US 3827169 A
A backlighted stationary billboard is disclosed which includes a lamp chamber closed at its front by a novel display panel so that lamps within the lamp chamber may illuminate the display panel from behind. The novel billboard display panel includes a unitary fiber glass and polyester resin panel having a display sheet embedded therein with the display indicia applied to the display sheet. A novel process of making the novel display panel is disclosed in which paper is printed with the desired billboard indicia, the printed paper is arranged adjacent layers of fiber glass, and the fiber glass and paper are impregnated with the polyester resin and embedded therein, after which the resin is cured to produce a unitary semi-rigid billboard panel.
Claims available in
Description (OCR text may contain errors)
Sttes [l 1] 3,827,169 lCliase et al. Aug. 6, 1974 [5 STATIONARY BACKLIGHTED 1,717,738 6/1929 Schwarz 40/132 R x BILLBOARD, BILLBOARD S A PANEL l,834,5l2 l/l933 Eschenbach 40/l32 D AND METHOD or MAKING A BILLBOARD DISPLAY PANEL 33093804 3/1967 7 Inventors; Bernard S Chase, 17 Kane St 3,751,3l9 8/]973 Green et ul. 40/135 X Lindenhurst, Babylon, L. 1., NY. 41703; Ray ond H, F d i k, 17 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell North Av M mv l 07645; Assistant Examiner.lohn F. Pitrelli Victor T, Gorglig 40 L i S I Attorney, Agent, or Firm-David B. Miller Old Bridge, NJ. 08857 22 Filed: Mar. 30, 1973  ABSTRACT A backlighted stationary billboard is disclosed which [21 1 Appl' 346699 includes a lamp chamber closed at its front by a novel Related US. Application Data display panel so that lamps within the lamp chamber  Division of Ser. No. 172,618, Aug. 8, 1971, Pat. No. my lllummate h P Y Panel from behmd- 3 7 3 novel billboard display panel includes a unitary fiber glass and polyester resin panel having a display sheet  [1.8. CI, 40/125 K, 40/125 F, 40/135, embedded therein with the display indicia applied to 161/6 the display sheet. A novel process of making the novel 51 Int. Cl. G09f 7/00 p y panel is disclosed in which p p is printed  Field of Search 40/125 K, 135, 132 R, 125 F, with the desired billboard indicia, the printed paper is 110/125 R; 161/5 6 13, 43 arranged adjacent layers of fiber glass, and the fiber glass and paper are impregnated with the polyester 5 References Ci d resin and embedded therein, after which the resin is UNITED STATES PATENTS cured to produce a unitary semi-rigid billboard panel. 1,487,705 3/1924 Bateman 40/135 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures so 25 30 (f I o l d l 0/ o l \I F 17 STATIONARY BACKLIGI-ITED BILLBOARD, BILLBOARD DISPLAY PANEL AND METHOD OF MAKING ABILLBOARD DISPLAY PANEL This application is a division of our prior propending application Ser. No. 172,618, filed Aug. 8, 1971, now US. Pat. No. 3,768,186.
This invention relates to a novel backlightd billboard, and to a novel billboard display panel used therein, and to a method of manufacturing the novel billboard display panel.
Billboards are well known advertising media which are extensively used today. They are relatively large display devices having a minimum size of by 11 feet. The common most popular billboard, such as that seen along highways today, is 9'7" by 21'7", and some are even larger.
Billboard structures today generally consist of a vertical panel, commonly of galvanized metal, of the desired dimension, which is supported on the ground or on a building by a frame, usually of wood. There is pasted on this panel from time to time sheets of paper making up a poster containing the desired display, usually an advertising message. The billboard panels are standardized in size, and the sheets of paper are standardized in size. For the most popular large billboard described above, commonly several sheets of paper are pasted on the vertical panel side by side to cover the same, wall paper fashion, in a mosaic, so that the finished mosaic makes a poster carrying the desired advertising message. Annually, about 2,500,000 of these posters are produced.
