Abstract:
A billboard is equipped with a droppings tray that catches droppings from birds nesting in the gridwork of support members that carries the display panels of the billboard. The tray is so inclined and shaped that rain or the like cleans the tray and flushes the droppings into a drainpipe.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to outdoor billboards, and more particularly to a billboard with a tray adapted to catch droppings of birds nesting on the billboard. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Because of their height above ground and the gridwork of support members that carry the display panels, outdoor advertising billboards or signs are a favorite nesting site for birds. Such billboards are sometimes erected in places, such as a parking lot, where human activity takes place underneath the billboard. In those cases, a problem arises from the fact that droppings from the birds nesting on the billboard soil the ground, and objects, such as cars, under the billboard. 
     Various methods have been used in the past to deter birds from nesting on billboards. These include studding the billboard with sharp spikes such as nails, or placing onto the top surface some propeller-like devices which turn in the wind and scare the birds. Unfortunately, none of these methods have been fully successful, and the droppings problem still persists. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention solves the above-described problem by accepting the presence of birds, but preventing their droppings from affecting human activities under the billboard by providing a droppings tray on the underside of the billboard. The inventive droppings tray is so shaped that it catches droppings from above and provides a way to clean the captured droppings away either naturally by rain or purposely by a water spray. The droppings tray of this invention is so positioned and dimensioned that it does not interfere with the legibility of the billboard&#39;s message, detract from the aesthetics of the board itself, nor impede its maintenance. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a billboard using the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the billboard of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the billboard of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a detail vertical section of the bottom part of the billboard of FIG. 1, in a plan perpendicular to the billboard; and 
     FIG. 5 is a detail vertical section of the bottom part of an alternative embodiment of the billboard. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a double-sided billboard  10  constructed according to the invention. 
     In these figures, the billboard  10  is composed of a pair of parallel display panel assemblies  12 ,  14 , each of which has an outwardly facing front side or sign face  16  and an inwardly facing rear face  18 . Each rear face  18  is formed by a wood or steel grid  20  which supports the display panels  21 ,  23 , and which is in turn mounted on a support column  22 . The column  22  may be positioned at the center of the grids  20  or at one lateral end thereof as shown in FIG.  1 . The openings between the horizontal and vertical members of the grid  20 , coupled with the relatively close spacing between the display panel assemblies  12 ,  14 , form attractive nesting sites for birds. The nests  25  (see FIG. 5) typically protrude into the open space  24  (see FIG. 4) between the grids  20 , and the nesting birds tend to drop debris and waste  27  into that space. A further nesting opportunity in the space  24  may be provided by the apertured walkway or deck  26  (typically a rigid steel mesh) which runs between the grids  20  and is seldom used. 
     In order to allow servicing of the display panels  21 ,  23 , a front deck  28  is provided in front of and below each sign face  16 . The front deck  28 , like the rear deck  26 , may be formed of a rigid steel mesh, and may be accessible by a ladder  30  (FIG.  1 ). The apertured deck  28  is vertically spaced from the bottom edge of the panel assembly  12  or  14 , both in order to avoid obscuring a portion of the panel  21  or  23  from an observer on the ground, and in order to allow convenient servicing access to all of the panel  21  or  23 . 
     The decks  26  and  28  are conventionally supported by a framework consisting of longitudinally spaced support bars  32  attached to the grids  20 , and longitudinally extending deck retaining flanges  34  which are attached to the support bars  32 , and which may also carry floodlights  35 . In accordance with the invention, U-shaped tray supports  36  are suspended at intervals from the flanges  34 . The tray supports  36  support a tray  38  extending longitudinally of the billboard  10 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the center section  37  of the tray supports  36  is slightly below the level of deck  28  near the outer lateral end of the billboard, and is lower and lower in each successive tray support  36  toward the column  22  (FIG.  3 ). Consequently, the tray  38  resting on the tray supports  36  is inclined in a longitudinal direction toward the column  22 . This causes rain water (or, if desired, piped water where there is insufficient rain) to wash the tray  38  as it drains toward and into a downspout  40  that is preferably attached to the column  22 . 
     The tray  38  is preferably formed of a durable, liquid-impervious material such as galvanized steel. It has a substantially flat bottom surface  42  (FIG. 4) that preferably extends longitudinally throughout substantially the entire length of the billboard, and transversely through the entire distance between the grids  20 . Vertical flanges  44  are sealingly attached around the bottom surface  42  to channel water along the tray  38  and prevent it from dripping over the edges of tray  38 . The flanges  44  are preferably secured to longitudinally extending brackets  45  which are in turn secured to the tray supports  36 . In addition to their water-channeling action, the flanges  44  are also useful in preventing wind from blowing debris off the bottom surface  44 . The optimum height of the flanges  44  on a typical billboard is about 7.5 cm. 
     In FIGS. 1-4, the column  22  has been depicted as being at one longitudinal end of the billboard  10 . It will be understood that if the column  22  is in the center of the billoard  10 , the billboard  10  can be considered as a pair of mutually mirror-image structures, of the type described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4, that are joined at the column  22  and extend in opposite directions away from it. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the invention in connection with a single-sided billboard  50 . In such a billboard, the tray  38  preferably extends from the grid  20  to at least the outer edge of the rear deck  26 . It is otherwise supported and constructed in the same way as the tray of FIGS. 1-4. 
     It should be understood that the exemplary billboards with droppings trays described herein and shown in the drawings represent only presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Indeed, various modifications and additions may be made to such embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, other modifications and additions may be obvious to those skilled in the art and may be implemented to adapt the present invention for use in a variety of different applications.