Display apparatus

Claim 2

A display device including: an elongate horizontally extending substantially vertical panel, said vertical panel having a plurality of substantially horizontal transverse light passages extending therethrough and a plurality of internal cavities intersecting said light passages, each of said cavities having an upper portion defined by upwardly facing first support surface means of said panel and a lower portion defined by a second upwardly facing support surface means of said panel; and a closure member in each of said cavities and movable between an inoperative position wherein said closure is spaced from its associated light passage and supported by one of said upwardly facing support surface means and an operative position wherein said closure member is positioned in said cavity closing its associated light passage and supported by the other of said support surface means.

Claim 3

The display device of claim 1 wherein said passages are arranged in a predetermined array.

Claim 4

The display device of claim 2, wherein said panel has slide surfaces engageable by said closures for directing said closures to said support surface means to be supported thereby in one of said operative and inoperative positions upon the movement of said panel rearwardly and downwardly and then forwardly and upwardly.

Claim 5

The display device of claim 3; and operator means for moving each of said closures from one of said operative and inoperative positions to the other.

Claim 6

The display device of claim 4, wherein said operator means includes electromagnetic means operatively associated with said closure members, said closures being of a magnetic substance.

Claim 7

The display device of claim 5, wherein said light passages are arranged in groups of vertical spaced columns and horizontal spaced rows.

Claim 8

The display device of claim 6, wherein said operator means comprises a plurality of electromagnets disposed in predetermined alignment with said cavities, said operator means and said display panel being mounted for movement relative to one another for causing said operator means and said closures in one of said columns and rows to move sequentially relative to one another.

Claim 9

The display device of claim 7, and control means operatively associated with said electromagnets for causing said electromagnets selectively to move said closures between said operative and inoperative positions as each one of said columns and rows of said light passages moves toward alignment with said electromagnets to cause the light transmitted through open light passages of said panel to present predetermined visual information.

Claim 10

The display device of claim 8, wherein said control means includes a plurality of index means carried by said panel in predetermined relation to said one of said columns and rows of light passages to cause said control means to be placed in condition to enable said electromagnets to be energized only when said electromagnets are in predetermined aligned relation with said closures operatively associated with said one of said columns and rows of said light passages.

Claim 11

The display device of Claim 9, wherein said index means comprises light reflective means on said panel, light emitting means for directing light at said reflective means and a light responsive means for receiving the light reflected from said reflective means for producing a control signal.

Claim 12

The display device of Claim 1, wherein said light passages are below said support surface means of said panel.

Claim 13

The display device of claim 1 wherein said panel is provided with a plurality of air passages opening to said cAvities whereby a jet of air introduced to said air passages may move the closure members in the cavities from one of their operative and inoperative positions to the other.

Claim 14

The display device of claim 1, wherein said lower portion of each of said cavities intersects the light passage, said closure member being in its inoperative position when in the upper portion of said cavity and supported by said first support surface means and in its operative position when in the lower position of said cavity and supported by said second upwardly facing support surface means.

Claim 15

The display device of claim 1, wherein the upper portions of said cavity intersects its associated light passage, each closure member being in its operative position when in said upper portion of its cavity and supported by said first support surface means and in its inoperative position when in the lower portion of said cavity and supported by said second support surface means.

Claim 16

The display device of claim 1, and light diffusing means on one side of said panel closing said light passages at said one side whereby light transmitted through the light passages from the other side of the panel appears as lighted areas on said light diffusing means at said one side.

Claim 17

The display device of claim 15, and a second light diffusing means on the other side of said panel closing said light passages at said other side.

Claim 18

The display device of claim 16, wherein said panel is comprised of a plurality horizontally aligned sections, adjacent panel sections having vertical overlapping side portions to prevent passage of light between adjacent panel sections.

Claim 19

A display apparatus including: a display assembly including a plurality of horizontally extending panels pivotally connected to form an endless belt; means for moving said display assembly in a closed path having a front vertical view portion, a rear vertical portion, a top portion between the top ends of the front and rear portions and a bottom portion between the bottom ends of the front and rear portions, each of said panels having a plurality of substantially horizontal transverse light passages extending therethrough and a plurality of internal cavities intercepting said light passages, each of said cavities having an upper portion defined by an upwardly facing support surface means of said panel, and closures in said cavities and movable between first upper positions wherein said closures are supported by said upwardly facing support means and second positions spaced from said first positions, said closure members closing their associated light passages when in one of said first and second positions; and operator means operatively associated with said display assembly for causing preselected closures of each of said panels to move from their first positions to their second positions to cause each of said panels as it moves upwardly into the front view portion of its path of movement to present predetermined visual information, said closures of each panel being moved by gravity to their first positions during the movement of the panel from the top end to the bottom end of the front portion of the path of movement.

Claim 20

A display apparatus including: a display assembly including a plurality of horizontally extending panels pivotally connected to form an endless belt; means for moving said display assembly in a closed path having a front vertical view portion, a rear vertical portion, a top portion between the top ends of the front and rear portions and a bottom portion between the bottom ends of the front and rear portions, each of said panels having a plurality of substantially horizontal transverse light passages extending therethrough and a plurality of internal cavities intercepting said light passages, each of said cavities having an upper portion defined by an upwardly facing support surface means of said panel, and closures in said cavities and movable between first upper positions wherein said closures are supported by said upwardly facing support means and second positions spaced from said first positions, said closure members closing their associated light passages when in one of said first and second positions; and operator means operatively associated with said display assembly for causing preselected closures of each of said panels to move from their first positions to their second positions to cause each of said panels as it moves upwardly into the front view portion of its path of movement to present predetermined visual information, said closures of each panel being moved by gravity to their first positions during the movement of the panel from the top end to the bottom end of the front portion of the path of movement.

Claim 21

The display device of claim 18, wherein said passages of said panels are arranged in predetermined arrays.

Claim 22

The display device of claim 19, wherein said panels have slide surfaces engageable by said closures for directing said closures to said support surface means to be supported thereby in said first positions upon the movement of said panels rearwardly and downwardly and then forwardly and upwardly.

Claim 23

The display device of claim 20, wherein said operator means includes electromagnetic means operatively associated with closure members, said closure members being of a magnetic substance.

Claim 24

The display device of claim 21, wherein said light passages are arranged in groups of vertical spaced columns and horizontal spaced rows.

Claim 25

The display devices of claim 22, wherein said operator means comprises a plurality of electromagnets disposed in a horizontal row and substantially aligned with the columns of light passages of said display panels, said panels being mounted for upward vertical movement relative to said electromagnets.

Claim 26

The display device of claim 23, and control means operatively associated with said electromagnets for causing said electromagnets selectively to move selected closures from said first to said second positions as each horizontal row of said light passages moves into alignment with said electromagnets to cause the light transmitted through open light passages to present predetermined visual information.

Claim 27

The display device of claim 24, wherein said control means includes a plurality of index means carried by said panel in predetermined relation to said rows of light passages of said panels to enable said electromagnets to be energized only when said electromagnets are in predetermined aligned relationship with closures of a row of light passages.

Claim 28

The display apparatus of claim 18, wherein said panels have light diffusing means on one side thereof closing the light passages thereof at said one side whereby light through the light passage from the other side of the panels appears as lighted areas on said light diffusing means at said one side.

Claim 29

The display apparatus of claim 26, and second light diffusing means on the other side of said panels closing the light passages thereof at said other side.

Claim 30

The display apparatus of claim 27, wherein each of said panels is comprised of a plurality of horizontally aligned sections, adjacent panel sections of each panel having vertical overlapping side portions and vertically aligned adjacent panel sections of adjacent panels having overlapping horizontally extending end portions to prevent passage of light between adjacent panel sections of each panel and between adjacent panels.