Patent Application
20180125134
This disclosure relates to the display of graphics and messages on apparel and, in particular, to a system and technique for allowing a wearer of the apparel to display multiple graphics or messages on a single item of apparel.
Articles of clothing with the ability to display changeable graphics and designs at the user's discretion are not uncommon. Typically, articles allowing the user to choose between multiple designs comprise bulky, uncomfortable, and visually unbecoming means, such as buttons or hook-and-loop fastener material, for attaching the design to the article of clothing. These means of attaching different designs can become damaged or heavily worn in appearance through repeated washing and wearing of the clothing, causing the changeable graphics to become less aesthetically pleasing and fashionable and causing the fastening mechanisms to become (a) increasingly uncomfortable to the wearer and (b) less effective in their utility or completely ineffective altogether, less able and eventually unable entirely to function for the purpose of holding the selected design in place.
Such means of allowing the user to change between different designs on an article of clothing are commonly fabricated of fibrous or stiff materials made of nylon, polyester, plastic, etc. Such material is often in the form of hook-and-loop fastener material, which, in the world of fashion, is very bulky and considered by many to be unattractive and ill-suited for use on clothing. To release a graphic design attached by hook-and-loop fastener to the article of clothing, the user must pull forcefully on part of the design until the hook-and-loop fastener releases. After changing designs many times and over the course of repeated use, the hook-and-loop fastener can become less effective and eventually cease to function properly. Further, because this means of fastening different designs on an article is made of material which is typically not able to withstand high temperatures or hold up to the intensity of multiple clothes-washing cycles, if the article is washed at certain temperatures or washed often, the hook-and-loop fastener is prone to damage that renders it less effective over time and eventually ineffective entirely.
Sewn buttons are another typical means of fastening designs to an article of clothing. Buttons tend to be very bulky and unattractive in the eyes of many, and buttons require more intricate manual manipulation that does not allow for quick changes between different designs. Further, because of how buttons typically function, the thread holding the buttons onto the article or clothing are prone to damage, breaking, or falling away from the clothing after multiple uses.
Described here is an article of apparel that includes a base fabric bearing one or more graphical designs; a hinged fabric section having a hinged edge attached to the base fabric and an opposing edge free to pivot about the hinged edge; and magnetic fasteners affixed to both the base fabric and the hinged fabric section and positioned to secure the opposing edge of the hinged fabric section to the base fabric in each of at least two orientations, where at least one of the orientations causes the hinged fabric section to hide at least a portion of the graphical design on the base fabric.
In some embodiments, at least two magnetic fasteners are positioned near the opposing edge of the hinged fabric section; at least two magnetic fasteners are positioned on the base fabric in a manner to couple with the magnetic fasteners of the hinged fabric section when the hinged fabric section is placed at one orientation; and at least two more magnetic fasteners are positioned on the base fabric in a manner to couple with the magnetic fasteners of the hinged fabric section when the hinged fabric section is placed at another orientation. In certain embodiments, at least one of the magnetic fasteners includes a magnet comprising neodymium or some other ferromagnetic material of sufficient magnetic strength to allow the use of fasteners of very small size, e.g., on the order of ¾ inch in diameter or width and 1/64 inch in thickness.
In some embodiments, the hinged fabric section includes (a) a single piece of fabric folded into halves and attached to the base fabric along the fold and (b) one or more pieces of interfacing material positioned between the halves to fuse them together. In some of these embodiments, one or more of the magnetic fasteners are positioned between the interfacing material and one of the halves of fabric, thereby embedding the fasteners within the hinged fabric section.
In certain embodiments, the hinged fabric section also bears a graphical design, and at least one of the orientations causes the hinged fabric section to expose at least a portion of its graphic design. In certain embodiments, securing the hinged fabric section in one of the orientations causes it to operate in conjunction with the base fabric to display a unified graphic design, and securing it in another of the orientations causes it to operate in conjunction with the base fabric to display an alternative unified graphic design. In many embodiments the base fabric comprises an article of clothing, such as a shirt or a jacket.
Also described here is an item of apparel that includes (a) an article of clothing bearing at least two graphic design elements, (b) a flap of fabric affixed to the article of clothing along one edge of the flap of fabric, creating a hinge that separates the two or more graphic design elements on the article of apparel, and (c) magnetic fasteners affixed to the flap of fabric and the article of clothing and positioned to fasten the flap of fabric to the article of clothing in each of two orientations, where the flap of fabric is positioned such that, when fastened in each of the orientations, the flap of fabric hides at least one of the graphic designs on the article of clothing.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and does not limit the disclosure or the application and uses of the invention. As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Thus, any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary, or the following detailed description.
Described here are multiple embodiments of a graphic-changing system for an item of apparel, such as an article of clothing like a shirt or jacket or a fashion accessory like a handbag or backpack, that uses a hinged pieced of fabric to allow transition among multiple possible graphic designs, such as images or textual messages, on the apparel item. The graphic-changing system employs a unique and highly effective mechanism for securing the hinged piece of fabric in place tightly, comfortably, durably, and fashionably against the base fabric with which it cooperates to display the alternative graphic designs.
In
The base fabric 105 includes the ferromagnetic counterparts of the ferromagnetic disks 160, strategically placed to hold the free end 130 of the hinged fabric section 110 in place against the base fabric 105 in multiple alternative positions. In particular, one or more ferromagnetic elements 180 (e.g., strip(s), bead(s), or disk(s)) affixed to the base fabric 105 in one region attract the ferromagnetic disks 160 of the hinged fabric section 110 to that region and hold the hinged fabric section 110 in one position (e.g., a “flap down” position on an item of apparel such as the shirt shown in
One technique for affixing the ferromagnetic elements 180, 190 to the base fabric 105 involves the placement of strips or swaths 200, 210 of fusible-web fabric on either side of the ferromagnetic elements 180, 190 and then fusing the fusible-web swaths 200, 210 to the base fabric 105 with the ferromagnetic elements 180, 190 sandwiched between them. Where the item of apparel is an article of clothing, such as a shirt, placing a soft, supple layer of cloth lining 220 over the fusible-web swaths 200, 210 provides added comfort for the wearer and protects the wearer's skin from contact with the fusible web fabric.
The ferromagnetic disks 160 and ferromagnetic elements 180, 190 are most effective when formed from a highly magnetic material, one of sufficient magnetic force that the ferromagnetic disks 160 and elements 180, 190 can be of extremely small size and still hold the hinged fabric section 110 securely in place, no matter how many wearings and washings the apparel item undergoes over time. An ideal size for the ferromagnetic disks is on the order of ¾ inch (19 mm) in diameter (for a circular shape) or width (for a non-circular shape) and 1/64 inch (0.4 mm) in thickness so that the presence of the disks is almost imperceptible to the wearer within the layers of fabric that surround them. Neodymium magnets are particularly well-suited for this purpose.
The embodiments of the invention described above are exemplary in nature. A wide variety of other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 62/420,142, entitled “Apparel Graphic Changing System” and filed on Nov. 10, 2016.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62420142 | Nov 2016 | US |
