Language selection

Search

Patent 1288592 Summary

Third-party information liability

Some of the information on this Web page has been provided by external sources. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information supplied by external sources. Users wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information. Content provided by external sources is not subject to official languages, privacy and accessibility requirements.

Claims and Abstract availability

Any discrepancies in the text and image of the Claims and Abstract are due to differing posting times. Text of the Claims and Abstract are posted:

  • At the time the application is open to public inspection;
  • At the time of issue of the patent (grant).
(12) Patent: (11) CA 1288592
(21) Application Number: 567787
(54) English Title: MOLDED PLASTIC SIGNHOLDER
(54) French Title: PORTE-ENSEIGNE EN PLASTIQUE MOULE
Status: Deemed expired
Bibliographic Data
(52) Canadian Patent Classification (CPC):
  • 40/61.6
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • G09F 1/10 (2006.01)
  • G09F 7/18 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • ERNEST, RICHARD C. (United States of America)
  • SIEGAL, BURTON L. (United States of America)
(73) Owners :
  • ERNEST, RICHARD C. (Not Available)
  • SIEGAL, BURTON L. (Not Available)
  • CROWN METAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY (United States of America)
(71) Applicants :
(74) Agent: MOFFAT & CO.
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 1991-09-10
(22) Filed Date: 1988-05-26
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
092,324 United States of America 1987-09-02

Abstracts

English Abstract




ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A two-piece plastic signholder and subassembly therefor.
The signholder includes a bracket having a floor and inclined
bearing edges which bear against the assembled two like plastic
pieces which are molded as mirror images of one another. The
bracket and pieces are designed to provide a bias to ensure a
top bearing surface between the upper portions of the two as-
sembled pieces to securely hold signs therebetween. The pieces
include positive engagement elongated mating slots and posts
along the bottom edge of the pieces, which also include inner
and outer inclined or angled bottom edge pieces and the pieces
can be curved or warped toward one another to aid in the biasing
of the pieces. The pieces also include a stepped recess and
flat support surface in the bottom edge to maintain contact be-
tween the bottom edge and the floor of the bracket to resist
tipping from side blows.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A molded plastic signholder subassembly, the subassemb-
ly forming half of a mating two-piece signholder assembly, said
subassembly comprising:
a clear, flexible molded synthetic plastic substantially
planar piece, said piece adapted to be mated to a second sub-
stantially mirror image piece and mounted along a bottom edge in
a retaining bracket so that said bottom edge contacts said
retaining bracket;
said piece including means for biasing said piece in a
direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said piece
and toward said second mirror image piece when mated therewith
to form a bearing surface therebetween;
means for positively engaging said piece with said second
mirror image piece when mated therewith; and
said bottom edge of said piece having a length, a width and
a stepped recess designed to correspond with a similar recess of
said second mirror image piece to maintain the alignment of said
signholder assembly within said bracket.
2. The subassembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said
stepped recess extends approximately halfway to two-thirds said
width of said bottom edge.
3. The subassembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said
recess extends along the entire length of said bottom edge.
-11-


4. The subassembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said
bracket is V-shaped, with a floor and two sides projecting
vertically from the edges thereof.
5. The subassembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said bot-
tom edge of said piece is flat and in substantial contact with
said floor of said bracket.
6. The subassembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said bot-
tom edge of said piece extends approximately to one of said
edges of said floor of said bracket.
7. A molded plastic signholder comprising:
a U-shaped retaining bracket having a floor and a pair of
walls projecting vertically from the edges thereof;
a pair of clear, flexible molded synthetic plastic substan-
tially planar pieces, said pieces being mirror images of one an-
other and adapted to be mated to one another and mounted along
corresponding bottom edges in said retaining bracket;
each of said pieces including means for biasing said piece
in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of said
piece and toward the other mirror image piece when mated there-
with to form a bearing surface therebetween;
means for positively engaging each of said pieces with one
another when mated together; and
each of said bottom edges of said pieces having a length, a
width and a stepped recess, said recess extending the entire
length of said edge, said bottom edge being flat and in substan-
tial contact with said floor of said bracket.
-12-




8. The signholder as defined in claim 7 wherein said bot-
tom edge of each of said pieces extends approximately to one
edge of said floor of said bracket.
9. The signholder as defined in claim 7 wherein said
stepped recess extends approximately one-half to two-thirds the
width of said piece.
10. The signholder as defined in claim 7 wherein said
recesses are adjacent each other when said pieces are mated
within said bracket.

