US1899533A - Sign and method for making it - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 28, 1933.- w H SPENCER 1,899,533

SIGN AND METHOD FOR MAKING IT Filed April 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l I lNVENTOR mu-W H M Feb. 28, 1933. w. H. SPENCER SIGN AND METHOD FOR MAKING 'IT Filed April 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HHHHHH\HHHHHHHHHIHHHHHIHWWHHHW \HIHHHH WWW F atentecl Feb. 28, 1933 WILLIAM H. SPENCER, OF NEW YORK,

OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW

SIGN AND METHOD ronivmxnvs IT Application filed April 29,

The present invention relates more especially to ornamental panels, signs and the like constructed on plates of glass or other mate-. rial having suitable characteristics for metalplating operations thereon for the purpose of producing a desired legend or design on a background of contrasting character. In a general way, the present invention contemplates an improvement upon or a refinement in the method of making and construction of ornamental panels or signs such. as those shown and described in U. S. Patent N 0. 1,525,107 which was granted in the name of lVilliam H. Spencer under date of February 3, 1925. Ornamental panels or signs of this character are usually constructed with luminous and non-luminous areas so combined and arranged as to outline the desired legend or design and at the same time to produce pleasing ornamental effects on the observers eye. According to the above-identified Spencer patent, the metal-plated areas are appliedto roughened areas and while this method is effective, the metal-plated surfaces are left in a slightly roughened condition and are not suitable in cases in which it is desired to provide signs with smooth or polished surfaces.

he primary object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and method of making sign plates in which metal-' plated and non-metal-plated areas of smooth or polished surfaces are correlated and arranged to produce a desired design or legend. Toward the attainment of this object my invention contemplates the formation of roughened surfaces or depressions along the borders of certain portionsof the smooth or polished areas of a base plate and the sub sequent deposition of metal upon the smooth or polished areas as well as upon said roughened surfaces or in said depressions in such a way as to form an effective seal along the edges of the metal-plated smooth or polished areas for excluding moisture and acid fumes.

According to the preferred embodiments of my invention shown on the accompanying drawings, I employ a sand'blast'for forming roughened areas or depressions along the borders of or around the smooth or polished surfaces of a plate glass base which are after- N. Y., ASSIGN'OR TO THE FRINK CORPORATION, YORK, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE 1931. Scrialll'o. 533,659. 7

wards to be electroplated. After the sand blasting operation, a conductive layer is ap plied to the smooth or polished surfaces and to the pitted surfaces of said roughened areas or depressions I Specific features method'are recited in with reference to the preparatory to the immersion of said plateglass base in an electrolytic bath. of construction and the appended claims accompanying drawplan view of one embodi- ,ment of my mventi on, parts of the metalplated area being broken away around one corner of the sign plate surface of the plate;

to show the polished Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sec tion of the plate glass upon which the present embodiment is oonst Figure 3 is'a section similarto Figure '2 I in which the resist ructed is shown in position on the glass plate,'p'ortions of the resist being cut away inpreparation for an application b of the sand blast or etching fluid;

' Figure 4 is a similar section of the same,

after the conclusion Figure 5 is asimilar section of the sameafter the removal of of the etching process the resist from and the application of a conductive layer to those portions of the smooth or polished surfaces Which are to be metal-plated; I

- Figure 6 is a fragmentary section of the completed sign corresponding to the line 6-6, of Figure 1;

-Figure 7 is a plan nal plate constructed in present invention;

view of an elevator sigaccordance W1t-h my Figure 8 is an enlarged'fragmentary plan view of the signal plate shown in Figure '7, portions of the metal layer being removed to show the underlying surface;

Figur'e9 isa fragmentary section of the same on theline 9-9 of Figure 8.

According to the vention shown 1n F1 embodiment of my in gures. 1 to 6 1nclusive,a

signplate fora theatre exit may be con structed as follows.

A glass plate 1 of the desired size and thickness and provided with smooth or polished as abase. To one surfaces, may be taken face. of this plate glass base 1, is applied a resist sheet 2 which as shown in Figure 3 may have portions thereof cut out as indicated at 3. Said cut-outs serve to expose portions of the smooth or polished surface of the glass plate which in the present instance form the letters in the word Exit. By applying av sand blast to these exposed bands of the original surface of the plate glass base, the roughened borders or grooves A are formed therein as shown best in Figures 1 and 4:. In a similar manner a roughened band or border 7 may be formed along the edges of the base plate 1 on the rear surface thereof. After completing the sand-blast operations, the resist layer 2 may be removed from all portions of the smooth or polished surface which are to be electroplated and the base plate washed and immersed in a bath of suitable composition for forming a conducting layer 5 on those portions of the plate which are to be electroplated. The sign plate is now ready to be suspended in an electroplating bath where it remains until a metallic layer 6 of the desired thickness is deposited thereon as indicated in Figure 6. As shown 'in the upper right-hand portion of Figure 1, the front surface of the sign plate prior to the electroplating operation, comprises smooth or polished areaslocated within and without the excavated grooves or depressions 4 in the surface of said sign plate. It will be understood, therefore, that the electroplated layer applied to the sign plate is anchored in the roughened walls of the grooves or depressions 4 and extends around the perimetral edge of the sign plate, said electroplated area being further anchored in the roughened areas 7extending around the perimetral edge of the sign plate on the rear surface thereof as indicated in Figure 6. By

