Patent Application
20050252053
The present invention relates generally to a display assembly and particularly to a display assembly for removable attachment to a vehicle.
Traditional advertisement display assemblies for vehicles typically include support frames that are fixedly mounted to a vehicle. These support frames support advertisement displays that are mounted thereon. These traditional advertisement display assemblies are typically bulky and consequently can cause damage to the body of the vehicle and/or require permanent alteration of the vehicle in order to allow the assembly to be mounted thereto. In addition, removing an existing advertisement display from the support frame and replacing it with a new advertisement display is often a time consuming process.
Accordingly, a need exists for a display assembly for removable attachment to a vehicle. A need also exists for a display assembly that allows for a quick and simple, removable attachment to a vehicle and/or a display assembly that allows for a quick and simple replacement of a display.
In one embodiment, the present invention is a display assembly for attachment to a vehicle that includes a panel assembly for receiving a display; a mounting arm removably extending from the panel assembly; and a strap assembly having a connector portion connected to the mounting arm and a strap portion for removable engagement with a roof rack that is mounted on the vehicle.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a display assembly for attachment to a vehicle that includes a panel assembly for receiving a display and comprising at least one socket; a mounting arm having a first end that engages a selected one of the at least one sockets and a mounting portion that defines a plurality of mounting openings; and a strap assembly having a connector portion that engages a selected one of the plurality of mounting openings and a strap portion for removable engagement with a roof rack that is mounted on the vehicle.
In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a display assembly for attachment to a vehicle that includes a panel assembly for receiving a display. The panel assembly includes a first panel and a second panel attached to the first panel such that a gap is disposed therebetween for receiving a display. A door is movably attached to either the first or the second panel between a closed position wherein the gap is enclosed such that the display is secured within the panel assembly, and an open position wherein the gap is exposed and the display can be removed from the panel assembly. The panel assembly also includes at least one socket attached to the second panel, and at least one bumper bracket attached to the second panel. The display assembly also includes a mounting arm comprising a first end that engages a selected one of the at least one sockets and a mounting portion that defines a plurality of mounting openings. A strap assembly includes a connector portion that engages a selected one of the plurality of mounting openings. The strap assembly also includes a strap portion for removable engagement with a roof rack that is mounted on the vehicle. A bumper engages a selected one of the at least one bumper brackets. The bumper includes a non-abrasive end for contacting a body of the vehicle.
In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a display assembly for attachment to a vehicle that includes a panel assembly for receiving a display; a first strap assembly having a mounting end connected to the panel assembly and a connecting end; and a second strap assembly having a mounting end connected to the panel assembly and a connecting end. In use, the first and second strap assemblies removably wrap around a vehicle component, such as a trunk or a tailgate and form an interlocking connection between the connecting end of the first strap assembly and the connecting end of the second strap assembly.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a display assembly for attachment to a vehicle that includes a panel assembly for receiving a display; and a strap assembly removably connected to the panel assembly and including a strap portion removably connected with a roof rack that is mounted on the vehicle.
Novel features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
As shown in
In one embodiment, the front panel 14, the back panel 16 and the door 17 are each composed of a molded plastic material, which is transparent. Although in other embodiments other materials may be used. In one embodiment, at least the front panel 16 is composed of a transparent material so that the advertisement display 19 can be seen therethrough. The back panel 16 is secured to the front panel 14, such as by mechanical fasteners 18. When the back panel 16 is secured to the front panel 14, a gap 28 exists therebetween for receiving the advertisement display 19.
In the depicted embodiment, the door 17 is hingedly mounted to the back panel 16. Viewing
The hinge 21 allows for rotation of the door 17 between a closed position as shown in
Such a movement of the door 17 from the open position to the closed position is accomplished by rotating the door 17 about the hinge pin 24 in the opposite direction from that shown by arrow 26. The door 17 is then lockingly engaged with the front panel 14 to secure the door 17 thereto, as well as to prevent inadvertent removal of the advertisement display 19. In the depicted embodiment, the door 17 includes a finger 25 that lockingly engages a groove 27 in the front panel 14 to secure the door 17 to the front panel 14. Although the above description describes an embodiment where the front panel 14, the back panel 16 and the door 17 are separate parts, in other embodiments, any combination or each of: the front panel 14, the back panel 16 and the door 17 may be integrally formed, such as by an injection molding process.
In the embodiment of
Referring now to
In one embodiment, the mounting arm 32 includes the threaded end 34, which is generally cylindrical, and a generally rectangular opposite end 36 having a generally flat bottom surface. The ends 34 and 36 of the mounting arm 32 are connected by a bend section 38 that adds structural stability to the mounting arm 32. The threaded end 34 of the mounting arm 32 threadably engages the threads of a selected one of the plurality of sockets 30. The flat bottom of the opposite end 36 of the mounting arm 32 contacts a roof rack when the mounting arm 32 is mounted thereto. In one embodiment, the mounting arm 32 is composed of a molded plastic material. Although in other embodiments, other materials may be used.