Although the paper employed in the ordinary billboard is relatively inexpensive, nonetheless the several sheets, 8-12 actual sheets of paper in the case of a socalled 30 sheet poster, must each be applied individually to the supporting structure, and all the sheets must be carefully mosaicked to produce the desired advertising message. The labor of applying the paper posters is expensive. Additionally, the finished display paper is exposed to the elements and rapidly deteriorates under their influence. If imperfections occur in application of the paper to the support panel, the deteriorating effect of the elements is greatly accelerated. Oxidation fades the colors in the poster, and peeling and buckling, the so-called flagging, of the paper occurs. Consequently, even though the initial raw material cost may not be great, the display very soon loses much of its initial appeal because of the loss of quality due to deterioration from the elements. Because of this the posters commonly are changed once a month, and in many cases are changed more frequently.
Commonly billboards are lighted to render them visible at night. From the inherent nature of the structure, the lighting most commonly used is front lighting, i.e., a light is placed in front of the billboard and aimed at the panel so its light shines on the panel. This merely illuminates the paper panel, whatever its condition, without enhancing the character of the display.
The instant invention relates to a backlighted stationtion for the panel lights the panel from behind and shines through the panel. Not only does the backlighting render the panel visible in the dark, it adds greatly to the character, brilliance and liveliness of the visual impact of the display on an observers eye.
The display indicia according to this invention is arranged in such a manner as to greatly enhance the liveliness and brilliance of the display panel when backlighted.
The billboard display panel according to this invention includes a unitary panel of fiber glass and a display sheet embedded in polyester resin. The display sheet is a carrier paper sheet which has the display indicia applied thereto. The fiber glass is arranged in layers adjacent the carrier sheet, and the resin impregnates both the carrier sheet and the fiber glass. The finished display panel is a semi-rigid panel not over about onefourth inch thick in which the carrier sheet and fiber glass are, for practical purposes, substantially invisible, and only the display indicia is visible to any substantial extent.
In a large billboard, a plurality of these unitary panels, each embodying a portion only of the desired finished display, are assembled side-by-side in a mosaic to produce the desired overall display.
According to this invention, the unitary billboard display panel is produced by the following novel process. In one embodiment, a carrier sheet, preferably paper, has the desired display indicia applied to both sides thereof in registry so that the carrier sheet would have substantially identical appearances when viewed from either side, and to the extent the carrier paper transmits light, the indicia on one side might be thought to reinforce" the indicia on the other. This indicia may be photogelatine printed on each side of the carrier paper. One or more of the carrier sheets with the indicia on both sides thereof are then brought to the laminating station where a sheet of cellophane is spread on a supporting surface such as a belt. A mat or mats of fiber glass at least as large as the desired finished billboard panel are unrolled onto this cellophane to substantially occupy the entire area of the desired finished panel. The carrier sheet or sheets with the indicia thereon is then spread over the fiber glass to occupy at least the area desired in the finished billboard panel, an additional layer or mat of fiber glass is spread over the carrier sheet, and the resin in liquid form is poured over the assemblage to impregnate the same and to embed the same in the resin. A second layer of cellophane is applied over the thus formed unit, and the resin is heated to cure the same and produce a semi-rigid panel which'may be trimmed as necessary to produce the finary billboard having a display panel whichhas a long The billboard panel of this invention is especially adapted to a backlighted display in which the illuminaished billboard panel. Surface texture may be given the panel, if desired, by appropriate complimentary surface texture on the supporting surface on which the first sheet of cellophane is spread.
In a second, and now preferred, embodiment, the desired display indicia is applied to one side of a carrier sheet, preferably paper, by lithography. A duplicate sheet, i.e., one carrying the same litho indicia, is also provided. These two sheets are brought together with their indicia in registry and both facing the same direction, i.e., a laminate is provided which, when considered in a progression from the back to the face of the laminate, comprises first a layer of paper, then indicia on that first sheet, then the second layer of paper and finally the indicia on the second sheet. Although two sheets are provided, the indicia on the two sheets are in registry, so that when light shines through the laminate, the display has the appearance of but a single sheet. This laminate is then embedded in resin and fiber glass as in the preceding embodiment.
The backlighted billboard according to this invention includes a lamp chamber having an open, generally rectangular, side of billboard dimensions. The lamp chamber carries means to receive one or more of the panels spanning and closing this open side, so that, except at the borders, only the panels are visible at this open side. Fluorescent lamps are arranged within the lamp chamber to uniformly light the panel from behind to produce an illuminated billboard.
For a better understanding of the nature of this invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a face view of a back illuminated billboard according to this invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the billboard of FIG. 1 along the line 22;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a panel employed in the billboard of FIG. 1 illustrating the arrangement of the several components of the panel;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the panel along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a face view of a billboard panel mosaic for a large 9'7" by 21'7" billboard;
FIG. 6 is a detail along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5, and
FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of this invention used to produce the panel.
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, an illuminated billboard according to this invention is shown. This figure illustrates a normal 5 feet high by 1 1 feet wide billboard indicated generally by the reference character 10 which is supported on the legs 11. As appears in FIGS. 1 and 2, the billboard includes a generally boxshaped lamp chamber or housing 12, of galvanized iron or the like, having length and width dimensions slightly larger than the dimensions desired for the display panel, and having an overall thickness of about 8 inches. As appears best from FIG. 2, the back and peripheral borders of this lamp housing are closed, but the exposed display side, or face, (on he left of FIG. 2) is open except for relatively small flanges 13, which extend inwardly about an inch from the periphery and which receive the U-cross section channels 14, 14 by bolts 18. These U-channels in turn are about an inch deep, so they do not close to any substantial extent the rectangular opening, in this case approximately 5 feet by l 1 feet in size, in the exposed face of the lamp housing 12.
There are mounted within the lamp housing a plurality of lamps designed to backlight the billboard display panel. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, these lamps are fluorescent lamps 15 with their usual bulbs, sockets, ballast and supporting equipment. In a 5 feet high billboard such as that illustrated in the drawing, these fluorescent lamps can conveniently be 40 watt bulbs 4 feet long, and arranged vertically with their ends spaced equally distant from the top and bottom borders of the open face of the lamp chamber. The several lamps are electrically interconnected, and are connected through a power lead 16 to a source of electricity to illuminate the billboard. In the embodiment illustrated, 11 such lamps are shown with the two end lamps spaced approximately one-half foot from their respective ends of the open face of the box and the intermediate lamps being spaced from each other at 1 foot intervals to produce a uniform backlighting for the billboard. When desired, the spacing and arrangement of the lamps can be varied to enhance the display of the panel; for example a plurality can be grouped more closely, or lamps of greater intensity can be used at a selected area, to light one part of the panel more brilliantly than the rest to emphasize a part of the display.
As best appears in FIG. 2, the panels 17 of this invention have a slightly greater vertical dimension than the opening in the face of the lamp housing or chamber 12 so that these panels may be slid into the U channels 14 and will then be held in place by the U channels. The U channels in turn are bolted by the bolts 18 to the small flanges 13 of the lamp housing 12. Preferably one vertical end channel 14' should be readily removable, so that it may be removed while the panels 17 are being slid into the billboard and may be replaced when the panels are in place to hold them in the billboard. Conveniently, this can be arranged by making the bolts 18 at this end readily accessible from the outside, as through holes 32 in channel 14.
Referring next to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the unitary billboard panel 17 of this invention and its method of manufacture are illustrated. This panel 17 includes a display carrier sheet 20, which most conveniently can be paper, although other sheets such as Mylar (polyester) and other man-made materials may be used for some purposes. (Mylar is a trademark for a polyester film of polyethylene terephthalate resin). The desired indicia, in this case the rectangular color display 21 and the letters 22 forming the words FLY AIRWAYS, are applied to the carrier sheet. In many cases, it will be found especially advantageous to apply the desired indicia 21' and 22 to the backside of the carrier sheet as well, with the back indicia 21 and 22' in registry with the face indicia 21, 22. When the indicia is applied to both sides of the carrier sheet, it greatly increases the brilliance and liveliness to the eye of the observer of the finished display.
