Abstract:
Many public transportation vehicles such as buses, subway trains, etc. are equipped with overhead, horizontal bars carrying passenger assist straps or hand holds. An advertising device for use in association with such straps includes a panel for receiving advertisements and a connector such as a bracket assembly, a C-clip or a strap for connecting the panel to a horizontal bar or a passenger assist strap.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 60/530,659 filed Dec. 19, 2003.  
         [0003]     This invention relates to an advertising device for use on public transportation vehicles.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     It is common practice to place advertisements in public transportation vehicles such as buses, subway trains, commuter trains, etc. This type of advertising is effective, because a large number of people use public transportation on a daily basis and thus are repeatedly exposed to the same advertising message. Moreover, passengers on public transportation vehicles constitute a captive audience. The advertisements in question are usually in the form of posters attached to various surfaces of vehicles. Obviously, there are limits to the amount of space on a vehicle for advertisements. Thus, a need exists for another form of advertisements for use on a public transportation vehicle.  
         [0006]     An object of the present invention is to meet the above identified need by providing an advertising device which is relatively simple and compact, and readily visible to passengers in a public transportation vehicle.  
         [0007]     Another object of the invention is to provide an advertising device which is relatively inexpensive, and which can be easily installed in public transportation vehicles.  
       GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     Accordingly, the invention relates to an advertising device for use on public transportation vehicles containing an overhead, horizontal bar and passenger assist straps having a top loop for attaching the strap to a bar, and a bottom loop for grasping by a passenger, said device comprising: 
        a panel having a front surface for receiving an advertisement, and a rear surface; and     a connector for connecting said panel to one of a passenger assist strap and a horizontal bar carrying the strap.        
 
         [0011]     Many public transportation vehicles such as buses, subway trains, etc. are equipped with passenger assist straps, which are also referred to as hand holds (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,974,611 and 3,521,571). Such passenger assist straps present an area in a vehicle which has not been used for advertising purposes. A passenger must look up at a strap before grasping the strap. Accordingly, a strap with advertising associated therewith is a good medium for public transportation advertising. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The invention is described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a first embodiment of an advertising device in accordance with the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the device of  FIG. 1  in the installed position;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a second embodiment of the device of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is an exploded, side view of a third embodiment of the device of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is an exploded, partly sectioned, side view of a fourth embodiment of the device of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a fifth embodiment of the device of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is an exploded isometric view of a sixth embodiment of the device of the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIGS. 8 and 9  are exploded, partly sectioned, side views of seventh and eighth embodiments of the device of the present invention 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]     In the following, the same reference numerals have been used to identify the same or similar elements in the various figures of the drawings.  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional passenger assist strap indicated generally at  1  includes a neck  2  separating the strap into a top loop  3  and a bottom loop  4 . The top loop  3  is used to mount the strap  1  on an overhead, horizontal bar  5  of the type which normally runs the length of one or both sides of a public transportation vehicle. The bottom loop  4  is grasped by a standing passenger in the vehicle to assist in maintaining balance while the vehicle is in motion.  
         [0023]     The first embodiment of the device of the present invention includes a panel  6  having a front surface  7  for receiving an advertisement and a rear surface (not shown). The panel  6  can be rigid or flexible, and can be formed of a variety of materials such as a metal, e.g. aluminum, a plastic such as acrylic, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene, neoprene or cardboard. The panel  6  can take any shape such as rectangular (as shown), circular or oval. Moreover, the front surface of the panel can have a relief, i.e. be three-dimensional. An advertising message is printed or otherwise applied to the front surface  7  of the panel  6 . For example, an advertisement can be printed on paper with an adhesive backing for removable attachment to the panel  6 . It is also possible merely to leave a first advertisement on the panel  6  and glue successive, new advertisements over the first advertisement.  
