Patent Publication Number: US-2011076447-A1

Title: Panel assembly for decoration

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE 
     This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/845,784, filed on Aug. 28, 2007, which is incorporated herewith by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a panel assembly with a pattern thereon, and in particular to a panel assembly that simulates the look of a real stained glass but with the ease to change colors and patterns and can easily be moved from one window to the other. 
     2. The Prior Arts 
     Stained glass is a work of art which provides profound artistic feelings. Such artworks can be found in cathedrals, with various themes, pictures and patterns, and present vivid bright colors when sunlight passes through them, which attract people to linger in front of them. The colored glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form desired patterns or pictures, and held together by a metal frame. 
     However, when the stained glass is to be fabricated, patterns and colors of the stained glass generally have been pre-determined. After it was fabricated, the patterns and the colors could no longer be changed. It would be quite nice if the patterns and colors can be changed from time to time without changing the whole panel of glass. It is also more economical and feasible to have a changeable plastic panel giving the appearance of stained glass than to make an actual stained glass window. Furthermore, the conventional stained glass gives only two dimensional patterns, and not able to give viewers a vivid three dimensional impression. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a panel assembly to simulate the look of a real stained glass window and be capable of changing colors and patterns easily without changing the whole window panel. 
     The panel assembly according to the present invention is attached to one side of a transparent plate. The panel assembly includes a panel piece having at least one through hole that forms a pattern or a character, and at least one embedding piece corresponding to the through hole. The embedding piece is fitted into the through hole of the panel piece. 
     The panel assembly according to the present invention makes the decoration of the transparent plate more flexible by means of replacing the embedding pieces with different colors or simply taking down the old panel assembly and assembling a new style of panel assembly onto the transparent plate. In addition, the panel assembly provides a three-dimensional pattern, which gives viewers a vivid impression. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a panel assembly for decoration according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing a panel piece according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing embedding pieces corresponding to through holes of the panel piece, according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing the panel piece and the embedding piece attached to a transparent plate; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded schematic view showing the transparent plate, and the panel piece and the embedding pieces to be attached to the transparent plate; 
         FIG. 6  is a front schematic view showing the panel assembly attached to the transparent plate; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view showing the assembling of an embedding piece, a panel piece, and a transparent plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded schematic view showing a transparent plate, a transparent piece, a panel piece, and embedding pieces according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a panel assembly  10  for decoration according to the present invention comprises a panel piece  20  and at least one embedding pieces  30  embedded in the panel piece  20 . A panel assembly  10  is configured with characters or patterns to provide aesthetic enhancement to a transparent plate  40  or an advertising tool. The transparent plate  40  may be made of glass, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), transparent plastic or other transparent material, thereby allowing the light passing therethrough. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the panel piece  20  is a thin rectangular plastic plate whose size is slightly smaller than that of the transparent plate  40  (see  FIG. 6 ). The panel piece  20  according to a first embodiment of the present invention is a black plastic plate or a plastic plate with other color. The panel piece  20  includes at least one through hole  210  passing through the panel piece  20 . The through hole  210  forms a single pattern or a character, or a set of patterns or characters. In the first embodiment, the panel piece  20  includes eleven through holes  210 , which form a flower pattern. The through holes  210  may also be arranged into other characters or patterns, such as a human figure, an article, etc. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the embedding pieces  30  according to the present invention are corresponding to the through holes  210 . The embedding piece  30  is made of plastic material. The embedding piece  30  according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a colored transparent plastic block. In addition, the thickness of the embedding piece  30  is thicker than that of the panel piece  20  (see  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). Referring to  FIG. 4 , the upper portion of the embedding piece  30  protrudes from the panel piece  20 , and has a circumferential groove  310  defined at a side surface thereof. It is convenient for users to take out the embedding piece  30  by means of hooking the circumferential groove  310  of the embedding piece  30  and then pulling it out. The embedding piece  30  protrudes from the panel piece  20  when it is fitted in the through hole  210  of the panel piece  20 . The panel piece  20  is attached to the transparent plate  40  by a double sided tape or a re-adherable adhesive  60 . Therefore, the embedding pieces  30  are formed as a three-dimensional flower pattern, and it is convenient to take out the embedding pieces  30 . In addition, the embedding pieces  30  may have different colors, and each embedding piece  30  may be replaced with another identically-shaped one with different color. Thus, when the embedding pieces  30  are placed into the corresponding through holes  210  of the panel piece  20  respectively, the embedding pieces  30  form a color changeable pattern. According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the embedding pieces  30  fitted in the corresponding through holes  210  of the panel piece  20  are petals, leaves and a stem of a flower. The pattern of the flower may have red petals, green leaves, and brown stems. The embedding pieces  30  may be replaced with the pink petals, the dark green leaves, and the black stem. Therefore, the colors of the flower pattern are diverse. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , when the panel assembly  10  according to the present invention is to be attached to the transparent plate  40 , firstly, a double sided tape  60  is adhered along edges of the panel piece  20 , and then the panel piece  20  is adhered onto the transparent plate  40 . Secondly, the double sided tape  60  is adhered to each embedding piece  30  at the side facing the panel piece  20  as shown in  FIG. 5 ; then each embedding piece  30  is fitted into its corresponding through hole  210  respectively, and is attached to the transparent plate  40  with the double sided tape  60 . Thus, it is completed to assemble the panel assembly  10  to the transparent plate  40 . For the purpose of illustration, an area is marked on each embedding piece  30  or the panel piece  20  as being adhered with the double sided tape  60 . However, it should be noted that the double sided tape may be transparent and should be almost invisible. The panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  may also be attached to the transparent plate  40  by applying a re-adherable adhesive or other means to the marked area. Because the embedding piece  30  is thicker than the panel piece  20 , an upper surface of the embedding piece  30  protrudes above an upper surface of the panel piece  20 . Therefore, the embedding pieces  30  can be taken out easily and provide the panel assembly  10  with a vivid three dimensional appearance. In addition, assembling the embedding pieces  30  is just like playing a puzzle that provides children with entertainment and education. After completing the assembly, the color of the embedding pieces  30  can be changed according to desires, which may give a diverse appearance to the panel assembly  10 . 
       FIG. 6  is a front schematic view showing the panel assembly  10  attached to the transparent plate  40 . After the panel assembly  10  according to the present invention is attached to the transparent plate  40 , the plate  40  is provided with a colorful pattern. When people want to change the style or colors of the panel assembly  10 , the embedding pieces  30  on the panel piece  20  can be replaced separately, or the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  can be changed together. Since the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  are removable and changeable, the same piece of transparent plate  40  can have different colors and patterns with the replacement of different embedding pieces  30  or totally new panel assembly  10 . 
     The embedding piece  30  may be fitted into the through hole  210  of the panel piece  20  by means of tenon-mortise connection. Referring to  FIG. 7 , the embedding piece  30  according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes two edges  301  extended over the edges of the corresponding through hole, a plurality of grooves  320  defined at a bottom surface of the extended edges  301 , and a circumferential groove  310  defined at a side surface thereof. The panel piece  20  includes a plurality of protrusions  220  corresponding to the grooves  320  defined at a top surface thereof. The protrusions  220  are fitted into the grooves  320  without using the double sided tape to attach the embedding pieces  30  to the panel piece  20 . The panel piece  20  with the embedding pieces  30  embedded thereon is then attached to the transparent plate  40 . Moreover, the embedding pieces  30  may include a plurality of protruding portions  330  defined at a top surface thereof. The protruding portions  330  can be configured as different shapes, so as to present a three-dimensional pattern. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7 , in the present invention, the embedding piece  30  has an engaging portion  31 . As can be seen from both figures, the perimeter of the engaging portion  31  is substantially identical to the perimeter of the corresponding through hole  210  of the embedding piece  30 . When the embedding piece  30  is placed into the corresponding through hole  210 , the engaging portion  31  is received and fitted into the through hole  210  of the panel piece  20 . The lower surface of the embedding piece  30  and the lower surface of the panel piece  20  are removably and replaceably attached to a side of the transparent plate by one of a double sided tape and a re-adherable adhesive with the upper surface of the embedding piece  30  protruded above the upper surface of the panel piece  20 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a panel assembly  10  according to a third embodiment of the present invention further includes a transparent piece  50 . The size of the transparent piece  50  is the same as that of the panel piece  20 . The transparent piece  50  is disposed between the transparent plate  40  and the panel piece  20 . One side of the transparent piece  50  is attached to the transparent plate  40 , and the other side of the transparent piece  50  is attached to the panel piece  20  using a double sided tape or a re-adherable adhesive  60  as shown in  FIG. 8 . The transparent piece  50  may be made of polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), or other transparent plastic material, thereby allowing the light passing through the transparent piece  50 . When people want to change the pattern of the panel assembly  10  according to the first embodiment, it needs to remove the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  from the transparent plate  40  piece by piece. Because the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  are adhered to the transparent plate  40 , it is time consuming and troublesome to remove them. The panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  according to the third embodiment are attached to the transparent piece  50 . Therefore, it only needs to remove the transparent piece  50 , holding the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30 , from the transparent plate  40 . The removed transparent piece  50 , holding the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30 , can be directly attached to another transparent plate  40  without assembling the panel piece  20  and the embedding pieces  30  again. It saves a lot of time. 
     Similar to the first, second and third embodiments, the embedding pieces  30  according to a fourth embodiment (not shown in drawings) are fitted into the corresponding through holes  210  of the panel piece  20 . However, the embedding pieces  30  are embedded in the panel piece  20  only but are not adhered to the transparent plate  40  or the transparent piece  50  by the double sided tape or the re-adherable adhesive  60 . Because it does not use any double sided tape or re-adherable adhesive  60  to attach the embedding pieces  30  onto the transparent plate  40  or the transparent piece  50 , it is easier to replace the embedding pieces  30 . 
     In summary, the panel assembly  10  according to the present invention makes the decoration of the transparent plate  40  more flexibly by means of replacing the embedding pieces  30  with different colors or replacing the panel assembly  10  with a new pattern. In addition, the panel assembly  10  provides a three dimensional pattern, which gives viewers a vivid impression. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.