CN100496374C - Modular protective structure for floor display - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a floor display system with a modular protective structure that prevents damage to the display system due to use in a floor environment. The modular protective structure can be configured to provide a distributed vertical support system (150, 155, 160) to absorb and distribute pressure and impact on the floor display system.

Description

Modular protective structure displayed on the ground

Back and forth references to related applications

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application 60/385,579 filed June 5, 2002 under 35 U.S.C § 119(e). Further, this application is part of a co-pending application filed May 16, 2003, identified herein by title and filing date (application number not available), entitled "Ground Display System with Interactive Features" continue. "Ground Display System of Interactive Features" is a continuation-in-part of co-pending serial number 10/285,639, filed November 1, 2002, which was filed May 3, 2002 and filed in 2003 Continuation of Application Serial No. 10/137,357, published January 14, 2009 as US Patent No. 6,507,285. Application Serial No. 10/137,357 was filed on January 24, 2001 and is continued by application Serial No. 09/767,846, which was published on July 9, 2002 as US Patent No. 6,417,778. Application Serial No. 09/767,846 is a continuation of now abandoned application Serial No. 09/418,752 filed October 15, 1999. Application Serial No. 09/418,752 was filed May 4, 1999 and is continued in part by Application Serial No. 09/304,051, published April 24, 2001 as US Patent No. 6,219,876. All of the above-identified applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

technical field

The invention relates to a ground display system, more particularly to a module protection structure of the ground display system.

Background technique

Many media are known for delivering information to the public, such as advertising information. The most common is this medium that utilizes "vertical space". That is, such media are typified by displays such as billboard displays, displays mounted on walls or ceilings, and displays on electronic devices such as substantially vertical television screens and computer monitor screens.

However, there is a large amount of "horizontal space" that is largely unused to communicate information to the public. This horizontal space includes areas of ground space for mass transit, such as commercial facilities or other public buildings.

US Patent No. 6,417,778, fully incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system for the electronic delivery of information through terrestrial displays. This patent disclosure relates to such a modular structure for floor displays. Other advantages of such a structure disclosed are its effectiveness in protecting the display from damage related to the ground environment, and its ease of design size (expansion or reduction of the display area). For such a modular structure it is necessary to keep a very thin form factor.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 shows a ground display system composed of electronic display components including a module protection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the ground display system in Figure 1;

What Figures 3A and 3B show is a partial enlarged view of the sectional view of Figure 2;

Figures 4-6 show three different views of an electronic display assembly according to an embodiment of the invention embedded in the ground;

Figures 7 and 8 show increased segmentation of the electronic display assembly compared to that shown in Figures 1-6;

9, 10, 11A, 11B and 12 are plan views showing alternative embodiments of vertical supports for an electronic display system according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the invention relate to ground display systems. The ground display system can be installed in a public place, such as a commercial facility or other public building, and can also be configured to display any content that can be changed electronically, such as an advertisement or other informational content. Due to the environment in which it is used, floor display systems may be subject to possible damage from foot traffic, wheel objects and the like. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention relate to a display module protective structure that efficiently distributes forces applied to a display in a vertical support system to prevent force concentrations in one place that could damage the display. This modular structure can further provide a very thin form factor for the ground display system.

As mentioned above, US 6,417,778 discloses a system for electronic delivery of information using floor displays. More particularly, the floor display may incorporate a modifiable electronic display surface, such as a liquid crystal display. Such a display can be connected to a computer, and images generated by the computer can be displayed on the display. In this way, the image displayed on the display can be altered by generating a different computer image and displaying that computer image on the display. The display may be incorporated into the base portion of a floor covering, such as contained in a recess, or may be contained on the upwardly facing underside of the insert portion of the floor covering. Alternatively, the display can be integrated with the base portion or the insert portion. A changeable display can utilize a number of different graphics that can be displayed on the display in a variety of different ways. For example, graphics may be displayed in a generally fixed position on the display or may be scrolled across the display in two exemplary ways of displaying several graphics individually or in combination.

Other alternative methods of altering the graphics displayed on the floor covering include using light emitting polymers to create the graphics and thus altering the graphics. Light emitting polymers can be applied to, attached to or compounded into floor coverings. Light emitting polymers may be utilized on any part of the floor covering, such as on the base part or the insert part, or any other part of the different embodiments of the floor covering. Light emitting polymers are known and have been described in US Patent Nos. 5,945,502, 5,869,350 and 5,571,626, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Other options for displays are to use electronic ink or electronic paper. Electronic paper is offered by Xerox and is described in US Patents 5,723,204, 5,604,027, 4,126,854, 4,143,103, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Electronic paper uses thousands of tiny electrically charged beads called gyricons, each about the width of a human hair, to create pixels. Bi-color beads are embedded within a liquid-filled plastic guard that forms the surface of the paper. Each bead is half black and half white, and rotates continuously according to the electric field. Whether the bead is black side up or white side up determines the image. Because there is no need to update the image, and because the screen is not backlit, electronic paper uses only a fraction of the power used by conventional electronic displays. Electromagnetic pens and printer-like devices can be used to render images on paper.

