Retailers are discovering that shirt and tie combinations packaged together better meet the needs of a certain class of shoppers. When displaying and selling dress shirts in combination with ties, retailers assist their clients with a fashion choice that can be time consuming. Furthermore, when suitably coordinated, a shirt and a tie combination can make a more attractive display item for sale than if displayed individually.
Unfortunately, some consumers tend to remove and replace ties from their previously associated shirt, and thus create additional costs and difficulties to the retailer. Among other problems created, the individual components are not separately priced. Thus, retailers would benefit from a way to package shirt and tie combinations so that the consumer is discouraged from removing ties from these combinations.
The present invention is a display strap for securing a tie to a shirt. In one aspect the present invention comprises an elongated body extending in a first direction between first and second ends. The elongated body has two scorelines, generally perpendicular to the first direction and defining a space therebetween. The elongated body is foldable along the scorelines, and the spaced between is sized to accommodate a folded shirt.
Two lock-tabs are positioned adjacent to the ends. Also, two lock-slots are positioned along the elongated body—a first one between the first end and the first scoreline and a second one between the second end and the second scoreline. The portions of the body between each scoreline and its respective end are long enough to allow the first and second lock-tabs to engage the second and first lock-slots respectively, when the body is folded along the scorelines. When such an engagement is made, two lock-joints are formed and a channel is formed, the channel being defined by the elongated body between the lock-joints. The channel is suitable for the placement of a tie therein.
In another aspect of the present invention, two elongated bodies are used. A first elongated body extends in a first direction between a first end and a second end. A second elongated body extends in the first direction between a third and a fourth end. Also provided are first and second scorelines extending in a direction generally perpendicular to the first direction and placed on the first and second elongated bodies respectively, each elongated body being foldable along its respective scoreline, and each scoreline defining two portions of its respective elongated body. Further provided are first, second, third and fourth lock-tabs positioned respectively adjacent to the first, second third and fourth ends of the two elongated bodies. In addition, first and second lock-slots are each positioned along the second elongated body and third and fourth lock-slots, each positioned along the first elongated body. When the two elongated bodies are folded along their respective scorelines, they attach to one another by way of first and second pairs of lock-joints, the first pair of lock-joints comprising (a) the first lock-tab and the first lock-slot and (b) the third lock-tab and the third lock-slot, the second pair of lock-joints comprising (a) the second lock-tab and the second lock-slot and (b) the fourth lock-tab and the fourth lock-slot. After such a folding two channels are present—the first channel being defined by the first and second elongated bodies between the first pair of lock-joints and the second channel being defined by the first and second elongated bodies between the second pair of lock-joints. Each channel is sized for the placement of a tie therein.
In another aspect of the present invention, a fabric strap comprising an elongated body extending in a first direction and having a first end and a second end is provided. The first end is bound to a first binding point which is positioned along the elongated body and is proximal to the second end, and the second end is bound to a second binding point which is positioned along the elongated body and is proximal to the first end, wherein a main loop sized for the placement of the shirt therein is defined between the first end of the elongated body and the second binding point a channel sized for the placement of the tie therein is defined between the first and second binding points.
In another aspect of the present invention, provided is a fabric strap comprising an elongated body extending in a first direction and having a first end and a second end bound to one another so as to define a main loop sized for the placement of the shirt therein. A wall extends in the first direction along a portion of the elongated body between first and second attachment points at which points the wall is attached to the elongated body. The first and second attachment points define therebetween a channel sized for the placement of a tie therein.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for securing a tie to a folded shirt having buttons down the front thereof. The tie is attached to the neck area of the folded shirt. It is positioned along the buttons of the folded shirt. A strapping device is wrapped around the folded shirt. The tie is inserted into the strapping device. This method provides that the tie and folding shirt are secured free of surrounding bag for retail display.
The main component of the present invention is the body 100, shown in
The body extends in horizontal direction, marked by arrow 105, between ends 107 and 108. The body may be manufactured in variety of materials. In a preferred embodiment, plastic is used. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the body is manufactured from a clear material in order to reveal a shirt and a tie beneath it. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the body 100 includes indicia, for example, placed on the portion 110 between the scorelines 102 and 103. Indicia may include trade names and/or describe the merchandise with which the present invention is used.
The body 100 also includes a set of first lock-slots 112 and a set of second lock-slots 113. The two sets comprise one or more lock-slots each. Multiple lock-slots help accommodate shirts of different dimensions. A first lock-tab 115 is placed next to the first end 107 and a second lock-tab 116 is placed next to the second end 108.
The present invention is used in conjunction with a folded shirt (300 in
When the body is folded, as shown in
If the tie is placed so it intersects the body twice, then the other end of the tie is placed in the space between the body and the folded shirt 307.
A second embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIGS. 5A and 5B. As seen in
The two elongated bodies are folded along their respective scorelines and wrapped around a folded shirt 300 as shown in FIG. 5B. The first lock-tab 521 engages the first lock-slot 531 and the third lock-tab 523 engages the third lock-slot 533 to form a first pair of lock-joints 551 and 552, respectively. The second lock-tab 522 engages the second lock-slot 532 and the fourth lock-tab 524 engages the fourth lock-slot 534 to form a second pair of lock-joints 553 and 554, respectively. After the engagements are made and the lock-joints are formed a first and second channels 541 and 542 are formed between the lock-joints and the two elongated bodies. These channels are suitable for the placement of a tie therein. In a preferred embodiment a tie is placed within one of the channels, folded along one of the sides of a folded shirt and placed within the other channel.
A third embodiment of the present invention is depicted in
A fourth embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 7. In this embodiment a fabric elongated body 700 is used. The elongated body is made to form a main loop by attaching its ends 701 and 702. The main loop is suitable for the placement of a folded shirt 300 therein. An additional wall 705, composed, preferably of the same material as the elongated body 700, is attached to the elongated body 700 at two attachment points 703 and 704. A channel 706 is formed between the elongated body 700, the wall 705 and the attachment points 703 and 704. The channel 706 is suitable for the placement of a tie therein.
In use, a tie is secured to a folded shirt without requiring that the shirt and tie combination be enclosed in a bag, box or other cover. Such enclosure is seen as detrimental to the display characteristics of the shirt and tie combination, because customers often want to feel the fabric of the shirt and/or tie before they buy the combination.
The tie is attached to the neck area of a folded shirt. There are several known methods for effecting such attachment. Pins, or a plastic device may be used for this purpose. The tie is then positioned along the buttons of the folded shirt. A strapping device is wrapped around the shirt. In a preferred, one of the devices described above is used. The tie is inserted into the strapping device. As noted above, the shirt and tie combination is not entirely surrounded by a bag, a shrink-wrap or similar packaging.
The wrapping and inserting steps are optionally performed simultaneously. This can be achieved, for example, when using some of the strapping devices described above. More specifically, referring to
The invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof but is more broadly defined by the claims appended hereto.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040244154 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |