AU2005211633B2 - Memorabilia conservation packet - Google Patents

Abstract

- 14 Abstract A packet capable of displaying and conserving a memorabilia item, the packet including a plastic film over a mounting board, the mounting board having a face 5 capable of receiving the item and the film having a display portion through which the item may be viewed. The film includes one or more retaining portions which are folded about at least a part of the edges of the mounting board, and is semi-rigid to apply a clamping force to the item about at least a portion of the periphery of the face of the mounting board to hold the item in place. eN *CN r-4 eN e(N

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: MEMORABILIA CONSERVATION PACKET Applicant: ALEXANDER DAVID MERICKA The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 -2 MEMORABILIA CONSERVATION PACKET Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates to the display of items of memorabilia, in a manner that serves to both conserve and display the item. By 'memorabilia' is meant any item for which there might be a desire for display or conservation, be they in the form of artistic, historical, political, sporting or social items, either modern or antique. 10 Background of the Invention Items of memorabilia are often set and presented in a frame. For some time, this setting has been achieved by attaching, such as by gluing, adhering or 15 stapling, authentic items to a mounting board to be framed behind glass. The risk of damage to the item is high due to the manner of attachment, and the subsequent handling of the item (in an often bulky and heavy frame) is made difficult. 20 It is a primary aim of the present invention to be able to present an item of memorabilia by encapsulating it with a mounting board rather than attaching it to a mounting board, so as to protect the item and reduce the risk of damage to the item. It is a secondary aim of the invention to package an item of memorabilia for discrete use, such that the package can itself then be handled, 25 framed, displayed or stored, as required. Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a packet capable of displaying and conserving a 30 memorabilia item, the packet including a plastic film over a mounting board, the mounting board having a face capable of receiving the item and the film having a display portion through which the item may be viewed, wherein: -3 - the film includes one or more retaining portions which are folded about at least a part of the edges of the mounting board; and - the film is semi-rigid to apply a clamping force to the item about at least a portion of the periphery of the face of the mounting board to hold the 5 item in place. The packet of the present invention thus encapsulates the item in a protective plastic film, the semi-rigid nature of which not only contributes to the provision of the clamping force but also provides a strong and durable protective cover. 10 Ideally, the plastic film will be acid-free to further protect the item. Ideally, the mounting board will be formed of a reasonably rigid yet light-weight material, which can be sized similarly to the peripheral outline (when mounted) of the memorabilia item, and the material of at least the face will be acid-free. 15 In this way, the entire packet is lightweight and of a size no bigger than the item itself, and holds (by clamping) the item in place. This avoids the need to somehow directly attach the item to the mounting board, hence further minimising the risk of damaging the item. This also simplifies the subsequent handling of the item, as the packet can itself be stored, transported, or 20 separately framed as necessary. The present invention also provides a kit of parts for a packet capable of displaying and conserving a memorabilia item, the kit including a plastic film and a mounting board, the mounting board having a face capable of receiving the 25 item, the plastic film including a display portion and one or more retaining portions which can be folded about at least a part of the edges of the mounting board, the plastic film also being semi-rigid to apply a clamping force to an item to be displayed, about at least a portion of the periphery of the face of the mounting board to hold the item in place 30 -4 General Description of the Invention It is envisaged that most embodiments of the present invention will be packets that have a rectangular shape. The mounting board will thus normally have four 5 edges, being two pairs of opposed edges. While the subsequent description of various aspects of the invention will be more easily understood with reference to such a shape, the invention is of course not to be limited to only such a shape. Also, while any plastic film that is semi-rigid will be suitable for use in the 10 present invention, the following assistance is provided to determine which materials are likely to be suitable. Polyester thermoplastic resins are generally regarded to have a higher stiffness (determined by the material's Young's Modulus) than other polymers and are 15 thus more likely to provide suitable characteristics for use as the film in the present invention than other polymers. Suitable polyester thermoplastic resins are polyethylene terepthalate, polybutylene terepthalate, polyethylene napthalate, and aromatic copolyesters. 20 The preferred material is a biaxially oriented polyethylene terepthalate such as the materials sold by DuPont Teijin Films as Mylar TM (and specifically Mylar T M GA-10) or Cadillac Plastics as Cadco T M (and specifically Cadco TM Anti-Static Polyester layout base). Particularly advantageous films are those with thicknesses in the range of 10 to 400 microns, but more preferably in the range 25 of 50 to 200 microns. In a preferred form, the retaining portions of the plastic film are folded about at least opposing edges of the mounting board. More preferably, the retaining portions are folded about substantially all edges of the mounting board. 30 The folding of the retaining portions of the plastic film about an edge of the mounting board is an important aspect of the invention. The plastic film is not -5 moulded to a pre-determined shape, potentially allowing there to be large gaps between the film and the face of the mounting board (all the way to the edge of the mounting board) within which the memorabilia item may move. Rather, in the present invention, after the retaining portions of the film are manipulated 5 around and behind the mounting board, the film will contact the edge of the mounting board at the outermost periphery of the face, with the gap between the film and the face decreasing to zero at the edge. It will thus be understood that from the line of contact at the edge of the 10 mounting board (the outermost periphery of the face) inwardly of that the edge, there will be a portion of the periphery of the face where the gap is less than the thickness of the item. This will ensure that the film (provided it is semi-rigid), after folding, applies a clamping force to the item in that region to hold the item in place. 15 In one form, the clamping force is applied to at least opposing edges of the periphery of the face of the mounting board. Preferably, the clamping force is applied to substantially the entire periphery of the face of the mounting board. 20 The retaining portions of the plastic film will ideally be fixable to the rear of the mounting board in different positions to allow adjustment of the clamping force. For example, if the item is a single piece of paper, the retaining portions may need to be fixed very tightly, with the edges of the paper located very near the edge of the mounting board. Alternatively, if the item is of greater thickness, 25 such as an item of clothing (laid flat), the retaining portions may not need to be fixed as tightly, and/or the edges of the clothing may not need to be located as near to the edge of the mounting board. The fixing of the retaining portions may be achieved by any suitable means 30 such as tape or glue.

-6 In one form of the invention, the mounting board may be provided in multiple layers. For example, the mounting board may comprise two layers, being an upper layer that includes the acid-free face mentioned above and a lower rigid layer to provide strength and support. 5 In this embodiment it may be possible to fix the retaining portions (or at least some of them) between the layers of the mounting board rather than to the rear of the mounting board. For example, and referring again to the embodiment of a rectangular shaped mounting board and two pairs of opposed retaining 10 portions, it is possible to fix one pair (two opposed retaining portions) to the rear of the mounting board, while the other pair is fixed between the layers. Description of Preferred Embodiments 15 The following description is intended to provide an illustration of how the present invention may be embodied. It is not to be taken as restricting in any way the generality of the above description. In the drawings: 20 Figures 1 to 3 are sequential illustrations of the assembly of a packet in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a partial section through the edge of the packet of Figure 3; and 25 Figure 5 is a schematic side view of a packet in accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the present invention. Illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 are a sequence of illustrations of the assembly of a 30 packet 10 that is capable of displaying and conserving a memorabilia item 12. The packet 10 includes a plastic film 14 that is placed over a mounting board 16. The mounting board 16 has a front side that is facing out of the page in -7 Figure 1 and a rear side that is facing away is thus not visible. The front side is the face 18 of the mounting board 16 and is acid-free so as not to damage the item 12. 5 The plastic film 14 is "over" the mounting board 16 in that it covers the face 18 of the mounting board 16, and thus covers the item 12 being displayed and conserved. Indeed, and as mentioned above, in combination with the mounting board 16, the plastic film 14 acts to encapsulate the item 12 without a need to attach (such as by gluing or otherwise adhering) the item 12 to the mounting 10 board 16. The plastic film 14 has a display portion 20 that is generally the central portion of the film, and a plurality of retaining portions 22 about its periphery which are able to be folded about the edges 24 of the mounting board 16, as is shown by 15 the arrows marked A in Figure 2. As will be explained below in relation to Figure 4, the plastic film 14 is semi-rigid so that, on folding the retaining portions 22 about the edges 24, a clamping force is applied to at least a portion of the periphery of the face 18 of the 20 mounting board 16 to hold the item 12 in place. Indeed, when folding over the retaining portions 22, it is preferred to first fold over two opposed retaining portions, pulling them as tight as is necessary, and then securing those two opposed retaining portions 22, before folding over the other two retaining portions 22. This assists in ensuring that the required clamping force is applied. 25 The rear of the packet 10 is shown in Figure 3 after the retaining portions 22 have been fixed thereto, in this embodiment simply by the use of pieces of tape 28. However, they could be fixed merely by a suitable glue. Also shown in Figure 3 is a series of perforations 26 that have been made in the plastic film 14 30 along the edges 24 of the mounting board 16 for the purposes of ventilation. Any number of perforations may be provided, along any edge and with any desired spacing.

