US2717065A - Handle and method of construction thereof - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 6 1955 E. H. NELSON HANDLE AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION THEREOF 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1952 INVENTOR.

frdick E jVeZsv/z Sept. 6 1955 E. H. NELSON HANDLE AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION THEREOF Filed July 22, 1952 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 i v a 2 v United States Patent HANDLE AND METHOD-0F CONSTRUCTION THEREOF Erdick H. Nelson, Naperville, ill.

Application July 22, 1952, Serial No. 300,289

14 Claims. (Cl. 190-57) This invention relates to a handle and a method for fabrication thereof, and, more particularly, to a plastic coveredhandle produced by electronic seaming.

Prior handles, utilizing a laminated construction having a shell member covered by flexible materials such as leather or various types of fabric, were produced by manual folding and stitching operations which were not only time consuming and expensive but also subject to many inherent defects resulting in the rejection of a large number of the completed handles. These stitching operations utilize conventional sewing mechines which are incapable of producing seams around sharp corners or in recessed portions so that these prior handles must be formed with curves of relatively large radii. Also, the manual operations utilized prevented production of handles having a uniform and pleasing appearance.

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a handle of a new and improved construction and pleasing appearance.

Another object is to provide such a handle which is produced by covering a shell or frame member with a plastic covering material in which the method utilizes a minimum of operational steps with aconsequentdecrease in production costs.

Another object is to provide a method for fabricating covered handles which utilizes electronic seaming :and in which the covering material is positively secured to a frame or shell member of any configuration in a closely adhering relationship.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a covered handle is produced by folding a sheet of flexible heat sealing material into a U-shaped configuration .and then joining the superimposed layers of the single folded sheet together to produce a first seamed P0rl-i0fl having a configuration generally corresponding to the inner :configuration of the shell to be covered. The production of the first seamed portion severs the intercepted portion of the folded sheet from the body thereof, and this is removed to permit the remaining portion of the sheet to be reversed or inverted so that the first :seamed portion extends inwardly between the two layers or folds of the sheet. This reversed blank of web material ."is-then applied to an integral handle .shell having :-a recess idefining structure such as that provided by .a pair of opposed edges so that the inwardly extending seamed portion is received within the shell with the remaining ,portion of the folded and seamed blank extending around the outer surface of the shell.

Then, the assembled shell and seamed sheet or web of plastic material are placed in a suitable die corresponding to the configuration of the desired handle, and .a mating .die member is moved into engagementwith :the shell and covering material to move the opposed edges into clamping engagement with the seamed portion, and to move the free ends .of the blank into .a continguous relationship adjacent the surface of the shell 'or frame member. 'The mating dies are provided with means for electronically seaming the covering material at a position spaced from the superimposed plastic laminae.

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the first seamed portion to provide a second seamed portion joining the free ends of the plastic sheet and thus holding the covering material in intimate contact with the outer surface of the shell and holding the opposed edges in engagement with the inwardly extending first seamed portion. The die may also be provided with a pair of cooperating cutting edges to provide a plurality 'of tabs which are tucked into a pair of annular openings extending through the shell to .provide a bearing surface forireceiving handle supporting posts. The dies mayalso be provided with a plurality -of opposed means for producing depressions in the second seamed portion to simulate the appearance of conventional stitching.

'In a second modification of this invention, the handle shell or frame is covered in the manner described above and utilizes a unitary folded sheet of covering material including a pair of spaced plastic sheets having filling material interposed therebetween and secured in position by a plurality of longitudinally extending seams joining The'two seamed portions produced, in addition 'to joining the folded layers of the covering material, also join the superimposedlaminae forming the sheet of covering material along lines extending across the longitudinal seams to positively prevent longitudinal displacement of the filling material when the handle is in use. The filling material together with the longitudinal securing means therefor provide a corrugated surface which may be embossed with suitable indic ia designating such information as the trade name of the manufacturer.

