Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to a decorative
module. More particularly, the present invention is concerned
with a unit which can be used to decorate -the face of a
building or -the like. The unit according to the invention has
also been found very convenient to be used as a canvas for a
painting or the like.
It is well known that the field of decora-tion
offers practically unlimited possibili-ties in -terms of the
materials usecl to produce a new effect. On the other hand, it
is also known that aluminum and its alloys constitute a
material of choice because it is relatively easy to work and
does not oxidiæe rapLdly.
In a slightly dlfferent line of thought, it was
considered that a new decorative module would constitute an
excellent support for a plcture or a paLntincJ or the Illce, as
a replacement for the standard canvas which has been in
common use for ages.
The prior art hcts revealed a Eew desicJns based on
the above ideas, but none oE them can achieve the results
which are obtained when utiliæing the decorative module
according to the present inven-tion. This prior art is the
following:
U.S. Patent No . 2,862,322 Ziegler
U.S. Patent No. 2,806,310 Boyd
U.S. Patent No. 1,379,612 Baver
U.S. Design Patent No. 268,316 Shamoon
U.S. Design Patent No. 247,276 Smith.
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The present invention relates to a decorative
module made of a single sheet of material, which comprises a
rec-tangularly shaped concave face derived from an
intermediate portion of the sheet of material. Rearwardly
directed angle borders are formed along two opposite sides of
the concave face, and means are provided to enable any
remaining portion of the sheet of material extending past the
angled borders to fold at the rear of the concave face. The
latter forms an arc of circle whose height is at least 1/25
th the length of the chord of the arc of circle. The module
is constructed and arranged to be self-supporting and capable
of being applied against an outer surEace by fixation of the
remaining portion thereto.
The present inventJon also relates to a decorative
module made of a single sheet oE material, which comprises a
rectangularly shaped concave face derived from an
intermediate portion of the sheet oE material. Rearwardly and
inwardly angled borders ar0 formed along two opposite sides
o the concave ace, and means are provided to enable the
remaining portions of the sheet of material to fold at the
rear o the concave face and to engage into one another to
form a rigid structure. The concave face forms an arc of a
circle whose height is at least l/25th the length of the
chord of the arc of circle. The module is constructed and
arranged to be self~supporting.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention, the concave face is derived from an off centered
intermediate portion of the sheet of material. The remainlng
portions comprise a larger portion and a smaller portion and
the larger portion folds over the smaller portion.
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In accordance with another preferred embodiment of
the invention, each angled border has a front edge and a rear
edge, both edges being formed by bending the sheet of
material along two different rectilinear parallel grooves
formed therein, the rear edge being shorter than the front
edge.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of
the invention, the decorative module comprises cuts made in
the sheet of material from both sides of the latter, adjacent
the opposite sides mentioned above. Each cut is aligned with
one rear edge and reaches both ends thereof. The cuts enable
to produce folds of the sheet of material parallel to the
adjacent sides and perpendicularly to the rear edge. Each
remaining larger and smaller portions are thereby formed with
a pair of outer olds. The Eolds oE the smaller portlon i9
engaged by the folds of the larger portion, -thus consti-tuting
the back of the decoratlve module.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of
the invention, the cuts define triangular portions with -the
ends of the front edges and the rear edges, and the
triangular portion is inwardly bent against a corresponding
angled border.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of
the invention, each border defines an acute angle with
respect to the front face of the decorative module, and an
obtuse angle with respect to the back thereof.
The decorative module can be made of any suitable
material, but the preferred material is a metal, such as
aluminum or alloys thereof.
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The present invention also relates to a decorative
module made of a single sheet of material, which comprises a
rectangularly shaped concave face derived from an
intermedia-.e portion of the sheet of material. A rearwardly
and inwardly directed angled border is formed along one side
of -the concave face to define a male end of the decorative
module, and a rearwardly and outwardly directed angled border
is formed along the other side of the concave face. Means are
provided to enable -the remaining portion of ma-terial to
extend from the rearwardly and inwardly directed angled
border to define -therewith a female end of the decorative
module capable of engaging -the male end. The concave face
forms an arc of circle whose height is at least 1/25 th the
length of the chord of the arc of circle.
