US2829458A - Display sign structure - Google Patents

Description

April 8, 1958 J. J. MARCIN DISPLAY SIGN STRUCTURE Filed March 29, 1956 Z )wmvron? K jasga/z- NA RZI'l/V /v Arr) DISPLAY SIGN STRUCTURE Joseph J. Marcin, Chicago, 111., assignor to Spanjer Brothers, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 29, 1956, Serial No. 574,764 1 Claim. c1. 40-140 The invention relates toimprovements in display devices and is particularly concerned with a display of a type having characters such as letters or numerals individually mounted thereon for easy and quick rearrang ment and adjustment and in such manner that the characters are located closely against the front surface of a background panel or wall.

Display devices of the general character of the sign disclosed herein frequently have' the characters provided with mounting screws that extend entirely through the body of the character for cooperative engagement with nuts for securing them onto a slotted mounting bar arrangedron the front face of the mounting panel or other background surface. The structureof such displays is such that the appearance of the display is detracted from bythe presence of the heads of the mounting screws on the front or display face of the characters and also because the structure and mounting of the characters are such that the characters are spaced an excessive distance in front of the mounting panel or background surface. Furthermore, such prior types of mountings are frequently devoid of any satisfactory means to insure that the characters are not misaligned vertically.

In the present disclosure the characters and their mounting are such that there are no exposed mounting elements on the front display surface of the characters and the characters are held firmly in vertical alignment on an unslotted mounting bar in close proximity to the mounting panel or background surface. vIn order to accomplish these advantages the display characters in one disclosed embodiment are recessed ontheir back faces to receive the mounting bar therein, said recesses including end edges that embrace the mounting bar "to prevent misalignment vertically. The characters are provided also with at least two spaced apart machine screws threaded into their back faces and located to cause their heads to engageover opposite longitudinal edge margins of the mounting bar so that when tightened the character is clamped firmly to thebarfi These screws alsofunctionto insure verticalalignment of the characters and their heads are below the plane surface of the back faces of the characters. In another embodiment disclosed herein the screws, which are threaded into the back face of the character, have their heads engaged over recessed longitudinal margins or ledges on the mounting bar thus providing for close association between the mounting bar and its panel or surface and between the characters and the mounting bar.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide novelly constructed displays of the character referred to.

Another object is to provide display characters with novel means on their back faces with mounting them for easy arrangement on the mounting bar.

Another object is to provide a display character having headed mounting screws engaged in and projecting rearwardly from the rear surface thereof.

Another object is to provide a novel structure for mounting characters on a supporting surface in closely spaced relationship to the front face of said surface.

7 taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a 'modified.

ice

Another object is to provide a display which is not expensive to construct, is easy to assemble, very ruggedly constructed and pleasing in appearance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, i1-

lustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly. pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advan-,

tages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, 1 have illustrated in the accompanying drawings preferredembodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in .connection with the following description, by invention, its mode of construction, assembly andoperation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings: a

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of a display embodying features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the back face ofa eharacter embodying features of the invention, showing it mounted on a supported bar.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical seetionalview form of construction.

Fig.5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig, 4. Referring to thedisclosures in the accompanying drawings and particularly to Fig. l, the display embodying one embodiment of the present invention consists of a plurality' of characters 11 each'of which may be a letter of the alphabet, a numeral or other representation, mutually spaced apart along a support bar 12. The support bar 12 is secured 'in any suitable manner preferably at its ends as at 13 to a support surface 14 which may be'the back ground panel of a display sign or the wall of a building or the like. In the embodiment of the invention specifically disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3, the character 11 may be fabricated from any suitablematerial, such as cast or stamped metal, including a front wall 15 and rearwardly extending marginal flanges 16. v In the character illustrated, the

;, marginal flanges 16 are suitably cut-out or recessed, as at 17, inwardly from the rearmost edges thereof substantiallymidway from the 'upper'and lower extremities of that the recesses 17 are of a greater depth than the thickness of the bar 12 so that the rearwardly disposed face 19 of said bar is located inwardly a substantial distance from the rearmost face of the flanges 16, for a purpose to become apparent presently. If desired the forwardly disposed face of the bar 12 may be ornamented as for example by providing thereon the longitudinal fluting 21.

