US2598792A

US2598792A - Subway and train seat indicator

Info

Publication number: US2598792A
Application number: US136442A
Authority: US
Inventors: Heine Charles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-01-03
Filing date: 1950-01-03
Publication date: 1952-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 1969-06-03

Description

June 3, 1952 C. HEINE SUBWAY AND TRAIN SEAT INDICATOR Filed Jan. 3, 1950 O 4 4 1 F :1 6 5:2 :3 2 1 u :4 g

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INVENTOR.

(harks Heine Patented June 3, 1952 UNITED STATE SUBWAY AND TRAIN SEAT INDICATOR CharlesHcine, New York, N. Y. Application January 3, 1950, Serial No. 136,442

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to annunciator devices for the current indication of prospective vacancies of seats in subway or railroad trains, buses, street cars and other public conveyances, which frequently are crowded, so that a portion of the passengers cannot find a seat. Passengers, who have to ride as standees constantly are looking for seats that may become vacant at the various stops, and to facilitate the finding of such vacancies is an object of the present invention.

More specifically, the main object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is placed into a compartment or close to a row of seats in a vehicle, so that it can be operated by the occupants of four or more seats in such a manner as to indicate at which station each occupant of each seat will get off. When the occupants of the seats have indicated their destinations on my new and improved indicator, the standee passengers who wish to sit down can place themselves near those seats which will be vacated soon.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is simple in operation and construction, which requires only a very small space, and which offers space for placing advertising imprints thereon, so that it can be furnished to public carriers free of charge by advertisers, or can be leased out to advertisers.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of my invention; and

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing the numeral 2 denotes a plate of cardboard, plastic material or the like adapted to be hung up in upright position or to be otherwise secured to a wall, or a post, or the like in a vehicle. The plate 2 is provided with parallel slots 4 whose number corresponds to the number of seats near each plate 2 or within a compart- 2 ment. In theinstance shown, the plate 2 is pro vided with four slots 4, and between, and parallel to the slots 4, there is, preferably in the. center portion of the plate 2, a row of indicia 6. These indicia 6 may be numbers as shown, or the names of stations, or any other suitable figures, words or the like. A short pointer 8 is slidable in each of those slotted portions of said plate which is close to the indicia 6, and a long pointer I0 is slidable in each of those slotted portions of said plate which is close to the vertical edges of the plate 2. I prefer to make each pointer of one strip of metal, plastic material, or the like, which is bent as shown in Figure 2 to consist of a sleeve-like portion I2 through which is extended a portion of said plate that is adjacent a slot and of an arrow-shaped portion extended from said sleevelike portion. The arrow-shaped portion of each long pointer l0 being longer than the arrowshaped portions of the pointers 8, and is laterally further extended beyond the surface of said plate than are the arrow-shaped portions of said short pointers. Thus the arrow-shaped portions of the pointers It! can be shifted over the arrow-shaped portions of the pointers 8, so that each pointer can be moved on the plate 2 independently from the other pointers.

Each pointer, or each slotted plate portion in which each pointer is movable can be marked with letters (for instance A, B, C, D, as shown), or with figures, or the like indicating a seat, and corresponding indicia can be provided at each seat. In the instance shown the device indicates that the occupant of seat A will leave at the fourth station, the occupant of seat B will leave at the eleventh station, the occupant of seat C will leave at the seventh station, and the occupant of seat D will leave at the fourteenth station.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claim is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United States is:

A train seat indicator comprising a sheet of 7 stifi material having in its center portion a longitudinal row of indicia parallel to opposite edges of the sheet and having two pairs of longitudinal slots each pair being in a side portion of the sheet and parallel to and co-extensive with said row of indicia; a first pair of pointers; and a second pair of pointers; each pointer being formed of a single strip of material and having an arrowshaped portion rightangularly disposed to the slots and pointing toward the row of indicia; each of said first pair of pointers having a sleeve portion which is slidable on and surrounds a section of a side portion of said sheet intermedi ate a pair of slots, and having a short intermediate portion rightangularly disposed to the arrow-shaped portion and joining the latter to the sleeve portion; and each of said second air of pointers having a sleeve portion which isright/angularly disposed to the arrow-shaped portion and joining the latter to the sleeve portion in such' a manner that the arrow-shaped portions of said second pair of pointers move on a plane which is farther spaced from said sheet than is the plane on which move the arrowshaped portions of said first pair of pointers.

CHARLES HEINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS