The mounting of road signs along the roads is today carried out in a most unrational way by means of mounting devices which are both expensive to manu¬ facture and require a very long time for mounting. A known device of this type consists of two clamp halves each of which has radially projecting lugs. The halves are clamped around the sign post by means of a nut and bolt assembly, at least in one of the pairs of opposing lugs. The object of the present invention is to provide a device which replaces said prior art mounting device and is considerably less costly to manufacture, es¬ sentially easier to mount, secures the object in a more reliable manner and which is readily adaptable to different applications.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device of the type mentioned by way of introduction and having the features recited in the accompanying claims. The invention will now be described in greater detail hereijibelow in some embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. la illustrates a double clamp according to the invention when applied to a post; Fig. lb is a section taken along the line I-I in Fig. lb;

Fig. 2 illustrates a single clamp according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line III-III in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of a single or double clamp according to the invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates a twin clamp according to

the invention which is mounted on a post and carries different objects;

Figs. 6a and b illustrate a divisible half of the twin clamp, the clamp bolt being removed for greater clarity;

Figs. 7a and b illustrate the clamp bolt-carrying part of the twin clamp half in Figs. 6a and b;

Fig. 8 illustrates a divisible double clamp, the clamp bolt being removed for greater clarity; Figs. 9a-c illustrate the clamp bolt-carrying part of the double clamp in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a construction which is integrally formed with the clamp according to the invention and for instance a two-sided sign; Fig. 11 shows from above a sign of the type il¬ lustrated in Fig. 10 extending between several posts;

Fig. 12 shows from one end two assembled signs of the type illustrated in Fig. 10; and

Figs. 13 and 14 are sections taken along the lines XIII-XIII and XIV-XIV, respectively, in Fig. 12.

Figs, la and b show a double clamp 1 carrying a sign 6 on a post 2. The clamp consists of a plate 3 which may be punched or cut out in an extruded alu¬ minum blank or punched directly in a planar metal blank and designed with one or more flanges 4, 5 for securing the object, in this case the sign 6, and an opening 12 (Fig. 2) for placing the plate on the post 2. The plate is clamped to the post by means of a clamp bolt 10 which is screwed in a nut 11 locked to the plate and is tightened against the post to bring about said clamping.

The gist of the invention resides in the location of the bolt 10 which is so positioned on the plate that its geometrical axis is contained in a plane which horizontally divides the thin plate, and the bolt extends radially inwardly towards the centre of the opening. This means that the plate is subjected only

to forces acting in the plane of the plate which may thus be thin and manufactured from a softer material without impairing the strength of the plate.

The double clamp in Fig. 1 has two rectangular flanges 4 and 5 for use with double signs, which means that two signs are placed on the post opposite each other. As will be appreciated from Fig. 1, the clamp can be adapted to rectangular and round signs. In the former case, the flange 4 remains parallel to the rest of the plate 3. By means of throughholes

9 (of which one hole of the flange 5 is only visible in the Figure), the sign 6 can be secured to the plate by bolts 8 and a plate element 7 provided with threaded holes (Fig. lb). The end portions of the flange 5 projecting from the plate have been upset or bent for adaptation to a round sign.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a single clamp 1' which comprises the plate 3, the flange 4 and the assembly consisting of the clamp bolt 10 and the nut 11. in this embodiment of the clamp, a slab of alumi¬ num is extruded in a continuous sheet with a depres¬ sion 16 in the longitudinal direction of the sheet. The sheet is thereafter cut into pieces of a suitable length, in which the holes 9, openings 12, recesses 18 and 19 (Fig. 4) and the flange 5 are punched. In order to economize on material, the edges of the plate are bent to form reinforcing ribs 15 which are distri¬ buted around the periphery of the plate (only three projecting ribs are visible in Fig. 2). in order that the plate should intimately engage the post when the clamp bolt 10 is tightened, the opening 12 is designed with circular sector portions having different radii. The circular sector portion 13 opposite the clamp bolt has a slightly smaller radius than the other circular sector portion 14, which means that the portion 13 will closely engage the post when the clamp bolt is tightened.

The flange 4 for securing an object is in the form of a T having a web and two legs 4a, b separated from the plate by slots 50. Each such slot 50 has a side wall 51 and a bottom wall 52 which is disposed at right angles to the side wall and also at right angles to the outer edge 53 of the long side of the flange 4. This design of the slot 50 provides for • ^• a suitable bending line on the flange, approximately at right angles to the longitudinal edge 53 of the flange when the legs 4a, b of the flange are bent out of the plane of the plate 3 for adapting the clamp 1 ' to a round sign.

As mentioned above, the clamp can be produced by punching in a non-extruded blank of a metal which is harder than aluminum. In such a case, the circular sector portions may be replaced by three projections provided on the edge surface of the opening 12 with a mutual spacing of 120 .

Further, it is conceivable to extrude the slab in plastic.

Fig. 3 is a section of the plate 3 and illustrates the design of the nut 11. The nut is T-shaped and has a thickened portion 54 provided with bevelled edges and disposed at the lower part of the web so as to form a groove 17 on either side of the web. When the clamp bolt 10 is tightened, the grooves 17 are arranged to engage the plate 3 and prevent rota¬ tion of the nut during tightening of the clamp bolt and ensure retention of the clamp bolt-nut assembly on the plate 3.

Fig. 4 shows from above part of the plate 3 with the clamp bolt 10 and the nut 11 removed. Between the depression 16 and the opening 12, a stepped recess is provided in the plate 3. The recess consists of a wider part 18 adjacent the opening 12 and a narrower part adjacent the depression 16. The recess portion 18 is so wide that the thickened portion 54 of the

nut 11 can be inserted therein from above but is so narrow that the shank portion 55 of the nut cannot pass into it. The bevelled edges of the thickened portion 54 assist in guiding the nut. The recess por- tion 19, on the other hand, is so narrow that neither the thickened portion 54, nor the shank portion 55 can be inserted in or removed from the recess portion 19 from the top or bottom side of the plate but is so wide that the web portion of the nut can be moved into it when the clamp bolt 10 is being tightened.

With reference to Figs. 1-4, the use of the clamp will now be described in more detail. First, the plate 3 is passed over a post, with or without the clamp bolt 10 and the nut 11. If the clamp bolt and the nut have been mounted on the plate beforehand, the nut should have been pulled rearwards towards the depression 16 to ensure that it will not escape from the plate when this is placed around the post, and the clamp bolt should not project into the opening 12. The bolt and the nut may also be mounted on the plate after it has been placed on the post by screwing the clamp bolt into the nut 11 and inserting it in the depression such that the thickened portion 54 of the nut is placed in the wider recess portion 18. When the plate has been set in the correct vertical position on the post and the flange or flanges 4, 5 have been oriented in the desired directions, the clamp 1 or 1 ' can be fixed on the post by tightening the clamp bolt 10. Before the clamp bolt is tightened, it is pulled radially outwards such that the web portion of the nut is moved into the recess portion 19 and the nut embraces the plate 3 at the recess portion 19. The nut is now locked on the plate and cannot escape or rotate during tightening of the clamp bolt. Since the clamp bolt is oriented radially inwardly towards the centre of the opening 12 and its axis

is contained in the plane of the plate, the tightening operation will not give rise to any force component directed out of the plane of the plate, or, in other words, there is no moment which might exert any buckling stresses on the plate. All forces are directed in the plane of the plate and, therefore, the dimensions of the plate may be small, which, as mentioned above, reduces the costs of manufacture of the clamp. Further, the combination of clamp bolt, nut and plate is advan- tageous in respect of mounting, and the entire clamping operation and, hence, the fixing of the plate on the post can be carried out with only one hand. This saves time when mounting the signs. In part, this depends on the fact that the nut 11, when inserted in the recess portion 19, is self-locking and no tool is required for preventing the nut from rotating as the clamp bolt is tightened.

