US3002304A - Animated display apparatus - Google Patents

Description

1961 A. w. DRESE ET AL 3,002,304

ANIMATED DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed March 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m4 /Mj 6 I26 n I40 I14 22 16 V IN VEh/TO R5 HRTHUR w. DREsE, FR/EDRICK BRDDBECK Oct. 3, 1961 A. w. DRESE ET AL ANIMATED DISPLAY APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1959 INVENTOES. QRTHUR w. DEEsE,

Ill

A mmmicj El IVIPIIWHMM 3,002,304 ANIMATED DISPLAY APPARATUS Arthur W. Drese, Box 598, Rte. 6, and Friedrich Brodheck, Box 770, Rte. 6, bothof Sappington 23, Mo. Filed Mar. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 799,746 3 Claims. (Cl. 40-32) The present invention relates to a novel and improved changeable sign apparatus of the animated type, and comprises a self-contained unit adapted for easy transportation to, and ready installation at, any selected favorable site, and incorporates various improvements over the disclosure presented in the abandoned application of the co-inventors hereof, filed June 9, 1958, Serial No. 740,737.

Broadly, the apparatus comprising the present invention consists of five major components, these being a casing, a framework of structural members rigidly mounted within the casing, a skeletonized endless carrier assembly whereon alphabetical, numerical and symbolical characters may be removably clipped so as to spell out advertisements or other messages, mechanism for supporting and activating said carrier assembly, said mechanism being operatively supported by the framework, and a partition or panel that divides the easing into a front and a rear section, as will appear.

The casing consists of a shell of metallic material including parallel front and rear walls integrally formed with semicircular connecting end Walls, and has top and bottom cover members applied thereto, as will appear. A handle is provided on the casing, whereby the entire apparatus may be transported with ease. Means are further provided on the casing for facilitating suspension of the apparatus from an overhead support, and other means are provided so that when desired, the apparatus may be supported from a level surface. A rectangular front window opening and a similar rear window opening are provided in the casing.

The carrier assembly is of skeletonized construction, and includes a pair of horizontally disposed upper and lower endless belts of rubber, a plurality of intermediate endless bands of clock-spring material; and a series of horizontally spaced vertical strips also of clock-spring material. All of the vertical strips have their upper and lower ends connected respectively to the upper and the lower belts of the carrier, and are rigidly secured to each of the plurality of intermediate bands of said carr1er.

The mechanism for supporting and activating the carrier assembly is driven by a pair of synchronized motors each operatively connected to one of a pair of longitudinally spaced pulley wheel assemblies about which the carrier assembly is trained. The motors are synchronized to revolve at a rate of approximately twelve revolutions per minute, so that in the exemplary embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings that accompany this specification, the carrier assembly would complete a revolution in approximately thirty seconds. It will of course be understood that the motor speed and consequently the carrier assembly speed may be varied, the important objective being that the advertisements or other messages displayed on the carrier will exhibit a constant but slow enough movement across said window openings for easy reading on the part of viewers.

Means are provided both in the carrier assembly and in the pulley wheel assemblies to insure that the present apparatus operates without noise or'friction as will appear.

The alphabetical, numerical, and symbolical characters are preferably cut from cardboard or fiber board, and have their display, or what will hereinafter be termed 2 their front faces, coated with luminous paint of various brilliant colors. Said characters may also be of plastic material, if desired. These characters have hanger clips bonded to their rear faces, whereby they may be attached to the intermediate bands of the carrier assembly.

In this connection, it is noted that in use, the display I apparatus of the present invention may sometimes fi'nd itself subject to drafts and sudden blasts of air.

display characters travel in arcuate paths around the pulley wheel assemblies aforesaid. It is therefore of prime importance that each display character be firmly attached to the carrier, so that under no circumstances can it be fortuitously displaced. At the same time, the removal of characters for the purpose of changing the advertisements or messages, and the subsequent replacement of them in the formulation of new messages, as is understood, should comprise relatively simple operations. To this end, the invention provides clips of novel design wherewith the display characters may be quickly and firmly secured to the carrier assembly, and readily removed therefrom, as will appear.

The partition is in the form of a substantially rectangular panelthat not only divides the casing generally into a front and rear section, but also provides a background against which the displayed characters, whether viewed via the front or the rear window opening, stand out in bold relief.

The front wall of the casing is provided with means,

for mounting a fluorescent lamp above the window open .ing therein. An arcuate reflector is also mounted on said Accordin ly, the primary object of this invention is to provide a portable apparatus adapted to display any desired meassage or advertising matter repeatedly by propelling same horizontally across window openings formed show window of a merchandise establishment or the like,

or at any other suitable site, either indoors or outdoors.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skeletonized spring steel carrier assembly that operates similarly to an endless belt, said carrier being adapted to have the alphabetical, numerical, and symbolical characters removably applied thereto.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel form of clip for each display character, said clip being bonded to the rear face of the character, and being adapted to retain the character on the carrier assembly against fortuitous displacement therefrom.

It is another object of the invention relating to the immediate preceding object, to provide means on said clip electrical energy to the motors from a remote source;

Patented Oct. 3, 1961 Fur- 1 thermore, that when the apparatus is in operation, the

aooashs means for screening the said mechanism from the view of an observer; means for mounting a fluorescent lamp above the front window opening; a reflector adapted to direct t r y of aid l mp nto he .lnm nous haraoters being propelled across the ,therebelow window PiQning; ndiin a i din h asing long t inal y ,in iront nd a ea t on, a niea s ls se i g pr vides background where y he d spl y cha acters p singacross the window openings are presented in bold relief.

:1; als an i po tan o je t of this inv nti n to inrpo mea in t m ch ism for driving the carrier ssemb y he y to render t e ntinu us peration he e f no s s- ,A u he important object of th invention is to so ashi n t i erm d t ban s of the ca ie s mb y that no portions of the display characters including the clips thereof at any time come into contact with the carrier supporting and driving mechanism.

"Features and advantages not specifically noted hereinabove, will be pointed out hereinbelow. The invention is illustrated on two sheets of drawings that accompany this specification, and a more comprehensive understanding of its structural elements and mode of operation may be had from the detailed description to follow with reference to said drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a portable animated display apparatus embodying the concepts of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view thereof, ,illus- I trating display characters in position on the carrier assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional plan view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, the carrier assembly bsing omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus on a reduced scale, this view also illustrating display characters in position on the carrier assembly; I

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus, the

bottom cover member having been removed;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally of the apparatus along the line 66 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view taken transversely of the apparatus approximately along the line 1-7 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view taken trans versely of the apparatus approximately along the "line 8-8 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan view of one of the intermediate bands of the carrier assembly taken along the line 99 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary v-iew, partly in vertical section, more clearly illustrating certain structural details of the endless carrier assembly;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged fragmentary-view illustrating the connection between the upper belt of the carrier assembly and the upper end of one of the vertical strips thereof;

FIGURE 12 is a view partly in vertical section illustrating the manner wherein the display characters are removably clipped onto the intermediate bands of the carrier assembly;

FIGURE 13 is an elevationalview of one of the novel clips provided in accordancewith the present invention;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 1414 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the lower end portion of said clip, taken on the line 15-15 of FIGURE 14; and

FIGURE 16 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of one of the intermediate bands of the carrier assembly.

In FIGURES 1 through 8, the apparatus of the present invention is designated in its entirety by the numeral 20. It includes a shell or casing generally designated 22; an endless carrier assembly generally designated 24; motor mentsthat will be described in greater detail below.

The casing 221s elongated as shown, and includes transversely spaced front and rear " walls 32 and 34, respectively joined by semicircular left and right end walls 36 and 38. A rectangular Window opening 4%} is provided in the front wall '32, and a corresponding opening 42 is provided in the rear wall 34. Preferably these window openings are defined by angularly disposed inwardly extending surrounding flanges 44, as best seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 8.

The novel construction of the carrier assembly 24 comprises one of the most important features of the present invention. Said asembly functions similarly to an endless belt, but is of skeletonized form in that it includes an upper belt 46, a lower belt 48, a plurality of vertically spaced intermediate bands 50, and a plurality of horizontally spaced vertically disposed connecting strips 52. With respect to the belts 46 and 48, each of these is endless, is formed of non-frictional rubber or analgous material, and is round in cross-section.

In the embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings, four intermediate bands 50 are exemplarily illustrated. Each of these bands is endless, is formed of clock-spring material, and is therefore thin in cross-section. As best seen for example in FIGURE 9, each of the bands 50 is fashioned to provide channel segments 53 therein at determined intervals, said channel segments being offset inwardly of the main body of the band and defining therebetween a series of equally spaced display character supporting sections 54. A circular opening 55 is provided in the web portion 56 of each channel segment53, for a purpose to appear. The inherent flexibility of the sections 54 is augmented by a plurality of 'longi tudinally spaced preferably rectangular openings 57 formed therein, one of these being shown especially in FIGURE 16.

With attention directed particularly to FIGURES 6, l0 and 11, each of the vertically disposed connecting strips 52 is likewise formed of clock-spring material, and is therefore thin in cross-section. Each strip 52 terminates at the top in a semicircular hook segment 58 adapted to snugly embrace a portion of the upper belt 46, and at the bottom in a similar hook segment 5% adapted to snugly embrace a corresponding portion of the lower belt 48. In the embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings, four vertically spaced circular openings 60 are provided in each strip 52. Thus, by means of rivets 61 extending through these openings and the openings 55 in the web portions 56 of the channel segments 53, each strip 52 is rigidly secured to each intermediate band of the carrier assembly 24 as should be clear from the drawings, reference being bad in this respect also to FIGURE 9.

From the foregoing, it should be evident that the carrier assembly 24 comprises a highly flexible but rigidiy connected organization of bolts, bands and strips, that because of the inherent resiliency therein embodied, will require no adjustment whatever irrespective of how long the apparatus continues in operation. The hook segments 58 and 59 of the strips 52 are reduced in width relatively to the body portions thereof for a reason to be explained.

The mechanism 26 that supports and activates the car rier assembly 24 is itself rotatably supported in the framework 28. The left end components of said mechanism (as viewed in the drawings), are identical with the right end components thereof, and include a pair of longitudinally spaced pulley assemblies each generally designated 62. Each of said assemblies is comprised of an upper pulley 64, a lower pulley 66, and a plurality of intcn iii'edia't'e pulleys 68, there being three intermediate pulleys in the embodiment of the invention illustrated. All of the pulleys of each assembly 62 are rigidly secured in vertical spaced relationship to one of a pair of perpendicular shafts 70, each of said shafts being driven when the apparatus is in operation, by a motor 72, each motor operating as indicated hereinbefore, at a speed of approximately twelve revolutions per minute. The motors 72 are synchronized so that the pulley assemblies 62 operate in unison, the provision of a. separate motor for each of said assemblies serving to insure smooth operability of the carrier assembly without strain as will be further clarified below.

Mounted in the groove of each intermediate pulley 68 is an O-ring 74 of non-frictional rubber or similar material. The O-rings 74 are round in cross-section, and of such diameter that, (as best seen in FIGURE 16), their outer peripheries extend beyond the outer peripheries of the pulley 6d wherewith they are associated.

As seen to best advantage in FIGURES through 8, the mechanism 26 and its motors 72 are mounted and supported within the casing 22. by the aforesaid framework 28. This framework includes a pair of longitudinally spaced left and right end channel shaped standards 76, each of said standards terminating at the bottom in a pair of opposed inwardly extending flanges 78. The motors 72 are each mounted on the web portion of an upper transverse U-shaped bracket 80, there being similar brackets 80 at the left and right ends of the framework each having their vertical leg portions rigidly secured to one of the standards '76 by means of screws as shown, or otherwise.

Numerals 32 designate left and right lower transverse U-shaped brackets that also have their vertical leg portions rigidly secured to the standards 76 by means of screws as shown, or otherwise. A spacer 84 is interposed about the lower end portion of each shaft 7% between the pulley 66 affixed thereto, and the bracket 82 associated therewith, the extremity of each shaft extending through a bushing 86 or other suitable bearing provided therefor in said bracket 82.

It is of course to be understood that the structural details with respect to the framework 28 are not critical, and may be modified if desired. The exemplary structure illustrated and described however, when integrated with other elements as will appear, provides an efiicient and compact arrangement.

In order to strengthen and add rigidity to framework 28, a pair of transversely spaced angle bars S8 have their opposite ends rigidly secured to the standards 76 by screws 9i) as illustrated, or otherwise. As seen to best advantage in FIGURE 7, the standards 76 are provided with vertically spaced threaded apertures for the reception of screws 92 whereby said standards are rigidly secured to the casing 22.

