Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to sign or message holders and, more particularly, to a transportable sign or message holder for supporting and displaying replaceable signs or messages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a transportable sign or message holder that can be quickly and easily attached to, and detached from, any desired supporting surface without defacing that surface. A related object is to provide such a holder which permits the displayed sign or message to be easily replaced while the holder is attached to its supporting surface. 
     Another important object of this invention is to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder that is capable of receiving a wide variety of signs or messages, typically printed on disposable media such as paper, paperboard or plastic film or sheets, or even personal or hand-made signs or messages. A related object is to provide such a holder which permits the signs or messages to be easily replaced as frequently as desired. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder which can be easily re-located and re-used as often as desired. 
     Yet another important object of this invention is to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder which can be efficiently and economically mass produced, and which has a long useful life. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder which can be used to display signs or messages in a wide variety of different applications, including bumper signs or messages on vehicles, advertising signs or messages on windows of stores or vehicles, display booth signs and messages, and the like. In this connection, a related object of the invention is to provide such an improved holder that does not require any adhesive backing or other attachment material on the items inserted into the holder for display. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder which can be easily tailored to display signs or messages in virtually any desired size, on virtually any desired surface. In this connection, a related object is to provide such an improved holder which enables the same sign or message to be displayed in a wide variety of different environments, including environments in which moisture may be present. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide such an improved transportable sign or message holder which can be fabricated from only a few parts, e.g., a single sheet of plastic and a pair of fasteners. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide an improved sign or message holder that is capable of holding multiple copies of the displayed item, or even different displayed items, while also permitting the displayed items to be easily removed from the holder. Typical materials that can be displayed in this manner are work instructions, notes, reminders, bulletins, informational materials, coupons and other documents. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide an improved sign or message holder that protects wettable display materials from liquids (such as splashing) and soiling. 
     A still further object is to provide an improved sign or message holder that permits displayed materials within the holder to be viewed from opposite sides of the holder. 
     This invention is also intended to provide an improved sign or message holder that permits permanent displays on the holder itself, in addition to materials inserted into the holder. 
     Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are realized by providing a transportable sign or message holder for supporting and displaying replaceable signs or messages. The holder includes a transparent front panel of polymeric material that permits a sign or message to be supported and viewed through the front panel while protecting the sign or message from moisture and soiling. A rear panel located behind the front panel forms a cavity between the two panels for receiving, supporting and displaying one or more replaceable signs or messages, and the front and rear panels are attached at the bottom of the cavity for supporting the lower edge of a sign or message in the cavity. The holder includes mounting means for detachable mounting the panels on a supporting structure, such as a window or other flat solid surface. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the front and rear panels of the sign or message holder are formed by a single polymeric sheet that is folded to form the two panels, the fold forming the attachment between the two panels for supporting the sign or message in the cavity between the panels. Fastening devices are passed through the two panels near the side edges thereof to hold the two panels together while at the same time serving to attach the panels to a supporting surface. The preferred fastening devices are suction cups. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective of a sign or message holder embodying the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a planned view of a polymeric sheet used to form the holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a planned view of the polymeric sheet of FIG. 2 after it has been folded and punched to form the holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 a  is a plan view of the polymeric sheet used to form the article of FIGS. 1-3, showing the compression areas used to form the fold lines; 
     FIG. 3 b  is an enlarged section taken along line  3   b - 3   b  in FIG. 3 a;    
     FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the holder of FIG. 1, with signs or messages being inserted into the holder as illustrated in broken lines; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken generally along line  5 — 5  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section similar to the top portion of FIG. 5 but illustrating a modified embodiment having a foldable top portion on the rear panel of the holder, and also illustrating the storage of a non-viewable display item between two viewable display items in the holder; 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section similar to the middle portion of FIG. 5 but illustrating the use of an alternative fastening device; 
     FIG. 8 is another fragmentary section similar to the middle portion of FIG. 5 but illustrating the use of another alternative fastening device; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a support device for a holder embodying the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the support device of FIG. 9 with a sign or message holder mounted thereon; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternative support device for a holder embodying the invention; and 
     FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of a modified embodiment of a sign or message holder embodying the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, certain specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms described, but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Turning now to the drawings and referring first to FIGS. 1-5, a sign holder  10  is formed by folding a single sheet of transparent polymeric material along a fold line  11  to form a front panel  12  and a rear panel  13 . Because the two adjacent panels  12  and  13  are open along their top edges, they form a cavity or pouch  14  between the two panels. When a sign  15  is inserted into the pouch  14 , the front surface of the sign  15  can be viewed through the transparent front panel  12 . The bottom edge of the sign  15  is supported by the fold in the polymeric sheet that forms the panels  12  and  13 . A variety of different materials may be used to form the panels  12  and  13 , but a preferred material is clear sheet stock of a material such as polyvinlychloride (PVC), Mylar, PETG or acetate. A particularly preferred material is PVC sheet stock having a thickness of approximately 0.010 inch. 
