US1377065A - Indicating and identifying means - Google Patents

Description

w. GANL EY INDI'CATI'NG AND IDENTIFYING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, I9I8.

Patented May 3, 1921.

W] NESSES NVENTOR Z other army UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GANLEY, OF PITTSBURGH, 'PENNSYLVANIEA, ASSIGNOB TOTBADIUM DIAL COMPANY, OF PITT$BUBGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

DTDICATING AND IDENTIFYING MEAN S.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

hereby declare the ollowing to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertams'to make and use the same.

This inventionrelates to indicating and identifying means, and particularly to such as are adaptable for use on vehicles.

It frequently happensin war zones that trains of arm motortrucks are required to travel at nig t in close order and without lightsover roads comparatively close to the enemys lines, and when the night is very dark considerable danger is encountered in preventing collisions and other mishaps, and furthermore, the identity of the trucks cannot readily be determined in the dark. Similar conditions may arise with vehicles traveling singly orin groups, and also with boats;

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the difliculties and danger heretofore encountered under the conditions above outlined may be overcome and yet afford an indicator on thevehicle which can be seen from a limited distance to denote the presence and location of the vehicles and also denote the identity of the branch of the service to which belong.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claim.- 7

In the. accompanying drawings, Figure 1 I is a sectional'view illustrating my improvements, and Fig. 2 is a face view.

1 represents a frame or back plate which' may be made of sheet steel pressed into shape and said plate is provided with lugs 2 somewhat offset from the plane 'of the back and adapted'to rest against a part of the vehicle to which the device is to besecured. The plate 1 is so formed as to provide a depression 3 surrounded by an annular seat 4 for the peripheralportion of a disk 5 of celluloid or other transparent or they may partially transparent material. This disk is provided on its face, preferably its rear face, with. a coating 6 of mildly luminous material consisting of radio-sensitive material, such as zinc sulfid having combined therewith a radio-active material such as a salt of radium in such quantity as will render the radio-sensitive material mildly but permanently luminous in the dark. The shallow chamber formed by the depres- -sionB of the back plate will serve to prevent contact of the coated rear face of the disk with. the front face of the plate 1, and thus said'coating .will be protected.

The coated disk 5 is retained on its seat by means of a gasket 7 of fiber, rubber or other suitable material, and said gasket is recessed toreceive the edge portion of the disk and prevent lateral displacement of the same.

An identification plate or frame 8 is disposed in front 'of the coated disk and is provided with lugs to overlie the lugs 2 of the back or frame plate. This plate or frame 8 may be made of com aratively thin sheet metal and has an opening 10 therein, the configuration of which may conform to the shape of an emblem of a branch of the military service or other identifying symbol. In the drawing, I have shown the identifying emblem or symbol in the form of a cross, but it will be understood that the emblem may represent a star or other or letters.

formed to receive a plain glass plate 11 disposed between said plate or frame 8 and gasket 7 to protect the luminous disk from injury and dirt.

The lugs 2 of the back plate 1 and the lugs 9 of the identificaton plate or frame 8 are perforated for the'pa'ssage of bolts 12,-

.each of which may be provided with a head 13 at one end threaded to receive nuts 14, whereby the several parts are held together and if desired, washers 15 maybe dispose between the heads of said bolts and the lugs 9. The bolts 12 also serve as means for se+ curing the deviceto a motortruck or other vehicle.

,." "i With the use of my improvement so positi'oned on a motor truck or other vehicle "'that maybe seen for a short distance from The identification plate or frame may be ion train colliding with another will be avoided,

. for a suflicient distance to give information to the enemy, and by the employment of the identification plate or frame which will give to the luminous area the configuration.

of an emblem or symbol, the identity of the vehicle may be readily determined.

Slight changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope and hence -I do not .wish to restrict myself to the precise details herein set forth. I

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

The combination with a frame plate, of a disk of transparent material disposed 'over said frame plate and having its major portion spaced from said frame plate, said disk having its rear face coated with luminous material and spaced from the frame plate whereby said coating will be protected, a recessed gasket disposed on said frame plate and overlying the edge portion of the coated disk, a front plate having an opening formin a character designation and provided w1th a part overlying said gasket, a transparent. plate disposed between said gasket and said front .plate, and means whereby the frame plate and front plate are secured together with the transparent coated disk,

gasket and transparent plate clamped between them.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM .GANLEY. Witnesses

Images