Abstract:
A support rod for use in a banner support assembly which has a solid elongate elastically flexible body of a finite length transitioning lengthwise from a first end having a first cross-sectional area to a second end having a second cross-sectional area less than the aforesaid first cross-sectional area. This support rod is configured to be mounted on a holder fixed to a supporting member for effecting a holding taut of an elongate banner having sleeve-like openings in opposite longitudinal ends thereof.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/546 316, filed Feb. 20, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a support rod configured for use in a banner support assembly as well as a banner support assembly adapted to be mounted on a supporting member for purposes of engaging and holding taut an elongate banner having sleeve-like openings in the opposite longitudinal ends thereof.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     This invention is an improvement over the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,195, the content of which is to be incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0004]     As is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  of this disclosure, a banner support assembly  10  includes a supporting member  11 , such as a municipal light pole, a telephone pole or other of a variety of vertically upstanding members. The supporting member  11  can also be a flat planar wall surface. The banner support assembly  10  includes a pair of spaced housing members  12  secured to the supporting member  11  by either flexible banding  13  or bolts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,195 discloses one type of housing member that is readily configured for this kind of support.  
         [0005]     It is well known in the art that banners  14  supported by and extending between elastically flexible support rods  15  secured to the aforesaid spaced housing members  12  have substantial loads applied thereto in varying wind conditions to cause a reduction of the opposing square footage area of the banner from its original large size SQ 1  to a smaller size SQ 2 . Winds will cause the flexible support rods  14  to flex between the solid line position and the broken line position, for example, the position  15 - 1  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Yet, these loads can at times still be significant enough to cause the owner of the upstanding member  11  to become concerned about the integrity of the upstanding member and make a requirement that the banner assembly be removed therefrom. Therefore, it is highly desirable for there to be provided to the banner supporting industry a mechanism for preventing substantial loading by winds applied to banners mounted on walls and other variety of upstanding members.  
         [0006]     Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a support rod configured for use in a banner support assembly which will facilitate a much better offloading of the wind applied to the banner and yet maintain the banner in a taut vertically upright relation to display the content thereon.  
         [0007]     It is a further object of the invention to provide a banner support assembly utilizing the aforesaid support rod.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The objects and purposes of the invention are met by providing a rod which has a solid elongate elastically flexible body of a finite length transitioning lengthwise from a first end having a first cross-sectional area to a second end having a second cross-sectional area less than the aforesaid first cross-sectional area. The objects and purposes of the invention are also met by providing a banner support assembly configured to be mounted on a supporting member and utilizing the aforesaid rod construction for holding taut an elongate banner having sleeve-like openings in opposite longitudinal ends thereof.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a known banner support assembly;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the banner support assembly illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top view of a first embodiment of a banner support rod embodying the invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a view taken along the line IV-IV of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  is a top view of a second embodiment of a banner support rod embodying the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 9  is an end view of  FIG. 8  and along the line IX-IX in  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 10  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 8  and taken along the line X-X of  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 11  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 8  and taken along the line XI-XI of  FIG. 8 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 12  is a top view of a third embodiment of a banner support rod embodying the invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 13  is an end view of  FIG. 12  of the support rod and taken along the line XIII-XIII of  FIG. 12 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 14  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 12  and taken along the line XIV-XIV of  FIG. 12 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 15  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 11  and taken along the line XV-XV of  FIG. 12 ;  
         [0025]      FIG. 16  is a top view of a fourth embodiment of a banner support rod embodying the invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 17  is an end view of  FIG. 16  and taken along the line XVII-XVII of  FIG. 16 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 18  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 16  and taken along the line XVIII-XVIII of  FIG. 16 ;  
         [0028]      FIG. 19  is a sectional view of the rod illustrated in  FIG. 16  and taken along the line XIX-XIX of  FIG. 16 ; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 20  is a graph facilitating comparison of the wind load characteristics of the prior art banner support assembly employing the known cylindrical support rod illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and banner support assemblies respectively employing the use of the support rods shown in  FIGS. 3-19 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0030]     Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. The words “in” and “out” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device and designated parts thereof. The words “up” and “down” will indicate directions relative to the horizontal and as depicted in the various figures. Such terminology will include the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The direction of the wind is indicated by the arrow X in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0031]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,195, the subject matter of which has been incorporated herein by reference, discusses the structure of a prior art banner support assembly  10 . This prior art support assembly has been presented herein as  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the support rods  15  yield to the position  15 - 1  upon the application of a wind load in the direction X to the banner stretched between the vertically spaced support rods as schematically indicated in broken lines. However, and since the support rods  15  are of a uniform diameter from the proximal end thereof to the distal end thereof, the ability of the flexible support rods to offload the wind is hampered by the uniform diameter of the support rods.  
