U.S. patent application number 15/603235 was filed with the patent office on 2018-01-04 for floral clip.
The applicant listed for this patent is John Martin, Karen Martin. Invention is credited to John Martin, Karen Martin.
Application Number | 20180000235 15/603235 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 60806185 |
Filed Date | 2018-01-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180000235 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Martin; John ; et
al. |
January 4, 2018 |
FLORAL CLIP
Abstract
A floral clip for attaching a floral arrangement to a clothing
material can have a clip body comprising a horizontally elongate
member and a vertically elongate member extending transverse from
the horizontally elongate member. The floral clip includes a floral
support device pivotally coupled to the clip body and having at
least one floral attachment member attached to the floral
arrangement. A compliant device (e.g., spring) can be coupled
between the horizontally elongate member and the floral support
device to exert a biasing force to bias the floral attachment
member toward the horizontally elongate member. The horizontally
elongate member and the floral support device cooperatively pinch a
clothing material in a non-destructive manner. The vertically
elongate member extends downwardly from the horizontally elongate
member to bias against the wearer to resist gravitational forces
acting on the floral arrangement and to stabilize the floral
arrangement.
Inventors: |
Martin; John; (Elk Ridge,
UT) ; Martin; Karen; (Elk Ridge, UT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Martin; John
Martin; Karen |
Elk Ridge
Elk Ridge |
UT
UT |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
60806185 |
Appl. No.: |
15/603235 |
Filed: |
May 23, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62340281 |
May 23, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F 5/08 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A45F 5/08 20060101
A45F005/08 |
Claims
1. A floral clip, comprising: a clip body comprising a horizontally
elongate member and a vertically elongate member extending
transverse from the horizontally elongate member; a floral support
device pivotally coupled to the clip body and having at least one
floral attachment member configured to be attached to a floral
arrangement; a compliant device operatively coupled between the
horizontally elongate member and the floral support device to exert
a biasing force to bias the at least one floral attachment member
toward the horizontally elongate member; and wherein, when the
floral clip and the floral arrangement are worn by a wearer, the
horizontally elongate member and the floral support device
cooperatively pinch a clothing material via the biasing force of
the compliant device, and wherein the vertically elongate member is
configured to bias against the wearer to assist supporting the
weight of the floral arrangement.
2. The floral clip of claim 1, further comprising a pin that
pivotally couples the floral support device to the horizontally
elongate member, and wherein the compliant member comprises a
spring coupled to the pin.
3. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the floral support device
comprises at least one piercing member extendible through a shank
of the floral arrangement.
4. The floral clip of claim 3, wherein the at least one piecing
member includes a pair of piercing shafts each extending in a
horizontal direction relative to the horizontally elongate
member.
5. The floral clip of claim 3, wherein the floral clip is
configured such that the at least one piecing member does not
pierce through the clothing material when worn by the wearer.
6. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein each of the clip body and
the floral support device includes a finger actuation portion to
facilitate moving the floral clip between the closed and open
states.
7. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the horizontally elongate
member has a horizontal axis, and wherein the vertically elongate
member has a vertical axis generally perpendicular to the
horizontal axis of the horizontally elongate member.
8. The floral clip of claim 7, wherein, when worn by the wearer,
the vertically elongate member extends downwardly from the
horizontally elongate member and is positioned adjacent a middle
section of the horizontally elongate member.
9. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the at least one floral
support device extends generally parallel to the horizontally
elongate member, and wherein the vertically elongate member extends
generally perpendicular from the horizontally elongate member.
10. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein, when worn by the wearer,
the vertically elongate member extends downwardly from the
horizontally elongate member and is positioned below a center of
mass of the floral arrangement to resist gravitational forces
acting on the floral arrangement.
11. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein a vertical length of the
vertically elongate member is at least the same length as a
horizontal length of the horizontally elongate member.
12. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the horizontally elongate
member has a width from 3 mm to 25 mm.
13. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the horizontally elongate
member has a horizontal length from 2.5 cm to 8 cm.
14. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the vertically elongate
member has a thickness from 1 mm to 10 mm.
15. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the vertically elongate
member has a vertical length from 2 cm to 10 cm.
16. The floral clip of claim 1, wherein the horizontally elongate
member and the vertically elongate member are formed of
plastic.