         [0024]     The panel  6  is mounted on the passenger assist strap  1  using a connector in the form of a bracket assembly indicated generally at  9  ( FIG. 2 ). The bracket assembly  9  includes a generally C-shaped bracket  10 , which is glued or otherwise attached to the rear surface of the panel  6 . The bracket  10  can be integral with the panel  6 . A pair of small plates  11  and  12  are used to clamp the panel  6  and the bracket  10  to the neck  2  of the strap  1 . One plate  11  is slid into the bracket  10 , and the bracket is placed against the front of the strap neck  2 . The plate  12  is placed against the rear of the neck  2 , a bolt  14  is in the strap  1  and the neck  2 , respectively into the bracket  10 . A nut  20  in the bracket  10  receives the bolt  14  for securing the elements of the bracket assembly  9  together. As shown in  FIG. 2 , when the bolt  14  is screwed into the nut  20 , the opposed, outer free ends  21  of the arms  22  of the bracket  10  are sandwiched between the plate  11  and the neck  2 .  
         [0025]     In the second embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 3 , the outer free ends  21  of the arms  22  of the bracket  10  are glued or otherwise attached to the rear surface of the panel  6 , and a loop  23  is passed through the top loop  3  of the passenger assist strap  1  and the bracket  10  to secure the panel  6  to the strap.  
         [0026]     The third embodiment of the invention which is shown in  FIG. 4  includes a resilient C-clip  24  attached to the rear surface of the panel  6 . It is merely necessary to snap the clip  25  onto the rail  5  to connect the panel thereto.  
         [0027]     A bolt  14  and a nut  20  are used to fasten the panel  6  of the neck  2  and the strap  1  in the fourth embodiment of the invention ( FIG. 5 ). The bolt  14  extends through aligned holes  25  and  26  in the panel  6  and in the neck  2 , respectively.  
         [0028]     The fifth embodiment of the invention illustrated in  FIG. 6  is similar to the second embodiment of the invention, except that a smaller, resilient loop  27  is used to attach the bracket  10  and consequently the panel  6  to the neck  2  on the strap  1 .  
         [0029]     With reference to  FIG. 7 , the sixth embodiment of the invention includes a block  28  connected to the rear surface  29  of the panel  6  with a resilient J-clip  31  extending upwardly (or downwardly—not shown) from the top, rear edge thereof. A bracket defined by C-shaped front and rear plates  32  and  33 , respectively holds the clip  31  and consequently the panel  6  on the sleeve  2 . An internal threaded sleeve or nut  35  extends rearwardly from the center of the front plate  32  a distance greater than the length of the arms  36  of the plate. A bolt  37  extends through aligned holes  38  and  39  in the plate  33  and the strap  1 , respectively into the nut  35  to fasten the plates together on the strap. Because the arms  36  of the plate  32  are shorter than the nut  35 , when the device is assembled, there is a gap between the free ends of the arms  36  of the plate  32  and the neck  2 . The resilient free end of the clip  31  is pushed upwardly or downwardly through the bottom or top gap to connect the block  28  and the panel  6  to the strap  1 .  
         [0030]     Alternatively, both arms  36  of the front plate  32  are the same length as the nut  35 . When assembling the device, the free end of the J-clip is placed between the neck  2  and the front plate  32  above the bottom arm or below the top arm  36 . The bolt  37  is tightened so that one arm  36  retains the clip  31  against the neck  2 , securing the block  28  and the panel  6  to the strap.  
         [0031]     The seventh embodiment of the invention, which is shown in  FIG. 8  includes a plastic block  40  containing a recess  41  for receiving a pin  42  extending outwardly from the rear surface of the panel  6 . The recess  41  is T-shaped in cross section so that, once inserted, the large head  43  of the pin  42  is retained in the recess. In order to be able to insert the pin  42  into the recess  41 , the periphery of the entrance to the recess is flexible. A plate  45  is mounted on the rear side of the neck  2 . A bolt  46  extends through aligned holes  47  and  26  in the plate  45  and the strap  1 , respectively into a threaded recess  48  in the block  40  to securely fasten the block and consequently the panel  6  to the strap  1 . The recess  48  in the block  40  can contain an internally threaded, reinforcing sleeve (not shown).  
         [0032]     The eighth embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 9  is identical to that illustrated in  FIG. 8 , except that the pin  42  is replaced by a split pin  50 , i.e. a pin which is split longitudinally, and the periphery of the entrance into the recess  41  in the block  40  is stiff. When inserting the pin  50  into the recess  41 , the arms of the pin  50  flex together and, when the pin is fully inserted in the recess the arms spring apart so that the larger head  52  of the pin retains the pin in the recess.