Craft Ribbon Roll Holder

Abstract

A craft ribbon holder uses two arms extended from a base to hold a ribbon roll. An upper hooking portion and a lower hooking portion connected to the base opposite the arms facilitate attachment to a bar. Each arm has a two-stage knob which functions to hold the ribbon roll in place between the two arms.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to crafts. More particularly, the present invention is a roll holder for craft ribbons.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A craft is defined as a pastime or profession that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. One particular subset of crafts is known as arts and crafts, which typically refers to decorative arts, utilizing media such as paper, wood, cloth, ceramic, glass, clay, and other materials to form pleasing or otherwise interesting objects and other creations.

A ribbon is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or even metal, used primarily as decorative binding or typing. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, velvet, cotton, and jute and of synthetic materials, such as polyester, nylon and polyproylene. Ribbon is used for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes. Cultures around the world use ribbon in their hair, around the body, and as ornamentation on animals, buildings, and packaging. Some

Currently, many users of ribbons for arts and crafts, clothing or other purposes do not have a convenient way to store a roll of ribbon for easy access and use. The user may resort to simply placing the ribbon roll unsecured onto a surface or the user may insert an item such as a dowell rod through the central hole of a ribbon role for support. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for securing a ribbon roll for convenient access and use and which can be affixed to a support such as a bar for added convenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front side view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top side view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the present invention.

DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention is to be described in detail and is provided in a manner that establishes a thorough understanding of the present invention. There may be aspects of the present invention that may be practiced without the implementation of some features as they are described. It should be understood that some details have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure focus of the invention.

The present invention is an apparatus intended for holding craft ribbon rolls, although the present invention may be utilized to hold other types of tubes and/or rolled materials.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base 1, a first arm 101, a second arm 102, an upper hooking portion 20, and a lower hooking portion 21. The base 1 comprises a front surface 11, a rear surface 12, an upper edge 13, a lower edge 14, a first lateral edge 15, and a second lateral edge 16. In the preferred embodiment, the base 1 is primarily rectangularly cuboidal in shape. Thus the front surface 11 and the rear surface 12 are positioned opposite each other through the thickness of the base 1, and are delineated by the upper edge 13, the lower edge 14, the first lateral edge 15, and the second lateral edge 16, which form the perimeter of the base 1. The upper edge 13 and the lower edge 14 are oriented parallel to each other, as are the first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16. The upper edge 13 and the lower edge 14 are oriented perpendicular to the first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16. However, it should be noted that the present invention does not require the aforementioned limitations to function. It is contemplated that the base 1 may take a shape other than rectangular, such as, but not limited to, spherical, ovular or another shape. The base 1 simply provides a structure to support the first arm 101, the second arm 102, the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21.

The first arm 101 and the second arm 102 are preferably perpendicularly connected to the front surface 11 of the base 1, and are positioned laterally opposite along the front surface 11. More specifically, the first arm 101 is positioned adjacent to the first lateral edge 15, and the second arm 102 is positioned adjacent to the second lateral edge 16. The first arm 101 and second arm 102 facilitate the present invention's ability to support a craft ribbon roll. The first arm 101 and the second arm 102 are extended away from the base 1 to provide space necessary to accommodate a craft ribbon roll.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 are substantially flat and oriented vertically, so that the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 vertically traverse the majority of the distance from the upper edge 13 to the lower edge 14, whereas the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 do not occupy as much lateral space. Thus, the first arm 101 and the second arm 102 each comprise an inner lateral surface 110 and an outer lateral surface 120. The outer lateral surface 120 of the first arm 101 is positioned between the inner lateral surface 110 of the first arm 101 and the first lateral edge 15 of the base 1, and similarly the outer lateral surface 120 of the second arm 102 is positioned between the inner lateral surface 110 of the second arm 102 and the second lateral edge 16 of the base 1.

The first arm 101 and the second arm 102 each comprise a knob end 130 and a base end 140 as shown in FIGS. 2-3, which are positioned opposite each other on their respective arms. The base end 140 is positioned adjacent to the base 1, and the knob end 130 is positioned opposite the base end 140 along the respective arms. The knob ends 130 are preferably offset toward each other, forming an inward taper. More specifically, the knob ends 130 are closer to each other than the base ends 140. This aids in supporting a craft ribbon roll by applying pressure to the ends of the roll.

The first arm 101 comprises a first knob 150, and the second arm 102 comprises a second knob 151. The purpose of the first knob 150 and the second knob 151 is to support a ribbon roll, since the center of a ribbon roll is hollow, thus the first knob 150 and the second knob 151 traverse a slight distance axially into the ribbon roll when in user. The first knob 150 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the first arm 101, and similarly the second knob 151 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the second arm 102. More specifically, the first knob 150 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the first arm 101 at the knob end 130 of the first arm 101, and the second knob 151 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the second arm 102 at the knob end 130 of the second arm 102.

