Abstract:
A roll clip is generally C-shaped made of a flexible material which allows the clip to snap over and hold a roll of paper or other material. In one embodiment, the clip includes feet at the open ends of the clip for resting on a surface such that the roll can be held in a partially unrolled fashion for studying the contents of blueprints or measuring and cutting of wallpaper or wrapping paper. In a preferred embodiment, the feet are rounded to facilitate snapping the clip over a paper roll.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a clip which is particularly adapted for holding a roll of paper fully rolled or partially unrolled.  
           [0002]    When dealing with architectural drawings, engineering blueprints, rolled wallpaper, and/or wrapping paper for presents, it is desirable to either maintain the roll completely rolled up and held in a cylindrical form, which frequently is accomplished by placing a rubber band or tape around the paper rolls, or when studying blueprints or the like or when measuring wallpaper or wrapping paper for presents or the like, it is frequently desirable to partially unroll the roll which typically necessitates placing an object on the paper to keep the roll from interfering with the cutting of the paper or studying of parts of the blueprints. Objects such as paperweights or the like are frequently employed for such function, although more typically, particularly when wrapping presents, it is necessary to wrestle with the partially unrolled roll with one&#39;s elbow while crawling on the floor cutting paper to size. There exists a need, therefore, for a device and method for accommodating and handling the somewhat unruly partially unrolled paper rolls or rolls of other material, as well as allowing storage of the roll in a tubular form with the paper completely wrapped around itself.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention satisfies this need by providing a roll clip which is generally C-shaped made of a relatively thin flexible material which allows the clip to snap over and hold a roll of paper or other material and which, in one embodiment, includes feet at the open ends of the clip for resting on a surface such that the paper can be held in a partially unrolled position for studying the contents of blueprints or measuring and cutting of wallpaper or wrapping paper. In one embodiment of the invention, the clip is injection molded of a polymeric material, such as ABS, and is generally C-shaped with an open mouth permitting the clip to snap-fit over a roll of paper. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ends of the C-shaped clip are rounded to facilitate snapping the clip over a paper roll as well as defining feet for resting on a horizontal surface when the roll is partially unwrapped. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the clip can be made of a metal, such as stainless steel, and formed by cutting in a pattern and rolled into a desired shape.  
           [0004]    In all embodiments, the clip material provides a pair of opposed, spring legs for compressibly gripping a roll of paper when either completely rolled or partially unrolled. The roll clips can be made in different sizes to accommodate different diameter rolls of material and in some embodiments may have tapered sides to distribute the bending forces throughout the length of the clip. Thus, the clip of the present invention provides an easily employed, convenient structure and a method of holding rolled material in either rolled form or partially unrolled form for use.  
           [0005]    These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clip embodying the present invention;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 illustrates a method of use of the clip in connection with a partially unrolled roll of material;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 is a right side elevational view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 7;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the clip of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the clip of the present invention; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 14 is yet a further embodiment of the clip of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0020]    Referring initially to FIGS.  1 - 5 , there is shown a first embodiment of the invention showing a roll clip  10  which is integrally molded of a polymeric material with the preferable material being ABS, although nylon, polyethylene, or composite polymeric materials can likewise be employed. The roll clip  10  is generally C-shaped and is integrally formed including an apex  12  at its top with a pair of integral downwardly and inwardly depending curved legs  14  and  16 , each terminating in a rounded foot  15  and  17 , respectively, which are in spaced relationship to define an open mouth  18  for the clip which circumscribes an arc of from about 60° to about 70°, although the mouth could be wider or narrower for different applications.  
         [0021]    As best seen in FIGS. 1, 3, and  5 , the legs  14  and  16  are inwardly tapered from the apex  12  to the feet  15  and  17  to uniformly distribute the bending forces on the legs of the clip when expanded for holding a roll of paper as illustrated in FIG. 6 described below. Clip  10  can be made in a variety of different diameters and sizes as, for example, a larger clip may have an internal diameter of 68 mm with a mouth opening  18  of about 30 mm and have a width “W” (FIG. 3) at the apex of about 25 mm and a thickness “T” (FIG. 2) of, for example, about 2 mm. When made of an ABS material, the clip so-formed had a compression force between legs  14  and  16  of between 2-8 newtons (“N”), with the preferred range being from 4-8 N. A medium size clip also has a width “W” of 25 mm but an internal diameter “D” of about 48 mm, resulting in an open mouth  18  having a width of approximately 25 mm. For this size, the compressive force between legs  14  and  16  was from about 6-11 N, with the preferred range being from about 8 to about 10 N. A smaller size clip may have an initial diameter “D” of about 32 mm, again having a width “W” of 25 mm and a thickness “T” of about 1.8 mm to provide a compressive force between legs  16  and  14  of from about 8 to 16 N and preferable from about 9 to 13 N for the ABS material selected. The open mouth  18  of the smaller clip had a width of approximately 20 mm for fitting over smaller rolls of material.  
