CA1260262A - Vehicle mounted portable sign - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A portable sign mountable upon the roof of a vehicle.
The portable sign is in the form of a hollow body having three side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall interconnected in a triangular form. The forwardmost edge of the interconnected side walls is positionable towards the front end of the vehicle for reduced wind resistance. Suction cups are mounted on the bottom wall of the body and in conjunction with strap members also mounted on the bottom wall of the body and connectable to the vehicle to proved for secure and removable attachment of the sign body on the roof of the vehicle. Detachable cover members carrying printed indicia are attachable on the side walls of the body to change the printed indicia on the sign. An illumination source is mounted within the body for illuminating the printed indicia formed on the side walls of the body.

Description

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This invention relates, in general, to signs and, more specifically, to portable signs mounted on vehicles.

Signs have been long mounted on th0 sides or roofs of vehicles for various advertising or identification purposes. The roof mounted sign has met with particular popularity due to its ease of visibility from all sides of the vehicle so as to adver-tise the purpose of the vehicle or identlfying what product is currently being transported by the vehicle.
Such signs have been fabrica-ted from various materials, such as metal, plastic, paper, etc. Typically, these vehicle mounted signs are formed of a body which is removably mounted on the roof of the vehicle to which various advertising or other printed matter is attached or imprinted.

The sign body itself is removably mounted on the roof via straps, guy lines, suction cups or a combination thereof so as to enable the sign to be removably mounted on the vehicle.
Typically, due to the printed matter employed with such signs, they are not visible at night or in other periods of lim-ited visibility.

It is also known to employ illuminated signs on veh-icles, such as taxis, etc., to indicate the name of the taxi com-pany or whether the taxi is in use. However, such signs or indi-cators have not been removably mounted on the vehlcle; but are made a permanent part of the vehicle.

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Such Illumlnated slgns, however, have not proved entlrely useful durlng daylIght hours as the Illuminatlon pro-vlded Interlorally wlthln the slgn Is not suffIclent -to clearly make the prlnted matter on the slgn more vlslble or to attract attentlon to the slgn.

It Is also Important that Such vehlcle mounteci slgns be constructed to mlnlmlze wlnd reslstance agalnst forward movement of the vehlcle and at the same tlme provlde the maxlmum amount posslble of vls~ble slgn space.

Thus, It would be deslrable to provlde a vehlcle mounted portable slgn whlch overcomes the problems encountered wlth prevlously devlsed vehlcle mounted portable slgns. It would 1~ also be deslrable to provlde a vehlcle mounted portable slgn whlch Is readlly vlslble durlng the day, night tlme and other perlods of llmlted vlslblllty. It would also be deslrable to provlde a vehlcle mounted portable slgn whlch may recelve a varl-ety of dlfferent prlnted matter. It would also be deslrable to provlde a vehlcle mounted portable slgn whlch can be removably attached In an easy manner on the roof of a vehlcle. Flnally, It would be deslrable to provlde a vehlcle roof mounted portable slgn whlch mlnImlzes wlnd reslstance caused by the slgn to the forward movement of the vehlcle.
Accordlng to one aspect thereof the present Inventlon provldes a portable slgn for removable mountlng on the roof of a vehlcle, sald slgn comprlslng: A) an upper substantlally planar frame structure havlng a trlangular conflguratlon; B) a lower substantlally planar frame structure havlng a trlangular conflgu-ratlon matchlng that of sald upper frame structure; C) a slde panel assembly of hollow trlangular conflguration matchlng the trlangular conflguratlon of sald upper and lower frame struc-tures, 1) sald slde panel assembly deflnlng flrst, second and thlrd plastlc panel sldes wlth at least two of sald sldes formed Integrally from a contlnuous rlgld plastlc panel bent to form a \

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rlgld apex of the assembly trlangle and provlde a rlgld trl-angular panel structure, 2) sald panel assembly extendlng vertlcally between sald upper and lower ~rame structures and formlng a structural member supportlng sald upper ~rame structure wlth respect to sald lower frame structure; D) means securlng the upper and lower trlangular edge portlons of sald slde panel assembly respectlvely to the laterally outer trlanguiar perIme-ters of sald upper and lower frame structures wlth the outer dls-play face of each panel slde Iylng substantlally In the plane of the assoclated laterally outer slde edges of the frame structures to form a contlnuous unlnterrupted closed loop vlewlng dlsplay surface extendlng 360 wlth respect to the central vertlcal axls of the slgn, extendlng for substantlally the full helght of sald panel sldes, and presentlng substantlally at the outer lateral trlangular extents of sald slgn; and E) attachment means for removably securlng sald slgn to the roo~ of the vehlcle.

The present Inventlon thus provldes a portable slgn whlch Is removably mountable on the roof of the vehlcle, such as an automoblle.

The slgn Includes a body havlng three upstandlng slde walls formed Into a trlangle. Upper and lower frame members attach top and bottom walls to the upper and lower edges of the

2~ slde walls of the body. One polnted apex of the trlangular formed body Is posltloned toward the front of the vehlcle for mlnImal wlnd reslstance toward forward movement of the vehlcle caused by the slgn.

A pluralIty of suctlon cups are mounted on the bottom surface of the body for removably attachlng the slgn on the roof of the vehlcle. In addltlon, for addltlonal securement of the slgn opposlte sldes of the body may be connected In a secure man-ner to the slde drlp moldlngs of the vehlcle to securely and yet removably mount the slgn on the roof of the vehlcle.

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An Illumlnatlon means In the form of a florescent bulb or a plurallty of Incadescent bulbs Is mounted wlthln the body and connected vla a sultable connector to the electrlcal system of the vehlcle to provlde electrlcal power from the vehlcle bat-tery to the Illumlnatlon means.

Spaced cllps may also be attached to one or more of theslde walls of the body for slldlngly recelvlng addltlonal, opaque sheets contalnlng prlnted Indlcla so as to convert the slgn of the present Inventlon for effectlve and advantageous use durlng dayllght hours when Internal Illumlnatlon Is not requlred or does not provlde sufflclent Illumlnatlon to make the Indlcla on the slde wall of the slgn body readlly vlslble.

In another aspect thereof the present Inventlon provldes a portable slgn for removable mountlng on the roof of a vehlcle, sald slgn comprlslng: A) a generally planar rlgld upper frame structure of trlangular conflguratlon Includlng a downturned flange extendlng In trlangular fashlon totally around the laterally outer trlangular perlmeter of sald upper frame structure; B) a generally planar rlgld lower frame structure hav-Ing a trlangular confIguratlon matchlng that of saId upper frame structure and Includlng an upturned flange extendlng in trlangu-lar fashlon totally around the laterally outer trlangular perlme-ter of sald lower frame structure; C) a rlgld hollow slde panelassembly havlng a trlangular conflguratlon matchlng that of sald upper and lower frame structures and Includlng three rlgld panel sldes, 1) at least two of sald panel sldes formed Integrally from a contlnuous rlgld translucent panel bent to form a rlgld apex of sald slde panel assembly and provlde a rlgld trlangular panel structure, 2) sald slde panel assembly extendlng rlgldly and ver-tlcally between sald upper and lower frame structures wlth the upper edge portlons of sald panel sldes seated snugly wlthln sald downturned flange and the lower edge portlon of sald panel sldes seated snugly wlthln the upturned flange, 3) sald slde panel assembly constltutlng a rlgld structural member supportlng sald - 3a -~Z6~6~

upper frame structure wlth respect to sald lower frame structure wlth the external surfaces of sald panel sldes totally exposed to form a contlnuous closed loop external vlewlng dlsplay surface extendlng 360 wlth respect to the central vertlcal axls of the slgn, extendlng unlterrupted from the lower edge of sald down-turned flange to the upper edge of sald upturned flange, and exposlng the vertlcal apexes between sald panel sldes; D) afflx-lng means operatlve to rlgldly afflx sald slde panel assembly, sald top structure, and sald bottom structure together In a man-ner to leave sald external vlewlng dlsplay surface totally vlsu-ally unobstructed; and E) attachment means for removably securlng sald slgn to the roof top of the vehlcle.

The vehlcle mounted portable slgn of the present Inven-tlon overcomes many of the problems encountered wlth prevlously devlsed vehlcle mounted slgns by enablIng the slgns to be readlly vlslble durlng both dayllght, and other perlods of llmlted vlsl-blllty nlght tlme hours by rneans of the Internal Illumlnatlon means mounted wlthln the slgn body and the provlslon of the spaced gulde tracks for recelvlng addltlonal, opaque A

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printed matter -for use during daylight hours when illurnination is not required or would not be effective.