The invention will now be il.lustrated by means of
the following drawings in which:
F~GURE 1 is a view of the blank used to produce the
decorative module aGcording to the lnvent:lon;
FIGURE 2 is a partial perspectlve vlew showing a
corner of the decorative module;
FIGURE 3 is a front view with the concave face
partly removed showing the inner s-tructure of the decora-tlve
module according .o the invention;
FIGURE 4 is a front view showing the end -to end
connection of an alignment of decorative modules according to
the invention;
FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectlon view showing a bracket
used for mounting decorative modules according tO the
invention in side by side relationship,
FIGURE 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 of
Figure 4;
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FIGURE 7 is a view of a blank used to produce
another module according to -the invention;
FIGURE 8 is a front view showing the end to end and
side -to side connection of a plurality of decorative modules
according to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7.;
FIGURE 9 is a cross-section view showing the edge
to edge engagement of two adjacent modules according to the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 7; and
FIGURE 10 is a schematic view showing the
interconnection of a plurality of modules ln which the width
may vary.
Wi.th reference to the drawi.ngs, it will be seen
that the decorative module according to the invention i.s made
from a single blank 1 which has a rectangular shape and will
be prepared for bending and olding into the decorative
module 3 according to the inventlon, .i.n the Eollowing manner.
At the back of the sheet of aluminum 1 there are
made in a manner known to those skilled in the art,
rectilinear gro~ves 5, 7, 9, 11, :l3, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
and 27. In addition, there are made four cuts, namely cuts
29, 31, 33 and 35. It should be noted that the cuts, 29, 31,
33, and 35, are made to reach exactly the respective
junctions of grooves 5,13,21; 11,17,25; 5,15,23; and
11,19,27. With particular reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the
drawings, it will be seen that the decorative module 3
according to the invention mainly consists of a rectangular
shaped concave face 37, which, as seen from Figure 1 of the
drawings, is derived from an off centered intermediate
portion of the sheet of material 1. The remaining portions of
the sheet 1 obviously comprise a larger portion 39
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and a smaller portion 41. As shown in Figure 3 of the
drawings, the larger portion folds over the srnaller portion
in a manner which will be explained more in details la-ter.
The decorative module 3 also comprises angled
borders 43 and 45 as particularly shown in Figures 2 and 3
which are formed along the two opposite edges 47,49 (Figures
2 and 3) of the concave face 37.
These angled borders 43,45 are formed by bending
the sheet of material 1 along the two different rectilinear
parallel grooves 7,9 and 5,11 formed in the sheet of
material. As formed, each angled border 43,45 of the
decorative module has a front edge 47 and a rear edge 49. It
will be noted that only the front and rear edges oE angled
border 43 have been illustrated i~ being understood that the
front and rear edges of the angled border 45 are exactly the
same.
It has been mentioned above that cuts 29, 31, 33,
are made in the sheet of material. ReEerence is
particularly madè to Figure 1 o~ the drawings Eor the
particulàr location and arrangement oE these cuts. It will be
seen that these cuts are made in the sides 51 and 53 of the
sheet of aluminum 1. With reference to Figure 1, it will be
seen that each cut is aligned with one rear edge 49 which
coincides with a rectilinear groove 5,11 and reaches both
ends of the rear edge. As shown in Figure 1, these cuts 29,
31, 33, 35 will enable to produce folds 57, 59, 61, 63. These
folds are formed by bending the sheet of material in the
outer portions 39,41 respectively along rectilinear grooves
13, 15, 17, 19. Before proceeding to engage the outer
portions 39,41 with one another in a manner which will be
discussed later, it should be pointed out that the cuts 29,
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31, 33, 35 define triangular portions 65, 67, 69, 71 with the
ends of the front and rear edges of the angled borders 43,45.
sefore forming the decorative module, these triangular
portions are inwardly bent against a corresponding angled
border 43,45 in the manner shown particularly in Figure 3 of
the drawin~s at 65 and 67.