         [0022]    In each of the embodiments, the legs  14  and  16  taper inwardly as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5 to a width W 1  of about 16 mm. These representative sizes of the clips are illustrative only, it being understood that the clips can take on any desired dimensions depending upon the application for which they are employed. The polymeric clips of the first embodiment also can be extruded and cut to shape. The clips can be employed for holding a roll of materials, such as paper, vinyl, composite paper and polymeric films, blueprint materials, and the like in a completely rolled-up manner by pressing the open mouth  18  of clip over the cylindrical roll of material, spreading legs  14  and  16  against the compressive force of the C-shaped clip, and subsequently snapping the clip into place. Additionally, however, the clip can be used for holding material in a partially open position on a work surface, as illustrated in FIG. 6 now described.  
         [0023]    In FIG. 6, there is shown a roll  20  of material, such as a blueprint, wrapping paper, wallpaper, or the like, for which it is desired to unroll an end  22  onto a work surface  24 , such as a table top or floor. The clip  10  of the present invention is positioned over the roll  20  with foot  15  resting on the work surface  24  and foot  17  resting on the inner surface  21  of the unrolled end of material  20 , thereby preventing roll  20  from rolling upon itself once the desired length of end  22  has been extended therefrom. Using clip  10 , therefore, facilitates the process of holding web stock material in partially unrolled form, such as roll  20 , with an end  22  extended for viewing, measuring, cutting, applying paste (if a wallpaper), or other functions depending on the material employed. Thus, clip  10  provides a method of holding not only a roll  20  of material in completely rolled-up form supplanting use, for example, of a rubber band or the like but also allows the partially unrolled material to be held in position for subsequent processing.  
         [0024]    Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS.  7 - 11  in which a clip  110  is made of steel, such as a stainless steel, which is cut in a preformed pattern, typically rectangular, and roll-formed to the shape best seen in the front elevational view of FIG. 8. Again, different size steel clips, such as clips  110  shown in FIGS.  7 - 11 , can be made and have rolled, outwardly projecting, generally rounded feet  115  and  117  as in the first embodiment to facilitate not only slipping over a roll of material to be held but also to define feet for resting on a work surface, such as shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0025]    As in the first embodiment, the metal clip  110  can be made in different sizes corresponding to the same diameters as in the first embodiment, namely, 68 mm, 48 mm, and 32 mm. The width “W” of metal clips made of stainless steel is, however, 33 mm and the material is cut in a generally rectangular shape having a length of 180 mm, 130 mm, and 81 mm, respectively, for the three different diameters. The corners of legs  115  and  117  are rounded to prevent sharp edges from tearing any roll material to which the clips are applied. Again, as in the first embodiment, clip  110  can be employed as shown in FIG. 6 for holding a roll of material  20  in either a completely rolled-up form for storage or partially extended for providing a method of processing an extended end  22  of the roll of material  20 .  
         [0026]    The clips can take on different design themes, if desired, by, for example, when used for holding Christmas wrapping paper, the polymeric clips can be colored in red, green, gold, silver, or other festive colors for a given season or application. Additionally, the clips may include indicia either embossed, printed or formed therethrough, as illustrated in FIGS.  12 - 14 . In the embodiment shown, for example, in FIG. 12, a clip  210  with the same elements as the previous embodiments numbered with the same last two digits is made of a polymeric material, such as ABS, having a pair of radially extending slits  225  and  226  extending around the periphery of the apex  212  and extending downwardly partially along the length of legs  214  and  216  for purposes of controlling the compression force provided by legs  214  and  216 . The slits  225  and  226  may also serve as a decorative addition to the clip  210 .  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 13 shows a clip  310  which includes an indicia such as a Christmas tree form  330  printed thereon or formed therein by embossing with a die during the molding process of the polymeric clip  13  which otherwise can be of the same construction as that defined in the first embodiment. Instead of rounded tips for feet  315  and  317 , the legs can be somewhat flatter but with rounded edges to prevent catching on rolled stock material with which the clip is employed. The indicia  330  may be in the form of a Christmas tree, star, or other indicia for a given function, such as Christmas wrapping paper. If clip  310  is employed for engineering drawings, the logo of the company which employs the clip or engineering artifacts can be similarly embossed or printed on the outer surfaces  331  of the clip.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 14 shows an example of another indicia on clip  410  with indicia  430  being employed, for example, for holding wedding wrapping paper and comprising, for example, a bell, which again can be imprinted on the outer surface  431  of clip  410  embossed within the clip. In some embodiments, indicia  330  and  430  can be oriented longitudinally along the arcuate surface of the clips and formed entirely through the clips which may have a thickness greater than the first embodiment to accommodate the reduced compression force of the legs with the material removed for the indicia formed therethrough.  
         [0029]    With each of the embodiments, a roll clip is provided for holding materials in rolled-up form or allowing the partial extension of material for processing. As can be appreciated, as a roll diameter decreases, a smaller size clip may be employed for holding the roll material in place. Thus, it may be desirable to have multiple sizes available for the user during the course of use of roll material.  
         [0030]    It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the spring roll clip can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.