US2614145A - Electromagnetically actuated sign structure - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 14, 1952 v. WATKINS 2,614,145

ELECTROMAGNETICALLY ACTUATED SIGN STRUCTURE Filed 001;. 25, 1950 F INVENTOR.

the advertising message I2.

Patented Oct. 14, 1952 f f fu'Nl'rso STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTROMAGNETICALLY ACTUATED' SIG-N STRUCTURE I Victor L. Watkins, Salina, Kans.

Application October 25, 1950', Serial No. 191,986

(Cl. 172-l26) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to sign structures and particularly electrical animated advertising displaying devices and has. for its primary aim the provision of such a structure wherein is included a support and a rocker element mounted thereon to motivate an advertised article across the face of the said support whereon advertising material may be printed or otherwise displayed.

A further aim of the instant invention is to provide a sign structure that is electrically operated through the employment of a pair of solenoids alternately influential upon a weight which shifts from one side of the means for pivotally mounting a rocker element to the other side thereof and upon which rocker element is freely carried for movement therealong a shiftable unit upon which either an. actual article being advertised, a replica thereof or other article is mounted.

This invention has for a yet further object A the provision. of an electrically-operated animated sign which includes a rocker element upon which is mounted a freely movable carriage shiftable along a path of travel to each. side of the pivotal point of the said rocker element and whichjhas for its path of travel defined between a pair of. normally open electrical switches that are alternately closed by the carriage to energize specially-disposed solenoids which shift a weight on'therocker element from one side of its pivotal point to the other for the purpose of tilting the rocker element and causing the said carriage to move by the action of gravity from one end of the rocker element to the other.

Details of construction and the manner of operation will appear during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

I ig'. l'is a front elevational view of a sign structure made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2' is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical,

sectional. view through the rocker element per se taken on line III-1'II of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged, detailed cross-sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, detailed, enlarged, cross-sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional, detailed view taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical circuit forming a part of the sign structure.

The preferred embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration comprises a support III which, in this instance, is a fiat, vertically-disposed, wall-like unit, upon the front surface whereof may be painted or otherwise marked Upon this support I!) is pivotally mounted a rocker element. I4

formed as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, so far as its cross-sectional contour is concerned, and designed to confine withinits inwardly-facing, channel-shaped, longitudinal, opposed, spacedapart side walls It a shiftable unit broadly desighated. by the numeral l8. and including a carriage 20 having rollers 22 thereon to traverse the track portion of rocker element. 44 which, in this instance, is merely the upper surface ofthe floor of element l4 extending between the channel.- shaped side walls [6, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6.

This carriage 20 supports one of the actual articles being advertised, a replica thereof or other article; and, in the illustrated. form. of the invention, this article is a bottle 24 removably secured to carriage 20 by a threaded spindle 26. Through this type of interconnection between carriage 20 and bottle 24, the latter may be removed and replaced with another article whenever the advertising material l2 on. support It is changed. It is desirable in this connection to have a definite. relation between the. material 12 on support I!) and article 24.

The example clearly shown in Fig. l is typical, in. that a soft drink. is. advertised by the wording l2 and a replica of the. bottle of. such soft drink is mounted on. carriage 20.

Rocker element i4 is pivotally mounted. on support I0 through the medium oi a tubular shaft 28 that has its one end flanged as at 30 and the opposite end threaded as at 32. A flanged bushing 34 receives a portion of the length of shaft 28 and is threaded into a lock-nut 36, as'shown in Fig. 4. Nut 38 is threaded upon the outer most end of shaft 28 to cooperate with bushing 34 ingripping support Ill.

This means for pivotally mounting the element M on support i0 is quite effective andlocated at the longitudinal median point of element l4 to permit tipping thereabout from the position show-n in full lines of Fig. 1 to the position. illustrated in dotted lines of said figure. The tipping movement is arrested by pins 40 mounted on support Ill.

As rocker element 14 is tilted, carriage 20 moves therealong, and the tilting motion is established byapparatus on the rocker element which serves to oscillate the same about the mounting means shown in Fig. 4. This appara tus comprises a solenoid 42 on one side of. the point of oscillation and a solenoid 44 on the 0p posite side thereof. A bar 46 having a weight 48 at each end thereof moves between solenoids 42 and 44 and such movement is enough to insure that the total weight of bar 46 and weights 48 will operate rocker element It about its pivotal support. When solenoid 44 is energized, the rod and weights are in the position shown in Fig. 3. Weights 48 constitute movable cases for the solenoids and each has a flange 49 thereon serving as a stop.

The apparatus for oscillating the rocker element, also includes a stop 50 at one end of rocker element I4 and a stop 52 at the opposite end thereof. Each of said stops 50 and 52 includes a switch 54 and 56 respectively in circuit with a source of electrical power supplied by lines 58 and 66. These switches 54 and 56 are normally open but close when carriage of the shiftable umt I8 reaches the end of its path of travel where said switches 54 and 56 are located.

Switch 54 is in circuit with solenoid 44 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 7 so that when this switch 54 is closed, solenoid 44 will be energized. Switch 56 is in circuit with solenoid 42 so that, when this switch 56 is closed, solenoid 42 will be energized. The wires constituting the circuit diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 7 are accommodated by the mechanical structure shown in Figs. 4 and 6; and, when such wiring is so mounted in the sign assembly, no length thereof is visible to the observer of the sign and the lead wires enter through shaft 28. A housing 62 encases solenoids 42 and 44, the rod 46, and the weights 48 thereon.

In practice, solenoids 42 and 44 are of the 110 volt A. C. type, and direct connection to the ordinary supply lines 58 and 60 may be accomplished without the employment of a transformer. The material from which the parts illustrated is made is selectable from a wide variety of substances and the size of the sign may be varied to suit the problem in hand.

In operation, assuming, for example, that the parts of the sign are as illustrated in Fig. 1, switch 54 will be closed by carriage 20 bearing thereagainst. Switch 56 is open. Closed switch 54 causes energization of solenoid 44, whereupon weight 48 constituting its core will be attracted thereby and move from a position outside solenoid 44 to a position therein as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 which, manifestly, shifts the overall weight to one side of the pivotal support between rocker element I4 and support ID.

This shifting of weight causes element I4 to tip toward the position shown in dotted lines of Fig. 1, and, under such condition, the unit including article 24 will move along element I4 toward switch 56, whereupon the closing thereof will draw the Weight constituting its core and, therefore, its entire weight of rod 46 and weights 48 back to a position where a reversal of the ac tion just set down will occur. So long as current is supplied to the sign structure, oscillation of rocker element I4 will occur and the shiftable unit I8 will reciprocate through the path of travel between stops 50 and 52.

The animation of this portion of the sign and the disposition of the advertised article 24 directly in front of the material I2 explanatory thereof on support I0 creates an advertising sign having a high degree of attraction with a minimum expense of operation, maintenance and manufacturing cost.

It is realized that sign structures having physical characteristics different from those shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A sign structure of the character described comprising a support; an elongated rocker element carried by the support; means for pivotally mounting the element on said support adjacent to the longitudinal median point of the former; a unit shiftably carried by the rocker element for free reciprocating travel past the said mounting means; stops for the unit defining the ends of its path of travel; apparatus on the rocker element for oscillating the same about said mounting means, including a weight assembly positionable with respect to the mounting means to tip the rocker element; means for drawing the weight assembly to positions with respect to the mounting means whereby to tip the rocker element; and parts joining the stops and the said drawing means, adapted to actuate the drawing means to dispose the weight assembly to a position with respect to the mounting means whereby to tip the rocker element and shift the unit to the opposite side of the mounting means from that occupied by the said unit when the unit is in engagement with one of the stops.

2. A sign structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the stops comprise electrical switches closable by the unit when thereagainst, and the drawing means comprises solenoids in circuit with the switches.

3. A sign structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the rocker element includes a track. and the shiftable unit is a carriage, having rollers designed to traverse the track.

4. A sign structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the shiftable unit comprises a carriage having rollers thereon, adapted to traverse the normally upper surface of the rocker element.

5. A sign structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the stops each comprises a. normally open electrical switch at each end respectively of the rocker element and in circuit with a source of electrical power and closable by the unit when thereagainst, and the drawing means comprises a pair of solenoids in the circuit, one of the solenoids being to one side of the mounting means for the rocker element, the other solenoid being to the opposite side of the said mounting means, said weight assembly being shiftably mounted between the solenoids.

6. A sign structure as defined in claim 1, wherein the stops each comprises a normally open electrical switch at each end respectively of the rocker element and in circuit with a source of electrical power and closable by the unit when thereagainst, and the drawing means comprises a pair of solenoids in the circuit, one of the solenoids being to one side of the mounting means for the rocker element, the other solenoid being to the opposite side of the said mounting means, said weight assembly being shiftably mounted between the solenoids, said circuit being arranged to cause energization of the solenoid to one side of the mounting means when the switch on the rocker element to the opposite side of the mounting means is closed by the shiftable unit being thereagainst.

VICTOR L. WATKINS.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,150,169 Bryant Aug. 17, 1915 1,235,579 Lincoln Aug. '7, 1917 2,045,864 Miller June 30, 1936

Images