Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display board. More particularly, the present invention relates to a display board with improved durability, customizability/decorability, interactivity, and assemblability.

Description of the Background Art

There is a widespread need, for example in schools, for interactive display boards which provide both a writing surface and a surface for displaying projected images.

Static whiteboards currently serve this dual function since they can be written on whilst also receiving and displaying an image from a projector. A problem with such static white boards is that they have limited interactivity because the writing area also serves as the image projection area, and thus the projected image is often obscured by writing, or visa versa. This limits the level of interactivity. A partial solution is to use slidable whiteboards or whiteboards large enough to accommodate both written text and projected images in separate display areas. However, this solution is often either space inefficient or else only compatible where the projected image covers only a small area, thus giving rise to visibility issues. Another solution is to employ a roller board having a flexible sheet-like screen on a continuous rolling loop which can be scrolled to hide written text in order that a projected image can be displayed on a clean screen. However, projected images are often blurred and unclear upon such screens. In all the above cases the projector must be carefully configured, often before each use, to achieve optimal quality of a projected image on any given display board. This takes time, and a slight knock can put the projector out of place and compromise image quality. Moreover, where the projector is moved for use with a different display board (such as movements between school classroom), a laborious reconfiguration is always required. This typically involves careful positioning of the projector on a horizontal surface, such as a table, and adjustments until the image is acceptable. Other solutions, such as mounting the projector upon a ceiling, often involve health and safety issues. There is also a widespread need for roller boards which allow for custom isable and durable decoration. For instance, a school may wish to have roller boards bearing school or house colours. At present, roller boards have wooden frames. Such frames when decorated will rapidly degrade and exhibit a poor quality finish in a short time. Moreover, it is often difficult to replace parts of a wooden roller board that have degraded.

It is an object of the present invention to solve at least one of the problems of the prior art. Disclosure of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a display board comprising a screen for receiving and displaying an image from an image projector; and a mount for supporting an image projector. Having the mount integrated/associated with the display board alleviates the need for careful positioning and adjustment of a projector on a surface such as a table, where it is liable to be knocked out of position. Moreover, the present arrangement also ensures that the image cannot be obscured by passers-by. This arrangement also overcomes the problems inherent with having such a mount affixed instead to a wall or ceiling, where health and safety may be compromised to install/remove the projector, damage may be caused when fitting the projector mount to the wall/ceiling, the mount may need moving or adjusting when the display board is moved.

In this specification, "image" is intended to include video images. The display board preferably has an outer frame, which frame preferably comprises materials other than wood, more preferably metal, and most preferably aluminium. Such metal frames are more durable, retain their aesthetic quality for a longer period, and can also be readily powder coated. When powder coated, metal frames, particularly aluminium frames, retain their powder coating for much longer than wooden frames.

The mount may be removably attached to the display board. For instance, the display board may comprise a mount receiving portion (or adaptor) arranged to attachably receive the mount. The mount preferably has a base attachment portion which is attachable to the mount receiving portion of the display board. The mount may be screwably attached to the display board, or alternatively may be attached in a number of ways known in the art. The mount receiving portion is preferably located towards the top, preferably at the top, of the display board. The mount receiving portion is preferably located in such a position as to allow the projector to project the image substantially centrally along the horizontal axis of the display board. The mount receiving portion may be removably attached to the display board. A traditional display board, not in accordance with the present invention, may benefit from the advantages of the present invention by being furnished with a mount receiving portion and a corresponding mount. The mount is preferably arranged to space the projector out of the plane of the display board. The mount preferably comprises a projector mounting portion to which the projector is mountable. The projector mounting portion is preferably arranged to receive the projector in a position whereby the projector can project an image directly onto the screen, preferably with less than 30% distortion, more preferably less than 15% distortion, most preferably less than 10% distortion. By "distortion" is meant stretching of the projected image, in a given dimension, distal from the projector. The percentage "distortion" may be calculated as the percentage difference between the projected image width nearest the projector and the projected image width furthest from the projector. The projector mounting portion is preferably adapted for screwably attaching the projector thereto. Alternatively the projector mounting portion may be adapted for attaching the projector by a number of other methods known in the art.

The mount is preferably rigid, preferably non-adjustable (in relation to the screen), and preferably its design is preset for optimal image projection from a particular projector. Preferably the mount is arranged for compatibility with a specific projector, and preferably also for a specific display board. This means a projector can be simply mounted on the mount ready for optimal use, without the need for further adjustments.

The mount is preferably a mounting arm arranged to protrude from the front side of the display board (i.e. the display side). The mounting arm is suitably a cantilever arm which supports the projector at a position separated from the plane of the display board. The mounting arm preferably comprises a boom arm (i.e. an arm with a curve or kink). This helps optimise the position of the projector and minimises image distortions on screen. Alternatively, the mount may be adjustable either to fine tune the position of the projector relative to the screen or to adapt the mount for compatibility with different projectors (and possibly also different display boards). In this case, the mount may be adjustable in a quantized/preset fashion. For instance, certain preset adjustment positions of the mount may correspond with certain projector types/models. In these circumstances, the mount may have a boom arm arrangement as described above. The boom arm may have a kinking point characterised by a hinge about which an upper boom portion pivots relative to a lower boom portion. Such a hinge is preferably releasably lockable to fix the position of the projector. Where the mount comprises an arm, the arm may be retractably extendable. Again the arm preferably comprises a lock to lock the arm in a particular extended position. The screen is preferably light in colour, preferably substantially white. The screen is preferably a writing surface, preferably receptive to being written upon. This allows the screen to be used both as a writing board (e.g. a white board) and a projector screen. Preferably the screen comprises material which can be written on with erasable ink. The screen is preferably a dry-wipe screen. More preferably the screen is a dry-wipe woven-backed sheet, such as a wall covering panel.

The screen is preferably moveable within the display board. The screen may be slidably moveable, and may overlap with one or more other screens.

Preferably the screen is a flexible screen. Preferably, the display board is a roller board with a flexible screen. The flexible screen is preferably scrollable within the roller board to display different parts of the screen, so that in any particular scrolled position the screen comprises a particular display portion and hidden portion. In this case, the display portion is a displayed part of the screen whereas the hidden portion is not visible from the front of the display board. The flexible screen is most preferably a continuous looped screen (i.e. with no beginning or end). Preferably the continuous looped screen is mounted so as to be reliable within the roller board, most preferably operable by pulling downwards or upwards on the screen connector strips. The continuous looped screen may be reliable back and forth, or in only a single direction. Preferably the roller board comprises a roller around which the continuous looped screen is reliable. Preferably the roller board comprises an upper and a lower roller, and the continuous looped screen is mounted to be reliable about both rollers. Rollers preferably rotate freely, and are preferably supported by side frame members, preferably through bushing, bearings, or the like. However, in some examples rollers may not rotate but may provide a substantially frictionless surface about which the screen may be scrolled.

The display board preferably comprises a backboard behind the display portion of the flexible screen. This provides a relatively hard surface to support the display portion of the flexible screen as the screen is written on. The roller board preferably comprises a backboard located behind the displayed part of the screen. The backboard preferably sits through a hollow in the middle of the continuous looped screen. The backboard preferably sits between the rear of both the display portion and hidden portion of the sheet. The backboard is preferably located off-centre relative to the position of the upper and lower rollers. The backboard is preferably located nearer to the display portion than the hidden portion of the screen. Preferably the ratio of distances of the backboard from the display portion and the hidden portion is respectively less than 1 :2, more preferably less than 1 :5, most preferably less than 1 :10. Having the backboard nearer to the display portion maximises the utility of the backboard by minimising the slack between the backboard and the all important display portion, especially as the slack between the hidden portion and the backboard is largely irrelevant in terms of functionality. This makes the display portion easier to write on, and also minimises flapping of the screen which can distort a projected image. However, a second backboard may be provided nearer to the hidden area without departing from the present invention, as long as at least one backboard is closer to the display portion.

The display board may further comprise a slack reducer operable to reduce slack in the flexible screen. The slack reducer may comprise an adjustable screen tensioner operable to stretch or tension the screen. The screen tensioner may be located behind the displayed part of the screen and be adjusted to force part of the screen outwards. For instance, the backboard may be adjustable to move it closer to the display portion and into engagement with the display portion so as to stretch the screen outwardly. Alternatively the slack reducer may be substantially external to the screen. For example, the display board may comprise a screen tension mechanism operable to tension the screen. Preferably the screen tension mechanism if operable to pull a top portion of the screen away from the bottom portion and/or visa versa. In the case of a roller board, the screen tension mechanism may comprise a roller adjustment mechanism operable to cause the upper and lower rollers to move apart. Likewise the roller adjustment mechanism may be operable to cause the upper and lower roller to move together so as to slacken the screen. Preferably the roller adjustment mechanism comprises a moveable support plate, which supports a roller in position. The support plate is preferably moveable within the display board to selectively cause the screen to tense or loosen. The support plate may be linked to a tension plate such that the support plate is moveable relative to the tension plate, preferably through operation of the roller adjustment mechanism. Preferably the support plate and its associated roller is free to move in at least one dimension (preferably substantially vertically), preferably whilst still providing support in at least one other direction. To this end there may be provided suitable holes in the frame of the display board - for instance circular holes where a roller is not intended to be moveable, and elongate slots where a roller is intended to be moveable. Preferably the tension plate is fixed in position. There may be a number of support plates and/or tension plates for the various rollers of the display board. This display board may have removable panels covering the screen tension mechanism or roller adjustment mechanism.

The display board may further comprise a projector mounted upon the mount. The projector may be arranged to communicate with a computer.

The display board is compatible with current software technology. Therefore, the display board may comprise a receiver unit towards an edge of the display board, which receives signals from a transmitter unit (usually associated or located on such as a pen or stylus). The receiver unit can then track the transmitter, and hence the movements of a pen, and record such movements within a computer so that a display board can be written on and the contents recorded for future reference. According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a display board adapted to receive a mount for supporting an image projector. Preferably the display board comprises a mount receiving portion (or adaptor) arranged to attachably receive the mount.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a mount for supporting an image projector, the mount being adapted to attach to a display board. The mount is preferably removably mountable to the display board. The mount is preferably configured for compatibility with a specific projector or projector type.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a projector adapted to be removably attachable to a mount upon a display board. As such, the projector preferably comprises a mount attachment portion for attaching to the mount. The mount attachment portion may be arranged for screwable attachment to the mount, but other means of attachment known in the art are also envisaged. The projector may be attachable to the mount via a quick-release mechanism. Moreover, the mount may also be attachable to the display board via a quick-release mechanism.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided an adaptor for adapting a display board to receive a mount for supporting an image projector. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of displaying a projected image, comprising: a) mounting a projector to a mount upon a display board;

b) operating the projector to project an image onto a screen within the display board.

The method may also include mounting the mount upon the display board. The method may also include mounting a mount receiving portion upon a display board. The method may involve moving the screen within the display board.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a display board comprising a frame, wherein the frame comprises metal. Preferably the metal is aluminium. Preferably the frame essentially consists of metal, preferably aluminium. The visible fagade of the frame is preferably arranged to receive and retain a powder coating. The visible fagade of the frame is preferably arranged to retain 95% of the powder coating, measured by visibly coated surface area, for at least 2 years, more preferably at least 5 years, and most preferably at least 10 years. The display board is preferably a roller board. According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there is provided a display board comprising a flexible screen, and a slack reducer (or tension mechanism); wherein the slack reducer is operable to tension the flexible screen. This is advantageous as it overcomes the blurring problems which arise when an image is projected onto a flexible screen which is not suitably tensioned. Preferably the slack reducer is distinct from any mechanism operable to move the flexible screen. Preferably the display board is a roller board. Preferably the slack reducer is manually operable. The slack reducer may be operable to move elements associated with the flexible screen, such as rollers.

Preferred features of any aspect of the present invention are also preferred features of any other aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a display board according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the display board of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of upper and lower parts of the display board of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view of a lower part of the display board of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the lower part of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an overhead perspective view of the projector mounting arm of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the display board of FIG. 1 without projector mounting arm; and

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of a top part of the display board of FIG. 1. Detailed Description of the Exemplary Embodiments of the Invention

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be discussed in detail in relation to a display board, in this case a roller board, which has a durable and readily decorable frame, and has a moveable display screen capable of receiving and clearly displaying interactive image content. However, the teachings, principles and techniques of the present invention are also applicable in other exemplary embodiments. For example, embodiments of the present invention are also applicable to other types of moveable boards, such as overlapping slidable display boards.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a display board according to an embodiment of the present invention. A roller board 100 has a reliable screen 1 10 mounted within side frame members 120 and bottom 130 and top 140 frame members. The visible part of the screen is the display portion 1 10a of the screen 1 10.

In this example the frame members are aluminium. The aluminium frame is powder coated with colours corresponding to a particular school's house colours. The screen 1 10 is a white dry-wipe woven-backed wall covering panel which is looped around on itself to form a continuous looped sheet 1 10. The screen can be written on with standard white board pens, so that writing is readily erasable. The screen is also flexible so as to be reliable.

The roller board 100 has an attachment portion 150 to which is screwably attached a projector mounting arm 200 via a base attachment portion 210 at a base end of the mounting arm 200. A projector 300 is mounted upon the mounting arm 200 at a projector attachment portion 220 at a projector end of the mounting arm 200, so that the projector 300 is arranged for projecting images onto the display portion 1 10a of the screen 1 10. In this example the mounting arm 200 is rigid and non-adjustable relative to the roller board 100, thereby fixing the position of the projector 300 relative to the roller board. The arm design thus complements the projector so that when the projector is mounted it is in the ideal position for image projection, without the need for further adjustment. In this example, the projector is a Hitachi™ EDA 101. In other embodiments, however, the arm 200 may be adjustable either to fine tune the position of the projector for optimal image projection, or to adjust the arm for compatibility with a different model or type of projector. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the display board of FIG. 1 which, along with the blown-up views of FIG. 3, shows the internal mechanisms. In this example, the screen 1 10 is mounted as a continuous looped sheet around upper 160 and lower 170 rollers, both of which extend the width of the roller board 100. The width of the screen 1 10 is slightly less than the width of the rollers 160, 170. Each roller 160, 170 freely rotates about its cylindrical axis to allow the screen to be rolled back and forth within the roller board 100. At any point in time, the screen has a display portion 1 10a, which is visible from the front of the roller board 100 (i.e. the projector side), and a hidden portion 1 10b, which is invisible (i.e. towards the back of the roller board 100). The facility to roll the screen around allows different content written upon the screen 1 10 to be selectively viewed or hidden by rolling the screen 1 10 around the rollers 160, 170.

A backboard 180 sits between the upper and lower rollers 160, 170 and extends through the middle of the looped reliable sheet 1 10 across the width of the roller board 100. The backboard 180 is supported in position at attachment points (not shown) on the two side frame members 120. In this example, the backboard 180 is disposed off-centre relative to the rollers 160, 170 (which are essentially central within the roller board 100) towards the front of the roller board 100, and thus towards the display portion 1 10a of the screen 1 10. Having the backboard 180 nearer to the display portion 1 10a than the hidden portion 1 10b reduces the slack of the screen at the display portion 1 10a, which in turn improves the clarity of projected images and also improves the screen's ability to serve as a writing surface.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are front cross-sectional and side cross-sectional views respectively of part of the roller board 100. The lower roller 170 has a thick cylindrical portion 172 whose length extends the majority of the width of the roller board 100. Protruding coaxially from each end of the thick cylindrical portion 172 are integral thin cylindrical portions 174 which fit through slots 122 (with bushing) in each of the side frame members 120. The upper roller 160 is also arranged in this manner, with corresponding thick cylindrical portion 162 and thin cylindrical portions 164. The slots 122 for the upper roller 160 are circular holes having a slightly larger diameter than the thin cylindrical portions 164, and thus such slots 122 provide both vertical and horizontal support to the upper roller 160. In contrast, the slots 122 for the lower roller 122 are elongate slots 122 (with widths slightly greater than the diameter of the corresponding thin cylindrical portions 174) which provide horizontal support but allow for some limited vertical movement.

In this example, each thin portion 174 of the lower roller 170 extends to further engage a screen tension mechanism 190, via circular holes (with bushing) in a respective roller support plate 192, within each side frame member 120. Each roller support plate 192 is screwably attached to a corresponding tension support plate 194, the tension support plate 194 being itself screwably attached to its respective side frame member 120. The circular holes in the roller support plates 192 have diameters slightly larger than the diameter of the thin portions 174, and thus provide both horizontal and vertical support to the lower roller 170. In general, upper 160 and lower 170 rollers, around which the screen 1 10 is looped, are biased towards each other by tension in the screen 1 10. The tension support plates 194 resist this biasing force by holding the rollers 160, 170 apart. The tension of the screen 1 10 can be selectively increased or decreased by adjusting tension adjustment nuts 196a upon tension bolts 196b. Tightening an adjustment nut 196a forces a roller support plate 192 towards its corresponding tension support plate 194, thereby moving the lower roller 170 downwardly further away from the upper roller 160. This tenses the screen 1 10 and reduces blurring of images projected onto the screen from the projector 300. Loosening the adjustment nut 196a allows the roller support plate 192 to move away from its corresponding tension support plate 194, thereby allowing the lower roller 170 to move upwards towards the upper roller 160 by virtue of the tension bias of the screen 1 10. Vertical movement of the lower roller 170 is permitted due to the elongate nature of the corresponding lower slots 122.

The screen tension mechanisms 190 at each side of the roller board 100 are readily accessible through removal of side panels 122 (not shown) affixed to the side of each frame member 120. In this example, the side panels are fixed to the frame members 120 by removable alien screws (not shown).

The screen tension mechanisms are equally beneficial in relation to display boards which receive and display a projected image from a projector external to the display board (i.e. a display board without an integrated projector).

FIG. 6 is an overhead perspective view of the projector mounting arm 200 of FIG. 1. The mounting arm 200 has a base attachment portion 210 at the base end, and a projector attachment portion 220 at the projector end. Each attachment portion has screw holes 212, 222 for respectively attaching the mounting arm 200 to the roller board 100 and projector 300 to the mounting arm 200. However, in other embodiments, the attachment method can involve quick-fit or snap-fit joints and the like. Between the two attachment portions 210, 220 is a boom arm 230 which is kinked to define a lower arm portion 232 and an upper arm portion 234. The design (including dimensions, kink angle, etc.) of the mounting arm 200 is arranged I for compatibility with a particular projector, in this case the Hitachi™ EDA 101 The design of the mounting arm is also arranged for compatibility with a particular roller board 100 (including dimensions of screen). When fixed to the roller board 100, the mounting arm 200 will hold a given projector in the correct place for optimal image quality on screen 1 10. However, in alternative embodiments the mounting arm 200 is adjustable in that the upper arm portion 234 is selectively extendable. In yet further embodiments there is a hinge joint between the lower 232 and upper arm portions 234 which allows relative rotation about the hinge. In such circumstances, the hinge is releasably lockable. In some embodiments, both the arm extendibility and hingable rotatability features are present. In other embodiments, one or more parameters of the mounting arm 200 may be adjusted in quantised increments corresponding with different projectors, so that a mounting arm has various preset configurations corresponding with particular projectors. FIG. 7 is a front view of the display board of FIG. 1 without the projector mounting arm. In this embodiment the attachment portion 150 is located horizontally at the top of the roller board 100. The mounting arm 200 is removably attachable to the attachment portion 150, which allows new mounting arms to be installed when, for example, different projectors are to be used. However, an outfit such as a school could have an array of roller boards 100 throughout the school with mounting arms 200 in place thereupon so that projectors can be easily moved from one roller board 100 to another, without having to carefully reconfigure the arrangement for optimum image quality. In this example, the attachment portion 150, which is an aluminium frame, is itself removably attached to the roller board 100. Therefore, it is envisaged that older models of roller board 100 can be readily adapted via retrofit to incorporate features of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of part of the display board of FIG. 1 . The attachment portions 150, 210 of the roller board 100 and mounting arm 200 is shown in more detail, in particular how screws fit through the base attachment portion 210 into the attachment portion 150 located upon the upper frame member 140.

In use, the roller board 100 serves dual functions as both a writing surface and a displayer of projected images from the projector 300. In this case, compatibility between the roller board 100, mounting arm 200, and projector 300 provides for an optimal image in the display portion 1 10a of the screen 1 10, in terms of image sharpness, size and position. Projectors can be removably mounted to the mounting arm 200 (in this example with screws) whilst the mounting arm 200 remains attached to the roller board 100. This allows projectors to be moved from one roller board to another, which is particularly convenient in such as schools. The mounting arm 200 itself is also removable to allow the mounting arm 200 to be replaced.

The roller board 100 can also be written on with standard white-board pens. The screen 1 10 can be scrolled by pulling downward on the screen connector strips to cause the screen to scroll around on the rollers, thus changing which part of the screen 1 10 forms the display portion 1 10a and hidden portion 1 10b. This allows the display portion 1 10a portion to be written on before it is hidden to reveal a clean display portion 1 10a (previously the hidden portion 1 10b) ready for receiving and displaying projected images. This allows for substantial interactivity, for instance, in a school classroom. The horizontal portion allows for the bracketry to accommodate speakers. Additionally, the screen can be tensioned by removing one or more side panels from the side frame members 120 and tightening the adjustment nut(s) 196a. Increasing the tension in this way reduces slack in the screen, thereby increasing the clarity of a projected image, and also rendering the screen easier to write on. Alternatively, the screen tension can be released by loosening the corresponding adjustment nut(s) 196a. This may be necessary, for example, to increase the ease with which the screen can be scrolled.

The aluminium frame is easy to decorate, for example, by powder coating with preferred colours. This allows roller boards 100 to be customized to such as school or house colours. It has been noted that such aluminium frames retain their aesthetic quality for many years with minimal degradation of either the frame itself or its powder coating.

Alternative embodiments of the present invention may include a display board 100 having fixed white boards and a horizontally sliding white board. The same mounting arm 200 and projector 300 arrangement may be present as in the previous embodiment of FIG. 1 , only this time the moveable part of the board is the slidable whiteboard instead of a reliable screen. The principles of this embodiment are equally applicable to vertically slidable boards.