Abstract:
This invention relates to doilies that come on a continuous roll with index marks or perforations that allow the user to create doily presentations in individually customized dimensions, both as to length and width. The user may use a single doily roll to create multiple desired doily applications, each with unique optimal dimensions. Customized doily applications are not limited to the width of the source doily material, as multiple widths of doily material may be attached to create wide doily applications that still match perfectly. The user is also able to easily replace a small damaged doily section with a new section that perfectly matches the removed section as to dimension and pattern design, reducing waste.

Description:
RELATED LD APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/863,436, filed Aug. 8, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY 
       [0002]    This invention relates to improved doilies, in particular doilies that come on a continuous roll with index marks or perforations that allow the user to create doily presentations in individually customized dimensions, both as to length and width. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Doilies are widely used for functional and aesthetic purposes. Such doilies come in various materials, shapes, sizes, colors, and print designs, and are typically placed under food items, potted plants, or candles, under plates or platters, or as stand alone functional or decorative items. Additionally, many unique craft items may be created with doilies. 
         [0004]    Conventionally available doilies have served to accentuate and enhance presentation of food products and other items, and as stand alone decorations. One shortcoming of conventional doilies is that they come in predetermined sizes that may not be of optimal dimension for the user&#39;s desired application. A user may have multiple desired applications, each with a unique optimal dimension. It would be advantageous for a user to have access to doilies that are easily customizable to a desired dimension, both in length and width. 
         [0005]    Another shortcoming of conventional doilies is in waste do to damage. If part of a large conventional doily presentation is damaged due to tearing or staining, then the entire doily presentation must be discarded and replaced. It would therefore be desirable for a user to be able to easily replace a small damaged doily section with a new section that perfectly matches the removed section as to dimension and pattern design. 
         [0006]    Doilies are also widely used in creating craft items. It would be advantageous for the craft maker to have access to doilies of easily customizable dimension, for use in widely varied craft products. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The invention is best described from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and may arbitrarily be expanded or reduced for clarity. Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and are not limited to the figures of the accompanying drawings. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary round doily pattern, incorporated into a continuous doily roll in a four panel width. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top view of an exemplary alternating (round and rectangular) doily pattern, incorporated into a continuous doily roll in a four panel width. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top view of an exemplary rectangular doily pattern, in a user determined length to produce the customized doily presentation in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a top view of an exemplary rectangular doily pattern, illustrating a user customized doily presentation with the excess doily material cut away. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a top view of two sections of round pattern doily material in user determined lengths to produce the customized doily presentations in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the combined sections of round pattern doily material in  FIG. 5  used to create a user customized doily presentation in eight panel width, and to produce the user customized doily presentation in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a top view of a user customized doily presentation that presents a six panel width, with the excess doily material cut away. The doily presentation&#39;s width is greater than a single width of the source doily material illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing stain and tear damage, and user customized replacement panels to replace the damaged panels. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing damaged panels removed from the doily presentation, and user customized replacement panels to replace the damaged panels. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a top view of a user customized doily presentation in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing user customized replacement panels inserted into the doily presentation, and the removed damaged panels. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Provided is a continuous doily roll with index marks or perforations to allow individually customized doily dimensions. The flexible, rollable materials that may be used in doily construction include, but are not limited to paper, fabric, lace, silk or sateen ribbon, thin plastics, metal sheet or foil. Any color value may be utilized for the rolled doily material. Rolled doily width may vary in range from 4 to 48 inches, with that overall width composed of a plurality of individual doily panels separated by index marks or perforations. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. 
         [0019]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates a continuous doily roll  100 , composed of a length of doily material  102  wrapped around a cardboard tube  104 . A single layer of doily material  102 , when unwrapped and laid flat, shows that it is composed of a plurality of individual circular pattern doily panels  106 . The individual circular doily panels  106  are separated by vertical  110  and horizontal  112  index marks incorporated into the doily pattern, or by perforations. The vertical index marks or perforations  110  allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation width, while the horizontal index marks or perforations  112  allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation length. 
         [0020]    In other exemplary embodiments, circular pattern doily panel  106  may be configured in the pattern of a rectangle  108 , square, oval, heart, diamond, or other suitable shape. Patterns may be solid or cut out, and may contain various textures and prints. Patterns may incorporate a specific theme, including but not limited to holidays, celebratory events, seasons of the year, plants, animals, famous artwork, and celestial objects. 
         [0021]    In other exemplary embodiments, the index marks or perforations used to separate individual panels from the doily material need not be strictly vertical or horizontal in orientation, but may be incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of the individual doily panels. 
         [0022]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 2 , which illustrates a continuous doily roll  100 , composed of a length of doily material  102  wrapped around a cardboard tube  104 . A single layer of doily material  102 , when unwrapped and laid flat, shows that it is composed of a plurality of individual alternating circular pattern doily panels  106  and rectangular pattern doily panels  108 . The individual alternating circular  106  and rectangular  108  doily panels are separated by vertical  110  and horizontal  112  index marks incorporated into the doily pattern, or by perforations. The vertical index marks or perforations  110  allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation width, while the horizontal index marks or perforations  112  allow the user to easily separate the panels and create a customized doily presentation length. 
         [0023]    In other exemplary embodiments, circular pattern doily panel  106  and rectangular pattern doily panel  108  may be configured in other suitable patterns. The number of alternating patterns is not limited to the two illustrated, as a multitude of patterns may be incorporated on a single length of doily material  102 . Similarly, the sequencing for the alternating patterns need not be limited to the method illustrated, as a multitude of alternating sequences may be incorporated on a single length of doily material  102 . 
         [0024]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , which illustrates a user customized section of source doily material  102 , composed of rectangular pattern doily panels  108 . This source doily material  102  will be used to create the customized doily presentation illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0025]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which illustrates a user customized doily presentation  114  that is equal in width to the source doily material  102  in  FIG. 3 . The user has separated along the vertical  110  and horizontal  112  index marks or perforations to remove the excess doily material  116 , which can be saved and reused for other customized doily presentations. 
         [0026]    In other exemplary embodiments, the user customized doily presentation using a single width of source doily material  102  may be of any length, limited only be the amount of source doily material  102  available on the roll, and may utilize the entire width of one section of source doily material  102 , or may utilize only a portion of the available width of one section of the doily source material  102 , with the excess doily material removed and saved for other customized doily presentations. 
         [0027]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 5 , which illustrates two sections of user customized source doily material  102  in a round doily pattern  106 . These sections of source doily material  102  will be used to create the user customized doily presentations illustrated in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 . 
         [0028]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 6 , which illustrates the two lengths of user customized source doily material  102  from  FIG. 5  combined to produce a single user customized doily presentation  118  eight panels in width. User customized doily presentation  118  may be used in its current state, or further customized to create the user customized doily presentation in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0029]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 7 , which illustrates the user customized doily presentation  118  from  FIG. 6  further customized to create user customized doily presentation  120  six panels in width. The user has separated along the vertical  110  and horizontal  112  index marks or perforations to remove the excess doily material  122 , which can be saved and reused for other customized doily presentations. As in  FIG. 6 , this illustration shows that the width of a user customized doily presentation is not constrained by the width of a single section of source doily material. 
         [0030]    In other exemplary embodiments, the user customized doily presentation may be of any length, limited only be the amount of source doily material  102  available on the roll, and may include multiple sections of source doily material  102  combined to create widths that would cover a large surface area in a continuous doily pattern. 
         [0031]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 8 , which illustrates a user customized doily presentation  136  in alternating (round and rectangular) pattern showing a stain damaged panel  124  and tearing damaged panels  126 . Also illustrated are user customized replacement panel  130 , and user customized replacement panels  128 , that will be used to replace the stain damaged panel  124  and tearing damaged panels  126 , respectively. 
         [0032]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 9 , which illustrates the initial steps to repair user customized doily presentation  136 . The user has separated along the vertical  110  and horizontal  112  index marks or perforations to remove stain damaged panel  124  and tearing damaged panels  126  from the user customized doily presentation  136 , leaving empty space  132  and empty spaces  134  in the user customized doily presentation  136 . 
         [0033]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 10 , which illustrates the final steps to repair user customized doily presentation  136  from  FIG. 8 . The user has installed user customized replacement panel  130  into empty space  132 , and installed user customized replacement panels  128  into empty spaces  134 . The replacement panel  130  and replacement panels  128  perfectly match the pattern of stain damaged panel  124  and tearing damaged panels  126 , respectively, resulting in a repaired user customized doily presentation  138  that is visually identical to the original user customized doily presentation  136  from  FIG. 8 . Stain damaged panel  126  and tearing damaged panels  126  can be discarded by the user. 
         [0034]    In another exemplary embodiment, one where the source doily material has the index marks or perforations not vertical or horizontal, but incorporated into the pattern along the four edges of the individual doily panels, replacement of individual panels to repair a damaged doily presentation would follow the same simple steps as shown in  FIG. 8-10 . 
         [0035]    The potential for waste reduction, with associated cost savings to the user, is apparent in the example embodiments illustrated in  FIG. 8-10 . A total of three small damaged panels were replaced to restore the user customized doily presentation  136  in  FIG. 8  to the visually identical state shown at  138  in  FIG. 10 . A conventionally available doily presentation of equivalent size would have to be replaced in its entirety to achieve the same visual results. Waste reduction and cost savings are made all the more relevant to the user when using larger user customized presentations.