Pan face sign construction and method of making pan face signs

A new pan face sign construction comprises an opaque frame of extruded structural plastic and a pan face of clear plastic, such as acrylic or polycarbonate. Corners of the frame are simply mitered with a common miter saw and the frame pieces and pan face assembled with a suitable liquid plastic adhesive. The new pan face sign construction allows the sign lettering and graphics to be printed on the flat backside of the pan face with a modern ink jet printer and ultraviolet cured inks prior to assembly. After printing, the frame is assembled to the pan face and the sign is ready for installation.

The field of the invention pertains to signs and illuminated signs and, in particular, to signs having the graphics and text portion extended outward in front of the metal supporting frame. Such signs are commonly called pan face signs.

Conventional pan faced signs are constructed by modestly heating a sheet of rigid polycarbonate plastic, placing the sheet over a vacuum-forming mold and drawing the sheet down into the mold. After cooling, the graphics and text are added by applying paint, ink or vinyl pieces to the outside surface of the sheet. This construction requires a large heating oven and large vacuum-forming molds.

With a view toward eliminating the need for the specialized oven and vacuum-forming molds for making pan face signs, applicant has developed the following construction and method that only requires tools found in a typical sign shop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new pan face sign construction comprises an opaque or translucent frame of extruded structural plastic and a pan face of clear plastic, such as acrylic or polycarbonate. Corners of the frame are simply mitered with a common miter saw and the pan face and frame pieces assembled with a suitable liquid plastic adhesive.

The new pan face sign construction allows the sign lettering and graphics to be printed on the flat, clear pan face backside with a modern ink jet printer and ultraviolet cured inks. With the backside printing, the lettering and graphics are protected from weather and flying debris. After printing, the frame is assembled to the pan face and the sign is ready for installation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the new frame extrusion10comprises a generally L-shape having a generous peripheral portion12and a central portion14slightly offset from perpendicular to the peripheral portion. The peripheral portion12and central portion14smoothly curve together at16, and the central portion smoothly curves at18into a relatively narrow lip portion20. The lip portion20is notched at22for the attachment of the pan face.

The frame extrusion10can be manufactured to any length from any suitable material for extrusion, depending on size and strength requirements; however, for most economical common sign applications, an opaque or white translucent polycarbonate plastic is preferred. Corners are simply constructed by miter cutting the extrusions to form corners, as shown inFIG. 3at24. The miter cuts can be made with a power miter saw commonly available in a sign shop.

The pan face26, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, of the sign construction comprises a clear acrylic or polycarbonate flat sheet suitable for ink jet printing with newly available ink jet printers and ultraviolet curable inks. The sign printing and graphics can thereby be controlled by a computer and suitable software to automate the sign “painting” process completely. In addition, the printing and graphics can be placed on the backside of the pan face26to provide better weather protection for the sign.

Subsequent to placement of the signage28on the pan face26, the frame extrusion10pieces are assembled to the pan face with the pan face periphery fitting in the notch22of the lip portion20, as shown inFIG. 4. Assembly can be done by assembling the frame10pieces to the pan face26with a suitable plastic adhesive applied at the notches22and mitered corners24. Alternatively, the frame10pieces can be pre-assembled with adhesive at the mitered corners24. The pan face26can then be dropped into adhesive coated notches22subsequent to assembly of the frame10pieces.