         [0032]     An ability of the banner support assembly to support a banner and hold it taut between spaced elastically flexible support rods is a very important characteristic which needs to be maintained. Thus, in an effort to enable the elastically flexible support rods to yield easily to wind loads and to effectively offload wind loads of objectionable strength, the elastically flexible support rods deflect while still holding the banner taut at all times. During deflection, we believe that the surface tension in the banner material will remain uniform under all wind conditions. We have discovered a unique way of constructing the support rods and which is the subject matter of this disclosure.  
         [0033]     More specifically,  FIG. 3  illustrates a typical elongate support rod  16 A embodying the invention. There are disclosed herein four different embodiments of the support rod  16 A- 16 D, all of which have the characteristic of being able to offload wind loads much easier than the prior art construction  15  illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and yet retain the ability of maintaining the banner taut in conditions of low wind loads. The four embodiments disclosed herein are of the same 13/16 (0.8125) inches. It is to be recognized that other diameters of support rods can be used and which incorporate the constructions disclosed herein.  
         [0034]     Referring now to the inventive support rod  16 A ( FIG. 3 ) the proximal end  17  supported by the holder members  12  are in each of the embodiments cylindrical as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . Each of the support rods transition from the proximal cylindrical end  17  lengthwise to a distal end  18  which has a cross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of the proximal end  17 . Further, the proximal end  17  as illustrated in  FIG. 7  has a central longitudinal axis  19 . With this in mind, each of the four embodiments will now be discussed in detail. Since the same reference numerals are used for the various regions of each embodiment of the support rod  16 , a different letter suffix has been added to each reference numeral used for the various embodiments to facilitate a distinction between the embodiments.  
       Support Rod  16 A Embodiment of FIGS.  3 - 7  (Round Taper)  
       [0035]     A view of the distal end  18 A of a first embodiment of the support rod  16 A is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . As is clearly evident in  FIG. 4 , the cross-sectional area of the distal end  18 A is less than the cross-sectional area of the proximal end  17  as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . Furthermore, the distal end  18 A is eccentrically oriented relative to a theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19  of the proximal end  17 . This feature is particularly important because a common surface area A 0  to A 3  ( FIG. 3 ) exists along one side of the support rod  16 A to engage the material of the banner thereat. In this particular embodiment, the surface areas A 0  to A 3  are all arcuate and have a radius of curvature whose center is the aforesaid theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19  of the proximal end  17 . As is illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the semicircular upper half of the proximal end  17  provides a surface area A 0  which contacts the inside surface of the sleeve-like openings provided in the opposite longitudinal ends of the banner as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Each corresponding section illustrated in  FIGS. 6, 5  all the way through to the distal end view illustrated in  FIG. 4  show corresponding decreases in the surface area A 1 , A 2  and A 3  which are axially aligned with each other and provide a surface area that is to contact the inside surface of the sleeve-like opening in the elongate banner. The lateral edges of the surface areas are located on radial lines extending outwardly from the central longitudinal axis  19  wherein the angles α and β so defined at the vertex vary along the length of the support rod. In this particular embodiment, the angle α in  FIG. 6  is greater than the angle β in  FIG. 4 . It is also to be noted that each of the arcuate surface areas A 0  to A 3  are each spaced a common distance D away from the theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19 .  