17. A floral clip for non-destructive attachment of a floral
arrangement to a clothing material of a wearer, comprising: a clip
body comprising a horizontally elongate member and a vertically
elongate member extending generally perpendicular from the
horizontally elongate member; a floral support device pivotally
coupled to the clip body and having at least one piercing member; a
pin that pivotally couples the floral support device to the
horizontally elongate member; a compliant device coupled to the pin
and operatively coupled between the horizontally elongate member
and the floral support device, the compliant device configured to
exert a biasing force to operate the floral clip between closed and
open states; and wherein, when the floral clip couples a floral
arrangement to a clothing material of a wearer, the at least one
piercing member is configured to only pierce a stem of the floral
arrangement such that the horizontally elongate member and the
floral support device cooperatively pinch the clothing material via
the biasing force of the compliant device, and wherein the
vertically elongate member is configured to bias against the wearer
to assist supporting the weight of the floral arrangement.
18. A method of making a floral clip for coupling a floral
arrangement to a clothing material, the method comprising: forming
a clip body comprising a horizontally elongate member and a
vertically elongate member extending transverse from the
horizontally elongate member; pivotally coupling a floral support
device to the horizontally elongate member, the floral support
device having at least one floral attachment member configured to
be attached to a floral arrangement; and coupling a compliant
device between the horizontally elongate member and the floral
support device, the floral clip configured to pinch a clothing
material via the compliant device, and the vertically elongate
member configured to bias against the wearer to assist supporting
the weight of the floral arrangement.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising pivotally coupling
the floral support device to the horizontally elongate member with
a pin, and wherein the compliant device is a spring that coupled to
pin.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising attaching at least
one piercing shafts to the floral support device, the at least one
piercing shafts configured to only pierce a stem of the floral
arrangement when worn by the wearer.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/340,281, filed May 23, 2016 and entitled "Floral
Clip," which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] People often wear floral arrangements attached to their
clothing for special events, such as a boutonniere worn on a suit
jacket, for example. A variety of clips or pins have been used to
attach such floral arrangements to a wearer. Many floral
arrangements are attached to the wearer by a clip or pin at or near
a shank of the floral arrangement, in a manner such that a
substantial majority of the weight of the floral arrangement is
positioned above the attachment point of the clip or pin to the
stem. This can cause the floral arrangement to sag downwardly on
the wearer or be otherwise unstable on the wearer, which can lead
to deformation of the suit jacket, for instance. This is
particularly problematic during capturing of images, where the
floral arrangement may be misplaced on the wearer due to the
failure of the clip to properly secure the floral arrangement to
the wearer. Moreover, many such clips are destructive to clothing
because they have pins that pierce through the clothing to secure
the floral arrangement to the wearer, or the clips wrinkle or
otherwise deform the clothing material, for instance.
SUMMARY
[0003] A floral clip is disclosed having a clip body comprising a
horizontally elongate member and a vertically elongate member
extending transverse (e.g., perpendicular) from the horizontally
elongate member. The floral clip comprises a floral support device
that is pivotally coupled to the clip body and has at least one
floral attachment member configured to be attached to a floral
arrangement. The floral clip comprises a compliant device
operatively coupled between the horizontally elongate member and
the floral support device to exert a biasing force to bias the at
least one floral attachment member toward the horizontally elongate
member. Thus, when the floral clip and the floral arrangement are
worn by a wearer, the horizontally elongate member and the floral
support device cooperatively pinch a clothing material via the
biasing force of the compliant device. Advantageously, the
vertically elongate member is sized and configured to bias against
the wearer to assist supporting the weight of the floral
arrangement.
[0004] The floral clip can comprise a pin that pivotally couples
the floral support device to the horizontally elongate member. The
floral support device can comprise at least one piercing member
extendible through only a shank of the floral arrangement, such as
a pair of piercing shafts that pierce the shank. Thus, the floral
clip is configured such that the at least one piecing member does
not pierce through the clothing material when worn by the wearer to
provide a non-destructive floral clip.
