US2377508A - Light reflecting sign and method of making it - Google Patents

Description

. June 5,1945. c s 2,377,508

LIGHT REFLECTING SIGN AND' METHOD OF MAKING IT Filed Sept. 3, 1940 INVENT OR.

ran/Z L. Miehae 63.

Patented June 5, 1945 rmnrnnrmicmo slcnnsnn METHOD 1 or MAKING Ir l Frank L.. Michaels, Fort T The Michaels Art. Br

K'y., a corporation of Kentucky v homas,.Ky.,ass ig n or to. onze. Company, Coving ton,

Application September a, 1940,8en'ai No. 355,134 i sclaims. (01.41-24) The present invention relatesv toso:-cal=led light reflecting signs and has for an objectv the provision of a novel and effective sign of this charactor and an inexpensive and. simple method of making the same.

An object of the invention is to provide a light refiectingsign in which the. characters are of high visibility under both. daylight and night conditions.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a sign of this character which is: durable and which will remain effective under long periods of exposure-tothe elements and under the abusesto which such signs are frequently subjected.

Another objectof the invention is to provide V a method of making, signs of this character utilizing. relatively inexpensive dies and a minimum I of operations.

These and other objects are; attained by the means and method herein described and disclosed in the, accompanying drawing.. in. which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevationalview of the sign embodying the invention. a i i Fig. 2 isa view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is" a sectional view similar to Fig. 2. showing the surface sheetafterits embossing operation and prepared for the decorating operation.

Fig.4 is anenlarged cross-sectional view showing the construction of a composite sign embodying the invention.

Signs embodying the so-called reflecting metals. ofvarious types have been heretofore known and used. Furthermore, the ,so-called reflecting metal sheets are available on the open market. In the fabrication of signs of the present invention for various purposes, e. g., for highway signs indicating direction, caution, stop signals, and

the like, I prepare either the Whole sign or one or more insertable indicia for a composite sign by utilizing reflecting metal sheets initially hav' ing an overall pattern of uniform protuberances with the face of a sheet polished to mirror-like brilliance presenting facets or light reflecting surfaces at predetermined angles. The protuberances may assume various shapes, for example, as shown in United States Patents No. 2,004,181 and No. 2,043,690. I

On a reflecting sheet initially having such protuberances extending uniformly over the entire surface, I emboss a ridge-like outline of a desired letter, numeral or other indicia in block type. By utilizing dies having a, rough or matt I finish, the protuberances are flattened and eliminated and the polished surface is deleted and a dull, matt, plane surface is presented in lieu packing, and use.

face.

desired color. coating of I1 also prefer that: the top of the ridge-like border thereof. When the sign is made" from the unitary sheet, the. background portion: of thesign is likewise flattened to presentsa plane, matt sur- Theb'ody of the block letters or other indicia are untouched by the. dies and therefore retain alliof the: protuberances with their mirrorlike, polished, light reflecting surfaces. The bordering ridge: about each letter is appreciably higher than the tops: of theprotuberances so that a considerable degree of protection for the lightrefiecting :surface is afforded during handling, The dull, matt surface, an excellent bond for a" enamel paint or the like.

furthermore; provides present a flat surface which. is. susceptible of distinctive coloring with a. minimum of; time and According to? the method otthe invention, the female dies are: rough anduunpolished', the surface thereof beingrinexpensively formed by the mere omission of polishing and grinding. operations. The areas in the die? corresponding with the desired light-reflecting. block letter surface in the sign are hollowedaway completely so that they remain untouched in theembossing operation. Itwillbe apparent that a relatively simple pair of embossing dies willnot only produce: the matt, plane background:but itwilli also produce the raised ridge as an outline'about the letter and it may likewise include the provision of a turned edgeflange bordering the sheet ii desired or required; After the: s-heeth-asvbeen embossed in one operation, itmay beisui-tably affixed on any" desired backing material, whereupon the sign is ready for decoration. In the decorating process letters or indicia corresponding to those of the sign are cut from flexible sheet material having a tacky coating thereon and to provide protective masks. The masks are of a size as to .cover the light-reflecting areas and adhesively contact the adjacent inclined wall of the bounding ridge. The covering material or coating, such as enamel, paint or the like, may then be applied by spraying, brushing, dipping, or by any other method to cover the exposed face of the sign. After drying or baking the background of coloring material, the letters or indicia may be brought out in strong relief by passing a coating roller carrying a contrasting color over the tops of the bounding ridges only. When this is dry and hardened, the masking material is removed and the sign is complete.

