Patent Application
20140317974
The present application also claims the benefit of priority to United Kingdom Application No. 1002334.9 filed 11 Feb. 2010, United Kingdom Application No. 1019865.3 filed 24 Nov. 2010, and European Application No. 10194003.6 filed on 7 Dec. 2010; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a method displaying a selected image in an illuminated display, using components sold fully assembled, partly assembled or ready to assemble in alternate configurations, all with easily exchangeable images.
An example of the utilization of this invention is the museum shop market and this application will use production for this market as an example. It should be noted that the utilization of this invention is not intended to be limited to production for museum shops. It can be produced for a wide variety of institutions and businesses for many purposes using production methods, appropriate to those markets.
Museum gift shops often have items for purchase related to their purpose. With the advent of wide format high resolution digital printers and the availability of images on digital media, low volume, high quality reproductions of images are feasible, custom produced for each museum shop to reflect the museum's unique collection.
Visitors to museums are varied. Some arrive by car and would therefore be able to purchase a bulky item; place it in a car, and take it home. Others arrive by public transportation such as a subway or bus, and therefore their carrying capability is limited. Still others may visit a museum while on a distant trip; but they must return by air thereby limiting the bulk and fragility of their purchase at a museum shop. Purchasing compactly packaged components consisting of a customer selected electric/frame kit and a customer selected printed image sheet packaged separately but sold in combination with easy to follow instructions for home assembly requiring no tools or special skills solves this problem. For those who would balk at purchasing anything that would require even the minimum of assembly involvement, purchase of an assembled unit delivered at point of purchase or for shipment to their home, assembled and shipped by the museum, or by the company in accordance with a museum order, could also be accommodated by the museum shop.
A second factor favoring a compactly packaged kit is the fact that storage space for inventory is at a premium at a typical museum shop. This is addressed by compactly packaged kits that can be flexibly combined to fulfill a customer order.
A third factor favoring a frame kit is that same frame components can be assembled in alternate configurations depending on which model of the unit the customer prefers. In addition, the original configuration selection can easily be exchanged subsequently for another configuration at the option of the customer.
The prior art reveals many types of illuminated display units. Some are for the display of two dimensional art reproductions. A sampling of such patents follows. For example, the lamp shade of Lewis, U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,317, has a fenestration on its surface and a recessed plate for accepting an art object in sheet form to be illuminated indirectly by reflected light from the lamp. Buzick's picture display panel for lamp shades (U.S. Pat. No. 2,177,204) is primarily for display of black and white pictures printed on translucent paper by transmitted light. Morgen's light box lampshade (U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,002) provided uniform illumination on its surface for viewing photographic slides placed on its surface. The U.S. patent of Swanson (U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,593) relates to a Giclee printed lamp shade that is capable of displaying a high resolution art reproduction made from a digital image file using a process for adhering an image printed on canvas to the surface of an existing lamp shade, where the printing in Swanson occurs before the canvas is adhesively secured to the base lamp shade.
Many other patents in the prior art deal with the bulkiness of lampshades. They relate to knockdown, collapsible, or foldable lamp shades which can be shipped or stored compactly and then assembled and used on a lamp. Four such U.S. patents and one US patent application are identified here as a sampling of the field. They are U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,210 of Chapman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,676 of Korach, U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,684 of Witz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,222 of Gall, and U.S. patent application US 2006/0239012 of Bin. None of these relate directly to the display of images.
Indeed, while the prior art teaches several approaches to the design of illuminated display units for displaying images or storing lampshade frames more compactly, none describe an efficient method to display a selected image in the home or elsewhere on an illuminated display unit that is comprised of compactly packaged interchangeable components.
An example of this invention is to create an efficient business model that serves the needs of museum gift shops and their customers so that exhibits visitors have seen in the museum may be enjoyed in the home after being appreciated in the museum. Many other markets besides museum gift shops can be served. Along the way, a viable manufacturing business is also created.
Another object is to provide illuminated image display units consisting of a set of interchangeable components capable of constructing illuminated image display units for a plurality of presentation modes, such as free standing, pedestal mounted, ceiling suspended and the like.
Other objects which become apparent from the following description of the present invention.