Electronic ink was provided by E Ink Corp., at 45 Spinelli Pl., Cambridge, MA 02138 (E Ink Corp.). Electronic ink uses a microstructure display system enclosed in microcapsules. Tiny microcapsules are trapped between two plastic sheets to create pixels. Alternatively, the capsules can be sprayed onto a surface. The result is a plastic display material. The tiny capsules are transparent and contain a mixture of black ink and white pigment flakes. Charges pass through these capsules. Depending on the electrostatic charge, the pigment fragments float to the top of each capsule or settle at the bottom of each capsule. The surface appears white as the pigment flakes float on top. When they rest on the bottom, so just below the ink, the surface appears black. Each of the two states is static: black or white. A transparent electromagnetic grid covering the surface of the sheet controls the shape of the image. This display system can be connected wirelessly to, for example, a computer, thereby connecting to the world Internet by using, for example, a Motorola imaging system. If multiple monitors are used, the text on all monitors can be changed at once by one editor via the web page.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, additional or alternative techniques to those described above may be used to implement a floor display system. A floor display system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 . The floor display system 100 includes an integrated electronic display assembly 120 connected to the floor covering, and more particularly, the display assembly 120 may be at least partially connected to, or supported on, or received by the floor covering, or otherwise communicated with the floor covering. The floor coverings 110 are connected. Floor covering 110 and associated electronic display assembly 120 may take many structural forms and be constructed of various types of materials and is not limited to the specific forms illustrated herein. Floor coverings may include cleaning shoe materials such as carpet, rubber, plastic, and the like. The floor covering 110 can be attached to the floor or be portable so as to be easily moved to different locations. In an embodiment, the floor covering 110 and the electronic display assembly 120 are designed for use in places where there is foot traffic or other traffic (eg, wheeled shopping carts), such as the entrance of a store, public building, or home. In such environments, strong forces can be exerted on floor coverings and electronic display devices. Therefore, floor coverings and electronic displays should be sufficiently durable that they can be repeatedly stepped on, walked on, or have wheeled shopping carts or other rolling or sliding Adverse effects are negligible.

To this end, the electronic display assembly 120 may include a plurality of display modules. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, there are four display modules 125, 130, 135, 140, each of which is connected to a module protection fence as described in further detail. The invention is not limited to four display modules; there may be more or fewer. A coherent display can be presented on multiple display modules. That is to say, when a single display module can only present a part of a display, then the plurality of display modules in the aggregate of modules can provide a complete or unified display. For example, in Figure 1 a coherent text message, “On Sale Today Only Men’s Cotton T-Shirts”, is completely displayed on four display modules, although each module displays only a part of this complete message individually. Alternatively, each module may be configured to display unrelated images and/or text.

More particularly, the display module may be an electronic display device incorporating any display technology, including those disclosed herein, and others not expressly disclosed. The display module can be configured to electronically display graphical images and alphanumeric data in a static (not moving or changing) or dynamic (eg, scrolling or otherwise moving or changing) format. More particularly, the display module can be coupled to a controller (not shown) by wired or wireless means, and can be changed by the controller to display any content selected by the user. For example, a display module may be coupled to the controller through display driver circuitry such as a video graphics adapter card. The controller may comprise any type of electronic logic circuitry, such as a general purpose microprocessor or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) configured with software. The driver of the display module can be integrated into the controller or formed in an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The controller can also be in the form of a single board computer with a processor, memory and one or more display driver circuits built onto the motherboard, and also with wireless components for communicating with the outside world or downloading data to the memory. The controller can be coupled to a storage medium, which can be any form of medium suitable for storing digital data, including RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), flash or other non-fixed vacuum tube electronic storage, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory), or Magnetic and/or Optical Disk Storage. These storage media can store, for example, control software executed by the controller and video content selected for display by the display module under the control of the control software.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the display modules of the assembly 120 may be arranged in respective separate protective enclosures comprising a bottom part, a top part and vertical supports or side panels. In embodiments, elements in the protective enclosures may be common to the display modules; for example, the protective enclosures may have a common top member, bottom member, and one or more common side panels. In other embodiments, each display module may have a separate protective enclosure with different bottom members, top members and side panels.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of floor display system 100 along line 2-2. In this figure it can be seen that the ground covering 110 can include a tapered portion or sloped surface 145 which can be configured to be received in the display assembly 120 to provide a smooth transition from the center of the floor covering to the ground. . For example, if a floor covering is provided in a corridor of a commercial facility, such a sloped surface can make it easier to pass through the floor covering, or for a person to walk over the floor covering, or for a wheeled shopping cart to slide over it.

