BACKGROUND ART In general, there have appeared various ornamental systems in the market, in order to meet the human desire in pursuit of an aesthetic value together with convenience for a living space or a working space. Among those ornamental systems, recently appeared have been systems showing a scene, in which white particles fall in a transparent container.

Korean patent laid-open publication No. 85-2593 discloses one of those systems, in which detergent bubbles together with a liquefied gas are sprayed in a pressurized container, so as to form fine bubbles, which is intended to look like synthetic snow. However, it is nearly impossible to put this system into practical use due to its low economical efficiency, as well as it is difficult to handle this system since

the liquefied gas is always dangerous.

Further, there has been another conventional system, an inner-circulating ornamental cabinet, which includes a box having a separation plate disposed at the center of the box, a guide tube having a plurality of pores and being disposed under the box, and a blower disposed at the side of the guide tube, wherein foamed synthetic resin is injected and circulates in the box. However, this ornamental cabinet cannot show a natural scene of snow falling, since the flow of the particles employs the inner-circulating mode and is too rapid. Moreover, this ornamental cabinet is fatally problematic, in that the particles stacked on the bottom of the cabinet cannot be retrieved.

Also, there has been another system, in which a threshold and a carrier plate having a different width, and a plurality of fans, are disposed at an upper part thereof, and an inclined plate is disposed at a lower part thereof, so that the particles can be retrieved. However, this system also shows problems, in that not only the synthetic particles having passed the threshold move too rapidly together with the accelerated air, but also the particles stacked on the bottom cannot be retrieved only by the inclined plate. Therefore, in order to retrieve the particles, a blower of a larger capacity has to be used, so that a turbulent flow is generated in the ornamental system, which prevents a desired scene of snow falling from being presented and causes a waste of unnecessary energy.

In addition, there has been another ornamental system, in which inclined plates are disposed at regular intervals in such a manner as that a plurality of air- outlets are formed above a transfer tube disposed at a lower portion of the system, and a suction port is formed at one side end thereof so that the air can move toward the blower and an inclined surface is formed at the other side end thereof so that the

foamed synthetic resin can smoothly move. However, this ornamental cabinet also cannot show a natural scene of snow falling, since the foamed synthetic resin is rapidly exhausted together with the air. Moreover, this cabinet has another disadvantage that a strong turbulent is generated near the suction port, since a strong wind has to be introduced into a lower portion of the inclined plates in order that the inclined plates can be arranged in parallel with the horizontal surface to thereby retrieve the particles. Furthermore, this system has another disadvantage that the flow of the air is deflected by 90° by upper and lower guide plates, which is not only hydro- dynamically undesirable but also causes much loss of energy.

Further, in all of the above-described systems for presenting an ornamental effect, since particles of foamed synthetic resin are utilized, it is inevitable to produce static electricity between the particles and between the particles and the systems or the cabinet, so that the circulation or the movement of the particles cannot be smoothly performed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display, in which air is partly introduced through clearances between plates of a lower stepped plate assembly, so as to easily retrieve and circulate the particles, thereby preventing a turbulent flow from being generated at an entrance and enabling the particles to stably circulate, and which has a plurality of delaying means for controlling the falling speed of snow, thereby presenting various ornamental scenes such as a snow falling scene

more vividly and naturally.

In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display, in which the particles are retrieved and carried by a blower and then fall, so as to produce an ornamental effect, the display comprising: a body including a particle transfer tube, in which the particles are carried to an upper portion in the body by an air blown by the blower, and a transparent display window, through which a viewer can see the particles falling from above in the display ; a lower stepped plate assembly fixed to a lower portion in the body, the particles falling from above being stacked on and retrieved by the lower stepped plate assembly and then being sent to the particle transfer tube; and an upper inclined plate for uniformly distributing and dropping the particles, which have been retrieved by the lower stepped plate assembly and carried to the upper portion through the particle transfer tube, the upper inclined plate being fixed with an inclination to the upper portion in the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view of an upper inclined plate disposed

under an upper transfer channel shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3B is an enlarged section taken along line A-A'of FIG. 2; FIGs. 4A to 4C are plan views of various air emission passages, formed at the back of the display, according to several embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6A is an enlarged perspective view of an upper inclined plate shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 6B is an enlarged section taken along line B-B'of FIG. 5; FIG. 7A is a view for showing a filter disposed at a blower in the display of the present invention; FIG. 7B is a detailed view of the filter shown in FIG. 7A; and FIGs. 8A and 8B are longitudinal sections of lower portions of displays according to other embodiments of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The above and other objects, characteristics, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description along with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to the present invention.

As shown, in the ornamental display, white particles slowly fall downward from above in a body 10, so as to express a snow falling image. A viewer or viewers can see this image through a transparent display window 12, which may be provided

at one side or at both sides of the display. The latter case is more preferable in improving the ornamental beauty of the display. A stand 20 is integrated with the lower end of the body 10 to stably support the body 10, at which the transparent display window 12 is disposed. The body 10 may be directly hung on or attached to a wall, instead of being supported by the stand 20 on the ground as described above.

Reference numeral 30 and 14 not described above respectively designate a particle transfer tube having an inner passage, through which display particles 40 are carried upward from underside by the force of air, and air exhaust pores, through which the air having carried the display particles 40 to the top is exhausted to the exterior, so that the display particles 40 can naturally fall downward when they reach the top. The air exhaust pores will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

Hereinafter, a more detailed description about the construction of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to the present invention will be given with reference to FIGs. 2 to 8B.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.

3A is an enlarged perspective view of an upper inclined plate disposed under an upper transfer channel shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged section taken along line A-A'of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display includes the body 10, the stand 20 assembled under the body 10, and a blower 22 disposed in the stand 20. Above the blower 22 is arranged the particle transfer tube 30, through which the wind generated by the blower 22 can proceed upward while carrying the display particles 40, so that the display particles 40 can circulate in the display. As shown, the particle transfer tube 30 includes a lower transfer channel section 32, a vertical transfer channel

section 34, and an upper transfer channel section 36. The particle transfer tube 30 also includes a closed vertical channel disposed above the blower 22. Meanwhile, the lower transfer channel section 32 is interconnected to the blower 22 and extends in the horizontal direction, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the blower 22. Further, the vertical transfer channel section 34 is interconnected to the lower transfer channel section 32 and extends vertically from one end of the lower transfer channel section 32, and the upper transfer channel section 36 is interconnected to and extends horizontally from the upper end of the vertical transfer channel section 34. In result, the air path or the particle transfer path formed by the lower transfer channel section 32, the vertical transfer channel section 34, and the upper transfer channel section 36 has a shape of the Korean letter"="as a whole.

The upper surface of the lower transfer channel section 32 is formed as a lower stepped plate assembly 50. The lower stepped plate assembly 50 includes a plurality of plates, which are connected in such a manner as to be stepped one after another in an inclination as a whole. Especially, in each connection between the plates is formed a clearance, through which a small quantity of air can pass but the display particles 40 cannot pass. Consequently, the airflow generated by the blower 22 partly passes through the clearance, so as to smoothly move the display particles 40 stacked on the lower stepped plate assembly 50 in the inclined direction of the lower stepped plate assembly 50. An introduction hole 38 for introducing the display particles 40 stacked on the lower stepped plate assembly 50 into the particle transfer path is formed at the lower end of the lower stepped plate assembly 50, which is a connecting portion between the lower transfer channel section 32 and the vertical transfer channel section 34. An orientation-adjusting plate 52 is disposed adjacent to the introduction hole 38 and arranged with respect to the lower stepped plate

assembly 50 in such a manner as that the display particles 40 stacked on the lower stepped plate assembly 50 can smoothly move along the orientation-adjusting plate 52 while being prevented from experiencing a turbulent flow near the introduction hole 38.

As described above, at the upper surface of the body 10, that is, at the upper portion of the upper transfer channel section 36, are perforated the air exhaust pores 14. Although it is shown in FIG. 2 that the three air exhaust pores in total are disposed left and right sides thereof, it is preferred that all of the air exhaust pores 14 are disposed at the left side of FIG. 2, so that the air can be exhausted after flowing up to the endmost portion of the upper transfer channel section 36. Of course, the number and the size of the air exhaust pores 14 may be properly determined according to the dimension of the display or the blowing pressure in the display.

At a lower portion of the upper transfer channel section 36 is located an upper inclined plate 60, on which partitions 62 having different heights are formed as shown in FIG. 3A. The partitions 62 are designed in such a manner as to go higher as it comes toward the endmost portion of the upper transfer channel section 36, so that the display particles 40 introduced into the upper transfer channel section 36 can be smoothly stacked from the front toward the endmost portion of the upper transfer channel section 36. Especially, it is preferred that the upper inclined plate 60 is inclined by an angle between 20° and 45° with respect to the horizontal surface, so as to enable the display particles 40 stacked thereon to naturally fall. More preferably, the intervals between the partitions 62 may be adjusted according to the size of the particles, and it is suitable that the intervals are two or three times of the diameter of the particles.

Under the upper inclined plate 60 is formed an air emission passage 16,

through which air is exhausted to thereby reduce the pressure of the air having carried the display particles 40, so that the display particles 40 can naturally fall from the above in the transparent display window 12. The air emission passage 16 is formed at the rear side of the display, which will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 6. By this construction, air is exhausted through the air emission passage 16, so that the falling speed of the display particles 40 having passed through the upper inclined plate 60 rapidly decreases when the display particles 40 fall from above in the transparent display window 12. In this case, in order to further reduce the falling speed of the display particles 40 to thereby present a scene of more naturally falling snow, an inclined descent-delay plate 18 for delaying the falling of the display particles 40 is disposed under the upper inclined plate 60 as shown in FIG. 3B. In consideration of the falling speed of the display particles 40, a plurality of inclined descent-delay plates 18 may be disposed in an arrangement of alternating directions.

Reference numeral 24 not described above designates a lamp for lightening the transparent display window 12 simultaneously while shedding light onto the display particles 40 coated with reflective material, so as to produce an effect of making the display particles 40 twinkling.

Hereinafter, described will be an operation of the display having the construction as described above.

The display particles 40 having presented a scene of falling snow while falling from above in the transparent display window 12 are stacked on the lower stepped plate assembly 50, and then the air blown by the blower 22 flows into the lower transfer channel section 32 of the particle transfer tube 30 and partly passes through the clearances between the plates of the lower stepped plate assembly 50, so as to carry the display particles 40 stacked on the plates toward the lowermost end of the

lower stepped plate assembly 50. The display particles 40 carried to the lowermost end of the lower stepped plate assembly 50 in this way are introduced through the introduction hole 38 into the vertical transfer channel section 34 and then are carried upward by the flow of the air. Then, when they reach the upper transfer channel section 36, the display particles 40 are caught by the partitions 62 of the upper inclined plate 60 one after another, so as to be uniformly distributed on the entire area of the upper inclined plate 60, and then they come downward along the upper inclined plate 60. In this case, the air emission passage 16 makes the air pressure be reduced, thereby remarkably reducing the falling speed of the display particles 40, so that the display particles 40 fall like the natural snow. Also, the inclined descent-delay plate 18 further delays the falling, so as to present a more vivid scene of falling snow really similar to the real snow.

FIGs. 4A to 4C are plan views of various air emission passages, formed at the back of the display, according to several embodiments of the present invention.

The air emission passage 16 as described above may be designed to have various shapes, in order to enable the air to smoothly flow through the air emission passage 16. That is, the air emission passage 16 may have a shape of a rectangular net as shown in FIG. 4A, a plurality of different dimensional circular nets as shown in FIG. 4B, or a plurality of small rectangular nets as shown in FIG. 4C. Of course, besides these shapes, the shape and the size of the air emission passage 16 may be variously modified.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Further, FIG. 6A is an enlarged perspective view of an upper inclined plate shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged section taken along line B-B'of FIG. 5.

The display according to the present embodiment shown in FlGs. 5 to 6A is equal to that shown in FIG. 2 in many aspects. Therefore, the same elements as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will not be described but only the different elements will be described in the following description.

In the present embodiment, as shown, the particle transfer tube 30 includes a vertical transfer channel section 34a disposed above the blower 22 and extending upward therefrom, and an upper transfer channel section 36a extending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical transfer channel section 34a. Further, a lower transfer channel section 32a is connected with the lower end of the vertical transfer channel section 34a, so that a predetermined portion of the air blown by the blower 22 flows through the lower transfer channel section 32a and passes through the clearances between the plates of a lower stepped plate assembly 50a, so as to smoothly carry the display particles 40 stacked on the lower stepped plate assembly 50a to an introduction hole 38a formed at the lower end of the vertical transfer channel section 34a.

Especially, in the present embodiment, a threshold 54 is formed at the lowermost plate of the lower stepped plate assembly 50a, and a protection net 56 is disposed on the threshold 54. Therefore, in the present embodiment, since most of, at least two-thirds of the air blown by the blower 22 flows in a straight line toward the vertical transfer channel section 34a through the protection net 56, a display of the same size can have the same effect only by one-second of the quantity of the air, in comparison with the display of the previous embodiment, in which the flowing direction of the air blown by the blower is bent by a right angle. In other words, on an assumption that an air of one m3/min is required in the display of the previous embodiment, an air of 0.5 m3/min is sufficient to show a superior effect in the display

of the present embodiment. In this case, it is preferred that the ratio between sizes of the protection net 56 and the threshold 54 is adjusted in a range between 2: 1 and 3: 1, and the size of the threshold 54 is adjusted in such a manner as to retrieve the display particles 40 from the lower stepped plate assembly 50a.

Further, in the present embodiment, an inclined separation plate 70 is disposed on the upper inclined plate 60 located at the lower surface of the upper transfer channel section 36a, as shown in FiGs. 6A and 6B. As shown, the inclined separation plate 70 has a bent shape similar to the letter"L", which enables the particles to be uniformly distributed over the entire inclined separation plate 70, so that the display particles 40 can be uniformly carried downward through the partitions 62 to be dropped. In this case, a side fence 72 of the bent inclined separation plate 70 reduces particle emission passages 64 of the upper inclined plate 60, so as to prevent the air from being introduced, thereby preventing a loss of the air pressure.

Accordingly, even by a small air pressure requiring a low electric power, it is easy to uniformly drop the display particles 40 through the partitions 62 of the upper inclined plate 60.

FIG. 7A is a view for showing a filter disposed at a blower in the display of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a detailed view of the filter shown in FIG. 7A. As shown, a filter 26 is disposed at an entrance to the blower, so as to ensure a clean air to be introduced into the interior by filtering the air. This is because only the clean air has to be always supplied since air polluted with impurities such as dirt deteriorates the displaying effect. Moreover, the filter 26 can have a more improved characteristic when it has an improved antibiotic effect by being treated by means of bioceramic material.

FiGs. 8A and 8B are longitudinal sections of lower portions of displays

according to other embodiments of the present invention. Especially, FiGs. 8A and 8B show displays equipped with a fragrance generating function, respectively in addition to the functions of the displays shown in FiGs. 2 and 5.

As shown, a branch tube 28 is branched from the blower 22 and interconnected to a fragrance generator 80. Further, a fragrance reservoir 82 is interconnected to the fragrance generator 80. Therefore, when air is supplied through the branch tube 28 by the blower 22, fragrance is supplied from the fragrance reservoir 82 to the fragrance generator 80, which emits the fragrance into the air.

Consequently, the air flowing in the branch tube 28 entrains the fragrance, and then the fragrance entraining air is introduced the lower transfer channel section 32 or 32a through the exit of the branch tube 28. Especially, the fragrance reservoir 82 as described is filled with an aromatic diluted with water, so that water can be supplied into the display together with the fragrance to thereby prevent the display particles 40 from being charged with static electricity.

The display particles 40 as described above may have various shapes, and preferably has a circular shape or a shape of a polygon such as a rectangle and an octagon. Further, the size of the display particles 40 also can be properly selected in consideration of the blowing pressure of the blower 22 and the utility. Preferably, the display particles 40 may be made from light material such as Styrofoam and cotton, and may be treated by an electrostatic charge preventing material. When Styrofoam is employed for the display particles, it is essential to subject the display particles to an electrostatic charge preventing treatment, and it is effective to supply water through the branch tube 28 likewise to the present embodiment. Further, a surface treatment may be applied by means of a fluorescent material, an irregularly reflective material, etc., so as to improve the lighting effect.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, in an ornamental display utilizing particles circulating in the display according to the present invention, particles, which have a small density and are surface-treated by means of fluorescent material or other reflective material, are circulated by the force of the air while being lightened, so as to present various ornamental scenes such as a scene of falling snow. Further, in the ornamental display of the present invention, partitions having different heights are formed on an upper inclined plate, so as to uniformly distribute the particles having been carried to a dropping position located at an upper position in the display. Also, an air emission passage and a plurality of inclined descent-delay plates are disposed under the upper inclined plate, so as to reduce the falling speed of the particles, thereby presenting a scene of snow falling more vividly and naturally. Further, the particles can be circulated even by a smaller quantity of air or a lower electric power, in comparison with the prior art. Moreover, in the display, the air is partly introduced through the clearances between the plates of the lower stepped plate assembly, so as to easily retrieve and circulate the particles, thereby preventing a turbulent flow from being generated, which enables the particles to stably circulate.

While there have been illustrated and described what are considered to be preferred specific embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof, and various changes and modifications and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the present invention.