AU613523B2 - Improved apparatus for picture framing - Google Patents

Description

ii iii 1.8 068L9gv9 L -zAXMA n4s b do u w pi 46 a tA4 ZkXM~is~pdNWIfrHS ,OJ, V .Ld of", 111.2.5 1.4 1.6 ZX~lsdN1 1.25 11111.4 p COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTR Al 3 x2' Patent Act 1952 C 0 M P L E T E S P EC I F I C AT I O N

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number PJ0316 Lodged :8 September 1988 Complete Specification Lodged Accepted Published Priority: Related Art Name of Applicant Address of Applicant Actual Inventor Address for Service D U N-CAN- -MiCK- I L 0P 39-Smith Street, Summer Hill, South Wales, Commonwealth of Au-s-t-a 1 i a New 4 i DUNCAN McKILLOP F.B. RICE CO., Patent Attorneys, 28A Montague Street, BALMAIN. 2041.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PICTURE FRAMING" The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to Me:- REPRINT OF RECEIPI 0 a 0 C? .3 1? 2 This invention relates to picture frames and in particular to side loading picture frames.

Many people have photographs, pictures or artworks which they wish to preserve and buy frames in which to display these works.

The cheapest and most popular type of frame usually consists of extruded aluminium rail sections, these sections being held together by an appropriate method, with the article to be displayed being held between a clear protective sheet e.g. glass and a backing sheet e.g.

plywood.

These existing frames come in two main types and are differentiated according to the method by whicn the article to be displayed is held in the frame.

In a so-called "back-loading" frame, a picture is placed into the frame from the back and a suitable plywood or hardboard backsheet is then placed behind a picture and held in place by some form of clip or tacks.

A problem arises with this type of frame, however, due to the fact that the picture frame must be loaded from the back. Due to this "back-loading" the frame rails are usually of L-type cross-section so that the resultant frame does not have sufficient structural rigidity, and is very susceptible to breakage, especially in the corners of the frame, when any torsion is applied to the frame.

This problem therefore has led to the development of the so-called "side-loading" frame. This type of frame is usually made up of four frame rails and four corner stakes which hold two adjacent frame rails together. The corner stakes are usually of an L-shape in plan and of U-shape transverse cross-section with a threaded hole through each leg of the stake, for receipt of a screw.

To load this type of frame it is necessary to remove one frame rail. This is performed by loosening or unscrewing the two screws on corner stake legs that attach Declared atS mmer....Hil.l.. this F day of. 1 Ayr, 19, SSigned S..tatus.. sta Applicant/Inventor Declarant's Name D..uncan McKillop F B. RICE CO PATENT ATTORNEYS This form is suitable for any type of Patent Application. No legalisation required.

3 either end of the same frame rail, to respective adjacent frame rails.

Once these screws are loosened the frame rail can be removed with the corresponding stakes attached at either end. The picture to be framed then slides sideways into the frame with an appropriate backing member and glass sheet protection if required. The removed frame rail, with its corresponding corner stakes, is then rejoined to the frame.

These particular corner stakes ]nck to the corresponding frame rail via a screw which passes through a threaded hole on the corner stake, the point of the screw contacting the frame or alternatively another unthreaded p.ite. Further turning of the screw forces the S 15 leg of the corner stake up against the inside edge of the frame. The contact of the base of the screw with one side of the frame rail and the corner stake with the other side of the frame rail holds the corner stake firmly in the Sframe rail.

Due to this technique of side loading and the use of the corner stakes, the whole picture frame has much greater structural rigidity, and is particularly resistant to torsion due to the added strength of the corner stakes.

Problems arise, however, since this type of side-loading frame requires a screwdriver to remove a frame rail and most manufacturers, in fact, use Phillips head screws. The main area of difficulty, however, is due to the fact that the frame may be either weakened or punctured in the area of contact with the point of the screw, as quite an amount of force is required to hold the frame and corner stake in contact.

One proposed method of overcoming this problem is by the use of the so-called "lifting lever" system.

This system involves a lever connected, through the frame rail, to two disks vertically arranged in and 4 transverse to the frame rail and disposed longitudinally relative to each other. The centres of these disks are joined by a small longitudinal bar, thereby forming an "I" shape.

This cross bar is attached to a lifting or rotating lever which sits above the frame rail. The lifting lever, small joining bar and disks are all resting adjacent or in the corner stake itself.

It will be clear therefore that a small transverse gap exists between the two disks. This allows two hemispherical "humps" to be placed on the floor of and to the sides of the corner stake.

As the lever is rotated through a defined angle, while remaining adjacent the back of the frame, the small joining bar is rotated through the same angle. This forces the two disks to move from a longitudinal to a lateral configuration relative to each other. If viewed from above, this movement would be similar to rotating an to an position. However, due to the hemispherical "humps" on the corner stake, the disks will tend to rise up when approaching this lateral position. The disks therefore come into contact with the upper surface of the frame rail and as the disks are further rotated they tend to force the corner stake down into contact with the lower surface of the frame rail. This contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the frame rail by the disks and corner stake respectively, locks the frame rail and corner stake together.

However, this system is expensive to produce due to the complicated nature of the components and the extra material involved in producing the lever, the disks, and the "humps" on the corner stake.

The present invention intends to ameliorate the difficulties of these prior art method by providing a single, inexpensive side-loading frame corner stake or ww clamp which requires no additional tools for removal of a frame rail, is much quicker than previous methods and yet still provide a reliable contact between the corner stake and the frame rail.

In one aspect, therefore, the present invention comprises a corner stake adapted for use with a frame, the corner stake comprising at least first and second stake members receivable by first and second frame rails, each stake member having disposed thereon a locking lever rotatable about an axis transverse to the stake member, each locking lever comprising a handle portion and an end portion, the end portion being formed as a cammed member, a first locking lever of the first stake member being in a locking position to retain the first stake member in that first rail when the handle portion is adjacent the first stake member, the first locking lever being in a release position when said handle portion is rotated through a predetermined release angle from said locking position, and wherein when the first locking lever is in said locking position the cammed member of the first locking lever forces the first stake member against a surface of the first frame rail under resistance between the cammed member and an opposed part of said first frame rail.

The use of a cammed member on the end of the locking lever, which locks the corner stake in place, is extremely efficient in terms of both speed, structural rigidity and simplicity of manufacture.

Clearly rotation of the lever handle through an angle of usually around 900 is much quicker than the previous method of screwing a Phillips head screw through many rotations. The use of the cammed lever is also much simpler both in manufacture and use, than the use of separate rotatable disks and humps as in the "lifting lever" system which is more susceptible to failure at the joining bar between the two disks.

6 Further, use of the cammed end portion increases the force which may be applied to the frame, while spreading this force across the frame rail thereby reducing the chance of deflection or puncture of the frame rail.

The present invention also envisages a frame comprising a plurality of frame rails held together by a plurality of corner stakes.

In a preferred embodiment, the frame comprises four frame rails with four corner stakes. It is also preferable that the stake members of the corner stake, and therefore the adjacent frame rails, are at right angles to each other.

It is also preferable that each frame rail has a guide member, which is complimentary with another guide member on the respective stake member, thereby aiding insertion and alignment of the stake member in the frame rail.

The present invention also envisages any method by which the locking lever can be attached to the stake member as long as the locking lever is free to rotate relative to the stake member. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the locking lever is attached to the stake member via pins which extend either side of the end portion and form a loose fit with apertures on either side of flanges extending from the stake member.

This loose fit allows rotation of the pins in the apertures while the pins can still move laterally in the apertures.

In another particularly preferred embodiment, the locking member is attached to the stake member via a hooked tab attached to the stake member, the hooked tab being adapted to pass through a centrally located aperture in the end portion of the locking lever.

The invention will now be more clearly described with reference to the particular embodiment shown in the 7 accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a corner stake for use in a side loading picture frame; Figure 2 shows the corner stake of Figure 1 when used in a side loading picture frame; Figure 3 shows a cross-section III-III of Figure 2 shows the locking lever in a release position; Figures 4 and 4a a cross-section IV-IV of Figure 2 shows the locking lever in a locked position.

Figure 5 shows an alternative method of attaching the locking lever to the stake member.

With reference to Figure 1, the corner stake of the present invention 1 comprises stake members 2 and 3 and locking levers 4 and 5. Stake members 2 and 3 in this case are at right angles, however, the present invention envisages these members as being at any angle appropriate to the picture frame construction.

Stake members 2 and 3 are constructed with optional guide grooves 6 and 7 and clearance holes 8 and 9.

Locking levers 4 and 5 are identical and rotate about an axis centred on receiving holes 10 and 11. Each locking lever comprises handle 12, in this case with tab 13, an end portion 14 formed as a cam member.

In this particular embodiment, the locking levers 4, 5 are attached to the stake members 2 and 3 via two small pins 17, 18, which extend from either side of the end portion 14 and are received in holes 10, 11 in flanges 19, which extend from the stake member.

Turning now to Figure 2 this shows the corner stake when received by frame rails 20 and 21. The locking lever on the left is in a release position (see Figure the locking lever on the right is in a locking position (see Figure This allows frame rail 20 to be disengaged from frame rail 21. The corner stake will of course, still be attached to frame rail 21 due to the fact ~cslan~1~BPIPI1~ -8that the locking lever on frame rail 21 is in the locking position.

As will be clear to those skilled in the art, at the other end of frame rail 21 (not shown) will be an identical corner stake and a frame rail. The release of the locking lever on a leg parallel to leg 2 in Figure 2, will allow frame rail 21 to be totally removed from the remaining frame portion. This allows for the insertion of a picture plus a backing member or glass sheet if required, into the side loading picture frame.

Once the picture is in place, frame rail 21 is joined, via the corner stakes at either end of this removed frame rail, to the frame and locked in place by depressing the tabs 13 on both parallel locking levers, at the ends of frame rail 21.

Turning now to Figures 3, 4 and 4a, Figure 3 shows the locking lever in a release position with Figures 4 and 4a showing the locking lever in a locked position. As you will note the corner stake legs 2 and 3 are positioned via optional guide grooves 6 and 7 which match with optional frame rail guides 22 and 23 respectively. Area P is that which receives the picture with a backing member and glass sheet if required.

In a release position, the cammed member 14 forms a clearance space with an upper surface F' F" of the frame rail 20 (see line F in Figure 4a). Further the corner stake leg 2 does not contact a lower surface R of frame rail 20. Thereby frame rail 20 can be easily slid off corner stake leg 2.

To achieve the locking position in Figure 4 the locking lever is rotated about axis A' A" (see line A in Figure 4a). As the lever is rotated through angle Z (see Figure 4a) the upper surface of the cammed member 14 comes into contact with the frame rail surface F' F".

Since the surface F' F" contacts the surface of the i 9 cam, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that further rotation of the locking lever and therefore the cammed member 14 will force the corner stake leg 3 downwards into contact with a lower opposed part R of frame rail 21.

It will be seen therefore that due to the contact of the cammed member with surfaces F' F" and the contact between the corner stake leg 3 and the lower surface R, the frame rail 21 is secured firmly to corner stake leg 3.

Also clear from Figure 4a is the preferable over-centre position of the cammed member 14 when the locking lever is in the locking position.

As is well known in the art the "centre" position of a cam is that position where the greatest force is applied to the opposed surfaces by the cam. For example, if we turn to Fig. 4a, the centre position of the cam would be when the longest diameter of the cam was parallel to line At this point the greatest force is applied to opposing surfaces F and R by the cammed member 14. It is preferable, however, that when in the locking position, the cammed member is not at such a centre position as this position is unstable since any slight force may release the locking lever.

It is preferable therefore for the cammed member 14 to be in an "over-centre" position, as shown in Fig. 4a as not only is this more stable but the forces on the cammed member by surfaces F and R of the frame rail 21, actually tend to rotate the locking lever 4, 5 toward the stake member 2, 3.

The reduction in the force applied by the cam is negligible while the locking of the stake member in the rail is much more stable and reliable.

In this particular embodiment, the corner stake legs 2 and 3 have been at right angles and if used for a square or rectangular frame, this type of corner stake could be

I

i used for all four corners.

However, this is not the only configuration of the invention as clearly there are several configurations of frames which do not necessarily have right angled corners e.g. diamond shaped, hexagons etc. The only difference here being that the portion of the frame removed for installation of a picture will be from one corner stake leg to a second parallel corner stake leg.

H In certain circumstances i.e. non square or rectangular frames, installation of a picture will require the removal of more than one frame rail. However, the process is still as simple and rapid as with right angled polygonal frames since only two locking levers will ever be required to be released in order to remove the particular frame portion.

Similarly, it is also possible to attach the locking lever to the stake member by any appropriate method.

Turning to Figure 5, this shows a corner stake comprising locking levers 30 and stake members 31, 32.

As shown in Figures l-4a, the locking levers comprise hanqle portion 34 and an end portion 35, the end portion being formed as a cam member. In this case, however, the locking lever 30 is attached to the stake member 31, 32 via a hooked tab 36, which extends from the stake member and which passes through a centrally located aperture 37 in the end portion 35 of the locking lever In this particular case, the hooked tab 36 is simply punched out from the stake member 31, 32, however, it is also envisaged that the hooked tab 36 could be produced separately and attached to the stake member 31, 32 by welding, gluing.

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Claims (6)

1. 2. A corner stake as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least two stake members are at right angles to each other.
2. 3. A corner stake as claimed in either claim 1 or 2 wherein each stake member has a first guide member which is complementary with a second guide member on each frame /I rail, thereby aiding insertion and alignment of the stake member in the frame rail.
3. 4. A corner stake as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the locking lever is attached to the stake member via pins which extend from either side of the end portion and form a loose fit with apertures on either side of flanges extending from the stake member. A corner stake as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the locking lever is attached to the stake member via a hooked tab joined to the stake member, said hooked tab being adapted to pass through a centrally I_ ~i 12 i located aperture in the end portion of the locking lever. i 6. A corner stake as claimed in any one of the preceding i claims wherein when said locking lever is in the locking position, the cammed member is placed in an over centre position.
4. 7. A frame, comprising a plurality of corner stakes as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, and a plurality of frame rails held together by said corner stakes.
5. 8. A corner stake substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
6. 9. A frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 8th day of September 1989 *i -DU-NCAN McKILLOP Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: iF.B. RICE CO.