Display method and structure

A display structure or a unique book including a plurality of laterally extending page supports each adapted to carry at least a pair of pages in a side-by-side relationship. Each page support has a pair of spaced support pallets and at least one pallet support leg extending between and connected to the spaced support pallets. A rotatably supporting structure is provided for each of the page supports so that when one of the support pallets is rotated, the other of the pair is rotated in tandem therewith. The pallet support legs are coupled to the rotatably supporting structure so that each of the support pallets extend radially outwardly from the rotatably supporting structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 This invention relates to a display method and structure generally and, in
 particular, to a display structure or book for displaying information and
 a method for displaying information.
 One of the applications for this invention is to provide a unique reading
 system to read to and visually stimulate audiences from pre-school on up.
 Recent studies have shown that audio and visual stimulation from the time
 a child is born results in higher I.Q.'s when the child is older.
 The display structure and method is designed so that the narrator (teacher,
 parent, etc.) is provided with indicia on one side of the display area of
 the structure, and the audience is supplied with the same indicia, or
 indicia of like content, (text, illustrations, photos, etc.) on the other
 side of the structure.
 The narrator never has to turn the display structure around to show the
 audience pictures and/or text, so there is better comprehension on the
 part of the audience.
 Thus, the face to face interaction allows the audience to watch the
 narrator's mouth form words and associate the words with the pictures/text
 on the audience side of the display. There is no neck craning or squinting
 to get a closer look as occurs when reading side by side. Further, the
 method and structure permits use with a much larger audience than side by
 side reading. In addition, the display structure can be easily made much
 larger and have larger indicia to accommodate even larger audiences.
 The method and structure allows the audience to look directly at the
 narrator while the audience reads or views the same indicia at the same
 time. So, the audience can follow the text and view the illustrations or
 graphics as it is read or explained by the narrator, which enhances their
 reading skills as well as improving their attentiveness.
 2. Description of the Prior Art
 A patentability search revealed only one relevant patent, U.S. Pat. No.
 5,626,365, issued May 6, 1997, entitled TWO-WAY BOOK (herein referred to
 as '365). The intended function of the '365 patent is similar to that of
 the present invention. But, there are substantial advantages in the
 structure and method of the present invention over the '365 patent. The
 ease of use of the present invention is much improved over '365, thereby
 reducing the wear and tear after extended use. In patent '365, the pages
 are in a standard ring member binder, which places a great deal of stress
 on the aligned ring receiving holes in the pages, allowing the pages to be
 easily torn out.
 The present structure is more heavy duty and less prone to destruction,
 especially with respect to younger children. Pages can be easily replaced,
 or new pages with different indicia can be substituted for the original
 pages.
 The connecting legs between pages of the present invention insure that the
 rotation of the pages automatically brings sets of indicia into view on
 both sides of the display structure.
 While the invention is described in the first embodiment as laterally
 extending page supports for two pages, it has the advantage of being able
 to use the two-pages spread as a single extended or enlarged page. This
 enables enlarged illustrations or text, e.g. a panorama across both pages.
 Further, because of the strength of the display structure, the pages can be
 substantially increased in size, both width and height. Thus, the display
 structure can be used for large amounts of instructional indicia, with
 enlarged illustration details for operation manuals or the like, which can
 be self-supporting without having to be held or propped up. Further, there
 is no worry that pages will be inadvertently turned by breezes or drafts,
 so that the same information continues to be available once the display
 structure is placed in the self-supporting position. Other advantages will
 become apparent in the description.
 Finally, the pages of the '365 patent in a standard binder must be turned
 individually and successively, which is not only awkward but can lead to
 errors in what is desired to be displayed.
 Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved
 display method and a display structure.
 It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and structure
 for displaying indicia which allows audiences to view the same indicia as
 being discussed by the narrator to enhance understanding, gain
 comprehension and improve the audience's attentiveness.
 A still further object of this invention is to provide a method and
 structure which has pages that can be easily replaced, or new pages with
 different indicia can be substituted for the original pages.
 Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method and structure
 which is much more sturdy and longer lasting than prior art approaches.
 Other objects, advantages and features will become apparent when the
 description of the invention is taken in conjunction with the accompanying
 drawings.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 A method for displaying indicia includes the following steps. A plurality
 of pairs of laterally extending page supports are provided. Rotatably
 supporting the plurality of pairs of page supports in between the lateral
 ends thereof so that each page support extends radially from their
 supported position, whereby when one of the page supports of a pair is
 rotated the other page support is rotated in tandem therewith.
 Indicia is provided on both sides of each page support in a back-to-back
 relationship. Sequential page designations are applied on each pair of
 adjacent facing page supports in a first half of the page supports in the
 rotational sequence. Identical page designations are applied on a second
 half of the page supports in the rotational sequence which repeat the same
 sequential page designations that are on each pair of adjacent facing page
 supports of the first half of the page supports. Providing each of the
 page supports which have the same page designation with identical indicia,
 or indicia of like content, thereon whereby when the pages are rotated to
 view any pair of consecutive sequential designations on one side of the
 display the same indicia is also available on the reverse side of the
 display. A step of applying indicia directly to the page supports allow
 them to act as pages. Alternatively, separate pages with indicia thereon
 may be affixed to the page supports.
 Structurally, the display may include a plurality of pairs of sheets, each
 sheet having front and rear opposed surfaces. Binding the pairs of sheets
 into a display structure with means for rotatably supporting the pairs of
 sheets, and means for connecting each pair of sheets together whereby the
 pairs of sheets extend radially from the rotatably supporting means, and
 whereby when one sheet in each pair is rotated the other sheet in each
 pair is rotated in tandem therewith. The connecting means are coupled to
 the rotatable supporting means.
 As an alternative, the display structure may include a plurality of
 laterally extending page supports, each adapted to carry at least a pair
 of pages in a side-by-side relationship. Each page support may include at
 least a pair of spaced support pallets and at least one pallet support leg
 extending between and connected to the spaced support pallets.
 Means are provided for rotatably supporting each of said page supports so
 that when one of the support pallets is rotated around the rotatably
 supporting means, the other support pallet of that page support is rotated
 in tandem therewith. Means for coupling each pallet support leg of each
 page support to the rotatably supporting means, whereby the support
 pallets extend radially outwardly from the rotatably supporting means.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 Referring now to FIG. 1 there is illustrated an exploded view of a first
 embodiment 20 of this invention, which includes a plurality of pairs of
 sheets 22, 24 and 26, 28 and 30, 32. Each sheet has front and rear opposed
 surfaces.
 Means for binding the pairs of sheets into a display structure or unique
 book include means for rotatably supporting the pairs of sheets, and means
 for connecting each pair of sheets together whereby the pairs of sheets
 extend radially from the rotatably supporting means so that when one sheet
 in each pair is rotated, the other sheet in each pair is rotated in tandem
 therewith. Further, means for coupling each connecting means to the
 rotatably supporting means are shown.
 In FIG. 1, a pair of laterally extending connecting means 36, 38 connect
 the pair 22, 24 together. The connecting means 36, 38 and pair of sheets
 22, 24 define an aperture 58, while edges 80, 82 define the lateral ends
 of this connected structure.
 A pair of laterally extending connecting means 40, 42 connect the pair of
 sheets 26, 28 together. The connecting means 40, 42 and pair of sheets 26,
 28 define an aperture 60, while edges 84, 86 define the lateral ends of
 this connected structure.
 Finally, a single laterally extending connecting means 44 connects the pair
 of sheets 30, 32 together while edges 88, 90 define the lateral ends of
 this connected structure. Since, the three pairs illustrate the structure
 and function of this invention, no further pairs are shown and there is no
 need for a centrally located aperture in the structure with the pair of
 sheets 30, 32.
 The rotatably supporting means 50 in this embodiment includes a pivot shaft
 52 and end retainers 54, 56 to keep the supported pairs of pages on the
 pivot shaft.
 To assemble the pairs of sheets together, the slots 62, 64, and 66, 68 and
 70, 72 in the respective connecting members are used. As shown in FIGS. 2
 and 3, the slots are used to enable adjacent portions of each connecting
 means to be pushed in opposite directions in order to pass sections
 thereof on opposite sides of the pivot shaft to provide bearing surfaces.
