[FIELD OF THE INVENTION]
[0001] The present invention provides a cutting structure for assisting the curvature of
a flexible sheet. In particular, the cutting structure is formed at the corresponding
position to allow the flexible sheet to bend into a stereoscopic contour.
[DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART]
[0002] The manufacturing of conventional leather bags involve complicated processes, such
as plate-making, tailoring, gluing, punching, sewing or the like and preparation of
tools and materials. For those that are not professional artisans, making a leather
bag by oneself has a considerably high technical threshold.
[0003] Moreover, during the sewing and weaving of general leather, a plurality of thread
holes need to be prefabricated at a joint position of at least two pieces of leather,
and then the threads are utilized to pass through the thread holes to fix the two
pieces of leather. When an article of a complicated structure (e.g., a handbag or
a wallet) is to be manufactured, a plurality of pieces of leather is required and
moreover, the sewing process consumes a lot of time. Thus, the self-made leather goods
cannot be manufactured within a short period of time, and it is hard for a non-professional
artisan to enjoy making leather bags.
[0004] Accordingly, the present invention provides a special cutting structure to solve
the aforesaid technical problems of a time consuming process, a required skill level
and lengthy manufacturing process.
[CONTENTS OF THE INVENTION]
[0005] The present invention provides a cutting structure to be formed on the bent position
of a flexible sheet. The cutting structure comprises two parallel cutting paths. Each
of the cutting paths has a plurality of cutting sections adjacently arranged at intervals
to each other. Each cutting section is of a liner shape to cut through the flexible
sheet. The cutting sections on one of the cutting paths are laterally offset with
respect to the cutting sections on another cutting path. Two ends of the cutting sections
of the two parallel cutting paths are oppositely interlaced without connecting with
each other. Each cutting section is projected to form a first cutting projection towards
a first direction and a second cutting projection towards a second direction. Two
second cutting projections from any two oppositely interlaced cutting sections are
partially overlapped, and the first direction is vertical to the second direction.
[0006] When the aforesaid cutting structure is correspondingly formed on the bent position
of the flexible sheet, the flexible sheet can be formed into a stereoscopic contour
by bending the bent position.
[0007] The cutting structure of the present invention can be widely applied to a leather
material, a plastic material, a fabric material or a paper material. When the cutting
structure is applied to the leather material, the leather material in the form of
a sheet can be formed into a stereoscopic article simply by bending these bent positions
without the need of sewing skills and without using adhesive attachment.
[0008] The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention
are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people
skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention.
[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS]
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the cutting structure of the present invention applied
to a flexible sheet.
FIG. 2A is a schematic view illustrating arrangement of a first embodiment of the cutting
structure according to the present invention.
FIG. 2B is a partially schematic view taken from FIG. 2A.
FIG. 3A is a schematic view illustrating another pattern of cutting sections of the first
embodiment.
FIG. 3B is a partially schematic view taken from FIG. 3A.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating another pattern of cutting sections according to
the second embodiment of a cutting structure of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the arc-shaped cutting sections according to the
third embodiment of a cutting structure of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the cutting structure of the present invention applied
to a leather material and bent into a stereoscopic contour.
[DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS]
[0010] In the following description, the present invention will be explained with reference
to embodiments thereof. However, the description of these embodiments is only for
purpose of explaining technical contents and objectives of the present invention rather
than to directly limit the present invention. It shall be appreciated that in the
following embodiments and the attached drawings, elements unrelated to the present
invention are omitted from depiction; and dimensional and positional relationships
among individual elements in the attached drawings are illustrated only for ease of
understanding, but not to limit the actual scale and dimension.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the cutting structure of the present invention applied
to a flexible sheet. In this embodiment, a whole piece of flexible sheet
1 may first have a predetermined shape, and then the cutting structures
2 of the present invention are correspondingly formed on the bent portions.
[0012] The cutting structure of the present invention comprises two parallel cutting paths,
and each of the cutting paths has a plurality of cutting sections adjacently arranged
at intervals to each other. The specific aspects of the cutting structure will be
detailed hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings.
