Sign display apparatus

Abstract: Sign display apparatus comprises a frame (12) and a horizontally hinged lower frame (14). The frame has rollers (20) running in vertical guides (18). A gas strut (22) is connected between the frame. As the hinge between the frames is pulled outwardly and downwardly, the gas strut counteracts the weight of the frame. In the lowered position display indicia can be changed quickly and safely. The upper frame can then be returned to the raised vertical position.

Description: This invention relates to sign display apparatus. Displays for signs, such as price information, advertisements, directions and the like, are most often located off the ground if they are to be seen from a distance. An example of these is the kind of displays for price information in a petrol station. These often have rectangular frames about two metres high by about one metre across. They are most advantageously mounted on a post, wall or other structure three metres or more above the ground so that they can be seen at a considerable distance by passing motorists. A particularly significant factor in the design of these displays is the fact that petrol prices fluctuate on a regular basis. To be able to change the signs easily and safely is of importance. Most simply, the information displayed may be changed by climbing a ladder and opening a protecting clear plastics screen hinged to one vertical side of the frame. The numerals displayed may then be removed and replaced with those indicating the corrected price. A more sophisticated system for petrol station forecourts employs a seven-segment display, similar to that in an electronic calculator but on a much larger scale, which comprises a series of flaps which are configurable to redefine the figures from the basic numeral eight as necessary. The flaps may be switched over manually by a person up a ladder, as before, or actuated by servo-motors connected to a control panel in the station office. The former manual arrangement still requires the use of a ladder. The latter is a considerably more expensive system altogether. GB 2109607 discloses a display sign comprising a display panel having spring clips to hold display material, the display panel being mounted behind a screen. In order to change the display the screen is swung outwardly about a pivot point at the top of the display sign, the bottom end of the display panel is released from the display sign and the display panel is swung outwardly at the bottom end and slid downwardly along a guide channel in which guide pins mounted at the top of the display panel rest. According to the present invention there is provided a sign display apparatus comprising: a mount for information to be displayed; at least one guide; a first guided member movable along the guide, the mount being pivotably connected, at or near one end, to the first guided member such that the mount is movable between a raised position and a lowered position as the guided member moves along the guide, and is swingable outwardly from the guide about the pivotable connection between the mount and the guided member; characterised by a first link coupled towards the other end of the mount, and a point fixed relative to the guide, the first link dictating a path described by the said other end of the mount as it is moved between the raised and lowered positions. The apparatus may simply be swung out and lowered to a sign changing position. The fact that it can be swung out also allows access to the back of the mount in order to change lighting fitments or to allow the fixing of signs which have mounting posts which project through the mount on to which securing devices can be fastened. Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a supporting structure on which the guide(s) is mounted. The apparatus may also further comprise a link connected at or near the other end of the mount from the guide and to the support structure or guide. The link dictates the path described by the other end of the mount as it is moved between the raised and lowered positions. Counteracting means for urging the mount at least to the raised position may be included. Preferably, the means providing the counteracting force comprise a gas strut or other resilient bias means, such as a mechanical spring, connected between the mount and the support structure or link, providing a biasing force urging the mount toward the raised position. Preferably, the mount and/or support structure are adapted to be retrofitted to an existing stand for display apparatus. The means providing the counteracting force may be damped. In a particular embodiment, the means providing the counteracting force is at least one gas strut connected between points on the mount and the link located beneath the mount. The relative rotation of the mount with respect to the link as the mount is moved from the raised to the lowered position causes the distance between the said points to decrease against the counteracting force. The apparatus may include a second link coupled to a point on the first link at one end and to a second guided member movable along the guide at the other end. In this case, the counteracting means may be connected to act between the second link and a point fixed relative to the first link or the guide. Alternatively, the apparatus may have a link connected between a point on the mount intermediate its two ends and a point fixed relative to the guide, such that the second link lies behind the mount in the raised position. With display apparatus according to the invention the mount can be moved outwardly and downwardly, possibly against the force of the counteracting means, by simple manipulation of the mount at ground level in order to lower it to a manageable