A third embodiment of the invention includes a handle shell or frame covered in the manner described above and in which the covering material comprises a pair of spaced sheets of .heat sealing material having a filling material disposed therebetween. The two sheets or laminae of material are joined together only by the two seamed portions and by seams having the configuration of a design which is embossed on the material.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of the illustrative embodiments thereof in the course of which, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig.1 is an elevational view vin partial section of the first embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan view in partial section showing a folded sheet of the handle covering material with the relative position of a handle shell shown in dot-dash outline;

.Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 in Fig. 3';

Fig."5.'is a plan view of the folded sheet -of covering material following a first operational step in which the first seamed portionviis produced;

'Fig. 6 is va plan view in partial section of the handle shell together with the covering material shown in Fig. 5 assembled in proper ,position thereon; I

Fig; 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 in Fig. 5;

'Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view'takenalong line "88 inFig. 6;

Fig. '9 is an elevational view of a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view of .the handle shown in Fig. '9 with indiciaembossedthereon;

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along line 11-1-l in Fig. 9;

12 is .a .top view in partial section of the handle showninFig. 9;.and j Fig .13 is .a fragmentary sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, of the drawings, there is provided a covered handle, indicated generally as 20, including a shell member, indicated generally as 22, covered by a sheet of heat sealing material, indicated generally as 24. The handle 20 is substantially U-shaped in configuration and is adapted to be movably mounted on a pair of handle posts 21, one of which is shown in dashed outline in. Fig. 1. The handle 29 is provided with an external seamed portion 26 having markings thereon representative of conventional stitching and an inner or lower surface 28 which is smooth and free from outwardly extending projections so as to prevent undesirable abrasion of the hand of the user.

The shell or frame 22 of the handle 2% is formed of an integral metal construction by folding a pair of identical but oppositely positioned trough or U-shaped members 22a and 2211 (Figs. 2 and 8) together to form a single shell 22 of a closed U-shaped configuration. The shell 22 includes a pair of bight portions 36 (Fig. 6) and two pairs of opposed edges 33 and 40 (Fig. 8). The edges 40 are so formed on the shell 22 that when the edges 38 are moved into engagement, the edges 40 are spaced slightly apart to define a recess or opening. The portion of the shell 22 adjacent the bights 36 is provided with apertures 42 (Figs. 6 and 8). Since the shell 22 is of integral construction, there is no possibility of displacing the supporting posts 21 from within the apertures 42 within which these posts are received, and also provides a handle which is strong in physical construction and relatively light.

' In order to provide a covering for the shell 22 which is integral in construction and easily fabricated, the unitary sheet 24 of any heat sealing material, such as vinyl, acetate, or butyrate, is folded along an axis extending across the sheet approximately midway along the length thereof to form a folded blank as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. This folded blank is then placed in a suitable electronic heating or seaming die and a second mating die is moved into engagement with the interposed folded sheet of material 24 to produce a first seamed or joined portion 30, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, or, as indicated in dashed lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Although it is preferred to utilize electronic seaming produced by dies designed to operate in the 40 megacycle range, other frequencies and other means of joining the covering material may be used.

This first seamed portion 30 not only integrally joins the two superimposed folds of the sheet 24 but also scores or severs the sheet 24 along a line coinciding with the edge of the seamed portion 30 to define an intercepted portion of the sheet, indicated generally as 32. This intercepted portion is severed from the remainder of the sheet 24 along a pair of diagonal lines 33 to produce a pair of tabs 34 either by a manual cutting operation, or by the provision of mating cutting edges on the cooperating dies which produce the first seamed portion 30. The intercepted portion 32 is removed by tearing along the scored portion adjacent the seam 3% to produce the blank shown in Fig. 5. If desired, the portion 32 of the sheet could be cut out prior to forming the seamed portion 30.

A first step in which the sheet of heat sealing material 24 is rigidly secured to the metal shell 22 in a closely adhering manner comprises inverting or reversing the blank formed from the sheet 24, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7 of the drawings, so that the seamed portion 30 extends upwardly between the two folds of the sheet 24 (Fig. 8). This first seamed portion 30 is then positioned in a recessed portion of the shell as by inserting this seamed portion between the pair of edges 40 so that the two folds of the sheet 24 extend upwardly around the outer surface of the shell.

To seal the sheet 24 in position on the shell 22, the assembled shell 22 and seamed sheet 24 are positioned in an electronic seaming or heating die (not shown) and a cooperating die member is moved into engagement with the sheet covering material 24 in the positions shown in Fig. 6 to produce the second seamed portion 26.

The movement of the dies into engagement with the interposed and folded sheet of material 24 also moves the two halves 22a and 22b of the shell 22 into intimate and gripping engagement with the inwardly extending seamed portion and thereby positively locks the cover material 24 in a desired position relative to the shell. Since this downward movement which grips the first seamed portion 359 also forms the second seamed portion 26, the material 24 is held in intimate engagement with the shell portions 22a and 22 to urge these members into continuing engagement with the first seamed portion 30 following the release of the die members. These shell portions are urged into engagement with the seamed portion 30 since the covering material 24 is placed under tension by the formation of the seamed portion 26, and this tension is applied to both folds of the covering material 24 through the seamed portion 36. Since the material 24 is sealed in intimate engagement with the outer surface of the shell 22 and since the inwardly extending seamed portion 30 is positively grasped between the cooperating edges of this shell, the covering material 24 is positively held in a predetermined position relative to the shell and produces a completed handle 20 of pleasing appearance and durable construction.

These two dies, in addition to forming the second seam 26 also sever or score the sheet 24 along the edge of the seam 26 to provide a second scrap segment, indicated generally as (Fig. 6). This scrap material 50 is removed from the completed handle 20 by severing the material along a pair of lines 52 (Fig. 6), either manually or by using mating cuting edges on the dies, to provide a second pair of tabs 54. In addition to producing the externally extending seam 26 (Fig. 1) the dies also provide a series of depressions 56 to simulate the appearance of conventional stitching along the periphery of the seam 26.

Since the seamed portions 26 and 34 are formed by the use of electronic heating dies, it is possible to produce these seamed portions with any desired configuration, including those having acute angles, because electronic heating dies are easily fabricated in any configuration. Since it is possible rapidly to produce seams of any desired configuration, the handle 20 and shell 22 therefor may be varied to provide any pleasing appearance, and the choice thereof is not limited to those shapes having curves of large radii in order to accommodate the production of seams by conventional stitching equipment.

In order to provide a bearing surface to be engaged by the supporting posts 21, the two pairs of tabs 34 and 54 are tucked or folded inwardly into the openings 42 from the positions shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the inwardly folded tabs 34 and 54 cover the entire surface of the bights 36 so that when the handle 20 is manipulated in use, the surface of the posts 21 bear against the inwardly folded tabs 34 and 54 and not against the bight portions 36 of the shell. The tabs 34 may be folded into the apertures 42 either before or after the production of the seamed portion 26.

Another feature of the improved handle 20 arising from the use of an integral sheet of the covering material 24 is the provision of a smooth outer covering for the bight portions 36 of the shell 22. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the bight portions 36 are covered by an integral web portion of the sheet 24 and are free from the conventional stitching normally utilized to join two separate pieces of covering material at this particular location. In addition to providing a handle 20 of an improved appearance, the use of an integral web of material covering the bight portions 36 prevents displacement of this material during use.

Referring now to Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, of the drawings, there is provided a covered handle, indicated gen erally. as 60, having a shell or frame member 62, similar to the shell 22, which is covered with a sheet 64 of heat sealing material provided with corrugations, indicated generally as 63, over a portion of the surface thereof. The shell 62 is covered with the sheet 64 in the same manner as that described in connection with the fabrication of the handle 20 to provide a pair of seamed portions 77 and 78.

The seamed portion 77 is received within the recess or depression in the shell 62 provided by a pair of opposed edges 61 to be held in place thereby, and the second seamed portion 78 secures the free edges of the sheet 64 together to maintain the edges 61 in engagement with the first seamed portion 77 and to hold the sheet of plastic material 64 in engagement with the outer surface of the shell 62.

The sheet 64 is composed of a pair of superimposed laminae 66 and 68 of heat sealing material which are joined together by suitable means such as adhesive or pressure lamination. The corrugations 63 in the sheet 64 are produced by inserting a filling material 70 such as kapok or cotton between the two laminae 66 and 68 and then providing a plurality of longitudinally extending seams 72 which secure the superimposed laminae 66 and 68 together and also divide the filling material 70 into a plurality of parallel masses to provide the corrugations 63.

The production of the seams 77 and 78, in accordance with the method for fabricating the handle 20, provides a pair of seams extending laterally or transversely across the longitudinally extending seams 72 so as to prevent longitudinal displacement of the filling material 70 after the handle 60 has been completely fabricated, and, accordingly, prevents unsightly bunching of the material 70 to distort the pleasing appearance provided by the corrugations 63.

As shown in Fig. of the drawings, the corrugated portion of the handle covering may be provided with embossed characters 76 for indicating desired information. The presence of the corrugations 63 insures the production of embossed characters 76 of sufficient depth as to be easily visible. Although the covering material for the handle can be embossed, the characters produced therein would not have sufiicient depth as to be readily visible.

The outwardly extending seamed portion 78 is provided with a plurality of outwardly extending depressions 80 to simulate conventional stitching which are similar to the depressions 56 (Fig. l) but which produce a different visual impression so as to simulate a different type of stitching. These depressions 80 are produced by the electronic seaming dies in the same manner as the depressions 56.

A third embodiment of the invention comprises a padded handle 90 (Fig. 13) which is formed by covering a shell 92 with a web of covering material 94 in accordance with the method for fabricating the handles 20 and 60 to provide a first seamed portion (not shown) and a second seamed portion 95 The shell 92 is similar to the shells 22 and 62, and is formed in any desired shape.

The covering material 94 includes a pair of spaced laminae 96 and 98 of heat sealing material between which is disposed a mass of filling material 100 such as cotton or kapok. These two laminae are joined together by the two seamed portions joining the two folds of the covering material 94 and by a plurality of seams 102 which are embossed in the material 94 to provide a decorative design for the handle 90. These seams serve to prevent displacement of the filling material 100 during use of the handle 90.

The appearance of the handle 90 is that of a smooth outer surface broken only by recesses therein formed by the seams 102. Obviously, the seams 102 may be formed in the covering material 94 either before or after application thereof to the shell 92, and, further, may be formed to provide any desired configuration of design.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the details of only three illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that the details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying claims.

. surface of said shell and including a seamed portion engaged by the edges, and means joining the covering at a location remote from the seamed portion to apply tensional forces to the covering to force the edges toward the seamed portion.

2. The handle defined by claim 1 in which the covering comprises a pair of superimposed sheets of flexible material having a filling material disposed therebetween and secured in place by a plurality of longitudinally extending seams joining the superimposed sheets, and further in which the seamed portion of the covering joins the superimposed sheets along a line extending across the longitudinally extending seams to secure the filling material in a desired longitudinal position.

3. A handle comprising a folded hollow shell having a pair of opposed edges and a pair of openings extending therethrough, a covering for said handle, said covering including a first seamed portion extending into thev hollow shell and engaged by the opposed edges, said covering also including a second seamed portion for holding the covering in engagement with the shell and the edges in engagement with the first seamed portion, and tabs formed integral with the covering adjacent both ends of the seamed portions and extending into the hollow shell through the openings.

4. A handle adapted to be movably mounted on supporting posts comprising a hollow shell having a pair of openings extending therethrough and a pair of opposed edges, a covering for said shell including a seamed portion received between the opposed edges, and tabs formed integral with the covering and extending into the openings to provide bearing surfaces to receive the supporting posts.

5. A handle adapted to be movably mounted on supporting posts comprising an integral folded hollow shell having a pair of opposed edges and a pair of bight portions, said shell also having a pair of openings therethrough adjacent the bight portions, an integral folded covering for said shell including a pair of bight portions superimposed upon the bight portions of the shell,

said covering also having a seamed portion received between the edges and extending around the shell from one opening to the other, and tabs formed integral with the covering and extending into the openings to provide bearing surfaces for the supporting posts.

6. A handle adapted to be movably mounted on supporting posts comprising an integral folded hollow shell having a pair of spaced bight portions and openings extending through the shell adjacent the bights, said shell also having spaced first and second pairs of opposed edges, an integral folded covering for said shell including a pair of bight portions superimposed on the bight portions of the shell, said covering having a first seamed portion projecting into the hollow shell between the first pair of opposed edges and extending around the edge of the shell from one opening to the other, said covering also having a second seamed portion positioned adjacent the second pair of opposed edges and extending from one opening to the other for holding the first pair of edges in gripping emgagement with the first seamed portion, and tabs formed integral with the covering adjacent the openings and positioned therein to provide bearing surfaces for the supporting posts.

7. The handle defined by claim 6 in which the covering comprises a pair of superimposed sheets of flexible material having a filling material disposed therebetween and secured in place by a plurality of longitudinally extending seams joining the superimposed sheets, and further in which the first and second seamed portions of the covering join the superimposed sheets along a line extending across the longitudinally extending seams to secure the filling material in a desired longitudinal position.

8. A method of producing a covered handle from a web of heat sealing material and a shell having a pair of opposed edges, which comprises folding the web, heating a first portion of the web to produce a first seamed portion, inverting the seamed web to position the first seamed portion between the folds of the web, placing the first seamed portion between the opposed edges of the shell with the folds superimposed on the outer surface of the shell, compressing the shell and superimposed folds of the web to move the opposed edges into gripping engagement with the first seamed portion, and heating a second portion of the web during said compression to form a second seamed portion for holding the folds in intimate contact with the outer surface of the shell and for holding the edges in gripping engagement with the first seamed portion.

9. A method of making handles from a sheet of heat sealing material and a folded metal shell having a pair of opposed edges, which comprises folding the sheet, electronically heating the sheet to form a first seamed portion having a configuration similar to one outline of the shell, removing the portion of the folded sheet intercepted by the first seamed portion, inverting the seamed sheet to position the first seamed portion between the folds of the sheet, positioning the first seamed portion between the opposed edges of the shell with the folds of the sheet adjacent the outer surface of the shell, compressing the superimposed folds of the sheet and the shell to force the edges into engagement with the first seamed portion, and electronically heating the folds of the sheet adjacent the edge of the shell to produce a second seamed portion for holding the edges in engagement with the first seamed portion and for holding the folds of the sheet in engagement with the outer surface of the shell.

10. A method of producing handles from a sheet of heat sealing material, and a shell having a pair of openings therethrough and a pair of opposed edges, which comprises folding the sheet, heating the folded sheet to form a first seamed portion having a configuration similar to one outline of the shell, cutting the folds of the sheet from the ends of the first seam to a point adjacent the folded edge thereof to form a first pair of tabs, removing the folded portion of the sheet intercepted by the first seamed portion and the first tabs, inverting the seamed portion of the sheet so that the first seamed portion is positioned between the folds of the sheet, inserting the first seamed portion between the opposed edges, folding the first pair of tabs into the pair of openings, compressing 5;.

the superimposed folds and shell to move the edges into engagement with the first seamed portion, heating the folds of the sheet adjacent one edge of the shell to pro duce a second seamed portion, cutting the folds of the sheet from the ends of the second seamed portion to the folded edge of the sheet to form a second pair of tabs, re-

moving the portion of the sheet defined by the second pair of tabs and the second seamed portion, and folding the second pair of tabs into the opening. 7

11. A method of producing a covered handle from a web of material and a shell having a recess defining structure which comprises folding the Web, joining a first portion of the web to form a first seamed portion, inverting the seamed web so that the first seamed portion extends between the folds of the web, placing the first seamed portion in the recess so that the folds of the web are positioned around the outer surface of the shell, and joining a second portion of the web to produce a second seamed portion to hold the web in intimate contact with the shell.

12. A handle comprising a shell having a recess and a pair of openings therein, a covering for said handle, said covering including a first joinedportion positioned in the recess, said covering also including a second joined POI-I tion spaced from the first portion for holding the covering in engagement with the shell, and tabs formed integral with the covering adjacent both ends of the joined portions and extending into the shell through said openings.

13. A method of covering a handle having a recess with Web material, which comprises joining the web material to form a first seamed portion, placing the first seamed portion in the recess with the folds of the material positioned around the outer surface of the handle, and joining the material at a position spaced from the first seamed portion to form a second seamed portion for holding the first seamed portion in the recess and for securing the material in intimate contact with the outer surface of the handle.

14. A handle comprising a hollow shell having an opening therein, and a covering for said shell, said covering including a pair of superimposed sheets of flexible material having a filling material disposed therebetween and secured in place by a plurality of seams joining the superimposed sheets, said covering having a first seamed portion extending into the hollow shell through said opening andhaving a second seamed portion spaced from the first seamed portion for holding the first seamed portion in the opening and for holding the covering in intimate engagement with the shell, said first and second seamed portions also joining the superimposed sheets to secure the filling material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 521,217 Oswald June 12, 1894 748,012 Ritter et al. Dec. 29, 1903 1,403,167 Kahlow Jan. 10, 1922 1,510,142 Goldman Sept. 30, 1924 1,705,858 Finkelstein Mar. 19, 1929 1,816,277 Anthony July 28, 1931 2,519,604 Romolt Aug. 22, 1950 2,563,134 Romolt Aug. 7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 158,423 Great Britain Feb. 10, 1921

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