Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02564507 2006-10-18
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to display panels for supporting signs and more
particularly to a
display panel which may be removably attached to the handle of a door and to
which a sign may
be removably attached.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to attach a display panel which supports a sign to a door handle
of the type
which is either pushed or pulled but is not turned. Such handles are found in
the doors which
open to the outdoors of most commercial and industrial buildings in North
America.
A handle which is pushed or pulled usually has an elongated outer plate which
is spaced
apart from the door so that the handle can be gripped should the door be
opened by pulling.
Known display panels are attached to such handles by various means such as
clamps, screws and
bolts and examples of such display panels are described in Canadian patent
application no.
2,454,212.
A sign supported by the panel may display an advertisement, a message such as
"Push" or
"Pull" or other information. It is generally thought that a door handle is a
good location for a sign
since the sign is likely to be noticed by everyone who walks through the door
for the obvious
reason that the handle must be deliberately looked at to be usable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The display panel of the subject invention which may be easily attached and
detached from
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most conventional door handles that are pushed or pulled. The display panel
has an outer face to
which a permanent sign can be attached. Alternatively, a temporary sign can be
readily attached to
and detached from the display panel should that be desired.
Briefly the display panel of the subject invention includes inner and outer
oppositely
facing surfaces. The outer surface has means for removable attachment of a
sign while the inner
surface has a fastener which is composed of resiliently deformable material.
The fastener
comprises a wall which commences at a starting position on the display panel,
continues away
from the inner surface on a first curve to an apex then continues on a second
curve toward the
inner surface and ends at a terminal edge. The terminal edge faces the inner
surface and is the
closest portion of the wall to the inner surface on its second curve. The
terminal edge is spaced
apart from the inner surface by a slit. The slit is free of any obstruction
therein and is adapted to
receive the outer plate of the door handle therein. The terminal edge is
biased by the resiliently
deformable material of the fastener into contact with the outer plate when the
plate is received in
the slit. As a result, removal of the plate from the slit is resisted. The
application of a force
opposed to the bias of the resilient material causes the slit to widen in
order to permit the removal
of the outer plate therefrom
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The display panel of my invention is described with reference to the
accompanying
drawings in which:
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Figure 1 is a perspective view of a relatively long display panel of the
subject invention in
combination with a conventional door handle;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a shorter and wider display panel in
combination with a
similarly shaped door handle;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the display panel;
Figure 3A is an enlarged perspective view of a fastener of the display panel;
Figure 4 is an elevation of the display panel which is substantially the same
as the one
illustrated in Figure 3 in combination with a conventional door handle and a
sign;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a the display panel in conjunction with a
conventional
push-type door handle;
Figure 6 is a perspective view, in larger scale, of the sign illustrated in
Figure 5;
Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the display panel in combination
with two
signs;
Figure 8 is an end view of the display panel;
Figure 9 is an end view of alternative embodiment of the panel;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the display panel showing the
manner in
which a sign is disconnected from the panel; and
Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of the display panel and a sign
disconnected
therefrom.
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Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of
the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to Figure 1 the display panel of the invention, generally 10,
is shown in
conjunction with a conventional door handle, generally 12. The door handle has
inner and outer
plates 14, 16 interconnected by a web 18. As is conventional, the inner plate
has a number of
apertures through which screws or bolts pass in order to attach the plate to a
door 20.
With reference to Figures 3 and 3A, the display panel has inner and outer
oppositely facing
surfaces 20, 22 and oppositely facing side surfaces 24, 26. The inner surface
is flat and terminates
at a semi-circular fastener 28 composed of resiliently deformable material.
The fastener is composed of a wall 30 which commences at a starting position
32 on the
display panel. The wall continues away from the inner surface on a first curve
34 to an apex 36
then continues on a second curve 38 toward the inner surface 20 and ends at a
terminal edge 40.
The terminal edge faces the inner surface and is the closest portion of the
second curve of the wall
to the inner surface.
The terminal edge is spaced apart from the inner surface by a slit 42. The
slit is completely
free of any obstruction therein and runs the length of the fastener.. The slit
is adapted to receive
the outer door plate 16 therein. The fastener is composed of resiliently
deformable material which
biases the terminal edge 40 into contact with the outer plate when the outer
plate is received in the
slit with resulting resistance to removal of the plate from
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the slit. The application of a force opposed to the bias of the resilient
material causes the slit to
widen so that the outer plate can be removed from the slit.
The area of the inner surface beneath the fastener, indicated 20a, is flat
unlike the like area
50 beneath fastener 52 in Figure 4 which is rounded.
With reference to Figure 1, the forward edge 16a of the outer plate of the
door handle is
received in the slit while the upper edge 16b of the outer plate of the door
handle illustrated in
Figure 2 is received in the slit of the display panel.
The thickness of the outer plate of the door handle is greater than the slit
in fastener 28 so
that the terminal edge of the fastener must be physically separated from the
inner surface of the
panel before the forward end of the outer plate can be inserted into the slit.
If the forward end is
pressed against the slit, the terminal edge will separate sufficiently from
the inner surface of the
panel to receive the outer plate. Such pressure will accordingly cause the
slit to widen throughout
its length. Once the plate is in the slit, the terminal edge of the fastener,
being biased by the
resiliently deformable material of the fastener, will snap toward the inner
surface of the panel
thereby securing the panel firmly to the outer plate.
As previously indicated, the terminal edge and the portion of the inner
surface which
constitute the slit contact the outer plate throughout substantially their
entire length except for the
terminal portions of the slit as noted below. As a result, removal of the
plate from between the
edges is resisted throughout substantially the entire length of the slit. In
order to remove the plate, a
CA 02564507 2006-10-18
force opposed to the bias of the resilient material must be applied to widen
the slit sufficiently in
order to permit the removal of the plate from the slit.
It should also be noted and, with reference to Figure 3, that the slit is
wider adjacent to its
two ends or terminal portions a,b than in its middle or intermediate portion
c. As a result, the outer
plate may more easily be slid into the slit than would be the case if the slit
were of uniform width
throughout its length.
With reference to Figure 4, on the outer surface 60 of the display panel, a
number of ribs 62
extend outwardly, The ribs are shortest nearest the side surfaces 64, 66 of
the panel and longest at
the centre. A groove 70 is formed adjacent to each side surface.
An arcuate sign 72 is removably attached to the outer surface of the display
panel. The side
margins 74 of the sign are received in grooves 70 while the area of the sign
between the margins
rest on the outer ends of the ribs.
With reference to Figure 5, the display panel is shown attached to a
conventional push-type
door handle having a flat central plate 82 and bars 84 at either end of the
plate for interconnecting
the plate to the door.
With reference to Figure 6, the illustrated sign is of the same construction
as that illustrated
in Figure 4 and has an arcuate central area 86 to which a number of frames 88
are attached. Each
frame has a groove 90 on its inner surface for receipt of the margins of a
smaller sign.
In Figure 7, the display panel and signs are similar to those illustrated in
Figure 4 except
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that the display panel is widened to accommodate two signs 92, 94 The signs
are arranged side by
side in a parallel spaced-apart relationship on the outer surface of the
panel.
The signs are secured to the panel by their margins which fit into grooves 96
in the outer
surface of the panel and by an end plate 98 having a pair of spaced pins 100
which fit into channels
102 in the outer surface of the display panel.
The sign is normally flat but sufficiently flexible to form into an arc as
illustrated in Figure
8. Alternatively, the sign can be formed with an arcuate outer surface 104 as
illustrated in Figure 9,
and a flat inner surface 106. Whichever the shape of the sign, it is secured
to the display panel by
grooves 108.
With reference to Figure 10, the sign can be removed from the display panel by
prying it
out by means of flat bar or lever 112. To this end, the lower end of the lever
is placed between the
end plate 114 and the sign 116 and the upper end of the lever is pushed down
in order to remove
the margins of the sign from the grooves of the display panel.
With reference to Figure 11, the sign 120 is slid along the grooves 122 of the
display panel
and is held in position by means of end plate 124 which is attached to the
panel by means of screws
126.
The sign is composed of stiff but bendable material so that it can be inserted
into the frame
by flexing it slightly. Once inside the grooves of the display panel, the sign
will remain there until
it is intentionally flexed to allow it to be removed.
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It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the
structure of the
display panel without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as
defined in the
appended claims.
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