US3075492A

US3075492A - Flag holders

Info

Publication number: US3075492A
Application number: US178446A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lewis L Winfrey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-03-08
Filing date: 1962-03-08
Publication date: 1963-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-29

Description

Jan. 29, 1963 L. L. WINFREY FLAG HOLDERS Filed March 8, 1962 INVENTOR. lama L. mmz'r United States Patent Ofifiee 3,075,492 Patented Jan. 29, 1963 3,075,492 FLAG HOLDERS Lewis L. Winfrey, 331 E. iMarket St., Xenia, Ohio Filed Mar. 8, 1962, Set. No.178,446 4 Claims. (Cl. 116-28) This invention relates to holders for flags or banners, and more particularly to holders constructed to be detachably secured to a rod or staff.

While the invention is by no means limited to such use, it is designed especially for attaching flags or the like to motor vehicles to serve, for example, as markers or identifying means for funeral conveyances, and in this case the rod or staff to which the flagholder is applied may conveniently be the radio antenna with which modern cars are frequently equipped.

Many attempts have heretofore been made to provide means for attaching flags to motor vehicles, but none of them have proven entirely satisfactory from a practical standpoint, and some of them have not been acceptable because of their high cost.

An object of the present invention is to devise a flagholder of exceptionally simple construction, fabricated entirely from a single piece of material.

Another object is to provide a flag holder of this type which can be laterally engaged with or disengaged from a rod or staff.

A still further object of the invention is to design a flag holder of this character which can be produced at very low cost.

With the above and other objects in view, and to generally improve the efficiency and convenience of such devices, the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective View, illustrating the front of an automobile with my improved flag holder mounted on the usual radio antenna rod;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of my improved holder itself, showing the rod and a fragment of the flag in broken lines;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation showing a flag secured to the holder;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a slightly modified arrangement; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse section substantially on the line 66 of FIG. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my improved flag holder is designated in its entirety by the numeral 2 and is adapted to be supported on a rod or staff 1 such, for example, as the usual radio antenna mounted on an automobile as shown in FIG. 1.

The flag itself is made of fabric and may be either limp and flexible as shown at 3 in FIG. 1, or may be stiffened and made rigid by means hereinafter described, as shown at 3 in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The flag is preferably of oval shape as shown in these figures, and whether limp and flexible, as shown in FIG. 1, or rigid as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the end adjacent the holder is cut off on a straight line and hemmed, as indicated at 10.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2, the holder 2 is formed of sheet material such as plastic or metal and comprises an elongated body 4 extending parallel with the rod or staff. From one longitudinal edge of the body 4 project a pair of clips 5, located one near each end of the body. These clips are of rounded form as shown and their free edges are opened outwardly and flared as shown at 5. The sheet material is of a resilient nature so that the clips 5 may be snapped over the rod or staff 1 by a lateral movement, and may be readily removed in the same way.

At the longitudinal edge of the holder opposite the clips 5 the body is provided with a pair of alined integral arms 7 lying in-the same plane with the body 4 and with each other. These arms are spaced from the body by a slot or opening 9- and a space 8 is provided between their adjacent ends. A pair of holes or openings 6 is also formed in the body 4 for a purpose hereinafter described.

It will now be understood that the alined arms 7 may be inserted in the hem 1 0 of the flag by collapsing the flag and passing one end of the hem through the opening '8. This hem is clearly illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 2, and it will be seen that when the flag is in position on the holder, it is supported partly by each of the two arms 7, and may be readily removed from these arms when desired.

In the rigid type of flag shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the flag is also formed with a peripheral hem 11 extending around the same, and a stiff wire 12 is enclosed within this hem. This wire has its free ends terminating adjacent the ends of the hem, and these free ends are bent to form hooks 13, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. These hooked ends may either be passed through the openings 6 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or may be engaged with the ends of the opening 9, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In either case, the stiff wire 12 serves to maintain the fabric material of the flag fully extended and to connect it rigidly with the holder 2 so that it remains in display position regardless of the wind.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a flag holder fabricated from a single piece of sheet material, and which is exceptionally simple in construction and low in cost, and it is thought that the many advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated by those familiar with such matters.

What I claim is:

l. A flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod, and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising an elongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced, alined, resilient clips, formed integral with said body and adapted to detachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge a pair of alined arms constructed to enter a hem at the end of a flag, said arms being integral with said body and projecting toward each other in the same plane, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a substantial distance.

2. In combination a flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod, and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising an elongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced, alined, resilient clips, formed integral with said body and adapted to detachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral with but spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a common plane, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a distance sufiicient to permit them to be inserted into the opposite ends of a hem formed at the end of a flexible flag when said flag is collapsed, whereby said flag is supported partially by each of said arms.

3. In combination a flag holder constructed to be supported on a rod, and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising an elongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced, alined, resilient clips, formed integral with said body and adapted to detachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral with but spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a common plane, a fabric flag of oval shape having one straight end formed with a hem, the adjacent ends of said arms being separated a distance sufiicient to permit them to be inserted into opposite ends of said hem when the flag is collapsed, said flag also having a hem around its periphery, a stiff wire extending through said last mentioned hem and having free ends projecting from said hem at a point adjacent said straight end of said flag, and means for anchoring said free ends to said holder.

4. In combination a flag holder constructed to be sup ported on a rod, and consisting of a device made of sheet material and comprising an elongated body having adjacent one longitudinal edge a pair of spaced, alined, resilient clips, formed integral With said body and adapted to detachably engage a rod, said body having adjacent the opposite longitudinal edge a pair of alined arms, said arms being integral with but spaced from said body and projecting toward each other in a common plane, a fabric References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,339,849 Johnson et al May 11, 1920 1,646,467 Walton Oct. 25, 1927 2,093,951 Bosket Sept. 21, 1937 2,30l,180 Hynek Nov. 10, 1942

Claims

1. A FLAG HOLDER CONSTRUCTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A ROD, AND CONSISTING OF A DEVICE MADE OF SHEET MATERIAL AND COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING ADJACENT ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE A PAIR OF SPACED, ALINED, RESILIENT CLIPS, FORMED INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY AND ADAPTED TO DETACHABLY ENGAGE A ROD, SAID BODY HAVING ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL EDGE A PAIR OF ALINED ARMS CONSTRUCTED TO ENTER A HEM AT THE END OF A FLAG, SAID ARMS BEING INTEGRAL WITH SAID BODY AND PROJECTING TOWARD EACH OTHER IN THE SAME PLANE, THE ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID ARMS BEING SEPARATED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE.