Die cutting system, components thereof, and methods
OwnerNatasha P. Hixon, Mark A. Hixoninventors
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Abstract
A die cutting system that includes a press and a substantially planar die with a plate and at least one cutting edge protruding from a surface of the plate. The press is manually operated and may be hand-held or supported upon a flat surface, such as a tabletop. A first member of the press receives the substantially planar die, while a second member of the press provides support for a sheet of material from which the die will cut a pattern upon biasing the die against the sheet of material. Manually operated presses and die cutting methods that employ teachings of the invention are also disclosed.
Claims23
A die cutting system for forming patterns from a sheet of material, comprising:
- a press including first and second members movable toward and away from one another, said first member including a die retaining element associated with a die receiving surface thereof, said second member including a sheet supporting surface oriented to oppose said die receiving surface;
- and
- at least one die securable to said first member by said die retaining element, said die comprising a thin, unitary member including a substantially planar plate and at least one cutting edge protruding from a surface of said substantially planar plate.
An apparatus for forcing a die through a sheet of material, comprising:
- a first member including:
- a die receiving surface;
- and
- a die retaining element associated with said die receiving surface, said die retaining element configured to receive a substantially planar die;
- a second member including:
- a substantially planar sheet supporting surface oriented to oppose said die receiving surface;
- and
- a biasing element associated with at least one member of said first and second members so as to move said at least one member toward the other of said first and second members.
A method for forming a pattern from a sheet of material, comprising:
- providing a substantially planar die including a plate and at least one cutting edge protruding therefrom;
- and
- manually biasing said substantially planar die against the sheet and a substantially planar sheet supporting surface located opposite the sheet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.