US1453536A - Signboard - Google Patents

Description

May 1923. F. G. WIHITE SIGNBOARD Filed Magch 11, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l 55 1N VENTOR '76 86 A: BY

)1 TTORIIVEI Y red QW/ ze! G. WHITE.

SIGNBOARD 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 Fild March 11 I Q @n mw INVENTOR I By GZW/u'le.

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F. G. WHITE 'SIGNBOARD Filed March 11 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I ll y 11v VENTOR Freda Whize.

A TTORNE Y' Patented May 1, 1923.

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED G. WHITE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO L EWIS R. LONG, 01:

' KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

I srennoarm.

Application filed March .11, 1921. Serial No. 451,521.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRED G. VHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Signboard; and I do declare the following to hey a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enables others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to sign boards and particularly to an automatically changeable sign, the construction being such thatdlfl'erent signs or indicia can become visible intermittently.

The invention consists in providing a plurality of sign units, each having a plurality of faces and each face on each unit being adapted to be brought into alignment with complementary faces of an adjacent unit at intermittent periods whereby an intermittently changing sign Will result.

The invention is shown as consisting of a plurality of rotatable, triangular sign frames or units. on each face of each of which is suitable indicia, the triangular frames or units being arranged so that one face of each frame will align with a complementary face i on another triangular frame. The units are so mechanically connected that they must move at a uniform speed and a uniform distance to effect proper alignment of the faces on the respective units so that the proper complementary faces will properly co-operate to produce the complete sign of any one set of triangular frames.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sign constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sign operating mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the power means for operating the si n.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view through a unit check.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a reduced sectional view: on the line 88 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram for the lights and the. circuit closer therefor.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference:

1 designates the floor of a sign board hous ing having ends2 and 3, a rear wall 4 and a roof 5. The front of the housing isprovided with an opening, as at 6, from which the sign may be displayed, there being a protected light source 7 at the top of the openlng whereby the face of the sign board elements or units may beilluminated.

Longitudinally of the housing is a rectangularskeleton frame consisting of the bottom bar 8, the top bar 9 and the end bars or risers 10 and 11. The frame consisting of the bars 8, 9, 10 and 11 extends substan tially the lengthof the housing and the bottom bar 8'is preferably countersunk in the floor 1.

Mounted in the bars 8 and 9 are vertical shafts 12, 13 and 14 which constitute. the supports upon which theunit drums are carried. Each shaft carries a lower bracket 15 and an upper bracket 16, which support the triangulardrums 17, 18 and 19 of the respective sign units. Each triangular drum has three faces, upon which advertising in-' dicia may be placed so that when complementary faces of the drums come into align:

ment, :1 continuous sign board will be pro vided, the length of which will be equal to the combined widths of the three aligning faces as indicated in Fig. 1.

There is a certain mechanism provided for rotating the drums and in order to eliminate liability of the accumulated inertia causing the drums to overrun, I have provided checks, one for each drum. Each check is preferably of the construction shown in Fig. 6 and comprises a cylinder 20 having an end 21 provided with an exhaust port- -22, the end 21 being formed with a projection23, which may be pivoted at 24 to a bracket 25 carried by the s gn housing. The cylinder 20 'ofeach check is provided with a piston-26 between which'and the end 21 is a spring 27. The piston 26 is open at one end 28 and it carries a guided piston rod 29 pivotally connectedat 30 to a rocking arm 31, pivoted to the sign housing at 32 and having a free end provided with an anti-friction roller 33, which normally lies in the-path of the upstanding projections 34, 35, and 36 in the angles of the respective drums.

Since the drums shown are equilateral triangles, a line drawn through the base of one triangle and at right angles thereto, and through the apex of the triangle will always equally bisect the distance between the ends of the base of the angle. Therefore, when a flat face is presented to view and assuming that it constitutes the base of the angle, the apex will be in rear of the face with an upstanding projection 34, 35 and 36 midway between the edges of the exposed panel. For example, if the triangles are 1n the position shown in Fig. 4, then 34 will be in rear of the exposed face midway be- 1 tween 35 and 36 and it will contact with the roller 33.

Assuming that the drums are to rotate clockwise, then 34 will push against 33 during its initial rotation, compressing the spring 27 until 34 moves away from 33, whereupon the spring will force the piston 26 into extended position, bringing the roller 33 in the path of 35 so that the'face of the triangular drum between 34 and 36 will be exposed in a manner to align with complementary faces on the drums l8 and 19.

