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. Retailers would further benefit from a device for packaging such combinations that can securely attach to these articles in a non-destructive way. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.
The present invention concerns a method for securing a tie to a folded shirt. The shirt has a row of buttons. The method includes the step of placing a first portion of the elongated body. The tie is dispensed on the folded shirt, with one portion secured proximately to the collar and a second portion depending downwardly along the buttons. The elongated body is wrapped around the folded shirt. The first portion of the elongated body is placed under the tie. The buttonhole is secured to one of the buttons of the row of buttons. A second portion of the elongated body is placed over the tie. The first end is attached to the strap at a first position displaced from the second end. The second end is attached to the strap at a second position displaced from the first end. As a result, the tie is seated between the first and second body portions and secured between the first and second positions.
The present invention also concerns a strap for securing a tie to a shirt. The strap includes an elongated body having first end and second ends and first and second scorelines. The scorelines are generally perpendicular to the length of the elongated body and define a central portion, a first side portion and a second side portion. The central portion is the portion of the elongated body positioned between the scorelines. The central portion has length sufficient to accommodate one dimension of a folded shirt. The first side portion is defined between the first scoreline and the first end and the second side portion between the second scoreline and the second end. When the lengths of the two side portions are combined, they result in a length greater than the length of the central portion.
The elongated body can be folded along the first and second scorelines. The first end is attachable to the second side portion and the second end is attachable to the first side portion. When these attachments are made, a channel, is defined by the elongated body between the first and second side portions (at their overlapping parts). The channel is sized for the placement of the tie therein. A buttonhole is placed on the first side portion.
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
The two elongated bodies are folded along their respective scorelines and wrapped around a folded shirt 300 as shown in
A third embodiment of the present invention is depicted in
A fourth embodiment of the present invention is depicted in
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 as described herein is wrapped around the shirt. The tie is inserted into the strapping device. 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
A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A first side portion 803 of the elongated body is defined between the first scoreline 102, and the first end 107. A buttonhole 800 is placed through the first side portion. The buttonhole is sized to accommodate one of the buttons of the row of buttons 802. A second side portion 804 is defined between the second scoreline 103 and the second end 108. A central portion 805 is defined between the first and second scorelines 102 and 103. In
The combined length of the first and second side portions is greater than that of the central portion. Therefore, when the elongated body is folded along the scorelines, the first and second side portions overlap. It is preferred but not required that the first and second side portions are of equal length. After folding the elongated body, the first end 107 is attached to the second side portion 804 at a position 807 which is displaced from the second end 108. Similarly, the second end 108 is attached to the first side portion 803 at a position 806 which is displaced from the first end 107. The attachments may be made in various manners, including for example, the use of glue, stapling, and hot stamping. Optionally, areas of the body in proximity to the first and second ends 107 and 108 and the first and second attachment positions 806 and 807 are roughened to facilitate the application of glue thereon. When the attachments are made, a channel is formed between the overlapping portions of the first and second side portions. The channel is suitable for the placement of a tie therein.
In use, an elongated body, such as the one shown in
The invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments thereof but is more broadly defined by the claims appended hereto.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/250,158 filed Jun. 9, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,639 B2 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040244155 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10250158 | Jun 2003 | US |
Child | 10809672 | US |