Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 94/13167 21 S 1 2 S 8 PCT/US93112112
FASTENER ATTACHING TOOL AND
FASTENER C-IP FOR USE THEREWITH
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new and novel fastener attaching tool and
~ fastener clip for use therewith particularly well-suited for use in coupling or
recoupling buttons or the like to a garment or similar material or in other consumer
applications.
The conventional method of attaching buttons to garments or fabrics, either
by machine or by hand, is with thread. The button is held in place and a needle
containing thread is inserted through each of two, three or more holes in the button
and into the material several times until sufficient strands of thread exist to securely
hold the button to the material. The thread must then be tied or otherwise fastened
so that it will not unravel. In some instances, where it is desired to elevate the
button from the material, a pedestal effect is achieved by laterally wrapping the
strands with additional thread. The disadvantages to this method of securing
buttons to fabric or garments are several. First of all, it is a slow and tedious job
and the button can soon become detached if only one of the threads is severed orif the ends of the thread are not secured properly.
2 0 In the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,399,432, 3,470,834, and
3,494,004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, there is described a
plastic fastener which may be used instead of thread to attach a button to an article
of clothing. The fastener typically comprises a flexible filament having a head at
one end and a transverse bar at the opposite end. A plurality of such fasteners are
typically manufactured as part of a clip in which the fasteners are interconnected
in a row to a stringer or runner bar connected to the transverse bars of the
fasteners by corresponding necks or connector posts. To sever an individual
fastener from the fastener clip and to attach the severed fastener to a desired
article (e.g., through a button hole and into an article of clothing), a fastener
attaching device is typically used. Such a device typically comprises a casing, a
needle projecting from the casing, the needle and~the casing having longitudinal
WO 94/13167 PCTIUS93/12112
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bores in alignment with each other, a plunger slidable back and forth within said
bores, a handle telescoping over the rear of the casing for sliding said plungerwithin said bores, and means for feeaing fasteners into the device successively
with the transverse bars in alignment with said bores ahead of the plunger so that
5 they may be projected through the needle by reciprocating the plunger. Typically,
the rear end of the needle is shaped to define a knife edge so that insertion of the
transverse bar into the longitudinal bore of the needle using the plunger causes the
knife edge of the needle to sever the connector post connecting the fastener to the
remainder of the fastener clip.
While the above-described fasteners have been found to be generally
satisfactory for attaching buttons to certain articles of clothing, they have not found
universal application for the following reasons: First, when placed in direct contact
with a person's skin, the transverse bar of the fastener has a tendency to be
irritating. This is in part because the above-described severing of the connector
post often leaves a burr on the bottom of the transverse bar and is in part because
of the somewhat sharp ends and large size of the transverse bar. Second, the
fasteners are often too big to be used with many buttons and, therefore, require the
use of specially designed buttons having large holes. Third, the fasteners tend to
be conspicuous in appearance due to the fact that a separate fastener is used for
20 every button hole, as opposed to being looped between two or more button hol s
in the same way that thread typically is.
WO 94/13167 21~12 5 8 PCTtUS93tl2112
. ,
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel fastener
clip including one or more fasteners particularly well-suited for attaching a button
or the like to a garment or similar material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fastener clip as
described above whose fasteners are less irritating than existing like fastenerswhen used in such a way that they are placed in direct contact with a person's skin.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fastener clip as
described above whose fasteners are sized for use with conventional buttons.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a fastener clip
as described above whose fasteners, when used to attach buttons to a garment or
the like, can achieve a look similar to that achieved with thread.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fastener clip as
described above whose fasteners are designed for maximum strength while still
permitting installation through very small holes such as are found in fine garments.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a fastener clip as
described above which can be mass produced and which is capable of including
a plurality of fasteners.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a fastener attachingtool which is adapted for use with the fastener clip refer,ed to above.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be
set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the
description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects, features
and advantages of the invention may be re~li7ed and attained by means of the
instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
In a preferred embodiment of the fastener clip aspect of the invention, the
fastener clip is a molded plastic structure defining a pair of runner bars and at least
one fastener, the fastener comprising a U-shaped filament having a foot at each
end, each foot being sized and shaped both to fit through a button hole and, once
3 o inserted through the button hole and an underlying garment, to securely engage the
WO 94/13167 PCT/US93il2112
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underside of the garment. Because cf its loop design, the fastener is permitted to
extend between adjacent button holes, thereby creating the illusion of thread.
To minimize contact with a person's skin, the feet of the present fastener are
preferably shorter than the transverse bars of existing button fasteners and are5 preferably comparable in overall size to a knot of thread used to secure a button
to a sheet of clothing material. In addition, the feet preferably have rounded ends
and a flat top surface to minimize irritation of and contact with a person's skin. The
filament portion of the fastener is preferably rectangular in cross-section and has
a non-uniform thickness, i.e., being thinner at the ends and thicker in the arcuate
10 region, to maximize the strength of the fastener.
The fastener is preferably connected to the pair of runner bars by a pair of
severable connector posts, each connector post extending between the side of oneof the feet and a corresponding runner bar so that, when the connector post is
severed, a burr is not left on the underside of the feet where it may irritate a15 person's skin.
The outer edges of the runner bars are preferably provided with indentations
which, as will be disc~ssed below, are used to properly feed the fastener clip into
a fastener attaching tool.
In a preferred embodiment of the fastener attaching tool of this invention, the
20 fastener attaching tool comprises a body, a needle block, a pair of needles, a
spring, and an ejector mechanism.
Each of the pair of needles includes a longitudinally extending slotted bore
adapted to receive one of the transverse bars of the fastener, with the adjacent end
of the filament extending through the slot in the bore. The needles are mounted
25 in a parallel arrangement in the needle block which, in turn, is removably mounted
in a cavity formed in the front end of the body. Each needle has a knife edge
formed on its outer side which is adapted to sever a connector post from its
associated transverse bar as the transverse bar is pushed by it.
The body is also shaped to include a transverse feed slot disposed just tn
30 the rear of the needles down through which the above-described fastener clip is
manually inserted. To assist in properly aligning the fastener clip within the feed
2151258
.
slot so that the transverse bars of a desired fastener are aligned with the
longitudinal bores of the needles, the inner walls of the slot are shaped to include
a pair of feed bars which engage corresponding indentations formed on the outer
sides of the fastener clip.
The ejector mechanism, which is slidably mounted back and forth within the
body and is rearwardly biased by the spring, is manually operable from the rear of
the body. Actuation of the ejector mechanism is preferably achieved using one's
thumb, and the body is provided with a pair of finger openings so that the device
may be held and used like a syringe. The ejector mechanism includes a pair of
ejector rods which are slidable back and forth within the longitudinal bores of the
needles and are used both to load the transverse bars of the aligned fastener into
the longitudinal bores of the needles and to push the transverse bars therethrough
into a desired article.
In one broad aspect, therefore, the present invention relates to a fastener
for attaching a button to a piece of fabric, the button having two or more holes,
said fastener comprising a flexible filament U-shaped prior to use in connectionwith attaching said button to said piece of fabric, a first transverse bar at one end
of said flexible filament and perpendicular thereto, and a second transverse bar at
the opposite end of said flexible filament and perpendicular thereto, said flexible
filament and said pair of transverse bars being appropriately dimensioned so that
said pair of transverse bars may be inserted through a corresponding pair of holes
in the button and then through the piece of fabric in such a way as to be retained
by the underside of the piece of fabric, with said U-shaped filament looping
between the pair of holes.
In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener clip
adapted to be fed into a fastener attaching tool, said fastener clip comprising: a
fastener, said fastener comprising a flexible filament and a first transverse bar at
one end of said flexible filament and perpendicular thereto, wherein said first
transverse bar has a side and a bottom; a first runner bar spaced from said
fastener; and a first connector post projecting out transversely from said first
21 51 258
runner bar and having a first end and a second end, said first connector post being
connected at said first end to said first runner bar and severably connected at said
second end to the side of said first transverse bar of said fastener, said second end
of said first connector post not being connected to the bottom of said first
transverse bar of said fastener so that, when severed from said first transverse bar,
said second end of said first connector post does not leave a burr on the bottomof said first transverse bar.
In yet another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener clip
adapted to be fed into a fastener attaching tool, said fastener clip comprising: a
fastener, said fastener comprising a flexible filament and a first transverse bar at
one end of said flexible filament and perpendicular thereto, wherein said first
transverse bar has a side; a first runner bar spaced from said fastener; and a first
connector post projecting out transversely from said first runner bar at right angles
thereto and having a first end and a second end, said first connector post beingconnected at said first end to said first runner bar and severably connected at said
second end to said side of said first transverse bar of said fastener, said second
end of said first connector post not being connected to the bottom of said firsttransverse bar of said fastener so that, when severed from said first transverse bar
said second end of said first connector post does not leave a burr on the bottomof said first transverse bar.
In still another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener
adapted for attachment to a sheet of material, said fastener comprising a unitary
plastic member shaped to define a flexible filament U-shaped prior to attachmentto said sheet of material, a first transverse bar at one end of said flexible filament,
and a second transverse bar atthe opposite end of said flexible filament, said first
and said second transverse bars extending generally parallel to one another, said
flexible U-shaped filament and said pair of transverse bars being appropriately
dimensioned so that said pair of transverse bars may be inserted through the sheet
of material in such a way as to be retained by the underside of the sheet of
material, with said U-shaped filament looping over the top of the sheet of material.
5(a)
21 5 1 258
In yet another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener
attaching tool for attaching a fastener to a desired article, the fastener comprising
a flexible filament and a pair of transverse bars disposed at opposite ends thereof,
said fastener attaching tool comprising: a body, said body having a front and a rear
and including means for receiving a user's fingers; a pair of needles projecting from
the front of the body, each of said needles having a front end remote from said
body which is adapted for insertion into the article, a longitudinally extending bore
in each of said needles, said longitudinally extending bore being appropriately
dimensioned to permit one of the transverse bars of the fastener to slide
lo therethrough and a longitudinal slot in each of said needles, said longitudinal slot
communicating with said longitudinally extending bore to permit the end of the
filament adjacent to the transverse bar to extend therethrough; and ejector means
manually operable from the rear of said body, said ejector means including a pair
of ejector rods slidable back and forth through said pair of needles for pushing the
transverse bars of the fastener into and through said longitudinally extending bores
and into the desired article.
In a further broad aspect, the present invention relates to a tool for
dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip into a desired article, thefastener clip comprising a pair of generally parallel runner bars and one or more
fasteners, each fastener comprising a flexible filament and a pair of transverse bars
disposed at opposite ends thereof, the flexible filament having a longitudinal axis
and being disposed in the plane of the pair of generally parallel runner bars, each
of the pair of transverse bars being connected to a corresponding runner bar by a
connector post, the connector posts being severably connected to the outer sidesof their respective transverse bars, each connector post extending at right angles
to the longitudinal axis of the flexible filament, said tool comprising: a body having
a front end, a top, a rear end and a channel, said rear end having an opening, said
channel extending inward from said opening; a pair of needles projecting from the
front end of the body, each of said needles having a front end adapted for insertion
into the article, a side, a longitudinally extending bore appropriately dimensioned
5(b)
2151258
to permit one of the transverse bars of the fastener to slide therethrough, a knife
edge and a longitudinal slot, said longitudinal slot communicating with said
longitudinally extending bore to permit the end of the filament adjacent to the
transverse bar to extend therethrough, said knife edge being on the side of saidneedle spaced from said front end to cut the connector post as the transverse bar
passes by; an ejector mechanism slidably mounted in said channel and manually
movable back and forth in said channel through the opening in the rear end of the
body, said ejector mechanism including a pair of ejector rods for pushing the
transverse bars of the fastener into and through said longitudinally extending bores
lo of said needles into the desired article; said body having a feed slot, said feed slot
extending inwardly from the top and located behind said needles through which the
fastener clip is inserted for positioning the transverse bars of a desired fastener
directly behind said needles and in alignment with said longitudinally extendingbores in said needles; said feed slot in said body of said fastener attaching tool
being provided with registration elements for assisting proper alignment of the
transverse bars of the fasteners of said fastener clip with said longitudinally
extending bores of said needles, and wherein said feed slot includes inside walls
and wherein said registration elements on said feed slot include bars formed on the
inside walls of said feed slot.
In still another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener clip
adapted to be fed into a fastener attaching tool, said fastener clip comprising a
molded plastic structure shaped to define: a plurality of fasteners, each fastener
comprising a flexible U-shaped filament having a first transverse bar at one end and
a second transverse bar at the other end, each transverse bar having an outer side
and an inner side; first and second parallel disposed runner bars; a plurality of first
connector posts, each first connector post being connected at a first end to said
first runner bar and severably connected at a second end to said outer side of said
first transverse bar on one of said fasteners; and a plurality of second connector
posts, each second connector post being connected at a first end to said second
3 o 5 (c)
2 1 5 1 258
runner bar and severably connected at a second end to said outer side of said
second transverse bar on one of said fasteners.
In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener clip
adapted to be fed into a fastener attaching tool, said fastener clip comprising a
molded plastic structure defining: a plurality of fasteners, each fastener comprising
a flexible U-shaped filament having a first transverse bar at one end and a second
transverse bar at the other end, each transverse bar having an outer side and aninner side; first and second parallel disposed runner bars, and means for severably
connecting the outer side of each first transverse bar to said first runner bar and
the outer side of each second transverse bar to said second runner bar.
In still another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener clip
comprising a unitary structure made of a flexible plastic material and shaped todefine: a pair of parallel disposed, spaced apart runner bars, and a plurality of
fasteners disposed between said pair of parallel disposed, spaced apart runner bars,
each fastener comprising a U-shaped filament having a transverse bar at each end,
said transverse bar at one end being severably connected to said first runner bar
and said transverse bar at said other end being severably connected to said other
runner bar.
In yet another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a tool for
dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip into a desired article, thefastener clip comprising a pair of generally parallel runner bars and one or more
fasteners, each fastener comprising an elongated flexible filament and a pair oftransverse bars, one transverse bar being disposed at each end of said elongatedflexible filament, the elongated flexible filament having a longitudinal axis and being
disposed in a plane of the pair of generally parallel runner bars, each of the pair of
transverse bars being connected to a corresponding runner bar by a connector
post, the connector posts being severably connected to outer sides of their
respective transverse bars, each connector post extending at right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the elongated flexible filament, said tool comprising: a body
having a front end, a top, a rear end and a channel, said rear end having an
5(d)
2151258
opening, said channel extending inward from said opening; a pair of needles
projecting from the front end of the body, each of said needles having a front end
which is adapted for insertion into the article, a side, a longitudinally extending
bore appropriately dimensioned to permit one of the transverse bars of the fastener
to slide therethrough, a knife edge and a longitudinal slot, said longitudinal slot
communicating with said longitudinally extending bore to permit the end of the
filament adjacent to the transverse bar to extend therethrough, said knife edge
being on the side of said needle spaced from said front end to cut the connectorpost as the transverse bar passes by; an ejector mechanism slidably mounted in
said channel and manually movable back and forth in said channel through the
opening in the rear end of the body said ejector mechanism including a pair of
ejector rods for pushing the transverse bars of the fastener into and through said
longitudinally extending bores of said needles into the desired article; and said body
further including a feed slot through which the fastener clip is inserted, said feed
slot extending inwardly from the top and terminating behind said needles such that
the transverse bars of a desired fastener to be disposed are positioned directlybehind said needles and in alignment with said longitudinally extending bores insaid needles, said feed slot in said body of said fastener attaching tool havingregistration elements for assisting proper alignment of the transverse bars of the
fasteners of said fastener clip with said longitudinally extending bores of saidneedles, said registration elements on said feed slot including bars formed on the
inside walls of said feed slot, said body further including a pair of openings, each
opening sized for insertion of one or two fingers of a user for holding said fastener
attaching tool while actuating the ejector mechanism with a thumb of a user.
2 5 In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a tool for
dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip into a desired article, thefastener clip comprising a pair of generally parallel runner bars and one or more
fasteners, each fastener comprising a flexible filament and a pair of transverse bars
disposed at opposite ends thereof, the flexible filament being co-planar with the
5(e)
21 51 258
pair of generally parallel runner bars, each of the pair of transverse bars having an
outer side and being connected to a corresponding runner bar by a connector post,
the connector posts being severably connected to the outer sides of their
respective transverse bars, said tool comprising: a body, said body having a front;
a pair of needles projecting from the front of the body, each of said needles having
a front end remote from said body which is adapted for insertion into the article,
a longitudinally extending bore in each of said needles, said longitudinally extending
bore being appropriately dimensioned to permit one of the transverse bars of thefastener to slide therethrough, an outer side on each of said needles, a longitudinal
slot in each of said needles, said longitudinal slot communicating with said
longitudinally extending bore to permit the end of the filament adjacent to the
transverse bar to extend therethrough, and a knife edge integrally formed on theouter side of each of said needles to cut the connector post as the transverse bar
passes by; and a pair of ejector rods slidable back and forth through said needle
for pushing the transverse bars of the fastener into and through said longitudinally
extending bores of said needles and into the desired article.
In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener attaching
tool for dispensing fasteners from a clip, said clip being a unitary structure and
comprising a pair of runner bars and at least one fastener disposed between saidrunner bars, each fastener comprising a pair of transverse bars and a filament
connected therebetween, said fastener attaching tool comprising: a body having
a front end, a rear end having an opening, a top, a channel extending inward
toward said front end from said opening in said rear end, and a feed slot; a pair of
needles projecting out forwardly from the front end of the body, each of said
needles having a front end which is adapted for insertion into the article, a
longitudinally extending bore appropriately dimensioned to permit one of the
transverse bars of the fastener to slide therethrough and a longitudinal slot
communicating with said longitudinal bore to permit the filament adjacent to thetransverse bar in the fastener to extend therethrough; said feed slot having an inlet
in said top of said body and extending inward such that a clip can be manually
5(f)
2151258
inserted into said feed slot through said inlet and be manually pushed inward sothat the transverse bars of a fastener in said clip which is to be dispensed arealigned with said bores in said needles; an ejector mechanism for pushing the
transverse bars of the fastener to be dispensed and which is aligned with said
bores in said needles through said longitudinally extending bores, said ejector
mechanism being slidably mounted in said channel in said body and extending out
from said opening in said rear end such that it is manually movable within said
channel from said opening in the rear end of said body, said ejector mechanism
including a pair of ejector rods slidable back and forth through said pair of needles;
and a spring in said channel in contact with said ejector mechanism for biasing said
ejector mechanism rearwardly.
In a further broad aspect, the present invention relates to a fastener
attaching tool for dispensing a fastener from a clip, said clip being a unitary
structure and comprising a pair of runner bars and at least one fastener disposed
between said runner bars, each fastener comprising a flexible filament and a
transverse bar disposed at one end thereof, the transverse bar being severably
connected on its side to a runner bar by a connector post, said fastener attaching
tool comprising: a body having a front end, a rear end, a top, a bottom and a feed
slot, said feed slot having an inlet on said top of said body, said rear end having
an opening; a needle projecting out from the front end of the body, said needle
having a front end, a side, a longitudinally extending bore appropriately
dimensioned to permit the transverse bar of the fastener to slide therethrough, and
a knife edge integrally formed on the side of said needle for severing the transverse
bar of the fastener from the connector post, said longitudinally extending bore
having a longitudinal slot to permit the end of the filament adjacent to the
transverse bar to extend therethrough; said feed slot being located in said body and
shaped such that said fastener clip is pushed into said feed slot from said inlet in
said top of said body so that the transverse bar of said fastener is in alignment with
the bore in said needle; and an ejector mechanism supported in said body and
5(9)
2 1 5 1 258
extending out through said opening in said rear end of said body, said ejector
mechanism including an ejector rod slidable back and forth through said
longitudinally extending bore in said needle for pushing the transverse bar of the
fastener through said longitudinally extending bore.
In yet a further broad aspect, the present invention provides a fastener
attaching tool for attaching a fastener to a desired article, the fastener comprising
a flexible filament and a transverse bar, said transverse bar being disposed at one
end of said flexible filament, the transverse bar being severably connected to arunner bar by a connector post, said fastener attaching tool comprising: a needle,
lo said needle having a front end, a side and a longitudinally extending bore, said front
end of said needle being adapted for insertion into the desired article, said bore
being appropriately dimensioned to permit the transverse bar of the fastener to
slide therethrough, said needle having a longitudinal slot to permit said one end of
the filament having said transverse bar to extend therethrough, and a knife edgeintegrally formed along said side of said needle; a body having a front end, a rear
end having an opening, a channel extending inward from said opening toward said
front end and a top, said front end of said needle projecting out forwardly from said
front end of said body, said body being provided with a feed slot extending inward
from the top through which the fastener is inserted, said feed slot being located
such that the transverse bar of the fastener can be pushed therein into alignment
with said longitudinally extending bore of said needle, said feed slot extendinginwardly from said top of said body; and an ejector mechanism disposed in said
channel in said body and extending out from said opening in said rear end such that
it is manually movable back and forth within said channel from the opening in the
rear end of said body for pushing the transverse bar of the fastener through said
longitudinally extending bore and into the desired article, said ejector mechanism
including an ejector rod.
In another broad aspect, the present invention relates to a tool for
dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip into a desired article, thefastener clip comprising a pair of generally parallel runner bars and one or more
5(h)
21 51258
fasteners, each fastener comprising an elongated flexible filament and a pair oftransverse bars, one transverse bar being disposed at each end of said elongatedflexible filament, the elongated flexible filament having a longitudinal axis and being
disposed in a plane of the pair of generally parallel runner bars, each of the pair of
transverse bars being connected to a corresponding runner bar by a connector
post, the connector posts being severably connected to outer sides of their
respective transverse bars, each connector post extending at right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the elongated flexible filament, said tool comprising: a body
having a front end, a top, a rear end and a channel, said rear end having an
opening, said channel extending inward from said opening; a pair of needles
projecting from the front end of the body, each of said needles having a front end
which is adapted for insertion into the article, a side, a longitudinally extending
bore appropriately dimensioned to permit one of the transverse bars of the fastener
to slide therethrough, a knife edge and a longitudinal slot, said longitudinal slot
communicating with said longitudinally extending bore to permit the end of the
filament adjacent to the transverse bar to extend therethrough, said knife edge
being on the side of said needle spaced from said front end to cut the connectorposts as the transverse bar passes by; and an ejector mechanism slidably mountedin said channel and manually movable back and forth in said channel through the
opening in the rear end of said body, said ejector mechanism including a pair ofejector rods for pushing the transverse bars of the fastener into and through said
longitudinally extending bores of said needles and into the desired article.
5(i)
WO 94/13167 21512 5 8 PCT/US93/12112
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are hereby incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the
invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the
invention. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts:
Fig. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a fastener clip constructed
according to the teachings of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the fastener clip shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged front perspective view of one of the fasteners shown
in Fig. 1 after it has been separated from the remainder of the fastener clip;
Fig. 4 is a top view of one embodiment of a fastener attaching device
constructed according to the teachings of the present invention for attaching anindividual fastener from the fastener clip of Fig. 1 to a garment through a pair of
button holes in such a way as to attach the button to the garment;
Fig. 5 is a partially exploded top view of the fastener attaching device shown
in Fig. 4 with the body being broken away in part;
Fig. 6 is a section view of the body shown in Fig. 5 taken along line A-A;
Figs. 7(a) through 7(d) are front, rear, top and right side views, respectively,of the needle block shown in Fig. 5;
Fig. 8 is a section view of the body shown in Fig. 5 taken along line B-B;
Figs. 9(a) through 9(d) are top, right side, left side and rear views,
respectively, of one of the needles shown in Fig. 5;
Figs. 10(a) and 10(b) are bottom and right side views, respectively, of the
ejector mechanism shown in Fig. 5;
Fig. 11 is a top view, broken away in part, of a second embodiment of a
fastener attaching device constructed according to the teachings of the present
invention for attaching an individual fastener from the fastener clip of Fig. 1 to a
garment through a pair of button holes in such a way as to attach the button to the
garment;
3 0 Fig. 12 is an enlarged section view of the front end of the fastener attaching
device of Fig. 4 shown with the pair of ejector rods in an advanced position to
WO 94/13167 21512 5 8 PCT/US93/12112
illustrate how one of the fasteners shown in Fig. 1 may be inserted through a pair
of button holes and secured to a garment;
Fig. 13 is an enlarged section view similar to Fig. 12 but after the fastener
attaching device has been removed showing how one of the fasteners shown in
5 Fig. 1 is used to attach a button to a garment;
Fig. 14 is a top view of the co",bi,)dlion of the button, garment and fastener
shown in Fig. 13;
Fig. 15 is a fragmentary front view of a second embodiment of a fastener clip
constructed according to the teachings of the present invention;
Fig. 16 is a left side view of the fastener clip shown in Fig. 15; and
Fig. 17 is a top view of the fastener clip shown in Fig. 15.
WO 94113167 . . ~ PCT/US93il2112
21~1258
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings and in particular to Figs.1 and 2, there are shown
front and bottom views, respectively, of a fastener clip constructed according to the
teachings of the present invention, the fastener clip being represented generally by
reference numeral 11.
Clip 11 is a unitary structure preferably molded from polyurethane or similar
materials. Clip 11 comprises five identical fasteners 13, the number of fasteners
being illustrative only. Each fastener 13 includes a flexible U-shaped filament 15
and a pair of transverse bars or feet 17-1 and 17-2 disposed at opposite ends
thereof. To maximize the strength of the fastener, filament 15 is preferably
rectangular in cross-section and has a non-uniform thickness, i.e., the arcuate
region 16 has a thickness t, greater than the thickness t2 at the ends. Feet 17-1
and 17-2 are appropriately dimensioned so that they may be inserted into a desired
garment through a pair of button holes of conventional size and thereafter be
retained by the underside of the garment.
Clip 11 also comprises a pair of runner bars 19-1 and 19-2, the top ends of
which are joined to form a handle 21. The outer edges of runner bars 19-1 and 19-
2 are provided with indentations 24 which, as will be seen below, assist in properly
feeding clip 11 into a fastener attaching tool.
Each fastener 13 is connected to runner bars 19-1 and 19-2 by severable
connector posts 23-1 and 23-2, respectively. For reasons to be discussed below,
connector posts 23-1 and 23-2 are connected to the outer sides 25-1 and 25-2 of
feet 17-1 and 17-2, respectively.
In order that fastener 13 may be used with garments in which feet 17-1 and
17-2 may be placed in direct contact with a person's skin, fastener clip 11 includes
the following features which are designed to minimize irritation of a person's skin.
First, as noted above, connector posts 23-1 and 23-2 are connected to the outer
sides 25-1 and 25-2 of feet 17-1 and 17-2. In this manner, when posts 23-1 and
23-2 are severed, burrs 27-1 ar,d 27-2 (see Fig. 3) are left on outer sides 25-1 and
25-2, where they are not as likely to come into contact with a person's skin as they
would be if they were left on the bottom surface of feet 17-1 and 17-2. Second,
wo 94/13167 21512 5 8 PCT/US93112112
feet 17-1 and 17-2 have a length I which is comparatively small, i.e., approximately
2 mm as compared to 6 mm for the transverse bars of existing like fasteners, andan overall size which is comparable to that of a knot of thread. Consequently, feet
17-1 and 17-2 have relatively little surface area which may come into contact with
a person's skin. Third, the top surfaces 29-1 and 29-2 of feet 17-1 and 17-2,
respectively, are generally flat. This gives feet 17-1 and 17-2 a low profile and
inhibits the rotational movement of feet 17-1 and 17-2 relative to the underside of
a garment to which fastener 13 has been attached (see Fig.13). Fourth, feet 17-1and 17-2 have rounded ends 31-1/31-2 and 33-1/33-2, respectively.
To use fastener 13 to couple a button to a garment, an individual fastener
13 is first detached from fastener clip 11 by severing connector posts 23-1 and 23-
2. Feet 17-1 and 17-2 of the severed fastener 13 are then inserted first througha corresponding pair of button holes and then through the desired garment. Both
the severing and inserting steps may be done manually or with the aid of an
appropriate fastener attaching tool.
Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, there is shown one embodiment of a
fastener attaching tool suitable for use with fastener clip 11 in the above-described
manner, the fastener attaching tool being represented generally by reference
numeral 51.
Tool 51 includes a body 53, a needle block 55, a pair of needles 57-1 and
57-2, a spring 59, and an ejector mechanism 61.
Body 53 is a unitary structure preferably molded from a lightweight durable
plastic. Body 53 is shaped to define a pair of transverse openings 63-1 and 63-2which are provided so that a user may operate tool 51 like a syringe by placing the
index and middle fingers through openings 63-1 and 63-2 while actuating ejector
mechanism 61 with the thumb. Body 53 is also provided with a transversely
extending feed slot 64 down through which fastener clip 11 may be inserted in a
direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of body 53. As can be seen best in
Fig. 6, slot 64 is shaped to include a pair of feed bars 64-1 and 64-2 which, as will
3 c be discussed below in greater detail, are used to engage indentations 25 on runner
bars 19-1 and 19-2, respectively, to properly align fastener clip 11 within tool 51.
WO 94/13167 2 15 i 2 5 8 : ~ PCTIUS93/12112
Needle block 55, which is removably mounted in a cavity 65 formed in body
53 and accessi~le from the front end thereof, is shown in greater detail in Figs. 7(a)
through 7(d). As can be seen therein, block 55 is a generally rectangular unitary
structure having a pair of generally cylindrically shaped grooves 67-1 and 67-2
adapted to receive needles 57-1 and 57-2, respectively. Block 55 is retained within
opening 65 by means of a plurality of outwardly biasing tabs 69-1 through 69-3
which snap into place in corresponding slots 71-1 through 71-3 (see Fig. 8) in
cavity 65.
Block 55 is also preferably molded from a lightweight durable plastic.
Needle 57-1, which is a mirror image of needle 57-2 reflected along its
longitudinal axis, is shown in greater detail in Figs. 9(a) through ~(d). As can be
seen therein, needle 57-1 is a unitary structure shaped to include a generally
cylindrical slotted bore 73-1. Bore 73-1 has a cross-sectional diameter slightlylarger than that of foot 17-1 of fastener 13. The forward end 75-1 of needle 57-1
iS pointed to permit its insertion through garments and button holes of conventional
size. The rearward end 77-1 of needle 57-1 is open and is appropriately
dimensioned to permit foot 17-1 to be loaded into bore 73-1 with the adjacent end
of filament 15 extending through the slot of bore 73-1. Needle 57-1 is retained
within groove 67-1 of block 55 by means of a downwardly-angled fin 79-1 which
engages a corresponding slot 81-1 in groove 67-1 (see Figs. 7(b) and 7(c)).
The left side of needle 57-1 (viewing needle 57-1 from its rearward end 77-1
as opposed to its forward end 79-1) is shaped to define a knife 83-1. As will bedescribed below in greater detail, knife 83-1 is used to sever the connecting post
23-1 connecting a desired fastener 13 to runner bar 19-1. (A corresponding knifeedge formed on the right side of needle 57-2 is similarly used to sever the
connecting post 23-2 connecting the same fastener to runner bar 19-2.)
Needles 57-1 and 57-2 are preferably cut and stamped from sheet metal.
Ejector mechanism 61, which is shown in greater detail in Figs. 10(a) and
10(b), is slidably mounted within a longitudinally extending channel 89 formed in
body 53 and accessible from the rear end thereof. As can be seen therein,
mechanism 61 comprises an elongated generally rectangular ejector block 91
WO 94/13167 21512 5 8 PCTtUS93tl2112
_
having a front portion 91-1 of comparatively smaller cross-section and a rear
portion 91-2 of comparatively larger cross-section. A pair of ejector rods 93-1 and
93-2 are fixedly mounted on the forward end of front portion 91-1. As will
hereinafter be described in greater detail, ejector rods 93-1 and 93-2 are
appropriately dimensioned and properly positioned so that, as ejector block 91
moves through channel 89, the front ends of ejector rods 93-1 and 93-2 cause feet
17-1 and 17-2 of a fastener 13 which is properly disposed within slot 64 to be
loaded onto needles 57-1 and 57-2 and thereafter to be ejected therefrom. A disc-
shaped base 95 is fixedly mounted on the rearward end of rear portion 91-2 to
facilitate manipulation of mechanism 61.
Ejector rods 93-1 and 93-2 are preferably made of metal, and the remainder
of ejector mechanism 61 is preferably molded from lightweight durable plastic.
Longitudinal movement of mechanism 61 within channel 89 is restricted by
base 95 and by a pair of integrally formed posts 97-1 and 97-2 disposed on the top
and bottom surfaces, respectively, of rear portion 91-2 which travel in
corresponding guide slots 99-1 and 99-2 (see Fig. 5) formed in body 53. Posts 97-
1 and 97-2 are made to be depressible inwardly to permit insertion of block 91 into
channel 89. Spring 59, which engages the front of channel 89 at one end and the
forward end of rear portion 91-2 at the opposite end, biases ejector mechanism 61
towards the rear of channel 89.
A fastener dispensing tool similar in construction to tool 51 is shown in Fig.
11, the tool being represented generally by reference numeral 101. The
differences between tool 101 and tool 51 are few, the principal differences being
the shape of body 103, the lack of a base 95 in tool 101, and the construction of
spring 105. Tool 101 is operated in the same way as tool 51.
In use, a desired fastener clip 11 is loaded into tool 51 by grasping handle
21 and pushing the clip down through slot 64 until the indentations 24 on runnerbars 19-1 and 19-2 corresponding to a desired fastener 13 are engaged by bars
64-1 and 64-2. With this done, feet 17-1 and 17-2 of the desired fastener 13 are3c positioned behind needles 57-1 and 57-2, respectively, and are in alignment with
their corresponding bores 73-1 and 73-2.
WO 94/13167 - ~ PCT/US93112112
2151258
To attach a button to a piece of fabric using the fastener loaded in the above
manner, the tips 75-1 and 75-2 of needles 57-1 and 57-2, respectively, are inserted
first through a pair of holes in the button and then through the piece of fabric.
Ejector mechanism 61 is then advanced through channel 89 towards the front of
body 53. The initial advancement of ejector mechanism 61 causes ejector rods 93-1 and 93-2 to push feet 17-1 and 17-2 of the desired fastener 13 into bores 73-1and 73-2. As the advancement of ejector mechanism 61 continues, ejector rods
93-2 and 93-2 push feet 17-1 and 17-2 past knife edges 83-1 and 83-2 of needles
57-1 and 57-2, causing connector posts 23-1 and 23-2 to be severed thereby.
Finally, as the advancement of ejector mechanism 61 terminates, ejector rods 93-1
and 93-2 cause feet 17-1 and 17-2 to be ejected from the front ends of needles 57-
1 and 57-2. Ejector mechanism 61 is then allowed to retract and needles 57-1 and57-2 are withdrawn.
Fig.12 shows a fastener 13 being inserted through a pair of button holes B
and B2 and into a piece of fabric F using tool 51.
Referring now to Figs. 13 and 14, there are shown section and top views,
respectively, of a button B which has been coupled to a piece of fabric F using
fastener 13. As seen best in Fig.13, the advantages resulting from gating fastener
13 to runner bars 19-1 and 19-2 on the outer sides of feet 17-1 and 17-2 are
2 0 substantial as burrs 27-1 and 27-2 are not left on the bottoms of feet 17-1 and 17-2
where they are most likely to irritate a person's skin. The consequences of making
the top surfaces of feet 17-1 and 17-2 flat, as opposed to curved, to give feet 17-1
and 17-2 a low profile as well as to keep feet 17-1 and 17-2 from rocking in thedirections indicated by arrows C and D can also be seen in Fig. 13. As seen bestin Fig. 14, another benefit to fastener 13 is that, by having filament 15 extendbetween button holes B1 and B2 in a looped fashion, it creates the appearance that
thread, as opposed to a plastic fastener, is being used to secure the button to the
fabric.
Referring now to Figs. 15 through 17, there are shown various views of ~
3 0 second embodiment of a fastener clip constructed according to the teachings of the
WO 94/13167 21 512 5 8 PCT/US93/12112
present invention, the fastener clip being represented generally by reference
numeral 131.
Fastener clip 131 includes a plurality of identical fasteners 133, each
fastener 133 including a flexible filament 134 having a head 135 at one end and
a foot 137 at the opposite end. Foot 137 is similar in size and shape to feet 17-1
and 17-2 of fastener 13. Fastener clip 131 also includes a runner bar 141 which
is severably connected to fasteners 133 by connector posts 143, each connector
post 143 being connected to the side of its corresponding foot 137.
The embodiments of the present invention recited herein are intended to be
merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous
variations and modifications to it without departing from the spirit of the present
invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope
of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
