Patent Application
20160217718
Arranging guest seating at an event can play a pivotal role in helping or hindering the success of the event. For example, at an event such as a wedding, it is frequently desired to accommodate guests of the families of the bride and the groom, or to accommodate friends, such groups of similar guests are seated at the same table or at nearby tables. Also, the serving of meals prepared according to special diets requires that the food servers accurately deliver the special meals to the right guest and so an accurate guest seating chart is essential to performing this task. Moreover, it would be beneficial to optimize the coordination between the guest seating chart and the directional signs, name badges, and other physical items that are deployed on tables and the like to guide the guests to the desired seating.
As an example of the detailed coordination required by some events, event planners at weddings may desire to seat the bride and groom at a head or main table in the front of the room, and then place members of the wedding party (best man, maid of honor, etc.) in close proximity to the bride and groom. Guests at the wedding can be divided into small groups and organized to occupy the general population of tables and place settings. The arrangement of the guests and neighboring guests can be a difficult and time consuming task, requiring numerous revisions and involving the input and consideration of two or more families, event planners and a host of other interested parties.
The process of organizing a seating preference chart can reveal to event organizers which table arrangements are not workable. The size of tables, the types of table geometries, and the proximity of tables to a dance floor or music broadcast area need to be taken into account in order to arrive at a preferred room layout and event-seating chart to meet individual preferences, and to comply with applicable laws. Perfecting a room layout with seating chart can involve a significant amount of time, require numerous revisions, and extensive trial placement iteration.
One well-known method of creating seating charts for an event involves the creation and manipulation of a list of guests written on a piece of paper.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,347 to Hergott discloses a frame for visually displaying indicia for identifying the location of the frame. The frame mountable identifying device 10 is configured to be attached to a chair at, for example, a stadium or an auditorium and includes identifying indicia 21 that can indicate, for example, a set row number and a seat number. Although the frame mountable identifying device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,347 to Hergott may provide improved visibility in identifying floor spots as compared to a typical seat-mounted tag or sign, the frame mountable identifying device of U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,347 to Hergott is not well suited for other types of floor spot environments such as, for example, an event with seating at tables at which room space and electrical cord power supply is limited.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing an illuminated product that is specifically adapted to optimize the smooth running of an event at which attendees are requested to sit or be located at a preferred occupancy location during the event or during a portion of the event.
It is one object of the present invention to provide an illuminated product having interchangeable indicia carriers and which can be illuminated to provide a back-lit or light-focused effect.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for deploying illuminated products in a manner which permits convenient last minute changes to the organization of an event at which attendees are requested to locate themselves at a respective designated location within the event venue.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide an illuminated product having an interchangeable indicia carrier that is inscribed with or otherwise formatted with the name of an event attendee and which can be kept by the event attendee as a memento of the event.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an illuminated product that economically illuminates a graphic element and/or an attendee name in a manner that is eye-catching and which facilitates the task of the event attendees correctly locating the respective floor spot or table seating at which they are asked to be present.
According to further features of the one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminated product including a foot element, a view mounting element, a housing containing a light source, and an interchangeable indicia carrier.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for coordinating a preferred occupant plan with a plurality of floor spot indicia carriers.
The present invention is generally directed towards a convenient and practical illuminated product. The principles of the present invention, however, are not limited to the particular configurations of the an illuminated product described herein. Additionally, to assist in the description of the an illuminated product of the present invention, words such as top, bottom, front, rear, right and left may be used to describe the accompanying figures, which may be but are not necessarily drawn to scale. It will be appreciated that the illuminated product can also be used as a stand-alone device or used in combination with methods for coordinating a preferred occupant plan such as, for example, a table seating chart for an event.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art, upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.
As seen in
As seen in
Turning now to further details of the tall-remote stand product 110, the foot element 120 includes a rectangular base block 122 having a generally planar or flat bottom surface suitable for placement into direct contact with the surface of a table, a shelf, or the like, and the rectangular pedestal block 124 sized in correspondence with the rectangular base block 122 such that the rectangular pedestal block 124 has a proportionally smaller length and width than the rectangular base block 122 and is mounted in a centered location on a top surface of the rectangular base block 122.
The housing containing a light source 130 can be on the a pedestal mounted above the foot element 120 and the foot element 120 may include a power supply such as a battery or an electrical cord to supply power from an electrical outlet to the light source, and a printed circuit board or switch for controlling power supplied to the light source. The housing containing a light source 130 may contain an LED, halogen bulb or other light emitting source and, in the example shown in
The light delivery conduit 140 extends between the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 and the housing containing a light source 130 and operable to convey light emitted by the light source within the housing containing a light source 130 to a location at which light exiting the light delivery conduit 140 is incident upon the interchangeable indicia carrier 160. The light delivery conduit 140 can be figured as a fiber optic light guide.