height at which the information can be changed. The risks involved with using a ladder are avoided and the sophistication of a servo-motor controlled system is unnecessary. The guide may include a track or spaced tracks along which a roller or slide block, pivotably attached to the mount, is arranged to run. The track may be constituted by a channel which retains as well as guides the roller or block attached to the mount. Preferably, two spaced parallel guides are provided, each toward a respective side of the mount. Conveniently, the mount or the link has a handle by which the mount may be moved between the raised and lowered positions. The present invention can be put into practice in various ways some of which will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : Figures 1a) and b) are views of display apparatus according to the invention in a raised position; Figures 2a) and b) are illustrations of the apparatus in Figure 1 in a lowered position; Figures 3a) and b) are illustrations of the apparatus of Figure 1 in an intermediate position; Figure 4 is a side section illustration of an alternative embodiment of the invention; and Figures 5 a) to d) illustrate a further embodiment of the invention. Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, a display comprises a mount 10, in the form of a back board, and an aluminium upper frame 12 holding a clear plastics screen over the board. The means of securement of the material to be displayed on the mount 10 is not specifically illustrated, but could comprise a series of hooks or the like. Alternatively, the mount may be provided with alpha-numeric characters making up a configurable seven-segment arrangement. In another form, the mount may simply be a flat board for advertising to be pasted on. For the sake of clarity the mount is shown as transparent in order that the detail otherwise obscured can be seen. The lower edge of the upper frame 12 is connected to the upper edge of an adjacent lower frame 14, acting as a link, which is also made of aluminium, by a horizontal hinge 15. The words 'upper', 'lower', 'horizontal' and 'vertical' herein are used in relation to the frame illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. The upper frame 12 and lower frame 14 are supported by a supporting back frame 16 to which are secured a pair of vertically arranged spaced guide channels 18 to either side of the mount, having opposing inner open faces. Each upper corner of the upper frame 12 has a roller 20 projecting outwardly from it which is retained to ride in its respective channel 18. The connection between the corners of the upper frame 12 and the rollers project through the opposed open aspects of the channels in which the rollers run. The lower horizontal edge of the back frame 16 has a hinge 21 to which is secured to the lower edge of the lower frame 14, such that the latter rotates about a horizontal axis relative to the back frame 16. Retractable telescopic gas struts 22 are mounted between posts 24 and 26, respectively located on either side of the upper and lower frames 12 and 14. The gas struts 22 are normally extended and act as a counteracting bias urging the upper frame to a raised position in which the upper frame and the lower frame are flat against the back frame 16 with the rollers 20 of the upper frame 12 at the upper extent of their travel in the channels 18. This is illustrated in Figure 1. By way of clarification the term 'gas strut' is intended to refer to the gas actuated, damped supporting struts commonly used on the boot lids of cars to assist in them being raised and maintained in a raised position. The gas struts 22 are extended in this raised position of the upper frame 12. A handle 28 is fixed to the centre of the lower edge of the upper frame. By pulling outwardly and downwardly on the handle 28, the upper frame pivots relative to the lower frame 14 about their common hinge and the part of the upper frame below the rollers swings away from the back frame 16 about its horizontal axis defined by the rollershield in the guide channels 18. As a result, the upper edge of the upper frame moves downwardly on its rollers riding along the retaining channels 18. By this movement the distance between the posts 24 and 26 on each side of the frames 12 and 14 decreases and the gas strut is compressed. Figure 3 illustrates the display apparatus with the upper frame 12 in a position intermediate completely raised and completely lowered. The hinges 15 and 21 at the upper and lower edges of the lower frame 14 cause the lower frame to act as a link between the upper frame 12 and the lower edge of the back frame 16. In Figure 3 the upper frame 12 is in a fully lowered position in which the upper frame 12 is over the, now inverted, lower frame 14. The gas struts are at their most compressed. The lowered position of the upper frame 12 is here dictated by stops (not shown) in the channels 18 abutting the rollers. The position of the stops is determined by the need to prevent the projecting posts 24 and 26 from damaging the mount 10. To move the upper frame back to the raised position, it is rotated and moved upwardly by gripping the handle 28 and working with the force of the counteracting gas strut 22 to move the upper edge of the upper frame 12 along the tracks defined by the channels 18. In the raised position the upper and/or lower frame is held in position by a suitable bolt or any other locking arrangement. The shape of the back frame 16 is designed and dimensioned so that it can be retro-fitted to an existing display apparatus stand. Figure 4 illustrates a section through another embodiment of the invention in which the gas strut 22 is hingedly connected to one end of a further link 30. It is shown in section to show the