Abstract:
A bow wrapping device having a base, a ribbon spool carriage removably coupled to the base and adapted to carry a plurality of ribbon spools, a guide retainer removably coupled to the base and adapted to retain ribbon fed from the ribbon spools, a rotating peg arm removably coupled to said base, at least one wrapping peg removably coupled to the peg arm, at least one wrapping peg handle removably coupled to the peg arm, wherein said peg arm is adapted to rotate relative to the base and wrap a plurality of ribbons received from the guide retainer in a concentric looped pattern around the wrapping peg and wrapping peg handle.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention is a device to be used in making bows out of ribbon, and is more particularly concerned with a device that wraps single or multiple bows from single or multiple ribbon spools.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Devices for making bows out of ribbon are common. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,214, to Hecht, teaches a bow-making device with a substantially rectangular base having a row of circular holes formed in the top surface thereof. The holes are adapted to receive pegs to be mounted on the base in an upright position. At an intermediate point in the row of holes a pair of hoops extends upwardly from the base. In use, a peg is placed in a respective hole on each side of the pair of hoops and a length of ribbon is wound around the pegs to form ribbon loops. The ribbon is passed between the hoops in a position such that the ribbon is held between the pegs by the pair of hoops.  
           [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,249, to Ruiz et al., teaches a bow-making device similar to Hecht&#39;s, in that Ruiz&#39;s jig also includes a row of holes into which pegs may be inserted. Instead of Hecht&#39;s pair of hoops, a slotted peg is provided at a central point in Ruiz&#39;s row of holes. The slotted peg is intended to constrain the loops of ribbon that are wound around rods on opposite sides of the slotted peg.  
           [0004]    Bow tiers provided according to the prior art generally require the user to manually wrap the ribbon around a stationary portion of the bow and remove the ribbon from pegs having no camber angle. This inventive device improves the bow production process and speed by using a rotating peg arm to form specific sized concentric loops of ribbon that are easily removed from the device and subsequently tied and formed into a decorative bow. The device maintains adequate ribbon tension during wrapping. The wrapping peg boring is drilled into the peg arm at a preselected camber angle to tilt the wrapping peg inward for easy lifting of the wrapped loops of ribbon from the device. Multiple ribbons and bows can be wrapped simultaneously by stacking ribbon spools on the carriage.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a bow wrapping apparatus having a base, a ribbon spool carriage removably coupled to the base and adapted to carry a plurality of ribbon spools, a guide retainer removably coupled to the base and adapted to retain ribbon fed from the ribbon spools, a peg arm removably coupled to the base, at least one wrapping peg removably coupled to the peg arm, at least one wrapping peg handle removably coupled to the peg arm, wherein said peg arm is adapted to rotate relative to the base and wrap a plurality of ribbons received from the guide retainer in a concentric looped pattern around the wrapping peg and wrapping peg handle.  
           [0006]    It is accordingly an advantage of the invention to provide a bow wrapper that wraps ribbon fed from single or multiple ribbon spools of same or different colored ribbon.  
           [0007]    It is another advantage of the invention to provide a bow wrapper that wraps multiple bows simultaneously. The bows can be the same size or different sizes.  
           [0008]    It is another advantage of the invention to provide a bow wrapper that enables easy removal of the ribbon from the pegs after wrapping is completed.  
           [0009]    It is another advantage of the invention to provide a bow wrapper that is useful in making a wide variety of different bow sizes. Incremental wrapping peg holes in the peg arm provide positions for wrapping various sized bows.  
