Decorative Panel For Use As A Bulletin Board Or Display Panel

Abstract

A decorative panel for use as a bulletin board or as a display panel on which decorative objects may be placed. The device is light weight and sturdy yet is economical to construct and is attractively designed. In the preferred embodiment, the frame is formed of plastic and is of unitary construction and has a first wall about the inner periphery of one side thereof formed by recessed shoulders and a second wall projecting from the outer periphery of the other side thereof and extending beyond said recessed shoulders. A burnt cork panel board is glued within the confines of said first wall to the front side of said recessed shoulders. The burnt cork panel board has a thickness equal to or less than the depth of said recessed shoulders in order to prevent damage to the edges thereof when the board is being handled. A cardboard backing is glued within the confines of the second projecting wall to the back side of said recessed shoulders to provide stability to the board.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a decorative panel and in particular to a bulletin board or a display panel which is economical yet attractive and which is light weight yet sturdy.

The panel comprises a plastic frame of unitary construction having a vertically projecting wall about the inner periphery of one side of said frame, a recessed horizontal ledge or shoulders projecting inwardly at the base of said inner peripheral wall and a wall projecting vertically from the outer periphery of the other side of said frame beyond said recessed horizontal ledge. A cardboard backing is attached to the other side of said frame within the confines of the outer peripheral wall. The backing has a thickness equal to or less than the distance the outer peripheral wall projects beyond said recessed horizontal ledge. A cork panel board is attached to the horizontal ledge within the confines of said inner peripheral wall. The cork board has a thickness equal to or less than the depth of said inner peripheral wall whereby the edges of the panel board rests below the edges of the frame whereby the edges of said panel board are protected from damage when the board is being handled. Because the cardboard backing is attached to the back side of the recessed shoulders within the confines of the outer peripheral wall, the unit is given a great deal of stability even though it is of light weight construction due to the plastic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables an attractive display panel to be constructed of light weight plastic such as polystyrene which is old and well known in the art as is referenced in col. 3, line 13 of the patent to MacDonald, U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,001, and authentic burnt cork in such a manner as to protect the burnt cork from damage during handling and yet to provide a light weight yet sturdy unit.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a decorative panel which is economical to construct and yet attractive and which is light weight and yet sturdy.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a decorative panel having a plastic frame of unitary construction and a recessed shoulder or ledge on the inner periphery thereof upon which a burnt cork panel may be attached and on the back side of which a cardboard backing may be attached for rigidity of the unit.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a decorative panel utilizing authentic burnt cork wherein the burnt cork is so mounted within the plastic frame that damage to the cork whenever the unit is handled is minimized.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a decorative panel in which rigidity is given to the unit by attaching a cardboard backing to the back side of the same ledge or shoulder on the other side of which the bulletin board material such as burnt cork is attached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other more detailed and specific objectives will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the novel decorative panel showing the plastic frame, the bulletin board material such as burnt cork, and the backing material such as cardboard which gives rigidity to the unit;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled panel shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a front view of the plastic frame of unitary construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the novel decorative panel showing plastic frame 2, bulletin board material 4 which may be soft material such as authentic burnt cork, and backing 6 which may be of material such as cardboard the purpose of which is to give rigidity to the unit as well as to provide a means for hanging the unit on a wall.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, plastic frame 2 is of unitary construction and has a first wall 8 about the inner periphery of the front side thereof which is formed by recessed shoulder or ledge 10. Further, a second wall 12 projects from the outer periphery of the back side of said frame to a point beyond the recessed shoulder or ledge. This will be able to be better seen in FIG. 2.

Bulletin board material 4 is preferably constructed of authentic burnt cork because of its light weight and attractive appearance. By spraying glue on recessed shoulder or ledge 10 and pressing corkboard 4 onto shoulder or ledge 10 within the confines of wall 8, the bulletin board is attached to the frame. As will be shown more clearly with respect to FIG. 2 the burnt cork panel board 4 has a thickness equal to or less than the depth of said vertical wall 8 to recessed shoulder or ledge 10 and has dimensions so as to enable it to fit snuggly within the confines of said wall 8 formed by said recessed shoulder or ledge 10.

Cardboard backing 6 has a thickness equal to or less than the distance said second wall 12 on the outer periphery of said frame projects beyond said recessed shoulder or ledge 10 and has dimensions so as to enable it to fit snugly within the confines of said wall 12. As will be seen more clearly with respect to FIG. 2, cardboard backing 6 rests on the backside of recessed shoulders 10 and is glued thereto. If desired, a second ledge 18 may be provided adjacent wall 12 to support the outer edge of said cardboard backing 6 as shown in FIG. 2. Cardboard backing 6 also has a plurality of indentations therein for the specific purpose of hanging the unit on a wall. Indentation 14 is so placed with respect to the upper edge of cardboard backing 6 that it serves to hang the unit in a vertical position. Indentations 16 are so spaced with respect to the longer side of said frame 2 that they can be used to hang the unit in a horizontal position.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the unit shown in FIG. 1 when it is assembled. Like numerals in FIG. 2 have been used to indicate corresponding elements in FIG. 1. Here, frame 2 can be seen to have vertically projecting wall 8 about the inner periphery of the front side of said frame with the recessed horizontal ledge or shoulder 10 projecting inwardly at the base of said inner peripheral wall 8. Further, wall 12 can be seen projecting vertically from the outer periphery of the back side of said frame. It will be noted that wall 12 projects outwardly beyond the recessed horizontal ledge 10.

Here it can also be plainly seen that panel board 4, which may be authentic burnt cork, rests on horizontal ledge 10 and is glued thereto. Further, it can be seen that panel board 4 fits within the confines of the inner peripheral wall 8 and has a thickness equal to or less than the depth of said inner peripheral wall 8 whereby the edges of the panel board are protected from damage whenever the panel is being handled.

It can also be seen plainly in FIG. 2 that cardboard backing 6 rests on the backside of said recessed horizontal ledge 10 and, as stated previously, is glued thereto. It can also be seen that cardboard backing 6 is attached to the backside of said frame within the confines of said outer peripheral wall 12 and has a thickness equal to or less than the distance said outer peripheral wall projects beyond said recessed horizontal ledge 10. This means that cardboard backing 6 does not extend outwardly beyond wall 12 thus providing an attractive looking unit and yet providing the necessary rigidity to a light weight decorative panel. As stated earlier, second ledge or shoulder 18 may be provided adjacent outer peripheral wall 12 as support for the outer edges of cardboard backing 6. Shoulder 18 must be horizontally aligned with, and in the same plane as recessed ledge 10 to provide proper support.

It will also be noted in FIG. 2 that the thickness of plastic frame 2 is very thin compared to the thickness of panel board 4 and cardboard backing 6. This is necessary to provide a light weight frame since most of the weight is in the plastic and most of the thickness is in the light weight materials comprising the panel board 4 and the cardboard backing 6.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the plastic panel 2 showing the cavity formed by vertical wall 8 and recessed shoulders 10 into which the burnt cork panel 4 is mounted. FIG. 3 shows that the width of recessed shoulder or horizontal ledge 10 is sufficient to provide adequate support for the burnt cork on the front side and the cardboard backing 6 on the backside since both the burnt cork and the cardboard backing are glued to this horizontal ledge.

Thus, there has been disclosed a novel decorative panel which utilizes a plastic frame of unitary construction, a burnt cork panel board for attractive appearance and a cardboard backing for rigidity. Thus, the unit is attractive yet economical and is light weight yet rigid.

Although this invention has been described with material reference to a particular environment, there are features, construction details, functional relationships and various changes which will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the invention is not to be limited to any particular environment, features, construction, materials, or functional relationships except as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A decorative panel comprising:

a. a frame of unitary construction having

1. a vertical downwardly projecting wall about the inner periphery of one side of said frame;

2. a recessed horizontal ledge projecting inwardly at the base of said inner peripheral wall, and

3. a wall projecting vertically from the outer periphery of the other side of said frame beyond said recessed horizontal ledge;

b. a panel board having a thickness equal to or less than the depth of said inner peripheral wall and attached to said recessed horizontal ledge within the confines of said inner peripheral wall whereby the edges of said panel board are protected from damage, and

c. a backing attached to the other side of said frame within the confines of said outer peripheral wall and having a thickness equal to or less than the distance said outer peripheral wall projects beyond said recessed horizontal ledge.

2. A decorative panel as in claim 1 wherein:

a. said panel board is constructed of bulletin board material.

3. A decorative panel as in claim 2 wherein:

a. said bulletin board material is authentic burnt cork.

4. A decorative panel as in claim 3 wherein:

a. said frame is plastic.

5. A decorative panel as in claim 4 wherein:

a. said plastic is relatively thin in comparison to said cork and said backing.

6. A decorative panel as in claim 5 wherein:

a. said backing is constructed of cardboard.

7. A decorative panel as in claim 6 wherein:

a. said cardboard is attached to the backside of said recessed horizontal ledge with glue.

8. A decorative panel as in claim 7 further including:

a. a second horizontal ledge adjacent said outer peripheral wall and in the same plane with and parallel to said recessed ledge to provide support for the outer edges of said cardboard backing.