Patent Publication Number: US-6708379-B1

Title: Fastening device and method for material having a mesh

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of devices for fastening or connecting material having a mesh. More particularly, the invention pertains to such devices for securing screen material to a structure. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Fasteners are used in a variety of applications, including construction, machinery, medical equipment, business activities and the textile industry. Commonly known fasteners range from rivets, snaps and buttons to VELCRO® (a registered trademark of Velcro USA, Inc.), and they usually involve a two-piece assembly for joining two articles together. Furthermore, fasteners such as rivets and snaps employ a male and female component. 
     Various technologically advanced two-piece fasteners having interlocking members other than male and female components are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,377 describes a fastening device comprising a pair of attachment pads, each pad having a face formed with mushroom-shaped interlocking members, which are uniformly spaced so that the mushroom-shaped members of one attachment pad interlock with the mushroom-shaped members of the opposing attachment pad. The interlocking members of the attachment pads securely engage a screen material having a mesh corresponding with the spaced relation of the interlocking members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,391 describes a fastener having a substrate with engaging elements projecting from its surface, the elements stabilized and supported by an elastic material located around the elements and below each element head. A sheet perforated with holes snaps over the heads of the elements to complete the fastener. 
     Other techniques for attaching woven shade screen to supporting structure include forming a hem at the edge of the screen, fixing eyelets to the hem along the material&#39;s edge, inserting a attachment through the eyelet, and connecting attachment and screen to a supporting member. The fastener may include an elastic cord formed with a loop and having a weighted ball attached to the end of the cord. The cord fits through the eyelet and wraps around a supporting member and is fastened to the ball. Unfortunately this technique is limited to a predetermined, spaced location of the eyelet, which is applied to the screen at fixed intervals at a factory, without regard to the location of the supporting structure and without reference to the need to support the screen at locations other than at the eyelets. It is preferred that the screen be supported according to the needs of the user by placing fasteners at various spaced intervals and without damaging the screen. 
     Although many of the fasteners known in the prior art perform satisfactorily in their particular applications, they are deficient in other applications. For example, fasteners that are secured to articles only through an adhesive backing fail if lint accumulates on the adhesive. Fasteners sewn onto the material being supported can fall off the article when thread breaks or becomes unstitched. Similar problems occur in screen applications, particularly when securing screens in windows. Problems occur when part of the screen fastener detaches from the screen due to repeated use. Common fasteners in the prior art are often cumbersome to use. It can also be burdensome when trying to obtain a secure fit between the screen and a window frame. 
     Such common fasteners also present problems when a screen needs to be covered with another material such as clear plastic or nylon to protect against inclement weather or very small insects. In order to cover the screen, separate fastening units are needed to secure the covering material in place. 
     A preferred fastener and method of its use would involve engaging a screen between two interlocking attachment pads, whose location on the screen can be easily and quickly changed for a more flexible installation. The preferred fastener would also have the ability to secure multiple layers of screens with one fastening device. In this way, plastic, nylon or other desired material can be edged with a screen-like material and then engaged between the attachment pads along with the screen so the screen can be covered when desired. For these and other reasons, there is need for a fastening device that incorporates a single screen or multiple screens between interlocking components. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a fastening device that securely engages a woven screen or multiple layers of woven screen between two opposing attachment pads, one pad having projecting stems and another pad formed with openings and receptacles that engage the stems. 
     It is another object of the invention is to provide a fastening device that is easy to use, versatile and economical, providing secure fastening. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a fastening device that allows for attachment to overlapping woven screen material and for attachment to abutting edges of multiple screens sections. 
     Another objective is to provide a fastening device that is easily connected to a supporting structure without affecting the connection to the woven screen mesh. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. 
     In realizing these and other advantages and objectives of the invention a fastening device according to the present invention includes a first pad having a first face, from which face, mutually-spaced stems project in an ordered arrangement; and a second pad having a second face formed with mutually-spaced openings, and formed with receptacles, each receptacle extending from an opening into the second pad, each stem located and sized for insertion through an opening into a receptacle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The figures listed below have been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention. These figures along with the accompanying description are sufficient for those skilled in the art to practice the invention as claimed. 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a first attachment pad. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the pad of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an end view of the pad of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of a second attachment pad. 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the pad of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is partial cross section through the openings and receptacles of the second attachment pad taken at plane  6 — 6  of FIG. 4, with aligned stems of the first attachment pads also shown in cross section. 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of an attachment bracket for connecting a screen and the attachment pads to a support. 
