Abstract:
A stepwise-adjustable sign hanging device for supporting a sign from an overhead ceiling rail. The sign hanging device comprises a front housing and a rear housing enclosing a rotatably controllable spool arranged to stepwisedly dispense and retract a sign supporting line therefrom. A finger actuatable biased switch is arranged for release and locking of the spool with respect to the housing. A pair of ceiling rail engaging clips are arranged on an upper side of the housing to twistably engage an overhead ceiling rail.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to sign holder arrangements which are suspended to a ceiling rail of a store, and more particularly to a rotatable spool which has a stop feature thereon for permitting adjustment and control of the height and the alignment of a sign suspended from a ceiling. 
     2. Prior Art 
     The use of signs in stores are more convenient when they are able to be supported from an overhead ceiling rail. Such signs permit shoppers to see advertisements about products which are easy to notice. To be able to do this well, a sign should be hung from the ceiling rail in an even manner. Since signs may come in various sizes, a support arrangement for those signs should be adjustable, so as to permit their level to be controlled and regulated, and their height as supported from ends of the sign, should be equivalent so as to not present an uneven or improperly supported sign. 
     It is an object of the present invention, to provide a sign holding mechanism which is an improvement over the prior art. 
     It is a further object of the present invention, to provide an attachable ceiling rail pod which permits accurate sign positioning when suspending a sign from such a ceiling rail. 
     It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a sign hanging system which is readily adjustable and accurately alignable with a second sign hanging arrangement. 
     It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a sign hanging system which may be easily attached to and removed from a ceiling rail. 
     It is also an object of the present invention, to provide such a sign supporting or suspending system which is economical to manufacture and very easy to use. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a height-wise adjustable line control member for attachment of a sign for support thereof, to a ceiling rail via a support pod attached thereto. The typical ceiling rail is an inverted T-shaped frame member which supports adjacent ceiling panels. 
     The support device in a first preferred embodiment thereof comprises a first or rear housing and a second mating housing. The first housing has a split axle extending centrally therefrom. A rotatable spool is rotatably supported on that split axle. The spool, mounted on the split axle, has a coil spring arranged within a central opening thereof. The coil spring has a first end lockably inserted between a diagonal cut in the split axle. The coil spring has a second end engaged in a slot within the opening of that spool. The spool is arranged to retract a sign support line which has been wrapped therearound. The support line extends through an opening in the first and the second housing portions. 
     A pivot axis extends from a corner portion of the rear first housing. An actuatable lever is pivotably disposed on that pivot axis extending from the corner of the rear first housing. The pivot axis includes a rigid first leg having a distal end with a release button thereon. The release button is exposed through an opening on the side portion on the first and second housing members. The actuatable lever has an arcuately shaped rigid second leg disposed in a spool engaging manner on the other side of the pivot axis. The second leg has a slot engagement foot thereon. The actuatable lever also has a bias finger extending unitarily from the hub of the lever. The bias finger provides resistance to the release button when the release button is pushed inwardly of the housing pair, towards the spool. The bias finger effects an upward resistance push onto the release button through the openings in the first and second housing and it effects a bias radially inwardly on the slot engagement foot on the distal end of the rigid second leg. 
     Preferably, only a single slot is arranged across the perimeter of the rotatable spool. The slot engagement foot of the actuatable lever is biased inwardly so as to mate with that slot in the perimeter of the spool. 
     The single slot in the perimeter of the rotatable spool minimizes any likelihood of miss-alignment between more than one of these suspension devices, although multiple slots in a further embodiment is also functional. Each first and second housing has an uppermost edge on which the rear edge engagement clip is disposed. The suspension device is twisted from an acute angle to linear alignment with the ceiling rail, so that the channels in each engagement clip engage the side edges of the lower portion of the ceiling rail. 
     It is intended that a typical sign being suspended from a ceiling rail would utilize at least two of these suspension devices. To minimize the complexity and time in making a proper horizontal alignment of a sign suspended from such a ceiling rail, the spool has only one slot extending across its lips. The line in any case wraps around the spool and is disposed underneath the slot engagement foot. Movement of that line relative to the support device is only permitted once the release button has been depressed inwardly, thus moving the slot engaging foot radially outwardly from its engagement with the slot on the perimeter of the spool. The line extending from the spool at that time may be retracted within the suspension device, by virtue of its re-wrapping because of the coil spring re-winding that spool within the housing. A second biasing arrangement is disposed within the housing to hold the line snugly against the spool as it winds and unwinds with respect thereof. The second biasing arrangement is comprised of a pair of fingers extending from a common pivot axis. A first finger of the biasing arrangement is pressed against a side wall of the rear housing and a second finger of the biasing arrangement is pressed radially inwardly against the line as it wraps or unwraps itself on/from the spool. 
     The invention thus comprises a stepwise-adjustable sign hanging device for supporting a sign from an overhead ceiling rail. The sign hanging device comprises a front housing and a rear housing enclosing a rotatably controllable spool arranged to stepwisedly dispense and retract a sign supporting line therefrom; a finger actuatable biased switch for any release and locking of the spool with respect to said housing; an arrangement of clips on the housing for twistably engaging the overhead ceiling rail. The biased switch may comprise a pivotable lever having a first depressible arm movable about a pivot axis arranged to release a locking foot from a notch in the spool. The switch may include a bias finger extending from the pivot axis arranged to first bias the locking foot in the notch until the first bias is overcome by a greater second bias applied to the first depressible arm. The switch may include an elongated finger movable in a depressed slot in a wall of the housing. 
     The invention also comprises a stepwise-adjustable sign hanging wherein the spool has a central opening for locking receipt of a coil spring to permit rewinding of a line thereon. The stepwise adjustable sign hanging device includes a second biasing arrangement comprising a first finger pressably disposed against a housing wall of device and a second finger pressably disposed against the line wrapped about the spool to insure the line is properly maintained on the spool. 
