Provisional Application No. 62/659,802
Not applicable
Not applicable
This invention relates to photography background mats, specifically mats that are portable and made with pressed woven fabric. Photography background mats are commonly used by photographers to photograph small products since they lay flat and provide a pressed woven fabric background. Current background mats are made of pressed fabric glued to a rigid surface like a board to stabilize the fabric and prevent it from folding and wrinkling. The large rigid shape and size, typically about 18″ wide×25″ long, or larger, makes them difficult and cumbersome to travel with. Simply using a folded-up piece of fabric alone does not work because it will wrinkle and crease during transport and storage. Then the photographer will have to spend time ironing the fabric before using it for a pressed fabric background.
This invention takes a unique approach by autogenously bonding the pressed woven fabric to two or more layers of woven fabric, which makes the pressed state of the fabric permanent, keeping it free of wrinkles throughout transport, adds strengthen and stiffness so the fabric can roll without easily collapsing into a fold and thus causing a crease, and offers a more compact, cylindrical shape that is easier to transport.
Prior art describes interfacing fabric, which does provide stiffness, but one layer will not prevent the mat from easily collapsing into a fold and causing a crease.
See Class 442, Subclass 264: Woven fabrics in three or more distinct layers where the fabrics have been bonded autogenously by an adhesive layer.
This invention presents a photography background mat that rolls up into a cylindrical shape, which is easier to transport than prior firm backgrounds.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a rollable and portable photography background mat that is easier to transport than prior art devices.
Now turning descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements through the several views,
The key differentiator in this invention is the layered bonding which creates just the right amount of tension and stiffness to roll up instead of folding easily. Woven fabric, such as linen, on its own will naturally fold vs rolling into a cylindrical shape. Woven fabric also wrinkles easily during transport. This invention uses flexible dual sided adhesive and layers of cotton instead of a firm board to achieve a permanent press in the top and bottom layers (reference characters 1 and 4 in
The process for making a rollable photography background is to first cut the desired fabric you want to use as a background. Iron the piece to remove all wrinkles. Set aside.
Decide how many layers of fabric you want for bonding to add strength and stiffness. Three to five layers are ideal so the mat is thin enough to roll easily in a tight cylindrical shape but thick enough to that it will not dent easily. All woven fabric (reference characters 2 in
Cut out the layers of cotton in the came size as the top layer. Iron any wrinkles out of the cotton.
Chose and cut a bottom layer of woven fabric (reference characters 4 in
Next chose a dual sided fusible and flexible fabric adhesive (reference characters 2 in
Now bond one side of the adhesive to the top layer of fabric (Item 1 in
Repeat for the two layers of cotton (reference characters 3 in
Once cool, remove the paper backing from the adhesive on both the top layer and layers of cotton. Next assemble the layers as illustrated in
Next bring the assembled layers back to your ironing table and apply the iron or heat press to the top layer, again following the adhesive instructions for minimum heat and pressing time. Cover the entire piece in one press or in sections if your iron or heat press is smaller than your background.
It is important to create a pressing table that is at least the size of your background mat so the mat will lay flat through the pressing process and then cool flat.
Allow to cool.
Trim the edges to the final size and shape if required. Sewing the edges is not required but it provides a clean finished look.