WO1991013578A1 - Pince - Google Patents

Pince Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1991013578A1
WO1991013578A1 PCT/GB1991/000339 GB9100339W WO9113578A1 WO 1991013578 A1 WO1991013578 A1 WO 1991013578A1 GB 9100339 W GB9100339 W GB 9100339W WO 9113578 A1 WO9113578 A1 WO 9113578A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
sheet
ramped
members
clamp
clamps
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1991/000339
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ian Robert Cochrane
Original Assignee
Ian Robert Cochrane
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ian Robert Cochrane filed Critical Ian Robert Cochrane
Publication of WO1991013578A1 publication Critical patent/WO1991013578A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F1/00—Cardboard or like show-cards of foldable or flexible material
    • G09F1/10—Supports or holders for show-cards
    • G09F1/12—Frames therefor
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
    • A47G1/00—Mirrors; Picture frames or the like, e.g. provided with heating, lighting or ventilating means
    • A47G1/06—Picture frames
    • A47G1/08—Picture frames adjustable

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the clamping of sheet materials such as, for example, paper or prints of pictures.
  • EP-A-331853 discloses a method and an apparatus for framing a sheet of material, such as a print of a picture, which prevents distortion of the sheet material caused by its expansion or contraction due to changes in air temperature and humidity.
  • a print is clamped adjacent its four corners by corner clamps, which in turn are attached to frame and rail members which form an outer periphery of the frame. These members have biasing means associated therewith which urge the corner clamps away from each other, so that the print is always held in tension both across its width and along its length.
  • the corner clamps transfer the tensioning forces to the print, and must therefore be able to hold the print firmly and without slip.
  • Clamps for use in such apparatus must also possess a number of other qualities. They must neither weaken nor damage the print. For example, the piercing of holes in a thin flimsy print, especially near the edges, and with the print under tension, would usually tend to weaken the print and make it liable to tear, and would therefore be, in general, unacceptable. Further, in order for the frame apparatus as a whole to be inexpensive and easy to assemble, the clamps should, in preference, be equally so.
  • the clamps disclosed in EP-A-331853 comprise first and second members having cooperating formations whereby the members can be releasably interengaged to tightly clamp the sheet material therebetween.
  • the members are pivotally interconnected at one end, and are adapted to be folded together around the edge of the sheet material before being assembled to the rest of the frame.
  • a clamp attachable to an edge region of a sheet of material, comprising a first member, disposable principally on one side of the material, and a second member, disposable on the opposite side thereof, a ramped portion of the first member extending in use over the opposite side of the material for engagement with a ramped portion of the second member, relative sliding movement of the two members causing wedging interengagement of the ramped portions so that the sheet material is clampingly secured between the ramped portion of the second member and a portion of said first member on said one side.
  • a clamp made according to the invention is simply and, therefore, inexpensively manufactured as two separate members. Further, such a clamp construction may allow the clamp to be used in a right or left handed manner, and so, if the clamps are made of plastic, allows the use of only one forming mould and therefore reduces manufacturing costs.
  • a clamp made according to the present invention provides a strong, substantially, slip-free, grip and, because it uses a wedging action, is easy to install and does not unduly weaken or damage the material. In particular the clamping action is improved as compared with the pivotal clamps described in EP-A-331 853.
  • the ramped portion of the first member comprises a ramped projection
  • the second member comprises a housing having a recess therein, the ramped portion of the second member being provided in the recess, so that, in use, the housing may be placed over the ramped projection, with the ramped projection extending into the recess, and so that the housing may be slid relative to the first member, preferably in a direction along the edge of the sheet material, to bring the ramped portion in the recess into engagement with the ramped projection of the first member, to thereby clamp the sheet material between the first and second members.
  • the clamp could be produced so that the first member defines a housing and recess, and the second member includes a ramped projection.
  • each member- is provided with a plurality of ramped portions. It is also preferable that the ramped portions of the two members are engageable by sliding the two members relative to one another in a direction along the length of an edge of the sheet material. Although, of course, it would also be possible for the relative sliding motion to be in a direction perpendicular to this length.
  • the two clamp members may be arranged to be freely detachable from one another when not in use. However, in a preferred embodiment the members are adapted to remain loosely interconnected when the ramped portions are not interengaged.
  • contoured ribs and grooves may be provided on the first and second members, to improve the engagement of the members with the sheet material.
  • the present invention extends to a picture frame apparatus wherein the material to be framed is secured to the frame apparatus by clamps according to the first aspect of the present invention, and also extends to a method of framing a picture in which clamps according to the first aspect of the invention are provided for connecting the material to be framed to the frame apparatus.
  • the present invention may also be used in a wide variety of different situations, for clamping a wide variety of different materials, such as plastics, textile materials and even metallic sheets, with the sheets themselves being in a wide range of different shapes and thicknesses.
  • the clamp of the present invention is however particularly suitable for use with the frame apparatus of EP-A-331853 and viewed from a second aspect, the present invention provides a frame apparatus for the framing of a sheet of material, comprising a set of clamps in accordance with the first aspect of present invention, positionable adjacent the corners of the sheet of material, frame means to which the clamps are attachable, and biasing means for biasing the clamps away from each other to thereby place the sheet material in tension both across its width and along its length.
  • the clamp when used in such frame apparatus, it is attached-to the frame means by having at least the projecting portion of said first member, and the second member, disposed in a channel in the frame means.
  • This allows for concealment of the clamp and improves the look of the assembled frame.
  • the rest of the first member is, of course, in use, concealed behind the sheet material.
  • a recess is formed on the portion of the first member on said one side of said sheet facing in use away from the sheet material, this recess being provided to engage with a projection on the frame means, thus allowing for a more positive engagement of the clamp with the frame means, the clamp being either snappable or slidable into engagement with the channel and the projection of the frame means.
  • the clamp When the clamp is used with the above-mentioned frame apparatus it may advantageously be provided with an abutment means on the same side of the first member as would be the recess, the abutment comprising a tab extending substantially perpendicularly from the surface of the first member and having thereon a projection extending, in use, substantially in a direction along the length of the edge of the sheet material, the abutment means being provided to engage with the biasing means positioned on the frame means.
  • the tab has a pair of projections extending, in use, in opposite directions along the edge of the sheet material, as then only one type of first member need be manufactured for clamps used on both the left and right sides of the sheet of material, with one of the tab projections, in use, remaining unused.
  • the invention may also extend to a method of framing a sheet of material, comprising attaching a clamp according to the first aspect of the invention to the sheet of material, adjacent each of the sheet's corners, attaching the clamps to a frame means, the frame means having thereon means for biasing the clamps away from each other, and-biasing the clamps away from one another so that the sheet of material is held in tension both along its length and across its width.
  • Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a print having four clamps in accordance with the invention attached adjacent to its corners, two of the clamps being shown in the course of attachment;
  • Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing two clamps in accordance with the invention, in the process of being applied to an edge of the sheet material;
  • Fig. 3 shows the insertion of a clamped edge of the sheet material into a rail member of the frame apparatus according to EP-A-331853;
  • Fig. 4 is a perspective view from the rear of a clamp according to the invention which is further modified for use with the frame apparatus of EP-A- 331853;
  • Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 4 showing the clamp further modified by the provision of a notched portion.
  • figure 1 shows a rectangular sheet 1 of material, which may be, for example, a print of a picture.
  • Clamps 2, formed in accordance with the present invention are applied to the upper and lower edges of the sheet 1, adjacent to the four corners.
  • the two clamps 2 at the foot of the sheet 1 are shown in their fully installed positions, whilst the two at the top are shown at different stages of attachment.
  • Figure 2 shows the clamps 2 on a larger scale and in greater detail.
  • the left hand clamp 2 is shown in the first stages of attachment, whilst the right hand clamp 2 is shown fully engaged.
  • Each clamp 2 comprises a first member 3, which is disposed principally on the rear side of sheet 1, and a second member 4, which is disposed, during engagement with the first member 3, on the front of the sheet 1.
  • Each first member 3 has a row of three equally spaced apart ramped projections 5, which extend over the front of the sheet 1 and have ramped surfaces 6, facing the front of the sheet 1, in- non-parallel relationship with the back part of the first member 3 that lies at the rear of the sheet 1.
  • Each ramped surface 6 has a slight incline in such direction so that it is spaced further from the front of the sheet 1, and from the back part of the first member 3, at its right-hand end, as seen in figures 1 and 2, than at its left-hand end. Only a slight incline of surface 6 is necessary, the incline shown in figure 2 being somewhat exaggerated.
  • each clamp 2 is engageable with the first member 3 thereof, and houses a row of three relatively spaced recesses 7, which are spaced apart from one another by a distance corresponding to the spacings of the ramped projections 5.
  • Each recess 7 has a ramped portion 7a therein, which cooperates, in use, with one of the ramped projections 5.
  • the clamp of the present invention has many possible applications and may be used generally with any type of frame apparatus where sheet material must be attached to a frame, but it is particularly useful when used in conjunction with the frame apparatus disclosed in EP-A-331853, and, referring to figures 2 and 3, such use of the clamp, will now be described.
  • the frame apparatus in accordance with EP-A-331853 may comprise a pair of frame members (not shown in the drawings) attached between a pair of rail members 8 to form an outer frame within which the sheet 1 may be mounted.
  • the frame members have biasing means for urging the rail members apart, so that when the sheet 1 is attached between the rail members 8 it will be put into lengthwise tension.
  • the rail members 8 may comprise a channel 16, formed by a curved portion 12, into which the top part of the clamps 2, including the whole of the second members 4, may sit.
  • the rail members 8 may also have further channels 17 within which biasing means may be mounted for urging the clamps 2 in the rail members 8 away from one another. An end wall of the channel 17 may project out to form a projection 11.
  • EP-A-331853 For a fuller description of such frame apparatus reference may be made to EP-A-331853.
  • clamp 2 further comprises a recess 9 flanked from beneath by a rib 10.
  • the top part of the clamp 2 and the whole of the second member 4 sit in the channel 16, whilst the recess 9 engages with the projection 11.
  • the engagement may either be through a snap action, where the clamp 2 is firstly engaged with channel 16, through movement in the direction of the arrow of figure 3, so that the curved portion 12 is flexed upwardly to a small extent until the second member 2 sits inside the channel 16, and is secondly then pushed over the projection 11, or by a sliding movement of the clamp lengthwise into the channel 16 and over the projection 11.
  • the second member 4 may have oblique edges 13 against which the curved portion 12 of the rail member 8 may bear, so as to reinforce the clamping action of the engaged ramped projections 5 and ramped portions 7a, thus ensuring that the sheet 1 cannot become undamped.
  • Figure 4 shows further modifications which may be made to the clamp 2.
  • ribs 15 and grooves 14 are shown on the first and second members respectively. These ribs 15 and grooves 14 interengage with one another, when the two members 3 and 4 are joined together, to tightly clamp the sheet material therebetween. This helps to improve the gripping action of the clamp.
  • the clamp 2 is also shown as having abutment means 18 comprising a tab 19 extending outwardly from the surface of the first member 3, and projections 20 mounted on the tab 19.
  • This abutment means 18 is used to engage with the biasing means of the rail member 8.
  • a spring on the biasing means fits over one of the projections 20 and abuts against the tab 19 to urge the clamp 2 towards either end of the rail member 8. Only one of the projections has a spring engaged over it and this, of course, depends on the direction in which the clamp 2 is to be urged, i.e. whether the clamp is on the left or the right of the frame apparatus. Further details of the biasing means may be found in EP-A- 331853.
  • Figure 5 shows a further embodiment in which notched portions 21 are formed in the clamp members 3 and 4. These notches 21 may be formed at a slight angle to the engaging faces of the members 3 and 4, and may overlap when the members 3 and 4 are in loose or full engagement with each other.
  • a specially formed tool or other object such as a coin may be inserted into the notches 21 and then rotated, so that the tool or object abuts against diagonally opposed side edges 22 and 23 of the notches 21.
  • This abutment moves the second member 4 relative to the first member 3 so that the ramped portions 7a engage with the ramped projections 5 to thereby clamp the sheet 1 between the members 3 and 4.
  • the use of these notches 21 considerably reduces the effort needed to fully engage the members 3 and 4.
  • the two rightmost ramped portions 7a and recesses 7, as viewed in figure 2, may be made slightly longer than the leftmost.
  • the second member 4 is firstly placed over the first member 3 so that the two rightmost ramped projections 5 protrude into the longer, rightmost recesses 7. It is then slid by a small amount in the direction of the arrow shown at the right of figure 2, whilst at the same time having its leftmost end pushed towards the first member 3. This causes the leftmost recess 7 to snap over the leftmost ramped projection 5.
  • the two members 3 and 4 can then be slid relative to one another in the normal way.
  • Such an arrangement means that the two members 3 and 4 can be joined together at the point of manufacture and will then not come apart. This aids in handling the clamp in that only one part, as opposed to two, needs to be packed etc, and also aids in the clamping operation as the sheet 1 of material need only be slid between the loosely engaged members 3 and 4 before they are clampingly engaged together,, without the need for holding the first member 3 in place whilst positioning the second member 4 over the ramped projections 5.
  • a clamp 2 in accordance with the invention is effective firmly and reliably to hold a sheet 1 of material in a required position with virtually no slippage, even after a very extended period of use.
  • the first member could have a projecting housing including recesses and ramped portions, instead of the ramped projections 5, and the second member 4 could comprise a base having ramped projections thereon for engagement with the ramped portions and recesses.
  • the first and second members, 3 and 4, and the ramped portions 5 and 7a thereon could be formed so as to be engageable by a sliding movement perpendicular to the edge of the sheet instead of lengthwise thereto.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Clamps And Clips (AREA)

Abstract

Pince servant à fixer une feuille de matière (1) comprenant un premier élément (3) disposé en principe, lors de l'utilisation, à l'arrière de la feuille (1) et un second élément (4) disposé à l'avant de la feuille (1). Le premier élément (3) possède une rangée de saillies (5) en forme de rampe s'étendant sur l'avant de la feuille (1) et le second élément (4) possède une rangée de creux (7) comportant des parties intérieures (7a) en forme de rampe. Le second élément (4) se place sur les saillies (5) et se glisse en direction du bord de la feuille pour que les parties (7a) en forme de rampe s'engagent dans les surfaces (6) des saillies (5) pour pincer la feuille (1) entre les saillies (7a) et le premier élément (3).
PCT/GB1991/000339 1990-03-05 1991-03-05 Pince WO1991013578A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9004936.2 1990-03-05
GB909004936A GB9004936D0 (en) 1990-03-05 1990-03-05 Clamp

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1991013578A1 true WO1991013578A1 (fr) 1991-09-19

Family

ID=10672046

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1991/000339 WO1991013578A1 (fr) 1990-03-05 1991-03-05 Pince

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU7450091A (fr)
GB (1) GB9004936D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO1991013578A1 (fr)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1489301A (en) * 1974-01-17 1977-10-19 Piget M Rectangular metal picture frames
US4516342A (en) * 1982-06-23 1985-05-14 Paul Reim Arrangement for exchangeably framing pictures
EP0331853A1 (fr) * 1988-01-12 1989-09-13 Ian Robert Cochrane Cadre

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1489301A (en) * 1974-01-17 1977-10-19 Piget M Rectangular metal picture frames
US4516342A (en) * 1982-06-23 1985-05-14 Paul Reim Arrangement for exchangeably framing pictures
EP0331853A1 (fr) * 1988-01-12 1989-09-13 Ian Robert Cochrane Cadre

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU7450091A (en) 1991-10-10
GB9004936D0 (en) 1990-05-02

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