Pivotal Support Device

Abstract

A support device for mounting visual display material, including a base member having a pair of opposing spaced walls, each of which has an opening therein adapted to engage a finger of an elongate arm. The finger includes at least two nipples adapted to engage locking notches in the periphery of the openings through which the finger extends whereby the arm is pivotal about the base and is capable of being locked in various positions by the locking notches.

Description

This invention relates to a display device for mounting signs, banners or like visual display material.

A wide variety of applications exist for supports for mounting signs, banners, good or other types of visual display materials. It is desirable that such supports be simple in design and operation to minimize costs and yet be capable of being pivoted into a position for storage. A number of such supports have been proposed, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,003,731; 3,612,460 and 3,638,894.

Such supports suffer from numerous disadvantages. For the most part, they are either incapable of being pivoted to a storage position, or, if pivotal, involve the use of complex mechanisms, which are expensive to manufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide a support device which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages, and it is a more specific object of the invention to provide a support device for mounting signs or like visual display material which is simple in design and construction, which is economical to manufacture and which is capable of being pivoted to a storage position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter and, for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view in elevation of a support device embodying the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5--5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a side view in elevation of alternative mounting of the device of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view in elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a front view in elevation of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 with the support in the storage position.

The concepts of this invention reside in a support device for mounting on a generally upstanding member which includes an elongate arm member adapted to have the visual display material mounted thereon and a base on which the elongate arm member is pivotally mounted. The elongate arm member is provided with a transverse projection adapted to extend through the base, and is provided with means to permit the arm member to be pivoted about the base and locked into the desired position.

Referring now to the drawing for a more detailed description of the invention, there is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the support of the invention includes a base 10 which is adapted to be secured to an upstanding member 14 which may be in the form of a vertical pole, light post or the like, and an elongate arm member 12 on which the visual material 16, such as a sign or banner, can be mounted. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the base 10 is secured to the pole 14 by way of strap means 18 which extend through openings 20 therefor in the base 10 and about the pole 14, and terminating in fastening means 22 such as a clamp.

The locking mechanism of the base 10 is best illustrated by reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 of the drawing. The base 10 is formed of a rail portion including opposed spaced walls 24 and 26 which, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5, abut the pole 14 when mounted thereon. Each of the walls 24 and 26 forming the base is provided with aligned openings 28 and 30, respectively, adapted to receive a transverse projection or finger 32 which is integral with the arm 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the openings 28 and 30 are provided with a configuration which substantially corresponds to the cross-section of the finger 32. Openings 28 and 30 are also provided with at least two, and preferably four, notches in the periphery of the openings, as illustrated by 34 and 36, and 38 and 40, respectively.

The notches 34 and 36, and 38 and 40, are adapted to receive in turn nipple members 42 and 44, respectively, which are aligned each with the other and integral with the finger 32. As is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, the nipple members 42 and 44 are spaced axially on finger 32 by a distance substantially the same as that between opposing walls 24 and 26.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the engagement of nipple 42 in notch 36 and the engagement of nipple 44 in notch 40 prevents rotation of the finger 32 in openings 28 and 30, respectively, and consequently locks the arm 12 from any pivotal displacement about the base 10.

As will also be apparent to those skilled in the art, the finger 32 can be provided with one or more nipples about its periphery. As shown in FIG. 3, use can be made of a pair of nipples 42 and 42' spaced equidistantly about the periphery of finger 32; consequently, opening 28 is provided with corresponding locking notches 36 and 36'.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, finger 32 is provided with spring means 46 which constantly urges the finger 32 toward the base 10 and constantly urges the nipples 42 and 44 toward locking engagement with the corresponding locking notches 36 and 40, respectively. For this purpose, the finger 32 can be provided with a peripheral groove or grooves 48 to engage a C washer member 50 in abutting relation with the spring 46. In this way, the spring 46 offers resistance to the displacement of finger 32 away from base 10, that is in an axial or downward direction in FIG. 2.

To pivot the arm 12, the arm 12 and/or the finger 32 is displaced against the action of the spring, that is downwardly in FIG. 2 to the position illustrated by broken lines 12', by a distance sufficient that the nipples 42 and 44 become disengaged from their corresponding notches 36 and 40, respectively, and the arm 12 is rotated in the desired direction, for example, downwardly in FIG. 1 until the nipples 42 and 44 engage the next notches 34 and 38 in the periphery of openings 28 and 30, respectively. In this way, the arm can be locked in the position as shown in the solid lines in FIG. 1 for display, and in the position 12" as shown by broken lines in FIG. 1 for storage.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 of the drawing. This display device of this embodiment is similar in construction, except that the base 10 is mounted directly to a vertical surface 50 by way of mounting means 52 which can be screws or the like. This embodiment illustrates that it is desirable to provide a series of four locking notches about each of the openings 28 and 30 since four notches permit the arm to be pivoted about 360.degree. and to be locked at 90.degree. intervals. Consequently, the display device can be mounted in either fashion as illustrated in FIG. 1 or FIG. 6.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made in the details, construction, operation and use without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A support comprising a base member adapted to be mounted on a generally upstanding member, said base member being formed of a channel member having opposing spaced walls, each of said walls having an opening therein with each opening having at least two locking notches about the periphery thereof, an elongate arm adapted to carry visual display material thereon, said arm being pivotally mounted on the base member and including a finger positioned through the opening of each of the walls of the base member, said finger having at least two nipples thereon, said nipples being spaced each from the other and being adapted to engage in a locking relation a locking notch in each opening, and spring means constantly urging the nipples in locking engagement with the notches whereby the arm is pivoted by displacing the finger against the action of the spring means and rotating the arm about the finger until the nipples engage the other of the locking notches.

2. A support as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the openings includes four locking notches spaced equidistantly about the periphery of the opening.

3. A support as defined in claim 1 wherein the finger includes at least one pair of nipples on the periphery spaced equidistantly each from the other.

4. A support as defined in claim 1 wherein the wall includes mounting slots adapted to receive a mounting strap.