Patent Abstract:
A baggage carousel including an attachment member movable about a continuous circuit and a conveyor panel coupled to the attachment member. The conveyor panel includes a base plate, an indicia plate, and a bumper layer carried therebetween. The base plate has a leading edge, a trailing edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, and an upper surface. A groove line extends from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, spaced a distance from the bottom edge. The indicia plate includes a protective cover overlying an indicia sheet, and is carried on the upper surface of the base plate aligned along the groove line.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/199,753, filed 19 Jul. 2002. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to methods and devices for advertising.  
           [0003]    More particularly, the present invention relates to visual information such as advertising on endless conveyors.  
           [0004]    In a further and more specific aspect, the instant invention concerns panels having visual information forming the load carrying platforms on baggage carousels.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    Conveyors for carrying items from one location to another location are well known in the art. In a specific example, conveyors are placed into an endless essentially circular orientation for dispensing baggage at airports. Recently, panels have been developed for carrying and presenting advertising to passengers waiting for their baggage. Notable among these devices is a sheet containing advertising adhered to the top surface of the conveyor panels. While presenting advertising to waiting passengers, this method is relatively ineffectual as the baggage and items carried by the carousel damage the sheets, obscuring the advertising.  
           [0006]    A much more effective approach has been adhering sheets containing indicia to the bottom of a transparent panel. In this manner the relatively fragile sheet containing indicia is protected from the baggage and items carried by the carousel. While very effective, this method has a drawback of being relatively expensive and also will become scratched and worn over time by the repeated contact with baggage.  
           [0007]    In both of the foregoing devices, sheets containing the indicia are adhered to the carousel panels. Thus when the sheets and indicia are damaged or when new indicia are desired, the entire panel must be replaced. Replacement of the panels on a baggage carousel is labor-intensive as well as costly.  
           [0008]    More recent panels include indicia sheets coupled to the back of transparent protective cover which are in turn fastened to the top of base panels. These panels allow for indicia to be changed without replacing the base panel. However, baggage entering onto the carousel is often dropped from a feed conveyor. This drop, while not exceptionally large, does tend to cause baggage and other items to gouge and scratch the protective covers. After a relatively short time, the panels can become unattractive or the indicia obscured.  
           [0009]    It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.  
           [0010]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved baggage carousel.  
           [0011]    Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor panel with easily replaceable indicia.  
           [0012]    And another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor panel which will absorb the shock of baggage dropped thereon.  
           [0013]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an advertising device which is highly visible and durable.  
           [0014]    And yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for making, using and maintaining an advertising device for use on conveyor systems, which is relatively inexpensive, and produces highly visible and durable advertising devices.  
           [0015]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a panel which can be used with conveyors, a plurality of which may be used on each conveyor, and which can be individually replaced are changed to change visual information without replacing the panel.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0016]    Briefly, to achieve the desired objects of the instant invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, provided is a conveyor panel including a base plate, an indicia plate and a bumper layer. The base plate has a leading edge, a trailing edge, a top edge, a bottom edge, and an upper surface. A groove line extends from the leading edge toward the trailing edge, spaced a distance from the bottom edge. A lifter bar extends from the upper surface at the trailing edge and extends from the top edge to the bottom edge. The indicia plate has a lower edge and a trailing edge, and includes a protective cover overlying an indicia sheet. The indicia plate is carried on the upper surface of the base plate with the trailing edge of the indicia plate abutting the lifting bar and the lower edge of the indicia plate aligned along the groove line. The bumper layer is carried on the top surface between the base plate and the indicia plate.  
           [0017]    Another aspect of the present invention provides a baggage carousel having an attachment member movable about a continuous circuit, and a conveyor panel as described above coupled to the attachment member.  