The number of sockets 30 allows a user a variety of mounting options for positioning the mounting arm 32 relative to the panel assembly 12. This in turn, gives the user a variety of options for selecting a desired positioning of the advertisement display assembly 10 relative to the vehicle to which the advertisement display assembly 10 is mounted. It also allows the user to vary the load imparted on the mounting arm 32 by the panel assembly 12 when the mounting arm 32, having the panel assembly 12 connected thereto, is attached to a vehicle.
The back panel 16 also includes a mounting flange 40 that defines an eyelet for receiving a mounting strap or cord 42. The mounting cord 42 includes a clamp 44 at each of its ends. Each clamp 44 has a latch 46 that is moveable between an open position and a closed position. A selected clamp 44 may be mounted to the mounting flange 40 of the panel assembly 12 by moving the latch 46 to the open position and placing a remaining portion of the clamp 44 within the eyelet of the mounting flange 40. The clamp 44 can then be moved to the closed position to secure the clamp 44 and hence the mounting cord 42 to the mounting flange 40. Preferably, the latch 46 is biased towards the closed position.
When the selected clamp 44 is attached to the mounting flange 40 of the back panel 16, the clamp 44 on the opposite side of the cord may be similarly attached to a roof rack of a vehicle as described above for the attachment of the clamp 44 to the mounting flange 40. In one embodiment, the mounting cord 42 is composed of an elastic material that allows for expansion of the mounting cord 42. For example, the mounting cord 42 may be composed of an expandable material, such as a rubber material or an elastic rope cord, such as a bungee cord.
In other embodiments, a length of the mounting cord is adjustable. For example, in the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The back panel 16 also includes a plurality of bumper brackets 50 (see
Each bumper bracket 50 is adapted to mate with a bumper 52. The bumper 52 includes an open end that frictionally engages a selected one of the plurality of bumper brackets 50 to removably secure the bumper 52 to the panel assembly 12. In one embodiment, each bumper bracket 50 is “+” shaped and the open end of the bumper 52 is generally circular. In such an embodiment, the open end of the bumper 52 is placed in surrounding relation to the “+” shaped bumper brackets 50 to frictionally engage the bumper brackets 50.
In the embodiment shown in
The inner tube 54 is secured to the outer tube 56 by inserting the inner tuber 54 into the outer tube 56 until the ends 60 of the leaf spring 58 engage a selected pair of the openings 64 in the outer tube 56. To adjust the overall longitudinal dimension of the assembled bumper 52, the ends 60 of the leaf spring 58 are depressed to disengaged the leaf spring 58 from the openings 64 in the outer tube 56. The inner tube 54 may then be moved relative to the outer tube 56 in either a lengthening or shortening direction until the ends 60 of the leaf spring 58 engage another selected pair of the openings 64 in the outer tube 56.
A cap 66 is attached to an end of the outer tube 56 opposite from the inner tube 54. In the depicted embodiment, the cap 66 frictionally engages the outer tube 56 to secure the cap 66 to the bumper 52. In one embodiment, the inner tube 54 and the outer tube 56 are each composed of a molded plastic material. The cap 66 is composed of a non-abrasive material that is capable of contacting and pressing against a body of a vehicle, while supporting a portion of the weight of the advertisement display assembly 10, without damaging the contacted portion of the body of the vehicle. For example, in one embodiment, the cap 66 is composed of a rubber material.
In another embodiment, the cap is a suction cup. In still another embodiment, the bumper 52 itself is a suction cup. The number of bumper brackets 50 allows a user a variety of mounting options for positioning the bumper 52 relative to the panel assembly 12, and hence for positioning the bumper 52 relative to the body of the vehicle to which the advertisement display assembly 10 is attached.
In another embodiment, such as that shown in
Referring back to
The clamp 72 includes flexible resilient arms 73 each having outwardly extending ramps 78. Each ramp 78 allows its corresponding arm 73 to be compressed within an opening 76 in a selected one of the plurality of strap brackets 68. In the depicted embodiment, each strap bracket 68 is “U” shaped. When each ramp 78 reaches the open end of the “U” shaped bracket 68, its corresponding arm 73 resiliently springs outwardly, thus lockingly engaging the clamp 72 to the bracket 68 to secure the strap 70 to the panel assembly 12.
To disengage the strap 70 from the bracket 68, the arms 73 of the clamp 72 are pressed inwardly until each ramp 78 is within the opening 76 of the bracket 68. The strap 70 can then be pulled away from the panel assembly 12 until the arms 73 disengage the bracket 68.
