Anti-theft sign bracket and sign assembly and method
A theft-resistant sign bracket for use with a ballistic fence comprises a bracket member having a slot for a one-way bolt used to secure a sign to the bracket, an internal space, elongated in the direction of elongation of the slot, for receiving and preventing rotation of a nut engaged with the shank of the bolt while allowing positioning of the nut and bolt at a desired location along the slot, and a metal tie strip extending through an internal passage in the bracket and capable of being passed through two spaced openings in the ballistic fence for securing the bracket to the fence. One or more grooves formed in the space through which the tie strip extends prevent lateral movement of the bracket relative to the tie strip.
1. An anti-theft bracket assembly for attachment of a sign to a ballistic fence, said assembly comprising a bracket and a tie strip, wherein:
said bracket comprises a rigid element having a first outer, fence abutment, surface facing in a first direction a second outer surface facing in a second direction opposite said first direction, an internal, nut-receiving, space within said rigid element, a bolt shank-receiving opening formed in said second outer surface and leading from said second outer surface to said internal, nut-receiving, space, a bolt for attachment of a sign to said rigid element, said bolt having a threaded shank extending through said bolt shank-receiving opening, a nut located in said internal, nut-receiving, space and threaded to said shank, a head external to said rigid element, and an internal passage within said rigid element for receiving a tie strip; and
said tie strip is a flexible metallic tie strip having a locking head at one end thereof engageable with a part of the strip remote from the locking head whereby the tie strip can form a loop, said locking head permitting reduction of the size of the loop but preventing the size of the loop from increasing, said tie strip extending through said internal passage in said rigid element, wherein said bolt shank-receiving opening and said internal, nut-receiving, space in said rigid element are elongated along the same direction.
2. The anti-theft bracket assembly according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of said internal passage for receiving said tie strip is constituted by said internal, nut-receiving, space.
3. An anti-theft sign assembly wherein a sign is attached to a ballistic fence, said assembly comprising a fence, a bracket, a tie strip, and a sign, wherein:
said fence comprises a panel having an inner face and an outer face and having a plurality of openings extending through the fence from the outer face to the inner face;
said bracket comprises a rigid element having a first outer surface facing and abutting said outer face of the fence and overlying a plurality of said openings, a second outer surface facing away from said outer face of the fence, an internal, nut-receiving, space within said rigid element, a bolt shank-receiving opening formed in said second outer surface and leading from said second outer surface to said internal space, a bolt for attachment of said sign to said rigid element, said bolt having a threaded shank extending through said bolt shank-receiving opening, a nut located in said internal, nut-receiving, space and threaded to said shank, a head external to said rigid element, and an internal passage within said rigid element for receiving said tie strip;
said tie strip is a flexible metallic tie strip having a locking head at one end thereof engageable with a part of the strip remote from the locking head whereby the strip forms a loop, said locking head permitting reduction of the size of the loop but preventing the size of the loop from increasing, said locking head being engaged with a part of the strip tie strip to form a loop, said loop extending through said internal passage in said rigid element and through two of said openings of said plurality of openings extending through the fence, and being tightened by reduction of the size of the loop whereby the rigid element is firmly fixed to said fence; and
said sign is in the form of a panel having at least one through hole, said shank of the bolt extends through said at least one through hole of the sign and is in tightened engagement with said nut, whereby said sign is firmly attached to said rigid element of the bracket.
4. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein each opening of said plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on said outer face of the fence, said openings being arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along said face and substantially perpendicular to said first direction, and wherein said first outer surface of said rigid element overlies a part of one of said parallel columns of slots whereby said rigid element overlies a plurality of slots in said one of said parallel columns.
5. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein each opening of said plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on said outer face of the fence, said openings being arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along said face and substantially perpendicular to said first direction, wherein said first outer surface of said rigid element overlies a part of one of said parallel columns of slots whereby said rigid element overlies a plurality of slots in said one of said parallel columns, and wherein said fence comprises a unitary array of undulating strips extending in said first direction in parallel rows along said outer face, the undulations of adjacent strips being offset from one another in said first direction whereby said parallel columns of openings are formed in said fence.
6. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said bolt shank-receiving opening and said internal, nut-receiving, space in said rigid element are elongated along the same direction.
7. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein each opening of said plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on said outer face of the fence, said openings being arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along said face and substantially perpendicular to said first direction, and wherein said first outer surface of said rigid element overlies a part of one of said parallel columns of slots whereby said rigid element overlies a plurality of slots in said one of said parallel columns, and wherein said bolt shank-receiving opening and said internal space in said rigid element are elongated along said second direction.
8. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the rigid element is composed of molded synthetic resin.
9. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein at least a part of said internal passage for receiving said tie strip is constituted by said internal, nut-receiving, space.
10. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said bolt shank-receiving opening and said internal, nut-receiving, space in said rigid element are elongated along the same direction, and at least a part of said internal passage for receiving said tie strip is constituted by said internal, nut-receiving, space.
11. The anti-theft sign assembly according to claim 3 , wherein at least part of said internal passage for receiving said tie strip is constituted by said internal, nut-receiving, space and said internal passage for receiving said tie strip includes a groove receiving said tie strip and having a width substantially equal to the width of the tie strip whereby said groove restricts lateral movement of the bracket relative to the tie strip.
12. A process for fastening a sign to a fence, said fence comprising a panel having an inner face and an outer face and having a plurality of openings extending through the fence from the outer face to the inner face, wherein each opening of said plurality of openings is in the form of a slot elongated in a first direction on said outer face of the fence, said openings being arranged in parallel columns extending in a second direction along said face and substantially perpendicular to said first direction, the process comprising the steps of:
inserting through an interior passage in said bracket, a flexible metallic tie strip having a locking head at one end thereof engageable with a part of the strip remote from the locking head whereby the strip can form a loop, said locking head permitting reduction of the size of the loop but preventing the size of the loop from increasing, said strip being inserted through the interior passage so that a first portion of said tie strip between the locking head to said remote part is disposed within said interior passage and said locking head and said remote part are connected respectively to said first portion of the tie strip by second and third portions thereof protruding respectively from opposite ends of said interior passage;
placing said bracket against said outer face of said fence;
inserting said second and third portions of said tie strip through different slots in one of said columns;
engaging said locking head with said remote part of the tie strip to form the tie strip into a loop, and causing said loop to contract thereby securing the bracket to the fence; and
inserting a threaded bolt through a hole in said sign into a bolt-shank receiving opening in the bracket, and engaging said bolt with a nut inside the bracket.