Abstract:
An article includes a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member comprising an outer portion and an inner portion, wherein the outer portion contacts the outer surface with a flange and engages the hole with an outer portion collar, wherein the inner portion contacts the inner surface with a flange and engages the hole with an inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar contacts the inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar and the inner portion collar are bonded, and wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention relates in general to the field of clothing and accessory articles. In particular clothing and accessory articles that allow the use of interchangeable logos. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Clothing and accessory articles often display logos or other decorations. These logos are typically permanently fixed to the articles by sewing, silk screening, or other processes. However, one example of clothing, in this case, shoes, is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2006/0048407 A1 entitled “BREATHABLE WORKSHOES AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH”, allow the use of interchangeable logo buttons. 
         [0003]    The breathable workshoes are constructed of a resilient and flexible material. The resiliency and flexibility of the material allows the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons from holes in the toe or other areas of the workshoe. This allows the user to selectively change the logo buttons on the workshoes. 
         [0004]    Users often collect a variety of logo buttons. Therefore, it may be desirable to wear a number of logo buttons at a time, or to display the logo buttons on an article of clothing besides workshoes. 
         [0005]    The breathable workshoes are predominantly constructed of a flexible and resilient plastic material. However, other clothing articles are commonly manufactured with a variety of materials including cotton, polyester, wool, leather, etc. Many of these materials have limited flexibility or resiliency, thus a user cannot repeatedly insert and remove interchangeable logo buttons. In other words, many materials that are commonly used to produce clothing articles lack the necessary flexibility or resiliency to allow the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons. From the above, it is apparent that a need exists in the industry for a solution to these deficiencies. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    In one embodiment, disclosed is an article comprising a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, and at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member attached to the outer surface of the fabric engaging the edge of the hole, wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons. 
         [0007]    In another embodiment, an article comprising an elastic panel having an inner surface and an outer surface at least one hole through the outer surface and the inner surface, wherein the hole is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment, disclosed is an article comprising a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member comprising an outer portion and an inner portion, wherein the outer portion contacts the outer surface with a flange and engages the hole with an outer portion collar. The inner portion contacts the inner surface with a flange and engages the hole with an inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar contacts the inner portion collar. The outer portion collar and the inner portion collar are bonded and, the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons. 
         [0009]    Other systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages of the disclosed elastic and resilient panel and grommet for interchangeable logos will be apparent or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. All such additional systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages are intended to be included within the description and are intended to be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0010]    The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following figures. Matching reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the figures, and components in the figures are not necessarily to scale. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating a breathable work shoe and an interchangeable logo button; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating an interchangeable logo button; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates an elastic panel and an interchangeable logo button; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article with an elastic panel and an engaged interchangeable logo button; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of a clothing article and an elastic panel and an engaged interchangeable logo button taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates flexible grommets and an interchangeable logo button; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a cut away view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets and an engaged interchangeable logo button; taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of shoes exemplified in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2006/0048407 A1 entitled “BREATHABLE WORKSHOES AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH”. The shoe 100 is constructed of a flexible and resilient plastic material. This material allows the holes  105  in the shoe 100 to stretch and return to their original shape when an interchangeable logo button  102  is inserted into a hole  105 . The resiliency of the material allows a user to repeatedly insert and remove interchangeable logo buttons  102  from the holes  105 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating an interchangeable logo button  202 . The interchangeable logo button  202  comprises a button member  204  that may display a logo and a stem member  206  that is attached to a retaining member  208 . The retaining member  208  may have a rounded portion  210  that facilitates insertion of the interchangeable logo button  202  into a flexible and resilient hole in a clothing article (not shown). 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates an elastic panel  314  and an engaged interchangeable logo button  302  engaged in one of the holes  316 . This embodiment illustrates a possible application of the elastic panel  314  in a hat  300 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the elastic panel  314  may be incorporated into a variety of clothing articles not limited to hats. For example, the elastic panel  314  may be incorporated into but not limited to: shirts, shorts, swim wear, belts, sunglasses, shoes, watchbands, trousers, or skirts. Additionally, one skilled in the art will understand that the elastic panel  314  may be incorporated into non-clothing articles such as, but not limited to: hand bags, tote bags, luggage, umbrellas, towels, blankets, key chains, or wallets. Further, the elastic panel  314  is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be one of a variety of shapes including but not limited to: circular, trapezoidal, triangular, or an irregular shape. 
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an embodiment of elastic panel  414  and an engaged interchangeable logo button  402 . In the present embodiment, panel  414  is incorporated into hat  400  by stitching  407 , however, one skilled in the art will appreciate that elastic panel  414  may be incorporated into hat  400  by another process such as, but not limited to, bonding, or other suitable process. In this embodiment, elastic panel  414  has three holes  416  that may engage and retain an interchangeable logo button  402 . Though this embodiment shows three holes  416 , arranged in a colinear fashion, the elastic panel  414  is not limited in the number of holes  416  or their arrangement in the elastic panel  414 . 
         [0023]    The holes  416  may also have a grommet member  418  with, for example, a rounded profile extending from the outer surface  401  of the elastic panel  414 . The purpose of the grommet member  418  is to strengthen the holes  416  in order to facilitate the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons  402 . In this embodiment, the grommet members  418  are molded from the same piece of material as the elastic panel  414 . However, those skilled in the art will understand that in some embodiments, the grommet members  418  may be molded separately from the elastic panel  414  and installed in the elastic panel  414  using a variety of known plastic bonding processes such as, but not limited to ultra-sonic welding, hot plate welding, or high frequency welding. 
         [0024]    One skilled in the art will also understand that the holes  416  and the grommet members  418  are not limited to circular shapes, and can be any one of, but not limited to: rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, a predominantly straight shape such as one similar to a button hole, or any other irregular shape. 
         [0025]    In this embodiment, the elastic panel  414  comprises PVC. However, one skilled in the art would understand that the elastic panel  414  may be manufactured from any suitable material that accepts a logo button or the like. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of hat  300 , the elastic panel  514  and the engaged interchangeable logo button  502 . The elastic panel  514  is attached to the hat fabric  550 . The present embodiment includes a hat band  552 , but one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hat band  552  may or may not be included in other embodiments. The elastic panel  514  may have one or a plurality holes  516 . In the present embodiment, the circumference of the holes  505  on the outer surface  501  of the elastic panel  514  is in contact with grommet members  518  and the grommet members  518  are in contact with the outer surface  501  of the elastic panel  514 . One skilled in the art will understand that the holes  516  are not limited to having one grommet member  518  on the outer surface  501  of the elastic panel  514 , but may, alternatively, have an additional grommet member  518  on the inner surface  503 . In another possible embodiment, there may be no grommet member  518 , or there may be a grommet member  518  on the inner surface  503  but not on the outer surface  501 . 
         [0027]    A user may insert the retaining member  508  and stem member  506  of the interchangeable logo button  502  into the hole  516 . The flexibility and resiliency of the elastic panel  514  allows the hole  516  and the grommet member  518  to expand. This expansion facilitates the insertion of the retaining member  508  into the hole  516 . In this embodiment, the rounded shape of the grommet member  518  and the rounded portion of the retaining member  508  assist the user in inserting the interchangeable logo button  502  into the hole  516 . Once the retaining member  508  has passed through the hole  516 , the resilient qualities of the elastic panel  514  and grommet member  518  allow the hole  516  and grommet member  518  to return to their original shape. Since the hole&#39;s shape has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining member  508 , the retaining member  508  retains the interchangeable logo button  502  in the hole  516 . A user may remove the interchangeable logo button  502  from the hole  516  by first applying force to the elastic panel  514  so that the hole  516  expands to a diameter greater than the diameter of retaining member  508 . Then, the user may pull the stem  506  and the retaining member  508  out of the hole  516 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates flexible grommets and an interchangeable logo button. In the illustrated embodiment, flexible grommet members  620  engage a plurality of holes  616  in the fabric  612  of a hat  600 . The holes  616  and flexible grommet members  620  allow the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo button  602 . Again, one skilled in the art will understand that the holes  616  and flexible grommet member  620  are not limited in application to hats but may be incorporated into a variety of clothing articles or other non-clothing articles as discussed in alternative embodiments above. 
