TITLE

PICTURE FRAME

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention The present invention relates to a frame structure for paintings, prints, pictures and the like, of the type commonly applied to walls as decorative element for interiors .

Description of the prior art The methods for making frames for drawings, paintings, prints, pictures in general follows well known and traditional steps. The frames for prints may have different colours and shapes and can be made of a material such as metal, wood, plastics. In particular, a type very common of frame to hang on walls provides wooden rods arranged to make a rectangular frame. The rods, normally made of ayous timber and sometimes of pinetree or fir, can be finished with inlays, decorations, mouldings or can be coloured to achieve an aesthetical effect. In general, the rods have a decorated surface, which in use remains at sight, i.e. before the frame, and a back surface that rests on the wall to decorate, i.e. behind the frame.

Starting from rods of variable length, with an overall length that is about the perimeter of the frame, three or more portions are made having ends that are cut inclined between 0° and 90°, for example by means of special sawing machines or "angle transversal cutting machines". The four portions are then drawn near to one ■ another with adjacent ends and then connected forming the

rectangular frame.

In particular, the back of the rods have a cross section with a protruding rim that, once built the frame, is used for housing a painting. More in detail, for completing a frame with protruding front rim the following are introduced from rear: a glass, which can be a passepartout, the painting, or the print to enframe and a cardboard bottom sheet, or plywood. The whole is then kept firmly in position using small nails without head, or pliable pins arranged against the cardboard or plywood bottom sheet.

However, the process above described to enframe a painting, or a print, cannot be carried out industrially since it requires much time in addition to the need of a certain manual ability and experience.

So-called "unframed glasses" also exist that have resilient clips that block the glass with the cardboard or plywood bottom sheet. Another similar type provides a framed glass with clips. Both types can be mounted industrially, but .they have less aesthetical value than traditional frames.

Summary of the invention

It is therefore a feature of the invention to provide a frame structure capable of assisting the assembling steps of an user much better than the solutions of prior art.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a frame structure that has an improved aesthetical effect with respect to the frames of prior art.

It is a particular feature of the invention to provide a section that can be used as starting element to provide such a frame.

These and other features are accomplished with one exemplary frame structure, according to the present invention, comprising a frame defining an opening in which an object is housed, in particular, a painting, a print, or the like, said frame having a front face and a rear face crossed by said opening, comprising furthermore: — removable containing means, for containing the object in said opening, preventing it from leaning out of said front face/

- means for engaging the removable means and the frame; whose main feature is that the means for engaging are made on the frame.

In particular, the removable means and the means for engaging perform a fixed joint.

Advantageously, the means for engaging are selected from the group comprised of:

- at least one recess,

- at least one groove,

- at least one protrusion,

- a combination thereof. In particular, the means for engaging can be made at least at one portion of the frame that faces said opening. Alternatively, or in addition, the means for engaging are made on at least one portion of the frame that in use remains at sight. Advantageously, the frame has a plurality of sides

and the removable means engage with the means for engaging at an edge of the frame.

In a possible exemplary embodiment, the removable means is coupled to the means for engaging at least at two different sides of the frame.

In particular, each edge of the frame has a plurality of spaced grooves. This allows to block objects having different thicknesses so that the frame structure is highly flexible, according to the invention. Advantageously, the frame has rearward containing means for the object, for example, a protruding rim, bent small nails, bent pins and other known systems. The thickness necessary for containing the object in a correct position can be made by means of glass, cardboard, plastic or other material.

In particular, the removable means can be scrap portions deriving from processes for preparing the frame starting from a profiled bar, for example wood.

Advantageously, the removable means are arranged in order to divide the opening enclosed in by the frame into a plurality of sections.

In particular, the frame above described can be made starting from a section having at least one groove made at at least one portion thereof, in particular, at least at one of its sides. For example, the section can be made of a material selected from the group comprised of:

- timber,

- plastic material,

- metal material, - glass,

- composite material .

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention the section used to make the frame provides at least two grooves of different size on two opposite sides. This way, it is possible to use the section to provide a frame capable of housing objects having thicknesses corresponding to the size of one of or the other groove.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be now shown with the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, exemplifying but not limitative, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

- Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a frame structure, according to the invention; — Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view of the frame structure according to arrows II-II of figure 1;

- Figure 3 shows a partially cross sectioned perspective view of a portion of the frame structure of figure 1 for highlighting some parts of a first assembling procedure of the frame;

- Figure 4 shows a partially cross sectioned perspective view of an alternative with respect to figure 3 of an assembling procedure of the frame of figure 1;

- Figure 5 shows a partially cross sectioned perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the frame structure of figure 1;

- Figure 6 shows a cross sectional view of the frame structure of figure 5;

- Figures from 7 to the 9 show a perspective view of three possible types of profiled bars for frames used to

- Q - provide the frame structure according to the invention;

- Figure 10 shows a perspective view of a possible type of stop element that can be associated to the frame structure of figure 1; - Figures from 11 to the 14 show a perspective view of some exemplary embodiments of the frame structure of figure 1;

- Figure 15 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the removable means that can be used in the exemplary embodiment of the frame of figure 14;

- Figure 16 shows a perspective view of a further exemplary embodiment of the frame structure of figure 1.

Description of the preferred embodiments Notwithstanding in the following description reference has been made to a frame of rectangular shape, it is apparent to a person with ordinary skill in the art that the invention can be used for frames of another desired polygonal shape, and also with curvilinear shape, in particular, circular or oval. With reference to figure 1, a frame structure 1, according to the invention, provides a frame unit 2 adapted to contain a painting, a print, a photography, or similar plane objects. Frame 2 can be, for example, of rectangular shape and can be made starting from a section of timber (figures from 7 to 9) even if it is not excluded the possibility to use materials of different type, such as metal, plastics, glass, etc.

Frame 2 has means for engaging with removable containing means, the latter adapted to stop the object 20. In particular, the means for engaging made on frame 2 can be

one or more grooves 4 made at its inner sides 3 (figures from 1 to 13) . Alternatively, or in addition to grooves 4, the means for engaging can provide protrusions 14 (figure 14) . A further exemplary embodiment provides recesses 7, or pins 8, applied on the edge 3b of frame 2 that in use faces forwards (figure 16) .

In all the cases above described the means for engaging are adapted to engage, for example by a fixed joint, with removable means 10 that contain the object 20 to enframe .

If frame 2 provides several grooves 4, each of them can extend for all the length of the relative edge 3 (figures 1, 12 and 13) , or for only a portion thereof (figure 11) . Removable means 10 can be thinner at the portions adapted to engage with grooves 4. In case, instead, frame 2 has one or more protrusions 14, or pins 8, for example of the self-locking type, each face adapted to engage with removable means 10 has holes 11 (figures 15 and 16) for providing a fixed joint. The object 20 is kept in position for presence of removable means 10 arranged on the front face and of rear containing means . The rear containing means can provide a protrusion 5 (figures from 1 to 4) already present in the section 50 from which frame 2 is obtained (figures from 7 to 10).

Alternatively, the rear containing means can provide solutions of prior art such as the use of bent small nails 15 (figures 5 and 6) , pliable pins, etc. These solutions can be advantageously adopted if the section 50 is without protrusion 5.

W

A further alternative provides the use, as rear containing means, of removable means 10' similar to those used for containing object 20 (figure 13) . In this case, the inner walls 3 of frame 2 has at least two rows of grooves 4a and 4b.

Removable means 10 can be arranged at a single edge 3 of frame 1 (figure 5) , alternatively at one or more angles of frame 1, i.e. to connect two adjacent sides 3 (figures 1, 3 and 4) . It is also provided that each removable means 10 engages between two not adjacent sides of frame 2 with the means 1Oe of figure 12. A further possibility provides that removable means 10 are arranged in order to connect more sides of frame 2, for example four sides (figure 11) . In this case, removable means 10 in addition to containing object 20 frontally, divides opening 25 of frame 2 into more fields, for example four 26-29. This solution can be used to provide a particular artistic composition such as a collage of pictures, of drawings, etc. (figure 11) .

The possible difference existing between the distance between the front and rear containing means and the thickness of the object 20 can be compensated, as well known, by means of thicknesses 30 of various material such as glass, cardboard, plastics, plywood, etc., according to the type of assembling procedure (figures 2 and 6) . As shown in particular in figure 12, removable means 10 may have different shape, for example elongated shape 10a, circular shape 10b and 10c, triangular shape 1Od, etc. The portions of removable means 10 set to engage with grooves 4 have size such that they form together a fixed joint. This ensures to keep object 20 in a correct position

with respect to frame 2. Furthermore, as diagrammatically shown in figure 10, removable means 10 can be made by the scrap portions 51 deriving from the process for preparing frame 1 starting from section 50. The foregoing description of a specific embodiment will so fully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, so that others, by applying current knowledge, will be able to modify and/or adapt for various applications such an embodiment without further research and without parting from the invention, and it is therefore to be understood that such adaptations and modifications will have to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiment. The means and the materials to realise the different functions described herein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departing from the field of the invention. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.