HK1061999A - Erasable graphic panel - Google Patents

Description

Erasable painting board

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an erasable drawing board. More particularly, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a plate having a dark or coloured substrate and a semi-adhesive transparent film which darkens or becomes coloured when pressed against a localised area of the substrate by means of a pressing tip to simulate writing or drawing. More particularly, the invention relates to such a plate having a special erase slider for separating the transparent film from the substrate, thereby erasing any depicted image shown through the film.

Background

It is known to provide a drawing board having a pressure-sensitive transparent plastic film on a substrate having a dark rubber surface. When an ink-free writing tip is pressed against the transparent film, the film darkens as the back of the film in the area of pressure adheres to the substrate, simulating a writing or drawing. Various methods have been developed to erase handwriting from a board. These methods are often expensive due to the complex design.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or significantly ameliorate the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide an improved erasable painting panel.

The invention herein discloses an erasable painting panel comprising:

a substrate having a dark-colored surface,

a transparent film overlying the substrate and locally adhering to the substrate in response to pressure applied thereto by the pointed tool, thereby forming a visible trace on the film that is moved by the pointed tool, and

a slider positioned above the substrate and including a raised squeegee blade extending below the film and movable across the substrate to raise the film from the substrate to erase the visible mark.

Preferably, the slide comprises a deflector member parallel to and co-extensive with the raised doctor blade, and the film passes under the deflector member.

Preferably, the substrate is located on a base comprising parallel rails, one on each side of the substrate, and wherein the slide comprises guides at both ends of the doctor blade, each guide moving along a respective said rail.

Preferably, a handle extends from the deflector for gripping by a user.

Preferably, the panel comprises a frame connected to the base, covering the periphery of the film, and extending across the track to constrain the guide in the track.

Drawings

Preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an erasable painting panel;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the drawing board of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic detail view of the end of the slider-forming portion of the drawing board of FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional end perspective view of the slider of FIG. 3.

Detailed Description

Erasable painting panel 10 is schematically illustrated in the drawings. Drawing board 10 may be generally constructed of plastic or cardboard components, or of other material components, and includes a base 11 with a frame 14 attached to base 11. The frame 14 defines a rectangular window area 21 along which the slider 15 can move in the direction indicated by arrow a.

Located between the frame 14 and the base 11 is a base 12 of dark rubber material as is well known in the pressure sensitive tablet art. A flexible transparent plastic film 13 is placed on the substrate 12. The frame 14 covers the periphery of the membrane 13.

If a pointed tool (such as an ink-free pen) is pressed against the film 13 and moved with the strokes of a drawing or writing, the film 13 will temporarily adhere to the substrate 12 to show the dark image trace where the pen contacts the film. This track is in effect a line of adhesive between the back of the film and the substrate and is visible through the film in the window 21. If the film 13 is lifted from the substrate, the track disappears.

The slider 15 is typically made of moulded plastics material and includes a scraper 18 which extends under the film 13 from one side of the film to the other. At each end of the doctor blade there is a guide 17 which slides along a track 16 formed at each lateral edge of the substrate 12. The rail is in the form of a longitudinal groove, the bottom of which is the upper surface of the base. One side of each groove is formed by a side edge of the substrate 12. The other side of each groove is formed by the inner edge 22 of the base (see figure 2). The guide is constrained within the channel by a frame 16. The frame may be bonded to the perimeter of the base or attached to the base.

The guide 17 moves along the track 16, holding the squeegee blade 18 laterally extended as it moves longitudinally along the panel 10. Also extending between the guides 17 is a deflector 19 which passes through the film 13. A handle 20 extends from the deflector 19 for gripping by a user to cause longitudinal movement of the slide plate 15 when it is desired to erase text and/or images displayed on the drawing sheet. As shown in fig. 4, the film 13 is lifted by the scraper 18 past under the deflector 19. As the bottom surface of the film 13 is lifted away from the substrate 12, the image produced by the adhesion disappears.

It should be appreciated that obvious modifications and variations to those skilled in the art are not to be considered beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape of the drawing board need not be rectangular and the slide need not move linearly. In an alternative configuration, the display area may be circular and the slider may be fixed in the center of the circle, some like the hands of a clock. To this end, there may be a hole in the center of the membrane through which a shaft may pass to connect the slider to the base.

Claims (5)

1. An erasable painting panel comprising:

a substrate having a dark-colored surface,

a transparent film overlying the substrate and locally adhering to the substrate in response to pressure applied thereto by the pointed tool, thereby forming a visible trace of movement of the pointed tool on the film, and

a slider positioned above the substrate and including a raised squeegee blade extending below the film and movable across the substrate to raise the film from the substrate to erase the visible mark.

2. The plate of claim 1 wherein the slide includes a deflector parallel to and coextensive with the raised doctor blade and the film passes beneath the deflector.

3. The plate of claim 1 wherein the base plate is on a base comprising parallel rails, one on each side of the base plate, and wherein the slide comprises guides at each end of the doctor blade, each guide moving along a respective said rail.

4. The plate of claim 1 further comprising a handle extending from the deflector by which the slider can be held by a user.

5. The panel of claim 3, further comprising a frame connected to the base and covering the perimeter of the film and extending through the track to constrain the guides in the track.