U.S. patent number 3,827,019 [Application Number 05/334,234] was granted by the patent office on 1974-07-30 for magnetic closure.
Invention is credited to Gideon P. Serbu.
United States Patent |
3,827,019 |
Serbu |
July 30, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
MAGNETIC CLOSURE
Abstract
A closure device for an opening having a boundary defined by a
border of a flexible panel and a border along another member, which
may be a flexible panel, includes a plurality of spaced permanent
magnets that run downwardly along one of the borders from an apex
where the two borders join. Each of the permanent magnets includes
strong magnetic pole faces on a surface abutting the boundary to
establish a magnetic force across the boundary in a plane
substantially parallel to a plane in which the flexible panel lies
while the opening is closed. The permanent magnets have weak
magnetic poles on the opposite surface thereof, remote from the
boundary. On the other border, a plurality of spaced magnetic force
attractive elements are provided in positions aligned with the
permanent magnets. The elements may be either second permanent
magnets or members of relatively high magnetic permeability. As the
flexible panel moves about the apex by gravity from an open
condition toward a closed position the magnetic forces bring and
hold successive segments of the two borders in abutting
relationship. The portions of the border that are closer to the
apex generally come into abutting relationship with each other
prior to the portions of the border that are farther from the
apex.
Inventors: |
Serbu; Gideon P. (Accokeek,
MD) |
Family
ID: |
23306240 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/334,234 |
Filed: |
February 21, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
335/285; 135/117;
160/DIG.16; 292/251.5; 335/306; 160/349.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41F
1/002 (20130101); Y10S 160/16 (20130101); Y10T
292/11 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
A41F
1/00 (20060101); H01f 007/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;335/285,303,306,302
;211/DIG.1 ;292/251.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Harris; George
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lowe, King and Price
Claims
I claim:
1. A closure device for providing access through and closing of an
opening of a flexible, non-magnetic panel with equal facility for
movement of an object in either direction through the opening, said
opening having a boundary defined by a first vertically extending
border along the flexible panel and a second vertically extending
border along another member, said first and second borders being in
abutting relationship and defining a longitudinal, vertically
extending slit while the opening is closed, said panel and member
being mechanically joined together at a point on the upper end of
the slit, said slit being opened in response to insertion of the
object through the slit, said closure device comprising: vertically
extending magnet means running along one of the borders of the slit
for establishing a horizontally extending magnetic force across the
slit in planes substantially parallel to and including a plane in
which the panel lies while the opening is closed, vertically
extending magnetic force attractive means running along the other
border responsive to the magnetic force for holding the borders in
abutting non-overlapping relationship substantially throughout
their length, both said magnetic force establishing means and said
magnetic force attractive means having substantially abutting
surfaces that are freely slidable with respect to each other as the
opening is being closed and opened as the object moves through the
opening, said force establishing means and force attractive means
being arranged with said panel, member and slit so that the panel
is free to swing in any direction about the point and the panel and
member are free to come together solely in response to the force of
gravity and the magnetic force, whereby the magnetic force and the
force of gravity cause the upper portion of the slit to be
initially closed and the lower portion of the slit to be
subsequently closed.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the magnetic means includes a
plurality of spaced permanent bar magnets each having strong
opposite polarity magnetic poles on the surface abutting said one
border and weak magnetic poles on a surface remote from said one
border.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein the magnetic force attractive
means includes a plurality of elements spaced from each other in
corresponding locations with the permanent magnets, whereby
corresponding ones of the permanent magnets and the elements are in
substantial abutting relationship with each other while the opening
is closed.
4. The device of claim 2 wherein each of the elements is a
permanent bar magnet having pole faces on the other border and in
alignment with corresponding pole faces of opposite polarity of the
bar magnets on said one border.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein said magnet means provides air
gaps for magnetic flux causing the magnetic force.
6. A closure for an opening of a pair of flexible panels of a tent,
said panels having first and second mating borders defining a
vertically extending slit when the panels are closed, said panels
being mechanically joined together at a point on the upper end of
the slit, said closure device comprising; vertically extending
magnet means running along one of the borders of the slit for
establishing a horizontally extending magnetic force across the
slit in planes substantially parallel to and including a plane in
which the panels lie while the opening is closed, vertically
extending magnetic force attractive means running along the other
border responsive to the magnetic force for holding the borders in
abutting nonoverlapping relationship substantially throughout their
length, both said magnetic force establishing means and said
magnetic force attractive means having substantially abutting
surfaces that are freely slidable with respect to each other as the
opening is being closed, said force establishing means and force
attractive means being arranged with said panels, and slit so that
the panels are free to swing in any direction about the point and
the panels are free to come together solely in response to the
force of gravity and the magnetic force, whereby the magnetic force
and the force of gravity cause the upper portion of the slit to be
initially closed and the lower portion of the slit to be
subsequently closed.
7. The device of claim 6 wherein the magnet means includes a
plurality of spaced permanent bar magnets each having strong
opposite polarity magnetic poles on the surface abutting said one
border and weak magnetic poles on a surface remote from said one
border.
8. The device of claim 7 wherein the magnetic force attractive
means includes a plurality of elements spaced from each other in
corresponding locations with the permanent magnets, whereby
corresponding ones of the permanent magnets and the elements are in
substantial abutting relationship with each other while the opening
is closed.
9. The device of claim 8 wherein each of the elements is a
permanent bar magnet having pole faces on the other border and in
alignment with corresponding pole faces of opposite polarity of the
bar magnets on said one border.
10. The device of claim 6 wherein the magnet means includes a
permanent magnet having first and second opposite polarity magnetic
poles on faces of the magnet adjacent and remote from at least one
border.
11. The device of claim 10 wherein said panel is flexible and the
permanent magnetic means provides air gaps for magnetic flux
causing the magnetic force and flexibility for said at least one
border.
12. The combination of claim 6 wherein each of the panels has a
first horizontally extending border included in a bottom slit for
each closed panel, each of the panels being mechanically attached
to the remainder of the tent at a location at the end of the bottom
slit remote from the vertically extending slit, the tent having a
horizontally extending edge defining a second horizontally
extending border of the bottom slit, a closure for the bottom slit
comprising: horizontally extending magnet means running along one
of the borders of the bottom slit for establishing a vertically
extending magnetic force across the bottom slit in planes
substantially parallel to and including a plane in which the panels
lie while the opening is closed, horizontally extending magnetic
force attractive means running along the other border of the bottom
slit and responsive to the vertically extending magnetic force for
holding the borders of the bottom slit in abutting non-overlapping
relationship substantially throughout their length, both said
magnetic force establishing means and said magnetic force
attractive means of the borders for the bottom slit having
substantially abutting surfaces that are freely slidable with
respect to each other as the opening is being closed, said force
establishing means and force attractive means on the borders of the
bottom slit being arranged with said panels and bottom slit so that
the panels are free to swing in any direction about the point and
the panels are always free to come together solely in response to
the force of gravity and the magnetic force.
13. A closure device for providing access through and closing of an
opening with equal facility for movement of an object in either
direction through the opening, said opening having a boundary
defined by: first and second borders of a flexible panel member, a
third border along a first member, and a fourth border along a
second member, said first and third borders being in abutting
relationship and defining a first longitudinal vertically extending
slit while the opening is closed, said second and fourth borders
being in abutting relationship and defining a second, horizontally
extending longitudinal slit while the opening is closed, said slits
intersecting substantially at right angles, said panel and first
member being mechanically joined together at a first point on the
first slit remote from and above the intersection of the two slits,
said panel and the second member being mechanically joined together
at a second point on the second slit remote from and horizontally
to the side of the intersection of the two slits, said slit being
opened in response to insertion of the object through the slit,
comprising vertically extending first magnet means running along at
least one of the borders of the first slit for establishing a
horizontally extending magnetic force across the first slit in
planes substantially parallel to and including a plane in which the
panel lies while the opening is closed, vertically extending
magnetic force attractive means in the other border of the first
slit responsive to the horizontally extending magnetic force for
holding the borders of the first slit in abutting non-overlapping
relationship substantially throughout their length, second magnet
means in one of the borders of the second slit for establishing a
second magnetic vertically extending force across the second slit
