WAX DISPENSER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 63/697,251, filed Sep. 20, 2024, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wax dispensers for conditioning sewing thread; in particular, to a wax dispenser having a housing with peripheral slots and a rotatable wax bar within the housing which can be rotated with a dial to provide a fresh portion of the bar proximate the slots as the wax bar is consumed. A preferred wax is beeswax.

BACKGROUND

Wax dispensers for sewing thread have long been available. Thread waxing strengthens the thread, prevents fraying and makes threading easier. U.S. Pat. No. 686,461 to Keats discloses a thread-waxing device which may be mounted on a sewing machine. The device has holes through which the thread is passed and a plunger which presses the thread against the wax as it passes through the device.

U.S. Pat. No. 897,822 to Dougherty discloses a thread holder and waxer. This device has a substantially cylindrical casing for a spool of thread and an extension projecting from the casing having beeswax disposed thereon through which the thread is drawn.

Dispensers with peripheral slots are likewise known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 324,947 discloses a design for a wax holder for a beeswax disc used in coating embroidery thread. The holder has an upper coating slot through which the thread is drawn.

Another dispenser for a wax disc with peripheral slots is currently marketed by Maitys. This device has a housing with a pair of half-discs, separable along a diameter of the disc. The two halves are taken apart to insert or rotate the wax when depleted.

Existing wax dispensers do not provide a convenient method for providing a fresh wax supply adjacent to a thread feed, making them difficult to operate for extended application of wax to the thread.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a wax dispenser with a dial attached to a wax bar in the form of a disc in order to rotate the wax bar to provide fresh wax for coating thread as wax gets depleted in the vicinity of a coating slot. Generally, the wax dispenser for conditioning thread comprises:

• • (a) a disc-shaped housing with upper and lower surfaces and a sidewall defining a cavity,
    • the housing having a plurality of peripheral slots extending from the upper surface to the lower surface of the housing through which a thread may be drawn in engagement with a disc-shaped bar of wax disposed in the cavity of the housing to provide wax to the thread,
    • at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the housing having a dial opening;
  • (b) a dial assembly disposed in the dial opening for engaging the bar of wax and rotating it when the bar of wax is depleted in the vicinity of a peripheral slot so as to present fresh wax to peripheral slots for applying to the thread.

In another embodiment, the disclosure includes a wax dispenser wherein the dial assembly comprises a circular support member with an upper dial bar and a lower engagement assembly configured to secure the wax bar to the support member, the engagement assembly including a plurality of fins adapted to penetrate the wax bar.

In a further embodiment, the disclosure includes a wax dispenser wherein the housing includes six or more peripheral slots—such as three closely spaced slots diametrically opposed to three additional closely spaced slots or three sets of three closely spaced slots arranged in a Y configuration—and wherein the engagement assembly includes from four to eight fins extending about 5 mm to 8 mm from the support member.

Details and advantages will be apparent from the discussion which follows and the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below in connection with the Figures wherein like numerals designate similar parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a wax dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the wax dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are exploded views of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing components;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a top panel of the wax dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the panel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the panel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the panel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a view in section of the panel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a view in perspective of a bottom panel of the wax dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of the panel of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the panel of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the panel of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a view in section of the panel of FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a view in perspective of a dial assembly of the wax dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of the dial assembly of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a bottom plan view of the dial assembly of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the dial assembly of FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a view in section of the dial assembly of FIG. 14;

FIG. 19 is a view in perspective of a bar of beeswax in the form of a disc used in connection with the wax dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a side elevation view of the beeswax bar of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a top plan view of the beeswax bar of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a side elevation view of the wax dispenser of FIG. 2 with a bar of beeswax disposed in the cavity;

FIG. 23 is a top plan view of the wax dispenser with beeswax bar of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a view in section of the wax dispenser with beeswax bar of FIG. 23;

FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, and 25D illustrate an exploded view of a wax dispenser and beeswax bar according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25E is a view in perspective of the assembled components of FIGS. 25A-25D;

FIG. 26 is an illustration showing waxing of thread using the dispenser of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is an illustration of the dispenser of FIG. 26 having wax depletion at the peripheral slots after use in waxing thread; and

FIG. 28 illustrates turning the dial of the dispenser of FIG. 26 to introduce fresh wax adjacent the peripheral slots.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

The invention is described below in connection with the drawings, wherein terminology has its ordinary meaning. “Closely spaced” slots refer to slots located within 1.5 mm to 3.5 mm to an adjacent slot. Unless otherwise indicated, dimensions in the drawings are in mm.

The housing components are preferably made of general-purpose polystyrene (GPPS) which is transparent; while the dial assembly is preferably made of high impact polystyrene (HIPS), since it will encounter more stress while in use.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a wax dispenser 10 for conditioning thread comprising a disc-shaped housing 12 with upper and lower surfaces 14, 16 and a sidewall 18 defining a cavity 20. Housing 12 has a plurality of peripheral slots 22 extending from upper surface 14 to lower surface 16 of housing 12 through which a thread may be drawn in engagement with a disc-shaped bar of wax 28 disposed in the cavity of the housing to provide wax to the thread. Upper surface 14 of the housing has a dial opening 24 in which dial assembly 26 is disposed, engaging bar of wax 28 and rotating it when the bar of wax is depleted in the vicinity of a peripheral slot so as to present fresh wax to peripheral slots for applying to the thread. In use, disc-shaped bar of wax 28 is disposed in the cavity of the housing and engaged to the dial assembly, by a plurality of fins 30. Housing 12 typically has 6 or more peripheral slots 22. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D through 24, housing 12 has 3 closely spaced peripheral slots 22 diametrically opposed to 3 additional closely spaced peripheral slots 22. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D, 25E, and 26, the housing has 3 sets of 3 closely spaced peripheral slots, arranged in a Y configuration.

Dial assembly 26 comprises a circular support member 32 with an upper dial bar 34 and lower engagement assembly 36 for securing disc-shaped bar of wax 28 to dial assembly 26. Engagement assembly 36 comprises a plurality of fins 30 adapted to penetrate the disc-shaped bar of wax in order to secure it to the dial assembly. Typically, engagement fins 30 extend a length of from about 5 mm to about 8 mm from circular support member 32. In most cases, the engagement assembly has from 4 to 8 fins 30.

Dispenser 10 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D through FIG. 24. In a preferred construction, the housing is formed with a top panel 38 and a bottom panel 40. Details of the construction and components appear in the various Figures.

Another embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D and 25E, wherein the various features are numbered 100 numerals higher than corresponding features in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D through 24. The only salient difference between the embodiments is that the housing has 3 sets of 3 closely spaced peripheral slots, arranged in a Y configuration as shown.

FIG. 26 is an illustration showing waxing of thread using the dispenser of the present invention, wherein a thread is drawn through a peripheral slot under pressure in order to wax it.

FIG. 27 is an illustration having wax depletion at the peripheral slots after use in waxing thread, where the thread has cut a corresponding groove in the wax bar due to transfer of wax from the bar to the thread.

FIG. 28 illustrates turning the dial to introduce fresh wax adjacent the peripheral slots; that is, depleted portions of the wax bar are rotated away from the peripheral slots and replaced with fresh wax so that the dispenser is ready for additional thread waxing.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.