GB2387953A

GB2387953A - Vehicle display device comprising envelope mounted on a roller

Info

Publication number: GB2387953A
Application number: GB0209525A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Erasmus
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-04-26
Filing date: 2002-04-26
Publication date: 2003-10-29
Also published as: GB0209525D0

Abstract

Vehicle display device 10 comprises display envelope 30 attached at an upper end to reel 20. Envelope 30 has a transparent front panel 31, an opening through which display material 60 is inserted and removed, and is moveable from a wound storage position to an unwound display position in which display material 60 is seen through the front panel. Back panel 32 of the envelope may include display material which is seen through the front panel when envelope 30 is empty. The opening may be located at the top of envelope 30 and be resealable, and the envelope may include a one way valve 110 allowing gases to exit the interior of the envelope. Device 10 may be mounted at the rear of a vehicle, e.g. lorry trailer 40, with envelope 30 unwinding downwardly over the back of the trailer. Device 10 may be removably mounted on the trailer, and may include guides which guide the display envelope. A vehicle having a vehicle display device, and a method of changing the materials displayed by a vehicle display device, are also claimed.

Description

it Vehicle Display Unit The present invention concerns novel units for

displaying advertising or other materials, 5 particularly on the rear of vans, lorries and other vehicles. Also provided are vehicles having mounted on them the vehicle display units ofthe present invention. Also provided are methods of use of the vehicle display units of the present invention and of changing the materials displayed by the vehicle display units and by the vehicles on which they are mounted. It has been widely recognised in the prior art that vehicles provide useful surfaces on

which materials such as advertising can be displayed - US 4346529 discloses advertising displays for pick-up trucks. US 6101751 discloses an advertising substrate for attachment to the side wall of a truck. WO 97/21206 discloses advertising covers for attachment to 15 the sides of a vehicle or to a building or store front. WO 01/91089 discloses advertising displays for attaching to the sides of a truck trailer, being mounted on the truck cab. EP 0473794 discloses a device for fixing a flexible advertising bill sheet to the side of a tmck.

FR 2526569 discloses a roller mountable on a car rear window by way of rubber suckers and having a sheet extendable from the roller and attachable in its extended state to the 20 window. NL 9500525 discloses display units built into the side of a truck having a viewing panel through which advertising on a roller can be viewed.

The prior art does not suggest any way in which standard inexpensive advertising material

such as paper posters can be displayed from vehicles, instead requiring costly plastic 25 advertising bills. There is no suggestion of how the advertising material might be quickly and inexpensively changed. Furthermore there is no suggestion of how a conventional vehicle such as a van or truck might be readily and inexpensively adapted to incorporate such a display/advertising unit.

- 2 The present invention overcomes the prior art disadvantages and provides simple,

convenient and inexpensive vehicle display units, vehicles incorporating same, and methods of use of same and of changing the materials displayed by same.

5 According to the present invention there is provided a vehicle display unit for display - materials, comprising a reel onto which a display envelope can be wound and unwound, said display envelope having front and back panels, and top and bottom portions and defining an envelope interior, and being attached at said top portion to said reel, said front panel being transparent, said display envelope having an opening adapted for the insertion lo and removal of said display materials from said envelope interior.

Display materials can be inserted in the envelope interior adjacent the front panel such that they are visible when the display envelope is unwound.

5 Thus the display units ofthe present invention are extremely useful, being able to display any materials inserted in the envelope interior. The display materials themselves can be of any desired format, but particularly useful are posters and suchlike printed on paper.

These are inexpensive and can be readily produced using standard and widely available printing presses.

The display units of the present invention can also be provided with display materials on the back panel visible through the front panel when the display envelope is unwound and no other display materials are inserted in the display envelope. For example, a company logo or general message can be printed on the back panel so that it is displayed except 25 when other display materials, for example an advertising campaign or e. g. a supermarket's weekly special offers, are inserted in the envelope interior.