[0013] FIG. 2A is a schematic view illustrating the arrangement of a first embodiment of the cutting
structure according to the present invention. For ease of description of the two parallel
cutting paths and arrangement of the cutting sections thereof, different reference
symbols are used to represent different elements. For example, the cutting structure
2 comprises a cutting path
20 and a cutting path
22 parallel to each other, the cutting path
20 has a plurality of cutting sections
a1, a2, a3, a4, a5... (which can be collectively referred to herein as a "cutting section
a") adjacently arranged at intervals to each other, and the cutting path
22 also has a plurality of cutting sections
b1, b2, b3, b4, b5... (which can be collectively referred to as a "cutting section
b") adjacently arranged at intervals to each other. Each of the cutting sections
a, b has a liner shape to cut through the flexible sheet
1; this means that linear cutting lines running through the flexible sheet
1 in a vertical direction are generated in the flexible sheet
1 by using laser cutting, cutters, cutting dies or choppers.
[0014] A feature of the cutting structure of the present invention lies in that the cutting
sections on one of cutting paths are laterally offset with respect to the cutting
sections on another cutting path. The two ends of the cutting sections of the two
parallel cutting paths are oppositely interlaced without connecting with each other.
Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 2A, each of the cutting sections
a, b has two ends
P, the cutting sections
a1, a2, a3, a4, a5... on the cutting path
20 are laterally offset with respect to the cutting sections
b1, b2, b3, b4, b5... on another cutting path
22, the two ends
P of each cutting section
a are oppositely interlaced with the two ends
P of each cutting section
b, and the two ends
P of each cutting section
a are not connected with the two ends
P of each cutting section
b.
[0015] The cutting sections of a linear shape as shown in
FIG. 2A, FIG. 3A, FIG. 4 and
FIG. 5 may have different patterns. To describe the arrangement relationships between the
two parallel cutting paths more clearly, projections will serve as the basis for defining
positions and dimensional proportions of the cutting sections. Still in reference
to
FIG. 2A, the first direction
X and second direction
Y perpendicular to each other may be defined, and the first direction
X refers to a direction parallel to the two cutting paths.
[0016] As shown in
FIG. 2A, the cutting sections
a1, a2, a3, a4, a5... and the cutting sections
b1, b2, b3, b4, b5... are respectively projected to form first cutting projections
23a, 23b (which can be collectively referred to herein as the "first cutting projection
23") toward the first direction
X and are respectively projected to form second cutting projections
24a, 24b (which can be collectively referred to herein as a "second cutting projection
24") towards the second direction
Y.
[0017] The two second cutting projections
24a, 24b generated from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections are only partially
overlapping. Specifically, with reference to
FIG. 2B, the two second cutting projections
24a, 24b generated from any two of the oppositely interlaced cutting sections (e.g., the cutting
section
a1 and the cutting section
b1) are partially overlapping. It shall be appreciated that the case in where the second
cutting projections
24a, 24b of the cutting section
a1 and the cutting section
b1 are completely overlapping is not the best implementation mode although it can be
implemented.
[0018] On the other hand, in addition to the arrangement shown in
FIGs. 2A to
2B, the two first cutting projections
23a and
23b may also have another arrangement as shown in
FIGs. 3A to
3B. In
FIGs. 2A to
2B, the two first cutting projections
23a, 23b from any two oppositely interlaced cutting sections
a, b are not overlapping, i.e., the first cutting projections
23a, 23b are separated from each other by a distance, or the first cutting projection
23a is tangent to the first cutting projection
23b. Both of the above cases fall within the scope that can be implemented by the present
invention. However, a good effect of assisting the bending cannot be obtained if the
distance between the first cutting projection
23a and the first cutting projection
23b is too large.
[0019] In
FIGs. 3A to
3B, the two first cutting projections
23a, 23b from any two oppositely interlaced cutting sections
a, b are partially overlapping.
