Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Signs – Billboard type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-20
2002-09-24
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3642)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Signs
Billboard type
C040S620000, C040S611050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06453591
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a system and method for creating a message display of the type often affixed to roadside billboards. More specifically, the present invention is directed to the attachment of a single panel (or a number of separate panels) onto a message display surface. The method and system of the present invention greatly facilitate installation, removal, and replacement of the panel (or panels) by the use of hook fastening elements, which engage an entangled fiber sheet backing thereon to secure the single panel (or multiple panels) to the message display surface.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Several methods and apparatuses for displaying large-scale (or over-sized) messages, such as those displayed on roadside billboards, are known in the art.
One method is to hire an artist to paint the large-scale message (e.g., an advertisement) onto an appropriate message display surface, such as a billboard. To replace the painted advertisement with another, the advertiser simply paints over the old advertisement. While effective, this technique is used infrequently due to the high cost associated with the labor required. Despite the high cost, however, there are some instances, such as when the advertisement is to remain on the side of a building for a long period of time, where the expense associated with this technique may be justified.
A more common technique for creating an over-sized message display is to have the message or advertisement printed onto several large sheets of paper or plastic film. The sheets are then assembled, like a tiling, onto the display surface (e.g., the billboard). With this technique, the sheets are usually affixed to the advertising surface using a glue or an adhesive that assures the panels will remain attached to the advertising surface under just about any type of weather condition. Since the advertisement is affixed to the advertising surface with glue, however, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remove. Therefore, newer advertisements are usually glued on top of the advertisements previously affixed to the advertising surface.
Alternatively, it is known to stretch the advertisement over the display surface by attaching the advertisement to the edge or the rear of the display surface using hooks connected together with a ratchet cord. The hooks at one end of the ratchet cord are threaded through eyelets in the advertisement while the hooks at the other end of the ratchet cord are attached either to the edge of the display surface or to a suitable location at the rear of the advertising surface. With this technique, removal and replacement of the. advertisement is relatively simple—the hooks need only to be disengaged from the advertisement panel or the advertising surface. However, this fastening technique is limited to advertisements constructed as a single sheet (or assembled as a single sheet from a number of sheets) and cannot be applied to multiple panels or sheets that are to be attached to the same display surface. Moreover, sign or message displays of this type are usually made from a fabric that is woven to give the message display high tensile and tear strength. If signs of this type are not manufactured from a woven fabric with sufficient tensile and tear strength, the hooks simply tear through the edges of the sign upon application of a sufficient amount of force.
Other methods of attaching advertising materials to advertising surfaces are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,451 (“the '451 patent”) describes an apparatus for attaching advertisements to the exterior of a truck, which the patent refers to broadly as a mobile information conveyance system. The attachment apparatus involves attaching a lower retaining channel
11
and an upper retaining channel
12
(with angle brackets
13
) to the sides of a standard forty-foot semitrailer. A number of advertising panels
15
are inserted between the retaining channels
11
,
12
and are held in place with a safety cable
16
that is held taut between anchors
16
B. End channels
14
prevent air (moving at 60+MPH) from dislodging the panels
15
from the retaining channels
11
,
12
. For the rear rolling door
61
of the semitrailer, the '451 patent describes the use of hook and loop fastening means (e.g., Velcro®) to hold a single panel
65
in place. The loop portion
60
B of the hook and loop fasteners is attached to the rear of the vinyl sign
65
. Hook fastener strips
60
are attached to the door
61
.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,464 (“the '464 patent”) also describes a way to attach an advertising sign to a truck. In this case, however, the display element
12
is attached to the tailgate of a pickup truck
15
. Straps
34
and
36
extend from the top and bottom edges of display element
12
and wrap around the top and bottom of the tailgate where they meet at the rear. Straps
34
and
36
may be provided with hook and loop strip fastening arrangements
94
and
96
to hold the display element
12
onto the tailgate of a pickup truck
15
.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,129 (“the '129 patent”) describes removable scene-scapes bordered by an interchangeable window frame for decorating the walls of a child's room. The background scene-scape
12
is painted with a background scene. The scene-scape
12
is provided with pressure sensitive adhesive for removably affixing the scene-scape
12
to a wall. Hook and loop fasteners
15
,
17
may be affixed to the wall around the scene-scape
12
so that a window frame
18
may be removably attached to the wall around the scene-scape
12
.
While each of these patents describe the use of hook and loop fasteners for removably attaching elements to a surface, none of them address any of the problems described in connection with the assembly of a large-scale message display from a single panel or from a plurality of separate panels. Moreover, the prior art does not address the construction of a large-scale message display made of flexible sheets with an entangled fiber sheet backing incorporated into the rear surface thereof. Also, none of the prior art describes any technique that simplifies the removal and replacement of a large-scale advertisement from an advertising surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for creating a message display that overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a method and system that facilitates assembly and disassembly of message displays constructed from one or more panels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a message display having a message display surface with a first area. At least one hook fastening element with a second area is affixed to the message display surface. The message display also includes at least one message display panel with a third area. The display panel has a printable surface and an entangled fiber sheet backing. The at least one hook fastening element engages the entangled fiber sheet backing to maintain the at least one message display panel in a fixed relationship to the message display surface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a message display panel (or a number of panels) where the area of the entangled fiber sheet backing (or loop fastening element) is an integral part of the entire message display panel (or panels).
The present invention has of one of its objects the provision of a display where the hook fastening elements are disposed in a predetermined pattern on the message display surface. Other objects of the present invention provide the shape and construction of that predetermined pattern.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hook fastening element that is affixed to the display surface with an adhesive or other attachment method such as staples, rivets, screws, etc.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a message display where the message display panel or panels have a printable surface in
Cooley Incorporated
Dayoan D. Glenn
Morrow Jason
LandOfFree
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