Patent Application
20220346535
The invention relates to a clip worn on clothing onto which a personal face mask can be clipped when not in use.
The rise of COVID-19 has prompted many changes in human lifestyle, most notable the wearing of face masks in public. One issue that has arisen is where to put the face mask when not being worn, but still having the face mask be readily accessible to the user when the face mask is required to be worn.
It would be beneficial to provide a retaining device that allows the face mask to be readily accessible when needed.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In one embodiment, the present invention is a clip that is used to retain a face mask on a person's clothing when not in use.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings:
In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The embodiments illustrated below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.
Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term “implementation.”
As used in this application, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.
The word “about” is used herein to include a value of +/−10 percent of the numerical value modified by the word “about” and the word “generally” is used herein to mean “without regard to particulars or exceptions.”
Additionally, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, each numerical value and range should be interpreted as being approximate as if the word “about” or “approximately” preceded the value of the value or range.
The use of figure numbers and/or figure reference labels in the claims is intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimed subject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims. Such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of those claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.
It should be understood that the steps of the exemplary methods set forth herein are not necessarily required to be performed in the order described, and the order of the steps of such methods should be understood to be merely exemplary. Likewise, additional steps may be included in such methods, and certain steps may be omitted or combined, in methods consistent with various embodiments of the present invention.
Although the elements in the following method claims, if any, are recited in a particular sequence with corresponding labeling, unless the claim recitations otherwise imply a particular sequence for implementing some or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being implemented in that particular sequence.
Clip 100 is constructed from a body 110, shown in
Top portion 112 can be releasably secured to clothing 60 in one of several known retaining mechanisms, such as, for example, by a safety type pin 120, shown in
Also, while several retaining mechanisms are shown and described, those skilled in the art will recognize that clip 100 can be directly sewn or otherwise permanently attached to an article of clothing.
Clip 100 can use one of several connection mechanisms to retain bottom portion 114 to top portion 112. As shown in
Clip 100 can be used keep to mask 50 off surfaces (e.g., tables, counters, desks, dashboards) and out of pockets while not in use ad is much more hygienic for mask effectivity. Further, it is believed that the use of clip 100 increases the lifespan of mask 50, reducing waste.
To use clip 100, clip 100 is attached to clothing 60 as shown in
To remove face mask 50 from clip, loop portion 134 is separated from hook portion 132; female snap portion 134′ is separated from male snap portion 132′; or magnetically attractive portion 134″ is separated from magnetic portion 134″. Bottom portion 114 is disengaged from top portion 112 of body 110 and face mask 50 is removed from clothing 60.
It will be further understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.
The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/183,246, filed on May 3, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63183246 | May 2021 | US |
