Abstract:
An apparatus and method for building signs combining tile and wood, such as but not limited to nameplates, is disclosed. The nameplates are produced in several steps, including woodworking, sanding, tile-cutting, stencil-applying, sandblasting, and polishing.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to decorative tile signs and the manufacturing process therefore, such as for use in nameplates. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many types of signs, indicators, nameplates and methods of manufacturing therefor exist, but none combine the convenience and configurability of granite or other tile with the elegance of hard wood. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has as its primary objective the building of signs such as nameplates by applying a stencil having a preselected pattern to a tile made of a material such as granite, grinding and finishing a pattern within that tile, and then inlaying the patterned tile within a wooden base. A further objective is to separately process the tile and wood before combining them, and then to process them again afterward. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sizing jig used in making the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of a rubber stencil used in making the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tile for flush mounting within the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a dado-cut tile for mounting within the present invention; and 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart for the steps of patterning a tile. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Professionals such as loan officers, doctors, automotive salespersons, and other persons skilled in dealing with the general public find the use of nameplates helpful when dealing with a new customer, who may forget their name unless it is kept very prominently visible while a meeting is occurring. Accordingly, the decorative signs of the present invention will include nameplates, but will also include the following: “Mens Room”, “Ladies Room”, “Please Wait to be Seated”, “Next Window Please”, “Reserved”, “Concierge”, “Welcome”, and “No Smoking”. Additionally, the patterning of graphic symbols and other user-specffied patterns are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention. 
     The signs of the present invention will come in basically two embodiments. The first embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, positions a single layer of patterned tile  100  flush with a wooden base  150 . This first, flush embodiment is also known as a complete inlay. The second embodiment, a partial inlay as shown in FIG. 2, uses dado-cuts (a stonecutting term meaning to make parallel cuts of different distances) to form multiple levels  204 ,  208  of tile  212  which conceal the routered-out parts of the wooden base  150 . 
     The two embodiments above each also have two additional variations, which are to have either recessed, sunken lettering, or raised (relief) lettering. Recessed letters are more useful in locations with good lighting such as banks, movie theaters, and office environments. Raised or ‘relief’ letters, conversely, stand out from the surface of the tile, resulting in easy visibility and readability even in dim light, such as in bars or taverns. The relief also has the effect that the patterning and/or lettering can be discerned at a wider viewing angle. The manifestations of the present invention employing Braille characters use the raised symbols. 
     The signs of the present invention are put together in basically 3 stages: preparing the wooden base, preparing the tile, and then combining the two. 
     Preparing the Wooden Base 
     The dimensions of the wooden base  150  will vary with the size of the granite tile  100 ,  212 . One style of wooden base  150  will be angled upward as shown in FIGS. 1 and  2 , while the other will be just “block”, that is, meant to sit directly perpendicular with the surface of a desk, or parallel with a wall upon which the wooden base  150  is hung. 
     To cut the wooden base  150 , a table saw is used. To cut rectangular patterns into the wooden base  150 , either a standard router or a plunge router can be used. The type of wood used can either be mahogany, birch, black walnut, maple, or cherry, and is chosen partially for its color balance with the granite or marble tile preferred. 
     When the table saw is first applied to the raw wood, approximately ¼″ of extra surface is designed into the process in order to allow for necessary planing of five surfaces of the wooden base  150 . At this stage the wood is still considered to be rough-cut. The wooden base  150  is then planed. The planing process smoothes the contours of the wood in order to provide more aesthetically pleasing surface lines. In a preferred embodiment, the planing is done with a double-sided circular blades, although a delta planer, hand plane, joiner, or any combination of these could also be used. After planing is complete, every surface of the entire wood block is then sanded. 
     The routing process can be carried out by a variety of means, including manual as well as computerized routers. To router the rectangular opening  154 , a specialized jig  300  for the router can be used, as shown in FIG.  3 . The wooden base  150  is clamped to jig  300 , and then using a plunge router, a rectangular opening with a depth of approximately ⅜″ is routered out from wooden base  150 , as shown in FIG.  1 . In the FIG. 1 embodiment where the tile  100  sits flush within the wooden base  150 , the wooden base  150  is then unclamped from the jig  300 , and comers  158 ,  162 ,  166 , and  170  (FIG. 1) are squared using a comer chisel. Specialized jig  300  also has movable edge guides  304 ,  308  (FIG. 3) for greater flexibility in the size of the aperture to be routered, thereby broadening the available sizes of the signage of the present invention. 
