Patent Application
20180332913
The present invention relates to a cinch apparatus, more specifically, to an apparel cinch apparatus for securely gathering or taking up slack in an article of clothing, e.g., adjusting the length of a hemline.
Current designs of apparel clips are not adjustable and do not have a free flowing link strap. As such, these designs are ineffective for shortening the hero line on an array of garments such as pants, dresses, skirts, blouses, shirt sleeves, suit jackets sleeves, etc. These apparel clips, also referred to as T-shirt clips, are typically composed of hard plastic, which is not maneuverable and does not allow for adjustments of long hems on portions of garments (e.g. pant legs and sleeve lengths). They are also not material friendly and, after use, the garment often exhibits signs of wear at the attachment location leaving the clothing material stretched out, severely wrinkled, and quite often permanently damaged.
The present invention features an apparel cinch clip that is non-damaging, practical, and designed to provide any desired hem length for a variety of garments, thus giving garments an unseen versatility. The present apparel cinch clip does not affect the integrity of the garment's fabric as a result of the gentle force provided by the magnetic clasp coupled to a strap, which keep both the exterior and the interior gatherings of clothing in place. Further, a link strap is able to absorb the slack (e.g. the excess fabric that one wishes to hold up) of the hemline and the weight of the slack, thus providing ease of movement all day long. The apparel cinch clip of the present invention is the no damage, no fuss, no slide (or gravity pull) clip desired by every fashionista.
An apparel cinch clip for securely gathering or taking up slack, such as adjusting a hem, a hemline adjuster or an adjuster of hemline, in an article of clothing as presently disclosed. In some embodiments the cinch clip may comprise a first member and a second member joined by a longitudinal link strap. In further embodiments, the first member may comprise a magnet housing having a front surface, a back surface. a top end, and a bottom end. Additionally, a first magnet may be centrally disposed within the magnet housing. In another embodiment, a closing component having a closing component front surface, a closing component back surface, a closing component top end, and a closing component bottom end, also comprises the first member. In additional embodiments, a hinge may couple the closing component bottom end to the top end of the magnet housing to allow the closing component to rotate about the hinge from a first position to a second position. The first member takes the first position when the closing component front surface contacts the front surface of the magnet housing and the second position when the closing component back surface fully contacts the back surface of the magnet housing. In one embodiment, the back surface of the magnet housing and the closing component back surface may be flat to ensure full contact. A male fastening device disposed on the closing component may align with a female fastening device disposed on the magnetic housing, such that the male fastening device interlocks with the female fastening device when the first member is in the first or second position. This interlocking secures the magnet housing to the closing component. In some embodiments, a latch is used to secure the magnet housing to the closing component such that the male fastening device comprises the male portion of the latch and the female fastening device comprises the female portion of the latch.
In further embodiments, a first magnetic interference component may be disposed at the back surface of the magnetic housing and a second magnetic interference component may be disposed at the closing component back surface. When the first member is in the first position, the magnetic force of the first magnet is not experienced by objects external to the first member as a result of the first and second magnetic interference components.
In supplementary embodiments, the second member may comprise a decorative component having a second magnet centrally disposed therein. In one embodiment, a plurality of soldered brackets, disposed along the circumference of the second magnet, couple the second magnet to the center of the decorative component. The second magnet may be in a housing device. The decorative component may have a decorative component front surface, a decorative component back surface, a decorative component top end, and a decorative component bottom end. Further, the longitudinal link strap may have a strap first end and a strap second end. In a non-limiting example, the longitudinal link strap may be composed of thread, leather, fabric, a chain, or a series of connected beads. In one embodiment, the strap first end is coupled to the bottom of the magnet housing, for coupling the first member to the longitudinal link strap, while the strap second end is coupled to the decorative component top end for coupling the second member to the longitudinal link strap.
Consistent with previous embodiments, when the first member is in the second position, a user may gather a portion of an article of clothing and secure said gathering by meeting the decorative component front surface and the front surface of the magnet housing such that the first and second magnets contact to lock the first member to the second member. In this configuration, the portion of the article of clothing gathered by the user may be secured in place by the longitudinal link strap. Once removed, the cinch clip may be stored away when the first member is in the first position so that the magnetic force of the first magnet may be effectively inhibited and unable to act upon objects external to the first member.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to
In further embodiments, a first magnetic interference component may be disposed at the back surface of the magnetic housing (110) and a second magnetic interference component may be disposed at the closing component back surface (122). When the first member (101) is in the first position, (i.e. the closing component front surface (123) is attached to the front surface (113) of the magnet housing (110)), the magnetic force of the first magnet (115) is not experienced by objects external to the first member (101) as a result of the first and second magnetic interference components.
In supplementary embodiments, the second member (130) may comprise a decorative component (131) having a second magnet (133) centrally disposed therein. In one embodiment, a plurality of soldered brackets, disposed along the circumference of the second magnet (133), couple the second magnet (133) to the center of the decorative component (131). The decorative component (131) may have a decorative component front surface (132), a decorative component back surface (133) (see, e.g.,
Consistent with previous embodiments, when the first member (101) is in the second position, a user may gather a portion of an article of clothing and secure said gathering by meeting the decorative component front surface (132) and the front surface (113) of the magnet housing (110) such that the first (115) and second (133) magnets contact to lock the first member (101) to the second member (130). In this configuration, the portion of the article of clothing gathered by the user may be secured in place by the longitudinal link strap (140). Once removed, the cinch clip (100) may be stored away when the first member (101) is in the first position so that the magnetic force of the first magnet (115) may be effectively inhibited and unable to act upon objects external to the first member (110).
Some embodiments of the cinch clip (100) feature a first annular component (150) soldered (or otherwise attached) to the bottom end of the magnet housing (110) for coupling the bottom end of the magnet housing (110) to the strap first end (143). In another embodiment, a second annular component (155) may be soldered (or otherwise attached) to the decorative component top end (135) for coupling the decorative component top end to the strap second end (145). In an alternate embodiment, the second annular component (155) may comprise a plurality of annular components, operatively connected, to extend the operative length of the longitudinal link strap (140).
An alternate configuration of the cinch clip (100), as depicted in
While cinch clip (100) is depicted as having a magnet (115) within first member (101) and a second magnet (133) within second member (130), it is also possible to configure either the first member (101) without magnet (115) or the second member (130) without magnet (133). In such cases at least one of first member (115) or second member (130) must have a magnet within it, and the other member must be made of a material (such as steel, other iron-containing alloy or other plate with high magnetic permeability), that is magnetically attracted to the magnet with sufficient force that the two members may serve the intended function of a cinch clip (100).
An alternative embodiment of the first member (101) is depicted in
While the first annular component (150) and the second annular component (155) are depicted as simple rings soldered to the ends of first member (110) and second member (130), respectively, either the first member (110), or the second member (120), may be made interchangeable with members having the same or similar function and different aesthetic design features by employing a detachable feature as part of the longitudinal link strap (140), or one or both of the annular components (150, 155). For example, and alternative configuration for attaching annular component (150) to a first member (101) or a second member (130) is a magnetic clasp (170), as depicted in
While the annular components (150, 155) are depicted as substantially circular, they may also be substantially oval, rectangular, or any other shape conducive to connecting to the longitudinal link strap (140). Moreover, they may form a so-called ladder lock, whereby the longitudinal link strap (140) may be adjusted in length. Other suitable means of joining the longitudinal link strap (140) to the annular components (150, 155), include clasps and box latches. As mentioned above, more than one longitudinal link strap (140) may be employed. Multiple means may be employed to join the longitudinal link straps (140) to the annular components (150, 155). These may include ribbon attachments, box clasps, the aforementioned magnetic clasp, or combinations of the foregoing, e.g., box clasps and loops. In some embodiments, a single box clasp may be combined with two loops. In other embodiments, a three loop configuration may be employed. In other embodiments, a strap extending through a ladder lock may be employed.
In addition, for each longitudinal link strap (140) employed, a different means may be used to attach one end of the longitudinal link strap (140) to the first annular component (150) and the other end of the longitudinal link strap (140) to the second annular component (155).
While first end (194) of plain segment (190) is depicted as connecting to first member (101) through a simple loop, and second end (182) of ornamented segment (180) is depicted as being connected to the second member (130) through in a similar manner, it is to be understood that a variety of couplings may be employed within the ambit of this invention. Exemplary couplings include box clasps, magnets, hook clasps, ladder locks, and the like. Similarly, second end (192) of plain segment (190) may be coupled to first end (184) of ornamented segment (180) with in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, different one second member (130) may be exchanged for another second member (130) by detaching plain segment (190) from ornamented segment (180) and joining a different ornamented segment (180) to the plain segment (190). In other embodiments, second member (130) may be detached from ornamented segment (180) and a different second member (130) may be coupled to second end (182) of ornamented segment (180).
An alternative embodiment of a first member (101) of the cinch clip (100) is depicted in
In some embodiments a first end (340) of the longitudinal link strap (140) joins to an annular ring (55) on a second member (130), as shown in
While the longitudinal link strap (140) is depicted as being roughly planar, other shapes may be used for the longitudinal link strap (140). In some embodiments the longitudinal link strap (140) may be roughly cylindrical, like a cord or string.
In embodiments of the cinch clip (100) comprising an adjustable first member (300), the adjustable first member (300) or the second member (130) may be magnetic. In some embodiments the adjustable first member (300) is made of a magnetic material and the second member (130) is contains a magnet or is made of a magnetic material. In some embodiments, the adjustable first member (300) is made of a ferromagnetic material (such as steel, other iron-containing alloy or other plate with high magnetic permeability) and the second member (130) is made of a magnetic material or comprises a magnet. In some embodiments, the adjustable first member (300) is magnetized (i.e., is itself a permanent magnet) and the second member (130) comprises a ferromagnetic material.
As used herein, the term “about” refers to plus or minus 10% of the referenced number.
As used herein, “or” is intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” means “A, B, or both,” unless otherwise indicated (e.g., by stating “either A or B.”)
Various modifications of the invention, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. Each reference cited in the present application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims. Reference numbers recited in the claims are exemplary and for ease of review by the patent office only; and are not limiting in any way. In some embodiments, the figures presented in this patent application are drawn to scale, including the angles, ratios of dimensions, etc. In some embodiments, the figures are representative only and the claims are not limited by the dimensions of the figures. In some embodiments, descriptions of the inventions described herein using the phrase “comprising” includes embodiments that could be described as “consisting of”, and as such the written description requirement for claiming one or more embodiments of the present invention using the phrase “consisting of” is met.
The reference numbers recited in the below claims are solely for ease of examination of this patent application, and are exemplary, and are not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims to the particular features having the corresponding reference numbers in the drawings.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/509,610 filed May 22, 2017, the specification(s) of which is/are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62509610 | May 2017 | US |
