Signholder
AssigneeCrown Metal Manufacturing Company
InventorsRichard C. Ernest, P. Paul Retzinger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A signholder assembly including a retaining bracket and a pair of clear, relatively flexible planar panels. Each of the panels has a face surface and is substantially identical to one another and adapted to be mated to one another and mounted along a bottom edge in the retaining bracket by the assembly. A U-shaped insert is provided having an upstanding medial wall which forms a pair of channels for receiving the panels, the wall provided with protuberant structure along opposite surfaces thereof arranged to frictional engage against the panels to hold them in place in the channels. The protuberant structure enable varying panel thicknesses to be installed in the channels.
Claims5
A signholder assembly including a U-shaped retaining bracket and a pair of clear, relatively resilient plastic planar pieces, each of said planar pieces having a face surface and an outside surface and a thickness which may vary slightly between the planar pieces, said planar pieces adapted to be mated to one another along upper portions of said face surface and mounted along a bottom portion in said retaining bracket by said assembly, said assembly further comprising:
- an insert formed of a relatively hard but resilient plastic material shaped as a channel member having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration formed by a base and first and second wall members upstanding from said base and a medial interior longitudinal wall member upstanding from said base between said first and second wall members thereby forming two longitudinal channels within said U-shaped channel member, each of said longitudinal channels capable of accepting a respective planar piece therein, each of said first and second wall members being curved in a convex shape facing away from a respective planar piece outer surface but in abutting relation therewith, said medial longitudinal wall having protuberant means extending from opposite sides thereof in contacting relationship with the facing sides of said planar panels, said base having a downwardly extending medial rib flanked by a bowed portion on each side thereof, and an outwardly extending rib at each end of the base at the junction with said first and second wall members whereby when said planar pieces and said channel member are mounted within said retaining bracket, said retaining bracket biases said first and second concave wall members against outer surfaces of said planar pieces to squeeze said planar pieces against said longitudinal wall portuberant means to form a bearing surface for said planar pieces, said biasing force being enhanced by the outwardly extending ribs causing the base to bow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.