Patent Publication Number: US-2023147753-A1

Title: Apparatus and methodology for customizing vehicle signage

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/105,273, filed Nov. 25, 2020, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHODOLOGY FOR CUSTOMIZING VEHICLE SIGNAGE,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/940,803, filed Nov. 26, 2019, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHODOLOGY FOR CUSTOMIZING VEHICLE SIGNAGE”, wherein the entire contents of each of the aforementioned patent applications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The subject disclosure generally relates to signage, and more specifically to an apparatus and methodology for customizing vehicle signage. 
     INTRODUCTION 
     By way of background concerning conventional vehicle signage, it is noted that commercial passenger transportation (e.g., busses, vans, etc.) is a multi-million dollar industry, wherein signage is used for any of a plurality of applications. For instance, vehicle signage is often used for advertising where such advertisements target passengers, as well as people from the general public. Indeed, since motor coaches are mobile, external signage provides a unique advertising opportunity to reach anyone that might see the motor coach along its route. 
     Vehicle signage is also used often to personalize a motor coach chartered for a particular group. Personalizing a motor coach with signage may be desirable for any of various reasons. For instance, a school may charter a bus for a school-related trip, wherein personalizing the bus with the school&#39;s mascot provides students, teachers, etc. with a sense of pride. Also, since such trips will often include different schools traveling to the same destination on different busses, personalizing a bus with school-specific signage makes it easier for passengers to find their bus. 
     Whether with respect to advertising and/or personalizing, however, several challenges exist with conventional vehicle signage methods. For instance, such signage is often difficult to view at night when there is dim light. Also, replacing the content of such signage from one advertising campaign to another often requires much labor and expense. 
     Currently, there is thus no effective solution to address at least these specific problems with conventional vehicle signage methods. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and methodology which overcomes these limitations. To this end, it should be noted that the above-described deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description. 
     SUMMARY 
     A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic or general understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments that follow in the more detailed description and the accompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as an extensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts related to some exemplary non-limiting embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of the various embodiments that follow. 
     In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosure, various non-limiting aspects are described in connection with customizing vehicle signage. In one such aspect, a signage is disclosed which includes a frame, a mica cover, a light source, a logo component, and an attachment mechanism. Within such embodiment, the mica cover is positioned within a perimeter of the frame, and the light source is configured to direct light towards a backside of the mica cover. Furthermore, the logo component is positioned on the backside of the mica cover, in which the light source is configured to illuminate a logo by transmitting light through the logo component so that the illuminated logo is viewable from the frontside of the mica cover. The attachment mechanism is then configured to attach the signage to a vehicle. 
     Other embodiments and various non-limiting examples, scenarios and implementations are described in more detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various non-limiting embodiments are further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG.  1    illustrates an exemplary vehicle signage during day time use in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  2    illustrates an exemplary vehicle signage during night time use in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a front and back view of an exemplary signage in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  4    illustrates an exemplary etched logo in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  5    is a time lapse illustrating an exemplary logo insertion in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  6    illustrates an exemplary light source coupled to a sensor in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a plurality of exemplary power source configurations in accordance with various aspects of the subject specification; and 
         FIG.  8    illustrates an exemplary magnetic attachment mechanism in accordance with another aspect of the subject specification. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview 
     As discussed in the introduction, it would be desirable to address the specific problem of making vehicle signage more viewable when ambient light is dim and making the content of such signage more readily replaceable. The various embodiments disclosed herein are directed towards overcoming these limitations by providing a replaceable vehicle signage apparatus configured with a lighting mechanism. An exemplary embodiment of the vehicle signage apparatus disclosed herein is illustrated in  FIGS.  1 - 2   , wherein the signage  100  is configured to attach to a vehicle  200 , as shown. Here, it is contemplated that the signage  100  may be configured to attach to the vehicle  200  via any of various attachment mechanisms including mechanisms in which the signage  100  may be readily attached and removed from the vehicle  200  (e.g., a magnetic mechanism). Alternatively, rather than removing the entire signage  100 , aspects disclosed herein include embodiments in which the logo displayed on the signage  100  may be readily replaced while the signage  100  remains attached to the vehicle  200 . 
     It is also contemplated that the signage  100  may be configured to include any of various lighting mechanisms. In an exemplary embodiment, it is thus contemplated that a logo displayed on the signage  100  may be viewable both in the daytime, as illustrated in  FIG.  1   , and at night when there is less ambient light, as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . 
     Exemplary Vehicle Signage Embodiments 
     Turning now to  FIGS.  3 - 8   , various exemplary embodiments of the vehicle signage apparatus disclosed herein are provided. In  FIG.  3   , for example, a front and back view of an exemplary signage in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification is provided. As illustrated, it is contemplated that signage  100  may be configured to include a frame  110  and a mica cover  120  (e.g., comprising polycarbonate material) positioned within a perimeter of the frame  110 . Here, it should be appreciated that, although the frame  110  is illustrated in a rectangular configuration, the frame  110  may be configured in any of a plurality of different shapes (e.g., circular, triangular, etc.). It is further contemplated that the signage  100  may also include a light source  140  (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED) light source) and a logo component  130  positioned on a backside of the mica cover  120 . Within such embodiment, the light source  140  may be configured to direct light towards the backside of the mica cover  120 , wherein the light source  140  is configured to illuminate a logo by transmitting light through the logo component  130  such that the illuminated logo is viewable from the frontside of the mica cover  120 . Here, because of the optical properties of mica material, it is contemplated that light provided by the light source  140  may be absorbed by the mica cover  120 , which would make the logo on the logo component  130  more viewable (e.g., at night). As illustrated, it is also contemplated that the signage  100  may further include an attachment mechanism  150  (e.g., a magnetic mechanism) configured to attach the signage  100  to a vehicle (e.g., vehicle  200 ). 
