Abstract:
An apparatus for displaying ribbons and badges on a garment wherein predetermined arrangements of awards can be quickly and reliably established using designated openings in a template. Using break-away portions, the template can be sized as needed and pin holes are preferably used to mount ribbons having a marking implement such as a pin to secure the ribbon to a uniform. A separate badge positioning section includes horizontal slots preferably slightly offset vertically with a portion of said horizontal slots co-linear.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to an apparatus for attaching items to apparel, and more particularly, to an apparatus for attaching ribbons and medals and the like onto a uniform for display.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     For police, fire, and other civil service careers, formal events and ceremonies often require the donning of formal uniforms including the display of any commendations obtained in the line of duty. This is even more prevalent in the military where formal uniform apparel is more commonly worn. Such uniforms typically include a pair of pants, dress shirt, and covering jacket. The display of any medals, ribbons, or badges may be strictly regulated in certain situations. In particular, regulations exists pertaining to the spacing and positioning of the commendations on the uniform. Depending on the number of commendations, it can take a considerable amount of time to correctly comply with the various specifications and regulations on the placement and spacing of the commendations. Incorrect placement is unacceptable, particularly in military applications, but performing this process repeatedly each time dress formals are worn would consume a significant amount of time. In addition, different occasions call for different sets of medals to be worn. Also, the addition of new awards may necessitate an entirely different arrangement or spacing requirement.  
         [0003]     In addition to the spacing and time concerns, the typical medals include a pin for piercing the shirt or dress jacket. A clamping mechanism worn on the inside of the jacket or shirt secures the medals to the garment. These securing devices may cause discomfort to the wearer and damage the garment.  
         [0004]     One crude device frequently used to located the awards is a piece of leather or cardboard secured to the inside of the jacket or shirt. However, both leather and cardboard degrade over time and the holes do not retain a precise placement location as hole size become larger or otherwise loses its shape. Cardboard has a particularly limited life due to its paper construction. In addition, the pins on the back of the ribbons and medals can pierce the cardboard or leather in any location and are not restricted to certain locations on the back piece. Thus, precise placement using these materials remains difficult.  
         [0005]     One device purportedly used to secure ribbons and the like can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,805 to Haegley. In that patent, a securing device located on the inside of a uniform garment includes clasps encased within a soft foam material for repeated insertion by a pin. However, Haegley&#39;s device requires that the clasps be permanently fixed in the foam material so adjustment is precluded for accommodating different sizes of awards. Further, soft foam material will erode from repeated uses limiting the effectiveness of the device.  
         [0006]     Accordingly, it has been demonstrated that there is a need in the art for an apparatus that can simply and quickly mount awards such as medals and ribbons to a uniform in a precise but variable manner that does not result in discomfort to the bearer of the awards and yields a reliable and timesaving procedure for arranging the awards on a uniform.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention is directed to an award template for positioning and supporting a plurality of awards such as ribbons and badges to be worn on a uniform. The template may be generally in the form of a plate having a badge positioning section and a ribbon positioning section. Each section further comprises a positioning aspect that receives a fastening implement on the back of an award for positioning a set of ribbons and badges in relation to a predetermined location on a garment, such as the top edge of a pocket on a shirt or jacket. Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent with further reference to the following drawings and specification. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a template in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a template in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a template in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4A  is a front view of an exemplary auxiliary support bar for displaying a three across ribbon display for use in conjunction with the template illustrated in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4B  is a front view of an exemplary auxiliary support bar for displaying a four across ribbon display for use in conjunction with the template illustrated in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4C  is a front view of an exemplary auxiliary support bar for adding rigidity to the template illustrated in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4D  is a front view of an exemplary auxiliary ribbon row reducer for use in conjunction with the template illustrated in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4E  is a front view of an exemplary auxiliary ribbon bar for use in conjunction with the template illustrated in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 5A  is a front view of a single ribbon bar and single badge configuration secured to an external surface of a garment about the top edge of a