GB2238417A

GB2238417A - Display device

Info

Publication number: GB2238417A
Application number: GB9021468A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Norman Leslie Rimmer
Original assignee: Hazel Grove Music Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hazel Grove Music Co Ltd
Priority date: 1989-11-23
Filing date: 1990-10-03
Publication date: 1991-05-29
Also published as: GB9021468D0; GB8926487D0

Abstract

A display device, for example for displaying title information in a juke box, has a pair of spaced apart rollers (1, 2) with a flexible support sheet (3). The sheet (3) can be wound from one roller to the other with a motor (9). The sheet (3) has mounting devices, such as pockets (5), which support carriers, such as cards which bear information, for example title information. The motor may be arranged to advance the sheet through a predetermined run, the motor being automatically deactuated to arrest the sheet at the end of the run. The sheet may be a laminated structure having an outer transparent layer, the pockets being formed by setting and welding or bonding the outer layer. <IMAGE>

Description

DISPLAY DEVICE This invention relates to a display device for displaying items of information, particularly but not exclusively title information on a coin-operated music playing machine, or juke-box.

It is now common to use compact discs in juke-boxes whereby the number of recordings available for selection can be far greater than is the case with a conventional record-type juke box.

There is therefore the problem of how to display the larger number of recording titles.

One known method is to use a rotatable column of triangular section.

having three vertical rectangular faces. Each face carries lists of titles and the column can be rotated to bring the different faces successively into view.

This arrangement cannot be used where the number of titles is greater than that which can be accommodated on the three faces. It would be possible to use a column having a greater number of faces, for example, a column of pentagonal cross-section, but this may be expensive to manufacture and difficult to install conveniently in the usual juke-box housing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, convenient means of displaying large numbers of items of information.

According to the invention therefore a display device for displaying items of information comprises a pair of spaced apart rollers, a flexible support sheet connected to the rollers, the rollers being rotatable so that the sheet can be wound from one to the other of the rollers, a drive device for rotating the rollers, and mounting devices for mounting carriers of said items of information on the support sheet.

With this arrangement, by winding the sheet from one roller to the other, successive areas of the sheet, and hence successive carriers of information can be brought into view. It is therefore possible to make available for display a relatively large number of items in a simple and convenient manner.

In a preferred embodiment the rollers are mounted vertically. Other arrangements are however also possible.

There may be only two parallel rollers which, for a particular direction of sheet advancement, comprise a supply roller and a take-up roller. However, it is also possible to use multiple rollers andlor other guides so that the movement of the sheet is not simply along a straight path from one roller to the other but may follow a more complex path. Whilst preferably the arrangement is such that the sheet is fixed at opposite ends to the rollers, it is also possible to use an arrangement in which the sheet passes as a continuous run around the rollers in the manner of an endless belt. Also, whilst reference is made to rollers it is to be understood that any suitable elongate rotatable structure may be used not necessarily having a cylindrical surface.

The drive means may comprise an electric motor and may be reversible.

Movement of the sheet with the drive means may be controlled solely by the actuation and deactuation of an operating switch. That is, the sheet is moved when the switch is on and stops when the switch is turned off, such stopping being effected by the friction in the drive means andlor by a brake device. Alternatively, a control device may be provided whereby the sheet is indexed through a predetermined run and is then automatically brought to rest, in response to actuation of the drive means. This automatic indexing may be effected with the aid of a sensor which detects when a predeterming run of sheet has been advanced, or when a predetermined number of information carriers have passed a datum point. The sensor may take the form of a timer, or a distance measuring device, or an optical device or the like.

The support sheet may be a plastics sheet or may be formed from any other suitable material or combination of materials.

The carriers may comprise cards or any other suitable devices having the information printed thereon or otherwise applied thereto. The carriers may be mounted on the sheet in any suitable permanent or detachable manner. In one embodiment the carriers are located in pockets. Alternatively the carriers may be simply fixed to the sheet e.g. by bonding or welding.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the sheet is a larnnated structure having an outer transparent layer, pockets being formed by cutting and welding or bonding the outer layer.

The display device may be mounted in any convenient manner in a juke-box. In this respect it is to be understood that the device may be mounted in the housing of a juke-box of the kind having a single housing containing the reproduction and selection equipment, or it may be mounted in a wall box or other separate selector of a juke-box of the kind having a central reproduction system connected to one or more remote selectors.

When used in a juke box the display device may be used to display items of information which comprise titles of recordings available for selection.

It is however to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to juke boxes and the display device may be used in any suitable context where it is desired to display a relatively large number of items of information within a relatively limited space. For example, the device may be used for display purposes in a shop window (e.g. to display houses for sale) or for other purposes.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of one form of a display device according to the invention; and Fig. 2 shows a detail of the device of Fig. 1 to a larger scale.

The illustrated display device is used with a juke-box of the kind having a main, central unit containing, within a housing, a compact disc player, a sound amplification system, and a selection mechanism. The central unit, which may be located for example in a cellar of a public house or bar or the like, is connected to loudspeakers in one or more remote entertainment rooms and also is connected to selector un.t in such rooms. Each selector unit has a coin (or token) mechanism and a series of identified buttons. After insertion of the requisite coin (or token) into the coin (or token) mechanism, a selection can be made by pressing a combination of buttons. The central unit then operates to play the corresponding track of the appropriate compact disc.

