CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/324,260, filed Sep. 25, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention is directed to a sample holder for use in holding yarn or fiber samples.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    In order to display and, more importantly, to assess and physically measure the color properties of colored fibers or yarns, it is necessary to prepare suitable samples thereof. This is generally done by wrapping a large plurality of turns of the fiber or yarn around a flat “card” under a selected spacing and tension, to produce an essentially flat sample, commonly referred to as a cardwrap. Such samples may then be displayed, presented, visually assessed (usually against another color, such as a laboratory standard sample or the required color) or placed in a spectrophotometer for digital analysis of its color characteristics. The method of preparing such samples, particularly the winding of the fiber or yam, are well known to those skilled in the art, and have been developed sufficiently to produce consistent samples, at least within the same laboratory. For visual assessment of color from cardwrap to cardwrap requires the wraps to be in intimate contact with each other with the same yarn orientation. A small space between the wraps will affect the detection of small color shade differences. Using prior art methods, winding of the yarn on the card can not be done close to the edge of the card without the yarn slipping off the edge either during sample preparation or whilst handling the prepared cardwrap. A retention device at the edge of the card during the preparation stage tends to produce a gap between the wraps from card to card. An alternative method that has been used is to wrap the two yarns samples for comparison on the same card. However, if it is necessary to compare one of the wound yarn samples, for example if one of the samples is a standard, with another sample, a new standard cardwrap must be prepared or the first sample removed from the card without damaging the standard so that the second sample may be wound on the card in intimate contact with the standard. In addition, storage of the cardwrap without deterioration or damage for any period is difficult.  
           [0006]    One U.S. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,639, has been issued to Siegfried Peyer AG, for a “Fiber sample holder”. This device involves the use of two glass plates, and a process in which the fibers are fixed, placed on one plate, and then the other glass plate is slid across them to flatten and align the fiber sample. This is, in essence, aimed at optical analysis in the sense of microscopy, and does not appear to be suitable for the creation of sufficiently large flat fiber or yarn samples for use in the ways described above.  
           [0007]    There thus exists a need in the industry for a specially designed sample holder for samples of fibers and/or yarns.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is directed to a fiber sample holder that overcomes the aforenoted disadvantages of the sample holders currently in use, and provides several significant advantages not present in those sample holders. The design of the sample holder makes it simple to mass-produce, and the sample holder may be made from inexpensive materials. The design is further compatible with current cardwrap winder systems known in the art.  
           [0009]    The sample holder is preferably made of an injection moldable thermoplastic polymer, and has two opposing broad surfaces on which the yarn or fiber is to be presented as a sample. The sample holder has shoulders at upper and lower portions of the edges that extend between the broad surfaces, so as to provide a retaining surface to physically limit the wound fiber from slippage. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The above and other objects of the present invention and the attendant advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the invention will be more easily understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like parts throughout the several views.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the sample holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a bottom end view of the sample holder of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a top end view of the sample holder of the present invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the sample holder with a yarn or fiber sample wound thereon.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a substantially schematic front elevation view of two sample holders joined together according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]    The fiber or yarn sample holder  10  is presented in elevation view in FIG. 1. The sample holder  10  is generally bounded by fiber-engaging lateral edges or sides  12 ,  14  and upper  16  and lower  18  interlocking ends. Sides or edges  12 ,  14  taper or converge toward one end (upper end  16 , as shown) of the sample holder  10 . The sample holder is preferably a thin member having opposing approximately parallel broad faces  20 ,  22  (FIGS. 2,3) which provide a backing for the fiber  100  wound thereon (FIG. 4).  
         [0017]    As seen in FIG. 4, the fiber  100  is wrapped or wound around the central or “waist” portion  23  of the card, with the fiber being tensioned to closely engage the broad faces  20 ,  22  and sides or edges  12 ,  14 . The wound fiber is prevented from undesirable slipping by the provision of shoulders  24 ,  26  at an upper and a lower extent of the waist portion  23  of card  10  so that the entire sample will remain intact. The shoulders  24 ,  26  protrude laterally outwardly from sides or edges  12  to a distance that is greater than the thickness of the wound fiber layer to be wound on the card. In prior art card designs, in which the sides or edges were essentially parallel to one another, the fiber was able to move in either direction, which was known to lead to potential spreading of the fiber windings, particularly with repeated handling of the cardwrap creating undesirable gaps in the sample. Creation of such gaps can adversely affect the ability to use the sample in color matching or color comparisons as the color appearance of the sample can be affected.  
         [0018]    A further important feature of the sample holder of the present invention is | that two or more sample holders can be interlocked with the fiber samples being presented immediately adjacent each other. This facilitates and improves the ability to perform reliable color matching and color comparisons, and also provides a highly useful way to present or display a plurality of fiber samples. The design of the sample holder and its interlocking elements are such that the sample holders having samples wound thereon may be joined together without any interference between the sample holder and the fibers wound on the adjoining sample holder.  
         [0019]    The sample holder  10  preferably is provided at upper end  16  with a protruding tongue  28 , and, at lower end  18 , the sample holder has a complementary-shaped recess  30 . The protruding tongue  28  from a first sample holder may be fitted into the recess  30  of a second sample holder (FIG. 5), thereby bringing the fiber samples retained on the two sample holders adjacent to one another, preferably with the fiber windings of the second sample holder directly in contact or slightly overlapping the fiber windings of the first sample holder.  
         [0020]    Two interlocking sample holders are preferably held together and aligned by a friction fit of a small tab  32  protruding from the sample holder at the upper portion of the recess, and a corresponding slot  34  centered on tongue  28 . Such an arrangement provides a reasonably secure interlocking arrangement, while at the same time enabling the two sample holders to be separated easily with a pulling motion. It will be recognized that this interlock design will permit an essentially unlimited number of sample holders to be sequentially joined together. This facilitates the displaying of a color palette of all available fiber colors, as one example of a potential use. The ready interchange of a plurality of interlocking sample holders greatly facilitates the use of these samples by interior designers, by allowing the designers to quickly change color pairs or color combinations for comparative purposes, as desired.  
         [0021]    It can be seen in FIG. 4 that the fiber or fibers  100  wound onto the sample holder preferably cover a substantial portion of recess  30 . This enables the fibers from a second sample holder to be brought closely adjacent to, and or slightly into overlap with, the fibers covering the recess. In order to achieve this without having the inserted tongue  28  from the second sample holder interfere with the fibers wound onto the first sample holder, the leading edge  29  of tongue  28  is preferably rounded so that the tongue will not catch or hang up on the fibers as it is inserted.  
         [0022]    It can also be seen in FIGS.  1 - 3  that the fitting and interlocking of adjacent sample holders is preferably facilitated by having one of the broad faces  20 ,  22 , taper or converge toward the other (see especially FIG. 3) at the outer portions thereof. Complementary notches or cutouts  25  (FIGS. 1,2) are provided adjacent the recess  30  in the lower end  18  of the sample holder. The use of such complementary-shaped surfaces allows adjacent sample holders to be repeatedly fitted together while reducing the potential interference of the sample holders with the fiber samples wound thereon. This design allows the yarn carrying space of one sample holder to move into the yarn carrying space of another sample holder and still retain the rigidity to support the wraps of yarn.  
         [0023]    One further feature of the sample holder which contributes to its ability to be reused is the provision of a slit  44  extending along one or both faces of the sample holder in a generally upper-to-lower end direction. The slit preferably does not extend through the entire thickness of the sample holder so as to not detrimentally affect the rigidity of the holder. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the slit  44  extends upwardly to a point above the lower part of shoulder  24 , such that the upper portion of the slit remains exposed after a fiber sample  100  is wound onto the sample holder.  
         [0024]    The slit  44  is provided to permit a fiber sample to be cut through without damaging the surface of the sample holder. A person may introduce a tip of a cutting instrument into the exposed part of the slit, and draw the cutting instrument down the slit, slicing through the fiber in the process. In that manner, a fiber sample  100  may be easily and quickly removed without causing any scoring or gauging of the sample holder. The sample holder thus can be used repeatedly without any degradation in performance.  
         [0025]    The sample holder is particularly useful for preparing fiber or yarn samples for spectroscopic examination to obtain a digital assessment of the color properties of the sample, in that the windings of fiber are maintained essentially without any spacing therebetween, thereby presenting a substantially continuous color surface to be examined. Also, as noted previously, the ability of the holders to be interlocked permits two or more holders to be arranged with the fiber samples in direct juxtaposition or in close proximity to one another. The holders thus facilitate various forms of visual comparison of samples, including comparison of a laboratory standard with a trial sample, matching or aesthetic assessment of colors by interior designers, and as a means for stacking color samples for a product range for use in permanent or temporary displays.  
         [0026]    The preferred approach to manufacturing or fabricating the sample holders of the present invention is by an injection molding process, wherein a plastic material, preferably a thermoplastic polymer, is injected into a mold of net shape or near net shape of the holder. The choice of the particular thermoplastic polymer, or other material, will preferably be based primarily upon its mechanical properties. It is desired that the sample holder be sufficiently rigid and of a hardness such that it will not bend or otherwise distort during or after the winding-on process, but should not be so brittle that it can be easily cracked or broken by accidental knocking or dropping of the holder.  
         [0027]    Suitable thermoplastic materials for use include, but are not limited to, polyamides, polyesters, and polyolefins, and their copolymers and blends thereof. The starting material may be either virgin polymer or recycled/reclaimed polymers.  
         [0028]    Examples of suitable polyamide materials include Nylon 6, Nylon 6:6, Nylon 11, Nylon 12, with Nylon 6 and Nylon 6:6 being preferred. Examples of suitable polyesters include poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET); and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT); with PET being preferred. Examples of suitable polyolefins include high density polyethylene (HDPE) and propylene (co)polymers, with propylene homopolymer being preferred.  
         [0029]    Other materials and manufacturing methods may be employed. Materials such as wood, other thermoplastics such as acrylic polycarbonate, thermosetting plastic materials, metal, such as aluminum or steel, ceramic and glass would be suitable, in general, and may actually be preferred for specific applications. The sample holders may be stamped, machined, cast, or otherwise formed, although it is believed that the injection molding of a thermoplastic provides the most advantageous combination of economic manufacture and desired mechanical properties.  
         [0030]    While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is recognized that modifications and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, and not limiting.
A fiber sample holder and fiber sample system are provided, in which a thin card member, preferably made of injection moldable plastic, is provided with opposing broad faces across which a fiber sample is wound, and the broad faces are bounded laterally by converging edges which themselves are bounded by upper and lower pairs of shoulders which operate to retain the wound fibers in position between the shoulders.