U.S. patent application number 14/050898 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-17 for button covering system.
The applicant listed for this patent is Michael T. Rowton. Invention is credited to Michael T. Rowton.
Application Number | 20140101896 14/050898 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50474053 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140101896 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rowton; Michael T. |
April 17, 2014 |
Button Covering System
Abstract
A button covering system for selectively covering a button on
clothing to change the aesthetics of the clothing or for
advertising. The button covering system generally includes a cover
that is removable connectable to a conventional button. The cover
includes an outer portion with an outer surface, a sidewall, an
inner lip defining a receiver opening and an interior cavity. One
or more tabs extend inwardly from the inner lip to enhance the
catchable engagement about the conventional button. The cover is
comprised of a flexible and resilient material that allows for
positioning over a conventional button while preventing accidental
removable of the cover from the conventional button after
attachment. The outer surface of the cover may be comprised of
various colors, designs and indicia.
Inventors: |
Rowton; Michael T.;
(Seattle, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Rowton; Michael T. |
Seattle |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50474053 |
Appl. No.: |
14/050898 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61712506 |
Oct 11, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/113MP ;
24/113R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44B 1/14 20130101; Y10T
24/367 20150115; Y10T 24/3672 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/113MP ;
24/113.R |
International
Class: |
A44B 1/14 20060101
A44B001/14 |
Claims
1. A removable button cover that is adapted to be removably
connected to a conventional button, comprising: a cover having an
outer portion, a sidewall extending from said outer portion, an
inner lip extending inwardly from said sidewall defining a receiver
opening, and an interior cavity exposed by said receiver opening,
wherein said outer portion includes an outer surface and an inner
surface, wherein said inner surface faces towards said interior
cavity.
2. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said interior
cavity is larger in width and height than the conventional
button.
3. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said cover is
comprised of a resilient and flexible material.
4. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said cover is
comprised of a hydrothermal polymer.
5. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said cover is
produced using a pressure injection molding process.
6. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said cover is
comprised of a solid color.
7. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said outer
portion is thicker than said sidewall.
8. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said outer
portion is thicker than said sidewall and said inner lip.
9. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said receiver
opening has a width smaller than a width of the conventional
button.
10. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said receiver
opening is comprised of a circular shape.
11. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said receiver
opening forms a plane that is parallel to said inner surface.
12. The removable button cover of claim 1, including an indicia
attached to said outer surface.
13. The removable button cover of claim 1, including at least one
tab extending inwardly from an interior edge of said inner lip.
14. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said at least
one tab is thinner than said inner lip.
15. The removable button cover of claim 1, wherein said at least
one tab has a curved inner edge.
16. The removable button cover of claim 1, a first tab extending
inwardly from an interior edge of said inner lip and a second tab
extending inwardly from said interior edge of said inner lip.
17. The removable button cover of claim 16, wherein said first tab
and said second tab are thinner than said inner lip.
18. The removable button cover of claim 16, wherein said first tab
and said second tab, wherein said second tab extends towards said
first tab and is on an opposite side of said receiver opening.
19. The removable button cover of claim 1, including an outer
member attached to said outer surface of said cover, wherein said
outer member is comprised of a material that is more rigid than
said cover.
20. The removable button cover of claim 19, wherein said outer
member includes a plurality of recesses and wherein said outer
surface of said cover includes a plurality of nubs that are
received within said plurality of recesses.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code,
Section 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.
61/712,506 filed Oct. 11, 2012. The 61/712,506 application is
currently pending. The 61/712,506 application is hereby
incorporated by reference into this application.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable to this application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The present invention relates generally to buttons for
clothing and more specifically it relates to a button covering
system for selectively covering a button on clothing to change the
aesthetics of the clothing or for advertising.
[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0006] Any discussion of the related art throughout the
specification should in no way be considered as an admission that
such related art is widely known or forms part of common general
knowledge in the field.
[0007] Buttons have been used on clothing for years for decorative
and functional purposes. Conventional buttons for clothing are
commonly used for shirts for securing one side of the shirt with
the other side by inserting the buttons attached to a first side
through slits in a second side of the shirt. One of the main
problems with conventional buttons is they are directly attached to
the clothing and cannot be removed to change the appearance of the
clothing. Hence, if the appearance of conventional buttons is to be
changed the buttons must be removed from the shirt which may damage
the shirt, is time consuming and requires attaching new buttons
onto the clothing.