     The invention also comprises a method to stepwisedly lift and lower a sign suspended from an adjustable sign hanging device, comprising one or more of the steps of wrapping a sign supporting line around a spool within an housing enclosure; disengaging a first biasable finger arrangement from an engagement notch in a rim portion of the spool so as to permit the spool to rotate about an axis within the housing enclosure; biasing a second biased finger arrangement against the line wrapped around the spool to maintain the line from entanglement; and lowering the sign a controlled distance from the sign hanging device. The spool preferably has a single foot-engagement notch formed in said rim portion of the spool. The method may include the step of adjusting the line extending from the spool and re-winding the line about the spool by action of a tightened coil spring arranged between the spool and an axis mounted within the housing enclosure. The method may including the step of biasing the second biasable finger arrangement against the spool continuously, and biasing the first biasable finger arrangement intermittently to control the length and condition of the line extending from the device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when viewed in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a sign being supported by a pair of support devices of the present invention, the support devices being attached to a ceiling rail; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a support device of the present invention shown attached to a ceiling rail; 
         FIG. 3  is an edge view of the support device shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the support device shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the support device with its second housing member removed to show the internal mechanism thereof, and an annular portion of its rim removed to better show a line biasing arrangement therewith; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the support device shown in  FIG. 5   
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly to  FIG. 1 , there is shown the present invention which comprises a height-wise adjustable line control support device  20  for attachment of a sign  22  for support thereof, preferably to a ceiling rail  24 . The typical ceiling rail  24  is an inverted T-shaped frame member which supports adjacent ceiling panels. 
     The support device  20  in a first preferred embodiment thereof comprises a first or rear housing  26  and a front or second mating housing  28 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 . The first housing  26  has a split axle  30  extending centrally from an inner wall thereof, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . A rotatable spool  32  is rotatably supported on that split axle  30 . The spool  32 , mounted on the split axle  30 , has a coil spring  34  arranged within a central opening  36  thereof. The coil spring  34  has a first end  38  lockably inserted between a diagonal cut  40  in the split axle  30 . The coil spring  34  has a second end engaged in a slot (not shown for clarity) within the opening  36  of that spool  32 . The spool  32  is arranged to retract a sign support line  44  which has been wrapped around the hub of the spool  32 . The support line  44  extends through an opening  46  between the first and the second housing portions  26  and  28 , as shown in  FIGS. 2-6 . 
     A pivot axis  48  extends from a corner portion of the rear first housing  26 . An actuatable lever  50  is pivotably disposed on that pivot axis  48  extending from the corner of the rear first housing  26 , as represented in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The lever  50  includes a rigid first leg  52  having a distal end with a release button  54  thereon. The release button  54  is exposed through an opening  56  on the side portion on the first and second housing members  26  and  28 , as shown in  FIGS. 2-5 . The actuatable lever  50  has an arcuately shaped rigid second leg  58  disposed in a spool engaging manner on the other side of the pivot axis  48  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The second leg  58  has a slot engagement foot  60  thereon. The actuatable lever  50  also has a bias finger  62  extending unitarily from the hub of the lever  50 . The bias finger  62  provides resistance to the release button  54  when the release button  54  is pushed radially inwardly with respect to the pair of housing portions  26  and  28 , towards the spool  32 . The bias finger  62  effects an outward resistance push onto the release button  54  through the opening  56  between the first and second housings  26  and  28  and it effects a bias radially inwardly, (as shown by arrow “A” in  FIG. 5 ), on the slot engagement foot  60  on the distal end of the rigid second leg  58 . 
     A single slot  64  is arranged across a portion of the perimeter of the rim on the rotatable spool  32 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The slot engagement foot  60  of the actuatable lever  50  is biased inwardly so as to mate with that slot  64  the perimeter of the spool  32 .  FIGS. 5 and 6  show the spool  32  with an annular portion of its rim cut away for clarity of viewing. A second biasing arrangement  70  is disposed on a pivot axis  72 , as represented in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The second biasing arrangement  70  comprises a first finger  74  extending from a hub  73 , and is arranged to press against the inside of the wall of the housings  26  and  28 . A second finger  76  extends from the hub  73  and rides and biasedly pushes radially inwardly against the line  44  wrapped around the spool  32 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The second finger  76  holds the line  44  snugly against the spool  32  as it winds therefrom. 
     The single slot  64  in the rim  77  of the rotatable spool  32  minimizes any likelihood of miss-alignment between more than one of these suspension devices  20 . Each first and second housing  26  and  28  has an uppermost edge  66  on which the rail edge engagement clip  68  is disposed, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     In the process of attaching the suspension device  20  to a ceiling rail  24 , the device  20  is twisted from an acute angle to linear alignment with the ceiling rail  24 , so that the channels in each engagement clip  68  engage the side edges of the lower portion of the ceiling rail  24 . 
     It is intended that a typical sign being suspended from a ceiling rail would utilize at least two of these suspension devices  20  as shown in  FIG. 1 . To minimize the complexity and time in making a proper horizontal alignment of a sign  22  suspended from such a ceiling rail  24 , as aforementioned, the spool  32  has only one slot  64  extending across its rim  77 . The line  44  in any case wraps around the spool  32  and is pressably disposed underneath the slot engagement foot  60 . Movement of that line  44  relative to the support device  20  is only permitted once the release button  54  has been depressed inwardly, thus moving the slot engaging foot  60  radially outwardly from its engagement with the slot  64  on the perimeter of the spool  32 . The line  44  extending from the spool at that time may be retracted within the suspension device  20 , by virtue of its re-wrapping because of the coil spring  34  re-winding that spool  32  within the housing  26  and  28 .