Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6240645
-
Patent Number
6,240,645
-
Date Filed
Thursday, May 14, 199826 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 5, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A sewing cutter is provided which includes a handle, a cutting member attached to the handle, and a guiding member supported by the handle. The guiding member, which is arranged below the cutting member, may be an elongated plate whose front end is tapered. The guiding member is provided with an upper surface which is brought into facing relation to cloth to be cut by the cutting member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sewing cutter used for making an ornamental quilt such as “a straight slash quilt.”
2. Description of the Related Art
The above-mentioned straight slash quilt is produced as follows. First, a quilt
7
shown in
FIGS. 16A-16B
is prepared. air. The quilt
7
includes a plurality of rectangular cloth layers
7
a
-
7
d
which are sewn together by thread
70
. The lowermost cloth layer
7
a
is larger than the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
which are equal in size. As shown in
FIG. 16A
, the seams
71
running bias extend in parallel to each other and are evenly spaced.
Then, as shown in
FIG. 17
, a plurality of straight cuts (or slashes) are made in the upper layers
7
b-
7
d
between the adjacent seams
71
for dividing the upper layers
7
b-
7
d
into plural groups of strip-shaped layers
72
. Thus, an intermediate quilt
7
′ is obtained. The intermediate quilt
7
′ is washed in water for shrinking the strip-shaped layers
72
, and dried. As a result, the layers
72
are made fluffy, as shown in FIG.
18
. Thus, a straight slash quilt
7
″ is obtained.
Conventionally, the above-mentioned cutting operation for the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
is performed by using sewing scissors (not shown) or a ripper
9
as shown in
FIG. 19
, for example.
As shown in
FIG. 20
, the ripper
9
includes a handle
90
to be held by the user, and an elongated metal member
91
attached to the handle
90
. The elongated member
91
is provided with a protrusion
91
a
, and a recess
91
b
which is formed with a cutting edge
92
. With such an arrangement, the conventional ripper
9
is used for ripping thread to open seams by utilizing the protrusion
91
a
or for cutting cloth to make a button hole for example by utilizing the cutting edge
92
.
It has been found that, when used for cutting the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d,
the conventional ripper
9
suffers some problems which will be described below.
Specifically, to cut the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
with the conventional ripper
9
, the user inserts the protrusion
91
a
between the lowermost layer
7
a
and the upper layers
7
b-
7
d
as shown in FIG.
21
. Then, the user moves the ripper
9
forward as indicated by an arrow in the figure. As a result, the cutting edge
92
cuts through the upper layers
7
b-
7
d
between the adjacent seams
71
, as shown in FIG.
19
.
As can be seen, for performing the cutting operation smoothly, it is necessary for the user to use his free hand for stretching the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
transversely of the cutting direction. However, since the distance between the adjacent seams
71
is rendered rather small (about 7 mm for example), it is difficult for the user (especially for the beginner) to properly stretch the upper layers
7
b-
7
d,
while simultaneously moving the ripper
9
forward by the other hand.
Further, as shown in
FIG. 22
, the elongated member
91
of the ripper
9
has a relatively small thickness Si as compared with the distance S
2
between the adjacent seams
71
. Thus, as being moved forward, the cutting edge of the ripper
9
may unduly meander, as shown in FIG.
22
.
Still further, the protrusion
91
a
of the conventional ripper
9
is brought into direct contact with the lowermost layer
7
a,
as shown in FIG.
21
. Thus, as the ripper
9
is moved forward, the lowermost layer
7
a
will be damaged by the protrusion
91
a.
The user may encounter the same problems in using sewing scissors for cutting the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a sewing cutter capable of overcoming the problems described above.
According to the present invention, there is provided a sewing cutter including a handle, a cutting member attached to the handle, and a guiding member supported by the handle. The guiding member has a surface brought into facing relation to cloth to be cut by the cutting member.
Preferably, the guiding member includes a plate which is elongated in a cutting direction and whose width is greater than that of the cutting member.
The cutting member may have a cutting point for the cloth to be cut, while the guiding member may be provided with a front portion arranged ahead of the cutting point in a cutting direction.
Preferably, the front portion of the guiding member is tapered.
According to a preferred embodiment, the cutting member and the guiding member are detachable from the handle.
The handle may be integrally formed with the guiding member.
The cutting member may be integrally formed with the guiding member.
According to a preferred embodiment, the cutting member includes an elongated plate which is formed with a protrusion and a cutting edge adjacent to the protrusion.
According to another embodiment, the cutting member is a circular plate which is supported for rotation and formed with a cutting edge extending circumferentially of the circular plate. In this case, the cutting of the cloth to be cut is performed when the cloth is introduced between the cutting member and the surface brought into facing relation to the cloth.
According to another embodiment, the sewing cutter further includes an attachment which is separate from the handle and integrally formed with the guiding member. In this embodiment, the guiding member is formed with a retreated portion for avoiding contact with the cutting member.
According to another embodiment, the cutting member includes an elongated plate having a longitudinal side which is entirely formed with a cutting edge. In this embodiment again, the cutting of the cloth is performed when the cloth is introduced between the cutting member and the above-mentioned surface of the guiding member. Preferably, the cutting member includes a front end portion and a rear end portion, wherein the front end portion is positioned farther from the guiding member than the rear end portion. Similarly to the previous embodiment, the guiding member is formed with a retreated portion for avoiding contact with the cutting member.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the embodiment given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1
is a side view, partly in section, showing a sewing cutter according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a plan view showing the same cutter;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view illustrating how to use the same cutter;
FIG. 4
is a side view showing the same cutter in use;
FIG. 5
is a sectional view taken along lines V—V in
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 6
is a side view, partly in section, showing a sewing cutter according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7A
is a side view showing a sewing cutter according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7B
is a sectional view taken along lines VII—VII in
FIG. 7A
;
FIG. 8
is a side view showing a sewing cutter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9
is a sectional view showing a principal portion of the cutter in
FIG. 8
;
FIG. 10
is a sectional view taken along lines X—X in
FIG. 8
;
FIG. 11
is an exploded view showing elements of the cutter in
FIG. 8
;
FIG. 12
is a side view showing the cutter in
FIG. 8
in use;
FIG. 13
is a sectional view taken along lines XIII—XIII in
FIG. 12
;
FIG. 14
is a side view, partly in section, showing a sewing cutter according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15
is a plan view, partly in section, showing the cutter in
FIG. 14
;
FIG. 16A
is a plan view showing a material quilt used for making a straight slash quilt;
FIG. 16B
is a sectional view taken along lines XVI—XVI in
FIG. 16A
;
FIG. 17
is a sectional side view showing an intermediate quilt provided with predetermined slashes;
FIG. 18
is a sectional side view showing a product slash quilt;
FIG. 19
illustrates the cutting operation for the material quilt using a conventional ripper;
FIG. 20
is a side view showing the conventional ripper;
FIG. 21
is a side view illustrating the conventional ripper in use; and
FIG. 22
is a plan view illustrating the conventional ripper in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1 and 2
show a sewing cutter A according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The sewing cutter A includes a handle
1
, an elongated cutting member
2
and a guiding member
3
. The handle
1
, which may be made of wood, synthetic resin, metal or the like, is formed into a suitable bar-like shape so that the user can hold it easily with one hand. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the handle
1
extends obliquely with respect to the cutting member
2
and the guiding member
3
.
The cutting member
2
of the cutter A has the same arrangement as the elongated member
91
of the conventional ripper
9
described with reference to FIG.
20
. Namely, the cutting member
2
has a metal body which is elongated and small in width. The cutting member
2
is formed with a longer protrusion
22
, a shorter protrusion
22
a
and an arcuately retreated portion
21
arranged between the two protrusions. The longer protrusion
22
has a pointed end, whereas the shorter protrusion
22
a
has a round end
23
for protecting the user from injury. The retreated portion
21
is formed with a cutting edge
20
. The handle
1
is formed with a suitable groove or slit
10
having a downward opening. In this arrangement, it is possible to releasably fix the base end of the cutting member
2
in the slit
10
.
The guiding member
3
may be pressworked from a metal material to be formed into an elongated thin plate. The guiding member
3
is rendered longer than the cutting member
2
. The guiding member
3
has a base portion which is releasably attached to the handle
1
by screws
4
. On the opposite side to the base portion, the guiding member
3
has a front portion
3
a
which tapers to a round tip. Except the front portion
3
a,
the guiding member
3
has a constant width Sb which is greater than the width Sa of the cutting member
2
.
When assembled, the guiding member
3
is arranged under the cutting member
2
. The front portion
3
a
of the guiding member
3
extends forward beyond the cutting edge
20
and the tip of the longer protrusion
22
.
Referring to
FIGS. 3-5
, description will now be made to how to use the sewing cutter A. Here, it should be appreciated that the quilt
7
shown in
FIG. 3
has the same arrangement as that shown in
FIGS. 16A and 16B
. Namely, the quilt
7
of
FIG. 3
includes a lowermost cloth layer
7
a
and upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
arranged on the lowermost cloth layer. Those cloth layers
7
a-
7
d
are held together by thread at seams
71
which extend in parallel to each other at constant intervals. Between the lowermost cloth layer
7
a
and the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d,
there are elongated spaces defined by adjacent seams
71
.
To cut the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
by using the sewing cutter A, first the guiding member
3
is inserted into one of the above-mentioned elongated spaces, as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
. For facilitating the insertion, the width Sb of the guiding member
3
is set to be generally equal to or slightly smaller than the width (about 7 mm for example) of the elongated space. When inserted, the upper surface
3
d
of the guiding member
3
is brought into facing relation to the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d.
After insertion of the guiding member
3
, the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
are stretched widthwise between the adjacent seams
71
due to the presence of the guiding member
3
, as shown in FIG.
5
. In this arrangement, the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
are easily cut by the cutting edge
20
of the cutting member
2
.
As the guiding member
3
is moved forward along the elongated space, the longitudinal edges
3
b-
3
c
of the guiding member
3
are properly guided by the adjacent seams
71
, whereby the guiding member is moved in a straight line. In other words, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the cutting member
2
from unduly meandering. Here, it should be appreciated that the front portion
3
a
of the guiding member
3
extends forward beyond the cutting edge
20
. With such an arrangement, it is possible to prevent the front portion
3
a
of the guiding member
3
from coming out of the elongated space in performing the cutting operation (see FIG.
3
).
Further, the guiding member
3
of the sewing cutter A is easily detached from the handle
1
by undoing the screws
4
. Thus, after removal of the guiding member
3
, the cutter A is used to cut threads for opening seams for example, by utilizing the protrusion
22
. Still further, since the cutting member
2
is releasable from the handle
1
, the cutting member
2
is easily replaced with a new one when the former becomes blunt or damaged.
FIG. 6
shows a sewing cutter Aa according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment and the other embodiments described hereinafter, the same members or elements similar to those of the first embodiment are shown by the same references. The illustrated sewing cutter Aa includes a handle
1
A which is integrally formed with a guiding member
3
A. The cutting member
2
of this embodiment is fixedly inserted into a slit
11
formed in the handle
1
A. As shown in
FIG. 6
, the slit
11
has an upward opening. Since the handle
1
A and the guiding member
3
A are integrally formed, the manufacturing procedure for the sewing cutter Aa is simplified. Thus, the production cost is advantageously reduced.
FIGS. 7A and 7B
show a sewing cutter Ab according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated cutter Ab includes a cutting member
2
which is integrally formed with a guiding member
3
B (see FIG.
7
B). The cutting member
2
together with the guiding member
3
B is releasably fixed to the handle
1
by a suitably configured slit (not shown) formed in the handle
1
.
It should be appreciated that, according to the present invention, it is possible to arrange that a handle, a cutting member and a guiding member are separately produced (first embodiment), or that a handle and a guiding member are integrally formed (second embodiment), or that a cutting member and a guiding member are integrally formed (third embodiment). It is also possible to produce a cutting member and a guiding member separately and attach them later by using an adhesive.
FIGS. 8-14
show a sewing cutter Ac according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The sewing cutter Ac includes a handle
1
C, a cutting member
2
C and an attachment
5
.
The handle
1
C, which may be made of a synthetic resin for example, has a generally straight body. The attachment
5
, which may also be made of a synthetic resin, is produced separately from the handle
1
C. The attachment
5
is integrally formed with a guiding member
3
c
extending at a predetermined angle with respect to the attachment
5
. The cutting member
2
C of the sewing cutter Ac is of a circular form provided with a cutting edge
20
c
extending along the entire circumference of the circular member.
As can be seen from
FIGS. 9 and 10
, the handle
1
C, the cutting member
2
C and the attachment
5
are held together by way of a bolt
6
and a nut
60
. For allowing passage of the shank
6
b
of the bolt
6
, the handle
1
C is formed with a through-hole
19
, the cutting member
2
C with a through-hole
29
, and the attachment
5
with a through-hole
59
.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, the attachment
5
is formed with a protrusion
58
extending in a generally opposite direction to the guiding member
3
C, while the handle
1
C is formed with a cutout
18
in a side surface of the handle. In this arrangement, when the cutter Ac is assembled, the protrusion
58
is fitted into the cutout
18
, so that the attachment
5
is prevented from unduly rotating about the shank
6
b
of the bolt
6
.
Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 10
, a washer
61
is provided between the nut
60
and the handle
1
C for adjusting a pressing force acting on the cutting member
2
C. By proper adjustment, it is possible to arrange that the cutting member
2
C is suitably rotated about the shank
6
b
as the cutting of the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
is performed. In this manner, it is possible to prevent the same part of the cutting member
2
C from being used during the cutting operation.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, the circular cutting member
2
C is diametrically smaller than the attachment
5
, except that part of the cutting member
2
C is arranged to project from the attachment
5
toward the guiding member
3
C for cutting the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d.
Such an arrangement is advantageous in protecting the user from injury by the cutting edge
20
C.
The guiding member
3
C is arranged to extend at a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the handle
1
C. The length of the guiding member
3
C is greater than the diameter of the cutting member
2
C. Thus, the guiding member
3
C extends from the attachment
5
beyond the cutting point (the exposed portion) of the cutting member
2
C. The guiding member
3
C is formed with a retreated portion
28
. Thus, the projected portion of the cutting member
2
C is prevented from contacting the guiding member
3
C. The illustrated retreated portion
28
is a through-hole, but this arrangement is not limitative. For instance, the retreated portion
28
of the guiding member
3
C may be a groove which is open toward the cutting member
2
C but closed on the opposite side.
In use, the guiding member
3
C is inserted into one of the elongated spaces of the quilt
7
, as shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
. In this embodiment again, the upper cloth layers
7
b-
7
d
to be cut by the cutter Ac are properly stretched sideways due to the presence of the guiding member
3
C. Thus, the cutting operation by the cutter Ac is easily performed.
FIGS. 14 and 15
show a sewing cutter
1
D according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The sewing cutter
1
D includes an handle
1
D, an elongated cutting member
2
D and a guiding member
3
D.
As shown in
FIG. 15
, the handle
1
D includes a front portion
1
D
a
having a smaller thickness and a rear portion
1
D
b
having a greater thickness. The front portion
1
D
a
has an inner side surface (the surface facing downward in the
FIG. 15
) formed with a protrusion
17
, and a threaded hole
19
which is spaced from the protrusion
17
by a predetermined distance. A bolt
68
is received in the hole
19
in engagement therewith.
The cutting member
2
D has two end portions
2
D
a
and
2
D
b.
One of them (
2
D
a
) is formed with a through-hole
27
for allowing insertion of the protrusion
17
. To fix the cutting member
2
D to the handle
1
D, first the protrusion
17
of the handle
1
D is fitted into the through-hole
27
. Then, by turning the bolt
68
for tightening, the other end portion
2
D
b
is held between the head
68
a
of the bolt and the inner side surface of the handle
1
D. In the fixed position, the front end portion
2
D
a
is arranged to be farther from the guiding member
3
D than the rear end portion
2
D
b
, as shown in FIG.
14
.
The guiding member
3
D is releasably attached to a lower part of the handle
1
D by screws
4
a
for example. The guiding member is formed with a through-hole
26
for preventing the contact with the cutting edge
20
D of the cutting member
2
D.
By using the cutter Ad according to the fifth embodiment in the same manner described above in connection with the previous embodiments, the quilt
7
(
FIG. 3
) is properly cut. In the fifth embodiment, the cutting member
2
D is easily detached from the handle
1
D by loosening the bolt
68
.
The present invention being thus described, it is obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A sewing cutter for making a slash quilt comprising:a handle; a cutting member attached to the handle; and a guiding member supported by the handle; wherein the guiding member has a surface brought into facing relation to cloth to be cut by the cutting member; wherein the cutting member comprises a circular plate which is supported for rotation and formed with a cutting edge extending circumferentially of the circular plate; and wherein the guiding member is formed with a retreated portion in the form of a groove in which the cutting member partially enters without contacting the guide member; wherein the circular plate has an opposite pair of side surfaces, the cutting edge being positioned between the pair of said faces.
- 2. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member comprises a plate which is elongated in a cutting direction.
- 3. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member is greater in width than the cutting member.
- 4. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutting member has a cutting point for said cloth, the guiding member being provided with a front portion arranged ahead of the cutting point in a cutting direction.
- 5. The sewing cutter according to claim 4, wherein the front portion of the guiding member is tapered.
- 6. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutting member is detachable from the handle.
- 7. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the guiding member is detachable from the handle.
- 8. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the handle is integrally formed with the guiding member.
- 9. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutting member is integrally formed with the guiding member.
- 10. The sewing cutter according to claim 1, further comprising an attachment which is separate from the handle and integrally formed with the guiding member.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9-009818 |
Nov 1997 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (17)