US1718236A - Key tag and advertising device - Google Patents

Description

I June 25, 1929.

K. A. JAMES KEY TAG AND ADVERTISING DVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1926 MILLIMAN HOTEL IRON MOUNTAIN MICHIGAN Q-I-P Patented June 25., 1929.

UNITED STATES KENNETH ALVIN JAMES, 0F MONTFORT, WSCONSIN.

KEY TAG AND ADVERTSING DEVICE.

Application led August 5, 1926.

This invention relates to hotel or otherhouse room keys, such as those ordinarily provided with a tag bearing the number of the room.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a key and tag having provisions for advertising matter on the tag, so that it will form a combined room indicator and advertising device, whereby the hotel management may sell advertising space to different business concerns, or so that the hotel may have its room key tags furnished to it free of charge by those who wish to advertise thereon, or whereby the advertising facilities afforded by a room keytag of this kind may be taken advantage of in other ways.

To these and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter' set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a key and tag involving the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a hotel room or other house key 1 of any suitable or desired character. The tag comprises opposite side walls 2 having openings or spaces 8 therein, as shown, and provided with tabs 4 at the top having an eye 5, as shown. The cards 6 bearing the advertising, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, are inserted between the side walls 2, so that the advertising will be exposed to view by the openings or spaces 3 previously mentioned. The tag bears the number 7 of the room, or any other room indication, and a stiffening plate 8 is inserted between the two cards 6 as shown, whereby the outside of the tag may be made of leather or other flexible material and held stiliiy in flat condition. A link 9 connects the key with the tag, the hook 10 of said link being inserted through the eye 5 of the tag and then bent into shape as shown, to prevent removal of the tag therefrom. In this way, the advertising matter is practically locked in the tag so that the user of the key will not be liable to' remove the advertising. However, when the advertising is to be changed, and when it is necessary to remove the cards 6, the hook 10 can be bent by tools to permit removal of the tag therefrom, and after the desired change in advertising matter has been accomplished, the tag can then beV recon- Serial No. 127,266.

nected to the key in the manner4 shown and described.

It will be understood, of course, that any suitable materials can be employed for the tag, and that the key Vand tag can be connected together in any suitable or desired manner, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In any event, however, the invention provides an improved combined hotelor other room key or house key having a tag which serves as a combined room indicatorI and adc, vertising device. This can be taken advantage of, of course, in various ways. For ez;- ample, the proprietor of the hotel or other house can sell advertising space on room keys and may derive a profit therefrom. On the other'hand, and as another example ofv the utility of the invention, manufacturers of various things can make the keys and tags in accordance with the invention, and then present them without charge to hotels or other houses that will use them, so that the hotels or other houses will have key tags that cost them nothing, in return for the advertising privileges accordedk the donors of the key tags. n some cases the advertising might be a fixture on thekey tag, but in other cases it may be desirable to change the advertising, from time to time, and the invention can be used in different ways, of course, without departing from the spirit of the invention. V

It will be seen that the room number 7, and the name of the house or hotel immediately above, are provided on the upper portion 4 of the tag, and cannot be separated therefrom. In this way, and by using a tool or instrument to distort the link 9, the advertising matter can be removed, but such removal does not disturb the name and room indication on the tag. Consequently the advertising can only be removed by first separating the key from the tag, as the advertising can only be removed from the upper end of the tag, and cannot possibly be removed from the bottom or side edges of the tag.

It will be seen that the space between the opposing walls 2 is closed all around, at all edges of the tag except at one end thereof where the key is attached thereto, this open end having ieXible portions 4 that provide an entrance between them for the insertion of the advertising matter between the walls of the tag. Normally, with the iexible portions 4 in position as shown, the advertising is non-removable, but the metal attaching means 9 and l0 are suitably flexible and can be flexed to permit the portions 4 to be moved away from each other to permit removal of the advertising` matter and insertion thereof, when such is necessary or desirable.

It will be seen, therefore, that the invention is primarily an advertising device and only secondarily a key tag, and the new conn struction and new combination have that object in view, and are intended to open up and perfect a new channel of advertising.

This is the first time that an advertising device has been provided in which the advertising cannot be removed or changed ex cept by flexing the link connection between the tag and key.

Without disclaiming anything, and without prejudice to any novelty disclosed, what I claim as my invention is:

l. An advertising device comprising a hotel room or other house key, a tag body having an upper port-ion having` freely flexible ends and a permanent or non-removable indication of the name of the house and room thereon, sothat the tag body and room indication cannot become separated, flexible metal means to so connect the said upper portion of the tag body to the key that the tag and key are normally inseparably linked together and can only be separated by using tools to bend said metal means, forming a foldable connection permitting` the key to be folded back upon either side of the tag, whereby the key and its room number are inseparable except by forcible` breakage or distortion of said linking means and means to provide normally non-removable advertising on said tag body, below said indication, removable only by flexing said link connection and by flexing said upper ends but withand a stiffening plate inserted between said cards, engaging said link connection and held in place thereby.

2. An advertising device comprising a hotel room or other house key, a tag body having an upper portion having a permanent or non-removable indication o-f the name of the house and room thereon, means to so connect the said upper portion of the tag to the keyvthat the key and tag are linked together and can only be separated by using tools, forming a foldable connection permitting the key to be folded back upon either side of the tag, and means to provide removable advertising on said tag body, below said indication, removable without disturbing` said name and room indication on the tag body, whereby the tag and key form a combined room indicator and advertising device, said tag body comprising opposite walls with openings therein, cards with the advertising removably inserted between said walls, with said advertising exposed to view by said openings, and a stiffening plate inserted between said cards, engaging said link .connection Vand held in place thereby. c

Specification signed this 31st day ofJuly, 1926.

KENNETH ALVIN JAMES.

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