GB2181943A

GB2181943A - Securing flexible sheet material to supports

Info

Publication number: GB2181943A
Application number: GB08625233A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Austin Burt
Original assignee: ITW Ltd
Current assignee: ITW Ltd
Priority date: 1985-10-22
Filing date: 1986-10-21
Publication date: 1987-05-07
Also published as: GB8526050D0; GB8625233D0; JPS62161305A

Abstract

A purse 10 Fig. 1 includes a sheet of flexible material 12 secured to a hinged frame 14 which is formed from two first members 30 Fig. 14 and two second members 60 which trap parts of the material 12 therebetween. Distorting means, comprising a plurality of ribs 38 extending into slots 68 and a plurality of ribs 70 extending towards rebates 42, causes the material 12 to adopt a tortuous form. Locking means, namely a plurality of blocking portions 46 hinged at pivots 48, is effective by bringing the blocking portions 46 into a tight fit between opposed ribs 70 and flanges 72, thus firmly clamping the material 12. The first members 30 are easily assembled with the second members 60 by snapping a series of heads 74 into rebates 50 either by hand or by use of simple machinery. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Securing Flexible Sheet Material to Supports The present invention relates generally to securing flexible sheet material to supports, and is primarily but not exclusively concerned with the manufacture of purses.

In a purse, a sheet of a flexible material such as leather may be firmly secured around its periphery to a support in the form of a hinged frame. The frame is usually provided with a clasp allowing the frame to be snap-closable and finger-openable.

Naturally, the same principles of manufacture may be applicable to similar articles known by other names. Indeed the same articles may be known in other countries by different names, such as handbags, pockets, wallets, pouches and the like. It will be convenient to refer throughout to just a purse.

Conventionally, the purse frame is made from a set of six or more metal components, which need to be welded and riveted and crimped to each other, and to the purse material, by expensive and complicated automatic machinery.

It is an aim of the present invention to permit the purse frame to be made by a much simpler set of components, or even a single component, giving the possibility of assembling entirely by hand, whilst retaining the possibility of using comparatively simple machinery if desired in any particular situation.

A support for securing flexible sheet material, in accordance with the present invention, comprises supporting means to which a sheet of a flexible material is to be secured, distorting means associated with or presented by said supporting means for use in causing said material to be distorted, and locking means associated with or presented by said supporting means for use in resisting release of said distorted material.

The supporting means may comprise at least first and second members for use in entrapping the sheet of material therebetween. This is the usual arrangement which will be described in detail hereinafter with specific reference to a purse frame.

However, the supporting means need not necessarily trap the sheet of material between first and second members. For example, it may be possible for the distorting means to be a slot spanned by a bar around which the sheet of material is at least partly wrapped. The locking means may be movable into at least part of the slot to clamp the sheet of material against the bar or at least one of the sides of the slot.

The supporting means may be formed of a resiliently deformable material, such as a plastics material.

The supporting means may be formed integrally with both of the distorting means and the locking means. Again, this is the usual arrangement which will be described in detail hereinafter with specific reference to a purse frame. However, the supporting means may be formed to be initially entirely separate from either the distorting means or the locking means or both.

In one example of a purse frame, embodying a support in accordance with the present invention, the supporting means includes four separate components each formed of a plastics material. The components may present a pair of the first members acting as inner members with hinge parts, and a pair of the second members acting as outer members with clasp parts. Each of the four members may have a channel outline formed by an end and two sides extending perpendicularly to the end. The two first members may be virtually or completely identical and the two second members may be virtually or completely identical.

The difference in appearance between the two first members may result from the free extremities of the sides of one of the first members being formed with respective male hinge parts in contrast to the free extremities of the sides of the other of the first members being formed with respective female hinge parts. When the hinge parts are duly assembled, it will be appreciated that the combination of the two first members presents a continuously extending, hinged, generally rectangular body. The male and female hinge parts may snap fit together, for example the male hinge parts may be formed as headed studs which are slotted to permit inward collapse thereof for passage through cylindrical bores formed in the female hinge parts, but preferably the male hinge parts are merely rotatably mountable within the female hinge parts.

It is possible for the second members to be completely identical, even though each of the ends of the second members may be formed with one or more clasp parts extending in the generally opposite direction to the sides of the second members. This is because when the body formed by the first members is manipulated about its hinges into a closed position, the second members can be superimposed on the first members with the clasp parts of the second members facing one another. It may not be possible however for the second members to be completely identical if there is a need for retaining rings to be provided for a handle or a shoulder strap.

In another example of a purse frame, embodying a support in accordance with the present invention, the supporting means includes just a single component presenting the two first members and the two second members. This is possible because the ends of the first members can be connected alongside the respective ends of the second members by hinges thereby permitting the second members to be folded into a superimposed relationship to the first members. The male hinge parts can be initially connected to the female hinge parts by frangible webs formed for example during manufacture by moulding, the frangible webs being subsequently breakable to permit the male hinge parts to be rotatable relatively to the female hinge parts.In the case of the above-noted single component, the male and female hinge parts are still formed at the extremities of the sides of the first members remote from their respective channel outline ends, although unlike in the case including four components those extremities are not free.

Preferably, the distorting means comprises at least one projecting portion, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which may be extendible into at least one receiving portion, formed in at least the other of the first and second members.

The projecting portion maytake the form of a longitudinaily-extending rib, and the receiving portion may take the form of a longitudinallyextending groove, rebate or slot. The projecting portion may be shaped by undercutting and/or angling to assist in the adoption of a tortuous form by the sheet of material. If the projecting portion is sufficiently spike-like, it may puncture the sheet of material. If the receiving portion is in the form of a slot, the projecting portion may extend partially or wholly through the slot.

There may be a plurality of the projecting portions and there may be a plurality of the receiving portions.

It may be that the first member is formed with a plurality, such as four, longitudinally-extending ribs for extending into a complementary plurality of longitudinally-extending slots formed in the second member, with the second member being formed with its own plurality of longitudinally-extending ribs near its slots for extending into a complementary plurality of longitudinallyextending rebates, which are formed in respective ones of the plurality of the ribs on the first member.

Preferably, the locking means comprises at least one blocking portion, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which may be movable into a locking position in which it is a tight fit, together with at least the sheet of material, to effect the resistance to release of the sheet of material.

The or each of the blocking portions may be a tight fit, in its locking position, between opposed portions of at least the other of the first and second members. The blocking portion or portions may be rigid parts of the member on which they are formed, but it is preferred that they are attached by respective pivots to the remainder of the member on which they are formed.

It may be that the first member is formed with a plurality, such as four, longitudinally-extending blocking portions for moving into positions where they and at ieast the sheet of material fit tightly between opposed portions of the second member, with said opposed portions of the second member being constituted by its above-noted plurality of longitudinally-extending ribs near its slots and a complementary plurality of longitudinallyextending flanges spaced from its slots.

Preferably, the first and second members are capable of being secured directly to one another, either before or after operation of the locking means, for example by use of an adhesive or ultrasonic welding, but more preferably by use of a series of latches. Each of the latches may include a headed part, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which is co-operable with a slotted part, formed in at least the other of the first and second members. The headed parts may be formed on the above-noted plurality of longitudinally-extending flanges on the second member, and the slotted parts may be formed near the above-noted plurality of longitudinallyextending blocking portions on the first member.It is also possible for additional latches to be provided for securing the first and second members together in locations not necessarily dictated by the locations of either the distorting means or the locking means.

If assembly by hand is not entirely appropriate, it may be possible to use comparatively simple machinery: for applying adhesive to the first and second members and/or the sheet of material, for operating the locking means by for example forcing or stamping the blocking portions into position, andl or for ultrasonically welding the first and second members to one another and/or the sheet of material.

If the supporting means is formed of a plastics material, it is possible for the plastics material to be plated to give the appearance of traditional chrome plating or gold-plating, and the colour or colours of the plastics material can be chosen to match or contrast with the colour or colours of the sheet of material.

The sheet of material would usually be, for example, a cloth, leather, suede or a grained-effect plastics material.

A support, in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view, shown in its closed position, of a purse including a support according to the present invention; Figures 2 to 7 are, respectively, inner, section on line X-X, top, outer, bottom and end in arrow direction Y views of a first member forming part of the support; Figures 8 to 13 are, respectively, inner, section on line A-A, top, outer, bottom and end in arrow direction Bviewsofasecond member forming part of the support; Figure 14 is a schematic view indicating how the first and second members are assembled with a sheet of purse material; and Figure 15 is a perspective view, shown in its open position, of the purse of Figure 1.