- 3 In order to allow the convenient insertion and removal of display materials from the envelope interior, the opening may be positioned as appropriate. For example, the opening may be located in the top portion of the display envelope. The opening may simply be a slit in the envelope, or it may have re-sealable closing means such as a zip or Velcro. It s can be important to ensure that water does not enter the envelope interior and using a zip - or Velcro etc. can help achieve this. Alternatively, with a slit opening in the top portion ofthe display envelope the display envelope can be unwound from the reel to allow access to the opening for insertion/removal of display materials, and then wound back onto the reel slightly such that it is effectively sealed.

It is of course possible for water and air (or other gases) to become trapped in the display envelope, particularly as it is wound onto the reel. This can prove problematic and hinder or prevent winding. In order to address this, the display envelope can be provided with at least one one-way valve arranged such that gases (or liquids) can exit the envelope interior 5 through them. Alternatively, the display envelope may be provided with at least one opening, perforation or slit e.g. at its bottom portion to allow the exit of gases and/or fluids from the envelope interior.

The reel itself can be any conventional spring-roller type device and can be sized as 20 appropriate for the display envelope. Alternatively the reel can be manually operated or even electrically operated.

The display envelope can also be provided with attachment means, particularly at its bottom portion, for attachment to other things such as a vehicle. Hooks, loops and bars 25 etc. can be used and alternatives will be readily apparent to the skilled person. This can allow the display envelope to be held in its unwound state, displaying the display materials.

- 4 Also provided according to the present invention is a vehicle having mounted on it at least one vehicle display unit according to any one ofthe preceding claims such that said at least one vehicle display unit display envelope can be unwound, said vehicle having attachment means for attaching said unwound display envelope bottom portion.

The vehicle may be a truck or van having back, left and right sides. Other types of vehicle on which the present invention can be mounted will be readily apparent. The display unit may be mounted on the vehicle as desired. For example the display unit may be mounted so that, when unwound, a display envelope extends over the left or right side of the vehicle 0 or, alternatively, over its back side. In particular the display unit may be mounted on a vehicle such that it unwinds downwardly over the back side of the vehicle.

The exact location of the mounted reel can vary. For example, on some vehicles it may be desirable to mount the display unit on the back side of the vehicle.

In other cases, particularly where it is not possible to increase the total length of the vehicle, even by a few centimetres, the display units can e.g. be mounted on top of the vehicle. 20 The present invention provides a significant advantage over the prior art in that it allows

display materials to be displayed from the rear of a vehicle, whilst not hindering access to the rear doors of the vehicle - the doors etc. are covered by the unwound display envelope, but can be readily accessed by simply removing the vehicle's attachment means from the bottom portion of the display envelope and winding the display envelope onto the reel.

The vehicle display may be removably mounted on the vehicle. This provides a number of advantages. In particular it allows the rapid and convenient changing of the display materials. For example, a company with a fleet of vehicles according to the present

- 5 invention can have a spare vehicle display unit for each of them. Unmounting the current vehicle display unit from a vehicle and mounting a spare vehicle display unit having different display materials (for example the latest offers or adverts) in its place is a simple operation and need only take a few minutes. The unmounted vehicle display unit can then 5 be handled separately, for example laid out on a frame and the display envelope unwound - horizontally, the display materials changed and the display envelope optionally cleaned to remove dirt etc. Vehicles according to the present invention having a vehicle display unit mounted on them lo can additionally comprise at least one guide for guiding the display envelope as it is unwoundtwound - this can also help minimise movement and retain it on the vehicle when .. it Is moving.

Also provided according to the present invention is a method of changing the materials IS displayed by at least one vehicle display unit mounted on a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: (i) unwinding said display envelope; and (ii) inserting in said envelope interior display materials such that they are adjacent said front panel.

Such a method may additionally comprise between steps (i) and (ii) the step of: (i)(a) removing from said envelope interior any display materials contained therein. Is The method may also additionally comprise prior to step (i) the step of unmounting said vehicle display unit from said vehicle, and subsequent to step (ii) the step of re-mounting said vehicle display unit on said vehicle.

- 6 Thus the vehicle display unit on a vehicle can have the materials it displays changed by inserting new display materials, optionally removing those (or any) currently in the display envelope, and can be done either with the vehicle display unit mounted on the vehicle or unmounted from the vehicle.

- As mentioned above, though, it is frequently desirable to have spare vehicle display units to replace those on vehicles simply to reduce the time taken to change the materials displayed. Therefore also provided according to the present invention is a method of changing the materials displayed on at least one vehicle by a vehicle display unit, said lo vehicle display unit being mounted on a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: (i) unwinding said vehicle display unit; and (ii) inserting in said envelope interior display materials such that they are adjacent said front panel; and at any step unmounting said vehicle display unit from said vehicle and subsequently 5 mounting said vehicle display unit on a vehicle.

Thus the vehicle display unit may be unmounted from a first vehicle, display materials inserted into the display envelope, and the vehicle display unit re-mounted on the first vehicle. Alternatively, after unmounting it from a first vehicle and inserting display 20 materials into its display envelope, a vehicle display unit can then be mounted on a second vehicle. As before, any existing display materials can be removed from the envelope interior at any convenient point.

The present invention allows the space on the sides or back of a vehicle according to the 25 present invention to be treated as commercial advertising space - a haulage company have a fleet of vehicles can sell the advertising space provided by the vehicle display units of the present invention. Customers can have their adverts displayed on vehicles and they can be readily changed to follow the stages of any advertising campaign, or to advertise

- 7 different products from different clients. However, anybody paying for advertising space needs to be sure that their adverts are being displayed - there is no point in paying for an advert to be in an envelope interior which is never unwound from its reel.

5 Thus the vehicle display units of the present invention may additionally be provided with - a timer unit adapted to monitor the length of time for which a display envelope is unwound from its reel. Such timers can be simple stopwatch-type devices or they can be more complex, determining exactly when a display envelope is unwound from uts reel. They may also comprise location determining apparatus such as GPS receiver or a mobile phone lo locating device such as those based on second generation (2G) phones such as GSM phones or third generation (3G) devices. This can allow the position of the vehicle display unit to be determined when the display envelope is unwound so that e.g. advertising charges are paid only when a vehicle display unit is moving and the display envelope is unwound. It can also be advantageous for such a vehicle display unit to have display material identifying means such as a barcode reader, the display materials bearing an identity marking which can be read by the identifying means. This can allow the vehicle display unit to confirm that it contains specific display materials and can be combined with other 20 data e.g. regarding the wound/unwound state of the display envelope and movement of the vehicle for e.g. calculation of advertising charges.

The vehicle display unit can also have data transmitting means such as a radio or mobile phone device to transmit information it has collected (e. g. display materials identity, 25 vehicle movement, display envelope winding) to a central computer for e.g. records or billing purposes.

- 8 The invention will be further apparent from the following description with reference to the

accompanying figures.

Of the Figures: s Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a vehicle display unit mounted on a lorry trailer, and Figure 2 shows an exploded view of a vehicle display unit.

As can be seen from the Figures, vehicle display unit 10 comprises reel 20 onto which is wound display envelope 30. Reel 20 is mounted on vehicle trailer 40 with mounting plates 50. Display envelope 30 has front and back panels 31, 32 respectively and top and bottom portions 33, 34 respectively and defines an envelope interior 35. Display envelope 30 is 5 attached at top portion 33 to reel 20. Front panel 33 is transparent. Display envelope 30 is not closed at top portion 33 in order to allow the insertion and removal of display materials 60 from envelope interior 35.

At bottom portion 34, display envelope 30 has an attachment bar 70 extending sideways 20 and which can engage and attach to retaining members 80 located on the back of vehicle trailer 40. At bottom portion 34, display envelope 30 also has a hole 90 through which hook 100 may be placed in order to unwind and wind display envelope 30 from/on to reel 20. 25 Front panel 31 of display envelope 30 is also provided with two slits 110 though which water an air can be expelled. In alternative embodiments, slits 110 can be refaced with e.g. One-way valves to allow water and air to exit envelope interior 35.

- 9 - In use, display materials 60 are inserted into display envelope 30 which is then wound onto reel 20 and mounted on vehicle trailer 40. In order to display the display materials, hook 100 is placed into the hole 90 and display envelope 30 unwound and bar 70 engages retaining members 80 to hold the display envelope unwound.

In order to access the rear doors 120 of vehicle trailer 40, bar 70 is disengaged Dom retaining members 80 and wound up onto reel 20.