Museums and particularly museum gift shops have been identified as one potential market for the utilization of this invention and display by a purchaser in a home is anticipated throughout this narrative. But this should be interpreted only as an example and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the usefulness of the invention. Many institutions and/or businesses could be a potential market and the display unit could be located anywhere for any purpose.
The vehicle for the system and method is an illuminated display unit (IDU) for displaying two dimensional high quality reproductions of images. One aspect of the concept for the IDU of this invention that differs from that of an ordinary lamp and lampshade is that it facilitates the display of special images, which is an integral part of the lighting unit. In addition, low manufacturing cost, compact packaging in kit form, and ease of customer assembly without tools and without special skills are the hallmarks of the IDU. Although the manufactured frame parts are standardized in a range of circumferences to minimize cost, the technique for creating the image sheets, which are illuminated, permits a wide range of image heights to be accommodated by each standardized circumference frame. The IDU component parts can be assembled as a table-top, pedestal or suspended unit, or in other configurations to display images. The same frame elements can be used to illuminate and display a variety of image reproductions just by changing one image for another. Since the electrical parts are provided as a completely pre-wired electrical cord set and a unique slot is provided to insert the wire of the cord set into the frame, no electrical experience is required for customer assembly of the IDU.
Basically, in the preferred embodiment, the lamp socket is a standard AC powered lamp socket, which is secured to the hub of the support frame part with a hand-tightened nut. The image sheet is first formed into a cylinder, then one end of the cylinder is inserted into a slot and secured in a support frame member. The other end is then inserted and secured in a slot in second plain frame member. The frame members then form the cylinder into a conforming closed shape. For example, for table-top use the support frame is at the bottom and the plain frame is at the top of the image sheet. For suspended use this is reversed. For table-top use with a pedestal, a tube and a second support frame to serve as a base (or alternately a modified base) is added. In an alternate embodiment, the light source may be a light emitting diode (LED) light source or other light source, such as a compact florescent light source, and may be powered by a DC power source, such as, for example, a battery.
The production technique to be utilized for the museum shop market, of printing the image sheet by high resolution wide-format ink jet printers is well known, but while the material of the image sheet may be a flexible translucent sheet of various materials, such as styrene or laminated fabric, for example, in a preferred embodiment in this use the material of the image sheet is fine art grade paper, coated for optimal acceptance of inkjet printing, custom manufactured for the IDU application to insure heat resistance, archival type ink acceptance, a translucent appearance, and rigidity once formed into a closed shape which may be straight sided, such as a triangle, a continuous curve, such as a circle, or a combination of straight and curved sections, such as an expanded circle, such shape determined by the frame members to which it is secured at both ends. While any printer capable of printing a high quality image upon a flexible media may be used, a preferred embodiment for this market is a roll-fed wide format ink jet printer, such as printers made by companies as Epson, Canon, Hewlett Packard, Xerox and others which print on rolls having widths from 24 inches to 72 inches. For example, the 10-color 24 inch wide Epson 7900 is one such printer that can be used to print high quality image sheets yielding cylindrical shapes 23 11/16 inch in circumference, with 5/16 inch overlap.
The IDU of this invention will be described as having an elliptical crossectional cylindrical shape as the display surface of the image sheet. For instance, a 24 inch wide image sheet formed into an ellipse by the appropriate size frames would have a major oval diameter of approximately 9.2 inches and a minor diameter of about 5.7 inches. Using this type of printing method the circumference of the IDU display is fixed by the width of the sheet being printed, but the height of the image sheet can be easily varied since this is determined by how the rolled sheet is programmed to be printed and cut apart after printing for use in the IDU. In this way, actual image sheet heights can practically be infinitely varied.
The business model for this invention presupposes that a “company” is formed to produce image sheets and frame/electrical kits for IDU's that would interface with, for example, a variety of museum shops around the country or around the world. The company has a computer system which will communicate between the company and its customers.
The computer system has data processing systems by which the company and respective gift shops communicate via internet or a browser controlling communications over a network via a server, including images plus text required, formatted for printing by the company and includes a database for storing images for printing image sheets when ordered. All communications can be handled via internet for receiving and processing orders. Products can be shipped by common carrier. For example, when a museum gift shop gears up for support of a special museum exhibit, images related to the exhibit can be produced. For the initial order for a new image the company must first create an Image Art Unit (IAU) file with the exact edited digital representation of the image and any text required to be printed on an image sheet, plus cutting instructions. This is what will drive the wide format printer. The formatting for the IAU using the source digital image file can either be done by the company (with instructions from the museum), or it can be performed by museum personnel using the company's website and editing software. The museum also provides text for a description of the image information about the museum and this is printed separately by the company and included with the packaged image that is a component of the IDU, as are instructions for customer assembly.
