Patent Application
20180014664
The invention generally relates to a picture frame, and more particularly, to a picture frame including multiple adjustable indicia.
Current commercially available picture frames mostly include a frame or moulding, a picture glass, a mat, a center space for placing a photo, and a backing board. Some picture frames may include a description or logo to indicate the occasion of the photo, for example, “Anniversary,” “Congratulations.” Parents of newborn babies have very limited choices in selecting a picture frame that may include any memorialized information about the new born. Even custom-made picture frames only include simple descriptions, for example, a name and a date.
It is therefore desirable to provide a picture frame that includes multiple descriptions and adjustable markers for marking the descriptions, and that provides advantages heretofore unknown in the art.
A picture frame including descriptive indicia and adjustable markers for marking descriptions is provided. The picture frame includes a picture frame body having a picture window disposed in the center of the picture frame body. A plurality of descriptive borders is disposed at the periphery of the picture frame. The plurality of descriptive borders include indicia for indicating a name, a year of birth, a blood type, a weight, a height, a date of birth, and a horoscope sign. A plurality of adjustable markers are provided to be used with the descriptive borders to provide the information relating to the subject whose picture is displayed in the picture window.
In some implementations, the picture frame includes a picture frame body having a picture window disposed in the center of the picture frame body, the picture window including a backing board and a picture glass. The plurality of descriptive borders include a first descriptive border disposed outwardly from the picture window and including receptacles for receiving matching tiles, a first weight measurement indicia in metric system, a second weight measurement indicia in a system different from the metric system, a first height measurement indicia in metric system, and a second height measurement indicia in a system different from the metric system. A second descriptive border is disposed outwardly adjacent to the first descriptive border and including indicia for minutes. A third descriptive border is disposed outwardly adjacent to the second descriptive border and including indicia for hours. A fourth descriptive border is disposed outwardly adjacent to the third descriptive border, and a fifth descriptive border is disposed outwardly adjacent to the fourth descriptive border, the fourth descriptive border and the fifth descriptive border including indicia for dates. And a sixth descriptive border is disposed outwardly adjacent to the fifth descriptive border and including indicia for astrology. A plurality of adjustable markers are provided to be used with the descriptive borders to provide the information relating to the subject whose picture is displayed in the picture window.
Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages of the disclosure will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The present invention may be better understood by referring to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
The plurality of descriptive borders 200 are preferably indexed or centered about a center axis 112 of the picture window 110. The descriptive borders 200 may include a plurality of descriptive indicia, or descriptions 300 (as illustrated in
A hanging, or mounting hook 514 may be included for hanging the picture frame 100 on a vertical surface, such as a wall. In some implementations, the hanging hook 514 may be a rectangular indent. In some exemplary operations, the backing board 510 may be temporarily removed so that a picture may be placed in the picture window 110. The backing board 510 may be removed by rotating the clips 516 outwardly, out of engaging contact with the backing board 510.
Turning our attention back to the picture window 110, the inner frame 117 may be secured or otherwise held together by four securing posts 130. The securing posts 130 may be constructed of plastic, PVC, wood, aluminum, ceramic, or other suitable materials. In some implementations, each securing post 130 may be coupled or otherwise attached to a frame surface 140 by, for example, an adhesive or fasteners. In other implementations, the securing post 130 may be integrally formed with the frame surface 140.
In some implementations, the inner frame 117 and a picture glass 115 may be disposed on top of the mats 120. In some implementations, the post 130 may, further, secure the picture glass 115 and the inner frame 117 together with the mats 120.
As described herein, the picture frame 100 includes a plurality of descriptive borders 200 disposed at the periphery of the picture frame 100. The descriptive borders 200 provide information about the subject of the picture. For example, in some implementations described herein, the descriptive borders 200 provide information about an infant's birth. In some other implementations, also described herein, the descriptive borders 200 provide information about a pet.
In particular, as shown, the descriptive borders 200 may include, for example, an innermost or first descriptive border 210 for displaying, for example only, the name, year of birth, blood type, and measurements in weight and height (or length) of the subject of the picture. A second descriptive border 220 may be disposed outwardly adjacent to the first descriptive border 210 for indicating, for example only, the minute in which the subject of the picture was born. A third descriptive border 230 may be disposed outwardly adjacent to the second descriptive border 220 for indicating, for example only, the hour in which the subject of the picture was born.