-13-

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



The invention relates generally to plast~c signholders and
more particularly to an improved two-plece molded plastic
signholder and bracket which provides a top bearing surface be-
tween the two pieces to clamp signs therebetween.
Any number of types of signholders have been utilized in
the past to provide a frame to support display cards, sheets or
signs. One popular general type of signholder includes a metal
bracket into which the sign can be inserted and which provides a
metal support frame around the periphery of the sign. Such
signholders are designed to be mounted onto a pedestal, hung
from a bracket or mounted to a convenient surface.
Interest has been developed in plastic type signholders
which can be mounted along one edge in a metal retaining brack-
et. The plastic signholders have been developed in one or two
pieces with the plastic material providing the support for the
sign, poster or card.
The prior art plastic type signholders, as will be further
described with respect to Fig. 1, generally have failed to pro-
vide an adequate performance for several reasons. The plastic
type signholders generally have been glued into the metal
retaining brackets and the bond between the signholder and the
retaining bracket frequently has failed. Further, the one-piece
plastic signholders have been hand folded and the structures of
such signholders often have been poor and misaligned. Further,
the upper surfaces between the folded or two-piece signholders

, --1--



.


. ' . : ' :
,:

' ~ ' . ' .

~l~8~


have often been separated or misaligned such that the signs
easily are misaligned or can fall out of the signholders.
It would be desirable to provide a plastic signholder which
does not utilize glue for retention in the retaining bracket and
which easily can be removed ~or cleaning or replacement. Fur-
ther, the signholder should have proper alignment and the upper
surfaces should bear against one another to provide a clamping
mechanism -to firmly hold the sign or card therebetween. The
signholder of U.S. Patent No. 4,726,132 provided one solution to
the problems of the prior art signholders.
The improved plastic signholder of the present invention
can provide certain additional advantages not previously ob-
tained. These advantages derive from an improved configuration
of the lower margin of the planar mating pieces which ormed the
previous signholder. In the course of molding these pieces, the
lower margins thereof were provided with a depending rounded
portion or high spot. This high spot created a condition
whereby the signholder potentially was susceptible to lateral
:
-~ misalignment or tipping from side blows during handling. Thus,
;20 a side blow to the previous signholder could result in a tilted
misalignment of the signholder in its metal retaining bracket,
causing an unattractive presentation of the sign. The improved
signholder configuration results in greater stability and
resistance to side blows.
The above and other disadvantages of prior art plastic
signholders are overcome in accordance with the present inven-



--2--



-

~8~

tion by providing a molded plastic signholder subassembly, the
subassembly forming half of a mating two-piece signholder
assembly, said subassembly comprising: a clear, flexible molded
synthetic plastic substantially planar piece, said piece adapted
to be mated to a second substantially mirror image piece and
mounted along a bottom edge in a retaining bracket so that said
bottom edge contacts said retaining bracket; said piece including
means for biasing said piece in a direction substantially
perpendicular to the plane of said piece and toward said second
mirror image piece when mated therewith to form a bearing surface
therebetween: means for positively engaging said piece with said
second mirror image piece when mated therewith; and said bottom
edge of said piece having a length, a width and a stepped recess
designed to correspond with a similar recess of said second mirror
image piece to maintain the alignment of said signholder assembly
~: within said bracket.
The present invention also provides a molded plastic
signholder comprising: a U-shaped retaining bracket having a floor
and a pair of walls projecting vertically from the edges thereof;
20 a pair of clear, flexible molded synthetic plastic substantially
planar pieces, said pieces being mirror images of one another and
adapted to be mated to one another and mounted along corresponding
bottom edges in said retaining bracket; each of said pieces
including means for biasing said piece in a direction
substantially perpendicular to the plane of said piece and toward
the other mirror image piece when mated therewith to form a
bearing surface therebetween; means for positively engaging each


--3--




.

. ~ .

~2885~2


of said pieces with one another when mated together; and each of
said bottom edges of said pieces having a length, a width and a
stepped recess, said recess extending the entire length of said
edge, said bottom edge being flat and in substantial contact with
said floor of said bracket.
The preferred embodiments of this invention will now be
described by way of e~ample, with reference to the drawings
accompanying this speciEication in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a one-piece prior art
plastic signholder;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the
signholder of U.S. Patent No. 4,726,132;
Fig. 3 is a partial end plan view of the signholder of
the signholder of Fig. 2;




-3a-


~- - , :
' ~ ' ~ .' , .

12~


Fig. 4 is a partial side plan view of one plastic subas-
sembly pieca of the signholder of U.S. Patent No. 4,726,132;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the
signholder of U.S. Patent No. 4,726,132, exaggerated for
illustration; and
Fig. 6 is a enlarged partial sectional view of the
signholder of the invention, exaggerated for illustration.
Referring to Fig. 1, a prior art plastic one-piece
signholder 10 is illustrated. The signholder 10 includes a
plastic folded sheet 12, which is mounted in one conventional
type of metal U-shaped retaining bracket 14. The bracket 14 can
be mounted in any number of conventional ways and for illustra-
tion purposes is mounted on a post 16 mounted in a pedestal base
18.
The sheet 12 typically is folded around a rod, generally by
hand (not illustrated) to form a folded edge 20. The folded
edge 20 is mounted into the U-shaped retaining bracket 14 by
gluing the sheet 12 into the bracket. The folded sheet 12 thus
is mounted into the bracket 14 with an open uppermost edge 22.
The open edge is formed by two uppQr portions 24 and 26 of the
sheet 12, which portions are designed to bear against one anoth-
er at least along the upper edge 22 and preferably for a dis-
tance therefrom to provide a sign clamping surface.
Although the signholder 10 has been illustrated with a per-
fectly aligned top edge 22 and upper portions 24 and 26 bearing
against one another, such is often not the resu1t of the foldirlg




~8B5512

process. Often the edge 22 is misaligned and also frequently
the portions 24 and 26 do not bear against each other uniformly
along the length of the edge 26 or at all.
Further, utilization of the signholder 10 often results in
the glued bond between the signholder 10 and the bracket 14
being broken and hence the sheet 12 will not be aligned or will
fall out of the bracket 14. Also, the cards or signs can in-
clude glued labels thereon, which labels can become glued to the
inside of the sheet 12 and hence the whole signholder 10 or at
least the sheet 12 must be disposed of.
As an attempt to remedy the shortcomings of the one-piece
signholder 10, a two-piece signholder (not illustrated) was de-
veloped. The two piece slgnholder corrected the problem of the
misolded sheets 12, but still presented the problem of bonding
the pieces into tha U-shaped bracket 14 by gluing. It then was
suggested to clamp the two pieces into the bracket 14 by inclin-
ing the upper edges of the bracket 14; however, such a design
still did not provide for the propsr upper sign clamping mechan-
ism desired.
Referring to Figs. 2 4, a molded two-piece plastic sign-
holder of U.S. Patent No. 4,726,132 is designated generally by
the reference numeral 30. The signholder 30 includes two mirror
image plastic pieces 32 and 34, which interlock together and are
friction fitted in a metal retaining bracket 36. The bracket 36
; has ~nwardly inclined side walls 38 and 40, which retain the
pieces 32 and 34 therebetween by frictional forces without any
--5--



'' ~ , ,


gluing. This facllitates the removal of one or both of the
pieces 32 and 34 for cleaning or replacement.
As most clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the pieces 32
and 34 have a respective outer bottom edge piece 42 and 44 each
of which has a bracket bearing protrusion 46 and 48 extending
therefrom. There preferably are two or more of the protrusions
spaced along the length of the edge pieces 42 and 44. The edge
pieces 42 and 44 are formed at an angle to the plane of the
pieces 32 and 34. The angled or inclined pieces 42 and 44 help
ensure that the bracket walls 38 and 40 bearing against the
protrusions 46 and 48 force the pieces 32 and 34 together along
an upper edge 50 of the signholder 30. Upper portions 52 and 54
of the pieces 32 and 34 thus form a clamping mechanism for the
signs, cards or posters which are mounted into the signholder
30.
Each of the piecss 32 and 34 also includes an inner edge
piece providing a space 56 between the lower portions of the
pieces 32 and 34. The space 56 provides an opening to assist in
inserting the signs or posters into the signholder 30. Only an
inner edge piece 58 of the piece 34 is shown since the inner
edge pieces only extend one-half the length of the pieces 32 and
34 (see Fig. 4). The innar edge pieces preferably also are
angled to be more narrow at their upper edges to further ensure
that the two pieces 32 and 34 will bear against one another at
the top edge 50. A sufficient bearing or clamping force at the
top portion 52 and 54 is important, because the cards or signs




.
;'~ '' ~ , ' , ' ', '

; . - ' ' - .
:

128~


may only be lnserted into the upper portion of the signholder
30.
The mirror image formation of the pieces 32 and 34 is best
illustrated with respect to the piece 34 illustrated in Fig. 4.
The pieces 32 and 34 each form a subassembly for the signholder
30. The inner edge 58 extends a d:istance "A" of one-half the
length of the piece 34 or less to accommodate the mating edge
(not illustrated) of the piece 32. The mating edge piece of the
piece 32 fits against the plane of the piece 34 along the dis-

tance "B". The edge piece 58 includes one or more engagementslots 60. The planar mating portion of the piece 34 also in-
cludes elongated ensagement posts 62. The slots 60 and the
posts 62 fit into respective mating engagement posts and slots
on the mirror image piece 32 when the two pieces are mated to-
gether for mounting in the bracket 36. The elongated shape of
: the slots 60 and posts 62 provide a strony and durable positive
: engagement means, which can be engaged and disengaged numerous
times without failure.
The importance of having the upper portions bear against
one another has required the above and other very specific
modifications to the pieces 32 and 34. The pieces 32 and 34
preferably are molded with a slight inward warp or curvature to
further ensure that the upper portions 52 and 54 bear against
one another. The plastic material selected for the pieces 32
and 34 should be clear, have a low cost, be very flexible and
shatterproof as well as being readily moldable. In general, tha



.



- - - .

:- : , . '. . ' . i

: ~ . ~ . - .
: ' ' ' ' '- :

3LZ,8~35~


plastic material can be selected from any of a number of clear
synthetic plastic materials whlch are suitable for injection
moldlng. These properties, with the exception of low cost, can
be provided by high quality polycarbonate liks materials. One
specific suitable plastic material is a rasin sold by Eastman
Kodak Company under the tradename Kodar, which also is a low
cost material. Another example of a suitable plastic material
is an acrylic type resin.
Referring now to Fig. 5, the signholder of the U.S. Patent
No. 4,726,132 is shown with lts original configuration exag-
gerated for purposes of illustration. It has been found in the
course of molding the pieces 32 and 34, that the bottom edges 42
and 44 are provided with upwardly canted surfaces 64 and 66
which have insufficiant contact with the floor 39 of the bracket
36. Although the degree of cant has been exaggerated in Fig. 5,
in actuality it is ~ufficient to cause the pisces 32 and 34 to
be unstable within the bracket 36. More speeifically, the
canted surfaces 64 and 66 create a condition whereby a side blow
or normal handling may cause the pair of pieces 32,34 to rotate
or become misaligned within the bracket 36. The result of this
condition would be an inclined sign and an unattractive
signholder.
Referring now to Flg. 6, which depicts the signholder of
the invention in exaggerated fashion for purposes of illustra~
tion, a pair of plastic pieces 33 and 35 are shown mounted
within the brackat 36. The pieces 33 and 35 are identical in
-8-




.

`

:1 28~


configuration to pieces 32 and 34 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4,with the exception of the bottom edges, 43 and 45. Each of the
bottom edges 43 and 45 has been provided with a respective
stepped recess 68 and 70, each of ~Ihich in the preferred embodi-
ment is slightly inclined and extends approximately one-half to
two-thirds of the width of the respective piece 33 and 35, how-
ever th0 dimensions of the recesses 68,70 ma~ be changed to ac-
comodate various applications. The stepped recesses 68,70 ex-
tend the length of the pieces 33 and 35.
In addition to the stepped recesses 68,70, the bottom edges
~3,45 are provided with a substantially flat inclined surface
72,74 which is in direct contact with the floor 39 of the brack-
et 36. In the preferred embodiment, the flat surface has been
dimensioned to extend as close to the edges 37,41 of the floor
39 as possible without interfering with the operation of the
~ignholder 30.
; In the improved version of the signholder 30 of the inven-
tion, the downward vector component of the clamping ~orce shown
as 76 pushes the mated plastic pieces 33 and 35 down against the
20 inside of the channel, but with the improved configuration, the
pieces rest on the flat surfaces 72,74 spaced as far apart as
the bracket 36 permits, to provide effective support and great
resistance to tipping from side blows or normal handling.
Modifications and variations of the present invention are
possible in light of the above teachings. The edge pieces 42,
44 and 58, along with the bracket walls 38 and 40 and the inward
_g_ i




'' - ' ' . '

, . . ' ~: '

~88~


warp of the pieces 32 and 34 all provide a biasing means to
ensure the formation of the clamping mechanism of the signholder
30. The pieces can be formed in numerous sizes and shapes. It
is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the ap-
pended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described.




--10-


~ , ' ' ' : . . ' ' ' '


' ' ' :.

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 1991-09-10
(22) Filed 1988-05-26
(45) Issued 1991-09-10
Deemed Expired 1996-03-10

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $0.00 1988-05-26
Registration of a document - section 124 $0.00 1988-09-27
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 2 1993-09-10 $100.00 1993-05-25
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 3 1994-09-12 $100.00 1994-08-25
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
ERNEST, RICHARD C.
SIEGAL, BURTON L.
CROWN METAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
Documents

To view selected files, please enter reCAPTCHA code :



To view images, click a link in the Document Description column. To download the documents, select one or more checkboxes in the first column and then click the "Download Selected in PDF format (Zip Archive)" or the "Download Selected as Single PDF" button.

List of published and non-published patent-specific documents on the CPD .

If you have any difficulty accessing content, you can call the Client Service Centre at 1-866-997-1936 or send them an e-mail at CIPO Client Service Centre.


Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Representative Drawing 2002-03-26 1 12
Description 1993-10-22 11 415
Drawings 1993-10-22 2 76
Claims 1993-10-22 3 94
Abstract 1993-10-22 1 26
Cover Page 1993-10-22 1 16
Fees 1994-08-25 1 33
Fees 1993-05-25 1 29