Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PHOTO MAT WITH ALIGNMENT GRID
AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME
Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to photo mats for displaying graphic
materials and, more specifically, to photo mats having an alignment grid for
aligning the
graphic materials to the photo mat, and a method of using the same_
Background of the Disclosure
Mountings for photos and, more particularly, photo mats for mounting pictures
in
frames, are known in the art. For example, United States Patent No. 3,024,553
discloses
a mount for photographs having a back panel and a mounting panel. The back
panel
includes indices and adhesive strips to locate and~adhere the photo on the
back panel. In
another example, United States latent No. 3,581,423 discloses a self sticking
page for
photo albums, production scheduling charts, presentation pages, advertising
layouts and
the like. The self sticking page includes a board or support member having a
pair of
transparent sheets associated therewith.
In another example, United Slates Patent No_ 3,687,770 discloses materials and
a
method for mounting a picture in accurate relation on a sheet of mount
material and
providing a mat with a picture viewing opening of the correct size to frame
the picture
and provide the proper overlap of the mat onto the edges of the picture
adjacent the
picture viewing opening, thereby making a neat mounted and matted picture. The
mount
is provided with coordinate guide means marking equal distance intervals
extending
horizontally and vertically in opposite directions from intersecting
horizontal and vertical
axes through a selected central point on said mount, identifying means for
selected of said
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coordinate guide means, and a sheet of mat material having coordinate guide
means and
identifying means similar to the coordinate guide means and identifying means
on said
mount for use as guides in cutting the picture viewing opening through the mat
material,
the coordinate guide means and identifying means on said mat material
corresponding to
the coordinate guide means and identifying means on said mount being closer to
said
horizontal and vertical axes by the amount of the desired overlap of the mat
onto the
edges of the picture at the edges of the picture viewing opening.
In yet another example, United States Patent No 6,052,933 discloses a picture
framing system for mounting, displaying and protecting a photograph or work of
art on a
vertical surface of ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal, or a non-metallic
surface without
using nails. The picture framing system includes a sleeve or pocket-type
photograph
holder which can be used with various styles of mats and picture frames for
mounting,
displaying, and protecting the photograph against the flat vertical surface,
such as a
refrigerator door or dining room wall. The picture framing system includes a
flexible
I S sheet having an adhesive front surface for attachment to the photograph
holder and a
magnetized rear surface for permitting the attachment of either type of
photograph holder
to a ferrous metal surface. The picture framing system also includes a flat,
flexible ferro-
magnetic sheet having a front magnetically-attractive surface and a rear
adhesive surface
for allowing either type of photograph holder and the picture frame to be
mounted on a
non-ferrous metal surface or any non-metallic surface. In addition, the
picture framing
system includes a centering tool for centering the photograph or art work on
the mat and
within the sleeve or pocket-type photograph holder and also within the picture
frame.
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Summary of the Disclosure
In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a photo mat including a base,
a
grid, and at least one adhesive strip is disclosed. The base includes a front
surface, a rear
surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base. The grid is
disposed on
S the rear surface of the base and includes a first plurality of parallel
lines and a second
plurality of parallel lines that are generally perpendicular to each other_
The at least one
adhesive area is disposed on the rear surface.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a display device
including a
photo mat and a frame adapted to receive the photo mat is disclosed. The photo
mat
includes a base, a grid, and at least one adhesive strip. The base includes a
front surface,
a rear surface, and an opening disposed within a perimeter of the base. The
grid is
disposed on the rear surface of the base and includes a first plurality of
parallel lines and a
second plurality of parallel lines that are generally perpendicular to each
other_ The at
least one adhesive area is disposed on the rear surface.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of positioning
an
image on a photo mat is disclosed. The method includes aligning the image to
at least
one grid located on a rear surface of the photo mat, wherein the grid is
aligned to an
opening in the photo mat. The method further includes adhering the image to at
least one
adhesive area located on the rear surface of the photo mat.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a rear isometric view of one exemplary embodiment of a photo mat,
constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;
Fig. 2 is rear plan view of the photo mat of Fig. 1;
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Fig. 3 is a partial rear plan view of the photo mat of Fig. l, with emphasis
on the
grids;
Fig. 4 is a rear isometric view of the photo mat of Fig. 1, with a photo
partially
attached thereto;
Fig_ 5 is a front isometric view of the photo mat of Fig. 1 in a picture
frame; and
Fig_ 6 is an isometric view of a photo album having album pages implementing
photo mats of the present disclosure.
