Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 3~q~3~
This invention rela-tes to a novel method of
attaching two clothing fabric layers together and provides
a device which, while performlng the above function, also
serves as an attractive and suitable ornamentation to the
clothing with which it is worn.
By 'pointl herein I mean that portion of the
collar adjacent the collar tip.
The invention is thought to have as its principal
application a replacement for the button and buttonhole which will
1~ 'button- down' the point of a buttcn-down dress shirt collar.
The invention does~ however, have other applications.
The general aspects of the invention are, as an
example only, described in relation to the shirt collar point
even though the invention has wider application. The invention
provides a grommet for attachment to the collar point at the
location where there would normally be a button hole. The grommet
provides a passage through the collar point material. Anchoring
means is provided on the shirt body beneath the point at the
location where the button, corresponding to the buttonhole,would
~ 20 conventionally be sewn.
; A button having the outside appearance of a con-
ventional shirt button is provided with a shank extending from
its inner side. The shank is designed to pass through the
grommet and to leave a free end. The free end of the shank is
designed to make releasable attachment with the anchoring means.
The shank intermediate the button head and the free end is
~; designed, in combination with the grommet to make a snap action
attachment to and release from the grommet. Thus the button
may be attached to the collar point by inserting the shank
through the grommet to which it is attached by the snap action
; referred to. In its insertion the bu-tton head overlies and
conceals the grommet.
The free end of the shank is then attached to the
anchor means to provide a'buttoned down' point for the shirt
1 3"q2~1
collar. The but-ton is readily replaced by firstly, detachZnent
wi-th deliberate effort of the shank first from the anchor means
and then from the grommet, and secondly choosing a replacement
button with new shank inserted firs-t through the grommet; and
then into the anchoring means. Thus the outer or exposed side
of the button may be alternately of conventional appearance or
ornamented in any desired manner and pairs of buttons of
alternate appearance may be supplied for wearing on different
occasions. Thus the exposed side of the button may have a
conventional shirt button appearance or may be jewelled or
otherwise ornamented, or have any other styled appearance.
The invention, when applied to a shirt collar, to
create a 'buttoned-down' effect, produces an improved appearance
over the conventional 'button-down' collar. This is because
conventional 'button-down' collars require soft cloth so that
the button-hole may slide over the button, and the sof-t cloth
does not provide a firm collar profile. Since in this invention
the collar is 'buttoned-down' by the shank releasably attached to
the anchoring means, firmer cloth may be used for the collar,
; 20 the point in particular, thus producing a desireably crisper
collar profile.
An advantage over conventional 'button-down' shirts
is that the buttons (and attached shanks) are detachable. Thus,
buttons of, for example, conventional appearance can be replaced
by, for example, two jewelled buttons having the same shank
configuration, Thus the invention allows the poin-ts to be
buttoned down and, at the same time, introduces a major new
category of men's ~ewelry.
A further advantage over conventional button-d~wn
shirt points is that the buttons for the latter often become
detached and lost and are resewn with difficulty. With this
invention replacement buttons are not resewen but, with shank
attached, are simply inserted into the grommet and held there,
ready for snap-closure with the anchoring means.
As previously stated, al-though the use of grommet and
anchoring means, wi-th the button and shank is described above for
t 3~q23l
connection of the collar point to the body of the shirt, the three
elements described above may be used to connect two fabric
layers in other positions and in other types of articles of
dress with the same advantages of convenience and variability
of appearance as those discussed above. For example another
application would be to fasten the cuffs of a dress shirt with
the sama opportunity to replace the conventional cuff button
with an ornamental button.
The button shank is attached to and released from
the grommet by a snap action and the shank is preferably provided,
intermediate the button and the free end, with an enlargement
which, on insertion of the stud into the grommet passage, provides
the snap action for attachment of the shank to the grommet,
which snap action is repeated on removal of the shank from this
grommet passage.
The grommet is preferably assembled from two pieces.
One piece is a one piece flange and sleeve, the flange resting
on one side of the collar fabric and the sleeve passing there-
through. A second piece,a ring is placed on the other side of
the fabric and is applied over the sleeve to attach thereto.
The two piece grommet as described is provided on the inner
surface of the sleeve with the means for the snap action effect
with the button shank. As previously described this is usually
~; embodied by an intermediate enlargement on the but-ton shank
cooperating with a restriction on the inside surface of the
passage to provide the snap action.
The connection between the shank free end and the
anchoring means may be conventional. Preferably tha anchoring
means comprises a small body with~an outwardly opening socket
designed to detachably receive an enlarged end of the shank with
a snap action. Thus the preferred shank will have an enlargement
to rest in the anchoring means and an intermediate enlargement
to secure the shank to the grommet.
