Patent Application
20060236509
The present invention provides a separable clothing fastener having a magnetic clasp that is useful for presenting an adornment on a supporting member, such as clothing. The adornment is optionally detachable and interchangeable. Adornments are optionally present on one or both of the separable portions of the magnetic clothing fastener.
Clothing fasteners of the art, such as cufflinks, fasten layers of clothing together where both layers of clothing have holes for passing the cufflink through. Clothing fasteners of the art also include means for fastening adornments to clothing, such as studs, buttons and snaps. The present invention provides a magnetically clasping clothing fastener that provides a means for fastening adornments to clothing, optionally as a clothing fastener such as a cufflink.
Cufflinks of the art have one side that is small enough to fit through the holes in the clothing layer, but the side that is typically decorative preferably is too large to pass through the hole. Several cufflink variations exist, such as a simple dumb-bell arrangement wherein a large decorative member, typically generally disk-shaped, is attached permanently to a stud that is attached permanently to a smaller member capable of passing through the hole in the fabric. The most popular cufflink variant has a member that is expanded after insertion through the hole in the fabric, such as the hinged-leaf devices of U.S. patent class 24, subclass 90.1/97. That popular cufflink variant has the advantage of being easily fastenable with one hand.
Some cufflinks of the art provide for interchangeable decorative members, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,584 B1, Apr. 2, 2002. The decorations are limited to the insertable portions specifically manufactured and designed to fit into the base of the decorative member. In that patent, the insertable portions are magnetic, but the cufflink back member is the common expandable member of the art.
Cuffs having holes through all of the layers of fabric to be fastened are also fastened using two buttons merely sewn together, wherein at least one of the buttons is capable of being passed through the holes. Double-button fasteners can be made from any button design, provided that one of the buttons is capable of passing through the holes of the fabric to be fastened.
The style of clothing can be altered dramatically through the use of decorative buttons. An individual may wish to use decorative buttons on a piece of clothing “off the rack” in order to impress the clothing with that individual's own style. A staid workhorse garment, such as a white shirt, can become dramatic evening wear through use of stylish decorative buttons. Permanently affixed decorative buttons may limit the jewelry that a wearer can wear together with that outfit while remaining in the desired style.
The magnetic clothing fastener of the present invention is distinguished from the magnetic snap fasteners of the art, now finding popular use for closing flaps on handbags and wallets, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,935 B2 Jan. 4, 2005, U.S. Design Pat. No. D438,451S, Mar. 6, 2001, (and its related applications) and U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 430,483, Sep. 5, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,126 (and its related patents), U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,294 (Morita), RE B2 4,021,891.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,168 (Mar. 30, 1993), and related patents, discloses a magnetic jewelry closure having a wire safety clasp. The wire safety clasp serves as a mechanical second closure means, which acts as a safety to prevent the magnetic members from being separated until intentional release of the mechanical closure by a user. The magnetic jewelry closure optionally includes a spring ring closure for attaching to jewelry, such as a chain, to the magnetic closure, thus permitting the use of such closure as a replacement clasp for jewelry having a safety closure feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,801, Aug. 20, 2002, discloses a magnetic closure for items of clothing, wherein a magnetic body is positioned in an enclosed strip that can be applied to each of the clothing flaps to be joined.
The present invention provides an alternative magnetically-clasping clothing fastener for presenting an adornment.
The present invention provides a clothing fastener having a magnetic clasp. The present invention provides a solution to the problem of how to present adornments (for example, sculpted art or antique buttons) on clothing. The present invention additionally provides an alternative way to present an adornment on clothing using a fastener that may be easier for some people to handle and to fasten than for example buttons or snaps. The present invention provides a magnetic clasp fastener that is easily adapatable to accommodate the use of a wide variety of items as adornments for clothing. The present invention additionally provides a solution to the problem of how to use adornments through a buttonhole on clothing when the adornment does not fit through the buttonhole. In some embodiments, the present invention additionally provides a solution to the problem of how to easily exchange adornments on clothing. In some embodiments, the present invention provides an alternative type of cufflink.
The present invention is a clothing fastener comprising a first magnetic clasp member having a means for magnetically engaging a second magnetic clasp member. At least one of the magnetic clasp members may be attached, either permanently or releasably, to an adornment member. The invention contemplates magnetic clasp in combination with other clasps known in the art as a secondary clasping mechanism. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the means for magnetically engaging the first and second magnetic clasp members utilizes a male-female type connection where both clasp members contain magnets that attract one another to assist in holding the two magnetic clasp members together when they are engaged.
In the drawings forming part of the present disclosure:
In
In
The present invention provides a clothing fastener having a magnetic clasp for the presentation of adornments on clothing. The present invention provides a solution to the problem of how to present adornments (for example, sculpted art or antique buttons) on clothing, in some cases serving the role of a clothing fastener, such as cufflinks. The present invention additionally provides an alternative clothing fastener that may be easier for some people to handle and fasten than, for example, buttons or snaps.
A primary goal of a magnetic fastener of the present invention is to present an adornment on a supporting fabric. As such, it should be appreciated that it is not necessary that a clothing fastener of the present invention be used to fasten multiple supporting fabric members to one another; use of the invention to present an adornment on a single layer of cloth is also contemplated. The invention contemplates attachment of an adornment member on one or both of the magnetic clasp members. The invention contemplates the adornment member being permanent or releasably attachable to the magnetic clasp member.
