Locking garment fastener

A fastener for a garment, particularly suited to use in a garment such as a brassiere, includes female and male parts that interlock. The female part is connected to a first garment piece and the male part is connected to a second garment piece. The fastener is an overlapping fastener of the type in which the male piece is engaged with the female piece by inserting a connector plate of a male part into an aperture of a female part at an angle and thereafter pivoting the male part relative the female part thereby snap-fitting the connector plate in place in the aperture. The female part has a socket for receiving a detent of the male part, forming a locking mechanism. Dimensioning the male part to interfere with an edge of the female when coupling creates a second locking mechanism, as the female part resiliently couples to the male.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a fastener for a garment. More particularly, the invention relates to a locking fastener particularly suited to use in a garment such as a brassiere.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are numerous disparate types of fastener in use today. One particularly successful fastener is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 in the name of Fildan Accessories Corporation and having the same inventor(s) as the present application. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 describes a front closure for a fastener that is slim, lightweight, practically invisible from the outside of the garment, and that may be incorporated into a brassiere with relative ease. Although very successful and effective, there are improvements that could be made to such a fastener.

For example, although the fastener described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,556 is ideally suited as a front closure for a brassiere, it is not particularly suited to many other closure applications, such as a strap fastener for a bra, bikini, or top with interchangeable straps. This is due to the fact that the tensile stress rating of the known fastener is typically much less than 10 kgs and is insufficient for the other purposes. Accordingly, if interchangeable straps are to be provided, a second, different type of fastener must also be used in the garment. This is inconvenient and inefficient from a manufacturing standpoint and may result in an increase in the manufacturing cost of the garment. This could be avoided if the tensile stress rating of the fastener could be increased to a level suitable for use with interchangeable straps as well as front fasteners.

Furthermore, inadvertent release of a fastener can be a source of inconvenience and embarrassment. Irrespective of the benefits of opening up new markets and simplifying manufacturing by increasing the tensile stress rating of the fastener, it is also advantageous to increase the tensile stress rating in any event as it will decrease the likelihood of the fastener becoming inadvertently undone.

In some garments it is desirable to attach the fastener in a reverse orientation, with the closure mechanism against the body of the wearer. This approach provides a very smooth garment appearance, especially when the fastener is sewn or welded to the garment fabric via a thin flap on the fastener ends. However, when the closure mechanism is worn against the skin, a slight motion between the male and female parts may pinch the wearer's skin or hair, causing discomfort.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fastener that includes locking mechanisms to increase tensile strength and prevent motion between the male and female parts when the fastener is coupled.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a locking garment fastener which provides increased tensile strength and restricts play between the male and female parts of the fastener when coupled. In accordance with an embodiment, the locking garment fastener comprises:

a female part comprising a female base plate for securing the female part to the first garment piece, and an overlapping connector loop mounted on the female base plate and offset relative thereto, the connector loop defining an elongate aperture therein, the aperture having a roofed portion which overlaps and is roofed in by the female base plate and an open mouth which extends beyond the female base plate;

a male part comprising a male base plate for securing the male part to the second garment piece, an overlapping connector plate mounted on the male base plate and offset relative thereto, the connector plate having a rear face, a trailing abutment edge, and an interior side, the connector plate being dimensioned for insertion and retention in the elongate aperture in the female part, and a recess in the male base plate surrounding the portion of the connector plate overlapped by the male base plate;

the connector plate, the open mouth, and the elongate aperture of the connector loop being dimensioned so that insertion of the connector plate into the elongate aperture must be realized by positioning the male part at an inclined orientation relative to the female part before inserting the connector plate into the open mouth of the elongate aperture and bringing the male part and the female part together, retention of the connector plate in the elongate aperture of the connector loop being realized by snap fitting the connector plate in place by pivoting the fully inserted connector plate from the inclined orientation to a substantially co-planar orientation of the male base plate and the female base plate using the roofed portion of the aperture as a fulcrum until the abutment edge snaps into position in the aperture, and release of the connector plate from the aperture is realized by pivoting the inserted male part from the substantially co-planar orientation back to the inclined orientation using the roofed portion of the aperture as a fulcrum to release the abutment edge from the aperture before moving the male part and the female part apart;

the connector plate having a detent protruding from the interior side; and,

the female part having a socket configured to receive the detent when the male part and the female part are pivoted to a substantially co-planar orientation, thereby locking the male part to the female part.

In accordance with another embodiment, the detent is centrally located on the interior side of the connector plate and protrudes away from the male base plate along a portion of the interior side adjacent the rear face. The elongate aperture has a roofed edge where the connector loop overlaps the female base plate. The socket is coincident with the roofed edge and extends forward into the connector loop, and the portion of the connector loop forward of the socket is configured to retain the detent within the socket.

In accordance with another embodiment, a cavity in the rear face of the connector plate is adjacent the detent and opens toward the male base plate.

In accordance with another embodiment, there are two notches in the interior side of the connector plate. One notch is located above and adjacent to the detent and one notch located below and adjacent to the detent. The notches extend forward from the rear face.

In accordance with another embodiment, the elongate aperture has a leading side which is inclined toward the female base plate, so that the open mouth narrows toward the female base plate. The connector plate has an exterior side intermediate the abutment edge and the male base plate, and the exterior side inclined away from the male base plate, so that the connector plate narrows toward the male base plate. The exterior side of the connector plate is dimensioned to interfere with the leading side of the elongate aperture when the connector plate is in the inclined orientation and positioned within the open mouth. The connector loop is configured to resiliently receive the connector plate when the male base plate is forcibly positioned into the substantially co-planar orientation with the female base plate.

In accordance with another embodiment, each of the male base plate and the female base plate has an opening for reception of the first or second garment piece. In another embodiment, each of the male base plate and the female base includes a longitudinally extending hinge joint suitable for attaching a garment piece to a thin flap.

Other embodiments, in addition to the embodiments enumerated above, will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the fastener and garment incorporating same.

LIST OF DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS

7female base plate

17male base plate

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring initially toFIGS. 1-5, there is shown a fastener, indicated generally by the reference numeral1, comprising a female part3and a male part5that interlock together. In.FIG. 1, female part3is connected to a first garment piece510and male part5is connected to a second garment piece520. The female and male parts, when joined together, by extension connect the first and second garment pieces together.FIGS. 2-4are front elevation, rear elevation, and top plan views, respectively, of fastener1in a closed position.FIG. 5is a cross sectional view along the line V-V ofFIG. 2.

FIGS. 6-10are front and rear elevation, right side, and front and rear perspective views, respectively, of male part5of the fastener. Male part5includes a male base plate17for securing male part5to second garment piece520(seeFIG. 1) and an overlapping connector plate19mounted on male base plate17and offset relative thereto. In the shown embodiment, male base plate17has an opening8for reception of the second garment piece. Connector plate19is dimensioned for insertion and retention in an elongate aperture11in female part3(seeFIGS. 2 & 5). Connector plate19has a rear face20, an interior side22, and a trailing abutment edge21, the operation of which is described in more detail below. A recess23in the male base plate17surrounds the portion of connector plate19which is overlapped by male base plate17. Recess23is semi-elliptical or semi-oval in shape. This recess has the direct effect of substantially increasing the tensile strength rating of the fastener1. Connector plate19has a detent41protruding from interior side22.

FIGS. 12-15are front and rear elevation and front and rear perspective views, respectively, of female part3of the fastener.FIG. 16is a cross sectional view along the line XVI-XVI ofFIG. 12. Female part3includes a female base plate7for securing female part3to first garment piece510(seeFIG. 1), and an overlapping connector loop9mounted on female base plate7and offset relative thereto. Connector loop9defines an elongate aperture11therein, a roofed portion13of which overlaps and is roofed in by female base plate7, and an open mouth15of which extends beyond female base plate7. A socket43is configured to receive detent41when male part5and female part3are coupled, thereby locking the male part to the female part. In the shown embodiment, female base plate7has an opening8for reception of the first garment piece.

Connector plate19of the male part, open mouth15, and elongate aperture11of connector loop9are dimensioned so that insertion of connector plate19into aperture11must be realized by positioning male part5at an inclined orientation relative to female part3before inserting connector plate19into open mouth15of aperture11and bringing male part5and female part3together. Retention of connector plate19in aperture11is realized by snap fitting connector plate19into place by pivoting the fully inserted connector plate19from the inclined orientation to a substantially co-planar orientation of the male base plate17and the female base plate7(refer also toFIGS. 17A-B). This pivoting motion is achieved by using roofed portion13of aperture11as a fulcrum until abutment edge21of connector plate19snaps into position in aperture11. The release of connector plate19from aperture11is realized by pivoting inserted male part5from the substantially co-planar orientation back to the inclined orientation using roofed portion13of aperture11as a fulcrum to release abutment edge21from aperture11before moving male part5and female part3apart.

Detent41and socket43provide a locking mechanism, which resists movement of the male and female parts when the fastener is closed. The connection of detent41and socket43is best shown inFIG. 5. In the shown embodiment, detent41is centrally located on interior side22of connector plate19(seeFIGS. 6-10). Detent41protrudes away from male base plate17along a portion of interior side22adjacent rear face20. Stated another way, detent41has a thickness less than the thickness of connector plate19, and is aligned in the rear with rear face20.

Elongate aperture11has a roofed edge12where connector loop9overlaps female base plate7(seeFIG. 12). Socket43is coincident with roofed edge12and extends forward into connector loop9(seeFIG. 16). The portion of connector loop9forward of socket43is configured to retain detent41within socket43. When male part5is inserted into female part3and pivoted to a co-planar orientation, detent41snaps into socket43, locking the fastener. This snapping may produce an audible click.

In one embodiment, rear face20of connector plate19has a cavity45(seeFIGS. 7, 10, 11A &11B). Cavity45is adjacent detent41and opens toward male base plate17. Cavity45permits improved function of the locking mechanism of detent41, as detent41may resiliently bend into the cavity when the male part and female part are being coupled.

In an embodiment, interior side22of connector plate19includes two notches47extending forward from rear face20(seeFIGS. 7-9). One of the notches47is located above and adjacent to detent41and the other notch47is located below and adjacent to detent41. Notches47improve the snapping function of detent41, by allowing detent to be closely coupled to socket43and increasing freedom of detent41to bend while coupling.

FIGS. 11A & 11Bare enlarged cross sectional views of two embodiments of male part5taken generally along the line XI-XI ofFIG. 6. As seen inFIG. 16, elongate aperture11has a leading side27which is inclined toward female base plate7. The inclination of leading side27causes open mouth15to narrow toward female base plate7. In male parts5of bothFIGS. 11A and 11B, connector plate19has an exterior side25intermediate abutment edge21and male base plate17. Exterior side25is inclined away from male base plate17, so that connector plate19narrows toward male base plate17and widens toward the abutment edge21. The inclination of exterior side25increases the tensile strength rating of connector plate19, as the configuration of the connector plate acts to resist dislodgement of the connector plate from the aperture under an applied tensile force. The inclination of leading side27of elongate aperture11co-operates with the inclination of connector plate19to further resist such dislodgement. This cooperation is further illustrated inFIG. 5.

FIGS. 17A & 17Bare enlarged cross sectional views of the embodiments of male part5shown inFIGS. 11A & 11B, respectively, partially engaged with female part3ofFIG. 16. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 11B & 17B, exterior side25of connector plate19is dimensioned to interfere with leading side27of elongate aperture11when connector plate19is in the inclined orientation and positioned within open mouth15. In contrast, in the embodiment ofFIGS. 11A & 17A, exterior side25of connector plate19is dimensioned to not interfere with leading side27when male part5and female part3are being coupled.

The dimensioning of exterior side25to interfere with leading side27may be realized by decreasing the radius of curvature R of abutment edge21and correspondingly increasing the height H of inclined exterior side25. For example, abutment edge21of the embodiment ofFIG. 11Bhas a radius of 0.75 mm and exterior side25has a height of 0.65 mm. This dimensioning causes an interference with leading side27as shown inFIG. 17B. Male part5must be forcibly positioned into the substantially co-planar orientation with female part3, and connector loop9resiliently receives connector plate19when the male base plate is forcibly positioned. For comparison in this example, abutment edge21of the embodiment ofFIG. 11Ahas a radius of 1.1 mm and exterior side25has a height of 0.25 mm. This dimensioning does not cause an interference with leading side27, as shown inFIG. 17A.

The dimensioning of connector plate19to interfere with connector loop9when coupling provides a second locking mechanism. A fastener1including both the interference dimensioning feature and the detent and socket feature has a double lock mechanism, whereby when female part3and male part5are coupled abutment edge21of the male must first be forced past the leading side27of the female and then, second, detent41is coupled with socket43. When decoupling the male part from the female part, a force is applied to pivot the male away and decouple detent41from socket43, then additional force must be applied to further pivot the male past the point of interference of abutment edge21, then away from the female part. This decoupling process may cause two audible clicks, one heard upon the release of each locking mechanism.

Further provided is an embodiment of the fastener including the interference dimensioning feature, but without the detent and socket locking mechanism.

The embodiments ofFIGS. 1-17include openings8in each of male base plate7and female base plate17. Openings8each receive the first or second garment piece510,520(seeFIG. 1). The garment piece is passed through opening8and attached back to itself, such as by sewing.

FIG. 18is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the fastener, indicated generally by the reference numeral31.FIG. 19is a cross sectional view along the line XIX-XIX ofFIG. 18. Fastener31is similar in many respects to fastener1in that it also has a recess23in male base plate17surrounding connector plate19, and a locking mechanism including a detent41and socket43. However, fastener31differs from fastener1in that female base plate7and male base plate17each include a flap33separated from the remainder of the base plates7,17by a longitudinally extending hinge joint37. Hinge joints37are formed by a recessed channel formed along the length of flap33. The flaps are of the order of 0.7 mm deep and can be readily penetrated by a needle. In this way, the female part and the male part may be stitched directly onto a first garment piece and a second garment piece, respectively.

Various materials could be used to construct the fastener. One material that has been found to be effective, robust and capable of providing the structural integrity required is nylon.

Further provided is a garment including a fastener according to any of the embodiments described above.

The embodiments of the fastener described herein and garments incorporating same are exemplary and numerous modifications, combinations, variations, and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve an equivalent result, all of which are intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claims. Further, nothing in the above-provided discussions of the fastener and garment should be construed as limiting the invention to a particular embodiment or combination of embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.