Frame

Abstract

A frame for receiving photographs, calligraphy or the like has a core panel using a lightweight board as the core material and a sheet-like cover circumferentially covering the outer periphery of the core panel. A cutout portion for insertion, through which a photograph or the like is inserted from a side, is provided in a front face of the covering sheet such that one side of the cutout portion is in contact with an edge of the lightweight board. On the sheet-like cover are provided parallel creases used for the circumferential covering and cover-fixing member for detachably fixing the covering state. A cutout window slightly smaller than a work piece is provided in a front face of the sheet-like cover. The front face of the sheet-like cover is laid over and united with the front face of the core panel.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a frame to be assembled with a thick sheet-like material made of plastic or paper and a lightweight board incorporating a honeycomb-like structure, for freely changing objects such as photographs, painting, calligraphy or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a conventional simplified frame which is used to display a photograph.

A simplified frame 200 in the drawings has a combinational structure of a main wooden frame 51 and a thick cardboard frame 52.

The main wooden frame 51 has a structure comprising rectangular plywood 51a slightly larger than the size of a photograph D, which is reinforced with a crosspiece 51b from behind. The thick cardboard frame 52 has a structure comprising a cutout window 52a slightly smaller than the size of the photograph D to be set in the center of the thick rectangular cardboard.

Two-sided adhesive sheet 53 is attached on a rear face of the thick cardboard frame 52.

FIG. 9 describes how to use the simplified frame 200. First of all, the photograph D is firmly placed on the top face of the main wooden frame 51, and then press the thick cardboard frame 52 with a peeled exfoliate paper of the two-sided adhesive sheet 53 upon the edge of the photograph D so that the outer surface of the thick cardboard frame 52 is firmly fixed on the edge of the main frame with the adherence. Thus, attaching the photograph to the simplified frame 200 and assembling the frame can be completed with such simple operation.

Instead of the two-sided adhesive sheet 53, a tube of adhesive agent can also be applied on the back side of the thick cardboard frame 52.

As shown in FIG. 9, a ring-shaped metal 54 is screwed into the main frame 51 so that a string can be put through and the frame can be hung on the wall.

The conventional simplified frame 200 comprising the above-referenced structure is often used as a disposable frame since the adherence of the two-sided adhesive sheet 53 will actually become bad or the contact face will be damaged even if the thick cardboard frame 52 can be removed from the main frame 51 for replacing the photograph with another one.

Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the conventional frame from the viewpoint of replacement cost of the frame, wasteful use of resources, waste disposal issue or the like.

Also, at least only a piece of photograph can be put into a frame, and a thick painting, writing card or the like cannot be set in the frame.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a user-friendly and more convenient frame having materials which are plastic or thick sheets of paper together with lightweight board comprising honeycomb-like structure, enabling objects such as photographs, paintings, calligraphy or the like to be freely changed, and also plural pieces of other photographs to be set in the frame if needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the aforementioned problems, the frame in this invention is characterized by comprising a structure assembled with a thick sheet-like material made of plastic or paper and a lightweight board incorporating honeycomb-like structure, the assembled structure being a combination of a thick rectangular core panel A and a sheet-like cover B which covers around the outer surface of the core panel A, the core panel A having a core lightweight board 1 to be covered around with a thick covering sheet 2, therein a cutout 3 is provided on a front face 2a and one side of the cutout 3 is connected to one edge of the lightweight board 1 so that a photograph, painting, calligraphy or the like can be inserted into the front face 2a, the sheet-like cover B comprising four parallel creases a which make it easy to fold and cover around the aforementioned core panel A, a cover fixing means to freely fix the covering condition and a cutout window 12 which is slightly smaller than the size of the aforementioned objects to be placed on a front face 11.

And the frame in this invention is also characterized in that the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B is overlapped on the front face 2a of the core panel A.

Furthermore, the inventive frame is characterized in that rear panels 14, 14 are symmetrically provided on both sides of the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B and as a cover fixing means, a plurality of projections 15 are provided on one end of a rear face member 14 and a plurality of cut portions 16 are also provided on the other end of the other rear face member 14 so that the core panel A can be covered with the sheet-like cover B.

Each facing edge of the projections 15 and cut portions 16 are preferably cut down slantwise so that the connection face forms an undercut slope b.

And a plurality of pull-up hooks 18 for hanging the frame on the wall are preferably provided on a certain area of the rear face member 14 of the sheet-like cover B.

Also, an insertion board C is inserted into an insertion slit 3a of the cutout portion 3 so that the photograph or other objects can be attached on the insertion board C.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a front face of a frame as one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an oblique perspective view of the back side of the frame of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 along the line X-X.

FIG. 4 is an oblique perspective view of the embodiment showing a sheet-like cover which is spread over.

FIG. 5 is an oblique perspective view of the embodiment showing a front face of a core panel.