The partition 3% comprises a substantially rectangular panel or plate of thin but rigid material designated 94, that is provided with a rearwardly projecting horizontal flange segment 96 at the top, and a forwardly projecting horizontal flange segment 8 at the bottom, as particularly shown in FIGURE 8. For a reason to appear, the left and right end portions of the plate 94 terminate in V- shaped segments 100, as most clearly shown in FIGURES 3 and 5.

Numeral 102 indicates a bottom cover member having a configuration corresponding to that of the casing 22. The cover member 118 comprises a plate having an upstanding flange 104- adapted to snugly embrace the lower peripheral edge portion of the casing, and is secured in place by screws 1% that engage in threaded apertures provided therefor in the bottom flange 98 of the plate 94, and screws 168 that engage in threaded apertures provided therefor in the inwardly extending bottom flanges 78 of the standards776. The bottom cover 102 is provided with appropriately located leg members 1153, so that when desired, the apparatus 20 may be positioned on a level surface without endangering the noiseless operation thereof on account of vibration.

Numeral 112 designates a top cover member also having a configuration corresponding to that of the casing 22. The cover member 112 comprises a plate having a depending flange 114 adapted to snugly embrace the upper peripheral edge portion of the casing, and is secured in place by screws 116 that engage in threaded apertures provided in the top flange 96 of the plate 94, and screws 118 that engage in threaded apertures provided therefor in the web portions 120 of the standards 76. The ap paratus 20 is rendered portable in its entirety by means of a handle 122 affixed to the top cover member 112.

Whereas the legs 11o provide for the disposition of the apparatus 20 on a level surface, it is noted that ordinarily, said apparatus would be suspended from above by appropriate means. ly designated 1% are provided in alignment with the standards 76, these hanger elements preferably comprising relatively heavy eyelets 126 each having a threaded shank portion 128 depending from an integral collar portion 130. As best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, the shanks 128 engage in aligned threaded apertures provided therefor in the cover member 112 and the Webportions 120 of the standards '76. In FIGURE 2, chains designated C are suggested in broken lines as one medi-- um for suspending the unit from an overhead support, it being understood that wires or ropes may serve equally well.

and plug as should be understood. The wiring has not been illustrated, this not being deemed necessary. A-

manually operable on and off switch 152 is provided to control said circuit.

In contemplation of the foregoing description and reference to the drawings, it is believed to be evident that the apparatus 20 comprising the present invention is sturdy and compact, though light in weight, so that it may be. transported with ease, and may be suspended with safety.

The interchangeable alphabetical, numerical, and symbolical characters whcrewith advertisements and messages may be formulated for exhibition on the carrier assembly 24, are preferably cut from cardboard or plastic material. Rigidly attached to what will be termed the rear face of each display character, is a clock-spring steel clip 154, that is illustrated in detail in FIGURES 13 through The exemplary alphabetical characters appearing in the drawings are designated A; the exemplary numerical characters are designated N, and the exemplary symbolical character is designated S.

Preferably, only one clip 154 is provided for each of the display characters, the clip being adhesively bonded to the rear face thereof. steel material as stated, so that although it may be temporarily deformed slightly, the inherent resiliency thereof always causes the clip to return to its original config-.

uration.

With reference also being had to FIGURE 12, the clip 154 includes a body portion 156 that merges at the top into an arcuate segment 158 from which depends a free slanting leg segment 160. The segment 160 extends angularly away from the main body 156 of the clip as shown, and thus forms therewith a hook portion gener- To this end, hanger elements general As shown in FIGURES 5 and 8, a pair of longitudinally spaced conventional brackets 149 project from thefront wall 32 of the casing for supporting a fluorescentlight 14-2. An arcuate reflector 144 partially envelopes it is observed at this point, that the rear wall 34 may- Each clip is formed of clock-spring ally .designated 1161." .At "the bottom, "the 'body portion 156 of the clip merges into a reduced in width tongue segment 162 "that projects therefrom at an angle slightly above the normal, and terminates in a depending tab segment 164. The tab segment'l-t as shown extends a plane .of approximately forty-five degrees with respect togthe tongue segment 162, and forms with the latter an apex or ridge designated 16%. With the main body portion of-said clip permanently secured to the rear-face of the exemplary alphabetical character A appearing in FIGURE 12, the ease wherewith said character may be attached to the carrier assembly should be apparent.

