Patent Application
20120023708
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a fastener facilitating the secure attachment of flowers to an article of clothing. Specifically, the invention includes a heat shrinkable tube which enables attachment of one or more fasteners onto the stem of a boutonniere or corsage, thus allowing the flower arrangement to be properly secured to a lapel along a jacket or a dress.
2. Background
Formal occasions often include the purchase of flowers in the form of a boutonniere or corsage attachable to an article of clothing. Most boutonnieres and corsages are sold with one or more long straight pins which require great skill and patience to properly attach a flower arrangement onto a jacket or dress. More often than not, the boutonniere or corsage is secured to a jacket or dress in a less than secure manner, thus allowing the flower arrangement to flop around on or fall off of an article of clothing.
While the related arts include a variety of mechanical holders and fasteners for boutonnieres and/or corsages, the secure attachment of flower arrangements to clothing remains a significant challenge and source of great embarrassment particularly in the context of proms and formals.
As is readily apparent from the discussions above, the related arts do not include a device which facilitates quick and secure attachment of a boutonniere or corsage to an article of clothing.
Therefore, what is required is a device which facilitates the secure attachment of a boutonniere or corsage to an article of clothing while minimizing the skill to do so.
An object of the invention is to provide a device which facilitates the secure attachment of a boutonniere or corsage to an article of clothing while minimizing the skill to do so.
The fastener device includes a heat shrinkable tube and at least one fastener assembly. The heat shrinkable tube is sliable along a stem extending from a flower arrangement prior to the application of heat and fixable to the stem after heating. Each fastener assembly is disposed along and extends from the heat shrinkable tube. One or more fasteners are capable of securing the fastener device with flower arrangement to an article of clothing.
In other embodiments, the fastener device could mechanically secure at least one fastener assembly between the heat shrinkable tube and stem after the tube is shrunk onto the stem.
In other embodiments, the fastener assembly could be secured to the heat shrinkable tube via an adhesive.
In other embodiments, the fastener assembly could include a post and a clasp, wherein the post could further include a base attached to a pin in a nearly perpendicular arrangement.
In other embodiments, the base could be disposed between the heat shrinkable tube and the stem so that the pin passes through the heat shrinkable tube and extends therefrom.
In other embodiments, the length of the heat shrinkable tube could be less than the length of the stem.
The described invention provides advantages over the related arts. The invention avoids the use of straight pins and other difficult to use fasteners otherwise required to pass through a boutonniere or corsage and clothing for proper attachment of a flower arrangement to a jacket, dress, or other article of clothing. The contractible nature of the heat shrinkable tube accommodates a variety of cross sectional sizes and shapes typical of boutonnieres and corsages. The heat shrinkable tube is readily activated via a hair dryer, heat gun, heating iron, hot liquid, and other heat producing means and devices available to the florist profession and purchasers of flower products.
The above and other objectives, features, and advantages of the preferred embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the following description read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like referenced numerals designate the same or similar elements.
Additional aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will be understood and will become more readily apparent when the invention is considered in the light of the following description made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to several preferred embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale.
While the invention is described with particular reference to boutonnieres, it is understood that the invention is likewise applicable to other flower arrangements worn on an article of clothing including, but not limited to, corsages. Flower arrangements could include one or more flowers and related accessories.
Clothing is further understood to broadly include items directly or indirectly contacting a body including, but not limited to, jackets, shirts, dresses, pants, footwear, bags, towels, and hats.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The heat shrinkable tube 7 could be composed of a material, preferably a flexible composition, which contracts or shrinks when exposed to a heat source that elevates the temperature of the tube to an activation temperature. For example, the heat shrinkable tube 7 could be a wire wrap device used by electricians and other trades to bundle and secure wires. The length of the heat shrinkable tube 7 could be longer or shorter than the length of the stem 3.
In some embodiments, the heat shrinkable tube 7 could include one or more colors which compliment colors in the flower arrangement and/or clothing or match the color of the stem 3 so as to conceal the fastener device 5. In yet other embodiments, the heat shrinkable tube 7 could include decorative designs or ornamentation.
In some embodiments, the heat shrinkable tube 7 could be directly molded onto the fastener assemblies 6. In other embodiments, one or more fastener assemblies 6 could be assembled onto a heat shrinkable tube 7.
In one such example, a post 8 could be assembled onto one or both ends of a heat shrinkable tube 7. The pin 9 is angled with respect to the heat shrinkable tube 7 and inserted therein so as to contact and pierce the heat shrinkable tube 7 adjacent to the end. The pin 9 is then pressed through the wall of the heat shrinkable tube 7 and rotated so that the base 13 is then parallel to the wall. When a post 8 is required along the mid-section of the heat shrinkable tube 7, a small slot or opening could be made along a portion of the circumference of the heat shrinkable tube 7 and the post 8 inserted therein so that the pin 9 contacts and pierces the wall of the heat shrinkable tube 7. The pin 9 is then pressed through the wall until the base 13 contacts the interior surface of the heat shrinkable tube 7. A bead of adhesive 11 could be applied between the base 13 and interior surface of the heat shrinkable tube 7 so as to fix and secure the post 8 to the heat shrinkable tube 7.
After the heat shrinkable tube 7 is properly aligned along the stem 3, heat 12 is applied directly onto the fastener device 5, as represented in
Referring now to
In some embodiments, contraction of the heat shrinkable tube 7 onto the stem 3 could secure a fastener assembly 6 to the stem 3, as generally represented in
After the heat shrinkable tube 7 is shrunk onto and secured to the stem 3, the pin 9 is pressed into and through an article of clothing, as represented by the lapel 4 in
The fastener device 5 is attached to an article of clothing by first sliding the heat shrinkable tube 7 onto a stem 3 extending from one end of a flower arrangement. Heat 12 is then applied onto the fastener device 5 so as to elevate the temperature of the heat shrinkable tube 7 to at least the heat activation temperature at which the material begins to shrink or contract along its diameter or its diameter and length. Heat 12 is applied until such time when the heat shrinkable tube 7 has shrunk onto the stem 3 contacting at least a portion of the stem 3. Thereafter, the flower arrangement is attached to an article of clothing via one or more fastener assemblies 6 disposed along and attached to the fastener device 5. Fastener assemblies 6 may be fixed to or adjusted with respect to the heat shrinkable tube 7. In some embodiments, contraction of the heat shrinkable tube 7 onto the stem 3 could mechanically secure the fastener assembly 6 to the stem 3. In other embodiments, the heat shrinkable tube 7 could be adhesively bonded to each fastener assembly 6.
The description above indicates that a great degree of flexibility is offered in terms of the invention. Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.
