U.S. patent application number 09/774600 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-29 for interlocking apparel closures.
Invention is credited to Graves, Sean C..
Application Number | 20010044991 09/774600 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26888172 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010044991 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Graves, Sean C. |
November 29, 2001 |
Interlocking apparel closures
Abstract
The interlocking apparel closures for closing slits or plackets
in clothing have a first part attachable to one side of the placket
(such as a collar, cuff, pocket, pants flies, skirts, etc.), the
first part having at least one pair of spaced apart, parallel
rails, each rail terminating in a bead lip, the bead lips opposing
each other and narrowing the mouth of the channel defined by the
parallel rails. The interlocking apparel closures have a second
part attachable to the opposite side of the placket opening, the
second part having at least one rail terminating in a bead head,
the bead head being insertable between the bead lips of the first
part to form an interlocking apparel closure. In use, the second
part is pressed or snapped into the first part to close the
placket.
Inventors: |
Graves, Sean C.; (Dorsey Run
Road, MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard C. Litman
LITMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD.
P.O. Box 15035
Arlington
VA
22215
US
|
Family ID: |
26888172 |
Appl. No.: |
09/774600 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60192548 |
Mar 28, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
24/400 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 24/2534 20150115;
A44B 19/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/400 |
International
Class: |
A44B 019/16; A44B
019/40 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A placket closure comprising: a first member having at least one
pair of spaced apart, parallel rails, each rail having a bead lip;
and a second member having at least one rail having a bead head,
the bead head being positionable between the bead lips of said
first member in order to form an interlocking engagement; and means
for attaching said first member and said second member to
respective sides of a garment placket; whereby said first member
and said second member provide the placket with a releasable
closure for opening and closing the placket.
2. The placket closure according to claim 1, wherein said bead head
has a diamond shaped cross-section.
3. The placket closure according to claim 2, wherein each of the
bead lips has a semi-diamond shaped cross-section, said pair of
rails defining a diamond-shaped channel.
4. The placket closure according to claim 1, wherein said bead head
has a circular shaped cross-section.
5. The placket closure according to claim 4, wherein each said bead
lip has a circular shaped cross-section.
6. The placket closure according to claim 1, wherein said bead head
has a rectangular shaped cross-section.
7. The placket closure according to claim 6, wherein each said bead
lip has a rectangular shaped cross-section.
8. A garment comprising: at least one panel of material having a
placket, the placket having a first side and a second side; a first
member having at least one pair of spaced apart, parallel rails,
each rail having a bead lip; and a second member having at least
one rail having a bead head, the bead head being positionable
between the bead lips of said first member in order to form an
interlocking engagement; and means for attaching said first member
and said second member to the first side and the second side of the
placket, respectively; whereby said first member and said second
member provide the placket with a releasable closure for opening
and closing the placket.
9. The garment according to claim 8, wherein said bead head has a
diamond shaped cross-section.
10. The garment according to claim 9, wherein each said bead lip
has a semi-diamond shaped cross-section.
11. The garment according to claim 8, wherein said bead head has a
circular shaped cross-section.
12. The garment according to claim 11, wherein each said bead lip
has a circular shaped cross-section.
13. The garment according to claim 8, wherein said bead head has a
rectangular shaped cross-section.
14. The garment according to claim 13, wherein each said bead lip
has a rectangular shaped cross-section.
15. The garment according to claim 8, wherein said panel of
material having said placket forming a portion of clothing is
selected from the group consisting of pull over collars, pants
flies, sleeve cuffs, skirt flies, dress flies, and pockets.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 60/192,548, filed Mar. 28, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to apparel closures for
holding parts of apparel together, and providing designs and
methods for general applications wherever an item of apparel or a
part thereof has an opening or placket, such as a collar, waist,
cuff or pocket.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] The ability to close openings of apparel so as to facilitate
the donning and doffing of items of apparel is well known. Further,
closure devices for pockets and cuffs are also known. However, such
devices require an external element (e.g., zipper pull) that may be
aesthetically displeasing in appearance. On the other hand, many of
these types of closures are bulky or weighty, even when
aesthetically appealing.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 668,401, issued Feb. 19, 1901 to Brown,
discloses a garment clasp for holding the placket of a skirt
closed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,440, issued Mar. 31, 1981 to McGowan,
discloses a garment system for the physically handicapped having a
plurality of separable seams joined by Velcro.RTM. or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,126, issued Jul. 23, 1991 to Wruck et al.,
discloses a set of leg warmers that includes a zipper for wearing
over the pants to prevent the ingress of snow, water, or other
moisture. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,684, issued Dec. 5, 1995 to Casale,
discloses a convertible sports cap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,087, issued
Mar. 18, 1997 to Adkins, discloses a separable garment used for
exposing portions of the human body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,917,
issued Apr. 22, 1997 to Howsden, discloses an infant garment/sack
for enclosing an infant's feet having a separable opening for
getting an infant in and out of the sack. British Patent Document
No. 2,055,037A, published Feb. 25, 1981, discloses a safety jacket
having a separable hook and pile type fastener.
[0007] In non-analogous endeavors, several patents teach closures
used in food storage. These closures generally provide a hermetic
seal so as to preserve the foods enclosed therein. For example,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,143, issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Herrington,
discloses a rolling action zipper and slider for a thermoplastic
bag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,296, issued Sep. 9, 1997 to May, discloses
a closure arrangement for polymeric bags. U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,750,
issued Aug. 18, 1992 to Gundlach et al., discloses a reclosable bag
zipper having two interlockable rib and groove profiles. U.S. Pat.
No. 5,403,094, issued Apr. 4, 1995 to Tomic, discloses a reclosable
zipper for a plastic bag having notches for producing tactile
feedback. U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,884, issued Apr. 30, 1996 to Bruno et
al., discloses a reclosable plastic bag having easy opening and
reclosing profiles. U.S. Pat. No. RE. 24,613, issued Mar. 3, 1959
to Hageltorn, discloses an interlocking plastic strip.
[0008] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention
as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Garments have at least one panel of material that includes a
placket or slit therein. The placket allows a body part to ingress
or egress easily. Examples of plackets are cuffs, flies, and
pullover collars. The placket generally has a first side and a
second side forming an opening. Oftentimes when wearing a garment,
the opening, such as a pocket, may be inverted, allowing the
contents of the pocket to fall out. In order to keep the contents
in the pocket, a closure is needed. The closure permits selective
closing of the placket.
[0010] The interlocking apparel closures have a first part
attachable to one side of the placket (such as a collar, cuff,
pocket, pants flies, skirts, etc.), the first part having at least
one pair of spaced apart, parallel rails, each rail terminating in
a bead lip, the bead lips opposing each other and narrowing the
mouth of the channel defined by the parallel rails. The
interlocking apparel closures have a second part attachable to the
opposite side of the placket opening, the second part having at
least one rail terminating in a bead head, the bead head being
insertable between the bead lips of the first part to form an
interlocking apparel closure. In use, the second part is pressed or
snapped into the first part to close the placket.
[0011] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to
provide a placket closure for garments.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a placket
closure for garments for selectively opening and closing the
placket.
[0013] It is a further object of the invention to provide a placket
closure of an interlocking zipper type for selectively opening and
closing the placket.
[0014] Still another object of the invention is to provide a
placket closure of an interlocking zipper type having press to zip
and pull to unzip ease of use.
[0015] It is an object of the invention to provide improved
elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes
described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in
accomplishing its intended purposes.
[0016] These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an
interlocking apparel closure according to the present
invention.
[0018] FIG. 2 is an exploded, fragmented, perspective view of an
interlocking closure according to the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of
the interlocking closure according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of
the interlocking closure according to the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of
the interlocking closure according to the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a front view of a prior art closure device.
[0023] FIG. 7 is an exploded section view of another prior art
closure device.
[0024] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The present invention is an interlocking apparel closure for
garment plackets. In order for the placket to be generally
aesthetically appealing, the placket closure should remain
relatively hidden or blended in with the fabric. FIG. 6 shows a
prior art placket closure 600 in a leg warmer 610 for pants. The
placket closure 600 includes a bulky zipper 612. This zipper 612
has pull tabs 614 that dangle, and may cause irritating `pinging`
sounds while the wearer moves. The zipper 612 may be metallic or
non-metallic, in any event, the presence of this type of zipper
closure 612 is generally not acceptable or aesthetically
appealing.
