The present invention relates to a scrapbooking tool for mechanically delivering an impact to a surface from simple applied pressure.
Scrapbooking is a popular activity. Persons involved in scrapbooking (“scrapbookers”) often desire to punch holes in paper, and/or punch out shapes in paper and other materials. Also, they often want to create punched shapes from, and/or install eyelets, grommets, and the like, in paper and various additional materials. Such additional materials can include—but are not limited to—cardstock, cloth, and polymeric resin films—to name some examples. Heretofore this has been done using an appropriate punch or riveting tool, and using a hammer to provide the impact typically required using such a tool. As will be readily appreciated, a mis-strike using a hammer and punch (or riveting tool or the like) can damage an artistic workpiece. Where appearance of the work is extremely important—as it nearly always is in scrapbooking—this is problematic. Using a hammer and punch can be particularly difficult for some scrapbookers, for example inexperienced scrapbookers and persons with nerve/muscle impairment or other physiological symptoms affecting fine motor control, steadiness, or otherwise making using a hammer and punch difficult.
The inventor's contribution to the art is a scrapbooker's impact tool adapted specifically for scrapbooking, which delivers an impact from simple applied pressure. In one example, this allows practitioners to place the tool and apply pressure slowly, and in a more controllable manner, storing energy in the device until it is released to drive a tool operation in scrapbooking. The energy is released at a point in time when sufficient energy is available, as the scrapbooker continues to push down on the tool. As an example, the tool is placed as desired, and pressure applied until the accumulated energy is released in a single blow delivered within the device to tooling held against the workpiece. It will be appreciated that the need for a hammer is obviated, and punching and riveting operations in scrapbooking are simplified.
In an example of this a tool it has an energy storage element, a trigger element and a restoring/resetting element. In one example the first and last of said three elements can be springs of some type; and the trigger element is actuated to release the stored energy in the energy storage element at a desired time when sufficient energy is available to provide an impact, and the restoring (or resetting) element then restores the tool to a neutral state ready for the next impact operation. This can be repeated.
The tool in one example is able to receive tooling pieces for various operations, such as punches for punching holes or making cut-out shapes, embossing heads for making embossed shapes in paper, film, or other deformable sheet material, riveting tooling pieces for eyelets, grommets, rivets, etc. of various sizes, to name some examples.
In one example the tool can include a base which receives the tool for convenient storage. The base can have storage bins or compartments for additional tooling pieces, for eyelets of various sizes, or for other supplies for scrapbooking operations using the impact tool.
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 description that follows. Furthermore, the features and advantages of the invention may be learned by the practice of the invention, or will be obvious to one skilled in the art after referring to the invention description, as set forth hereinafter.
Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described in reference to the numbered drawing wherein:
It will be appreciated that the drawings are illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims. Further, like reference numbers refer to like (but not necessarily identical) elements throughout the figures and the example(s) and variations thereof illustrated in the figures. The embodiments shown accomplish various aspects and objects of the invention.
With reference to
The particulars of how this is done in the example include the fact that the sleeve 12 also contains a trigger element 24 and a tipping ball 26. A flared end cap 28 closes the upper end of the sleeve, and contains the hammer and heavy spring within the sleeve. These elements thus contained are positioned above a guide portion 30 of the sleeve located intermediate its ends. The end cap also provides for better purchase, and can be configured in a bulbous shape for more comfortable griping and manual application of force. This element compliments and cooperates with the grip portion 18 to provide a ready grasp and good purchase on the tool by a user in order to apply force. The grip portion extends the hollow interior of the sleeve 12 (downward in the figures) and cooperates with the sleeve to contain the tool receiver 20, tipping ball 26, trigger element 24, and return spring 22 in the interior of the sleeve (as extended by the grip portion) below the guide portion 30 of the sleeve. Both the flared end cap 28 and the grip portion are threaded onto the sleeve in the illustrated embodiment. It will be appreciated that the arrangement facilitates simple assembly of the illustrated example device during its manufacture, The parts are placed in the sleeve in order and the end cap and grip portion are threaded onto the sleeve over them to hold them in place in the interior of the sleeve.
The tool receiver 20 is adapted to hold tooling for scrapbooking tasks requiring impact, and can hold a multiplicity of different tooling types, e.g. tooling for punching round holes, tooling for punching cut-out shapes of various kinds (e.g. stars, hearts, and the like), or tooling for riveting or embossing operations. An example combination tool piece 32 used in riveting is fitted in the tool receiver in the illustrated embodiment. In one example the receiver can be magnetized to hold the tool piece; and in another example variation, can include a detent arrangement (conventional, not shown) configured to hold a tooling piece—such as the combination tool piece illustrated—in the tool receiver. The combination tool piece illustrated is reversible, and includes a hole punch 34 at one end and an eyelet riveting punch 36 at the other end. This tool piece is adapted to make a hole 38 in a workpiece sheet 40; then be removed, rotated, replaced in the tool receiver and deform (or “rivet’) an eyelet 42 to fix and retain it within the hole previously made in one example.