           [0010]    It is another advantage of the invention to provide a bow wrapper that is useful in making a wide variety of different types of bows. A bow can be made with the instant invention using the entire apparatus or by removing the rotating peg arm and using the arm alone for a stationary wrapping station. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is an unassembled perspective of a bow wrapper provided in accordance with the invention wrapping a single bow with multiple ribbons.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective and plan view of a bow wrapper base provided according to the invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a perspective and plan view of a carriage mount which is a component of the bow wrapper.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a perspective and plan view of a ribbon guide retainer.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a perspective and plan view of a peg arm.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a perspective and plan view of a ribbon spool carriage.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a perspective and plan view of a peg arm mount spacer.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 8 is an unassembled perspective of a bow wrapper provided in accordance with the invention wrapping two bows simultaneously with multiple ribbons.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 9 is a plan view of a decorative bow made using the instant invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the invention embodiment having a fixed peg arm and tie wire fixture. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]    A preferred embodiment of the bow wrapper provided in accordance with the invention will now be described. With reference to FIG. 1, the bow wrapper base  20  serves to mount the components of the bow wrapper and stabilize the apparatus during operation. The base  20  can be either fixed or portable and can be various configurations with any suitable means for stabilization. Removably coupled to the base  20  is a ribbon spool carriage mount  22  bored for retaining a forward ribbon spool peg  11 . This forward spool peg  11  serves as both a ribbon spool peg and a carriage mount post for positioning and removably connecting the ribbon spool carriage  10  to the base  20 . The ribbon spool carriage  10  rotates freely around the forward spool peg  11  such that the carriage  10  can be positioned for best ribbon feeding during single or multiple spool operations. Removably coupled to the ribbon spool carriage  10  is at least one ribbon rear spool peg  12  that retains spools having different or same color ribbon. Another view of the ribbon spool carriage  10  is seen in FIG. 6.  
         [0022]    The ribbon from each spool mounted on at least one forward spool peg  11  or rear spool peg  12 , is threaded through a gap between the vertical posts of ribbon guide retainer  24  that is removably coupled to the base  20 . Another view of the guide retainer  24  is shown in FIG. 4. The ribbon leaves the guide retainer  24  en route to the rotating peg arm  30 .  
         [0023]    The peg arm mount  26  is removably coupled to the base  20  and serves as a central post and rotating axis for removably coupling the rotating peg arm  30  to the base  20 . The peg arm mount  26  also serves as the beginning post to wrap and pin the leading edges of ribbon to prior to starting rotation. The peg arm mount spacer  28  provides clearance between the peg arm  30  and the base  20  during rotation.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 shows peg arm  30  that is match drilled, or bored, at incremental distances from the center to receive wrapping pegs and facilitate making various bow sizes. Bow sizes in the range of 2 to 22 inches outside diameter can be made with the peg arm  30  shown but extending the length of peg arm  30  can make larger bows. The peg arm borings are only sufficient depth to removably retain and press fit the wrapping peg  34  into the peg arm  30 . Wrapping peg handle  32  borings are slightly oversized to enable the handle to spin inside its respective boring. Wrapping peg  34  borings are made at a preselected camber angle  13  away from vertical such that when mounted to the peg arm  30 , the top of wrapping peg  34  is tilted toward the center of the peg arm to facilitate removal of the ribbon on completion of wrapping. The camber angle  13  can be between approximately 5 and 30 degrees. Perimeter edges of peg arm  30  are rounded or slanted to prevent snagging the ribbon during rotation.  
         [0025]    In accordance with the illustrations, the bow wrapping operation is started by assembling all components of the bow wrapper onto a stable support that will prevent unnecessary movement of the bow wrapper during operation. The ribbon spool carriage  10  is then loaded with at least one ribbon spool of a preselected color and material. If multiple spools are desired, additional spools of varying or similar color material can be loaded on the ribbon spool carriage  10  and threaded through the guide retainer  24  before being removably pinned to the peg arm mount  26  as a starting hold. Wrapping peg  34  and wrapping peg handle  32  are then inserted into their respective borings at the desired bow size as marked on peg arm  30 . It is also possible to wrap using only the peg arm mount  26  and the wrapping peg handle  32  when smaller bows are desired. The peg arm  30  is then rotated around the peg arm mount  26  axis a sufficient number of times to create the number of concentric loops desired in the bow. For example, if a 12-inch diameter bow is desired, the wrapping peg handle  32  and the wrapping peg  34  are placed in the peg borings marked “6” which signifies 6 inches from center. The peg arm  30  is then rotated 12 full revolutions for a single ribbon feed and 12 concentric loops of ribbon are formed. Rotation of the peg arm  30  is stopped and the wrapped ribbon is carefully lifted intact from the wrapping pegs. While intact, the concentric loops are folded once along the central axis vacated by the peg arm mount  26 . Holding the ribbon in the folded position, the two ribbon corners formed along the fold axis are clipped at an angle to remove excess ribbon from the tying area and to provide a narrowed ribbon center seam for placement of a tie wire. A tie wire or similar tying material is then wrapped around the narrowed ribbon center seam and twisted onto itself to secure the center seam. Individual loops originating from the center seam are then spread apart and twisted in an organized fashion then positioned relative to each other to make a decorative bow as seen in FIG. 9. The preferred appearance of the decorative bow is formed when wrapping is performed in accordance with the following table:  
                                                                                                   Number of Peg Arm Rotations            Bow   Wrapping   Wrapping   Single   Dual   Triple       Diameter   Peg   Peg Handle   Ribbon   Ribbon   Ribbon       (inches)   Position   Position   Feed   Feed   Feed                    2   N/A   2   2   1   N/A       4   2   2   4   2   1       6   3   3   6   3   2       8   4   4   8   4   2.5       10   5   5   10   5   3       12   6   6   12   6   4       14   7   7   14   7   4.5       16   8   8   16   8   5       18   9   9   18   9   6       20   10   10   20   10   6.5       22   11   11   22   11   7                  
 
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the instant invention wherein two separate bows are wrapped simultaneously using stacked ribbon spools on the carriage. Each bow is constructed in the same manner as a single bow. Each bow is lifted from the device separately and then tied and formed as individual bows.  
         [0027]    The bows shown in FIG. 8 are the same diameter but different diameter bows can be wrapped by elevating the rotating peg arm  30  on the peg arm mount  26  such that one bow is wrapped on the upper side the rotating peg arm  30  and a second bow is wrapped on the under side of the rotating peg arm  30 . Additional wrapping pegs (not shown) must be removably coupled to the under side of the elevated rotating peg arm  30  and these wrapping pegs can be positioned different from those on the upper side of the rotating peg arm  30  thereby enabling different size bows to be wrapped simultaneously.  
         [0028]    Another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 10, uses the rotating peg arm  30  in a stationary mode as a stand-alone arm for manual wrapping. This embodiment is used in the same manner as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,586, which is herein incorporated by reference. In this embodiment, the tie wire fixture  42  is removably coupled to the stationary peg arm  30  using the hole vacated by the peg arm mount  26 . When wrapping bows in this embodiment, the wrapping peg  34  and the wrapping peg handle  32  are removed and the incremental measurements on the peg arm  30  are used to manually loop and overlay the ribbon flat onto the peg arm  30  at a preselected length while gathering the center of the bow between the tie wire fixture posts  46  for tying. A tie wire  44  is positioned into slots of the tie wire fixture posts  46  prior to wrapping such that when wrapping is complete, the ribbon laying between tie wire fixture posts  46  can be easily gathered and secured with tie wire  44 .  
         [0029]    According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, all components of the bow wrapper are made of wood. However, other materials may be used. For example, all of the components may be formed of plastic, polypropylene, hard rubber, metal or any other material that has a degree of natural elasticity.  
         [0030]    It should further be understood that no particular ribbon-securing mechanism is essential to the invention. For example, the wrapping pegs may be arranged to be hollow cylinders, open at least at one end, and the ribbon-securing mechanism may include a clip shaped like a bobby-pin or a paper clip which may be slidingly engaged with the wall of the hollow peg, to secure the ribbon loop at the outer surface of the peg wall.  
         [0031]    The wrapping pegs shown herein are substantially cylindrical, but pegs having a non-circular cross-section, such as square or rectangular may be used. Of course, the peg arm holes should have a shape that is matched to the cross-section of the pegs.  
         [0032]    The removably coupled wrapping pegs shown herein function as members around which the ribbon is wound during a bow-making operation. However, instead of removably coupled pegs, the present invention may be constructed with uprights which are fixedly mounted in the peg arm and which have ribbon-holding means such as the clips described herein. For example, wooden pegs may be permanently mounted in holes in the peg arm by means of glue or the like. Alternatively, the peg arm and upright members may be integrally formed as a single body of molded plastic.  
         [0033]    It is expected that bow-makers would achieve a higher rate of production and higher quality bows using the instant invention. The bow wrapping device maintains adequate tension on the ribbons during production and provides for multiple ribbon feeds. Multiple bows can be wrapped simultaneously by stacking ribbon spools on the carriage.  
         [0034]    Various changes to the foregoing device may be introduced without departing from the invention. The particularly preferred apparatus described herein is thus intended in an illustrative and not limiting sense. The true spirit and scope of the invention are set forth in the following claims.