While the method and device described herein are susceptible to various
modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments
thereof have
been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be
understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the
specific forms
disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
alternative
constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the
invention as
defined by the appended claims.
Detailed Description
Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to Fig. I, a photo
mat is
generally depicted by reference numeral 20. As shown therein, the photo mat 20
in this
one exemplary embodiment includes a base 21, an opening 22, and a grid 24, and
one or
more adhesive areas 26 disposed on a rear surface of the base 21. A user may
attached an
image or picture 28 to the photo mat 20 with the image of the pictures aligned
with and
viewable through the opening 22, and may then display the picture 28 on the
photo mat
20 in a frame, or the like.
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The photo mat 20, as seen in Fig. l, may be constructed from a paper,
cardboard,
wood, metal, chipboard/mat board, ceramic, leather, glass, poly-resin,
magnetic material,
etc., or any combination thereof_ The base 21 may include a front surface 30,
a rear
surface 32, and a perimeter.
The base 21, as seen in Fig. 2, may have one or more edges depending on the
shape of the photo mat 20. For example, in this exemplary embodiment, the base
21 has a
generally rectangular shape and, as such, includes an upper edge 34, a lower
edge 36, a
first side edge 38, and a second side edge 40, wherein the upper and lower
edges 34, 36
are substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to
the first and the
second edges 38, 40. The shape of the base 21 may, however, be round, square,
triangular, oval, odd shaped or a combination thereof, and may, therefore,
have a
corresponding number of edges_
In one exemplary embodiment, the opening 22 may be located near a center of
the
photo mat 20, but the opening 22 may be located anywhere in the perimeter of
the photo
mat 20. The opening 22, like the perimeter of the photo mat 20, may have one
or more
edges which may correspond to the shape of the perimeter. In this exemplary
embodiment, the opening 22 has a generally rectangular shape and, as such,
includes an
upper edge 42, a lower edge 44, a first side edge 46, and a second side edge
48, wherein
the upper and lower edges 42, 44 are substantially parallel to each other and
substantially
perpendicular to the first and second side edges 46, 48. The shape of the
opening 22 may,
however, be round, square, triangular, oval, odd shaped or a combination
thereof, and
may, therefore, have the corresponding number of edges.
The grid 24, as seen in Fig. 2, includes a plurality of first lines oriented
parallel to
each other, and may include a plurality of second lines oriented parallel to
each other and
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perpendicular to the plurality of first lines. The grid 24 is oriented and
aligned relative to
the photo mat 20 and/or portions thereof, to enable the alignment of the image
28 relative
to the opening 22_ The grid 24 may be located anywhere on the rear surface 32
of the
photo mat 20 and, as in this exemplary embodiment, may be locate near two
edges of the
opening 22. More specifically, the grid 24 may be located on opposite edges of
the
opening 22 and, as such, may be located near the top edge 42 and the bottom
edge 44 of
the opening 22_ The grid 24, when disposed in more than one area of the photo
album 20
may be located at a substantially similar, if not equal, position relative to
the opening 22
andlor the perimeter of the base 21 _ For example, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, a
first grid
section 24a is located in the same position relative to the upper edge 42 as a
second grid
24b is positioned relative to the lower edge 44. As such, the first set of
lines or the
second set of lines of the first and second grid sections 24a, 24b will align
along a first
axis, and the other of the first and second set of lines will be equally
spaced from the
edges 42, 44 and be_parallel to each other_ The grid 24 may be printed on the
photo mat
20, but may be placed on the photo mat 20 by many other means_ For example,
the grid
24 may be on a sticker that is placed on the photo mat 20, the grid 24 may be
stitched on
the photo mat 20, and/or the grid 24 may be part of the one or more adhesive
areas 26.