The sign of the present invention may be readily and easily mounted on the roof of any vehicle. Furthermore, due to the unique design of the sign body, the sign of the present invention provides minimal wind resistance to forward movement o~
the vehicle which has been caused by previously devised vehicle mounted signs.
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Finally, the complete use of plastic for the sign body and frame provides a lightweight, weatherproof sign which can receive indicia via most printing processes, such as silk screen-ing.

The various features, advantages and other uses of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed descrip-tion and drawing, in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehi~le having aportable sign constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the sign and vehicle shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view generally taken along line 3-3 in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the bottom of the sign body of the present invention and illustrating the illu-mination means of the sign of the present invention.

Throughout the following description and drawing, an identical reference number is used to refer to the same component shown in multiple Figures of the drawing.

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~ eferring now to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a portable sig~ 10 which is removably mounted upon the roof 12 of a vehicle 14, such as an automobile. The sign 10 is configured for carrying various printed indicia directly khereon or in a removably attachable manner as described hereafter.

The sign 10 is in the form of a hollow body 11 com-prised of first, second and third side walls 16, 18 and 20, respectively, which are integrally formed from a single piece strip of a suitable plastic material formed in a triangular form.
The plastic material may be any transparent, semi-transparent or opaque plastic material which carries various printed indicia, not shown, for advertising or display purposes. The indicla can be applied to the side walls 16, 18 and 20 in any suitable manner such as by silk screening.
The side walls 16, 18 and 20 include two integral edges and one overlapped, vertically-extending edge.

An external frame denoted in general by reference num-ber 22 includes under and lower triangular frame members 30 and 32, respectively. The frame 22 attaches top and bottom walls 24 and 26, respectively, to the upper and lower edges of the side walls 16, 18 and 20 to form a closed, hollow interior within the sign body 12.

The frame 22 is preferably formed of a plastic material to provide a lightweight, weatherproof assembly.

The frame 22 includes upper and lower frame members 30 and 32, respectively, which have a L-shaped cross-section are formed into the triangular configuration of the sign 10. The `outer legs 34 and 36, respectively, of each of the fram2 members 30 and 32 are disposed in proximity with one of the side walls 16, 18 and 20 of the sign body 11. L-shaped flange members 38, shown in Figure 3, are mounted, such as by the use of adhesive, ~ 2 ~
on the upper and lower surfaces 24 and 26 of the sign body 11 at spaced intervals in registry with the interior surfaces of the outermost edges of the side walls lZ, 18 and 20. Fasteners 40 are mounted through apertur0s formed in the le~s 34 and 36, the ends of the side walls 16, 18 and 20 and the flange members 38 for joining the frame 22, the side walls 16, 18 and 20 and the top and bottom walls 24 and 26 of the sign body 11 into an lnte-gral, solid, closed structure.

Means are also provided for securely and detachably mounting the sign body 11 on the roof 12 of the vehicle 14. Such mounting means comprises a plurality of suction cups, such as suction cups 42, 44 and 46. The suction cups 42, 44 and 46 are conventional in construction and are secured by means of fasten-1~ ers to the bottom surface 26 of the side body 11. The suction cups 42, 44 and 46 enable the body 11 to be mounted on the roof 12 of the vehicle 14 by appropriately positioning the sign body .
10 in the desired location on the roof 12 and applying downward pressure thereby creating a suction within the suction cups 42, 20 44 and 46 to detachably but yet securely mount the body 11 on the roof 12 of the vehicle 14.

The securing and detachably mou~ting means also includes strap members, such as strap members 48, which are preferably provided in opposed pairs attached to the bottom wall surface 26 of the sign body 11, preferably in proximity with the opposed side walls 18 and 20. Each of the strap members 48 com-prises an elongated strap 50 and substantially L-shaped clamp or hook member 52. Each of the hook members 52 has an aperture lo-30 cated therein which receives one end of the associated strap mem-ber 50. The opposite end of each strap member 50 is secured to the bottom surface 26 of the sign body 10 by a suitable fastener 54 as shown in Figure 2.