     In the non-flush, dado-cut embodiment of FIG. 2, however, it is not necessary to use comer chisel to precisely square corners  158 ,  162 ,  166 , and  170  in that those comers are not visible in the end product. This is because they are concealed from view by the upper edge  208  of dadocut tile  212 . 
     At this point, the wooden base  150  has been sanded, planed, routed, and cut to the desired dimensions. It is now necessary to spray or brush polyurethane varnish/lacquer/coating (in a preferred embodiment, using MiniWax™) onto the entire wooden base  150 . A tong-oil can be substituted for the polyurethane coating. The wooden base  150  is sanded between each coat. The amount of coating varies, because the present invention offers a choice of high, semi, and satin gloss finishes for the wooden base  150 . It is not necessary to apply coating to rectangular opening  154 , as the entire aperture will be filled in by the tile  100 ,  212 . However, if, during the coating process, a small amount of coating works its way into rectangular opening  154  prior to the positioning of tile  100 ,  212 , no harm is done. Alternatively, a dummy, unused tile can be temporarily positioned in the rectangular opening  154  so that its surface is not coated. Such an action is advantageous in that the glue which will later by applied in the aperture will adhere directly to the surface of the wooden base  150 . 
     Cutting the Tile 
     A tile saw is used to custom-cut the tile  100 ,  212 . Numerous types of tile saws are usable for this purpose, including a wet powered saw such as an MK-101, a computer controlled laser cutter, or a computer controlled water jet saw. Many wet saws use carbon blades. However, the present invention uses diamond blades, which are advantageous because of superior cutting ability, their ability to be re-sharpened, and longer overall life. 
     The tile of the present invention is preferably granite, although occasionally marble can be substituted for granite, particularly when there is difficulty finding the optimal shade of white granite. The natural color of the granite used in the tile  100 ,  212  can be grey, white, black, or gold. Other tile materials such as corian can also be substituted for granite, as well as mica or any other resilient glass made with a high durability and low brittleness. The tiles can be purchased either prepolished or unpolished. 
     The pattern or lettering to be sandblasted into the tile  100 ,  212  is first created in a rubber stencil  400  such as that shown in FIG. 4 using a rubber-cutting plotter. These stencils are cut by a computer controlling a rubber cutter with both being responsive to specialized software which provides for a wide variety of letter sizing and fonts. The stencil  400  is applied to the tile  100 ,  212  after the tile is cut, but before it is sandblasted. This is because the sandblasting process is what actually forms the letters or patterns on the tile. For illustrative purposes, the stencil  400  has only the letter ‘S’ highlighted. As will be explained in more detail below, a single letter ‘S’ will be used in illustrating the process of patterning the tile. 
     The tile is cut to predetermined dimensions according to whether it will be used as a nameplate, clock, wall hanging, or other device. Additionally, as stated, the tile may be cut either in a single plane/rectangle  100  as shown in FIG. 5, or in a “dado-cut” or “stacked dado” arrangement  212  such as that shown in FIG.  6 . 
     In the stacked arrangement shown in FIG. 6, two separate tile blades are spaced approximately 5 mm apart using a plastic spacer. An operator of an overhead saw can then set the separate depths of the cuts about to be made. The result after cutting is a granite tile having two distinct rectangular surfaces  204  and  208  as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. Such separate surfaces are useful for aligning the tile  212  within the wooden base  150 , increasing the amount of surface area available for patterning, and reducing the amount of finishing necessary for the wooden base  150 . 
     In a preferred setting of the dado-cut embodiment, a ⅜″ granite tile sits approximately ⅛″ above the wood surface of base  150 , with ¼″ below the surface. Thus, rectangular surface  204  can be twice as thick as the rectangular surface  208 . However, although ⅜″ granite tiles are described, other thicknesses such as ¼″, ½″, and ¾″ can also be used. Thicknesses below ¼″ are seldom used because the tiles tend to be too brittle for effective patterning and sandblasting. 
     When dado-cutting tile, it is convenient to put another scrap piece of tile behind and in front of the tile  212 , thus ensuring uniformly equal depth of the dado-cut. This also keeps the tile  212  slightly raised from the cutting surface of the saw. In the event a water saw is used, depth equality is ensured through precision control of the water jet. 
     Using a wet saw such as an MK-101 keeps the granite dust down. For polishing the edges of tile  100 ,  212 , a wet sander is used. However, the edges can also be polished manually, using several different grades of sandpaper. This completes the explanation of the cutting of the granite tile  100 ,  212  prior to pattering. 
