GB2255433A - Signboard. - Google Patents

Abstract

A signboard is provided which comprises a baseboard 1 including a sheet of ferromagnetic material 3 and indicia 4 removably mounted on the baseboard by magnetic attraction, said indicia including in their construction a layer of a magnetised, flexible synthetic material and alignment means 5 associated with the baseboard for aligning the indicia thereon. The aligning means may consist of strips of ferromagnetic material on which a message in indicia can be assembled (Figure 3). The strips may include aligning means and also means for releasably mounting the strips on a backing board, such as pins cooperating with perforations (Figure 9). <IMAGE>

Description

SIGNBOARDS This invention relates to signboards, and in particular provides a signboard where the lettering or other indicia can be readily changed.

Signboards and display devices are often required where the message requires to be changed from time to time. In the past, this has frequently been done by using self-adhesive lettering which can be releasably glued to a backing sheet but this has the disadvantage that some degree of skill is required to position and adhere the letters to the backing sheet. More elaborate systems utilise plastic letters having projections which can be received in holes in an apertured backing board, or letters which can be slid into grooves formed in a backing board. All these systems are, however, expensive and bulky.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a signboard for interchangeable indicia which comprises a baseboard including a sheet of ferromagnetic material, and indicia removably mounted on the baseboard by magnetic attraction, said indicia including in their construction a layer of a magnetised flexible synthetic material and aligning means associated with the baseboard for aligning the indicia thereon.

The means for aligning the indicia on the baseboard may comprise raised portions of said ferromagnetic sheet material. These raised portions are conveniently formed by deformations or holes in the ferromagnetic sheet material. Deformations may be provided by forming mutually parallel corrugations in the sheet material.

The aligning means may be a separate elongated member, e.g. a strip, which is releasably attached or mounted on the back board. For example, the aligning means may comprise a strip which includes locating means such as pins, which engage in holes in the baseboard.

Another possibility is to employ a magnetic aligning strip which may be formed from or incorporate a layer of magnetic material. Such magnetic material may be the same as that described below for manufacture of the indicia.

One advantage of the system is that the indicia, which are formed on a magnetised, flexible, synthetic material, can be quickly placed on the backing board and the aligning means ensures that the finished product has the appearance of a permanent or custom-made sign.

Despite this, the sign can be changed very quickly, without leaving any adhering remnants of adhesive, which could collect dirt and impair the appearance.

It may be more convenient for the user of the signboard to be able to arrange the lettering or other indicia on a working surface, such as a desk and, having arranged the indicia, to then place the resulting sign in the desired position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, therefore, there is provided a signboard including a ferromagnetic baseboard and indicia comprising flexible magnetic material which are releasably attached to the baseboard by magnetic attraction, the baseboard comprising one or more strips of ferromagnetic material incorporating means for aligning the indicia thereon and the or each strip having means for releasably attaching it to a backing surface.

Preferably, each strip is deformed along one edge to provide the aligning means. The strips may be formed conveniently from perforated sheet steel and the ends of each strip formed with arm ' portions which releasably engage with a backing board. Alternatively, the strips may be provided with pins or other projections which are releasable engageable in holes in the backing board.

In order to protect the sign from unauthorised interference, the signboard preferably includes a transparent plastic sheet or screen which is removably secured to the baseboard or backing board. In one form of the invention, the protective transparent screen is secured by magnets which are adhesively bonded to the transparent screen and are held on the backing board by magnetic attraction to ferromagnetic spaces. In this way, the protective screen is readily removable to adjust or change the sign. Other methods of assembling the components of the signboard include frame members, e.g. of extruded plastics material a for engaging the edges of the baseboard and any transparent screen.

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the signboard showing an example of a message on the board, Figure 2 is a side elevation in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the ferromagnetic sheet material showing the way in which the aligning means are formed, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the signboard showing two ferromagnetic strips and a backing surface, Figure 5 is a view looking downwardly from the top edge of a strip, Figure 5A is a view in the direction of arrow 'X' in Figure 5, Figure 6 is a section through one edge of the assembled signboard shown in Figure 4, Figure 7 is a part section taken along the lines A-A in Figure 6, showing the bottom edge of the assembled signboard, Figure 8 is a similar section but showing the top edge of the signboard shown in Figure 4, Figure 9 is an exploded view of a third embodiment of the signboard in accordance with the invention, Figure 10 shows a partial view of the assembled signboard of Figure 9 in front elevation, and Figure 11 is a section taken on the line X-X in Figure 10 Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, the signboard comprises a baseboard 1 which may be formed from plastics, wood or a wood substitute material, having a recess 2 for receiving a sheet 3 of ferromagnetic material such as thin gauge mild steel. Sheet 3 may be fixed to the baseboard 1 by any suitable means such as with adhesive.Indicia such as letters or numbers 4 are attached to the baseboard by magnetic attraction and by virtue of particles of magnetised material incorporated in their manufacture, as will be described subsequently.

Typically, the indicia are printed or formed as individual letters or numbers, and words and messages may be formed by placing the indicia on the baseboard and using ribs 5 as aligning means. Ribs 5 are formed in the embodiment described by forming corrugations in the steel sheet 3, as shown best in Figure 3. Preferably, the depth of the corrugations 5 corresponds with the thickness of the indicia 4, so that the tops of the indicia are generally flush with the tops of the aligning means. Typically, the thickness of the indicia are about 0.85 mms thick, but may range, for example, from about 1/2 to I mm thick.

The steel sheet may typically be about 26 gauge.

In order to protect the sign from unauthorised tampering, the lettering is preferably protected with a transparent plastic sheet 6, e.g. made from polyacrylate or polycarbonate such as perspex or macrolon. As seen most clearly in Figure 2, the protective transparent screen 6 is mounted on the baseboard 1 by means of spacers 7. The spacers 7 are secured e.g. by gluing or screwing in the baseboard 1 and the screen 6 removably attached to the spacers 7 by magnets 8 which are held in recesses in the screen 6, e.g. by adhesive. Thus, on viewing the signboard from the front as in Figure 1, the screen 6 appears to be permanently fixed to the baseboard.

The indicia 4 are formed from a magnetised material.

This material is a flexible rubber sheeting, eg. a synthetic rubber sheeting in which magnetised ferromagnetic material has been incorporated. This is achieved by mixing a magnetic iron oxide with a rubber composition, producing an unvulcanised sheeting by rolling, and heating the sheeting and then magnetising the ferromagnetic material by subjecting the sheeting to a strong magnetic field. The resultant material is permanently magnetised. Typically, pole spacing is about 2.5mm. One commercial magnetised sheet is available under the trade name Vynon Rubber Magnet 8-CL.Its magnetic and physical properties are as follows:

Magnetic Value Residual Flux Density Br(Gauss) 1900 Coercive Force HC (Oersteds) 1570 Max Energy Product DH max (MGOe) 0.79 Physical Specific Gravity (g/cm3) 3.5-.7 Property Hardness (Shore A) 96 Tensile Strength (Kg/cm2) 80 (MD) 60 (CD) Elongation (%) 50 (mud) 90 (CD) Thicknesses for the magnetic sheet may vary from 0.5 to lam. The magnetised indicia are produced by laminating a suitable vinyl coating over the magnetised rubber sheeting to give the desired base colour, and printing e.g. by screen printing the desired indicia on the vinyl laminated magnetised sheeting. Individual lettering is then obtained by die cutting the sheet. It is also possible to laminate photographs or designs onto the magnetic rubbery sheeting. Photographs can be produced by direct printing onto photo-sensitised plastics film. The resulting photographs or designs can be mounted by magnetic attraction onto the baseboard, together with lettering and/or numerals to illustrate a sales or other message. The term 'indicia' is used to include all such visual material.

Referring to Figures 4 to 8 of the drawings, each strip 21 is a strip of sheet steel, e.g. of about 26 gauge, formed with perforations (not shown) in order to reduce its weight. The strip is formed with arms 22 extending at right-angles at each end, the arms being deformed into one or more inwardly directed dimples 23.

Along its lower longitudinal edge, each strip is formed with a turned-up projection 24 (best seen in Figures 7 and 8), which defines the aligning means for aligning indicia 25 on each strip. The depth of the projection may approximate to or be greater than the thickness of the indicia.

The strips are assembled onto a backing surface 26 which may, for example, comprise a compressed wooden fibre board and are secured by means of brackets 27 (see Figure which are attached, e.g. by screwing to the edges of backing boards 26. As best seen in Figure 6, the dimples 23 of the steel strips engage in corresponding holes 28, formed in the brackets 27. It will be appreciated that the steel strips 21 have a degree of springiness, so that by pushing them onto the backing board, the dimples engage in and are located in the holes 28. Removal of the strips is achieved in a similar way by lifting ears 29 at the ends of arms 22 of the strips and pulling the strips away from the backing board.

It will be appreciated that the desired message can be formed in the indicia 25 on a strip 21, while resting the strip on a desk, and the strip bearing the positioned indicia then assembled on the backing board by engagement of the dimples 23 and the holes 28 as described above.

Because the letters or other indicia are held onto the strips by magnetic attraction and aligned by the longitudinal projection 24, the strips can be moved without disturbing their arrangement.

The signboard is completed by a transparent covering sheet 30, supported in a frame 31. As can be seen from Figure 7, the backing board 26 is held within the frame 31 by screw 32. The strips may be painted, e.g. by stove enamelling, to provide an attractive surface for arranging the indicia or, alternatively, blanks of magnetised laminate may be used between lettering to provide spaces.

The indicia are manufactured from a magnetic rubber sheet material laminated to a white or coloured sheet material such as p.v.c. as described above in connection with the first embodiment. The laminated sheet may then be die cut to define the individual indicia blanks, but without severing them from the sheets. The letters or other indicia can then be printed, e.g. by screen printing and the resulting sheets delivered to the customer, who can then pull the individual indicia from the sheet for use.

A third embodiment is shown in the exploded view of Figures 9, 10 and 11. A ferromagnetic sheet metal baseboard 41 is fabricated as a hollow box and presents a surface 42 on one side for assembling indicia The opposite face 43 may also present a similar surface for viewing a message in ' the opposite direction or, alternatively, be covered with an opaque mounting surface 44. As shown in the drawing, surface 44 may incorporate keyholes 45 in order to facilitate hanging the signboard for a vertical wall or other surface. The signboard may alternatively be freestanding and include pillars 46 (of which only one is shown), adapted to be bolted to the upright edges of backboard 41, through side frames 47.A still further alternative is to hang the signboard from wires or rods 48 which are arranged to be attached to the upper face of the backboard, e.g. by the bolts indicated.

The display surface 42 is formed with a regular pattern of perforations 49, preferably overall. These perforations can be used themselves as an aligning aid for assisting the user to mount magnetic indicia (not shown) on the backboard. However, preferably, a separate aligning means is provided. Figure 9 depicts a strip 50 which may be removably mounted on the baseboard by means of pins 51 which engage in selected perforations in the surface 42. The edge of the strip 50 may be used as an aligning means to arrange letters on the backboard.

Another possibility is to employ a separate mounting strip 52 similar to those shown at 21 in Figures 4 to 8.

Strip 52 is ferromagnetic and may incorporate pins which enable the strip to be removably mounted on the backboard instead of ears 22. Alternatively, strips 52 may be mounted on the backboard in the manner described in Figures 4 to 8. In this case, the backing board 41 need not be made from ferromagnetic material but preferably is so made. This is because other visual material such as photographs or designs having a magnetic layer can be mounted directly on the backing board in order to illustrate the message embodied in the indicia.

A transparent screen 53 is provided to cover the signboard after placing the indicia in position and the screen 53 may be held in place by means of ears 54 of the profiled frames 47.

An aligning strip or rod 50 has projecting studs 50A which engage in holes or perforations 49 formed on the sheet metal surface 42. In the assembled condition, the ends of strips or rods 50 are tucked into the gap between the ears 54 of upright profile 47 and the surface 42. As shown in Figure 10, the top of the backboard may be capped with a profile similar to profile 60 and the gap between the horizontal and vertical profiles filled with a corner moulding 61

Claims (14)

1. A signboard which comprises a baseboard including a sheet of ferromagnetic material and indicia removably mounted on the baseboard by magnetic attraction, said indicia including in their construction a layer of a magnetised, flexible synthetic material and aligning means associated with the baseboard for aligning the indicia thereon.

2. A signboard according to claim 1 wherein the aligning means comprise raised portions on said ferromagnetic sheet material.

3. A signboard according to claim 2 wherein the aligning means comprise deformations in the ferromagnetic sheet material.

4. A signboard according to claim 3 wherein said deformations comprise mutually parallel corrugations.

5. A signboard according to claim 1 wherein the aligning means comprises holes formed in the sheet of ferromagnetic material.

6. A signboard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the ferromagnetic sheet material is supported on a backboard,

7. A signboard according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a transparent plastics sheet is removably mounted on the baseboard so as to form a protective screen covering the indicia.

8. A signboard which comprises a ferromagnetic baseboard and indicia comprising flexible magnetic material which are releasably attached to the baseboard by magnetic attraction, the baseboard comprising one or more strips of ferromagnetic material incorporating means for aligning the indicia thereon and the or each strip having means for releasably attaching it to a backing surface.

9. A signboard according to claim 8 in which the or each strip is deformed along an edge to provide said aligning means.

10. A signboard according to claim 8 or 9 in which the or each strip is perforated sheet metal.

11. A signboard according to any one of claims 8 to 10 in which the or each strip is formed with arm portions which releasably engage with a backing board.

12. A signboard which comprises a ferromagnetic baseboard having means for releasably mounting thereon an aligning strip and indicia comprising flexible magnetic material releasably attached to the baseboard by magnetic attraction and aligned thereon by juxtapositioning with said aligning strip.

13. A signboard according to claim 13 in which the aligning strip is mounted on the baseboard by locating means engaging in holes in the baseboard.

14. A signboard according to claim 13 in which the baseboard comprises a sheet of perforated ferromagnetic metal and the aligning means include spigots which are engageable in said perforations.