Split-flap display

station, Czech Republic (2012), manufactured by Pragotron A split-flap display, or a flap display, is a digital electromechanical display device that presents changeable alphanumeric text, and occasionally fixed graphics. They were (from the 1960s to 1990s) commonly used as public transport timetables in airports and railway stations. They were often called Solari boards after the Italian display manufacturer Solari di Udine, or, in Central European countries, Pragotron after the Czech manufacturer. Split-flap displays were once commonly used in consumer digital clocks known as flip clocks.

station, Czech Republic (2012), manufactured by Pragotron]] ]] A split-flap display, or a flap display, is a digital electromechanical display device that presents changeable alphanumeric text, and occasionally fixed graphics. They were (from the 1960s to 1990s) commonly used as public transport timetables in airports and railway stations. They were often called Solari boards after the Italian display manufacturer Solari di Udine, or, in Central European countries, Pragotron after the Czech manufacturer. Split-flap displays were once commonly used in consumer digital clocks known as flip clocks.

Design

Each character position or graphic position has a collection of flaps on which characters or graphics are painted or silkscreened. Larger flaps can display whole words, while smaller flaps display individual characters. The flaps are precisely flipped to display the desired character or graphic. These devices typically show departure or arrival information in railway stations and airports, where they serve as flight information display systems. Advantages of these displays include: high visibility and wide viewing angle in most lighting conditions, little or no power consumption when the display remains static, and distinct metallic flapping sound draws attention when the information is updated.

Non-informational uses

The aesthetic appeal of the displays is such that they have also seen use in purely artistic forms, such as in Pedestrian Drama, contemporary artwork using this display technology, and art by Juan Fontanive, who has used the mechanism extensively since 2005. The album cover for The Enemy's album We'll Live and Die in These Towns is based on the Solari design seen at British railway stations.

Gallery

File:Cifra 5 digital flip clock designed by Gino Valle (1957).jpg|Solari Cifra 5 clock by Nani and Gino Valle (1957) File:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6355499.jpg|Cifra 5 internal mechanism File:Orologio Solari Cifra 3.jpg|Solari Cifra 3 designed by Nani and Gino Valle with graphic design input form Massimo Vignelli (1965) File:Clock-Lowicz-150604.jpg|Solari Cifra 23 clock File:A & E Design 1.jpg|Turn-O-Matic M80 Könummersystem by A&E Design (1974) File:Fallblattanzeigetafel ausschnitt ffm hbf.jpg|Section of a split-flap display board at Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof (2005) File:Gare du Nord Fallblattanzeiger Departure-board.JPG|Flap departure board at Gare du Nord, Paris (2007) File:Flickr - NewsPhoto! - ProRail deelt flyers en chocolade uit na ontspoorde trein (11).jpg|Flap display at Breukelen railway station, Holland File:An- und Abfahrtstafel-Hannover Hbf.jpg|Split-flap departure board at Hannover Hauptbahnhof, Germany File:Tatra KT8D5, čelní orientace, Vápenka (01).jpg|Split-flap display with the name of the end station on the tram Tatra KT8D5 in Prague, Czech Republic File:Trenton Transit Center Solari board video July 2026.webm|Video of a split-flap display at Trenton Transit Center, United States

References

External links

SEGD Design Awards: A Sign of Democracy Shannon Mattern: Fluttering Code: A Cultural and Aesthetic History of the Split-Flap Display, in: Modes of Criticism 5 (2020), pp. 49-63

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367394076 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.