GB2180389A - Sign - Google Patents

Abstract

A sign displays material on the faces of a rotatable prism 1. By providing for rotation of at least one side 5 (or 6) of the prism 1, the number of display modes may be increased since material may also be displayed on both faces of the rotatable side 5 (or 6). In a preferred embodiment the prism 1 has a square cross-section and opposing long sides 5, (6) of the prism 1 are rotatable so that six different displays may be presented. Several rotatable units 1 may be mounted in a frame 10, one above the other or side by side so that the amount of material displayed which may be, for example, traffic information, is further increased. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sign The present invention relates to a sign for displaying information, e.g. a road sign.

In addition to fixed road signs, there are some signs which have to display different information, for example diversion routes. One way of achieving this is for the sign to have a unit in the form of a prism mounted to be rotatable in a frame, Each side of the prism can display different information and, by rotating the prism, a different side can be presented to the motorist. Usually one side of the prism is left blank, so that the sign may be left in the "blank" position when no information needs to be displayed. Where more than one line of information has to be displayed it is usual to provide several prisms, one above the other, in the frame, so that each can be rotated to display the desired face.

The standard cross-sectional shape of such prisms is triangular, because this allows several prisms to be mounted in a frame with the edges of the faces presented to the motorist only a small distance apart. Rotation is then possible without one prism interfering with another. It is also possible to use prisms of square cross-section, but then gaps have to be left between the prisms in the frame or else it is not possible to rotate the prisms freely. However, prisms with cross-sections having more than four sides cannot be used as the motorist would then see more than one side of each prism.

Therefore the number of different faces that can be presented is three, or at most four, and the fact that one side is usually blank means that each prism can only give two or three different displays. This limitation proves a problem.

The present invention therefore proposes a sign having at least one rotatable unit (forming the prism) with that unit having at least one side which is rotatable relative to the rest of the unit. The unit could be of triangular crosssection, with two fixed sides and one rotatable side, but is preferably of square crosssection with two opposing sides rotatable.

Different information can be displayed on opposite faces of the rotatable side(s) and on the exposed faces of the fixed sides, so that with a square cross-section and two rotatable sides, a maximum of six different displays may be presented by that unit. In this way the sign can give a greater number of different displays without the use of prisms of more than four sides.

Preferably a plurality of such units are mounted in a single frame, so that the amount of information displayed may be increased.

Although discussed above in connection with a road sign, the present invention is applicable to any sort of sign where different information has to be displayed at different times.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a rotatable unit for use in a sign according to the present invention; and Figure 2 shows a sign having three of the units shown in Fig. 1.

Referring first to Fig. 1, a sign has at least one rotatable unit 1 which, as illustrated, is of square cross-section. The unit has two fixed sides 2 and 3 connected together by end plates 4 to form a rectangular box with two open sides on opposite sides of the box. Rotatable sides 5 and 6 are mounted in the open sides of the box so that their outer surfaces are flush with the edges of the openings. The rotatable sides 5, 6 are supported on the end plates 4 by stub shafts 7 which may have key slots in their ends 9 as will be described later.

The unit 1 is mounted in a frame via stub shafts 8 projecting from the end plates 4, and is rotatable about those stub shafts 8 so that any one of the four rectangular faces can be seen from one particular direction (the direction from which the sign is to be viewed). in this way four different displays may be presented. Furthermore, when one of the rotatable sides 5 and 6 is the exposed side, it can be rotated to display two different faces, by rotating it through 1800 on the stub shafts 7.

In this way the unit can give six different displays. In practice one of the faces will be blank for when the sign is not in use, but nevertheless a greater number of displays can be achieved than with known signs.

Referring now to Fig. 2, three units 1 as shown in Fig. 1 are mounted in a frame 10.

Each may be independently rotatable, or their stub shafts 8 may be interconnected so that their rotation is sychronised.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the top and bottom units 1 are positioned so that one of their fixed sides 2, 3 are visible to the viewer, whilst the middle unit has a rotatable side 5 exposed. Thus the information presented can be changed by rotating any one of the units 1 through 90 , or by rotating the rotatable side 5 through 1800.

The rotatable of the rotatable sides, and also the rotation of each unit as a whole (if this is to be independent) may be achieved by keys which extend through apertures in the sides 11 of the frame 10 and engage with the ends of the stub shafts 7 or 8. Alternatively a motor driven arrangement may be provided, at least to rotate the units 1 as a whole.

If the units 1 are not to interfere with each other during rotation they must be spaced apart by a sufficient distance to give adequate clearance. To prevent the sign having gaps between the displays (which would make them difficult to read) it is desirable to provide spacer plates 12 between the units 1, each spacer plate simply being a rectangular plate of small thickness. The spacer plates 12 are mounted in the sides 11 of the frame by stubs shafts 13 and the stub shafts 13 are connected together so that the rotation of the spacer plates 12 is synchronised.

With the spacer plates 12 in the position shown in Fig. 2, the sign presents a relatively unbroken appearance. The rectangular faces of the spacer plates may have the same colour as the faces of the units; the two opposite rectangular faces permit two different colours to be presented e.g. one matching the blank display and one matching the "information" displays. When the spacer plates 12 are rotated through 90 , however, there is then sufficient clearance for the units 1 to rotate freely without interfering with each other or with the spacer plates 12 themselves.

A sign according to the present invention may have any number of rotatable units. As mentioned above it is possible to use units of triangular cross-section, with only one side rotatable. It would even be possible to provide three or four rotatable sides in a single unit but the design of such a unit is more complex, and it is more difficult to ensure that all the sides rotate freely. The use of a rectangular unit with two opposite rotatable sides is considered optimum in terms of the number of possible displays as against complexity of manufacture.

Claims (12)

1. A sign comprising at least one rotatable unit, the unit having at least one side which is rotatable relative to the rest of the unit.

2. A sign according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of the unit transverse to its axis of rotation is square or rectangular.

3. A sign according to claim 2, wherein two opposite sides of the unit are rotatable relative to the rest of the unit about axes which are parallel to each other and to the axis of rotation of the unit.

4. A sign according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each rotatable side is mounted in the unit by stub shafts.

5. A sign according to any one of the preceding claims, further including a frame in which the or each rotatable unit is rotatably mounted.

6. A sign according to claim 5, wherein the or each unit is mounted in the frame by stub shafts.

7. A sign according to claim 6 as dependant on claim 4, wherein rotation of the or each rotatable units and/or of the or each rotatable side is effected by means of keys which engage with the ends of the stub shafts through apertures in the frame.

8. A sign according to any one of claims 5 to 7, having at least two rotatable units mounted on substantially parallel coplanar axes in the frame, the units being spaced sufficiently far apart to allow rotation of the rotatable units without interference between them.

9. A sign according to claim 8, wherein the space between the units is occupied by at least one spacer plate which is itself rotatably mounted in the frame on an axis substantially parallel to the axes of rotatation of the rotatable units, so that in a first position the plane of the spacer plate is substantially coplanar with a face of the rotatable unit but in a second position is substantially perpendicular to that face, thus facilitating rotation of the rotatable units.

10. A sign according to claim 9 having a plurality of spacer plates mounted in the frame by means of stub shafts, the stub shafts of the spacer plates being connected so that rotation of the spacer plates is synchronised.

11. A sign according to any one of the preceding claims in which rotation of the rotatable units or of the rotatable sides is effected by a motor.

12. A sign substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.