     To facilitate the folding of the polymeric sheet to form the panels  12  and  13 , the sheet may be compressed along a transverse line corresponding to the fold line  11  (see FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b ) This compression may be effected simultaneously with the cutting of the sheet from a larger sheet, by simply compressing the sheet along the fold line  11  to reduce the sheet thickness by a few thousandths of an inch along that line. The compression preferably terminates inboard of the side edges of the sheet so that the sheet is not susceptible to tearing along the fold line at the side edges of the sheet. 
     The sign  15  is typically a sheet of paper, paperboard or polymeric film having a printed or manually applied image on one or both sides. Although the term “sign” will be used throughout the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the content of the printed matter is immaterial as far as the present invention is concerned. For example, one of the many applications for this invention is bumper “stickers”, which are normally considered to be messages rather than signs. The present invention is useful with signs prepared on any flat media, regardless of content. Moreover, there is no need for any adhesive backing or other attachment medium on either surface of the sign  15 , thereby minimizing the cost of preparation of the sign itself. 
     In the illustrative embodiment of the invention in FIGS. 1-5, lateral movement of the sign  15  within the pouch  14  is limited by a pair of suction cups  16  and  17  inserted through two pairs of mating holes  18 ,  19  and  20 ,  21  formed in the panels  12  and  13  adjacent the vertical side edges thereof The suction cups  16  and  17  are conventional, commercially available items which are molded to include integral holders  16   a ,  17   a  along with the actual suction cups  16   b ,  17   b . The molded part is made of a flexible, resilient material so that it can be deformed to fit through a small opening such as the holes  18 - 21 , after which it returns to its normal shape. The molded part necks in sharply between the holder and the base of the suction cup so that it is captured securely in the folded plastic sheet after insertion. The resulting assembly contains the side edges of the sign inserted into the pouch  14 , to prevent the sign from escaping laterally from the pouch. 
     In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, the position of the fold line of the polymeric sheet is selected to form a rear panel  12  that is longer in the vertical dimension than the front panel  13 . Consequently, the rear panel  13  extends vertically above the front panel  12  so that a portion  22  of the rear panel  13  extends above the top edge of the front panel  12 . The top portion  22  of the rear panel  13  facilitates the insertion of the sign  15  into the thin cavity  14  by providing a guiding entry surface, and can also be used to display permanent messages printed on the sign holder  10  itself. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the top portion  22  may also be folded down over the top edge of the front panel  12  to close the top opening of the cavity  14  after a sign  15  has been inserted therein. To facilitate such folding, a second fold line  23 , similar to the fold line  11 , is preferably formed in the rear panel  13  at an elevation just slightly above that of the top edge of the front panel  12 . Closing the top opening of the cavity  14  in this manner provides further protection against soiling and moisture, including rain, liquid splashing and the like. 