The opposite end of each strap member 50 is provided with a clasp which enables a loop to be formed on each strap m0m-~26C~

ber 50 after it has been inserted through the aperture in the clamp member 52 and secured in a tightened manner to securely mount the body 11 on the roof 12 on the vehicle 14 in conjunction with the suction cups ~2, 44 and 46.

The sign body 11 also includes illumination means for illuminating the interior of the body 11 and thereby illuminate the printed indicia on the side wall 16, 18 and 20. As shown in Figure 4, the illumination means comprise at least one end preferably a plurality of lights 60. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, three incandescent lights, 60, 62 and 64 are utilized to provide lllumination o~ the sign 10. It will also be understood that other forms of illumination means, such as single or multiple fluorescent bulbs, may also be mounted within the sign body 11 to adequately illuminate the printed indicia disposed on the side walls 16, 18 and 20 of the sign body 11 .

As shown specifically in Figure 4, each light bulb, such as light bulb 60, is attached to an L-shaped strap 66 secured to the bottom wall surface 26 of the sign body 10. A
clip 68 is mounted around one upstanding leg of the strap 66 to which a light bulb receptacle 70 is attached. Wires extending ` outward from the receptacle 70 are interconnected in a conven-tional series circuit with an electrical connection means denotedin general by reference number 72 in Figures 1 and 4. The elec-trical connection means comprises an elongated cord 76 which ter-minates in a plug assembly 78 having an outwardly extending pro~
~ection 80 as well as a grounding contact 82 mounted on the body of the plug assembly 78. The plug assembly 78 pre~erably is con-figured to be removably received within the conventlonal cigarette lighter mounted within the vehicle 14 to thereby con-nect the illumination means of the present invention to the bat-tery o~ the vehicle 14 in order to provide electrical power to the lights 10.

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It is also possible to forrn the connector 72 so as to be removably connectable directly to the battery of the vehicle or to another convenien-t electrical connection point such as the vehicle tailights. In such con~iguratlons, a toggle switch may be mounted on the bottom surface of the bottom wall surface 26 and connected in series with the electrical circuit to the bat-tery of the vehicle to enable selective energization of the illu-mination means.

Since illuminating the si~n 10 may not be desired or completely effective during daylight hours~ it is also possible within the scope of the present invention to mount an overlay or cover assembly 83 containing additional printed matter or indicia on a planar sheet 90 one or more of the side walls 16, lB and 20 to provide a more effective display of such printed indicia or to change the printed indicia which is permanently formed on the side walls 16, 18 and 20 of the sign body 11. It is preferred that the planar member 90 be of an opaque material so as to com-pletely cover the printed material on the side walls 16, 18 and 20.

As shown in Figure 3, the cover assembly ~3 includes two clips 84 and 86, each formed of a backing member 92 and a cover member 94. The backing member 92 includes a slot 96 formed between two spaced flanges 98 and 100. The slot 100 removably receives a flange 102 formed on the lower member 94 in a snap-tight fit. The depending legs 104 and 106 of the backing member 92 and the cover 94, respectively, grasp the edges of the planar sheet 90 and securely retain the sheet 90 in the clips 91 and 94.

The overlay or cover 83 may be attached or mounted on the frame 22 by any suitable removable means, such as an all tem-perature adhesive, Velcro-type fasteners or other securement mem-ber suitable to withstand the temperatures, vibrations and other operating conditions encountered during use of a vehicle.

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The overlay 83 enables the sign 10 of the present invention to be used during daylight hours when illumination is not required or would not be effective to illuminate the sign and attract attention thereto. Furthermore, the indiria contained upon the sign body 10 may also be changed as desired at various times the use of the sign 10 during daylight hours by merely placing different overlays 83 each containing other printed mat-ter on the frame 22 of the sign 10.

In summary, there has been disclosed an unique vehicle mounted portable sign which overcomes many of the problems encountered with previously devised vehicle mounted porta~le signs insofar as providing clear visibility of printed matter on the sign, versatility in the emplacement of various printed indi-cia on the sign, minimal wind resistance to forward movement of the vehicle caused by the mounting of the sign on the roof of the vehicle, as well as ease in removably mounting the sign on thé
vehicle.