       Support Rod  16 B Embodiment of FIGS.  7 - 11  (Rectangle)  
       [0036]     In this particular embodiment, the proximal end  17  is circular in cross section as represented in  FIG. 7 . The distal end  18 B has a rectangular configuration. The short sides  21  of the rectangle are arcuate and are spaced a distance D radially outwardly from a theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19  of the proximal ends  17 . The long straight sides  22  as depicted by the sections appearing in  FIGS. 10 and 9  extend in vertical planes. As a result, the radially outwardly facing surface areas B 1 , B 2  and B 3  are equal in width so that the angle a in  FIG. 11  is equal to the angle β in  FIG. 9 .  
       Support Rod  16 C Embodiment of FIGS.  7 ,  12 - 15  (V-Taper)  
       [0037]     The proximal end of this embodiment corresponds to the view illustrated in  FIG. 7 , namely, the cross-sectional area of the proximal end  17  is circular. The distal end  18 C of the support rods  16 C is illustrated in  FIG. 11  and has a triangular configuration. The radially outwardly facing surface area C 3  is oriented a distance D from the theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19  of the proximal end  17 . The two sides  23  of the triangle illustrated in  FIG. 13  lengthen along the length of the support rod  16 C toward the proximal end as depicted in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . The surface areas C 1 , C 2  and C 3  decrease along the length from the proximal end toward the distal end as also depicted in  FIGS. 15, 14  and  13 , respectively. Each of the surface areas C 1 , C 2  and C 3  are arcuate and have a radius of curvature corresponding to a radius whose center point is the theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19 .  
       Support Rod  16 D Embodiment of FIGS.  7 ,  16 - 19  (Square Taper)  
       [0038]     The proximal end for this embodiment corresponds to the construction illustrated in  FIG. 7 . That is, the cross-sectional area of the proximal end  17  is circular. The distal end  18 D of the support rod  16 D is generally square with the radially outwardly facing surface area D 3  being arcuate and having a radius of curvature corresponding to the radius D measured from the theoretical extension of the central longitudinal axis  19  of the proximal end  17 . Furthermore, the surface areas D 1 , D 2  and D 3  on the radially outwardly facing side of the support rod  16 D are all axially aligned with one another and decrease in size from the proximal end  17  to the distal end  18 D. That is, the width decreases so that the angle α as depicted in  FIG. 19  is greater than the angle β illustrated in  FIG. 17 .  
         [0039]     The construction of the support rods  16 A to  16 D enable the rod to yield left and right of the proximal end  17  (into and out of the page in  FIG. 1 ) while retaining some degree of stiffness in the up and down direction relative to  FIG. 7 . This is caused by the distal ends of  FIGS. 3-6 ,  FIGS. 8-11 ,  FIGS. 12-15  and  FIGS. 16-19  embodiments being eccentrically oriented relative to the central longitudinal axis  19 . In the embodiment of  FIGS. 8-11 , this stiffness in the up and down direction is further enhanced by both of the short sides  21  of the rectangle remaining in the same plane as the radially outer surface of the proximal end  17 .  
         [0040]     In a banner support assembly of the type illustrated in  FIG. 2  and utilizing the four support rods  16 A,  16 B,  16 C and  16 D disclosed herein, the radially outwardly oriented surface areas A, B, C and D face away from each other in order to enable the material of the sleeve-like openings in the banner to engage them and be held taut thereby.  
         [0041]      FIG. 20  illustrates a comparison of the reduction in cross-sectional area SQ 2  of the banner relative to the cross-sectional area SQ 1  of an unloaded banner for the embodiments of rods  16 A,  16 C and  16 D.  
         [0042]     The support rods  16  in the four embodiments discussed above are, as noted, fixedly secured to the holder members  12  and are elastically flexible. In addition, they are made of a pultruded fiberglass material, such as a polyester pultruded fiberglass or an epoxy pultruded fiberglass.  
         [0043]     Although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.