It will be seen from Figure 1 that a purse 10 including a support according to the present invention is of unusual yet attractive appearance.

The purse 10 presents a sheet of flexible material 12, such as leather, which is firmly secured around its periphery to a frame 14 formed of a resiliently deformable material, such as a plastics material.

The frame 14 includes a pair of hinges 16 (only one of which is unobscured) to allow the purse 10 to be opened and closed. To permit the purse 10 to be maintained in its closed position, the frame 14 also includes a clasp 18 which can be of any conventional construction. Retaining rings (not shown) may be provided by the frame 14, if desired, for use in retaining a handle or a shoulder strap. A particularly eye-catching feature of the purse 10 is that the purse material 12 is visible through certain regions of the frame 14. These "islands" 20 of the purse material 12 can be arranged to match or contrast in colour with the surrounding "sea" of the frame 14.

The frame 14 is formed from a total of four individual pieces, each of which may be a component integrally moulded of the plastics material, the four individual pieces constituting two first members and two second members between which the sheet of material 12 is to be entrapped.

One of the first members, under the reference 30, is shown in Figures 2 to 7. The first member 30 includes an end 32 and two sides 34 extending perpendicularly to the end 32. The free extremities of the sides 34 are formed with respective laterally directed studs 36 constituting male hinge parts. The other of the first members (not shown) is of virtually identical appearance apart from the fact that the male hinge parts are replaced by female hinge parts constituted by cylindrical blind bores for receiving the studs 36. When the male and female hinge parts are assembled, the two first members together present a continuously extending, hinged, generally rectangular body whose outline generally matches that of the purse material 12.

There are four particular areas of the first member 30 which contribute to the distorting means and locking means required by the present invention.

As each of said four particular areas is equivalent to the others, it will be convenient to describe just one of said particular areas with reference to Figure 3. The end 32 of the first member 30 is formed at one edge with a longitudinally-extending rib 38. The free end of the rib 38 is angled to present an apex 40 for assisting the purse material 12 to adopt a tortuous form. For the same purpose, the rib 38 is undercut to present a rebate 42. The end 32 of the first member 30 is also formed with a longitudinally-extending slot 44. By one edge of the slot 44 is a longitudinallyextending blocking portion 46 which is attached to the end 32 by a pivot 48. A longitudinally-extending rebate 50 is formed along the other edge of the slot 44 to leave an outer longitudinally-extending rim 52.

Similar arrangements are provided at another position on the end 32 and on both of the sides 34 of the first member 30.

A pair of curved slots 54 is provided at the corners of the first member 30, that is to say where the sides 34 meet the end 32, with laterally outer edges of the slots 54 being shaped to present curved rebates 56.

One of the second members, under the reference 60, is shown in Figures 8 to 13. The second member 60 includes an end 62 and two sides 64 extending perpendicularly to the end 62. The second members are completely identical, each being formed with a clasp part 66 on its end 62. The second members are not, however, securable directly to one another to form a generally rectangular body, corresponding to that formed by the first members.

As with the above-described first member 30, there are four particular areas of the second member 60 which contribute to the distorting means and the locking means, but for convenience reference will be made just to Figure 9. The end 62 of the second member 60 is formed with a longitudinally-extending slot 68. By one edge of the slot 68 is a longitudinally-extending rib 70, and spaced from the other edge of the slot 68 is a longitudinally-extending flange 72. The free edge of the flange 72 is formed with a laterally outwardly directed and longitudinaily-extending head 74.

Similar arrangements are provided at another position on the end 62 and on both of the sides 64 of the second member 60. A pair of curved heads 76 is provided at the corners of the second member 60.

The manner in which the first and second members are connected to one another and to the purse material is clearly illustrated in Figures 14 and 15.