[0005] In some example, the horizontally elongate member has a
horizontal axis and the vertically elongate member has a vertical
axis generally perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the
horizontally elongate member. Thus, the vertically elongate member
can extend downwardly from the horizontally elongate member, and
therefore is positioned below a center of mass of the floral
arrangement to resist gravitational forces acting on the floral
arrangement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the front side of a floral
clip in a closed state in accordance with an example of the present
disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the rear side of the floral
clip of FIG. 1 in accordance with an example of the present
disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the side of the floral clip
of FIG. 1 in accordance with an example of the present
disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the floral clip of FIG. 1 in
an open state and attached to a floral arrangement in accordance
with an example of the present disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the floral clip of FIG. 1 in
an installed state coupling the floral arrangement to a clothing
material in accordance with an example of the present
disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 6 is top plan view of a section of the floral clip of
FIG. 1 in an installed state coupling a stem of a floral
arrangement to a clothing material in accordance with an example of
the present disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 7 is an illustration of the floral clip and attached
floral arrangement of FIGS. 5 and 6 on a wearer in accordance with
an example of the present disclosure.
[0013] These drawings are provided to illustrate various aspects of
the invention and are not intended to be limiting of the scope in
terms of dimensions, materials, configurations, arrangements or
proportions unless otherwise limited by the claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] While these exemplary embodiments are described in
sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice
the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may
be realized and that various changes to the invention may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Thus, the following more detailed description of the
embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the
scope of the invention, as claimed, but is presented for purposes
of illustration only and not limitation to describe the features
and characteristics of the present invention, to set forth the best
mode of operation of the invention, and to sufficiently enable one
skilled in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the
scope of the present invention is to be defined solely by the
appended claims.
[0015] Definitions
[0016] In describing and claiming the present invention, the
following terminology will be used.
[0017] The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural
referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for
example, reference to "a member" includes reference to one or more
of such features and reference to "coupling" refers to one or more
such steps.
[0018] As used herein with respect to an identified property or
circumstance, "substantially" refers to a degree of deviation that
is sufficiently small so as to not measurably detract from the
identified property or circumstance. The exact degree of deviation
allowable may in some cases depend on the specific context.
[0019] As used herein, "adjacent" refers to the proximity of two
structures or elements. Particularly, elements that are identified
as being "adjacent" may be either abutting or connected. Such
elements may also be near or close to each other without
necessarily contacting each other. The exact degree of proximity
may in some cases depend on the specific context.
[0020] As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements,
compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a
common list for convenience. However, these lists should be
construed as though each member of the list is individually
identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual
member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of
any other member of the same list solely based on their
presentation in a common group without indications to the
contrary.
[0021] As used herein, the term "at least one of" is intended to be
synonymous with "one or more of." For example, "at least one of A,
B and C" explicitly includes only A, only B, only C, or
combinations of each.
[0022] Numerical data may be presented herein in a range format. It
is to be understood that such range format is used merely for
convenience and brevity and should be interpreted flexibly to
include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the
limits of the range, but also to include all the individual
numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if
each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. For
example, a numerical range of about 1 to about 4.5 should be
interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited limits of 1
to about 4.5, but also to include individual numerals such as 2, 3,
4, and sub-ranges such as 1 to 3, 2 to 4, etc. The same principle
applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value, such as "less
than about 4.5," which should be interpreted to include all of the
above-recited values and ranges. Further, such an interpretation
should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the
characteristic being described.
[0023] Any steps recited in any method or process claims may be
executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented in
the claims. Means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations
will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of
the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) "means
for" or "step for" is expressly recited; and b) a corresponding
function is expressly recited. The structure, material or acts that
support the means-plus function are expressly recited in the
description herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should
be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal
equivalents, rather than by the descriptions and examples given
herein.
[0024] Floral Clip
[0025] With reference to FIGS. 1-7, a floral clip 10 is illustrated
in various views and configurations in accordance with an example
of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 1 is an isometric
view of the front side of the floral clip 10, and FIG. 2 is an
isometric view of the rear side of the floral clip 10, and FIG. 3
is an isometric view of a side of the floral clip 10, with all such
views showing the floral clip 10 in the closed state A. FIG. 4
illustrates the floral clip 10 in an open state B, while FIG. 5
shows the floral clip 10 in an installed state C attached to a
floral arrangement 12 and coupled to a clothing material 14.
Finally, FIG. 6 shows a top plan view of FIG. 5 (only showing the
stem), and FIG. 7 shows the floral clip 10 and the floral
arrangement 12 as worn by a wearer.
[0026] With general reference to FIGS. 1-5, the floral clip 10 can
comprise a clip body 16 comprising a horizontally elongate member
18 and a vertically elongate member 20 extending transverse from
the horizontally elongate member 18. The floral clip 10 can further
comprise a floral support device 22 pivotally coupled to the clip
body 16 and having at least one floral attachment member 24
configured to be attached to the floral arrangement 12 (e.g., FIGS.
5-7). The floral clip 10 can comprise a compliant device 26 (FIG.
3) operatively coupled between the horizontally elongate member 18
and the floral support device 22 to exert a biasing force to bias
the at least one floral attachment member 24 toward the
horizontally elongate member 18. That is, the compliant device 26
is configured to nominally place the floral clip 10 in a closed
state A (FIGS. 1-3), and when actuated/operated by a user, the
floral clip 10 can be placed in an open state B (FIGS. 4 and 5) for
attachment of the floral arrangement 12 and for coupling the floral
arrangement 12 to the clothing material 14 of the wearer when the
floral clip 10 is in the installed state C (FIGS. 5-7).
[0027] In some examples, the vertically elongate member 20 can
extend transverse and downwardly from the horizontally elongate
member 18. In this configuration, the horizontally elongate member
has a horizontal axis H (FIG. 2) and the vertically elongate member
20 has a vertical axis V generally perpendicular to the horizontal
axis of the horizontally elongate member 18.
[0028] In some examples, the floral support device 22 can be
comprised of an actuator body 28 and a pair of piercing members 30
attached to the actuator body 28; however one piercing member 30
can be used (i.e., "the at least one floral attachment member 24"
could be just one piercing or other attachment device). The pair of
piercing members 30 (or single piercing member) can extend
generally horizontal along and relative to the horizontally
elongate member 18. The piercing members 30 can be comprised a
material that is capable of having a piercing tip small enough that
can pierce through a stem of a floral arrangement, such as rigid
metal (stainless steel, aluminum, tin, etc.), or even other
materials such as certain plastics and composites.
[0029] Note that the stem of a floral arrangement can be comprised
of numerous flower stems, papers, fabrics, and other materials.
These stems are usually wrapped fairly tight with paper and ribbon,
for instance, such that one or more piercing members 30 would be
frictionally engaged to the stem with enough friction force to
prevent the floral arrangement from sliding or falling off.
However, in one example the piercing members 30 can be replaced
with another attachment device, such as an alligator clip, a
serrated blade, an O-ring clamp, or other suitable device.
[0030] The actuator body 28 can have a pair of attachment members
32 that attach the pair of piercing members 30 to the actuator body
28 by a suitable means, such as by UV welding, adhesive, fasteners,
etc., in examples where the floral support device 22 is plastic, of
instance. The actuator body 28 can include a finger actuation
portion 34 sized and shaped to provide sufficient surface area for
a user to depress a finger against the finger actuation portion 34
to actuate the compliant device 26 and open the floral clip, as
shown on FIG. 4. The actuator body 28 can further include a pair of
flange supports 36 (FIG. 3) that extend outwardly from the actuator
body 28 and adjacent the finger actuation portion 34. The actuator
body 28 can be formed as one unitary component (as further
discussed below), or it can be multiple parts coupled together.
[0031] The horizontally elongate member 18 can comprise a generally
planar body 38 having a leading end section 40, a middle section
42, and an aft end section 44 (FIGS. 1 and 2). In some examples,
the generally planar body 38 comprises a cavity area defined by a
raised edge perimeter portion 48 that extends around the body 36,
as shown on FIG. 1. Notably, the sharp tips of the piercing members
30 can touch or rest against the planar body 38 in the cavity area
adjacent the raised edge perimeter portion 48 when the floral clip
10 is in the nominally closed state A, which helps prevent the
floral clip 10 from accidentally piercing a user or other object
when being stored or handled. Alternatively, the sharp tips can
ride in a slot or aperture of the horizontally elongate member
18.
[0032] The horizontally elongate member 18 can further comprise a
finger actuation portion 50 sized and shaped to provide sufficient
surface area (e.g., 5+ square mm) for a user to depress a finger
against the finger actuation portion 50, as illustrated by FIG. 4,
to open the floral clip 10. The horizontally elongate member 18 can
similarly include a pair of flange supports 52 that extend
outwardly from the generally planar body 38 and adjacent the finger
actuation portion 50. As shown on FIG. 3, the flange supports 36 of
the actuator body 28 are positioned inside of the space between the
flange supports 52 of the horizontally elongate member 18 to
provide a pivot point. Accordingly, a pin 54 (e.g., a steel rivet)
extends through apertures in each of the pairs of flange supports
36 and 52 to pivotally couple the floral support device 22 to the
horizontally elongate member 18. The pin 54 can be flanged on both
ends so that it remains in place.
[0033] In some examples, the compliant device 26 is a spring, such
as a 90 degree torsional spring having a right hand wind direction
with at least 3 coils, as shown on FIG. 3. The spring has an
opening sized to receiving the pin 54 (the pin can be approximately
1 mm to 5 mm diameter or more, for instance). In the present
example, the spring is positioned between the floral support device
22 and the horizontally elongate member 18 adjacent respective
finger actuation portions 34 and 50, such that the compliant device
26 is pre-loaded when installed such that the spring arms are each
biased to respective finger actuation portions 34 and 50. This
biasing force causes an outward force to the finger actuation
portions 34 and 50, which, due to the pivot point defined by the
pin 54, causes the piercing members 30 to be biased toward the
generally planar body 38.
[0034] Other types of compliant devices can be used to achieve the
aforementioned biasing force to attach the floral clip 10 to a
piece of clothing. For instance, a leaf spring could be coupled
between each of the horizontally elongate member 18 and the
actuator body 28, and pre-loaded in-place to provide a biasing
force. Alternatively, one or more coil springs could be used in a
similar manner. In another aspect, a threaded shaft could be
coupled laterally between the horizontally elongate member 18 and
the actuator body 28, which can be rotated to move the floral clip
10 between the closed and open states.
[0035] In some examples, the horizontally elongate member 18 has a
width/thickness from 3 mm to 25 mm, and a horizontal/lateral length
from 2.5 cm to 8 cm, or more in some aspects. In some examples, the
vertically elongate member 20 has a thickness from 1 mm to 10 mm,
and a vertical length from 2 cm to 10 cm, or more in some
instances. Alternatively, the vertically elongate member 20 need
not be a thin elongate member, as illustrated in the drawings.
Rather, it could have a generally flat, wide planar shape (like the
horizontally elongate member 18), or it could be a wide panel that
extends downwardly from the horizontally elongate member 18.
[0036] Although dimensions of the floral clip 10 can vary based on
the type of floral arrangement, selection of materials, and other
factors, the horizontally elongate member 18 can have a high aspect
ratio, such as from about 3:1 to about 10:1. The clip body 16 and
other portions (actuation portion 28) can be formed of any suitable
material such as, but not limited to, polymers (e.g. polyethylene,
HDPE, polycarbonate, polyurethane, etc), metal (e.g. aluminum,
steel, etc), carbon fiber, composites or alloys thereof, and the
like.
[0037] In some examples, the horizontally elongate member 18 and/or
the at least one support member 24 can include a friction feature
(such as ribs, waves, rubber surface, etc.) that provides increased
friction forces to the clothing material and/or the floral
arrangement to prevent slippage. In some examples, the at least one
support member 24 can include a separate attachment device for
attachment to the shank of a floral arrangement, such as a loop,
hook, clip, and/or surface variations of the support member to
attach to the floral arrangement.
[0038] In some examples, the horizontally elongate member 18 may
have a planar surface on a y-plane that corresponds to a y-plane
about which the vertically elongate member 20 extends from the
horizontally elongate member 18 (FIG. 2). In some examples, the
vertically elongate member 20 can have a high aspect ratio of
length to width, such as for example from 4:1 to 20:1, and in some
cases from about 5:1 to 15:1. In many cases, the vertically
elongate member 20 can have a width less than a width of the
elongate support body 12, and in some cases less than 60% of the
horizontally elongate member 18 width. In some examples, the
piercing members 30 may be spatially separated approximately a
height of the horizontally elongate member 18 (or slightly less),
and may be substantially parallel to each other.
[0039] In any event, as shown on FIGS. 4 and 5, when a user's
fingers (e.g., thumb and index finger) pinch respective finger
actuation portions 34 and 50, the spring or biasing force of the
compliant device 26 is overcome to transition the floral clip 10
from the closed state A to the open state B. Then, a stem or other
portion of the floral arrangement 12 can be pierced (or otherwise
attached) by a user with one or both of the pair of piercing
members 30 (or other attachment device). Once pierced, and as shown
on FIGS. 5 and 6, a portion of the clothing material 14 (e.g., a
lapel of a suit jacket) can be slid or disposed between the pierced
portion of the flower arrangement 12 and the inside portion of the
horizontally elongate member 18 proximate the middle section 42.
Then, the user can release his/her gripping pressure from the
floral clip 10 so that the stem 13 of the floral arrangement 12
biases the clothing material 14 against the horizontally elongate
member 18, thereby coupling the floral arrangement 12 to the
clothing material 14. This is best shown on FIG. 6, illustrating
the advantage that the floral clip 10 does not pierce the clothing
material 14 (or otherwise deform or destroy fabrics). Rather, the
floral clip 10 tends to cause a pinching or gripping force to the
clothing material 14, as shown on FIG. 6, with sufficient force
(e.g., 1-5 pounds) to couple the floral arrangement 12 to the
wearer.
[0040] With further reference to FIG. 7, the floral clip 10 can be
almost entirely hidden from view (perhaps except for the front side
of the finger actuation portion 34 of the floral support member
28). Thus, when worn, the vertically elongate member 20 extends
downwardly from the horizontally elongate member 18 and proximate a
piercing point P (FIG. 6) of the stem of the floral arrangement 12
at a vertical distance (e.g., 2-10+ cm) positioned below a center
of mass M of the floral arrangement 12 to resist gravitational
forces acting on the floral arrangement 12. That is, because a
majority of the weight of the floral arrangement 12 is above the
piercing point P, the floral arrangement 12 may have a tendency to
rotate downwardly and forward away from the wearer, particularly
when the wearer leans or bends over, or even when walking. However,
because the vertically elongate member 20 is vertically positioned
at or near the piercing point P of the floral arrangement 12, and
because the vertically elongate member 20 extends a selected
distance below the pierce point P and below the center of mass M,
the vertically elongate member 20 acts as a vertical stabilization
member. That is, when the floral arrangement 12 will tend to rotate
forward due to its weight, the vertically elongate member 20 will
bias against the wearer's body (e.g., chest) to resist such
movement, thereby maintaining the desired position of the floral
arrangement 12.
[0041] In addition, the lateral length of the horizontally elongate
member 18 (e.g., 2-10+ cm) tends to resist undesirable lateral
movement of the floral arrangement 12 when the wearer moves from
side to side, for instance. When worn, the backside of the general
planar body 38 rests against the wearer's body along the surface
length of the horizontally elongate member 18 to provide lateral
support to resist such undesirable lateral movement of the floral
arrangement 12 to further stabilize it on the wearer. Thus, the
horizontally elongate member 18 and the vertical elongate member 20
cooperate to stabilize the floral arrangement and to prevent
movement in various lateral and downward directional movements.
[0042] In one example, a method is disclosed for making a floral
clip for coupling a floral arrangement to a clothing material, such
as the floral clip 10 exemplified above. The method can comprise
the operation of forming a clip body (e.g., 16) comprising a
horizontally elongate member (e.g., 18) and a vertically elongate
member (e.g., 20) extending transverse from the horizontally
elongate member (e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2). Such forming can achieved by
manufacturing operations such as injection molding, machining, 3D
printing, etc., with materials such as plastics, polymers, etc., as
discussed above. The clip body can be one unitary body, or multiple
components coupled together. The method can comprise attaching at
least one piercing shaft (e.g., 30) to the floral support device,
which can be achieved as discussed above, such as UV attachment,
adhesive, etc.
[0043] The method can comprise the operation of pivotally coupling
(e.g., with pin 54) a floral support device (e.g., 22, 30) to the
horizontally elongate member. The method can comprise the operation
of coupling a compliant device (e.g., 26) between the horizontally
elongate member and the floral support device. These two operations
can be one single operation wherein the pin 54 is extended through
each of the elongate members 18 and 20, and concurrently through
the compliant device 26, as shown as a final product example of
FIG. 3.
[0044] In one example, a method is disclosed for attaching a floral
arrangement (e.g., 12) to a floral clip (e.g., 10), and then
attaching both to a clothing material (e.g., 14) of a wearer, such
as disclosed above throughout the description of FIGS. 1-7.
[0045] The foregoing detailed description describes the invention
with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. However, it will
be appreciated that various modifications and changes can be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention as set
forth in the appended claims. The detailed description and
accompanying drawings are to be regarded as merely illustrative,
rather than as restrictive, and all such modifications or changes,
if any, are intended to fall within the scope of the present
invention as described and set forth herein.
* * * * *