Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Thi6 invention relate6 to advorusing apparatus, and more particularly to ueb ~Ipparatus
in combinadon ~vith scnsing apparatus.
10 Background Or the Invention
Adverdsingdisplaydcviccshavehithertobcenknownha~ingilluminucdorotherdisplays
which arc activated upon detection of a per~on by deteetion apparatu6. E~arnple~ of these
canbefoundinUSPatentNo.3,594,760,F.H.Halcer(1971),USPatentNo.3,916,401,aE.
Preeman (197S), US Patent No. 4,222,188, ~rant et al (1980) ar d e6p~c~ally US Patent
4,853,678 Bishopet al (1989). ~ varietyofp~essure sendn~ ~ystems h~ve been u~edin sueh
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devices, ~o detect the pregence of a person at a location Yuitable for viewing the display. '~ ~ ~
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20 Alann apparatus has also been known for the detection and disclosure of persons or animal~
within an area, using active orpassive infra-red deteetors. l~u nples of these caq be ceeo in ;
US Patent No. 4,37S,034, J.K. Cmscott (1983), US Patent No. 3,924,130, Cohen et al
(1975). ;!
;
US Patent No.4,346,427, Blissetl et al (1982) de~cribes apparatus fc>r controlling lighting,
temperatureand~helikcinabuilding,responsivetothepreseoceofpersonslnanarea,u6ing
infra-red detoetion appar~tus.
1l IS an objeet Of thC present invention to go at Ieast partway towa~ providing ~dver~sing
apparaNs6cnsitivotothcprcsenccof4potend~laudiencc~andpIefcrablysuitab;cforusein
35 retail outletS, or ~t lea~t to provide the adverti6ing and/or ret~il industry with a useful
ehoieo.
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SUMM~RY OF THF~ N~Q~
In one aspect the inventio~ provides an advertising apparatus comprising:
(a) a casing;
(b) a powor 50urce arranged m said casing;
(c) pa~ive infra-red dctcctioa mcans arranged within said casing and connccted with
said powcr sourco for de~ecdng thc presenco of at loast ono pcrson in an area ofdetcction compridng a substantially triangular field having an apex at ~aid deteot10n .
means, and an angle of at least S dcgrec~ at said apox;
(d) di6play means connected witb said casing and said powcr source, said display means being directed toward ~aid arca of dotcction, and;
(e) control mcans a~anged in said casing and connected with said dicplay means for
activating and controlling gaid display mean~ in response to oporation of said .
detectionmeans,
whcreby said display means is operablo to display a mes~age to an indivi iual whon tho . ~
individual enters said aroa of de~ection, and wherein the caslng includo~ a motion- . :
acdvated alann moans to Indicate wben the appa~us i~ moved.
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P~ef~rably the alarm includes an inclination-sensitive switch and may include an audib1c
alann warning to indicate when the apparatus is moved.
In another aspect, tho inventio n provide~ an advertlsing apparatus comprising~
(a) acadng;
(b) a powsr source aTranged in 6aid casing; ;
(c) passive {nfra-red detccdon means arranged witbin said c~l~ing and connected with
said power source for detccting tho prc~e~ce of at lcast onc person in an area of
dctecdon comprising , substandally trilmgular ficld having an apex at said detecdon :
means, and an angle of at least S dbg~ee8 at ~dd apex;
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(d) display mcans connectcd wi~h said caoing l~nd sait powor sourcc, aid disp1ay
mcans being dirccted toward said area of dclec~on, and;
5 (~) control mcans arrangcd in said casing and Conhcc~ed ui~h said display mcans for
activating and controllin~ said display mcans in rcsponso to operadon of said
dctcction means,
10 whcrcby said display mcans is opcrablc to display a mossage to an indi~idual whon the
indivldual cntcrc said area of dctcction and including a programing moaos opdonally
connectablc to 6aid casing, whcrcby thc mcssa~c ~Ivcn by sait di-play mcan6 can be
a1
Prefcrably said programing mcans can be plugged into said ca6ine and may ioclude a
microphone or a t~pc cassctte player
20 Brief Description of the Drawings t
Thc follou~ng is a detcripthn of preferred fonns of the Invcntion, ~ivon by way of cx~mp1e
only, with rcfcrence lo the ~ccompanyin~ trawings, in wl~ch
Fieure 1 illustratc6 diagrammatically th¢ circui~ry of the pnefencd apparatus
E~ illustrates prefe~red apparatus in sidc view and in section
Ei~ illu8trates parts of the prefcrred apparatLs in an exploded per~pectivC v~tew
Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodimenl
3S As illust ated in the diagrarn of Figure 1, Ihe in~ention in ilt prefened ~onn includes 6cnsing
apparatuslOlinkedtoanaudiocircuitllandavisualdisplaycircuitl2byalogiccircuitl3,
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preferably programmable. The apparatusispre~erablypoweredbyintcrt~ supplymeans 14,
although it eould feasibly be powered from an external power supply.