[0026] FIG. 7 shows a conventional plastic bag zipper closure 700
for producing a hermetic seal protecting the contents of the bag
(cf. U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,094) from the atmosphere. This type of
closure 700 has a plurality of hooking elements 710 and a ball 712
and socket 714 type fluid seal requiring very tight tolerances in
order to ensure that fluid matter can not enter or exit the plastic
bag. These types of fluid tight seals are typically used in
foodstuff storage, among many other uses.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is shown
as placket 100 closures for garments. Plackets 100, or slits in a
garment, are commonly found in most pieces of apparel, and are used
primarily to allow body parts 10 to ingress and egress from the
clothing 20 with ease. The present invention provides the common
garment plackets 100 with an effective and sure closure that is
also aesthetically appealing. As seen in FIG. 1, the collar placket
12, the shirt pocket placket 14, the pant pocket placket 16, and
the pant fly placket 18 are shown for illustrative and discussion
purposes, the present invention being useful in any (male, female,
or unisex) garment having a placket.
[0028] As seen in FIG. 2, the placket closure of the instant
invention is an interlocking device that holds the two sides
110A,110B of the placket together, in most instances without being
seen. The interlocking closure is very similar to the standard
foodstuffs plastic storage bags that have the zipper like closures
700 (as shown in FIG. 7). The closure is attached to the sides
110A,110B of the placket 100 by any conventional tailoring
techniques. By way of example, the closure is attached to the
garment by stitching 112. It is understood that any other type of
attachment is also useful in the preferred embodiments, such as
adhesives, bonding, and in the case of synthetic materials,
molding.
[0029] The structure of the closure is best seen in conjunction
with the embodiments of FIGS. 3-5. In FIG. 3, the preferred
embodiment has part of the closure on one side of the placket
formed as at least two rails 120 that are parallel and spaced
apart. The distance of the spacing between the rails is not
critical, provided that the opposing side of the closure has an
appropriate mating dimension (as discussed hereafter). Each rail of
the pair of rails 120 has a bead lip 122 that is opposed to the
bead lip 122 of the other rail 120. The rails 120 with the bead
lips 122 form a preferably diamond-shaped channel 126
therebetween.
[0030] On the other side of the placket, at least one rail 120' is
provided. This one rail 120' has a bead head 128 that is so
dimensioned to substantially mirror the channel 126 by
complimenting the pair of bead lips 122 of the closure, e.g.,
diamond-shaped, as shown in FIG. 3. The bead head 128, when pressed
into the channel 126, forms the interlocking engagement to secure
the closure in a closed state. Once in the closed state, pulling
either side of the placket will cause the bead head 128 to
disengage from the interlocked closed state and return to an open
state. FIG. 3 shows the bead lips 122 as semi-diamond shaped
elements, and the bead head 128 as a diamond shaped element.
Although the semi-diamond shaped elements are shown on the two
rails 120, it is well within the scope of this invention to have a
plurality of pairs of rails 120 and a corresponding number of bead
heads 128 on respective rails 120'. In addition, it is also within
the scope of the invention to provide both sides of the placket
with a matching number of rails 120 being aligned such that each
successive pair of bead heads 128 forms the channel 126 for the
unitary opposing bead head 128 on the other side 110A,110B of the
placket.
[0031] FIG. 4 shows another preferred embodiment of the closure. In
this embodiment the rails 130 on either side of the placket
110A,110B have a circular bead head 134. In this arrangement, it is
easier to manufacture and to produce multiple rails 130 and
channels 136 in order to establish the interlocking closure. FIG. 5
shows yet another embodiment in which the bead heads 144 are
rectangular. FIG. 5, like FIG. 4, may be easier to manufacture and
provide the multiple parallel rails 140 and channels 146 for
establishing the interlocking placket closure.
[0032] The need to have the interlocking closure to make a hermetic
seal is not commonly necessary for general apparel; however, there
may be a form of clothing, e.g., swim wear, that may require a
hermetic type seal on a pocket placket. Insofar as the hermetic
seal is not a critical feature, the interlocking closure for
garment plackets 100 provides an inexpensive, aesthetically
appealing addition to the clothing industry. The ease of use also
makes the closure a great incentive to foster good grooming habits
in children. Further, the rails 120,120',130,140 may be color
coordinated to match the garment as well as making sure the
interlock is correctly aligned.
[0033] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and
all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *