Patent Application
20110210226
The invention relates to a method for mounting a canvas or sheet delimited by edges substantially in one plane. Furthermore, the invention relates to a mounting system for mounting such a canvas or sheet delimited by edges substantially in one plane.
A mounted canvas or sheet, the object of which is to show an image on the image side thereof, such as a poster, a photograph, a thin (roll-up) screen, a projection screen and the like, should preferably remain flat during use.
One problem when mounting such a canvas or sheet is the fact that the latter cannot easily be mounted so that it is truly flat. Every canvas or sheet has a tendency to curl along the edges when it is being mounted. This is due to the fact that the tension along the edges is lower than in the centre, resulting in the edges between the corners being slack. Thus, the edges may start to curl or flap. Wrinkling also occurs easily and a conventionally mounted canvas or sheet is sensitive to external factors, such as pressure, temperature and humidity, as a result of which the canvas or sheet may deform. Partly due to this, the canvas or sheet is not perfectly flat, despite having been mounted.
It is now an object of the invention to provide a mounting method which solves this problem, or at least lessens it, without affecting the appearance of the canvas or sheet. In this context, the term appearance is understood to mean the image side of the canvas or sheet, which is understood to be that side on which the image to be shown is provided. To this end, the invention provides a method for mounting a canvas or sheet delimited by edges essentially in one plane, comprising attaching a plurality of engagement members on the back of the canvas or sheet in the vicinity of corners between two edges and fitting at least one mounting member in between. By providing engagement members and mounting member(s) on the back, it is ensured in this case that the entire canvas or sheet remains visible, and no parts of the image are obstructed. More specifically, the entire image side of the canvas or sheet remains visible.
As described above, the canvas or sheet comprises an image side and a back. The canvas or sheet may be formed by a plane delimited by edges. The canvas or sheet may, for example, comprise four edges. If the canvas or sheet has a rectangular shape, this implies the presence of two relatively long edges and two relatively short edges which are at a right angle to one another. According to one embodiment, the method comprises attaching the plurality of engagement members along opposite edges of the canvas or sheet, for example the short edges. By attaching engagement members at opposite edges, mounting becomes simpler, in particular in the case of a rectangular canvas or sheet.
To this end, an engagement member is provided which has a substantially elongate shape and has movable and/or length-adjustable components and is furthermore designed to act on the canvas or sheet at certain positions.
Each engagement member can extend substantially along the entire length of the respective edge of the canvas or sheet. In this case, each engagement member can only engage with the canvas or sheet at its ends, or possibly be attached to the respective edge of the canvas or sheet along substantially the entire length thereof. Thus, curling of the respective edge of the rectangular canvas or sheet is prevented by the stiffness of the engagement member.
If each engagement member is designed such that it exerts a greater tensile force on the corners than on the edge situated in between, then it is possible to prevent curling of the edges between opposite engagement members to a large degree. This also includes the situation where the engagement members are not directly attached to the edges and therefore do not exert any direct tensile force on the edges, since the additional tensile force on the corners leads to additional tension in the edges between these corners.
Each engagement member may have at least one main segment extending along a central part of the respective edge of the canvas or sheet and at least two corner segments on either side of the main segment extending up to the corners. In one embodiment of the mounting system, the corner segments may be movable in the plane with respect to the main segment, while movement in a direction at right angles to the plane is limited. According to one embodiment, the method furthermore comprises attaching the corner segments to the back of the canvas or sheet, and the subsequent forcing apart of the corner segments. In this case, the main segment can also be attached to the back of the canvas or sheet, but this is not essential.
The corner segments of each engagement member may be forced apart outwardly substantially in the plane of the canvas or sheet. In this case, the corner segments of each engagement member may be forced apart substantially parallel to the respective edge. In an alternative embodiment of the mounting system, each engagement member may be designed to exert a tensile force on the corners, directed outwardly substantially in the plane in a direction at an angle with respect to an edge. This makes it possible to achieve an optimum distribution of stress along all the edges of the canvas or sheet.
Experiments and analyses show that, for a rectangular canvas or sheet, the smallest angle which the tensile force makes with an edge preferably has a value in the range between 40° and 50°, so that the canvas or sheet can be mounted correctly in the plane. In this case, a smallest angle α of 45° is particularly preferred.
In order to be able to position the engagement members of corner segments accurately along the edges, they may first be releasably attached to the canvas or sheet and only then be attached permanently thereto.
Alternatively, a simple and accurate positioning of the engagement member can be achieved by providing each corner segment with a first attachment part which is connected to the main segment and a second attachment part which can be connected to the first attachment part. In such an embodiment of the mounting system, a further embodiment of the method may furthermore comprise attaching the second attachment part to a corner on the back of the canvas or sheet, and attaching the second attachment part to the first attachment part. The second attachment part may, for example, be attached to the corner using an adhesive as fixing means. Depending on the adhesive, this attachment may be releasable or permanent. By adding such attachment parts, mounting of the canvas or sheet by means of the mounting system is simpler and it can, in addition, be removed with less risk of damage to the canvas or sheet.
Each engagement member may be adjustable in length. In one embodiment, the method in this case comprises adjusting each engagement member to the desired length after the first attachment parts have been attached to the second attachment parts. The at least one mounting member may also be adjustable in length, so that the length of the at least one mounting member can be adjusted to a desired length after it has been attached between the engagement members. By providing the mounting system with engagement members and/or mounting members which are adjustable in length, such an embodiment of the mounting system can be used for mounting canvasses or sheets of different dimensions.
In a further embodiment, the mounting system may furthermore be provided with a suspension member for the releasable attachment of the mounting system to a supporting structure. Thus, the canvas or sheet can be attached to a background or base. It can also be hung on, for example, a vertical wall, with the back facing the wall. Just like the engagement members and the at least one mounting member, this suspension member may be provided on the back of the canvas or sheet, as a result of which the canvas or sheet can be fixed with the back to an attachment means, such as a suspension wire, a wall or a rack, so as to be virtually flat and completely visible on the image side.
Finally, the invention also relates to an engagement member and a corner segment of an engagement member for use with a method and a mounting system as described above.
Embodiments of the invention will be described below, solely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which identical parts are denoted by identical reference symbols and in which:
The drawings are only intended for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection which is defined by the claims.
The invention provides a method and mounting system 1 for mounting a canvas or sheet 2 delimited by edges 13 substantially in one plane. In
Each engagement member 12 can extend along substantially the entire length of a respective edge 13 of the canvas or sheet. In this case, each engagement member 12 may only act on the ends of the canvas or sheet 2.
An engagement member 12 may be supplied in the form of a relatively long profiled-section part, and be adjusted to any desired length by means of cutting, if desired in combination with breaking. An engagement member 12 can also be supplied shortened to size. In addition, or alternatively, each engagement member 12 may be adjustable in length, for example because it comprises mutually displaceable and/or telescopic components.
The at least one mounting member 3 may, in addition, also be adjustable in length. This can be achieved in a simple manner if the at least one mounting member 3 has a base part 6 and at least one part 7 which is displaceable thereto, for example a telescopic part 7. These elements are represented in
In the embodiment of the mounting system as illustrated in
The stiffness properties of the engagement members 12 and the at least one mounting member 3 have to be such that any possible deformation of the entire mounting system 1 can approximately have only a very small component in a direction perpendicular to the plane S of the canvas or sheet compared to the characteristic dimensions of the canvas or sheet. A perpendicular deformation which is typically allowed is a few millimetres for a canvas or sheet with dimensions in the order of magnitude of (half) metres.
As is illustrated in
According to one embodiment of the mounting system 1, each corner segment 12a of an engagement member 12 may be provided with a first attachment part 22 and a second attachment part 23. This is illustrated in
Between the base 25 and the projecting part 26 of a corner segment 12a, a hinge 31 may be provided, as can be seen in
In addition, a corner segment 12a may be provided with a second hinge point by securing projecting part 26 and insertion part 28 rotatably with respect to one another by means of a connecting pin 29.
By providing each corner segment 12a with two hinge points, a desired distribution of the tensile forces which the mounting system exerts on the corner 32 during mounting of the canvas or sheet 2 can be achieved. This is explained in more detail below with reference to
According to an alternative embodiment of the mounting system 2, a second hinge point can also be achieved by designing the insertion part 28 to be pointed with an angle of less than 90°, and by providing the receiving part 23 with a recess with an angle which is greater than the angle of the insertion part. When the associated engagement member 12 is tensioned, the corner of the insertion part 28 which is pushed into the receiving part 23 will come to lie in the corner of the receiving part. As a result thereof, an attachment between receiving part 23 and insertion part 28 is achieved which is rotatable about these coinciding corners, but detachable. The first hinge point can then still be formed by hinge 31. The pivoting connecting pin 29 between projecting part 26 and insertion part 28 can thus be omitted, so that these parts form a single part.
In one embodiment of the method for mounting the canvas or sheet, each receiving part 23 can be attached in a releasable or permanent manner to the canvas or sheet 2, for example by means of an adhesive as fixing agent. Such an adhesive may be covered with a protective covering film when it is not being used. The receiving parts 23 may first be put on the corner 32 near the edges 13 of the canvas or sheet 2 and temporarily be attached thereto, for example by means of a strip of non-permanent adhesive. If a receiving part 23 is not positioned completely correctly, it can be removed again.
If a receiving part 23 has been placed in a desired position in the corner 32 on the back 2a of the canvas or sheet, this receiving part 23 can be attached permanently, for example by removing the protective cover film from a strip of permanent adhesive on one side of the receiving part 23 and by pressing this strip of adhesive into the corner 32 on the back 2a of the canvas or sheet 2. Only after receiving parts 23 have been permanently attached to the corners 32 are insertion parts 28 of the corner segments 12a inserted into the receiving parts 23. Subsequently, the respective engagement member 12, of which the corner segments 12a form a part, can be adjusted to the correct length, so that the canvas or sheet is tensioned in the corners 32 corresponding to the corner segments 12a.
Instead of providing separate permanent and non-permanent adhesive strips, it is also conceivable to use only one type of adhesive, which is covered by a cover film consisting of two parts. It is then possible to first form a non-permanent connection by removing a relatively small part of the cover film, as a result of which only a narrow strip of adhesive is exposed, and the adhesion is therefore still low. If the receiving part 30 is correctly positioned, then the remaining larger part of the cover film can be removed and the complete surface of the adhesive can be exposed, as a result of which a permanent bond is achieved. Since the loads at the corners 32 will be greater than along the edges 13, the strength of the connection between the engagement member 12 and the canvas or sheet 2 can vary. Thus, a strip of adhesive at the corners 32 could be wider than at locations which are further removed from a corner.
If the engagement members 12 or at least the receiving parts 23 are attached to the canvas or sheet 2 using a permanent fixing agent, then they will eventually be stored or disposed of together with the canvas or sheet 2.
The at least one mounting member 3 which is to be fitted between the engagement members 12 can be placed in a receiving space 20 which is provided in the engagement member 12. The ends of each mounting member 3 may be designed to be fittingly accommodated in the receiving space 20.
The engagement members 12 and the mounting members 3 may in this case be designed to connect mounting members 3 to one another at a predetermined position, so as to be releasable. In
The shape of the receiving space 20 and the cross section of the end of each mounting member 3 may be chosen such that these two parts are in form-fitted contact. In that case, the profile of the engagement member 12 only fits one specific type of mounting member 3.
As is illustrated in
The twisting effect is prevented in particular by providing an embodiment with several mounting members 3 which can be arranged between the engagement members 12, as is shown in
The at least one mounting member 3 can be connected to the engagement members 12 in a substantially symmetrical way, thus resulting in an even distribution of the tensile forces and preventing the risk of twisting of the canvas or sheet 2 about a longitudinal axis. This situation is illustrated both in
If exactly one mounting member 3 is used, then the contact point or the contact line between the engagement member 12 and the mounting member 3 can be chosen to be close to the centre of the opposite engagement members 12, as is illustrated in
By using the mounting member 3, the engagement members 12 are forced apart by a tensile force 2·F, illustrated in
However, the angle at which tensile forces can act on corners 32 of the canvas or sheet 2 should not be understood to be limited to the abovementioned range. Other values for the smallest angle α are obviously possible and are only limited by the fact that the tensile force has to be directed outwardly substantially in the plane of the canvas or sheet. The requirement of having to be directed outwardly in the plane is in this case determined by the shape of the canvas or sheet.
Incidentally, the base part 6 and the displaceable part 7 of the mounting member 3 may have a non-rotationally symmetrical, for example rectangular, cross section. This prevents the displaceable part 7 and the base part 6 and their respective ends from being able to twist with respect to one another, which could result in deformation or displacement of the engagement members 12 and thus to deformation of the mounted canvas or sheet 2.
In an alternative embodiment of the mounting system, each engagement member 12 consists of a first and a second profiled section 35, 36 which may run parallel and only be connected to one another at their ends by corner segments 12a. An engagement member 12 according to this embodiment is illustrated in
Finally, the mounting system 1 may also comprise a suspension member 21 for releasably attaching the mounting system 1 to a supporting structure. Thus, the canvas or sheet can be attached to a background or base. It can, for example, be hung on a vertical wall, with the back facing the wall. Just like the engagement members 12 and the at least one mounting member 3, this suspension member 21 may be provided on the back 2a of the canvas or sheet 2, as a result of which the canvas or sheet 2 can be fixed with the back 2a to an attachment structure, such as a suspension wire, a wall or a rack, so as to be virtually flat and completely visible on the image side 2b.
This suspension member 21 may, for example, be provided with a layer of non-permanent adhesive 23. Incidentally, an opening may also be formed in the suspension member 21 in order to receive, for example, a nail, screw or hook which is already present in the wall 22. Such an opening is shown in
Alternatively, the suspension member 21 can be designed such that the backs 2a of the two mounting systems 1 can be positioned back to back, with it being possible to attach the combination to a suspension point which is situated at a relatively high level, for example by means of a suspension wire.
Since the engagement members 12 and the at least one mounting member 3 of the mounting system 1 are completely attached to the back 2a of the canvas or sheet 2, the canvas or sheet 2 becomes slightly detached from the base on which it is hung, which results in a spatial effect in the form of a cast shadow.
Between an engagement member 12 and the canvas or sheet 2, an information carrier 17 may furthermore be provided. This information carrier 17 may be designed such that it forms the only component of the mounting system 1 which is visible on the image side 2b of the canvas or sheet 2, once the system has been attached to, for example, a wall.
Although the invention has been described above with reference to two examples, it will be clear that it is not limited thereto. Thus, the shape and dimensions of the engagement members and the mounting members could be varied in many different ways. For example, two or more shorter engagement members could be arranged next to one another along an edge of the canvas or sheet. The way in which the length of the engagement members and mounting members is adjusted and the way in which the mounting members are connected to the engagement members may be chosen differently than has been illustrated and described here. The scope of the invention is therefore solely determined by the attached claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1035985 | Sep 2008 | NL | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/NL2009/050579 | 9/28/2009 | WO | 00 | 5/11/2011 |
