Patent Publication Number: US-8117976-B2

Title: Handicraft needle puncher, handicraft assisting tool and handicraft needle punch set

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a handicraft needle punch set used suitably in the field of handicrafts such as appliqué, where the needle punch set comprises a needle puncher and an assisting tool. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Needle punching technique is employed typically in the manufacture of nonwoven cloth. In this technique, a plurality of webs made of fibers are first placed one after another and then, a needle is stuck through these webs so fibers from different webs will tangle with each other to put all of the webs into a single piece. Such a needle punching technique is used not only in the manufacture of nonwoven cloth but also in the field of felt art, for example, and proposals are made for needle punching tools, including one shown in JP-A-2004-308046, which comprises a plurality of needles attached to a grip member. 
     When the needle punching technique is used, first, a piece of felt which has a desired shape as a motif is placed on an appropriate sheet of cloth for example, and then, the needle is stuck through these cloth and felt a number of times, so that fibers of the felt will tangle with the fibers of the cloth, making an appliqué of the felt piece. The above mentioned JP document also teaches a support member for supporting the piece of felt when performing the needle punching. The support member has a brush-like structure, including a large number of fibriform members standing together so that their ends will form a supporting surface for the piece of felt. Such a structure makes it possible to improve operability in the needle punching work and increases the life of the needle since the structure allows sticking of the needle into the support member with a relatively small amount of force while ensuring that the needle will not be damaged upon contact with the fibriform members. 
     In the above-described conventional art, pieces of felt used in the needle punching art are typically cut out of a commercially available sheet of felt. However, this has been a problem when a large number of pieces are to be used for the felt work since cutting the pieces out of the sheets is time-consuming. In addition, after the pieces have been cut out, the reminder of the sheet has no use and has to be disposed as a waste, resulting in wasteful use of the resource. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been proposed under the above-described circumstances. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a handicraft needle punch set which is capable of helping perform a series of operations including needle punching when making an appliqué on a piece of cloth using a needle punching technique in the art of felt work, as well as providing a handicraft needle puncher and an assisting tool which are suitable constituents of such a handicraft needle punch set. 
     A first aspect of the present invention provides a handicraft needle punch set that comprises a needle puncher and an assisting tool used in performing needle punching on an object. The assisting tool includes a plurality of tubular template portions each having a predetermined sectional shape. The needle puncher includes a plurality of needles, a grip member which supports the needles at a predetermined attitude so that the needles&#39; tip portions protrude to the outside, and a tubular attachment member detachably attached to the grip member. The tubular attachment member is configured to surround the needles in a noncontact manner and have a contact tip portion coming into contact with the upper ends of the template portions. 
     According to the arrangement as the above, the needle puncher and the assisting tool can be used together to make an appliqué of a predetermined shape on a piece of cloth without using a piece of felt which is prepared by cutting out of a sheet. Further, since the assisting tool has a plurality of template portions, it is possible to efficiently perform a series of operations including placement of fibers in the respective template portions and needle punching. 
     Preferably, the assisting tool may further include an outer frame surrounding the template portions via hollow portions. 
     Preferably, the attachment member may become more widely open toward the tips of the needles. 
     Preferably, the template portions may be transparent or translucent. 
     A second aspect of the present invention provides a handicraft needle puncher that includes: a plurality of needles; a grip member supporting the needles so that the needles&#39; tips protrude to the outside; and a tubular attachment member detachably attached to the grip member. The tubular attachment member has a tip serving as a contact portion coming into contact with the upper portions of the template portions. 
     Preferably, the needle puncher may include two or more kinds of attachment members. These attachment members may differ from each other in their dimensions measured in the axial direction of the needles when attached to the grip member. 
     Preferably, the needles may be detachable from the grip member. 
     A third aspect of the present invention provides a handicraft assisting tool used in performing needle punching to a desired object. The assisting tool includes a plurality of tubular template portions each having a predetermined sectional shape. 
     Preferably, the assisting tool may further include an outer frame surrounding the template portions via hollow portions which are sandwiched between the template portions and the outer frame. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a handicraft needle punch set according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of a needle puncher which is a constituent of the handicraft needle punch set shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along lines III-III in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  shows how an attachment member, which is a constituent of the needle puncher shown in  FIG. 2 , is attached. 
