U.S. patent application number 10/147043 was filed with the patent office on 2003-03-27 for fiber and yarn sample holder.
Invention is credited to White, Charles E..
Application Number | 20030057124 10/147043 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26844534 |
Filed Date | 2003-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030057124 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
White, Charles E. |
March 27, 2003 |
Fiber and yarn sample holder
Abstract
A fiber sample holder and fiber sample system are provided, in
which a thin card member, preferably made of injection moldable
plastic, is provided with opposing broad faces across which a fiber
sample is wound, and the broad faces are bounded laterally by
converging edges which themselves are bounded by upper and lower
pairs of shoulders which operate to retain the wound fibers in
position between the shoulders.
Inventors: |
White, Charles E.; (Bristol,
VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John C. Kerins
MILES & STOCKBRIDGE P.C.
Suite 500
1751 Pinnacle Drive
McLean
VA
22102-3833
US
|
Family ID: |
26844534 |
Appl. No.: |
10/147043 |
Filed: |
May 17, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60324260 |
Sep 25, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/388 ; 206/49;
206/503 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 75/06 20130101;
B65H 75/26 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/388 ; 206/49;
206/503 |
International
Class: |
B65H 055/00 |
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A fiber sample holder comprising: a card having first and second
broad faces which are substantially parallel to one another over a
portion of the faces; said card having a waist portion comprising
first and second edges at a lateral outward extent of said first
and second broad faces, said first and second edges converging
toward a top or bottom end of said card, said first and second
edges being bounded by a first pair and a second pair of shoulder
elements which protrude laterally outwardly from said edges, said
first and second pair of shoulders being operable to retain at
least one fiber wound around said first and second broad faces and
around said first and second edges in position between said first
and second pair of shoulders.
2. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said thin
card further comprises a tongue protruding axially outwardly to a
location above said first pair of shoulders, and a complementary
shaped recess cutout extending axially inwardly to a location above
said second pair of shoulders, whereby said recess cutout is
operable to receive therein a tongue of a second fiber sample
holder.
3. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 2 wherein said tongue
and said recess cutout each has means for releaseably joining said
fiber sample holder to a second fiber sample holder.
4. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 3, wherein said tongue
has a slot provided therein, and said recess cutout has a
complementary shaped tab extending therefrom, whereby said slot is
operable to frictionally engage a tab of a second fiber sample
holder.
5. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said first
broad face has a laterally outward portion that converges toward
said second broad face, and, on an opposite lateral portion, said
second broad face has a laterally outward portion that converges
toward said first broad face.
6. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 2 wherein said first
broad face has a laterally outward portion that converges toward
said second broad face, and, on an opposite lateral portion, said
second broad face has a laterally outward portion that converges
toward said first broad face.
7. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 6, wherein a pair of
oppositely facing notches are provided on said thin card adjacent
to said recess cutout, said pair of notches being sized to receive
laterally outward portions of said first and second broad faces
therein.
8. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 1, further comprising
a slit extending along one of said first and second broad faces for
receiving a cutting instrument therein.
9. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said card is
substantially rigid.
10. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 9 wherein said card
is constructed of a thermoplastic polymer.
11. A fiber sample holder as recited in claim 10 wherein said card
is constructed of an injection moldable plastic.
12. A fiber sample system comprising: a plurality of fiber sample
holders, each of said plurality of fiber sample holders comprising:
a card having first and second broad faces which are substantially
parallel to one another over a portion of the faces; said card
having a waist portion comprising first and second edges at a
lateral outward extent of said first and second broad faces, said
first and second edges converging toward a top or bottom end of
said card, said first and second edges being bounded by a first
pair and a second pair of shoulder elements which protrude
laterally outwardly from said edges, said first and second pair of
shoulders being operable to retain at least one fiber wound around
said first and second broad faces and around said first and second
edges in position between said first and second pair of
shoulders.
13. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 12 wherein each of
said thin cards further comprises a tongue protruding axially
outwardly to a location above said first pair of shoulders, and a
complementary shaped recess cutout extending axially inwardly to a
location above said second pair of shoulders, whereby said recess
cutout is operable to receive therein a tongue of another of said
plurality of fiber sample holders.
14. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 13 wherein said
tongue and said recess cutout of each of said plurality of fiber
sample holders have means for releaseably joining one of said
plurality of fiber sample holders to another of said plurality of
fiber sample holders.
15. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 14, wherein said
tongue has a slot provided therein, and said recess cutout has a
complementary shaped tab extending therefrom, whereby said slot
disposed on one fiber sample holder is operable to frictionally
engage a tab disposed on another of said plurality of a fiber
sample holders.
16. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 12 wherein, on each
of said plurality of fiber sample holders, said first broad face
has a laterally outward portion that converges toward said second
broad face, and, on an opposite lateral portion, said second broad
face has a laterally outward portion that converges toward said
first broad face.
17. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 13 wherein, on each
of said plurality of fiber sample holders, said first broad face
has a laterally outward portion that converges toward said second
broad face, and, on an opposite lateral portion, said second broad
face has a laterally outward portion that converges toward said
first broad face.
18. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 17, wherein, on each
of said plurality of fiber sample holders, a pair of oppositely
facing notches are provided on said thin card adjacent to said
recess cutout, said pair of notches being sized to receive
laterally outward portions of said first and second broad face
therein.
19. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 12, wherein each of
said plurality of fiber sample holders further comprises a slit
extending along one of said first and second broad faces for
receiving a cutting instrument therein.
20. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 12 wherein each of
said cards is substantially rigid.
21. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 20 wherein each of
said cards is constructed of a thermoplastic polymer.
22. A fiber sample system as recited in claim 21 wherein each of
said cards is constructed of an injection moldable plastic.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/324,260, filed
Sep. 25, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention is directed to a sample holder for use
in holding yarn or fiber samples.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] In order to display and, more importantly, to assess and
physically measure the color properties of colored fibers or yarns,
it is necessary to prepare suitable samples thereof. This is
generally done by wrapping a large plurality of turns of the fiber
or yarn around a flat "card" under a selected spacing and tension,
to produce an essentially flat sample, commonly referred to as a
cardwrap. Such samples may then be displayed, presented, visually
assessed (usually against another color, such as a laboratory
standard sample or the required color) or placed in a
spectrophotometer for digital analysis of its color
characteristics. The method of preparing such samples, particularly
the winding of the fiber or yam, are well known to those skilled in
the art, and have been developed sufficiently to produce consistent
samples, at least within the same laboratory. For visual assessment
of color from cardwrap to cardwrap requires the wraps to be in
intimate contact with each other with the same yarn orientation. A
small space between the wraps will affect the detection of small
color shade differences. Using prior art methods, winding of the
yarn on the card can not be done close to the edge of the card
without the yarn slipping off the edge either during sample
preparation or whilst handling the prepared cardwrap. A retention
device at the edge of the card during the preparation stage tends
to produce a gap between the wraps from card to card. An
alternative method that has been used is to wrap the two yarns
samples for comparison on the same card. However, if it is
necessary to compare one of the wound yarn samples, for example if
one of the samples is a standard, with another sample, a new
standard cardwrap must be prepared or the first sample removed from
the card without damaging the standard so that the second sample
may be wound on the card in intimate contact with the standard. In
addition, storage of the cardwrap without deterioration or damage
for any period is difficult.
[0006] One U.S. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,639, has been issued to
Siegfried Peyer AG, for a "Fiber sample holder". This device
involves the use of two glass plates, and a process in which the
fibers are fixed, placed on one plate, and then the other glass
plate is slid across them to flatten and align the fiber sample.
This is, in essence, aimed at optical analysis in the sense of
microscopy, and does not appear to be suitable for the creation of
sufficiently large flat fiber or yarn samples for use in the ways
described above.
[0007] There thus exists a need in the industry for a specially
designed sample holder for samples of fibers and/or yarns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is directed to a fiber sample holder
that overcomes the aforenoted disadvantages of the sample holders
currently in use, and provides several significant advantages not
present in those sample holders. The design of the sample holder
makes it simple to mass-produce, and the sample holder may be made
from inexpensive materials. The design is further compatible with
current cardwrap winder systems known in the art.
[0009] The sample holder is preferably made of an injection
moldable thermoplastic polymer, and has two opposing broad surfaces
on which the yarn or fiber is to be presented as a sample. The
sample holder has shoulders at upper and lower portions of the
edges that extend between the broad surfaces, so as to provide a
retaining surface to physically limit the wound fiber from
slippage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The above and other objects of the present invention and the
attendant advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art, and the invention will be more easily understood
from the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
wherein like reference characters represent like parts throughout
the several views.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the sample holder
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a bottom end view of the sample holder of the
present invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a top end view of the sample holder of the present
invention.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the sample holder with a
yarn or fiber sample wound thereon.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a substantially schematic front elevation view of
two sample holders joined together according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] The fiber or yarn sample holder 10 is presented in elevation
view in FIG. 1. The sample holder 10 is generally bounded by
fiber-engaging lateral edges or sides 12, 14 and upper 16 and lower
18 interlocking ends. Sides or edges 12, 14 taper or converge
toward one end (upper end 16, as shown) of the sample holder 10.
The sample holder is preferably a thin member having opposing
approximately parallel broad faces 20, 22 (FIGS. 2,3) which provide
a backing for the fiber 100 wound thereon (FIG. 4).
[0017] As seen in FIG. 4, the fiber 100 is wrapped or wound around
the central or "waist" portion 23 of the card, with the fiber being
tensioned to closely engage the broad faces 20, 22 and sides or
edges 12, 14. The wound fiber is prevented from undesirable
slipping by the provision of shoulders 24, 26 at an upper and a
lower extent of the waist portion 23 of card 10 so that the entire
sample will remain intact. The shoulders 24, 26 protrude laterally
outwardly from sides or edges 12 to a distance that is greater than
the thickness of the wound fiber layer to be wound on the card. In
prior art card designs, in which the sides or edges were
essentially parallel to one another, the fiber was able to move in
either direction, which was known to lead to potential spreading of
the fiber windings, particularly with repeated handling of the
cardwrap creating undesirable gaps in the sample. Creation of such
gaps can adversely affect the ability to use the sample in color
matching or color comparisons as the color appearance of the sample
can be affected.
[0018] A further important feature of the sample holder of the
present invention is | that two or more sample holders can be
interlocked with the fiber samples being presented immediately
adjacent each other. This facilitates and improves the ability to
perform reliable color matching and color comparisons, and also
provides a highly useful way to present or display a plurality of
fiber samples. The design of the sample holder and its interlocking
elements are such that the sample holders having samples wound
thereon may be joined together without any interference between the
sample holder and the fibers wound on the adjoining sample
holder.
[0019] The sample holder 10 preferably is provided at upper end 16
with a protruding tongue 28, and, at lower end 18, the sample
holder has a complementary-shaped recess 30. The protruding tongue
28 from a first sample holder may be fitted into the recess 30 of a
second sample holder (FIG. 5), thereby bringing the fiber samples
retained on the two sample holders adjacent to one another,
preferably with the fiber windings of the second sample holder
directly in contact or slightly overlapping the fiber windings of
the first sample holder.
[0020] Two interlocking sample holders are preferably held together
and aligned by a friction fit of a small tab 32 protruding from the
sample holder at the upper portion of the recess, and a
corresponding slot 34 centered on tongue 28. Such an arrangement
provides a reasonably secure interlocking arrangement, while at the
same time enabling the two sample holders to be separated easily
with a pulling motion. It will be recognized that this interlock
design will permit an essentially unlimited number of sample
holders to be sequentially joined together. This facilitates the
displaying of a color palette of all available fiber colors, as one
example of a potential use. The ready interchange of a plurality of
interlocking sample holders greatly facilitates the use of these
samples by interior designers, by allowing the designers to quickly
change color pairs or color combinations for comparative purposes,
as desired.
[0021] It can be seen in FIG. 4 that the fiber or fibers 100 wound
onto the sample holder preferably cover a substantial portion of
recess 30. This enables the fibers from a second sample holder to
be brought closely adjacent to, and or slightly into overlap with,
the fibers covering the recess. In order to achieve this without
having the inserted tongue 28 from the second sample holder
interfere with the fibers wound onto the first sample holder, the
leading edge 29 of tongue 28 is preferably rounded so that the
tongue will not catch or hang up on the fibers as it is
inserted.
[0022] It can also be seen in FIGS. 1-3 that the fitting and
interlocking of adjacent sample holders is preferably facilitated
by having one of the broad faces 20, 22, taper or converge toward
the other (see especially FIG. 3) at the outer portions thereof.
Complementary notches or cutouts 25 (FIGS. 1,2) are provided
adjacent the recess 30 in the lower end 18 of the sample holder.
The use of such complementary-shaped surfaces allows adjacent
sample holders to be repeatedly fitted together while reducing the
potential interference of the sample holders with the fiber samples
wound thereon. This design allows the yarn carrying space of one
sample holder to move into the yarn carrying space of another
sample holder and still retain the rigidity to support the wraps of
yarn.
[0023] One further feature of the sample holder which contributes
to its ability to be reused is the provision of a slit 44 extending
along one or both faces of the sample holder in a generally
upper-to-lower end direction. The slit preferably does not extend
through the entire thickness of the sample holder so as to not
detrimentally affect the rigidity of the holder. As can be seen in
FIG. 4, the slit 44 extends upwardly to a point above the lower
part of shoulder 24, such that the upper portion of the slit
remains exposed after a fiber sample 100 is wound onto the sample
holder.
[0024] The slit 44 is provided to permit a fiber sample to be cut
through without damaging the surface of the sample holder. A person
may introduce a tip of a cutting instrument into the exposed part
of the slit, and draw the cutting instrument down the slit, slicing
through the fiber in the process. In that manner, a fiber sample
100 may be easily and quickly removed without causing any scoring
or gauging of the sample holder. The sample holder thus can be used
repeatedly without any degradation in performance.
[0025] The sample holder is particularly useful for preparing fiber
or yarn samples for spectroscopic examination to obtain a digital
assessment of the color properties of the sample, in that the
windings of fiber are maintained essentially without any spacing
therebetween, thereby presenting a substantially continuous color
surface to be examined. Also, as noted previously, the ability of
the holders to be interlocked permits two or more holders to be
arranged with the fiber samples in direct juxtaposition or in close
proximity to one another. The holders thus facilitate various forms
of visual comparison of samples, including comparison of a
laboratory standard with a trial sample, matching or aesthetic
assessment of colors by interior designers, and as a means for
stacking color samples for a product range for use in permanent or
temporary displays.
[0026] The preferred approach to manufacturing or fabricating the
sample holders of the present invention is by an injection molding
process, wherein a plastic material, preferably a thermoplastic
polymer, is injected into a mold of net shape or near net shape of
the holder. The choice of the particular thermoplastic polymer, or
other material, will preferably be based primarily upon its
mechanical properties. It is desired that the sample holder be
sufficiently rigid and of a hardness such that it will not bend or
otherwise distort during or after the winding-on process, but
should not be so brittle that it can be easily cracked or broken by
accidental knocking or dropping of the holder.
[0027] Suitable thermoplastic materials for use include, but are
not limited to, polyamides, polyesters, and polyolefins, and their
copolymers and blends thereof. The starting material may be either
virgin polymer or recycled/reclaimed polymers.
[0028] Examples of suitable polyamide materials include Nylon 6,
Nylon 6:6, Nylon 11, Nylon 12, with Nylon 6 and Nylon 6:6 being
preferred. Examples of suitable polyesters include poly(ethylene
terephthalate) (PET); and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT); with
PET being preferred. Examples of suitable polyolefins include high
density polyethylene (HDPE) and propylene (co)polymers, with
propylene homopolymer being preferred.
[0029] Other materials and manufacturing methods may be employed.
Materials such as wood, other thermoplastics such as acrylic
polycarbonate, thermosetting plastic materials, metal, such as
aluminum or steel, ceramic and glass would be suitable, in general,
and may actually be preferred for specific applications. The sample
holders may be stamped, machined, cast, or otherwise formed,
although it is believed that the injection molding of a
thermoplastic provides the most advantageous combination of
economic manufacture and desired mechanical properties.
[0030] While the invention has been described in conjunction with
specific embodiments thereof, it is recognized that modifications
and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in
the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention as
set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, and not
limiting.
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