There is provided a display assembly. In particular, there is provided a display assembly comprising a plurality of planar members having two-dimensional image indicia thereon, with the planar members being arranged to convey a three-dimensional effect.
There is provided, and it is an object to provide, an improved display assembly.
According to a first aspect, there is provided a display assembly. The assembly includes an elongate mounting member. The mounting member has a top, a bottom spaced-apart from the top, and a plurality of spaced-apart grooves extending from the top to the bottom thereof. The assembly includes a plurality of planar members. Each of the planar member includes image indicia thereon. The planar members are shaped to fit within respective ones of the grooves, whereby the image indicia so arranged conveys a three-dimensional effect.
According to a second aspect, there is provided a display assembly. The assembly includes a pair of elongate mounting members. Each elongate mounting member has a top, a bottom spaced-apart from the top, and a plurality of spaced-apart grooves extending from the top to the bottom thereof. The assembly includes a plurality of upright planar members. Each upright planar member includes image indicia thereon. The upright planar members are shaped to fit within respective ones of said grooves. The assembly includes a front mounting member extending between the elongate mounting members. The front mounting member is shaped to fit within a forward pair of the grooves. The front mounting member angle forward relative to the upright planar members.
According a third aspect, there is provided a display assembly having a front and a rear spaced-apart from the front. The assembly includes a pair of elongate mounting members. Each of the mounting members has a top, a bottom spaced-apart from the top, a front, and a rear opposite the front. Each of the mounting members has a centrally positioned recessed region between the front and the rear thereof. The recessed region extends from the bottom towards the top of its mounting member. Each of the mounting members includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart protrusions. The protrusions are obround in side profile. Each of the protrusions extends from the top of its respective ones of the mounting members towards the bottom of its respective ones of the mounting members. Each of the mounting members has a plurality of spaced-apart grooves extending from the top to the bottom thereof. The grooves are centrally located within respective ones of the protrusions. The assembly further includes a rear planar member aligned with the rear of the assembly, at least one intermediate planar member, and a front planar member aligned with the front of the assembly. Each of the planar members include image indicia thereon. The image indicia of the front planar member is centrally located, the planar members being shaped to fit within respective ones of said grooves, the image indicia so arranged conveys a three-dimensional effect thereby.
According to fourth aspect, there is provided a display assembly. The assembly has a front and a rear spaced-apart from the front. The assembly includes a set of elongate mounting members. Each of the mounting members has a top, a bottom spaced-apart from the top, a front and a rear opposite the front. Each of the mounting members has a plurality of evenly spaced-apart grooves extending from the top to the bottom thereof and a distance of separation between respective ones of the grooves. Each of the elongate members has a different said distance of separation between its grooves. The assembly includes a plurality of planar members each of which including image indicia thereon. The planar members are shaped to fit within respective ones of the grooves of a given one of the mounting members. The image indicia so arranged conveys a three-dimensional effect thereby. Substitution of one of the mounting members for another of the mounting members enables the degree of the three-dimensional effect to be adjusted.
The invention will be more readily understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof given, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to the drawings and first to
The assembly has a front 102, a rear 104 spaced-apart from the front, a top 106, a bottom 108 spaced-apart from the top and a pair of spaced-apart sides 110 and 112. The front and rear of the assembly extend between the sides and top and bottom of the assembly 100.
The assembly includes a pair of elongate mounting members 114 and 116 in this example. The mounting members are cut out from clear acrylic sheet, in this example. However, this is not strictly required and the mounting members may be made of other materials and have other thicknesses in other examples. The mounting members are cut to shape via a flat-bed laser cutter, in this example. The laser cutters per se are well known to those skilled in the art and thus will not be described in detail. A Trotec™ Speedy 300 Laser Cutter may be used to this end, for example, which may be purchased at Trotec Laser GmbH, having an address of Freilingerstr. 99, 4614 Marchtrenk, Austria.
Each mounting member has a front 118 aligned with the front 102 of the assembly, a rear 120 aligned with the rear 104 of the assembly, a top 122 and a bottom 124 spaced-apart from the top. Each of the mounting members is planar and transparent in this example. Each of the mounting members is substantially the same in shape, parts and function and thus only mounting member 114 will be discussed in detail.
Each mounting member 114 includes a front portion 126 adjacent to the front 102 of the assembly 100 and a rear portion 128 adjacent to the rear 104 of the assembly. The front and rear portions of the mounting members are obround in side profile in this example.
Each mounting member 114 in this example has an elongate recessed region 130 extending from its bottom 124 towards the top 122 thereof. The recessed region extends between the front portion 126 and the rear portion 128 of the mounting member. As seen in
Each mounting member 114 includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart, upwardly-extending protrusions, in this example protrusions 132, 134, 136 and 138. Referring to
Each mounting member 114 has a plurality of spaced-apart grooves extending from the top to the bottom thereof, with the grooves being centrally located within respective ones of the protrusions. This is shown by grooves 140 and 142 for protrusions 136 and 138. As seen in
Referring back to
Each of the planar members 144, 146, 148, and 150 is cut to shape via a flat-bed laser cutter. As seen in
As seen in
Referring back to
As seen in
Each of the planar members includes a peripheral portion which is transparent and which extends about the image indicia in this example. This is shown by peripheral portion 154 for planar member 150 in
Each of the planar members includes a lower mounting portion which is transparent in this example. This is shown by mounting portion 153 of planar member 150 in
The protrusions 156 and 158 are generally oval-like in shape in front profile in this example. Each planar member has a recessed region between the protrusions of its mounting portion in this example, as shown by recessed region 160 for planar member 144 in
Each of the plurality of planar members has a front area. As seen in
As seen in
The plurality of spaced-apart planar members 144, 146, 148 and 150 of the assembly 100 with two-dimensional image indicia thereon and so arranged via the mounting members 114 and 116 may thus display an overall image with having a three-dimensional effect. As seen in
A common image, such as a national flag design, may be readily recognizable by the viewer. This may be because a person's memories hold a record of frequently seen images and one may be able to fill in other details of the image at mere glimpse thereof. The overall image conveyed may be recognizable as expected when viewed from the front as seen in
The viewer may know of the overall common image conveyed when viewed from the front; however, the overall image conveyed when viewed from a different angle, or with slightly different lighting, may cause the viewer to think that something is not quite right and/or that something is different and odd. The viewer's brain may instinctively try to figure out what is different to try to reconcile why is the overall image seen by the viewer's eyes does not match the image in the viewer's memory. This may cause the viewer to perform a mental double-take. The viewer's brain may thus take some time to reconcile the eye/memory mismatch and this may result is a bit of wonder: a puzzle or a challenge to previously assumed expectations.
For the methodology of co-ordinating the graphic printing process with the laser cutting process, both actions must be in sync with an extreme degree of accuracy in order for intricate printed shapes to be cut out properly. Alignment marks are printed on unused sections of the acrylic blank along with the graphics. Using the computer display attached to the laser, the operator manually lines up screen alignment marks one at a time with a laser pointer attached to the laser head in a back and forth fashion until multiple on-screen alignment mark positions match with the laser pointer mounted to the laser head. Alignment is now achieved and cutting may proceed.
Alternatively, one may use a video image recognition camera attached to the laser head to find and recognize specific alignment dots printed in unused portions of the acrylic blank. With the Trotec™ Speedy 300, this robotic option is called Job Control Vision. The camera is able to orient the laser cut pattern on-screen with the physical placement of the blank on the cutting surface using the printed “alignment dots”. Once the software has found and recognized all of the alignment dots, the cutline to be used by the laser is now perfectly aligned with the printed graphics as designed and may proceed.
In this example, display assembly 100.1 conveys a Canadian flag and comprises only three planar members: rear planar member 144.1, intermediate planar member 146.1 and front planar member 150.1. The front planar member of the assembly is generally in the shape of a maple leaf with image indicia 152.1 that is red and has a front area that is smaller than that of intermediate planar member 146.1 and rear planar member 144.1.
Intermediate planar member 146.1 includes a pair of spaced-apart rectangular portions 172 and 174 which are generally shown with image indicia 161 in the form of the color red. The intermediate planar member has a recessed region 176 between the rectangular portions, with the recessed region being generally rectangular in shape. The intermediate planar member 146.1 includes an elongate connector portion 178 which couples together the rectangular portions 172 and 174 thereof. The connector portion 178 of the intermediate planar member is adjacent to the bottom 108.1 of the assembly 100.1 in this example and also function as the mounting portion of the planar member. As seen in
Rear planar member 144.1 has a front area that is two-dimensional geometric shape, in this example a rectangle. The image indicia 163 of the rear planar member is primarily unitary in color and in this example is white. The front area of the rear planar member 144.1 of assembly 100.1 is larger than the front areas of at least one of the other of the planar members and, in this example, is larger than the front area of the intermediate planar member 146.1 and the front area of the front planar member 150.1.
The front planar member 150.1 has more cut-out portions 151.1 in terms of front area relative to the cut-out portions 147.1 of the intermediate planar member 146.1. The front planar member and the intermediate planar member have more cut-out portions than the rear planar member, which is rectangular and thus may be said to not have any cut-out portions.
In this example, display assembly 100.2 conveys the flag of British Columbia, which is a province in Canada. The display assembly comprises only five planar members in this example: rear planar member 144.2, a first intermediate planar member 146.2, a second intermediate planar member 148.2, a third intermediate planar member 180, and front planar member 150.2. Planar member 146.2 extends between planar members 144.2 and 148.2. Planar member 148.2 extends between planar members 146.2 and 180. Planar member 180 extends between planar members 148.2 and 150.2.
Rear planar member 144.2 has a front area that is generally rectangular, with the image indicia 163.2 thereof being primarily unitary in color and in this example white. The front area of the rear planar member of assembly 100.2 is larger than the front areas of at least one of the other of the planar members and, in this example, is larger than the front areas of first intermediate planar member 146.2, second intermediate planar member 148.2, third intermediate planar member 180, and front planar member 150.2
Intermediate planar member 180 of assembly 100.2 is generally cross-shaped and has more cut-out portions 181 in terms of front area relative to the cut-out portions 147.2 and 149.2 of intermediate planar member 146.2 and 148.2, and cut-out portions 151.2 of front planar member 150.2. The front planar member and the intermediate planar members have more cut-out portions than the rear planar member, which is rectangular and thus may be said to not have any cut-out portions.
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In this example, display assembly 100.3 conveys the Union Jack, which is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The assembly comprises five planar members: rear planar member 144.3, first intermediate planar member 146.3, second intermediate planar member 148.3, third intermediate planar member 180.3 and front planar member 150.3.
Front planar member 150.3 has four rectangular cut-out portions 151.3 and conveys indicia 152.3 and shape in the form of an upright cross that is red. As seen in
As seen in
In this example, display assembly 100.4 conveys the national flag of the United States of America, and comprises four planar members: rear planar member 144.4, first intermediate planar member 146.4, second intermediate planar member 148.4, and front planar member 150.4.
As seen in
As seen in
As seen in
In this example, display assembly 100.5 conveys a superhero image and logo, in this example an image and logo of Batman®. The assembly comprises three planar members: rear planar member 144.5, intermediate planar member 146.5, and front planar member 150.5.
Front planar member 150.5 is centrally located and has image indicia 152.5 thereon which recites BATMAN in red font outlined by black shading in this example. Intermediate planar member 146.5 has image indicia 161.5 thereon in the form of a graphic illustration of a portion of batman. Rear planar member 144.5 has a two-dimensional geographic shape in this example in the form of an oval and has image indicia 163.5 thereon which is primarily yellow in color with a red oval-shaped border in this example.
In this example, display assembly 100.6 conveys a sports logo, in this example that of the New York Yankees® baseball team. The assembly comprises three planar members: rear planar member 144.6, intermediate planar member 146.6, and front planar member 150.6.
Front planar member 150.6 is centrally located and has image indicia 152.6 and a shape in the form of an upwardly extending baseball bat shown in red and white, with a red, white and blue hat resting thereon. Intermediate planar member 146.6 is circular, with centrally located upper and lower cut-out portions 147.6, image indicia 161.6 thereon in the form of the wording YANKEES shown in red and a red border encircling the same. Rear planar member 144.6 has a two-dimensional geographic shape in this example in the form of a circle and has image indicia 163.6 thereon which is primarily white in color with red stitching to convey the image of a baseball in this example. In this case, the image indicia of the rear planar member is most visible or conspicuous and has a larger front area when viewed from the front of the assembly 100.6 compared to the image indicia of the other of the planar members.
In this example, display assembly 100.7 conveys a collage of wedding photos. The assembly in this example comprises three planar members: rear planar member 144.7, intermediate planar member 146.7, and front planar member 150.7.
Front planar member 150.7 is centrally located and has an image indicia 152.7 and shape in the form and outline of the married couple. Intermediate planar member 146.7 substantially along the bottom half of the assembly 100.7 and has a shape and image indicia 161.7 in the form of the wedding party jumping up in celebration. Rear planar member 144.7 has a front area that is a geometric shape, in this example, generally that of a rectangle. The front area of the rear planar member is largest in this example compared to that of planar members 146.7 and 150.7, and has image indicia 163.7 thereon in the form of the wedding ceremony itself in a church in this example.
Assembly 100.7 is thus configured to be a custom-made product that is an alternative to traditional two-dimensional wedding photos. The assembly is configured to convey a three-dimensional wedding scene by displaying the most important wedding elements, namely: the ceremony location as shown on the rear planar member 144.7, the wedding party as shown on the intermediate planar member 146.7, and the bride and groom alone as shown on the front planar member 150.7.
In this embodiment, monochrome indicia and engraving are used for the assembly. Instead of printing or decals, the laser is used to engrave the acrylic surface. Then, applied edge lighting makes the engraved areas glow. In a like manner as described above, a plurality of spaced-apart additional planar members may be aligned via mounting members 114.8 and 116.8 so as to convey a three-dimensional effect as described previously in the above embodiments, for example.
The elongate members 114.9, 198, and 200 have different distances of separation D.9′, D.9″ and D.9′″ between their grooves 140.9 and 142.9, with D.9′_<D.9″<D.9′″. These differing distances have the effect of spacing planar members further apart or closer together. Planar members are shaped to fit within respective ones of the grooves of a given one, or substantially identical pair, of the mounting members. Substitution of one of the mounting members for another of the mounting members enables the degree of the three-dimensional effect to be adjusted. Thus, substitution of mounting member 200 having adjacent said grooves for mounting member 114.9 having more spaced-apart said grooves enables the three-dimensional effect to be exaggerated. Alternatively, substitution of mounting member 198 having more spaced-apart said grooves for mounting member 200 having less spaced-apart said grooves enables the three-dimensional effect to be reduced.
Much as the focal length of a photographic lens can compress or extend the visual depth effect, the differing spacing of the planar members exaggerates or reduces the three-dimensional effect to the most pleasing visual effect. If the viewer is close to the display assembly, it may be preferred to space the planar member closer together. If the display assembly is further away from the viewer, the three-dimensional effect may need to be exaggerated to convey an equal three-dimensional visual effect. This adjustment of the three-dimensional visual effect is controlled by varying the planar member spacing as define by the pair of rail stand groves. The assemblies as herein described may thus comprise a kit with three choices of planar member spacing by way of providing three sets of rail stands of differing lengths, according to one example. The purpose of varying the spacing of the planar members is to allow an adjustment of the three-dimensional effect to best suit the pleasing visual effect according to the viewer.
Elongate member 114.9 includes an intermediate portion 199 between front portion 126.9 and rear portion 128.9. The intermediate portion is semi-obround in side profile in this example.
In this example, as the distance of separation D.10, D.10′, D.10″ and D.10′″ between the grooves 140.10 and 142.10 of respective mounting members 114.10, 198.10, 200.10, and 202.10 decreases, the front portion 126.10 and rear portion 128.10 of a given mounting member extend more and more outwards relative to each other towards the front 102.10 and the rear 104.10 of the assembly 100.10, respectively, as the front and rear portions extend from the bottom 124.10 of the mounting member towards the top 122.10 of the mounting member.
In this example, display assembly 100.11 conveys an advertisement for a third party company, in this example the Telus® Communications Company. The display assembly comprises five planar members in this example: rear planar member 144.11, a first intermediate planar member 146.11, a second intermediate planar member 148.11, and front planar member 150.11. Planar member 146.11 extends between planar members 144.11 and 148.11. Planar member 148.11 extends between planar members 146.11 and 150.11.
Rear planar member 144.11 has a front area that is generally oval-shaped, with the image indicia 163.11 thereof being primarily unitary in color and in this example white and including the wording TELUS THE FUTURE IS FRIENDLY. The front area of the rear planar member of assembly 100.11 is larger than the front areas of at least one of the other of the planar members and, in this example, is larger than the front areas of first intermediate planar member 146.11, second intermediate planar member 148.11, and front planar member 150.11.
Intermediate planar member 146.11 of assembly 100.11 is generally in the shape of a first set of animals, in this example a hippopotamus 210, a lizard 212 and an owl 214. Intermediate planar member 148.11 of assembly 100.11 is generally in the shape of a second set of animals, in this example a rabbit 216, caribou 218 and a monkey 219. The planar member 148.11 has more cut-out portions 149.11 in terms of front area relative to the cut-out portions 145.11 of rear planar member 144.11.
The image indicia 152.11 of the front planar member 150.11 of assembly 100.11 has the most cut-out portions 154.11 in terms of front area relative to the cut-out portions of the other planar members. The front planar member aligns with the bottom 108.11 of the assembly 100.11 and comprises a third set of animals, in this example parrots 220.
In this example, display assembly 100.12 conveys a skyline for Calgary, which is a city located in Alberta, Canada. The display assembly comprises five planar members in this example: an upright rear planar member 144.12, an upright first intermediate planar member 146.12, an upright second intermediate planar member 148.12, an upright third intermediate planar member 180.12, and an angled front planar member 150.12. Planar member 146.12 extends between planar members 144.12 and 148.12. Planar member 148.12 extends between planar members 146.12 and 180.12. Planar member 180 extends between planar members 148.2 and 150.2.
Rear planar member 144.12 has a front area that is generally rectangular, with the image indicia 163.12 thereof comprising mountains, a Canada 150 flag, and the wording ILEA™ INTERNATIONAL LIVE EVENTS ASSOCIATION. The front area of the rear planar member of assembly 100.12 is larger than the front areas of at least one of the other of the planar members and, in this example, is larger than the front areas of first intermediate planar member 146.12, second intermediate planar member 148.12, third intermediate planar member 180.12, and front planar member 150.12.
Intermediate planar member 180.12 of assembly 100.12 is in the shape of the Peace Bridge and has more cut-out portions 181.12 in terms of front area relative to the cut-out portions 147.12 and 149.12 of intermediate planar member 146.12 and 148.12. Intermediate planar member 148.12 of assembly 100.12 is in the shape of a series of trees and the Saddledome sports and entertainment stadium. Intermediate planar member 146.12 of the assembly is in the shape of a series of skyscrapers and includes the Calgary Tower. Intermediate planar member 146.12 has a greater front area than planar member 148.12, which has a greater front area than planar member 180.12 in this example.
Front portions 126.12 of mounting members 114.12 and 116.12 are outwardly, forward-angled in this embodiment.
Assembly 100.12 includes a front mounting member 222 extending between the elongate mounting members 114.12 and 116.12. As seen in
Referring to
The assemblies as herein described thus incorporate commonly-recognizable, two-dimensional images, such as flags, sports logos, cartoons and photos, and introduces a physical third dimension. From a two-dimensional image, image indicia or picture elements are separated into logical, depth-dependent layers and missing visual information is filled in behind each planar member or layer element, thereby enabling the viewer to look behind layers to see a complete scene on each successive layer. The two dimensional subject image is thus separated into layers as defined by logical depth cues. The most frontal picture object is isolated, and the reminder of the picture must be repaired so to speak. Then, the next top-most object is removed, and the remainder is repaired. This process is repeated until there are no objects left. The final object may constitute the rear-most layer, or the rear-most layer may be a “full frame” solid colour background on which the rest of the layers depend.
Each image layer may thus be applied onto its own custom-cut, clear, acrylic shape or planar member, then positioned, by interlocking mounting members or stand rails, a consistent distance from each other.
It will be appreciated that many variations are possible within the scope of the invention described herein. For example, the assemblies as herein described have related to and depicted flags, cartoon superheroes, sports logos, and wedding scenes. However, one skilled in the art will appreciate that this is not strictly required and that other themes and motives may be incorporated in other examples. For example, other embodiments of the assembly can includes incorporating house plants and other indoor greenery that may be adequately simulated using thin, plastic, vertical surfaces.
Further embodiments of the assembly may incorporate other superheroes, various comic-book characters, as well as famous movie scenes for example, which are inspiring especially for young people. Batman, Superman, Archie, The Simpsons, The Wizard of Oz and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial have attracted children and adults alike for decades, for example. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many, many embodiments that may be incorporated to convey such cultural icons and the like.
The assemblies so shaped and as herein described, with their various vertically-extending mounting members and vertically-extending planar members may inhibit the need for dusting of the same for many months due to their minimal horizontal surfaces.
The number of planar members per display assembly may range from two to at least six.
It will also be understood by someone skilled in the art that many of the details provided above are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is to be determined with reference to at least the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180122276 A1 | May 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62415282 | Oct 2016 | US |