The company uses pricing software which prices each image sheet corresponding to each desired IAU. Part of the pricing algorithm is based on the height and width of the particular resulting image sheet reflecting the actual substrate material and printing cost. Another pricing aspect may be the ink cost for a particular image sheet reflecting the actual digital color and color density information on each pixel of the image reproduction. Other aspects of pricing may include printer set-up charges and/or amortized formatting charges related to volume ordered. Once the pricing is set for the images, this is relayed to the museum gift shop. Based on demand estimates an initial order is placed by the museum for both the various image sheets as well as for IDU frame/electrical kits selected by the museum. The company will then schedule production and fulfill the initial order for image sheets and IDU frame/electric kits for the museum shop. Subsequent orders for IDU frame/electric kits, and/or image sheets will be fulfilled as required.
At the museum gift shop, customer order fulfillment can be accomplished in a number of ways. Customers may purchase pre-packaged image sheets and IDU frame/electric component kits ready for assembly, pay for them and leave. Or a customer may request an assembled IDU. This can be handled by on-demand assembly at the museum shop or from stock pre-assembled by the museum, or the museums shop can assemble the unit and ship it to the address given by the customer. Assembly for stock can be performed at the museum shop during slack periods. In addition the museum can place an order with the company for a specific unit to be assembled by the company and shipped directly to the customer.
In an alternate embodiment, a packaged unit could be partly assembled and include an assembled support frame with 3 or 4 or more legs, a lamp socket support hub and an electric cord set, a plain frame and an image sheet packaged ready to assemble as an illuminated display unit (IDU) of this invention. The packaging is less compact and less flexible than the previous kits embodiments but only the assembly of the image sheet to the frames by the customer is required.
In another alternate embodiment, the unit could be packaged by the company fully assembled and supplied to the museum with no assembly required by the customer.
When the IDU is sold as a component kit the support frame is assembled by inserting one end of each leg into a mating feature incorporated into one of the frame loops and the other end into a similar mating feature on a hub which serves as the lamp socket support disc in the center. The legs are “V-shaped”. The V-shaped legs may be symmetrical or, in a further embodiment may be asymmetrical. The “V” shape of the legs is preferably asymmetric to place the vertex closer to the outside of the frame rim than to the lamp support hub at the center, which provides more clearance from the surface of the light bulb and better stability for the support of the tabletop model. Marks are provided on the rims of the frames to correctly align the flexible image sheet with the frames.
The configurations for the various IDU models are as follows:
For the Tabletop Model—
Bottom: Assembled support frame slot faces up, legs face down
Top: Plain frame slot faces down
For the Hanging Model—
Bottom: Plain frame slot faces up
Top: Assembled support frame slot faces down, legs face down
For the Pedestal Model—
Bottom: Assembled support frame slot faces up, legs face up
Top: Plain frame slot faces down
Base: Support frame slot faces down, legs face up
Note that these alternate configurations from one kit are only possible if the support frame is not made in one piece but in separate pieces for customer assembly as described herein.
Although the mating features are illustrated in one embodiment as a male and a female dovetail joint, other molded simple sliding and/or snap fit joining features, as are commonly known for joining pieces of an item can be used instead.
In one design, the tapered dovetail slots on the legs have the open end in the same direction at the end of each leg. The matching tapered dovetail lugs on the support frame and lamp socket support hub face alternately in opposite directions around their circumferences. Assembly is achieved by sliding the leg slots onto the hub and frame lugs. The legs may be installed either way up (by turning the legs over and moving each leg around the circumference of the support frame to the next set of rim lugs), depending on which leg position, up or down, is required for the model being assembled. There may be two sets of lugs on the lamp socket support disc at two different radii and/or there may be projections incorporated into the rim to compensate for different radii, so that a range of support rims can be accommodated by the same leg length.