Thus, it will be assumed that the display character A fragmentarily shown in FIGURE 12 is actually for example the letter B appearing in FIGURE 2 on the upper two of the intermediate bands 59 of the carrier assembly 24. In order to dispose the character in the attached status thereof shown, it had only been necessary to drop the hook portion 161 over the character supporting section 54 of the uppermost band 5'3, and immediately thereupon to apply slight manual pressure to the body of the display character in the vicinity of the tongue segment 162 of the therebehind clip 154-. The tab 164 served as a guide causing entry of said tongue segment into one of the openings 57 in the character supporting section of the next below band 5%. As pressure was applied, the tab segment 16% guided the tongue 162 into the appropriate opening 57, whereupon the ridge segment 166 was depressed as it passed beneath the top marginal edge 158 of said opening 5'7 (FEGURE l6}. Thereupon the ridge segment 16d rose, the tongue seg ment 162 reverted to its original status, and the display character A became firmly secured to the carrier assembly, as should be clear from an inspection or" said EEG- URE 12.

'The partition panel as segregates any messages appear ing in'the opposed window openings 4% and 4-2, so that an observer viewing the apparatus from the front will be oblivious to any message viewed by an observer from the rear, and vice versa. The l-shaped end segments 1% of said panel screen the carrier assembly operating mechanism '26 from viewers. Although no claim is made herein to color, it has been found that with the casing and its cover members black, a black partition panel 3%, and a black fluorescent light 162, he luminous characters present the appearance of a phantom message paraded before the eyes of observers, particularly at night. Consequently as should be manifest, the present invention provides an apparatus adapted not only to attract the attention of, but also to excite the curiosity of viewers, thus insuring that advertisements or other messages thereby displayed will be noted and remembered.

Operation Although it is believed that the foregoing description augmented by an inspection of the drawings should provide a complete understanding of the manner wherein the invention achieves its objectives, a brief explanation will be given.

Thus for example, it will be assumed that the apparatus 20 is suspended in the show window of a grocery store by means of chains C from an overhead support, with the front wall 32 of the casing 22 (FlIGURE 2) thus presented to the outside, and the rear wall of said casing (FIGURE 4) thus presented to the inside of the store. With the plug l-Sll connected into an electrical outlet, and with the switch 2.52 0d, the carrier assembly 24 may be rotated manually, and a desired adve ment or other message may be formulated by clipping propriate characters A, N, and S onto the sections 54 of the bands 59 in the manner explained. it should be apparent that messages may be formulated and changed from time to time via either the front wall window opening 40, or via the rear wall window opening 42.

Following completion of the desired advertisements or messages, continuous operation of the apparatus would. be effected by manipulating the switch .152 to its ion position. In consequence of such action, the light .142 would be energized, and simultaneously the pair ofsynchronized motors '72 would begin and continue to rotate the pulley assemblies 62.

As the motors 72 effect rotation of said pulley assemblies, the carrier assembly 24 would be activated to repeatedly propel the advertisements or messages alternately across the front and the rear window openings -40 and. 42 respectively, as should be manifest.

With attention focused at this point particularly to FIGURES 9 through 12, the manner wherein the present invention achieves its hereinbefore noted noiseless operation objective will be explained. Thus, considering first the carrier assembly 24, it is to be observed that the plurality or" openings 5'7 provided in all of the sections54 of each of the bands 5%, imparts great flexibility thereto Without impairing the resiliency or strength of them, inasmuch as they are fabricated of clock-spring steel material.

bands readily adapt themselves to the requisite semicircular contour, and revert immediately to their normal contour as these portions leave said pulley assemblies. The provision of the channel segments 53 serves to space the character supporting sections 54 outwardly from the vertical strips 52, these being the only components of the carrier assembly that therefore can come into contact with the pulley assemblies d2 And in this connection,

it will be observed that only the reduced width upper and lower hook segments 58 and of said strips Lac tually do so. In consequence of the firm attachment of the display characters by means of the clips 154, all danger of their displacement as the sections travel around the pulley assemblies 52 is obviated.