     Referring next to  FIG.  4   , an illustration is provided of an exemplary vehicle signage embodiment which includes an etched logo in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. As illustrated, a signage  200  is contemplated in which the signage  200  comprises a mica cover  220  and an etched logo  230 , wherein the mica cover  220  is substantially similar to mica cover  120 , and wherein the etched logo  230  is a particular embodiment of logo component  130 . Moreover, it is contemplated that the logo component  130  may be implemented as an etching of the logo  230  on the backside of the mica cover  220 . Within such embodiment, it is further contemplated that the etched logo  230  may comprise translucent ink to facilitate transmitting light (e.g., from light source  140 ) through the etched logo  230  and absorbed by the mica cover  220 , which results in an illumination of the etched logo  230 . 
     Referring next to  FIG.  5   , a time lapse is provided illustrating an exemplary logo insertion in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. As illustrated, a signage  300  is contemplated in which the signage  300  comprises a frame  310  with a slot  312  configured to receive a transparency film  330 . Within such embodiment, it is further contemplated that the signage  300  includes a mica cover  320  substantially similar to mica cover  120 , wherein the transparency film  330  is a particular embodiment of logo component  130 . Moreover, it is contemplated that the transparency film  330  may be inserted via the slot  312  in order to position the transparency film  330  on the backside of the mica cover  320 . Within such embodiment, a logo printed on the transparency film  330  may thus be illuminated by transmitting light (e.g., from light source  140 ) through the transparency film  330  which is then absorbed by the mica cover  320 . If a logo replacement is desired, rather than replacing the entire signage  300 , a user may simply remove the transparency film  330  and replace with another with the desired replacement logo. 
     Referring next to  FIG.  6   , an exemplary signage embodiment is provided which includes a particular light source mechanism in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. As illustrated, a signage  400  is contemplated in which the signage  400  includes a light source  440  that may be coupled to a sensor  444  and power source  442 . Within such embodiment, the sensor  444  may be configured to measure ambient light, and further configured to activate the light source  440  upon detecting that the ambient light is below a threshold (e.g., to detect a dusk-to-dawn period when ambient light is low). 
     Referring next to  FIG.  7   , a plurality of exemplary power source configurations are illustrated in accordance with various aspects of the subject specification. As illustrated, a first exemplary embodiment is contemplated in which a signage  500  includes a light source  540  coupled to a vehicle power source  542  (e.g., where power is provided by vehicle  200 ). In another exemplary embodiment, a signage  600  is contemplated in which the signage  600  includes a light source  640  coupled to a solar power source  642  (e.g., where solar panels are located on the signage  600  or the vehicle  200 ). In yet another exemplary embodiment, a signage  700  is contemplated in which the signage  700  includes a light source  740  coupled to a portable battery power source  742  (e.g., a 12 volt battery). 
     Referring next to  FIG.  8   , an exemplary signage embodiment is provided which includes a particular attachment mechanism in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. As illustrated, a signage  800  is contemplated in which the signage  800  includes a magnetic attachment mechanism  850 , wherein the magnetic attachment mechanism  850  may comprise an array of magnets having strong magnetic properties in order to more securely attach the signage  800  during transit (e.g., where the magnetic attachment mechanism comprises at least one rare-earth magnet). 
     Alternatively, in order to facilitate easy removal of the signage  800 , it is contemplated that the magnetic attachment mechanism  850  may comprise at least one electropermanent magnet, wherein a switch  852  is configured to activate and deactivate a magnetic field of the at least one electropermanent magnet. Within such embodiment, it is further contemplated that the switch  852  may be coupled to a user interface which allows the user to enter security credentials to activate and deactivate the magnetic field. Such configuration might be desirable to avoid having the signage  800  stolen, for example, wherein the user interface may be any of a plurality of user interfaces known in the art (e.g., a keypad configured to receive an alphanumeric password, a biometric reader configured to perform a biometric reading, etc.). 
     The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements. 
     The aforementioned systems have been described with respect to interaction between several components. It can be appreciated that such systems and components can include those components or specified sub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components, and/or additional components, and according to various permutations and combinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented as components coupled to other components rather than included within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it is noted that one or more components may be combined into a single component providing aggregate functionality or divided into several separate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers may be provided to couple to such sub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Any components described herein may also interact with one or more other components not specifically described herein but generally known by those of skill in the art. 
     In view of the exemplary systems described supra, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter can be appreciated with reference to the various figures. While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are described as a series of steps, it is to be understood and appreciated that the disclosed subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps, as some steps may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps from what is described herein. Moreover, not all disclosed steps may be required to implement the methodologies described hereinafter. 
     While the various embodiments have been described in connection with the exemplary embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function without deviating there from. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment.