Villager wins patent for armor design

A villager in Jiangxi Province was recently awarded a design patent for a suit of armor he created from using more than 8,000 copper coins.

“I never thought I would get a patent when I started,” said 52- year- old Zhang Canjin at his home and workshop in Duan’an county.

Though his scale armor design is an ancient one, instead of using small metal plates Zhang strings together replicas of copper coins backed with leather.

The design tweak was enough of an innovation for Zhang to earn a patent from China’s State Intellectual Property Office, chinanews. com reported Tuesday.

Zhang said he learned his copper and leatherworking skills as a boy while watching his father, which at the time was already a fading trade.

“We were using antique coins, and there wasn’t a lot of material around to work with, so we really didn’t even have that many chances to practice,” said Zhang.

Zhang said he spent two months on his first suit, which was quickly snatched up by a collector.

While working on his second suit, his daughter encouraged him to apply for a patent.

But despite the recent attention, Zhang is concerned there will be no one to take up his craft.

“Young people live a fast- paced life, they’re busy with work, not to mention there isn’t much market demand for this kind of craft work,” said Zhang.