This invention relates generally to clothing, particularly including buttons for use with clothing.
Buttons are the dominant form of securing clothing, and have been a commonly used ornate decorative element in the world of dress and fashion for hundreds of years. For many people a button is not only an element for securing clothing but also is an accessory of dress and even a fashion statement. In the latter regard, it is desirable not only that a button be highly attractive, but also that it coordinate or harmonize with the other articles of dress, such as a person's suit, shirt, jewelry, and accessories.
While some people wear the standard company-issued buttons on their dress or suit for all occasions without thought of replacement, others choose to remove the standard-issue buttons and replace them with more ornate and expressive buttons because coordination and appearance is important to them. Further, one particular style of button cannot possibly be acceptable for numerous different styles and levels of dress, from casual dress to business dress to formal dress. One set of buttons is also unlikely to match every different type of clothing or different fabrics. Notwithstanding the differences in button designs based on quality and appearance, the appearance of the button face itself often has the most immediate visual impact on suit and dress.
Although it is possible to purchase numerous different buttons for different situations and then to replace the buttons as desired, it is enormously impractical to do so, primarily because of the time and effort involved in removing and sewing new buttons in place.
The present invention includes interchangeable and upgradeable button faces, for example by providing a means in the form of button faces that can be inserted and placed securely on clothing with the aid of an attached housing unit, with the housing unit providing the ability to secure and release buttons of differing designs to suit any occasion. The housing unit of the button casing is configured to universally accept a variety of buttons produced by multiple designers and manufactures within limits of engineering requirements. In general, the housing is configured to removably receive and hold a button face in place, whereby any of a variety of button faces may be inserted, removed, and replaced with others.
In one example, one portion of the housing is generally cylindrical, having upwardly extending sidewalls terminating at a rim, with the rim including an interior lip. The button face is received within the interior of the cylinder where it is held in place by the lip. In other examples, the housing may be square or have any other peripheral shapes.
In yet other examples, the housing element is designed with a center hollow well in order to accept button faces having a complimentary stem to create a secure attachment. In this arrangement, the button faces may be frictionally secured to the housing.
In still other examples, the button and housing may include one or more magnets and cooperating ferromagnetic materials use to hold the button face within the housing.
In accordance with further descriptions of the various preferred examples of the invention discussed below, the present invention seeks to provide an alternative solution to the problem of establishing different appearances for a single suit or dress, in a simple, convenient, inexpensive manner which is also safe from risk and damage to clothing.
Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:
In general, the present invention relates to a housing secured to a clothing item, with the housing being configured to accept a removably attached button face. In the preferred form, the button housing is permanently secured to the clothing item and includes a front surface that is sized and configured to serve as a button. In alternate forms, however, the housing may be securely but removably attached to the clothing item. When in place, the housing and button face together cooperate to form a button that may be urged through a button hole in order to join shirt or jacket halves, pocket closures, or other fabric and clothing items that may be secured by buttons.
While discussed generally as being applied to clothing items, it should be understood that the present invention may also be applied to other items using buttons as closure devices or decorative items, such as with purses, bags, belts, and other items. In each case, the button is secured to a section of material in which the material may be fabric, leather, fur, rubber, or any other synthetic or natural material that may be secured by a button. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by the discussion of the preferred embodiment with respect to an article of clothing.
An exemplary view of a preferred button, shown secured to an item of clothing, is illustrated in
In accordance with the invention, one or more of the buttons 20, 21, 22 is secured to the clothing item so that the button face may be removed and replaced with a different button face, thereby changing the appearance of the button. Accordingly, buttons that are different in color or that have different facial insignia or designs can be readily secured to the clothing item while replacing the previously attached buttons.
The housing 50 includes an upper portion that mates with the button face. When the button is generally circular, the housing likewise is configured to removably secure a circular button face. Preferably, the housing therefore includes an interior region that is cylindrical in shape so that it can receive the button face.
The housing 50 further includes a lower portion that provides a surface for engaging fabric. Preferably the upper portion is separated slightly from the lower portion, meaning that a spacer or other small segment is integrally provided between them. As shown, the surface is shaped as a circular flange of about the same diameter as the upper cylindrical portion, the circular flange extending radially outward from the center of the housing. In general, the flange is sized and shaped such that it can engage and hold the button securely against the fabric.
The anchor 60 likewise includes a surface for engaging the fabric, and as shown the surface is also in the form of a generally circular flange. The fabric of the shirt or other clothing item is sandwiched between the cooperating flanges of the housing 50 and the anchor, thereby holding the button to the fabric. As will be discussed below, the anchor preferably includes an upwardly extending stem that is received within the housing to hold the anchor and housing together in place.
In alternate examples, the anchor and housing need not be formed in two halves, but rather can comprise a single unit that is attached to the clothing item. In such an example, the housing may be stitched directly to the fabric, thereby eliminating the need for the anchor.
In this preferred example, the anchor 60 includes an upwardly-extending stem 62 having a base and an opposing tip, and a peripheral flange 64 surrounding the base of the stem. The flange is sized and shaped to be sufficiently large to hold the anchor against the fabric 10 so that the button is securely held to the fabric. As shown, the stem 62 is hollow. In the event a button face 40 is difficult to remove from the housing 50, a pin may be inserted through the stem to push against an inner surface of the button face to aid in removal. While the button stem is preferably hollow and includes an interior channel, in other versions it may be solid.
The size of the stem 62 is sufficient to pierce a swatch of fabric while being sturdy enough to support the housing. In one example, the stem is approximately 5 mm or less in diameter.
The preferred housing 50 includes a lower portion having a peripheral flange 52. The housing flange 52 is generally sized and shaped to substantially match that of the anchor flange, such that the two flanges cooperate to hold the fabric 10 between them. The housing flange surrounds the rim of a well 54 configured to receive the stem of the anchor. Thus, in use, the stem 62 pierces the fabric and is inserted into the well 54 such that the flange 52 of the housing and the flange 62 of the anchor sandwich the fabric 10 between them.
The outside diameter of the stem 62 and the inside diameter of the well 54 are designed such that the stem is snugly frictionally received within the well. In one example, the outside diameter of at least an upper portion of the stem 62 is slightly greater than the inside diameter of the well 54. Ideally the stem may be removed but a substantial force is required. The housing and anchor may be formed from any of a variety of materials, as noted above. In some versions one or both components are manufactured from plastics that are somewhat deformable to facilitate the friction fitting of the two pieces. In other versions, one or both components are made from metal.
While the preferred version includes a stem and well configuration that relies solely on friction fitting, in other examples of the invention additional structures are provided to provide an even more secure attachment of the housing to the anchor. Thus, for example, the stem and well may include ridges and cooperating channels or other such features.
As shown, the anchor is configured with an upwardly extending stem that is received within a well within the housing. In yet other examples of the invention, these two features may be reversed or otherwise configured. For example, the anchor may include a well or channel that receives a stem extending downward from the housing in order to secure the two components together. Still other configurations are also possible to join the two pieces in a manner that secures them to the fabric.
An upper portion of the housing 50 defines a shallow circular cylinder for receiving the button face. As described above, in one form the sidewalls 56 of the cylinder may comprise a plurality of petals separated by spaces to facilitate insertion and removal of the button face. As shown, one or more of the petals includes a lip 58 or other interior projection that secures the button face within the housing.
The button face 40 is illustrated as being a circular disk having sidewalls 44 that generally conform to the sidewalls 56 of the housing. An upper shoulder 42 is provided on the button face 40, with the shoulder being configured to cooperate with the lip 58 to hold the button face in place. The shoulder may be, for example, a recessed or tapered portion of the button face such that the shoulder can fit below the surface of the lip 58.
In an alternate example of the invention, shown in
In addition, or instead, the button face may also include a downwardly-depending central lobe 43, with the central lobe being sized and shaped to pass through the well 51 in the housing and to be inserted into a channel provided within the stem 62. The lobe 43 may include a narrowed base 45 that cooperates with an inwardly-extending rim provided within the channel in the stem 62 of the anchor, such that the lobe 43 is snap-fit into the anchor 60, thereby holding the button face 40, housing 50, and anchor 60 in place. Note that in this version the lower portion of the housing 50 may be eliminated.
In yet another version of the invention, the button includes a system of supporting internal magnets, rather than a lip and bevel system as described above. In a version using magnets, the magnetic components may be incorporated into many different locations within the scope of the invention. For example, the anchor, base, button, or button face (or any portion of the foregoing) may be formed from metal while one of the other components includes (in whole or in part) a magnetic component.
In accordance with the invention as described above, any of a variety of button faces may be inserted into a housing and later removed and replaced with other button faces. The button faces may be removed by flexing the housing, prying the button face from the housing, inserting a peg or pin through the channel in the anchor, or by any other suitable means. There is no limit to the number of different button faces a user can acquire and use. Furthermore, a user can easily design and make new button faces as desired.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
This application claims the benefit of prior provisional application Ser. No. 60/969,459, filed Aug. 31, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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2087074 | Tucker | Jul 1937 | A |
3715781 | Salvatori | Feb 1973 | A |
4899556 | Ford | Feb 1990 | A |
4959890 | Pazurek | Oct 1990 | A |
5542157 | Herman | Aug 1996 | A |
6588067 | Efron et al. | Jul 2003 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20090056082 A1 | Mar 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60969459 | Aug 2007 | US |