Abstract:
A 3-D virtual display system that provides a compact display device which utilizes a small object to be projected. The 3-D virtual display system has a housing with a front panel having an opening, first and second opposing side panels, a display object, a mirror disposed diagonally within said housing facing said display object, a rotating motor, the display object is attached to the rotating motor adjacent to the front panel and the first side panel, a Fresnel lens covering the opening of the front panel and a light source disposed within the housing for illuminating the display object. The display object is illuminated by the light source and projects via the mirror and the Fresnel lens a virtual three-dimensional image outside the housing. The display system can provide an audio component that may be recordable by the user. The display system is capable of accepting a removable advertising faceplate.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to a three-dimensional (“3-D”) virtual display system that is compact, easily viewable and has entertaining and advertising values. The 3-D virtual display system projects a 3-D virtual image of an object with accompanying audio and faceplate to provide entertainment and/or advertising values. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    3-D virtual display systems have been available for years. A typical prior art 3-D virtual display system includes a housing having an optical lens at an opening of the housing. Located within the housing are an object and a light source. The light source illuminates the object and projects through the optical lens in a straight line a virtual image of the object floating in mid-air outside the housing. In order to properly project the virtual image in front of the lens, the object must be at a certain distance behind the lens. As a result, prior art virtual display devices typically have a bulky and large housing. Due to optical limitations, in order to view the virtual image, a person is required to be located within a narrowly confined viewing area in order to properly view the virtual image. A person located outside of this viewing area will not be able to view the virtual image at all or will see a skewed virtual image. 
         [0003]    This type of prior art device is usually an arcade style or a table-top unit. In such prior art constructions the object is fixed in the housing and the size of the object to be projected by the lens to create a viewable virtual image is quite substantial. The object to be displayed is typically mounted on the base at the back of the device thereby limiting the size of the device, the size of the object, and the size of the projection. 
         [0004]    A prior art virtual display device sought to overcome the bulky housing by using a mirror to provide the optical distance to properly project the virtual image is known. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,657. 
         [0005]    None of the known prior art devices provide for accompanying audio with the 3-D virtual display. Still further, none of the prior art devices provide for a removable faceplate where advertising indicia can be displayed. 
         [0006]    Therefore there is a need for a 3-D virtual display device that is compact, allows for a small object to be projected which can be easily changed, is capable of producing a large virtual image, provides audio and accepts an advertising faceplate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The improved 3-D virtual display system of the present invention provides a compact display device which utilizes a small object to be projected. The present invention also allows the user of the display system to easily inter-change the display object from the side of the display device. Further, the display system provides an audio component. Still further the display system is capable of accepting an advertising faceplate to be used as a point-of-sale advertising. 
         [0008]    The present invention is a 3-D virtual display system that projects a virtual image of a display object. The 3-D virtual display system has a housing. Within the housing are: a display object, a motor connected to a rod that supports and rotates the object, a plurality of LEDs for illuminating the object at different angles, a mirror, a speaker and a power supply. The housing has a front panel which is capable of accepting a removable faceplate thereon. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the 3-D virtual display system of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a front view of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is top view of  FIG. 1 , with partial cutout views of the housing along Line D-D. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a right side view of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is perspective view of the rod and object of the present invention of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the 3-D virtual display system of the present invention with the faceplate attached. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the faceplate of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of  FIG. 9  with the dock in an extended position. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the 3-D virtual display system of  FIG. 1  with the housing disconnected from the base. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    With reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout,  FIGS. 1 through 8  show a 3-D virtual display system  200  of the present invention. The virtual display system  200  comprises a housing  100  with front panel  90  which encloses a display object  10 , a Fresnel lens  20 , a gear box  30 , a rod  35 , a mirror  40 , a speaker  50 , and a light source  60 . The virtual display system  200  further comprises a removable faceplate  120  as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the front of the housing  100  has a front panel  90 , top panel  1 , left side panel  2 , right side panel  3 , back panel  4  and bottom panel  5  which enclose an area A. The front panel  90  has two knobs  95  on its front side, which may control the power to the light source  60 , gear box  30  and the speaker  50 , the volume of the speaker  50 , the brightness of the light source  60  and/or the speed of the gear box  30 . It is contemplated that one knob  95  or a plurality of knobs  95  may be used for these various control. It is further contemplated that one of the knobs  95  is replaced with a motion and proximity infra-red sensor that may control the power to the light source  60 , gear box  30 , the speaker  50 , etc. Therefore, when a user or customer approached the housing the motion and proximity sensor will power on the unit. The front panel  90  has a central opening  92  that accepts a Fresnel lens  20 . Fresnel lens  20  may be snapped onto the back of the front panel  90 . The front panel  90  is connected to the housing  100 . The front panel  90  is capable of accepting a removable advertising faceplate  120 . In one embodiment of the present invention the faceplate  120  is attached to the front panel  90  by a snap fit. It is also contemplated that the faceplate  120  be removably connected by other means known in the art such as Velcro®, snaps, hooks, etc. The faceplate  120  may be removed and replaced with an alternate faceplate  120 . It is an object of the present invention for the faceplate  120  to contain advertising indicia such as a company&#39;s colors, trademark, logo and the like. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the advertising shown on the faceplate  120  will correspond with the object  10  displayed in the 3-D virtual display system  200 . For example, if the faceplate  120  advertises a soft drink company thereon, the object  10  may be a bottle of the soft drink advertised. 
