MOSAIC ART KIT

TROUSSE D'ART MOSAIQUE

English Abstract

A mosaic art kit which includes a plurality of design element pairs. Each
design
element pair includes a pie-shaped design element having two linear sides with
a convex
arcuate connective side and a complementary design element having two linear
sides with a
concave arcuate connective side. When the connective sides are engaged, the
pie-shaped
design element and the complementary design element form a square with the
connective
sides forming a quarter of a circle with the origin of the circle being one
corner of the square
and the beginning and end points of the connective sides being in opposed
corners of the
square.

Claims

What is Claimed is:
1. A mosaic art kit, comprising:
a plurality of design element pairs, each design element pair including a pie-
shaped
design element having two linear sides with a convex arcuate connective side
and a
complementary design element having two linear sides with a concave arcuate
connective
side, when the connective sides are engaged, the pie-shaped design element and
the
complementary design element form a square with the connective sides forming a
quarter of a
circle with the origin of the circle being one corner of the square and the
beginning and end
points of the connective sides being in opposed corners of the square.
2. The mosaic art kit of Claim 1, wherein each square formed of design element
pairs is of a
different size.
3. The mosaic art kit of Claim 2, wherein each square formed of design element
pairs is
progressively larger by a set mathematical relationship.
4. The mosaic art kit of Claim 3, wherein the set mathematical relationship is
a factor of
1.618.
5. The mosaic art kit of Claim 1, wherein each square is formed of design
element pairs is
coloured, with a variety of colours being represented in the plurality of
design element pairs.
6. The mosaic art kit of Claim 1, wherein each design element includes means
for attaching
to a mounting surface.
7. The mosaic art kit of Claim 6, wherein each design element magnetically
attaches to the
mounting surface.
8. The mosaic art kit of Claim 6, wherein each design element attaches with a
tape fastener to
the mounting surface.

6
9. The mosaic art kit of Claim 6, wherein each design element attaches with
static electricity
to the mounting surface.
10. The mosaic art kit of Claim 6, wherein each design element is of felt and
attaches to a felt
mounting surface.
11. The mosaic art kit of Claim 6, wherein each design element attaches
through adhesion
between materials to the mounting surface.
12. The mosaic art kit of Claim 1, in computer software for manipulation to
form art designs
using a computer.

Description

CA 02575833 2007-01-17
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TITLE:
Mosaic Art Kit
FIELD
The present invention relates to an art kit having a plurality of design
elements that
can be selectively arranged to form a mosaic.
BACKGROUND
United States Patent 4,993,984 (Matarese) is an example of a mosaic art kit.
It
consists of a mounting board and a plurality of design elements in the form of
equilateral
triangles.
SUMMARY
There is provided a mosaic art kit which includes a plurality of design
element pairs.
Each design element pair includes a pie-shaped design element having two
linear sides with a
convex arcuate connective side and a complementary design element having two
linear sides
with a concave arcuate connective side. When the connective sides are engaged,
the pie-
shaped design element and the complementary design element form a square with
the
connective sides forming a quarter of a circle with the origin of the circle
being one corner of
the square and the beginning and end points of the connective sides being in
opposed corners
of the square.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features will become more apparent from the following
description in
which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the
purpose of
illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the
invention to the
particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of an embodiment of a mosaic art kit with a
circular
mounting board;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the design element pairs of an embodiment of a
mosaic
art kit;
FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of a mosaic art kit
with a

