US3894317A - Securing element for buttons and analogous fasteners, and method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A plate-shaped member has a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured. An elongated filament portion is of one piece with and extends from the member and is adapted to penetrate the object and to secure a fastener thereto. A free section of the filament portion passes through an aperture of the fastener and back through the object and is first inserted into one passage formed in the plate-shaped member in substantial parallelism with the general plane of the latter, formed with a knot which is drawn into a recess adjacent that open end of the passage at which the free section emerges from the passage, and thereupon the remainder of the free section is passed in opposite direction through a second passage extending more or less parallel to the first passage.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Nysten [451 July 15,1975

[75] Inventor: Bernhard Nysten, Aachen, Germany [73] Assignee: William Prym-Werke KG, Stolberg,

Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 434,578

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 26, 1973 Germany 2303730 [52] US. Cl 24/90 W [51] Int. Cl. A4413 l/18 [58] Field of Search 24/90 W, 90 TS, 90 TA,

24/90 TB, 150 PP, 103, 16 PB, 30.5 P

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 356,315 7/1922 Germany 24/90 W 1,003,482 2/1957 Germany 22,229 9/1912 United Kingdom 24/90 TS Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT A plate-shaped member has a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured. An elongated filament portion is of one piece with and extends from the member and is adapted to penetrate the object and to secure a fastener thereto. A free section of the filament portion passes through an aperture of the fastener and back through the object and is first inserted into one passage formed in the plate-shaped member in substantial parallelism with the general plane of the latter, formed with a knot which is drawn into a recess adjacent that open end of the passage at which the free section emerges from the passage, and thereupon the remainder of the free section is passed in opposite direction through a second passage extending more or less parallel to the first pas- 11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,979,508 11/1934 Van Den Bel 24/30.5 P 2,025,663 12/1935 luliano t 24/90 TA 3,444,597 5/1969 Bone 24/150 FP Modrey W age 3.780.400 12/1973 Hinspergerw .7 24/90 W X 3.785.009 l/l974 Nysten 24/90 W X SECURING ELEMENT FOR BUTTONS AND ANALOGOUS FASTENERS, AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the securing of buttons and analogous fasteners, and more particularly to a novel securing element for carrying out such securement. The invention also relates to a method of using the novel securing element.

Buttons, parts of snap fasteners and similar fastening devices or arrangements are fastened to garments, handbags or the like in a variety of ways. Conventionally, this fastening is done by sewing, but also it is known to use different securing elements. For instance, it is known to secure buttons to garments, using a plateshaped member provided with an integral filament which extends from its center and which is formed with an eyelet. The filament is pushed with its free end through the garment from one side to the other thereof, passed through one or more openings in the button, pushed back through the garment and then inserted through the eyelet which is itself formed in the filament as mentioned above. However, it has been found that this type of securing element is not satisfactory for various resons. One of these is the fact that the connection thus established is rather loose because of the location of the eyelet in the filament itself. Another difficulty resides, of course, in the obvious danger that the free end of the filament might slip back out of its eyelet and that the connection might thus become loosened and the button be lost.

Another prior-art proposal utilizes a plate member to which one end of a filament is secured and which is formed with an opening into which the other end of the filament is introduced, after the filament has been passed through the garment and through one or more apertures of the button or the like. This other end is then secured in the opening by means of an adhesive which hardens. The evident disadvantage of this proposal is the fact that it is necessary to use adhesive separately, that is to apply it in a separate operation, and to wait until it has hardened before the connection becomes reliable.

Still another prior-art proposal uses a member from which a filament portion extends having a wavy end. The member itself is provided with a channel or passage having constrictions therein and into which the wavy end is to be inserted, with the object of having it be clampingly retained. It has, however, been found that the retention was not reliable, an experience which was also made with another type of prior-art fastener wherein the channel was replaced with an annular undercut groove formed in one major surface of a plate member, and wherein the filament was somewhat springy so that, after the filament was passed through the garment and the button or the like, a free end portion of the filament was inserted into the undercut groove and coiled therein, the intention being that the springiness of the filament would urge it outwardly against the radially outer wall of the groove and cause it to be retained therein. Here, also, the retention was not sufficient and difficulties were experienced.

Still another prior-art proposal used a member provided with two filament guides which were located at different levels and crossed one another, so that one portion of the filament which was inserted into one of the guides would cross another portion inserted into the other guide and would frictionally retain it. The difficulty with this proposal was that it was complicated to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a securing element of the type in question which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide such a securing element which is simple in its construction and extremely easy to use.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such securing element which affords a high degree of reliability in retaining a button or similar fastener.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of using such a securing element.

In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a securing element for buttons or analogous fasteners which, briefly stated, comprises a plate-shaped member having a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured. An elongated filament portion extends from this member and is adapted to penetrate the object and secure a fastener thereto. The filament portion has a free section remote from the member and which is passed back through the object after having been extended through one or more openings of the fastener. A pair of passages is formed in the member in substantial parallelism with the plane of the aforementioned major surface thereof. The first and second parts of the free section of the filament portion are inserted into these passages, that is one part is inserted into one of the passages until the other part extends past a downstream open end of the one passage, and thereupon this other part is inserted in opposite direction through the other passage.

Before the other part is inserted through the other passage, a loose knot may be formed in the free section intermediate the downstream end of the first passage and the upstream end of the second passage into which the other part is about to be inserted. However, cooperating retaining portions can be provided on the free section of the filament portion and on the plate-shaped member, respectively, to obviate the use of such a knot.

According to a currently preferred embodiment, the plate-shaped member is formed in its circumferential edge face with at least one recess which connects the adjacent open ends of two passages, and it is advantageous if such recesses are provided, each connecting the two adjacent open ends of the passages. The knot can then be inserted into one of these recesses and will become drawn tightly into the same and be retained frictionally therein, as the other part of the free section is inserted into the second passage.

The securing element according to the present invention can be utilized for securing buttons, parts of snap fasteners and the like to garments, items of textile material, handbags and in fact anything that can be penetrated by the filament portion. Evidently, the plateshaped member will be located at one side of the object to which the fastener is to be secured, as the fastener will be located at the opposite side. The filament portion is pushed with its free end through the object from the one side to the other side, then passed through one or more openings in the fastener, pushed back through the object and thereupon inserted through the passages of the plate-shaped member in the manner described above. Of course, the filament portion can be repeatedly pushed through the object from one to the other side thereof, for instance if it must be made to pass through several openings in the button or analogous fastener.

If desired the securing element according to the present invention can itself be used as a fastener, in which case the filament portion will merely be pushed through the object to which the securing element is to be connected, and then back through the object whereupon it will be inserted into the passages of the plateshaped member in the manner outlined above. In this case the securing element would, of course, have to be configurated so that its plate-shaped member would serve as a button or as a snap-fastener section.

The filament portion itself is composed of essentially two sections, namely a first section which is connected to or integral with the plate-shaped member and which is flexible so that it can be readily moved, and a second section carries the tip of the filament portion and which is considerably less flexible so that the tip can be readily pushed through an object such as an item of textile material or the like. It is advantageous if the plateshaped member and the filament portion are of one piece and are made by injection-molding from synthetic plastic material, for instance nylon or the like. In order to improve the strength of the filament portion it is advantageous if the latter, assuming that it is made of synthetic plastic material, is stretched in its longitudinal direction to impart molecular orientation to it and thereby make it stronger. This concept is already known per se in the art.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a securing element according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partly sectioned top-plan view of the securing element of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1, as seen in the direction of the.arrow 3; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating a further embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing now in detail, and referring firstly to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, it will be seen thatreference numeral 2 identifies a plateshaped member, from a major surface of which there extends anelongated filament portion 1. It is advantageous that themember 2 and theportion 1 be of one piece and be injection molded from synthetic plastic material, After the injection molding, thefilament portion 1 is stretched until it reaches approximately three times its original length, and this results in molecular orientation of the synthetic plastic material and in an increase in the strength of the filament portion in a manner which is already known per se. The shape of thejunction 3 where thefilament portion 1 joins the plate-shaped member 2, and of the terminal section 4 of the filament portion remains unchanged during this stretching operation. The particular shape and increased thickness of thejunction 3 assures that the filament portion cannot be broken off in this area, and the greater thickness of the section 4 assures that the filament portion can be more readily pushed through an object to which the element is to be secured. Thetip 5 of thefilament portion 1 can be made pointed by, for instance, cutting it at an angle as shown in FIG. 1, to thereby facilitate the penetration of the filament portion through the garment or similar object. If thetip 5 is cut at an angle as shown in FIG. 1, this is advantageously done by cutting at an angle through the connected filament portions of two of the elements which have been jointly injection molded, thereby not only severing them but also providing each filament portion with anangled tip 5.

As FIGS. 2 and 3 show most clearly, themember 2 is formed with twopassages 6 and 7 which extend in parallelism with its general plane and with the plane of the major surface from which thefilament portion 1 extends. Preferably, but not necessarily, thepassages 6 and 7 will be in axial parallelism as seen in FIG. 2. Their diameter is very slightly larger than the largest diameter of thefilament portion 1. It is advantageous if the adjacent ends of thepassages 6 and 7 are connected at least at one side of themember 2 by arecess 8 formed in the circumferential edge face of the member 2 (see particularly FIG. 3), although a similar recess can also be provided at the other side connecting the other two ends of thepassages 6 and 7.

In use of the novel element the latter will be located at one side of a garment or similar object to which it is to be secured. Usually, this will be the reverse or concealed side. Thetip 5 of thefilament portion 1 is now pushed through the object to the front side and is there passed either through a hole formed in the shank of a button or other fastener, or through one or more holes formed directly in the body of the fastener. Thereupon, thetip 5 is used again to push through the object so that the filament portion is then brought back to the reverse side thereof, namely the side where themember 2 is lo cated. Now, the filament is inserted first into one of thepassages 6, 7, for example thepassage 7. If only one of therecesses 8 is provided, then the filament must be inserted into that open end of the passage 6 (or 7) which is remote from therecess 8. It then emerges from the opposite open end of the passage, where the recess is located, and a loose knot is now formed in it. Thereupon, the leading end of the filament portion is inserted into the open end of the other passage, in the example being discussed thepassage 7, and is pushed through the latter in direction opposite to its original movement through thepassage 6. The free end of the filament portion will then emerge from the opposite end of thepassage 7 and when a pull is exerted upon it the knot will be drawn into therecess 8, being bothtightened and becoming clamped in the recess. Any excess part of the filament which projects beyond the right-hand open end of thepassage 7 in FIG. 2, can. be cut off.

If two of therecesses 8 are provided, that is the one shown in FIG. 2 and another one (not shown) connecting the right-hand open ends of thepassages 6 and 7, then it is immaterial at which end the filament portion is first inserted into the first one of the passages, because it will evidently be one or the other of the recesses 8b available for drawing of the knot thereinto.

Coming, finally, to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it will be seen that this uses analogous reference numerals to the one in FIGS. 1-3, except that a prime symbol has been added. The plate member is identified with reference numeral 2' and the filament portion withreference numeral 1 The plate member 2' is formed with twopassages 6' and 7, as before, and they are connected at their open ends by at least onerecess 8.

Contrary to the embodiment of FIGS. l-3, however, the recess 8' is formed with snap-action portions 9 into which complementary snap-action portions 9 of the filament 1' can be received with a snap action. Theportions 9 are formed of one piece with thefilament 1.

In this embodiment, the formation of a knot is eliminated, because after the filament has been passed through the passage 6' (or 7') and is thereupon inserted into the passage 7' (or 6') some of thesnapaction portions 9 will be drawn into the recess 8' wherein they will be retained by a snap action.

It is clear, therefore, that I have disclosed not only a novel securing element which, incidentally, can itself be configurated as a button, a snap-fastener section or the like, but also a novel method of using such an element. Moreover, it is evident that my novel construction overcomes the disadvantages which I have outlined earlier with respect to the prior art.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a securing element for buttons and analogous fasteners, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A method of securing a fastener to a garment or the like, comprising the steps of passing a filament portion of a securing element through the garment from one side to the other thereof, so that a plate-shaped member of the element is located at said one side; passing the filament portion at said other side through aperture means in a fastener located at said other side, and thereupon through said garment back to said one side; passing one part of said filament portion through'a passage which is formed in said member in parallelism with the general plane of the latter; forming a knot in another part of said filament portion outside a downstream open end of said passage; and passing a further part of said filament portion which is located downstream of said knot, through an additional passage in said member in a direction opposite to said one part.