           [0018]    Also provided is a method of displaying indicia on a baggage carousel.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    The foregoing and further and more specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a baggage carousel according to the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the baggage carousel of FIG. 1;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a conveyor panel according to the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a partial exploded perspective view of a top portion of the conveyor panel of FIG. 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the conveyor panel of FIG. 4;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view of a bottom portion of the conveyor panel;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a partial sectional side view of the conveyor panel of FIG. 6;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of the conveyor panel of FIGS. 6 and 7, as it would appear impacted by a piece of baggage;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a conveyor panel according to the present invention;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the panel of FIG. 9; and  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 11 is an exploded sectional side view of the portion of the panel of FIG. 10.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0031]    Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to FIGS. 1 and 2, which illustrate a baggage carousel generally designated  10 . While the present invention may be used with endless conveyors in general, it is especially useful for improving baggage carousels well known in airports. Baggage carousel  10  includes a plurality of conveyor panels  12  that move around the periphery of carousel  10  carrying baggage and other items to waiting people. Panels  12  are upstanding between an elevated platform  14  with an upper rail  16  around its periphery and a lower rail  18  around the periphery of the entire carousel. A section is removed from elevated platform  14  for baggage loading means such as a belt conveyor  20 . Belt conveyor  20  carries the baggage from a baggage loading area, generally placed at a lower level. Belt conveyor  20  carries the baggage up to the height of elevated platform  14  to slide the baggage onto conveyor panels  12 . Since conveyor panels  12  are at an inclined angle, the baggage slides down conveyor panels  12  from the level of upper rail  16  to the level of lower rail  18 .  
         [0032]    Referring specifically to FIG. 1, an exploded section of carousel  10  is illustrated, showing individual conveyor panels  12  and a section of a transport mechanism that moves panels  12  around the circumference of carousel  10 . An upper rail section  16 A is shown removed from the remaining portion of upper rail  16 . Likewise, a lower rail section  18 A is removed from the remaining section of lower rail  18  located around the periphery of carousel  10 . This permits panels  12  to be removed from the transport system itself. Conveyor panels  12  are fastened with screws, for instance, to a plurality of spaced apart attachment members, in this embodiment support bars  24 . Each support bar  24  is interconnected with adjacent support bars forming a continuous circuit. The structure of the baggage carousel will not be described in greater detail as it is well known to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art will understand that other types of baggage carousels and conveyors can employ the present invention, such as flat baggage carousels and the like.  
         [0033]    Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, and  5 , conveyor panel  12  includes a base plate  30  having a leading edge  32 , a trailing edge  33 , a top edge  34 , a bottom edge  35 , and a top surface  37 . A recess  38  is formed in top surface  37  intermediate top edge  34  and bottom edge  35 , and extending from leading edge  32  to a point spaced from trailing edge  33 . A plurality of apertures  36  are formed along trailing edge  33  intermediate trailing edge  33  and recess  38 . Apertures  36  receive fasteners for fastening conveyor panel  12  to support bars  24 . Recess  38  can be routed in base plate  30  or molded therein during fabrication of base plate  30 . One skilled in the art will understand that while recess  38  is employed in the present embodiment, the top surface of the panel may be generally planar, without a recess, or simply with a raised trailing edge for attachment of the panel to the carousel.  
         [0034]    Wear strips  39  can be fastened to the top and bottom of base plate  30  as can be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and  6 , by any of a variety of fastening mechanism, such as fasteners like screws, pins clips, etc. and adhesives, which are preferred for this embodiment. Wear strips  39  serve to add additional protection where base plate  30  slides under rails  16  and  18 . When a wear strip is employed, base plate  30  can have recesses formed at the top and bottom thereof to receive the wear strip. One skilled in the art will readily understand that other types of carousels may not have one or more of rails  16  and  18 . In those instances, one or both of wear strips  39  may not be employed. When wear strips  39  are absent, recess  38  can extend the entire length of base plate  30 , from top edge  34  to bottom edge  35 . Base plate  30  is preferably formed in a single (unitary) piece, of a synthetic material such as plastic, or other hard material. The preferred material is a hybrid ABS like ROYAL LIGHT KYDEX® or the like. The use of some materials may permit the elimination of wear strips  39 .  
         [0035]    Conveyor panel  12  further includes an indicia plate  40  mounted within recess  38  of base plate  30 . Indicia plate  40  consists of a protective cover  42  having a back surface  43  and an indicia sheet  44  adhered to back surface  43 . A front surface  45  of indicia sheet  44  is adhered to back surface  43  so that the indicia is viewable through protective cover  42 . In the preferred embodiment, protective cover  42  is transparent, permitting indicia on indicia sheet  44  to be viewed therethrough. It will be understood that while indicia sheet  44  is an actual sheet of material in this embodiment, a “sheet” of ink can be printed directly onto the back side of protective cover  42 . It will also be understood that the term transparent can means translucent, tinted, etc., as long as the indicia can be viewed. Protective cover  42  is preferably fabricated of a hard coat plastic such a hard coat polycarbonate (LEXAN®), which is lubricious, facilitating sliding movement between panels, and hard, retarding gouging and scratching.  