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square mounting board;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a further embodiment of a mosaic art kit with a
triangular
mounting board; and
FIGS. 5-9 are top plan views of variations of the embodiment of the mosaic art
kit
from FIG.1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A mosaic art kit generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be
described
with reference to FIG. 1 through 9. FIGS. 5-9 have been provided primarily for
the purpose
of demonstrating the wide variety of designs that can be made using mosaic art
kit 10.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
FIGS.1 and 2 describe a mosaic art kit 10 with a plurality of design element
pairs 12.
All design element pairs 12 consist of a pie-shaped design element A and a
complementary
design element A'. Complementary design element A' has two linear sides 14 and
16 with a
concave arcuate connective side 18. Pie-shaped design element A has two linear
sides 20 and
22 with a convex arcuate connective side 24. Referring to FIG. 2, when
connective sides 18
and 24 are engaged, pie-shaped design element A and complementary design
element A'
form a square 26 with connective sides 18 and 24 forming a quarter of a circle
28. The origin
29 of circle 28 is one corner of square 26 and the beginning and end points of
connective
sides 18 and 24 are in opposed corners of square 26.
FIGS. 1 and 2 shows pie-shaped design elements 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E and
12F,
together with their respective complementary design elements 12A', 12B', 12C',
12D', 12E'
and 12F'. All pie-shaped design elements 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E and 12F share
the same
characteristics as pie-shaped design element A, while all complementary design
elements
12A', 12B', 12C', 12D', 12E' and 12F' share the same characteristics as
complementary
design element A'. Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows mosaic art
kit 10 with 6
different design element pairs 12, any number of design element pairs 12 is
possible.
Referring to FIG. 2, pie-shaped design elements 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E and
12F, with
their respective complementary design elements 12A', 12B', 12C', 12D', 12E'
and 12F',
form squares 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 26E, and 26F, respectively. Each of squares
26A, 26B,

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26C, 26D, 26E, and 26F have origins 29A, 29B, 29C, 29D, 29E, and 29F,
respectively. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, each of squares 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 26E, and 26F
is of a
different size. The size of each of squares 26F, 26E, 26D, 26C, 26B, and 26A,
may be
progressively larger by a set mathematical relationship. Additional design
element pairs 12 of
the same size may be provided. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the set
mathematical
relationship used is a factor known as the "phi ratio". It is preferred, but
not essential, that the
"phi ratio" be used between squares 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 26E and 26F. The "phi
ratio" is
equal to a ration of 1:1.618. This means that square 26E is 1.618 times larger
than square 26F,
while square 26D is 1.618 times larger than square 26E. This relationship
continues for each
progressively larger square, up to the largest square being square 26A, as
shown in FIG. 2. If
the phi ratio is used as the mathematical relationship between squares 26A,
26B, 26C, 26D,
26E, and 26F, all of design element pairs 12 for mosaic art kit 10 can be cut
from one piece of
material. Each of squares 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 26E, and 26F formed of design
element pairs
12 may be coloured. A variety of colours can be represented in the plurality
of design element
pairs 12.
Referring to FIG. 1, each of design element pairs 12 include a means for
attaching to
a mounting board 30. Many different types of means for attaching are possible.
Mounting
board 30 may be made of any type of material suitable for attaching design
element pairs 12.
In addition, any shape of mounting boards 30 may be used. Some examples of
different
shapes for mounting boards 30 are a circular mounting board 30A (shown in
FIGS. 1 and 5-
9), a square mounting board 30B (shown in FIG. 3) and a triangular mounting
board 30C
(shown in FIG. 4).
Operation:
As illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 3-9, any arrangement of the design element pairs
12
mosaic art kit 10 is possible. Pie-shaped design elements A and complementary
design
elements A' can be organized in an almost limitless number of variations,
limited only by
one's imagination, as the various figures are intended to illustrate. Mosaic
art kit 10 provides
a means for creative expression and reconfigurable art. In addition, mosaic
art kit 10 may be
used for producing aesthetic designs that can later be used for clothing or
other purposes.
With some added instructions mosaic art kit 10 could also be used for games,
puzzles, math

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education and meditative and wellness activities, to name a few example uses.
Variations:
Mosaic art kit 10 does not require a mounting board 30. The pieces may be laid
out
on a bed or on a table. Mosaic art kit 10 can also be placed into computer
software so the
design elements can be manipulated to form mosaic designs using a computer. If
a mounting
board is used, it is preferred that each design element be attached to the
mounting board.
There are numerous ways in which this can be done. United States Patent
4,993,984
(Matarese) uses an interlock system with first interlock members on the design
elements with
interlock with second interlock members on the mounting board. The design
elements may
attach magnetically to the mounting board. The design elements may attach with
tape
fasteners to the mounting board. The design elements may attach with static
electricity to the
mounting board. The design elements may be made of felt so that they can
attach to a felt
mounting board. The design elements and the mounting board can be made from
materials
that attach to each other through adhesion. For bath toys, the design elements
can adhere to
the mounting board using a thin layer of water.
In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting
sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not
specifically
mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite
article "a" does not
exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless
the context clearly
requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made
to the
illustrated embodiments without departing from the scope of the Claims.

Representative Drawing