[0008] Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there
is a need for a new and improved button covering system for
selectively covering a button on clothing to change the aesthetics
of the clothing or for advertising.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The invention generally relates to a button cover which
includes a cover that is removable connectable to a conventional
button. The cover includes an outer portion with an outer surface,
a sidewall, an inner lip defining a receiver opening and an
interior cavity. One or more tabs extend inwardly from the inner
lip to enhance the catchable engagement about the conventional
button. The cover is comprised of a flexible and resilient material
that allows for positioning over a conventional button while
preventing accidental removable of the cover from the conventional
button after attachment. The outer surface of the cover may be
comprised of various colors, designs and indicia.
[0010] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the
features of the invention in order that the detailed description
thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are
additional features of the invention that will be described
hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims
appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one
embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that
the invention is not limited in its application to the details of
construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in
the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The
invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced
and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that
the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose
of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of
the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same
becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate
the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and
wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of the present
invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is an exploded upper perspective view of the present
invention above a conventional button.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of the present invention
attached to a conventional button.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a lower perspective view of the present invention
illustrating the receiver opening.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a top view of the present invention with an
indicia upon the outer surface of the cover.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a side view of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of
FIG. 2.
[0020] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along line 9-9 of
FIG. 3.
[0021] FIG. 10 is an upper perspective view of the present
invention with an outer member attached to the outer portion of the
cover.
[0022] FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along line 11 of
FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A. Overview.
[0023] Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar
reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several
views, FIGS. 1 through 11 illustrate a button covering system 10,
which comprises a cover 20 that is removable connectable to a
conventional button 12. The cover 20 includes an outer portion 22
with an outer surface 23, a sidewall 24, an inner lip 26 defining a
receiver opening 50 and an interior cavity 28. One or more tabs
extend inwardly from the inner lip 26 to enhance the catchable
engagement about the conventional button 12. The cover 20 is
comprised of a flexible and resilient material that allows for
positioning over a conventional button 12 while preventing
accidental removable of the cover 20 from the conventional button
12 after attachment. The outer surface 23 of the cover 20 may be
comprised of various colors, designs and indicia 60.
B. Cover.
[0024] FIGS. 1 through 11 illustrate the cover 20 that is removably
connectable to a conventional button 12. For example, the cover 20
may be attached to any conventional button 12 for clothing 14 or
other items. As further example, the cover 20 may be attached to a
conventional button 12 for shirts, pants and the like. The
conventional button 12 is typically circular in shape as
illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings, however, the conventional
button 12 may be comprised of different shapes (e.g. square,
rectangular, oval and the like).
[0025] The cover 20 preferably has a shape similar to the shape of
the button but may be different. The cover 20 is larger than the
conventional button 12 such that the interior cavity 28 of the
cover 20 is larger than the conventional button 12. The cover 20 is
formed to fit upon various sizes of buttons such as but not limited
to buttons having a width or a diameter of 1/2 inches, 9/16 inches
and the like.
[0026] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 9, the cover 20 includes
an outer portion 22, a sidewall 24 extending from the outer portion
22, an inner lip 26 extending inwardly from the sidewall 24
defining a receiver opening 50, and an interior cavity 28 exposed
by the receiver opening 50. The interior cavity 28 removably
receives the conventional button 12. The outer portion 22 includes
an outer surface 23 and an inner surface 21, wherein the inner
surface 21 faces towards the interior cavity 28 as best illustrated
in FIG. 8 of the drawings. The interior cavity 28 is preferably
larger in both width and height than the conventional button 12 as
illustrated in FIG. 9 of the drawings. The outer portion 22 is
preferably thicker than the sidewall 24 and the inner lip 26 to
provide additional rigidity to the outer portion 22 while allowing
the sidewall 24 and inner lip 26 to deform when being installed
upon or removed from the conventional button 12. As best
illustrated in FIG. 8 of the drawings, the outer portion 22
preferably extends approximately half-ways around the interior
cavity 28 which is represented by the thicker portion of the cover
20. The outer portion 22 preferably has a convex shape as
illustrated in FIG. 8 of the drawings.
[0027] The receiver opening 50 has a width smaller than a width of
the conventional button 12 to prevent accidental removal of the
conventional button 12 from the cover 20. The receiver opening 50
is large enough to allow removal of the conventional button 12
without damaging the conventional button 12 or the cover 20 thereby
allowing the cover 20 to be reused later. The receiver opening 50
is preferably comprised of a circular shape to fit upon
conventional buttons 12 having a corresponding circular shape,
however, the receiver opening 50 may have non-circular shapes (e.g.
square, rectangular, oval and the like). The receiver opening 50
preferably has a shape which is the same as the shape of the
conventional button 12, however, the receiver opening 50 may have a
shape that is different from the conventional button 12. As
illustrated in FIG. 8 of the drawings, the receiver opening 50
preferably forms a plane that is parallel to the inner surface 21
of the outer portion 22.
[0028] The cover 20 is preferably comprised of a resilient and
flexible material to allow for positioning over a conventional
button 12 and selective removable therefrom. The cover 20 is
preferably comprised of a material that is flexible enough to allow
deforming of the receiver opening 50 and the inner lip 26
sufficiently to catchably receive the conventional button 12 within
the interior cavity 28 of the cover 20. The cover 20 is preferably
comprised of a hydrothermal polymer that is produced using a
pressure injection molding process. The cover 20 is further
preferably comprised of a thermoplastic vulcanizate, thermoplastic
rubber, thermoplastic elastomer or other flexible plastic
material.
[0029] The cover 20 is may comprised of a solid color (e.g. green,
red, blue) or may have a plurality of colors. An indicia 60 may
also attached to the outer surface 23 such as the flag of the
United States as illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings. The indicia
60 may be printed directly upon the outer surface 23, attached as
an adhesive label or directly molded within the cover 20.
C. Outer Member.
[0030] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate an alternative embodiment wherein
an outer member 70 is attached to the outer surface 23 of the cover
20. The outer member 70 may be attached with an adhesive or other
attachment system. The outer member 70 preferably covers 20 a
significant portion of the outer surface 23 and is concentrically
positioned upon the cover 20. The outer member 70 is preferably
comprised of a material that is more rigid than the cover 20 to
help strengthen the overall structure. The outer member 70 further
preferably has a convex shape similar to the outer portion 22.
[0031] For the alternative embodiment, the outer member 70
preferably includes a plurality of recesses 72 and the outer
surface 23 of the cover 20 preferably includes a plurality of nubs
74 extending outwardly. The plurality of nubs 74 are received
within the plurality of recesses 72 as illustrated in FIG. 11 which
assists in the alignment and retention of the outer member 70 upon
the cover 20.
D. Tabs.
[0032] The cover 20 preferably includes at least one tab 30, 40
extending inwardly from an interior edge of the inner lip 26 as
illustrated in FIGS. 4, 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings. It is
preferably to have a plurality of tabs 30, 40 such as a first tab
30 extending inwardly from an interior edge of the inner lip 26 and
a second tab 40 extending inwardly from the interior edge of the
inner lip 26 as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7 of the drawings.
The tabs 30, 40 each preferably have an inwardly curved edge as
best illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawings.
[0033] The first tab 30 and the second tab 40 are preferably
thinner than the inner lip 26 to allow for increased flexibility
for the tabs for attachment and removal of the cover 20 from the
conventional button 12 as illustrated in FIG. 8 of the drawings.
The second tab 40 preferably extends towards the first tab 30 and
is on an opposite side of the receiver opening 50 as best
illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawings. The first tab 30 and the
second preferably are aligned along a common axis that passes
through the centers of each tab 30, 40 and a center point of the
receiver opening 50.
E. Operation of Preferred Embodiment.
[0034] In use, the user selects a desired cover 20 having the
aesthetics desired (e.g. a specific color, design or logo). The
user then positions the receiver opening 50 of the cover 20 upon
the upper edge of the conventional button 12 and presses upon the
central portion of the outer portion 22 of the cover 20 thereby
forcing the cover 20 to pass over the conventional button 12 in an
attached manner as shown in FIG. 9 of the drawings. When the cover
20 is fully attached, the inner surface 21 of the cover 20 is near
the exterior surface of the conventional button 12 and the inner
lip 26 and tabs 30, 40 are between the conventional button 12 and
the clothing 14 (or other article) the button is attached to as
shown in FIG. 9 of the drawings. The user repeats this process for
the remaining buttons. When the user desires to change the
appearance again, the user first removes the attached covers 20 by
pulling upon the cover 20 thereby forcing the conventional button
12 out through the receiver opening 50 and then attaches a new
cover 20 having a different design as discussed previously.
[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms
used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although
methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described
herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present
invention, suitable methods and materials are described above. All
publications, patent applications, patents, and other references
mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to
the extent allowed by applicable law and regulations. The present
invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing
from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is
therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all
respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Any headings utilized
within the description are for convenience only and have no legal
or limiting effect.
* * * * *