DISPLAY UNIT

Abstract

The present invention provides a display unit comprising a front face and a peripheral frame, the peripheral frame forming a border around the front face, the front face comprising at least one display panel, wherein the peripheral frame comprises an extruded main section having a channel formed therein extending longitudinally along its length, the peripheral frame further comprising at least one extruded auxiliary section having a profile in cross-section which engages with the channel in the main section of the peripheral frame, wherein the auxiliary section of the peripheral frame provides an infill between the main section and the front face of the display unit to permit alternative or replacement display panels to be accommodated within the same peripheral frame.

Claims

1. A display unit comprising a front face and a peripheral frame, the peripheral frame forming a border around the front face, the front face comprising at least one display panel, wherein the peripheral frame comprises an extruded main section forming at least part of a main body of the peripheral frame, the main section having a channel formed therein extending longitudinally along its length, the peripheral frame further comprising at least one extruded auxiliary section having a profile in cross-section which engages with the channel in the main section of the peripheral frame, wherein the auxiliary section of the peripheral frame provides an infill between the main section and the front face of the display unit.

2. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the channel has a narrow neck portion and a wider main portion below the neck portion and wherein the cross-section of the auxiliary section is shaped so that a portion of the auxiliary section is retained in the channel by the narrow neck portion, retaining the auxiliary section in place on the main section of the peripheral frame.

3. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main section of the peripheral frame extends back from the front face of the display unit to form a side portion of the display unit, wherein the channel is formed towards a front edge of the main section in a surface of the main section facing inwardly towards the front face, with the auxiliary section extending toward the front face of the display unit, wherein a front face of the auxiliary section is substantially parallel to the front face of the display.

4. A display unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the front face of the auxiliary section abuts an edge of the front face and is flush with the front face to effectively form an extension of the front face.

5. A display unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the front face of the auxiliary section is parallel to the front face of the display and overlies an edge of the front face.

6. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary section is extruded from metal or a rigid plastic.

7. A display unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the auxiliary section is extruded from a compressible material and is compressed in a gap between the main section of the peripheral frame and the front face of the display unit.

8. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary section of the peripheral frame extends between the main section of the peripheral frame and a display panel forming part of the front face of the display unit.

9. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the peripheral frame comprises a plurality of straight extruded main sections, of identical cross-section, joined directly or indirectly at their ends to form corners of the main body of the peripheral frame.

10. A display unit as claimed in claim 9, comprising a plurality of auxiliary sections, each identical in cross-section and each retained in place in a channel of a respective main section of the peripheral frame.

11. A display unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein each main section of the peripheral frame has a plurality of additional spaced apart channels running longitudinal along its length on an inward facing face, each additional channel, in cross-section, having a narrow neck portion and a wider main portion below the neck portion, the display unit further comprising a plurality of channel engaging members, each channel engaging member being slotted into a selected one of the additional channels and positioned in that additional channel at a desired location, the display unit further comprising a plurality of mountings anchored in desired locations to the peripheral frame by respective ones of the channel engaging members, wherein the mountings support, either directly or indirectly, components forming the front face of the display unit.

12. A display unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the mountings support the at least one display panel.

13. A display unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein each main section of the peripheral frame is substantially solid and has a flat inner face in which the plurality of the additional channels are formed to provide a flat, relatively rigid, surface to which the plurality of mountings may be clamped in position by the channel engaging members.

14. A display system for forming a display unit as claimed in claim 1, the display system comprising a plurality of lengths of extruded main sections having an identical cross-sections and which are arranged to be joined together, either directly or indirectly, to form a main body of a peripheral frame, the display system further comprising a plurality of sets of lengths of extruded auxiliary sections each set comprising a plurality of lengths of auxiliary section each having an identical cross-section, with the lengths of each set having a different cross-section to those of other sets, wherein each main section of the peripheral frame has a longitudinally extending channel formed therein, arranged to engage with and retain in place any one of the lengths of any set of auxiliary sections of the peripheral frame, to form an infill between a main section of the peripheral frame and a display unit mounted in the frame, wherein a respective set of lengths of auxiliary sections are arranged to be selected in dependence on the position of an edge of the display panel relative to the main section of the peripheral frame, or in dependence on the shape of an edge of the display panel.

15. A method of forming a display unit as claimed in claim 1, the method comprising, in no particular order, the steps of: cutting a plurality of lengths from a first extrusion to form a plurality of main sections of a peripheral frame; selecting a further extrusion from one of a plurality of further extrusions, which further extrusions are different to the first extrusion and to each other and cutting a plurality of lengths from the selected further extrusion to form a plurality of auxiliary sections of the peripheral frame; sliding each auxiliary section into a channel in an associated main section; assembling the plurality of main sections to form a peripheral frame of a display unit; and assembling a display panel in the frame so that the display panel forms at least part of the front panel of the display unit, wherein the further extrusion, to form the auxiliary sections of the peripheral frame, is selected in dependence on the position, size or other features of the display panel and wherein at least one or more of the plurality of lengths from the selected further extrusion form an infill between the main body of the peripheral frame and the display panel.

16. An extruded main section for forming a peripheral frame of a display unit, the extruded main section comprising a plurality of spaced apart channels running longitudinal along its length on an inward facing face, each channel in cross-section having a narrow neck portion and a wider main portion below the neck portion, the channels being arranged to receive a plurality of channel engaging members slotted into a selected one of the channels and positioned to anchor a mounting for components of a display against the extruded main section, the main section of the peripheral frame comprising an additional channel extending from towards a front edge and arranged to receive an extruded auxiliary section to form part of a peripheral frame, to provide an infill between the main extruded section of and components of a display unit.

17. An extruded peripheral frame for a display unit, the extruded peripheral frame comprising a main extruded section as claimed in claim 16 and an extruded auxiliary section arranged to engage with and be retained in place by the additional channel to provide an infill between the extruded main section of the peripheral frame and components of a display unit.

Description

[0031] The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, of which:

[0032] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a known display unit disclosed in UK patent application publication number GB 2549990 A;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the peripheral frame and other frame components of the display unit of FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a display unit having a peripheral frame arranged to be modified to form a display unit in accordance with the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an extruded main section of the peripheral frame of the display unit of FIG. 3 for use in the present invention;

[0036] FIG. 5 is a cross-section through the main section of frame of FIG. 4;

[0037] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a display unit similar to that of FIG. 3, but incorporating an alternative display panel and with the peripheral frame of the display unit modified to form a display unit in accordance with the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a portion of the main section of a peripheral frame of FIGS. 4 and 5 and a portion of an auxiliary section of a peripheral frame prior to being fitted to the main section;

[0039] FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. 7 but shows the auxiliary section fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame;

[0040] FIG. 9 corresponds to FIG. 7 but shows an alternative auxiliary section prior to being fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame;

[0041] FIG. 10 corresponds to FIG. 9 but shows the auxiliary section fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame;

[0042] FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 9 but shows an alternative main section of the peripheral frame prior to being fitted to the auxiliary section of FIG. 9;

[0043] FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 11 but shows the auxiliary section fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame;

[0044] FIG. 13 corresponds to FIG. 11 but shows an alternative auxiliary section prior to being fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame; and

[0045] FIG. 14 corresponds to FIG. 9 but shows the auxiliary section fitted to the main section of the peripheral frame.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 1, this shows a known display unit, indicated generally as 1, as disclosed in the applicant's earlier UK patent application publication number GB 2549990 A. The display unit 1 comprises a peripheral frame, indicated generally 2, the peripheral frame 2 comprising four lengths of straight aluminium extruded sections 3a to 3d connected together to form the peripheral frame 2 by four corner pieces 4a to 4d. The display unit 1 further comprises a display panel 5, a speaker panel 6, blanking panels 7a to 7d and two storage cabinet facia panels 8a and 8b. The components forming the front face 9 of the display unit 1, namely the display panel 5, speaker panel 6, blanking panels 7a to 7d and the storage cabinet facia panels 8a to 8b, are flush with a front edge of the peripheral frame 2 to provide a particularly aesthetically pleasing look to the display unit 1.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 2, this shows two of the aluminium extruded sections, 3c and 3d, of the peripheral frame 2 of FIG. 1 connected by a corner piece 4c. Each of the aluminium extruded sections 3c to 3d has a number of channels 10a to 10g formed on an internal surface (only channels 10c to 10g are visible in FIG. 2), which channels each have a narrow neck portion extending in from an inward facing face 11 of each aluminium extruded section 3c to 3d, which neck portion opens out into a wider main portion below the next portion. Into respective channels are inserted channel engaging members 12, to secure mountings 13 in a desired location, for securing the components forming the front face of the display, including the display panel 5. A significant feature of the peripheral frame 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, is that the peripheral frame is a structural feature, supporting all the components of the display unit, with the aluminium extruded sections being substantially solid in nature defining a flat inward facing face 11 to which mountings 13 can be clamped by means of the channel engaging members 12.

[0048] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an alternative display unit, indicated generally as 14. This is constructed on the same principles as the display unit of FIGS. 1 and 2 and again comprises a peripheral frame 15 comprising four aluminium extruded sections 16a to 16d, a display panel 17, a speaker panel 18 and two storage cabinet facia panels 19a and 19b and blanking panel 20. The aluminium extruded sections 16a to 16d are joined at their corners by corner pieces 21a to 21d to provide a relatively rigid peripheral frame 15, similar to that previously described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, these show in perspective view and in cross-section respectively the aluminium extruded section 16a. This has a generally L-shaped cross-section, with the outer face 22 of the longer leg of the L defining a complete side (top side in the case of extruded section 16a) of the display unit 14 of FIG. 3, with the outer face 23 of the shorter leg of the L forming a face parallel to the front faces of the components defining a front face 24 of the display unit 14.

[0050] The peripheral frame 15 of the display unit 14 of FIG. 3 supports mountings for the components forming the front face 24 of the display unit 14, in the same manner as the peripheral frame 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 supports the components forming the front face 9 of the display unit 1. The display unit 14 depicted in FIG. 3 is particularly slim and thus the peripheral frame 15 is also particularly slim, resulting in there only being two channels 25 and 26 in the flat inward facing face 27 of the aluminium extruded section 16a, as can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5. However, in alternative embodiments, the peripheral frame 15 may be significantly wider, (see FIGS. 11 to 14 for example) and incorporate further channels.

[0051] The channels 25 and 26 are formed in the otherwise flat inwardly facing face 27 to which mountings, such as the mountings 13 described with reference to FIG. 2, or similar mountings, may be mounted by similar channel engaging members 12, so that the mountings 13 may support the components forming the front face 24 of the display unit 14 in the same manner as previously described.

[0052] Similar to the previous embodiment, the aluminium extruded section 16a may also comprise a further channel 28 formed in the back of the short leg of the L-shaped profile of the aluminium extruded sections 16a to 16d, which further channel 28 may also be used to secure appropriate mountings in place by use of appropriate channel engaging members 12.

[0053] Unlike the known previously described embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the aluminium extruded sections 16a of FIGS. 4 and 5 (and thus all the extruded sections 16a to 16d) comprises an additional channel 29 formed in the distal end of the shorter leg of the L-shaped profile. In the display unit depicted in FIG. 3, this additional channel 29 serves no purpose. However, with reference to FIG. 6, where like components are indicated with like numerals to those used in FIG. 3, a different display panel 30 is mounted in the display unit 14, which display panel 30 is bordered by infill extrusions 31a to 31c. The infill extrusions 31a to 31c, described in more detail with reference to the subsequent figures, fill gaps between the display panel 30 and the peripheral frame 15, with the use of alternative infill extrusions permitting alternative display panels to be accommodated within the display unit 14, while providing an aesthetically pleasing, continuous and substantially flush front face 24 which extends to and includes the front face of the peripheral frame 15.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a portion of the aluminium extruded section 16a of FIGS. 3 to 5 and an infill extrusion 31b, prior to being inserted into the additional channel 29 of the aluminium extruded section 16a. The infill extrusion 31b, in this embodiment, is formed of a relatively rigid material and may be formed of aluminium, however as this is not a structural component it can alternatively be formed of a cheaper and easier to form plastic material and thus, because of its smaller dimensions and it being possibly fabricated of a plastic material, is less expensive per meter length than the aluminium extrusion 16a. This may permit a number of different type of infill extrusions to be manufactured, which may all be arranged to engage with the additional channel 29 in the aluminium extruded section 16a, such that an appropriate infill extrusion may be selected depending on the size of the gap between the aluminium extruded section 16a and an adjacent component of the front face 24 of the display unit 14, or alternatively the infill extrusion 31b may be omitted, as for example in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0055] FIG. 8 shows the infill extrusion 31b retained in place in the aluminium extruded section 16a by the additional channel 29, into which the infill extrusion 31b may either be slid from one end, prior to assembly of the aluminium extruded sections 16a to 16d to form the peripheral frame 15, or which may be subsequently distorted and clipped into place using the resilience of the infill extrusion 31b, depending on the type of material used. An appropriate infill extrusion may thus be selected to bridge the gap and abut the edge of the display panel 30, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0056] Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, these correspond essentially to FIGS. 7 and 8, but these show an alternative infill extrusion 32, which may function in a similar manner to the infill extrusion 31b previously described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Similarly, FIGS. 11 and 12 essentially correspond to FIGS. 9 and 10 showing the same infill extrusion 32, but showing an alternative extruded aluminium section 33 for the peripheral frame.

[0057] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14 these essentially correspond to FIGS. 11 and 12, showing the same extruded aluminium section 33, but showing a third alternative infill extrusion 34.

[0058] It will be appreciated that the infill extrusions of FIGS. 7, 8, 13 and 14 may be used to either abut a front edge of a display panel 30, or similar, or may be arranged to slightly overlap the front face of a display panel 30. In contrast, the infill extrusion 32 of FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 12 may only abut a display panel 30, or similar. In this case it is preferable that the infill extrusion 32 be formed of a resilient and compressible material, such that it may abut a display panel 30 or similar and be held slightly in compression against that display panel by the peripheral frame 15.

[0059] A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, by way of example only, and it will be appreciated that many alternative embodiments will be apparent to the skilled person which may fall within the scope of the appended claims. Particularly it should be noted that the invention is not limited in any way to the particular materials disclosed in the description of the preferred embodiments, noting for example that the extruded section referred to as the “aluminium extruded section” could be formed of some other appropriate metal or material.