This invention relates to display panels for supporting signs and more particularly to a display panel which may be removably attached to the handle of a door and to which a sign may be removably attached.
It is known to attach a display panel which supports a sign to a door handle of the type which is either pushed or pulled but is not turned. Such handles are found in the doors which open to the outdoors of most commercial and industrial buildings in North America.
A handle which is pushed or pulled usually has an elongated outer plate which is spaced apart from the door so that the handle can be gripped should the door be opened by pulling. Known display panels are attached to such handles by various means such as clamps, screws and bolts and examples of such display panels are described in Canadian patent application no. 2,454,212.
A sign supported by the panel may display an advertisement, a message such as “Push” or “Pull” or other information. It is generally thought that a door handle is a good location for a sign since the sign is likely to be noticed by everyone who walks through the door for the obvious reason that the handle must be deliberately looked at to be usable.
The display panel of the subject invention which may be easily attached and detached from most conventional door handles that are pushed or pulled. The display panel has an outer surface to which a permanent sign can be attached. Alternatively, a temporary sign can be readily attached to and detached from the display panel should that be desired.
Briefly the display panel of the subject invention includes inner and outer oppositely facing surfaces. The outer surface has means for removable attachment of a sign while the inner surface has a fastener which is composed of resiliently deformable material. The fastener comprises a wall which commences at a starting position on the display panel, continues away from the inner surface on a first curve to an apex then continues on a second curve toward the inner surface and ends at a terminal edge. The terminal edge faces the inner surface and is the closest portion of the wall to the inner surface on its second curve. The terminal edge is spaced apart from the inner surface by a slit. The slit is free of any obstruction therein and is adapted to receive the outer plate of the door handle therein. The terminal edge is biased by the resiliently deformable material of the fastener into contact with the outer plate when the plate is received in the slit. As a result, removal of the plate from the slit is resisted. The application of a force opposed to the bias of the resilient material causes the slit to widen in order to permit the removal of the outer plate therefrom
The display panel of my invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.
With reference to
The door handle illustrated in
With reference to
The fastener is composed of a wall 30 which commences at a starting position 32 on the display panel. The wall continues away from the inner surface on a first curve 34 to an apex 36 then continues on a second curve 38 toward the inner surface 20 of the display panel and ends at a terminal edge 40. The terminal edge faces the inner surface and is the closest portion of the second curve to the inner surface.
The terminal edge is spaced apart from the inner surface by a slit 42. The slit is completely free of any obstruction therein and runs the length of the fastener. The slit is adapted to receive the distal portion 16b of the outer door plate therein as illustrated in
The thickness of the central portion of the outer plate is greater than the width of the slit so that the terminal edge of the fastener must be physically separated from the inner surface of the display panel by means of a screw driver or other means before the distal portion of the outer plate can be inserted into the slit. Once the distal portion is beneath fastener 28 as illustrated in
With reference to
As previously indicated, the terminal edge and the portion of the inner surface which constitute the slit contact the outer plate throughout substantially their entire length except for the terminal portions of the slit as noted below. As a result, removal of the plate from between the edges is resisted throughout substantially the entire length of the slit. In order to remove the plate, a force opposed to the bias of the resilient material must be applied to widen the slit sufficiently in order to permit the removal of the plate from the slit.
With further reference to
With reference to
With reference to
An arcuate sign 72 is removably attached to the outer surface of the display panel. The side margins 74 of the sign are received in grooves 70 while the area of the sign between the margins rest on the outer ends of the ribs.
With reference to
With reference to
In
The signs are secured to the panel by their margins which fit into grooves 96 in the outer surface of the panel and by an end plate 98 having a pair of spaced pins 100 which fit into channels 102 in the outer surface of the display panel.
The sign is normally flat but sufficiently flexible to form into an arc as illustrated in FIG. 8. Alternatively, the sign can be formed with an arcuate outer surface 104 as illustrated in
With reference to
With reference to
The sign is composed of stiff but bendable material so that it can be inserted into the frame by flexing it slightly. Once inside the grooves of the display panel, the sign will remain there until it is intentionally flexed to allow it to be removed.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the structure of the display panel without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2523926 | Oct 2005 | CA | national |
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 11/582,362 filed on Oct. 18, 2006 now abandoned, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120.
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Number | Date | Country |
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2454212 | Jun 2005 | CA |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080148612 A1 | Jun 2008 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11582362 | Oct 2006 | US |
Child | 12073022 | US |