EP1806713A2

EP1806713A2 - Clamping bracket

Info

Publication number: EP1806713A2
Application number: EP07000021A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Kreijen
Original assignee: Ensign Engineers
Current assignee: Ensign Engineers
Priority date: 2006-01-09
Filing date: 2007-01-02
Publication date: 2007-07-11
Also published as: EP1806713A3; NL1030873C2

Abstract

Clamping bracket for fastening a sign, such as a traffic sign, street name sign or suchlike to a pole, said clamping bracket comprising a U-shaped section which can be pushed over the circumference of the pole, and a bolt that connects the two legs of the U-shaped section to each other and with which the distance between the legs can be adjusted whereby each end section of the U-shaped section is provided with groove-shaped recesses that can engage in an edge section of the sign.

Description

The invention relates to a clamping bracket for fastening a sign, such as a traffic sign, street name sign or suchlike to a pole, said clamping bracket comprising a U-shaped section which can be pushed over the circumference of the pole, and a bolt that connects the two legs of the U-shaped section to each other and with which the distance between the legs can be adjusted.
A clamping bracket of this type is known from British patent specification: 488 960 .
Clamping brackets for erecting signs such as traffic signs, street name signs or suchlike are known in many forms of embodiment. Examples of these are described in DE-A 39 27 935 , NL-A-80 01530 , NL-A-7317141 , NL-B-1009586 , NL-B-21808 , GB-A-2183887 , NL-B-1018967 and US 5 497 973 .
In general, one problem with the known clamping brackets is the large number of components that have to be used when mounting a sign on a pole and the lack of manageability, whereby during mounting too many hands are need to carry out the job. As mounting often has to be carried out in difficult circumstances, namely in the open air and in difficult to access locations, the erection of signs is often a costly matter and can as a rule not be carried out by one person.
The aim of the invention is to create a clamping bracket of the above type whereby the said disadvantages can largely be avoided.
This objective is achieved in accordance with the invention in that each end section of the U-shaped component is provided with a groove-shaped recesses which can engage in an edge section of the sign.
As a result of this design the number of separate components in the clamping bracket is limited to two so that together with the board to be mounted a maximum of three components has to be handled during erection. It is also possible to make the bracket self-clamping without an assembled bolt, so that on the one hand it is still moveable, but on the other hand cannot slide downwards when the sign is suspended on a single clamping bracket. This is, among other things, the result of the clamping force the grooves exert on the edge of the sign whenever the orientation of the grooves deviates from the orientation of the edge of the sign.
Other features and advantages will become clear from the following description, in which reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein :

Figure 1:: is a perspective drawing of a bracket in accordance with the invention,
Figure 2 :: is a top view of the bracket in accordance with figure 1,
Figure 3 :: is a side view of the bracket in accordance with figure 1,
Figure 4 :: is perspective drawing of the use of the bracket in accordance with the invention for attaching a sign,
Figure 5 :: is a perspective drawing of the use of the bracket in accordance with the invention for attaching a sign with a triangular shape, and
Figure 6 :: is a perspective drawing of a modified form of invention of a bracket in accordance with the invention

