PEG LOOM

Abstract

A peg loom is composed of a frame having a series of detents for receiving end portions of elongated pegs, and a notched cross member spaced form the series of detents to maintain the pegs in parallel relationship to one another during the weaving process. The cross member can be used as a comb to move a weft structure along the pegs periodically as weaving progresses and the notches in the cross member have resilient protrusions that maintain the cross member in engagement with the notches during the movement of the weft structure. A threading tool is provided for threading warp yarns to eyes at the ends of the elongated pegs and also for threading a weft yarn onto a tubular weaving guide. The threading tool includes a loop which is retracted for storage by a movable bead.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to peg looms, and particularly to a peg loom suitable for use by children to make woven articles from yarn or similar materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a conventional loom, a weft yarn is passed back and forth by a shuttle between two sets of alternating stretched yarns movable by a heddle structure after each pass of the weft yarn. Unlike the conventional loom, a peg loom is an apparatus in which a warp yarn is temporarily secured to an end of each peg in a set of rigid pegs. The pegs are held in parallel relationship by a frame, and a weft yarn is woven to the pegs, by being passed back and forth in an undulating pattern between the pegs using a hollow rod, i.e., a weaving tool, as a guide. After the weft yarn is woven to the pegs, the pegs are removed from the undulations of the weft, pulling the warp yarns through the weft structure, thereby producing a fabric.

Peg looms are typically used to make small woven items such as bracelets, headbands, straps, scarves, and the like from relatively coarse yarns, and are particularly suitable for use by children to develop and display their creativity.

With a typical peg loom, children can encounter difficulty in keeping the weft structure intact while moving the warp yarns into the weft by pulling on the pegs after the warp structure is completed. In addition, typical peg looms include tubular weaving tools (guides), as well as threading tools, which are in the form of wire loops on handles. The wire loops are used to secure warp yarns to the pegs by pulling the warp yarns through holes adjacent the ends of the pegs. They are also used to pull the weft yarn through the tube of the weaving tool before starting the weaving operation. The pegs, the weaving tool, and the threading tool can be readily lost by children, and the wire loops of the threading tools, particularly a tool having a long loop for pulling a yarn through the tube of a weaving tool, can be easily damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention addresses the aforementioned drawbacks of conventional peg looms by improving the warp yarn pulling operation, by providing for easy and convenient storage of the loom components, and by providing for retraction of the loop of the threading tool.

In a preferred embodiment, the peg loom comprises a frame having a face side and a back side facing in opposite directions. The frame has front, rear, and side edges. A set of removable parallel pegs, each having first and second opposite ends, and each having a warp yarn-receiving eye in the form of a transverse opening adjacent its first end, is provided on the frame. A row of uniformly spaced peg-receiving detents extends along and adjacent the front edge of the frame. Each detent removably receives the first end of one of the pegs. The detents hold the first ends of the pegs in uniformly spaced relationship to one another, and include surfaces engageable by the pegs for limiting movement of the pegs in the direction from the rear edge of the frame toward the front edge.

A cross-member, in fixed relation to the frame, is located closer than the peg-receiving detents to the rear edge of the frame. The cross-member extends parallel to the row of detents from a location adjacent one side edge of the frame to a location adjacent the opposite side edge. The cross member includes a row of uniformly spaced, peg-receiving notches open in the direction in which the face side of the frame faces. The pegs can extend from the detents, and through the notches of the cross member, and so that parts of the pegs extend in parallel relation to one another beyond the cross member, allowing a warp yarn to be woven in undulations onto the parts of the pegs that extend beyond the cross member.

The cross member has a surface, facing toward the front edge of the frame, and engageable with a weft yarn woven onto the pegs for holding the weft yarn while the weft is repositioned on the pegs and while warp yarns extending through eyes of the parallel pegs are pulled by the pegs through the undulations of the warp yarn by relative movement of the pegs and the frame.

Each of the notches in the cross member is preferably formed with at least one resilient protrusion that resists removal of a peg from the notch. In a preferred embodiment, each notch is formed with two opposed resilient protrusions.

A preferred embodiment includes a locking member removably connectible to the frame at locations adjacent the first and second side edges. When connected to the frame at those locations, the locking member is located between the detents and the cross member, and maintains the pegs in the peg-receiving notches of the second cross member and in engagement with the detents.

Resilient grips are provided on the back side of the frame for temporarily holding a tubular weaving tool and a threading tool.

Another aspect of the invention is the configuration of the threading tool, which is used for pulling yarn though the tubular weaving tool. The threading tool comprises a hollow tube having first and second opposite ends and an elongated cylindrical interior space. A bead is disposed in, and movable along, the cylindrical interior space of the tube, and stops adjacent the opposite ends of the tube maintain the bead in the interior space. An opening is provided in the first of the opposite ends and a through hole is provided in the bead. A flexible strand with an end portion formed into a loop external to the hollow tube has two parallel portions extending from the loop through the opening in the first end of the tube and into the interior space. These parallel portions extend through the hole in the bead and are connected together by a knot larger than the hole in the bead to prevent the parallel portions from disengaging from the bead. The knot is spaced sufficiently from the loop that the loop can remain outside the tube when the bead is engaged by the stop adjacent the second opposite end of the tube. Thus, a major part of the length of the flexible strand can be retracted, by inertial movement of the bead, into the hollow tube for storage of the threading tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a peg loom in accordance with the invention showing the front face of the loom, including the pegs and a peg locking member;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the peg loom of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1 with the pegs and locking member removed;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the cross member showing details of the peg-receiving notches;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the peg retainer structure;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the loom;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of one of the pegs;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the peg of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a retractable loop threading tool; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of retractable loop threading tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, the peg loom comprises as its principal components, a frame 12, and a set of pegs 14. The pegs are elongated and have a uniform circular cross-section throughout most of their length, except at their ends. FIG. 1 shows the face side of the frame. The frame is preferably a molded unit and can be composed of any of a wide variety of suitable plastics. The frame 12 has a front edge 16 and a rear edge 18, and opposite side edges 20 and 22, and is formed with a depression 24.

A row 26 of detents is formed in the frame in the depression and adjacent the front edge 16. The row of detents extends across the frame from a location adjacent edge 20 to a location adjacent edge 22. Notches between the detents receive ends of the pegs 14, and maintain those ends of the pegs at a uniform spacing. A cross member 28, also extends across the frame from a location adjacent edge 20 to a location adjacent edge 22. This cross member is closer than row 26 to the rear edge 18, and is formed with notches 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) that are uniformly spaced from one another along the length of the cross member 28. Each of the notches in the cross member is directly opposite a corresponding notch in the row of detents so that the pegs 14, when engaged with the notches of both sets, are maintained in uniformly spaced, parallel, relationship to one another as shown in FIG. 1.

A locking member 32 is removably held in the frame in overlying relationship with the parts of the pegs extending from the detents to the notches in cross member 28. With the locking member in place the pegs are maintained in the notches. The locking member is engaged with a recess 34 in one side of the frame, and extends slidably though an opening (not shown in FIG. 1) on the opposite side of the frame. A cap 36 is removably engageable with the protruding end of the locking member 32.

As shown in FIG. 2, resilient grips 38 and 40 respectively hold the handle 42 and tube 44 of a weaving tool, and grips 46 hold the tube of a threading tool 48 having a protruding loop 50.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the peg-receiving notches 30 in cross member 28 are U-shaped. These notches conform to the circular cross-sectional shape of the pegs. Protrusions 52 at the notch openings are shaped to overlie parts of the pegs when the pegs are in place in the notches to maintain the pegs in place. However, resiliency of the cross-member 28 allows the pegs to be snapped into, and removed from, the notches.

As shown in FIG. 5, the detents in row 26 are in the form of upright elements 54, uniformly spaced from one another by notches 56. The detents are spaced by a short distance from a wall 58, which is engageable with ends of the pegs when the pegs are in place.

