Patent Application
20070175388
The present invention generally relates to devices for creating art, and more specifically for devices which utilize heat in order to melt crayons to make an art work.
Crayons have long been a staple in the elementary school teacher's bag of tricks to encourage students to make artwork and to have fun in the creation of artwork. Every school has crayons as they are relatively inexpensive. An art device which utilizes crayons would be an asset to any art class, elementary school or as a fun craft project for creative people of any age.
One drawback in the use of crayons is that in order to get a deep color, one has to work very hard at applying many layers of crayon to a single spot. What is needed is a device which is built to hold a piece of paper and to enable a user to utilize crayons to achieve a richer, more vibrant color than is presently possible with crayon application. This is accomplished in the device of the invention by use of heat in the device to melt crayons as they are applied.
The invention is an art creation device which utilizes a built-in heat source to melt crayons as the crayons are applied to a sheet of paper which is held in place in the device. The device includes a flat heating surface, which supports a sheet of paper. The device body includes the heating surface and one or more paper clamps for securing the sheet of paper in place in the device. By applying heat below the paper and securing the paper in place, the art creation device of the invention causes crayons to melt as the crayon is pressed against the heated surface of the paper. The melted crayon has a much deeper and more vibrant color than crayon which is applied by rubbing on cold paper. Additionally, as crayon is applied to the sheet of paper, the different colors of crayon can be blended together to form shades and patterns and colors which are otherwise impossible to form without melting crayons.
Preferably the heat source is positioned directly below the heating surface, and is configured to leave a zone around the outside edge of the heating surface which is not heated, so that melted crayon wax does not tend to escape from the paper surface, and so that the edges of the paper can be utilized by the paper clamps to hold the paper in place. The heating surface is preferably made or covered by a non-stick material such as Teflon, nylon, silicon, or any number of materials which can be used separately or used as a coating over a metal surface. The device includes a thermostat which allows the temperature of the heating surface to be set at a temperature above the melting point of crayons, but at a low enough temperature so that burns to the user are not a risk. The thermostat can be accessible by the user, so that different temperature levels can be utilized, or can be built into the electronic circuitry of the unit and preset at the factory. The device also includes a raised border around the heating surface, with the border being thermally insulated from the heat source, so that the user may touch the raised border without discomfort from heat. The heating surface and the surrounding raised border may be formed from a seamless basin, to prevent melted wax from passing through a seam and to make cleanup of the device easy.
The paper clamps can be configured in various different ways, and one or more paper clamps can be utilized. The paper clamps can be in the form of bias clips, which hold the paper in place. The paper clamps can also be in the form of magnetic sections which hold the paper down along its edges. Other mechanical and well-known devices can also be utilized to hold the paper in place.
The art creation device of the invention can include a cover which may be utilized to close the device when it is not in use, and to enclose accessories for the device within the raised border for storage and transportation. This could include the crayons that are used with the device, a power cord used with the device, extra paper and cleanup materials for the device.
The cover can be attached to the body of the device by use of hinges, and it could also be provided with the feature of being removable from the body of the device. The cover could also serve as an additional heat shield and be removed from the top of the device and placed on the underside of the device to serve as additional insulation. The raised border preferably acts as a barrier to heat, and is made of material which is not a good conductor of heat, or is insulated with such a material so that the raised border does not become hot. The art creation device of the invention can include a built-in crayon holder which can take various forms. It can be built into a part of the raised border of the device, or a crayon holder could also be built into the cover of the device. The device could include an on/off switch but could also be activated merely by plugging the device into a power source. The device would typically be powered by wall current, but a battery powered version of the device or a device which runs on 12 volt is also possible.
The purpose of the foregoing summary is to enable the public, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection, the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The summary is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description describing only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive in nature.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in
The heating surface 32 is preferably constructed with a heat source 14 directly below it. The heat source 14 can take any number of conventional forms of heating structures, including a structure with copper strips or wires affixed to a matrix, which provide heat when electricity is passed through them. An important feature of the device is that the elements of the heat source 14 do not extend all the way to the edge of the heating surface 32. A non-heated zone 20 is provided around the periphery of the heating surface. This feature tends to help prevent melted wax from escaping pass the edge of the sheet of the paper, and allows the edges of the sheet of paper to be utilized by the paper clamps 16.
As shown in
The art creation device 10 includes a thermostat 22. The thermostat 22 can be as shown in
The device can optionally include a cover as shown in
While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