:
fi 3~3 1
In drawings which illustrate a preferred
embodiment of the invention :
Figure 1 shows a collar point with components in
accord with the invention,
Figure 2 shows an exploded view of a button, shank,
grommet and anchoring means in perspective,
Figure 3 shows a hutton and shank similar to that in
Figure 2 with a different exterior surface,
Figure 4 shows a section through a collar point and
shirt body showing the components used in and with the invention
before attachment of the shan~ to the anchoring means, and
Figure 5 shows the same elements as shown in Figure 4
with the $hank attached to the anchoring means.
In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a button down dress
shirt with fabric 50, a collar point 40. A grommet 20, in
accord with the invention is located on the collar point 40 at the
location conventionally occupied by a button hole. An anchoring
means 30 is attached to the shirt body at the location normally
occupied by the button for the button hole. A unitary button
and shank 10 is provided with the shank designed to pass through
the grommet 20 and attach thereto with a snap action while the
; end of the shank is designed for releasable attachment to the
anchoring means 30, when the shank is extending through the
:
grommet 20.
Figure 2 shows a unitary button and shank. This may
~ be molded from plastic or made of any other material. The button
; has an outer surace 12 which will be exposed in use and a lower
surface 14 withshank 16 extending therefrom. Shank 16 is provided
with an enlarged free end 19 for connection to anchoring means
30 and an intermediate enlargement 18 for snap attachment to and
release of grommet 20.
Grommet 20 comprises hollow sleeve 22 having on one
side a radially extending flange 24 designed to rest on one side
of the fabric layer 40 composed here of a double layer of fabric
A
1 3~9~31
(forming part of point 40) while -the sleeve 22 goes through a
hole in the fabric. A ring 26 fits over the free end of the
sleeve 22 to rest on the other side of the fabric, and,
together with the flange and sleeve, to form the assembled
grommetO The ring may be at-tached to the sleeve in any desired
manner. I prefer to make both grommet members from molded,
somewhat resilient, plastic. I prefer to provide the annular
enl~gement 28 at the free end of the sleeve, bevelled at 27 to
assist the ring~ to slide thereover, compressing the
adjacent sleeve, which snaps back to retain the enlargement 28
with the inwardly facing shoulder 29. The ring 26 may be
; alternately or additionally held in place by adhesive or by
thermal bonding or other conventional means. The ring 26 fixed
on the sleeve 22 attaches the grommet to material 40 and defines
a passage for the button shank lO through the inner surface of
the sleeve. Inwardly projecting annular ledge 25 forms a
restriction in the inner surfase of sleeve. The inwardly directed
edge 23 of the ledge is designed to allow, with or without
deflection, inward passage of the enlargement 19 and to be de-
~; 20 flected to pass enlargement 18 with a snap action on insertion
of the shank into or removal of the shank from the grommet
passage. The grommet and shank or one of them is made of material
su~ficiently resilient to achieve such snap action. Any other
cooperating means on grommet passage and shank to provide such
snap action and releasable retention is within the scope of the
invention.
Figure 2 shows the preferred form of the anchoring
means 30 for attachment -to the shirt fabric at the location
normally occupied by the 'button-down' bu-tton. The anchoring
::
means (preferably of molded plastic) comprises an outer member 32
attached to an inner member by four probes 36 of inner member 34
passing outwardly through the shirt ma-terial. The outer member is
arranged to define a socket 30 (see Figures 4 and 5~ designed,
(with the inherent resiliency of the member) to receive with snap
--5--
1 3"92~'i
action, the enlarged shank end 19, and to release it with a
similar snap ackion. However it is noted that any suitable
cooperating means between -the shank and the anchoring means 30
for releasable retention may be used.
Figure 3 shows a button and shank functionally
equivalent to the same members in Figure 2 except that the
outer surface is jewelled instead of the button appearance of
Figure 2. The button head is dimensioned to overlie and conceal
the grornmet in use. One of the great advantages of the invention
is that, in addition to the functional convenience, per se, the
design allows simple alteration of appearance by replacement
of -the button of one appearance by a button of another appearance.
In operation, the dress shirt when purchased will
normally have the grommet 20 and the anchoring means 30
permanently installed. The buttons with shanks are selected by
the wearer. Each shank is then inserted through a grommet until
; both enlargements 19 and 18 have passed the restriction 25, the
enlargement 18 passing with the snap action referred to. Thus
each button is now fixed on the collar. After tying the tie 60,
each shank free end enlargement 19 is snapped into the anchoring
means socket and the shirt collar point is thus 'buttoned down'.
If the wearer now wants to replace the conventional 'button'
appearance of the Figure 1 button he withdraws the shank first
from the anchoring means, then outwardly through the grommet. A
differently ornamented button and shank is selected such as the
jewelled one of Figure 3, and inserted as previously described.
