MATBOARD CORNER ORGANIZING SYSTEM

Abstract

A mat board corner sample organizing system is disclosed. A plurality of mat board corner samples is provided and the mat board corner samples have various properties. A notch is disposed on an edge of each mat board corner sample. The notch is located along the edge of the mat board corner sample at a predetermined location according to the properties of the mat board corner sample. Thus, the location of the notch correlates to the properties of the mat board corner samples. The mat board corner samples can be arranged in groups, and the mat board corner samples in each group have a common property. The notches on the mat board corner samples in each group are located at the same location. Thus, the mat board corner samples can be maintained in organized groups by grouping together mat board corner samples that have notches at the same location.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to framing, and more specifically to mat board corner samples used to assist in the framing of an article to be framed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A mat board is a relatively thin, flat piece of material that is used in framing to provide contrast between the article to be framed and the frame, and enhance the aesthetics of the framed piece. Mat boards are typically composed of a paper-based material, but may be made from other materials and could also include a decorative covering (such as cloth or a metallic coating). They also may be provided with different surface finishes, patterns or symbols. Being paper-based, it is easy to manufacture mat boards having a variety of different face colors and with a variety of different patterns, surface ornamentation, designs and the like.

Mat boards are most commonly used to decorate a framed article, such as a picture, painting, diploma or other article. Aside from aesthetics, mat boards also serve a number of functional purposes, such as separating the glass from the artwork. Most of all though, if the correct size and color is chosen, mat boards are able to avert the attention of the beholder inwards or towards a key element of the artwork. Accordingly, framers usually keep many different mat board samples of all different colors, textures and designs at hand so that they may appropriately match the mat board to the particular piece being framed.

With so many different mat board samples, however, it is often difficult to find exactly what mat board is preferred since numerous samples are hard to keep track of and will typically be in a state of disarray. Even if the mat board samples were once organized, they quickly deteriorate into an unorganized mess as framers will look through many different samples before finding the right one, many times not returning the samples to their proper locations. This is due in part to the job being done quickly, but it is mostly because the large number of samples require them to be horizontally or vertically stacked one on top of the other making it difficult to discern the colors of the samples in order to select a desired mat board sample or store the samples in an organized manner. Thus, having stacked, unorganized samples, it is difficult for a framer to find a desired mat board sample with the color and texture that best complements the picture.

Therefore, what is needed is a design for mat board samples that makes them easy to keep organized, as well as access and view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system of organizing mat board corner samples.

In one aspect, there is a plurality of mat board corner samples, each having various properties. A notch is provided on an edge of each mat board corner sample. The notch is located along the edge of the mat board corner sample at a predetermined location according to the properties of the mat board corner sample. Thus, the location of the notch along the edge of the mat board corner sample correlates to its properties.

In more particular aspects, the mat board corner samples are in a plurality of groups. Each group consists of a number of mat board corner samples that have at least one common property. The mat board corner samples of each group, having a common property, have their notches located at the same location. Thus, the location of the notch on each mat board corner sample provides an indication as to which group the mat board corner sample belongs and that they have a common property.

In still more particular aspects, the common property is color and each mat board corner sample in a group is a shade of the color. The properties of the mat board corner samples can be at least one of color, finish, and texture.

In another aspect, the system includes a plurality of groups of mat board corner samples. Each individual mat board corner sample of each group has at least one common property. There is a notch disposed on an edge of each individual mat board corner sample, and the notch is located at the same location on each mat board corner sample in their respective groups. Each group of mat board corner samples has the notch located at a different location. A rack supports the mat board corner samples.

In a more particular aspect, the groups of mat board are arranged along the rack such that the notch location for each adjacent group changes in a stepwise manner from one end of the rack to the other end.

These and other aspects, features, and problems addressed by the invention can be further appreciated with reference to the discussion of certain embodiments and the drawings of such embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description and drawings of illustrative embodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mat board corner sample in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a mat board corner sample in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a mat board corner sample in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show alternative embodiments of the notch provided on mat board corner samples in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of multiple mat board corner samples in accordance with the present invention organized on a corner sample holder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 5, mat board corner samples 10 are organized into groups 30 according to one embodiment of the invention. The individual mat board corner samples 10 can be grouped together into groups based on a variety of characteristics, such as color and shade, texture, finish, size, surface ornamentation or designs thereon, or other characteristics. Accordingly, mat board corner samples 10 that have similar characteristics can be separated into a number of groups 30 as shown in FIG. 5. All mat boards 10 belonging to a particular group have a notch 12 at a particular “height” (i.e. distance from the edge). Thus, as can be seen in FIG. 5, all mat boards 10 belonging to a particular group 30 have a notch 12 located along its edge at the same location. In this way, the mat boards belonging to different groups can be easily identified based on the location of the notch 12. This provides a way to organize and maintain the mat boards in an organized manner. Using the notch 12 and its position to identify the characteristics a mat board corner sample 10 possess is particularly useful because those characteristics (e.g. color, texture, finish, etc.) are typically only visible on a face 11 of the corner sample. When the corner samples are stored, such as shown in FIG. 5, the faces 11 of the corner samples 10 cannot be readily seen, thus making identification of corner samples and storing them in an organized manner difficult. The notches 12 can easily be seen when the mat board corner samples 10 are stored.

Further, a framer looking for a particular mat board can look at the mat boards having a notch at a location corresponding to the group in which the particular mat board belongs. Therefore, the framer does not have to look through all the mat boards, but just the mat boards in a particular group to which the desired mat board belongs. In addition, once the desired mat board corner sample is selected and removed from the corner sample holder or rack 32, the mat board corner sample 10 can be returned to the proper location on the corner sample holder 32 by matching the notch location on the individual mat board with the notch location of the other mat boards in its group. Thus, a system for organizing mat boards, wherein mat boards can be grouped so that a desired mat board can be efficiently selected, and a system for maintaining the organization of the mat boards is provided.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, each mat board corner sample, shown generally at 10, is provided with a notch 12 located along the outer edge 14 at a predetermined distance from the bottom edge 16 of the corner sample 10. The mat board corner sample 10 is shaped so that it can be held at the corner of a piece of artwork to give the framer and/or customer a better idea of how the particular mat board will compliment the article to be framed. The corner samples 10 can come in a variety of different colors and shades, textures, finishes, and sizes and may have surface ornamentation or designs thereon or other characteristics.

In one embodiment, the location or height of the notch 12 from the bottom edge 16 is determined by the color family to which the corner sample 10 belongs. Since the number of color families will vary depending on the desired number of groupings, the number of different notch heights will also vary. For example, the color families could comprise grey, white, black, yellow, green, blue, violet, red and orange, thus nine different notch heights corresponding to the number of color families would be provided. Each individual corner sample in the group is a different shade of the group color. For example, each individual corner sample in the “red” group would be a different shade of the color red.

The mat board corner samples can be further delineated by providing additional notches at additional height intervals. As another non-limiting example, the color families can comprise grey, black, white, yellow, yellow/green, green, blue/green, blue, blue/violet, violet, red/violet, red, red/orange, orange and yellow/orange, thus resulting in fifteen different notch heights. Of course, the mat board corner samples can be grouped by any color scheme. The corner samples 10 could be further or alternatively organized by texture or other characteristics if so desired so long as each grouping in the organization scheme corresponds to a particular notch location. The invention is not limited to a particular number of notch heights and any number can be used.

The notch 12 may be any size or shape, such as triangular, rectangular, square, polygonal, parabolic or irregular, or semicircular. The invention is not limited to a particular notch shape and any shape may be used. In one embodiment, the notches 12 are semicircles having a ¼ inch diameter; however the invention is not limited to such dimensions. As other non-limiting examples, FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate embodiments wherein the shape of the notch 12 is rectangular and triangular, respectively.

Referring now to FIG. 5, three different groups of corner samples 30 are shown organized on a corner sample holder 32. As illustrated, the notch heights, the distance from the bottom edge 16 of the corner sample to the notch 12, are staggered at even intervals, progressing upwards from the bottom edge 16. In one embodiment, there are 15 notch heights, spaced at ⅝ inch intervals along a corner sample having an outer edge 16 that is approximately 11.2 inches in length. However, it is noted that the notch heights may be spaced at any interval or irregularly spaced so long as they correspond to the desired organizational scheme. Further, the dimensions are provided as a non-limiting example, and any desired dimensions can be used.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 5, the corner samples 10 may be provided with a corner sample holder 32 of sufficient length to hold a plurality or set of corner samples. The holder 32 has a wedge portion 31 that corresponds to horizontal and vertical inner edges 18 and 20 of the corner samples 10. The holder 32 has end portions 33, one at each end (not shown), for helping to maintain the corner samples 10 on the holder 32. The holder may be of a conventional type. The holder may be squared or at a diagonal such that the outer edge 14 of the corner samples 10, with the notches 12 located thereon, faces toward the user.

When arranged, the notches 12 on the corner samples 10 that belong to a particular group 30 should be aligned side by side as shown in FIG. 5. Looking along the outer edges 14 of the corner samples 10 from the end having the lowest notch height, there will be a number of corner samples 10 sharing the same notch height forming a first group 30, then the notch height is stepped up for the next group of samples 30 and so on. While it is shown that the groups of corner samples 30 are organized such that notch heights are arranged in steps, they may be organized such that the notch heights take a different pattern or are randomly arranged. For example, looking at the groups of corner samples 30 along the holder 32 from right to left, the notch heights could go from high to low to mid-height.

The groups of samples 30, wherein each mat board corner sample in the same group has a notch at a particular height and the mat boards in different groups have notches at a different height, may also be separated using dividers 34. The dividers 34 can have tabs 36 which may provide information about the mat boards belonging to a single group. The information can indicate which color family the mat boards in the group 30 correspond to, or other characteristics the mat boards in the group share. Preferably, these dividers 34 are shaped similarly to the corner samples, and have a tab 36 protruding at one side. The dividers and or tabs may be blank or colored corresponding to the color family of the group of mat boards or have other indicia. The dividers 34 are placed in-line immediately before or after each group of mat board corner samples 30 as shown in FIG. 5. Each tab 36 is preferably utilized to indicate to which group or color family the upcoming corner samples 10 belong.

Alternatively, the notches 12 provided on corner samples 10 could vary based on which group 30 they belong. For example, looking at the groups of samples 30 from right to left on the holder 32, the first group could have semicircular notches, while the second and third groups could have rectangular and triangular notches as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively. In this way, a user could be able to tell which group or color family a corner sample 10 belongs by observing or merely feeling the shape of the notch 12. Similarly, the notches 12 could be colored based on which group 30 that the corner samples 10 belong such that a user looking at the outer edges 14 could readily observe the proper placement of the corner samples. For example, the notch 12 could be colored the same color as the corner sample 10. Alternatively, all corner samples 10 belonging to the same group (e.g., belonging to the same color family or sharing some other characteristic) could have notches 12 colored a single shade similar to the group's color family when the notches are used to identify the group of mat boards by color.

The notches 12 streamline the process of selecting and replacing samples 10, making it easier to find desired colors and shades, and also ensure that the corner samples 10 will not become disorganized. If a corner sample were misplaced, it would be easy to recognize and cure. If there is a notch 12 that is not aligned with adjacent notches, or which does not progressively step up or down at the proper interval, it can easily be put back into its proper location by placing it between or next to corner samples 10 sharing a similar notch height. Accordingly, framers are able to choose corner samples 10 from desired groups both quickly and easily, while also being able to quickly and easily return the sample to its proper group.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A mat board corner sample organizing system, comprising a plurality of mat board corner samples, each having various properties; anda notch disposed on an edge of each mat board corner sample, wherein the notch is located along the edge of the mat board corner sample at a predetermined location according to the properties of the mat board corner sample.

2. A mat board corner sample organizing system according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of groups of mat board corner samples, wherein each group comprises a number of mat board corner samples having at least one common property, with each mat board corner sample of each group having the notch located at the same predetermined location.

3. A mat board corner sample organizing system according to claim 2, wherein the common property is color and each mat board corner sample in a group is a shade of the common color.

4. A mat board corner sample organizing system according to claim 1, wherein the properties of the mat board corner samples comprise at least one of color, finish, and texture.

5. A mat board corner sample organizing system, comprising a plurality of groups of mat board corner samples, wherein each individual mat board corner sample of each group has at least one common property;a notch disposed on an edge of each individual mat board corner sample, wherein the notch is located along the edge of each mat board corner sample in the same group at the same location, and each group of mat board corner samples having the notch located at a different location; anda rack for supporting the mat board corner samples.

6. A mat board corner sample organizing system according to claim 5, wherein the groups of mat board are arranged along the rack such that the notch location for each adjacent group changes in a stepwise manner from one end of the rack to the other end.