The preferred apparatus is intended for use in 6upennarlcets or siJni2ar Ictail outlets. It is
aciaptcd for attachmcnt to a shelf holding products for sale, and is intendcd to sense the
prcsenceofpassingshoppers andattract theirattendon toaparticularp~oductoD the sbelf.
10 The sensing app~ratus 10 w~ll in nonnal use detect the p~sence of one or more persons near
the shelf with which it is associated, and through the logic circuit 13 activate thc audio circuit ~.
Il andlorthe~isualdispla~rcircuit 12. AsshowninPigute2,thesensingapparatus lOuses
oneormorepassiveinf~ ed ~ensorslSwhiehdctectehangeintempcraturewithinanarea.
Whcn emplaced on a supenmarkct shelf and directed across an aislc, sueb a sensor would
mostpractieallybeNncdtodotectehangcintemperaturcwitbinllSbD30Dsrefadi~tsnco
of 2 to 3 mctrcs, but thls field could be altered to suit a p~rticular loestlon. If two or m~e
~uch sensors are used it may be desirable to tune them sueh that oach eenses tcmperature
20 ehangc within a narrow arc, possibly 5 or Icss, and to direet them at difforent areas. A
person moving past thc apparatus may then be deteetcd by eacb sen60r in turn ~u intcrva1s,
and may activatc the audio eireuit 11 and/or the visual display eireuit 12 sevcral times whlle
pa~sine~ ~3Qeh 6cnsor might be arranged to eausc a different audio or visual si~al, sueh that
25 thc display ehangos ~s a person ~ asscs the spp~uatus,
Itisproferred~hattheinfra-rodsensors ISdsteetehangeintemperaturcbyanamountrelatcd
tohumanbodytemperaNrc~rathcrthan dmpiymca~uring thetcmpcrahueandactivat~ng the
30 apparatus whcn a pardeular thrcshold is crosscd. By tWs mcans ~ apparatus uli11 only be
activated by a pcrson entcring thc detccting ~eld of thc scnsor, and will not be condnuously
acdvated by a person rcmaining in d~c ficld. Addidonally, it ~ill bc activated by pcople :
entc~ing dle field cven if one or mare people are already there.
Temperamroscnso~appcarprcfelredforuscinthep~scntapplicatio4,althoughodlertypes
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of sensors might be used.
5 Light bea n dctecting systems have commonly been used to detect the presence of people in
doorways and the like, comprising a ligh~ source on one side of an area, di~icted a~ a light
dctector on the opposite side of the area A per60n passing through the area may bloclc the
Iight between the source and the detector, thereby activating apparatus. Such a system
10 ' suffers from a number of disadvantages however, in comparison to a passive infr~-red
detection system. A light bcam may be intermpted (and apparatus thereby acdvated) by a
number of things other th~n peoplc, 6uch as shopping truDdlers or producc, and may bc
continuously activatcdbysuchanobjectleftintheligh~beam. Suchoccu~renccsmightwellbecommonina6upermarlcctor6unilarsituation,andtheapparatusmightcometobeseonas
undesirablc by cus~omers and/or staff as a con~equence.
