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Claims  |
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I claim:
1. A license plate holder for providing a weather-proof and tamper-proof
enclosure for a standard size vehicle license plate and adapted for
connection to a license plate mounting support secured to a vehicle, the
mounting support having at least two screw-receiving holes spaced by a
standardized distance to permit the license plate to be secured to the
mounting support by means of respective mounting screws extending through
respective apertures in the license plate into and secured in the holes,
said license plate holder comprising:
a backing plate having a front surface, a rear surface, and at least one
dimension larger than a corresponding dimension of said license plate,
there being two mounting apertures defined in the backing plate and spaced
by said standardized distance for alignment with said license plate
apertures, said two mounting apertures being located to expose first and
second end portions of said forward surface when said license plate is
placed against said forward surface with said license plate apertures
aligned with said mounting apertures;
means securing said license plate and said backing plate to said mounting
support with the license plate disposed adjacent said forward surface and
said mounting support disposed adjacent said rear surface, said securing
means comprising respective mounting screws extending through said license
plate apertures and said mounting apertures into said holes in said
mounting support;
a frame member having four sides defining an open area therebetween, said
frame member having a front surface and a back surface;
a transparent pane member having a surface area slightly larger than said
open area but smaller in said at least one dimension than said frame
member and said backing plate, said pane member being disposed between the
back surface of said frame member and said license plate;
wherein said frame member is larger in said at least one dimension than
said license plate such that first and second end segments of said frame
member are spaced from and aligned with said first and second end
portions, respectively, of said backing plate without any portions of said
pane member and said license plate interposed therebetween; and
removable means for selectively securing said frame member to said backing
plate, said removable means including first engagement means joining said
first end segment of said frame member to said first end portion of said
backing plate, and second engagement means for securing said second end
segment of said frame member to said second end portion of said backing
plate.
2. The license plate holder according to claim 1 wherein each of said first
and second engagement means includes a closure screw having a head portion
exposed at the front surface of said frame member, and spacer means for
setting the minimum spacing between the back surface of said frame member
and the front surface of said backing plate, said spacer means engaging
the rear surface of said backing plate and having a tapped bore for
receiving said closure screw.
3. The license plate holder according to claim 2 wherein each closure screw
is a tamper-resistant button head socket cap screw.
4. The license plate holder according to claim 2 wherein said spacer means
comprises a hollow cylindrical member containing said tapped bore for
receiving said closure screw, said cylindrical member being axially longer
than the space between said backing plate and said frame member and being
axially crimpable, upon tightening of said closure screw therein, to a
length which defines said space.
5. The license plate holder according to claim 4 wherein said license
plate, said backing plate, said transparent pane and said frame member are
generally rectangular, wherein said backing plate and said frame are both
larger in each of two rectangular dimensions than said license plate and
said transparent pane, wherein said end portions are four corner areas of
said backing plate, and wherein said end segments are four corner areas of
said frame member aligned with the four corners, respectively of said
backing plate.
6. The license plate holder according to claim 5 further comprising:
first gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the back surface of
said frame member and said transparent pane member; and
second gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the transparent
pane member and the license plate.
7. The license plate holder according to claim 5 wherein said at least two
screw receiving holes define a first straight line extending horizontally
when said license plate holder is in use, and wherein said license plate
mounting support includes two additional standardly spaced screw-receiving
holes defined therein to define a second horizontally-extending straight
line disposed vertically below said first straight line, wherein said
backing plate has two additional mounting apertures defined therein at
locations which are aligned with said two additional screw-receiving holes
and correspond to additional apertures in said license plate, and further
comprising selectively detachable means for covering said two additional
mounting apertures.
8. The license plate holder according to claim 7 wherein said selectively
detachable means comprises adhesive tape covering said two additional
mounting holes.