The process of creating an impact for riveting in fixing the eyelet 42 in the sheet material 40 of the workpiece in this example is illustrated in
The eyelet riveting portion 36 of the combination tool piece 32 is placed against the eyelet 42, which rests on a hard impact-resistant surface 50. As will be appreciated with reference particularly to
As shown in
Depending on the operation being performed, a single blow or multiple blows can be delivered, as the device is self-resetting. The user simply again applies pressure while the tool piece 32 rests on the workpiece 42. As will be appreciated, between blows, when pressure on the device, e.g. via the end cap 28 and sleeve-extension grip portion 18, is removed by the practitioner (not shown) the device resets to the initial or neutral position state, as the return spring 22 pulls the trigger element 24 down out of the hole 48 in the bottom of the hammer 14. The tipping ball 26 then cooperates with the return spring to tip the trigger element askew, to again rest against the inside of the sleeve in the narrow guide portion 30 as shown in
It will be appreciated that the particulars of how the energy is stored and the blow delivered in the illustrated example is one of a number of ways in which this can be accomplished. The illustrated example is simple, and can be made at relatively low cost, but other schemes for storing and releasing energy to provide an impact could replace that shown and described herein as an exemplary embodiment. For example air springs or non-coiled mechanical springs can be used instead of the coil springs of the illustrated example.
With reference to
The well 62 in this example is formed by a snap-tight insertable well piece 80. When this well piece is inserted through a central opening in the cover 78 and into the tray 77 sufficiently far, it detentably seats in place and prevents the cover 78 from coming off the tray. But it still allows the cover to rotate around the well piece over the tray. This arrangement makes assembly of the base unit simple, as the cover is simply placed over the tray, and the well piece is then inserted trough the cover into the tray to lock the three elements 77, 78, 80 in place with respect to each other. It will be appreciated that the base unit can be formed of a polymeric resin by an injection molding process. Moreover, in another embodiment instead of a snap-tight fit, the well-piece could be solvent-, heat- or ultrasonically welded into the tray to hold the cover when plastics are thus used. Other materials, such as wood, metals, composites, etc. can be substituted for polymeric resin as to any or all of said three elements, with appropriate means for attachment of the well piece to the tray being used in each case.
With reference particularly to
The sleeve extending grip portion 18 can be formed of aluminum, or a filled polymeric resin of high strength and impact resistance. It can be formed of the same material as the sleeve in one example. However, since it takes less stress and impact than the sleeve it can be made of a different material. Likewise the end cap 28 can be formed of polymeric resin, aluminum, a filled polymeric resin, or another sufficient$ strong material. Both the grip portion and the end cap can itself be formed of a material that is not only sufficiently strong, but can be configured with outer surfaces providing good frictional engagement with a user's hands (not shown) or which can be coated with a high-friction material to facilitate better purchase. This will be further discussed below. The end cap can be made of an elastically deformable material to increase comfort (as well as purchase) and can be likewise adapted in materials and/or coatings to provide better grip for the scrapbooker.
As just mentioned, the surfaces of the end cap 28 and sleeve extending grip portion 18 can be treated so as to provide good grip, and—combined with their shape—good purchase. In this connection they may be dimpled, or coated with a high friction material, for example, as mentioned so that the user is confident of the grip and stability of the impact tool 10 in hand during use. Likewise, the exterior of the sleeve 12 can be treated by surface configuration and/or coating(s) to provide good grip, thus further increasing the likelihood that users will be able to obtain and maintain a good hold during use.
Generally speaking, the shapes of the end cap 28 and grip portion 18 cooperate with the sleeve and any surface treatment to provide good purchase for the user. The use of elastically deformable materials in selective locations can also increase purchase, in addition to providing increased comfort in use, especially repeated use by a scrapbooker where comfort and good purchase can reduce user fatigue.
It will be appreciated that these principles can be implemented in other embodiments not shown by way of example herein. It will be appreciated that the impact tool 10 in accordance with principles of the invention will simplify scrapbooking operations requiring one or more impacts. Since the tool allows careful relative placement before applying pressure, the operations can be more easily accomplished, especially by novice and physically challenged scrapbookers. Moreover, the base unit provides convenient storage not only of the impact tool 10, but of tooling and supplies for its use. The invention thus provides improvements in the art of scrapbooking and can reduce waste due to errors in punching and riveting of scrapbooking materials, as well as reduce fatigue on the part of the user. It can increase the user's confidence that the outcome will be aesthetically pleasing and that less errors will occur during punching and riveting operations and the like.
While the invention has been illustrated and described herein with respect to specific example(s), it will be appreciated that numerous modifications can be made without exercise of inventive faculty. It is not intended that the invention be limited, except by the claims, which follow.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61072892 | Apr 2008 | US |