A fourth descriptive border 240 may be disposed outwardly adjacent to the third descriptive border 230 for indicating, for example only, the day in which the subject of the picture was born. A fifth descriptive border 250 may be disposed outwardly adjacent to the fourth border 240 for indicating, for example only, the month in which the subject of the picture was born. And an outermost or sixth descriptive border 260 may be disposed outwardly adjacent to the fifth descriptive border 250 for indicating, for example only, a horoscope indicia.
Turning now to
The first side 210-A may include a mechanism for indicating the name, year born, and blood type of the subject of the picture. In some implementations, the side 210-A includes rectangular receptacles 211 for receiving matching rectangular tiles 212 embossed or otherwise marked with alphanumeric characters.
In the example shown, the tiles 212 may be placed into the receptacles 211 to form, for example, the name (e.g., shown as “SULTAN” in
The tiles 212 may be sized to fit into the receptacles 211 and may be included as part of the picture frame 100. It should be noted that the tiles 212 may be secured from falling out of the receptacles 211 by magnetic coupling (e.g., coupling a positive pole magnet affixed to a rear surface of the tiles with a negative pole magnet affixed to an inner surface of the receptacle), an adhesive, hook-and-loop (e.g., Velcro®) coupling, or by other suitable means.
A second side 210-B of the first descriptive border 210 may be pre-marked with measurements indicia to indicate a weight in British or American systems (e.g., in pounds). In some implementations, the side 210-B may be marked with measurements from, for example, 5 to 10.5 pounds (lbs). A slidable marker 213 may be provided for adjustably marking an approximate weight of the subject in the picture. The slidable marker 213 may be slid along the inside length of the side 210-B. As shown in
Turning back to
A fourth side 210-D of the border 210 may be pre-marked with measurements indicia to indicate a weight in metric system (e.g., in kilograms). In some implementations, the side 210-D may be marked with measurements from, for example, 2.5 to 5 kilograms (Kg). A slidable marker 215 may be provided for adjustably marking an approximate weight of the subject in the picture. The slidable marker 215 may be slid along the inside length of the side 210-D.
Turning now to
In some implementations, the fourth descriptive border 240 may include four sides pre-marked with indicia to indicate the date when the subject in the picture was born. For example, the fourth descriptive border 240 may be marked with twelve sets of numbers from “1” to “31” to indicate the maximum number of days in a month, for each of the twelve months in a year. In some implementations, some sets may have less than 31 numbers.
In some implementations, the fifth descriptive border 250 may include four sides pre-marked with the months in a year. In some implementations, the marking of the months may not start from the first day of the month, e.g., January 1. Instead, the marking of the months may start in a way to approximately coincide with an astrological or horoscope calendar, for example, January 20 to February 18, February 19 to March 20, and so on, to approximately coincide with the Western astrology. It should be noted that different descriptive borders for different systems of astrology or horoscope may be provided. As the fourth descriptive border 240 (date) and the fifth descriptive border 250 (month) are used together, a slidable marker 241 may be provided for adjustably marking an approximate date when the subject in the picture was born. For example,
Turning to
The various markings described above may be imprinted, engraved, debossed or embossed into the sides of the descriptive borders 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260.
The descriptive borders 210, 220, 230, and 240 may include corresponding rails 217, 227, 237, and 247 formed on their undersides. The rails 217, 227, 237, and 247 may be sized to receive corresponding slidable markers 213, 214, 215, 221, 231, 241 (
Referring back to
It should be noted that although the frame body 410 is shown as a single structure including the frame surface 140 and the descriptive borders 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 and 260, the descriptive borders 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 and 260 may also be separate parts coupled to the frame surface 140 to form the frame body 410. It should also be noted that although the descriptive borders 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 and 260 are shown being offset from or having different elevations relative to the frame surface 140, it is also contemplated that some or all of the descriptive borders may have the same elevation.
