Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Signs – Stretched or tensioned
Utility Patent
1998-04-08
2001-01-02
Silbermann, Joanne (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Signs
Stretched or tensioned
C038S102910
Utility Patent
active
06167649
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to advertising and information display systems and, more particularly, to display systems having easily replaceable display media.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of advertising sign boards is widespread throughout the world. Considered an eyesore and a distraction by many, control over the erection and location of sign boards has been asserted by statute in various states and by local ordinances in many municipalities. The anti-billboard statutes and ordinances commonly ban the presence of sign boards along the sides of highways. As a means of circumventing the ban, advertisers routinely place advertising on the sides of semi-trailers and then park the trailers on private lots adjacent the highways. Although the sides of a trailer function well as sign boards, trailers are relatively expensive, and most of their utility is lost when they relegated to duty as stationary objects.
There is considerable interest in using the sides of semi-trailers as advertising billboards. Tens of millions of semi-trailer-tractor rigs ply the world's highways on a daily basis. Trucks can be divided into two important groups: Those that are owned by transportation companies, and those that are owned by companies engaged in primarily in other pursuits. Tractor-trailer rigs belonging to the former group generally provide transportation services to a constantly-varying list of customers, and each rig typically displays nothing more than the name of the trucking company. Rigs belonging to the latter group are generally used exclusively in the service of the owning company and generally display permanent advertising that is painted or bonded to the trailer.
Although there is widespread recognition that tractor-trailer rigs owned by transportation companies have tremendous advertising potential, the costs involved with the application of advertising signs to the sides of trailers and their subsequent removal are a real hindrance. For example, painted signs are fine for permanent advertising. However, for temporary advertising, the labor and talent required to paint attractive signs on the side of a truck is costly. And those costs don't take into account the costs incurred by the trailer downtime during the painting operation. Removal of unwanted signs is also problematic. Not only does removal completely destroy the sign, but the Environmental Protection Agency and other similar state agencies are making it increasingly difficult to use paint removers containing methylene chloride. Hence, the old paint must be removed either with less-effective chemicals or by bead blasting. Thus, removal of the painted sign will also result in significant trailer downtime.
In cases where advertising is printed on a vinyl or other polymeric plastic sheet which is, in turn, adhesively applied to the sides of a truck, a high level of skill is required to correctly apply the panel without inadvertently incorporating ripples or bubbles into the surface. As with painted advertising, removal of adhesively-adhered polymeric plastic advertising sheets will result in their destruction, and removal is time-consuming and difficult.
Many of the problems associated with the application of advertising material to the sides of vehicles also apply to the application of advertising material to the sides of buildings. When driving through older cities and towns, it is not uncommon to see painted signs on the sides of buildings that date to the last century. Once again, although the signs have long since ceased to have any utility, their removal is difficult.
There is a need for an efficient advertising display system which can be used on the sides of buildings and the sides of vehicles, such as semi-trailers. The system must be relatively simple to install, relatively inexpensive, and permit the rapid changing of advertising material displayed without destruction of the removed material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides an information display system which can be mounted on planar surfaces, such as the walls of buildings or the sides of semi-trailers. The system includes at least one anchoring bracket rigidly attached to the planar surface at each of a polygonal sign's apices, or corner locations. Other anchoring brackets may be rigidly attached to the planar surface at various locations along the sign's edges. An advertising message and/or graphic display is printed on a sheet of flexible polymeric material, which is hemmed along its edges to create a perimetric sleeve surrounding the sheet. The corners of the sheet are cut off so that the interior of the sleeve at each corner is accessible. The perimetric edge of the sign sheet is secured to a frame by the sleeve. The frame, in turn, is secured to the anchoring brackets via tensioning devices.
For a first embodiment of the invention, the frame includes multiple hollow tension beams, each of which has longitudinal slit through which a portion of the sleeve formed by the hemmed edge is inserted. A trapping stick, rod or tube, inserted through the sleeve after the sleeve has been inserted within the tension beam through the slit, effectively secures the hemmed edge of the sign sheet to the tension beam. The end of each tension beam, which encloses a portion of the perimetric sleeve, is tightened against an anchoring bracket with tensioning bolts. The tightening action stretches the flexible panel within the frame so as to provide a smooth surface on which the advertising message may be displayed.
For a second embodiment of the invention, the frame includes multiple tension struts, each of which is inserted in a portion of the perimetric sleeve. The third embodiment shares design elements of both the first and second embodiments. Unlike the first embodiment, the sleeve of the sign sheet is exposed rather than trapped within the tension beams. The tension struts are positioned end to end within the sleeve around the perimeter of the sign sheet. As with the tension beams of the first embodiment, the end of each tension strut is tightened against an anchoring bracket with tensioning bolts. The anchoring brackets of the second embodiment may be identical to those of the first embodiment.
For a third embodiment of the invention, the frame is a cable. Load distributing-tubes are inserted within the perimetric sleeve and the cable is inserted through the load-distributing tubes, forming a loop which surrounds the entire perimetric edge. The ends of the cable are joined with one of various types of available connectors which are crimped to each end of the cable. The connector also allows the length of the cable to be adjusted. The cable is then tightened at the corners of the rectangular frame, preferably with pulleys, and optionally along the edges of the sheet.
For any of the three embodiments of the invention, a gap seal may be employed to block airflow beneath the polymeric sheet, which might otherwise cause billowing, flapping, and eventual tearing of the polymeric sheet. An effective gap seal may also be formed by a secondary frame, which incorporates the anchoring brackets therein. For advertising display mounting on buildings, wind direction may vary from time to time. For such an application, a secondary frame has an advantage of preventing airflow beneath the sheet from all directions.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3359663 (1967-12-01), Black
patent: 3482343 (1969-12-01), Hamu
patent: 4041861 (1977-08-01), Alter
patent: 5349772 (1994-09-01), Pardue
patent: 5373655 (1994-12-01), Suzuki
patent: 5507109 (1996-04-01), Rinzler
patent: 5845423 (1998-12-01), Hicks
patent: 5937751 (1999-08-01), Newman, Jr.
Fox III Angus C.
Silbermann Joanne
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