U.S. patent application number 12/089223 was filed with the patent office on 2009-08-27 for fastener.
Invention is credited to Michael Quinton Gilbertson, David Pierce Jones.
Application Number | 20090211060 12/089223 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35430036 |
Filed Date | 2009-08-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090211060 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jones; David Pierce ; et
al. |
August 27, 2009 |
Fastener
Abstract
A fastener for fastening together first and second parts (10,11)
of a fabric article. The fastener comprising a plurality of pairs
of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening
element (2) secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a
female fastening element (3) secured to the other part of the
fabric article, the male fastening element (2) being insertable
into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and
female fastening elements. The male and female fastening elements
of each pair of fastening elements are provided with matching
identifying means (13) and the identifying means of the fastening
elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to
each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can
be distinguished from each other.
Inventors: |
Jones; David Pierce;
(Geneva, CH) ; Gilbertson; Michael Quinton;
(London, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GABLE & GOTWALS
100 WEST FIFTH STREET, 10TH FLOOR
TULSA
OK
74103
US
|
Family ID: |
35430036 |
Appl. No.: |
12/089223 |
Filed: |
October 3, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
October 3, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB06/03676 |
371 Date: |
November 7, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/114.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 24/3683 20150115;
A44B 17/0058 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/114.4 |
International
Class: |
A44B 17/00 20060101
A44B017/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 7, 2005 |
GB |
0520488.8 |
Claims
1. A fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a
fabric article, the fastener comprising: a plurality of pairs of
fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element
secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female
fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article,
the male fastening element being insertable into the female
fastening element to detachably engage the male and female
fastening elements; wherein: the male and female fastening elements
of each pair of fastening elements are provided with matching
identifying means and the identifying means of the fastening
elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to
each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can
be distinguished from each other.
2. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening elements
are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of
the fabric article and a second row on the second pair of the
fabric article, each pair of fastening elements having one
fastening element located in the first row and the other fastening
element in the second row.
3. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means
of the fastening elements of each pair match the identifying means
of another pair of fastening elements separated therefrom by an
intervening adjacent pair of fastening elements.
4. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means
of the fastening elements of each pair match the identifying means
of another pair of fastening elements separated therefrom by two
intervening pairs of fastening elements.
5. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means
of each pair of fastening elements is unique to that pair of
fastening elements.
6. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening elements
are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of
the fabric article and a second row on the second part of the
fabric article, each pair of fasteners having one fastening element
located in the first row and the other fastening element in the
second row; and the male and female fastening elements of adjacent
pairs of fastening elements are arranged in opposite orientations
to one another so that in each row each male fastening element is
separated from the other male fastening element in the row by at
least one intervening female fastening element.
7. A fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a
fabric article, the fastener comprising: a plurality of pairs of
fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element
secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female
fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article,
the male fastening element being insertable into the female
fastening element to detachably engage the male and female
fastening elements; wherein: the fastening elements are arranged in
a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of the fabric article
and a second row on the second part of the fabric article, each
pair of fasteners having one fastening element located in the first
row and the other fastening element in the second row; and the male
and female fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening
elements are arranged in opposite orientations to one another so
that in each row each male fastening element is separated from the
other male fastening element in the row by at least one intervening
female fastening element.
8. A fastener as claimed in claim 7 wherein the fastening elements
of each pair are provided with matching identifying means and the
identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs of
fastening elements are different to each other whereby the
fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from
each other.
9. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means
comprises a colour applied to or with associated with the fastening
elements.
10. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying
means comprise a shape of or a shape associated with the fastening
elements.
11. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying
means comprises an alphanumeric character provided on or associated
with each fastening element.
12. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying
means comprises a textured surface of or associated with each of
the fastening elements.
13. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying
means comprises a magnet in or associated with each of the
fastening elements, or fastening elements having a magnetic
property.
14. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening
elements are formed of a luminescent material.
15. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an
electronic circuit and an illumination means, wherein the
electronic circuit has a means for detecting the joining of a pair
of fastening elements, the electronic circuit connected to the
illumination means such that a matching pair of fastening elements
results in a first light from the illumination means, and a
non-matching pair of fastening elements results in a second,
different, light from the illumination means.
16. A method of joining two parts of a fabric article with the
fastener as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of: a)
identifying a matching pair of fastening elements by matching the
identifying means thereof; b) engaging the male part in the female
part of the matching pair; and c) repeating steps a) and b) until
all the pairs of fastening elements have been engaged.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a fastener for fastening
together parts of a fabric article such as clothing. In particular,
the fastener is for use on baby or children's clothing.
[0002] Known fasteners, such as pop studs or press studs, are well
known as fasteners on clothing. Such fasteners are used because
they allow the two parts to be joined together and separated easily
and quickly. Each pop stud comprises a male part and a female part
which releasably lock together when the two parts are pushed
together. The fastener is formed of a series of pop studs, a line
of male parts on one part of the clothing, and a line of female
parts on the other part.
[0003] Known fasteners of this type have the disadvantage that the
different parts of the fastener can easily be mismatched, i.e. an
incorrect pairing is made between a male part and a female part.
This mismatch is often not apparent until almost all of the pop
studs have been connected. It is then necessary to unfasten all of
the wrongly connected pop studs, and restart the process of
fastening the two parts of the article together.
[0004] The present invention provides a fastener for fastening
together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener
comprising:
[0005] a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair
comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of
the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the
other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being
insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage
the male and female fastening elements; wherein:
[0006] the male and female fastening elements of each pair of
fastening elements are provided with matching identifying means and
the identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs
of fastening elements are different to each other whereby the
fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from
each other.
[0007] The present invention also provides a fastener for fastening
together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener
comprising:
[0008] a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair
comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of
the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the
other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being
insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage
the male and female fastening elements; wherein:
[0009] the fastening elements are arranged in a pair of rows, a
first row on the first part of the fabric article and a second row
on the second part of the fabric article, each pair of fasteners
having one fastening element located in the first row and the other
fastening element in the second row; and
[0010] the male and female fastening elements of adjacent pairs of
fastening elements are arranged in opposite orientations to one
another so that in each row each male fastening element is
separated from the other male fastening element in the row by at
least one intervening female fastening element.
[0011] This has the advantage that an incorrect pairing of fastener
fastening elements is avoided. This prevents these mistakes and so
eliminates to need to re-fasten the fastener.
[0012] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying figures, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a front view of the fastener of a first embodiment
of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a front view of a second embodiment of the
fastener of the present invention; and
[0015] FIG. 3 is a front view of a third embodiment of the fastener
of the present invention; and
[0016] FIG. 4 is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the
fastener of the present invention.
[0017] With reference to FIG. 1, parts 10,11 of the fabric clothing
are separated by an opening 12. The separation of the first and
second parts 10, 11 enables the article of clothing to be put on or
taken off the wearer.
[0018] A fastener 1 comprises a plurality of male fastening
elements 2 and a plurality of female fastening elements 3. The male
fastening elements 2 are equally spaced adjacent to the edge of the
second part 11 of the article of clothing. The female fastening
elements 3 are equally spaced adjacent to the edge of the first
part 10 of the article of clothing. The male fastening elements 2
and female fastening elements 3 are positioned opposite to one
another to form pairs of fastening elements 4, 5, 6. When the male
and female fastening elements of each pair of elements 4,5,6 are
connected, the parts 10,11 of the article of clothing are correctly
fastened together.
[0019] The male and female fastening elements 2,3 are formed so as
to function as conventional pop studs. Either or both of the
fastening elements 2, 3 are elastically deformable to allow a snap
locking action between the fastening elements 2,3 when the male
fastening elements 2 are inserted in to the female fastening
elements. The fastening elements 2,3 are also elastically
deformable to allow disengagement when a force is applied to
separate them.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the first pair 4 of the fastening
elements is of a first colour, e.g. blue. The third pair 6 of
fastening element is the same colour as the first pair. The second
5 and fourth pairs 7 of fastening elements are of a second colour,
e.g. red. This sequence is repeated so that each pair of fastening
elements is of alternating colour. The male fastening element 2 and
female fastening element 3 of each pair are the same colour.
[0021] The use of alternating colours prevents a user from
accidentally mismatching the pairs of fastening elements, e.g.
connecting the male element of the first pair to the female element
of the second pair. The person using the fastener is able to see
the correct pairing of the fastening elements by matching the
colours to avoid making mistakes, or to immediately correct a
mistake.
[0022] Generally a person using the fastener will only consider
mismatching pairs of fastening elements which are adjacent to one
another. However, some users may occasionally attempt to mismatch
fastening elements which are not adjacent, i.e. connecting the male
fastening element of the first pair with the female fastening
element of the third pair. This error can be avoided by using a
second embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 2. This
embodiment uses three different colours, such that the first,
second and third pairs 4,5,6 are of different colours. The male
fastening element 2 and female fastening element 3 of each pair
will be the same colour.
[0023] This sequence of three colours is repeated along the length
of the fastener, so that every third pair of fastening elements is
the same colour. This embodiment of the invention prevents users
from mismatching pairs of fastening elements which are adjacent or
separated by one other pair.
[0024] In a further embodiment of the invention, not shown, each
pair of fastening elements is a different colour. This ensures that
when two fastening elements of the same colour are connected
together, the user is certain that they have been correctly
matched. The colours could be arranged in a well known series, for
example, in the colours of the rainbow.
[0025] The identifying feature of the fastening elements 2,3
described above is their colour. It is also possible to use other
means to identify the correct pairing of the fastening elements
2,3.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, a shape 13 is associated with each
fastening element. The same shape 13 is associated with the male
fastening element 2 and female fastening element 3 in each pair,
each adjacent pair having different shapes. For example, the first
pair 4 can be associated with a square shape, and the second pair 5
can be associated with a triangular shape. As explained with
reference to the colours, three different shapes could be used for
the first three pairs, this sequence repeating along the length of
the fastener. Alternatively, a different shape could be used for
each pair of fastening elements. A shaped identifier, e.g. 13 can
be adjacent to the fastening elements 2,3 or the identifying shape
could be the actual shape of the fastening elements.
[0027] In the same manner, a character or indicia such as a number
could be associated with each pair. Alternatively, each pair of
fastening elements could have associated with them a texture which
is different from the adjacent pair.
[0028] The fastener described above can be used on fabrics or
fabric clothing, for fastening together different parts of the
article. In particular, the fabric fastener can be used for baby or
children's clothing. The fastener of the present invention is of
particular benefit because children often move around as the
fastening elements are being connected, making it more difficult to
ensure that the pairs are correctly attached. The fastener could
also be used on other articles, for example duvet covers.
[0029] With reference to FIG. 4, a mismatch of the pairs can be
avoided by having alternate male and female fastening elements on
the first part of the article 10, and alternate male and female
fastening elements of the second part of the article 11. Each pair
still consists of a male fastening element and a female fastening
element, which are located opposite one another. A user cannot
connect the male fastening element of the first pair to the
opposite element of the adjacent pair. This is because the opposite
element of an adjacent pair is also a male fastening element, and
so no connection is possible.
[0030] In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the use of different colours,
shapes or textures are not required in order for a user to match
the pairs. However, the use of different colours, shapes or
textures could be combined with the fastener of FIG. 4 to further
ensure that the pairs of fastening elements are correctly
matched.
[0031] To assist the use of the fastener in poor light conditions,
or in the dark, luminescent material could be incorporated in the
fastener. The fastening elements themselves could be made of a
luminescent material, or the shapes 13 associated with the
fastening elements could be made of luminescent material.
[0032] The selection of a correct pair of fastening elements could
be achieved using magnets, or using a magnetic property of the
fastening elements. One fastening element of a pair is associated
with a magnet having its North pole uppermost, and one fastening
element of a pair is associated with a magnet having its South pole
uppermost. When a correct pairing of fastening elements is made, a
North pole is adjacent a South pole and the two magnets will
attract each other.
[0033] A first part of an article may be provided with a series of
male fastening elements, the magnets associated with each element
alternating between having a North or South pole uppermost. A
second part of an article may be provided with a series of female
fastening elements, the magnets associated with each element also
alternating between having a North or South pole uppermost. The
magnets associated with pairs of fastening elements have
complementary poles uppermost. If a user attempts to mismatch a
male fastening element with a female fastening element adjacent to
the correct female fastening element, then two magnets with the
same pole uppermost will be urged together and will repel each
other. This will inform the user that a mismatch will be made.
[0034] The magnets are not sufficiently strong to securely hold the
first and second parts of the article together, the magnets serve
only to ensure a correct matching of fastening elements.
[0035] In an alternative embodiment, an electronic circuit may be
secured in the article of clothing which is able to detect when a
pair of fastening elements is correctly closed. The electronic
circuit may be connected, for example, to two Light Emitting Diodes
(LEDs). One LED may be green, and would be instructed by the
circuit to flash when a pair of fastening elements was correctly
joined. One LED may be red, and would be instructed to flash by the
circuit when a pair of fastening elements was incorrectly joined.
Alternatively, a single LED could be used which can flash in two
different ways to indicate whether the pair is matching or not
matching. The electronic circuit may detect the joining of a pair
of fastening elements by the presence of a small current passing
through the joined fastening elements.
[0036] The user would therefore be informed immediately whether the
fastening elements are correctly joined. This has a particular
advantage that the user is still informed in poor light conditions
or in the dark.
[0037] The fastening elements 2, 3 have been described above as pop
studs. The fastening elements may alternatively be a hook and loop
fastener, buttons and holes, bolts and holes, or any other male and
female fastening element.
[0038] The first part 10 and second part 11 may be parts of the
same article, or may be completely separable from each other.
[0039] The first and second parts 10, 11 have been described as an
article of clothing. The first and second parts may alternatively
be formed of a material other than fabric, for example any rigid
material.
* * * * *