In an alternate embodiment, the opposite distal ends of legs connecting the rim frame to the central lamp socket support hub have attachment extensions which mate with slots or holes associated with the support frame at one end and with the central lamp socket support hub at the other end. The extensions are inserted into and through slots or holes in the support frame and in the lamp socket support hub. As these extensions are pushed in toward the step region, molded cantilevered tongues are compressed until they again snap out locking extensions in the slots or holes. The cantilevered tip of each tongue is flexible, so that it compresses as the tongue is inserted into the leg attachment slot/hole and decompresses outward when through the slot/hole, thereby locking the legs in place in the respective slot/holes in the support frame at one end and in the lamp support hub at the other end.
With either design the legs may be detached from the rim and hub and reassembled in a different configuration if a different model IDU is desired.
In the preferred alternate embodiment, an illuminated display unit (i.e. IDU) is comprised of two component kits (1) a multi-part frame kit and electric cord set for assembly without the use of tools, and (2) an image sheet imprinted on fine art paper media such as the Toscana™ product provided by Hahnemuhle which is specially coated on one side for high quality inkjet printing.
The image sheet is unrolled and formed into a cylindrical shape then captured in a conforming shape within a circumferentially extending slot in the top and bottom frame members and locked in place using multiple resilient clips (rim inserts) which impinge on the top and bottom edges of the image sheet. Depending on how the frame parts are assembled the IDU can be configured as a tabletop, pedestal or as a pendant model. The clips can easily be taken out to permit the image sheet to be removed and exchanged at will since the image sheet is not bonded permanently to the frame. Changing the IDU configuration from table top, pedestal, or pendant to another configuration is also made easy simply by removing the image sheet, re-configuring the frame by disassembling and reassembling the component parts, then re-inserting and re-securing the image sheet.
The four steps that may be used to assemble either a tabletop or a pendant model of this preferred alternate embodiment are presented here as they also summarize the various parts of the IDU:
Table Top Model
Image Sheet Preparation—
Remove the image sheet from box A.
Let it unroll and it will form a cylindrical shape. Put it down on a table with the ends of the roll facing up.
Remove the cover from the two sided adhesive tape that is located at one end of the image sheet.
Position that end of the image sheet above the other end so the full length of its edge is aligned between the two lines printed on the other end.
Press the two ends together and the image sheet is now formed into a continuous cylinder. Turn the cylinder over and place it horizontally on a table, then press down along the overlap to ensure a strong bond the full length of the overlap.
Note: You may want to practice this before removing the cover from the tape. Try positioning the edge of the sheet between the lines, starting at one end.
Frame Preparation—
Remove the three legs, the triangular hub, and the two frames from
box B. Leave the other items in the box.
Place the hub (either side up) on a table and push the ends of the long arms of the three legs (marked O) into the slots in the hub (marked O).
Place the frame with slots for the legs on a table with the side of the frame that does not have a perimeter slot facing up and push the short ends of the three legs (marked X) into the three slots in the frame (marked X).
Note: If you want to disconnect a leg after it is installed just tilt it and it will come out of the slot.
Install Electric Parts—
Remove the electric assembly from box B. Only the frame inserts now remain in the box.
Pull the nut along the electric cord a short distance away from the bulb socket.
Slide the electric cord wire through the slot in the triangular hub so that the bulb socket is facing in the opposite direction to the legs.
Push the threaded nipple on the bulb socket through the center hole in the hub.
Slide the nut along the electrical cord up to the nipple on the bulb socket. Tighten the nut by hand until the bulb socket is secure in the hub.
Final Assembly—
Remove eight frame inserts from box B. There is an extra frame insert in the box in case one is mislaid.
Position the image sheet cylinder vertically on a table so the picture faces up.
Position the vertical mark on the outside face of the plain frame so it aligns with the overlapping vertical edge of the image sheet cylinder.
Push the frame downward on to the image sheet cylinder so the cylinder engages the slot in the frame. Use the lugs on the inside of the frame to help guide the image sheet cylinder into position. The frame must be pushed all the way down so that the cylinder edge goes to the bottom of the slot all the way around.
Reach inside the cylinder and push four of the frame inserts into the four horizontal slots in the frame until they are all the way in and grip the edge of the image sheet securely. You can do this most easily by first inserting one end, then use two thumbs to both compress the insert and push the other end into the slot.
Turn the image sheet cylinder and rim upside down so the plain frame is now on the bottom.
