ATTACHABLE ORNAMENT

Abstract

Selectively attachable ornaments are shown and described. The ornaments comprise a male and a female component which are attachable to one another from opposite sides of an opening through an article, such as a shoe, clothing, pursue, handbag, backpack, etc. In one example, the male component includes s a shaft with a beveled engagement portion, and the female component includes two spaced apart semi-cylindrical legs with a radially inward flange or lip that defines an opening into which the male component engagement portion is inserted during an attachment operation. The beveled engagement portion has at least one location where its diameter exceeds that of the opening between the radial inward flange/lip of each semi-cylindrical leg. In another example, the female component is a cylinder with one or more circumferential cut-out sections along a port of its length and an annular opening for receiving the male component's engagement portion. The male component has a beveled engagement portion with at least one section having a diameter greater than that of the annular opening. When the male component is snap-fittingly engaged to the female component, an audible “pop” sound is emitted by the elastic deformation and relaxation of the engagement portion.

Description

FIELD

This disclosure relates to ornaments that are attachable to articles such as clothing and accessories (e.g., purses, backpacks, and shoes).

BACKGROUND

Certain articles such as shoes, backpacks, purses, and other items have openings or could be manufactured with openings suitable for attaching decorative items. As a mode of self-expression, it may be desirable to attach different decorative items to the same article on different days, depending on the user's moods or interests. Decorative buttons with safety pin attachment mechanisms have been used, but the pin projects away from the article on the inner surface may painfully impinge on body parts, rending them unsuitable for close fitting objects. In addition, it is easy to get poked with the pin while putting such buttons on. In addition, the decorative button is generally fixedly attached to the pin such that different buttons cannot be used with the same pin. Thus, a need has arisen for an attachable ornament that addresses the foregoing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first example of an attachable ornament attached to an article;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2;

FIGS. 3A-3B are perspective views of a second example of an attachable ornament in an attached and detached configuration;

FIGS. 4A-4B are top and bottom plan views, respectively, of the attachable ornament of FIGS. 3A-3B;

FIGS. 5A-5B show the attachable ornament of FIGS. 3A-3B during an attachment operation, with FIG. 5B being a cross-section taken along line A-A in FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 6A-6B show the attachable ornament of FIGS. 5A-5B in an attached condition on an article; and

FIG. 7 is a close-up view of FIG. 6B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a decorated article is depicted. The decorated article comprises a selectively attachable ornament 30 attached to article 20. Article 20 may be an article of clothing, shoes, accessories, or any other article that has an opening 26 extending from an inner surface 22 to an outer surface 24 along an article thickness (z) axis. Opening 26 has a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the thickness (z) axis. Attachable ornament 30 comprises a male-component 32 and a female component 34, which in a preferred embodiment are configured to snap-fittingly engage one another. In certain preferred examples, the snap-fitting of the male and female components produces an audible “pop” sound to indicate successful attachment.

In certain implementations, male component 32 and female component 34 are made of plastic, rubber, or metal. In one example, the male component 32 and female component 34 are made of a hard but resilient plastic material. Preferred plastic materials have a Rockwell Hardness of from about 85-120, preferably from about 90-115, and more preferably from about 100-110. In the same or other examples, the preferred plastic materials have values of Young's Modulus ranging from about 1800 to about 2200 MPa, preferably from about 1850 to about 2000 MPa, and more preferably from about 1900 MPa to about 1950 MPa. In the same or other examples, the preferred materials have a percent elongation at breakage of from about 150 to about 300 percent, preferably from about 180 to about 250 percent, and more preferably from about 190 to about 220 percent. One preferred example of a hard, resilient plastic material for forming male component 32 and female component 34 is nylon. In one implementation, nylon 12 (Poly[imino(1-oxo-1, 12-dodecanediyl)] (CAS No. 24937-16-4) is used.

The separability of the male component 32 and female component 34 allows for the use of different decorations with the same female component 34. Male component 32 includes a decoration mounting member 36 which is preferably a thin, disc, or plate like structure, although not necessary circular, extending in a plane orthogonal to the thickness (2) axis. The decoration mounting member 36 is used to attach decorative items but also may itself be decorative. In the example of FIG. 1, a silicone badge 31 is molded over the decoration mounting member 36. Decoration mounting member 36 has an area orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis which is preferably greater than the area of opening 26 orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis at the z-axis location of outer surface 24 of article 20 in order to prevent decoration mounting member 36 from becoming lodged in opening 26.

Male component 32 is preferably a snap-fit component and includes a shaft 40 attached to an engagement portion 42. A first end of the shaft 40 is attached to decoration mounting member 36, and a second end of shaft 40 is connected to engagement portion 42. In certain preferred examples, shaft 40 and engagement portion 42 are integrally formed as a unitary piece. In other preferred examples, decoration mounting member 36, shaft 40, and engagement portion 42 are integrally formed as a unitary piece. Engagement portion 42 is preferably beveled and more preferably tapers in its area orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis when moving away from decoration mounting member 36. In certain examples, the engagement portion 42 may have a beveled shape selected from the group consisting of conical, hemispherical, and semi-conical.

Female component 34 is preferably a snap-fit component and includes an attachment member 38 and two legs 48 and 50. The attachment member 38 is preferably a thin, disc, or plate-like structure, although not necessarily circular, extending in a plane orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis. In preferred examples attachment member 38 has an area orthogonal to the thickness (2) axis which is greater than the area of opening 26 orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis at the z-axis location of inner surface 22 of article 20 to prevent the attachment member 38 from becoming lodged in opening 26. When the attachable ornament 30 is attached to article 20, decoration mounting member 36 and attachment member 38 are spaced apart along the thickness (z) axis.

Legs 48 and 50 are semicylindrical structures spaced apart from one another along a width (x) axis. Legs 48 and 50 are preferably made of a resilient material, such as a resilient plastic, that allows them to elastically deflect away from one another along the x-axis when a biasing force is applied to them and to return to an undeflected condition when the biasing force is removed. In the case of FIGS. 1 and 2, the biasing force is provided by the insertion of engagement portion 42 of male component 32 into an opening (not separately shown) 55 between legs 48 and 50.

Each leg 48 and 50 includes a corresponding radially inward projecting lip or flange 51, 53 that projects toward the other lip or flange 51, 53 along the x-axis. The lips 51, 53 include respective downward facing engagement surfaces 60, 62 which engage respective portions of the engagement portion 42 at its proximal end 46 along the z-axis. At its proximal end 46, the engagement portion 42 has a first width along the x-axis which is larger than the x-axis width at a second location at the distal end 44 of the engagement portion along the z-axis. The x-axis widths at respective proximal and distal ends 46 and 44 of engagement portion 42 are radial widths in that the cross-sections of the engagement portion 42 at proximal and distal ends 44 and 46 are circular in the x-y plane (as shown in FIG. 2). The term “radial width” refers to a width along an axis that runs though and along the radius of a circular area. In the case of FIGS. 1 and 2, the decoration mounting member 36, attachment member 38, shaft 40, and engagement portion 42 each have a circular center and a radial direction orthogonal to the thickness (2) axis. The x-axis may extend through the circular center, thereby itself defining a radial width axis.

Thus, at each thickness (z) axis location, the engagement portion 42 has a diameter, and the diameter at distal end 44 (D1) is less than the diameter at proximal end 46 (D3). In certain examples, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, engagement portion 42 has a beveled shape that is generally frustoconical, with a diameter that decreases as you move away from decoration mounting member 36 along the thickness (2) axis. The lips/flanges 51 and 53 include opposing surfaces 52 and 54 which define an opening 55 (not separately shown) therebetween for the insertion of engagement portion 42. The beveled shape of engagement portion 42 causes it to progressively displace the semi-cylindrical legs 48 and 50 farther from one another as it is pushed through the opening defined by surfaces 52 and 54 along the x-axis.

In FIG. 1 the shaft 40 and engagement portion 42 are in a fully attached position. The shape of engagement portion 42 causes the legs 48 and 50 to progressively deflect away from one another as the engagement portion 42 is pushed through opening 55 along the thickness (z) axis. In the example of FIG. 1, the distal end 44 of the engagement portion 42 has a diameter D1 that is smaller than the shaft diameter D2. The diameter D1 may be smaller or larger than the diameter of opening 55 when the legs 48, 50 are in an undeflected position relative to one another. In the example of FIGS. 1-2 when the male component 32 is attached to the female component 34, the shaft 40 snugly fits into opening 55, in which case the shaft diameter D2 is the same as the opening 55 diameter. A portion of the outer surface of shaft 40 snugly engages the opposing surfaces 52, 54 of lips 51, 53.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the attachable ornament 30 is attached to an article 20, the radially outward facing surface 70 of engagement portion 42 of male component 32 is positioned in an interior space defined between opposing surfaces 56 and 58 of legs 48 and 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the opposing surfaces 56 and 58 are concave relative to one another. The outer surface 70 of the engagement portion 42 is spaced apart from opposing surfaces 56 and 58 along the width (x) axis. The opposing surfaces 56 and 58 define a diameter that is greater than the diameter D2 defined at the radially largest section of engagement portion 42, which is at proximal end 46. The x-axis and radial spacing between the outer surface 70 of the engagement portion 42 and the opposing surfaces 56 and 58 gets progressively larger when moving along the thickness (z) axis away from the decoration mounting member 36 and toward the attachment member 38.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, legs 48 and 50 include respective, radially outer surfaces 66, 68 that face the inner surface 23 of article 20 which defines opening 26. As indicated in FIG. 1, the diameter D5 defined by inner article surface 23 is greater than the diameter D4 defined by the respective radially outer surfaces 66, 68 of legs 48, 50. Thus, both radially outer surfaces 66, 68 will not contact the inner article surface 23 at any one time.

As also indicated in FIG. 1, when attachable ornament 30 is attached to article 20, upward facing surface 39 of attachment member 38 and downward facing surface 33 of decoration mounting member 36 will not abuttingly engage the article 20 at the same time. Nor will the downward facing surface 37 of silicone badge 31 and upward facing surface 39 of attachment member 38 contact article 20 at the same time. The thickness (z) axis spacing of the outer article surface 24 and the inner article surface 22 is less than the thickness (z) axis spacing of the upward facing surface 39 of attachment member 38 and the downward facing surfaces 33 and 37 of decoration mounting member 36 and silicone badge 31.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-7, a second example of a selectively attachable ornament 130 is depicted. The same materials and preferred materials are used for the second example. Relative to FIGS. 1-2, except as otherwise described, like components are given the same reference numerals with a “one” prefix (e.g., 42 and 142 are the engagement portion of the male component). Although not shown in the figures, it is contemplated that a silicone badge 131 (not shown) will be molded over decorative mounting member 136. Article 20 is similar to that of FIGS. 1-2 with an inner surface 22 and an outer surface 24 spaced apart from one another along thickness (z) axis and an opening 26 extending along the thickness (2) axis having a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the thickness (z) axis.

The key difference in the example of FIGS. 3A-7 and FIGS. 1-2 is in the design of the female component 134. In FIGS. 1-2, the female component comprises two spaced apart semi-cylindrical legs 48 and 50. In FIGS. 3A-7, female component 134 comprises a cylindrical structure 148 with an annular face 147 that defines opening 145 through which engagement portion 142 of male component 132 is inserted during an article attachment operation. Annular face 147 is spaced apart from attachment member 138 along the thickness (z) axis. When attachable ornament 130 is attached to article 20, annular face 147 is also preferably spaced apart from decorative mounting member 136 along the thickness (z) axis.

Engagement portion 142 has a proximal end 146 that is closer to the attachment member 138 along the thickness (z) axis than is its distal end 144. Engagement portion 142 first diameter D2 at proximal end 146 is greater than a diameter D1 of opening 145, and an area at proximal end 146 that is orthogonal to the z-axis is greater than the area of opening 145 orthogonal to the z-axis. Cylindrical structure 148 also includes an inner surface 156 that is spaced apart radially (and along the width (2) axis) from all or part of the outer surface 170 of engagement portion 142. When attachable ornament 130 is attached to article 20, engagement portion 142 is also preferably spaced apart from decorative mounting member 136 along the thickness (z) axis.

Cylindrical structure 148 includes at least one circumferential opening that extends along a portion, but preferably not along the entirety of, the cylindrical structure 148. In FIG. 3B, one circumferential opening 150 is shown, and another one which is not visible is diametrically opposite circumferential opening 150. The circumferential openings extend around a portion of the circumference of cylindrical structure 148 and a long a portion of its length. The circumferential openings provide resonance for an audible indication of snap-fitting engagement which is described further below.

In FIGS. 5A and 6A, the article 20 is viewed along the x-axis, and in FIGS. 5B and 6B, article 20 is viewed along the y-axis. Because the components of attachable ornament 130 are circular in nature, radial axes exist through the center of the attachable ornament 130 which are parallel to the x and y axes.

Referring to FIG. 7, outer surface 166 of cylinder structure 148 has a diameter D4 that is smaller than the diameter D5 of the opening 26 in article 20. Thus, the cylinder structure 148 does not snugly fit in article opening 26 around its circumference. As with the example of FIGS. 1 and 2, the respective areas of decorative mounting member 136 and attachment member 138 are greater than the area of article opening 26 orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis, which prevents the decorative mounting member 136 and attachment member 138 from entering article opening 26. As best seen in FIG. 7, when the attachable ornament 130 is attached to article 20, annular face 147 of cylinder structure 148 is spaced apart from inner article surface 24 and inward facing surface 137 of male component 132 by a distance Δz₁ along the thickness (z) axis. The distal end 144 of engagement portion 142 of male component 132 is spaced apart from outer surface 22 of article 20 and inward facing surface 139 of female component 134 by a distance Δz₂ along the thickness (z) axis.

To attach attachable ornament 130 to an article, female component 134 is positioned proximate the inner surface 22 of article 20 and is moved along the z-axis toward outer surface 24 of article 20 and held in place without inserting attachment member 138 into article opening 26. Attachment member 138 is sized so that its area orthogonal to the z-axis is larger than the area of article opening 26 orthogonal to the z-axis, thereby preventing attachment member 138 from entering and/or becoming lodged in the article opening 126. Decorative member 136 is also preferably sized so that its area orthogonal to the thickness (z) axis is larger than the area of article opening 26 orthogonal to the z-axis to prevent decorative member 136 from becoming lodged in article opening 126.

Pushing the proximal end 146 of engagement portion 142 through opening 145 causes the engagement portion 142 to snap-fittingly engage cylinder structure 148. To remove attachable ornament 130 from article 20, the attachment member 138 and decorative mounting member 136 may be grabbed on opposite sides of article opening 26 and pulled away from another along the thickness (z) axis.

Male component 132 is inserted from the opposite side of the article 20 proximate outer surface 24 and toward inner surface 22 along the z-axis without inserting decorative mounting member 136 into article opening 26. The male component 132 is preferably formed from a material with sufficient elasticity to allow engagement portion 142 slightly deform when proximal end 146 engages an inner surface 152 of female component 134 which defines annular flange/lip 160 that defines opening 150. When the deformation force is released as the proximal end 146 of engagement portion 142 passes the annular flange/lip 150 in a direction along the thickness (z) axis during an attachment operation, an audible “pop” sound is released as engagement portion 142 elastically returns to its undeformed condition to indicate successful attachment. Such audible indications are particularly beneficial when attaching the male and female components 132 and 134 from opposite sides of article 20 because it may difficult or impossible to visually verify successful snap-fit attachment.

In certain examples, diameter D2 is at least 0.2, mm, preferably at least 0.25 mm, and still more preferably at least 0.28 mm greater than D1. In other examples, D2 is no more than 0.4 mm, preferably no more than 0.35 mm, and still more preferably no more than 0.32 mm greater than D1.

Claims

1. A selectively attachable ornament, comprising: a decoration mounting member;an attachment member;a male snap-fit component attached to the decoration mounting member and comprising a shaft connected to an engagement portion; anda female snap-fit component attached to the attachment member, the female snap-fit component comprising two legs that define an interior space, wherein the two legs are resiliently displaceable away from one another to receive the engagement portion of the male snap-fit component in the interior space.

2. The attachable ornament of claim 1, wherein the shaft is attached to the decoration mounting member, and the engagement portion has a beveled shape.

3. The attachable ornament of claim 1, wherein when the selectively attachable ornament is attached to an article, the decoration mounting member and the attachment member are spaced apart along a first axis, the two legs define an opening having a width between the two legs along a second axis, the engagement portion has a first width along the second axis, and the engagement portion width is greater than the width of the opening between the legs.

4. The attachable ornament of claim 3, wherein the two legs are semicylindrical and comprise radially inward projecting, opposing flanges that define the opening between the two legs, the width between the two legs is a radial width between the two legs, and the first width of the engagement portion along the second axis is a first radial width.

5. The attachable ornament of claim 4, wherein the engagement portion has a second radial width that is less than the first radial width at a location along the first axis that is farther from the shaft than a location of the first radial width along the first axis.

6. A decorated article comprising: an article having an opening extending along a first axis, the opening having an article opening area orthogonal to the first axis; andan attachable ornament attached to the article, the attachable ornament comprising: a decoration mounting member having a decoration mounting member area orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the decoration mounting member area is greater than the opening area, the decoration mounting member is not insertable into the opening, and the decoration mounting member is located closer to an outer surface of the article than to an inner surface of the article along the first axis; andan attachment member having an attachment member area orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the attachment member is spaced apart from the decoration mounting member along the first axis, and the attachment member area is greater than the opening area, the attachment member is not insertable into the opening, and the attachment member is located closer to the inner surface of the article than to the outer surface of the article along the first axis.

7. The decorated article of claim 6, wherein the attachable ornament comprises: a male snap-fit component attached to the decoration mounting member and comprising a shaft connected to an engagement portion; anda female snap-fit component attached to the attachment member, the female snap-fit component comprising two legs that define an interior space, wherein the two legs are resiliently displaceable away from one another to receive the engagement portion of the male snap-fit component in the interior space.

8. The decorated article of claim 7, wherein the shaft is attached to the decoration mounting member, and the engagement portion is beveled.

9. The decorated article of claim 7, wherein the decoration mounting member and the attachment member are spaced apart along the first axis, the two legs define an opening having a width between the two legs along a second axis, the engagement portion has a first width along the second axis, and the engagement portion first width is greater than the width of the opening between the two legs.

10. The decorated article of claim 9, wherein the two legs are semicylindrical and comprise radially inward projecting, opposing flanges that define the opening between the two legs, the width between the two lengths is a radial width between the two legs, and the first width of the engagement portion along the second axis is a first radial width.

11. The decorated article of claim 10, wherein the engagement portion has a second radial width that is less than the first radial width at a location along the first axis that is farther from the shaft than a location of the first radial width along the first axis.

12. The decorated article of claim 9, wherein the two legs define opposing inner surfaces, and the engagement portion is spaced part from each of the opposing inner surfaces along the second axis.

13. A selectively attachable ornament, comprising: a decoration mounting member;an attachment member;a male snap-fit component attached to the decoration mounting member and comprising a shaft connected to an engagement portion, the engagement portion being spaced apart from the decoration mounting member along a first axis; anda female snap-fit component attached to the attachment member, the female snap-fit component comprising a cylinder section with a face spaced apart from the attachment member along the first axis, the face comprising an annular opening, and the cylinder section comprising at least one circumferential opening extending around a portion of a circumference of the cylinder section.

14. The selectively attachable ornament of claim 13, wherein the shaft is attached to the decoration mounting member, and the engagement portion has a beveled shape.

15. The selectively attachable ornament of claim 13, wherein the engagement portion has a first radial width along a second axis at a first location along the first axis and a second radial width along the second axis at a second location along the first axis, the second radial width is less than the first radial width, and the second location is farther from the shaft along the first axis than is the first location.

16. The selectively attachable ornament of claim 15, wherein the cylinder section has an inner surface, and when the attachable ornament is attached to an article, an outer surface of the engagement portion is spaced part from the cylinder section inner surface along the second axis.

17. A decorated article comprising: an article having an opening extending along a first axis, the opening having an article opening area orthogonal to the first axis; andan attachable ornament attached to the article, the attachable ornament comprising: a decoration mounting member having a decoration mounting member area orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the decoration mounting member area is greater than the article opening area, and the decoration mounting member is located closer to an outer surface of the article than to an inner surface of the article along the first axis;an attachment member having an attachment member area orthogonal to the first axis, wherein the attachment member is spaced apart from the decoration mounting member along the first axis, and the attachment member area is greater than the article opening area, the attachment member is not insertable into the opening, and the decoration mounting member is not insertable into the opening, and the attachment member is located closer to the inner surface of the article than to the outer surface of the article along the first axis;a male snap-fit component attached to the decoration mounting member and comprising a shaft connected to an engagement portion;a female snap-fit component attached to the attachment member, the female snap-fit component comprising a cylinder section having a face defining an annular opening spaced apart from the decorative mounting member and the attachment member along the first axis, and at least one circumferential opening extending around a portion of a circumference of the cylinder section and along a portion of the length of the cylinder section along the first axis.

18. The decorated article of claim 17, wherein the female snap-fit component is spaced apart from the decoration attachment member along the first axis.

19. The decorated article of claim 17, wherein the female snap-fit component is spaced apart from an inner surface of the article which defines article opening.

20. The decorated article of claim 17, wherein the attachment member has an inner surface, the decoration mounting member has an inner surface facing the attachment member inner surface, and the engagement portion of the male component is spaced apart from the inner surface of the attachment member along the first axis.