         [0036]    Still referring to FIGS. 3, 4, and  5 , a bumper layer  50  is positioned between indicia plate  40  and base plate  30 . Bumper layer  50  is preferably a sheet of rubber or other elastomeric material fastened to base plate  30  within recess  38 . During fabrication of panel  12 , bumper layer  50  is fastened, such as by mechanical fasteners or adhesives, within recess  38 , with a subsequent step of fastening indicia plate  40  to bumper layer  50 . Alternatively, bumper layer  50  can be fastened to indicia plate  40  initially, with a subsequent step of fastening bumper layer  50  to base plate  30 . As stated, the fastening of the various layers and sheets is preferably accomplished through the use of adhesives, although mechanical fasteners such as screws, pin, clips, etc, can be employed. Bumper layer  50  absorbs the force of impact created when a piece of baggage or other item is dropped onto carousel  10  as can be seen with reference to FIG. 8. When an item contacts protective cover  42 , instead of being held rigid and being gouged, bumper layer  50  allows cover  42  to give slightly, diffusing the impact and greatly reducing the likelihood of gouging or scratching.  
         [0037]    When installed on baggage carousel  10 , conveyor panels  12  overlap adjacent panels  12  as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Leading edges  32  of the overlapping panels cover a portion of trailing edges  33  of the panels to a point adjacent indicia plate  40 . This presents a substantially unbroken view of indicia sheets  44  of adjacent panels, at least on the straight stretches of the baggage carousel. It will be understood that the direction of overlap depends on the direction of rotation of the carousel, and carousels have been developed for rotation in both direction. The overlap of panels  12  conventionally results in wear on the top surface of adjacent conveyor plates. However, wear on indicia plate  40  is substantial reduced or eliminated in this embodiment because the top surface thereof can be recessed with respect to top surface  37  of base plate  30  allowing adjacent panels to slide over the top without making substantial contact.  
         [0038]    Thus, panels  12  are installed on baggage carousel  10 , as illustrated in FIG. 1, to form one or more single panel or compound panel images, as desired for advertising, etc. Changing the indicia employed is easily accomplished by removing the desired indicia plate  40 , and substituting therefore another indicia plate containing the new indicia. During this entire procedure, base plate  30  can remain in position, attached to baggage carousel  10 .  
         [0039]    Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7, another embodiment of a protective cover, generally designated  60 , is illustrated. Cover  60  functions in the same manner as described previously for protective cover  42  and the remaining elements will be designated as previously. The difference is the addition of multiple layers. Protective cover  42  can preferably be a single layer having a thickness of between 10 mils and 60 mils due to the action of bumper layer  50 . Since an effective protective cover can be so thin, in this embodiment, cover  60  includes a plurality of cover sheets  62  fastened together, with the bottom most sheet fastened to indicia sheet  44 . Over time, the top most cover sheet of protective cover  60  may become worn, scratched, dirty, etc. Instead of replacing cover  60  or panel  12 , the top most sheet is simply peeled off as illustrated in FIG. 6. The underlying cover sheet is unmarred and cover  60  appears as new. A peelable adhesive is preferably used to fasten plurality of cover sheets  62  together.  
         [0040]    Cover  60  can be formed of plurality of cover sheets  62  because sheets  62  can be sufficiently thin, preferably between 0.010 and 0.060 inches. Thus, cover  60  can be a single sheet of between 10 mil and 60 mils. A very thin protective cover can be employed due to the absorbing and dissipating action of bumper layer  50 , which is also preferably  6  mils in thickness.  
         [0041]    Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, a conveyor panel  112  is illustrated. Panel  112  is employed substantially as panel  12 , and therefore, will not be described in detail in conjunction with carousel  10 . Panel  112  includes a base plate  130  having a leading edge  132 , a trailing edge  133 , a top edge  134 , a bottom edge  135 , and a top surface  137 . A groove line  138  is formed in top surface  137  intermediate top edge  134  and bottom edge  135  and extending from leading edge  132  to a point spaced from trailing edge  133 . Groove  138  is positioned closer to bottom edge  135  and is spaced therefrom a distance substantially equal to a distance the lower rail  18  of carousel  10  overlaps the bottom of conveyor panel  112 . In other words, groove line  138  is preferably positioned a distance from bottom edge  135  so as to be slightly outside of lower rail  18  and not covered thereby. The portion of panel  112  between groove  138  and bottom edge  135  is typically covered by lower rail  18  (covered area). One skilled in that art will understand that groove line  138  can also vary in position so as to be slightly covered by lower rail  18  if desired. Groove line  138  can be formed with the forming of plate  130 , such as by molding or other fabrication method. Groove line  138  can also be formed subsequent to the fabrication of base plate  130 , such as by cutting with a router or other tool and is essentially a score in the material which does not compromise the integrity or strength of base plate  130 . The purpose of groove  138  will be described presently.  