Reel 20 has a spring mechanism, requiring force to be exerted to unwind display envelope lo 30, but which automatically winds display envelope 30 onto it when force is not exerted to counter the spring mechanism.

Figure 2 demonstrates the construction of a display envelope 200 from a first opaque piece of plastic sheeting 210 which is heat-sealed ("hotfixed") to a second transparent piece of 5 plastic sheeting 220 to define a front panel 230. Side panels 240, 250, attachment bar 70 and bottom panel 260 together with back panel 270 (having display materials 280 on it) are then heat^sealed together to form a display envelope 30 having an envelope interior 35 accessible via the opening 290 defined by the top of front panel 230 and back panel 270.

Slits 200 cut in front panel 230 allow air and water to exit envelope interior 35 and hole 20 90 allows for the hooking and pulling of display envelope 200.

With an opening 290 defined by the tops of front and back panels 230,270, back panel 270 is attached to reel 20. When fully unwound, display materials 60 can be readily inserted and removed from envelope interior 35. When mounted on a vehicle trailer 40 and with 25 attachment bar 70 engaged with retaining members 80, display envelope is partly wound onto reel 20, thus sealing opening 290 and preventing water etc. entering envelope interior 35.

- 10 It will be appreciated that it is not intended to limit the invention to the above example only, many variations, such as might readily occur to one skilled in the art, being possible, without departing from the scope thereof as deemed by the appended claims.

Claims

c l CLAIMS

1. A vehicle display unit for display materials, comprising a reel onto which a display envelope can be wound and unwound, said display envelope having front and back 5 panels, and top and bottom portions and defining an envelope interior, and being attached at said top portion to said reel, said front panel being transparent, said display envelope having an opening adapted for the insertion and removal of said display materials from said envelope interior.

lo

2. A vehicle display unit according to claim 1 having inserted in said envelope interior display materials adjacent said front panel such that said display materials are visible when said display envelope is unwound.

3. A vehicle display unit according to either one of the preceding claims, said Is display envelope back panel comprising display materials visible through said front panel when said display envelope is unwound and no other display materials are inserted in said display envelope between said front and back panels.

4. A vehicle display unit according to any one of the preceding claims, said 20 display envelope opening being located in said top portion of said display envelope.

5. A vehicle display unit according to any one of the preceding claims, said display envelope opening being re-sealable.

Is

6. A vehicle display unit according to any one of the preceding claims, said envelope additionally comprising at least one one-way valve arranged such that gases can exit said envelope interior through said at least one one-way valve.

- 12

7. A vehicle having mounted on it at least one vehicle display unit according to any one of the preceding claims such that said at least one vehicle display unit display envelope can be unwound, said vehicle having attachment means for attaching said unwound display envelope bottom portion.

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8. A vehicle according to claim 7, said vehicle having a back side, at least one vehicle display unit being arranged such that said display envelope unwinds downwardly over said vehicle back side.

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9. A vehicle according to either one of claims 7 or 8, said vehicle display unit being removably mounted on said vehicle.

10. A vehicle according to any one of claims 7-9, additionally comprising at least one guide for guiding said display envelope of said at least one vehicle display unit.

11. A method of changing the materials displayed by at least one vehicle display unit mounted on a vehicle according to any one of claims 7-1O, the method comprising the steps of: (i) unwinding said display envelope; and 20 (ii) inserting in said envelope interior display materials such that they are adjacent said front panel.

12. A method according to claim 11, additionally comprising between steps (i) and (ii) the step of: 25 (i)(a) removing from said envelope interior any display materials contained therein.

- 13

13. A method according to either one of claims 11 or 12, additionally comprising prior to step (i) the step of unmounting said vehicle display unit from said vehicle, and subsequent to step (ii) the step of re-mounting said vehicle display unit on said vehicle.

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14. A method of changing the materials displayed on at least one vehicle by a vehicle display unit according to any one of claims 1-10, said vehicle display unit being mounted on a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: (i) unwinding said vehicle display unit; and (ii) inserting in said envelope interior display materials such that they are lo adjacent said front panel, and at any step unmounting said vehicle display unit from said vehicle and subsequently mounting said vehicle display unit on a vehicle.