The particular spatial attitude adopted during the assembly steps is not critical. It will be seen, however, that bringing all of the heads 74 (and 76) on the second members into engagement with all of the rebates 50 (and 56) in the first members cause the first and second members to be latched together. As a result of this operation, the purse material 12 is caused to be pushed by all of the ribs 38 into all of the slots 68 to form the "islands" 20 visible from outside the finished purse 10. It will also be noted that all of the ribs 70 extend towards all of the rebates 42 to press the purse material 12 into the rebates 42. The result is that the purse material 12 adopts a tortuous form and is effectively trapped between the first and second members. To lock the assembly together, that is to say to resist any movement of the purse material 12 out from its location between the first and second members, all of the blocking portions 46 are pivotted about their pivots 48 to fit tightly, with the purse material 12, between the ribs 70 on the second members and the flanges 72.

It will thus be seen that the support of the present invention is capable of securing flexible sheet material in a particularly simple but reliable manner, either by hand or by use of comparatively simple machinery, and can involve fewer components than had hitherto been possible.

Claims

1. A support for securing flexible sheet material comprising supporting means to which a sheet of a flexible material is to be secured, distorting means associated with or presented by said supporting means for use in causing said material to be distorted, and locking means associated with or presented by said supporting means for use in resisting release of said distorted material.

2. A support according to claim 1, in which the supporting means comprises at least first and second members for use in entrapping the sheet of material therebetween.

3. A support according to claim 2, in which the distorting means comprises at least one projecting portion, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which is extendible into at least one receiving portion, formed in at least the other of the first and second members.

4. A support according to claim 3, in which the or each of the projecting portions takes the form of a longitudinally-extending rib, and the or each of the receiving portions takes the form of a longitudinallyextending groove, rebate or slot.

5. A support according to claim 3 or claim 4, in which there is a plurality of the projecting portions and a plurality of the receiving portions.

6. A support according to claim 4 and claim 5, in which the first member is formed with a plurality of longitudinally-extending ribs extending into a complementary plurality of longitudinallyextending slots formed in the second member, with the second member being formed with its own plurality of longitudinally-extending ribs near its slots extending into a complementary plurality of longitudinally-extending rebates, which are formed in respective ones of the plurality of the ribs on the first member.

7. A support according to any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the locking means comprises at least one blocking portion, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which is movable into a locking position in which it is a tight fit, together with at least the sheet of material, to effect the resistance to release of the sheet of material.

8. A support according to claim 7, in which the or each of the blocking portions is a tight fit, in its locking position, between opposed portions of at least the other of the first and second members.

9. A support according to claim 8, in which the first member is formed with a plurality of longitudinally-extending blocking portions for moving into positions where they and at least the sheet of material fit tightly between opposed portions of the second member.

10. A support according to claim 6 and claim 9, in which said opposed portions of the second member are constituted by its plurality of longitudinallyextending ribs near its slots and a complementary plurality of longitudinally-extending flanges spaced from its slots.

11. A support according to any one of claims 2 to 10, in which the first and second members are capable of being secured directly to one another by use of a series of latches.

12. A support according to claim 11, in which each of the latches includes a headed part, formed on at least one of the first and second members, which is co-operable with a slotted part, formed in at least the other of the first and second members.

13. A support according to claim 10 and claim 12, in which the headed parts are formed on the plurality of longitudinally-extending flanges on the second member, and the slotted parts are formed near the plurality of longitudinally-extending blocking portions on the first member.

14. A support according to any one of claims 2 to 13, in which there is a pair of the first members and a pair of the second members, each of the four members having a channel outline formed by an end and two sides extending perpendicularly to the end, and the four members in combination constituting a generally rectangular frame.

15. A support according to claim 14, in which the pair of the first members act as inner members with hinge parts, and the pair of the second members act as outer members with clasp parts.

16. A support according to claim 14 or claim 15, in which the sides of one of the first members are formed at their extremities remote from the channel outline end with respective male hinge parts in contrast to the sides of the other of the first members which are formed at their extremities remote from the channel outline end with respective female hinge parts.

17. A suppgrt according to any one of claims 14to 16, in which the pair of the first members are virtually identical and the pair of the second members are completely identical.

18. A support according to any one of claims 14 to 17, in which the four members are presented by a single component forming the supporting means.

19. A support according to any one of claims 14 to 17, in which the four members are presented by respective ones of four components forming the supporting means.

20. A support according to any preceding claim, in which the supporting means is formed of a plastics material.

21. A support substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A support according to any preceding claim in combination with a sheet of a flexible material secured thereto.

23. A support according to claim 22, in which the sheet of material is a cloth, leather, suede or a grained-effect plastics material.