Patent Application
20060085960
There are no related patent applications.
This application did not receive any federal research and development funding.
The present invention relates generally to a bead spinner apparatus with a twister device for use in easily stringing large strands of beads onto a string of cloth or wire in a short amount of time. It is used in bead knitting, bead crocheting, loom weaving, making beaded flowers, and twisted fibers and the like. More specifically, the invention relates to a bead spinner including a twisting device that secures a wire or thread for creating a stem or larger diameter piece of wire or thread.
For purposes of the present application, the terms thread(s), fiber(s), wire(s), tape(s) and string(s) are used interchangeably and should be interpreted broadly to include a filament, cord, line or the like. For many years, people have created jewelry and clothing by assembling beads onto strings of cloth or pieces of wire. The beads used for creating jewelry and clothing are formed from a variety of materials and are provided in various sizes and colors. Typically, these beads are spherical in shape and include a through-hole or aperture for accepting an end of a wire, string, needle, hook or the like. The beads are assembled in a desired pattern by passing an end of a string through the hole of each bead. This technique of assembling beads to create jewelry, or the like, is a very time consuming process.
There has been a need for many years in the art of jewelry making for providing a method and apparatus that allows the user to easily and quickly assemble beads onto a string. U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,069 to Krieger discloses a technique for restringing a row of beads already supported on a thread. In Kreiger, the original thread supporting the beads is held tautly to align the holes of the beads. A wire is anchored to the thread and pulled through the apertures such that the beads are arranged on the wire. While Kreiger does teach a method of quickly reassembling onto a thread; he does not teach a quick way for initially assembling individual beads onto a string or wire
Tomita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,266, incorporated herein by reference thereto, discloses an automatic bead threading toy for threading beads upon a thread or line. A container for beads is mounted to a chassis. Beads fall from the container in a single fashion as the container is shaken by a hand actuated crank and ratchet assembly. A first end of a guide wire is mounted in the center of the outlet port. Thus, the beads fall one-by-one through the outlet port onto the guide wire. This toy includes many moving parts which are subject to failure with extensive use.
Ho, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,521, incorporated herein by reference thereto, discloses a method for automatically linking beads. A thread is fastened at one end onto a straight elongated magnetic member and at the other end onto a stationary fixture. A magnetic block is positioned near the elongated magnetic member so that the member is attracted by the magnetic block in an upward direction to create a working space. The beads feed into the working space one-by-one while their through holes align with the free end of the elongated magnetic member. The beads automatically sleeve onto the elongated magnetic member and slide downward along the thread.
Another example of a device for assembling a plurality of beads onto a string is Yuen U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,175, incorporated herein by reference thereto. Yuen discloses a rotating bead stringing apparatus that includes a rotatable bowl for accepting beads therein. The bowl is rotated such that randomly oriented beads align with a fish-hook shaped needle to thread the beads onto a string or wire.
In the present invention, a bowl for receiving beads to be threaded onto a string includes a central shaft equipped with a ball bearing seat. The central shaft extends through the bottom of the bowl for receiving a base shaft. The exterior of the central shaft acts as a handle for spinning the bowl. By twisting the central shaft, both the central shaft and the bowl spin atop a base shaft extending from a fixed base. Alternatively, the central shaft may be removeably affixed within a shaft seat that protrudes upward from a bottom of the base. A twisting device is affixed atop the central shaft for twisting, braiding or winding coils of string or wire. The twisting device rotates along with the central shaft as it spins.
The bowl includes an opening, a bottom and a sidewall. The sidewall includes a lip that defines the opening. The lip prevents the beads from climbing the sidewall and spilling from the bowl while the bowl is spinning. The opening is large enough to permit a plurality of beads to be loaded into and removed from a coffer area defined by the sidewalls, bottom and lip. A central shaft having at least a hollow portion and solid portion extends through the center of the bottom of the bowl and upwards through the opening. The bowl shaft may be fastened to the bowl where it passes through the bottom of the bowl via an adhesive. A lower end of the shaft is arranged to easily slip the rotatable bowl onto the shaft that extends from the base mentioned below. Otherwise, a grommet may be sleeved onto the exterior of the central shaft and thereafter passed through the hole at the bottom of the bowl to fasten the bowl to the shaft. An upper end of the bowl shaft is solid and includes internal threads for receiving an externally threaded portion that affixes a twist device. Thus the upper end of the bowl shaft defines a threaded receptacle. In an alternative embodiment, the central shaft extends sufficiently downward into a shaft seat protruding from the bottom of the base. A ball bearing is disposed between the central shaft and the shaft seat such that the central shaft rotates relative to the shaft seat and base.
The twist device is affixed at the top of the central shaft and comprises a knurled collar that serves to adjust the opening and closing of a set of pin jaws that receive a wire or a jewelry making tool. These jaws comprise a pin device that includes a threaded portion that passes through the collar and threads into a central shaft. By adjusting the number of threads that are threaded into the central shaft, the collar may be loosened to open the jaws for receiving and removing wires, strings or other implements for use in at least the art of jewelry manufacturing. However, it should be understood that the twisting device or braiding tool mentioned in the present invention may be applied for use in other industries.
The base is preferably pedestal in nature. In one embodiment, a base shaft extends from the center of the bottom of the base and extends into the hollow shaft. A ball bearing is disposed between the top of the base shaft and the ball bearing seat included in the solid portion of the central shaft to allow the bowl shaft to more freely spin about the base shaft. Otherwise the base may be pedestal in shape similar to the Yuen device mentioned above.
The present invention comprises a bowl for receiving beads to be threaded onto a string. The bowl may include a mandrel affixed to a center of the bowl for spinning the bowl atop a bearing situated atop a fixed base. A wire twisting or holding device is affixed atop of the handle that spins the bowl. A fixed base may include a recess for accommodating the remaining portion of the ball bearing. In a further embodiment, the fixed base includes a central shaft for accommodating the ball bearing.
The following is the preferred embodiment or best mode for carrying out the invention. It should be noted that this invention is not limited by the discussion of the preferred embodiment.
In
In
In the embodiment of the twisting device 31 shown in
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