in planes parallel to and including the panel, and magnetic force
attractive means in the other border of the second slit responsive
to the second magnetic force for bringing the borders of the second
slit in abutting non-overlapping relationship while the borders of
the first slit are being brought into abutting relationship by the
first magnet means, said first magnetic force establishing means
and the first magnetic force attractive means having substantially
abutting surfaces that are freely slidable with respect to each
other as the opening is being closed and opened as the object moves
through the opening, and said second magnetic force establishing
means and the second magnetic force attractive means having
substantially abutting surfaces that are freely slidable with
respect to each other as the opening is being closed and opened as
the object moves through the opening, both said first and second
magnetic force establishing means and the first and second magnetic
force attractive means being arranged with said panel, members and
slits so that the panel is free to swing in any direction about the
point and the panel and member are free to come together solely in
response to the force of gravity and the magnetic force, whereby
said panel initially closes the vertically extending slit in
proximity to the first point while the second slit is being closed
in proximity to the second point and thereafter the first slit is
closed by the lower portions of the first slit coming into contact
with each other while the portions of the second slit remote from
the second point are coming into contact with each other.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to closure devices and more
particularly to a magnetic closure device wherein a magnetic force
is established in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of a
flexible panel having an edge defining a border of the closure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many devices have been developed for closures for openings having a
longitudinally extending boundary that is defined by a border of at
least one flexible panel member. Such closure devices have
typically been in the form of buttons buckles, clasps and slide
fasteners, particularly of the zipper type. In order for an object
to move through an opening formed by a typical prior art closure
device of the above-mentioned type, the closure device must be
mechanically manipulated throughout the length of the opening.
After the object has moved through the opening, the closure device
must again be mechanically manipulated. For certain types of
openings, such as openings through the flaps or front panels of a
tent, where it is necessary to open and close a pair of closure
devices generally extending at right angles to each other each time
ingress and egress to the tent occurs, the mechanical manipulation
can be time consuming and bothersome. For a tent closure, where it
is imperative to provide as effective a closure as possible at all
times in order to keep insects from the interior of the tent,
mechanical manipulation of the closure is frequently difficult
because articles carried in both hands are frequently brought
through the closure device.
In an attempt to avoid the mechanical manipulation required of
typical prior art closure devices of the type specified supra,
magnetic closure devices have been proposed. The proposed magnetic
closure devices have generally involved permanent magnets arranged
so that a magnetic force is provided in a plane at right angles to
the plane of a panel forming the closure. The magnetic force is
directed toward a corresponding magnetic attractive member on a
second panel; corresponding elements may be either a permanent
magnet or an element having high magnetic permeability. The two
panels are thereby in generally abutting relationship with an
overlapping portion in the region where the permanent magnet holds
the two panels together. Because of the overlapping region between
the two panels, easy access through the opening in both directions
is not provided. If one panel has two degrees of freedom of
movement so that its faces can contact one or the other face of the
other panel, the closure may not be effected at all. This is
particularly true if both pole areas are on the same face of the
permanent magnet, since one face of such permanent magnets is
generally polarized to a much greater extent than the other face.
If the permanent magnet is polarized through its width, so that the
two faces thereof are oppositely polarized, a proper seal may not
be provided because magnets along different portions of the closure
region might have a tendency to cause opposite faces of the two
panels to abut against each other. Hence, along a first portion of
the seal the abutting faces of the two panels could be one pair of
faces and along a second portion of the seal the abutting faces
could be the faces on the opposite sides of the panels. In such a
situation, a hole would be left in a transition region between the
first and second portions of the seal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention the overlap problems of
prior art magnetic closure devices are avoided by including
permanent magnet means that establishes magnetic forces across a
boundary of the closure in a plane substantially parallel to a
plane of a first flexible panel. Magnetic force attractive means on
a border of a second panel or member responds to the magnetic
forces to hold the two borders in abutting relationship without
overlap between the panels. Because the borders are in abutting,
non-overlapping relationship, movement of an object through the
closure device in either direction is facilitated.
If the two borders are vertically disposed they have an apex at an
upper portion thereof. Thereby, when the flexible panel is being
closed, it returns initially by gravity toward the other panel and
the permanent magnets provide horizontal forces that thereafter
bring and hold aligned segments of the two borders in contact.
Successive portions of the two borders contact each other, with the
portions closest to the apex generally contacting each other before
the portions more remote from the apex.
By providing the magnetic force in a plane substantially parallel
to the plane of the flexible panel and utilizing bar magnets having
poles at opposite ends of the bar on a front face abutting the
boundary, the front faces of the permanent magnets always provide
the strong magnetic field necessary to establish alignment of the
panels across the boundary. Alignment is thereby achieved
regardless of the relative initial position of the faces of the
flexible panel relative to the faces of the other member. This is
in contrast with the prior art magnetic closures, as discussed
supra.
Another feature of the invention relates particularly to closures
having boundaries defined by a pair of intersecting slits that run
in different directions, such as in a tent where there are a
downwardly extending center slit and a horizontally extending slit
that runs in proximity to the ground from the center slit toward
the outer periphery of the tent. In accordance with this feature,
the center slit is closed by the previously discussed mechanism
while the horizontally extending slit is closed by a vertically
directed magnetic force formed by a permanent magnet included
either in a threshold running in the horizontal direction or in the
horizontally extending portion of the panel. The vertical magnetic
force across the horizontally extending slit extends in a direction
parallel to the plane of the flexible panel which engages the
threshold. In operation, as the closure is sealed along the
vertical slit in response to the gravitational and horizontally
directed magnetic forces, the panel is secured in situ to the
threshold by the vertically directed magnetic forces established
between magnetic elements that extend along the horizontally
extending slit.
To enable the flexible panel to retain its flexibility, the
magnetic elements therein, whether they be permanent magnets or
elements of high magnetic permeability, are arranged so that there
are gaps between the magnetic fields of adjacent magnets. The gaps
can be provided by spacing the permanent magnets or magnetic
elements of high magnetic permeability, or by providing a magnetic
element of high magnetic permeability that is continuous but
inherently provides magnetic field gaps therein, such as a link
chain.
If one of the members forming a boundary of the closure is rigid,
such as the threshold of a tent, the magnetic force which is
parallel to the plane of the flexible panel, can be provided by
mounting in the rigid member an elongated, single piece permanent
magnet having magnetic poles on opposite faces of the magnet.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a
new and improved magnetic closure device.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
magnetic closure device wherein movement of an object through the
closure device is provided with equal facility in either direction
and the device automatically closes after the object has moved
through an opening of the closure device.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
magnetic closure which can be opened without manual manipulation of
the closure structure.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved magnetic closure device which can be opened by merely
applying a force to a flexible panel that has an edge defining a
border of a boundary of an opening of the closure device, and
wherein the closure device automatically returns to a closed
position without manual manipulation.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved magnetic closure device for vertically extending openings,
having a boundary defined by a vertically extending border of a
flexible panel.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved closure device for a flexible panel member having a pair
of intersecting edges that run in different directions and which
define a boundary of an opening.
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the
following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof,
especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a front view of the invention as illustrated in
conjunction with a pair of flexible panels;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the closure device
illustrated in FIG. 1, illustrating the closure device in a
completely closed state;
FIG. 3 is a top sectional view, taken along the line 3--3, FIG. 2,
illustrating the magnet configuration for a vertically extending
portion of the boundary of the opening, in accordance with a
preferred embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view, taken through the line 4--4, FIG.
2, illustrating a threshold closure device, in combination with a
portion of the vertical closure structure;
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the invention in conjunction with a
tent; and
FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the principles of the invention as
applied to a garment closure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawing wherein there is
illustrated a pair of flexible, non-magnetic panels 11 and 12 that
have abutting, non-overlapping, vertically extending edges 13 and
14 which are closed by the closure device of the present invention.
Panels 11 and 12 also include horizontally extending edges 15 and
16 which are brought into abutting relationship with fixed
threshold structure 17 by the closure device of the present
invention. Edges 15 and 16 extend outwardly from center line 18
along which edges 13 and 14 abut when the closure device is
closed.
The closure device for edges or borders 13 and 14 comprises a
plurality of spaced permanent bar magnets 21 and and 22 which are
fixedly mounted by suitable means, such as by bonding or
impregnation, in hems 23 and 24 that respectively extend along
edges 13 and 14. Magnets 21 and 22 have strong magnetic poles at
opposite ends thereof on front faces 25 and 26 abutting edges 13
and 14 along outer hemlines 27 and 28; any magnetic poles on the
rear faces of magnets 21 and 22, along inner hemlines 29 and 30,
are usually so small that they do not overcome gravitational
forces. Corresponding magnets 21 and 22 are vertically aligned
along the lengths of edges 13 and 14 so that opposite polarity
poles of corresponding magnets are in matching aligned relationship
to provide a seal along the abutting edges 13 and 14. Adjacent ones
of magnets 21 and 22 are spaced from each other by a distance
sufficient to enable the edges of panels 11 and 12 to remain
flexible. Panels 11 and 12 can be fabricated from any suitable type
of flexible, non-magnetic material which is easily folded, such as
sheets of cloth, mesh or plastic.
When the closure device is closed, outer hemlines 27 and 28 are in
abutting relationship to provide a seal for edges 13 and 14.
Hemlines 27 and 28 thereby may be considered as defining a boundary
for the opening between edges 13 and 14 when the closure device is
opened. The poles faces of magnets 21 and 22 provide magnetic
forces that extend across the boundary defined by hemlines 27 and
28, in planes that include or are parallel to the plane of flexible
panels 11 and 12. As viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, the magnetic force
from the north pole of magnet 21 extends across hemlines 27 and 28
to the south pole of magnet 22 while the north pole of magnet 22
extends across the hemlines to the south pole of magnet 21.
Panels 11 and 12 are joined so that the borders have an apex at the
upper extremities of the panels so that when the panels are in a
full open condition, they are joined at the apex. When panels 11
and 12 are closed, they fall by gravity toward threshold 17 and the
uppermost magnet pairs 21 and 22 are attracted toward each other
and come into holding contact. The next lower pair of magnets then
are attracted toward each other and are brought into holding
contact. The process continues, so that generally successive
magnets 21 and 22 are brought into abutting relationship, with the
magnets closest to the bottom being brought into an abutting
relationship at a time most removed from the magnets at the top
coming into abutting relationship.
Because the magnetic force is provided through the boundary of the
opening defined by hemlines 27 and 28 in planes including or
substantially parallel to the plane of panels 11 and 12 the closure
of the invention can easily be opened merely by a person kicking at
a lower segment of the closure to provide initial access. As the
person moves through the closure, the upper segments of the closure
part. After the person has moved through the closure, panels 11 and
12 close on each other, regardless of whether panel 11 is in front
of panel 12 or vice versa. This is because the magnetic force
between magnets 21 and 22 is directed in a plane substantially
parallel to panels 11 and 12 and because there is no overlap
between the panels, with the panels coming into abutting
relationship along outer hemlines 27 and 28.
Magnets 21 and 22 can be inserted into hems 23 and 24 by bonding
the rear faces thereof, having relatively weak magnetic poles, to
inner hemlines 29 and 30. In the alternative, the permanent magnets
can be formed by providing spaced regions of ferrous oxide powder
in a plastic binder in hems 23 and 24. The plastic binder is heated
to substantially simultaneously coalesce the ferrous oxide powder
and bond the powder to hemlines 27-30. Thereafter, opposite
polarity magnetic fields are applied to opposite ends of faces 25
and 26 of the fused ferrous oxide powder to form the permanent
magnets. The technique of utilizing ferrous oxide powder in a
plastic binder with a subsequent fusing action avoids possible
problems of magnetic deterioration due to the Curie effect.
While permanent magnets are illustrated as being included in hems
23 and 24, it is to be understood that only one of the hems need
include such a permanent magnet and that the other hem may include
spaced elements of high magnetic permeability, such as iron slugs.
The iron slugs would be positioned in identically the same manner
as the correspondingly located permanent magnets. It is also to be
understood that the principles of the invention apply if only one
of panels 11 and 12 is flexible, and that the other panel can be
relatively rigid. In such an instance, the permanent magnets or
elements of high magnetic permeability are positioned on the rigid
panel in the same manner as the permanent magnets or elements of
high magnetic permeability are located on the flexible panel or an
elongated ferrous strip can be provided in the rigid panel. In
either case, the magnetic force from the permanent magnet is
provided across the boundary in a direction generally parallel to
the plane of the rigid panel and the flexible panel when the
closure device is closed.
If only one of panels 11 or 12 is flexible, in accordance with a
further alternative, the magnetic force in the plane parallel to
the fixed and flexible panels can be provided by an elongated
permanent magnet strip including magnetized pole faces on opposite
faces of the strip. Such a configuration is illustrated in FIGS. 1,
2 and 4 for the horizontally extending portion of the closure
device between lower edges 15 and 16 of panels 11 and 12 and
threshold 17.
The closure device between threshold 17 and each of edges 15 and 16
is formed by providing an elongated magnetized strip 32 that is
mounted in a recess on the upper surface of non-magnetic
longitudinally extending, relatively rigid threshold member 33.
Strip 32 is magnetized so that the north and south pole faces of
the magnet are on opposite faces 34 and 35 of the strip. Thereby,
while the closure device is closed, the pole faces provide a
magnetic force component that extends, to a certain extent, in
planes including and parallel to the plane of panels 11 and 12. The
magnetic force from magnet 32 provides an attractive force for
corresponding gapped magnetic elements extending horizontally along
the bottom edges 15 and 16 of flexible panels 11 and 12. The gapped
magnetic elements along edges 15 and 16, in the embodiment of FIGS.
1, 2 and 4, comprises link chains 36 and 37, which are fabricated
of material having high magnetic permeability such as iron. Link
chains 36 and 37 inherently provide the flexibility for edges 15
and 16 that is provided by including spaced members of high
magnetic permeability in one of hems 23 or 24. Of course chains 36
and 37 inherently provide the necessary air gaps for the magnetic
field derived from strip 32 and therefore such a chain can be
substituted for the magnets along one of the vertically extending
borders.
In operation, after outer seams 27 and 28 have closed so they are
in contact throughout their lengths, link chains 36 and 37 contact
and are held in situ against the magnetized upper surface 34 of
strip 32 to provide complete closure of panels 11 and 12 against
threshold 17. Because of the air gap between adjacent links of
chains 36 and 37, edges 15 and 16 do not bunch from center line 18
to the points where the edges are pinned to the extremities of
threshold 17.
It is noted that outer hemlines 27 and 28 are in abutting
relationship throughout their lengths so that there are no air
holes in the slit formed between the two outer hemlines. Similarly,
no air holes subsist in the slit between the lower edges 15 and 16
and threshold 17. Thereby, the closure device of the present
invention is particularly adapted for use with structures in which
it is important to prevent relatively small objects, such as
insects or flies, from moving through the closure device while it
is closed.
In this connection, reference is made to FIG. 5 wherein the closure
device illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 is illustrated as the door of a
tent 41. The door is comprised of flexible panels 11 and 12 having
abutting vertical edges 13 and 14 and horizontally extending lower
edges 15 and 16 that are in abutting relationship with the
permanent magnet strip 32 that extends along threshold 17. Flexible
panels 11 and 12 are sewn at their outer and top edges to a
rectangular cutout in tent 41. Thereby, the upper corners of edges
13 and 14 have an apex, along center line 18 at the intersection of
the center line with the upper portion of the cutout region of the
tent.
The invention can also be employed as a closure device in many
other applications. For example, the invention is illustrated in
FIG. 6 as a closure device for a garment having a longitudinally
extending opening in the vertical direction as defined by the edges
of panels 42 and 43. The garment preferably includes a mechanical
fastener 44 which initially joins the upper edges of panels 42 and
43 together. After fastener 44 has joined the upper edges of panels
42 and 43 together, the remaining portions of the panels are
automatically joined together by the combined forces of gravity and
the magnetic forces that subsist across the boundary of the
closure, as provided by permanent magnets 21 and 22.
While there have been described and illustrated several specific
embodiments of the invention, it will be clear that variations in
the details of the embodiments specifically illustrated and
described may be made without departing from the true spirit and
scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *