Patent Publication Number: US-9896791-B2

Title: Pincushion

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a pincushion. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,967, for example, pincushions have a basic configuration in which a resiliently compressed cushioning material such as cotton, wool, or sponge is wrapped in a cloth to form a rounded soft pincushion face, and are used to hold needles for handicrafts in a state where the needles are stuck into the pincushion face. 
     According to the pincushion described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,967, the shape of the pincushion surface is adjusted by fitting a ring onto a hem of the cloth wrapping the cushioning material, and auxiliary rings for fixing are put on the upper side and the lower side of the ring in an overlapping manner in order to prevent the ring from coming off in the vertical direction. The vertical positions of the upper rings are fixed by pulling downward a wire whose end is pasted to a bottom plate, and the vertical position of the lower auxiliary ring is fixed by pasting it to the circumferential portion of the bottom plate. 
     The configuration of the pincushion described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,967 cannot be easily disassembled. Thus, when a needle for handicrafts is completely buried below the cushioning material surface, it is difficult to pull out the needle. Furthermore, it is also difficult to have fun by replacing the cloth forming the pincushion surface with a cloth having a user&#39;s favorite color or pattern. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been proposed under the above-described circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide a pincushion that can foe easily disassembled and assembled and that allows a cloth forming a pincushion face or a cushioning material to be easily replaced. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a pincushion that includes an inner container having at bottom wall portion and a side wall portion that stands upright from a circumferential portion of the bottom wall portion, where the the inner container has an opening at an upper portion of the side wall portion; a resiliently compressible cushioning material disposed in the inner container; a flexible sheet material covering the cushioning material at a portion thereof projecting upward from the opening of the inner container, with its hem positioned along the side wall portion of the inner container; an elastic ring member fitted onto the side wall portion of the inner container with the hem of the sheet material interposed between the ring member and the side wall portion; and a cylindrical outer cover fitted around the side wall portion of the inner container such that an inner face of the outer cover is in contact with the elastic ring member. 
     In a preferable embodiment, an annular groove into which the elastic ring member is to be fitted is formed on an outer circumference of the side wall portion of the inner container. 
     In a preferable embodiment, the cushioning material is one of cotton, wool and sponge. 
     In a preferable embodiment, the sheet material is a cloth. 
     In a preferable embodiment, the elastic ring member is made of rubber. 
     In a preferable embodiment, the side wall portion of the inner container has a cylindrical shape. 
     The flexible sheet material covers the cushioning material in a resiliently compressed state to form a rounded pincushion face. Furthermore, the hem of the sheet material is fixed by being elastically pressed by the elastic ring member against the outer face of the side wall portion of the inner container. The inner face of the outer cover is in contact with the elastic ring member, and thus, the outer cover is maintained in the state of being fitted onto the inner container by a frictional force generated between the outer cover and the elastic ring member. 
     The state in which the outer cover is fitted onto the inner container is maintained merely by being in contact with the elastic ring member, and thus, the outer cover can be easily detached. Also, the elastic ring member for fixing the hem of the sheet material can be easily detached. When the elastic ring member is detached, the sheet material can also be easily detached from the inner container and the cushioning material. That is to say, the thus configured pincushion can be easily disassembled and assembled without using special tools or joining means. Accordingly, when a needle for handicrafts is completely buried below the pincushion face, the buried needle can be removed by disassembling the pincushion. Furthermore, the sheet material can be easily replaced with a sheet having a user&#39;s favorite material, color, or pattern, and, furthermore, the cushioning material can be replaced with a user&#39;s favorite material. 
     Other features and advantages of the present, invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a vertical cross-sectional view of a pincushion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a method for assembling the pincushion shown  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating the method for assembling the pincushion shown  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating the method for assembling the pincushion shown  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. 
       FIGS. 1 to 4  show a pincushion A according to an embodiment of the present invention. The pincushion A has an inner container  10 , a cushioning material  20 , a sheet material  30 , an elastic ring member  40 , and an outer cover  50 . 
     The inner container  10  is in the shape of a bottomed cylinder with an open upper end. That is to say, the inner container  10  is configured by a bottom wall portion  11  that is in the shape of a circle and a substantially cylindrical side wall portion  12  that stands upright from a circumferential portion of the bottom wall portion  11 , and is formed by, for example, resin molding. In this embodiment, the diameter of the side wall portion  12  increases toward an upper portion  12   a  thereof in the shape of a trumpet, and an upper edge of the upper portion  12   a  forms an opening  13  of the inner container  10 . A first outward-oriented flange  14  that continues from the bottom wall portion  11 , a second outward-oriented flange  15  that is at a middle in the vertical direction, and a third outward-oriented flange  16  that is positioned toward the upper edge are formed in one piece with the outer circumference of the side wall portion  12 . The outward-oriented flanges  14 ,  15 , and  16  have the same outermost position on their respective circumferences. The first outward-oriented flange  14  and the second outward-oriented flange  15  form a first annular groove  17 , and the second outward-oriented flange  15  and the third outward-oriented flange  16  form a second annular groove  18 . 
     The cushioning material  20  is selected from, for example, cotton, wool, sponge, and the like, and an appropriate amount thereof is placed in the inner container  10 . The cotton may be any cotton such as tree cotton, wool cotton, synthetic cotton, or an analog thereof. The wool may be wool in the cotton state or in the state of gathered scrap wool yarn. The sponge is preferably a molded body in a shape that closely fits in the inner container  10  and having a rounded upper portion. As will be described later, the amount and the size of the cushioning material  20  are selected considering the fact that the cushioning material  20  is resiliently compressed to some extent when it is severed by the sheet material  30  to form, a pincushion face  30   a.    
     As the sheet material  30 , a material (e.g., cloth having a predetermined thickness) that is flexible and is stretchable to some extent and through which needles for handicrafts can be stuck is selected, and there is no limitation to cloth. The sheet material  30  is not limited to commercially available cloths or the like, and examples thereof include handicraft products with patchwork or embroidery. Furthermore, the sheet material  30  is not limited to cloths, and examples thereof include knitted products. 
     The elastic ring member  40  is, for example, a silicone rubber ring, has a circular cross-section that allows the elastic ring member  40  to be closely fitted into the second annular groove  18 , and has an inner diameter that allows the elastic ring member  40  to be elastically fitted into the second annular groove  18 . In this embodiment, since the second annular groove  18  is configured such that a depth dimension d is smaller than a vertical width dimension W (see  FIG. 2 ), the outer circumferential portion of the elastic ring member  40  fitted into the second annular groove  18  is exposed outward beyond the outer circumferences of the second and third outward-oriented flanges  15  and  16  forming the second annular groove  18  (see  FIGS. 1 and 4 ). 
     The outer cover  50  is in the shape of a cylinder with open ends on both sides in the vertical direction, having substantially the same inner diameter and the same outer diameter throughout the vertical direction, and having substantially the same vertical dimension as that or the inner container  10 . The outer cover  50  is formed by, for example, resin molding. The outer cover  50  has an upper edge that is bent inward so that the inner diameter thereof is reduced, and a predetermined space S 1  is formed between the inner circumference of a small-diameter portion  51  and the outer circumference at the upper edge of the inner container  10 . Furthermore, the inner face of a general portion of the outer cover  50  has an inner diameter that is larger than the outer circumference of each of the first, second, and third outward-oriented flanges  14 ,  15 , and  16  of the inner container  10 , and a predetermined space S 2  is formed between this inner face and the outer circumference of the outward-oriented flanges  14 ,  15 , and  16 . The inner face of the general portion of the outer cover  50  has an inner diameter that allows the outer cover  50  to be in contact with the elastic ring member  40  while slightly compressing the elastic ring member  40  fitted into the second annular groove  18 . 
     Next, methods for assembling and disassembling the pincushion and actions thereof will be described. 
     First, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a predetermined amount of cushioning material  20  is placed inside the inner container  10 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the sheet material  30  such as a cloth is placed from above to wrap the cushioning material  20 , and a hem  31  of the sheet material  30  is positioned along the outer side of the side wall portion  12  of the inner container  10  in a state where the cushioning material  20  is resiliently compressed. Next, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the elastic ring member  40  is fitted into the second annular groove  18  from the outer side of the hem  31 , so that the hem  31  of the sheet material  30  is fixed. Since the hem  31  of the sheet material  30  is curved and pressed by the elastic ring member  40  against the inner wall of the second annular groove  18 , the hem  31  is firmly fixed by a fractional force generated between the sheet material  30  and the elastic ring member  40  and between the sheet material  30  and the inner face of the second annular groove  18 . At that time, a portion of the hem  31  of the sheet material  30  projecting downward from the second annular groove  18  is trimmed off with scissors or the like. 
     The rounded surface of the thus formed sheet material  30  forms the pincushion face  30   a . The amount of cushioning material  20  is set such that an appropriate size of the pincushion face  30   a  bulges out from, the opening  13  of the inner container  10  in a state where the cushioning material  20  is resiliently compressed as described above. The amount of pincushion face  30   a  bulging out can be adjusted by pulling the hem  31  of the sheet material  30  downward as appropriate in a state where the elastic ring member  40  is fitted from the outer side of the hem  31  as described above. In this embodiment, the diameter of the side wall portion  12  of the inner container  10  increases toward the upper portion  12   a  in the shape of a trumpet, and thus, when the cushioning material  20  is guided along this portion from the larger-diameter side, the cushioning material  20  can be smoothly placed inside the inner container  10 . 
     Then, the outer cover  50  is fitted onto the inner container  10  such that the lower end position of the outer cover  50  is in conformity with that of the inner container  10 , and, thus, the pincushion A shown in  FIG. 1  is completed. At that time, the inner face of the outer cover  50  is in contact with the elastic ring member  40  while slightly compressing the elastic ring member  40 , and, thus, a fractional force between the elastic ring member  40  and the inner face of the outer cover  50  prevents the outer cover  50  from being accidentally displaced with respect to the inner container  10 , and the outer cover  50  is stably kept in the state of being fitted onto the inner container  10 . Since the outer cover  50  has substantially the same vertical dimension as that of the inner container  10 , in the assembled state, the side wall portion  12  of the inner container  10 , the hem  31  of the sheet material  30 , and the elastic ring member  40  can be covered up as appropriate. 
     The pincushion A can be disassembled by perforating the above-described assembly method in reverse order, that is, moving the outer cover  50  upward, thereby detaching the outer cover  50  from the inner container  10 , and detaching the elastic ring member  40  from the second annular groove  18 , thereby detaching the sheet material  30 . The state in which the outer cover  50  is fitted is maintained merely by a frictional force with the elastic ring member  40 , and, thus, the outer cover  50  can be easily detached with a force greater than the frictional force. Since the elastic ring member  40  can be elastically widened and deformed, the elastic ring member  40  can be easily detached from the second annular groove  18 . 
     As described above, the pincushion A can be easily disassembled and assembled. Thus, for example, even when a needle for handicrafts is completely buried below the pincushion face  30   a , the needle can be removed by disassembling the pincushion A. 
     Furthermore, the sheet material  30  can be easily replaced for fun with a sheet having a user&#39;s favorite color, pattern, or material, or with a sheet having handicraft features such as patchwork or embroidery. Furthermore, the material or amount of cushioning material  20  can be changed so that the rounded pincushion face  30   a  bulges out in any size (amount) from the opening of the inner container  10  or has any resilient hardness that the user pleases. 
     In this embodiment, the side wall portion  12  of the inner container  10  is provided with the first annular groove  17  below the second annular groove  18  into which the elastic ring member  40  is to be fitted, and thus, it is also possible to enjoy the pincushion A itself as a handicraft product by using a sheet having handicraft features as the sheet material  30  as described above and using this first annular groove  17  such that a decorative ribbon (not shown), a frill (not shown), or the like is attached by being wound around the first annular groove  17 . 
     It will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment, and all modifications within the range as described in the claims fail within the scope of the present invention. 
     For example, although the inner container  10  and the outer cover  50  are circular when viewed from above in the foregoing embodiment, their shapes when viewed from above are not limited to circles, and may be any shape such an ellipse, a polygon with rounded corners, or the like.