     Patterning the Tile 
     The process of patterning the tiles  100 ,  212  with the stencil  400  will now be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, step  701  is to apply a stencil glue to the tile. Step  702  is to melt or bum off the excess, residual glue from the tile. Step  703  is to apply transfer tape onto the stencil  400 . Step  704  is to peel the stencil  400  up off a plastic carrier/backing  404 , either by hand or using a stencil knife. Step  705   a  is to lay the stencil  400  on the tile  100 ,  212  (one chance only, thus precision very important), OR as an alternative to step  705   a  which is step  705   b  slowly lower the tile  100 ,  212  onto the stencil  400  using a 90-L shaped guide. The 90-L shaped guide allows the operator to slowly lower the tile onto the stencil  400  while observing whether tile and stencil are properly aligned. Doing so increases the precision at which the stencil  400  can be aligned to the tile, and reduces the amount of improperly applied stencils which must then be discarded. 
     Step  706  is to expose the parts that are going to receive sandblasting. In the raised letters embodiment, the rubber stencil covers the letters only. Then, everything but the letters is sandblasted, as the area of the tile covered by rubber is protected from being sandblasted. The rubber stencil is then removed. 
     Conversely, in the recessed letters embodiment, the rubber stencil covers everything but the letters. Then, only the letters are sandblasted, as the area of tile covered by the rubber is protected from being sandblasted. 
     Because step  706  differs depending on whether raised or recessed letters are being produced, step  706  is divided into alternatives  706   a  and  706   b,  as shown in FIG.  7 . Step  706   a  is executed in the recessed letter embodiment, which is to pull up the rubber lettering/symbols, leaving the surrounding areas of rubber remaining on the tile, OR step  706   b ) (supposing raised letter embodiment) pull up the areas of rubber stencil surrounding the lettering. This is the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, where for brevity and clarity only the letter ‘S’ is to be patterned, and all areas of the rubber stencil  400  surrounding the lettering are pulled up or removed. 
     Step  707  is to perform the actual sandblasting. To sandblast the tile  100 ,  212 , an air compressor is used, such as a Linsday™, in combination with a sand-holding device. The type of sand used can be StarBlast™. After sandblasting, while the stencil  400  is still attached to the tile, step  708  is to spray paint the letters (recessed) or background (raised, relief) using 4 different spraying angles. In a preferred embodiment, lithochrome spray paint is used, in gold, white, grey, black, or red. 
     As an alternative to step  708   a,  step  708   b  shows that gold or silver leaf can be used to paint the letters or background. Prior to the application of the leaf, an adhesive must first be applied. In the recessed embodiment, the gold or silver leaf is applied in the recessed-letter areas, using tools such as brushes or small punches. The excess fine leaf paper is easily torn away, leaving behind only the desired surfaces covered in leaf. In the raised-letters, relief embodiment, apply adhesive to all sandblasted areas. Then apply the leaf, being careful to not get any adhesive on the letters themselves. 
     After the four coats of paint or leaf, step  709  is to apply four coats of clear coat also at four different directions, letting the tile dry between each coat. Finally, after all coats are dry, step  710  is to peel off the rubber stencil  400 . 
     After being subjected to sandblasting and then spraying, the rubber stencil  400  is normally stretched and altered so much that it&#39;s no longer usable. However, within the present invention, a specialized rubber of an unusually high tensile strength is used. In this way, the rubber stencil  400  is preserved for repeated usages without the necessity of replacing the stencil for every new tile. This is advantageous for lowering stencil costs. This completes the explanation of the patterning of the tile. 
     At this point, the tile  100 ,  212  has been patterned, blasted, painted, and cut to the proper width. Where appropriate, the tile&#39;s back has been dadoed off and the edges have been polished. As stated earlier, the wooden base  150  has been cut to the desired dimensions, sanded, planed, routed, and coated. Accordingly, the wooden base  150  and granite tile  100 ,  212  are now ready to be combined. 
     Combining the Tile and the Wooden Base 
     The granite tile  100 ,  212  is inlayed into wooden base  150  using a glue such as platinum epoxy and resin glue. This glue is recommended because it is made specifically for granite, and is high strength, clear, and colorless. During the glue-setting process, devices such as presses, clamps, fans, heaters, and humidifiers are used. The suggested length of time for allowing the glue to set is five hours. A belt dresser is used to remove any excess glue. 
     Additional features of the present invention can include combining the wooden base  150  with a business card holder, small clocks, and/or a pen socket. Other office accessories can also be combined with the present invention where appropriate. The present invention can also be wall-mounted, and can have Braille indices. Further, the bottom of the wood base can have rubber feet or black felt attached to the bottom by an adhesive. 
     It is anticipated that various changes may be made in the arrangement and operation of the-system of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.