FIG. 3A shows an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 2 . In particular, Figure 3A shows in more detail a cross-sectional view including display modules 125 and 135 and illustrating a protective fence, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3A, the display modules 135, 125 may be arranged within separate protective enclosures comprising a common bottom member 170, a common top member 165, and vertical support assemblies or side panels 150, 155 and 160 , where 155 is the public side plate. In addition to being configured to accommodate display modules, the protective enclosure may also provide volume spaces 175 and 180 between the top floor 165 and the display modules 135, 125, respectively. The volume space may eg be an empty space to avoid transmitting shocks to the top part of the display module and on to the display module. The top layer 165 may consist of a transparent material, such as Plexglass ^™ , plastic or glass, enabling the display module to be viewed. The bottom layer 170 may be placed on the substrate layer 190 of the ground covering. The substrate layer can be integrated with the ground covering. In alternative embodiments, there may be no substrate layer; alternatively, there may be an open channel through the floor covering material and configured to receive the display assembly 120 . With such a structure, the bottom layer 170 of the protective module fence can be in direct contact with the ground.

According to an alternative embodiment, separate protective enclosures with different top pieces, bottom pieces and vertical supports may be provided for each display module. Such an embodiment is illustrated in Figure 3B. In Figure 3B, the display module 135 has a single protective enclosure consisting of a bottom member 170.1, vertical supports 150 and 155.1 and a top member 165.1. A volume space 175 may be provided between the top part 165.1 and the display module 135. Similarly, display module 125 has a single protective enclosure consisting of bottom member 170.2, vertical supports 155.2 and 160 and top member 165.2. A volume space 180 may be provided between the top part 165.2 and the display module 125. The vertical supports and bottom parts of the protective enclosure may consist of materials including, for example, plastic, metal, glass or wood.

Advantages of the modular structure shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B include that the structure provides good protection for the display module from stress and impact applied to the device 120, at least in part due to the vertical direction in which the pressure and impact are distributed throughout the device. The support system shares, ie, for example, vertical supports 150, 155 and 160 and vertical supports positioned laterally relative to them, as shown in Figure 1 and subsequent figures. In this way, pressure and impact are not concentrated at any specific point, but are distributed and diffused among the different components forming the protective enclosure.

Another advantage is that the modular structure allows the display area to be easily enlarged or reduced. The area of the floor covering 110 may be configured to receive the display assembly 120 within, for example, a recess or an opening of some predetermined size. Display modules can be removed from or added to the device to reduce or increase the display area within the recess or opening. Alternatively, as described in further detail, a display module of a given size may be replaced by a greater number of smaller modules and associated protective fences to increase the number of vertical supports in the same area. On the other hand, a display module of a given size may be replaced by a smaller number of larger modules. Display modules removed from the installation can be replaced by other materials of similar size in order to maintain an aesthetically pleasing surface for the floor display system.

For example, the top part of the protective fence is detachable to allow access to the display module which is also detachable. In order to reduce the display area, selected display modules can be removed from their respective protective enclosures and replaced by "voids" of for example the same material as the ground covering, whose dimensions fill the space within the protective enclosure, to prevent unsightly gaps. Such an arrangement also enables easy repair or replacement of a damaged display module without forcible removal of the entire assembly. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3B, where each display module has a separate protective fence with different top pieces, bottom pieces and vertical supports, the protective fence is removable as a unit and can be replaced by parts of some other material .

According to an embodiment, the display assembly 120 need not be attached to the floor covering 110 . Instead, as shown in FIGS. 4-6 , display assembly 120 may be received by a recess in floor 410 .

As discussed above, by providing a distributed vertical support system within the protective enclosure of the assembly 120 display module, forces applied to the top part or parts of the device are shared among the vertical supports and thus by the structure as a whole, the device A corresponding increase in resistance to impact damage. This effect can be further enhanced by increasing the number of display modules and associated protective fences over the same overall area. This is represented in FIG. 7 , where a display module 120 having the same overall upper surface area as the module in FIG. 1 has twice the number of display modules 710 and associated protective enclosures. Increasing the degree of division of the display module in this way allows the display assembly to be constructed more compactly. Often, a smaller display unit is desired as this creates less traffic obstruction and can also be lighter. The addition of divisions allows the vertical supports of the protective fence to be shorter and one or more top members to be made smaller. In particular, an embodiment of the present invention provides a display device with a thickness of less than 1 inch, preferably less than 0.5 inch.

Figure 8 illustrates increasing the overall display area while maintaining structural integrity by adding partitions. More specifically, in FIG. 8, the overall area of the display assembly 120 is approximately twice that of the assembly shown in FIGS. information.

FIG. 9 shows a top or plan view of the display assembly 120 discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3B . In Fig. 9, it can be seen that the vertical supports 150 (or 155.1, 155.2) and 160 can form a "beam" vertical support either as a unitary structure or as a composite structure (for example: if the module protection fence is separate and different), That is: the continuous part extends substantially along the entire display area. Part 900 is a horizontal beam with a vertical support.

In contrast, Figure 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment utilizing vertical supports that do not extend continuously along the display area as beams. Instead, columns 1000 act as vertical supports, as opposed to continuous beams. This type of construction is more economical in materials. Column 1000 is shown in Figure 10 as a small circle corresponding to a cylindrical support column, although the support column may be of any shape.

In still further embodiments, the display module may have an aperture formed therein configured to receive a vertical support. For example, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B , display modules 125 , 130 , 135 , and 140 have holes 1001 formed therein configured to receive vertical supports 1000 . Also, the vertical support 1000 is shown by way of example as a cylinder, but may also take other shapes: for example, a cylinder or a block of material with a square or rectangular cross-section, or any other type configured to be received in a display module. Discontinuous protrusions in corresponding holes. When received in the aperture of the display module, the vertical supports 1000 protrude above the upper surface of the display module to support the top protective member of the protective fence and provide a volume space between the top member and the module as described above of.

Utilizing the features illustrated by FIGS. 11A and 11B , the protective structure can allow for a sufficiently thin top piece or pieces of one or more protective fences of the display assembly 120, since such a structure is a top piece within the overall device as described above. Distributed vertical support is provided. Moreover, such a structure may be used in the form of a unitary or unitary display device as opposed to a modular display device such as 125,130. As shown in FIG. 12, reference numeral 1100 denotes a single display device opposite to the display module device.

Some embodiments of the invention are specifically described and/or illustrated herein. However, it is foreseeable that the modifications or variations of the present invention are covered by the above technology and the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (25)

1, a kind of ground display system comprises:

Floor coverings; With

The electronics display module that links to each other with floor coverings; and comprising a plurality of different quilts joins for showing that electronics can revise the display module of arbitrary content; each display module is arranged in the module protection fence; this module protection fence comprises in a common transparent lid or a plurality of independent transparency cover; and vertical support, wherein each display module is joined for passing described transparency cover and can be shown that electronics can revise arbitrary content.

2, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the module protection fence comprises top component, bottom part.

3, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each display module is dismountable with respect to described assembly.

4, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each module protection fence is dismountable with respect to described assembly.

5, ground display system as claimed in claim 2, wherein top component comprises a kind of transparent material.

6, ground display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein transparent material comprises a kind of in the glass and plastics at least.

7, ground display system as claimed in claim 2, wherein vertical support comprises a kind of in plastics, metal and the wood at least.

8, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein floor coverings comprises a kind of in carpet, rubber and the plastics.

9, ground display system as claimed in claim 2, wherein vertical support is a beam.

10, want 2 described ground display systems as right, wherein vertical support is a cylinder.

11, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein 1 inch of the thickness of electronics display module or still less.

12, ground display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein 1/2 inch of the thickness of electronics display module or still less.

13, a kind of ground display system; comprise the electronics display module; this assembly comprises a plurality of electronic display modules with over cap, and electronic display module is joined for showing that electronics can revise arbitrary content, can show electronics can revise arbitrary content comprise following at least one:

Incoherent image on single module;

Combination picture, its part is respectively formed on each of module,

Wherein each described a plurality of electronic display module is arranged in other module protection fence of branch, and wherein vertical support is made up of the side plate of module protection fence and is distributed in the whole described electronics display module.

14, ground display system as claimed in claim 13 is wherein in the top component of each module protection fence be contained between the display module there spatial content is provided.

15, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein a plurality of display modules are configured to show the coherent demonstration that separates.

16, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein each display module is dismountable with respect to described assembly, and can be replaced by the substitution material of same size.

17, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein each described module protection fence is dismountable with respect to described assembly, and can be replaced by the substitution material of same size.

18, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the electronics display module links to each other with floor coverings.

19, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the electronics display module is accommodated in the ground.

20, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein vertical support is a beam.

21, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein vertical support is a cylinder.

22, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein 1 inch of the thickness of electronics display module or still less.

23, ground display system as claimed in claim 13, wherein 1/2 inch of the thickness of electronics display module or still less.

24, a kind of ground display system comprises:

Electronic display unit; With

The protection structure, it comprises vertical support, is configured to hold be formed on the hole in the display device and highlight the top assembly of the upper surface of equipment with support display device protection fence.

25, ground display system as claimed in claim 24, wherein electronic display unit comprises a plurality of display modules.

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