In another embodiment, as shown in
Alternatively, the wheel well strap 70′ may contain a Velcro connection rather than the buckle mechanism 75 for adjusting the length of the of the wheel well strap 70′. In such an embodiment the Velcro connection is as described above with respect to the Velcro connections 49″ and 41″ of the mounting cord 42″. For example the strap 70′ may be utilized by wrapping a desired amount of a first end of the wheel well strap around a selected one of the strap brackets 68 and connecting its Velcro portion to a corresponding Velcro portion on the strap 70′; and connecting the hook 74 on the second end of the wheel well strap 70′ to the wheel well 140 of the vehicle 130.
As shown in
In one embodiment, when the strap is inserted in the space between the ratchet arm 86 and the lock 88 to form the loop, teeth 95 on the strap 90 mate with corresponding teeth in both the ratchet arm 86 and the lock 88. In a stationary position, the teeth of the ratchet arm 86 prevent the strap 90 from moving in an opening direction and the teeth of the lock 88 prevent the strap 90 from moving in a closing direction. However, the teeth of the lock 88 do not prevent the strap from moving in a closing direction.
Thus, in this embodiment, pivoting the ratchet arm 86 away from the lock 88 allows the teeth of the ratchet arm to rotate the teeth of the strap 90 to incrementally move the strap 90 in the closing direction to incrementally tighten the size of the loop of the strap 90. The loop of the strap 90 may thus be tightened to a desired size by repeatedly pivoting and releasing the ratchet arm 86.
In this embodiment, the loop of the strap 90 may be loosened by depressing the ratchet arm 86. This motion disengages both the teeth of the ratchet arm 86 and the teeth of the lock 88 from mating with the teeth of the strap 90, thus allowing the strap to be freely moved in the opening direction.
The connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80 includes two flexible resilient arms 92 each having outwardly extending ramps 94. Each ramp 94 allows its corresponding arm 92 to be compressed within a selected one of the plurality of openings 35 in the mounting arm 32. When each ramp 94 traverses the selected opening 35 in the mounting arm 32, its corresponding arm 92 resiliently springs outwardly, thus lockingly engaging the mounting arm 32 to secure the strap assembly 80 to the mounting arm 32.
To disengage the strap assembly 80 from the mounting arm 32, the arms 92 of the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80 are pressed inwardly until each ramp 94 of the arms 92 of the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80 is within the selected opening 35 of the mounting arm 32. The arms 92 can then be pulled away from the mounting arm 32 until the arms 92 disengage the mounting arm 32.
Viewing
The locking device 100 is positioned into locking engagement with the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80 by inserting the locking device 100 between the arms 92 of the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80 until a bottom portion of the shaft 105 of the key cylinder 104 engages a groove 112 in the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80. When the shaft 105 is so positioned, a rotation of the key 108 causes a rotation of the shaft 105 of the key cylinder 104, which in turn causes a rotation of the protrusion 110 of the shaft 105 into blocking engagement with an extension 114 that covers a portion of the groove 112. When the locking device 100 is so positioned the locking device 100 is prevented from moving relative to the strap assembly 80, and the wings 103 of the locking device 100 cover the ramps 94 of the arms 92 of the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80, such that the strap assembly 80 cannot be disengaged from the mounting arm 32′. A locking device cover 125 is also provided. The cover 125 removably attaches to the cover plate 102 of the locking device 100 to protect the locking device 100 from corrosion.
As shown in
In the depicted embodiment, the advertisement display assembly 10 is attached to a side bar 122 of the rack 120. The advertisement display assembly 10 is attached to the rack by wrapping the strap 90 of the strap portion 82 of the strap assembly 80 around the side bar 122 and adjusting the loops of the strap 90, as described above, until the strap 90 and therefore the strap assembly 80 is secured to the side bar 122.
The panel assembly 12, having a mounting arm 32 mounted thereto, as described above, can then be mounted to the side bar 122 of the rack 120 by mounting the mounting arm 32 to the strap assembly 80, as described above. Alternatively, the panel assembly 12 can be mounted directly the strap assembly in embodiments wherein the strap assembly includes the mounting portion 91 as described above. A locking device 100 can be secured to the connector portion 84 of the strap assembly 80, as described above, to prevent the mounting arm 32 from disengaging from the strap assembly 80.
When the panel assembly 12 is so attached the cap 66 of each bumper 52 or the suction cup end of each bumper 52′ contacts the body of the vehicle 130 to protect the body of the vehicle 130 from damage, such as scratching or denting. The adjusting feature of the bumper 52 also allows the length of the bumper 52 to be adjusted so that the advertisement display assembly 10 can be adjusted to hang substantially vertically from the vehicle 130. This can also be accomplished by varying the opening 35 of the mounting arm 32 in which the arms 92 of the strap assembly 80 are mounted. Varying the opening 35 of the mounting arm 32 in which the arms 92 of the strap assembly 80 are mounted and/or adjusting the length of the bumper 52 also controls how far the advertisement display assembly 10 extends from the side rail 122 of the rack 120.