         FIG. 5  shows an assisting tool, which is a constituent of the handicraft needle punch set shown in  FIG. 1 , in a sectional view taken along lines V-V in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a support member which is used together with the handicraft needle punch set shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view, showing a state where the handicraft needle punch set shown in  FIG. 1  is in use. 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view, showing another state where the handicraft needle punch set shown in  FIG. 1  is in use. 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view, showing a state where the needle puncher shown in  FIG. 2  is in use. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows a handicraft needle punch set according to the present invention. The illustrated needle punch set A includes a needle puncher  1  and an assisting tool  2  for needle punching operation. 
     The needle puncher  1  includes a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of needles  10 , a grip member  11  which holds these needles  10 , an attachment member  12 , a replacement attachment member  13  and a cap  14 . Each of the needles  10  has its tip portion protruding from a tip end of the grip member  11 . The needles  10  may be ordinary needle-punching needles employed in the manufacture of nonwoven cloth. As shown in  FIG. 2 , it is preferable that the needles  10  have their tip portions provided with one or more tiny hooks  10   a  called “barb” for increased effect of fiber entanglement. 
     The grip member  11  is made of synthetic resin for example, and has a needle holder  111  for holding the needles  10 , and a grip main body  112  for the user to hold on. For the sake of user&#39;s convenience, the grip main body  112  is formed like a pen, i.e., into a tube of a relatively small diameter. The needle holder  111  and the grip main body  112  have threads  111   a ,  112   a  respectively. These threads  111   a ,  112   a  are mated with each other, thereby connecting the needle holder  111  and the grip main body  112  integrally with each other. 
     The needle holder  111  has a plurality of through-holes  111   b . Each of these through-holes  111   b  is penetrated by one of the needles  10 , whereby each of the needles  10  is held at a predetermined radial position. As shown clearly in  FIG. 3 , the needles  10  have a substantially L-shaped head  10   b , and these bent heads  10   b  are fitted into grooves  111   c  which are formed in a base end portion of the needle holder  111 . This arrangement prevents the needles  10  from coming off a tip portion  111   d  of the needle holder  111 , as well as preventing the needles  10  from rotating. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a stopper  112   b  is formed inside the grip main body  112 . When the threads  111   a ,  112   a  are mated with each other, the stopper  112   b  holds on a small, disc-like blocking plate  15 , which then holds on the base end portion of the needle holder  111 , i.e. the heads  10   b  of the needles  10 , toward the tip of the needle holder  111  (toward the left as in the figure). Thus, the needles  10  are prevented from moving in their axial direction. With this arrangement, each of the needles  10  is held at a predetermined attitude by the grip member  11 . 
     It should be noted here that once the grip main body  112  is removed from the needle holder  111 , the needles  10  are removable from the needle holder  111  by pulling them toward the base end side. Therefore, the needles  10  can be easily and appropriately replaced with new ones if any of the needles  10  are damaged or broken. Further, the number of the needles  10  can be changed easily, by removing any desired ones of the needles  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the attachment member  12  is generally tubular, and attached to the tip portion  111   d  of the needle holder  111  so as to surround the needles  10  in a noncontact manner. Specifically, the tip portion  111   d  of the needle holder  111  has a tubular opening, and the attachment member  12  has a tubular base end  12   a  inserted into the tip portion  111   d . A tab  111   e  is formed on the inner surface of the tip portion  111   d  whereas a substantially L-shaped groove  12   b  engagable by the tab  111   e  is formed on the outer surface of the base end  12   a.    
     When attaching the attachment member  12  to the needle holder  111 , first, the attachment member  12  is brought closely to the needle holder  111  as shown in  FIG. 4 , axially of the needles  10 . Then, after the tab  111   e  has passed the edge of the groove  12   b , the attachment member  12  is rotated about its axis, relatively to the needle holder  111  until the tab  111   e  is positioned deeply in the groove  12   b . Under this state, the attachment member  12  is not movable, in the axial direction with respect to the needle holder  111 . When removing the attachment member  12 , the procedure is performed in the reverse order. With such an arrangement, the attachment member  12  is detachably attached to the needle holder  111  (the grip member  11 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the attachment member  12  becomes more widely open (in other words, flares) as it is closer to the tips of the needles  10 . More specifically, the size of the opening increases in the direction which is perpendicular to the axial direction of the needles  10 . The attachment member  12  has a tip edge that lies in a substantially flat plane and functions as a contact portion  12   c  coming into contact with the upper edges of the respective template portions  20  of the assisting tool  2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the replacement attachment member  13  is tubular, and is used when tangling a piece of felt with a piece of cloth as will be described later. The replacement attachment member  13  has a base end side formed with a groove (not illustrated) similarly to the groove  12   b  of the attachment member  12 . With this arrangement, the replacement attachment member  13  is attached to the grip member  11 , using the same method as for the attachment member  12 , in a detachable manner. When attached, the replacement attachment member  13  has a length, i.e. a dimension axially of the needles  10 , longer than the comparable dimension of the attachment member  12 . 
     The cap  14 , which covers and protects the tip portions of the needles  10  when the needle puncher  1  is not in use, is detachably fitted to the tip portions of the grip member  11 . The cap  14  is made of a transparent synthetic resin for example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 5 , the assisting tool  2  is a single piece of transparent or translucent synthetic resin, and includes a plurality of template portions  20  and an outer frame  21  which is connected with the template portions  20  via joints  22 . Each of the template portions  20  is tubular and has a predetermined cross-sectional shape formed by its wall. The space inside each template portion  20  will be filled with fibers when performing a needle punching operation. The cross-sectional shape of the template portion  20  represents the shape to be formed by the needle punching operation. In the present embodiment, three heart patterns and one tree leave pattern make up the template portions. 
     The outer frame  21  is on the outside of the template portions  20 , as a tube made of a wall to surround the template portions  20 . Hollow portions  23  are provided between the outer frame  21  and the template portions  20 . The outer frame  21  and the template portions  20  have substantially the same height, and their upper ends are substantially flush with each other as are their lower ends. 
     Next, how to use the handicraft needle punch set A and the workings thereof will be described. 
     When performing needle punching with the needle punch set A, it is preferable to use a support member upon which a piece of object cloth (to which the needle punching is to be made) is placed.  FIG. 6  shows a support block  3  as an example of such a support member. Specifically, the support block  3  has a brush-like structure, including a platy rectangular base block  30 , and a large number of upright fibriform members  31  planted into the top surface of the support block  3 . The fibriform members  31  have their tips substantially within the same plane, providing a substantially flat support surface  32  for supporting the object cloth. The support block  3  may be provided by a commercially available product used as a clothes brush for example. 
     The needle punch set A and the support block  3  may be used in the following manner to make an appliqué on a piece of cloth. First, as shown in  FIG. 7 , a piece of cloth  40  and then the assisting tool  2  are placed on the support surface  32  of the support block  3 . Subsequently, an appropriate amount of fibers  50  is placed in the inside space of a template portion  20  of the assisting tool  2 . 
     With the needle puncher  1  held by a hand and moved downward, the needles  10  are stuck through the fibers  50  inside the template portion  20  and through the cloth  40 . This sticking procedure may be repeated evenly over the entire area of the inside space of the template portion  20 . In the downward sticking procedure, the contact portion  12   c  at the tip portion of the attachment member  12  in the needle puncher  1  comes into contact with the upper edge of the template portion  20 , thereby limiting the movement of the needle puncher  1  toward the support block  3 . It is designed so that the tips of the needles  10  will not reach the base block  30  of the support block  3  by the limiting engagement between the attachment member  12  and the template portion  20 . It should be noted here that since the assisting tool  2  is transparent or translucent, it is possible to check the conditions of the fibers  50  in the inside space of the template portion  20  during the sticking procedure. 
     As the sticking procedure is repeated, the fibers  50  are tangled with fibers of the cloth  40 , into a piece of felt, forming an appliqué which is patterned in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the template portion  20 . 
     As described, use of the needle punch set A of the present embodiment makes it possible to create an appliqué of a predetermined pattern on a piece of cloth  40  without using a piece of felt which is cut out of a sheet. The fibers to be placed in the template portion  20  may be of any desired color, kind or volume. Therefore, the present method makes it possible to eliminate wasteful use of the material as compared to cases where an appliqué is made with a cut piece of felt. 
     As described above, the attachment member  12  attached to the needle puncher  1  is configured to become wider toward the tips of the needles  10 . This ensures that during the sticking procedure the contact portion  12   c  of the attachment member  12  makes appropriate contact with the upper edge of the template portion  20 . 