The grid 24 may, however, be adapted to function with photo mats having
various
shapes and configurations. Fbr example, the grid 24 may be disposed on the
rear surface
32 of a photo mat and/or opening 22 that is round, square, triangular, oval,
odd shaped or
a combination thereof. Similarly, the grid 24 may have such shapes and
configurations to
align an other than four sided image to the opening 22_
The one or more adhesive areas 26, as seen in Fig_ 2, may include double-sided
tape, a sticky surface, and/or any other type of adhesive or adhesion method
that may
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allows for the repositioning of the image 28 intended to be attached to the
adhesive areas
26_ In this exemplary embodiment, the adhesive areas 26 are a pair of mufti
use adhesive
strips 26 thai allow the user to place, remove, and replace the image 28 on
the adhesive
areas 26 multiple times with out greatly reducing the adhesive properties of
the adhesive
areas 26, and without damaging the image 28. The adhesive areas 26 may be
located
anywhere on the rear surface 32 of the photo mat 20, and as in this exemplary
embodiment, may be locate near two edges of the opening 22. More specifically,
the
adhesive areas 26 may be located on opposite edges of the opening 22 and, as
such, may
be located near first side edge 46 and the second side edge 48 of the opening
22.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the photo mat 20 may be a page, or a part
of the
page, in a photo album 60, as seen in Fig. 6. The photo album 60 may include a
body 62
having a front cover 64 and rear a cover 66, and a binding mechanism 68. The
photo mat
may be disposed between the front and rear covers 64, 66, and the binding
mechanism
68 may be a perfect bind, or any other mechanism able to attach the photo mat
20 to the
I S body 62. For example, the binding mechanism 68 may include, but is not
limited to, a
ring and hole mechanism, a hook and loop mechanism, a clip, and the like.
For reasons of clarity and brevity, the following operation will be described
while
referring to a photo mat 20 having the pair of grids 24a, 24b and a pair of
adhesive areas
26a, 26b located near the opening 22 as described previously, but may be used
with any
20 number of grids 24 and adhesive areas 26 located anywhere on the rear
surface 32 of the
photo mat 20.
In operation, as seen in Fig. 4, the user depending on the construction of the
adhesive areas 26 may remove a backing or cover 50 from the adhesive areas 26
to
expose a tacky, sticky or otherwise adhesive surface. The user may then align
the image
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28 to the grid 24 prior to adhering the image 28 to the adhesive areas 26. In
one
exemplary embodiment, the user may align the image 28 to the opening 22 andlor
the
perimeter of the base 21, by aligning an upper portion 52 of the image 28 to
the first grid
section 24a, and aligning a lower portion 54 of the image 28 to the second
grid section
24b. in doing so, the user may place the upper portion 52 on a corresponding
area of the
grid 24a, as the lower portion 54 is placed on the grid 24b.
The image 28 may be adhered to the photo mat 20 by then pressing the image 28
against the adhesive areas 26a and 26b_ If desired, the user may remove the
image 28
from one or more of the adhesive areas 26 by simply pulling the image 28 from
the
adhesive areas 26, and may reposition or replace the image 28 as described
previously.
The photo mat 20, after andlor before the image 28 is placed thereon, may be
disposed
into a display device, such as a frame 50, as seen in Fig. S. As such, the
image 28 may be
aligned to the photo mat 20, and the photo mat 20 andlor the image 28 may be
aligned to
the frame 50.
While the above has been described with reference io specific examples which
are
intended to be illustrative only and not to be limiting of the invention, it
will be apparent
to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes, additions or deletions may
be made to the
disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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