 In FIG. 2, the slots 70, 72 enable the section of connecting means between
 slots 70, 72 to be pushed in one direction, and the sections of connecting
 means outside of the slots 70, 72 to be pushed in an opposite direction,
 enabling the pivot shaft 52 to be pushed between the separated sections to
 provide bearing surfaces on each side of pivot shaft to support rotation
 of sheets 30, 32 around the pivot shaft 52. This is further illustrated in
 FIG. 3 where section 74 is pushed in one direction and section 76 is
 pushed in the opposite direction.
 In FIG. 3, a section 74 of connecting means is pushed in one direction
 while a section 76 is pushed in the opposite direction to pass the
 sections on opposite sides of shaft 52, to hold the shaft 52 in a
 rotatably supporting position. These bearing surfaces comprise coupling
 means for attaching the connecting means to the pivot shaft in a rotatably
 supported position.
 When the pairs of sheets are assembled together as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and
 6, the connecting means 36, 38 and 40, 42 and 44 are spaced along the
 pivot shaft 52 so that there are interstices formed between each of the
 connecting means.
 In this embodiment, the height of aperture 58 exceeds the height of sheets
 26, 28 and connecting means 40, 42. Therefore, the pairs of sheets 26, 28
 and connecting means 40, 42 can pass through aperture 58.
 Similarly, the height of aperture 60 exceeds the height of sheets 30, 32
 and connecting means 44. Therefore, the pairs of sheets 30, 32 and
 connecting means 44 can pass through aperture 60.
 Thus, when the pairs of sheets are so assembled, and the slots in each of
 the connecting means are vertically aligned, the pivot shaft 52 can be
 threaded up through the separated sections of connecting means to have
 sections of each connecting means pass on opposite sides of the shaft 52.
 The plurality of pairs of sheets are rotatably supported on shaft 52
 between the lateral ends 80, 82 and 84, 86 and 88, 90 of the pairs of
 sheets.
 To retain the plurality of pairs of sheets on shaft 52, a retaining means
 54 is placed on the bottom of shaft 52, while a retaining means 56 is
 placed on the top of shaft 52. The retaining means 54, 52 may be secured
 on shaft 52 in a number of well known ways. For example, screw threads can
 be formed on the outside of shaft 52, while internal threads are formed in
 each of the retainers 54, 56.
 FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate perspective and plan views, respectively, of an
 assembled plurality of pairs of sheets or page supports rotatably mounted
 or supported on pivot shaft 52. These two Figures are directed to showing
 general layout, function, and operation. Therefore, to show such, the
 details of FIGS. 1 to 3 are not included so that the invention can be
 presented simply for a better understanding
 In this context, it should be noted that although sheets are referred to in
 the description above, the term "sheets" includes a pair of pages affixed
 to each other in a back-to-back relationship, a pair of pages affixed to a
 page support or sheet support pads, laterally extending page supports
 adapted to carry at least a pair of pages in a side-by-side relationship
 which includes at least a pair of spaced support pallets and at least one
 pallet support leg, and the like in equivalents.
 In FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 the first half of page supports in the rotational
 sequence, e.g. sheets 22, 26, 30, and 24, have sequential page
 designations A, B, C, D, E and F applied to adjacent facing page supports.
 The second half of page supports, in the rotational sequence e.g. sheets
 24, 28, 32, and 22 have the same sequential page designations A, B, C, D,
 E, and F on each pair of adjacent facing page supports.
 Each of the page supports which have the same page designations have
 identical indicia thereon, whereby when said pages are rotated to view any
 pair of consecutive sequential designations on one side of the display
 structure, the same indicia is also available on the other side of the
 display structure.
 FIG. 7 illustrates indicia in the form of text, illustrations, etc. that
 may be used. While there are references herein to "the same indicia" or
 "identical indicia", those terms are meant to generally cover indicia of
 "like content". For example, in FIG. 7, the indicia shown includes
 illustrations and text. However, when used in applications where the
 audience is hearing impaired, it may be desirable to have text in
 alphabetical form on one side of the display, and on the other side of the
 display show the message in graphical illustrations of sign language.
 Thus, while the indicia on opposite sides of the display have a different
 appearance, the content of the messages on both sides is the same. So, the
 "text" is of like content. The sheets or page supports may be formed from
 paper, cardboard, flexible plastic, relatively rigid plastic or other
 materials.
 Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 10 there is illustrated a second embodiment of
 this invention which discloses a specific type of bearing means to couple
 the sheets, page supports, etc. in a rotatably supported position on the
 pivot shaft.
 In this embodiment the sheets, page supports, etc. are preferably formed
 from molded plastic. Sheets 30, 32 have a bearing 100 molded in the middle
 intermediate the lateral ends of sheets 30, 32. Bearing 100 may be
 cylindrical having an internal bearing surface 106 to journally receive
 pivot shaft 52. The cylindral bearing 100 has a slot formed in the side
 thereof parallel to the pivot shaft. The slot has facing slot walls 102,
 104 which are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of shaft 52,
 thereby retaining shaft 52 in said bearing. The bearing is formed of a
 material such as plastic, spring type metal, and the like. This enables
 the slot to be temporarily widened to accept the pivot shaft into the
 bearing, by a press fit, for example. After the shaft is journaled in the
 bearing, the slot returns to its original size or width to retain the
 shaft in the bearing.
 It should be noted that the cylindrical bearing can be formed without the
 slot in the side. However, this would not be as convenient for assembly or
 for replacing or substitution of pages.
 This structure provides a heavy duty and sturdy means for coupling a pair
 of sheets in a rotatably supported position. Further, it makes it very
 easy to replace damaged sheets, or to substitute new sheets with new
 indicia in the display structure.
 Referring now to FIG. 11, this type of bearing is used to rotatably support
 sheets 22, 24. Slots are formed in both the upper and lower connecting
 legs or means, having slot walls 110, 112 and 114, 116, respectively.
 FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 illustrate a third embodiment of this invention. In
 FIG. 12 a laterally extending page support 120, is adapted to carry at
 least a pair of pages in a side-by-side relationship. Support 120 includes
 at least a pair of spaced support pallets 122, 124 and at least one pallet
 support leg 126 extending between and connected to the support pallets. A
 bearing means 128 intermediate the length of the page support is formed in
 the support leg 126. This bearing means has already been illustrated and
 described in FIGS. 8 to 11.
 In FIG. 13, a laterally extending page support 130 includes at least a pair
 of spaced support pallets 132, 134 and a pallet support leg 136 with a
 bearing means 138 formed therein.
 In FIG. 14, a laterally extending page support 140 includes a pair of
 spaced support pallets 142, 144 and a pallet support leg 146 with a
 bearing means 148 formed therein.
 To assemble the page supports 120, 130 and 140 into a display structure or
 unique book, each page support has its bearing means snapped onto a pivot
 shaft so that all three page supports are rotatably supported. While the
 order of assembly of the page supports onto the pivot shaft is not
 crucial, the easiest order appears to be snapping page support 120 on the
 pivot shaft first, then page support 130, and finally page support 140.
 This couples the page supports to the pivot shaft whereby each page
 support pallet extends radially outwardly from the pivot shaft.
 The pallet support legs are to be spaced along the pivot shaft so that
 there are interstices therebetween, so that there is no interference with
 other leg supports when a page support is rotated.
 This embodiment is especially well suited for formation with a plastic
 molding process, since the strength of the molded plastic enables the
 reduction of the size of the pallet support legs. Thus, many more
 laterally extending page supports can be assembled on a pivot shaft.
 In all of the embodiments disclosed herein, the various relative dimensions
 of the components shown in the drawings are not to be taken as limiting
 since they are illustrated in dimensions that make the explanation of the
 operation, function, etc. more readily understandable. For example, the
 support pallets may be made larger, and the pallet support legs may be
 smaller, etc., depending upon the application and the result to be
 achieved.
 As in the other embodiments, the spaced pallets may receive indicia
 directly thereon, or separate pages may be affixed to the spaced pallets.
 It should be noted again that the sheets or support pallets can support
 pages that are larger than the size of the sheets or pallets, so that all
 of the pages in the display structure are of the same size.
 While the choice of the specific components and their arrangement in the
 embodiments described herein illustrate the results and advantages
 obtained by the choice of those specific components over the prior art,
 the invention is not limited to those components and their arrangement.
 Thus, the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be
 taken as illustrative, and changes in the components or their arrangement
 may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
 There has been disclosed method apparatus which differs from, provides
 functions not performed by, and has clear advantages over the prior art.