         [0042]    A lifter bar  139  is coupled to trailing edge, and extends from upper edge to lower edge. Lifter bar  139  is relatively narrow, and roughly corresponds to the overlap of the trailing panel adjacent thereto on the straight section of carousel  10 . It will be understood that while lifter bar  139  can be narrower than the overlap area, it is undesirable for it to be greater than the overlap area. A plurality of apertures  136  are formed along trailing edge  133  through lifter bar  139 . Apertures  136  receive fasteners for fastening conveyor panel  112  to support bars  24 . Lifter bar  139  can be integrally formed with base plate  130 , such as being molded thereon during fabrication of base plate  130 , or fastened in position using adhesives, fasteners, pins screws, and the like. Lifter bar  139  acts as an alignment mechanism, as will be described presently, and as a lifting mechanism for lifting the leading edge of an adjacent overlapping conveyor panel.  
         [0043]    Conveyor panel  112  further includes an indicia plate  140  mounted on top surface  137  of base plate  130 . Indicia plate  140  consists of a protective cover  142  having a back surface  143  and an indicia sheet  144  adhered to back surface  143 . A front surface  145  of indicia sheet  144  is adhered to back surface  143  so that the indicia is viewable through protective cover  142 . In the preferred embodiment, protective cover  142  is transparent, permitting indicia on indicia sheet  144  to be viewed therethrough. It will be understood that while indicia sheet  144  is an actual sheet of material in this embodiment, a “sheet” of ink can be printed directly onto the back side of protective cover  142 . It will also be understood that the term transparent can means translucent, tinted, etc., as long as the indicia can be viewed. Protective cover  142  is preferably fabricated of a hard coat plastic such a hard coat polycarbonate (LEXAN®), which is lubricious, facilitating sliding movement between panels, and hard, retarding gouging and scratching. Indicia plate  140  is prevented from being adversely contacted by the adjacent overlapping conveyor panel by the lifting influence of lifter bar  139 . The leading edge of the adjacent panel is held over indicia plate  140  so as to prevent snagging or excessive contact when panels overlap, particularly when rounding corners of the carousel.  
         [0044]    Indicia plate  140  has a lower edge  146  and a trailing edge  148 . Properly positioned, trailing edge  148  abuts lifter bar  139  and lower edge  146  is aligned along groove line  138 . Groove line  138  permits indicia plates  140  of all of the conveyor panels to be identically aligned to form a contiguous image or indicia. Additionally, by aligning indicia plate  140  along groove line  138 , indicia plate  140  is positioned properly with respect to lower rail  18 .  
         [0045]    A bumper layer  150  is positioned between indicia plate  140  and base plate  130 . Bumper layer  150  is preferably a sheet of rubber or other elastomeric material fastened to top surface  137  of base plate  130 . During fabrication of panel  112 , bumper layer  150  is fastened in position, such as by mechanical fasteners or adhesives, with a subsequent step of fastening indicia plate  140  to bumper layer  150 . Alternatively, bumper layer  150  can be fastened to indicia plate  140  initially, with a subsequent step of fastening bumper layer  150 , with attached indicia plate  140 , to base plate  130 . As stated, the fastening of the various layers and sheets is preferably accomplished through the use of adhesives, although mechanical fasteners such as screws, pin, clips, etc, can be employed. Preferably, bumper layer  150  has dimensions equal to indicia plate  140  so as to completely under lie it without extending past edges thereof. Thus, bumper layer  150  preferably covers top surface  137  of base plate  130  from top edge  134  to groove line  138 , and from leading edge  132  to lifter bar  139 . Bumper layer  150  absorbs the force of impact created when a piece of baggage or other item is dropped onto carousel  10  as can be seen with reference to FIG. 8 in the previous embodiment. When an item contacts protective cover  142 , bumper layer  150  allows cover  142  to give slightly. The impact is diffused, greatly reducing the likelihood of gouging or scratching.  
         [0046]    Lifter bar  139  is employed on carousels having overlapping panels. On carousels that have panels which abut and do not overlap, lifter bar  139  is omitted. In this instance, indicia plate  140  and bumper layer  150  extend from the leading edge  132  of base plate  130  to trailing edge  133 . Groove line  138  also extends entirely across base plate  130 , to facilitate proper alignment of indicia plate  140 .  
         [0047]    Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1