Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Illuminated sign – External light source
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-22
2001-03-27
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Illuminated sign
External light source
C040S579000, C040S580000, C040S581000, C040S615000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205691
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to advertising and promotional displays, and more particularly to displays that resemble neon tubing in appearance.
2. Description of the Related Art
An important purpose of advertising displays or signs is to describe or present a product, concept, or idea in a clear and attractive manner to persons within visual range of the display or sign. The more visually stimulating or attractive the display is, the more likely a person is to take notice to the advertisement. Displays with three-dimensional illuminated images are generally more visually stimulating than two-dimensional images.
One popular three-dimensional display used often in advertising includes neon signs, which feature illuminated glass tubing bent into letters and other shapes. Neon signs are notorious for their nostalgic, attractive appearance. The uniform light emanating from the tubing is pleasing to look at and contrasts sharply with dark background areas between the tubing. During manufacture of neon signs, glass tubing that typically comes in four-foot lengths with a about a one-half inch (approximately 12 mm) diameter, is heated and formed into the desired shape. Often, a letter or series of letters and/or shapes are constructed from a single glass tube so as to create a continuous one stroke design. In order to maintain uniform light intensity throughout the length of the tubing, great care must be taken to assure that the diameter remains constant, especially at sharp bends in the tubing. Great skill is therefore required during the shaping process. Once shaped, Neon gas is introduced into the tubing and the tubing is sealed. An electric charge applied to the gas at opposite ends of the tubing causes a characteristic intense glow along the length of the tubing. A special transformer must be used to apply the electric charge.
Although quite popular, neon signs often break during shipping and installation. The manufacture of neon signs is very labor-intensive and requires specialized skill. Consequently, neon signs are inherently expensive. The transformers are also expensive and often raise the price of the sign to a prohibitive level for small businesses or persons with limited advertising budgets. Neon signs are also generally heavy and difficult to mount.
In an effort to overcome some of the difficulties associated with neon signs, simulated neon signs have been developed. These prior art arrangements typically include a flat panel that is imprinted with advertising and illuminated with a fluorescent bulb from a back side of the panel. The printing process typically utilized in manufacturing of such signs is silk-screening, wherein special inks are pressed through a screen containing a negative blocking image. The resulting positive image imprinted on the panel is often bleared and milky in appearance when illuminated and cannot escape the impression of a flat two-dimensional surface. Although the silk screen inks can be applied to the surface with rounded edges, there is no depth or three-dimensional impression. Thus advertising arrangements produced by screen printing fail to generate three-dimensional impression on a viewer so typical and important for the neon tubing displays.
Other prior art signs are vacuum-formed so as to have a raised element that may appear somewhat like a neon tube. Again, the silk screening process typically used in manufacturing these types of signs results in a somewhat white, translucent milky appearance and therefore gives a more subdued look than neon. Furthermore, the vacuum-formation requires use of special machinery and equipment custom made for a particular sign. This makes signs and advertisements quite expensive especially for small advertisers having limited financial resources.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a decorative promotional display resembling a neon sign.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a neon-like decorative promotional display which is relatively easy to manufacture and which is comparatively low in cost.
According to the invention, a display device resembling neon tubing includes a clear transparent substrate having a front surface and a rear surface with the front surface of the substrate being adapted to face a viewer, and one or more elongate, continuous grooves extending into the substrate from the rear surface. The groove is shaped to represent an informational image, such as a letter, symbol, character or design, for communicating a message to a viewer. A layer of roughness is formed within arcuate groove surface of substantially constant diameter along the length of the groove. This enables the invention to uniformly disperse light that may be incident on the groove toward the front surface of the substrate in an arcuate path. A blocking layer covers the rear surface of the substrate adjacent the groove delineating its borders and permitting the transmission of light only through the groove to thereby create a sharp contrast between light incident on the groove and the blocking layer. Preferably, the diameter of the groove(s) is at least approximately equal to the diameter of conventional neon tubing.
With the above-described arrangement, light incident along the length of the arcuate groove surface having the layer of roughness exits the front surface of the substrate in an arcuate path with substantially uniform intensity along the length of the groove to thereby create a three dimensional tubular appearance that is visually similar to neon tubing.
If desired, a colored, translucent layer may cover one or more selected grooves to thereby impart a color to the selected grooves when illuminated.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, a method for forming a display device resembling neon tubing comprises the steps of: providing a clear transparent substrate, forming a light blocking layer on the rear surface of the substrate, forming one or more elongate and continuous groove sections in the substrate through the light blocking layer into one or more shapes representing an informational image for communicating a message to a viewer. The layer of roughness is being formed within the surface of the groove. The groove surface is arcuate in cross section with a substantially constant diameter throughout the length of the groove. The light blocking layer permits the transmission of light only through the groove to thereby create a sharp contrast between light incident on the groove and the blocking layer. The groove surface having the layer of roughness uniformly disperses light that may be incident on the groove toward the front surface of the substrate in an arcuate path. In this manner, light incident along the length of the roughened, arcuate groove surface exits the front surface of the substrate in an arcuate path with substantially uniform intensity to thereby create a three dimensional tubular appearance that is visually similar to neon tubing. The step of formation of the layer of roughness within the groove surface may be performed simultaneously with the step of forming the groove.
A translucent layer may be applied over one or more selected grooves to thereby impart a color to the selected groove(s) when illuminated.
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Fyler Katherine M.
Urda Susan L.
Fridman Lawrence G.
Hewitt James M
Melius Terry Lee
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