US1065897A - Advertising-sign. - Google Patents

Description

G. R. COLVIN.

ADVERTISING SIGN.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.19, 1910. RENEWED 001'. 2, 1912. 1,065,897.

Patented June 24, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. COLVIN, OF SFOKANE, WASHINGTON.

ADVERTISING-SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 24, 1913.

Application filed February 19, 1910, Serial No.'544=,935. Renewed October 2, 1912. Serial No. 723,591.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE R. Co'LvrN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Spokane, county of Spokane, and State of Vashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Advertising-Signs, of which'the following is a specification.

. This invention relates to improvements in advertising signs and more especially to that ors are employed.

My sign is also adaptable for use upon railway cars for indicating the different stations as well as displaying advertisements of pictures or reading matter. A number of the complete devices may also advanta geously be employed in a complete system by installing the units at different parts of a city or in different locations, having each unit provided with electrical connections to a central station, at which latter point all of the signs of the system are controlled, different circuits being employed for different locations and the separate units being rented to customers.

With these general objects in view and others that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the improvement consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts herein fully described,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specified in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like designating numerals represent corresponding parts throughout the several views: Figure l-is a plan view of the device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical. section taken upon line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig.

t is a vertical transverse section taken upon line 4-4 of Fig. 1, and, Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a means for attaching the letters to the sign.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the

rectangular sign body 1 will be noted as provided upon each of its longitudinal faces with glass panels 2 which are positioned in any desired manner but are preferably hinged or adapted to be slidably removed in order to provide -an easy a'ccess'to the interior of the sign. Positioned within the sign and running longitudinally thereof adjacent each glass face are the strips'3 of U- shape form as shown in Fig. 5 andadapted to receive the rubber bases 4 of the letters 5, whereby said letters arearranged in any desired manner and aise arate strip, 3 is employed for eachline-desired. ;Broadly speaking, said rectangular g-sign, 1 is jp'ositioned between the upright standards-6 and 6, which sign-isareyolvedf by the. motor 7 conventionally 'showfn,-,. while saidsign is illuminated-from withinby-theincandescent lamp 8. The electrical Wiring-for said lamp is effected through the conduit or-pipe 9,

the conducting wireslO leading to'any suitable source of supply.

As a means'of support'for the sign, it will be noted that the standard 6' is provided with the integral boss 11 through which and the standard extend a perf0ra tion 12 adaptedto receive the said pipe 9, which is secured thereinby the set screw 13, said .pipe thus affording a; substantial bearing for the end 14 ofthe sign, which may be provided with the bushing 15. It is ob vious that any number of electric lamps 8 maybe employed within the sign or an electricalfiashing apparatus may-be installed therein. The opposite end 16 of the sign is provided with a stub shaft 17. which is keyed thereto by the key 18. Said shaft 17 is journaled in the support 6 and the integral bosses 19 thereof, while the outer end of said shaft is squared to receive the operating star wheel 20 secured thereon by the nut 21. Said star wheel however, maybe constructed integral with the shaft 17 or the shaft 17 may be integral with the end 16 of the frame 1, the material features of the construction however, being. that the star wheel 20, the stub shaft 17 and the sign '1 move in unison and are supported and journaled, as described, in the support 6. The boss 11 and the inner boss 19 contact the opposite ends of the sign and accurately position the sign between the standards 6 and 6.

The general operation of the motor device may be illustrated by referring to Fig. 4c, in which the crank 22 upon the power shaft 23 of the motor has a terminal arm 2% adapted to assume the path of travel indicated by the arrow and at the extreme upper swing of the crank is adapted to engage one of the beveled or inclined end faces 25 of the star wheel 20. The arms 26 of said star wheel 20 are positioned in the planes of the diameters of the adjacent square end 16 of the sign body and are of suflicient length to be accurately positioned to be contacted by said arm 24 and to be thereby impelled forward substantially one-fourth of a complete revolution in the direction of travel indicated by the arrow in the smaller circle. By this arrangement, the regular operation of the motor revolves the advertising sign through an arc of about 90 upon each complete revolution of the power shaft 23 thereof.