Referring now to the drawing: The sheet of reflecting material 5 has the protuberances 6 of ing said character area and having sloping sides connecting with said respective areas, the character area having raised protuberances and a mirror-like surface affording a high degree of light reflection, the surfaces of the top of said border ridge and said background area lying in spaced apart and substantially parallel planes and having a matt surface finish adapted for bonding a coating material thereto.

3. A sign member comprising a formed metal sheet having a character shaped area with proby the same is fixed over the tops of protuberances 6 and on the opposite inclined walls 9 of the ridges I. The coating of background material H, e. g., for example, yellow enamel is now applied to all of the exposed matt surfaces and after the drying thereof the flat surfaces 8 which are parallel and offset from the remainder of the sign may be coated by the contrasting colors,

e, g., black, by merely passing the sign beneath an applicator roller.

Referring to Fig. 4, the light-reflecting indicia are made up separately with the border ridge 1 bounding a block of the light-reflecting protuberances 6 and having an external flange l4. A sign face sheet I5 is cut out asat I6 to receive the fabricated indicia of the invention and these parts, together with a backing sheet ii, are secured together-by any suitable means, such as rivets Ill. The decorating process may be carried out simultaneously over the sign face l5 and the prefabricated indicia after assembly or they may be independently decorated prior to assem bl Ihe inserted indicia are useful in the manufacture of large road signs, etc., carrying lightreflecting direction arrows or the like.

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that the method and means of the invention may be advantageously employed in a wide variety of signs for decorative effects.

What is claimed is:

I. In a sign of the class described a sheet metal element comprising a character shaped area having protuberances and a polished surface, a raised ridge bordering said character shaped area and a background area connecting with the base of the ridge, said background area and said border ridge having a matt flat plane topped surface for bonding with a surface coating material.

2. A metal sign element comprising a metal sheet having a character shaped area and a background area in uniformly spaced relation and in a common plane, a raised border ridge outlintuberances thereon and a polished surface, an integral relatively wide and flat topped border ridge raised above the said polished surface area, a background area surrounding the base of said ridge, a color coating on the background area and a contrasting color coating on the top of said border ridge.

4, The method of making a metal sign of refleeting metal which consists in the step of simultaneously embossing on a faceted and polished sheet of metal a border ridge in the shape of a desired character and imparting a matt surface to said ridge and that portion of the metal outside the ridge. I

5. The method of producing reflecting signs which comprises simultaneously embossing a raised border ridge outlining a character shaped area on a sheet of reflecting metal and effecting on the surface of said ridge and of the remainder of the sheet a matt surface finish.

6. The method of producing reflecting signs which comprises simultaneously embossing a raised border ridge outlining a character shaped area on a sheet of reflecting metal and effecting on the surface of said ridge and of the remainder of the sheet a matt surface finish, then coating the matt surface with a selected color coating.

'7. The method of producing reflecting signs which comprises simultaneously embossing a raised border ridge outlining a character shaped area on a sheet of reflecting metal and effecting on the surface of said ridge and of the remainder of the sheet a matt surface finish, then coating the matt surface with a selected color coating, and then coating the top of the ridge with a light-absorbing coating.

8. A sign comprising a sheet of light-reflecting metal, a raised outline ridge separating two adjacent contrastingly colored areas, the top of said ridge being flat surfaced and matt finished, and a non-light-refiecting coating on the said top of the said ridge.

FRANK L. MICHAELS.

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