Abstract:
A guide for cutting or marking a piece of fabric or other laminate material has a movable stop that may attach to the guide using static attraction. The stop may be repositioned for cutting or marking different sized pieces. The assembled stop and guide may be placed over the edge of the fabric so that the stop engages the edge in a repeatable and reliable manner. The guide may be a rectangular polycarbonate ruler while the stop is a rectangular strip of polyvinylchloride sheet. Other embodiments may use different shaped guides and stops to achieve different shapes of the cut or marked fabric.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application is based upon and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/472,708 for “Adjustable Ruler Guide” which was filed on May 21, 2003, the entire contents of which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference herein for all that it discloses and teaches. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    a. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention pertains to cutting cloth and other materials and, more specifically, to an adjustable guide for aligning a cutting or marking instrument.  
           [0004]    b. Description of the Background  
           [0005]    The construction of quilts or sewn articles often requires the repetitive cutting of fabric into strips of a particular width. The strips may then be assembled in various patterns to create a quilt or other sewn article.  
           [0006]    Various rulers exist for guiding a marking or cutting instrument for making the required strips of fabric. Such rulers are commonly rectangular in shape and made from polycarbonate or other clear plastic. The rulers typically have parallel lines or markings running parallel to the long side of the ruler. This allows a user to place the ruler on top of a piece of fabric, look through the ruler to visually align an edge of the fabric with a marking or graduation on the ruler, and use the edge of the ruler that overlaps the fabric as a cutting or marking guide. The ruler may then be moved to the next location and the process repeated.  
           [0007]    When many cutting operations are required, each repositioning of the ruler requires a visual alignment of the edge of the fabric to one of the graduations of the ruler. Each visual alignment is an opportunity for error. When the material is a similar color as the work surface, it may be difficult for the user to detect the actual edge of the fabric. Additionally, the ruler may have several markings that are parallel and similar in thickness, causing the user to refer to graduations and carefully read the ruler in order to position the ruler properly.  
           [0008]    It would therefore be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus for guiding a marking or cutting operation wherein the guide may be placed accurately and quickly. It would be further advantageous if the apparatus were easily configured for different cutting operations.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by providing a system and method for aligning a clear plastic ruler to an edge of a piece of fabric using a piece of statically attractive plastic as a removable edge guide. The edge guide may be placed on the ruler aligned with specific graduations and then used to position the ruler to the fabric edge.  
           [0010]    The present invention may therefore comprise a method for cutting laminar material including: attaching a stop having an alignment edge to the bottom surface of a guide having a substantially planar bottom surface and a guiding edge, at a chosen position; placing the guide on top of the laminar material; adjusting the position of the guide such that the alignment edge of the stop engages at least a portion of an edge of the laminar material; and cutting the laminar material along at least a portion of the guiding edge.  
           [0011]    The present invention may further comprise an apparatus for guiding a cutting device for laminar material having an edge including: a guide having a substantially planar bottom surface and a guiding edge; and a stop having an alignment edge adapted to align with the edge of the laminar material, wherein the stop is adapted to attach to the bottom surface of the guide at a predetermined position such that at least a portion of the guiding edge of the guide is used to guide the cutting device.  
           [0012]    The present invention may still further comprise an apparatus for marking laminar material having an edge including: a guide having a substantially planar bottom surface and a marking edge; and a stop having an alignment edge adapted to align with the edge of the laminar material, wherein the stop is adapted to attach to the bottom surface of the guide at a predetermined position such that at least a portion of the marking edge of the guide is used to mark the laminar material.  
           [0013]    The advantages of the present invention are that marks or cuts along the edge of a piece of fabric may be made quickly and repeatedly with a high degree of accuracy. Many marks or cuts may be made without having to visually align a ruler or straight edge for the operation. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    In the drawings,  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a bottom view of an embodiment of the adjustable guide of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a top view of the embodiment of the adjustable guide illustrated in FIG. 1 hereof, shown guiding a cutting device for cutting a strip of sheet material over the sheet material.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a bottom view of an embodiment of the adjustable guide of the present invention suitable for guiding a cutting device or a marking device over a selected curved or shaped pattern.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the top view of the embodiment of the adjustable guide of the illustrated in FIG. 3 hereof, shown guiding a cutting device for cutting sheet material over the sheet material.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the bottom view of an embodiment of the adjustable guide of the present invention showing details on the non-functional edges of the adjustable stop. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a bottom view of an embodiment of the adjustable guide  100  of the present invention. Guide  102  has adjustable stop  104  attached thereto. Adjustable stop  106  is shown removed from guide  102 . Guide  102  may have printed graduations  108  that may aid a user in correctly positioning adjustable stop  106 . Although shown in a rectangular geometry, having sides  110  and  112 , and base  114 , guide  102  have many forms. In particular, sides  110  and  112  can slant toward one another forming a triangle with base  114  or a trapezoid. Graduations  108  are preferably oriented parallel to base  114 .  
         [0021]    Rectangular guide  102  may be comprised any non-porous material, but is preferably made from a transparent plastic material such as polycarbonate or other clear, tough plastic. Graduations  108  may be molded into guide  102 , printed onto the surface thereof, or may be placed by any other method known in the art.  
