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US 3,964,197 AGranted
Versatile outdoor sign
OwnerRobert F. Tucker, deceased, Ruth L. Tucker, executrixinventors
Life of this patent
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OwnerRobert F. Tucker, deceased, Ruth L. Tucker, executrixinventors
Estimating the term…
A novel sign usable for advertising or for decorative purposes, involving a mesh defining a large number of regularly recurring apertures, into which a number of colored chips may be easily installed in a pre-established pattern or configuration. By selective installation of the novel chips, letters and therefore words may be rapidly created, without it being necessary to expend the time or the money required in order to create a painted sign, or to utilize preformed letters. The novel chips may also be used for creating ornamental configurations, used alone or in conjunction with displays or symbols used in advertising. In the event the mesh used is in the nature of a chain link fence, having some dimension in the thickness direction, a display may be created on each side of the fence, with one display perhaps being entirely unrelated to the other. Further, a series of elongate members disposed in a parallel array between the chips may be utilized in order to create a pleasing background for the chips used. Advantageously, my novel chips can be inserted in the positions desired without any tools being necessary, but once inserted, they become locked into position, and cannot be removed except as the result of a deliberate effort.
A self-locking chip usable on a wire mesh with a number of other like chips in order to display intelligence, which mesh has numerous apertures of essentially square configuration therein to receive such chips, a given chip having a pair of oppositely disposed attachment edges configured to engage opposite sides of a given aperture in locking relationship, each attachment edge involving a tab located between a pair of corner portions, with such tab being bent out of the plane of said corner portions such that said tab can engage a different side of the contacted wire of a wire mesh than do the respective corner portions, the dimension of said chip measured between said attachment edges being slightly greater than the distance between corresponding sides of the aperture in which the chip is to be installed, said chip being of resilient material, and possessing a considerable amount of stiffness, but nevertheless being flexible enough to be able to be bent by finger pressure to an extent sufficient to materially decrease the distance between its attachment edges, said chip, when in such bent condition, being able to be inserted in a selected aperture in the mesh, and when released therein, returning to its normal length condition and becoming locked into such aperture by the interaction of said tabs and corner portions.
An advertising or decorative sign for representing intelligence, comprising a plurality of strands of wire woven in interlocking relation so as to form a mesh, said mesh having numerous apertures therein of substantially square configuration and of approximately equal size;
A self-locking chip usable on a wire mesh with a number of other like chips in order to display intelligence, which mesh has numerous apertures of substantially square configuration therein to receive such chips, a given chip being of essentially rectangular configuration and having a pair of oppositely disposed edges configured to engage opposite sides of a given aperture in locking relationship, a tab formed at approximately a midway portion of each of said opposite edges, and bent out of the plane of the corners between which the tab is located, the longitudinal dimension of said chip measured between said opposite edges being slightly greater than the distance between corresponding sides of the aperture in which the chip is to be installed, said chip possessing curvature with respect to a plane orthogonal to the length of said chip, such curvature affording a considerable amount of stiffness to the chip, particularly in the direction of its longitudinal dimension, said chip nevertheless being flexible enough to be able to be bent by finger pressure to an extent sufficient to materially decrease the distance between its opposite edges, said chip, when in such bent condition, being able to be inserted in a selected aperture in the mesh, with the tab residing on one side of a contacted wire of the mesh, and the corners on each side of the tab being on the other side of the same wire, said chip, when released in the aperture, returning to its normal length condition and in doing so, locking itself into such aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.