GB2135939A

GB2135939A - Decorative structure

Info

Publication number: GB2135939A
Application number: GB08404867A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Howard Mark Grundy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-02-25
Filing date: 1984-02-24
Publication date: 1984-09-12
Also published as: GB8404867D0

Abstract

A decorative structure is made up of framing members 10 each having at least one open area 16 and filling material fills the open areas in the form of translucent or transparent sheets. To fill the open areas the framing members 10 are provided with a backing sheet 11 and particulate plastics material is laid on the sheet 11 within the areas. The plastics material is heated and melted and, when set, the sheet 11 is stripped off. The framing members are then interconnected along their edges 18 to form decorative articles such as a lamp shade. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Decorative structure This invention relates to a decorative structure and to a method of making decorative structures.

Lampshades and other articles have long been made from shaped pieces of glass fitted into a frame formed of interconnected lengths of metal, such as lead, to give the effect of stained glass or leaded lights. Such articles require a lengthy and expensive manufacturing process involving special skills.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of making decorative structures which can be effected without requiring special skills to give a pleasing decorative structure.

According to the invention a method of constructing a decorative structure from items including two or more framing members each having at least one open area, each area being enclosed by a frame, filling material for filling said open areas and fixing means for fixing the framing members to one another, comprises locating a framing member with respect to a surface so that the open area or areas are defined by the surface and by the edges of the frame around said area, introducing the filling material into said open area or areas so that is occupies said open area or areas, treating the filling material so that is attaches to the frame and fills the area or areas, removing the framing member from said surface, and securing one framing member to another at its edges.

Preferably the filling material is plastics material meltable under the application of heat to flow over said surface within the respective open area and to attach the edges of the frame, and the filling material is plastics material which, after application of said heat to melt the material and cooling ofthe material, sets to form a sheet of translucent material. A particularly suitable fillling material is general pur pose polystyrene containing suitable colouring material to give transparent or translucent sheets when set.

Conveniently the framing members each include bars defining the edges of said open areas, the bars all lying in the same plane so that the framing member can lie on a support surface which is flat and which extends horizontally during said treat ment, and the framing members aare each formed of cast metal.

The framing elements may each be of tapering cross-section so that on one side of each framing member the elements are narrower than on the other side, the member being located with respect to said surface with the wider portions of the elements adjacent said surface.

Conveniently the framing members are each of generally triangular shape about their external periphery and when the members are secured one to the other the inclined sides of the triangle are located in abutting relationship. When a plurality of framing members are secured together with the inclined sides in abutting relationship to form a generally cone-shaped assembly, the ornamental structure thus formed is suitable for use as a lampshade or, when inverted, as a plant holder.

The invention also provides a decorative structure comprising two or more framing members each having at least one open area enclosed by a frame defined by the framing member, the open area being filled by filling material attaching to the frame and forming a sheet of filling material within said area, the framing members being secured to another at their edges, the framing members each being formed of integral bars defining the edges of said open areas.

Further features of the invention appear from the following description of an embodiment of the invention given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings, in which Figure lisa plan view of a framing member for a decorative structure, Figure 2 is a scrap view of part of the member of Figure 1 Figures 3 to 8 show successive in a method of making a decorative structure, and Figure 9 shows a side elevation of a completed decorative structure.

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figures 1 and 2, a decorative structure suitable for use as a lampshade is made from various component parts of which a framing member 10 Figure 1 is formed of cast metal, for example cast aluminium or zinc. The framing member has a generally triangular outer frame 12, the apex 13 of the triangle being truncated and the lower corners of the triangle being cut away at 14. Within the outer frame a pattern of framing elements or bars 15 integral with the outer frame 12 are located defining a plurality of open areas 16 of various shapes and sizes which are selected according to the desired decorative effect to be achieved.

The outer frame 12 and the framing elements 15 are all located in a common plane so that the member 10 is flat. The frame 12 carries on one side a metal foil backing member or sheet 11 which is attached by adhesive so as to be removable from the frame, the sheet 11 preferably being secured to the frame 12 and to each of the bars 15, whereby it provides a surface defining a base for each of the open areas 16 of the associated member 10. Each of the elements 15 is of tapering cross-section formed with flattened upper and lower surfaces so that at one side, designated the back face, the elements are wider than at the other side, designated the front face. The sheet 11 is attached to the back face. The oppositely-inclined side edges 18 of the outer frame chamfered, as seen at 19 in Figure 5 for ensuring satisfactory assembly of the framing members, as will be described.

The apical edge 13 of the member 10 is formed with a reduced thickness portion 20. as seen in Figures 2 and 7 in particular.

In addition to the framing member 10 other components and materials are required for assembling the structure. The components include plastics in the form of general purpose polystyrene incorporating colouring. Initially the plastics is of particulate form such as beads. The plastics component consti tutesfilling material forfilling the open areas 16 of the framing members, aswill be described. The filling material is coloured to provide different colours in different open areas, as desired, and before incorporating the filling material into the framing members 10, the colour to be included in each of the open areas is selected.

The plastics material melts under the application of heat and when the particles or beads are laid on the sheet 11 within the open area 16 of a frame and then heated, the particles melt to fill the area. A sheet of plastics is thus formed having the shape of each area and, when cooled, the material attaches to the frame. The resultant cooled sheet is translucent or transparent but, if desired, opaque coloured sheet may be formed.

Thus, to form a framing member 10 having the open areas 16 each filled with the desired coloured plastics sheet, the member 10 is plaed on a support surface, for example a baking tray, and each of the open areas 16, defined by the surface and by the framing elements 15 and, in some cases, by the outer frame 12, is filled with the particulate plastics material which, rests on the sheet 11. The plastics material is then heated, for example, by placing in an oven, at a temperature of about 205"C for about 25 minutes. Atthe end of this time the plastics has melted into contact with the elements 15 and the frame 12 and completely covers the surfaces of the sheet 11 within the areas 16.The plastics is then cooled and sets to form rigid sheets of plastics attached to the elements 15 and the frame 12 in the areas 16, each sheet having a smooth upper and lower surface. The backing sheet 11 is then stripped offtheframing member 10.

In the illustrated embodiment six framing members each having plastics filling the open areas are produced, as described, for constructing a structure suitable for use as a lampshade.

The lampshade is assembled from the completed framing members following the steps illustrated in Figures 3-8.

Referring to Figure 3 the six members 10 are laid on a flat surface in the arrangement shown, with their back faces in contact with the surface.

Strips of adhesive tape 22 are laid along the abutting edges of the adjacent members, as shown in Figure 4, and the interconnected members are inverted so that the tape 22 then rests on the surface.

Adhesive 23 is applied, as in Figure 5, to the adjacent chamfered surfaces 19 of relatively-inclined outer frame portions 18. Suitable adhesive is epoxy resin adhesive.

At this stage the six frame members 10 are interconnected and there remains a joint to be made between the two ends of the structure. This is achieved by again inverting the structure and, using the lengths of adhesive tape 22 as hinging points, bending the members around as shown in Figure 6, to form a closed structure in which the free ends abutted to one another. The final joint is effected by securing a length of adhesive tape along the joint. To complete the lampshade an end cap 25 locates over the reduced thickness portions 20 of the members 10 and is adhered thereto by adhesive. The end cap has a central aperture 26 for receiving a lighting fitting (not shown) and is hexagonal shape with a series of lips 27 at the outer edge to fit over the portions 20.

The step of fitting the end cap 25 is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.

The structure is completed when the adhesive has set and the lengths of tape 22 removed.

The structure, made as described, takes the form illustrated in Figure 9 which is suitable as a lampshade for pendant lamps, table lamps or for various other lamps.

The lampshade can take other forms such as may be required for wall lamps. In this case fewer of the framing members, for example three, are interconnected along their inclined side edges and then secured to a bracket which supports the members and by which bracket the lampshade is mounted on a wall.

It will be appreciated that the method of the invention can be used for making other structures.

For example a structure similar to that illustrated in Figure 9 can be used in the inverted position as a container which can be suspended in position.

As an alternative to the described plastics material used as filling material for the open areas, other materials may be used which have a liquid phase either by being melted under the application of heat or which are initially liquid and set to form a rigid sheet. In the latter category are materials such as resins.

Instead of the framing members 10 each having a sheet of backing material 11 removably attached thereto, as described, the sheets may be omitted and the members 10 are laid on a flat surface, preferably a sheet of metal foil, prior to filling the open areas 16 with the plastics. However, particularly when the structure is to be assembled by the purchaser rather than under factory conditions, the use of members incorporating the sheet backing 11 is more likely to give a satisfactory finish to the completed structure.

Claims

1. A method of constructing a decorative structure from items including two or more framing members each having at least one open area, each area being enclosed by a frame, filling material for filling said open areas and fixing means for fixing the framing members to aone another, comprises locating a framing member with respect to a surface so that the open area or areas are defined by the surface and by the edges of the frame around said area, introducing the filling material into said open area or areas, so that is occupies said open area or areas. treating the filling material so, that is attaches to the frame and fills the area or areas, separating the framing member from said surface, and securing one framing member to another at its edges.

2. A method according to Claim 1 wherein said surface is defined by backing material removably attached to each framing member whereby after attachement of the filling material to the frame the backing material is removed from the member.

3. A method according to Claim 2 wherein the backing material is metal foil attached to the framing member by adhesive.

4. A method according to any one of the preced ing claims wherein the filling material is plastics material meltable under the application of heat to flow over said surface within the respective open area and to attach to the edges of the frame.

5. A method according to Claim 4 wherein the filling material is plastics material which, after application of said heat to melt the material and cooling of the material, sets to form a sheet of translucent material.

6. A method according to Claim 5 wherein the filling material is general purpose polystyrene.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the framing members each include bars defining the edges of said open areas, the bars all lying in the same plane so that the framing member can lie on a support surface which is flat and which extends horizontally during said treatment.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the framing members are each formed of cast metal.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the framing members each include an outer framing element within is located integral framing elements defining a plurality of said open areas within the outer framing element.

10. A method according to Claim 9 wherein the framing elements are each of tapering cross-section so that on one side of each framing member the elements are narrower than on the other side, the member being located relative to said surface with the wider portions of the elements adjacent said surface.

11. A method according to any one ofthe preceding claims wherein the framing members are each of generally triangular shape about their external periphery and when the members are secured one to the other the inclined sides of the triangle are located in abutting relationship.

12. A method according to Claim 11 wherein a plurality of framing members are secured together with the inclined sides in abutting relationship to form a generally cone-shaped assembly.

13. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the framing members are secured to one another with adhesive aftertempor- arily fixing the members together in the desired relationship with adhesive tape.

14. A decorative structure comprising two or more framing members each having at least one open area enclosed by a frame defined by the framing member, the open area being filled by filling material attaching to the frame and forming a sheet of filling material within said area, the framing members being secured to another at their edges, the framing members each being formed of integral bars defining the edges of said open areas.

15. A decorative structure according to Claim 14 wherein each framing member includes backing material removably attached to one side of the frame to define a surface bounding the open area for the filling material.

16. A decorative structure according to Claim 15 wherein the backing material is metal foil attached to the framing member by adhesive.

17. A decorative structure according to Claim 14, 15 or 16 wherein the filling material is plastics material meltable under the application of heat.

18. A decorative structure according to Claim 17 wherein the plastics material is general purpose polystyrene including an additive to provide translucent or transparent sheets of material in said open areas.

19. A decorative structure according to any one of Claims 14 - 18 wherein the framing members are each formed of cast metal.

20. A decorative structure according to any one of Claims 14to 19 wherein the framing members each include bars defining the edges of said open areas, the bars in cross section being tapered, from one side to the other.

21. A decorative structure according to any one of Claims 14to 20 wherein the framing members are each planar.

22. A decorative structure according to any one of Claims 14 to 21 wherein each framing member has an outer periphery of generally triangular shape and the framing members are secured to another along the relatively-inclined sides of the triangle.

23. A decorative structure made according to the method of any one of Claims 1 - 13.

24. A decorative structure substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

25. A method of constructing a decorative structure substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

26. A kit for the construction of a decorative structure substantially as described with reference to the drawings.