The character 11 is firmly secured in any selected position of longitudinal adjustment along the bar 12 by means of headed elements 22. As shown, these elements preferably comprise machine screws having a threaded stem 23 threadingly engaged in a tapped boss 24 on the back transversely extending bar 12,.with the stem portion '23 1 thereof in substantial abutment with the related side edge of said bar soas to further insure vertical align ment of the character relative to the bar 12. The head 25 of each threaded element 22 is brought into tight binding engagement with the back face 19 of the .bar 12 so as to secure the character 11 in a selected position of longitudinal adjustment along the bar.12. It should be quite apparent that the characters 11 can be easily and quickly removed from the supporting bar 12 by removal of either or both of the headed elements 22 and that when said elements are tightened, the character 11 is firmly anchored in place thereon. Loosening of the headed elements permits the character 11 to be shifted along the bar 12.

This construction affords an assembly which is devoid of any visible mounting on the front face of the character and because the bar 12 and the heads 25 of the threaded elements 22 are located inwardly of the rear edge of the flanges 16, the characters may be mounted closely against the background panel or other supporting wall surface 14.

Referring now to the specific construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the character 11a may be constructed similar to the character 11 including a front wall 15 and rearwardly extending marginal flanges 16 or if desired it maybe made solid. In this disclosure the mounting bar 12a is provided on each of its longitudinal edges with marginal recesses defining longitudinal ledges or shoulders 26, the surfaces of which are offset from the rearmost face 19a of the supporting bar by a distance equal to or greater than the height of the heads of the mounting elements 22. The mounting elements 22 are preferably,

machine screws and, although four are shown, at least two such elements are provided on each character 11a, one on either side of the supporting bar 12a so that their heads 25 will overlie and bear against the ledges 26 for securing the character 11a in any position of longitudinal adjustment lengthwise of the bar- 121:. The, threaded mounting elements 22 function also to align the characters 11a vertically with respect to the horizontal supporting bar 12a and inasmuch as the heads 25 thereof lie inwardly of the back face 19a of said supporting bar, the bar may be secured flat against the background panel or wall surface 14 so as to minimize the spacing between the character 11a and said panel or surface.

It should be quite evident that, although the present disclosure illustrates a mounting including'a single supporting bar, the features of the invention may be embodied in an installation requiring two or more such bars. I

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A display sign device adapted to be mounted to the vertical planar surface of a background member, said device comprising a display character having a vertical planar portion, the latter having a front face and a rear face, a flange fixed to the periphery of said planar portion and extending rearwardly therefrom, said flange having a rear vertical edge, said flange having a recess therein extending forwardly from said rear vertical edge, said recess having a vertical surface located intermediate said rear edge of the flange and said rear face of said planar portion, a horizontally extending support bar having an approximately planar vertical forward surface and a planar vertical rearward surface, said support bar extending through said recess in said flange and extending in a direction substantially parallel to said planar portion, said forward surface of said support bar abutting against said vertical surface of said recess, said rearward surface of said support bar being spaced forwardly of said rear edge of said flange, and a plurality of securing members extending approximately perpendicular to said planar portion, each of said securing members having a forward end with means thereon to fixedly secure said forward end to said planar portion, each of said forward ends of said securing members being located rearwardly of said front face of said planar portion, said front face of said planar portion being continuous and concealing said securing members, each of said securing members having an enlarged head thereon adjacent the rearward end thereof, each of said enlarged heads having a forward shoulder surface abutting against the rearward surface of said,

support bar to maintain the forwardsurface of the support bar in abutting engagement with said vertical surface of said recess, the extreme rearward end of each of said securing members being located forwardly of said rear vertical edge of the flange, the front face of said planar portion being uninterrupted by said securing members, the latter being concealed by said planar portion, whereby the rear edge of said flange may be located in abutting relation to or closely adjacent to said vertical surface of said background member without obstruction or interference by said securing members.

References Cited the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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