Patent Application
20160049103
The present invention generally relates to a custom canvassed bulletin board. More specifically, the present invention includes a printed canvass to create a decorative self-healing bulletin board. The bulletin board can be used as a message board with push pins and notes or can be used as decorative art. The board forms enhanced elastic properties that flow between the printed solvent based inks, vinyl primed linen osnaburg canvass, and down to the cork. These interactions repair push pin holes in the canvass surface, thereby restoring the canvass and printed image to near original quality.
People enjoy hanging fine art in their homes or offices to enhance a room. With today's printer technology, one can print digital images on nearly any item, e.g. hats, mugs, t-shirts, and the like. One such item is a canvass print, which is a technique that allows for specialty printers to print custom photos onto various types of canvassed materials. Canvass is a thick material made from cotton or linen and is a popular choice as a painting surface for artists. Canvass prints may reproduce classic paintings or personal photos to create fine art for one's own personal use.
Cork bulletin boards are well known in the art. Cork boards have tackable surfaces, where push pins or thumb tacks are used to attach notes. Due to cork's elastic properties, holes created by a push pin close automatically upon removal of the spike, but heavy use over time destroys the cork. Taking care when inserting and removing push pins is crucial to the longevity of the cork board. Cork should not be written on directly, meaning it is better not to write or mark on cork, which makes cork difficult to use as a printing surface. If one wanted to fix a custom image to a cork bulletin board, then one would have to glue or staple construction paper, cloth, or some sort of poster with an image onto the cork surface.
However, using pins or staples to attach notes or items to the image would cause irreversible damage to the picture.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,494,583 to Brooks describes how to make a cork bulletin board.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,136 to McDonald describes a bulletin board for educational use having an outer fabric layer with a map print, a cork layer, and a foam support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,425 to Ellis describes a display board having plastic foam covered with a closely fitted cloth or fabric.
Patent App. No. 20060150454 to Kang describes a pushpin board for retaining and displaying messages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,516 to Morrison describes a storage and display device for pieced earrings having a framed cork surface.
Patent App. No. 20110145100 to Berger et al. describes for digitally processing a stationary order over the internet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,799 to Manolis et al. describes a computer implemented method for uploading a digital image to a server.
The listed references do not disclose the creation of a more elastic canvass printed with solvent based inks, having a vinyl primed linen osnaburg canvass with certain qualities, adhesives, cork, and a substrate, where the canvassed bulletin board not only serves as a message board but can be used as fine art in one's home or office. Therefore, there is a need for the present invention.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a canvassed self healing bulletin board having a canvass layer including a vinyl primed linen osnaburg canvass that is a mixture of vinyl (from about 15 oz. to about 17 oz. per lineal yard) and woven coarse linen (from about 5 oz. to about 3 oz. per lineal yard) giving a total canvass weight of about 18 oz. to about 20 oz. per lineal yard and has a fabric thickness from about 0.015 inches to about 0.030 inches, wherein the canvass has some measure of elasticity, and wherein, the canvass is suited for receiving print images formed with solvent based inks being printed into the vinyl primed linen fabric, and having a tack receptive layer made of a cork or cork hybrid sheet having polymer or rubber particulates, and having a solid support made from a wood fiber, a particle fiber, or a hard wood fiber, and wherein, the board may be framed and hung as fine art or as a message board that can receive pushpins, where damage caused to the image and vinyl primed linen canvass will self heal when the push pins are removed, thereby restoring the canvass and image.
It is another aspect of the invention where the tack receptive layer is a cork or cork hybrid sheet having a thickness from about an ⅛ inch to about a ¼ inch.
It is another aspect of the present invention wherein the solid support has a thickness from about ¼ inch to about ½ inch.
It is another aspect of the present invention where the solvent based inks used to form an image are printed into the fabric of the vinyl primed linen canvass by a printer capable of applying solvent based inks at temperatures from about 30° C. to about 50° C., such that the printed canvass is a mixture of inks, vinyl, and coarse linen with elastic properties.
It is another aspect of the present invention where the vinyl primed canvass, the cork sheet, and the solid support are held together by adhesives at the canvass/tack receptive layer interface and the solid support/tack receptive interface.
It is another aspect of the present invention where the elastic properties of the bulletin board are enhanced due to the baking of solvent based inks into the printed canvass layer that is a mixture of vinyl and linen osnaburg canvass and the presence of adhesives between the canvass and cork.
It is an aspect of the present invention where the self healing bulletin board is framed about its outer edges.
Yet another aspect of the present invention includes solvent based inks being a commercial mixture of γ-Butyrolatone, Diethylene glycol diethyl ether, Tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, organic materials, Tetraethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and dyes or pigments, or any combinations thereof where the pigments have a measure of elasticity when printed into the fibers of the vinyl primed linen canvass.
The following figures are examples of the present invention and are not a limitation thereof.
From this point forward, the following words will describe a canvassed bulletin board that self-heals. However, these words are not a limitation on the scope of the present invention but are written to detail certain embodiments thereof, and due to the detailed description, modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
The present invention discloses a costumed canvass print that can double as a bulletin board made with a heavy painter's canvass that receives push pins and can self heal when the pins are removed. The custom canvass is originally generated by a client's web browser accessing a board maker's web site and uploading at least one digital image over the internet to a remote server.
The board maker's web site allows the client to verify the image uploaded to the server, allows selection of an image print size, and submits his or her personal information to the server. The uploaded image is retrieved by the board maker via a web browser and resized. The board maker prints the image onto a canvass, fixes the printed canvass onto a bulletin board, and ships the bulletin board to the client. The bulletin board can be framed or hung to a surface, be used with push pins to attach notes and messages to the canvassed surface, or can be used as decorative art. When used as a message board, the damage caused by push pins to the image and canvass will close due to the enhanced elastic properties created by the interactions between the canvass, solvent based inks, and cork's ability to self heal.
The following non-limiting terms are used to detail the invention:
The term “digital image” generally refers to a numeric representation (normally binary) of a two-dimensional image, a photo. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type. The term may also refer to raster images that have been compressed called bitmap images. Web browsers can display standard internet image formats including GIF, JPEG, and PNG, bitmap formats.
The term “computer” generally refers to a personal workstation, a minicomputer, a mainframe, a supercomputer, or a web or computer server. The computer should have a basic operating system such as MS Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and the like. The computer may be a desktop, server, portable, hand-held, set-top, or any other desired configuration. The computer includes a processor and a data storage system and typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. Non-limiting examples of inputs and outputs may include: a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a touchpad, and/or a microphone, a CRT monitor, and/or an LCD display panel.
The terms “web browser” or “browser” generally refer to Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, Safari, or any compatible web browser, where the browser is capable of rendering HTML, XHMTL, DOM, CSS, Javascript, XML, XML/HTTP requests, HTTP/HTTPS/PHP scripts, Flash Tools, e.g. SWFUpload, or the like and may provide navigation to web pages via hypertext links One embodiment of the present invention includes using a combination of XHTML, client side scripting language such as Javascript or PHP, SWFUpload, a presentation definition language (CSS), and DOM.
The term “mobile device” generally refers to any device capable of wireless communication and connection to the internet. More specifically, this means SMS or MMS servicing with a web browser capable of connecting to the internet via wi-fi or through a cell phone service. This includes, but is not limited to, cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and/or handheld (mobile) computer devices such as internet capable tablets.
The terms “module” or “modules” generally refer to a part of a computer program, sub-routine, procedure, definitional statement, and/or macro that performs a distinct function. Each module may be separately compiled and linked into a single executable program. The module processes may be arbitrarily redistributed to one of the other modules, combined together in a single module, or made available in, for example, a shareable dynamic link library. Non-limiting examples being modules capable of taking requests or giving commands as SWFUpload/PHP/Javascript commands for uploading digital images with a mobile device or home computer to a server over a network, where, for example, cell phones may use modules that can have an SMS gateway to convert an SMSC protocol to SWFUpload/PHP/Javascript or HTTP/HTTPS/PHP scripts, DOM, CSS, XML, XHTML/HTTP requests, SQL request or commands, flash tools, or the like.
The terms “internet,” “network,” or “web” generally refer to an electronically connected group of computers including but not limited to: the World Wide Web, Intranet, Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), or Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN). The internet transfers information using common protocol that tells computers connected to the network how to locate and exchange files with each other.
The term “server” generally refers to a private computer that links other computers or electronic devices together and is accessible over a network. The server may have a database that is relational and stores a collection of data on individual tables with common or uncommon information. The server is operated and controlled by a private firm. A server administrator may implement and maintain the system and establish policies and procedures pertaining to management, security, maintenance, and use of the server management system. The server of the present invention may understand programming languages including but not limited to: HTTP/HTTPS, DOM, CSS, Javascript, XML, XHTML/HTTP requests, SQL request or commands, PHP scripts, Flash Tools, and the like.
