EP0311350A2

EP0311350A2 - Display sign

Info

Publication number: EP0311350A2
Application number: EP88309232A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Knud Raben-Christensen
Original assignee: COMPAS MARKETING SERVICES Ltd
Current assignee: COMPAS MARKETING SERVICES Ltd
Priority date: 1987-10-09
Filing date: 1988-10-04
Publication date: 1989-04-12
Also published as: EP0311350A3; GB8723745D0; GB2211011A; GB8823285D0; JPH01198786A

Abstract

A display sign comprises a frame (10) and a plate (11) carrying indicia on one face thereof and being removably snap-fitted with the frame (10) within the side-walls (14) thereof. For this purpose, the plate (11) is provided with an inwardly or outwardly directed flange (22) which can be snap-fitted behind a plurality of noses (18) located around the inner periphery of the frame and projecting respectively inwardly from or towards the side-walls (14). Means are preferably provided whereby two or more such signs can be assembled in side-by-side and/or back-to-back relationship using appropriate C- or H-section connecting clips.

Description

This invention relates to display signs, particularly to small ready-made signs carrying specific indicia in the form of wording and/or symbols which can be simply erected at any desired location.
There is already a large and growing demand for such signs and small, inexpensive signs are already being sold in stationery shops, hardware stores, graphic shops and elsewhere, as well as directly by sign companies.
This growing demand is partly due to Government Regulations in respect of the indication of fire exits in hotels, offices and other buildings, and the requirements of recent Health and Safety Acts, but in the main it is due to the fact that, in today's environment, much emphasis is put on making the atmosphere in offices and shops friendly and attractive and to obviate as far as possible, the need for staff to answer questions, such as "Is there a toilet?", or "Where is ....?", which staff may have to answer hundreds of times a day if the provision of signs is inadequate or even non-existent.
It will be apparent that such signs must be provided carrying any one of a very large number of different lettering or symbols, which in many cases, for example, a sign indicating the name or rank of the occupant of a room, must be specially made for the purpose. Again, in many cases, the sign may have to be changed where, for example, a particular use changes, or a room changes occupants.
Signs are fixed in a number of ways:-

a) directly, flat on to a door or wall;
b) projecting at an angle of 90° from a wall, for example, outside individual doors in a corridor; in this case two signs arranged back-to-back are usually required;
c) hanging from the ceiling, for example, in shops or in the entrance to a building.

In all these situations, several signs are often required to be displayed together, and any sign system should take account of this and permit the signs to be readily connected to one another.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a display sign in which the indicia shown on the sign can easily be changed without the use of special tools and which can be fixed easily without the use of skilled labour. It is a further object to provide such signs which can easily be attached together and to which further signs can be added as required.
According to the invention, there is provided a two-part display sign comprising a first part in the form of a rectangular frame having a rear wall which can be fixed to a wall, door, or other flat surface, and peripheral side-walls upstanding therefrom and a second part in the form of a flat plate carrying indicia on one face thereof and adapted to be removably snap-fitted into the frame within the side-walls thereof.
The plate is preferably provided with a resilient outwardly-directed peripheral flange which can be snap-fitted behind a plurality of noses located around the inner periphery of the frame and projecting inwardly from the side-walls thereof. Alternatively, the plate can be provided with an inwardly-directed flange which can be snap-fitted behind a plurality of noses located around the inner periphery of the frame and projecting towards the side-walls thereof.
The frame and plate will usually be square in shape but may be oblong, if desired. The plate may be of integral, or of two or more part construction. The latter may be used where, for example, two names of the occupants of a room are shown on the plate, only one of which may subsequently need to be changed.
Each such frame is preferably provided with means whereby, by the use of an appropriately-shaped clip, it can be held in side-by-side, or back-to-back, relationship with an identical frame. Such means are conveniently formed by a peripheral recess or recesses in the rear face of the back wall parallel to side-walls into any of which one limb of a U-shaped clip can be inserted, the other limb being inserted into a similar recess in another frame, to provide a side-by-side connection.
For back-to-back connection, an H-section clip is used, the two flanges of each side of the H being inserted into corresponding recesses in the rear faces of the two frames to be joined.
By providing two appropriately-spaced parallel recesses in the back of each plate, the H-section clip can be used both for direct back-to-back connection of two plates and for connecting two back-to-back formations in side-by-side relationship.
The back-to-back attachment is used where the frame is required to project from a wall at 90°, one flange of at least one of the H-section clips used being provided with tabs having holes therein by means of which it can be screwed to the wall to form a bracket. The H-section clips can also be used to attach holding wires where the sign is to be suspended. Here again, a back-to-back arrangement is used.
With both types of clip, the frames may be gripped together only by the resilience of the clips themselves and/or the frames, and it is therefore simple to separate the frames again should this be required. If desired, one or more projections on the wall of a recess can snap into an aperture or apertures in the clip.
Both the frames and the plates can be made of any suitable material, particularly plastics material. An ABS material is preferred.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawings, in which:-

Figures 1, 2 and 3 are respectively front, side and back views of a frame part of one form of display sign according to the invention;
Figure 4 is a section taken along the line A-A of Figure 3;
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively front and side views of a plate part of the same display sign;
Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 are respectively front, side, back and end views of an H-section clip for use with the display signs of Figures 1 to 6;
Figure 11 is a section taken along the line A-A of Figure 7;
Figures 12, 13 and 14 are respectively top, side and end views of a U-section clip for use with the display signs of Figures 1 to 6;
Figure 15 is a section taken along the line B-B of Figure 14;
Figure 16 is a schematic exploded, perspective view to illustrate the wall mounting of a display sign in accordance with the invention;
Figure 17 is a schematic, partially exploded perspective view to illustrate the sidewise connection of display signs according to the invention;
Figure 18 is a schematic, exploded, perspective view to illustrate back-to-back and sidewise connection of two display signs according to the invention;
Figure 19 is a schematic, perspective view of two display signs in back-to-back relationship mounted to form a projecting or suspended sign;
Figures 20, 21 and 22 are respectively front, side and back views of an alternative construction of the frame part of a display sign according to the invention;
Figures 23 and 24 are respectively sections taken along the lines A-A and B-B of Figure 22 on an enlarged scale;
Figure 25 is a scrap section taken along the line C-C of Figure 22 on a yet more enlarged scale; and
Figures 26 and 27 are respectively front and side views of a plate part for use with the frame part of Figures 20 to 25.

In the Figures, similar parts are indicated by the same reference numerals.
Referring to Figures 1 to 6, the two-part display sign of the invention comprises a frame 10 (Figures 1 to 4) and a plate 11 (Figures 5 and 6).
The frame 10 is square in shape and comprises a rear wall 12 (a central portion of which in the form of a cross 13 is cut away to save material and to reduce weight) and a peripheral wall 14 upstanding therefrom. As shown most clearly in Figures 3 and 4, the rear face opposite the peripheral wall is provided with a recess 15 extending into the wall 14 around the periphery and with further rectilinear recesses 16, one extending along a central part of each side of the rear wall parallel to the edge. These recesses 16 pass through the rear wall and open in projections 17 upstanding from the front face of the rear wall. At the centre of each side of the peripheral wall, the inner face thereof is provided with an inwardly-projecting nose 18. Holes 19 for the passage of screws for mounting the frame to a wall or other flat surface are provided in the rear wall in the angles of the cross 13.
As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the plate 11 comprises a flat panel 20 on which the indicia (wording, numbers or symbols) are printed or otherwise marked. The panel 20 is provided with a down-turned peripheral wall 21 and this in turn with an outwardly-projecting flange 22.
The dimensions of the plate 11 and the resiliency of the flange 22 are such that the plate can be inserted in the open front of the frame 10 and the flange 22 snap-fitted behind the noses 18 on the inner peripheral wall of the frame. If required, the plate can easily be levered out, for example, with a screwdriver, and replaced, e.g. with one bearing different indicia.
Various methods of fixing display signs in accordance with the invention are illustrated in Figures 16 to 19. As shown in Figure 16, the frame 10 can be fixed to a flat surface, such as a door or wall using either self-adhesive pads 23, or screws 24. The panel 11 is snapped into place in the frame 10, after the latter has been fixed in position.
Figure 17 illustrates the production of "ganged" signs forming a sign assembly by fixing two or more frames together in side-by-side relationship, using a U-shaped clip 25, shown in detail in Figures 12 to 15. This clip has a base 26 and two arms 27, cut-outs 28 being provided on either side to provide a degree of flexibility. In order to join the two frames, one arm 27 is inserted into the recess 15 on the back of one frame and the other arm 27 into the recess 15 of an adjoining frame, the two frames thus being held together by the resilience of the clip. In this way, further signs can be attached at each side of an existing sign.
Back-to-back fixing together of two signs is illustrated in Figure 18. In this case, an H-shaped clip is used as illustrated in detail in Figures 7 to 10. This clip 29 has two flanges 30 connected by a cross-bar 31. At one end, one of the flanges 30 is extended by tabs 32 having holes 33 for the passage of screws. Again a central cut-away portion 34 is provided at each side for increased flexibility.
As shown in Figure 18, two clips 29 are used. That shown in position on the right-hand side has its two flanges 30 inserted into the recesses 15 and 16 on the back of each plate, so that the clip is wholly within the combined plates when these are fastened together. At the left-hand side, however, the flanges 30 of the clip are inserted in the recesses 15 of two frames, thus linking two back-to-back formations in side-by-side relationship.
Figure 19 shows two back-to-back signs arranged for mounting at 90° to a wall, or for suspension. In the first case, the shorter flange 30 of the clip 29 on the left is inserted into the recesses 15 of the two frames 10 which are back-to-back, while the longer flange 30 remains outside the assembly to form a bracket by means of which the combined signs can be screwed to the wall. In a similar way, the combined back-to-back signs can be suspended by hanging wires 35 connected to the clips 29. Another construction of frame for use in the invention is illustrated in Figures 20 to 25 and a plate for use therewith in Figures 26 and 27. The principal difference between the construction and that previously described is that in place of the relatively large, centrally disposed nose 18, two or more smaller projecting noses 36 are used on each side of the frame 10, which may, for ease of insertion of the plate 11, be arranged to co-operate with corresponding bevels 37 formed on the flange 22 of the plate 11. Correspondingly shaped U-section and H-section clips are used, which have not been illustrated. In this embodiment, knobs 38 are provided on the front face of the rear wall to which hanging wires can be attached for suspending the sign.
The display signs of the invention provide a sign system, which can be used to provide a complete range of much used signs for offices, shops and public places and which includes the facility for providing signs with individual names, or other indicia. The signs can be produced relatively cheaply and one frame can accommodate a succession of different plates should this be necessary. The signs can be fixed to a wall, door, office screen, or the like, or mounted to project at right angles or be suspended from above, or they can be free standing. The signs can be mounted in position without the use of skilled labour.
Further signs can easily be added to existing ones by the use of the clips provided. By the choice of a suitable plastics material for the sign, signs suitable for inside or outside use can be provided.
While normally, the sign system provided by the present invention consists of a plurality of similarly sized signs which can be fixed together as described above, a larger frame could also be provided having, for example, a side length equal to twice that of the normal signs, but of basically similar construction. An unlimited number of ordinary-sized signs could then be fixed in side-by-side relationship around the larger sign.

Claims

1. A two-part display sign comprising a first part in the form of a substantially rectangular frame having a rear wall which can be fixed to a wall, door, or other flat surface and peripheral side-walls upstanding therefrom and a second part in the form of a flat plate carrying indicia on one face thereof and adapted to be removably snap-fitted into the frame within the side-walls thereof.

2. A display sign as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said plate is provided with a resilient outwardly or inwardly directed flange which can be snap-fitted behind a plurality of noses located around the inner periphery of the frame and projecting inwardly from or towards the side-walls thereof.

3. A display sign as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said frame is provided with means whereby it can be held in side-by-side and/or back-to-back relationship with an identical or similar frame with the aid of a clip.

4. A display sign as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said means comprises a peripheral recess or recesses formed in the rear face of the back wall of the frame and extending parallel to the side-walls thereof.

5. A display sign as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said frame is provided with a further recess or recesses formed in the rear face of the back wall of the frame further from the outer perimeter of said frame than said first-mentioned recess or recesses and parallel to said first-mentioned recess or recesses.

6. A display plate assembly comprising two display plates as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 joined together in side-by-side relationship by means of a U-section clip, the respective limbs of said clip being received in the peripheral recesses of said two display plates.

7. A display plate assembly comprising two display plates as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 joined together in back-to-back relationship by means of H-section clips, the respective flanges of one limb of each clip being received in the peripheral recesses of the two display plates.

8. A display plate assembly as claimed in Claim 7, wherein at least one of said clips has a limb thereof located externally of said frame, said limb being provided at either end with a projecting tab having a hole therein, whereby the two plates held in back-to-back alignment by the clips can be fixed to a wall or other flat surface to project perpendicularly therefrom by nails or screws passing through said holes.

9. A display plate assembly as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the flanges of the two limbs of each said clip are respectively received in the peripheral recesses and the further recesses of each said frame part, whereby in the assembly said clips are housed entirely within said display signs.

10. A display plate assembly as claimed in Claim 9, wherein means are provided for suspending said assembly.

11. A display plate assembly as claimed in Claim 7 comprising two pairs of display plates, each pair joined together in back-to-back relationship, the pairs themselves being joined together in side-by-side relationship, wherein the respective flanges of the two limbs of a clip common to the two pairs of plates are received in the peripheral recesses of the two plates forming one of the pairs, thereby joining the two pairs in side-by-side relationship.