BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to advertising and more particularly to an advertising that is used with scaffolds, towers or any other suitable structure.

2. Description of the prior art.

It is common to see buildings under construction or repair where the tools and construction material detracts from the aesthetic objectives of the community. The construction on the other hand, is exposed to the elements. Also, other tall structures, such as cranes and hoists, are stationed in prominent positions that call the attention of persons passing by. It is this dead and not attrac tive spaces that the present invention converts into live advertising, informative and beautiful spaces. Advertisers may rent space or government authorities may display annoan cement in emergency areas and situations. The applications are numerous and will only be limited by the imagination of the users.

Applicant believes that the closets reference corresponds to U.S. patent No. 3,121,470 issued to A.W. Stone et al. However, it differs from the present invention because Stone does not disclose any advertising pouches or panel or suggests in any way the features claimed in the present invention.

Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economi cal way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the main object of the present invention to - provide an advertising apparatus that can be used in prominent positions in a scaffold, tower or similar structure.

It is another object of this invention to provide such an apparatus where the advertising can be readily changed or re-arranged.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a device that is inexpensive to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness and resistance to the elements.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed - description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the inven tion without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TIE DRAWINGS

With the above and other related objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the - - accompanying drawings in which:

• Figure 1 represents a front view of a conventional scaffold with the present invention.
• Figure 2 shows the scaffold represented in figure 1 from the side.
• Figure 3 illustrates one safety mesh member with four advertising panels and one advertising pouch at the bottom.
• Figure 4 represents a front view of an advertising - pouch.
• Figure 5 illustrates a detail of a section of the advertising pouch shown in figure 1.
• Figure 6 is a front view of an advertising panel.
• Figure 7 is a representation of a detail view of a portion of the panel shown in figure 6.
• Figure 8 is an alternate embodiment for an advertising panel.
• Figure 9 shows a broken cross-section along line 9-9 in figure 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to figure 1, where the present invention is generally referred to with numeral 100, it can be seen that it comprises, basically, several safety net or mesh members ₁0 that have a substantially rectangular shape and cover the outer areas of a building scaffold 40, as shown in the preferred embodiment. Advertising panels 20 are securely mounted anywhere on mesh members 10 or directly on scaffold members 40 to display the information that they contain. Advertising pouches 25 also may be mounted on different places on mesh member 10 or directly on scaffold members 40 and provide devices for - - easily changing or modifying within them. The flexibility and number of designs and arrangements are almost infinite.

In figure 2 we have a side view of a typical scaffold - assembly 40 and mesh members 10 shown positioned vertically adjacent to the exposed area on the left.

Figure 2 shows a typical mesh member 10, of rectangular shape, that has an outer edge strip 50 of a stronger material than mesh material 11. Edge strip 50 has several openings 90 that allow member 10 to be tied with cords 53 to scaffold - assembly 40 from different points. Sufficient openings 90 are provided so that member 10 can be securely mounted to scaffold assembly 40 while at the same time member 10 can carry or hold advertising panels 20 and/or pouches 25. In the preferred embodiment, pouches 25 have dimensions that allow an exact multiple number of these pouches 25 to fit within one mesh member 10. Reinforcement strips 60 are provided at uniform vertical intervals to further insure the mechanical integrity of mesh members 10 and suitable locations for tying cords 54 that - mount pouches 25 in place.

As best shown in figures 4 and 5, advertising pouch 25 is basically a rectangularly shaped flexible flat pouch with peripheral strip 26 containing several uniformly distributed holes 29 that coincide with mesh openings 90, in the preferred embodiment. This allows pouch members 25 to be easily and re movably mounted on mesh member 10, even though they may be also mounted directly to scaffold 40. Envelope 28 is made out of transparent front and back sheets 27' and 27". Sheet 27' is sewn to strip 26 at 24 as shown in figure 5. Sheet 27" is attached to strip 26 with Velcro strips 140.

Rigid member 160 may be a plastic or rigid foam board of suitable dimensions to fit within pouch 25 and keep it in distension. Advertising sheets or posters 150 are then placed between rigid member 160 and transparent sheet 27' and/or 27". It is possible to use both sides of pouch 25. It is also - - possible to print the advertising or message on sheets 27' - and 27" directly but then the pouches would be dedicated ex clusively to that particular piece of information.

Advertising panels 20, as shown in figures 6 and 7, have a more sturdy construction than pouches 25. In the preferred embodiment, panels 20 have a tubular rectangular frame 21 with a somewhat smaller U-shape cross-section frame 22 inside. Flanges 123 and 123' of G-shape frames 23 and 23' and frame 22 sandwich flexible sheet 26' and the assembly is maintained securely in place with screws and nuts 19. Rigid member 18 is covered with sheets 16 and 17, which may contain the printed information to be displayed. Or at least one of the sheets, 16 or 17, may be transparent and the advertising information may be printed or superimposed on rigid member 18. Half-moon openings 15 allow the panel to be tied to scaffolding assem bly 40 and/or to mesh members 10.

An alternate embodiment for advertising panels is - - shown in figures 8 and 9. A rigid member 216 with a substan tially rectangular shape and a concave channel extending - over its opposite longer sides receive tubular members 2₁8 and 218'. A flexible sheet member 212 wraps tubular members 218 and 218' and member 216, keeping the assembly in place. A transparent section 211 of sheet member 212 allows poster 215 to be seen. Or, poster 214 may be glued, sewn or otherwise mounted on the outside of flexible member 212.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys the best understanding of the objects and advantages of the present invention. Different embodiments may be made of the inventive concept of this invention. It is to be understood -that all matter disclosed herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense, except as set forth in the following appended claims.