The entire mechanism herein described and consisting of the motor and the actuated illuminated advertising sign is pref erably mounted upon a suitable base 27, rendering the apparatus easily movable. It will be noted that any form of motor desired may be employed, such for instance as an electric motor which will derive its power from the same source of supply as the incandescent lamp. However, as it is only necessary to display the separate sides of the sign for a predetermined time, the operation or rotation of the sign, may if desired be manually controlled. When electricity is employed as the motor and illuminating medium, a single switch may be employed for simultaneousl turning on the motor and the lights. To fiirther insure an accurate positioning of each of the sides of the sign, that the same may be viewable to the observer, an auxiliary T-shaped stop 28 is employed, which is hinged to said base by the members 19 positioned outside of the plane of the adjacent side of the sign body when said side is positioned perpendicular to the base. This stop is connected to the base by a resilient member 30, such as a coil spring, at some point 31 beneath the sign body, the point of attachment upon said stop being upon the vertical portion thereof and at an intermediate point 32 thereon substantially mid-way between the horizontal portion of the stop and its point of connection with the base and below the plane of the sign bottom when the sign is in its normal position. This stop extends upwardly in a substantially perpendicular relation with respect to the base and terminates in a cross-arm 33, which is of a length substantially equal to that of the sign, and is normally positioned against one of the sides thereof and disposed in parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of the sign and normally in the same, horizontal plane therewith when the sign assumes its stationary position with the front face thereof vertical for perfectly exhibiting the motto thereon.

Assuming the electrical connection to have been perfected, the operation of the device is believed to be evident, it being seen from the above description that the projecting arm 24 of the continuously revolving crank 22 contacts an arm 26 of the star wheel and revolves the sign body, thereby bringing an adjacent panel thereof to view in a vertical position; during such rotation, the stop 28 is spring-pressed against the side of the sign, so that the bar 33 thereof is at all times in contact with said sign and as the member 33 slides over a corner of the sign, which corner is propelled thereabove by means of the star wheel as aforesaid, said member 28 then performs an additional function of as sisting the sign to assume an upright or vertical position or in other words, assists in a partial rotation of the sign. It will be noted that the bar 33 contacts only the frame-work of the sign and without touching the glass. The letters 5 may be provided with white faces to be viewed in the daytime, while at. night are seen in connection with the glass panels, which are pre-ferably of different colors, which may be a regular rotation of red, white and blue, etc., and producing an artistic effect by reason of the interiorly arranged light 8 and well adapted as an advertising and display device. It will of course be noted that to afford a perfect coaction between the motor crank and the star wheel combined with the impulse of the stop 28, and by which the accurate successive positioning of the mottoed sides are efiected, that a proper relative length of motor crank and star arm and a properly tensioned resilience of the stop are essential.

While the forms of my invention herewith shown and described are what are believed to be preferable embodiments thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood, that changes may be made in the size, form, proportions and minor points of detail without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claim.

It is desired to note in connection with this invention and its manner of use as hereinbefore fully described, that advantageous places for the positioning of said advertising units have been found by experience to be upon the tops of buildings, such as department stores, also in show windowsof retail stores and the device is also applicable for displaying theater announcements as Well as train and steamboat time tables. It is obvious that in installing these units, more than one advertiser may be accommodated by the same unit and a yearly rental may be employed for different faces of different units as may seem desirable. In furnishing the units, it is also advisable to provide separate alphabets of type with each of the same and these may be of different forms and color such for instance as a white glass-faced letter which shall be used against a red or green or blue faced panel. Also in the employment of my device, the lettering may be placed either upon the exterior or interior thereof and various means of reflecting the lights thereon may be employed.

To multiply the number of advertisements displayable, my sign may be made in hexagonal or octagonal form and the units may be coupled up in tandem if desired. It may also be noted that the rotation of the sign body may be in the reverse direction from that herein described in which event the resilient stop member acts solely as a stop for positioning the readable portion of the sign in the most advantageous position for the casual observance by the prospective purchaser.

Having thus fully described my invention and in what manner the same is designed for use. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

An advertising sign comprising a rotatable sign body, polygonal ends and glass sides set inwardly from the peripheries of said ends provided upon said body, a base member upon which said body is supported, a T-shaped stop member hinged to the base at a point exteriorly of the plane of the normally vertically positioned adjacent side of the body and having a horizontal portion thereof coextensive in length with said body and in constant exterior contact with said ends thereof in the same horizontal plane with the longitudinal axis of the body and incapable of contacting the glass sides thereof, a resilient member secured at one end to the stop at a point below the plane of the bottom of the body in its normal horizontal position and the other end of said resilient member secured to the base at a point beneath said body.

I n testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. COLVIN.

\Vitnesses:

EDWIN C. TICHENOR, JENNIE M. OSBORNE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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