To give the decorative module its final shape,
after having bent the sheet of material 1 along the
rectilinear grooves in the manner indicated above, it is
merely necessary to insert the outer portion 41 with the
folds 57,59 already formed, into the folds 61,63 of the outer
portion 39. This will provide an assembly which is
self-contained, selE-supporting and sufficiently rigid to
keep its shape indefinitely.
~ lthough the materlal of the shèet can vary to a
large extent, it has been found that the best suitable
material for this purpose iB aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
Of course, any other suitable sheet metal could be used.
In the model which has been illustrated, i-t will be
noted that the concave ace forms an arc of a circle. In
this model, it has been found that the height of the arc of a
circle is about 3 inches and that the chord is about 24
inches. It has been found, however, that the height could be
as low as 1 inch while providing a structure which is
suitable for the various uses according to the present
invention.
Turning now to Figure 4, it will be seen that the
decorative module 3' has slightly converging angled borders
43',45'. It will easily be realised that this arrangement
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will permit to align a series of decorative modules 3 in end
to end relationship by embedding their adjacent ends 73,73'
as particularly shown in Figure 4.
This mounting of an alignrnent of decorative modules
enables to use the module 3 according to the inventlon to
decorate the outer face of a structure such as a building 75.
To do so it is obviously necessary to provide an arrangement
of side by side alignment of such modules. This is made
possible by providing a bracket 77. The latter consists of a
web portion 79 whose length ~, corresponds to the thickness of
the decorative module 3' at the angle borders 43,45. The
bracket 77 also comprises flanges 83,85, at one end, of
standard construction enabling to mount the bracket against
structure 75 in known manner. Finally, the bracket 77 is
provided with V-shaped double catch 87 at the other end of
the web 79. It will be seen that this double catch will
engage oppositely acing angle borders 43,45 oE two
decorative modules 3',3" placed side by slde by catching
their outer edges.
Accordlng to a varian-t, the module may be as shown
in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive in which case it is Eormed with
an inwardly angled border including an outward extension
defining therewith a female end, and an outwardly angled
border defining a male end capable of engagement with the
female end.
More particularly, with reference to Figures 7 to
10 of the drawings, it will be seen that as in the case of
the previously described embodiment, the module is made from
a single blank 89 which has a main rectangular portion 91
which is intended to constitute the concave face 93, two
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trapezoidal portions 95 and 97 from which the angled borders
99 and 101 are formed and a smaller rectangular portion 103
to constitute the remaining portion 105.
As in the case of the other embodiment rectilinear
grooves 107, 109 and 111 are made at the back of the blank
89. In addition, another groove 113 is formed in the blank
to enable to form a hook end 115 at the end of the angled
border 99.
I~ will therefore be seen that the angled border 99
;10 is rearwardly and outwardly directed terminating with a hook
portion 115, while the angled border 101 is rearwardly and
inwardly directed. The remaining portion 105 folds
outwardly, as shown in Figure 9 according to a plane which is
parallel to the tangent line 117 taken at the bot.tom 119 of
the arc of a circle defined by the concave face 93.
~ eferring again to Figure 9 o the drawings, it
will be seen that the angled borders 99 and 101 define
therebetween supplemèntary angles with respect to the surface
121 against which the modules 8g are aEixed such as by
screwing at 123. Finally, the male end defined by angled
border 99 is shaped to be received within the female end
defined by the angled border 101 and the remaining portion
105.
Of course, the decorative moduie according to the
invention may lend itself to a plurality of other
applications as it will readily be apparent to any one
skilled in the art.
