Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
74~9
This is a division of Canadian Patent Application
Serial No~ 289,341, filed October 24, 1977.
DI SCLOSURE
This invention relates to pairs of apparel items, such as
socks, and has particular refeTence to an improved fastening
structuTe for holding such palrs together as during laundering,
etc.
Various attempts have been made over the years to relieve
housewives and others of the chore of matching up sock pairs
after laundering. Various types of clips have been used to hold
pairs together. Others have used pins that pierce both socks of
a pair. These have proved unsatisfactory, because they are usually
10 not conveniently available when the WeaTer discards his socks
for the laundry. Other solutions have been sought by using
separate pockets in mesh bags which can be bodily immersed in a
washing machine. Another attempt is illustrated by U.S. Patent
3,588,348 to Klotz, wherein special bands are wrapped around the
shanks of sock pairs to keep them together during washing. Such
bands have the same disadvantage of lack of availability at the
time of discarding socks.
Other attempts have been made by placing snaps or hook-and-
eye fasteners on sock pairs. These, too, have thei~ drawbacks.
20 Snaps and hook-and-eye fasteners are usually metallic or other-
wise stiff and unyielding as the socks are tugged and pulled
during washing. This tends to increase local stresses, Tesulting
in local stretching near the fasteners and sometimes tearing the
~; sock fabric. Also, they have a more serious disadvantage of being
` uncomfortable to the wearer if local pressure is placed on the
sock as by crossing the legs. This causes the stiff fasteners
to press into the flesh, and this pressure becomes uncomfortable.
In the case of metallic mechanical fasteners, bending and defor-
mation can sometimes occur in severe washing.
' 1
.
7~
Another attempt has been made with the use of tie
strings. I~hile these, too, are instantly available if sewed to
sock pairs, tlley are cumbersome and have proved to be unsatis-
factory.
We have found a combination of socks and self-contained
fasteners that operates satisfactorily. We found that the
objections to prior art fasteners may be avoided by the use of
flexible patches than can be placed directly on the socks and
which patches adhere to each other when pressed together. While
several materials fall into this category, we presently prefer
fasteners of the hook-and-pile type generally sold under the
trademark of"Velcro"and described in U.S. Patents 3,000,384 and
3,009,235. This type of fastener holds up in repeated washings,
even with very hot water, and retains its holding power over
long periods of time. Flexible sticky patches to accomplish this
same result give difficulty in having other garments stick to
the patches, and the patches lose their stickiness with repeated
washings. The hook-and-pile material presently preferred is
very flexible and comes in sheets or strips that may be cut to
size and then adhered or sewn to the socks.
The hook patches tend to adhere to some materials such
as fuzzy trouser materials, and, while this temporary bond is
easily broken, it may annoy some users. We have found that this
adhering tendency may be avoided by placing a patch of pile
material over the hook patch. The pile patch is preferably
hinged to the hook patch and may be opened for bonding, which
additionally doubles the bonding area.
In summary of the above, therefore, the invention
according to the parent application is seen to provide the combination of
a pair of flexible clothing items and a self-contained fastener
secured to each item, an improved fastener of the flexible type
in the form of a flexible patch of hooks secured to the fabric
of one of the items and a flexible patch of pile secured to the
~ - 2 -
dap/~ ~
741~9
other item, and the two patches adhere to each other when
manually pressed together, whereby the flexible fastener
will keep the items together during washing and will flex
with the items during washing and thereby prevent stretching
and tearing of the fabric of the items, and means operatively
associated with the item having the hooks, to selectively
cover the hooks when the items are being worn, so that the
clothing of the user will not catch on the hooks, and to
selectively uncover the hooks when the items are to be held
together for washing.
The present invention, on the other hand is
directed more towards the mechanism for connecting the clothing
items together, and may be broadly defined as a flexible strip
for supplying hook-and-pile patch pairs that engage complemen-
tary pile-and-hook pairs for fastening pairs of clothing items
together, comprising: (a) a flat strip of flexible backing
material having edges and opposite surfaces; tb) a first single
longitudinal area on one surface of the backing material having
pile structures disposed thereon; (c) a second single
longitudinal area parallel to and on the same surface of the
backing material, the second area having hook structures
disposed thereon; (d) clear tab areas on both surfaces along at
least one common edge, the areas being free of structures; (e)
a flexible, hinge area free of the hook-and-pile structure~
between the first and second areas; (f) and a flexible,
adhesive material disposed on that part of the other surface of
the flexible backing material that is back of at least oneof the
first or second area furthest from the tab area; the hook-and-
pile pairs being formed by cutting the strip transversely, and
the clear area acting as a tab for pulling the hook and pile
: apart.
dm~ - 2a -
'~
7~9
Various objects, advantages, and features of the
invention will ~e apparent in the following description and
claims considered together with the drawings forming an
integral part of this application and in which:
Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a pair
of separated socks having fastener patches secured to the
socks.
dm: ~ 2b -
~74~g
Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the fabric of -the socks
and the patches when the patches are secured together, thereby
holding the socks of the pair.
Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional fragmentary view of the
tops of a pair of socks, each having a pile and hook patch joined
together, one of which is fastened to each sock.
Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional fragmentary view of the sock
tops of Fig. 3 showing the top closed upon the secured patch to
present a smooth fabric exterior for each hook-and-pile pair.
Fig. 5 is a top view of the socks of Fig. 4, showing the
hinged or integral relationship of each hook-and-pile pair.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of a strip of material having hook
structures on one linear part and pile structures on the other
linear part, so that the strip may be transversely cut to form the
hook-and-pile pairs of Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
Fig. 7 is an end view on an enlarged scale of the strip of
Fig. 6.
Referring to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a pair o socks 10
and 11, each having a foot section 12 and a shank section 13.
20 Disposed on each sock 10 and 11 are fastener patches 14 and 16,
respectively. These patches may be placed anywhere on the sock
for the purpose of holding a sock pair together, but we have deter-
mined that there is a minimum interference with pant legs and
minimum visibility if the patches 14 and 16 are placed at the rear
of the shank and toward the top of the shank.
The patches 14 and 16 are selected particularly in accor-
dance with our invention to be flexible, and the closer the patch
material can approach the flexibility of the fabric of the socks,
the more effective are the patches. If stiff fasteners such as
30 snaps are used, the sock fabric is stretched out of shape and
~ sometimes torn. Our flexible fastener patches, by contrast,
- flex with the sock fabric during washing and thereby prevent
such local stresses~ FurthermoTe, our flexible patches are com-
fortable to the wearer, and local pressure on the legs will not
.
74~9
produce painful impressions, but instead will be smooth and
comfortable.
While various types of flexible adhering patches 14 and
16 may be used, we have found that the most durable and satisfac-
tory is the hook-and-pile type previously mentioned, sold under
the trademark "Velcro." This type of material has mating halves
with hooks on one part and pile on the other. When manually
pressed together, they adhere with good pressure per square inch
so that a rather strong tug is required to separate them. Such a
structure is shown in enlarged section in Fig. 2, wherein the
patch 14 consists of a flexible base 17 from which projects
pile 18. The patch 16 consists of a flexible base 19 from which
project hooks 21. The hooks engage the pile when pressed together
to hold the two patches together and thereby hold the socks together.
Various means may be employed to secure the patches 14 and
16 to the sock shanks 13. We have used sewing with good results.
Coating the surfaces of bases 17 and 19 with a thermoplastic
permits ironing the patches to the socks, especially when the
hooks and pile are joined together. Cold adhesives may be used,
particularly flexible epoxy cements.
We have found that when socks are washed with heavy items
such as sheets and towels in an automatic or other power washer,
considerable stress is placed on the patches 14 and 16. We have
used patches of about one-quarter to one-half square inch suc-
cessfully.
We have found that the hook patches of one sock tend to
momentarily stick to the user's trouseTs, especially if the trou-
ser material is very fuzzy. For example, if the wearer of such
trousers happens to cross his legs to place pressure on the exposed
hooks of the hook patch, there is a weak adherence of the fuzzy
material to the hook patch. While this bond is easily broken,
it may become annoying to some. We have found that this may be
avoided by placing a cover over the hook patch. This cover may be
''
.
74~39
of a material that sticks to the hooks. We have found, however,
that the best results are obtained by using a cover of pile material
from the hook-and-pile combination. To make sure that this cover
is always available, we connect it clirectly to the hook patch.
With this objective, the cover is hinged to the hook patch, but
can be joined in any other fashion. When the cover is closed on
the hooks, only the smooth fabric backing of the cover is exposed
and trousers do not stick to it.
We have found further that both socks of a pair may be pro-
10 vided with a hooX patch and a pile cover, and when both are opened
up to expose both cover and patch, the hooks of one sock can engage
the pile of the other and vice versa, to double the bonding area
when the two socks are joined together for laundering, etc. In
this fashion, for example, a quarter square inch of hook patch
can have a quarter square inch of pile cover hinged to it to pTO-
vide half a square inch of joining surface. As mentioned pre-
viously, we presently prefer about one-quarter to one-half square
inch of joining surfaces to withstand the rigors of clothes-washing
machines.