The tracks available for selection are displayed behind a window of the selector unit by means of the illustrated display device. As shown, the device comprises two vertical rotatably mounted rollers, 1, 2 and a flexible plastics sheet 3 fixed at opposite ends respectively to the two rollers 1, 2. The sheet 3 is wound around the rollers 1, 2 in opposite directions so that it extends tautly between the rollers 1, 2. The flat, taut portion 4 of the sheet between the rollers 1, 2 is visible through the selector unit window as a square or rectangular display panel.

The sheet 3 is formed from two, laminated layers, namely a rear opaque or translucent layer and a front transparent layer. At regular closely spaced intervals separated vertically and horizontally, open-topped rectangular pockets 5 are formed between the layers by cutting slits (6) in the front layer and welding the two layers together (at 7).

Within each pocket 5 is inserted a title card 8 consisting of a rectangular card having printed thereon information relating to the titles of a respective compact disc. Each card 8 projects out of the top end of the respective pocket 5 so that it can be readily removed and replaced as desired.

One roller 2 is connected to a reversible electric motor 9 and the other roller 1 is spring loaded in a rotary direction away from the roller 2. The electric motor 9 is connected to operating buttons on the front of the selector unit. By pressing one button, the sheet 3 is moved to the right (as seen in Fig.

1). That is, the sheet is wound further around the right hand roller 2 and is correspondingly unwound from the left hand roller 1 against the action of the spring. On releasing the button, the sheet 3 is held taut in position between the rollers by spring loading. On pressing the other button, the sheet 3 is moved to the left 1. That is, the sheet is unwound from the right hand roller 2 by the motor 9 and is wound around the left hand roller 1 by the action of spring loading.

With this arrangement, with a simple, convenient and compact construction it is possible to make available for display a relatively large number of title cards.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.

Thus, for example, instead of using the above described simple arrangement in which the sheet (3) is advanced through a distance determined by the time during which the button is pressed, it is possible to use a control system which acts to index the sheet automatically through a predetermined distance whenever the button is pressed. By way of example, the control system may include a relay or trigger circuit which is latched when the button is pressed to cause the sheet to advance contiriuously, and an optical sensor system may be provided which scans the sheet and stops the motor (by re-setting the relay or trigger circuit) when a predetermined number of vertical columns of carriers have advanced. The arrangement may be such that a single column is indexed each time the button is pressed, or if desired the entire visible frame of columns may be advanced.

Further, although reference is made to juke box applications it is to be understood that the invention may be used to display information ir, any other suitable context.

Claims

1. A display device displaying items of information comprises a pair of spaced apart rollers, a flexible support sheet connected to the rollers, the rollers being rotatable so that the sheet can be wound from one to the other of the rollers, a drive device for rotating the rollers, and mounting devices for mounting carriers of said items of information on the support sheet.

2. A display device according to claim 1 characterised in that the rollers are mounted vertically.

3. A display device according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that there are two parallel rollers which, for a particular direction of sheet advancement, comprise a supply roller and a take-up roller.

4. A display > device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the sheet is fixed at opposite ends to the rollers.

5. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the sheet passes as a continuous run around the rollers.

6. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterised in that the drive means comprises an electric motor.

7. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterised by the provision of a control switch connected to the drive means so that the drive means is actuated to advance the sheet whenever the switch is on and the drive means is deactuated to arrest the sheet whenever the switch is off.

8. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterised by the provision of a control switch connected to the drive means via a control system so that the drive means is actuated to advance the sheet through a predetermined run when the switch is operated, the drive means being automatically deactuated to arrest the sheet at the end of said run.

9. A display device according to claim 8 characterised in that the control system incorporates a sensor to detect the said end of the run by scanning the sheet.

10. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 characterised by the provision of tensioning means for holding the sheet taut between the rollers.

11. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 characterised in that the support sheet is a plastics sheet.

12. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 characterised in that the carriers comprise cards having the information printed thereon.

13. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 characterised in that the carriers are detachably mounted on the sheet.

14. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterised in that the carriers are located in pockets.

15. A display device according to claim 14 characterised in that the sheet is a laminated structure having an outer transparent layer, pockets being formed by cutting and welding or bonding the outer layer.

16. A display device, or a juke box, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

16. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 when mounted in a juke box, said items of information comprising title information.

17. A display device, or a juke box, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1. A display device displaying items of information comprises a pair of spaced apart rollers, a flexible support sheet. connected to the rollers, the rollers being rotatable so that the sheet can be wound from one to the other of the rollers, a drive device for rotating the rollers, and mounting devices for mounting carriers of said items of information on the support sheet, wherein said mounting devices comprise pockets in said sheet spaced longitudinally and transversely thereof, whereby the items of information on multiple said carriers can be displayed at the same time between said rollers.

4. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the sheet is fixed at opposite ends to the rollers.

13. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 characterised in that the carriers are detachably mounted in the pockets on the sheet.

14. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterised in that the sheet is a laminated structure having an outer transparent layer, pockets being formed by cutting and welding or bonding the outer layer.

15. A display device according to any one of claims 1 to 14 when mounted in a juke box, said items of information comprising title information.