AU5953800A

AU5953800A - A signage mounting assembly

Info

Publication number: AU5953800A
Application number: AU59538/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Paul Blom; Paul Nicolas Johns; Steven O'connor
Original assignee: BUSPAK ADVERTISING GROUP Pty L
Current assignee: BUSPAK ADVERTISING GROUP Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1999-07-21
Filing date: 2000-07-21
Publication date: 2001-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2020-07-21
Also published as: AU757572B2

Description

WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 1 A SIGNAGE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a signage mounting arrangement for an ultra low 5 floor transport vehicle. The invention has been primarily developed for use in mounting advertising signage to an ultra low floor bus and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular application and is also suitable for other ultra low floor transport vehicles, for 10 example ultra low floor trams. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of advertising signage on "conventional route" buses having a standard height floor is well known. The signage is normally in the form of a printed adhesive approximately 24 feet long and 2 feet high (industry standard size) which is applied 15 directly to the side of the bus above the front and rear wheel arches and adjacent and below the bottom edge of the windows. The 24' x 2' adhesive can be applied to a conventional route bus with only minimal material needing to be removed from its bottom edge to clear the bus wheel arches. Conventional route buses are gradually being phased out in favour of ultra low 20 floor buses primarily due to the latter's improved loading and unloading of passengers, especially the aged or disabled. The bottom edge of the window of an ultra low floor bus is considerably lower than a conventional route bus and also closer to the tops of the bus wheel arches. As a result, attempts to apply an adhesive below the window results in unacceptable amounts of intrusion into the signage space by the wheel arches. Further, 25 placing the advertising signage below the windows of an ultra low floor bus also results in it being too low for viewing by people in cars. Ultra low floor buses have a much larger window height than conventional route buses. However, approximately the upper quarter of their windows are not transparent and thus appear to represent a useful space for applying adhesive advertising signage. 30 However, it is difficult to apply adhesive signage directly to the non-transparent portion of the window. and the side wall above the window, as the silicone used to bond the WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 2 window glass to the bus is not adhesively compatible with the adhesive of the advertising signage. Further, attempting to apply the adhesive signage above the window line of the bus requires the use of ladders and scaffolds and the like and results in substantially 5 greater time and expense compared to a conventional route bus, which only requires an operator standing on the ground. It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate the above disadvantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 10 Accordingly, the present invention provides a signage mounting arrangement for an ultra low floor transport vehicle, the arrangement including: a signage support frame; a bracket assembly for mounting the signage support frame to the side of the vehicle substantially adjacent the roof of the vehicle; and 15 a signage assembly adapted for slidable engagement with the signage support frame. In one form, the signage support frame preferably includes a closed end that abuts the leading end of the signage assembly, when same is installed, and an open, most preferably slotted, end for receiving the leading end. The open end desirably includes a 20 locking device to retain the signage assembly in the installed position, most preferably in the form of a locking pin. In another form, the signage support frame includes a closed end with a means to bias the signage assembly away therefrom, when same is installed, and an openable end, for receiving the signage assembly, having a means to advance the signage assembly 25 towards the closed end. The openable end preferably includes a hinged door portion that includes a pivotted frame adapted to abut and advance the signage assembly upon closure of the door portion. The means to bias in the closed end is preferably in the form of bracket adapted to engage the signage assembly, the bracket being slidably mounted to the signage support frame. 30 The signage assembly is preferably comprises a substantially rigid backing, most preferably a product known as COREFLUTE (Trade Mark), to which is adhered a printed plastic sheet bearing advertising indicia or the like. The signage support frame preferably includes a rigid backing having upper and lower external channels for slidably receiving upper and lower edges respectively of the WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 3 signage assembly. The signage support frame rigid backing is preferably in the form of a pair of external aluminium sheets bonded to middle layer of polystyrene. The bracket assembly preferably comprises a plurality of upper brackets mounted to the vehicle side and roof and a plurality of lower brackets mounted to the 5 upper portion of the vehicle window. The upper brackets are preferably substantially right angled and are bonded or cemented at their upper and lower ends to the roof and side of the vehicle respectively, desirably by SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA (Trade Mark). The lower brackets are preferably substantially planar and cemented or bonded to the upper portion of the vehicle window, also desirably by SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA. 10 The signage support frame rigid backing preferably includes threaded fasteners and the upper and lower brackets are attached to the rigid backing by bolts passing through the brackets into engagement with the fasteners. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of 15 examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of an ultra low floor bus incorporating a first embodiment of the signage mounting arrangement according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the bus shown in Fig. 1 showing the sign assembly partially removed from the signage support frame; 20 Fig. 3 is a partial rear perspective view of the sign assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an assembled sectional end view of the sign assembly, signage support frame and bracket assembly used in the arrangement shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the components shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a partial enlarged view of the components shown in the upper circle of 25 Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a partial enlarged view of the components shown in the lower circle of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the components shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a partial enlarged view of an alternative embodiment of the components 30 shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 10 is a front perspective of an ultra low floor bus incorporating a second embodiment of the signage mounting arrangement according to the invention; Fig. 11 is a rear perspective view of the bus shown in Fig. 10 showing the sign assembly partially removed from the signage support frame; WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 4 Fig. 12 is a side view of a third embodiment of the signage mounting arrangement according to the invention; Fig. 13 is a top view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 12 in an open configuration; and 5 Fig. 14 is a top view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 12 in a closed configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 shows an ultra low floor bus 10 incorporating a first embodiment of a signage mounting arrangement 12 according to the invention. As Fig. 1 shows, the ultra 10 low floor bus is externally characterised by windows 14 of greater height than those of a conventional route bus. The windows 14 also have a bottom edge 16 which is lower and closer to the top of the wheel arches 18 of the bus 10, when compared to a conventional route bus. The windows 14 also include a non-transparent upper window portion 20. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the signage mounting arrangement 12 includes a 15 signage support frame 21 comprising a rigid backing 22 and upper and lower U-shaped brackets 24. The rigid backing 22 is of honeycomb construction and comprises a pair of external aluminium sheets 26 bonded to a middle layer of polystyrene 28. The channels 24 are also made of aluminium, are wider than the backing 22 and are positioned to define external channels 30 between the backing 22 and brackets 24 along the upper and lower 20 edges of the backing 22. The channels 30 are adapted to receive the upper and lower edges of a signage assembly 32. The signage assembly 32 is comprised of a substantially rigid backing 34 formed from COREFLUTE to which is adhered a printed plastic sheet 36 bearing advertising indicia or the like. As best shown in Fig. 3, the signage support frame 21 includes a closed and 37 25 an openable end 38 with a slot 40 through which the signage assembly 32 can slidably pass to install the signage assembly 32 in the signage support frame 21. A locking pin 42 is placed adjacent the slot 40 after the signage assembly 32 has been installed to retain it in place. As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the signage support frame 21 is mounted to the 30 bus 10 with its top edge being substantially level with the roof of the bus 10 by a bracket assembly comprising a plurality of upper right angled brackets 44 and a plurality of lower planar brackets 46. The signage support frame 22 includes threaded fasteners 48. Three bolts 50 engage the fasteners 48 to attach the brackets 44, 46 to the signage support frame 22. Upper spacers 56 and lower spacers 58 are positioned between the signage support WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 5 frame 21 and the upper and lower brackets 44, 46 respectively to cater for differences in bus width adjacent to where the upper and lower brackets 44, 46 are mounted. As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, cylindrical inserts 52 are provided in the interior of the signage support frame rigid backing 22 to avoid crushing of the backing 22, which is 5 relatively weak in compression. Fig. 9 shows an alternative form of lower bracket 46 which includes a single integral bolt 50. Returning to Fig. 4, the upper brackets 44 are attached to the roof and side of the bus 10 by portions 60 of SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA at either end of the bracket 44. The 10 entire length of the lower brackets 46 are attached to the non-transparent glass area 20 of the bus 10 by portions 62 of SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA. The bus 10 also includes rain gutter 64. Figs. 10 and 11 show an ultra low floor bus 10 incorporating a second embodiment of the signage mounting arrangement 120 according to the invention. Like 15 reference numerals for those used in describing the first embodiment shall be used to indicate like features in respect of the second embodiment. In the signage mounting arrangement 120, the signage assembly 32 is divided into three discrete portions 32a, 32b and 32c. The signage support frame 21 also includes a spring arrangement (not shown) in both of its ends to ensure that the portions 32a, 32b 20 and 32c are biased into an abutting relationship with one another so that gaps are not produced therebetween, for example due to expansion and contraction of the portions 32a, 32b and 32c due to temperature variations. Figs. 12 to 14 show a third embodiment of the signage mounting arrangement 220 according to the invention. Like reference numerals for those used in describing the 25 first embodiment shall also be used to indicate like features in respect of the third embodiment. In the signage mounting arrangement 220, the signage support frame 21 includes a closed end 37 with a means to bias the signage assembly 32 away therefrom. The biasing means is comprised of a bracket 66, a slider block 68 mounted to the signage 30 support frame 21, two slider rods 70 which extend from the bracket 66 through the block 68, and springs 72 around the rods 70 between the bracket 68 and the block 68. The bracket 66 engages the signage assembly 32 and the springs 72 bias the bracket 66, and thus the signage assembly 32, away from the block 68. The openable end 38 of the signage support frame includes a hinged door portion 74 that has a pivotted frame 76 35 connected thereto. The frame 76 abuts the signage assembly and, upon closure of the WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 6 door portion 74, advance the signage assembly 32 in the direction of arrow 78 and against the force of the (compressed) springs 72. The signage mounting arrangement 220 is suitable for use with the single signage assembly 32 of the first embodiment or the multiple portion sign assembly 32a, 5 32b and 32c of the second embodiment. The signage mounting arrangements described above advantageously allows the mounting of 24' x 2' advertising signage to an ultra low floor bus without impinging on any of the transparent window area available to the passengers or requiring reductions in advertising space to clear the bus wheel arches. 10 Another advantage is that the adhesive sheet can be applied to the COREFLUTE backing at ground level to form a light weight and rigid signage assembly which can be quickly and easily installed in the signage support frame, particularly the smaller portions of the second embodiment. This also allows the advertising signage of a particular bus to be quickly and easily removed or altered. 15 Further, the honeycomb construction of the rigid backing of the sign support frame is both relatively light weight for ease of installation and sufficiently rigid to resist wind force stresses and the like. Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific example, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in 20 many other forms.

Claims

1. A signage mounting arrangement for an ultra low floor transport vehicle, the arrangement including: a signage support frame; 5 a bracket assembly for mounting the signage support frame to the side of the vehicle substantially adjacent the roof of the vehicle; and a signage assembly adapted for slidable engagement with the signage support frame.

2. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 1, wherein the 10 signage support frame includes a closed end that abuts the leading end of the signage assembly, when same is installed, and an openable end for receiving the leading end.

3. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 2, wherein the openable end is slotted.

4. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the 15 openable end includes a locking device to retain the signage assembly adjacent the signage support frame.

5. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 4, wherein the locking device is a locking pin.

6 The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 1, wherein the 20 signage support frame includes a closed end with a means to bias the signage assembly away therefrom, when same is installed, and an openable end, for receiving the signage assembly, having a means to advance the signage assembly towards the closed end.

7. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 6, wherein the openable end includes a hinged door portion that includes a pivotted frame adapted to 25 abut and advance the signage assembly upon closure of the door portion.

8. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the means to bias in the closed end includes bracket adapted to engage the signage assembly, the bracket being slidably mounted to the signage support frame.

9. The signage mounting arrangement as claimed in any one of the 30 preceding claims, wherein the signage assembly comprises a substantially rigid backing to which is adhered a printed plastic sheet bearing advertising indicia or the like.

10. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 9, wherein the signage assembly rigid backing is COREFLUTE (Trade Mark). WO 01/07294 PCT/AU00/00876 8

11. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signage assembly is comprised of a plurality of discrete signage assembly portions.

12. The signage mounting arrangement as claimed in any one of the 5 preceding claims, wherein the signage support frame includes a rigid backing having upper and lower external channels for slidably receiving upper and lower edges respectively of the signage assembly.

13. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 12, wherein the signage support frame rigid backing comprises a pair of external aluminium sheets 10 bonded to a middle layer of polystyrene.

14. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bracket assembly comprises a plurality of upper brackets mounted to the vehicle side and roof and a plurality of lower brackets mounted to the upper portion of the vehicle window.

15 15. The signage mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 14, wherein the upper brackets are substantially right angled and are bonded or cemented at their upper and lower ends to the roof and side of the vehicle respectively.

16. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 15, wherein the upper brackets are bonded/cemented by SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA (Trade Mark). 20

17. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 14, wherein the lower brackets are substantially planar and cemented or bonded to the upper portion of the vehicle window.

18. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in claim 17, wherein the lower brackets are bonded/cemented by SIKAFLEX-255 EXTRA (Trade Mark). 25

19. The signage mounting arrangement claimed in any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the signage support frame rigid backing includes threaded fasteners and the upper and lower brackets are attached to the rigid backing by bolts passing through the brackets into engagement with the fasteners.