TΣCHS10AJ. FIELD

This invention relates generally to inform¬ ation display hoards for interior use in offices, factories and the like, such hoards having remove- ahle display characters adapted to he used in temporary and interchange hle manner upon a vertical surface which, supports the display hoard and for conveying immediate information. The invention is more particularly concerned with providing a chart display system including a display hoard and display indicia in which the character pieces can he more readily placed upon, arranged and then removed from the hoard.

-BACEGfiOUHD ART

Various display hoards are known or use inside offices, factories, stores, warehouses and the like. One type of hoard known as a "peg hoard" comprises a hroken or discontinuous surface having a matrix of holes into which are inserted and removed the support ng pins of display indicia. Another type of hoard is constructed of relatively rough, soft or porous material such as soft fihre hoard, prepared from spent sugar cane fihre onto which indicia is pinned.

A display hoard with an even more rough or porous type of surface is ..the felt hoard. All of these display hoards have disadvantages. One disadvantage is the the surfaces ^" become coated or clogged with vapors, fumes, smoke and th« like ^" because they have to he used in atmospheres laden with contaminating or soiling materials.

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Another disadvantage with peg-hoards is that they are time-wasting in use hecause of the effort needed to properly locate pins in the correct holes and then remove them as needed. If the surfaces of display hoards are made smooth for easier cleani g, then display indicia such as magnetic indicia, are difficult to align and can slip out of place and it would he necessary and desirahle to provide pins more tightly located in holes or to clamp or fasten the pins from the hoard, which again would make insertion and removal more difficult and time consuming.

A-DVIUTAGES OP THE I TEHTIOlf

The advantages of the invention are that a smooth surface display hoard with smooth surfaced removahle indicia are provided. The indicia can he quickly placed upon and correctly located on the hoard and then removed from the hoard. An entire chart display system can he ^" built up hy the user and the indicia can he moved around the hoard.

The manual display hoard system of the invention as claimed is intended to provide a remedy and an industrially useful result. It selves the prohlβ of not ^" being ahle to quickly clean a display hoard on location, due to porous, discontinuous, rough or clogged surfaces. The display hoard of the invention has a hard, non- porous and very smooth surface, hut also solves the prohle of slippage of display indicia from a smooth surface hy providing magnetic display indicia. It also solves the prohlem of accidental dislodgement or difficulty in aligning magnetic display characters on a smooth display surface hy

the provision of co-operating rihs and channels and grooves on a smooth metal hoard and smooth hacked magnetic display indicia or characters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DEAWI2JGS

Figure 1 is a plan or front view of the magnetic, manual display hoard system of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlargement in perspective showing structural details of one form of the metal display hoard for the magnetic, display system.

-figure 3 is an enlargement, in perspective of the magnetic indicia carrier detached from the display hoard.

Figure 4 is enlarged profile or end view of the asse hled display components as in use.

Figure 5 is an enlarged, rear perspective view of an alternative indicia locating and holding arrangement for large magnetic indicia characters.

BEST MODE OF OA-RRTIffG- OUT THE I 7EHTI0IT AM) PREFERRED EMBODIMBNTS The manual display hoard system of the invention, ^" basically comprises two main components. Firstly, a metal surfaced display hoard with parallel or guide tracks for magnetic indicia in one dimension designed for horizontal installation and secondly, magnetic indicia pieces with guide means on the reverse face for sliding in alignment along the guide tracks. In one form, the display 10 hoard is a laminated sheet consisting of a rigid hacking or support sheet 11, of r-esin-honded wood particles such as the product sold under the trade

mark ^tt PYHEBOARD ^rt , which is fired to a thin metal hase sheet- of magnetically attractive material and preferahly of zinc-dusted steel. The hase sheet 12 has a grooved surface of a plurality of parallel, equispaced, rectangular section grooves typified hy that designated 13 which are preferahly formed hetween the opposed side edges of a plurality of thin, flat, metallic strip me hers typified hy the one labelled 14. However, the grooves may also he formed, if desired, hy cold-roll ng, stamping, pressing or hy similar sheet metal-working tech¬ niques. The preferred method of manufacturing the grooved hase sheet is hy thermal, adhesive ^" bonding of a plurality of cut strips of the same thin sheet metal as the hase sheet. The thin metal strips when honded to the hase sheet form supporting surfaces which enahle flat undersurface of magnetic indicia 15 to he slidahly moved along the display hoard. In a preferred method of manufacturing, the hase sheet with laminated thin steel strips, a sheet of zinc-coated steel of thickness C,45mm is guillot¬ ined into a plurality of parallel sided strips of equal width of 7.5mm. One surface of each metal strip is then coated with a solvent-activated adhesive hy placing a solvent-activated, double- sided adhesive strip onto one surface of the metal strip and then activating the adhesive hy passing the adhesive-coated strip through an MEK solvent application station to obtai suitable tackiness and then a plurality of such adhesive coated strips are placed in a metal former frame comprising a plurality of vertically equidistantly and parallel spaced metal separatorrstrips, under which has heen placed a pre-cut metal hase sheet of lateral dimensions equal to a display hoard. The adhesive coated strips are placed with the adhesive surface

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downward and are then pressed onto the metal base sheet at, a pitch distance of 1cm and 2mm groove spacing to partly adhere the metal indicia supporting strips to the metal base sheet and the strip coated hase sheet is then removed from the former.

The particle-board display board backing sheet is placed in -a 50 tonne press and a thin double-sided adhesive sheet is placed over the backing sheet, the metal base/strip sandwich sheet is then placed in the press over the backing sheet and the whole structure is laminated into an integral unit by thermal pressure bonding.

If desired, the metal-surfaced display board may be coated with a suitable background colour such as black paint with an enamel finish to facilitate cleaning.

As shown more clearly in Figure 3, the magnetic indicia of the above embodiment is • preferably in the form of a rectangular-shaped, flat magnetic indicia carrier bar 16 manufactured from a suitable synthetic plastics or resin material such as the polyamide ETE-OB ^" which has been impreg¬ nated with powdered magnetic material such as ferrite. The carrier bar has a flat front surface 17, a< flat rear surface 18, an indicia supporting ledge 19 projecting fo wardly from the lower edge and extending for a short distance from the front surface and a track aligning or running rib 20 projecting rearwardly from the lower edge and extending for a short distance from the rear surface of the carrier bar. The rear surface ribs 20 is adapted to slidably fit within the groove 13 of the display board metal base sheet 12 and enables the carrier bar [or separate rear rib-bearing]

indicia members] to be aligned- on the display board. The front surface of the magnetic indicia carrying bar is adapted to carry various forms of "stick on" indicia characters provided with a 5 coating of contact-adhesive. The indicia charact¬ ers are preferahly in the form of pre-cut square patches of pvc such as that denoted by reference numeral 21 printed, with colours or characters such as the "E^ shown in Figure 3 and pre-coated

•JQ with pvc contact adhesive and knife-cut into a matrix on a paper sheet. The character "patches" can be aligned by means of the front ledge on the bar. The magnetic carrier bar incorporates mag¬ netic material, but for the purposes of the

■J5 present invention where a large amount of closely spaced indicia material is to he used requiring close horizontal spacing of carrier bars in jux aposition, it has been found ^' that the bars tend to repel each other out of alignment on a

20 display board and it then becomes necessary to magnetize pre-formed bars with "face to face" rather than "end to end" polarity. This is indicated hy the directional arrows for ΪT and S on Figure 3 of the drawings. It has also been

25 found that when bars are closely placed in juxtaposition on the metal-faced display board,it is preferable that magnetic carrier bars placed alongside each other on the display board are magnetized with reverse "face to face" polarity 0 with respect to each other and when this is done a synergistic attractive force results with respect to the display board. Suitable apparatus for magnetizing the bars comprises a direct current electro-magnet.^ ^" herein the bar is instantly and 5 permantely magnetized and passed through a

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magnetizing field in a direction transverse to normal polarizing alignment.

Figure 5 shows-an alternative embodiment, suitable for large indicia, instead of using a separate magnetic indicia carrier bar, large magnetic indicia such as letters and numbers, exemplified by "I" may be provided with a trans¬ verse or horizontal rib or ribs 22 projecting from the rear surface thereof for aligning the letters or numbers along the grooves of the metal base sheet on the display board and also to counteract accidental displacement or slipping of indicia from correct alignment on the board by vibration, bumping and the like. The rib 22 can, if desired be shaped to fit into a complementary rib rolled or pressed into a single sheet of metal as the base sheet.

The display indicia pieces or carrier bars can be picked off the board or wiped off as desired and can be re-arranged or replaced at will.

Instead of slots, the base board can have ribs projecting as tracks and the indicia can have grooves instead of ribs or ledges.

A suitable solvent-activated adhesive bonding material for heat laminating the display board comp¬ onents together is ΪTo.583 nameplate dry-film bonding tape or sheet manufactured by the Minnesota Mining; and Manufacturing Co. and comprising a mixture of synthetic elastomers and thermoplastic and thermo- setting resins.