connection between the link 30 and the gas strut 22. The other end of the further link 30 is hingedly connected to a point about three-quarters of the way along the outer edge of the lower frame 14 from its upper end. The further link 30 and the top of the gas strut 22 are commonly hingedly connected to a further roller 32 running in the guide. In the raised position (not shown) the further link 30 and the gas strut 22 both stand vertically in the channel. As the upper frame 12 is pulled outwardly and downwardly, it pulls the further link 30 outwardly and downwardly as well. Consequently, the gas strut is compressed by the movement at the top of the further link connected to the roller 32. In the raised position, each link can be arranged to lie inside or outside the channel 18. In this embodiment the upper frame which constitutes the major area of the front face of the apparatus does not have a direct connection with the counteracting gas struts which are exerting a force to maintain the upper frame in the raised position or resist its movement to the lowered position. As a result, the strength required to hold the gas struts can be concentrated in the base of the channels 18 and the lower frame 14. Because of this the upper frame can be made less stiffened in its construction than would be the case in which the gas strut made direct connection with the upper frame. Figures 5a) to d) illustrate a further embodiment of the invention in which the display area is uninterrupted by a break at a hinge between upper and lower frames. Figure 5b) is a section through the apparatus. In this embodiment a frame 34 is connected at its upper end to each of a pair of parallel spaced channels 18 by a roller 20, as before. A link 36 is pivotably connected between a point towards the lower end of the frame 34 and a point alongside each channel 18 about one-fifth or one-quarter of the distance toward the upper end of the channel. As the frame 34 is pulled outwardly and downwardly, the roller 20 travels down the channel 18 as the frame pivots about it. The path of the frame is again dictated by the link 36. This embodiment maximises the uninterrupted display area. Furthermore, as can be seen in Figure 5c), the outward and downward movement also results in the display area being particularly accessible in the lowered position as 20-25% of the display area hangs below the end of the link 36. It will be noted that the embodiment of Figures 5a) to d) does not include any counteracting gas strut or spring. This could be provided if required, but the lightness of commonly used clear plastic screens in aluminium frames will often allow the apparatus to function safely and conveniently without such a device providing a counteracting force. Other configurations of display apparatus according to the invention can be devised. The invention provides a display board that is hinged and slidable so that it can be lowered and so that access can easily be gained to both sides of the mount. The gas strut or other means providing the counteracting force may be suitably connected to resist movement of the mount to the lowered position.

Claims: Sign display apparatus comprising: a mount (10) for information to be displayed; at least one guide (18); a first guided member (20) movable along the guide, the mount being pivotably connected, at or near one end, to the first guided member such that the mount is movable between a raised position and a lowered position as the guided member moves along the guide, and is swingable outwardly from the guide about the pivotable connection between the mount and the guided member; characterised by a first link (14);(36) coupled towards the other end of the mount, and a point fixed relative to the guide, the first link dictating a path described by the said other end of the mount as it is moved between the raised and lowered positions. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the first link (14);(36) lies behind the mount (10) in the raised position. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, including counteracting means (22) for urging the mount to the raised position during at least part of the run of the guided member. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the counteracting means are connected to act between the mount and a point fixed relative to the first link or the guide. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which the counteracting means are arranged to be compressed in resisting movement of the mount to the lowered position. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, including a second link (30) coupled to a point on the first link at one end and a second guided member movable along the guide at the other end. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, in which the counteracting means are connected to act between the second link and a point fixed relative to the first link or the guide. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1, 2 or 3, including damping means (22) for resisting movement of the mount between the raised and lowered positions. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7, in which the counteracting means are resilient bias means, for example a mechanical or gas spring (22). Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, including two spaced parallel guides. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in which the guided members are arranged towards opposite sides of the mount. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11, including a supporting structure to which the guide is secured.

Inventors: LEONARD STUART TERENCE, LEONARD, STUART TERENCE
Applicants: POWER DISPLAY SIGNS LIMITED
Application year: 1992
Main classification: G09F15
IPC codes: G09F9, G09F15