The present invention generally relates to a custom made tabletop. More specifically, the invention provides a new method to construct tabletops that present a decorative look and feel to standard patio tables.
Currently, patio tabletops are constructed with a single pane of ⅛″ thick glass. The main dilemma with the current method of construction is that a single layer of glass is thin and could crack easily. Many of the current patio tables additionally have designs embedded within the glass surface. The cracking or shattering of the thin table top can easily ruin the design of the table top. The present invention aims to provide a solution by constructing a tabletop with three layers that allow different designs to be inserted in between the layers of glass. The present invention also provides protection to the designed artwork of the table top. Provided that the protective pane of glass is cracked, the protective pane of glass can simply be removed and replaced.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
The present invention is a method of utilizing existing leaded glass and/or wrought iron designs which is encapsulated in a fully insulated, tempered, triple pane unit. The purpose of the present invention is to protect and further reinforce the structure of a center piece design. The present invention prevents damage to the center piece design by providing an enclosure that can be replaced when damaged, cracked, or chipped.
In reference to
The center pieces 4 are existing leaded glass and wrought iron designs that can be encapsulated in a fully insulated, tempered, triple pane unit. Not only can existing leaded glass and wrought iron designs be used to control table tops, but virtually anything can be sealed in using an adhesive binder or any similar securing device to ensure the panels remain secured together.
The method in which a triple-paned table top can be constructed to encase a genuinely hand-made leaded glass center piece 4 is initialized by cutting two panes of glass to match the shape of the center piece 4. The center piece 4 can be any design of any shape as shown in
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the glass binder 3 is a butyl rubber seal. However, it should be stated that the present invention includes securing the two panes of glass using all possible adhesives including, the glass binder 3 can be any seals selected from the group consisting of rubber spacer, patented TruSeal swiggle butyl with impregnated desiccants, double-sided tapes, double-sided foam tapes, extra-strength glue, or any other type of adhesive binder. Depending of the embodiment of the present invention, the glass binder 3 can be a spacer that wraps around the perimeter edge of the center piece 4 or the glass binder 3 can be the double sided foam tape that is adhered to a top center edge and a bottom center edge of the center piece 4, as shown in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the bottom pane 2 can have an incorporated disk that allows the entire apparatus to be attached to a Lazy Susan. This allows the triple pane unit to be placed on top of a larger table as a functional piece that allows objects to be passed around a table while serving as a decorative piece.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/365,688 filed on Jul. 19, 2010 and the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/379,646 filed on Sep. 02, 2010.