The term “client matrix” or “matrix” generally refer to a collection of client information stored on individual tables in a relational database. The matrix, and therefore the database, is located on a remote server. The matrix contains at least one original uploaded digital image and XHTML script for information regarding the resulting client order as metadata, which the board maker accesses and uses to create and ship the bulletin board to the client. The database is accessible over the internet and is kept by a private firm, non-limiting examples being MySQL, Interbase/Firebird, PSQL, IBM, Microsoft/Sybase, Oracle, or the like, where a firm has a database administrator or one or more applications developers. The database is associated with at least one send/receive module that can convert XHTML, PHP, HTTP, SWFUpload, PHP, CSS, HTML, DOM, or HTTP requests or any combinations thereof from a client's or board maker's browser to structured language queries to import client information and digital images into tables within the database and may return such data to the client's or board maker's browser.
The following describes how a digital image is obtained and converted by a board maker into a custom canvassed bulletin board. From
The board maker's web site presents an initial web page to the client's browser with a button that prompts a server 14 request for the location of the client's digital image. The digital image can be located on the client's computer 11 hard drive, computer 11 desktop, flash drive, mobile device, or any storage location on an electronic device with the ability to connect to the internet 13 and store digital photos, a non-limiting example being a cell phone or computer tablet having a camera, with RAM storage, and is connected to the internet. It is within the scope of the present invention where the client may upload digital images to the server 14 from a third party web site or application via PHP/XHTML/API modules known in the art, non limiting examples being a client uploading a digital image from Filch, Facebook, or the like via flash tools or XHTML/PHP/Javascript/API protocols. The digital image may also include images of restaurant menus, calendars, or any business advertising image.
To upload digital images to the server 14, at least one graphical user interface, GUI, e.g. a button, upload progress handler, or the like, is presented at the client's computer 11 in a web browser over the internet 13. The client clicks a button and at least one module at the server 14 enacts PHP/SWFUpload/Javascript commands that request the file location and digital image for uploading to the server 14. The client selects the location and image for upload. Modules receiving those commands at the server 14 upload the image into a client matrix at the server 14. When the image is uploading to the server 14, the client sees an upload progress handler indicating in real time how much of the file has been imported into the client matrix.
SWFUpload is a client-side file upload tool, which combines Flash and JavaScript to provide file upload functionality to a basic browser. Web developers can use XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript to tailor the upload GUI. A real time upload status is made through a set of simple JavaScript events. The developer uses these events to update upload progress in a web page. A standard HTML upload provides an input box and a button for the user to select a file. The entire file must be uploaded before the next page is displayed. SWFUpload uses a Flash movie to handle file selection and upload. A customizable button is displayed by the Flash movie that activates Flashes advanced file selection dialog window. The file selection dialog is configured to allow the client to select a single file or multiple files.
Once selected, each file is validated and queued. As the file is uploaded by Flash, several JavaScript events are enabled that the developer handles in order to update the page's GUI, which allows the board maker's site to provide an upload status or error message in real-time. The uploaded file is submitted separately from the rest of the page and the subsequent client form. Each file is uploaded individually keeping the server-side upload handling script simple. Since Flash is providing the upload service, the page does not have to be submitted or reloaded. The page's form will be processed separately from the file upload.
Below is a non-limiting example of how a digital image maybe be uploaded from a client's computer 11 to a remote server 14 over the internet 13 by web browsers via SWFUload/Javascript/XHTML, where the following script gives functionality to an upload button; a progress handler; and sets non-limiting physical dimensions for uploaded digital images:
When the image has been imported into the matrix, the client is prompted to the next page. If the image is too large or too small or is corrupt, then an error message is returned to the client to select another photo or try to reload the current image.
It is a preferred embodiment of the present invention where the client's digital image ranges in size from about 1 KB to about 200 MB. The client's photo must be at least one megapixel in size in order to ensure a clean and clear print image on the canvass.
It is an embodiment of the present invention where a client may upload more than one digital image to the server. However, if the client has uploaded multiple images to the server 14, the server 14 returns the small compressed images to the client's computer 11 as a digital image matrix, having each compressed thumbnail comprising rows and columns presented to the client or can be streamed as a photo show in photo managing software installed on the client's computer 11. As such, there is no reason for the client to download their large image file from the server 14 to continue the ordering process. This saves the client's computer 11 resources and makes the web based process run smooth and quickly.
The board maker's web site presents a web page with a compressed image of the uploaded photo in the client's browser, where HTTP/PHP/Javascript protocols load the compressed digital image and resizing input forms. Presenting the client with a compressed image ensures the client that the correct image was saved to the server 14.
The client is presented with the image information including but not limited to the number of megapixels for the original image and a width to height ratio for the compressed image as compared to the original. The client can select the width and height of the photo from preselected sizes or select a custom width and height from approximately 8″ (W)×8″ (H) to about 48″ (W)×96″ (H). Resizing options for a digital image correlate to the size of the printed image on the canvass' top surface.
An image uploaded to the server 14 can be quite large. This can have positive and negative aspects. A non-limiting example of a positive aspect being, larger image files render shaper reproductions for printing onto the canvass. However, large image files take up an extremely large amount of resources, e.g. an 8 mega pixel photo would take roughly 100 MB to 150 MB of RAM (computer 11 resources) in order to show in a web browser. Web browsers are not meant to handle such large files, and this can lead to the client's 11 computer slowing down to a crawl or cause the browser to crash.
Compression modules at the server 14 reduce the size of the original uploaded image. It is within the scope of the present invention wherein digital image compression at the server 14 truncates an image file to thumbnail size. The truncated image may be reduced from about 8 KB to roughly about 15 to 20 KB to maintain optimal internet connection speed at the client's computer 11, but this can change to a larger size to show better quality if the internet connection speed increases.
At least two compressed images, one smaller than the other, are generated and stored in the client matrix at the server 14. Modules that compress large digital images are well known in the arts. Compression algorithms/modules may compress photos into formats including without limitation JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, and the like. Once the thumbnail image is verified, the client is presented with resizing options for the original uploaded image. Resizing selections are sent to the server 14 and placed into the client matrix.
After confirming the digital image via a thumbnail returned by the server 14 and selecting the size of the printed image/canvass, the client is presented with a web page to select from various framing options for their canvassed bulletin board. At this stage, the client should understand that it takes a little bit of time to load up the framing application that will show various framing options. With this in mind, a larger file (roughly 1000×1000 pixels) with a file size of around 20 KB to about 40 KB is created such that the client can see various framing options about the larger compressed image.
This webpage displays a slightly larger thumbnail of the original photo along with the ability to demo and select various decorative frames. The client simply moves the mouse over various animated cut outs of decorative frames. This process allows the client to demo the most aesthetically pleasing frame to border their canvassed self-healing bulletin board. Animating frame options is possible by well known flash scripts used in the art, where one might use Flash/XHTML/Javascript/PHP to render the animation at the board maker's site. Wherever the mouse is positioned, that frame will automatically border the thumbnail. This gives the client a quick demo of how their picture will look with that decorative frame.
The final web page presented by the server 14 to the client's browser collects the client's information and completes the order process. The cost of creating the bulletin board and the method of shipment are also presented to the client on this web page. Client information may include without limitation the client's name, delivery address, zip code, credit card number, email address, the original digital image file number, compressed files of the original digital image, and the selected size for image printing. This information is housed in a database capable of rendering SQL modules at the server 14 in an XML script containing the metadata for the client's order. Once all fields are complete, the client clicks a button that enables server 14 side modules rendering Javascript, CSS, DOM, SWFupload, PHP, XHTML, and MySQL scripts to import and organize all client information, including the original digital image and compressed thumbnails, into the client matrix at the server 14.
Payment is charged to the client's credit card, an order confirmation email is sent to the client's email address containing the order information, and the board maker converts the digital image into a canvassed bulletin board that self heals.
Once client information is stored onto the server 14, the board maker confirms the information and downloads the client's original image into a file on his or her computer 15. Without saving the original file, the client's image will not be printed cleanly onto the canvass surface as the files being shown to a client are highly compressed. Unlike text that can be compressed in a zip file and then uncompressed and be shown in its original form and glory, an image file gets compressed by throwing out information, and there is no way to retrieve the lost information. As such, the full original image uploaded to the server 14 is used to print on the canvass.
Referring to both
It is within the scope of the present invention where the printer 16 is interfaced with the board maker's computer 15 or can be used in a peer to peer network, a non-limiting example being an Epson GS600 or a comparable printer. The board maker's computer must be at least a 3 to 4 GHz processor, have an up to date operating system, at least 30 GB of free disk space for printer software and processing files, a USB connection, and an internet connection. The printer 16 of the present invention includes a media bar/scroller capable of accepting a roll of cotton print canvass.
The canvass of the present invention includes a vinyl primed linen osnaburg that is a mixture of vinyl (from about 15 oz. to 17 oz. per lineal yard) and woven linen (from about 5 oz. to 3 oz. per lineal yard), giving a total canvass weight of about 18 oz. to about 20 oz. per lineal yard. The canvass is the heavy kind and has some measure of elasticity, which is well suited for receiving solvent based inks into the linen fabric. The fabric thickness may be from about 0.015 inches to about 0.030 inches. The vinyl is bound to the back surface of the cotton canvass via adhesives known in the art.
A linen canvass is capable of showing through many layers of paint, giving the impression of a custom photo or custom reproduction as fine art. Vinyl seals the linen fibers and typically acts as a barrier to the pigments being burned into the canvass during digital printing. However, at high heat solvent based inks burn into the vinyl linen weave, thereby giving the printed image the protection afforded by the vinyl, the appearance of fine art due to the linen texture of the canvass, and an enhanced elasticity created between the elastic properties of the solvent based ink and the vinyl-linen canvass. The printer 16 receives a print instruction from the board maker's computer 15 including the original uploaded image and the print size dimensions for the image.
The printer 16 then prints the image onto the canvass layer 19 using solvent based inks at temperatures from about 30° C. to about 50° C., such that the printed canvass is a mixture of inks, vinyl, and coarse linen with enhanced elastic properties. The board maker removes the printed canvass 19 from the printer 16 and allows the image to dry in a cool place away from sunlight. Once dried, the printed canvass layer 19 is cemented to the bulletin board with an adhesive.
The solvent based inks of the present invention may be a commercial mixture of γ-Butyrolatone, Diethylene glycol diethyl ether, Tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, organic materials, Tetraethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and dyes or pigments, or any combinations thereof, where the pigments have a measure of elasticity when printed into the fibers of the vinyl primed linen canvass.
From
The solid support layer 17 may be made from materials including but not limited to an engineered wood product that is made out of wood fibers from about ¼ inch to about ½ inch in thickness. The solid support may also include a particle board, a medium-density fiberboard, or a hardboard, where push pins may penetrate through the solid support layer 17.
The tack receptive layer 18 may be made from porous materials that permit the insertion and removal of pins, including but not limited to a cork sheet or a cork hybrid sheet having polymer or rubber particulates. Either cork sheet should have a thickness from about an ⅛ inch to about ¼ inch. The tack receptive layer 18 may be bonded to the solid support layer 17 by adhesives known in the arts, including but not limited to super bonding adhesives for attaching thin films, foils and fabrics to other materials, a non-limiting example being 3M Super 77 Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
The back surface of the printed canvass 19 may be bonded to the tack receptive layer 18 by adhesives known in the arts, including but not limited to super bonding adhesives for attaching thin films, foils and fabrics to other materials, a non-limiting example being 3M Super 77 Multi-Purpose Adhesive.
The four outer sides of the canvassed self-healing bulletin board can be framed. Frame constructions are known in the arts. They are typically assembled from molding formed into rectangular units for holding art work or photographs having an upper frame section, a lower frame section, and side sections that are appropriately joined at mitered corners to form a rectangular frame. The frame may be made from various materials including but not limited to wood, metals, and plastics, where all are capable of receiving or have decorative finishes. The back of the frame may be associated with hanging fasteners, hanging wires, hooks, nails, or the like for hanging the bulletin board to a wall.
It is within the scope of the present invention where the client may select a printed canvassed bulletin board without a frame and consisting solely of the support layer 17, tack receptive layer 18, and printed cotton canvass layer 19 but can be hung or placed on a wall surface. Once framed and completed, the canvassed self-healing bulletin board is delivered by the board maker to the client by a delivery service, e.g. the U.S. mail or FedEx or the like, or the client may alternatively receive the finished board from the board maker's shop.
The foregoing words describe one embodiment for creating a canvassed self-healing bulletin board. However, these words are not a limitation on the scope of the present invention, but are written to detail certain embodiments thereof. It should be understood that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, thus, the scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims.
This patent application is a continuation-in-part and claims priority to patent application Ser. No. 13/317,369 filed on Oct. 17, 2011, which is hereby abandoned.
