Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Display in frame or transparent casing; or diorama including... – Peripheral enclosure or frame
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-15
2001-10-23
Dye, Rena L. (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Display in frame or transparent casing; or diorama including...
Peripheral enclosure or frame
C428S007000, C428S034100, C428S035700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06306470
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
Activity or craft formation generally instantaneously of lithophane-type pictorial works or objects comprised of translucent material within containers having a transparent see-through wall.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditional lithophane pictorial works, often in the form of panels that can be hung in windows or in front of a light source, have been made of porcelain. Such a porcelain lithophane work is thin, translucent and has varying thickness such that, when viewed from the front while light passes through the work from the rear, a picture of extreme beauty and delicacy is provided. More particularly, the different thicknesses provide different shades of lightness and darkness. The thicker an area the darker that area will appear. The thinner an area the lighter that area will appear. The variation can go from very dark to very light. Changes can be sudden and dramatic or very gradual and subtle. Each such work has a contoured recessed front picture-providing surface that provides the varying thickness and thus the picture for that work.
To provide a porcelain lithophane work, initially a soft pattern is hand sculpted or carved by a craftsman/artist working with molding material such as wax. The wax is back-lighted so that the progress of the picture can be observed as the contour of the recessed front surface of the wax pattern is sculpted.
Then the wax pattern is used to create a plaster mold with a cavity with a contoured convex surface that is the reverse of the sculpted recessed front surface of the pattern. The plaster mold in turn is used to mold reproductions of the pattern, with each reproduction having the desired contoured recessed front surface. Initially an opaque slick or flowable slurry of porcelain-forming material is introduced into the plaster mold. The slurry must remain in the mold for a prolonged drying period, during which moisture from the slurry passes into the plaster mold. Finally the dried reproduction is removed from the mold and fired or baked in a high temperature oven to produce the final translucent picture-providing porcelain lithophane work. The resulting porcelain lithophane work is beautiful and valuable. However, it's creation is costly, time consuming and requires great skill.
It would be highly desirable to be able to create lithophane-type pictorial works or objects in a simple, quick and inexpensive manner.
It would be especially desirable to be able to control and limit the creating apparatus and process so that it can be used by those of low skill level and/or dexterity, such as young children. In this regard, the more that can be done by the children, without any or with very limited supervision, the more rewarding and exciting it will be for the children.
Similarly, because of children's short attention spans, it is highly desirable that they can see the results of their efforts just as quickly as possible and without extended delays as would be required to dry and/or fire the objects to complete them.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
FIGS. 1 and 2
are schematic representations of a prior art lithophane panel of porcelain. The porcelain which is translucent is formed at its front surface so as to present a viewable picture when light is shown through the panel. The panel front surface is formed with gradients of depth or thickness so that when light is shown through, the thinner portions appear lighter and the thicker portions appear darker.
FIG. 2
is a cross section of a portion of the lithophane panel representing the variations in thickness at the front surface S that faces the observer. Light passes through the translucent panel from the opposite rear surface R.
As also noted above, the lithophane process is expensive and time consuming and requires substantial skill.
The illustrated apparatus and method provide a simple, inexpensive and quick way to produce lithophane-type pictorial works comprised of formable translucent material within containers with a transparent see-through wall, all in a manner so simple and undemanding that it can be done by a small child. The result is immediately observable by the user. No drying or firing is required to achieve the finished work.
In a presently preferred embodiment, a lithophane-type pictorial work may be formed within a thin, generally closed container. The illustrated container has a pair of generally parallel closely spaced-apart walls, one front wall and one rear wall. The front wall is transparent and has a contoured forming surface on its inward face. This forming surface is the reverse or mirror-image of a desired contoured recessed picture-providing front surface of a desired lithophane-type pictorial work. When the container is generally filled with a translucent material, the desired lithophane-type work is thereby created within the container. This work is thin and has the desired contoured recessed picture-providing front face where the material meets and interfaces with the forming surface. The opposite or rear container wall is translucent or transparent so that light can pass through the work. The picture provided by the work is then visible through the transparent front wall.
The container could be openable for receiving the material into the container.
In another preferred embodiment, the translucent material could be flowable, and introduced into the container through an entrance. The translucent material could be a soft flowable solid such as “Play Doh” that is forced into the container. The translucent material also could be a liquid, a powder, a granular mix or even a gas. Further, the work need not, at any given instant, be a static body of material, but could be provided by a generally continuous flow of material, such as a liquid or gas, through the container. While the composition of this “work” is continuously changing, its shape or configuration as defined by the interior of the container, and particularly the contoured forward face, remain constant to provide the desired lithophane picture.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3709786 (1973-01-01), Brody
patent: 3891179 (1975-06-01), Berman
patent: 4414731 (1983-11-01), Riemer
patent: 4952462 (1990-08-01), Bright
patent: 5226538 (1993-07-01), Roselle
patent: 5227205 (1993-07-01), Dubrow et al.
patent: 5269977 (1993-12-01), Nakahashi et al.
patent: 5571598 (1996-11-01), Butler et al.
patent: 5787508 (1998-08-01), Gattamorta
patent: 5925426 (1999-07-01), Galerneau
Goldfarb Adolph E.
Goldfarb Martin I.
Ashen & Lippman
Dye Rena L.
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