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Claims (8)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A portable sign for removable mounting on the roof of a vehicle, said sign comprising: A) an upper substantially planar frame structure having a triangular configuration; B) a lower substantially planar frame structure having a triangular configuration matching that of said upper frame structure; C) a side panel assembly of hollow triangular configuration matching the triangular configuration of said upper and lower frame struc-tures, 1) said side panel assembly defining first, second and third plastic panel sides with at least two of said sides formed integrally from a continuous rigid plastic panel bent to form a rigid apex of the assembly triangle and provide a rigid triangular panel structure, 2) said panel assembly extending vertically between said upper and lower frame structures and forming a structural member supporting said upper frame structure with respect to said lower frame structure; D) means securing the upper and lower triangular edge portions of said side panel assembly respectively to the laterally outer triangular perime-ters of said upper and lower frame structures with the outer dis-play face of each panel side lying substantially in the plane of the associated laterally outer side edges of the frame structures to form a continuous uninterrupted closed loop viewing display surface extending 360° with respect to the central vertical axis of the sign, extending for substantially the full height of said panel sides, and presenting substantially at the outer lateral triangular extents of said sign; and E) attachment means for removably securing said sign to the roof of the vehicle.

2. A portable sign according to claim 1, wherein F) said upper frame structure Includes a downturned triangular flange structure extending totally around the laterally outer triangular perimeter of the frame structure; G) said lower Frame structure includes an upturned flange structure extending totally around the laterally outer triangular perimeter of the frame structure; H) the upper and lower edge portions of said side panel assembly are sized to fit respectively and snugly within the downturned flanges of the upper frame structure and the upturned flanges of the lower frame structure; and 1) said secur-ing means comprise fastener elements passing through the down-turned flange structure of the upper frame structure for engage-ment with the upper edge portion of the side panel assembly and passing through the upturned flange structure of the lower frame structure for engagement with the lower edge portion of the side panel assembly.

3. A portable sign according to claim 1, wherein F) said panel sides are formed of a rigid non-opaque material; and G) said sign further Includes illuminating means positioned within said sign for illuminating indicia on the outer display surfaces of said panel sides.

4. A portable sign for removable mounting on the roof of a vehicle, said sign comprising: A) a generally planar rigid upper frame structure of triangular configuration including a downturned flange extending in triangular fashion totally around the laterally outer triangular perimeter of said upper frame structure; B) a generally planar rigid lower frame structure hav-ing a triangular configuration matching that of said upper frame structure and including an upturned flange extending in triangu-lar fashion totally around the laterally outer triangular perime-ter of said lower frame structure; C) a rigid hollow side panel assembly having a triangular configuration matching that of said upper and lower frame structures and including three rigid panel sides, 1) at least two of said panel sides formed integrally from a continuous rigid translucent panel bent to form a rigid apex of said side panel assembly and provide a rigid triangular panel structure, 2) said side panel assembly extending rigidly and ver-tically between said upper and lower frame structures with the upper edge portions of said panel sides seated snugly within said downturned flange and the lower edge portion of said panel sides seated snugly within the upturned flange, 3) said side panel assembly constituting a rigid structural member supporting said upper frame structure with respect to said lower frame structure with the external surfaces of said panel sides totally exposed to form a continuous closed loop external viewing display surface extending 360° with respect to the central vertical axis of the sign, extending uniterrupted from the lower edge of said down-turned flange to the upper edge of said upturned flange, and exposing the vertical apexes between said panel sides; D) affix-ing means operative to rigidly affix said side panel assembly, said top structure, and said bottom structure together in a man-ner to leave said external viewing display surface totally visu-ally unobstructed; and E) attachment means for removably securing said sign to the roof top of the vehicle.

5. A portable sign according to claim 4, wherein F) said affixing means comprises means securing the upper edge por-tion of said side panel assembly to said downturned flange of said upper frame structure and means securing the lower edge por-tion of said side panel assembly to said upturned flange of said lower frame structure.

6. A portable sign according to claim 4, wherein F) said attachment means includes a plurality of spacer members attached to the underside of said lower frame structure for seat-ing on the roof of the vehicle and strap means secured to said sign and removably engageable with the vehicle for removably mounting said sign on the roof of the vehicle in cooperation with said spacer members.

7. A portable sign according to claim 6, wherein G) said spacer members comprise suction cups.

8. A portable sign according to claim 4, wherein F) said panel sides are formed of a non-opaque material; and G) said sign further includes illumination means positioned within said sign for illuminating indicia on the outer display surfaces of said panel sides.