The indicia 21, 21 and 22, 22 can be applied to the carrier sheet 20 by various techniques such as lithography, rotogravure, photography, silk screening and hand painting, but especially advantageous results are achieved in brilliance and clarity by applying the indicia to both sides of the sheet by photogelatine printing.
Photogelatine printing is a familiar graphic art technique today. Photogelatine printing is a screenless printing process in which a plate of monel or aluminum is given a coating of chemically treated gelatine and dried. The display to be reproduced is photographed by direct exposure on continuous tone film which is developed and retouched as desired to produce the negative. The negative is masked on the sensitized plate, which is then exposed to light to etch the gelatine, after which the sensitizing chemicals are removed from the plate, ink is rolled over the plate, and the paper to be printed is printed from the plate, with both sides of the paper being printed with the same indicia.
The visual impact achieved in the finished panel is influenced by the opacity of the carrier paper 20. A
high opacity paper, such as Hammermill Decision 92 paper, gives especially good results. The number 92 in the name of this paper indicates the degree of opacity, and this paper is very opaque. On a scale of 100, the 92 opacity of this paper would compare with an opacity of 5 about 80 for the paper normally used in photo-offset work for posters, mailings and the like. A 25 by 38 inches basis 70 lb. weight paper is found especially desirable.
Inks which are highly resistant to bleeding when exposed to styrene, the reactive monomer commonly used in the resin mixture, will be found especially desirable, and inks of this type are readily available. For example, those sold by the Handschy Chemical Company under its code numbers Yll008A (yellow), R25058 (red), B21896D (blue) and B60108 (black) are of this type.
A carrier sheet, preferably paper, has the desired display indicia applied to both sides thereof in registry so that the carrier sheet would have substantially identical appearances when viewed from either side, and'the in dicia on one side might be thought to reinforce the indicia on the other.
In a now preferred second embodiment, the desired display indicia is lithographed on one side of a paper sheet. A duplicate sheet carrying. the same lithographed display indicia is similarly prepared and at the embedding step, next to be described, the two lithographed sheets are brought together in a laminate with their indicia in registry, and both facing the same direction, i.e., a laminate is provided which, when considered in a progression from the back to the face of the laminate,
comprises first a layer of paper, then indicia on that first sheet, .then the second layer of paper and finally the indicia on the second sheet. Although two sheets graphed billboard sheets. 25 by 38 inches basis 60 to 80 lb. weight wet strength papers are especially desirable. These are readily available in the trade from such companies as Boise-Cascade and others. For example, a 70 lb. weight wet strength paper may be used.
It is especially desirable if the lithography inks are highly resistant to bleeding in the subsequent processing, and inks of this type are readily available. For example, those sold by the Acme Printing Ink Company of Industrial Parkway, Southampton, Pa. under its code names: Lacquer-Proof Process Ink Pl3592 (black), Lacquer-Proof Process Ink P13319 (yellow), Lacquer-Proof Process Ink Pl36l9 (blue), Lacquer- Proof PC Rhodamine Red Pl363l (red) and Lacquer-Proof PC Rubine Red Pl3630 (red) are of this type.
Next, the carrier sheet with the indicia on both sides, or the two sheet assemblage, as the case may be, is embedded at an embedding station where, as illustrated in the FIG. 5 flow diagram, a sheet of cellophane is first spread on a flat supporting surface. A fiber glass mat 23 is unrolled onto the cellophane sheet, the carrier sheet or sheets of the desired billboard size carrying the indicia 21, 22, and 21', 22' is then spread over the fiber glass mat, after which a second fiber glass mat is unrolled over the carrier sheet 20. Liquid resin is next poured over the two fiber glass mats and the carrier sheet in sufficient quantity to completely envelop the same, so as to saturate the fiber glass and carrier sheet and to embed them in the resin, after which a second sheet of cellophane is applied over the top of the assemblage and the resin is heat cured in a conventional way to produce a semi-rigid panel.
Fiber glass bats used in fiber glass resin laminates are well known. These are sheets of woven or non-woven fiber glass which, in this case, should have an area dimension substantially the same as that desired in the finished panel, and a sufficient thickness to produce with the resin and carrier paper a panel of the desired final thickness. Since lubricating compounds are commonly used in the preparation of glass fiber and glass fabrics, it is desirable that such fibers and fabrics be cleaned before incorporation in the panel. As is well known to those familiar with glass fiber and fabric technology, organic residues on these materials can be conveniently removed by heating the fibers at high temperatures e.g. around 750F. The mode of treating the glass to free its surface from extraneous material which will adversely affect the bonding of the resin thereto is well known to those skilled in the art and need not be further described in detail.
The resin employed in this invention is a'polyester resin. These polyesters resins are well known and are extensively used in fiber glass laminates. These resins comprise copolymerizable mixtures of unsaturated polyester resins and reactive monomers such as described in Ellis, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,255,313 and 2,195,362. More specifically, the resinous composition used in this invention comprise a polymerization cata' lyst which usually is an organic peroxide, and an esterification product of an alpha, beta-ethylenically unsaturated dicarboxylic acid with a glycol, this esterification product being an advanced linear polyester containing non-esterified carboxyl groups and having an acid number of from 5 to and being dissolved in and co-polymerizable with a liquid monomeric polymerizable ethylenic compound which is immiscible with water. Polyesters of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,362. Examples of the liquid monomeric polymerizable ethylenic compound with which the linear polyesters of this type are mixed are, for instance, styrene, diallyl phthalate and triallyl cyanurate. Typical resinous mixes of unsaturated linear polyester and co-polymerizable monomers useful in this invention are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,255,313 and in British Pat. Nos. 540,168 and 540,169. As descriptive of such mixes, the disclosure of said patents is hereby incorporated by reference. As is well known the unsaturated dicarboxylic acid may be partially replaced by another dibasic acid which may be typified by adipic acid, succinic acid, sebacic acid, phthalic acid, and tetrachlorophthalic anhydride, and which may be used in amounts up to 3 moles per mole of unsaturated dicarboxylic acid.
When a low opacity paper, wuch as that described above as normally used in photo-offset work for posters, mailings and the like, is used for the carrier sheet 20, and the indicia is applied by the photogelatine process described above, it is found advantageous to add a blank diffuser sheet of the same paper to the laminate and behind the carrier sheet during the lamination step. This diffuser sheet, when used, contributes especially to the visual impact of the display panel when back lighted. It blends the backlighting, and it holds the color density of the display indicia.
After the mixture is poured, the assemblage of fiber glass, carrier sheet or sheets, indicia and resin (and diffuser sheet, if used) between the two sheets of cellophane is then subjected to a curing process for the resin, as by heating it under infra-red lamps. Desirably, the finished panel is relatively thin and preferably is not above about one-fourth inch thick. One-eighth inch thick panels have been found especially satisfactory.
In the billboard illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing, only a single panel 17 has been illustrated. Although technically feasible, production of single panels of this size is practically difficult, and the use of a plurality of panels will often be desirable in large billboards such as the 5 by ll feet and larger sizes. The arrangement of a plurality of panels for use in large billboards is illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawing where the panel usable in a large 9'7" high by 21'7" wide billboard is illustrated. Although FIG. 5 illustrates a panel for such a large billboard, the principles disclosed here can be employed in the making of smaller billboards as well.
In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the billboard panel 17 includes six display sub-panels 25, which are arranged side by side. The indicia, applied to the display panel in the manner above described, is arranged on the six panels so that when the spanels are assembled in the opening of the billboard, they form a mosaic which carries the desired display again the message FLY AIRWAYS. The panels may form butt joints, but in the embodiment shown, the individual panels 25 are of such dimension that they overlap slightly, up to about 3 inches, at one edge, as illustrated generally at 29 in FIG. 5 and shown in greater detail on FIG. 6, so the back illumination does not shine through a gap between the panels. In this way, the entire open face of a lamp housing 12 will be closed by the display panel, and only the display panel is visible in the billboard.