FIG. 6 is an oblique perspective view of an insertion board.

FIG. 7 partially shows a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 along the line Y-Y.

FIG. 8 is a conventional embodiment showing a front face of a simplified frame.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the line Z-Z of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment in this invention will be described here according to FIGS. 1 to 7.

FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a front face of the inventive frame 100. FIG. 2 is an oblique perspective view of the back side of the inventive frame 100. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the line X-X of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an oblique perspective view of rear side of a sheet-like cover B which is spread over. FIG. 5 is an oblique perspective view of the front face of a core panel A.

FIG. 6 is an oblique perspective view of an insertion board. FIG. 7 is a portion of a vertical cross-sectional view along the line Y-Y of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a frame 100 has a structure of thick rectangular panel in which outer periphery of a core panel A as shown in FIG. 5 is longitudinally covered with a rectangular sheet-like cover B as shown in FIG. 4.

The core panel A, as shown in FIG. 5, comprises a core material of paper-made honeycomb board (lightweight board) 1 which is slightly smaller than the size of the frame 100, and the outer periphery of the core panel A is circumferentially covered with a thick covering sheet 2 made of plastic or paper, and pasted together.

Instead of the honeycomb board, a foamed plastic board or the like can also be used.

A cutout portion 3 for inserting a photograph D is provided on a front face 2a of the covering sheet 2 to be overlapped on the front side of the honeycomb board 1, and one end of the cutout portion 3 is connected to the edge of the honeycomb board 1.

Also, a cut portion 4 is provided on a front face of the honeycomb board 1 so that the photograph D can easily be inserted into and removed from the frame 100 with fingers.

Instead of the photograph D, a painting, calligraphy, writing card or the like can also be placed into the frame.

A rectangular sheet-like cover B as shown in a development view of FIG. 4 is also made of plastic, paper or synthetic paper. A mid section corresponding to a front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B is overlapped with the front face of the core panel A.

The front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B comprises a cutout window 12 which is smaller than the size of the photograph D so that the outer circumference of the front face 11 becomes a frame panel.

The front face 11 is attached to the front face of the core panel A with an adhesive agent, thus, the pasted section of the core panel A and the sheet-like cover B are combined into one.

Side wall members 13, 13 are connected to both sides of the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B in a longitudinal direction through parallel creases a, a so that the side wall members 13, 13 overlap with the side members of the core panel A.

As shown in FIG. 2, each side wall member 13 is connected to a rear face member 14 through each crease a so that each rear face member 14 is engaged in the center of the rear side of the core panel A.

And as shown in FIG. 2, each rear face member 14 comprises a cover fixing means to fix the core panel A to be covered around with the sheet-like cover B.

The cover fixing means in this embodiment has a combinational structure in which a projection 15 provided on the end of one rear face member 14 is engaged with a cut portion 16 provided on the end of the other real face member.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover fixing means in this invention includes three projections and three cut portions to be engaged together.

Each projection and cut portion is formed to be hexagonal shape so that each pair of the projection and cut portion is firmly engaged. The shape of the projection and cut portion can also be other shapes such as trapezoid, round shape or the like.

And as shown in FIG. 7, each engaged face of the projection 15 and cut portion 16 is cut down slantwise so that the connection face forms an undercut slope b.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4, a two-sided adhesive sheet 17 to be attached on the rear face of the core panel A is provided on the rear face 14 of the undercut slope b. However, only if the cover fixing function is fully effective, the aforementioned side face will not necessarily form into the slope b.

Instead of the combination of the projection 15 and cut portion 16, the cover fixing means also includes other methods, that is, a velvet fastener (trade name: Velcro i.e. hook and loop fastener) or the like is provided on both rear face members 14,14.

Pull-up hooks 18, 18 to put a string (not described in the figure) through for hanging the frame 100 on the wall are symmetrically provided on the corner area of each rear face member 14. A hole c is provided on the pull-up hook to lace a string through.

As shown in FIG. 6, an insertion board C is made of a rectangular paper board which is slightly smaller than the size of the cutout portion 3 provided on the front face 2a of the covering sheet 2.

A tab 19 is projected on one end of the insertion board C through a crease d so that the tab 19 can easily be inserted into and removed from the cutout portion 3.

Or, as shown in FIG. 6, a tape 22 can be attached to the insertion board C as a separate “tab” instead of the aforesaid tab 19.

As shown in FIG. 6, the photograph D (or other objects) is placed on the insertion board C, and at this time the photograph D (or other objects) should be placed closely to one end of the insertion board C.

A tape 20 is a two-sided adhesive tape to firmly fix the aforesaid condition of the photograph D (or other objects) to be placed on the insertion board C. Or, the photograph D and the insertion board C can be fixed by using a single-sided adhesive tape 21 as shown in FIG. 6.

