US1514608A - Illuminated traffic sign - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 11, 1924. 1,514,608

A. ELY

ILLUMINATED TRAFFIC 3 IGN Filed March 1, 1924 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Fatented Nov. 11, 1924;.

UNITED stares enses rarest crates.

ALFRED ELY, or ROSLYN, new roan.

ILLUMINATED TRAFFIC SIGN.

Application filedMarch 1, 192%. Serial NofGOtll'F.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALFRED ELY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ros lyn, Long Island, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Trafiic Signs, of which. the foli g is a specification.

My invention relates to illuminatedsigns, and particularly to signs intended to give traffic instructionshaving a directional characteristic.

Examples of signs embodying my invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective of one form of sign; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the sign shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a sectional plan View of the base; Fig. i is a detail section showing the manner in which the glass sides are held in place, and Fig. 5 is a side View of a modified arrangement.

Referring to the illustrative example shown in Figs. 1 to 4, 2 is a main casing having rolled edges 3. In the particular form illustrated the casing 2 has a pointed end 4. The opposite end may be closed in any desired manner as by the removable door 5. V

Adjacent the pointed end a is a partition 6 which divides the body of the sign into two compartments. The sides of the sign consist of glass plates 7 which slide between the rolled edges 3 and the partition 6 and near the door 5 are held in place by brackets S. Rods 9 are passed through the main casing 2 11s a means for supporting the sign.

Vithin the main casing are positioned two electric lamps 10 which are connected in parallel to the electric circuit passing through fuses 11. Connected to the same circuit is an electric flasher 12 from which the circuit passes to a lamp 13 which illuminates the small pointed compartment formed in the point 4.

Running longitudinally along each side plate 7 is a band 14: which preferably is colored. In the present instance this zone is shown as red, with a narrow black stripe along each side; other colors can be used, but the band should be made, either by the use of a body color or a marginal stripe, to contrast with the adjacent portion of the sign. The portions of the plate 7 above and below the band 14 are painted white or otherwise rendered translucent and on the surface are painted traffic instructions. Of course raised letters can be used in place of painted ones.

The white portion of the plate 7 ends at partition 6, and the portion of the plate 7 which forms the sides of'the small pointed compartment is painted preferably the same color as the band 1 4; in this instance it is shown as painted red, bordered by a narrow black stripe. The interior'of the casing 2 and both'sides of the partition 6 are preferably painted white to increase the illumination.

IVhen the electric current is turned on, the main compartment or portion of the sign will be permanently illuminated and will show a zone having a transverse band which contrasts with the rest of the zone and will show lettering adjacent this band. When the lamp 13 lights, the small compartment will be illuminated and the corresponding end of plate 7 will shine out in the form of an arrow-head, thus attracting particular at tention to itself and designating the direction referred to in the trafiic instructions. In this example, the instructions consist of the words One Way Street and the arrow is intended to be pointed in the direction in which traific is allowed to pass.

I find it advantageous, though not always necessary, to illuminate the small compartment to a greater extent in proportion to its size than the rest of the sign, so that when the pointed end flashes, particular attention will be attracted to that feature. For example if the sign is of the proportions shown, the lamps 10 and the lamp 13 can all be made with the same candle-power, which will result in the small compartment being the more brilliantly illuminated.

By this arrangement I provide a sign which can easily be read either in the daytime or at night and which at night attracts attention to itself by the fact that a portion flashes, and in particular attracts attention to that portion which indicates the directional characteristic of the traffic instruction.

In the form of device shown in Fig. 5 the casing 2 is made rectangular and is divided into three compartments by the partitions 6 and 6". In this arrangement there are two bands 14: corresponding to the single band 14; described above, but the portion of the glass plates covering the two end sec tions are painted black, except that each has two portions painted the same color as the lmndsJ/lone-such portion defining an; arrow-head and the other portion defining the tail of an arrow. This arrangement. is particularly useful for Sign. postswhelethei traflic instructions in part have a directional characteristic in one Way and in-part-inan: other Way. As before, it is intended that the compartments defining the arrow headsz.

shall be illuminated by lamps which will flash on and of? intermittently.

It is to be understood thatthe foregoingexamples are given by Way of illustration only and, that many modifications may be made Without departing from thespirit of' my invention.

VVhatI claim is:

1. A traflic control sign comprising aw main compartment and an: end: compart ment, means for permanentlyilluminating;

the 1I=1ain= compartment; a translucent Wall for tlre maincompartment having acontrasting band across it and traffic instructions lettered adjacent such band, means for intermittently illuminating the end compartment, and a Window for the end compartment adapted to define an arrowhead so placed; that; when both said compartments are illuminated, said arrow-head and said band will form an arrow: to pointout. a direction referred to by said tratlic instructi0ns.

2. A sign as defined in claim 1 having an end compartment at each end ofthe sign and having a plurality of bands across the main compartment, and said end compartments defining either an arrow+head or an arrow-tail. for. each band.

ALF-RED ELY.

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