Apparatus for displaying images to viewers in motion

#This invention relates to the display of still images that appear animated to a viewer in motion relative to the still images. More particularly, this invention relates to the display of such still images in spatially-constrained environments.

#Display devices that display still images appearing to be animated to a viewer in motion are known. These devices include a series of graduated images (i.e., adjacent images that differ slightly and progressively from one to the next). The images are arranged in the direction of motion of a viewer (e.g., along a railroad) such that the images are viewed consecutively. As a viewer moves past these images, they appear animated. The effect is similar to that of a flip-book. A flip-book has an image on each page that differs slightly from the one before it and the one after it such that when the pages are flipped, a viewer perceives animation.

#A longstanding trend in mass transportation systems has been the development of installations to provide the passengers in subway systems with animated motion pictures. The animation of these motion pictures is effected by the motion of the viewer relative to the installation, which is fixed to the tunnel walls of the subway system. Such installations have obvious value: the moving picture is viewable through the train windows, through which only darkness would otherwise be visible. Possible useful moving picture subjects could be selections of artistic value, or informative messages from the transportation system or from an advertiser.

#The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of apparatus according to the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

#It is the purpose of the present invention to produce a simple apparatus operating on principles of simple geometric optics that displays animation to a viewer in motion relative to it. The apparatus requires substantially only that the viewer move in a substantially predictable path at a substantially predictable speed. There are many common instances that meet this criterion, including, but not limited to, riders on subway trains, pedestrian on walkways or sidewalks, passengers on surface trains, passengers in motor vehicles, passengers in elevators, and so on. For the remainder of this document, for ease of description, reference will primarily be made to a particular exemplary application—an installation in a subway system, viewable by the riders on a subway train—but the present invention is not limited to such an application.

#Benefits of the present invention include the following:

#1. It preferably does not require that the viewer be in a vehicle.