1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ornamental album frame, and more particularly, to an ornamental album frame within which bound albums can be both stored and displayed.
2. Description of Related Art
People enjoy collecting, displaying, and viewing a variety of memorabilia and important records kept in bound albums such as photographs, pressed flowers, cards, and other sentimental items, as well as important documents such as diplomas, certificates, credentials, and the like.
In an exemplary embodiment, an ornamental bound album storage frame is provided that has no moving parts and is dimensionally compatible with a bound album that can be inserted into the frame such that the cover of the album, when seated within the frame, can resemble an image that has been matted and framed. A finger notch along one edge of the frame adjacent to the album's bound edge when seated in the frame can provide a means for conveniently removing the album from the frame. Guiding ramps along the top and bottom inside surfaces of the frame can engage the cover of the album when it is being inserted into the frame to lift and guide the unbound edge of the album cover into a groove that secures the cover in a flat position relative to the front of the frame. A shelf along one inside surface of the frame supports the bound edge of the album at a height that maintains the cover of the album in a flat position relative to the front of the frame. A magnet inlayed within the top surface of the shelf can engage a metal plate embedded within the back surface of the bound edge of an album to provide a means of further securing and holding the album within the frame. A mounting plate on the backside of the ornamental frame can incorporate a series of counter-bored holes that can receive screws capable of fastening the frame to a wall. A series of notches in the edges of an open portion of the mounting plate indicate the horizontal and vertical centerlines of the ornamental bound album storage frame and can provide a convenient means of aligning the frame to a wall or aligning a series of the frames when using, for example, pencil or chalk lines as a reference.
An album frame is provided having an outer frame and a support shelf. The outer frame has a back side and an inner periphery. The support shelf extends frontwardly from the back side along a first portion of the inner periphery. The support shelf is adapted to support a binding of an album in order to maintain the album cover in registration with a front portion of the album frame.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes a mounting plate attached to the back side of the outer frame.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting plate has a plurality of mounting holes for affixing the album frame to a surface.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention the outer frame has a recessed groove in a second portion of the inner periphery. The second portion of the inner periphery is located opposite the first portion of the inner periphery.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes a first guiding ramp on a third portion of the inner periphery and a second guiding ramp on a fourth portion of the inner periphery. The first guiding ramp and the second guiding ramp guide an edge of an album cover into the recessed groove.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes a finger notch within the inner periphery for allowing easy removal of an album.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes fastening means on a top surface of the support shelf for fastening an album to the outer frame. The fastening means includes one or more of an adhesive, a hook and loop closure, a snap, a button, a clasp, or a magnet.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the fastening means is a magnet inlayed within the top surface of the support shelf.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting plate has an inner opening and the inner opening has a plurality of centerline notches.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes muntins attached to the inner periphery for dividing the outer frame into subsections for storing a plurality of albums.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the mounting plate is a magnetic material.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the album frame further includes an easel flush with and pivotably coupled to a back of the mounting plate.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the outer frame includes a slot into which an album can be slidably inserted from an outer periphery of the outer frame through the inner periphery.
In another exemplary embodiment, an album frame is provided having an outer frame. The outer frame has a back side, an inner periphery, and a recessed groove in a first portion of the inner periphery. The album frame further includes a first guiding ramp on a second portion of the inner periphery and a second guiding ramp on a third portion of the inner periphery. The first guiding ramp and the second guiding ramp guide an edge of an album cover into the recessed groove. The album frame further includes a mounting plate attached to the back side of the outer frame.
In another exemplary embodiment, an album frame is provided having an outer frame. The outer frame has a back side, an inner periphery, and a recessed groove. The inner periphery includes a top inner periphery, a right inner periphery, a bottom inner periphery, and a left inner periphery. The recessed groove is located within the right inner periphery. The album frame further includes a mounting plate attached to the back side of the outer frame and a support shelf extending frontwardly from the mounting plate along the left inner periphery. The support shelf is adapted to support a binding of an album. The album frame further includes a first guiding ramp on the bottom inner periphery and a second guiding ramp on the top inner periphery. The first guiding ramp and the second guiding ramp guide an edge of an album cover into the recessed groove. The album frame further includes a finger notch within the inner periphery for allowing easy removal of an album.
A finger notch 34 is carved within the right front edge of the left frame member 28 and the notch 34 is vertically centered approximately at the midpoint between the top and bottom horizontal frame members 22, 26. The notch 34 can provide a means for conveniently removing an album from the frame 20 when the album is seated in the frame 20.
Guiding ramps 42 protrude from the top and bottom frame members 22, 26 on the inner peripheral surfaces perpendicular to the front surface (
A binder support shelf 30 protrudes within the inner peripheral of the frame 20 from the bottom portion of the surface of the left frame member 28 that is perpendicular to the front surface (
Inlayed in the center of the front surface of the binder support shelf 30 is a magnet 32 (e.g., neodyminium-iron-boron (Nd—Fe—B), or the like). A mounting plate 38 substantially comprises the rear surface of the frame 20. Holes 36 located on the mounting plate 38 can be counter-bored and can receive appropriate fastening hardware such as nails or screws. Holes 36 provide a means of fastening the frame 20 to a wall using fastening hardware.
Centerline notches 40 located along the edges of the open portion of the mounting plate 38 provide a convenient means to assist in aligning and mounting the frame 20 to a wall as well as providing a convenient means to align and mount multiple ornamental bound album storage frames 20 when using, for example, pencil or chalk lines as a reference.
As depicted in
As depicted in
The metal disk 58 can be formed from magnetically permeable materials (e.g., iron, steel, or the like) thereby the magnet 32 on the binder support shelf 30 and the metal disk 58 embedded within the recess 60 at the rear surface of the back cover 54 of the album 44 can be magnetically attached to one another and thereby releasably engage the album 44 to the frame 20 when the album 44 is seated within the frame 20 (
The right supporting portion 62 in
When the album 44 is being inserted into the frame 20, the guiding ramp 42 can engage the right edge 48 of the front cover 46 of the album 44 along the slanted surface 68 of the ramp 42. The guiding ramp 42 can then lift and guide right edge 48 into the recessed groove 66. The guiding ramp 42 also provides support to the rear surface of the front cover 46 of the album 44 to secure the cover 46 of the album 44 in a flat position relative to the front surface (
The back cover 54 of the album 44 along with the sheets 56 can reside beneath the front cover 46 within a cavity 70 that provides substantial space between the bottom surface of the front cover 46 of the album 44 and the top surface of the mounting plate 38 such that the space between sheets 56 can expand in anticipation of content applied to them such as photographs, scrapbook materials, memorabilia, important documents and other appropriate items conventionally stored within conventional bound albums.
The left supporting portion 64 in
As depicted in
As shown in
When in the open position (
In another exemplary embodiment, an ornamental frame 74 (
Inlayed in the center of the front surface of the upper binder support shelf 94 is a magnet 100 (e.g., neodyminium-iron-boron (Nd—Fe—B), or the like). In similar fashion, magnets 102 and 108 are inlayed in the middle and lower binder support shelves 96 and 98. A mounting plate 106 substantially comprises the rear surface of the frame 74. Holes 108 located on the mounting plate 106 can be counter-bored and can receive appropriate fastening hardware such as nails or screws. Holes 108 provide a means of fastening the frame 74 to a wall using fastening hardware.
Centerline notches 110 located along the edges of the open portion of the mounting plate 106 provide a convenient means to assist in aligning and mounting the frame 74 to a wall as well as providing a convenient means to align and mount multiple ornamental bound album storage frames 74 when using, for example, pencil or chalk lines as a reference.
As depicted in
The frame 74 is designed to look like a conventional, familiar, attractive, quality picture frame.
In yet another exemplary embodiment
A wide range of materials can be used for the frame including plastics, wood, metal, or the like, and frame 20, 74 or 112 can be monolithically formed from one such material or modularly assembled from components of the same material or varying materials based on the structural needs or cost benefits of the manufacturing process.
In an exemplary embodiment, the ornamental bound album storage frame 20 is rectangular. In other exemplary embodiments, other suitable shapes can be employed such as circular or square and the size of the frame 20 can vary substantially in correlation with the varying sizes of bound albums.
Alternate embodiments can employ other suitable fastening means to releasably engage the album 44 to the frame 20 such as adhesives, VELCRO® hook and loop closures, snaps, buttons, clasps, or the like. VELCRO® is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V. In addition, the fastening means, including magnets, can be arranged in a variety of suitable configurations to achieve a similar function.
In another exemplary embodiment, a smaller frame 20 for a small album 44 can incorporate a mounting plate 38 that is substantially composed of magnetic material (e.g., neodyminium-iron-boron (Nd—Fe—B), or the like) of sufficient strength to allow the frame 20 to be magnetically attached to a magnetically permeable surface such as refrigerator door.
While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the words, which have been used, are words of description and not of limitation. As is understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, a variety of modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the following claims, which should be given their fullest, fair scope.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090119964 A1 | May 2009 | US |