It should be pointed out that two clamps 1 or 1' with associated clamp bolts and nuts are used for mounting one sign, one clamp being disposed at the bottom of the sign and the other at the top of the sign.

Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of the device according to the invention and illustrates a so-called twin clamp 20 which is fixed on the post 2 in the same manner as the clamps 1 or 1 ' in Figs. 1-4 but which secures signs or other objects in a different manner. The twin clamp consists of two clamp halves 21 and 22 which are placed adjacent each other on the post. Each clamp half is designed substantially in the same way as the single or double clamp 1 ' and 1, respectively, and thus comprises a thin plate with an opening for receiving the post and a clamp bolt 10 and a nut 11. However, this embodiment does not _U se the mounting flanges 4 and 5 according to Figs. 1-4, each clamp half having two bent edge portions 23. When

mounting the twin clamp 20, the clamp halves 21 and

22 are so disposed on the post that the edge portions

23 of one half are oriented towards the edge portions 23 of the other half, and each pair of opposing edge portions 23 forms a clamping jaw for clamping signs or other objects. Fig. 5 illustrates the clamping of three different objects. To the left in the Figure, two signs 34 and 35 are clamped and to the right in* the Figure, an I-beam 28 is clamped which may be used for stiffening large signs or as a connecting and reinforcing beam between separate posts or, as shown in the Figure, as an attachment for an inclined post or a stay. For large distances between the posts, which means signs of a considerable length, for instance 2 7 m (30 m ) , an I-beam can be disposed parallel to the sign, as shown in Fig. 5, and reinforcing clamps can be mounted between the sign and the I-beam at regular intervals between the posts. In principle, the twin clamp of Fig. 5 can be used also for this purpose but a simplified and thus less expensive twin clamp without any opening for the post and clamp bolt-nut assembly is preferred. In this manner, it is possible to economize on posts.

Each clamp half 21 and 22 is provided on its under- side with elongate guide lugs 24 adjacent the sloping edge portions 23. The distance between the free edge of the edge portion 23 and the guide lug 24 corresponds to the length of the web portion of the I-beam 28 and the width of a U-shaped portion of the signs 34 and 35. Below each depression on the clamp halves, there is provided a stiffening lug 25 whose function will be described in more detail hereinbelow.

Clamping of the objects is achieved by means of carriage bolts 27 inserted in slots 26 in the clamp halves, and nuts (not shown) which are screwed on the bolts and urge the clamp halves 21, 22 towards each other so as to clamp the objects between the outer

edges of opposing edge portions 23.

Before the carriage bolts are tightened, there exist gaps between the guide lugs 24 and the object to be clamped (web portion of I-beam 28 or U-portion of sign 34 or 35) and also between the stiffening lugs 25. The outer edges of the edge portions 23 how¬ ever initially engage the object and are pressed harder against it as the carriage bolts are tightened. Ex¬ cessive clamping of the twin clamp is avoided by the stiffening lugs 25 which upon excessive tightening of the bolts engage each other and prevent further movement of the clamp halves towards each other. In addition to deformation of the clamp halves 21, 22, excessive tightening might also cause an impaired clamping effect at the edge portions 23 since the opposing outer clamping edges would be moved apart when the central portions of the clamp halves were pressed together.

The stiffening and guide lugs confer the addi- tional advantage of making it possible to mount a sign or any other object on only one side of the twin clamp while maintaining the clamping action at-the outer edge of the clamp.

The twin clamp 20 may be used for all types of strip-type signs and, therefore, entails considerably reduced costs for stock-keeping.

Figs. 6-10 are examples of divisible clamps. Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a divisible clamp half 37 of a twin clamp. The clamp half consists of a first part 38 and a second part 39, illustrated by dash- dot lines in Fig. 6a, which is assembled with the first part 38 on a post. The advantage of this embo¬ diment is that the clamp half need not be passed over the post from the upper end thereof but can be applied to the post from the side. The first part 38 has holes 40 for receiving locking lugs on the second part 39.

Fig. 6b shows the clamp half when assembled, said locking lugs being designated 43. The nut used in the embodiments previously described has been re¬ placed by a thickened portion on the second part, which is formed at a location corresponding to that of the depression of the previous embodiments and has a threaded bore 42 for receiving the clamp bolt 10. When the clamp bolt is tightened against the post, the locking lugs 43 will serve as abutments in the holes 40 in the first part 38.

Figs. 7a and 7b show the second part 39 separate¬ ly, and Fig. 7b shows one lug 43, which is hook-shaped, from the side.

Also the single clamp 1' in Fig. 2 and the double clamp 1 in Fig. 1 can be made divisible in the same manner as the clamp half in Figs. 6 and 7. No further description of divisible single or double clamps seems necessary.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a further example of a divisible double clamp 44 consisting of a first part 45 and a second part 46 carrying the clamp bolt 10. The first part 45 has two holes 56 each of which is adapted to receive a pin or screw for holding the two parts 45 and 46 together. As appears from Fig. 9b, the second part 46 has two fork-shaped portions 49 having holes 48 and adapted to be placed over the first part 45 at the holes 56 when the two parts have been applied around a post. Locking pins 47 (Fig. 9c) are thereafter inserted and the clamp bolt 10 may then be tightened. In this embodiment, too, the clamp bolt 10 is screwed in a thickened portion of the second part 46 and thus has no loose nut, as was the case in the embodiments initially described.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrat- ed in Figs. 10-14. In this embodiment, the sign is made integral with the clamp. Fig. 10 shows two box- shaped signs 57 which are mounted on a post 2. The

signs have two display sides 58 (of which only one appears in the Figure) and two clamping sides 59 (of which only one is visible in the Figure). The sign is extruded as a box profile of arbitrary length and is thereafter cut into desired lengths, whereupon holes are cut or punched in the clamping sides 59 of the profile, these holes corresponding to the opening 12 of the clamp 1 and the recesses 18 and 19. The depression for receiving the clamp bolt is formed during the extrusion step. Fig. 10 illustrates signs projecting from the post in two directions, which means that a recess 61 (Fig. 11) must be punched out in at least one clamping side 59 to permit tightening the clamp bolt. If hexagon socket screws are used, this recess may be dispensed with.

Fig. 11 shows from above a two-sided strip-type sign 60 extending between several posts 2 and 2' shown in section in the Figure. The post 2' is an outer post, which means that the clamp bolt can be tightened against the post without any difficulty. The post 2, on the other hand, is a central post and the above- mentioned recess 61 must be punched out in the clamp¬ ing side 59 of the sign 60 concurrently with the punch¬ ing of the opening 12 for receiving the post. If the display area of the sign should be in¬ creased, several box profiles can be placed over each other on the post, as illustrated in Fig. 12. Male adjusting elements 65 are provided at the edges of the long sides of one clamping side and female adjust- ing elements 66 are provided at the corresponding edges of the other clamping side. Further, during extrusion, T-shaped channels 68 are formed in both clamping sides 59. Fig. 12 illustrates a sign 64 which is moved upwards with its male adjusting elements 65 into engagement with a sign 63, such that the adjusting elements of the two signs 63 and 64 engage in each other. Short I-profile elements 67 can thereafter

be inserted in opposing T-channels in the two signs. In this manner, there is obtained a reliable inter¬ connection of the signs, and the pair of signs can be secured to the post by means of a clamp bolt 10 and a nut 11 at the upper sign 63.

The I-profiles 67 may also be used for assembling box-shaped signs side by side by being placed in the T-channels 68 of the respective sign at the junction between the signs. Figs. 13 and 14 are sectional views taken along the lines XIII-XIII and XIV-XIV, respectively, in Fig. 12.