With the legs facing in an upward position the frame which has three legs attached above the image sheet cylinder so that the vertical mark on the outside face of the frame aligns with the overlapping vertical edge of the image sheet cylinder.
Push the frame downward on to the image sheet cylinder and repeat the above installation steps for the cylinder.
Turn the unit right side up, screw in a 75 watt incandescent bulb, plug in the electric cord and the MuseumLight™ is operational.
Note: To release the MuseumLight™ image sheet cylinder from the frame, for instance to exchange one image sheet for another or to realign the existing image if necessary, just insert a screwdriver (or similar) in the space at either end of the insert between the insert and the rim and pry the insert out of the rim slot. When the insert are removed the image sheet cylinder will be released from the rim.
Pendant Model
Image Sheet Preparation—
Remove the image sheet from box A.
Let it unroll and it will form a cylindrical shape. Put it on a table with the ends of the roll facing up.
Remove the cover from the two sided adhesive tape that is located at one end of the image sheet.
Position that end of the image sheet above the other end so the full length of its edge is aligned between the two lines printed on the other end.
Press the two ends together and the image sheet is now formed into a continuous cylinder. Turn the cylinder over and place it horizontally on a table, then press down along the overlap to ensure a strong bond the full length of the overlap.
Note: You may want to practice this before removing the cover from the tape. Try positioning the edge of the sheet between the lines, starting at one end.
Frame Preparation—
Remove the three legs, the triangular hub, and the two frames from box B. Leave the other items in the box.
Place the hub (either side up) on a table and push the ends of the long arms of the three legs (marked O) into the slots in the hub (marked O).
Place the frame with slots for the legs on a table with the side of the frame that has a perimeter slot facing up and push the short ends of the three legs (marked X) into the three slots in the frame (marked X).
Note: If you want to disconnect a leg after it is installed just tilt it and it will come out of the slot.
Install Electric Parts—
Remove the electric assembly from box B. Only the rim inserts and canopy kit now remain in the box.
Pull the nut along the electric cord a short distance away from the bulb socket.
Slide the electric cord wire through the slot in the triangular hub so that the bulb socket is facing in the same direction as the legs.
Push the threaded nipple on the bulb socket through the center hole in the hub.
Slide the nut alone the electrical cord up to the nipple on the bulb socket. Tighten the nut by hand until the bulb socket is secure in the hub.
Final Assembly—
Remove eight frame inserts from the frame and electric parts box B. There is an extra frame insert in the box in case one is mislaid. Only the canopy kit now remains in the box.
Position the image sheet cylinder vertically on a table so the picture faces down.
Position the vertical mark on the outside face of the plain frame so it aligns with the overlapping vertical edge of the image sheet cylinder.
Push the frame downward on to the image sheet cylinder so the cylinder engages the slot in the frame. Use the lugs on the inside of the frame to help guide the media cylinder into position. The frame must be pushed all the way down so that the cylinder edge goes to the bottom of the slot all the way around.
Reach inside the cylinder and push four of the frame inserts into the four horizontal slots in the frame until they are all the way in and grip the edge of the image sheet securely. You can do this most easily by first inserting one end, then use two thumbs to both compress the insert and push the other end into the slot.
Turn the image sheet cylinder and rim upside down so the plain frame is now on the bottom.
With the legs facing in a downward position the frame which has the legs attached above the image sheet cylinder so that the vertical mark on the outside face of the rim aligns with the overlapping vertical edge of the image sheet cylinder.
Push the frame downward on to the image sheet cylinder and repeat the above installation steps for the cylinder.
Connect to power supply in ceiling. Use the canopy parts that are in box B, if required. Note that this step must be done by a qualified electrician.
Screw in a 75 watt incandescent bulb, and your MuseumLight™ is operational.
Note: To release the MuseumLight™ image sheet cylinder from the frame, for instance to exchange one art media sheet for another or to realign the existing image if necessary, just insert a screwdriver (or similar) in the space at either end of the insert between the insert and the frame and pry the insert out of the frame slot. When the inserts are removed the image sheet cylinder will be released from the frame.
Besides the differences in the IDU from the previous embodiments, some changes have been made to streamline a new IDU set-up. Instead of providing software to a museum for formatting a new IDU, the formatting software is now an integral part of the company website so that the museum can do this itself and review the result immediately.
In general, the present invention is an illuminated display unit including:
A support frame having at least one surface along the inside of the frame;
An image sheet placed directly against at least one surface of the frame with an edge thereof abutting against at least one surface; and
A fastener fastening the image sheet against at least one surface to retain the image sheet secure in the frame, whereby the image sheet is held securely for display without the use of adhesives or any attachment device potentially damaging the image sheet and
Whereby the image sheet is releasable by releasing the fastener from the frame and allowing withdrawal of the fastener from the frame, thereby releasing the image sheet free of any damage.
Optionally, the frame can have slots formed in the loop member which engage with the fastener, so that the image sheet is held flat directly against the at least one surface of the frame with an edge thereof abutting against at least one surface. The fastener within the slot pressing the image sheet against at least one surface to retain the image sheet securely in the frame without the use of adhesives or any attachment device damaging the image sheet. The image sheet is releasable by releasing the resilient fastener from the loop frame member and allowing withdrawal of the fastener from the slot, thereby releasing the image sheet free of any damage.
In a preferred embodiment, the insert contained within the slot has a center leg pressing the image sheet against the surface to retain the image sheet secure in the frame. This preferred insert has separate resilient end legs on opposite sides of the center leg with a tooth on outer edges thereof to engage end edges of the slot, to retain the insert within the slot, with the center leg engaging with the image sheet, holding the image sheet in place on the support frame, so that the image sheet is held securely. The image sheet is releasable by pressing the end legs of the insert inwardly toward the center leg, to disengage the insert from the frame member and allow withdrawal of the insert from the slot, thereby releasing the image sheet free of any damage.
Optionally, the support frame is an extended member which is provided with multiple, spaced leg members.
Furthermore, the support frame includes a hub for supporting a lighting fixture.
The support frame has an annular shape rim for securing an image sheet which extends from the support frame, with the lighting fixture located within said annular shaped image sheet so that the image is viewable from outside of the annular shaped image sheet.
Before assuming its closed annular shape, the image sheet is a flat, flexible and transparent or translucent member with an image reproduced on a surface thereof.
The support frame and the hub can have integrally formed separate spaced leg attachments, for attaching legs.
These leg attachments may include slots in the hub along outer edges thereof and in the frame for releasable engaging the supporting legs from each attachment slot.
The hub has a central opening for receiving a light socket fixture, and a slot extending out from the central opening to allow for the wire of an assembled cord set to be inserted into the hub. The lighting element of the lighting fixture is enclosed within the confines of the closed shape image sheet, whereby the image is viewed from outside of the display unit.
In one embodiment the supporting legs are V-shaped and face downwardly to form a support for the display unit on a table top surface with the image sheet and lighting fixture extending upwardly.
In an alternate embodiment, the supporting legs and hub form a support for the display unit suspended from a wall bracket or ceiling forming a pendant with the supporting legs, image sheet and lighting fixture extending downwardly, so that the supporting legs are not extending above the support frame.
While it is theoretically possible to support and retain the image sheet with a single frame with fasteners, preferably the display unit has a second frame at the opposite end of the image sheet forming top and bottom frames holding the image sheet therebetween.
The image sheet will then have an annular shape determined by the frames to which it is attached.
The present invention also entails a method of assembling a transparent or translucent art sheet for display of an image formed on a surface thereof, including the steps of:
Rolling a rectangular shaped image sheet into a cylindrical configuration, with end edges overlapping and secured with an adhesive strip or otherwise secured;
Inserting an open end of the rolled image sheet into an annular supporting frame, with the supporting frame preferably having an L-shaped or U-shaped crossection with bottom and side adjacent surfaces along the inside of the L-shaped or U-shaped crossection of the frame and optionally having a slot formed in the rim member with the image sheet being held directly against the adjacent surface of the frame with an edge thereof abutting against the side adjacent surface;
Inserting fasteners into the frame, such as a frame insert within a slot, each frame insert having a center leg pressing the image sheet against the frame surface, to retain the image sheet secure in the frame, with each respective frame insert having separate and resilient spaced end legs, on opposite sides of the center leg, with a tooth on outer edges thereof, to engage end edges of each respective slot to retain the insert within the slot, with the center leg engaging the image sheet holding said image sheet in place on the frame;
Mounting a light source on the support frame and extending into a space formed within said image sheet for lighting the image sheet from within, for displaying the image on the image sheet;
The image sheet being held securely for display without the use of any attachment device damaging the image sheet; and
Releasing the image sheet, by releasing the fastener, such as by pressing the end legs of each respective fastener inwardly toward the center leg, to disengage the fastener from the frame member and allow withdrawal of the fastener from the slot thereby releasing the image sheet free of any damage.
The method further includes providing the support frame with a central hub for mounting of said the electrical light source.
Supporting legs are provided for connecting the hub to the support frame. The supporting legs are shaped to act as legs to support the IDU on a table top surface with the image sheet extending upwardly from said support frame and the hub and supporting legs inside the image sheet, with the light source extending above the hub within the image sheet.
Alternatively, the supporting legs are provided for connecting the hub to the support frame with the supporting legs used to suspend the IDU as a pendant from a ceiling fixture or wall bracket, with the image sheet extending down from said support frame, and the hub and supporting legs inside the image sheet, with the light source extending down below the support frame within the image sheet.
The present invention can best be understood in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown in drawings, in which:
The present invention has broad applications to many fields for a variety of IDU's. For illustrative purposes only, a preferred mode for carrying out the invention is described herein.
Each of the image sheet support edges of the frames in this illustration have a preferably L-shaped crossection (see
The IDU assembly flow chart of
The process for the initial and subsequent order set-up with a museum gift shop was described in words in the summary section.
The flow chart of
The different customer order fulfillment options discussed above in the summary are detailed in the flow chart of
Although the main objective of this invention is to create an efficient method of displaying images that may be purchased at a museum shop, many other uses for an IDU unrelated to museums art exist. One is a direct internet to customer marketing method whereby the images (which may, for instance, consist of family or travel snapshots) is provided by the customer for creating an image sheet. Another possibility is advertising use of IDU's such as displays promoting a certain brand of beer at a tavern. Another is images depicting local tourist attractions for sale in souvenir shops. The oval format described may not be optimal for all applications. It is possible to use the identical manufacturing steps to create IDU's of any annular crossection by using frames that have alternate peripheral shapes.
While intended use is to illuminate the translucent image sheet, under ambient light the image sheet still displays the image thereon.
The parts comprising a frame kit of an illuminated display unit (IDU) of an alternate embodiment are shown in
The flow chart of IDU assembly of
In
In yet, another embodiment shown in
In a further alternate embodiment, the frame of the illuminate display unit (IDU is comprised of multiple component parts, and the image sheet may be printed on a coated art paper designed for inkjet printing. The image sheet is retained in a non-permanent method using frame inserts in the support and plain frame members.
The assembly details for the image sheet for either a table top or a pendant type IDU, taking an image sheet 2052 from package box A 2050 through forming it into a cylinder for frame attachment using adhesive strip 2053 to attach the free edges, is shown is the sequence of drawings of
The assembly details of the support frame for a table top IDU from package box B 2060 through completion are shown in the steps of
The attachment of the bulb socket, which is part of the electrical subassembly, to the hub of the support frame for a table top IDU is illustrated in
The attachment of the image sheet to the frame for a table top IDU is detailed in the sequence of
A similar sequence of
In this further alternate embodiment, the order set-up flow chart of
While the block diagram of
While the foregoing illustrations depict a light source including a lamp with an AC socket and electrical cord connected to an AC power source, it is known that other light sources could be utilized, such as light emitting diode lamps, or DC powered lamps with DC power sources, such as batteries or other low voltage power sources.
In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted, beyond what is shown in the prior image, since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only a, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.
It is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention, without departing the scope of the invention, as noted in the appended Claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1002334.9 | Feb 2010 | GB | national |
| 1019865.3 | Nov 2010 | GB | national |
| 10194003.9 | Dec 2010 | EP | regional |
The present application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/345,416 filed 6 Jan. 2012, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 12/802,486, filed 7 Jun. 2010, now abandoned, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/653,126, filed 8 Dec. 2009 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,628 issued 23 Oct. 2012; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13345416 | Jan 2012 | US |
| Child | 13852688 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12802486 | Jun 2010 | US |
| Child | 13345416 | US | |
| Parent | 12653126 | Dec 2009 | US |
| Child | 12802486 | US |
