Rollsign

A roll band display is used on or in public transport means for displaying the line number of your destination, or the line profile. It is composed of a printed plastic strip, the roller conveyor (also called Brose band or target film ) which is wound on two horizontal rolls fixed in a housing.

Roller blind displays are at least at the front, usually also on the rear and on the sides and partially mounted in the interior. The change of the display by turning the rollers either manually by a hand crank or by an electric motor, which is controlled by the ticket printer or IBIS. In manual systems, the positioning is effected by a number on the back of the tape which is visible through a window in the housing. In the first electronic solutions mechanical scanning of perforations in the tape by micro switch took place, but this was prone to failure and prone to wear. Younger roller blind displays feature an optical scan of perforations or barcodes. For illumination is behind the band, one or more fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps earlier.

This type of signage is now mostly by electronic matrix displays ( flip dot, LED or LCD) been displaced. One can find Brose bands today almost exclusively on older buses, trolley buses, tramway, metro and suburban railway carriage. An exception is the bus network of the city of London, where the municipal government organization Transport for London, the use of roll bands prescribes for readability.

Previously roller blind displays were also used for passenger information on platforms of major stations. There they were ousted by fall leaf displays that can switch the display much faster.

The biggest disadvantage of roll band against matrix displays is that they must be replaced when line changes, what with numerous lines and vehicles represents a significant cost factor, particularly with larger transport companies. Matrix displays, however, allow dynamic representations, so that eg the entire curve or special signage can be displayed in specialized trades. Another disadvantage is the time-consuming change of the display. When not infrequently more than 100 destinations using a tape on a electronically controlled rolling process may take longer than a minute.

An advantage over matrix indicators, however, is that roll band indicator also allow colored illustrations and in any light are clearly legible. Therefore combine some transport companies, for example in Amsterdam and Freiburg im Breisgau, roll band indicator for display color -coded line numbers matrix indicators to display the destination.

It has been developed roll band display by Carl Brose, director of the now-defunct Carl Brose GmbH in Wuppertal. Brose had successfully made the transition to matrix displays, but by false restructuring measures, the decline was initiated. The company was incorporated in 2004 out of bankruptcy by way of an asset deal as Funkwerk Information Systems GmbH Funkwerk AG. By 2009, there were under the name of Funkwerk IT Karlsfeld GmbH an office in Wuppertal. At the end of the Wuppertal branch was closed and relocated to the site Karl field. However, is located in the premises of the former establishment the company FM Infosystems GmbH, which offers services related to the indicators of the Brose, Kruger, Info Systems etc. Companies. Otherwise roller blind displays are still offered, for example of gable, Lawo, Innotron, Gorby, Mobitec and McKenna Brothers.

During roll bands in transport today hardly play a role, are for promotional purposes reinforced poster display cases used with changing technology, based on the same principle.