         [0022]    Adjustable stop  104  or  106  may be manufactured from a strip of polyvinylchloride (PVC) sheet material, typically between 0.009 in. and 0.035 in. thick when used to cut a typical woven fabric cloth material. When adjustable guide  106  is less than about 0.008 in. thick, stop  104  may not effectively engage the edge of the fabric material. When stop  104  is substantially thicker than 0.035 in., stop  104  may engage more than one thicknesses of the fabric material. Generally, an effective range of thickness for the stop is between 30% and 125% of the thickness of the material to be cut. The static adhesion of untreated PVC sheet is well known and it readily adheres to non-porous surfaces, such as polycarbonate, ceramic, polished metal, and the like.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a top view of the adjustable guide  200  shown in FIG. 1 hereof, that may be used to cut a strip of sheet material. Guide  202  has adjustable stop  204 , and is placed over a laminate to be cut  206 . Adjustable stop  204  is placed against edge  208  of laminate  206 . Shown is cutting device  210  being guided by guide edge  212  of guide  202 , enabling a user to make repeatable and accurate cuts or marks along the guide edge  212  of the guide block  202 . The user may quickly and accurately place guide block  202  in alignment with edge  208  because adjustable stop  204  is adapted to engage the edge of laminate  206 .  
         [0024]    When guide block  202  is constructed from a transparent material, a user has an additional advantage of being able to visually inspect the alignment of edge  208  with adjustable stop  204 .  
         [0025]    In some embodiments, guide block  202  may have a handle or other protrusion (not shown) on the upper (top) side of guide block  202 . Such a protrusion may assist the user in positioning the adjustable guide over the laminate.  
         [0026]    Laminate  206  may be a sheet stock laminate such as plastic sheet, paper, metal, composite, wood, and glass, or may be a woven fabric for sewn articles such as quilts and the like. That is, the laminate may be any type of planar material that may be marked or cut. Cutting device  210  may be a circular cutter, a knife, or other cutting instrument. Additionally, cutting device  210  may be replaced with pencil, chalk, or other marking instrument.  
         [0027]    Generally, the thickness of adjustable stop  204  is chosen such that the stop can effectively engage the edge of the material to be cut or marked, while not being so thick as to cause guide  202  to become unstable due to rocking about stop  204 . Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to make stop  204  sufficiently wide to avoid this situation. Thicknesses between 30% and 125% of the thickness of laminate  206  have been used. As an example, if the laminate  206  is, say, a woven cloth material about 0.03 in. thick, adjustable stop  204  would be within the range between 0.009 in. and 0.038 in. thick. Laminates may include several sheets of material, such as several pieces of paper or fabric, to be cut simultaneously.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the bottom view of an embodiment  300  of the adjustable guide of the present invention adapted for cutting curved or shaped strips. Guide  302  has an adjustable stop  304  attached by static attraction. Guide  302  may have several graduation marks  306  in order to aid in the placement of adjustable stop  304 . Guide edge  308  of guide  302  is shown to have a curved shape, and may have a shape different from that of stop  304 .  
         [0029]    Adjustable stop  304  has a straight edge  310  that may be readily aligned with graduation lines  306  of guide  302 . In FIG. 3, the curved edge of adjustable stop  304  is shown to be similar in shape to guide edge  308 . Adjustable guide  300  may be used in a similar fashion to adjustable guide  200 , illustrated in FIG. 2 hereof, where straight edge  310  of adjustable stop  304  is aligned with the edge of the material to be cut or marked.  
         [0030]    In some embodiments, the adjustable stop  304  may be attached to guide  302  with static attraction or by other mechanisms. For example, adjustable stop  304  may be coated at least in part with a releasable adhesive that may be used once or reused several times. In other embodiments, a permanent adhesive may be used to attach adjustable stop  304  to guide  302  in situations where numerous repeat uses of a particular adjustable guide geometry is desired. Other permanent mechanisms may include heat fusing, mechanical fastening, such as flat-head screws being screwed into predrilled and tapped holes in the bottom of guide  302  (not shown), chemical bonding, or other mechanisms known in the art.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a top view of the embodiment of the adjustable guide  400  of the present invention shown in FIG. 3, hereof. Guide  402  has an adjustable stop  404  attached thereto by static attraction. Laminate material  406  has an edge  408  that has a wavy profile can be aligned with the wavy profile of adjustable stop  404 . Cutting device  410  may be moved along the guide edge  412  to mark or cut laminate  406 .  
         [0032]    Guide  400  allows a user to cut laminate  406  along the curve specified by guide edge  412 . The curved edge of adjustable stop  404  is shown as aligning with the curved edge of laminate  406 , so reproducible patterns can be generated.  
         [0033]    Those skilled in the arts will appreciate that various patterns for guide edge  412  are possible while keeping within the spirit and intent of the present invention.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a bottom view of another embodiment  500  of the adjustable guide of the present invention. Guide  502  has an attached adjustable stop  504  ( 506 ; shown as removed from guide  502 ) that may be aligned with graduations  508  on guide  502 . Adjustable stop  504  is shown having curved edges  510  and cutouts  512  that may be a rendition of a company&#39;s trademark or other aesthetic design unrelated to the shape of the material to be cut using adjustable guide  500 .  
         [0035]    Various shapes and styles of the adjustable stop  504  and guide  502  may be created by those skilled in the art. Markings on either the top or bottom of guide  502  may be configured for trade dress or advertising purposes, may incorporate instructions that may be used in conjunction with the printed graduations  508  to align stop  504 , or for other purposes as needed.  
         [0036]    The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.