US1590967A - Price-exhibiting device - Google Patents

Description

P. w. FENTON PRI'cE EXHIBITI'NG DEVICE Filed April 8, 1926 INVENTOR PAUL. 1 14 /-'/V7'O/V J Q ATTORN EY 1 Patented June 29, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL W. FENTON, OF NEVT YORK, N. Y. i r

. PRICE-EXHIBITING DEVICE.

Application filed April 8, 1926. Serial No. 100,488.

The invention relates to changeable signs designed, for example, as price indicating means, such as may be utilized in exhibiting the price of gasoline at a filling station.

It has for its object to provide a substantial though cheaply manufactured deviceof this character which shall be compact and afford ample variation in the particular in dicia employed, for example, over the prevailing range of prices. A further object of the invention consists in providing means whereby a particular indicator member may quickly and readily be selected or changed.

nection with the accompanyingdrawings,

in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved exhibiting device with placards or price exhibiting plates folded within an enclosing casing or housing member. 7

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of said, device shown suspended from a suitable bracket, and the plates orplacards hanging down therefrom in position for exhibition.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse verti-. cal section taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a sheet metal housing member or casing open along an edge as, for example, an inverted U-shaped member; and to theback of which suitableeyes 11 or like members may be at tached for suspending the housing, as from a suitable support or bracket 12, Fig. 2. Pivoted substantially midway of the ends of the housing and t0 the walls thereof near their edges, as at the pins or rivets 13 and 14, are two sets of plates or placards 15 and 16 which bear upon their opposite faces the figures or other indicating marks it is de sired to display. For example, the respective plates may bear consecutive numbers so that by selecting the proper plate from each set and permitting the same to depend as shown in Fig. 3.

fromthe housing, as hereinafter set forth, the desired price may be displayed.

To this. end, the plates which. are thus pivotally. mounted in the housing maybe swung out or caused to drop under the in 1 fluence of gravity, for example, downwardly about their respectivepins 13 and 14 and assume a substantially vertical position as indicated in Fig. 3.- Normally, this is prevented by a strap 17 for the set 15 and a strap 18 for the set16 of the plates. These U-shaped and are pivotally straps are mounted over the respective ends of the housing as by being pivoted about pins or rivets l9 and 20 respectively and secured to the said housing nearthe ends and back thereof. The said straps are designed to swing outwardly, as indicated in-the dotted line position, Fig. 3, to release the respective sets of plates normally held thereby, and thus enable the desired selection to be made. Thereupon, those remaining and not desired are returned within the housing by forcing the same upwardly and are then retained and concealed therein by swinging the straps back into position over the ends of the housing andlower open portion. By this. ex-

pedient, the plates not in use are thus normally concealed and protected with the housing, while two-or four juxtaposed plates may depend from between the walls of the housing and display the desired information It will be understood, of course, that other information or legends may be displayed in. connection therewith upon the outer faces of the housing, as in.- dicated, being embossed thereon, out therein or otherwise applied thereto. To afford the sameprice indication from both sides, plates may be numbered from O to 9 on one side, forming the right hand digit {and v numbered 1, 2 or 3 etc, on other side, forming the left handv digit, thereby obtaining the range desired. This will necessitate four plates being swung into exhibiting position and render prices visible from two sides.

In order to maintain the exhibiting plates 13 and 14: along the lower edges of the walls of the housing and substantially midway of the ends thereof. These arms are adapted, when the device is not in use, to be swung upwardly to embrace the lower edges of the housing, as indicated in Fig. 1, but do not extend sufficiently outwardly toward the ends thereof to interfere with the operation of the straps. When the device is in use, the said guide arms are designed to depend from the lower edges as shown in Fig. 3, in juxtaposedrelation-tabs back of the one be,- ing-adjacent the back of the other with 7 their respective edges fitting over' the corresponding side edges of the depending plates. The extent of movement of the sald arms, moreover, lSllD'llllBCl to the substantially vertical position indicated by cutting away the tops thereof an amount sufficient only to allow of this movement the arms then striking against the lower edges of the housing which act as a stop therefor, (see Fig. 4 of thedrawings).

I claim V p 7 1. A price exhibitor, comprising a housing open alongan edge, marked plates pivotally secured within the housing and adapted to swing therefrom into an exhibiting position, and a strap member pivotally secured to the housing and adapted toembrace the open edge of the housing to hold concealed therein the remainder of the plates not desired for exhibition;

2. A price exhibitor, comprising a housing open along an edge, marked plates pivotally secured within the housing and adapted to swing therefrom into an ex hibiting position, means to limit the extent of outward swing of the plates, and means pivotally secured to the housing to hold concealed therein the remainder of plates not desired for exhibition.

3. A price exhibitor, comprising a housing of an inverted U-shaped member, marked plates pivotally secured within the housing along the bottom edges of said U-shaped member and individually adapted to depend therefrom, and means pivotally secured to the housing to hold concealed therein the remaining plates.

4:. A price exhibit-0r, comprising a housing of an inverted U-shaped member, two sets of marked plates pivotally secured within the housing along the bottom edges of the U.-shaped member substantially midway of its ends and adapted to swing downwardly therefrom, and a pair of straps pivotally secured to the top of the housing at its ends and adapted to swing over the lower edges of the housing to hold concealed therein the remaining plates of the respective sets of plates.

5. A price exhibitor, comprising a housing of an inverted U-shaped member, two sets of marked plates pivotally secured within the housing along the bottom edges of the U-shaped member substantially midway of its ends and adapted toswing downwardly therefrom, a pair of straps pivotally secured to the top of the housing at its ends and adapted to swing over the lower edges;

of'the housing to hold concealed therein the remalning plates of the respective sets of plates, and means to prevent a dependlng plate from swinging beyond the vertical.

6.-A price exhibitor,comprising a housing of an inverted U-shaped member, two sets of marked plates pivota'lly secured within the housing along the bottom edges of the U-shaped member substantially midway of its ends and adapted to swing downwardly therefrom, a pair of straps pivotally secured to the top of the housing to hold concealed therein the remaining plates of the respective sets of plates, and channelshaped arms pivoted to the lower edges of the housing to depend therefrom and em brace the respective edges of two juxtaposed the housing'to depend therefrom and embrace the respective edges of the two juxtaposed depending plates, the bottom of the channel-shaped arms being cut away at the inner end sufficiently only to limit movement of the arms to a substantially vertical position, whereupon said bottom contacts with the lower edges of the housing memher.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

PAUL W. FENTON.

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