pocket;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5B  is a rear view of the template of  FIG. 1  with the outside sections removed for use with a single ribbon bar, single badge configuration of  FIG. 5A  and secured to an interior side of a garment;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6A  is a front view of an exemplary double ribbon bar with dual ribbon and triple ribbon alignments and single badge with spacing;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6B  is a rear view of the template of  FIG. 2  with the outermost upper sections removed for use in conjunction with the ribbon and badge combination and spacing as illustrated in  FIG. 6A ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7A  is a front view of an exemplary ribbon and badge configuration with dual ribbon rows of three ribbons each and dual badges;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7B  is a rear view of the template in  FIG. 2  for use in conjunction with the ribbon and badge combination and spacing as illustrated in  FIG. 7A ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8A  is a front view of an exemplary triple ribbon bar lined up above the upper edge of a garment pocket with two triple ribbon bars and a single ribbon bar with  1 / 8  inch spacing;  
         [0023]      FIG. 8B  is a rear view of the template of  FIG. 2  with the outer portions removed for use in conjunction with the ribbon and badge combination and spacing as illustrated in  FIG. 8A ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 9A  is a front view of an exemplary nine high ribbon bar with dual badge configuration;  
         [0025]      FIG. 9B  is a rear view of the template in  FIG. 3  with attached auxiliary bars for use in conjunction with the ribbon and badge combination and spacing as illustrated in  FIG. 9A ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 10A  is a front view of an exemplary quintuplet bar and dual badge configuration; and  
         [0027]      FIG. 10B  is a rear view of the template in  FIG. 3  cut down and including an auxiliary ribbon bar securing the exemplary ribbon and badge configuration illustrated in  FIG. 10A . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an award template, generally designated  30 , for positioning and supporting a plurality of ribbons and badges on a uniform or the like is illustrated. This template, which may also be referred to as a bracket, is used to create what is commonly referred to as a Type 1 Alpha style arrangement as illustrated. The template  30  may be made of brass, however other suitable materials including other metals such as marine grade aluminum and other corrosive resistant materials as well as other materials including plastic or Plexiglas® material may be used. The template  30  supports up to 1 to 3 ribbons and may optionally support 1 or 2 badges. The Alpha style bracket is constructed to provide a ⅛″ spacing between ribbons, while a Bravo style bracket is constructed to provide for flush mounting the ribbons corresponding to Army and Air Force regulations, respectively. In general terms, the template is in the form of a smooth flat plate  32  including a badge positioning section  34  and a ribbon positioning section  36 . The ribbon positioning section is comprised of an inner portion  31  designated R 1 , intermediate portions  33  designated R 2 , and outer portions  39  designated R 3 . Intermediate and outer portions  33 ,  39  are removable to customize the ribbon positioning section to the necessary lengths by snapping off or otherwise excising the unwanted portions of the template. The inner portion  31 , intermediate portions  33  and outer portions  39  include pin holes  56  that are sized to receive positioning pins on the back of the ribbons to be worn on the template. For example, if a ribbon is to be positioned in the inner area R 1 , pin holes  56   a  are used to mount the medal by receiving left and right pins supporting the medal and portions R 2  and R 3  are removed. If, conversely, the intermediate portion R 2  is used, then pin holes  56   b  are employed and the outer portions  39  are removed, whereas pin holes  56   c  are used if the outer portion R 3  is required.  
         [0029]     If the inner portion R 1  of the ribbon positioning section  36  is used, the intermediate portion  33  and the outer portion  39  may be removed by cutting, bending, or otherwise removing the portion of the template along dividing lines  49 . The dividing lines  49  can be reductions in the thickness of the plate, or perforations in the plate that allow the excess portions to be cut or sheared to reduce the length of the ribbon positioning portion  36 . The template further comprises indicia used to help position the badges or awards on the template, thereby increasing the ease with which awards are arranged on the template  30 . For example, indicia “RIFLE” is placed on the far left hand side of the badge positioning section  34  beneath a horizontal slot  47   a  designating the position of a badge awarded for rifle marksmanship. Similarly, indicia “PISTON” is placed on the far right hand side of the badge positioning section  34  beneath a second horizontal slot  47   b  designating the position of a badge awarded for pistol marksmanship. Other indicia can be used for the particular application to assist the bearer in complying with certain regulations relating to the order and positioning of certain awards. Further, the template includes additional indicia to assist the user in aligning the template with the garment to be worn. For example, the letter “V” indicates a center of the template that can be aligned with the center of a pocket or other portion to the garment to center the arrangement. Further, dashed lines  99  can be used to align the top edge of a pocket or the like to establish a point of reference for placing the awards.  
         [0030]     The medal positioning section  34  comprises two horizontal elongated slots  47   a,    47   b  for locating the pins of two medals. The slots  47   a,    47   b  are slightly offset vertically with slot  47   b  slightly higher than slot  47   a,  with a recessed portion  44  at the same vertical position as the slot  47   a.  In this way, a single medal may be centered by placing a first positioning pin in slot  47   a  and a second positioning pin in slot  47   b  at recessed portion  44  so that the medal will hang properly in a vertical orientation.  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates a second template of the present invention comprising a variation on the template of  FIG. 1 , generally designated  40 . The second template  40  is used to create an arrangement corresponding to what is commonly referred to as a Type 2 Alpha or Bravo style arrangement as illustrated. A Type 2 bracket supports 3 to 6 ribbons and optionally supports up to 2 badges. Template  40  includes three additional sets of pin holes  59  in the ribbon positioning section  36  serving as a supplement to pin holes  56  for adjusting the vertical spacing of a ribbon positioned thereon from the badge positioning section  34 . This may also be necessary because the template  40  includes pin holes  61  at peripheral edges of the template for mounting a second ribbon above the badge positioning section  34 . Other sets of pin holes similar to pin holes  61  can be added to the template to accommodate additional ribbons as a variation on the template  40  shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0032]     Referring to  FIGS. 5-8 , the templates  30  and  40  are shown mounting various combinations of ribbons and badges. A conventional badge  201  is shown in  FIG. 5  including a transversely projecting anchor bar  200  from which is suspended a figure piece  205  that symbolizes the award. The anchor bar  200  includes on its rearward facing surface a left hand pin and a right hand pin for piercing the user&#39;s garment  210 . The badge is designed to be retained to the garment by attaching a push on clasp  220  over each pin. These clasps have a conventional structure. Here, the pins are passed through the template at horizontal slots  47   a,    47   b  on the inside of the garment  210  to support and position the award in a predetermined position. The use of the recessed portion  44  ensures that the badge hangs evenly from the two slots  47   a,    47   b.  A conventional ribbon  230  is generally channel shaped and fits over a track with the ribbon insignia displayed on the outer facing surface  235  of the track. On the rear side of the track, the pair of spaced apart opposing pins for piercing the user&#39;s garment  210  is typically welded as a fixed structure. As with the badge, a pair of push on clasps  225  are slid over and capture the pins on the inside of the user&#39;s garment to secure the ribbon  230  to the garment  210 .  
         [0033]     As one can appreciate, without the present invention the highly precise spacing of the ribbons  230  and badges  200  with respect to one another as well as the placement on the garment  210  itself can be a trial by error method that requires a significant amount of time to perfect. However, by using the template of the present invention, placement of the ribbons and badges can be done in a relatively short amount of time. For instance, measuring the required distance from the top of a shirt pocket to install a first set of ribbons and then adding another four rows of ribbons may require multiple attempts and can lead to significant frustration. With the present invention, however, the template is secured against an interior surface of the garment and the ribbons are simply laid over the outer surface of the garment. Then the pins of a first board are pushed through and the pin holes of the template guide the pins into place. The clasps  225  are then clamped onto the exposed pin ends to secure the ribbon  230  in the proper position. The next row is mounted in a similar manner. Using the template, a multi-row ribbon set up can be created quickly and with great precision.  
         [0034]     As  FIG. 5  further illustrates, a single ribbon  230  is mounted above a marksman medal  205  where push pins on the medal  205  and ribbon  230  pierce the material of a uniform. The template  30  is hidden from view behind the uniform as illustrated in  FIG. 5B . The template  30  of  FIG. 1  is used to mount the ribbon and medal of  FIG. 5 , where the intermediate portion  33  and outer portion  39  of the ribbon positioning section  36  have been removed along division lines  49  to minimize the size of the ribbon positioning portion  36  of the template  30 . As discussed above, the divisions may be holes or perforations punched into the plate forming the bracket, or grooves that facilitate the removal of portions of the bracket by creating a weakness in the template along the grooves. Because only a single, smaller ribbon is mounted, sections corresponding to R 2  and R 3  are removed leaving the template illustrated in  FIG. 5B . The ribbon is mounted using push pin holes  56   a  within the section corresponding to R 1 , and the medal is mounted using the indicia for “RIFLE” positioning the push pins at the designated location of the horizontal slots  47   a,b.  In this manner, the arrangement shown in  FIG. 5A  is quickly and precisely configured with no trial and error as to the location of the awards on the uniform of the bearer.  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  illustrates a dual ribbon, single badge configuration using the template  40  from  FIG. 2 . Using the intermediate portion  33  designated R 2  to mount the upper ribbon  501 , push pins are inserted into holes  56   b  and clasps  225  are placed on the push pins to mount ribbon  501  in the designated location. Using secondary pin holes  61 , ribbon  502  is mounted below ribbon  501  where push pins pass through the designated holes to quickly establish the proper spacing of ribbon  502  between ribbon  501  and medal  503 . Again, the pins of the rifle badge are positioned in the horizontal slots  47   a,b  of the badge positioning section  34  using the indicia for “RIFLE.” That is, the pins on the anchor bar  500  of the badge pass through the horizontal slots and the badge is slid into position along the slot using the appropriate indicia, whereupon the clasps are placed on the back of the push pins to secure the badge in place.  
         [0036]     In  FIG. 7 , a dual ribbon, dual badge arrangement is shown where the upper ribbon  601  is inserted into the pin holes  56   c  of the template  40  and the lower ribbon  602  is inserted into the pin holes  61  of the secondary portion of the ribbon positioning section  36 . A first badge  604  is positioned by inserting both pins into slot  47   a,  and a second badge  603  is positioned by inserting both pins into slot  47   b.  Clasps  220 ,  225  are used to lock the ribbons and badges in place as described previously. In  FIG. 8 , a triple ribbon arrangement is used with the template  40 , where the horizontal slot  47  reserved for badges is instead used as a third ribbon mounting mechanism. Here, as shown in  FIG. 8A  all three ribbons  801 ,  802 ,  803  are positioned above the pocket edge with no badges provided in this arrangement. Intermediate portion  33  and outer portion  39  of the template has been removed in the example of  FIG. 8  leaving the R 1  ribbon positioning portion only. The first ribbon  801  is mounted in pin holes  56   a  of R 1 , the second ribbon is mounted in pin holes  61 , and the third ribbon is mounted in horizontal slots  47   a,b.  Alternately, ribbon  803  can be located in a second set of pin holes formed in the template above the badge positioning section  34 .  
         [0037]     If more than six ribbons are to be mounted to the uniform, then the template of  FIG. 3  may be employed, commonly referred to as a Type 3 Alpha style arrangement. The bracket of  FIG. 3  is generally U-shaped with the based or bottom portion comprising the badge or medal positioning section  34  with mounting slots  47   a,    47   b  as previously illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and the uprights  87  of the U-shaped bracket support a plurality of ribbons in a stacked configuration. The height of the uprights  87  can be adjusted by removing bendable or frangible cells  209  as needed. Type 3 brackets support from 7 to 23 ribbons and optionally supports up to two badges. Each cell of the upright includes a pin hole  71  for receiving a pin on a medal, and a square window  62  for receiving a bendable tab on an auxiliary support bar that mounts to the template  50 . The auxiliary bars can be used to replicate the ribbon positioning section  36  of the templates  30 ,  40 , or to extend or reduce the length of the row for the ribbons to accommodate elements of the uniform or to mount non-uniform size ribbons.  
         [0038]      FIGS. 4A-4E  illustrate various types of auxiliary bars. For example,  FIG. 4A  illustrates an auxiliary support bar  66  that coincides with the ribbon positioning section  36  of the template  40 , with elongated extensions  60  that form bendable tab. The tabs  60  can be inserted into the square window  62  of the template  50  and bent back to releasably secure the auxiliary bar  66  to the template  50 . Along each cell of the template  50  a separate auxiliary support bar  66  can be coupled so that the template can be tailored to the exact number and size of the awards to be displayed. A first ribbon can then be pinned on the auxiliary support bar  66  in pin holes  68  or  69 , similar to the method described above, or pin holes  71  on the template  50  can be used in conjunction with the pin holes on the auxiliary support bar  66 . Using multiple auxiliary support bars  66 , a large number of ribbons can be arranged on the template  50  with precise spacing and alignment.  
         [0039]      FIG. 4B  is a variation of the auxiliary support bar  66  of  FIG. 4A  further including a single elongated horizontal slot  75  formed below section lines  49  and pin holes  69  of the three across template embodiment to alternatively position a ribbon in an offset horizontal position, to accommodate a ribbon of non-standard width in the spacing of the support pins, or to support additional badges.  FIG. 4C  illustrates an auxiliary bar  109  that can extend the ribbon support laterally outside of the template uprights  87  and provides two sets of pin holes  89 ,  91 . Either pin hole  89 , 91  can be used in conjunction with a corresponding horizontal slot  93  or template pin holes  71  to secure a ribbon to the outer periphery of the auxiliary support bar  109  and then using alternate holes  91  in combination with horizontal slots  93  to position a ribbon off center from the centerline of the bracket  50 . The extended auxiliary support bar  109  can be connected to the template  50  using outwardly facing bracketing members  111  that engage the square windows  62  of the template  50  using a bendable tab  112  to fix the auxiliary bar therebetween. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the use of an offset arrangement may be necessary to account for a collar on the uniform or to locate two ribbons side by side on the same horizontal line.  FIG. 4D  illustrates a single sided version of the extension auxiliary bar where a first end  222  has a bracketing member  113  facing inwardly for engaging a square window  62  on the template  50 , and a bendable extension  60  on an opposite side  223  that can be inserted into a square window  62  of template  50  to secure the auxiliary support bar  177  thereto. The auxiliary support bar  117  of  FIG. 4D  has a pin hole  118  that cooperates with a pin hole  71  on the template  50 . In  FIG. 4E , both sided are equipped with a bendable extension  60  that fit into the square windows  62  of the template  50  to secure the support bar thereto, and further includes a single horizontal slot  122  used to locate a badge or ribbon in place of one or more pin holes.  
         [0040]      FIGS. 9 and 10  illustrate the template  50  of  FIG. 3  in conjunction with various auxiliary support bars of  FIG. 4  to demonstrate the various ways in which support bars can be used to create multiple arrangements of ribbons and badges.  
         [0041]     In use, the medal wearer lays out the garment (shirt or jacket) on a flat surface. The template is trimmed as necessary to accommodate the required number of ribbon bars to be worn. For example, assuming a two ribbon bar display on a particular row, the extra end pieces indicated by the indicia R 2  and R 3  that make up a three bar holder may be broken off by hand or removed using a suitable cutting instrument. If both ribbon bars and badges will be worn, the supporter is placed flush and centered above the left pocket. Conveniently an indicia such as a “V” indicating the center of the supporter may be used. If wearing only ribbons, then the template is positioned over the left pocket so that the dashed lines  99  line up with the top edge of the pocket. Once the template is in position, the user takes pencil and marks the placement of the ribbon bar and badges, if applicable, on the shirt or jacket. For example, a pencil mark is placed through pin holes at  56   a  for the placement of the ribbon. The placement pins of the ribbons are inserted through the pencil marks to align the badge. The template is then placed on the inside surface of the jacket or shirt. The corresponding holes used to mark the pencil marks on the outside of the garment are slid over the inwardly extending pins. Then each pin receives a clasp to capture the pin and secure the template against the inside surface of the garment. In this manner, the arrangement of the awards on the uniform correspond precisely with the spacing and order of the template to create an arrangement that complies with the regulations and maintains proper spacing and positioning for repeated wearings.  
         [0042]     The foregoing discussion is meant to be illustrative of the present invention but not limiting in its scope. Rather, one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that many variations to the above described embodiments are possible without deviation from the spirit of the invention, and such variations should be deemed within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is properly limited only by the plain and ordinary meaning of the words used in the claims appended below, as the inventor had not attempted to limit the scope of the invention in any manner in the foregoing discussion.