Universal foldable frame moulding and process
An L-shaped moulding and process for forming a completed frame or protective liner for an art or other object from a single unitary piece which may be decorated, and folded to surround the perimeter and affix at the back.
It is commonly known that picture frame mouldings are made from woods, metals, or composite materials in predefined colors and finishes, most of which are cut by a framer with specialized equipment such as a miter saw or chopper, into any lengths. Currently there are no alternatives to employing miter saws or choppers to cut these materials into the desired length segments particularly if the required length is non-standard. Once cut to the desired lengths, joining the severed moulding pieces into a frame unit is carried out using specialized vises to hold the individual segments while glues, nails, staples, or other joining devices are applied to the ends in order to hold the frame segments securely together.
There are designs using extruded thermoplastic resin based moulding to create picture frames such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,625 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,637 but they are limited in scope by their requirement for predefined depths, widths, lengths or other attribute, in these cases the art assembly thickness must be less than that of the C-shaped or U-shaped channel openings of these mouldings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,914 created a need for a cover to protect the micro-thin seals and to allow the hermetically sealed enclosures to be deployed in a wider range of decorative moulding designs particularly shallow wood mouldings.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention relates to the framing of pictures or other objects having common or unusual sizes and shapes using an L-shaped moulding.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONTherefore an object of this invention is to provide a moulding that does not require it to be severed into length or width segments thereby avoiding the need to rejoin the individual segments back into a frame unit, a further object of this invention is to provide a moulding that will accommodate assemblies or objects having variable lengths, widths, depths, and angles that may form a completed picture frame structure or protective cover or liner by anyone, with or without prior picture framing knowledge or picture frame joining equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is comprised of a continuous moulding that may be folded to construct a completed picture frame.
In use, the moulding face and side may be trimmed or mitered to allow the side to be bent or folded to any angle. The leading and trailing ends may overlap on the sides of the assembly to achieve join, and the appearance of a unified assembly. The base moulding can be made of from a variety of materials and the surface may be decorated, painted, or colorized to meet any artistic design objectives. This moulding may be trimmed, cut, or mitered at the side along the ruts or grooves which provide a means of forming straight line bends or folds from the side to the back of the assembly and lay parallel to the back surface of an assembly. Holes may be made in the moulding prior to adhering in order to attach a wire for hanging purposes or an easel backing may be inserted prior to adhering for tabletop displays. In the present embodiments the moulding is employed to surround the perimeter of a typical art assembly having a depth of less than 1 inch and is well within the rabbet height of the moulding. In situations where the art assembly exceeds the rabbet height of the moulding such as when creating shadowboxes, a second piece of this moulding may be employed starting at the rear of the assembly and joined to the front moulding at the sides of the assembly by overlapping joins.
The moulding face may be trimmed or cut off completely and the side of the moulding may be used as extension material to surround and cover an assembly wider than the combined depth of two pieces of this invention. The thickness of an assembly often exceeds the rabbet height of a chosen moulding design. In such cases this invention would be employed as a liner for the moulding and protect any part of the assembly protruding beyond the height of the frame rabbet and a second piece of this invention would be attached from the rear of the said protruding assembly and folded in a Z-shape to provide a method of securing the assembly to the wood frame moulding using adhesive or other device such as staples or screws and attaching a hanging device to the wood moulding.
This invention may be completely removed from an assembly by gently prying it apart starting at a corner and slowly working along an edge. Once removed the art objects may be exchanged and the assembly may be reassembled.
BRIEF SUMMERY OF THE DRAWINGSIn the drawings:
It must be noted here that the drawings and embodiments that follow are one of many possible embodiments and use applications for the present invention.
An array of ruts or grooves on one side is shown by 11b through 11c facilitate straight line bends or folds by causing weakened areas in moulding 11 and may be painted or otherwise decorated and secured in place which may be in the form of double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive type or other means at any location along a surface to adhere to itself and any other surface. 12 shows a fold point for this embodiment. Rabbet area 13 receives an assortment of assembly or sub-assembly types, depths, and sizes to be to be covered and protected by 11.
Claims
1. A reusable L-shaped frame moulding having ruts or grooves along the side.
2. A foldable moulding to complete a unitary frame around the perimeter of an assembly which may include but not limited to glazing, spacers, art objects, boards, and backing materials.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 18, 2005
Publication Date: Jul 13, 2006
Inventor: Jerome Gipson (Vancouver)
Application Number: 11/281,992
International Classification: A47G 1/06 (20060101);