The following describes how to use the frame 100.

The frame 100 is sold as an assembled structure as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this condition, the back of the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B is fixed on the front face 2a of the core panel A as described above and also as indicated by imaginary line in FIG. 4.

In other words, the sheet-like cover B is united with the core panel A through this adhesive area.

In order to place the photograph D into the frame 100, first of all turn over the frame 100 as shown in FIG. 2.

Then pull up the left rear face member 14 so that the projection 15 engaged with the cut portion 16 forming a undercut slope b (as shown in FIG. 7) can easily be separated from the cut portion 16.

As shown in FIG. 4, open the rear face members 14, 14 sideways like the outside back cover of the book is open so that an insertion slit 3a of the cutout portion 3 appears on the edge of the side face of the core panel A.

Then as shown in FIG. 6, pick up the tab 19 with fingers and fully insert the insertion board C with the photograph D into the insertion slit 3a, thus, the photograph D will be completely received in the frame 100.

After placing the photograph D into the frame 100, fold the left rear face member 14 back to the original position like the outside back cover of the book is closed, and then press the projection 15 against the cut portion 16 until the projection 15 can be engaged with the cut portion 16 forming a undercut slope b by using the elasticity of the sheet-like cover B, thus, the outer circumference of the core panel A is covered around with the sheet-like cover B so that the frame 100 is firmly assembled as shown in FIG. 2.

Finally, pull upward two of the four-corner hooks 18 along the crease b as shown in FIG. 2 according to a vertical or horizontal direction of the frame 100 to be hung on the wall, and put the string through the hole c of the hook 18 before hanging.

If it is necessary to replace the photograph D with another photograph, painting, calligraphy, writing card or the like, then open the left rear face member 14 sideways, and pull out the insertion board C with the photograph D from the insertion cutout portion 3.

At this time, the hook 19 or tape 22 provided on the insertion board C as well as the cut portion 4 provided on the honeycomb board 1 make it easy to pull and insert the insertion board C.

Also, the depth (thickness) of the cutout portion 3 can easily be adjusted by changing the thickness of the covering sheet 2.

Therefore, plural pieces of other photographs, thick writing card, painting or the like can also be put into the cutout portion 3.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Compared to the conventional simplified frames or the like, the inventive frame as described above produces the following practical effect.

(a) Other photographs or the like can easily and quickly be replaced as many times as needed although it is difficult or sometimes impossible to replace the photograph in the conventional simplified frames and which is often disposed of.

(b) Therefore, it is possible to greatly alleviate the problems such as high expense and wasteful use of resources that the conventional simplified frames have.

(c) The depth of the insertion slit to insert the photograph or the like can easily be adjusted so that plural pieces of other photographs can be inserted together or a thick painting, writing card or the like can also be placed into the inventive frame although only one piece of photograph can be placed in the conventional frame.

(d) Hanging hooks incorporated in the inventive frame can reduce cost and time for hanging the frame on the wall.

(e) Only changing the size of the cutout window provided on the sheet-like cover makes it possible to place the various sizes of photographs into the frame.

Claims

1. A frame characterized by comprising a structure assembled with a thick sheet-like material made of plastic or paper and a lightweight board incorporating honeycomb-like structure, the assembled structure being a combination of a thick rectangular core panel A and a sheet-like cover B which covers around the outer surface of the core panel A, the core panel A having a core lightweight board 1 to be covered around with a thick covering sheet 2, therein a cutout 3 is provided on a front face 2a and one side of the cutout 3 is connected to one edge of the lightweight board 1 so that a photograph, painting, calligraphy or the like can be inserted into the front face 2a, the sheet-like cover B comprising four parallel creases a which make it easy to fold and cover around the aforementioned core panel A, a cover fixing means to freely fix the covering condition and a cutout window 12 which is slightly smaller than the size of the aforementioned objects to be placed on a front face 11.

2. A frame of claim 1 characterized in that the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B is overlapped on the front face 2a of the core panel A.

3. A frame of claim 1 characterized in that rear panels 14, 14 are symmetrically provided on both sides of the front face 11 of the sheet-like cover B and as a cover fixing means, a plurality of projections 15 are provided on one end of a rear face member 14 and a plurality of cut portions 16 are also provided on the other end of the other rear face member 14 so that the core panel A can be covered with the sheet-like cover B.

4. A frame of claim 3 characterized in that each facing edge of the projections 15 and cut portions 16 are preferably cut down slantwise so that the connection face forms an undercut slope b.

5. A frame of claim 1 characterized in that a plurality of pull-up hooks 18 for hanging the frame on the wall are preferably provided on a certain area of the rear face member 14 of the sheet-like cover B.

6. A frame of claim 1 characterized in that an insertion board C is inserted into an insertion slit 3a of the cutout portion 3 and a photograph or other objects can be attached on the insertion board C.