US886840A - Frame. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAY 5, 1908.

' J. MUELLER.

FRAME.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 11, 1907.

ORRIS 5 ca, wAsMINuTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

JACOB MUELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MUELLER BROTHERS ART AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FRAME Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1908.

Application filed March 11, 1907. Serial No. 361,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB MUELLER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Frames, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in frames and more particularly to improvements in frames of that class which are formed of thin elastic strips wound or bent into layers of annular form and glued together. The object of my invention being to cheapen the'cost of manufacture and to produce a frame which, while of light construction, shall be strong and durable and not liable to injury by ordinary handling and usage.

Another object is to produce a frame of this class, with unbroken surfaces upon its inner and outer faces, and whose cross section shall be uniform throughout its entire extent.

To such end the invention consists in certain novel features of construction. of the frame, a description of which will be found in the following specification and the essen tial features of which will be found in claims appended hereto.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the drawings furnished herewith, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a frame embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional perspective view of a fragment of the frame before it is fully completed. Fig. 4 is a similar view of a fragment of the completed frame. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a mold, used in constructing the frame together with a number of the strips that are employed in the construction of the frame. Fig. 6 is a face view of two of the strips and indicating a difference in their length, and Fig. 7 is a cross section through a mold and frame. Figs. 1 and 2 are upon a considerably reduced scale.

In these views 10 represents a frame built in accordance with my method. This frame is shown as oval in form, but it is to be understood that frames may be constructed of other forms, containing regular or irregular curves.

In general, the frame is roughly L-shaped in cross section, a shoulder 11, being provided upon the inner side, against which is placed the mirror, or the glass ordinarily used in front of the picture to be framed. The outer or visible faces of the frame are covered with whiting or other substance 20 to give it a smooth finish and it may be otherwise ornamented as desired.

The frame is made up of a number of thin elastic strips 12, preferably of basswood, bent into the proper shape and glued together. Each strip is cut to an exact length, so that when they are put in place, the ends of each strip will abut against each other and the inherent elasticity of the wood will cause the strip to bear upon the adjacent one with sufficient pressure to effect a perfect union.

Frames containing my invention are built up as follows :-Strips are first carefully cut to size, each consecutive strip being somewhat shorter than the preceding one. I find that by using strips of bass wood, of about one thirty second of an inch in thickness, the best effect is obtained. A mold A, is used to give the proper shape to the frame and said mold contains a recess a the contour of which is like the contour of the finished frame. The longest one of the strips is laid in said recess, by bending the strip around in the form of a hoop and allowing it to snap in place against the marginal wall a of the recess, care being taken to lay the strip in place so that its lower edge rests upon the bottom of the recess. As before stated care must be taken to cut the strip of the proper length so that its ends will abut and firmly hold the strip in contact with its surrounding wall. The remaining strips used to com plete the frame are first coated on one side with glue 6 after which they are put in place within the first strip, bringing the glued side into contact with the preceding strip, care being taken to break joint at the meeting edges of the strips. When sufficient strips have been laid in place the mold is laid away for about 20 minutes to give the glue time to dry and the frame may then be taken from the mold and another one made up therein.

For convenience in manufacture, it is preferable to use strips, all of which are of the same width, and to form the shoulders afterwards. When the glue has had-time to dry, the inner face of the frame is rabbeted out to form the shoulder, 11, after which the front corners may be trimmed off, and the exterior finish applied to the frame. A frame constructed in this manner holds its shape without the employment of any auxiliary stiffening devices. Furthermore this construction leaves no breaks, shoulders or projections upon the margin of the frame, as would the case be were a single long strip employed. In such a case the last lap of the strip leaves a shoulder at the end of the strip which mars the beauty of the frame. A very substantial frame is thus formed which is not easily I broken and which can be manufactured at a less cost than the ordinary frame of this class. Furthermore the loss occasioned inthe course of manufacture is greatly lessened on account of the particular method employed. I have found that when the strips have been sprung in place, no other pressure is required to press the adjacent strips into firm contact with each other than that which is obtained from the elastic quality of the strips themselves. Furthermore this 0011- struction provides a frame of uniform cross section throughout its entire extent with unbroken surfaces upon its inner and outer,

faces, for the reason that the strips shape themselves to the perfect contour of the mold and inasmuch as no strip overlaps another strip, but extends in an annular form rather than in a convolute form as do the strips of the ordinary frame of this class, this frame results in one of uniform cross section throughout its entire extent.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A frame comprising a plurality of thin elastic wood strips, superimposed upon and around each other, bent into annular form, with their ends abutting against each other, and glued together.

In witness whereof I have executed the above application at Chicago, Illinois, this 7th day of March 1907.

JACOB MUELLER.

Witnesses:

ED. AoKRoMANN, E. E. WAGONER.

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