Multi-strand braiding device and method
AssigneeGiving Toys, Inc.
InventorsCaleb Chung, Robert M. Sesek
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device and method for braiding hair or other flexible filaments is disclosed herein. The device comprises a set of gears comprising sector gears and elliptical gears, the elliptical gears having a hollow center portion for receiving the hair or other flexible material. The device further comprises a controller, a motor, a power source, and a user interface. The user interface allows the user to select a variety of weaving patterns. The device and method of the present disclosure may be employed to weave four or more strands of material into a braid.
Claims23
A handheld device for intertwining strands of a flexible material, comprising:
- a plurality of sector gears disposed in a group, each sector gear having at least one adjacent sector gear in the group;
- at least four elliptical gears, each of the at least four elliptical gears being arranged to rotate with any one of the plurality of sector gears that said elliptical gear comes into contact with, wherein each of the at least four elliptical gears has a hollow center portion for receiving one or more strands of a flexible material, positioning of the elliptical gears preventing adjacent sector gears from simultaneous rotation;
- only non-adjacent sector gears of the group being simultaneously rotatable;
- at least one motor, engaged to rotate at least one of the sector gears;
- and
- a controller, having a processor, configured to execute a set of instructions from any of a plurality of pattern modules by controlling the at least one motor to selectively rotate one or more of the plurality of sector gears and move the adjacent elliptical gears in an intertwining motion according to the set of instructions of one of the pattern modules.
A handheld device for intertwining strands of a flexible material, comprising:
- a plurality of sector gears, of uniform diameter, disposed in a group, each sector gear having at least one adjacent sector gear in the group and a circumference that overlaps a circumference of the at least one adjacent sector gear, only non-adjacent sector gears of the group being simultaneously rotatable;
- at least two symmetrically disposed semi-circular hollows, disposed at the circumference of each sector gear, having a shape defined by the circumferential overlap;
- at least four elliptical gears, each elliptical gear disposed in at least one of the semi-circular hollows and arranged to rotate with any contacting one of the plurality of sector gears, each of the elliptical gears having a hollow center portion for receiving one or more strands of a flexible material therethrough, positioning of the elliptical gears preventing adjacent sector gears from simultaneous rotation;
- a unique, independently controllable motor, engaged with each sector gear;
- and
- a controller, including a processor, configured to independently and selectively operate any one of the plurality of motors in accordance with a pattern module, to selectively rotate one or more of the plurality of sector gears and move the elliptical gears in an intertwining motion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.