-8 Figure 4 is provided to better explain the clamping force applied by the plastic film to the item, as mentioned above. In Figure 4 there is shown one edge 24 of the mounting board 16, the mounting 5 board having a rear side 24, and a face 18 on its front side. On the rear side 24 the retaining portion 22 can be seen, in this version again shown fixed to the rear by tape 28. Placed on the face 18 is a memorabilia item 12a, such as the pocket (perhaps 10 carrying an emblem) of an item of clothing of a famous person. The plastic film 14 is fixed reasonably tightly to the rear of the mounting board such that it contacts the front corner 30 of the edge 22 at the outermost periphery of the face 18. The gap Y between the plastic film 14 and the face 18 is shown narrowing to zero towards that front corner 30. 15 Thus, across the full extent of the peripheral portion X of the face 18, the gap between the plastic film 14 and the face 18 is narrower than the normal thickness of the item 12a. Due to the film 14 being semi-rigid it thus compresses the item 12a over that peripheral portion X and thus applies a 20 clamping force to the item 12a. The force need not be large. Indeed, if applied about the entire periphery of the face 18, the force can be quite small and yet still hold the item 12a in place. Also, the force need not be large enough so as to compress the item 12a (as is shown in Figure 4) - suitable clamping can be achieved without compression. 25 It should also be appreciated that there is no restriction on the size of the peripheral portion X. Typically, its size will depend upon the thickness and compressibility of the item of memorabilia, the thickness and stiffness of the plastic film, the tightness of the fixing of the retaining portions of the plastic film, 30 and the sizing of the mounting board with respect to the size of the item.

-9 In relation to this last aspect, it may be that the item is significantly smaller than the size of the mounting board, and thus there is a large space between the edge of the item and the edge of the mounting board. Even in this situation, with use of the present invention there will still be some clamping force applied 5 to the item (perhaps only to a small portion of the edges of the item) to hold it in place and thereby prevent it from freely moving within the packet - the peripheral portion X in this situation may be relatively large, even though only a small portion of the item itself is in that peripheral portion X. 10 Indeed, for any given packet configuration, provided that the peripheral portion X is large enough (relative to the size and location of the item within the packet) to result in the plastic film applying a clamping force to the item to hold the item in place, that configuration will be considered to be in accordance with the present invention. 15 As mentioned above, the item 12 may be of any type. Most items will be reasonably flat and thin and it is easy to envisage them being encapsulated in a packet of the type of this invention. However, items that have reasonably substantial thickness, or are of three dimensions (three substantial dimensions) 20 can also be encapsulated and held by the packet. For example, Figure 5 shows a side view of a book 12b displayed in a packet according to the invention. Using like prime reference numerals to refer to like parts, the packet 10' includes a plastic film 14' that is placed over a mounting 25 board 16'. The mounting board 16' includes a built-up portion in the form of a support pad 17', provided merely to support the front cover of the book 12b in a suitable open (displayed) position. The face of the mounting board 16' and of the support pad 17' are of an acid-free material. Indeed, any part of the support structure of the packet that contacts the book 12b will ideally be of an acid-free 30 material.

-10 The plastic film 14' has retaining portions 22' that are folded about the edges 24' of the mounting board 16'. By fixing the retaining portions 22' tightly to the rear of the mounting board 16' (such as by the use of tape 28'), the plastic film 14' applies a clamping force to the book 12b about at least a portion of its 5 periphery (if not all of its periphery) to hold the book in place. Ideally, the size and shape of the mounting board 16' is about the same as the size and shape of the book 12b when displayed (laid out) in the manner shown. Additionally, and having further regard to the presentation of a book in this 10 manner, it should be appreciated that some books may include quite a substantial central bulge along the spine of the book 12b (when the book 12b is laid open and flat) at about the portion marked with the reference numeral 30 in Figure 5. If this bulge is likely to present an unsightly distortion in the plastic film 14' of a packet, it is possible to provide an elongate cut in the plastic film 14' 15 along the spine of the book 12b, thus allowing the plastic film 14' to lie flat separately over both halves of the open book 12b. Finally, it will be appreciated that there may be other variations and modifications made to the configurations described herein that are also within 20 the scope of the present invention.

Claims (19)

1. A packet capable of displaying and conserving a memorabilia item, the packet including a plastic film over a mounting board, the mounting board 5 having a face capable of receiving the item and the film having a display portion through which the item may be viewed, wherein: - the film includes one or more retaining portions which are folded about at least a part of the edges of the mounting board; and - the film is semi-rigid to apply a clamping force to the item about at 10 least a portion of the periphery of the face of the mounting board to hold the item in place.

2. A packet according to claim 1 wherein the retaining portions of the film are folded about at least opposing edges of the mounting board. 15

3. A packet according to claim 1 wherein the retaining portions are folded about all edges of the mounting board.

4. A packet according to claim 1 wherein the clamping force is applied to at 20 least opposing edges of the periphery of the face of the mounting board.

5. A packet according to claim 1 wherein the clamping force is applied to substantially the entire periphery of the face of the mounting board. 25

6. A packet according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the retaining portions can be fixed to the rear of the mounting board in different positions to allow adjustment of the clamping force.

7. A packet according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the mounting board 30 is a multiple-layer mounting board.

8. A packet according to claim 7 wherein the mounting board comprises two layers, an upper layer that includes the acid-free face and a lower rigid layer. - 12

9. A packet according to claim 8 wherein at least one of the retaining portions is fixed to the mounting board between the upper layer and the lower layer.

10. A packet according to claim 9 wherein there are four retaining portions, 5 with two opposed retaining portions fixed to the rear of the lower layer and two opposed retaining portions fixed between the upper layer and the lower layer.

11. A packet according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the plastic film is a polyester thermoplastic resin. 10

12. A packet according to claim 11 wherein the polyester thermoplastic resin is either polyethylene terepthalate, polybutylene terepthalate, polyethylene napthalate or an aromatic copolyester. 15

13. A packet according to claim 11 wherein the polyester thermoplastic resin is a biaxially oriented polyethylene terepthalate.

14. A packet according to any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the mounting board is sized to be the same size as the item, such that, in use, substantially 20 none of the face of the mounting board is visible when the item is viewed through the display portion.

15. A packet according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the plastic film and/or the face of the mounting board is acid-free. 25

16. A packet according to claim 1 substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings.

17. A kit of parts for a packet capable of displaying and conserving a 30 memorabilia item, the kit including a plastic film and a mounting board, the mounting board having a face capable of receiving the item, the plastic film including a display portion and one or more retaining portions which can be folded about at least a part of the edges of the mounting board, the plastic film - 13 also being semi-rigid to apply a clamping force to an item to be displayed, about at least a portion of the periphery of the face of the mounting board to hold the item in place. 5

18. A kit according to claim 17 wherein either or both of the plastic film and the mounting board are supplied pre-cut to the shape of an item of memorabilia.

19. A kit according to claim 17 substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings. 10 DATED: 21 September 2005 PHILLIPS ORMONDE & FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: 15 ALEXANDER DAVID MERICKA