     In addition, since the attachment member  12  becomes wider toward the tip portion, it is possible, as shown in  FIG. 7 , to move the needles  10  closely along the inner wall surface of the template portion  20  when sticking areas along the inner edge of the template portion  20 . This allows the needles  10  to be moved vertically to the cloth  40  over the entire area in the inside space of the template portion  20 , ensuring that the appliqué made on the cloth is steady and uniform. 
     In the present embodiment, the assisting tool  2  has hollow portions  23  sandwiched between the template portions  20  and the outer frame  21  which surrounds the template portions  20 . This arrangement allows the needles  10  to pass through the hollow portion  23  in case the needles  10  miss the template portion  20  during the sticking procedure with the needle puncher  1 . Therefore, the arrangement reduces such a problem that the tip of a needle  10  unduly hits the assisting tool  2  and is damaged. In this connection, the template portions  20  may preferably have a rounded upper edge. As a result, the tip of the needle  10  which unduly hits the upper edge of the template portion  20  is more likely to be guided by the inner wall of the template portion  20  or by the hollow portion  23 , whereby damage to the needles  10  can be prevented. 
     Next, description will be made for a method of making a motif of felt from fibers, using the needle punch set A and the support block  3 . First, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a partition member  41  and then the assisting tool  2  are placed on the support surface  32  of the support block  3 . Subsequently, an appropriate amount of fibers  50  is placed in the inside space of a template portion  20  of the assisting tool  2 . The partition member  41  is placed between the support surface  32  and the assisting tool  2  for preventing the fibers  50  from being tangled with the fibriform members  31  of the support block  3 . The partition member  41  is preferably of a non-expandable material that can be easily penetrated by the tips of the needles  10  so as not to disturb the sticking procedure performed with the needle puncher  1 . A good example of the suitable partition member is a certain kind of paper such as photocopying paper. 
     Then, with the needle puncher  1  held by a hand and moved downward, the needles  10  are stuck through the fibers  50  and the partition member  41 . This sticking procedure is repeated evenly over the entire area in the inside of the template portion  20 . In the sticking procedure, the fibers  50  are tangled together (partially with the partition member  41 ) to form into a piece of felt. Then, the partition member  41  is removed from the felt piece, to provide a motif that is patterned in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the template portion  20 . A further procedure may be employed for neatly finishing the shape of the motif. Specifically, both the motif and the assisting tool  2  are turned over, then the motif is reset into the same template portion  20  of the assisting tool  2 , and the sticking procedure is performed again with the use of a new partition member  41 . 
     Next, description will be made for a method of making an appliqué of a “felt piece” on a piece of cloth. Here, the “felt piece refers to a fiber aggregation keeping an appropriately stable shape, such as a piece cut out of a sheet of felt, a motif obtained by the above described method, wool yarn, and so on. In this case, the needle puncher  1  and the support block  3  are to be used, while the assisting tool  2  is not. Also, in place of the attachment member  12 , the replacement attachment member  13  is attached to the needle puncher  1 . 
     First, as shown in  FIG. 9 , a piece of felt  51  placed on a piece of cloth  40  is set on the support surface  32  of the support block  3 . Then, with the needle puncher  1  held by a hand and moved downward, the needles  10  are stuck through the felt  51  and the cloth  40 . This sticking procedure is repeated. With this sticking procedure, the fibers of the felt  51  are tangled with the fibers of the cloth  40 , making the piece of felt  51  fixed to the cloth  40 , forming an appliqué on the cloth  40 . 
     As mentioned above, the length of the replacement attachment member  13  (i.e. its dimension measured axially of the needles  10 ) is longer than that of the attachment member  12 . Therefore, the needles  10  protrude from the grip member  11  to a smaller degree than when the attachment member  12  is used. With this arrangement, the tips of the needles  10  are prevented from reaching the base block  30  of the support block  3  during the sticking procedure. 
     As described, the needle puncher  1  is also suitable for procedures of making an appliqué by tangling a piece of felt  51  with a piece of cloth  40 . Also, differing from the above-described embodiments, the needle puncher  1  can be used without any attachment member attached to the grip member  11 . In this case, the needles  10  protrude from the grip member  11  to a greater degree, which makes it easy to stitch an appliqué to a three-dimensional object such as a stuffed animal. 
     The present invention being thus described, it is obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to 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.