In figures 1, 2 and 3 a first form of embodiment of a bracket 1 in accordance with the invention is shown.
The bracket 1 comprises a U-shaped section 2, consisting of a semi-circular section 3 and two straight sections 4 and 5. The bracket is preferably made of aluminium but other materials that can demonstrate a correct combination of rigidity, resistance to corrosion and elasticity can also be used, such as other metals or plastics or combinations thereof.
The semi-circular section 3 has an almost constant diameter but at the transition to the straight sections 4 and 5 an inner thicker section 6 and 7 respectively is applied. In this way it is possible to push the bracket over a round pole with an outer diameter identical to the inner diameter of the semi-circular section 3 and to keep it in place in a slightly clamped manner.
In this way the subsequent positioning of the bracket and the attaching of a sign in the bracket can be considerably facilitated as the bracket 1 is easier to turn and push along the pole, but is kept in place once it is positioned.
In the shown example of embodiment the straight sections 4 and 5 are wedge-shaped legs with the broad section close to the free end of each section 4 of 5. In each of the straight sections 4 and 5 there is a drilled hole 8, 9, whereby the drilled holes 8 and 9 are in line with each other. In the shown example of embodiment the drilled hole 8 has a screw thread so that a bolt inserted through drilled hole 9 can be screwed into the drilled hole 8 thereby pulling the straight sections 4 and 5 towards each other. It is also possible to design both drilled holes 8, 9 to be identically smooth and to use a nut and bolt. The sections between the thickened sections 6 and 7 and the drilled holes 8 and 9 thus form an elastic hinge and ensure minimal deformation of the legs 4 and 5. Maximum sloping the grooves 15 and 18 is therefore possible.
The free end of each straight section 4 or 5 is provided with a thickened section 10 and 11 respectively with a special shape. The thickened sections 10, 11 are symmetrical in the shown example of embodiment. The thickened section 10 has a right-angled flange section 13 that can be considered as a prolongation of the straight section 4 but extending in a direction that is essentially perpendicular to the straight section 4. A second flange section 14 is practically parallel to and identical in shape to the flange section 13 and is connected thereto by way of a section 15. Seen perpendicularly to the flange sections 13 and 14, the section 15 is of identical shape to these sections 13 and 14 and is shaped so that two sides coincide with two sides of the flange sections 13, 14, more particularly the side in line with the inside of the straight section 4 and one of the sides perpendicular thereto, whereby an L-shaped groove 16 is formed between the flange sections 13, 14. In actual fact the L-shaped groove 16 forms 2 grooves, one parallel to the surface of the inside of the straight section 4 and one perpendicular thereto. The free ends of these grooves 16 are rounded which facilitates the insertion of sign-shaped components into the groove 16.
The use of the bracket in accordance with the invention is illustrated in fig. 4.
The bracket 1 is pushed over a pole 20 via the open end of the U-shape and, as it were, clicked onto it. As a result of the tendency of the bracket to slant it will remain in place. If necessary a bolt 21 can be screwed through drilled hole 9 into drilled hole 8 and tightened until it is still possible to push the bracket along the length of the pole 20 and at the same time keep the bracket in place in a slightly clamped manner.
The bracket is then positioned in the correct place whereupon a sign 22 can be placed in the grooves 16 of the bracket.
This assumes a sign designed in the usual manner, such as used for traffic signs, street name signs and suchlike, whereby the edges of a plate are bent over twice by 90° thus forming an edge section that runs parallel to the surface of the signs. This is knows as the double-flanged edge. This edge section can thus be positioned in the grooves 16 of the bracket 1, whereupon the bolt can be tightened further. In this way the bracket will on the one hand clamp to the pole 20, while the orientation of the grooves in each thickened section is displaced in such a way that the sign is clamped in the grooves 16.
In figure 5 it is shown how, for example, a triangular sign as is usual in the case of traffic signs can be clamped by way of the clamping bracket in accordance with the invention.
The upper edge 30 is normally clamped by way of the groove in the bracket 1, while at point 31 of the triangular sign the presence of the L-shaped groove is exploited. The same principle can also be applied to other shapes of signs, for example signs with rounded sections of small radius.
Figure 6 shows a modified form of embodiment of a clamping bracket in accordance with the invention.
In principle in figure 6 the lower part of the shown clamping bracket is identical to the clamping bracket as shown in figure 1-3. The modification consists in the straight sections 4, 5 on the side of the semi-circular section 3 each being extended with a straight section 44, 45 the free ends of which are provided with thickened sections 48, 49 that correspond with the thickened sections on the free ends of the straight sections 4, 5 and also have the same function.
With the aid of the bracket in accordance with figure 6 it is possible to attach two signs on both sides of a pole. In doing so a bolt can be used that sufficiently deforms the bracket in order to clamp the signs on both sides. If required, however, sections 44, 45 can also be provided with drilled holes 50, 51 into which a bolt can be inserted to ensure additional deformation of the sections 44, 45 and therefore provide sufficient clamping in the grooves in the thickened sections 48, 49.

Claims

Clamping bracket for fastening a sign, such as a traffic sign, street name sign or suchlike to a pole, said clamping bracket comprising a U-shaped section which can be pushed over the circumference of the pole, and a bolt that connects the two legs of the U-shaped set to each other and with which the distance between the legs can be adjusted, characterised in that each end section of the legs of the U-shaped section is provided with groove-shaped recesses which can engage in an edge section of the sign.
Clamping bracket in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that each end section has two groove-shaped recess that from an angle with regard to each other.
Clamping bracket in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterised in that each groove-shaped recess has a broader outer free end.
Clamping bracket in accordance with any one of claims 1 - 3, characterised in that the sides of the legs of the U-shaped section facing each other are provided with a thickened section with which clamping around the pole can be brought about.
Clamping bracket in accordance with any one of the preceding claims characterised in that each leg of the U-shaped section has an extension section and the ends of these extension sections are provided with groove-shaped recesses that can engage in an edge section of the sign.
Clamping bracket in accordance with claim 5, characterised in that the two extension sections can be connected to each other by way of a bolt with which the distance between these extension sections can be adjusted.
Clamping bracket in accordance with any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the legs of the U-shaped section are elastically deformable as a result of which the orientation of the grooves can be adjusted.