         [0029]      FIG. 7  illustrates one possible embodiment of flexible grommet members in a fabric. One skilled in the art will understand that the fabric  712  may comprise a number of materials including, but not limited to: cotton, polyester, wool, rubber, leather, nylon, plastic, a blend of polyester and wool, or any other suitable material. 
         [0030]    In the illustrated embodiment, one or a plurality of holes  716  is cut in the fabric  712 . The holes are of a diameter that will allow the retaining member  208  of an interchangeable logo button  202  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) to pass through the hole  716 . One skilled in the art will understand that if the fabric  712  does not have sufficient resilient properties, the retaining member  208  may not engage the inner surface  703  of the fabric  712  and retain the interchangeable logo button  202 . Therefore, flexible grommet member  720  with elastic and resilient properties may be installed in hole  716  to engage an interchangeable logo button  202 . The flexible grommet member  720  in this embodiment, is PVC, but those skilled in the art will understand that the flexible grommet member may be manufactured from any material with suitable flexibility and resiliency. 
         [0031]    In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible grommet member  720  comprises two portions, an outer portion  722  and an inner portion  724 . The outer portion  722  may have an outer portion collar  717  and the inner portion  724  may have an inner portion collar  715 . The outer portion collar  717  and the inner portion collar  715  may be inserted into one of the holes  716 . The outer portion  722  and inner portion  724  are sized and shaped so that mating surfaces  726  are in contact while the flanges  719  and  721  contact the outer surface  701  and the inner surface  703  of the fabric respectively. The outer portion  722  and inner portion  724  are bonded together at the mating surfaces  726  using a suitable bonding process such as ultra sonic welding. Thus, when bonded together, the outer portion  722  and inner portion  724  are retained by the hole  716 . One skilled in the art will understand that the bonding process is not limited to ultra sonic welding but may include but is not limited to: hot plate welding, or high frequency welding. 
         [0032]    Note that in the illustrated embodiment, the outer portion  722  and inner portion  724  are the same size and shape. However, the outer portion  722  and inner portion  724  are not limited to being the same, and may have different dimensions. For example, the flanges  722  and  721  may be sized and shaped differently or the dimensions of the outer portion collar  717  and the inner portion collar  715  may be different so that the mating surfaces  726  meet in hole  716  closer to or farther from the outer surface  701  of the fabric  712 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets and an engaged interchangeable logo button. In the illustrated embodiment, a user may insert the retaining member  808  and stem member  806  of the interchangeable logo button  802  into the hole  816  in the flexible grommet member  820 . The flexibility and resiliency of the flexible grommet member  820  allows the hole  816  and the flexible grommet member  820  to expand. This expansion facilitates the insertion of the retaining member  808  into the hole  816 . In this embodiment, the rounded shape of the flexible grommet member  820  and the rounded portion  810  of the retaining member  808  assist the user in inserting the interchangeable logo button  802  into the hole  816 . Once the retaining member  808  has passed through the hole  816 , the resilient qualities of the flexible grommet member  820  allow the hole  816  to return to the hole&#39;s original shape. Since the hole&#39;s shape has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining member  808 , retaining member  808  retains the interchangeable logo button  802  and the stem member  806  in the hole  816 . A user may remove the interchangeable logo button  802  from the hole  816  by first applying force to the flexible grommet member  820  so that the hole  816  expands to a diameter greater than the diameter of retaining member  808 . The user may then pull the stem  806  and the retaining member  808  out of the hole  816 . The present embodiment includes a hat band  852 , but one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hat band  552  may or may not be included in other embodiments. 
         [0034]    While particular embodiments of an elastic and resilient panel and grommet for interchangeable logos have been disclosed in detail in the foregoing description and figures for purposes of example, those skilled in the art will understand that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure, as protected by the following claims.