Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an information carrier receiving at least one information banner comprising an inflatable hollow body made of a flexible, foldable material and of a blower blowing an airflow into the inner part of the hollow body. The blower is arranged in or on the hollow body in such a way that the airflow produced by the blower builds up an overpressure within the hollow body and, as a result, the hollow body adopts a stationary and stable outer shape. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The DE 296 17 592 U1 discloses an inflatable, cylindrical information carrier being vertically installed like an advertisement pillar. In this case, an overpressure is built up within the hollow body by means of a blower arranged in the inner part of the hollow body so that the hollow body comes to stand upright, just as an advertisement pillar. Such an inflatable information carrier has a diameter of up to 2 m and a height of up to 12 m. To prevent these inflatable advertisement pillars from tipping over by the wind power, they are secured by anchoring cables anchored in the ground. This inflatable information carrier can easily be folded and transported, so that they can be installed in a fast and cheap way at the desired location. 
     Inflatable information carriers are either directly printed with the advertising or information to be shown or they carry information banners on the outer side of the hollow body, depending to the size of the advertisement to be shown. This entails that the advertising space available is limited by the circumference and the height of the said inflatable advertisement pillar. 
     The FR 2,598,541 discloses an inflatable, rectangular balloon carrying a screen printed with information inside. The balloon is to be filled with a gas, for example helium, so that the balloon lifts up to a height of 50 m to 100 m and is fixed with ropes or the like to make sure that the balloon does not disappear. 
     The U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,847 discloses an inflatable frame like display banner having indicia located in the center thereof that may be collapsed for storage and/or shipment. Furthermore, this display banner comprises a number of bores or openings, through which securing elements like a band, a rope or the like can be adapted to secure the inflatable banner to a standard. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a transportable, inflatable information carrier offering a bigger advertising space while keeping its transportability without occasioning too high manufacturing and installation costs. 
     The technical solution of this object is to develop the information carrier so that the hollow body forms a closed, more particularly rectangular frame, onto which the information banner may be fastened, preferably removably fastened, while at least partly covering the free space constituted by the frame. 
     An information carrier designed according to the teachings of the present invention has the advantage that a comparatively big surface is tenterable on the frame, whereas this surface may be provided with information or with advertisements, respectively. Simultaneously, the principle of an inflatable and again foldable hollow body is kept so that the information carrier may easily be transported. Thus, the manufacturing as well as the installation and removing costs remain low. 
     The frame may then be provided, on its front side as well as on its rear side, with one or several information banners bearing the respective printed information. In another embodiment, the information banner remains permanently secured on the frame. 
     In a preferred embodiment the hollow body has adopted a rectangular shape and is up to 20 m high and up to 30 m wide. It has been found that an information banner having a size of 10 m by 16 m may be realized at particularly low costs. In another preferred embodiment, a lip is provided on the front and/or on the rear side of the hollow body onto which the information banner and/or anchoring cables can be secured. 
     In an advantageous development, the lip is made by an outwardly extending fold at the inflatable hollow body and is provided with a number of eyes and/or Velcro fasteners by means of which the information banner is securable onto the hollow body. 
     Such a lip has the advantage that the information banner and/or the anchoring cables may easily be mounted and that the necessary mounting devices, more particularly the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners, may be arranged on the outside and not on the hollow body itself. By arranging the fastening devices, more particularly the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners, on the outside, the hollow body itself is spared from being damaged by torn out eyes or the like, so that its durability is thus considerably increased. Moreover, it is very easy to provide a fold on the hollow body by means of an additional seam, the eyes and/or the Velcro fasteners being then integrated into said fold. 
     In a quite similar way, a holding lip may be provided on the inner side of the hollow body, onto which a view protection described hereinafter is mountable. 
     Another advantage of the lip or the holding lip is that it is easily accessible and still of a very solid design, so that the information banner and/or the view protector may easily be mounted or dismounted. 
     In another, preferred embodiment a view protection preferably composed of several lamellar and/or net-like strips of material is arranged in viewing direction, behind the information banner. The information banners are preferably made of a net-like linen cloth, and they are not only permeable to wind, but also to light, so that the information borne by the information banner can hardly be seen, especially when the sun is shining. The view protection arranged behind the information banner is preferably black and shields light sources arising behind the information banner, bringing thus the advertisement on the information banner to bear. 
     Since such a big information carrier may be tipped over by a strong wind, in a preferred embodiment the information banner and/or the view protection should be designed as being permeable to wind. Hence, the resistance of the information carrier against air or wind is reduced and its stability increased. In a particularly preferred embodiment, additional anchoring cables may be arranged on the hollow body of the information carrier for additionally securing the information carrier. The anchoring cables are moored in the ground for example by means of ground anchors, nails or the like. 
     The information carrier according to the invention should be installed in a location frequented by the corresponding public. Such locations are often large spaces in front of shopping malls, event halls or the like. It is normally difficult to use ground anchors, nails or the like in such places, since they are mostly provided with a closed asphalt pavement or any other closed surface which cannot be damaged. In order to install the information carrier according to the invention in such a place and to be able to secure it against gusts by means of anchoring cables, it is suggested to fasten the anchoring cables onto a ballast element which can be movably placed onto the ground and which is made of a liquid resistant, flexible and foldable material. This ballast element may then be filled with a liquid, more particularly with water, and thus reliably maintains the information carrier in the desired position. 
     In a preferred development, the ballast element has a pyramidal shape. The advantage thereof is that the center of gravity of the ballast element lies very low and that simultaneously a comparatively big base is provided, so that the ballast element is reliably prevented from turning over or wandering about. The pyramidal-shaped ballast element achieves an extremely high stability with a comparatively small amount of water, so that the ballast element can be filled or emptied rapidly without incurring high costs. 
     In order to further stabilize or increase the stability of the ballast element, loops have been provided on the edges into which tubes or rods are engaged, whereas the tubes or rods are connected to each other on their free ends by means of connecting clamps. These tubes or rods thus increase the unspillability of the ballast element on one hand, on the other hand they are protecting the flexible material of the ballast element from damages, for example by skateboarders, cyclists or the like. 
     In still another preferred embodiment, a box having a semi-cylindrical recess for a form-fitting reception of the inflated hollow body is arranged on the underside of the hollow body, the deepest part of the recess reaching at least nearly to the bottom of the box. Among other functions, this box is needed to fix and fasten the hollow body at first. To that purpose, a semi-cylindrical recess is provided in the middle part of the box into which the lower leg of the hollow body can be form-fittingly inserted. In a preferred development, the blower and/or a generator are located in the box, so that the recess can be provided with an air admission hole through which the compressed air of the blower gets into the hollow body. 
     In this preferred embodiment, the air admission hole area of the hollow body is permanently located in the recess of the box. For transportation, it is folded so as to come to lie on the box. Thus, the mounting and dismounting of the information carrier is quick, since the blower and the air admission do not have to be mounted and connected newly each time. Designing the recess so that it at least nearly reaches the bottom of the box has the advantage that the lower edge of the hollow body only has to over-come a small difference in height when going over into the recess, so that a potential damage of the hollow body at this place can be avoided and that the hollow body can rest on the ground with the whole of its width. 
     For additionally fastening the hollow body onto the box, rod-shaped elements are provided on the edge of the recess, the elements engaging into corresponding loops arranged on the hollow body. This already guarantees a fastening of the information carrier, which is normally sufficient. If necessary, anchoring cables may additionally be arranged to particularly secure the information carrier against wind or gusts. 
     In a preferred development, the box is additionally provided with a storing compartment, particularly used for storing the folded ballast element. It is thus possible to store the information carrier together with all the required units and component parts in one unique and compact box, so that at the mounting place all component parts are always at hand and that transportation is easy and handy. 
     In order to even further simplify transportation, the box is provided with wheels, which are adjustable in height and which may be removed by screwing for transport. Thus, the box only has to be lifted on one side and simply wheeled to any location. 
     Further advantages of the device according to the invention will result from the drawing enclosed and from the embodiments described in the following. In a similar way, the features mentioned above and those still to be described may be used according to the invention each on its own as well as in any combination. The embodiments mentioned are not to be understood as a terminal enumeration, they rather serve as examples. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an information carrier according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a top sectional view of a part of the information carrier according to FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a box according to the present invention with lowered wheels; 
     FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the box according to FIG. 3 with raised wheels; 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a fully mounted information carrier according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of a ballast element according to the invention; 
     FIG. 7 shows the ballast element according to FIG. 6 filled with liquid. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The information carrier shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a closed hollow body  10  being accommodated perpendicularly and having a circular cross section. Approximately in the center of the hollow body  10 , a blower (not shown) producing a (cold) airflow is connected. The hollow body  10  made of a flexible PVC is inflated by means of this (cold) airflow so that it comes to stand upright. In order to secure the hollow body  10  against tipping over, especially when wind is blowing, several anchoring cables  12  are provided fastened to the hollow body in its upper part. 
     The hollow body  10  is made of several strips  14 ,  16  of PVC net-like fabric sewn together, whereas the strip  14  arranged on the outer side of the frame-like hollow body  10  is somewhat bigger than the strip  16  provided on the inner side of the frame-like hollow body  10 . As shown in FIG. 2, the two strips  14  and  16  are provided with two double seams  18  so that a roundgoing lip  20  is formed on the front side as well as on the rear side of the hollow body  10 . This lip  20  is roundgoing just as the hollow body  10 . The lip  20  is provided with a number of equally distant eyes  22 . These eyes  22  are spaced from each other at a distance of approximately 25 cm, whereas a Velcro fastener  24  of about 10 cm length is provided between two neighboring eyes  22 , so that an eye  22  alternates with a Velcro fastener  24  over the whole length of the lip  20 . 
