Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2002-05-28
Aftergut, Jeff H. (Department: 1733)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C427S004000, C428S022000, C428S024000, C504S114000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06395114
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a natural botanical sculpture, and more particularly to a method for encasing cut plants and plant parts to form a durable plant form.
BACKGROUND
The aesthetic value of botanicals has long been appreciated. Botanicals, such as plants and parts or plants, e.g. flowers, stems, seeds, leaves, vegetables, fruits, etc. are commonly used for gifts, decorative purposes, museum specimens, educational purposes and the like. Some plants are present during special occasions and thus also have sentimental importance.
However, the enjoyment of many plants is hampered by their short lives. When botanicals die, they lose their pleasing appearance. Cut flowers that have their stems submersed in water usually survive only for a few days to a several weeks, barring any further treatment. As a result, much effort has been made to preserve and prolong the life of plants.
In order to sustain a plant's appearance, a drying process is often employed to remove most of the plant's water supply. The drying process may be carried out by immersing the plant into a drying agent, such as a dehydrating alcohol or a dessicating substance, e.g. silicone fluid or gel, silicone resin, alkaline formaldehyde sulfoxyate, aluminum or magnesium sulphate and cupric or other transitional metal sulphate and isoniazid. In addition, the plant may be freeze dried or exposed to low-humidity air. Dehydration may take place by exposure to vacuum pressure such as 100 mm Hg. A combination or these processes may also take place. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,421,121; 5,399,392; and 5,366,954.
However, drying processes cause the plants to become extremely brittle, fragile and highly susceptible to damage in extremes of temperature or humidity. Special handling and storage techniques of the dried plants are required. Some dried plants undergo further treatment in attempts to increase the durability of the plants. For example, the plant may be reacted with a cross-linking compound to form a polymeric network. See European Pat. Appl. No. 87309407.2.
The dried plants also relinquish their shape by drastically shrinking in size and curling of tissues such as leaves and petals. Furthermore, the natural colors of the plants are inclined to fade during dehydration. The natural beauty of the plants is forfeited and their value as decorative items is reduced.
Many other current approaches endeavor to maintain the natural appearance of the plant to keep them looking “alive” and simply extend the shelf-life and display-life of plants. Some of these advances involve adding a preservative agent to the water solution into which the cut stem, stalk, trunk or vine of a physiologically active plant is immersed. In other processes, the entire plant is totally immersed in the solution. The plant uptakes the solution by pulling the fluid from a container into the tissues of the plant. The preservative acts as a humectant by replacing the fluids and electrolytes which were supplied to the xylem by the root system. One exemplary humectant is an ethylene glycol solution. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,723,407; and 5,798,150.
However, glycerol infusion frequently results in bleeding or weeping of the solution from the plant surfaces, especially in environments of high humidity. Such humectants also may cause color changes in the plant. Some attempts to resolve the color loss problem include the infusion of dyes in solution with the humectant. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,807604.
A thin clear coat barrier of film may be added to the plant surface to prevent leakage of dye and humectant. In still other approaches, an acrylic polymer film that permits moisture transmission is coated over the plant. The film has sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability to support respiration of the plant. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,342.
Although these methods extend the life of the plant, the resulting plant is not a durable and permanent article. Even with a thin film covering, the plants remains susceptible to breakage and fluctuations in environmental temperature and humidity.
Thus, there is still a need for a method of creating a permanent and tough plant form that will endure drastic environmental condition and withstand substantial pressure. It would be beneficial for such a plant form to maintain the general structure and color of the original live plant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A natural plant sculpture having a plant armature fixed within a hardened paste encasement is provided. In one embodiment, the sculpture resembles the structure of the underlying plant, but takes on a porcelain-like image. Rather than the preserved plant appearing alive, this durable object is created in the plant's likeness by using the encased plant as a mold. The sculpture is developed, according to the present invention, by plastering a surface of the plant or plant part with one or multiple paste layers. Each paste layer is dried to a hard finish. A sufficient number of paste layers are spread on the surface to render the sculpture product inflexible and durable. The final encasement is air-impermeable. Each paste layer is usually at least substantially dry before application of the subsequent layers. Often the final encasement is between about 0.50 mm and 5.00 mm in thickness, but thinner or thicker encasements are possible as long as the shell is rigid.
The paste is comprised of an adhesive, a synthetic latex resin prepared by emulsion polymerization, and a thickener. In one composition of paste, the latex is selected from the group comprising homopolymers and copolymers of vinyl esters, acrylate and methacrylate esters, maleic acid, maleic anhydride and maleic acid esters. In another paste composition, the latex is a vinyl acetate resin emulsion. In still other embodiments of paste, the thickener component is starch and/or the adhesive ingredient is glue.
The paste is usually applied in a manner that minimizes damage to the plant. Thus, a brush, sponge, cloth, cotton or other similar utensil may be used to spread on paste to the plant surface. Often, a portion of the plant is contacted with an aqueous solution as another portion of the plant is treated with paste. In one exemplary case, the cut end of a flower stem immersed in water as the remaining petals, leaves, stem, etc. are covered with paste.
In still other embodiments of the method, paint is spread over the dried encasement. The plant sculpture may also be made waterproof by coating a water-insoluble sealer over the painted or unpainted dried encasement.
The benefits of the natural plant sculpture are direct in that the plant form is presumably permanent, tough, enduring of drastic environmental condition and withstanding of substantial pressure forces. In some embodiments, the sculpture maintains the general structure and color of the original live plant. In other embodiments, a new artificial color or design may be added to the sculpture.
Other features and advantages of these and other embodiments are discussed in detail below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A method for making a natural botanical sculpture that captures the plant's form and beauty is provided. A plant or plant part is used as an armature in the creation of a durable representation of the plant. The outer surface of the organic material is plastered with a viscous paste composition that solidifies to produce an inflexible and air-tight encasement having the general form of the original plant. In some embodiments, the product maintains the natural color of the enclosed plant. The paste of the present invention is applied by spreading one layer or multiple layers of the paste over the plant surface in a manner that minimizes damage to the plant.
The present method of making a botanical sculpture may be practiced with any botanical including plants or portions of plants, such as flowers, stems, seeds, leaves, vegetables and fruits that may benefit from a preserved appearance. For simplicity of describing the present invention, the term “plant” is herein intended to include all organisms or part of organis
Aftergut Jeff H.
Benado Lisa N.
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