Apparatus and method for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6236435
  • Patent Number
    6,236,435
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 6, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 22, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder. The apparatus includes a holder for receiving and holding the camcorder and a display monitor for demonstrating camcorder performance. Additionally, the apparatus includes a detector for detecting displacement of a camcorder from a holder and a controller for operatively connecting the camcorder to the display monitor upon detecting displacement of the camcorder. The method for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder includes the steps of providing a holder for each camcorder on display, detecting displacement of any camcorder from any holder and connecting any camcorder displaced from any holder to a monitor in order to demonstrate the camcorder.
Description




TECHNICAL FIELD




The present invention relates generally to retail selling of consumer electronics and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for displaying and actively demonstrating the operating features and performance qualities and characteristics of a camcorder.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Retailers largely rely upon active demonstrations to present electronic consumer products and, particularly, audio and video entertainment products to customers. Such active demonstrations allow the customers to explore product features, directly compare products and match customer needs and desires with the available products. Accordingly, active demonstrations are very effective in facilitating sales of consumer electronic products.




It is also clear that any system for actively demonstrating consumer electronic products must also protect those products from theft. Further, such a system should be as vandalism proof as possible. These additional considerations cannot be simply ignored in today's cultural environment.




The present invention relates to the display and demonstration of camcorders. The camcorder has evolved into the product of choice for consumers wishing to record live picture with sound. The range of technical features now available in camcorders demands that the shopper be free to handle them in order to evaluate picture qualities such as detail and color rendition, screen stabilization performance, ease-of-use features such as focus and zoom and aesthetic values including weight. Further, since the trend in retailing is away from skilled sales staff and towards self-service, it is left up to the consumer to demonstrate electronic goods themselves. Accordingly, simplified display function is an essential element of any good demonstration and display system.




In order to provide the capability to demonstrate such a wide range of camcorder features, the present invention provides a convenient support for displaying the camcorder in the manner similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,205 to Keifer et al. More specifically, an upright cylindrical column is mounted to a base plate that is anchored or otherwise secured to a display fixture. A pin is secured to the base of the camcorder. The pin is removably held in the column so that the camcorder is conveniently displayed and also may be lifted from the column for inspection and demonstration of features.




While the display column disclosed in the Keifer et al. patent is quite effective, it does suffer from several shortcomings. First and foremost, the Keifer et al. display system fails to provide for automatic demonstration of the camcorder as it is lifted from the stand by the consumer. This is a particularly important feature in today's self-service retail environment. Second, the Keifer et al. display system utilizes a cumbersome product security system including separate mechanical and electronic security cables. This is a relatively cumbersome system that requires some extra time to install and can make consumer handling of the camcorder awkward and inconvenient. This latter problem is of particular concern since it discourages the customer from fully investigating the product thereby interfering with a potential sale.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for demonstrating a camcorder overcoming the above described limitations and disadvantages of the prior art.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for conveniently displaying and automatically demonstrating camcorder performance when the camcorder is lifted by a customer from the display stand for inspection. Specifically, the video output of the camcorder is automatically connected to a nearby monitor in order to display the picture being picked up by the camcorder. In this way, the retailer may share costly and spaced-consuming television monitors among two or more camcorders while freeing the shopper from the burden of (1) learning that the camcorder of interest must be manually selected to get the picture up on the monitor and (2) finding and operating the switch that enables the selection. Additionally, since the manual selector switch is often the target of vandalism, the elimination of a manual selector switch is a very significant advantage provided by the present invention.




Still another object of the present invention is to provide a camcorder display and demonstration system that provides a looped current through the conventional stereo patch cord utilized to connect the camcorder's audio and video jacks to a playback monitor. When the continuity of the camcorder loop is broken by the cutting or disconnection of the patch cord, the resulting voltage increase between the audio and video jacks results in the triggering of a theft alarm. Advantageously, this eliminates the need for separate security cables which may be found cumbersome and inconvenient when a consumer handles and inspects a camcorder.




Additional objects, advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.




To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described herein, a new and improved apparatus and method for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder is provided. The apparatus comprises a holder for receiving and holding a camcorder and its display monitor for demonstrating camcorder performance. Further, the apparatus includes a detector for detecting displacement of the camcorder from the holder as well as a controller for operatively connecting the camcorder to the display monitor upon detecting displacement of the camcorder. Thus, it should be appreciate that when the camcorder is handled by a customer and removed from the display stand for inspection, a nearby monitor automatically begins demonstrating performance of the camcorder without delay or any further action on the part of the customer. This is the most convenient and effective demonstration network that may be developed for the display and demonstration of camcorder performance.




Still further, the apparatus includes an effective security feature. Specifically, a patch cord is provided for delivering audio and video signals from the camcorder to the controller which serves to route those signals to the television monitor at the time the camcorder is being inspected by a consumer. The controller also includes a means for generating a loop current in the patch cord at all times and a security alarm. Any interruption in the loop current caused by disconnection or cutting of the patch cord causes the alarm to be activated. Accordingly, an efficient security system for deterring theft is provided without the need for separate mechanical or electronic security cables as utilized in typical prior art designs.




In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a novel and effective method for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a holder for each camcorder on display, detecting displacement of any camcorder from its holder and connecting any camcorder displaced from any holder to a monitor in order to demonstrate the camcorder. This simple and straightforward method provides a more efficient and consumer friendly approach for demonstrating the performance features of a camcorder. This represents a significant advantage in today's self-service retail environment that promotes sales to the advantage of the retailer.




Still other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the modes best suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING




The accompanying drawing incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrates several aspects of the present invention and together with the description serves to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawing:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a camcorder positioned on the holder of the present invention as it would be displayed to the consumer or customer;





FIG. 1



a


is a detailed side elevational view showing the camcorder held on the holder and the detector for detecting displacement of the camcorder from the holder;





FIG. 2

is a simplified overview block diagram of the camcorder display and demonstration apparatus of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a simplified block diagram detailing a connecting means or controller; and





FIG. 4

is a simplified block diagram detailing the microcontroller of the connecting means/controller shown in FIG.


3


.











Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.




DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Reference is now made to the drawing figures showing the apparatus


10


of the present invention for more efficiently and effectively displaying and demonstrating camcorders in a self-serve retail environment. The apparatus


10


of the present invention may be a stand alone system or may be a part of a switching network for selective product demonstration as set forth and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,602 to Gertz et al., the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, each camcorder C is prominently displayed on a holder


12


comprising an upright cylindrical stand


14


supported on a base


16


that may be secured by a screw or other fasteners to a display fixture F.




As best shown in

FIG. 1



a


, a pin


18


is secured to the camcorder C such as by threading into the tripod stand mounting aperture A of the camcorder. The pin


18


includes a projecting lug


20


sized for smooth sliding receipt into the top of the upright cylindrical stand


14


. In this way, the camcorder C may be readily removed from the holder


12


when a customer desires to handle the camcorder to inspect and review its functions. When finished, the customer may simply replace the camcorder C back on the holder


12


by inserting the lug


20


of pin


18


into the upright cylindrical stand


14


.




A momentary switch


22


in the stand


14


functions as a detector for detecting when the camcorder C is displaced or removed from the holder


12


. An indicator lamp


24


may be mounted to the cylindrical stand


14


and operatively connected to the switch


22


. The lamp


24


lights whenever the picture from the camcorder C is being displayed upon a monitor


26


in a manner described in greater detail below.




As best shown in

FIG. 2

, substantially any number of camcorders up to


100


represented as C


1


-C


n


may each be positioned on its own individual holder


12


for purposes of customer display and demonstration. Each such holder


12


is equipped as described above with the momentary switch


22


and the indicator lamp


24


as shown in

FIG. 1



a


. A pair of control wires


28


connects each momentary switch


22


to a connecting means/controller


30


. Similarly, an audio/video patch cord


29


connects each camcorder C


1


-C


n


to the controller


30


.




As shown in

FIG. 3

, each controller


30


includes a microcontroller


32


. The microcontroller


32


may, for example, be a type PIC16C55 unit including appropriate software support defining the logic of the controller as a whole stored in an internal program memory ROM


34


(see FIG.


4


). Such a microcontroller


32


with internal read only memory integrated circuit is provided by Audio Authority Corporation Part No. 135-001 available from Audio Authority Corporation, Lexington, Ky. As best shown in

FIG. 4

, the microcontroller


32


includes a central processing unit or CPU


36


having a CPU control


38


to supervise operation and an arithmetic logic unit or ALU


40


for mathematical and logic functions. A system clock


42


operatively connected to the central processor unit


36


synchronizes all operations.




The microcontroller


32


also includes input and output registers


44


to send and receive data, the read only memory or ROM


34


for program storage and random access memory or RAM


46


for temporary data storage. The system clock


42


, ROM


34


and RAM


46


may be physically inside or outside the microcontroller integrated circuit. An internal bus


48


allows communication between the various components of the microcontroller


32


.




As best shown with reference to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, each controller


30


includes a switching device


50


such as a relay or other switching device known in the art. The switching device


50


is actuated by the microcontroller


32


through the switching device driver


52


. The switching device


50


operatively connects the audio and video outputs of a selected camcorder C with the monitor


26


through the patch cord


29


and the signal bus


56


.




The controller


30


also includes an indicator driver


58


. The microcontroller


32


operates through the indicator driver


58


to control the indicator lamps


24


on the holders


12


for each camcorder. Specifically, when the camcorder C is selected for demonstration by the customer lifting it from its stand


14


, the closure of switch


22


sends a signal along control wires


28


to the controller


30


. In response to this signal, the microcontroller


32


acts through the indicator driver


58


to output lamp current, which flows through switch


22


while the camcorder is off the stand and switch


22


is closed, but flows through lamp or light emitting diode


24


when the camcorder is on the stand and switch


22


is open. Therefore, lamp


24


illuminates to indicate which camcorder is presently being displayed on the television monitor when all the camcorders are on their stands.




A third wire can be added to the pair of control wires


28


between camcorder stand


14


and controller


30


to operate lamp


24


independently of switch


22


in order to indicate the active camcorder regardless of whether it is on or off the stand.




Still further, the controller


30


includes an alarm driver


62


which is operatively connected to an alarm


64


, such as a siren or other alarm device, and a reset switch


66


. Specifically, microcontroller


32


feeds a small loop current (between approximately 1-10 milli amps) through the internal control line


68


through the patch cord


29


which loops through the camcorder C and back to ground


70


. In this way the microcontroller


32


is able to monitor the continuity of the audio and video cable shield conductors of the patch cord


29


. In the event the patch cord


29


is disconnected from the camcorder C or the controller


30


or the patch cord is severed, the continuity is broken and the resulting voltage increase between the audio and video jacks constituting a camcorder port is detected. This causes the microcontroller


32


to activate the alarm


64


by operation of the alarm driver


62


through the control line


72


. A convenient reset switch


66


connected to the microcontroller


32


through the control line


80


may be accessed by store personnel to defeat the alarm when desired.




The controller


30


may be powered by a DC power source


74


or any other appropriate means known in the art. Further, the controller


30


may include a communication bus running from the microcontroller


32


to another like controller


30


if (1) a multiple controller system or (2) a demonstration network system such as described in issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,602 to Gertz et al. is being utilized.




The method of the present invention will now be described in detail. Specifically, as should be apparent from the earlier description and particularly from viewing

FIG. 2

, a holder


12


is provided for each camcorder C


1


-C


n


on display. Each holder


12


includes a momentary switch


22


and an indicator lamp


24


as shown in

FIG. 1



a


. Each of the switches


22


and indicator lamp


24


are connected to the controller


30


through a pair of control wires


28


. When a customer removes or lifts any one of the camcorders C


1


-C


n


from a holder


12


, the switch


22


corresponding to that camcorder sends a signal along the control wires


28


to the controller


30


. Receipt of this signal causes the microcontroller


32


to simultaneously (1) light the indicator lamp


24


at the stand


12


from which the camcorder C has been lifted through operation of the indicator driver


58


and (2) route the video or audio and video signals from the patch cord


29


of the selected camcorder through the switching device


50


and the feed line


56


to the monitor


26


by operation of the switching device driver


52


. When the customer replaces the selected camcorder C


1


-C


n


on the holder


12


, the picture from that camcorder continues to be displayed through the monitor


26


and the associated indicator lamp


24


illuminates.




However, when the customer lifts and displaces another camcorder C


1


-C


n


from a holder


12


, the controller


30


receives the detection signal from the associated momentary switch


22


. The microcontroller


32


then responds through the indicator driver


58


and extinguishes the previously illuminated indicator lamp


24


. Simultaneously, the microcontroller


32


operates through the switching device driver


52


and the switching device


50


to disconnect the previously selected camcorder from the monitor


26


and connect the video or audio and video signals from the newly selected camcorder C


1


-C


n


to the monitor. Of course, at all times, the loop current is provided through the patch cord


29


leading to each camcorder C


1


-C


n


as a continuous theft deterrent. As stated above, any disconnection of the patch cord


29


from one of the camcorders C


1


-C


n


results in the sounding of the alarm


64


.




In summary, numerous benefits result from employing the concepts of the present invention. Advantageously, if a customer is curious enough to lift any prominently displayed camcorder C


1


-C


n


from its holder


12


, demonstration of the camcorder's video or audio and video signal is immediately initiated at the monitor


26


located adjacent the camcorder. Since this is done automatically without any manual switching or further effort on the part of the customer, the provided self-service demonstration is far more convenient and effective as a marketing tool. This same marketing advantage is provided each time the customer lifts another camcorder for inspection and/or demonstration thereby readily encouraging comparison and promoting a sale. No other device in the marketplace provides this “automatic” demonstration performance.




The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings.




For example, more than one monitor


26


may be connected to a controller. Each connected monitor


26


may be associated with a small group of camcorders (e.g. 2-4) that are displayed around that monitor. When each camcorder of that subgroup is lifted, the video or audio and video signal produced by that camcorder is routed by the controller


30


to the associated monitor


26


. That signal pathway is maintained until the customer selects another camcorder of that subgroup. Further, the controller


30


may be provided with logic that automatically subquentially scans through the camcorders associated with a particular monitor when none has been disturbed for a predetermined period of time. Since the controller


30


detects missing camcorders, the logic can skip over unpopulated stands


12


such as when the camcorder associated with a stand has been sold off the display.




The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder, comprising:a holder for receiving and holding a camcorder; a display monitor for demonstrating camcorder performance; a detector for detecting displacement of said camcorder from said holder; and a controller for operatively connecting said camcorder to said display monitor upon detecting displacement of said camcorder whereby self service demonstration of said camcorder is provided as a way to promote camcorder sales.
  • 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a patch cord for delivering audio and video signals from said camcorder to said controller.
  • 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said controller includes a means for generating a loop current in said patch cord and an alarm, interruption in said loop current causing said alarm to be activated.
  • 4. An apparatus for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder, comprising:a holder for receiving and holding a camcorder; a display monitor for demonstrating camcorder performance; means for detecting displacement of said camcorder from said holder; and means for operatively connecting said camcorder to said display monitor upon detecting displacement of said camcorder whereby self service demonstration of said camcorder is provided as a way to promote camcorder sales.
  • 5. The apparatus of claim 4, further including a patch cord for delivering audio and video signals from said camcorder to said connecting means.
  • 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said connecting means includes a means for generating a loop current in said patch cord and an alarm, interruption in said loop current causing said alarm to be activated.
  • 7. A method for displaying and demonstrating a camcorder, comprising:providing a holder for each camcorder on display; detecting displacement of any camcorder from any holder; and connecting any camcorder displaced from any holder to a monitor in order to demonstrate said camcorder whereby self service demonstration of said camcorder is provided as a way to promote camcorder sales.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Number Name Date Kind
4167022 Dischert et al. Sep 1979
4772878 Kane Sep 1988
5072213 Close Dec 1991
5124685 Rankin Jun 1992
5146205 Keifer et al. Sep 1992
5172098 Leyden et al. Dec 1992
5264929 Yamaguchi Nov 1993
5305100 Choi Apr 1994
5335014 Elberbaum Aug 1994
5341124 Leyden et al. Aug 1994
5610587 Fujiuchi et al. Mar 1997
5646602 Gertz et al. Jul 1997
5671012 Oyashiki et al. Sep 1997
5861807 Leyden et al. Jan 1999