Frame

This invention is directed to a frame for displaying objects. More particularly, the invention is directed to a way of supporting the frame in different orientations so that the object in the frame can be viewed from the desired orientation. Principally the invention is directed to frames in which pictures will be displayed and more particularly to low cost plastic frames.

The particular frame of this invention is designed to rest on a support surface as opposed to a frame that is hung on a wall. In the past, frames that have been designed to rest on a support surface such as a desk or a table had a support to maintain the frame in a desired orientation. Usually this support is a portion of the back of the frame that is hingedly connected to the frame. The hinge member can be pivoted away from the back of the frame to support for the frame in the desired orientation. In recent years plastic has been used as a frame material and in particular transparent plastic. The plastic material can be easily shaped to provide a low cost frame that can be used for displaying pictures. However, it is very difficult to incorporate a hinged support section in the back of a plastic material to provide a support that will maintain the frame at the proper orientation when the frame is positioned on a desk or a table. It is very difficult to incorporate a hinged member into a frame that is made of a hard plastic material. On some platic frames a portion of the back plate of the frame pivot out from the frame to provide the support member. In these applications the plastic material acts as the hinge mechanism for the support member. However, it is difficult to build such a plastic hinge into the material and such hinges can be broken if used improperly.

Other plastic frame manufacturers have developed a support pedestal upon which the frame could be rested to provide support when the frame was used on a desk top or a table. The support pedestal is usually a plastic L-shaped member that is bulky and makes it difficult to package the frame in a compact package that can be easily shipped and displayed in a store.

Accordingly, there is a need in the industry to provide a low cost plastic picture frame having a support member that will allow the frame to be utilized on a desk or a table where its support member can be easily packaged with the frame.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved picture frame.

It is an object of the invention to provide a picture frame with a removable support member that can be positioned flat against the back of the picture frame to facilitate packaging of the frame.

These and other objects of the invention form a review of the following detailed description of the invention.

A frame for receiving objects to be displayed is disclosed. The frame has a display side for an object and back plate positioned opposite said display side. At least one opening is positioned in the back plate of the frame. At least one securing device is positioned adjacent the opening and the securing device extends at least partially over the opening. A support member having a projection on one side comprises part of the frame. The projection is disposed for insertion into the opening in the back plate. The securing device engages the support member to maintain the projection of the support member in the opening. The support member extends from the back plate whereby the support member supports the frame in a manner where an object positioned on the display side of the frame can be viewed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of the frame of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the insertion of the support member for the frame; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the insertion of the support member for the frame; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

The invention is directed to a frame for receiving objects to be displayed. The frame has a display side for the object and a back plate positioned opposite the display side. More particularly, the invention is directed to a frame having a particular support that can be removably attached to the frame for maintaining the frame at a desired orientation to facilitate the viewing of the object held in the frame. Although the present invention can be utilized with almost any type of a frame, the invention will be described with reference to a picture frame to facilitate the understanding of the invention. However, it should be understood that this description should not in any way be construed to be limiting on the applications for the frame of the present invention. The invention will be more readily understood by referring to the attached drawings in connection with the following description.

The invention is directed to a frame 1 having a display side 3 and a back plate 5. An opening 9 is positioned along at least one side of the frame 1 so that an object to be displayed can be positioned in the interior of the frame and seen through the display side 3 of the frame. For the frame shown in the drawings, the frame is formed of a transparent plastic material that is a single sheet of material. The transparent plastic material is folded at edge 11 so that the plastic material can form the back plate 5 and display side 3 of the frame. The edge 11 forms a radius on this end of the frame and the sides of the frame are folded so that the end 13 of the back plate 5 and the end 15 of the display sides 3 that are spaced apart from the edge 11 adjacent one another and are usually urged toward one another. In this particular embodiment for the frame 1 an opening 9 is positioned on each side of the frame member and the opening 9 extends along the end of the frame member that is spaced apart from the edge 11. The material to be viewed is positioned on the frame between the display side 3 and the back plate 5. Since the display side 3 is made of a transparent material, the object can be viewed directly through the transparent material. If the frame were constructed of a nontransparent material, a transparent window or a cut out could be provided on the display side 3 to allow the object to be viewed once it has been positioned between the display side 3 and the back plate 5. An opacque border 19 can be positioned around the perimeter of the display side 3 to provide a definite border around the object to be displayed and to improve the aesthetic appearance of the frame.

Positioned on the back plate 5 of the frame 1 is a first slot 23 and a second slot 25. The first and second slots usually pass entirely through the back plate 5 and are in communication with the interior of the frame. However, it should be noted that it is not necessary for the slots to pass entirely through the back plate 5 and that the slots could extend for almost any depth into the back plate. The sides of the first slot 23 and second slot 25 converge as they advance towards the interior of the frame 1. The first slot 23 is positioned so that its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to the edge 11 of the frame 1. The second slot 25 is disposed so that its longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to the edge 11.

Position in opposed relationship along the sides of the first slot 23 and the second slot 25 are projections 29. The opposed projections are substantially spherical in shape and define a passageway 31 between the opposed projections. The passageway 31 is in communication with the slots in the back plate of the frame 1. The projections are disposed on the back plate 5 so that the passageway defined by the opposed projections is slightly narrower than the opening defined by the first and second slots. The main portion of the projections 29 are positioned on the surface of the back plate 5. However, a cylindrical portion 35 of the projections 29 extends into the first and second slots and terminate at the bottom of the slots. The cylindrical portions 35 of the projections 29 extend the passageway 31 defined by the projections into the slots. The portion of the passageway 31 defined by the cylindrical portions 35 is also narrower than the width of the first slot 23 or the second slot 25. In practice it has been found that it is desirable to have a pair of opposed projections located on each end of the slots in the back plate 5. However, it should be understood that any number of opposed projections can be utilized and that the sizes of the frame and the slot will dictate on the number of projections required. However, in practice it has been found that it is desirable to have at least two opposed projections positioned along each slot.

A support member 41 is used to maintain the frame 1 at the desired orientation so that the object positioned in the frame can be properly viewed. The support member 41 has a projection 43 and extends from side 45 of the support member 41. The projection 43 has a length that is slightly smaller than the length of the first or second slots and a width that is slightly smaler than the width of the first and second slots. The projection is disposed for insertion into either the first slot 23 or the second slot 25. The thickness of the projection 43 is, however, larger than the opening defined by the passageway 31 between the opposed projections 29 positioned on the back plate 5 adjacent to the first and second slots. The projection 43 on the support member 41 extends from the side 45 for a distance that will allow the projection 43 to extend almost entirely into the first or second slot. The side 45 of the support member 41 has shoulders 47 that extend on either side of the projection 43. The shoulders 47 are disposed for engaging the back plate 5 when the projection 43 is inserted into the first 23 or the second slot 25. Positioned in spaced apart relationship with the side 45 is engagement side 49 of the support member 41. Engagement side 49 is disposed to engage the surface upon which the frame 1 is positioned to maintain the frame at a desired orientation. Side 45 and engagement side 49 are connected by short side 51 and long side 53 of the support member 41. Short side 51 and long side 53 are disposed in opposed substantially parallel relationship.

In operation, the support member 41 is supplied separately with the frame 1. An object to be displayed is inserted into the interior of the frame 1 through opening 9 positioned around the perimeter of the frame. The object to be displayed is positioned so that the object can be seen through the display side 3 of the frame. The object to be displayed is disposed so that the object can be seen in the most advantageous orientation when either the first slot 23 or the second slot 25 is positioned substantially perpendicular to the surface upon which the frame is supported. When the proper orientation for the frame is determined, the projection 43 on the support member 41 is inserted into either the first slot 23 or the second slot 25. As the projection 43 is advanced into the appropriate slot it must pass through the passageway 31 defined by the opposed projections 29. The passageway 31 is narrower than the thickness of the projection 43 and the projection 43 must be forced through this passageway and into the slot. When the projection 43 is advanced all the way into the appropriate first or second slot the side 45 of the support member 41 will be adjacent the back plate 5 of the frame. The sides of the first and second slots converge as they advance towards the interior of the frame the sides of the slot will also engage the end of the projection 43 that is spaced apart from the side 45 of the support member 41. As the projection 43 is inserted into the appropriate slot the cylindrical poritions 35 of the projections 29 will also engage the projection 43. Thus, the projections 29 and the cylindrical portions 35 will engage the projection 43 and the sides of the support member 41 to securely hold the support member 41 in either the first slot 23 or the second slot 25 and keep the support member 41 in engagement with the back plate 5 of the frame 1. Once the support member 41 is properly secured to the frame 1 the engagement side 49 of the support member 41 is properly disposed to engage the surface upon which the frame is supported. This acts to maintain the frame at the desired angular relationship with the support surface so that the object can be most advantageously viewed. It should be noted that the engagement side 49 of the support member 41 is disposed to rest substantially flat on the surface upon which the frame is supported when the support member 41 is properly secured to the back plate 5 of the frame 1.

If it is desired to change the orientation of the frame to obtain a different viewing perspective for an object, the support member 41 can be removed from the frame 1 by removing the projection 43 from the slot in which it is positioned. The frame can then be rotated to that the projection 43 on the support member 41 is in alignment with the slot that provides the appropriate orientation for the frame. The projection 43 can be inserted into the slot as previously discussed so that the support member 41 can maintain the frame at the desired position or angle for viewing the object placed in the frame.

From the above it is clear that the support member 41 can be easily positioned in and removed from the frame 1 to provide a support that maintains the frame at the proper orientation or angle for viewing an object displayed in the frame. Since the support member 41 can be removed from the frame, it is very easy to place the support member 41 so that it is flat along the back plate 5 of the frame so that the frame can be easily packaged, stored and displayed. The removable support member also provides an inexpensive and easy way to properly support the frame in the desired viewing position. It is also possible that the support member 41 can be positioned on the interior of the frame for purposes of packaging so that the support member takes up as little space as possible.

The above description is given for the sake of explanation. Various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.