Alternatively or in addition, the panel assembly 12 can be secured to the side rail 122 of the rack 120 by securing one clamp 44 of the mounting cord 42, 42′ or 42″ to the side rail 122 of the rack 120 and another clamp 44 of the mounting cord 42, 42′ or 42″ to the mounting flange 40 of the panel assembly 12. The panel assembly 12 may be secured to the rack 120 by either the mounting cord 42, 42′ or 42″ acting alone or the strap assembly 80 acting alone. However, when the panel assembly 12 is secured to the rack 120 by both the mounting cord 42, 42′ or 42″ and the strap assembly 80 a safety feature is added that prevents the panel assembly 12 from dislodging from the rack 120 even if one of the mounting cord 42, 42′ or 42″ or the strap assembly 80 fails. The panel assembly 12 can also be further secured to the vehicle 130 by attaching a first end of the wheel well strap 70 or 70′ to a selected one of the strap brackets 68 of the panel assembly 12 and securing the hook 74 of the wheel well strap 70 or 70′ to a wheel well 140 of the vehicle 130.
Although the advertisement display assembly 10 has been described above as having two mounting arm 32 mounted to the side rail 122 of the rack 120, any appropriate number of mounting arms 32 and corresponding strap assemblies 80 may be used. Similarly any appropriate number of bumpers 52 or 52′ may be used. Also although the above description describes the advertisement display assembly 10 as being attached to the side rail 122 of the rack 120, the advertisement display assembly 10 can similarly be attached to the rear rail 124 of the rack 120. In such a case, if the wheel well strap 70 or 70′ is used, the hook 74 of the wheel well strap 70 or 70′ is attached to the rear bumper of the vehicle 130 rather than to the wheel well 140 of the vehicle 130.
It is to be understood, that the advertisement display assembly 10 may be attached to any appropriate structure, such as a canopy, and is not limited to vehicles 130. In addition, one or more of the mounting arms 32 can be used as feet to support the weight of the advertisement display assembly 10 in instances where the advertisement display assembly 10 is used as a stand alone sign, supported by a ground surface. In such an embodiment, the one or more mounting arms 32 may be attached to the panel assembly 12 by threadingly engaging with selected ones of the plurality of threaded sockets 30 or an open end of the one or more mounting arms 32 may be engaged with selected ones of the bumper brackets 50 or 50′.
Each strap bracket 200 includes a finger 202 for receiving a strap assembly 225. In the depicted embodiment, each strap assembly 225 includes a first strap 204 and a second strap 206 (note that in the left side of
When it is desired to attach the advertisement display assembly 10″ to a vehicle component, the back panel 16″ is placed adjacent to an outer surface of the vehicle component, such that the bumpers 52A and/or 52B are disposed between the back panel 16″ and the vehicle component; and the straps are wrapped around the vehicle component and interlockingly connected together at Velcro portions 205 and 207. The straps 204 and 206 allow for some variance in the size of the vehicle component to which the advertisement display assembly 10″ is mounted since varying amounts of the Velcro portions 205 and 207 can be interlockingly connected. However, to allow for an even greater amount of variance in the size of the vehicle, the ends of the straps 204 and 206 may be mounted to any desired one of the strap brackets 200 allowing the distance between the Velcro portions 205 and 207 of the straps 204 and 206 to be increased or decreased as desired.
In an alternative embodiment, the straps 204 and 206 have the slotted ends 208 as described above and hooks at opposite ends thereof for connecting to the vehicle component. For example, in such an embodiment, the hook of the first strap assembly 204 is attached to an upper edge of the vehicle component and the hook of the second strap assembly 206 is attached to a lower edge of the vehicle component. The hooks may be composed of a non-abrasive material such as a plastic material to protect the vehicle component from damage, such as by denting or scratching.
The advertisement display assembly 10″ also includes at least one flexible arm 227. In the embodiment of
In any of the embodiments disclosed above, a light source may be attached, either externally or internally, to the panel assembly to facilitate seeing the advertisement display assembly 10 in dark conditions. For example, in one embodiment, the light source is attached to the back panel 16 of the panel assembly 12. Also, in any of the embodiments disclosed above, a Global Positioning Sensor (GPS) may be attached to the advertisement display assembly to track the location of the advertisement display assembly as it is transported.
The preceding description has been presented with references to presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Persons skilled in the art and technology to which this invention pertains will appreciate that alterations and changes in the described structures and methods of operation can be practiced without meaningfully departing from the principle, spirit and scope of this invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description should not be read as pertaining only to the precise structures described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