A furthcr disadvanuge with such scnsing apparanl~ is thc noed fQr both a light omitter and a
20 lightdctcctorrcquiringaddi~ionalspaccandneedingcarof~ilaliuunontofthenvopar~. The
possibili~y of onc or both pans being lcnockcd out of alignment is reladvely high in a
supennar~et ai~le, and could }~ve undesirable consequences.
25 Acdve infra-red detector 6y6tcms tend to suffer from similar di6advantages. Pressure
sen~ors, possibly in tho fonn of mau or lines acros8 tbe floor of tbe aisk, could be u~ed, but
arc prone to being activatod by articlc~ such a~ trundle~ orproduce accidentally lofton Plcm,
and pro~ide something of an ob~taclc to smooth pa~sage along an aide.
A pa~sivo infra-rod de~ecdon system is found preferable to any of the above systoms.
par~icularly in a store, ~upermarlce~ or 6imilar applicadon. Thc dctecdon ~ystem can
compri6e a ~ingle unit, rather than a separate signal gcnerator and signal reccivcr, and does
35 not necd to be carofully aligned, but rather can be generally directed u a suitablo atea.
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A pa~ive infra-red dctcctor can be set to distingui6h heat source~ in an ~rca havin~ a
tempcraturewithinanan~w,specificrange,colrespondingforexamplcwiththetemperamre
5 rangc of human bodies. ln thic way, apparatus can bc providcd which is activated
substandally only by thc prcscnce of a person, and not by other objects cuch as shopping
trundlers.
10 Additionally the apparatus can bc arranged to activate upon detccdon of a change in
tcmperaturecors~spondingtothetemperaturcofapcrson. Whenapersoncntet~thcarcain
question, the apparatu~ will be acdvated, but if that p r60n remains in the area, it will not ~ ~ -
condnuously be reactivat¢d, because thc temperaturc in thc arca will not change. If that
pcrson leaves the area, or another pcrcon enters the area, a change in ~etnperaturc
corresponding to human body temperatu~e will bo do~ected, and the appar~tus activatçd. In
this way, continuous repedtion of a display to thc s~me pcrson can bc avoided, or u least
limited, such that it is lcs~ ely to be found annoying or aggravating to potendal
20 Customer~.
The sencing apparatus 10 ic cet within the cadn~ of tho artielc, and thc son~orc lS direct~d
throu~h apcrtures 16 in the front of the casing.
The audio circuit 11 may take a variety of common fo~ns within thc ccope o the pre6ent
invention. It may compri~c reladvely sirnplc apparatùs adaptod to producc a singlc notc or
sount, or a scnes of notcs forming a melody, for a sct period, Tbe volumc to whiCh thc
30 soundisamp~ andthclengthoftimeforwhichit9oundsmaybesuitedtothcparticu~
situa~on io whiCh the apparatus i8 to be uset, 4nd couJd be atjustable. If two or more
sen80rs lS ar~ to bc wcd, thc audio Ci~CUit 11 may be adaptcd to producc dlffcrcot notes or
sounds depending on which censor ha~ been acdvated, and how thc logic circuit 13 in turn
35 aclivates the audio circuit 12.
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Morc complcx equipmcnt might be uged such tbat thc apparatus may imitatc orreprodu¢e a
humanvoicoorothercomplicatedgound. Simil~rly,diff~n~ntgengorglSmlghtinthis¢ase
5 cause ~he audio circuit 11 to produco difforent passagog of speech or sound.
The visual display apparatu6 prcfcrably includcs an active dispuy, compri~ing the viwal
display circuit 1~, and a pasgive display.
