Patent Application
20130014411
The present invention involves a quilt fabrication and display device capable of rapid assembly and disassembly as needed and which, upon disassembly, can compactly fit within a relatively small container for unobtrusive storage.
Quilt making has remained popular for quite some time. Those involved in this craft can create quilting of surprisingly intricate and creative designs and patterns which can actually be hung as art work rather than used as bedding.
Because of the intricate nature of quilting patterns, there is a need to systematically engage in pattern layout requiring design walls in which pieces of, for example, flannel or felt is supported by a surface, the felt or flannel backing used to hold the quilt fabric pieces or blocks from sliding out of alignment during the design layout process. In this way, the quilter can place blocks in various positions as the final quilt pattern is established.
Amateur quilters can often times create design walls by simply rolling backing materials onto a table or counter top. More sophisticated quilters will either tack backing materials onto a wall, door or the like which not only can interfere with the use of these surfaces for domestic purposes but once the design wall is removed, the quilt fabric pieces can be dislodged and the effort taken to create the appropriate aesthetic quilt pattern can be lost.
Recognizing the need for a design wall that is easy to use, store and transport, U.S. Pat. No. 7,757,416 suggested a mounting sheet on its front side and backing sheet on its reverse side which are secured together peripherally. The mounting sheet is in the form of a heavy nap felt or flannel material while the backing sheet is preferably a soft flat nap fabric. A stiff rod is sown into a pocket extending laterally of the body at its bottom. The body includes a plurality of spaced mounting holes across its top. The holes facilitate removably mounting the body on hooks or nails extending from the wall or frame. However, because the invention of the '416 patent requires the use of hooks or nails, such a solution for an improved quilting design wall is less than ideal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,823 provides an alternative design wall solution by proposing a piece of fabric coated on both sides with a dry tack adhesive. This facilitates selective attachment of the fabric to a wall on one side and allows for quilting to adhere to the fabric on its reverse side. However, using a dry tack adhesive which is humidity sensitive can compromise the utility of this invention. Also, such dry tack design walls tend to attract hair, dust, lint and other particles which are difficult to remove.
Quilters have also often employed quilting frames that are a close analogue of embroidery hoops to position and hold their work. These frames, like embroidery hoops, are generally constructed in some round or oblong shape and can be made to accommodate larger dimensions of a typical quilt. Quilting frames can also be constructed as to be free standing to support the large size and weight of typical quilts. However, most quilts, being rectangular in shape and of diverse sizes have been found difficult to support by a traditional frame. Further, quilters often times set up quilting frames or walls offsite and typical quilting frames are difficult to transport because of their bulk and size.
Their have been many other structures proposed to support fabric sheets for the purpose of making quilts. For example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 875,261, 895,744 and 2,242,386, each teaching a stretcher for supporting sheets of material for the purpose of drying the same following washing or other treatments in which the sheets are contacted by water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,535 describes a vertical embroidery frame utilizing retaining bars which may be adjusted and which also include casters for mobility along its surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 940,070, 2,000,397 and 4,665,638 describe quilting frames which hold a backing material in a horizontal position in order to allow the sewing of a quilt thereupon. These devices also include means for stretching the backing material to present a smooth and uninterrupted surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,177,720, 2,318,877, 4,658,521 and 6,209,240 describe quilting frame stands which hold a quilt backing sheet which is provided with components that are disassembled and reassembled to allow portability and versatility.
Finally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 991,476 and 5,711,098 describe quilting frame structures that hold quilts in a horizontal position and that include legs that are collapsible and extendable.
Notwithstanding the above-referenced body of prior art, it has been recognized that there has been no successful attempt to create a quilting frame which not only provides the versatility of accepting backing fabrics of diverse sizes but also is eminently collapsible for easy transporting and storage.
These and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.
A quilt fabrication and display device and kit of parts for producing the display device. The device includes upper and lower stretcher rails separated from one another by use of a pair of rail support members, the upper stretcher rails and lower stretcher rails being substantially parallel to one another and the rail support members being substantially parallel to one another and substantially orthogonal to the upper and lower stretcher rails. The upper and lower stretcher rails and the rail support members are of two subparts and the kit includes fasteners for selectively connecting the subparts for assembly and disassembly of the device. A set of four butterfly wing extenders are provided each extender selectively attachable to the upper stretcher rails and lower stretcher rails such that when assembled, two of the butterfly wing extenders extend above the upper stretcher rails and two of the butterfly wing extenders extend below the lower stretcher rails. Further included within the kit is a substrate cable joining each of the butterfly wing extenders providing a cable perimeter having sections between the butterfly wing extenders parallel to the upper and lower stretcher rails and rail support members. The kit can include a foldable foam board as a support for a suitable fabric wall surface.
Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration description only and are not intended as definitions of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularity in the claims.
There has been broadly outlined more important features of the invention in the summary above and in order that the detailed description which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important therefore, that claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Certain terminology and the derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similar words such as “inward” and “outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa, unless otherwise noted.
Turning first to
It is contemplated that the present invention be fabricated from a kit of parts enabling it to break down into a small rather compact package for easy transport and storage. In keeping with this notion, it is noted that stretcher rails 16 and 17 are selectively detachable into subparts 16a and 16b and 17a and 17b at the interface between midconnect braces 3. Similarly, rail support members 5 are composed of subparts 5a and 5b connected through the use of appropriate fasteners shown, by way of example, as thumb screws and knobs 9.
It is noted that when constructed, upper stretcher rails 16 and lower stretcher rails 17 are configured to be substantially parallel to one another and that rail support members 5 are likewise substantially parallel to one another and thus substantially orthogonal to said upper and lower stretcher rails 16 and 17. Thus, a square or rectangular configuration is established as the fundamental support constituting the present quilt fabrication and display device.
The present invention can be used in several ways, one of which is to join foam board 20 (
It is further noted that the present invention includes multiple substrate clips 15 moveable along rail support members 5. Substrate clips 15 include a planar portion and upturned lip and are extendible within openings 51 and 52 and other points within the present invention best depicted in
It is noted that foam board 20 can be of several sizes to accommodate different sized quiltings. When the foam board is of relatively small size, substrate clips 15 can be inserted within dowel openings 52 to enable the foam board to be supported by rail members 5a and 5b as well as by substrate clip 15 emanating from butterfly wing 12a supported on device support member 66, the later to be discussed hereinafter. When foam board 20 is of a larger size, substrate clip 15 can be moved to dowel opening 51. Thus, a significant advantage in the present invention is to provide enhanced flexibility by enabling quilt fabrication and display device 1 to receive substrates, such as foam board 20 of various sizes and, in this event, reference is again made to
In the event that a larger quilt is to be constructed or displayed using the present invention, the kit of parts representing the present quilt fabrication and display device is intended to also include butterfly wing extenders 12 at each corner of said upper and lower stretcher rails, the wing extenders attaching selectively to stretcher ends 2 the upper butterfly wings extending diagonally upward of upper stretcher rail 16 while lower butterfly wings 2 extend diagonally downward from lower stretcher rail 17 to create a larger effective area for support of larger foam sheeting 20B as shown in
It should also be appreciated that the present invention has been described in terms of a quilt fabrication and display device accepting a fabric work surface with or without optional foam board support 20. It is noted that the foam board could be eliminated as suitable quilt pieces are applied to the fabric work surface without any foam board backing.
Turning to
Although there are a number of ways in which fabric work surface 81 can be attached to the present invention,
To this point, applicant has described the present invention as fundamentally a two dimensional structure which could be hung from a wall, leaned against a wall or otherwise employed. However, to make the present structure free standing, reference is made to
In turning to the figures, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in which support base 41 including living hinge 43 is depicted located behind and attached to substrate support 10. When the present quilt fabrication and display device is intended to be free standing, brace bracket 42 is slid onto living hinge 43 whereupon device support member 66 is caused to enter brace bracket 42 and held in place by thumb screw 71 (
As a preferred embodiment, optional stabilizing cable 11 can be employed. Stabilizing cable 11 is ideally strung between butterfly wings 12 and a point along device support member 66 as shown in
Turning once again to
In summary, it should be readily apparent that applicant has now taught a quilt fabrication and display device which can be configured as a kit of parts for easy storage and transport and which is flexible to the point of receiving and appropriately supporting a number of substrates of various sizes while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. To date, no similar device has been suggested offering the type of flexibility and ease of use as that depicted herein.
The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations as described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed as suitable without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. Therefore, the above description and illustration should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