It will be apparent that it is immaterial which of a hinged
pair of hook-and-pile patches is secured to the socks and which
is the cover for the other. Wepresently prefer to secure the
pile to the sock, in which case the hinged area of hooks becomes
the "cover."
Referring to Figs. 3, 4, and 5, secured to each sock 22 and
23 of a pair of socks is a patch of pile 24 and 26, respectively.
Hinged at 25 to pile patches 24 and 26 are hook patches 27 and
28, respectively. The hinge may be formed of the fabric backing
upon which the pile and hooks are woven, or the hook patches 27
30 and 28 may be sewed to the pile patches, in which case the threads
may act as the hinge or part of the hinge. The outermost edge
of the hook patches 27 and 28 may be free of hooks as at 27a and
28a. This gives a nonadhering part of the hook patch, whicll
3L~La~ 4~`9
may be grasped by the user to pull the patch pairs 24-27 and
26-28 apart. The provision of such a tab is optional.
Fig. 3 shows the patch pairs 24-27 and 26-28 opened up as
for joining the socks together for laundering. In this event
the hook patch 28 of sock 23 is joined to the pile patch 24 of
sock 22, and the pile patch 26 of sock 23 is joined to the hook
patch 27 of sock 22. The hinged nature of the patch pairs 24-27
and 26-28 is illustrated in Fig. 5 in a partly closed condition.
When each patch pair 24-27 and 26-28 is adhered to itself, the
10 condition is shown in Fig. 4, and only the fabric backing of hook
patches 27 and 28 is visible. This fabric backing is smooth and
will not catch on clothing. The closed patch pairs 24-27 and 26-28
are fairly flexible and will conform to the curvature of the
wearer's legs.
Illustrated in ~igs. 6 and 7 is a presently preferred type
of factory-made strip from which our patch pairs 24-27 and 26-28
i may be formed. A single flexible fabric backing 30 has pile
structures 31 sewn or otherwise embedded in the upper part of this
fabric strip. Adjoining this pile part is a clear longitudinal
20 area 32, which acts as the hinge area. Adjoining the hinge strip
32 is a lower longitudinal area 33 in which are sewn or other-
wise embedded the hook structures of the hook-and-pile combina-
tion. The lower edge of the fabric 30 is kept clear to form a
; tab strip 34.
The factory-made strip of Figs. 6 and 7 is cut transversely
along broken lines 35 to form the pile-hook pairs 24-27 and 26-28
of Figs. 3, 4, and 5 of any desired length.
OPERATION OF FIGS. 3 THROUGH 5
Referring to Fig. 5, the wearer of the socks 22 and 23 closes
the hook patches 27 and 28 on the pile patches 24 and 26 by rotat-
30 ing them clockwise about their hinge strips 25. The clear fabricbacking of the hook patches is then outermost as shown in Fig. 4,
and these smooth outer fabrics of patches 27 and 28 will not
catch on the pant legs or other clothing of the user.
When the user removes his socks 22 and 23, he manually
grasps the tab areas 27a and 28a (Figs. 3 and 5) of the patches
27 and 28 and gives a smart pull, which then separates them from
the pile patches 24 and 26. They are then in the open position shown
in Fig. 3. The user then pushes the patches of the two socks
together, hook patch 28 joining with pile patch 24 and hook patch
27 joining with pile patch 26. The socks may then be laundered
10 and after laundering and drying will still be joined together.
They may then be placed in the dresser drawer.
When next it is desired to use them, the tabs 27a or 28a
of one sock are manually grasped and pulled while holding onto
the other sock. The patches then are separated and the socks are
ready for wearing after closing patches 27 and 28 as described
above.
In addition to avoiding the chore of sock matching after
laundering, our flexible patches serve to keep sock pairs and
glove pairs, etc., together in dressers without the necessity of
20 wadding one inside the other or using other holding techniques.
Our patches are useful to the manu-facturer also in avoiding the
necessity for packing or clipping each pair to hold the two
socks together.
We have described the presently preferred form of our improve-
- ment as required by the Rules. We do not limit ourselves to this
disclosure as various modifications and variations will occur to
those skilled in the art. The following claims include all such
modifications and variations that fall within the true spirit and
scope of the invention.
- 7
:
