US2080679A - Luminous tube sign - Google Patents

Description

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LUMINOUS TUBE SIGN original Filed April 24( 193:54l 2 sneets-sheefc2-l 3.5. 3;/ ff JJ 553% U I l. j l Snow@ Patented May 13, 1937 UNiTED STES TET FHQE LUMINOUS TUBE SIGN York Application April 24, 1933, Serial No. 667,728 Renewed September 5, 1935 17 Claims.

This invention relates to luminous tube signs and among' other objects, aims to provide a sign which will display a very wide variety of advertisements, drawings or messages each having the characteristic color and all the brilliance of a neon sign, and which will be changeable according to the needs or whims of the merchant, at practically no cost, without substantial loss of time and as often as a change is desired. More specically, the invention provides a sign on which the merchant may write, print or draw his own special announcement (and on which a permanent advertisement may also be placed), with the assurance that the announcement or advertisement will have the characteristic liery luminosity of a neon or luminous gas sign, will be permanent until a change is desired, and will be changeable in a few minutes, without necessitating carrying a stock of advertisements or letters. The invention further provides a luminous tube sign which is as individual and personal as handwriting itself, because it may project, in flaming colors, any handwritten message, or any drawing or sketch, within the limits of the medium employed for writing or drawing. The in- Vention has other objects which will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, and of three forms of reflectors, any one of which may be an element of the preferred or other embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speoification,-

Fig. l is a front elevation of an easel type of sign embodying the invention;

2 is an end elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a .rear elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-13 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View showing the reflector and tube arrangement for a sign displaying matter on both sides;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View showing another form oi' reflector associated with neon tubing; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional View showing still another form of reilector associated with neon tubing.

Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown an improved neon sign comprising an easel or stand Ill on which is swiveled the sign proper. Instead of being on a stand, the sign may be supported on a tripod, or it may be suspended by a wire or form a part of a display stand for merchandise. The manner of supporting the sign (Cl. 11G-132) proper is of no importance, so far as the present invention is concerned,

The sign proper in this instance is a double sign, facing in one direction, but frequently the signs will be so constructed as to face in two opposite directions so as to be read from either side. The double sign shown comprises an upper frame Il and a lower frame I2, both frames preferably being of sheet metal nished on the outside with enamel, lacquer or a metallic plating to enhance the appearance and durability of the sign. An outer ornamental metal strip i3 connects frames II and I2 and makes them appear more or less continuous, but plays no part in supporting the upper frame II. Instead, brackets I4, fast to the upper face of frame I2 and to the lower face of frame Il, provide the necessary rigid support for the latter frame and the parts mounted thereon.

The illustrative sign is designed to display in the upper frame an advertisement which is more or less permanent in nature, while the sign in the lower frame is to be readily changeable. Hence the front wall of the sign is formed by a clear glass panel I5 set inside the metal frame I i, with a permanent advertisement painted or stenciled on its inner surface. Adjacent the glass panel I5, but inside frame H, is neon tubing Iii, which is standard tubing bent to provide a plurality of parallel, closely adjacent tube lengths, with standard electrodes I'I at the opposite ends. As shown, the electrodes I l are back of the paralle] tube lengths, thus minimizing the dimensions of the sign. Preferably, the distance between each of the parallel tube lengths is about equal to the diameter of the tubing I 6.

Directly back of the neon tubing, and in contact therewith, is a metallic reflector I8, whose design is such that it reflects practically all the light emitted from the neon tubing, thus directing what is practically a sheet of light outwardly through the sign. Fig. 6 shows the relationship of reector I8 and tubing I6, except that in this gure there are two reflectors, placed back to back, for a sign facing two ways. It will be noted that the reector I8 is corrugated, with a series of troughs in which the tubing I6 extends, said troughs being tangent to the tube lengths at their bottoms. The parallel ridges I9 between the troughs preferably extend forwardly only as far .u

as the plane of the axes of the parallel tube lengths.

The metallic reilector I8 is preferably made of Very thin metal having a chromium plated surface for high reflectivity and freedom from oxi- Cil dation, ctc. In a commercial form of the invention, a thin sheet of zinc is first thin layer oi nickel and then the chrom1um 1s plated on .the nickel, and is polished, to provide a very bright, thin, flexible, easily bent sheet which is quite inexpensive. vSuch a reenotor, shaped to give the proper light reflection, 1s of great importance to the successful commercialization of the present invention, as it has been found that plane reflectors do not give the proper elect and that glass reiiectors apparently are impractical. lnsteadcf the form shown in Fig. 6, rerlectors liire those in Figs. 7 and 8 may be set in frame il, back oi tubing l. These modications will be described briefly later.

` To hold reflector i3 in position, uprights 2S extend transversely of frame ll and are secured to the back cf 'the reiiector. The reiector may be of such dimensions as to iit the inside of frame l I rather snugly, and uprights 2li are made readily removable, to facilitate assembly of the parts. The tubing it is held by flanged strips 2l at each end of the frame, padding 22 being between strips 2l and the end bends or the tubing. A flanged copper tube support '23 is secured inside frame Il at the ends and has bendable fingers 23a which are curved around the end bends of the tubing, so that the latter is supported properly by the frame.

The rear oi the sign frame ll is shown open, for clearness cf illustration, but a back cover (not shown) will usually hide the interior of the sign. The same is true of the lower sign, which is constructed exactly like the upper sign, except for the front sign panel. As shown, the lower sign hasv a reflector tubing 25, electrodes 2B, transverse members 2l, hanged strips 28 at the ends, and padding and tube supports 3D. The frame l2 also has alined perforations for pins 3l passing through the arms cf the easel, and a knob 32, secured to one of the pins as by a screw-thread (not shown) may be used to vary the angle ofthe two signs, so that the advertisements may be more easily read when the observer is above or below the sign.

In practice, the tubing of the upper sign will often emit light of one color and the tubing of the lower sign a contrasting color. For instance, a very beautiful and attention-arresting sign unit will have the upper, permanent sign in neon blue, and the lower, changeable sign in the familiar neon red.

While the upper sign is herein called the permarient sign, it can be easily changed, once the upper sign is disassembled, to expose the inner surface of the glass panel I5. The manner of changing the advertisement on the upper sign panel may be ,exactly the saine as the manner of changing the lower sign panel 33, the body of which is also a sheet of clear glass; or the upper sign may be iormed'frcm a permanent lacquer or paint and never be changed. K

On the outer surface of the glass panel 33 of the lower sign there is a coating 34 of a preferably black, quick-drying paint or lacquer, ofsuch character that it may be applied with an ordinary brush and dries very rapidly forming avery thin but practically permanent, absolutely opaquecoating, free from pin-holes. Such a coating is readily scratched or erased from the glass panel, and hence affordsa medium with which an artist or any other person may work to produce written or lettered messages or sketches or combinations thereof. Almost any pointed instrument or eraser may be used to form letters, etc. on the coated with very coating. As the coating is erased, it exposes the clear glass beneath, which transmits the full light of the neon tubing 25. Thus any letter, numeral or picture erased from the black coating will shine with all the light of the neon tubing behind it; and as the reiiector .i is so designed as to send out the light rays almost as a ccntinuous,

sheet of light, there will be no dark areas backrof the letters erased and the letters will be substantially as bright as though they were formed from neon tubing, and from a short distance, will appear to be so fern ed. Theprefe-rred form of paint is the subject of a separate application.

When preparing an advertisement from the' erasable paint or lacquer, it is highly advanta.l

geous to provide means facilitating the forming of a border around the body or the advertisement. In this instance, the glass panel 33 has a shallow groove 35 which guides the eraser, making it possible to ferm a neat', straight border around the i lettering. 1f desired, instead of a straight groove, curved grooves or interrupted grooves (not shown) may be cast or otherwise formed in the glass. The glass may be painted on the inside to provide a permanent border of the desired design.

if when writing or lettering a drawing on the black coating a mistake is made, the worker may remove all the coating by using a safety razor blade, the coating falling below in a ne dust which may be caught on a piece of paper. 1f desired (and this will be especially advantageous if the sign is suspended over sidewalks) a trough.

(not shown) may 'ce formed on or attached to the sign frame so as to catch all the black dust scraped ofi the sign when a change is made in it; and at convenient intervals, the trough may be cleaned out or removed without danger of dumping dust on passers-by.

If desired, a slight correction may be made by L..

merely brushing over the area where the change is to be made, then waiting a few minutes before proceeding with the work. The preferred paint or lacquer dries suiliciently thoroughly for working in ve minutes of less, and once dry, is absolutely permanent unless rubbed against. Hence the upper, so-called permanent sign may be made if desired with the saine lacquer as is used on the lower sign; and as it is formed on the inside surface or" the glass panel l5, no rubbing of said panel can ai'lect the upper sign in any way.

The lower sign is designed so it can be readily changed, several times a day if desired. If, however, the sign is not to be changed very often, or if it is to hang out-of-doors, the lacquered surface of panel 33 may be protected by an outer sheet of clear glass (not shown) held in the same frame which holds panel 33. A weather-proof strip (not shown) will be employed on any outdoor sign to prevent moisture from working in between the protective glass sheet and the lacquered panel 33.

While a black lacquer is preferred, when a particularly striking effect is desired, I contemplate using a compound of Prussian blue and Whiting with a suitable vehicle, which when brushed over and all signs so formed will be changeable to suit the needs or whims of the sign owner and will be entirely different in appearance from any signs heretofore known. Color effects never possible before are now made easy, and in almost infinite variety; and with all the signs, changes may be made whenever desired at practically no cost and without taking the sign out of service for more than a few minutes.

The lacquer is preferably applied on the sign when lighted, so that the worker may be assured of an opaque or even coating and may also observe the nal effect, without switching the light on and off.

While the reflectors I3 and 28 are highly satisfactory and are preferred, they have the slight drawback of producing what seem to be dark lines, formed where the light is not reflected from the sharp ridges i9. To eliminate this effect, I have devised the reflector 36 shown in Fig. 7. The form of Fig. 7 is such that the tubing 25 may be partly supported by the reflector 36, as will be understood, but this form is slightly less efficient in the reflection of light. The reflector 31 of Fig. 3 is essentially a series of parabolic reflectors joined together, one back of each tube length, and is the least desirable of the three forms of reflectors, as it is more difficult to make and also shows dark lines.

When a double sign is used, instead of there being two reflectors, as in Fig. 6, and two spaced tube grids, the reflectors may be eliminated entirely and the two grids may lie in the same plane, with the tube lengths of one grid alternating with the tube lengths of the other grid, the other parts being as shown in Fig. 6. However, the form of Fig. 6 is preferred, as it is more eflcient and the dark lines or shadows are much less pronounced.

While the described sign unit has a permanent sign above the changeable sign, other arrange-v ments may be employed. For example, a single paneled sign may be used with a permanent border bearing the name and slogan of the merchant, and surrounding a rectangular central section of clear glass, to the outer face of which the erasable lacquer may be applied for formation of a changeable sign, in accordance with the invention.

While the sign reaches its maximum usefulness when made with erasable paint, in some instances in place of the outer sheet of clear glass, I may employ stencils, painted glass slides and other known sign-forming media, particularly if the signs are to be standardized for one particular advertising message.

In this specification, the term neon tube or neon tubing is intended to be generic and to include all luminous tubing, whether filled with neon, helium, argon, krypton or other'rare gases. And by the .term translucent I mean lighttransmitting, and I include clear glass, as this is by far the best glass for use in the improved sign.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, and several forms of reflectors, all of which will give satisfactory results, I wish it to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in many different signs within the scope of the appended claims.

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

l. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, a grid of luminous tubing and electrodes; an opaque reflector back of the tubing having rounded grooves each receiving one of the lengths of the tubing and adapted to reflect from its outer surface a large proportion of the lig t forwardly between the lengths of the tubing; a translucent panel directly in front of the tubing and parallel to the general plane of the grid; and a coating of a paint, which is easily erased when dry, on either surface of the translucent panel.

2. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, a grid of luminous tubing and electrodes; an opaque grooved reflector back of the tubing and substantially in tangential contact at the bottoms of the grooves with the tubing; said grooves being so shaped as to reflect the light from the tubing substantially as a continuous sheet of light; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a coating of a paint, which is easily erased when dry, on either surface of the translucent panel.

3. An illuminated sign comprising, in cornbination, luminous gas tubing bent to provide a series of tube lengths parallel to each other and spaced apart a distance not less than the diameter of the tubing; an opaque reflector back of the tubing having shallow grooves each of which receives a tube length, and having its front surface so finished as to have a high reflecting power; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a coating of a paint, which is easily erased when dry, on either surface of the translucent panel.

4. An illuminated ysign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing bent to provide a series of tube lengths parallel to each other; an opaque reflector back of the tubing, said reflector presenting a series of transversely arcuate, rectilinear, shallow grooves in each of which `r lies one of the tube lengths substantially tangential contact therewith; the surfaces of said grooves being sol finished as to have high reflecting. powers, and the areas between adjacent grooves being sharp ridges; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a coating of a paint, which is easily erased when dry, on either surface of the translucent panel.

5. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing providing a series of tube lengths parallel to each other; a reflector back of the tubing; said reflector presenting a series of grooves running longitudinally with the tubing and being spaced from the tubing along the bottoms of said grooves but in Contact with the tubing immediately adjacent the relatively sharp ridges which separate the grooves; translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a lightobscuring, sign-forming layer on either surface of the translucent panel.

6. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing providing a series of tub-e lengths parallel to each other; a reflector back of the tubing; said reflector presenting a series of grooves extending longitudinally with the tubing and in tangential contact with the tube lengths, and each groove being substantially parabolic in cross-section; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; ,and a light-obscuring sign-forming layer on either surface of the translucent panel.

7. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing bent to provide a series of tube lengths parallel to each other andy ished as'to have high reflectivity; and a translucent sign panel in front of the tubing.

8. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing bent to provide a series of tube lengths parallel to each other; a thin, brightly polished, grooved, metallic reflector back of and in contact with the tubing; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a coating of an erasable, light-obscuring paint on either surface of the translucent panel.

9. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing bent to provide a series of tube lengths parallel to each other; a thin, brightly polished, grooved, metallic reflector back of and in contact with the tubing; the groovesl being shallow so that the tubing projects outwardly'beyond the same; a translucent panel in front of the tubing; and a coating of an erasable, opaque, quick-drying paint on either surface of the translucent panel.

10. A luminous tube sign comprising, in combination, luminous tubing bent to form a flat coil; a translucent sign panel in front of the tubing; a reflector back of the tubing and having shallow grooves in whichthe lengths of the tubing lie; the outer portions of said tubing projecting beyond the ridges between the shallo-w grooves; the reflector having such light-reflecting qualities that the light from the tubing is reflected between the lengths of the tubing; and a coating of an erasable, light-obscuring, paint on either surface of the translucent panel.

11. A luminous tube sign comprising, in comu blnation, a plurality of parallel luminous tube lengths; a translucent sign panel in front of the tubing; an opaque reflector directly back of the tubing and grooved to receive the tube lengths so that the light from the tubing is reflected from the surface adjacent the tubing substantially as a sheet of light. 4

12. A luminous tube sign comprising, in combination, tubing bent to form a plurality of parallel tube lengths; a translucent sign panel in front of and parallel to the plane of the tubing; a thin coating of an opaque, erasable paint on the outer surface of the panel; and an opaque reflector back of the tubing and so shaped that the light from the tubing is reflected substantially as a sheet of light; said reector having grooves which receive the parallel tube lengths and said grooves being separated by sharp ridges which project forwardly at least as far as the plane of the longitudinal axes of said tube lengths.

13. A luminous tube sign comprising, in combination, tubing bent to form a plurality of parallel tube lengths; a translucent sign panel in front of the tubing; a thin coating of an opaque, erasable paint on the outer surface of the panel; a shallow groove formed on the outer surface of the panel to facilitate the forming of a border for a sign erased out of said coating; and a reflector back of the tubing and so shaped that the light from the tubing is reflected substantially as a sheet of light.

14. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous tubing presenting'parallel tube lengths; a, panel of glass; means holding the tubing and glass panel close together and parallele; a thin, substantially opaque coating of a paint adhering to one of the surfaces of said panel, said coating being easily removable when dry by marking it with any pointed or edged instrumentality; and an opaque reflector having parallel, shallow, rounded, grooves, each of which receives a tube length; the depth `of each groove being Vequal to about half the diameter of the tubing and the outer surfaces of the reflector between each pair of grooves being sharp ridges.

15. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, a frame; luminous gas tubing providing a series of parallel tubes; a reflector supported by the frame back of the tubing and shaped to pro vide a series of grooves with relativelyY sharp ridges between each pair of grooves; said grooves being non-arcuate in cross-section and varying" in curvature; the tube lengths lying in` each groove and in contact with the reflector in those portions of the grooves which have the shortest radii of curvature, the remaining portions of the grooves being free and shaped to reflect the light of the tubing forwardly, substantially as a sheet of light; and a sign panel in front of the tubing.

16. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, luminous gas tubing, providing a series f parallel tube lengths; a reflector back of the tubing being Yshaped to provide a series of grooves each of which receives one ofthe tube lengths, each groove being essentially parabolic in crosssection; the areas between each pair of grooves being reduced to sharp ridges, which project forwardly beyond the plane tangent to the outsides of the tube lengths; and a sign panel in front of the tubing.

17. An illuminated sign comprising, in combination, neon tubing; a grooved opaque reector back of the tubing; the'walls of the grooves of said reflector being of high reflectivity and being curved transversely so as to bend the light on either side of the tubing; each length of tubing being received Within one of said grooves; each groove having relatively sharp ridges on either side extending the full length of the groove, which ridges project from the bottom of the groove such distances and which are so spread apart that they are all substantially invisible when the ob-

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