     In the embodiment disclosed herein, the hollow body  10  has a diameter of 1.5 m and its dimensions are thus that an information banner measuring 10 m by 16 m may be arranged on the eyes  22  and/or on the Velcro fastener  24 . This information banner  26  is made of a net-like PVC-fabric which is between 500 g/m 2  and  1000  g/m 2  strong and which is printed with the information or the commercials to be shown. Due to its net-like structure, this information banner  26  is permeable to wind. It is possible to install one information banner  26  on each side of the information carrier  26  according to the invention so that the information carrier may dispense its information to the front as well as to the rear side. 
     Each vertical section at the inner side of the hollow body  10  is provided with one holding lip  28  arranged by means of two single seams  30 . The holding lips  28  too have several eyes  22  spaced from each other by a distance of 25 cm. Several textile lamellas  34  are hung into these eyes  22  by means of an eye ring  32  and fill up the whole free space tentered by the hollow body  10 . These lamellas  34  are preferably made of fleece and are of dark color, more particularly black in order to function as a view protection for the information banner  26 . Each lamella  34  has a height of preferably 50 cm. These textile lamellas  34  are flexible so that if wind is attacking the information carrier, it may pass through two adjacent lamellas  34 , so that the resistance against wind can be kept low. 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 show a box  40  having in its center a semi-cylindrical recess  42  which receives the lower leg of the inflated hollow body  10 . This box is designed so that all the component parts of the information carrier may be stowed in or on it and that it functions as a holding device for the inflated hollow body  10 . Once inflated, the lowest leg of the hollow body  10  is inserted into the recess  42  and the rod-shaped elements  44  are inserted into loops (not shown) arranged on the front and rear side of the hollow body  10  in order to maintain the hollow body  10  on the box  40 . 
     On the outside of the box  40 , two wheels  46  being adjustable in height are accommodated on one side and may be screwed up and down by means of a crank handle  48  and of a spindle engaged in the crank handle  48 . The box  40  has a perfectly even underside and may rest with its whole surface on the underground, for example on grass or asphalt, once the wheels  46  are screwed up. 
     The right half of the box  40  contains a generator and a blower which is sucking the air required via the air admission hole  50 . The hollow body  10  is inserted into the recess  42  and is fixed by means of the rod-like elements  44 . Simultaneously, the blower (not shown) is connected to the hollow body  10 . Once inflated, the hollow body  10  is held by the box  40 . For transportation, the hollow body, which is made of flexible material, is folded and put onto the box  40 . On the left side of the box  40  a storing compartment  52  is provided which may stow for example the ballast elements  60  described hereinafter. 
     In order to transport the whole information carrier from its location to a vehicle, the crank handles  48  are actioned so that the wheels  46  are drawn out and are lifting the box  40  from the ground. The box  40  may now be gripped at on the side opposite to the wheels  46  and may comfortably be drawn or pulled to the vehicle for transportation. 
     FIG. 5 shows an information carrier according to the invention provided with four ballast elements  60  fastened to it by means of anchoring cables  12 . The ballast elements  60  are shown in more detail in FIGS. 6 and 7. The ballast elements  60  are also made of a flexible, foldable material and have the outer contour of a quadrilateral pyramid. Loops  62  are accommodated on the edges of its base through which tubes  64  made of aluminum are pushed, whereas the tubes  64  are connected to each other by means of connecting clamps  66 . The connecting clamps are mounted on two corners by means of a mounting rope  68  into which a trigger is snap located on the anchoring cable may be hung. 
     Once the ballast elements  60  are mounted, they are filled with water via a receiving connection piece  70  constituting thus a heavy ballast reliably holding the anchoring cables  12 . For removing the ballast element, the water may simply be let out via an outlet connection piece  72  and the ballast elements  60  dismantled and folded again for transportation. 
     The information carrier according to the invention may be folded in a very short period of time into a comparatively small bundle by taking off the information banner  26  and by switching off the blower since the hollow body is made of a flexible, foldable PVC-material. The thus folded hollow body  10  may then be transported together with the information banners  26  in a trailer hauled by a private car for example. The information banner may also be fixedly mounted on the hollow body depending on the use made of it. This is particularly advantageous when the information carrier according to the invention should always carry the same advertisement. Otherwise, the removable information banners are advantageous, since the information carrier may then always be fitted with the information banner just required. 
     From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the inflatable information carrier of the present invention has a number of advantages, some of which have been described above and others of which are inherent in the inflatable information carrier of the present invention. Also, it will be understood that modifications can be made to the inflatable information carrier of the present invention without departing from the teachings of the invention. Accordingly the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims. 
     List of Numerals 
       10  hollow body 
       12  anchoring cables 
       14  strip 
       16  strip 
       18  double seam 
       20  lip 
       22  eyes 
       24  Velcro fastener 
       26  information banner 
       28  holding lip 
       30  single seam 
       32  eye ring 
       34  lamellas 
       40  box 
       42  recess 
       44  rod-like element 
       46  wheel 
       48  crank handle 
       50  air admission hole 
       52  storing compartment 
       60  ballast element 
       62  loop 
       64  tube 
       66  connecting clamp 
       68  mounting rope 
       70  inlet connection piece 
       72  outlet connection piece

Technology Category: 3