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent
from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a display device
according to the invention, shown by way of example in the accompanying illustrative,
non-limitative drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a partly cut-away perspective view of the overall structure of the display
device according to the invention, showing the rollers and traction means;
Fig. 2 is a schematic top plan view of the display device according to the invention;
and
Fig. 3 is a partly sectional detail view, to an enlarged scale, illustrating an end
of a roller and said traction means.
[0009] More in detail, with reference to the above-cited drawing figures, the display device
according to the invention, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1 comprises
a plurality of panels 2 and a frame 3, adapted for rotatably supporting a plurality
of rollers 4 which in the illustrated example have substantially vertical axes, said
frame 3 advantageously defining a substantially parallelepipedal form and has at least
one open face wherethrough said panels 2 may be viewed.
[0010] Said rollers 4 are adapted for the tensioning and entraining said plurality of flexible
panels 2, which are expediently joined together in a closed-loop formation, which
is movable relatively to the frame and attached to traction means 5 which are arranged
movable in related guides 6, which in the exemplified embodiment are horizontal and
are placed at the base and at the top of the frame 3. Adjustment means 7 are also
provided for adjusting the tension of said closed-loop formation or belt of panels
2, as well as means 8 for illuminating the same, which will be described hereinafter.
[0011] Said traction means 5 are prefereably composed of two substantially parallel chains
9, each chain being advantageously arranged in a corresponding closed-loop formation
and adapted to be driven by drive means such as a motor 10. Expediently, interposed
between each chain 9 and the inner surfaces of the guides 6 are anti-friction means
11, which may comprise, for instance, inserts or liners, advantageously made of self-lubricating
material. The chains are also provided with a plurality of connection elements which,
in the illustrated example comprise a plurality of plates 12, which are advantageously
substantially equidistantly spaced from each other and adapted for engagement relationship
with resilient elements 13, interposed respectively between the lower chain and the
base edge 2a of each panel and between the upper chain and the top edge 2b of each
panel 2.
[0012] The means 7 for adjusting the tension of the closed-loop formation of panels 2 advantageously
comprise at least one adjustment roller 4a, which, in a similar manner to the rollers
4, is also freely rotatably mounted on the frame 3. The ends of the roller 4a are
supported by respective heads, which are provided with dowels 14, which dowels are
slideable and selectively lockable at a desired position along holes 15, essentially
extending parallel to each other and, in the case of employing substantially vertical
rollers, as in the illustrated example, the holes 15 may be provided in the base and
in the top of the frame 3, and define a substantially horizontal extension.
[0013] The operation of the device according to the invention, in the preferred illustrated
embodiment thereof, is as follows: the panels 2 may be joined to each other by any
suitable link means, e.g. a bound seam 16, as schematically illustrated in Fig. 2,
clips, edge binders or the like link elements, to form a closed-loop formation or
belt, which belt is simultaneously wound around the plurality of rollers 4, and he
tensioning roller 4a, which, although in the illustrated embodiment are mounted vertically,
may be alternatively mounted horizontally, when it is desired to provide vertically
movable panels. As mentioned hereinabove, the rollers are freely rotatable, and supported
by the frame 3.
[0014] The respective opposite upper edge 2a and lower edge 2b of each panel 2 in the plurality
of panels are engaged, by elastic elements 13, interposed between the edges 2a, 2b
and the plates 12, which are rigidly coupled to the chains 9.
[0015] The arrangement of the plurality of elements 13 ensures that the panels 2 are always
properly automatically maintained in a taut condition in the direction of the axes
of the rollers 4, whilst the arrangement of rollers 4 including the adjustment roller
4a, permits this result to be perfected in a horizontal direction by intervening on
the adjustment elements 7, i.e. by sliding the dowels 14 along the respective slots
15 and locking them at a desired position, to preset the required tension of the belt
or closed-loop formation of panels 2, in the direction of the longitudinal extension
of the chains.
[0016] Thus, by operating the motor 10, the chains entrain, in the case illustrated, the
panels 2 in a horizontal direction, which can therefore alternate to the viewing of
the public through one of the larger vertical faces of the frame 3.
[0017] Obviously, any suitable external panels may be applied to the frame 3 as desired,
to protect the mechanism from the elements, and to define any number of desired openings
wherethrough the panels 2 may be observed. Such openings may define any desired conformation
according to the optical effects one wishes to achieve. Alternatively, one or more
of such external covering elements or panels of transparent material, or the panels
2 themselves may be made of weather resistant material, advantageously a translucent
material.
[0018] For nighttime display, illuminating means 8 may also be provided, which can be arranged
either behind the same panels 2, making them visible by making use of the partial
transparency of the material which composes them, or by illuminating the visible part
thereof in a direct manner.
[0019] If the substitution of one or more of said panels 2 is required, it is sufficient
to disengage it from both of the adjacent panels, which nevertheless maintain their
correct position, by releasing the links 16, and disengaging the panel to be substituted
from the chains 9 by removing the resilient elements 13.
[0020] The new panel 2 is then positioned by reversing the procedure required to effect
removal of the replaced panel.
[0021] In practice, it has been found that the invention thus described fully achieves the
proposed aim and object.
[0022] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of several modifications and variations,
all of which fall within the scope of the inventive concept; thus, as an example,
the duration of the exposure of each panel can be extended for a preset time by an
electronic programmer or by a time-controlled electromechanical device.
[0023] Furthermore, all the details can be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
[0024] In practice, any materials, shapes and dimensions may be employed according to contingent
requirements.
1. A display device characterized in that it comprises a frame supporting a plurality
of rollers, arranged substantially parallel to each other and being adapted for tensioning
and entraining a plurality of flexible panels, adapted for bearing subject matter
to be displayed, said panels being joined to each other in a closed-loop formation,
and attached to traction elements adapted for movement along guides located at substantially
opposite faces of said frame, said device further comprising elements for adjusting
the tension of said panels.
2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that said rollers are each supported
about a substantially vertical axis and wherein said guides define a substantially
horizontal extension.
3. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that said supporting frame defines
a substantially parallelepipedal shape, at least one face of which is open for viewing
the panels.
4. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that
said traction means comprise chains defining closed-loop formations and being slideable
along said guides when moved by motor elements, anti-friction means being interposed
in said guides, rigidily coupled with said frame, said chains having associated therewith
a plurality of plates, adapted for engaging with the imposition of elastic means,
sides of each panel.
5. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that said means for adjusting the
tension of said panels comprise at least one adjustment roller, the ends of which
are supported by respective heads, which have dowels, slideable lockable in holes,
extending substantially parallel to each other, provided at the base and at the top
of said frame.
6. A device according to one or more of the preceding claims, further comprising illumination
means.