         [0023]    A gear box  30  having a motor is affixed to the inside front corner of the top panel of the housing  100  adjacent the front panel  90  and the right side panel  3 . The gear box  30  has a rod  35  extends downward from it. The rod  35  has a first end  36  and a second end  37 . The first end  36  of rod  35  attaches to the gear box  30  so that the rotating motor causes rod  35  to spin or rotate. The second distal end  37  of the rod  35  has a first magnet  38 . The first magnet  38  allows the object  10  to be secured to the second end  37  of rod  35  by affixing a corresponding magnetizable material  39  to the bottom of object  10 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . In an alternative embodiment, rod  35  may be fixedly attached to object  10  with the distal end of the rod  35  having a magnetizable material for magnitized connection with a magnet located at the gear box  30 . It is contemplated that a motor directly connected to a rod  35  may be used in place of the gear box  30 . The object  10  should be connected to the rod  35  in an upside down fashion, which purpose will be described further herein. The placement of the gear box  30  and thus the object  10 , is vital to the virtual image produced as to maximize the distance between the object  10  and the mirror  40 . In an alternate embodiment of the present invention a magnification mirror is used to further enlarge the size of the virtual image produced. 
         [0024]    The housing  100  contains a mirror  40  which is disposed diagonally within the housing  100  spanning from the left front corner to the right back corner and from the top panel  1  to the bottom panel  5 . The front reflective side of the mirror  40  is faced towards the front panel  90  of the housing. The housing  100  further contains a light source  60 . The light source  60  is affixed to the front side of mirror  40  and is directed in such a way to illuminate object  10 . 
         [0025]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the light source  60  comprises one or more LEDs or light-emitting diodes. LEDs have many advantages as they have lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, are smaller than traditional bulbs and have great reliability. In another embodiment of the present invention a black light or ultra violet LEDs are used along with an object  10  with black light responsive (e.g. fluorescent or phosphorescent) paint thereon to create an unusual and eye-catching virtual image. When the object  10  is illuminated, the Fresnel lens  20  creates a virtual image. The mirror  40  is positioned at an angle between the Fresnel lens  20  and the point where the virtual image  110  would be formed if not for the mirror  40  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The image of the object  10  is reflected in the mirror  40  such that the reflected image is projected through the lens to produce the virtual image outside the front panel of the housing  100 . Without the use of the mirror  40  and the Fresnel lens  20  the size of the housing  100  would have to be much larger to account for the focal length of the Fresnel lens. 
         [0026]    The virtual image created is inverted, thus is the purpose of attaching the object  10  to the rod  35  in an inverted fashion to create a virtual image with a correct upright orientation. As the gearbox  30  causes the object  10  to rotate, the virtual image projected will also be rotating. This serves to enhance the floating virtual object created and cause users or consumers to be interested in the virtual image created. 
