US881390A - Illuminated sign. - Google Patents

Description

No. 881,390. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1908.

- J. w. ELLIS.

ILLUMINATED SIGN. APPLICATION FILED 001'. 2, 1907.

BEST AvAaA-necorr- UNITED STATES EATENT om n JAMES W. ELLIS, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ANDREW THOMPSON,

OF DENVER, COLORADO.

, ILLUMINATED SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented March 10, 1908.

Application filed October 2, 1907. Serial No. 895,580.

the sides 2, and ends 3, and the cross arm I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. ELLIS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Illuminated Sign, of which the following is a specification.

-My invention relates to improvements in illuminating si s and the objects of my invention are: rst, to provide illuminated letters in which each letter is formed by a sunken channel or recess, of a fan or dovetail shape, made in the form of the different letters of the alphabet, and formed of any suitable metalin the shape of the letters of the alphabet, or sunk orotherwise formed in the surface of a sign board of wood or any other suitable material. Second, to provide an illuminated signletter that will ive as great an illuminating candle-power e ect as any electricallyilluminated letter in use, with one-third of the electric light candle ower. And third, to provide an electric ight sign letter which will concentrate or focus the light within it into a narrow line of the form of the letter, of great brillianey, and which comprises a letter in the form of any letter of the alphabet desired, provided with afan or dove-tailed recess, the bottom and sides of which form in outline the frustuiri of a triangle, the apex portion of which forms the shape of the letter, and also the entrance to the letter, and the bottom of which recesss aped letteris provided with an incandescent electric light at the center and end portions only of each angle of its form, which are positioned wholly within the recess. I

attain these objects by the mechanism illus tratcd in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1, is a front view of a letter for an illuminated sign, constructed in accordance with my invention. And Fig. 2, is a vertical, sectional view thereof on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1, designates a'lctte. of the alphabet. I have preferably illustrated my invention embodied in the lt-ttcr A, although my invention contemplates its embodiment in any letter of the alphabet. The letter is constructcd of any suitable material, pri l'crabfv galvanized iron, and is made in the form of the letter desired, and consists ofa back portion2, of preferably the form and shape of the letter to be made from this back portion;

portions 4 are either bent up from or are secured to the back portion by solder or rivets or other suitable means, and are positioned to roject at a slight inwardly projecting ange of preferably about towards the center of each arm of the letter. That is, the sides of each'limb slope convergingly towards each other toward the lengthwise axis of the limb asuflicient and equal amount to form a dove-tailed or fan-shaped letter in cross-section, and a dovetailed or fan;

shaped recess between them, which is open at the top 5, of the sides throughout the.

length of the letter; and the'sides and ends and cross arm portions of the letter are formed to provide a continuous open space at their top edge ortions, which open space is formed to be t is true form and shapeof the letter desired, and this-entrance space becomes the illuminated letter when the dove-tailed recess of the side and end cross -arm of the letter are illuminated. The sides and ends and cross arm portions of the vertical and cross portions of each letter are equally and evenly inwardly inclined so as to bring the entrance slot of the recess in the center of the width of the different parts of the letter. The rear wall and side ortions of this dove-tailed recess, are provi ed with light reflecting surfaces, which are made by either palnting or glazing them with white paint orenamel or cement or tile or some other suitable material, orif desired they may be constructed of a light reflecting material. To the bottom of the inside of the recess, which is the back or floor of the letter, I secure in the length of each-arm portion of the letter, one or lnore incandescent electric lights 6, in suitable apertures formed therein' to receive them, and connect the socket portions of these lights which project beyond the rear side of the letter, by circuit wires to a source of current supply.

It is the present practice in making illuminated letter signs to make letters the sides of which diverge outward in a V-shape trough form of letter. This form of letter, however, requires that a sufficient number of incandescent electric lights be placed along the bottom of the V-shaped trough to form a row of closely positioned lights in order to make a letter that shall be inforr'n an unbroken outline of light, of the ,trne form of the letter; I

\r tailed shaped recess throughout the full cross arm portion.

third of the electric light current per month cess between them, their free ends being My invention consists of shaping the sides I and ends and cross arms of the letter that their inside surfaces will reflect their light against each other, and concentrate it in the center of the dove-tailed recess between them, and thus present a bright streak of light of the width of the entrance slot to the dove-tailed recess between them, and thus enable just as bright asign letter to be produced with the use of a very much less number of incandescent-lights, and thus very materially reduce the cost of the electric current used to supply the sign, and also reduce the cost of its manufacture. And the sign letter embodied in my invention requires but one incandescent light at the center or central and at the end portions of each arm of the letter; consequently in the letter A I secure to the bottom of the dovetailed recess one incandescent electric-light at the end portions of the vertical. limbs of the letter, and one at the center of their These five electric lights, which would be in all cases of the same candle power as would be used in signs of the commonly used form, are all suflicient to reflect and concentrate a bright streak of light the full width of the entrance to the dovelength of the letter, while in the V-shaped trough form in common use about three times as many electric lights of thesame candle power would be required to produce an equa ly bright illuminated letter.

In practice I have foundthat a sign of the letters of the form of cross section embodying my invention, will consume less than oneused in the same sign of the V-shaped trough form of letter, which makes the cost of a sign, of my letters two-thirds less per month in amount of electric light current consumed.

The first cost of construction and material of letters embodying my invention, is also very materially less than in signs of similar letters of the commonly used form, as the converging sides make a stiller and stronger sign letter for a given size, and less work is required to place the lights in them; also about two-thirds less incandescent lights and wiring are required. Drain. o "enings 7, are formed at the bottom of the otters to pernit the escape of rain and melted snow.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s:

1. An illuminated electric light sign letter, comprising a flat back portion, provided with inwardly converging side and end portions projecting from said back and converged towards each other to form a dove-tailed respaced at a sufficient distance apart to form a recess between them of the outline oflthe letter desired, and narrower than the width of the back of the different portions of the letter, and an electric incandescent light secured to said back portion at the central and end portions of each limb and arm portions of said letter.

2. An illuminated sign letter, comprising a supporting back portion, sides, and end portions projecting forward from said back portion and converging towards each other to form a dove-tailed shaped recess portion, having a flat back or wall portion and converging side wall and end wall portions, )1'0- vided with a light reflecting surface, an incandescent electric lights secured to the back .wall within said dove-tailed recess and operatively connected to a source of electric current supply to illuminate said dove-tailed shaped recess.

3. In an illuminated sign letter, the combination of a lettersupporting sign or back board adapted to permit a letter to be formed in it, with a letter, comprising a dove-tailed shap'ed recess-cf the form of the true outlines of the letters of the alphabet desired, said recess having its narrowest slot entrance portion at the front or face of the supporting back in which it is formed, and its widest portion at the bottom of said recess in said supporting back, and having the sides of sald dove-tailed recess convergingly inclined towards each other from the bottom of said recess to its entrance slot portion and having the inside walls of this dove-tailed shaped recess provided with a light reflecting surface, electric lights secured'at predetermined distances apart into the rear wall of said dove-tailed recess and arranged to illuminate the rear and side walls of said dove-tailed recess, and circuit wires operatively connected to said electric lights and to a supply of electric-current.

4.'A letter for an illuminated sign, comprising a back,,having the outline of the desired letter, and a projecting rim conforming to the outline of the letter, which forms, with the back, a channel or chamber open on its front, the sides of which converge from the back, and incandescent lamps secured to said back within said chamber.

5. A letter for an illuminated sign, comprising a back having the outline of the de sired letter, and a projecting rim conforming to the outline of the letter, which forms, with the back, a channel or chamber open on its front, the sides of which converge from the back, said chamber being provided with drain openings, and incandescent lamps se- JAMES W'. El'iLlS.

Witnesses V G. SARGENT ELLIOTT. Bnssm TiroMPsoN.

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