Patent Grant
9468317
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to frame mounts and more particularly relates to an apparatus system and method for sealed frame mount systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods have been used to mount artwork such as photographs. For example, photographs have been mounted to substrates such as foamcore, Gator Board, Sintra, and the like by taping the rear perimeter of the photograph or the corners of the photograph to the substrate. In addition, in some cases, a piece of glass or plexiglass has been used such that the photograph is positioned between the substrate and the glass or plexiglass.
Some of the solutions in the prior art suffer from bowing, bending, or rippling, especially with larger artwork (e.g. beyond 20″×30″). Prior art solutions include fastening the art inside a traditional frame or fastening the four corners of the art to the wall with stand off pegs that damage the walls and appear on the front of the art. In many instances, a bow, wave, or ripple in the final art is accepted and tolerated.
An apparatus for a sealed frame mount system is presented. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a front protective surface, a piece of artwork, an adhesive for adhering the piece of artwork to the front protective surface, a rear substrate, and a rear support brace. In some embodiments, the adhesive may adhere substantially the entire piece of artwork to the front protective surface. In addition, the front protective surface may be made of a transparent thermoplastic, such as acrylic. In some embodiments, the front protective surface may be Plexiglass. In some embodiments, the front protective surface may be 0.25 inches thick, while in others it may be 0.125 inches thick or 0.0625 inches thick or 0.03125 inches thick.
In some embodiments, the piece of artwork may be a digital print of a photograph made on paper with an inkjet printer. Furthermore, the piece of artwork may include ink printed directly onto the front protective surface and the ink itself may serve to adhere the artwork to the front protective surface. In some embodiments, the ink may be printed directly onto the rear substrate.
In some embodiments, the rear substrate may be made of aluminum, which may be a sheet of 0.080 inch thick aluminum. In some embodiments, the rear substrate may include a thermoplastic, such as any acrylic. In some embodiments, the rear substrate may include a composite or other suitable material. In some embodiments, a second adhesive may be used for adhering the piece of artwork to the rear substrate. Moreover, the second adhesive may adhere substantially the entire piece of artwork to the rear substrate.
In some embodiments, the rear support brace may be made of aluminum tubes. Furthermore, a third adhesive may be used for adhering the rear substrate to the rear support brace.
In some embodiments, the sealed frame mount system may include two or more panels. For example, a first panel may include the front protective surface, the piece of artwork, the adhesive for adhering the piece of artwork to the front protective surface, the rear substrate, and the rear support brace as described above. In some embodiments, a second panel may include a second front protective surface, a second piece of artwork, a second adhesive for adhering the piece of artwork to the front protective surface, a second rear substrate, and a second rear support brace. In addition, in some embodiments, the piece of artwork and the second piece of artwork are parts of a single larger piece of artwork. In other words, the artwork may span across two or more panels. In some embodiments, the first piece of artwork and the second piece of artwork have a border. In other words, a border may span across two or more panels.
A method is also presented for making a frame. The method in the disclosed embodiments substantially includes the steps necessary to carry out the functions presented above with respect to the operation of the described apparatus and system. In one embodiment, the method includes adhering a piece of artwork to a front protective surface, adhering a rear substrate to the piece of artwork, and attaching a rear support brace to the rear support backing.
In some embodiments, adhering the piece of artwork to the front protective surface may include pressing an adhesive film to the front protective surface so as to remove substantially all air between the adhesive film and the front protective surface. Furthermore, adhering the piece of artwork to the front protective surface may include pressing the piece of artwork to the adhesive film so as to remove substantially all air between the adhesive film and the piece of artwork.
In some embodiments, adhering the rear substrate to the piece of artwork may include pressing an adhesive film to the rear substrate so as to remove substantially all air between the adhesive film and the rear substrate. Furthermore, it may include pressing the piece of artwork to the adhesive film so as to remove substantially all air between the adhesive film and the rear substrate. In some embodiments, the method may also include first pressing an adhesive film to the artwork and then pressing the rear substrate to the backside of the adhesive film on the artwork.
In some embodiments, the methods disclosed herein may include attaching a support brace to the rear substrate. Furthermore, the methods may include removing a portion of the adhered front protective surface, piece of art work, and rear substrate. In some embodiments, the methods may also include polishing the edges of the front protective surface and rear substrate.
The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.
The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.
The term “substantially” and its variations are defined as being largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting embodiment “substantially” refers to ranges within 10%, preferably within 5%, more preferably within 1%, and most preferably within 0.5% of what is specified.
The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
Other features and associated advantages will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description of specific embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the nonlimiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known starting materials, processing techniques, components, and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.
The piece of artwork 102 may be a photograph that is printed onto paper using an inkjet printer. Such printing is sometime referred to as Giclée. Giclée printing can produce photographs with higher definition and higher color saturation than other forms of printing. For example, the size and quantity of ink drops (which may be measured in picoliters) used can be controlled to affect the quality of the photograph. In some embodiments, as the ink drops get smaller, the photograph becomes sharper and more accurate. In addition, in some embodiments, as the number of ink drops used increases, the brightness and color quality increase.
Various types of ink may be used with inkjet printing used for artwork displayed using a sealed frame mount system. For example, in some embodiments, archival ultraviolet (UV) resistant ink may be used to reduce or eliminate fading, maintain brightness, and increase the life of the art as compared with traditional inks. In addition, UV-resistant ink may prevent fading and may offer more flexibility as to where art can be displayed, such as in brightly lit areas and even outside. The archival nature of the UV-resistant ink and the flexibility as to where the artwork can be displayed can increase the value of the sealed frame mount system.
Various types of paper can be used with artwork displayed using a sealed frame mount system. In one embodiment, the artwork can be printed on a high-grade pearl photographic paper with metallic properties. The metallic properties in the paper may be highly reflective and have a more heightened response to light than traditional glossy or matte papers. The metallic properties may make the color and contrast dynamic (appear to change) with changes in incident light. Moreover, metallic properties may provide a unique luster, gloss, or sparkle in the print, which may not be available in traditional paper. As the intensity of light is increased, the metallic properties may reflect the light in a way that causes colors to become more saturated. This effect may be used to cause an image of a sun over a horizon, for example, to appear to be a sunset or a sunrise as light is dimmed or brightened, respectively.
Although digital photographs are described in detail herein, it should be appreciated that the sealed frame mount systems disclosed herein are not limited to such photographs. The sealed frame mount systems may be used with traditional non-digital photography as well as other types of pictures and artwork. For example, the sealed frame mount systems described herein may be used for mounting advertisements, signs, prints, posters, paintings, maps, or directories.
Because the frame border 204 can be part of the same paper on which artwork 202 is printed, it can create a flat face, eliminate seams, gaps, and lines and can create a final art piece with a cleaner and sleeker design than art installed in traditional frames. Moreover, the flat face associated with frame border 204 may allow a customer to have the framed border, but still maintain the option and ability to attach an additional frame.
The use of a frame border 204 permits unlimited frame choices and customization for little or no additional cost or time. For example, it allows a designer of the frame border 204 to essentially have a “blank canvas” to create and design her own frame. Any color, design, pattern, or symbol, for example, can quickly and easily be inserted into the frame border 204. In addition, the frame border 204 may make a piece of artwork, such as the sealed frame mount system 200, larger than without the frame border 204 with a minimal increase in the cost of the paper and little or no increase in the cost of printing. For example, a piece of artwork 202 that measures 20″×30″ can be printed on a piece of paper that measures 25″×35.″ Assuming that the printer can accept the larger paper, the cost of printing a 20″×30″ photo on a 20″×30″ piece of paper vs. a 25″×35″ piece of paper should be essentially the same. However, the overall product measures 875 sq. in. (25″×35″) with the frame border 204, instead of 600 sq. in. (20″×30″) without the frame border 204. Therefore, the area of the product increases by more than 45% with a minimal increase in printing cost. Because increased overall size of the framed art may increase the value, the ability to increase the size without significantly increasing the cost of production may make the art more profitable. By comparison, traditional frames get significantly more expensive as they increase in size. The table below includes the percentage of area increases for artwork with and without frame borders. These dimensions are given by way of example only. Additional frame border 204 sizes can be used.
As discussed above, the paper that can be used with the sealed frame mount system 200 includes metallic paper such as pearl paper. Therefore, the frame border 204 may exhibit a metallic luster or sparkle that may not be available with traditional frames, or may cost more to implement.
The artwork 306 is face mounted to the front protective surface 302. First adhesive layer 304 is shown adjacent to front protective surface 302. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 304 may be a transparent film adhesive such as Optimount, and may be optically clear, double sided, thin and pliable. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 304 may be an adhesive that may be pressed, poured, sprayed, brushed, or rolled. The first adhesive layer 304 serves to adhere the front side (side that shows the art) of artwork 306 to the front protective surface 302. Although shown separated by gaps in
The front protective surface 302, first adhesive layer 304 and artwork 306 may be assembled using a press mount machine, which may ensure that no air is trapped between artwork 306 and front protective surface. In addition, the press mount machine may simultaneously remove a release strip from the first adhesive layer 304 while making the seal between the artwork 306 and front protective surface 302. Once pressed together, the artwork 306 will be firmly mounted to the front protective surface 302, which ensures that the artwork 306 is flush with the front protective surface and provides for an improved visual display. Other methods of assembling the front protective surface 302, first adhesive layer 304 and artwork 306 may be used. For example, in some embodiments, these elements may be pressed by hand. In some embodiments, the elements may be assembled in a vacuum to ensure that no air, dust or other contaminants enter the space between the artwork 306 and the front protective surface 302.
The first adhesive layer 304 can cover substantially the entire front surface of artwork 306 to adhere to the front protective surface 302, which can create a strong and lasting sealed frame mount system. Because the artwork 306 is flush with the front protective surface 302, visual characteristics of the artwork 306, such as light, color, detail, and definition, may be improved and the artwork 306 may be less affected by warp, bending, ripples, or bows. The artwork 306 maintains its straight and clean shape. Furthermore, the sealed frame mount system 300 ensures that the artwork is sealed from the environment and not exposed to moisture or dust. In addition, the seal between the artwork 306 and front protective surface 302 creates a protective environment for the adhesive 304, which extends the life of the adhesive itself, which can in turn extend the life of the sealed frame mount system.
In some embodiments, the artwork 306 may be printed directly onto the front protective surface 302. For example, a photograph may be printed on a piece of plexiglass or acrylic. In such an embodiment, the ink itself may serve to adhere the artwork to the front protective surface and an additional adhesive may not be necessary. As with other embodiments disclosed herein, if the artwork 306 is printed directly onto the front protective surface, the artwork 306 would be sealed and not exposed to dust, contaminants, moisture, air or heat.
Second adhesive layer 308 is adhered to the backside of artwork 306. Second adhesive layer 308 may be the same type of adhesive as first adhesive layer 304, or may be a different adhesive (such as print mount). The second adhesive layer 308 adheres the backside of the artwork 306 to a rear substrate 310. Because the second adhesive layer 308 adheres to the back side of the artwork 306, it does not necessarily have to be transparent like the first adhesive layer 304. The artwork 306, second adhesive layer 308, and rear substrate 310 may be assembled using a press mount machine, which may ensure that no air is trapped between artwork 306 and rear substrate 310. In addition, the press mount machine may simultaneously remove a release strip from the second adhesive layer 308 while making the seal between the artwork 306 and rear substrate 310. This method may help reduce the possibility of dust, contaminants, moisture, air or heat from entering the space between the artwork 306 and rear substrate 310. Dust and air (bubbles) may be visible even from the front side of the artwork 306. In some embodiments, rear substrate 310 may be a straight, non-porous material, such as a sheet of 0.080″ thick 6061 aluminum. In some embodiments, the rear substrate 310 may be a thermoplastic, such as plexiglass, acrylic, or Sintra PVC or other suitable material. Like with the front protective surface 302, once assembled the artwork 306 and the rear substrate 310 may be substantially free of air. A rear substrate 310 made of aluminum, is strong, which helps keeps a straight shape for the presentation of the artwork. However, it is also thin and pliable, which allows the sealed frame mount system 300 to be assembled in a press mount machine. Because the rear substrate 310 is nonporous, it protects the artwork from harmful elements, which extends the life of the sealed frame mount system. For example, an aluminum rear substrate 310 prevents humidity from reaching the artwork 306 or the second adhesive layer 308. In addition, an aluminum rear substrate 310, for example, is strong, which allows for the mounting of large pieces of art while reducing bowing or bending. Moreover, because second adhesive layer 308 can cover substantially the entire back surface of artwork 306 to adhere to the rear substrate 310, it can create a strong and lasting sealed frame mount system.
In some embodiments, the front protective surface 302, artwork 306, and rear substrate 310 can be cut after being assembled as described above. For example, the front protective surface 302, artwork 306, and rear substrate 310 can be cut in a die cutting machine to particular dimensions by removing a portion of the adhered front protective surface, piece of art work, and rear substrate. For example, in some embodiments, the corners of the sealed frame mount may be rounded, which may reduce sharp edges. In addition, the edges can be polished to provide for a clean and finished look while removing sharp edges. In some embodiments, an acrylic polishing bit may simultaneously cut and polish the edges of the sealed frame mount system. The resultant art piece may then have smooth edges that may be safely handled.
It should be noted that the support braces shown in
The schematic flow chart diagrams that follow are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams. As such, the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more steps, or portions thereof, of the illustrated method. Additionally, the format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of the method. Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flow chart diagrams, they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the method. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted method. Additionally, the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown.
In some embodiments, the sealed frame mount system may also be used to create and display a single piece of artwork that spans multiple panels and may be larger than what is possible in one panel. For example, most photograph papers, thermoplastics, front protective surfaces and rear substrates are not available in sizes larger than 48″×96″. The sealed frame mount system can be used to print and display artwork in multiple 48″×96″ panels, or other suitable sizes, where each panel shows only a portion of the artwork. The panels may be hung next to each other to display the complete artwork, and the total size of the artwork may far exceed the 48″×96″ limitation of one panel. By way of example configurations may include two, three, four, five, six, or more panels, and each panel can be virtually any size. In a multiple-panel configuration, any bowing, waves, or imperfections in the panels may be highly problematic because the hung panels may display unevenly. Additionally, bowing or imperfections in the panels could also cause lines across the artwork to not align from one panel to the next. The sealed frame mount system enables each panel to be flat, straight and smooth. Thus, the sealed frame mount system is beneficial for multiple panel configurations to ensure proper alignment and flawless display across panels and with the complete artwork. Finally, the sealed frame mount system also enables multiple panel artwork to have a frame border that permits unlimited frame choices and customization for little or no additional cost or time. Any color, design, pattern, or symbol, for example, can quickly and easily be inserted into the frame border along the panels.
In some embodiments, the front protective surface 1102 is a made of a transparent laminate. The laminate can be rolled, brushed, poured, sprayed or pressed on the artwork 1104. For example, a UV-cured liquid laminate may be rolled onto the artwork 1104 using a flatbed machine that both applies and cures the liquid laminate. The liquid laminate provides added durability, scratch resistance, outdoor weather protection, and color fade defense for the underlying artwork 1104. In such an embodiment, the liquid laminate itself may serve to adhere the front protective surface 1102 to the artwork 1104 and an additional adhesive may not be necessary. As with other embodiments disclosed herein, if the front protective surface 1102 is a laminate applied on top of the artwork 1104, the artwork 1104 would be sealed and not exposed to dust, contaminants, moisture, air or heat.
Adhesive layer 1108 attaches to the rear substrate 1106. In some embodiments, adhesive layer 1108 may be industrial double-sided tape. Adhesive layer 1108 adheres rear substrate 1106 to support brace 1110. In some embodiments, support brace 1110 may be made of 1″ hollow aluminum tubes, such as extruded aluminum tubes as described above. Support brace 1110 may be used to attach or mount the sealed frame mount system 1100 to wall 1112. It should be noted that adhesive layer 1108 and support braces 1110 are applicable whether the artwork is printed on its own paper or surface, direct to the front protective surface 1102, or directly to the rear substrate 1106. Adhesive layer 1108 and support braces 1110 may also be used with all previously-mentioned embodiments of the front protective surface.
All of the methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the apparatus and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although acrylics such as plexiglass are described as possible materials for the front protective surface, it should be understood that other materials with similar qualities may be used. In addition, modifications may be made to the disclosed apparatus and components may be eliminated or substituted for the components described herein where the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/733,036, entitled “Apparatus, System, and Method for Sealed Frame Mount System” filed 4 Dec. 2012, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein without disclaimer.
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