This application includes material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to the field of artistic works, and in particular to a novel method for preserving books as works of art.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of the invention.
Reference is made below in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one.
Reference in this specification to “an embodiment” or “the embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.
Taught below is a method for preserving one or more books as a work of art. In an embodiment, the method includes the steps of using a laser to cut concentric arcs into a book, thereby exposing portions of multiple pages of the book. The arcs may be circles or semicircles, or a combination thereof. The arcs may be ovals or semiovals, or a combination thereof. One or more books so cut are then each encased in a shell, which may be a transparent or semitransparent acrylic shell. In an embodiment, instead of a pattern of concentric arcs, a pattern of concentric rectangles or portions of rectangles having at least three sides can be cut. The rectangles may be squares.
The book selected for preservation as an art work preferably has sequential pages that show images using different colors. Examples of such books include art books published by publishing houses Taschen and Phaidon. Such books typically have many images within their pages and have colorful hardback covers. The pages in such books are particularly suitable because they are glossy, relatively hard and thick, comprising paper that is between 130 and 200 grams in weight.
In an embodiment, planning steps are first used to determine how many concentric arcs will be cut in a book and where on the book such arcs will be cut. The book is first measured and inspected. At least the length and width of the book are measured, but the depth may also be measured. In this respect, the exact size, location and number of arcs can be planned. Once measured, the book or a portion of it can be replicated in vector graphics editing software and the arcs can be drawn on the reproduced book using the software. An example of vector graphics editing software that can be used in the planning steps is the Coreldraw graphics suite developed and marketed by Corel Corporation of Ottawa, Canada.
With reference to
As shown in
Subsequent concentric arcs of sequentially smaller radii are then sequentially cut from pages within the book and the underlying page portions that have been cut away are sequentially removed to reveal portions of pages beneath. This is done by reducing the diameter of the arc with each arc that is cut so as to create a pattern of sequentially cut concentric arcs is created. In an embodiment, the diameter is reduced in 5 mm increments. In other embodiments, the diameter is reduced in 10 mm increments and 2.5 mm increments.
The result is shown in
From here, the page cutting process can be stopped or the process may continue with arcs of sequentially smaller radii being cut in pages fourteen onward. In an embodiment, the reducing, cutting, and removing process continues until the corner 113 is reached. In an embodiment, the reducing, cutting, and removing process continues until an arc has been cut that has the smallest radius possible with the laser cutter, e.g. 5 mm for the VL-200 cutter. In an embodiment, the reducing, cutting, and removing process continues until an arc having a diameter of 10 mm has been cut. Further, separate sets of concentric arcs may then be cut in the book if desired.
With reference to
With continuing reference to
With reference to
Next, the book or pieces thereof are covered with a transparent or semi-transparent shell. The shell may comprise, e.g., an acrylic material such as Lucite or a polycarbonate material such as Lexan. Other plastic material can be used for the shell. Glass may be used for the shell, but it is more easily broken and is difficult to cut using a machine. The transparent or semi-transparent shell material may be colored or uncolored. The shell may comprise rigid transparent material (such as acrylic) that is cut to form a cover, a counter cover, and connecting pieces to unite them. The cover, counter cover and connecting pieces can be attached together or to the book so as to form an acrylic box that encases the book. The shell may further comprise a non-transparent material such as cement, wood, Corian, plastic, acrylic, glass, aluminum or marble, particularly at the edges. The transparent or semi-transparent shell material may comprise a transparent or semi-transparent coating that hardens.
In the embodiment shown in
With reference to
Multiple books or portions of a single book can be interleaved to form a single work. In this respect, a rectangular or U-shaped notch or slot can be cut in one book or portion of a book and a second book or portion of a book can be inserted into such notch.
As used herein, “book” means a piece that has multiple pages, and includes, e.g., a hardcover book, a softcover book, a magazine, a pamphlet, or the like.
The above embodiments and preferences are illustrative of the present invention. It is neither necessary, nor intended for this patent to outline or define every possible combination or embodiment. The inventor has disclosed sufficient information to permit one skilled in the art to practice at least one embodiment of the invention. The above description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present invention and that changes in components, structure and procedure are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. For example, elements and/or steps described above and/or in the following claims in a particular order may be practiced in a different order without departing from the invention. Thus, while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.