US2895246A - Sign and fixture therefor - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1959 H. c. MEN-GES 2,395,246

' SIGN AND FIXTURE THEREFOR Filed March 16, 1956 I INVENTOR. J2 E Hog 4 C/Vf/VGES I w/ J f-roRNEY United States The present invention relates to signs and more particularly to a means or fixture for mounting signs.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a sign, particularly of the light reflecting type, which will quickly attract a persons attention either during the day or night.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fixture for mounting signs such as traflic signs and the like, which causes or permits the sign to quiver, vibrate, oscillate, or otherwise move rapidly in response to air movements and earth vibrations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sign fixture of the aforesaid type which can be easily fabricated and readily mounted on a support and which will give long trouble-free service in the field.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sign fixture for performing the foregoing operation, which can readily be attached to conventional sign supports and used with conventional sign attaching means and devices and which can be used with said signs and supports without making any changes or alterations in either.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a sign mounted on a support with my sign fixture which is shown in broken lines behind said sign.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a sign supported by my fixture mounted on a suitable post or the like;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of my sign fixture;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of my sign fixture taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figures 5 and 6 are plan views of modifications of my invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, a traflic sign 10 is shown secured to my sign fixture 12 by bolts 14 and 16 and the fixture is secured to a post 18 by bolts 20 and 22 extending through a member of the fixture and through the post. The post is set in the ground and may be rigidly secured therein with concrete if desired.

My fixture 12 has a longitudinal member 24 secured to the sign, a member 26 secured to post 18 and springs 30 and 32 secured to the turned over ends of each member 24 and 26. These two springs may be joined to members 24 and 26 by any suitable means; preferably, however, eyes on each end of the springs are looped through holes in the turned over ends of said members. The springs are of such length relative to the spacing between the corresponding ends of members 24 and 26 that they are under tension when they are assembled between said ends, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. When the springs are assembled in place between the ends of the members, said members will readily rotate or oscillate relative to one another on an axis corresponding to the axis of the two springs. If my fixture is properly assembled, the two springs tend to hold members 24 and 26 in the posiatent 2,895,245 Patented July 21, 1959 ice tion shown in Figures 2 and 3, i.e. on opposite sides of the axis of said springs, and will snap the members back to that position if they are rotated therefrom. In order to prevent the sign from oscillating in an are so large that it would be diflicult for someone standing directly in front of the normal straight forward position of the sign to read the sign when it is at either end of the are, a relatively broad member 34 mounted on member 26 and extending within close proximity of the inner side of member 24 is provided to act as a stop means to limit the arc of oscillation of member 24. Member 34 is rigidly secured to member 26 which in turn is rigidly secured to post 18. When member 24 oscillates on the axis corresponding to that of the springs, the edge of member 24 engages the broad free end 35 of member 34, abruptly stopping the movement of member 24 in that direction and causing it to bounce back in the opposite direction of oscillation.

In the operation of my sign fixture, after springs 30 and 32 have been assembled in place between the ends of members 24 and 26 and member 34 has been mounted on member 26, a sign, such as a traflic stop sign as shown in Figure l, is mounted on member 24 by bolts 14 and 16 and member 26 is mounted on post 18 by bolts 20 and 22. With the sign mounted in this manner, a slight breeze will cause the sign to oscillate rapidly to and fro on the spring axis but only to the extent permitted by stop member 34. If the sign is located close to a highway or street carrying heavy vehicle, particularly trucks and busses, the vibration created by these vehicles on the highway orstreet will be transmitted through the ground to the sign mounting and into springs 30 and 32 setting up quivering or slight dancing action in the sign. The foregoing movements in the sign, all of which are rapid but very limited in magnitude, quickly attract the attention of the drivers on the highway or street as soon as the sign becomes visible to them. This increases the time in which the driver has to react to the warning on the sign before positive action is required, thus increasing highway safety. This is particularly true when special light reflecting signs, i.e. signs having specially prepared surfaces to enhance the light reflective characteristic of the sign, including surfaces of powdered glass and glass beads, are used in conjunction with my fixture since the reflection from the car lights at night or the sun in the daytime creates the appearance of a rapidly flickering lighted sign. As pointed out previously, the arc of oscillation and scope of quivering and vibrating movement is not sufiicient to interfere with the rapid reading of the sign.

The fixture just described can be modified or changed to suit requirements and may be made in upper and lower sections only, with the intermediate portion of each member 24 and 26 being omitted to save metal. In this arrangement stop member 34 can be attached to either the upper or lower part of the member 26 and may be secured to the post by bolt 20 or 22.

Further, member 34 will operate effectively when secured to member 24 of the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3 or the separate part thereof of the embodiment described in this paragraph. Various other types of stop members will readily occur to those skilled in the art and can be substituted for the one shown in Figures 1 through 3.

In the modification shown in Figure 5, a coil spring 40 is secured at one end to the sign 10 and at the other end to post 18. In securing the spring to both the sign and post cross members 42 and 44 having a center hole therein are inserted between the coils adjacent the ends of the spring, and bolts 46 and 47 are inserted through the respective cross members, and the sign and post. One or a plurality of springs may be used for each sign which will quiver or vibrate on said springs in response to air currents and earth vibrations. The extent of quivering and vibration by the sign is limited by a sleeve or bracket 48 around the spring.

The modification shown in Figure 6 is similar to that shown in Figure except that a leaf spring 50 is substituted for coil spring 40. Spring 50 is provided with laterally projecting ends 51 and 52 with holes for receiving bolts 53 and 54 to secure the spring to the sign and post, respectively. Since the leaf spring permits the sign to oscillate only on a single plane, a U-shaped bracket or a member, such as that used in connection with the embodiment of Figure 2, can be conveniently used with this fixture. As an alternative the hole in the post can be enlarged to receive the spring and permit limited free movement therein as shown in Figure 6, the portion of the post adjacent the sign and the spring serving as effective stop members to limit the movement of the sign. This enlarged hole arrangement in the mounting post can also be used with the embodiment shown in Figure 5.

While reference in the specification has been made principally to the use of my fixture with highway and street signs it is apparent that the fixture would have application in the advertising sign field and this use comes within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A sign, comprising a-sign panel, a rigid support for said panel, a fixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including a vertically arranged bar-like member attached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, a vertically arranged bar-like member of a length different from that of the first member attached to said support and having laterally extending ends, the lateral ends of the shorter of said means being disposed between the lateral ends of the longer of said members, springs mounted between the respective ends of said members and supporting said first mentioned member in spaced relation to said second mentioned member, and a means attached to one of said members for limiting the rotational movement of said panel on the mountings provided by said springs.

2. A sign, comprising a light reflecting sign panel, a

rigid support for said panel, a fixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including a vertically arranged bar-like member attached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, a vertically arranged bar-like member of a shorter length than said first member attached to said support and having laterally extending ends between the lateral ends of said first mentioned member, coil springs mounted between the respective ends of said members and supporting said first mentioned member in spaced relation to said second mentioned member, and a means attached to said last member and projecting to a point close to said first member for limiting the rotational movement of said panel on the mountings provided by said springs.

3. A sign, comprising a sign panel, a rigid support for said panel, a fixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including a vertically arranged member attached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, a vertically arranged member of a length diflerent from that of the first member attached to said support and having laterally extending ends, the lateral ends of the shorter of said means being disposed between the lateral ends of the longer of said members, resilient means mounted between the respective ends of said members and supporting said first mentioned member in spaced relation to said second mentioned member, and a means for limiting the rotational movement of said panel on the mountings provided by said resilient means. p

4. A sign, comprising a sign panel, a support for said panel, a fixture for resiliently mounting said panel on said support including means attached to the sign panel and having laterally extending ends, means of a length different from that of and parallel to the first means attached to said support and having laterally extending ends, the lateral ends of the shorter of said means being disposed between the lateral ends of the longer of said means, resilient means mounted between the respective ends of said means and supporting said first mentioned means in spaced relation to said second mentioned means, and a means for limiting the rotational move- 'ment of said panel on the mountings provided by said resilient means.

5. A fixture for a sign structure having a sign panel and a rigid support therefor, comprising two spaced and vertically arranged coil springs in axial alignment and parallel to the sign panel, members for movably connecting the opposite end of each spring to the sign, members spaced from said first members for movably connecting the other opposite end of each spring to said support, and a means for limiting the movement of the sign relative to the support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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