The first knob 150 and the second knob 151 each comprise a first knob portion 152 and a second knob portion 153. The first knob portion 152 and the second knob portion 153 are positioned concentrically with each other. The first knob portion 152 is connected to the inner lateral surface 110 of the respective arm, and the second knob portion 153 is connected to the first knob portion 152 opposite the inner lateral surface 110. The second knob portion 153 has a smaller diameter then the first knob portion 152, thereby forming a two-tiered knob. This is intended to be able to accommodate different sized ribbon rolls. The first knob portion 152 is larger for ribbon rolls with large axis holes, and the second knob portion 153 is smaller for ribbon rolls with smaller axis holes.

The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 are connected to the rear surface 12 of the base 1, and are positioned opposite each other along the rear surface 12 of the base 1. More specifically, the upper hooking portion 20 is positioned adjacent to the upper edge 13, and the lower hooking portion 21 is positioned adjacent to the lower edge 14. The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 provide the means for the present invention to be attached to a flat bar which is affixed to a wall or in another location for storage and/or convenient access.

The upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 each comprise an offset portion 22 and a lip portion 23, as shown in FIG. 4. The offset portion 22 is connected perpendicular to the rear surface 12, and the lip portion 23 is connected perpendicular to the offset portion 22. The lip portion 23 of the lower hooking portion 21 has a shorter height than the lip portion 23 of the upper hooking portion 20, wherein the height of the lip portion 23 corresponds to the perpendicular distance away from the offset portion 22 that the lip portion 23 traverses. This creates a “hook and snap” design for the hooking portions. The upper hooking portion 20 is hooked onto the top of a bar the present invention is to be attached to, and the lower portion is snapped over the lower edge of the bar. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the offset portion 22 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the offset portion 22 of the lower hooking portion 21 are oriented parallel to each other. Similarly, the lip portion 23 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the lip portion 23 of the lower hooking portion 21 are also oriented parallel to each other in the preferred embodiment.

In terms of dimensions, although the present invention may be dimensioned to any desired specifications, there are three non-limiting embodiments which are desired for implementation of the present invention. In all three embodiments, the vertical distance between the offset portion 22 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 is 1.05 inches. Additionally, in all three embodiments the horizontal distance between the rear surface 12 of the base 1 and the lip portions 23 of the upper hooking portion 20 and the lower hooking portion 21 is 0.12 inches. The dimension between the upper edge 13 and the lower edge 14 of the base 1 is 1.25 inches in all three embodiments. The dimension between the rear-most edge of the hooking portions and the forward-most edge of the arms is 3 inches.

In the first preferred embodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces 11 at the knob ends 13 is 1.5 inches. In the second embodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces 11 at the knob ends 13 is ⅜ inches, while the distance between the first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16 of the base 1 is 1.26 inches. In the third embodiment, the distance between the inner lateral surfaces 11 at the knob ends 13 is ⅞ inches, while the distance between the first lateral edge 15 and the second lateral edge 16 of the base 1 is 1.71 inches.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A invention comprises: a base;a first arm;a second arm;an upper hooking portion;a lower hooking portion;the base comprises a front surface and a rear surface;the first arm and the second arm being perpendicularly connected to the front surface of the base;the first arm and the second arm being positioned laterally opposite each other along the front surface;the upper hooking portion and the lower hooking portion being connected to the rear surface of the base;the upper hooking portion and the lower hooking portion being positioned opposite each other along the rear surface of the base;the first arm comprises a first knob;the second arm comprises a second knob;the first knob being connected to an inner lateral surface of the first arm; andthe second knob being connected to an inner lateral surface of the second arm.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the base further comprises an upper edge, a lower edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge;the upper edge and the lower edge being oriented parallel to each other;the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge being oriented parallel to each other;the upper edge and the lower edge being oriented perpendicular to the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge;the first arm being positioned adjacent to the first lateral edge;the second arm being positioned adjacent to the second lateral edge;the upper hooking portion being positioned adjacent to the upper edge; andthe lower hooking portion being positioned adjacent to the lower edge.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the first arm and the second arm each comprise a knob end and a base end;the base end being positioned adjacent to the base; andthe knob end being positioned opposite the base end along the first arm and the second arm.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 3 comprises: the first knob being connected to the knob end of the first arm; andthe second knob being connected to the knob end of the second arm.

5. The invention as claimed in claim 3 comprises: the knob ends of the first arm and the second arm being positioned between the base ends of the first arm and the second arm, wherein the distance between the knob ends is less than the distance between the base ends.

6. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the first knob and the second knob each comprise a first knob portion and a second knob portion;the first knob portion and the second knob portion being positioned concentrically with each other;the first knob portion being connected to the inner lateral surface; andthe second knob portion being connected to the first knob portion opposite the inner lateral surface.

7. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the upper hooking portion and the lower hooking portion each comprise an offset portion and a lip portion;the offset portion being connected perpendicular to the rear surface;the lip portion being connected perpendicular to the offset portion; andthe lip portion of the lower hooking portion having a shorter height than the lip portion of the upper hooking portion, wherein the height of the lip portion corresponds to the perpendicular distance away from the offset portion the lip portion traverses.

8. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the offset portion of the upper hooking portion and the offset portion of the lower hooking portion being oriented parallel to each other.

9. The invention as claimed in claim 1 comprises: the lip portion of the upper hooking portion and the lip portion of the lower hooking portion being oriented parallel to each other.