[0020] Moreover, as shown in
FIG. 2B, each cutting section defines a pivot
25 which is projected towards the first direction
X to form a first pivot projection
251 and towards the second direction
Y to form a second pivot projection
252.
[0021] In terms of the distance between the cutting sections adjacently arranged at intervals
to each other, the distance between the two second pivot projections from any two
of adjacent cutting sections on either of the cutting paths is preferably between
4mm to 40mm. For example, as shown in
FIG. 2A, the second pivot projections at the cutting sections
a1, a2, a3, a4, a5... are equally spaced by a distance
T, and the second pivot projections
252 at the cutting sections
b1, b2, b3, b4, b5... are also equally spaced by the distance
T.
[0022] In terms of the distance between two oppositely interlaced cutting sections, the
first distance between the two first pivot projections from two oppositely interlaced
cutting sections is preferably between 2mm to 20mm, and the second distance between
the two second pivot projections from two oppositely interlaced cutting sections is
preferably between 2mm to 20mm. For example, with reference to
FIG. 2B, the first distance
T1 between the two first pivot projections
251 from two oppositely interlaced cutting sections
a1, b1 is between 2mm to 20mm, and the second distance
T2 between the two second pivot projections
252 from the two oppositely interlaced cutting sections
a1, b1 is between 2mm to 20mm. The second distance
T2 is the lateral offset distance between the cutting sections
a1, b1.
[0023] By the aforesaid arrangement, the second cutting projection of one cutting section,
except for the cutting sections at the two ends of the cutting paths, is oppositely
interlaced with the second cutting projections of the other two cutting sections.
For example, as shown in
FIG. 2A, the second cutting projection of the cutting section
a2 is oppositely interlaced with the second cutting projections of both the cutting
sections
b1, b2, or the cutting section
b1 is oppositely interlaced with both of the cutting sections
a1, a2.
[0024] Furthermore, the cutting sections of the present invention are cutting sections of
a linear shape rather than conventional circular, rhombic or rectangular thread holes.
As shown in
FIGs. 2A to
2B and
FIGs. 3A to
3B, each of the cutting sections
a, b includes a first edge
211 and two non-parallel second edges
212 in which the two second edges
212 are respectively are not vertically connected with two sides of the first edge
211, and the two ends
P of the cutting section are terminals of the two second edges
212.
[0025] The cutting sections of the linear shape described above are not limited to what
is shown in
FIGs. 2A to
2B and
FIGs. 3A to
3B. Instead, the cutting sections may have another pattern of "
" as shown in
FIG. 4. In this case, each cutting section
31 includes a first edge
311 and two parallel second edges
312 in which the two second edges
312 are respectively connected with two sides of the first edge
311 vertically, and the two ends
P of the cutting section are terminals of the two second edges
312. Alternatively, the cutting section may have another pattern as shown in
FIG. 5, wherein the cutting section is an arc-shaped cutting section
41, and the two ends
P of the cutting section are the terminals of the arc-shaped cutting section
41.
[0026] It shall be again noted that the cutting sections
a1, a2, a3, a4, a5... and the cutting sections
b1, b2, b3, b4, b5... mentioned in the above embodiments are of the same shape and size. The different
reference symbols used to represent the cutting sections are only for ease of description
in the above embodiments. In principle, the shapes of individual cutting sections
in
FIGs. 2A to
2B, FIGs. 3A to
3B and
FIG. 4 may be the following: bilaterally symmetrical, i.e., the second edges of each cutting
section are not parallel but are symmetrical (i.e.,
FIGs. 2A to
2B, FIGs. 3A to
3B), parallel and symmetrical (i.e.,
FIG. 4), or symmetrically V-shaped (not shown). However, as can be inferred by those of
ordinary skill in the art, the individual cutting sections may also have shapes that
are not completely bilaterally symmetrical (not shown).
[0027] In terms of the size of the cutting sections, the first length of the first cutting
projection and the second length of the second cutting projection serve as a unified
basis for defining the depth and the width of the cutting sections because the cutting
sections of the linear shape may have different patterns. For example, in
FIG. 2B, the depth of each of the cutting sections
a, b corresponds to the first length
D1 of the first cutting projections
23a, 23b and the first length is preferably between 1mm to 10mm. The width of each of the
cutting sections
a, b corresponds to the second length
D2 of the second cutting projections
24a, 24b and the second length is preferably between 3mm to 30mm.
[0028] According to the above descriptions, the cutting structure
2 of the present invention can replace the conventional sewing process and adhesive
attachment by assisting in bending the flexible sheet
1 into a stereoscopic article, wherein the flexible sheet
1 may be a leather material, a plastic material, a fabric material or a paper material.
[0029] In terms of business application, front-end manufacturers prefabricate the cutting
structures of the present invention on flat flexible sheets for mass production, and
then the flexible sheets are sold to rear-end consumers to be assembled into stereoscopic
structures by the consumers themselves.
[0030] Moreover, the cutting structure of the present invention can vividly simulate the
visual effect of thread sewing when it is applied to the leather material. As shown
in
FIG. 6, the manufacturer applies the cutting structure
2 of the present invention to a piece of leather material, and the cutting structure
2 is formed at each of the plurality of portions to be bent on the leather material.
The leather material can then be sold to the consumer on the rear-end so that the
consumer can bend the bent positions of the leather material by hand to change the
leather material into a stereoscopic wallet. Accordingly, the consumer does not need
sewing skills, and he or she may easily make leather bags. Since the leather material
is flexible, a water color pen, a writing brush, or a wet sponge may be used to first
moisturize the cutting sections oppositely interlaced so that the leather material
can be bent more flexibly.
1. A cutting structure formed on a bent position of a flexible sheet for assisting curvature
of the flexible sheet, the cutting structure comprising:
two parallel cutting paths, each of the cutting paths has a plurality of cutting sections
adjacently arranged at intervals to each other, each cutting section is of a liner
shape to cut through the flexible sheet, the cutting sections on one of cutting paths
are laterally offset with respect to the cutting sections on another cutting path,
and two ends of the cutting sections of the two parallel cutting paths are oppositely
interlaced without connecting with each other,
wherein each cutting section is projected to form a first cutting projection toward
a first direction and a second cutting projection toward a second direction, the two
second cutting projections from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections
are partially overlapped, and the first direction is vertical to the second direction.
2. The cutting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two first cutting projections
from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections are not overlapped.
3. The cutting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two first cutting projections
from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections are partially overlapped.
4. The cutting structure as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein each cutting section
can define a pivot which is projected toward the first direction to form a first pivot
projection and toward the second direction to form a second pivot projection, and
a distance between the two second pivot projections from any two of adjacent cutting
sections on either of cutting paths is preferably between 4mm to 40mm.
5. The cutting structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein a first distance between the
two first pivot projections from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections
is preferably between 2mm to 20mm, and a second distance between the two second pivot
projections from any two of oppositely interlaced cutting sections is preferably between
2mm to 20mm.
6. The cutting structure as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein each cutting section
of the liner shape includes a first edge and two non-parallel second edges, wherein
the two second edges are respectively connected with two sides of the first edge not
vertically, and the two ends of the cutting section are terminals of the two second
edges.
7. The cutting structure as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein each cutting section
of the liner shape includes a first edge and two parallel second edges, wherein the
two second edges are respectively connected with the two sides of the first edge vertically,
and the two ends of the cutting section are the terminals of the two second edges.
8. The cutting structure as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein each cutting section
of the liner shape is an arc-shaped cutting section, and the two ends of the cutting
section are the terminals of the arc-shaped cutting section.
9. The cutting structure as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein a depth of each
cutting section corresponds to a first length of the first cutting projection and
the first length is preferably between 1mm to 10mm, and a width of each cutting section
corresponds to a second length of the second cutting projection and the second length
is preferably between 3mm to 30mm.
10. The cutting structure as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the flexible sheet
can be a leather material, a plastic material, a fabric material or a paper material.