The picture window 110 is disposed within the sealed enclosure 520 and, further, may include the picture glass 115 and the inner frame 117 coupled to the frame surface 140. The inner frame 117 is adapted to receive and retain the picture glass 115, a border mat(s) 120, and the subject picture 540. The border mat 120 defines the outer border of the subject picture 540. As further shown, the backing board 510 may be removeably coupled to a rear surface 560 (see also
Referring to
Referring back to
Turning to
To provide information about a pet, in this implementation, for example, the innermost or first descriptive border 710 may be adapted to indicate, for example only, the name, year of birth, blood type, and breed of the pet. The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth descriptive borders 720, 730, 740, 750 and 760 may include descriptive attributes similar to those of the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth descriptive borders 220, 230, 240, 250 and 260 of picture frame 100 described herein.
Turning now to
The first side 710-A may include a mechanism for indicating the name, year born, and blood type of the pet in the picture. In some implementations, the side 710-A includes rectangular receptacles 711 for receiving matching rectangular tiles 712 embossed or otherwise marked with alphanumeric characters. In the example shown, the tiles 712 may be placed into the receptacles 711 to form, for example, the name (e.g., shown as “HUSKY”), year of birth (e.g., “2009” as shown), and blood type (e.g., “0” “+” as shown) of the pet in the picture. In some implementations, the tiles 712 and receptacles 711 may be constructed to corresponding square shapes, however, in other implementations, they may be constructed to other corresponding geometric shapes. The tiles 712 may be sized to fit into the receptacles 711 and may be included as part of the picture frame 700. It should be noted that the tiles 712 may be secured from falling out of the receptacles 711 by magnetic coupling, an adhesive, hook-and-loop (e.g., Velcro®) coupling, or by other suitable means.
The descriptive border 710 may also include indicia 718 for indicating the breed of the pet in the picture. In the example shown, the indicia 718 may be provided at all four sides 710-A, 710-B, 710-C and 710-D. The descriptive border 710 may include at least one slidable marker 719-A to indicate the breed. The slidable marker 719-A may be slid along the inside length of all four sides 710-A, 710-B, 710-C and 710-D. In the example shown, two markers 719-A and 719-B are provided. The two markers 719-A and 719-B may be positioned at two different breed indicia to indicate a mixed or crossed breed from the two indicated breeds. When the pet is not a mixed or crossed breed, one of the two markers 719-A and 719-B may be positioned to a blank indicia on the descriptive border 710. It is noted that the markers 719-A and 719-B may be constructed with decorative shapes or figures. In the example shown, the adjustable markers 719-A and 719-B have the shape and figure of a bone.
The descriptive border 710 may also include one or more receptacles to receive additional pictures of the pet. In the example implementation, the descriptive border 710 includes four picture receptacles 713, 714, 715 and 716 positioned at the four corners of the descriptive border 710. The dimensions of the picture receptacles 713, 714, 715 and 716 correspond to the dimensions, for example, the width, of the descriptive border 710. The picture receptacles 713 and 714 may be smaller than the picture receptacles 715 and 716 to provide space for the receptacles 711 described herein. The additional pictures may be secured from falling out of the receptacles 713, 714, 715 and 716 by magnetic coupling, an adhesive, hook-and-loop (e.g., Velcro®) coupling, or by other suitable means.
Turning back to
In some implementations, as shown in
In general, terms such as “coupled to,” and “configured for coupling to,” and “secured to,” and “configured for securing to” and “in communication with” (for example, a first component is “coupled to” or “is configured for coupling to” or is “configured for securing to” or is “in communication with” a second component) are used herein to indicate a structural, functional, mechanical, electrical, signal, optical, magnetic, electromagnetic, ionic or fluidic relationship between two or more components or elements. As such, the fact that one component is said to be in communication with a second component is not intended to exclude the possibility that additional components may be present between, and/or operatively associated or engaged with, the first and second components.
Although the previous description illustrates particular examples of various implementations, the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing illustrative examples. A person skilled in the art is aware that the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents can be applied in various further implementations and modifications. In particular, a combination of the various features of the described implementations is possible, as far as these features are not in contradiction with each other. Accordingly, the foregoing description of implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description.
