Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ADVERTISING DEVICE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an advertising device for use on public
transportation vehicles.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is common practice to place advertisements in public transportation
vehicles such as buses, subway trains, commuter trains, etc. This type of
advertising is effective, because a large number of people use public
transportation on a daily basis and thus are repeatedly exposed to the same
advertising message. Moreover, passengers on public transportation vehicles
constitute a captive audience. The advertisements in question are usually in
the form of posters attached to various surfaces of vehicles. Obviously, there
are limits to the amount of space on a vehicle for advertisements. Thus, a
need exists for another form of advertisements for use on a public
transportation vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to meet the above identified need
by providing an advertising device which is relatively simple and compact,
and readily visible to passengers in a public transportation vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide an advertising device
which is relatively inexpensive, and which can be easily installed in public
transportation vehicles.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the invention relates to an advertising device for use on
public transportation vehicles containing an overhead, horizontal bar and
passenger assist straps having a top loop for attaching the strap to a bar,
and a
bottom loop for grasping by a passenger, said device comprising:
a panel having a front surface for receiving an advertisement, and a
rear surface; and
a connector for connecting said panel to one of a passenger assist strap
and a horizontal bar carrying the strap.
Many public transportation vehicles such as buses, subway trains, etc.
are equipped with passenger assist straps, which are also referred to as hand
holds (see US 2,974,611 and 3,521,571). Such passenger assist straps present
an area in a vehicle which has not been used for advertising purposes. A
passenger must look up at a strap before grasping the strap. Accordingly, a
strap with advertising associated therewith is a good medium for public
transportation advertising.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is described below in greater detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a first embodiment of an
advertising device in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of the device of Fig.1 in the installed position;
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Figure 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of the device of the
present invention;
Figure 4 is an exploded, side view of a third embodiment of the device
of the present invention;
Figure 5 is an exploded, partly sectioned, side view of a fourth
embodiment of the device of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a side view of a fifth embodiment of the device of the
presentinvention;
Figure 7 is an exploded isometric view of a sixth embodiment of the
device of the present invention; and
Figures 8 and 9 are exploded, partly sectioned, side views of seventh
and eighth embodiments of the device of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following, the same reference numerals have been used to
identify the same or similar elements in the various figures of the drawings.
Referring to Fig. 1, a conventional passenger assist strap indicated
generally at 1 includes a neck 2 separating the strap into a top loop 3 and a
bottom loop 4. The top loop 3 is used to mount the strap 1 on an overhead,
horizontal bar 5 of the type which normally runs the length of one or both
sides of a public transportation vehicle. The bottom loop 4 is grasped by a
standing passenger in the vehicle to assist in maintaining balance while the
vehicle is in motion.
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The first embodiment of the device of the present invention includes a
panel 6 having a front surface 7 for receiving an advertisement and a rear
surface (not shown). The panel 6 can be rigid or flexible, and can be formed
of a variety of materials such as a metal, e.g. aluminum, a plastic such as
acrylic, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene, neoprene or cardboard. The
panel 6 can take any shape such as rectangular (as shown), circular or oval.
Moreover, the front surface of the panel can have a relief, i.e. be three-
dimensional. An advertising message is printed or otherwise applied to the
front surface 7 of the panel 6. For example, an advertisement can be printed
on paper with an adhesive backing for removable attachment to the panel 6.
It is also possible merely to leave a first advertisement on the panel 6 and
glue
successive, new advertisements over the first advertisement.
The panel 6 is mounted on the passenger assist strap 1 using a
connector in the form of a bracket assembly indicated generally at 9 (Fig. 2).
The bracket assembly 9 includes a generally C-shaped bracket 10, which is
glued or otherwise attached to the rear surface of the panel 6. The bracket 10
can be integral with the panel 6. A pair of small plates 11 and 12 are used to
clamp the panel 6 and the bracket 10 to the neck 2 of the strap 1. One plate
11
is slid into the bracket 10, and the bracket is placed against the front of
the
strap neck 2. The plate 12 is placed against the rear of the neck 2, a bolt 14
is
passed through holes 15 in the plates 11 and 12, and through holes 16 and 17
in the strap 1 and the neck 2, respectively into the bracket 10. A nut 20 in
the
bracket 10 receives the bolt 14 for securing the elements of the bracket
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assembly 9 together. As shown in Fig. 2, when the bolt 14 is screwed into the
nut 20, the opposed, outer free ends 21 of the arms 22 of the bracket 10 are
sandwiched between the plate 11 and the neck 2.
In the second embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the outer
free ends 21 of the arms 22 of the bracket 10 are glued or otherwise attached
to
the rear surface of the panel 6, and a loop 23 is passed through the top Ioop
3
of the passenger assist strap 1 and the bracket 10 to secure the panel 6 to
the
strap.
The third embodiment of the invention which is shown in Fig. 4
includes a resilient C-clip 24 attached to the rear surface of the panel 6. It
is
merely necessary to snap the clip 25 onto the rail 5 to connect the panel
thereto.
A bolt 14 and a nut 20 are used to fasten the panel 6 of the neck 2 and
the strap 1 in the fourth embodiment of the invention (Fig. 5). The bolt 14
extends through aligned holes 25 and 26 in the panel 6 and in the neck 2,
respectively.
The fifth embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 6 is similar to
the second embodiment of the invention, except that a smaller, resilient loop
27 is used to attach the bracket 10 and consequently the panel 6 to the neck 2
on the strap 1.
With reference to Fig. 7, the sixth embodiment of the invention
includes a block 28 connected to the rear surface 29 of the panel 6 with a
resilient J-clip 31 extending upwardly (or downwardly - not shown) from the
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top, rear edge thereof. A bracket defined by C-shaped front and rear plates 32
and 33, respectively holds the clip 31 and consequently the panel 6 on the
sleeve 2. An internal threaded sleeve or nut 35 extends rearwardly from the
center of the front plate 32 a distance greater than the length of the arms 36
of
the plate. A bolt 37 extends through aligned holes 38 and 39 in the plate 33
and the strap 1, respectively into the nut 35 to fasten the plates together on
the
strap. Because the arms 36 of the plate 32 are shorter than the nut 35, when
the device is assembled, there is a gap between the free ends of the arms 36
of
the plate 32 and the neck 2. The resilient free end of the chp 31 is pushed
upwardly or downwardly through the bottom or top gap to connect the block
28 and the panel 6 to the strap 1.
Alternatively, both arms 36 of the front plate 32 are the same length as
the nut 35. When assembling the device, the free end of the J-clip is placed
between the neck 2 and the front plate 32 above the bottom arm or below the
top arm 36. The bolt 37 is tightened so that one arm 36 retains the clip 31
against the neck 2, securing the block 28 and the panel 6 to the strap.
The seventh embodiment of the invention, which is shown in Fig. 8
includes a plastic block 40 containing a recess 41 for receiving a pin 42
extending outwardly from the rear surface of the panel 6. The recess 41 is T-
shaped in cross section so that, once inserted, the large head 43 of the pin
42 is
retained in the recess. In order to be able to insert the pin 42 into the
recess
41, the periphery of the entrance to the recess is flexible. A plate 45 is
mounted on the rear side of the neck 2. A bolt 46 extends through aligned
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holes 47 and 26 in the plate 45 and the strap 1, respectively into a threaded
recess 48 in the block 40 to securely fasten the block and consequently the
panel 6 to the strap 1. The recess 48 in the block 40 can contain an
internally
threaded, reinforcing sleeve (not shown).
The eighth embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 9 is identical to
that illustrated in Fig. 8, except that the pin 42 is replaced by a split pin
50, i.e.
a pin which is split longitudinally, and the periphery of the entrance into
the
recess 41 in the block 40 is stiff. When inserting the pin 50 into the recess
41,
the arms of the pin 50 flex together and, when the pin is fully inserted in
the
recess the arms spring apart so that the larger head 52 of the pin retains the
pin in the recess.
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