Display

• US 5,302,965 A
• Filed: 10/15/1991
• Issued: 04/12/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stellar Communications Limited
• Original Assignee: Stellar Communications Limited
• Inventors: Belcher, Barry J., Mott, Clive V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberley, Alvin E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liang, Regina
• Application Number:
  US07/768,953
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 300/755, 300/750, 300/756, 300/762, 300/815.03
• US Class Current: 345/31
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/34 with light sources co-operating with movable members, e.g. with shutters to cover or uncover the light source apparatus wherein advertising or display material is moved in a continuous or intermittent succession G09F11/00; construction or details of lighting devices F21V11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/005 forming an image using a quickly moving array of imaging elements, causing the human eye to perceive an image which has a larger resolution than the array, e.g. an image on a cylinder formed by a rotating line of LEDs parallel to the axis of rotation

Abstract

A display comprises a static unit (8) on which is mounted a rotating unit (7) driven by a motor (12). The rotating unit carries light emitting diodes (6) arranged as vertical columns which sweep around a cylindrical surface. The light emitting diodes (6) are controlled by a control circuit (6) in accordance with data stored in a memory (61) so as to provide a cylindrical display. The control circuit (60) and memory (61) are located in the rotating unit 97) and the memory (612) has a capacity for storing several different images for display.

Claims

1. A display comprising a static unit and a moving unit, said moving unit carrying a plurality of light sources and being arranged to move relative to the static unit so that said light sources perform a repeated movement, said moving unit including a memory for storing data for providing a plurality of displayed images and control means for controlling said light sources so as to display at least one selected image at a time, said static unit containing a further memory for storing data for a plurality of further displayed images and transmission means for transmitting the data from said further memory to said memory and said control means of said moving unit via a communication link and wherein the moving unit is a rotating unit and the light sources are arranged as a plurality of columns parallel to the axis of rotation, with the light sources in each column lying in a common plane and the planes of at least two of said columns having their optical axes angularly offset relative to each other and disposed parallel to the rotational axis so that the image visible from any point covers an extended cylindrical surface.

2. A display as claimed in claim 1, in which the light sources are light emitting diodes.

3. A display as claimed in claim 1, in which the communication link is a rotary transformer.

4. A display comprising a static unit and a rotating unit, said rotating unit carrying a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged as a plurality of columns, said columns being parallel to the axis of rotation and said light emitting diodes of each individual column of said columns having optical axes orientated parallel to one another within said individual column and in a plane disposed at an angle to a radius from the axis of rotation through said individual column, said light emitting diodes of at least two of said columns having their optical axes orientated at respective different angles so that an image displayed by the rotating unit viewed from one point covers an extended cylindrical surface.

5. A display as claimed in claim 4, in which said rotating unit is arranged to move relative to the static unit so that said light emitting diodes perform a repeated movement, said rotating unit further comprising a memory for storing data for providing a plurality of displayed images and control means for controlling said light emitting diodes so as to display at least one selected image at a time.

6. A display as claimed in claim 4, in which said light emitting diodes of at least two of said columns are offset relative to each other in the direction parallel to the rotational axis so as to provide interlacing.

7. A display comprising a static unit and a rotating unit, said rotating unit carrying a plurality of light emitting diodes and being arranged to move relative to said statis unit so that said light emitting diodes perform a repeated movement, said light emitting diodes being arranged as a plurality of columns parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotating unit, said light emitting diodes of at least two of said plurality of columns having their optical axes angularly offset relative to each other so as to provide an extended cylindrical display, and said light emitting diodes of at least two of said plurality of columns being offset relative to each other in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation so as to provide interlacing, said rotating unit including a memory for storing data for providing a plurality of displayed image and control means for controlling said light emitting diodes so as to display at least one selected image at a time.

8. A display as claimed in claim 7, in which said static unit contains further memory for storing data for a plurality of further displayed images and transmission means for transmitting the data from said further memory to said memory and said control means of said rotating unit via a communication link.