Sewing – Special machines – Quilting
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-08
2001-05-01
Izaguirre, Ismael (Department: 3741)
Sewing
Special machines
Quilting
C038S102910
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223665
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to sewing accessories and more particularly to a quilt clamp for securely clamping and holding multiple layers of material together for quilting that includes a plastic clamp body, a clamp handle, two spaced resilient clamping teeth, and two clamp springs; the plastic clamp body including a top clamp portion integrally formed with and hingedly connected to a bottom clamp portion with a flexible plastic hinge portion; the bottom clamp portion having a bottom surface covered with a felt material and two spaced bottom clamp spring receiving channels formed between the bottom surface and the felt material; the top clamp portion having two spaced clamp spring guide channels each terminating in a clamp spring end portion receiving depression, two spaced clamping teeth attachment channels each having a T-shaped channel running the length of the top clamp portion for receiving a T-shaped channel insertion portion of one of the two resilient clamping teeth; each of the clamp springs having a straight bottom spring portion slidably positioned in one of the two bottom clamp spring receiving channels of the bottom clamp portion, a curved spring portion shaped to contact the back edges of the top and bottom clamp portions and a top clamp spring portion having a clamp spring end portion having an inwardly curled portion positioned closer to the straight bottom spring portion than the remainder of the top clamp spring portion; the top and bottom clamp portions defining a fabric receiving gap between an inside top clamp portion surface and an inside bottom clamp portion surface; the clamp handle being permanently affixed to the top clamp portion between the two spaced clamp spring guide channels and including a curved finger grip portion.
BACKGROUND ART
Quilting requires the quilter to hold multiple layers of quilting materials such as fabric and batting firmly together while stitching the quilt pattern. This can be difficult when the quilter has only an inch or so of quilting material to grasp or when the quilter suffers from hand or wrist disabilities such as arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. It would be desirable, therefore, to have a quilt clamp that could hold the multiple layers of quilting material firmly together freeing the quilter to concentrate on quilting the layers together. Because it can be difficult to move the multiple quilting material layers in the desired pattern when there is only an edge to grasp, it would also be desirable to have a quilt clamp that had a handle which could be grasped by the quilter to allow the user to easily move the multiple layers of quilt material in the desired quilt pattern.
GENERAL SUMMARY DISCUSSION OF INVENTION
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a quilt clamp that includes a plastic clamp body, a clamp handle, two spaced resilient clamping teeth, and two clamp springs; the plastic clamp body including a top clamp portion integrally formed with and hingedly connected to a bottom clamp portion with a flexible plastic hinge portion; the bottom clamp portion having a bottom surface covered with a felt material and two spaced bottom clamp spring receiving channels formed between the bottom surface and the felt material; the top clamp portion having two spaced clamp spring guide channels each terminating in a clamp spring end portion receiving depression, two spaced clamping teeth attachment channels each having a T-shaped channel running the length of the top clamp portion for receiving a T-shaped channel insertion portion of one or the two resilient clamping teeth; each of the clamp springs having a straight bottom spring portion slidably positioned in one of the two bottom clamp spring receiving channels of the bottom clamp portion, a curved spring portion shaped to contact the back edges of the top and bottom clamp portions and a top clamp spring portion having a clamp spring end portion having an inwardly curled portion positioned closer to the straight bottom spring portion than the remainder of the top clamp spring portion; the top and bottom clamp portions defining a fabric receiving gap between an inside top clamp portion surface and an inside bottom clamp portion surface; the clamp handle being permanently affixed to the top clamp portion between the two spaced clamp spring guide channels and including a curved finger grip portion.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a quilting method that includes the steps of a) providing a quilt clamp that includes a plastic clamp body, a clamp handle, two spaced resilient clamping teeth, and two clamp springs; the plastic clamp body including a top clamp portion integrally formed with and hingedly connected to a bottom clamp portion with a flexible plastic hinge portion; the bottom clamp portion having a bottom surface covered with a felt material and two spaced bottom clamp spring receiving channels formed between the bottom surface and the felt material; the top clamp portion having two spaced clamp spring guide channels each terminating in a clamp spring end portion receiving depression, two spaced clamping teeth attachment channels each having a T-shaped channel running the length of the top clamp portion for receiving a T-shaped channel insertion portion of one of the two resilient clamping teeth; each of the clamp springs having a straight bottom spring portion slidably positioned in one of the two bottom clamp spring receiving channels of the bottom clamp portion, a curved spring portion shaped to contact the back edges of the top and bottom clamp portions and a top clamp spring portion having a clamp spring end portion having an inwardly curled portion positioned closer to the straight bottom spring portion than the remainder of the top clamp spring portion; the top and bottom clamp portions defining a fabric receiving gap between an inside top clamp portion surface and an inside bottom clamp portion surface; the clamp handle being permanently affixed to the top clamp portion between the two spaced clamp spring guide channels and including a curved finger grip portion; b) positioning portions of multiple material layers to be quilted between the top and bottom clamp portions and positioning the inwardly curled portion of each clamp spring end portion into a respective clamp spring end portion receiving depression; and c) quilting the multiple material layers by grasping the clamp handle and moving the multiple material layers in the desired pattern.
Accordingly, a quilt clamp and a quilting method are provided. The quilt clamp includes a plastic clamp body, a clamp handle, two spaced resilient clamping teeth, and two clamp springs; the plastic clamp body including a top clamp portion integrally formed with and hingedly connected to a bottom clamp portion with a flexible plastic hinge portion; the bottom clamp portion having a bottom surface covered with a felt material and two spaced bottom clamp spring receiving channels formed between the bottom surface and the felt material; the top clamp portion having two spaced clamp spring guide channels each terminating in a clamp spring end portion receiving depression, two spaced clamping teeth attachment channels each having a T-shaped channel running the length of the top clamp portion for receiving a T-shaped channel insertion portion of one of the two resilient clamping teeth; each of the clamp springs having a straight bottom spring portion slidably positioned in one of the two bottom clamp spring receiving channels of the bottom clamp portion, a curved spring portion shaped to contact the back edges of the top and bottom clamp portions and a top clamp spring portion having a clamp spring end portion having an inwardly curled portion positioned closer to the straight bottom spring portion than the remainder of the top clamp spring portion; the top and bottom clamp portions defining a fabric receiving gap between an inside top clamp portion surface and an inside bottom clamp portion surface; the clamp handle being permanently affixed to the top clamp portion betwe
Breaux Joseph N.
Izaguirre Ismael
LandOfFree
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