         [0027]    The positioning of the object  10 , light source  60 , mirror  40  and Fresnel lens  20  allow for the projection of the image using a small object  10  and a small housing  100 . The Fresnel lens  20  and the light source  60  allow for the virtual image created to be bright as the brightness is dependent on the intensity of the light reflected off the object  10  and the focal length of the Fresnel lens  20 . As used in the device, the Fresnel lens  20  is large and has a short focal length aiding in the brightness of the virtual image. It is contemplated that the a smaller object  10  may be used with a Fresnel lens  20  having a different focal length. However, it creates a smaller viewing area for the user. 
         [0028]    The right side panel  3  of the housing  100  comprises a door  80 . Door  80  has a first side  81  and a second side  82  and is connected to the right side panel  3  of the housing  100  with two hinges  83  on its first side  81  and allows a user access to the area A inside the housing  100 . This enables users to remove object  10  from rod  35  and replace it with an alternate object  10 . 
         [0029]    The left side panel  2  of the housing  100  has an opening that is capable of accepting a speaker cover  55 . Speaker cover  55  may be snapped into the left side panel  2  of the housing  10 . Behind the speaker cover  55  inside housing  100  is speaker  50  located behind mirror  40 . Speaker  50  is capable of producing sound that is stored on a sound chip  58  and may be controlled by knob  96 . It is contemplated that the sound chip  58  contains music, a jingle or other audio matter that is related to the object  10  and/or the item being advertised on the faceplate  120 . It is further contemplated that the speaker  50  contains a recordable sound chip which would enable a user to record and playback their personalized message. The left side panel  2  may contain an additional slide switch  140  containing a position for record, play and stop to control the recordable sound chip. A user could record their own personalized message via a microphone which could include their own voice and/or music. A user could also record a sound or song from their external audio player by connecting the external audio player to the speaker input  138  and sliding the switch  140  to the record position. 
         [0030]    In another embodiment of the present invention the mirror  40  used is marked with indicia relating to the advertisement the device is used for. These indicia are then projected alongside the virtual image to create an even better virtual appearance. 
         [0031]    Preferably power to the gear box  30 , light source  60  and speaker  50  are supplied from a standard wall outlet with a plug. In another embodiment of the present invention the device may operate with batteries. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  5  and  11 , the rear edge  6  of the bottom panel  5  of the housing  100  rests against a base  70  at pivot point  68  and may be pivotable at the pivot point  68 . The bottom panel  5  of the housing  100  further comprises a central track  74  running from near the front panel  90  to near the back panel  4 . Base  70  has an adjustment device  75  that allows the tilting of the housing  100  to various angles to accommodate and optimize the viewing area for a user. The adjustment device  75  is slidably sleeved over base  70 . The adjustment device  75  comprises an extension tab  72 . The extension tab  72  fits into and slidable engages the track  74  of the housing  100 . When a user wishes to adjust the viewing angle of the virtual display system  200 , the adjustment device  75  is slid forward or backward along the base  70  thereby tilting the viewing angle of the housing  100  as it pivots along the pivot point  68  of the base  70 . The adjustment device  75  further comprises pads  76  to safely supports the housing  100  thereon. 
         [0033]    In another embodiment of the present invention the speaker  50  is capable of being connected to an external audio player receivable in a dock  130  thereby allowing users to plug in an audio player and use audio files of their choice. As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the dock  130  comprises a base  132 , a left arm  134  and a right arm  136 . The right arm  136  of the dock  130  is connected to the left side panel  2  of the housing  100  by a pivot hinge that allows the dock  130  to move from a first folded position, as shown in  FIG. 9 , to a second extended position, shown in  FIG. 10 . The left arm  134  is spring loaded towards right arm  136  such that dock  130  can accommodate audio players of various widths and such that an audio player can be securely placed in the dock  130 . In the second extended position the base  132  of the dock  130  is capable of accepting an audio player such as a mp3 player or an Apple iPod® player. In the preferred embodiment on the left side panel  2  of the housing  100  adjacent the speaker cover  55  is an audio input  138  capable of accepting an audio cable that connects the audio player to the speaker  50 . 
         [0034]    The features of the invention illustrated and described herein are the preferred embodiments. Therefore, it is understood that the appended claims are intended to cover the variations disclosed and unforeseeable embodiments with insubstantial differences that are within the spirit of the claims.