The exploded view in FIG. 6 shows the various components described above, except for the retaining grips for the weaving tool and the threading tool.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show one of the pegs 14 in more detail. The major intermediate part 60 of the length of the peg is a cylinder of uniform diameter. One end 62 is tapered and rounded, while the opposite end 64 is formed with a through opening, or “eye” 66.

The threading tool 48, shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is used to pull yarn through the eyes of the pegs, and also to pull yarn though the elongated tube 44 of the weaving tool (FIGS. 2 and 6). The threading tool 48 comprises an elongated tube 66, which is formed by assembling two semicircular tube halves 68 and 70, which can be secured together by a suitable adhesive. The tube 66 has an elongated circular cylindrical internal passage 72, which is closed at one end by a stop half of which is shown at 72 in FIG. 10. A similar stop 73 at the opposite end has a small central opening 74. A bead 76 is movable longitudinally along the internal passage 72 from one stop to the other. A flexible strand 78 of metal wire, or other suitable material such as fishing line, is bent upon itself to form loop 50 and one end and two generally parallel parts 80 and 82, both of which are passed through a hole in the bead and tied together at their far ends by a knot 84, which is large enough that it cannot pass through the hole in the bead. In use, the loop 50 can be pulled from the tube until the bead is moved into contact with stop 73. The loop 50 can then be used to draw yarns though the eyes of the pegs for use as warp yarns of the product to be woven. The loop 50 can also be passed through the tube 44 of the weaving tool (FIGS. 2 and 6) and used to pull weft yarn though the weaving tool. By a manual flicking motion, the bead 76 can be made to move toward stop 72, drawing the strand 78 into the tube 66 until only a small part of the strand extends as a loop from the opening 74 in the tube, as shown in FIG. 9. The threading tool can then be engaged with grips 46 and stored on the back side of the frame, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In the operation of the loom, warp yarns are threaded through the eyes of the pegs, the pegs are snapped into the notches of the cross member, and their eye ends are engaged with the detents 26 and with the wall 58 (FIG. 5), so that the pegs are in parallel, spaced relationship as shown in FIG. 1. The wall 58 limits longitudinal movement of the pegs. The number of pegs can be varied depending on the number of warp yarns in the final product.

The locking member 32 is then inserted into the frame, and a weft yarn is threaded through the tube of the weaving tool, and secured to one of the endmost pegs in the array of pegs in the loom, at a location just above the cross-member 28 in FIG. 1. The weaving tool is then used to guide the weft yarn through the portions of the pegs that extend upward from the cross member in an undulating pattern so that the weft yarn is in effect woven to the pegs. The undulating pattern is repeated back and forth until the winding of the weft is completed or, in the case of a long woven product, until the warp approaches the upper ends of the pegs. At that time, the locking member can be temporarily removed, and the assembly consisting of the array of pegs and the weft yarn is released from the frame and moved in such a way as to bring the uppermost course of the weft into proximity to the cross member 28. Then, the pegs, at a location just above the uppermost course the weft can be snapped into the notches of the cross member. The cross member is then used as a comb to move the weft downward toward, or even beyond, the eyes of the pegs. The weft structure is moved until the uppermost course is located at a distance from the eyes of the pegs equivalent to the distance between the detents 26 and the cross member 28. The eyes can then be reengaged with the detents. In the case of a long woven product, a part of the weft structure may move into the notches between the detents along with the eyes of the pegs.

In the case of a woven product longer than the distance between the cross member 28 and the detents 26, the warp yarns attached to the eyes of the pegs can move part way into the weft structure if the detent spacing is sufficiently large. Alternatively, the eyes of the pegs will penetrate the lower part of the weave and engage the detents.

After the weft structure is moved to the desired position, and the pegs are reengaged with the notches and detents, the locking member can be reengaged with the frame and weaving can resume on the portions of the pegs above the cross member 28.

When the winding of the weft is completed, the locking member is again removed from the frame, the pegs are removed from the frame and reengaged with the cross member just above the last wound course of weft yarn and then, using cross member 27 as a comb or rake, the pegs are removed from the weft, pulling the warp yarns into place. The yarns are tied off in a suitable fashion and trimmed to yield the final product.

The notched cross member serves a dual purpose, i.e., it cooperates with the detents to hold the pegs in uniformly spaced relationship to one another, and serves as a comb or rake to move the weft structure along the pegs in intermittent steps as weaving progresses. The resilient protrusions at the upper ends of the notches are of particular benefit in facilitating the movement of the weft structure in this manner as they help to ensure that the pegs remain in proper relationship to one another.

Other benefits and advantages of invention, and modifications thereof, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the foregoing description.

Claims

1. A peg loom comprising: a frame having a face side facing in a first direction, a back side facing in a second direction opposite said first direction, a front edge having first and second opposite ends, a rear edge also having first and second opposite ends, a first side edge extending from said first end of the front edge to said first end of the rear edge, and a second side edge in opposed spaced relation to said first side edge and extending from the second end of the front edge to the second end of the rear edge;a set of parallel pegs each having first and second opposite ends, and each having a warp yarn-receiving eye in the form of a transverse opening adjacent its first end;a row of uniformly spaced peg-receiving detents extending along and adjacent said front edge of the frame, each detent removably receiving the said first end of one of said parallel elongated pegs said detents holding said first ends of said parallel elongated pegs in uniformly spaced relationship to one another, said peg-receiving detents including surfaces engageable by said pegs for limiting movement of said pegs in the direction from said rear edge toward said front edge;a cross-member in fixed relation to said frame, said cross-member being located closer than said peg-receiving detents to said rear edge of the frame, said cross-member extending parallel to said row of detents from a location adjacent said first side edge to a location adjacent said second side edge, said cross member including a row of uniformly spaced peg-receiving notches open in said first direction, for releasably holding a peg whereby said elongated pegs can extend from said detents, and through said notches of the cross member, so that parts of said pegs extend in parallel relation to one another beyond said second cross member allowing a warp yarn to be woven in undulations onto the parts of said pegs extending beyond said cross member;said cross member having a surface, facing toward said front edge of the frame, and engageable with a weft yarn woven onto said pegs for holding said weft yarn while the weft is repositioned on said pegs and while the warp yarns extending through eyes of said parallel pegs are pulled by said pegs through the undulations of the warp yarn by relative movement of the pegs and said frame.

2. The peg loom according to claim 1, in which each of said notches has at least one resilient protrusion for resisting movement of a peg out of the notch.

3. The peg loom according to claim 1, further comprising a locking member removably connectible to said frame at locations adjacent said first and second side edges, said locking member, when connected to said frame at said locations, extending between said detents and said cross member, maintaining said pegs in said peg-receiving notches of the second cross member.

4. The peg loom according to claim 1, further including grips on the back side of the frame for temporarily holding a tubular weaving tool.

5. The peg loom according to claim 1, further including grips on the back side of the frame for temporarily holding a threading tool.

6. A threading tool for pulling yarn though a tubular weaving tool for use with a peg loom, said threading tool comprising a hollow tube having first and second opposite ends and an elongated cylindrical interior space, a bead disposed in, and movable along, said cylindrical interior space, stops adjacent said opposite ends for maintaining said bead in said interior space, an opening in said first of said opposite ends and a through hole in said bead, and a flexible strand having an end portion formed into a loop external to said hollow tube and having two parallel portions extending from said loop through said opening into said interior space and through said through hole in the bead said parallel portions being connected together by a knot larger than the hole in said bead to prevent said parallel portions from disengaging from said bead, and said knot being spaced sufficiently from said loop that the loop can remain outside said tube when the bead is engaged by the stop adjacent said second opposite end of the hollow tube, whereby a major part of the length of the flexible strand can be retracted, by inertial movement of the bead, into the hollow tube for storage of the tool.