Considering now the pulley assemblies 652, it should b noted that the O-rings 74 serve to space the strips 52 outwardly of the intermediate pulley wheels 68, so that no portion of the carrier assembly 24 can at any time come into contact with said wheels, thus rendering the apps! ratus extremely quiet in operation, as stated.

From the foregoing, it should be manifest that the invention provides an extremely attractive advertising s medium, calculated to hold the attention of spectators until they have at least read the messages displayed a number of times. It will be remembered that the display characters are of brilliant luminous color, so that by forming one message for example of yellow characters,

another of green characters, another of red characters and so on, the attractiveness of the apparatus would be enhanced.

It is of course to be understood that some of the structural details of the apparatus may be modified without departing from the principles of the invention. Wherefore the invention contemplates any and all modifications thereof that may fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

What we claim is:

1. In a portable animated display apparatus of the type described, a carrier assembly of skeletonized constiuction comprising in combination: an upper and a lower endless belt of nonfrictional rubber or like material, said belts being round in cross-section; a plurality of vertically spaced intermediate endless bands of clockspring material, each of said bands having channel segments formed therein at determined intervals, said channel segments being ofiset inwardly of the main body of the band and defining therebetween a series of equally spaced display character supporting sections; connecting strips of clock-spring material each terminating in an upper and a lower end hook segment snugly embracing corresponding portions respectively of said upper and lower belts, said bands and said strips forming a plurality of longitudinally spaced rectangular openings provided Consequently, as successive portions of the carrier assembly travel around the pulley assemblies r12, the;

in each of said section, said openings serving to augment the inherent flexibility of the section, and each opening being adapted for releasable engagement by the lower end tongue segment of hanger clips Wherewith the display characters are supported on said sections, and each 'Lstrip being rigidly secured to corresponding channel segments of each of said intermediate hands by means of rivets extending through aligned circular openings provided therefor in said strip and in the web portions of said channel segments, said hook segments of each connecting strip being reduced in width relatively to the body portion thereof; a casing having opposed window openings therein; mechanism mounted in the casing for supporting said carrier assembly and for propelling it continuously and at a determined slow rate of speed across said Window openings; and a substantially rectangular panel member extending longitudinally within the casing between said window openings and terminating at each end in a V-shaped segment for screening said mechanism from view via said Openings.

2. In a portable animated display apparatus of the type described, the structure defined in claim 1, wherein the mechanism mounted in the casing for supporting said carrier assembly and for propelling it continuously and at a determined slow rate of speed across said window openings comprises: a pair of longitudinally spaced pulley assemblies each including an upper pulley, a lower pulley, and a plurality of intermediate pulleys rigidly secured to a vertically disposed shaft driven by a synchronous motor, said upper and lower pulleys having portions of the upper and lower belts respectively of the carrier assembly trained thereabout, said intermediate pulleys having portions of the intermediate bands of the carrier assembly trained thereabout, and each of the intermediate pulleys having an O-ring mounted in the I 10 groove thereof, said O-ring being of non-frictional rubber or like material, round in cross-section, and of such diameter that the outer periphery thereof extends beyond the outer periphery of said pulley.

3. In a portable animated display apparatus of the type described, a carrier assembly of skeletonized construction as defined in claim 1, and means for removably attaching a display character to an adjacent vertically spaced pair of the said display character supporting sections, said means consisting of a clip bonded to one face of the character and formed from clock-spring material to provide: a main body portion that merges at the top into an arcuate segment terminating in a depending leg segment that extends angularly away from said main body portion, said leg segment and the arcuate upper end of said main body portion thus forming a hook adapted to loosely engage over the upper one of said sections; a tongue segment of reduced width projecting from the lower end of said main body at an angle slightly above the normal; a tab segment extending in a plane of approximately forty-five degrees relatively thereto depending from the free end of the tongue segment; and a ridge formed at the mergence of the tab segment into said free end of the tongue segment; said tongue segment being adapted to releasably engage one of said rectangular openings in the lower one of said sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,400,081 La Roche Dec. 13, 1921 1,746,138 Arklay Feb. 4, 1930 1,758,120 Libeck May 13, 1930 2,171,462 Trollope et a1. Aug. 29, 1939 58 H h --.--.--.--.--.----t-.--. a i 5

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