Each drum is provided with ahead, for example, 37, 38 and 39, to which power may be transmitted to drive the units. The head for each unit is preferably fastened to the bracket 16 by screws 40 and 41. Each head is shown as provided with peripheral teeth 42, the teeth on all of the heads being engaged by a single endless chain or belt 43, engaging the end heads and the intermediate head, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the heads may all rotate together in un son. The chain is held in engagement with the teeth on the intermediate head 38 by the idlers 44, 45, 46 and 47. Therefore, as clearly seen in Figs. 4 and 5, when one head operates, all of them must have a synchronizing movement, this being important in order to insure that the complementary faces of the respective drums 17 18 and 19 will be in perfect alignment so that a continuous sign surface will be presented through the opening 6.

The top face of each head is provided with a circumferential slot 48, the floor of which is provided with spaced cam portions to provide shoulders 49, 50 and 51, equidstantly spaced apart to provide shoulders for engagement by the pins 52, 53 and 54. vertically movable in the draw bar 55, which is reciprocated longitudinally of the frame by certain operating mechanism to be presently described. The pins are normally urged into engagement with the shoulders by the flat springs 56, 57 and 58 on the draw bar 55, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 7. The draw bar is preferably connected to the top bar 9 by l'nks 59 and 60 so that when the bar is reciprocated, although it will exert a slight oscillatory movement, it will maintain its proper position with respect to the elements which it is to drive. It will be obvious that when the bar 55 is drawn in one direction, the pins 52, 53 and 54 will ride up the inclined fleors of the circular grooves in the heads of the units and drop behind a shoulder 49, 50 or 51 in each head. Then when the bar is moved in the opposite direction as, for example, from left to right, the pins will abut against the shoulders in the heads and cause a partial rotation of .the sign units; that is, each unit will be rotated one-third of a revolution and since the units are all tied together by the chain 43, they will essentially work in unison. After they are in;

place,'liability of independent movement of any one unit, due to the wind or from any other cause, will be eliminated because one unit cannot move without imparting corresponding movement to every other unit.

There is a novel means for reciprocating the bar 55. This means consists of a master gear 61, driven by a worm 62 on the shaft 63, receiving motion from the motor 64,- one end of the shaft63 being supported in a bearing bracket 65 (see Fig. 2). The shaft 66, on which the gear 61 is mounted, carries a cam 67, lying between the idlers 68 and 69 on pins carried by' the bar 55. Therefore, as the gear 61 rotates, the cam 67, riding against the rollers 68 and 69, will reciprocate the bar 55 in first one direction and then another to actuate the heads 37, 38 and 39 of the respective units, it being understood that when the bar 55 is moved from right to left. it will ride up the inclined cam portions in the grooves 48 and over one of the shoulders 49, 50 or 51; then, when the draw bar 55 moves from left to right, the units will be rotated. The bar 55 will be reciprocated back and forth for each revolution of the wheel 61 so as to move the units one-third of a revolution to present a new face each time for exposure through the opening 6.

In order to provide a positive lock for the units. I have provided three notches 70, 71 and 72 for each head, and each notch is adjacent to the periphery of the head, said notches being adapted to be engaged by the latches or locking bolts 73. which ride vertically in guides 74, carried by the bar 9. Each locking bolt 73 is normally urged into engagement with its notch by a spring 75 and each locking bolt is adapted to be retracted out of engagement with a notch on the head by a releasing bar 76 movable longitudinally of the frame. The bar 76 is side of the wheel 61 at the beginnin of the rotation of said wheel. For examp e, when the lock bolts 73 are in proper posltion to present the proper complementary faces of the triangular drums for exposure, that 1s, when the bolts 73 engage the notches and the gear 61 begins to rotate to change the position of the drums, the pin 81 Wlll first act against the projection to slide the cam faces 77 from right to left, raising the bolts 73 out of the notches 70. The cam 67 at this time begins to rotate so as to impart a reciprocatory motion to the bar 55 and thereby rotate the heads 37, 38 and 39, the bolts 73 ridin over the faces of the heads between the notc es 70 until a new notch registers with each bolt, when the bolts will drop into the new notches under the action of the spring 75, it being understood that the reciprocation of the bar 76 from right to left is only momentary, it being immediately retracted by the spring 82 so that the lower portions of the cams will be in line wlth the bolts 73, allowing them to drop into the appropriate slots 70 when they register therewith.

Upon the initial turning movement of the gear 61, the pin 81 rides on the shoulder 80 to impart a slight longitudinal movement against the resistance of the spring 82 so that the higher portions of the cam 77 Wlll ride under the shoulder 78 and raise the locking bolts 73 out of the notches 70 and free the heads so that they may rotate. There will immediately follow a partial rotation of the heads: that is. one-third of a revolution during the time that the gear 61 is rotating a complete revolution.

lV hen the gear 61 has rotated a complete revolution so that the pin 81 is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the parts will be again set so that the bar 76 may be reciprocated by the pin 81. It is to be understood, of course, that the cam is so constructed that there will. be a moment of respose or static condition of the bar 55 at approximately each half of the revolution of the gear 61; that is. the shaft 66 and the gear 61 may rotate part of a revolution without imparting any movement to the bar 55.

The lamps, for example, 83 under the guard 7, are provided with a circuit 84, which may be energized from any suitable source and in the circuit is a switch consisting of a rigid contact 85 and a spring contact 86, the latter being in line with the end 87 on the bar 76. Therefore, when the bar a cam having a neutral portion and a 76 is reci rocated from right to left by the pin 81, t at is, during the time -that the is changing, the end, 87 of the bar 76 Wlll contact with the spring 86 to break the circuit. Therefore, the sign will be in darkness because the circuit for the lamps will not be energized. When the sign has been changed, however, and the spring 82 is rendered effective to retract the bar 76 away from spring 86, the spring contact 86 will move into circuit closing position and illuminate the sign. 'Therefore, the light is alternately flashed on and flashed off when the sign is exposed and when it is being changed.-

From the foregoing it will be apparent thatthe sign may be conveniently changed automatically through the mechanism disclosed or its equivalent and that the action of the moving mechanism will be sure and positive; that is, the intermittent changing of the sign faces will be assured so that the units will move in synchronism and be positively locked in their proper relative positions. Liability of overrunning of the sign elements will be eliminated and the liability of slippage or overrunning of any of the parts will be so guarded against that the sign will require very little if any attention, it being only necessary to provide electrical energy for the circuit 84 and power for the motor 64.

- What I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. A device of the class described comprising rotatable, indicia-carrying drums having complementary aligning faces and mounted for rotation on fixed axes, mechanism for simultaneously rotating the drums to successively present complementary aligning faces, said mechanism lncluding a draw bar pitman for actuating the drums,

itman-actuating portion, means for actuating the cam, and lockingmeans for temporarily engaging the drums to hold them in fixed aligning positions, said locking means being controlled from the cam-actuating means.

2. A device of the class described comprising rotatable indicia-carrying drums having complementary aligning faces and mounted for rotation on fixed axes, mechanism for simultaneously rotating the drums to successively present complementary aligning faces, sald mechanism including a draw bar pitman for actuating the drums, means for actuating the draw bar pitman,

and means connecting all of the drums for simultaneously rotating the drums to sue cessively present complementary aligning faces, said mechanism including a draw bar pitman for actuating the drums, a cam having a neutral portion and a pitman-actuating portion, means for actuating the cam, and means for synchronizing the movement of all of the drums, said means comprising chain and sprocket connections between the respective drums.

4'. A device of the class described comprising rotatable, indicia-carrying drums having complementary aligning faces and mounted for rotation on fixed axes, mechanism for simultaneously rotating the drums to suecessively present complementary aligning faces, said mechanism including a draw bar pitmnn for actuating the drums, a cam having a neutral portion and a pitman-actuating portion, means for actuating the cam,

means for intermittently locking the drums in fixed position, a light source, a circuit closer in the light source, and a circuit breaker intermittently operated by the last named means.

5. A device ofthe class described comprising rotatable indicia-carrying drums having complementary aligning faces and mounted for rotation on fixed axes, mechanism for simultaneously rotating the drums to successively present the complementary aligning faces, locks for intermittently holding the drums in fixed position, means for simultaneously actuating all of the drums, and checks for the respective drums, each having a yielding lever arm normally urged in the path of the rotating drum.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRED G. WHITE.

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