US3831238A - Rolling pin - Google Patents

Abstract

A rolling pin comprised of a roller, a shaft extending through the roller, and a pair of handles mounted to the ends of the shaft perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the roller. The roller includes a central bore of passageway which loosely receives a straight portion of the shaft and is freely rotatable thereon. The shaft is bent at its ends to position the handles inward of the ends of the roller.

Description

United States Patent [191 Adams 5] Aug. 27 1974 1 RULMNG MN 3,263,260 8/1966 Filler 29/1105 x [76] Inventor: .1. Henry Adams, 64 Onyx Ave,

Walla Walla, Wash. 99326 [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 346,984

[52] US. Cl. 29/1105 [51] lint. (I1. B1151: 1/113 [58] Field 0i Search 29/110.5, 110, 116 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,247,162 11/1917 Southwick 29/1105 3,157,135 1l/1964 Fetrow et a1 29/1105 Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wells, St. John & Robert [57] ABSTRACT nal axis of the roller. The roller includes a central bore of passageway which loosely receives a straight portion of the shaft and is freely rotatable thereon. The shaft is bent at its ends to position the handles inward of the ends of the roller.

1 Maxim, 1- Drawing Figures 1 ROLLING PIN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION No. 1,164,777 granted to E. Aschbacher No. 241,253 granted to G. A. Twele No. 1,247,162-granted to M. E. Southwick No. 1,323,410 granted to S. E. Sams No. 2,725,830 granted to L. Shebesta The G. A. Twele and S. E. Sams patent both disclose a rolling pin having a roller with pins extending from each end thereof. The pins are journalled in a U-shaped frame, the cross member of which is utilized as a handle. The handle is held parallel to the roller.

The E. Aschbacher and M. E. Southwick patents teach the use of an l-I-shaped handle frame, rotatably carrying a roller betweenthe open ends on one side of the cross member. These patents also include the use of pins extending outwardly from either end of the roller that are journalled within complementary holes in the handle frame. The handles of the Southwick patent are mounted as part of the H frame and are perpendicular to the roller. The handles, however are intended to be used as braces against which the user applies pres sure to the roller with his forearms while gripping the cross member of the frame in his hands. In the Aschbacher patent, the H frame is closed at one end by the roller and at the other by a second cross bar. The use of this device is similar to that described above for the Southwick device.

The Shebesta patent shows a rolling pin releasably held by spring clips on a T-shaped handle. The roller again includes outwardly protruding pegs at either end which are rotatably held by the spring clips.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises a roller which includes a central bore or passageway through which a shaft extends. The roller is freely rotatable on the shaft. The shaft includes sections outward of the roller ends that are bent into a U-shape with handles mounted thereon perpendicular to the roller and spaced inward from the roller ends.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The rolling pin of the present invention basically comprises a roller having a circular cross section with a passageway extending end to end therein along the center axis of the roller. A shaft extends through the passageway that includes a straight mid section upon which the roller is freely rotatable. The shaft includes sections spaced outwardly from the roller ends that lead to end sections which are perpendicular to the roller and which mount the handles.

A first object of my invention is to provide a rolling pin that is constructed of a minimum number of parts and is therefore inexpensive to manufacture and purchase.

Another object is to provide such a rolling pin with a pair of operating handles spaced inwardly from the ends of the roller surface to position the users hands even with or inward from the ends of the roller.

These and other objects and advantages will become evident upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the rolling pin;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pin as seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along 44 in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, a roller is shown rotatably mounted to ashaft 11 having spacedhandles 12 at the ends thereof.

More specifically, theroller 10 is circular in cross section as may be seen in FIG. 3 and includes substantiallyflat ends 13. An open longitudinal bore or passageway 9 (FIG. 4) is formed through the roller along its center axis betweenfaces 13. This passageway loosely receives a substantiallystraight mid section 14 of the shaft 111. The loose fit of theroller 10 onshaft 11 enables free rotational movement of the roller on the shaft with the circular wall of the passage and periphery of the shaft acting as bearing surfaces.

The shaft includesouter shaft sections 15 which are spaced outwardly fromends 13 and include a series of bends which position thehandles 12 perpendicular to the roller and yet apart a distance less than the distance between theends 13.

The above described position of the handles constitutes an extremely important feature of my invention. With such an arrangement, the user is able to grip the handles with his hands being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to or less than the distance between the end faces 13. This enables the user, for example, to roll dough or the like in tray forms with a minimum of clearance between the end faces 13 and sides of the tray.

To position the handles as such, theouter shaft sections 15 are bent into a series of segments leading from the mid section to the handles. The first segments are U-shaped with oneleg segment 16 of the U formed as an extension of the mid section.Cross members 17 of the U-shapes then extend radially from the ends of the midsection at a right angle from the midsection, a distance somewhat greater than the radius of the roller.Cross members 17 then lead toother leg segments 18 which extend at right angles to thecross members 17, backwardly, overlapping themidsection 14 toright angle bends 20 which alignshaft end sections 21 of the shaft perpendicularly to the midsection. The lengths of theleg sections 18 overlapping midsection l4 serve to space theend sections 21 apart a distance less than the distance between the roller faces.

Handles 12 are mounted to theend sections 21 and extend coaxially therefrom perpendicular to the roller.

It should be noted that the shape of thehandles 12 are r not to be restricted to the specific: shape illustrated in the drawings. The elongated handles shown, however, aid the user in applying downward. pressure to the roller.

Other changes and modifications may have also become evident from the above description and accoma shaft having a straight mid section extending through and journalled coaxially within said passage for free rotation of the roller with respect to the shaft;

coplanar outer shaft sections on said shaft outwardly adjacent the respective ends of the roller, said outer shaft sections leading to coplanar shaft end sections perpendicular to said straight midsection; and

a handle mounted to each shaft end section;

said outer shaft sections each including a first segment formed as an extension of the midsection, extending to a second radial segment perpendicular to the first segment and extending therefrom radially adjacent an end of the roller, extending to a third shaft segment perpendicular to the second segment and extending inwardly past an adjacent roller end, overlapping and parallel to a portion of the mid section, to the shaft end sections, thereby spacing the handles mounted to the end sections apart a distance less than the distance between the roller ends.

Claims (1)

1. A rolling pin comprising: an elongated cylindrical roller having a constant circular cross-section continuous along a center axis between its respective ends; an open passageway extending between the respective ends of said roller coaxial with said center axis; a shaft having a straight mid section extending through and journalled coaxially within said passage for free rotation of the roller with respect to the shaft; coplanar outer shaft sections on said shaft outwardly adjacent the respective ends of the roller, said outer shaft sections Leading to coplanar shaft end sections perpendicular to said straight midsection; and a handle mounted to each shaft end section; said outer shaft sections each including a first segment formed as an extension of the midsection, extending to a second radial segment perpendicular to the first segment and extending therefrom radially adjacent an end of the roller, extending to a third shaft segment perpendicular to the second segment and extending inwardly past an adjacent roller end, overlapping and parallel to a portion of the mid section, to the shaft end sections, thereby spacing the handles mounted to the end sections apart a distance less than the distance between the roller ends.

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