     It can be seen from the description thus far that the present invention can be implemented with only three parts. The resulting sign holder can be formed in a wide variety of different sizes and shapes, thereby accommodating a wide variety of different applications. This sign holder is particularly suited for the display of signs on exhibition booths and store windows, but it has a wide variety of other applications such as noncommercial window displays, personal displays of small messages such as on walls, refrigerators, computers, etc. 
     Although the preferred embodiment of the invention uses a single sheet of polymeric material to form both the front and rear panels  12  and  13 , there may be no need for the rear panel  13  to be transparent. Consequently, the front and rear panels  12  and  13  may be made of different materials, with the rear panel  13  being made of a less expensive, non-transparent material. The two panels must still be attached to each other to support the sign  15  along its lower edge, and this attachment may be effected by a variety of different means such as adhesive, discrete fasteners, heat sealing, spot welding, etc. 
     When the holder  10  is mounted on a window or other transparent surface, it is often desirable to have both the front and rear panels  12  and  13  made of transparent material so that signs or messages in the cavity  14  can be viewed from both sides of the holder  10 . In this case, two signs  15   a  and  15   b  (FIG. 5) are normally inserted into the cavity  14 , one providing a display viewable through the front panel  12  and the other providing a display viewable through the rear panel  13 . The cavity may also be used to store additional signs or messages  15   c , as illustrated in FIG. 6, between the two viewable signs  15   a  and  15   b . These additional items  15   c  may simply be extra copies of the viewable items for removal by the viewer, as the case of coupons, work instructions, bulletins and the like, or additional signs or messages to be displayed alternately or on different occasions. 
     The suction cups used as the side fasteners in the preferred embodiment may also be replaced with alternative fasteners. For example, the modified embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 replaces the suction cups with conventional hook and loop fasteners, with the hook element  30  attached to the panels  12  and  13 , and the loop element  31  attached to a supporting surface  32 . The modified embodiment of FIG. 8 uses a coating of releasable adhesive  33  on the surface of a flat plate  34  attached to the two panels  12  and  13 . 
     Fasteners which are easily removable from the panels  12  and  13 . For example, a wire support stand  40  shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 includes a pair of hooks  41  and  42  that fit through two pairs of registered holes in a pair of panels  43  and  44  forming a cavity  45 . The vertical elements  46  and  47  of the stand  40  hold the panels  43  and  44  in an upright position while they are supported on the hooks  41  and  42 . A similar pair of hooks  48  and  49  suspended from a ceiling  50  are illustrated in FIG.  11 . The sign or message holder to be suspended on the hooks  48  and  49  are preferably located near the top of the holder. 
     Separate fasteners may be used to attach the front and rear panels  12  and  13  to each other (to contain the sign  15  within the cavity  14 ), and to attach the sign holder  10  to the supporting surface on which it is mounted. For example, the two panels  12  and  13  may be attached to each other by means of adhesive, heat sealing, discrete fasteners, etc. The holder  10  may be attached to its supporting structure by the same means, or by the suction cups or other fastening devices employed in the preferred embodiments described above. 
     It should also be noted that the fastening means for attaching the sign holder to its supporting structure may be anchored to both the front and rear panels  12  and  13 , as in the preferred embodiment described above, or to only the front panel  12 , capturing the rear panel  13  between the front panel  12  and the supporting structure. In the case of holders that use separate fastening means to attach the front and rear panels to each other, the fastening means that attaches the holder to a supporting structure may be attached to only the rear panel if desired. 
     One of the advantages of this invention is that the sign or message holder can be easily made with virtually any desired length-to-width ratio (“aspect ratio”). For example, the holder of FIG. 1 has an aspect ration much greater than one, while the holder of FIG. 10 has an aspect ratio less than one. FIG. 12 illustrates yet another embodiment having an aspect ratio of slightly less than 2:1. Thus, the holder of this invention can be readily tailored to display signs or messages of virtually any desired size and proportions.

Technology Category: 3