It may be desirable to display a banner, flag, or other signage on certain occasions. For example, it may be desirable to display a country flag to celebrate national holidays. During a local sporting event, it may be desirable to display a sports team banner and support the local team. For marketing purposes, stores may want to display signs for special sales.
It may also be desirable to conceal a banner. When inclement weather is approaching or the sun is setting for the day, one may want to conceal a banner that is on display. Also, after a special event is over, a banner is no longer needed to be on display and therefore the banner may be concealed.
For purposes of control for occasions and events, a need exists for improvements on banner displays.
A smart banner display includes a home base and a scroll shaft located within the home base. The scroll shaft is configured to rotate around an axis relative to the home base. A banner is removably attached to the scroll shaft so that the banner is raised and lowered as the scroll shaft rotates. A motor rotates the scroll shaft in any rotational direction based upon communication from a controller.
A method for controlling a smart banner display includes displaying on a user interface one or more input controls related to control of the banner display. Upon receiving a selection of the one or more input controls, the method includes providing the selection to a controller. Based on the selection, the controller performs a banner display action which may include positioning the banner, lighting up the banner, or other banner display action.
Another method for controlling a smart banner display includes monitoring, through an application, external event information. Upon detecting a trigger condition based on one or more events, the method includes performing a banner display action.
This application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application 62/374,975 filed Aug. 15, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A smart banner display includes a home base and a scroll shaft located within the home base. The scroll shaft is configured to rotate around an axis relative to the home base. A banner is removably attached to the scroll shaft so that the banner is raised and lowered as the scroll shaft rotates. A motor rotates the scroll shaft in any rotational direction based upon communication from a controller.
A method for controlling a smart banner display includes displaying on a user interface one or more input controls related to control of the banner display. Upon receiving a selection of the one or more input controls, the method includes providing the selection to a controller. Based on the selection, the controller performs a banner display action which may include positioning the banner, lighting up the banner, or other banner display action.
Another method for controlling a smart banner display includes monitoring, through an application, external event information. Upon detecting a trigger condition based on one or more events, the method includes performing a banner display action.
The banner display is used to raise and lower the planar member 3. A lighting component may be included to light up the display at nighttime or to shine extra light on the planar member 3 and make it stand out. Also, sensory components may be used to sense weather conditions of the 105 display environment and provide weather data to control the display of the planar member 3. Also, various power sources may be utilized to power the device and save energy.
The smart banner display may be hung or attached by the home base to a house, building, or other structure. For example, ropes may tether the 110 home base to a structure. Brackets, bolts, rivets, and other mechanical fasteners may also be used. As shown, the display 100 may be hung underneath an awning of a house.
The planar member 3 may be a banner, flag, signage, or other display unit that is housed in the banner housing. The planar member 3 may be made 115 of cloth, plastic, a plastic-coated fabric, or other material, and of a shape that is typically oblong, square, rectangular, or other shape. The planar member 3 is typically flexible so that it can be rolled or folded or otherwise arranged so as to be concealed within the banner housing. As shown, a sports team banner is used for the display. The scroll shaft 4 and 120 components, including electrical components, motors, sensors, etc. may be operatively connected to the scroll shaft 4. Components may be used to display the planar member 3 as shown.
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An exemplary banner display includes a home base and banner housing that are separable from each other.
A mechanical fastening structure may be used to attach the banner housing to the home base.
The scroll shaft and home base may be an integrated unit, as shown in
For positioning, the home base 12 and scroll shaft 14 are typically oriented substantially horizontal, i.e., substantially parallel to a ground surface. At one end of the home base 12, a motor is attached to the home base 12 and rotates the scroll shaft 14 around its central lengthwise axis. The scroll shaft 14 holds the planar member in a rolled manner. Rotational movement of the scroll shaft 14 in one direction unrolls the planar member for display. Rotational movement of the scroll shaft 14 in the opposite direction rolls up the planar member for concealment.
On the opposite end of the home base 12, the spring housing 16 houses a spring 17 which applies a force to one end of the scroll shaft 14. The force of the spring 17 holds the scroll shaft 14 in place within the home base. By applying a force that compresses the spring 14, the force of the spring 14 against the scroll shaft 14 is loosened or removed to provide the scroll shaft a space to be pivoted away, or otherwise disjointed, from one end of the home base 12. The other end of the scroll shaft 14 remains affixed to the home base 12. With one end pivoted away from the home base 12, a planar member attached to the scroll shaft may be slidably disengaged, or otherwise removed, and a new planar member may be inserted. A side view of the banner housing with spring 17 and motor 18 are shown in
Alternatively, the scroll shaft 14 and planar member together may be completely removed from both ends of the home base 12. This would allow a new scroll shaft 14 and planar member together to be inserted into the home base 12.
The control box houses control and power components. Turning to
A bottom view is shown in
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An exemplary solar power panel that may be used for the banner display is shown in
Note that variations include that multiple planar members be used together. This may be accomplished with one scroll shaft or multiple scroll shafts. It is also possible that multiple banner displays be connected together in a manner that allows for simultaneous control.
With reference to software related aspects, terms will now be defined to provide clarification. The term “server” generally refers to a computing device designed and/or configured to execute computer instructions, e.g., software, that may be stored on a non-transient computer readable medium. For example, but without limitation, the server may comprise a server including at least a processor, volatile memory (e.g., RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., a hard drive or other non-volatile storage), one or more input and output ports, devices, or interfaces, and buses and/or other communication technologies for these components to connect to and communicate with each other and with other devices. Computer instructions may be stored in volatile memory, non-volatile memory, another computer-readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD, on a remote device, or any other computer readable storage medium known in the art. Communication technologies, e.g., buses or otherwise, may be wired, wireless, a combination of such, or any other computer communication technology known in the art. The server may alternatively be implemented on a virtual computing environment, or implemented entirely in hardware, or any combination of such. The server is not limited to implementation on or as a conventional server, but may additionally be implemented, entirely or in part, on a desktop computer, laptop, smart phone, personal display assistant, virtual environment, or other known computing environment or technology. A server may comprise a plurality of servers in connection with each other.
“Computing device” may refer to one of, or a combination of, a number of mobile or handheld computing devices, including handheld computers, smart phones, smart watches, tablet devices, and comparable devices that execute applications. In addition, “computing device” may refer to a device that has limited or no mobility, such as a laptop computer or a desktop computer.
“Platform” as used herein, may refer to a combination of software and hardware components that enables features herein, such as capturing information from online sources. Examples of platforms include, but are not limited to, a hosted service executed over a plurality of servers, an application executed on a single computing device, and comparable systems.
A user interface on or coupled with the computing device is capable of presenting information to a user and receiving input from a user. The computing device may be in communication with a server via any communication technology known in the art, including but not limited to direct wired communications, wired networks, direct wireless communications, wireless networks, local area networks, campus area networks, wide area networks, secured networks, unsecured networks, the Internet, the cloud, or any other computer communication technology known in the art, or any combination of such networks or communication technologies.
While some embodiments may be described in the general context of program modules that execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on an operating system on a personal computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that aspects may also be implemented in combination with other program modules.
Generally, program modules used to carry out features herein include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and comparable computing devices. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented process or method, a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readable media. The computer program product may be a computer storage medium readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program that comprises instructions for causing a computer or computing system to perform example processes. The computer-readable storage medium is a physical computer-readable memory device. The computer-readable storage medium can for example be implemented via one or more of a volatile computer memory, a non-volatile memory, a hard drive, a flash drive, a floppy disk, or a compact disk, and comparable hardware media.
To “present,” as used herein, includes but is not limited to, providing data through interface elements or controls, e.g., through a web page, application, app, audible interface, or other user interface known in the art. For example, “presenting” may comprising providing visual display elements or controls through a web browser on a computer display or smartphone display. “Presenting” may also include providing input controls or elements.
A user may interact with the application by one or more of touch input, gesture input, voice command, sound input, eye tracking, gyroscopic input, pen input, mouse input, and keyboard input. An application programming interface (API) may be a set of routines, protocols, and tools for the application or service that enable the application or service to interact or communicate with one or more other applications and services managed by separate entities.
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The banner display 340 further includes a controller 341 for controlling actuation of the display features and a sensor module 342 for receiving sensory input and providing it to the controller. The controller 341 may be a microcontroller or other controller. Sensor module 342 receives sensory input described herein, such as moisture data, lighting data, wind data, motor position data, etc. Sensor module 342 provides the sensory input to the controller 341 and the controller 341 performs a banner display action (e.g. actuating the scroll, turning on the light bar, etc.) or modification (e.g. updating an event trigger) based on the sensory input.
The participant interacts with the application through a touch-enabled display interface of the mobile device 320. The computing device may alternatively include a monitor with a touch-enabled display component to provide communication to a user.
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The controller module 420 communicates with, and may be controlled by, the application on the mobile device 320. In addition or alternatively, the controller is controlled by any connection described herein, manually, or by automatic functionality. The controller 420 receives data from the sensor module 442, which may be a wind sensor, light sensor, temperature sensor, moisture sensor, motor position sensor, or any other relevant sensor. For example, the controller 420 receives sensor information related to a measurement of wind. For rain and snow, the controller 420 receives moisture information. For discernment between daytime and nighttime, the controller 420 receives light information. For determining the extent of the banner display, such as being full display, partial display, or full concealment, the controller receives information from the position sensor. For the actuation of the scroll shaft, the controller module 420 turns on and off the motor.
The controller module 420 may control lights via the light source module 444, which may be one or more lights, light bars, LED light sources, etc. The controller may turn on and off the light source module for illuminating the banner display. The controller may further have advanced functionality of dimming the light source module to create various degrees of lighting.
The banner display including the controller and components may be powered by a variety of sources represented by the power module 440, including for example, solar power input, electrical input, and battery power.
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Content may be found in various sources like websites, emails, documents, messaging, texting, conferencing, and other forms used for communicating content. The application monitors one or more of the various sources for specific information related to a trigger event, such as a date, a time, a location, and/or a title, among others. Monitoring may include gleaning, scraping, analyzing, parsing or otherwise processing the content to detect the specific information. The resulting information may be stored on the server and presented to the user through the interface so that the user may control and/or trigger banner display actions.
The user may have the option of entering or selecting the type of information to be used as the specific information to be obtained from a given source. Specific information may further be generated by the software.
For example, weather information may be obtained from online source 564. Temperature, humidity, wind, and other weather conditions included in the obtained weather information may be used to trigger a banner display action.
Clock/timer information obtained from online source 568 may be used to monitor times or durations of times during which the banner should be displayed.
Sports information, such as game days and special events, obtained from online source 565 may be used for display action.
Holiday information obtained from online source 567 may be used to monitor holidays and national events for display action.
Other information may be obtained from online source 562 for display action. This information may be modified by the user. Also, the information may be entered by the user directly instead of being obtained online.
The input controls shown are in no way limiting. Further capabilities are readily anticipated. For example, capabilities may include the options of lowering and raising the banner to variable heights. Also, lights may include LED lights or other lights that may be dimmed. Capabilities may thus include dimming. Other capabilities are also anticipated.
Also shown is an exemplary color palette control 643, that allows colored lights to have a user-defined hue to be selected. Also shown are time ‘On’ control 644 and time ‘Off’ control 645 which indicates the times that the lights are on and off.
The process 700a begins with step 720, in which an application on the mobile device 520 monitors event information. This step includes monitoring calendars, weather reports, sporting events, emails, documents, and other information. This step 702 may include processing data to identify an event, time, duration, or other condition. This step may further include storing data and forming structures to handle the data.
At step 720, the application processes received display conditions to determine when one or more trigger conditions have occurred. At step 740, the controller performs a banner display action based on the identified trigger condition. The banner display action may comprise displaying, concealing, partially displaying, partially concealing the banner, or turning lights on or off or brighter or dimmer, or any other banner display action disclosed herein or known in the art.
In
The processes may be implemented with fewer or additional steps, as well as in a different order. Also, the processes may be executed by one or more processors operated on one or more computing devices, one or more processor cores, specialized processing devices, and/or general purpose processors, among other processing environments.
While this invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments and examples, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many variations are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention, and that the invention, as described by the claims, is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the invention which do not depart from the spirit of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62374975 | Aug 2016 | US |