Theprefer~dvi6u~1displaycircuit 12hcludcsanumbcroflights 17,sucha~LightEmining
Diodcs,posgiblyarrangedtofnpattoms,lottonorwotds,~dmightalsolncludcnumber
of otherlightsofvanous typcs. If thcarticlcisintcndedtobepowcredbybattorieg howovor,
the number and varicty of lithts which can fcasibly bc includod in tho apparatus may be
fa~lystric~ylimi~edbytheamounlofpoweravailable~Thelo~iccirc1litl3maybcuranged
to activate the light6 17 in a preprogrammcd gequence, or all simultancou61y, as bcfiu the
dtuadon. ltle lights 17 arc prefcrably mounted on a board 18, as shown in Pigure 2, ant
20 may bc mountcd bchind onc or morc colourct or toxtu~d filtsr~ 19 to produce a de~d
colour or cffcct in the display.
Thelogiccircuitl3maybeurangedtoactivatcbothvisualdisplaycircuitl2andtheautio
25 circuit 11 simultancously, and al-.emadvely mig~ht activatc onc bcfore or ~fter the othcr. It
might,forcxample,befoundprcferablcinsomedtuationstoactivAtothcaudiocircuitfirst,using a sound broadcast to attract a pcr~on'~ attention to a gonal arca, and then to acdvatc
the visual display circuit aftcr a short delay. to at~wt ~aid penon's atlcntion to a particular
30 point
The visual di6play circuit 12 might include c1emcnts other than lighu, such a~ LCD 6creens
andlo~mechanicalsignalingdevices,bu~a~presen~theseappearlcsspreforablethantheuu
35 of lights for reasons such as expen~e, power consumption and susccptibility to
vanWism.
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The pa~sive vlsual di~play of thc prefer~d apparatus comprises a platc 24 be~ing sign 21.
P~eferablytheplate20i~whollyorpar~1ytransparent,andthe6ign21isprintedonpaperor
5 card, to be held in a reccss 22 in the back facc of the plite 20. Prcfcrably the means by which
the sign 21 is held in the recess 22 allows it to be removed and replaced, such that mcssagcs
bourne by the apparatus may convcnicntly bo changed from time to timc. If one or more
fllters 19 arc to be used with tho apparatus, these may be u6ed to prcso thc dgn 21 into tbe
10 rcccss 22 and hold it i~place, as shown in Pigure 2.
Thc sign 21 prcferably canies a message which a potcntial customer is intended to f~ad or
see, preferably rclatlng to goots on an adjacent ~helf. Tbis migh~ in nonna1 usc includc thc
name of a par~culat product, and infofmadon relating to it 6uch as a sp~cial prlcc or notablc
featurc.
.
In thc prcferred fonn of thc invcntion, the plate 20 compri~e~ tho f~nt of tbo ca~ing of tbe
20 articlc. Thc apertures 16, through whicb tho sensors lS are tirectod and tluough which
sound from thc audio circuit 11 emanates, at~ formed in thi~ plate 20. P~tcd or tcxturcd
areas might also bc formed in thc platc 20 to act as ~crecns or ftlt#rs for thc lights 1?.
2S A passive visua1 display might not be requircd, particu~arly if dlc audio circuit 11 can
produce a spoken message, or tl e ~isual display circuit 12 can pf~duco a wTitton mcssagc
witharrangementsofligbts 17,LCDscrecnsordmilar. Howevcr,apasslvcvlsualdisplay
appears prefcrablc at prescnt, in that it providc~ a permanent display, even when thc
30 apparatus ha6 not bcen acdvated, and also because it can be rclativcly ine~penslve und docs
not requirc power.
The ca~ing of the plefcrrcd apparatu6 compriscs a cabinet 23, with the plate 20 foIming a
3S frontfacc. Therear24Ofthccabinethasaho~izon~alindentedch~nnel25thcrcinbywhichthe cabinet may bc ftxed onto a shelf. ln nonnal usc a shelf is dotted into tho channcl 25,
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and the cabinet may then bc claxnped onto tho shelf to fix it firmly in place. Clamping moans
may include a fixing bracket 26 having scrcws 27 by which It can bc fiubstantially
immovablyfixed~otheshelf~Andbolts28bywbichthecabulet~3caninturnbcfixedtotbe
bracket 26. Apertures arc provided through the rear of thc cablnet itl the horizontal channel
25, through which the bolts 28 from insidc the cabinet 23 fix the cabine~ to thc braclcet.