means of this construction and according to the present embodiment of my invention, it will be seen that the electroplated smooth or polished glass surfaces are anchored along allof its borders in roughened surfaces or depressions. Moreover, this device serves to provide an effective seal which positively excludes moisture and acid fumes from seeping in under the conducting or electroplated layers and thus produces a permanent adhesion of said layers to the smooth or polished surfaces of the plate glass sign. The electroplated smooth or polished areas of the sign plate as thus constructed may be polished to any desired degree without injury to the slgn. 7

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9, an

elevator sign and signal plate is shown therein, said sign and signal plate being provided with luminous numbers having too small a size to be outlined by roughened linear bands as in the former embodiment. In a sign and signal plate of this nature, the small luminous characters 8 may be advantageously placed in the midst of roughened areas or depressions 9 which may be excavated by sand blast or etching fluid in the front face of a smooth or polished plate 10 in a manner similar to that described above. An application of a conducting layer 11 to the unexcavated surfaces of the smooth or polished base plate 10, may be sealed to the roughened areas 12 surrounding the luminous numbers and extended around the perimetral edges of the plate to be sealed to roughened areas 13'extending around the perimeter of said base plate on the rear face thereof. As in the former embodiment, moisture and acid fumes are excluded from access to the smooth or polished surface of the base plate underlying the applied layers of conductor and metal depositions and a permanent adhesion of said layers to the smooth or polished surfaces of the base plate thus established.

It will be understood that the essence of my invention is not limited to differences in re lief formed in the surface of the base plate nor to the luminous nature of the implated areas. he same method of permanently attaching a metallic layer to a smooth or polished surface bymeans of anchored portions in roughened areas'or portions bordering on the smooth or polished surfaces, is applicable to base plates of various forms Whether the roughened areas stand out in relief to the smooth or polished plated areas and irrespective of whether the unplated areas and characters are raised or depressed or luminous or non-luminous.

I claim V 1. The method of forming an ornamental sign, which method consists in roughening portions of the smooth surface of a perma-' nent plate glass base to outline the characters which are to form the legend in the completed sign, in roughening other portions of the smooth surface of the glass separated from the first-mentioned roughened surfaces by intervening smooth surfaces, in simultaneously electroplating the first-mentioned and second-mentioned roughened surfaces together with the intervening smooth surfaces, and finally in polishing the electroplated intervening smooth surfaces.

2. An ornamental sign comprising a smooth-surfaced non-conducting base member having portions of the finished surface of said base member roughened to outline the letters of said sign in respect to a smooth background and for outlining the inner and outer borders of said smooth background, and an electroplated layer deposited on the smooth background and roughened surfaces outlining the inner and outer borders of said smooth background whereby a hermetic seal is provided around the borders of smooth electroplated background, said electroplated background being polished for producing a characteristically different appearance in re- Ls'eassa spect to the unplated surface of the base mem- 3. An ornamental panel comprising a plate glass base having portions of its surface roughened to form the outline of a desired character, and an integrally formed metallic layer deposited upon the smooth surface of the plate glass base surrounding said roughened portions of the surface and having its inner and outer borders anchored in the roughened portions of the surface and around the edges of the plate glass base respectively.

4. An ornamental panel comprising a permanent plate glass base having a character outlined on the exposed polished surface of 7 said plate glass base by a roughened depression which outlines said character and separates it from a surrounding area of polished plate glass, a polished layer of metal deposited upon said surrounding area of polished plate glass and anchored around its inner edge in said roughened depression Which outlines said character, the outer border of said polished layer of metal being anchored along the edge of the plate glass base and forming a background of contrasting tone and texture in an outstanding plane with re- 7 spect to the exposed polished surface of the plate glass letter, the unbroken surface of the a plate glass base covered by said layer of metal being adapted to augment the diffused illuminating effects upon said character due to light transmitted through the plate glass base.

WILLIAM H. SPENCER.

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