The view mounting element 150 includes a stability slot in which the bottom portion of the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 is seated. The interchangeable indicia carrier 160 may be held in the stability slot of the view mounting element 150 via, for example, an adhesive such as glue and/or may be held via a press or friction fit. The view mounting element 150 supports the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 at a preferred viewing orientation—in connection with the one embodiment shown in
The interchangeable indicia carrier 160 is formed of a suitable construction and material onto which indicia, or indicia markers, are present such that light emitted via the light delivery conduit 140, and guided to the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 held by the view mounting element 150, can intersect or be incident upon the indicia or the indicia markers and thereby produce a desired image to be viewed by a person such as an event attendee. A translucent acrylic plate is an example of one such indicia carrier of suitable construction and material and the translucent acrylic plate can be formed of single non-laminated piece of acrylic or of multiple laminates of acrylic. Print font or cursive font wording, as well as non-text or graphic images such as landscapes, flowers, animals, vehicles, and the like, can be etched (via sand blasting, for example), created via ablation performed by a laser, engraved, or otherwise formed on an exterior surface of the translucent acrylic plate or interiorly of the plate.
As desired, various enhancements can be carried out to further highlight the visual effect of the imagery displayed by the interchangeable indicia carrier 160. For example, border darkening or “frosting” effects can be added along edges of the translucent acrylic panel to reflect or otherwise intercept emitted light and re-direct such light, thereby giving an “aura” effect in the immediate area of the edge enhancements. As another example, negative profiles can be provided within the translucent acrylic plate that likewise reflect or otherwise intercept emitted light and re-direct such light, thereby giving an “aura” effect in the immediate area of these profiles.
Turning now to further details of the short-direct product 410, the short-direct product 410 includes a foot element 420, the housing containing a light source 430, a light delivery conduit 440, a view mounting element 450, and an interchangeable indicia carrier 460. In the example shown in
The interchangeable indicia carrier 160 or the interchangeable indicia carrier 460 may be configured of any desired shape and may be, for example, planar or flat or bowed and may be ribbed or smooth-surfaced. Additionally, the indicia carrier can be formed of any suitable translucent material such as acrylic or another material providing suitable light-transmitting or light-reflective properties such as plastic or glass. The indicia carrier effectively displays desired letters, figures and symbols in a variety of colors while accomplishing a desired color effect, and offers enhanced light intensity and controllable brightness of the displayed indicia.
The name or other identifying information about the event attendee can be placed on a “name tag” insert via a suitable process such as “micro-dot” printing, or by a silk screen process, or by any other suitable means such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,590, wherein The information or legend may be placed on a replaceable thin sheet of synthetic plastics material by “micro-dot” printing, or by a silk screen process, or by any other suitable means.
Solely for the sake of providing one example of a suitable approach to creating an indicia carrier, reference is had to U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,617, which discloses a computer graphic laser etchingsystem that is suitable for creating indicia on the indicia carrier. U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,617 uses a computer controlled high intensity laser to form a number of etch points within a base material such as glass. The material can be a plastic resin having good transparency such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic resins and the like, and may include acrylic resins such as polymethyl methacrylate and copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid.
The housing containing a light source 130 or the housing containing a light source 430 will contain a preferably suitable version of a light emitting diode (LED), but other light sources are contemplated and within the scope of the invention, including fiber optic lighting, laser, infrared, ultraviolet, fluorescent bulbs, incandescent bulbs, and ambient light. Actuation of the light source may be controlled by a controller which may be powered by batteries within the unit itself or by an external power source. Natural light can also be used to illuminate the display, and may be collected remotely using a focusing lens and transmitted to the display via fiber optics.
A variety of animations, three-dimensional (3D) effects, color fading, color blending may be done without departing from the scope of the invention. Similarly, any type of relief may be used, including, without limitation, seasonal images, corporate trademarks or other logos, illustrations, text, graphics, reliefs of photographs, or any other type of relief.
Reference is now had to
Various steps of the method for coordinating a preferred occupant plan with a plurality of floor spot indicia carriers as described hereinafter can be omitted or enhanced as desired to best achieve the particular event planning goal. Referring now to
With respect to a step 524, this step involves making a determination if there is an additional attendee to add to the initial attendee list or a determination that an attendee already on the initial attendee list has in the meantime decided to no longer attend the event (i.e., a cancellation). In the event that there is an additional attendee to add to the initial attendee list or that an attendee already on the initial attendee list should be stricken from the list, then a step 526 is performed to amend the initial attendee list.
Once the initial attendee list has been amended or, alternatively, in the event that all additional attendees have been added to the initial attendee list and all canceling attendee already on the initial attendee list have been stricken from the list, then a step 528 is performed to validate the status of the initial attendee list, whereupon the initial attendee list is now operable as a list of the probable attendees of the event.