9. The license plate holder according to claim 7 wherein said backing plate
has first and second recessed pockets defined therein as rearwardly
projecting recesses, each pocket having a horizontally-extending access
slot defined between two slot edges, wherein said two additional
screw-receiving holes ar defined in respective pocket-forming recesses,
and wherein said detachable means comprises an elongated support strip
having first and second elongated edges, and first and second spaced tabs
adapted to fit into said first and second recessed pockets, respectively,
from the rear surface of said backing plate through said access slots so
as to extend along the front surface of said backing plate, leaving said
first elongated edge extending horizontally behind and in spaced relation
to the rear surface of said backing plate.
10. The license plate holder according to claim 1 further comprising:
first gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the back surface of
said frame member and said transparent pane member; and
second gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the transparent
pane member and the license plate.
11. The license plate holder according to claim 1 wherein said at least two
screw receiving holes define a first straight line extending horizontally
when said license plate holder is in use, and wherein said license plate
mounting support includes two additional standardly spaced screw-receiving
holes defined therein to define a second horizontally-extending straight
line disposed vertically below said first straight line, wherein said
backing plate has two additional mounting apertures defined therein at
locations which are aligned with said two additional screw-receiving holes
and correspond to additional apertures in said license plate, and further
comprising selectively detachable means for covering said two additional
mounting apertures.
12. The license plate holder according to claim 11 wherein said backing
plate has first and second recessed pockets defined therein as rearwardly
projecting recesses, each pocket having a horizontally-extending access
slot defined between two slot edges, wherein said tow additional
screw-receiving holes are defined in respective pocket-forming recesses,
and wherein said detachable means comprises an elongated support strip
having first and second elongated edges, and first and second spaced tabs
adapted to fit into said first and second recessed pockets, respectively,
from the rear surface of said backing plate through said access slots so
as to extend along the front surface of said backing plate, leaving said
first elongated edge extending horizontally behind and in spaced relation
to the rear surface of said backing plate.
13. The license plate holder according to claim 1 wherein said license
plate, said backing plate, said transparent pane and said frame member are
generally rectangular, wherein said backing plate and said frame are both
larger in each of two rectangular dimensions than said license plate and
said transparent pane, wherein said end portions are four corner areas of
said backing plate, and wherein said end segments are four corner areas of
said frame member aligned with the four corners, respectively of said
backing plate.
14. A license plate holder of the type wherein a backing plate having front
and rear surfaces is adapted to be secured to a vehicle license plate
mounting support and to have a license plate secured thereto, wherein a
frame member having front and back surfaces is adapted to form an
enclosure for said license plate when secured to the backing plate with a
transparent pane member held in place between the frame member and the
license plate, said license plate holder comprising:
four corners of said backing plate aligned with four respective corners of
said frame member across said enclosure without any portions of said
license plate and pane member interposed therebetween; and
removable means for selectively securing said frame member to said backing
plate, said removable means comprising four engagement means extending
across said enclosure from respective four corners of said backing plate
to respective four corners of said frame member.
15. The license plate holder according to claim 14 wherein each of said
engagement means comprises a closure screw having a head portion exposed
at the front surface of said frame member, and spacer means for setting
the minimum spacing between the back surface of said frame member and the
front surface of said backing plate, said spacer means engaging the rear
surface of said backing plate and having a tapped bore for receiving said
closure screw.
16. The license plate holder according to claim 15 wherein each closure
screw is a tamper-resistant button head socket cap screw.
17. The license plate holder according to claim 15 wherein said spacer
means comprises a hollow cylindrical member containing said tapped bore
for receiving said closure screw, said cylindrical member being axially
longer than the space between said backing plate and said frame member and
being axially crimpable, upon tightening of said closure screw therein, to
a length which defines said space.
18. The license plate holder according to claim 15 further comprising:
first gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the back surface of
said frame member and said transparent pane member; and
second gasket means for providing a liquid seal between the transparent
pane member and the license plate. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to vehicle license plate holders and, more
particularly, to license plate holders which are tamper-resistant and
weather-proof.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
With increased use of "vanity" vehicle license plates (i.e., vehicle
license plates for which an owner's pays an extra fee to obtain plates
bearing pre-specified alphanumeric characters), there has become an
increased need for license plate holders to protect such plates against
the elements and against vandalism. Examples of prior art weather-proof
license plate holders may be found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
1,879,906 (Linstrom); 1,927,564 (Goldberg); and 2,865,123 (Glowzinski).
Prior art license plate holders having one or more significant
disadvantages. Most are expensive to fabricate, requiring many parts, some
of which must be mutually movable. Others require holes to be drilled
through the transparent cover of glass or other material, leaving the
cover subject to breakage, adding to the expensive fabrication, and
comprising the weather seal for the enclosure. Finally, none of the prior
art license plate holders known to Applicant are tamper-resistant in that
an unauthorized individual can open the enclosure as easily as an
authorized individual and have access to the license plate. In most cases,
such access is obtained with nothing more than a conventional screwdriver.
It is desirable that the owner of a vehicle, or other authorized person,
have simple access to the license plate in order to attach annual
stickers, or to replace the plate itself. However, access for unauthorized
individuals should be as difficult as possible. Further, the assembled
structure should be weather-proof, inexpensive to fabricate, and should be
capable of being opened and closed by authorized persons without damaging
the structure or the license plate.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a
weather-proof and tamper-resistant vehicle license plate holder which can
be simply attached to a vehicle license plate mounting support.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle license
plate holder which is inexpensive to fabricate and which provides simple
access to an enclosure within the holder for authorized individuals but
not for unauthorized individuals.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle license
plate holder which can be easily opened and closed by authorized
individuals without causing damage to the holder components or to the
contained license plate.
In accordance with the present invention, a license plate holder includes a
backing plate and a cover frame, both of which are rectangular in
configuration with each dimension of the rectangle being slightly larger
than the corresponding dimensions of a standard sized vehicle license
plate. The backing plate and frame can therefore be secured to one another
at their corners by screws which do not have to pass through the enclosed
license plate or the protective transparent pane held between the license
plate and the frame. The backing plate includes mounting apertures
oriented to be aligned with apertures in the license plate and in the
license plate mounting support on the vehicle, thereby permitting the
backing plate and license plate to be secured together and to the mounting
support by means of standard screws. In the preferred embodiment of the
invention, cylindrical internally threaded fasteners are disposed at the
four corners of the backing plate with annular flanges abutting the rear
surface of the backing plate. The open threaded ends of the fasteners
project within the enclosure toward the frame Tamper-resistant screws,
such as button head socket cap screws (or other non-standard head screws)
extend through the frame at the corners to engage the internally threaded
fasteners. The fasteners are axially crimpable upon tightening of the
tamper-resistant screws to an extent which defines the final spacing
between the back surface of the frame member and the front surface of the
backing plate. Gasketing is provided at the periphery of the protective
transparent pane, on both surfaces of the pane, to seal the pane against
both the frame and the license plate. The backing plate is provided with a
removable cover for two mounting apertures, the cover being used when the
license plate mounting support for the vehicle is such that only two screw
holes are provided. In one embodiment, the extra apertures are covered
with adhesive tape. In another embodiment, the extra mounting holes are
provided in respective recessed pockets formed in the backing plate. The
pockets have horizontal slots which receive respective tabs from a metal
cover strip so that the tabs cover the aperture while the bottom edge of
the strip serves as a support edge adapted to reside in a support ledge
provided in certain types of vehicle mounting supports for license plates.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following
detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference
numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components,
and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front view in plan of an assembled license plate holder
constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section of the license plate holder of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial view in plan of a corner portion of the assembly of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a view in section taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a front view in plan of a second embodiment of the license plate
holder of the present invention, and wherein a portion of the license
plate is broken away to view one aspect of the backing plate;
FIG. 6 is a rear view in plan of the assembly of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is an exploded view in section of the license plate holder of FIGS.
5 and 6;
FIG. 8 is a rear view in plan of still another license plate holder
embodiment constructed in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 9 is a view in section taken along lines 9--9 of the embodiment of
FIG. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring specifically to FIGS. 1-4 of the accompanying drawings, a first
license plate holder embodiment 10 of the present invention includes a
rectangular main exterior cover frame 11, a primary sealing gasket 12, a
protective transparent pane 13, a secondary sealing gasket 14, a vehicle
license plate 15, a rectangular backing plate 16, an adhesive tape cover
17 for holes in the license plate, four tamper-resistant closure screws 18
and four axially crimpable thread fasteners 19. Cover frame 11 includes a
vertical portion 20 and a horizontal portion 21 extending rearwardly from
vertical portion 20. The vertical portion 20 frames a rectangular viewing
area through which the license plate 15 may be observed. The cut away
portion defining the viewing area is smaller than the standard sized
license plate 15 in both dimensions. However, the vertical portion 20,
having a front surface and a back surface, is larger in both dimensions of
its rectangular configuration than the standard sized license plate 15,
thereby providing four corners of the vertical portion 20 of frame member
11 which extend beyond corresponding corners of the license plate 15 when
the license plate is centered in the frame. Four screw-receiving holes are
defined through frame member 11 at these corners so that tamper-resistant
screws 18 can be inserted through the vertical portion 20 of the frame
member.
Protective transparent pane member 13 is disposed behind the back surface
of frame member 11 and is spaced from the vertical portion 20 by means of
sealing gasket 12 secured to the forward-facing surface of pane member 13
proximate the edges of the pane member. Pane member 13 may be tempered,
heat-strengthened, annealed glass, acrylic, polycarbonate, or other
suitable material which is strong and shatter-proof but transparent to
permit viewing of the license plate 15 disposed behind the pane through
the opening in frame member 11. The rectangular dimensions of pane 13 are
approximately the same as those of the license plate 15, it being
important that the pane dimensions are slightly larger than the dimensions
of the rectangular viewing opening defined in frame member 11. The second
sealing gasket 14 is secured to pane member 13 on the rearward-facing
surface of the pane, proximate the pane periphery, to provide a sealing
function between the pane and license plate 15. Sealing gaskets 12 and 14
are preferably made of neoprene, or the like, to effect the desired
sealing function. Frame member 11 is preferably made of cast white bronze
which may be burnished to provide a chrome-like appearance.
Backing plate 16 has a generally rectangular configuration which is larger
in both dimensions than the corresponding dimensions of the standard sized
license plate 15 but slightly smaller than the corresponding dimensions of
frame member 11. In this regard, backing plate 15 includes a peripheral
forwardly extending flange 22 about its entire periphery which slidably
fits within the horizontal portion 21 of frame member 11. Flange 22 and
the horizontal portion 21 of frame member 11 thus abut one another to
define an enclosure within which pane 13 and license plate 15 are
disposed. Four holes are defined at respective corners of the backing
plate to receive respective thread fasteners 19, these holes being aligned
with the corresponding corner holes in frame member 11 so that the thread
fasteners 19 are oriented to receive the closure screws 18 in threaded
engagement. Importantly, both the screws 18 and fasteners 19 extend into
the enclosure in respective spaces which are beyond the peripheries of
protective pane 13 and license plate 15. Backing plate 16 is provided with
four mounting apertures oriented and spaced so as to be aligned with
mounting holes provided for license plates on automotive vehicle mounting
supports for such license plates. These mounting apertures are also
aligned with respective apertures 24 defined in license plate 15. The
backing plate 16 and license plate 15 can thus be secured together as a
unit to the standard vehicle mounting support 25 for the vehicle license
plate by means of mounting screws 26, nuts 27 and washers 28. Hardware
elements 26, 27 and 28 are commonly supplied with the vehicle for securing
the license plate 15 thereto.
Thread fasteners 19 have annular flanges which abut the rear surface of
backing plate 16 so that the hollow cylindrical portion of the thread
fasteners extend through the mounting apertures to receive
tamper-resistant screws 18. The portion of the fastener 19 which extends
into the enclosure is generally cylindrical and is axially crimpable as
the screw 18 is tightened within the threaded interior of the fastener.
The fastener 19 is thus crimped in place and serves as a spacer between
the frame 11 and backing plate 16 to prevent over-tightening which might
cause undue stress and breakage in the protective pane 13.
Tamper-resistant screws 18 are preferably of the button head socket cap
type, made of stainless steel so as to be weather-resistant. The socket
cap configuration (in effect, a rectangular hole in the head of the screw)
is the preferred form of tamper-resistant screw; however, other types of
tamper-resistant screw may be employed. The key factor is that the
straight slotted head, or Phillips head, screw should not be used since
screwdrivers for actuating such screws are readily available. Rather, a
special head configuration or a head configuration requiring screwdrivers
of an uncommon type, are required to effect the tamper-resistant feature
of the present invention. In addition to the tamper-resistant feature, and
the spacing feature provided by the crimpable fasteners 19, it must be
repeated that the location of the screws and fasteners beyond the boarders
of the license plate 15 and pane 13 permit the enclosure to be secured
without passing through the license plate or pane.
The backing plate may be made of the same material as the frame member 11
which, in the example described above, is cast white bronze.
Alternatively, the backing plate 16 and frame 11 may be made of other
metal or plastic material consistent with the functional characteristics
described herein. One such functional characteristic is the provision of
an enclosure which can be simply opened by authorized individuals with an
appropriate tool (i.e., special screwdriver) in order to replace the
license plate 15 or apply an annual sticker thereto. All that is required
is the removal of the four tamper-resistant screws which permits the frame
member 11 and pane 13 to be removed from the joined license plate 15 and
backing plate 16. The tamper-resistant closure screws 18 are separate and
apart from the mounting screws 26, the latter being used to mount the
overall assembly to a conventional vehicle license plate mount via the
standardized mounting apertures and holes. The separation of the closure
screws from the mounting screw eliminates the need to drill holes through
pane 13, thereby avoiding the expense of doing so as well as the difficult
of maintaining a weather-proof enclosure when holes are incorporated in
the pane.
The adhesive tape 17 is used to seal the mounting apertures in the license
plate 15 when such mounting apertures are not utilized to secure the
license plate 15 and backing plate 16 to the license plate mounting
support 25 of the vehicle. Thus, the situation illustrated in FIG. 4,
wherein screw 26 and tape 17 are both present, is unrealistic but is
illustrated in order to reduce the number of drawings while illustrating
the concept of using the tape 17 to seal the license mounting apertures.
In other words, it is possible that only two mounting apertures, rather
than all four, would be utilized to secure the license plate 15 and
backing plate 16 to the mounting support 25. Under such circumstances, the
tape 17 would be maintained on the two unused mounting apertures to seal
those apertures in license plate 15.
Referring now to FIGS. 5-7 of the accompanying drawings, a second
embodiment of the present invention is illustrated wherein similar
components to those in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 are designated by the
same reference numerals. The embodiment of FIGS. 5-7 differs in the manner
of sealing the mounting apertures. Specifically, in the embodiment of
FIGS. 5-7, the mounting apertures in the backing plate 16, rather than in
the license plate 15, are sealed. More particularly, backing plate 16 is
provided with pockets 31 in the region of the two lower mounting apertures
defined as respective recesses in the front surface of the backing plate
and as rearward projections in the rear surface of the backing plate. A
horizontally extending slot 32 is defined in each pocket as a cut away
portion of the recess between two edges. The upper slot-defining edge has
the major portion of a circular aperture 33 defined therein so that the
two apertures 33 serve as the two lower mounting apertures for backing
plate 16. By "major portion" it is meant that more than 180.degree. of the
circular aperture is cut upwardly into the upper edge which defines slot
32. Apertures 33 are aligned with suitable apertures in license plate 15
so that the backing plate 16 and license plate 15 can be assembled in the
manner described above in relation to FIG. 1 in connection with the
mounting support 25 for the license plate illustrated in FIG. 4. An
elongated support strip 34 is wide enough to span a horizontal distance
greater than the spacing between the most mutually remote portions of the
lower mounting apertures 33. Elongated support strip 34 is disposed
rearwardly of backing plate 16 and includes a pair of tab members 35 at
its opposite ends. Tab members 35 are adapted to fit through slots 32 into
the enclosure region in front of the backing plate 16. In this regard,
tabs 35 are first bent forwardly at approximately right angles to the
vertically oriented support strip 34 and then again upwardly at right
angles so as to reside along the front surface of the backing plate 16 in
pocket 31 when properly inserted in slot 32. In this position, the bottom
edge 36 of the support strip resides along a linear path spaced from the
unrecessed portion of the backing plate so as to permit the support edge
36 to fit into a support channel 37 provided in certain types of license
plate support mounts on some motor vehicles. A typical such mount is
generally designated by the reference numeral 40 in FIG. 7. Support mount
40 is generally provided as part of a mechanism for mounting a license
plate which covers access to a cap for a gasoline tank on the vehicle. The
entire support mount is pivotable about an axis 41 in a conventional
manner to provide access to the gasoline tank. When support strip 34 is
deployed with tabs 35 properly inserted into slots 32, support edge 36
rests in channel 37 while the upper two mounting apertures defined in
backing plate 16 are aligned with corresponding mounting holes 42 in the
support mount 40. The license plate 15 and backing plate 16 are thus
secured by screws 26 to the support mount 40 at mounting holes 42 while
the bottom edge 36 of the support strip rests in channel 37. When the
support strip 34 is removed from the slots 32, the license plate holder
assembly 30 can be used with license plate support mounts of the type
having four conventional mounting holes.
The license plate holder embodiment 50 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 has
elements which are similar to those illustrated in the embodiments of
FIGS. 1 and 5 and which are designated by the same reference numerals. The
embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9 differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7 in a
few respects. First of all, instead of having a forwardly projecting
flange 22 at its periphery, backing plate 16 has a rearwardly projecting
flange 51 which is cut away along its bottom to permit the support strip
34 to extend through flange 51 downwardly past the lowermost portion of
frame member 11. All of the mounting apertures defined in the backing
plate 16 are formed in recesses, but only the two lowermost recesses are
provided as pockets 31 with access slots 32 for the tabs 35 of the support
strip 34. The two uppermost mounting apertures 52 are vertically
elongated, rather than being circular, to provide for some vertical
adjustment of the positioning of the assembly relative to the license
plate support mount located on the vehicle. Finally, the pockets 31 for
the lowermost mounting holes 33 are provided as part of a common recess;
that is, the backing plate 16 includes a recesses strip 53 extending
horizontally between the two pockets 31 and preferably somewhat beyond the
two pockets so as to define an easily formed common recess. The rearwardly
projecting recessed portion 53 provides further support for the elongated
mounting strip 34 along the upper edge of the mounting strip when the
mounting edge 36 is disposed in a channel such as channel 37 of FIG. 7.
From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the invention
makes available a novel license plate holder which provides both
weather-proof and tamper-resistant functions and which is adaptable to be
attached to a wide variety of license plate support mounts available on
different models of motor vehicles.
Having described preferred embodiments of a new and improved license plate
holder constructed in accordance with the present invention, it is
believed that other modifications, variations and changes will be
suggested to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings set forth
herein. It is therefore to be understood that all such variations,
modifications and changes are believed to fall within the scope of the
present invention as defined by the appended claims.
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