2. A securing element for buttons and analogous fas teners, comprising a plate-shaped member having a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured; an elongated filament portion extending from said member adapted to penetrate said object and secure a fastener thereto, said filament portion having a free section remote from said member; said member having a pair of passages each having respective two spaced open ends formed in said meber substantially parallel to the plane of said major surface, said passages being adapted to accommodate respective first and second parts of said free section when such parts are successively inserted into said passages; a recess in said member which connects at least one pair of said open ends; and cooperating engaging portions in said recess and on said filament portion.

3. A securing element according toclaim 2, wherein said engaging portions are snap-action engaging portions.

4. A securing element for buttons and analogous fasteners, comprising a plate-shaped member having a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured; an elongated filament portion extending from said member adapted to penetrate said object and secure a fastener thereto, said filament portion having said member having a free section remote from said member; said member having a pair of passages each having respective two spaced open ends formed in said member substantially parallel to the plane of said major surface, said passages being adapted to accommodate respective first and second parts of said free section when such parts are successively inserted into said passages; and at least one recess in said member which connects one pair of said open ends, said recess being adapted to accommodate an enlarged portion formed in said free section intermediate said first and second parts.

5. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said filament portion is of one piece with said member.

6. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said passages are axially parallel to one another.

7. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said member and filament portion are of synthetic plastic material.

8. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said filament portion is molecularly oriented by stretching.

9. A securing element as defined in claim 4, said free section having a needle-shaped free tip.

10. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said member is disk-shaped.

11. A securing element according to claim 4, wherein said enlarged portion is a knot.

Claims (11)

1. A method of securing a fastener to a garment or the like, comprising the steps of passing a filament portion of a securing element through the garment from one side to the other thereof, so that a plate-shaped member of the element is located at said one side; passing the filament portion at said other side through aperture means in a fastener located at said other side, and thereupon through said garment back to said one side; passing one part of said filament portion through a passage which is formed in said member in parallelism with the general plane of the latter; forming a knot in another part of said filament portion outside a downstream open end of said passage; and passing a further part of said filament portion which is located downstream of said knot, through an additional passage in said member in a direction opposite to said one part.

2. A securing element for buttons and analogous fasteners, comprising a plate-shaped member having a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured; an elongated filament portion extending from said member adapted to penetrate said object and secure a fastener thereto, said filament portion having a free section remote from said member; said member having a pair of passages each having respective two spaced open ends formed in said meber substantially parallel to the plane of said major surface, said passages being adapted to accommodate respective first and second parts of said free section when such parts are successively inserted into said passages; a recess in said member which connects at least one pair of said open ends; and cooperating engaging portions in said recess and on said filament portion.

3. A securing element according to claim 2, wherein said engaging portions are snap-action engaging portions.

4. A securing element for buttons and analogous fasteners, comprising a plate-shaped member having a major surface which in use is to face an object to which a fastener is to be secured; an elongated filamenT portion extending from said member adapted to penetrate said object and secure a fastener thereto, said filament portion having a free section remote from said member; said member having a pair of passages each having respective two spaced open ends formed in said member substantially parallel to the plane of said major surface, said passages being adapted to accommodate respective first and second parts of said free section when such parts are successively inserted into said passages; and at least one recess in said member which connects one pair of said open ends, said recess being adapted to accommodate an enlarged portion formed in said free section intermediate said first and second parts.

5. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said filament portion is of one piece with said member.

6. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said passages are axially parallel to one another.

7. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said member and filament portion are of synthetic plastic material.

8. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said filament portion is molecularly oriented by stretching.

9. A securing element as defined in claim 4, said free section having a needle-shaped free tip.

10. A securing element as defined in claim 4, wherein said member is disk-shaped.

11. A securing element according to claim 4, wherein said enlarged portion is a knot.

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