With respect to a step 530, this step involves assigning each attendee as the preferred place occupant with regard to a respective floor spot, whereupon the collective assignments of the attendees to the floor spots operates as a preferred occupant placement chart for the event. A floor spot can be, for example, a chair or a seat at a table or in a row of seats. As desired, each attendee can be assigned as the preferred place occupant with regard to a respective floor spot at any time during the period in which the initial attendee list is being created or this step can first be performed after the initial attendee list has been validated in the step 528. Additionally, in parallel with the creation of the initial attendee list, individualized indicia carriers can be created in a step 532, with each indicia carrier being individualized in that it is inscribed or otherwise formatted to bear the name of an attendee or to bear another piece of individual identifying information about the attendee.
With respect to a step 534, this step involves placing each indicia carrier that has been individualized in the step 532 on or proximate to a respective floor spot which will be occupied by a respective preferred occupant during the event. Each such indicia carrier may be disposed in its customary display position on a display stand or each indicia carrier can be placed by itself on or proximate to the respective floor spot and then the indicia carrier can be later be disposed in its customary display position on a display stand as the event draws nearer.
With respect to a step 536, this step involves making a determination if there is an additional attendee at the event who has not previously been listed on the validated attendee list or a determination that an attendee already on the initial attendee list has in the meantime decided to no longer attend the event (i.e., a cancellation). In the event that there is an additional attendee or an attendee already on the initial attendee list fails to show up at the event, then a number of steps can be optionally performed. With respect to a step 538, this step involves updating the list of attendees for the event. With respect to a step 540, this step involves undertaking certain actions with regard to specific individualized indicia carriers in the event that an attendee already on the initial attendee list fails to show up at the event or in the event that an attendee desires to change to a different floor spot than the respective floor spot that had been assigned to the attendee. Specifically, the step 540 involves undertaking these actions with regard to such individualized indicia carriers—the respective individualized indicia carrier currently on or proximate to the original floor spot is: (a) removed, (b) updated to display a different attendee, or (c) is transferred to the new different floor spot to which the attendee is now assigned.
The method for coordinating a preferred occupant plan with a plurality of floor spot indicia carriers as described with regard to
For an example of one such beneficial variation, reference is now had to
In the event that the guest whose family name is “Platz” does not attend the event, requests to be assigned to a different table chair, or otherwise will not be occupying the respective table chair at the table, then, in accordance with the method of the present invention, the guest whose family name is “Platz” can be removed from the seating chart 710 or re-designated to a different seat place on the seating chart 710 and a different guest can be designated as the preferred occupant of the respective table chair at the table. In lieu of the guest whose family name is “Platz”, a newly added guest such as, for example, a newly added guest whose family name is “Chaise”, can be added to the seating chart 710 and designated as the preferred occupant of the respective table chair at the table. With regard to the tall-remote stand product 110 with the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz”, a different interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Chaise” as indicia 830 on an acrylic plate 640 can be substituted in the recess 650 for the original interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz.” The new interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Chaise” can, if desired, bear the same graphic design 620 as the original interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz.”
The interchangeable indicia carrier 160 can bear, in addition to the name of a preferred occupant, other helpful information such as, for example, text information about the event agenda, a personalized message from an event host or sponsor, or other event information. The interchangeable indicia carrier 160 can include a design configuration that renders the illuminated product as a whole or the indicia carrier by itself suitable as a gift to mark a special occasion or a milestone in the life of a person or an entity such as a corporation, school, or other institution or as a seasonal or holiday gift.
As noted, the method for coordinating a preferred occupant plan with a plurality of floor spot indicia carriers as described with regard to
In the event that the guest whose family name is “Platz” does not attend the event, requests to be assigned to a different table chair, or otherwise will not be occupying the respective table chair at the table, then, in accordance with the method of the present invention, the guest whose family name is “Platz” can be removed from the seating chart 710 or re-designated to a different seat place on the seating chart 710 and a different guest can be designated as the preferred occupant of the respective table chair at the table. In lieu of the guest whose family name is “Platz”, a newly added guest such as, for example, a newly added guest whose family name is “Chaise”, can be added to the seating chart 710 and designated as the preferred occupant of the respective table chair at the table. With regard to the tall-remote stand product 110 with the interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz”, a different interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Chaise” can be substituted for the original interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz.” The new interchangeable indicia carrier 160 includes an indicia in the form of six letters forming the family name “Chaise” configured in a rectangular recess 650 formed in the interchangeable indicia carrier 160. The new interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Chaise” can, if desired, bear the same graphic design 620 as the original interchangeable indicia carrier 160 bearing the family name “Platz.”
Although this invention has been disclosed and described in its preferred forms with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art. Additionally, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred forms is only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of operation and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
