Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02243819 1998-07-23
BANNER SUPPORT ASSEMBLY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to vertically mounted banners and
more particularly to a banner support assembly adapted to
be mounted on a supporting member for purposes of mounting
decorative and advertising banners.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Display devices useful for mounting temporary advertising
messages outdoors where the message is readily noticed by
people are nowadays common place. Because of the outdoor
location of such advertising displays, they must be
resistant to weather or protected from the effects of
weather. As the wind loads, heat and cold continuously
apply and then relax loads to the banner, the banner
supporting structure, as well as the banner per se, is
stressed and then relaxed on a daily basis. Often,
fasteners or other similar means will be loosened by the
repeated loads applied to the banner supporting structure
by the changes in weather to cause the supporting structure
to become loosened and potentially disengaged from the
upstanding pole or other such supporting structures.
Current mounting techniques for vertical banners involve
mounting such banners with the top horizontal edge of the
banner as well as the bottom horizontal edge each having a
hem running the width of the banner and thereby allowing a
banner arm assembly to be inserted into the sleeve created
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by the hem. This type of mounting may be of permanent
nature i.e. a steel banner arm assembly being welded at 90°
on the upstanding post. The banner arm assembly may also
possibly be of a removable nature with a fiberglass rod or
steel tube inserted into a female socket.
Two of the mostly used vertical banner mounting systems use
brackets with fiberglass rod banner arms and brackets with
steel tube banner arms. The fiberglass arms are often
preferred since they offer more flexibility, thereby
permitting a limited cushioning of wind gusts although not
offering enough flexibility to spill off high wind forces
exerted against the banner. High winds can create forces
in excess of 400 pounds per banner range, and without the
capability of the banner being able to tip with and deflect
the wind, these forces are directly transferred to the
banner hems, arms, bracket bases and to the upstanding
post. In such instances, wind gusts often result in
tearing and damage to the banner.
Lt has been proposed that the destructive effect of wind
gusts on banners be reduced by mounting fiberglass banner
arms in a base plate held into a bracket base by means of
springs and this might prove sufficient in situation of
winds that are not unduly great.
All known techniques work in a way where they merely react
to the conditions which makes it more reactive rather than
proactive. Therefore, a need exists for the provision of
a reliable banner support assembly which makes mounting the
banners onto supporting members easy and time efficient and
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yet provides for the requisite durability and reliability
in order to maintain the banner adequately supported and
taut on the supporting member, thereby ensuring premium
appearance of the message.
SITMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above shortcomings.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new
and improved banner support assembly making mounting of
banners on upstanding posts easy and efficient.
It is another object of the present invention to provide
for a durable and reliable banner support assembly thereby
ensuring premium appearance of the banner.
It will be appreciated from the following detailed
description of the invention that the new and improved
banner support assembly provides for flexibility to allow
wind loads applied to the erected banner to spill before
any over stressing of the banner support assembly occurs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide
a banner support assembly so reliable that a mounted banner
will remain taut and will not become disengaged therefrom
due to repeated loadings by wind and other weather elements
acting on the banner supported by the banner support
assembly.
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It is yet a further object of the present invention to
provide for an adapted banner construction for use in
combination with the banner support assembly.
In accordance with another object of the present invention
there is provided a banner support assembly adapted to be
mounted on a supporting member for purposes of engaging and
holding taut an elongated banner, said banner support
assembly comprising a) first and second extending arms each
being mounted in spaced relation onto said supporting
member; b) first and second housing members adapted to
receive corresponding first and second banner extremities
which are secured therein; c) multiple rod members secured
to first and second housing members and positioned through
apertures in the first and second extending arms; d)
attachment means correspondingly working in combination
with the rod members thereby securing the banner to the
first and second extending arms.
In accordance with another object of the present invention
there is provided a banner support assembly adapted to be
mounted on an upstanding post for purposes of engaging and
holding taut an elongated banner, said banner support
assembly comprising: a) first and second horizontally
extending arms mounted in spaced relation onto the
upstanding post; b) first and second grooved housing
members adapted to receive corresponding first and second
reinforced banner extremities which are secured therein; c)
multiple rod members secured to first and second housing
members, connected with the banner extremities, and
positioned through apertures in the first and second
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horizontally extending arms mounted onto the upstanding
post; d) spring-loaded attachment means correspondingly
working in combination with the rod members thereby
securing the banner to the first and second horizontally
extending arms.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention
will be apparent from the following description, wherein
preferred embodiments of the invention are clearly shown.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will be further understood from the
following description with reference to the drawings in
which
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a banner support assembly
embodying the invention;
Figure 2 is an end view on an enlarged scale of the lower
assembled members;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the banner support
assembly prior to assembly;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment
of the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure 1, the new and improved banner support
assembly is indicated generally by reference numeral 10.
The invention may be seen to comprise a banner 11 which is
held taut between upper and lower extending arms 12 and 13
held in spaced relation by means of upper and lower bracket
assemblies 14 and 15 which are fixed onto an upstanding
post 16. It could also be seen that extending arms 12 and
13 could be attached to a flat planar surface such as a
wall or even to a horizontally extending post with
extending arms extending perpendicularly therefrom. More
generally, the term supporting member can,be used.
The banner support assembly 10 includes upper and lower
housing members 17 and 18 into which are adaptedly secured
to the upper and lower extremities 19 and 20 of the banner
11. More specifically, the housing members 17 and 18 are
unitary parts, preferably made of cast, non-rusting metal
and includes groove-like openings 21 and 22 for allowing
the banner's extremities 19 and 20 to be secured thereto.
The banner's extremities 19 and 20 are slidably engaged
into openings 21 and 22 and are securely held in place by
attachment means and/or the use of angling plates 30, as
seen in Figure 3 (at both the upper and lower extremities)
which are themselves securely fastened to the banner 11 per
se. The angling plates 30 serve as reinforcing means in
addition to the reinforcing means already forming part of
the upper and lower extremities 19 and 20 of the banner.
Banner reinforcing means can be of the type encompassing
rigid plastic members 60 incorporated into the inner core
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of the banner. It should be noted that a sleeve and hem
type of banner extremity could be used in combination
thereof.
Once the banner 11 extremities 19 and 20 are securely
attached to the housing members 17 and 18, a pair, but
possibly more depending on the width of the banner 11 and
the requirements of the situation, of rod members 31 and 32
are inserted through apertures 33 and 34 of the extending
arms 12 and 13 and through to correspondingly aligned
apertures 35 and 36 of the housing members 17 and 18
thereby linking the bottom part 23 of the lower housing
member 18 and the top part 24, relatively speaking, of
upper housing member 17 to their respective extending arms
13 and 12.
The manner of attaching the rod members 31 and 32 to the
housing members 17 and 18 may vary and could encompass one
of the following techniques, without being restrictive.
Either the rod members 31 and 32 are enclosed and trapped
in when manufacturing the housing members 17 and 18 or
openings slightly larger than the rod members 31 and 32
diameter are machined as part of the housing members 17 and
18 and hook and grap means are provided to reciprocally
achieve securement between the members 31 and 32 and the
housing members 17 and 18.
Once the rod members 31 and 32 are securely attached to the
housing members 17 and 18 and positioned through apertures
33 and 34 of the extending arms 12 and 13, one is left with
securing the resulting banner structure to the extending
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arms 12 and 13. In order to achieve constant tensioning
forces, flexibility and reliability two main options are
possible. Either the use of a stop-lock member or with
threaded rod members 31 and 32 it is possible to use a
correspondingly threaded means. Referring to Figure 2,
there is illustrated threaded screw members 50 and 51 which
when used in combination with spring-loaded members 52 and
53 allow for easy assembly and adjustability when faced
with possibly slanting extending arms, of the banner
structure and accrued flexibility in the face of weather
elements as the spring members 52 and 53 will in effect
absorb most forces exerted by the elements on the banner
structure. Washers may also be installed between the
spring members 52 and 53 and the extending arms 12 and 13
thereby providing for accrued support and releasing some of
the pressure left being exerted on the extending arms 12
and 13 and the resulting banner structure. It should be
noted that the spring-loaded members could be located
elsewhere i.e. within the housing members or on the other
side of the extending arms.
Referring to Figure 4, in an alternate embodiment, there
could be added an elastomeric member 40 to possibly one or
both of the upper and lower sections of the banner 11
thereby increasing even more its flexibility and resiliency
to weather elements.
Although a preferred embodiment has been described in the
above paragraphs in sufficient detail so as to be readily
understood by those skilled in the art, the following is a
brief discussion of the operative characteristics of the
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invention in order to facilitate a further understanding
thereof.
In practice, the upper and lower bracket assemblies 14 and
15 are first installed on the upstanding post 16 (or flat
planar surface) using attachment means. The extending arms
12 and 13 are then secured to bracket assemblies 14 and 15
extending outwardly and at right angles to the upstanding
post 16. It should also be noted that the bracket assembly
and the extending arm may work as a single unit, as
illustrated, without being restricted to this embodiment.
The reinforced banner extremities 19 and 20 are securely
engaged and attached into openings 21 and 22 of the housing
members 17 and 18. Rod members 31 and 32 are secured to
the housing members 17 and 18 then positioned through
apertures 33 and 34 of the extending arms 12 and 13.
It can be seen as easier with starting with the upper
section of the banner 11 when fixedly positioning the
banner 11 onto the extending arms 12 and 13. Once the
upper section of the banner is securely positioned with
attachment means onto upper extending arm 12, thanks to
gravity the installer is then left with easy positioning of
the rod members 31 and 32 into the lower extending arm l3
apertures 33 and 34 and adjusting to desired tautness
through the use of members 50 and 51 in combination with
spring members 52 and 53.
As has been described above, winds and/or banner
expanding/retracting conditions will have a tendency to
CA 02243819 1998-07-23
cause a banner to be torn from their support arms and
shredded and destroyed, unless means for allowing the
banner to move and bely to spill the wind from the banner
are provided. The natural resilience of the banner
construction of the invention used in combination with rod
members and spring attachment means, producing a downward
force on the upper extending arm and an upward force on the
lower extending arm which forces are in great part
transmitted to the spring attachment means and therefore
absorbed by such, allows for efficient control of naturally
generated forces and for the banner to appear taut at all
times. A constant force is thereby applied to both the
upper and the lower extending arms making it a proactive
banner holding system rather than merely a reactive system.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms
without departing from the spirit or essential
characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are
therefore to be considered as illustrative and not
restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by
the appended claims rather than by the foregoing
description, and all changes that come within the meaning
and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore
intended to be embraced therein.
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