Patent Application
20060230812
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hand operated tools for setting eyelets and more particularly to an eyelet setting tool used for setting eyelets to paper products and the like in a manner that significantly reduces the sound normally associated with eyelet setting.
2. State of the Art
As scrapbooking has become a national phenomenon, various new products have been introduced to the mark to embellish and customize scrapbook pages. No longer is it enough to simply insert one's photographs into an photo album. Scrapbook pages are now highly customized works of art that include various background papers, stickers, and text that accompany personal photographs to create an entire visual display. As such, various items that may have been known are used to embellish scrapbook pages to add to their customized look. One such embellishment is the use of colored eyelets that are attached to scrapbook pages to attach papers, ribbons, string, yarn or other items to a scrapbook page or to simply provide an interesting look and feel to a scrapbook page thorough the placement of such colored eyelets.
The tool presently used to set eyelets is an eyelet setting tool that is stricken on one end with a hammer to cause one end of the eyelet to splay out in order to secure the eyelet. Often it takes several hits to set each eyelet. As the popularity of adding eyelets to a scrapbook page has increased, the use of an eyelet setting tool has become more prevalent at scrapbooking events.
Scrapbooking events often involve the gathering of numerous individuals (25 to 100 or more) in a large room, such as a hotel conference room, where the individuals produce their album pages while socializing. Many of these events last for twenty-four hours or more. At such scrapbooking events, the use of typical eyelet setting tools results in constant hammering noise. To most individuals attending such scrapbooking events, this loud, persistent noise is not only annoying, but often significantly diminishes the individual's enjoyment of the event.
As such, there exists a need in the art to provide an eyelet setting tool that easily and quickly sets an eyelet with little or no perceivable noise to individuals in the vicinity.
An eyelet setting tool of the present invention is comprised of an elongate member having a first end and a second end. An eyelet splayer is coupled to the first end for splaying one end of an eyelet. A pressing member is coupled to the second end of the elongate member and is configured for pressing with a palm of a hand of a user to force the first end against the eyelet and to splay the end of the eyelet in contact with the eyelet splayer. The pressing member is of a size that is comfortable to the user when used to press the pressing member with the palm of the user's hand to set the eyelet.
The foregoing advantages and characterizing features will become apparent from the following description of certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. The above-described features and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional features and advantages, will be set forth or will become more fully apparent in the detailed description that follows and in the appended claims. The novel features which are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth in the attached claims. Furthermore, the features and advantages of the present invention may be learned by the practice of the invention, or will be obvious to one skilled in the art from the description, as set forth hereinafter.
The following drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments for carrying out the invention. Like reference numerals refer to like parts in different views or embodiments of the present invention in the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings,
An eyelet splayer, generally indicated at 20 is configured for coupling to the first end 14. In this embodiment (as will be shown in more detail), the eyelet splayer 20 is configured to be at least partially received within the first end 14 of the elongate member. That is, the eyelet splayer 20 has a proximal end 22 for being received within the first end 14 of the elongate member 12 and a distal end 24 configured for splaying one end of an eyelet when the distal end is pressed against the eyelet.
A pressing member 30 is coupled to the second end 16 of the elongate member and is configured for pressing with a palm of a hand of a user to force the first end 14 and thus the distal end 24 of the eyelet splayer 20 against an eyelet. The pressing member 30 is of a size that is comfortable to the user when used to press the pressing member 30 with the palm of the user's hand to set an eyelet. That is, the surface area of the pressing member 30 upon which the palm of the user is placed is large enough so as to allow the user to firmly press the eyelet splayer 24 with sufficient force to set an eyelet while remaining comfortable to the user. Of course, if the surface area of the pressing member 30 were too small, the force required to set an eyelet would cause the pressing member to embed in the palm of the hand so as to impart pain to the user. The pressing member 30 of the present invention, however, is provided with a relatively large surface area so as to fit within the palm of a user's hand and is of a generally oval or elliptical shape with rounded corners for grasping comfort. Of course, those of skill in the art will appreciate that other shapes and sizes of pressing members may be of equal utility without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
As further illustrated in cross-section in
The distal end 14 of the elongate member 12 defines a recess 42 therein. In this embodiment, the recess 42 is essentially a concentric bore that extends longitudinally into the distal end 14 of the elongate member 12. The diameter (or effective diameter) of the recess 42 is sized to receive a proximal end 44 of the eyelet splayer 20. The proximal end 44 of the eyelet splayer 20 is sized to slidably fit within the recess 42 in a close fitting arrangement. As such, at least a portion of the eyelet splayer 20 fits within the recess 42 when in use.
In this embodiment, the eyelet splayer 20 is formed from steel as is the elongate member 12. A permanent magnet 46 is positioned within the recess 42 at the bottom 48 thereof. The magnet 46 may be held in place with an adhesive and/or a retaining member 50, such as an o-ring abutting the exposed surface of the magnet 50 and the interior walls of the recess 42. The magnet 46 attracts and thus retains the eyelet splayer 20 within the recess 42 when the eyelet splayer 20 is inserted within the recess 42 as shown. To remove or replace the eyelet splayer 20, one simply pulls the eyelet splayer 20 from the recess 42 with sufficient force as to overcome the magnetic force between the magnet 46 and the proximal end 44 of the eyelet splayer 20. Of course, other releasable attachment mechanisms, such as the spring loaded ball/recess assemblies found on a typical ratchet/socket set.
The eyelet splayer 20 includes a centrally located abutment structure 52 that extends circumferentially around the perimeter of the eyelet setter. The abutment structure 52 has sufficient longitudinal length and circumferential size so as to resist shearing from the eyelet splayer 20 under load. In use, the abutment structure 52 abuts against the distal end 14 of the elongate member 12 and is prevented from crushing or otherwise deforming the magnet 46. The distal end 24 is provided with what is commonly referred to as a “flower” end. The distal end 24 is provided with a generally conically-shaped center protrusion 54. In use, the center protrusion 54 is positioned within the end of an eyelet to be set. As will be described in more detail, when sufficient force is placed upon the eyelet, the curvature of the distal end 24 causes the eyelet to splay or spread open. Continued force causes the eyelet end to essentially fold upon itself as its spreads to increase the effective diameter of the end being splayed.
Referring now to
Because the eyelet splayer of the present invention can be removed from the tool, the present invention also includes a hole punch, generally indicated at 200, as shown in
Referring now to
As shown in
Referring now to
It is understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is also understood that, as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. While various methods, compositions, and materials of the present invention are described herein, any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may by used in the practice or testing of the present invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety and for all purposes.
While the foregoing advantages of the present invention are manifested in the illustrated embodiments of the invention, a variety of changes can be made to the configuration, design and construction of the invention to achieve those advantages. Hence, reference herein to specific details of the structure and function of the present invention is by way of example only and not by way of limitation.
