Abstract:
A necktie with a pre-tied knot which appears to have been hand-tied. The necktie has a body, a pre-tied knot, and a neckband-tail. The neckband is wrapped around the neck and the free portion is fixed behind the knot with a hinged two-part clasp. The tail is then tucked behind the body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention herein described relates to a clasp for creating the appearance of a manually-tied necktie.  
           [0002]    Pre-tied neckties are not new. Numerous examples of such ties have been used. Some of the neckties have no neckband; the “neck” tie is simply clamped onto the front neckband of a buttoned shirt. However, these “slip-on” ties are unattractive and tend to sag toward the neck. Other pre-tied neckties have a knotted portion with a neckband in two parts, which are linked together about the neck, using various fasteners. However, the neckband may be larger (or shorter) than the circumference of the neck portion of the shirt, causing the necktie to be too loose or too tight. Further, the connectors may be difficult to use and may show under the collar.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention provides a necktie which appears to have been hand tied, but which is easily worn and removed. The necktie disclosed has a head (body), a pre-tied knot, and a neckband-tail portion. The neckband is wrapped around the wearer&#39;s neck and then fixed behind the knot with the clasp disclosed herein. The clasp, attached to the base of the pre-tied knot, consists of two sections, which are hinged along one side of each section, for opening and closing the clasp. The two sections enclose the free end of the tail and are fastened in a closed position with a catch. The remainder of the tail is tucked behind the head (body) of the tie and held there by a tie clip, a loop, or other similar means.  
           [0004]    The clasp holds the pre-knotted necktie in place so that the necktie appears to have been manually tied. The necktie of the present invention is easily adjusted for fit around any size neck. The tie can be made in a variety of different lengths to fit each individual wearer.  
           [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a pre-knotted necktie which appears to have been manually tied.  
           [0006]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a tie which can be adjusted both for fit around the neck and sized for length.  
           [0007]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pre-knotted necktie with a hidden clasp which can be easily opened and closed. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a see-through front view of the tie of the present invention showing the position of the clasp and the tail of the necktie behind the pre-formed knot and the head (body) of the tie.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 a  is a back view of a portion of the tie, showing the clasp attached to the back of the knot, in an open position.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 b  is a back view of a portion of the tie, showing the clasp attached to the back of the knot, in a closed position.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the clasp itself, in an open position.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 a  is a top view showing the position of the clasp when attached to the back of the pre-formed knot.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 b  is a back view of the clasp when attached to the back of the knot.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the knot showing how the clasp is attached to the back of the pre-formed knot. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    As shown in FIG. 1, the pre-knotted necktie and clasp combination  1  of the present invention comprises a pre-formed knot  2 , a neckband portion  3 , a head portion  4 , a tail portion  5  and a clasp  6 . The pre-formed knot  2  shown is a Windsor knot, but various other styles can be pre-formed. One end of the neckband  3  is attached to the pre-formed knot  2 . The other end of the neckband  3  is held by the clasp  6 . The tail  5  can be held in place by an optional loop  7 .  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 a  shows the attachment point  10  for the attached end  11  of the neckband  3 . The attached end  11  is permanently attached to the pre-formed knot  2  by sewing or other means, but appears to be extending from a manually-tied knot. The free end  12  of the neckband  3  is placed between the back plate  13  and front plate  14  of the clasp  6 . The free end  12 , extends to become the tail  5 , which is aligned with the head  4 . In FIG. 2 b,  the front plate  14  has been closed against the back plate  13 , enclosing the free end  12 , which also appears to be extending from a manually-tied knot.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 shows the hinged clasp  6 , which is preferably formed from stainless steel. The clasp  6  generally consists of a back plate  13  and a front plate  14 . Hinged posts  15   a,    15   b  formed on an edge of the back plate  13  have been inserted into holes of brackets  16   a,    16   b  formed on opposite ends of front plate  14 , allowing the plates of the clasp  6  to move between “open” and “closed” positions. The back plate  13  has holes  17   a,    17   b,  for attaching the clasp  6  to the back of the pre-formed knot  2 . The back plate  13  also has a receiving notch  18 . The front plate  14  has catch  19  formed perpendicular to the front plate  14 , for insertion into the receiving notch  18 . The formed space between the two “legs” of the catch  19  allows the catch to be squeezed into the receiving notch  18 . The clasp  6  stays closed as a result of spring-induced friction. A user can easily open the clasp  6  by pulling on the radiused thumb sections  20   a,    20   b  along the unhinged side of front plate  14 .  
         [0018]    In a top plan view, FIG. 4 a  shows the position of the clasp  6  after it has been attached to the back of a pre-formed knot  2  with studs  21 .  
         [0019]    In a vertical plan view, FIG. 4 b  shows the position of the clasp  6  after it has been attached to the back of the pre-formed knot  2  with studs  21   a,    21   b.    
         [0020]    The exploded view of FIG. 5 shows a preferred method of attaching the clasp  6  to the back of a pre-formed knot  2  of the present invention. A triangular-shaped knot body  25  has been formed from extruded plastic, with two rear-facing posts  26   a,    26   b.  Sections of tie material  27 ,  28  cover the front and back of the knot body  25 , to comprise the preformed knot  2 . Holes  29   a,    29   b  in back tie material  28 , provide access to the posts  26   a,    26   b.  The clasp  6  is attached to the back of pre-formed knot  2  by arranging the back plate holes  17   a,    17   b  over the posts  26   a,    26   b  and pressing friction nuts  30   a,    30   b  onto the posts  26   a,    26   b.  The clasp  6  can also be attached to the back of the pre-formed knot  2  by sewing or gluing.