When thc cabinet is fixed to thc braclcet in Ihio manner, the ocrews 27 cannot roadily be
o accessed, and consequendy the bracket cannot readily be removed from the shclf to which it
binds tho cabinet.
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The pla~c 20 is fixod to thc body of thc cabinct 23 by ~pnn~ clip8 30, which cngagc with
catche~ 31 on the lnside ~ ce of the ~ides orrcarof the cabinet 23. Preferably apcrmres 32
in the cabinet 23 ~re a~sociated with the catches 31, by which an appropri~c Icey can bo
inserled from the oxterior to diseng~go the clip~ 30 frotn the catcheg 3 l, and thercby release
the platc 20 to allow acccss to the cabinet interior. -
Tbc power ~upply 14 for thc apparatus preferably comp~igeg batteries, contai~ed within the
cabinet 23, rather than an external p~wer sowce. In storo ~ucb as 11 6upcnna~1cot it ls
gencrallyprcferablctoavoidhavingolectricdcablcccros~ingthcshopfloorwhcreposslblc,
25 as these can bo unsightly and posdbly hazardous. Tho power wpply 14 may include one or
morc transformcrs for voltag~ conversion to suit thc particular clectrical elemonts
involved.
Thc logic circult 13, used to activ4te and control the audio circl.ut 11 8nt v~ua1 di6play
circuitl2,ispreferablyprograrnmablcsuchthatthedisplaymaybealteredfromdmetotime
and to suit different applications. Thc logic circuit l 3 might be relativoly comple~ ~o as to
allow variadons in the display, or to ~nalce usc of multiple sensors and ~ r~lage of po~siblo r
- 35 outputs to be acdvated. Altemadvely it could bo reladvcly 6implc, activating thc 8ame ~ ~ -
circuits each time in response to signals from ~e 8endng app~ratU8 lQ
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A v~iety of motification~ and alterations might be made ~o the abovo e~cunp~e within the
scope of ~he present invention.
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The example Bven relates to a relatively gmall articlc intended to be fi~ced to a shclf, but it
will be appreciated that a free6tanding, possibly largermodel might be produccd, aad in such
aca~ei~maybeconvcnicntforanumberofmodificadonstobemade. ThogensarglSmight
bedirecledtocovcranarcofpossibly 180~or360,ratherthanbeingforward-faciagonly.
~hc powe} consurnption of the appsratu6 is great, it may be moro practical to ugc sn external
power source rsther than batteries. A freest~nding atticle will not requine the meaas for
attachmcnttoa6helf,butmightrequirealternativefixingmeanstopreventit6beiDgsbiftedfr~m placc to place. ;
In Pigure 1, a detschablc plug and soclcet connector 34 hag one sldc fastencd to the csbinc~
23. By this connecdon a p~gramming mcans 3S can be connected to ~e apparatus. A tape
20 casseue 36 enables a pre-~ecorded audio or visual messagc to be fed into the apparatus, to
change the cxisdng mes~age to a new ono. l~rpically tbis enable~ an initial or a main
mcssagc to be changed. Altornatively, a microphonc 37 can be used to feed a new aud o
message inlo the apparatus.
I n order to ~ducc ~he danger of the apparatus bcing 6~01en, it preforably includcs a motion
dctectionapparaws,6uchasanin~1ination-sensi~veme~ulyswitcb38. Ihisisconnectedto
cause the apparatus to omit a loud au iiblo al~n when tbe appa-atus i~ moved~ ~he alann
30 may be delayed undl any message or other signal from the apparatu~ has ceased.
Other alterations migb~ also be made within the gcocral ~pirit and scope of the present
- invendon as set fordl in tbe following clai ns.
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