US20080171487A1

US20080171487A1 - Mosaic art kit

Info

Publication number: US20080171487A1
Application number: US12/015,577
Authority: US
Inventors: Michael Cenkner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-01-17
Filing date: 2008-01-17
Publication date: 2008-07-17
Also published as: CA2575833A1

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.

Description

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

U.S. Pat. No. 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 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, 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 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. U.S. Pat. No. 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.

Claims

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.

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.