Electromechanical discrete element and a large sign or display

Claim 1

A compact ambient light lampless visual display discrete element having a display area comprising: a first member comprising a generally flat display face exhibiting alternate similarly dimensioned parallel bands of two contrasting colors, the display face being disposed in a first plane and being reciprocable relative to a second member; said second member comprising a thin slotted colored band reflecting plate comprising alternate similarly dimensioned parallel open slots and elongated display face masking bars, the plate being disposed in a second plane immediately juxtaposed and essentially parallel to the first plane, the slots and bars extending in parallel, though alternate relationship, each slot and bar being sized, shaped and located so that the display face bands of one color are collectively forwardly exposed at the slots while the display face of the second color are collectively rearwardly concealed by the bars, at any point in time; the bars comprising exposed forwardly divergently tapered transversely elongated reflective surfaces juxtaposed and extending forward from each slot whereby a portion of ambient light striking the exposed bands displaying one color is first reflected from the bands and thereafter again reflected from the divergently tapered transversely elongated reflective surfaces adjacent each slot such that the apparent width of each exposed band comprising one color is substantially increased and the entire display area of the discrete element appears to the eye of an observer to be essentially of one homogenuous color, without material interruption; support means which carry the first and second members in said relative reciprocable relationship and in said juxtaposed planes; single pulse responsive actuator means carried by the support means for relatively rectilinearly reciprocating the display face and the reflective plate between two positions through a distance essentially equal to the width of one band, the actuator means being immediately juxtaposed the rear of the display face and in essentially parallel relationship thereto; the actuator means comprising electromechanical means, comprising core means and coil means surrounding the core means, and first and second permanent magnet means, the polarity of the core means being reversed by an appropriate current pulse through the surrounding coil means, the first and second permanent magnet means being in alignment with the core means, one permanent magnet means being juxtaposed one end of the core means, and the other permanent magnet means being juxtaposed the other end of the core means, there being a cumulative gap between the core means and the two permanent magnet means essentially equal to the width of one said color band, one of the electromagnetic means or the two permanent magnet means being electromagnetically rectilinearly reciprocated by the pulse-created change in polarity, the pole orientation of the first and second permanent magnet means magnetically causing the core means to shift from contiguous engagement with one permanent magnet means to the other upon each pulse created change in polarity to thereby rectilinearly reciprocate the reciprocable member, and the other of the electromagnetic means and two permanent magnet means being held in a stationary position by the support means.