The magnetically-clasping clothing fastener of the present invention is separable into two parts, a first magnetic clasp member and a second magnetic clasp member. In use, a supporting fabric has a hole through which the magnetic clasp members pass and bind directly to each other. The magnets do not bind to one another through the supporting fabric as in the magnetic buttons of U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,801, Aug. 20, 2002 (mentioned above).
In a preferred embodiment, a generally elongated shape (“shaft”) is contemplated for the magnetic clasp members, such that the clasped fastener is capable of passing through several layers of cloth when clasped. The invention is thus distinguishable from the friction-type fabric closures of the art (snap-style) that utilize magnets (typically toroidal) in the flat faces of the “snap” to strengthen the binding of the closure, and where the male-female portion of the snap closure do not pass through the supporting fabric, nor do they have appreciable length between the male and female portions when clasped. In the present invention, the length of the elongated portion of the clasped fastener is at least two millimeters up to four centimeters in length, preferably from one half to two millimeters in length, and most preferably one to one and a half centimeters in length. Selection of length depends in part upon whether the fastener will be used to display an adornment on a single cloth layer or through multiple layers, the types of cloth through which the fastener must pass, and the size and shape of the adornment(s) to be attached for presentation. For fewer layers, shorter lengths (e.g. 5 mm) would provide a more stable presentation of the adornment. For multiple layers or for thick layers, longer lengths would be indicated. For larger adornments, shorter lengths appropriately spanning the cloth layers would provide less torsional instability and more stable presentation of the large adornment. In a cufflink-type embodiment, a longer length (e.g. 1 to 2 cm) provides more freedom in the fit, keeping in mind the size of the adornment or adornments.
The diameter of the clasped fastener ranges from about two millimeters to about two centimeters, preferably from about three millimeters to about one and a half centimeters, and most preferably from three millimeters to one centimeter. Selection of the diameter depends in part upon the type of cloth through which the fastener must pass, the size of the hole, and the size and shape of the adornment(s) to be attached for presentation. The diameter also can restrict whether a magnet can be effectively used along the shaft of the magnetic clasp members (as shown in
A clothing fastener according the present invention comprises a first magnetic clasp member having a means for magnetically engaging a second magnetic clasp member. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the means for magnetically engaging the first and second magnetic clasp members utilizes a male-female type connection where both clasp members contain magnets that attract one another to assist in holding the two magnetic clasp members together when they are engaged. The magnetic attraction may additionally provide some assistance in getting the two magnetic clasp members fully engaged.
As noted above, in a preferred embodiment, the male and female connector portions of the magnetically-clasping clothing fastener are generally elongated, to permit the clothing fastener to traverse the cloth that is the supporting material or materials to be fastened together. The generally elongated female connector portion of one of the magnetic clasp members has magnet in it, for example at the inside end, as shown as number 65 in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the generally elongated female connector portion of one of the magnetic clasp members has a magnet or magnets in it, along the walls of the receiving chamber, as shown as number 60 in
The present invention provides a means for presenting an adornment on a supporting member, for example a fabric or cloth. A wide variety of adornment members are contemplated for use with the fastener of the present invention. For example, an artist may sculpt, carve, cast, forge, extrude, mold, paint, sew or otherwise create an adornment member that can then be attached to a fastener of the present invention. As another example, found items (e.g. antique buttons, bottlecaps, shells) can be used as an adornment member attached to a fastener of the present invention. Thus, an embodiment wherein one of the magnetic clasp members is “attachable” to an adornment member.
The present invention contemplates attachment of the adornment member using any of the many methods known in the art. Thus, the invention contemplates permanent or releasable attachment of the adornment members. For example, a metal adornment may be fused, welded, or glued to the magnetic clasp member, an example of such attachment is shown in
The present invention requires that at least one of the magnetic clasp members be attachable to an adornment member. The adornment member provides decoration to the supporting fabric through which the clothing fastener is attached. The adornment member can influence fashion or style of the overall look of the garment upon which it is presented. The present invention also contemplates two adornment members, one on each of the magnetic clasp members. One or both of these adornment members may be permanently or releasably attached.
In uses where clothing is actually fastened together, the adornment member may serve a function of not easily passing through the hole in the fabric, thereby preventing easy movement of the clothing fastener through the hole through the supporting fabric. In this manner, the adornment member functions similarly to a button or to a cuff-link front. Indeed, in some embodiments of the present invention, the adornment member is a button that is either permanently or releasably attached to the magnetic clasp member.
As cufflinks, some embodiments of the present invention present an advantage over the cufflinks common in the art in that two oversized adornments may be presented on both sides of the clasped cuff—neither of which need ever be capable of passing through the hole in the supporting member(s) through which the magnetic clasp passes. In many cufflinks of the art, one side of the cufflink must pass through the buttonhole/cufflink hole, typically using either a relatively small stud or an expandable member.
In embodiments in which the adornment member is attached in a releaseable manner to the magnetic clothing fastener, the present invention contemplates attachment through the many releaseable methods known in the art. For example, clips—including spring clips, tweezer- or pincer-like clips and other various kinds of releasable clips known in the art—may be used to secure adornments with suitable protrusions or rings, examples of which are shown in
The primary means of fastening a clothing fastener of the present invention is through magnetic attraction and seating together of the magnetic clasp members. However, the invention contemplates optional usage of a secondary clasp, for example to prevent accidental disengagement of the clasp. Thus, it is contemplated to use safety clasp mechanisms of the jewelry arts in combination with the primary magnetic clasp mechanism of the present invention.
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention described hereinabove are intended to illustrate, rather than limit, the scope of the claimed invention.