When a plurality of panels 25 are employed in a billboard, the use of receptacle channels 14 may sometimes prove inefficient, and in that case the panels may be bolted directly to the flanges 13 by bolts passing through holes 30 drilled in the sub-panels 25.
In especially large billboards, it may also be found desirable to back-up the sub-panels 25 and fasten them together where they overlap to prevent their shifting relative to each other. One device suitable for this purpose is illustrated in FIG. 6 of the drawing in which a V-cross section aluminum channel 31 is fixed to the housing with the point of the V extending along the seam and bearing against the rear-most panel 25. Bolts 32 pass through both the panels 25 and are screwed into threaded openings in the V-Channel 31.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the individual panel 25 is approximately 9'7" high by 3'10 wide. The display carrier sheet 20 for this individual panel will commonly be one-half the size of the single panel 25, and in that case two sheets of paper are mosaicked in the laminating step before being embedded in the resin to produce the overall pattern desired in the finished sub-panel 25.
Billboard panels as contemplated by this invention have a minimum dimension of 30 by 46 inches, and will usually have a minimum dimension at least 42 inches by 84 inches. The invention offers special advantages in the 5 by ll feet billboard illustrated and described above. As is customary usage in the billboard art, the dimensions stated are the display area dimensions, and the ctual panel sizes will customarily be somewhat larger. In the photogelatine printing art, the maximum sheet size customarily employed is 48 by 64 inches, and the maximum printing area is 46 by 62 inches, so that when larger displays are desired, it will be necessary to mosaic several sheets into one large display sheet in the manner herein described.
Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:
1. A stationary billboard display at least 30 by 46 inches in size, comprising a unitary billboard panel of fiber glass and a display sheet impregnated with and embedded in a panel matrix formed of a resinous polymerization product of a mixture of a resin obtained by the esterification of a compound selected from the group consisting of an alpha, beta-ethylenic dicarboxylic acid and the anhydrides thereof with a polyhydric alcohol, and a reactive monomeric substance having a group, said display sheet including a carrier sheet having indicia thereon forming a desired display, layers of said fiber glass being arranged adjacent said display sheet in said unitary panel, said carrier sheet and said fiber glass layers being capable of passing light therethrough when impregnated with said resinous polymerization product, said resinous polymerization product being capable of passing light therethrough, said display sheet being arranged in said panel matrix such that said indicia is visible through at least one side of said panel.
2. A billboard display in accordance with claim 1 in which said display is at least 42 by 84 inches in size, and in which said carrier sheet has indicia on both sides thereof, said indicia on the two sides of the carrier sheet forming a single desired display, said unitary pan'el being not over about one-fourth inch thick.
3. A billboard display according to claim 2 in which said carrier sheet is paper, and said indicia applied to both sides of said carrier sheet is photogelatine printed ink.
4. A billboard display according to claim 3 in which said display is 5 by l 1 feet in size and wherein said carrier sheet is paper, and said indicia applied to both sides of said carrier sheet-is photogelatine printed ink.
5. A billboard display according to claim 4 including a diffuser sheet of paper behind said carrier sheet.
6. A billboard display according to claim 1 in which said display is at least 42 by 84 inches in size, and in which there are two said carrier sheets having a substantially duplicate indicia thereon, said sheets being arranged in a laminate with their respective indicia in registry with each other and forming a single desired display, said unitary panel being not over about onefourth inch thick.
7. A billboard display according to claim 6 including a plurality of said unitary panels, said display on each of said plurality of panels being arranged and composed to cooperate with the displays on the others of said plurality of panels to produce an overall unitary display when said plurality of panels are arranged in a selected mosaic, and means maintaining said plurality of panels in said selected mosaic.