     FIG. 8 is a partial cross section of an assembly that includes a woven screen and the attachment pads. 
     FIG. 9 is a partial cross section of an assembly that includes a double thickness of woven screen and the attachment pads. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, a fastening device  10  according to this invention includes a first attachment pad  12 , rectangular in planform and having a planar inner face  14 , from which face stems or fingers  16  project and are arranged in a mutually-spaced, ordered arrangement, preferably in rows extending longitudinally and columns extending laterally. The base  18  of the pad preferably has a planar outer face  19 . 
     The pad  12  and stems  16  are preferably of integrally molded plastic. Each stem is relatively slender, i.e., narrow in circumference or width in proportion to its length or height. Each stem is preferably in the form of a right circular cylinder projecting perpendicularly from the face  14 ; however, the stems may have any suitable form and cross sectional shape. Preferably the tip of each stem is somewhat reduced in cross sectional area as compared to its area below the tip and along its length. For example, when the stem has the shape of a circular cylinder, the tip may be formed with a spherical radius  20 . In this way, the tip provides a lead that facilitates entry of the stem into an opening. The properties of the material of the pad and stem, and the length and cross sectional size of each stem provide sufficient bending flexibility to allow each stem to readily align with an opening contacting at the stem tip. Yet each stem has sufficient bending stiffness to remain substantially erect under the effect of a force applied to the outer surface  19  of pad  12  and a force resisting entry of the stems into an opening. 
     The stems are arranged in a first group  24  located on one side of a central hole  26  and a second group  28  located at the opposite side of the hole, which passes entirely through the thickness of the pad  12 . 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second attachment pad  40 , rectangular in planform and having a planar inner face  42  formed with openings  44 , arranged in a mutually-spaced, ordered arrangement, preferably in rows and columns corresponding in position to the position of the stems  16 . The second pad  40  preferably has a planar outer face  46 . 
     The openings  44  are arranged in a third group  48  located on one side of a central hole  50  and a fourth group  54  located at the opposite side of the hole, which passes entirely through the thickness of second pad  12 . Each stem  16  of the first pad  12  is aligned with an opening  44  located on the inner face  42  of the second pad  40 . When the stem and openings are so aligned, the centrally located holes  26 ,  50  on the pads  12 ,  40  are aligned also. Each opening  44  is sized to allow a stem  16  to pass through the opening into a receptacle  52 , formed in the thickness of the second pad  40  adjacent the opening. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross section view through pad  40  and pad  12  showing a preferred configuration of the openings  44 , receptacles  52 , and stems  16 . Each receptacle extends from an opening into the thickness of the second pad  40 . The receptacle may be tapered through the pad thickness, the cross sectional area of a receptacle becoming smaller as distance along its length through the thickness of the pad  40  increases from the inner face  42  to the outer face  46 . Alternatively the receptacles can have a uniform cross sectional area along their length, preferably sized so that there is a slight interference fit between the sides of the receptacles and the sides of the stems. In this way, the resilient, elastic material of the stems will frictionally engage the receptacles to prevent the stems from inadvertently sliding out of the receptacles, yet allow intentional removal of the stems from the receptacles. 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of a mounting bracket  62  suited to connect the screen  60  and attachment pads  12 ,  40  to a support, such as a fence rail  64 . The bracket is preferably of stamped, bent sheet metal formed with a mounting flange  66  having a central through-hole  68 . The bracket has two legs  70 , 72 , which straddle the fence rail and are clamped to the rail by a fastener passed through the aligned holes  74 ,  76  on the legs. The attachment pads are shown with the screen  60  carried on the stems, which are fitted within the receptacles in the assembled position. The central holes  26 ,  50  formed through the attachment pads are aligned mutually and with the hole  68  of the bracket. An attachment bolt can be passed through these three holes to fix the screen and attachment pads to the fence rail. However, the pads can be directly connected to a support by driving a connector through holes  26 ,  50  into the support, without use of a bracket. 
     The mesh of the screen material  60  represents the number of openings between stands of the screen weave per unit length of the screen, the mesh having rectangular or square weave openings. The optimum mesh size is 18×14, which indicates eighteen screen openings longitudinally and fourteen screen openings laterally per inch of screen material length in those mutually perpendicular directions. Of course other screen mesh sizes can be used, provided that the mesh substantially corresponds with the spaced relationship of the stems  16  and openings  44  of the attachment pads  12 ,  40 , respectively. The screen material  60  can be a rigid material such as metal, or it can be a flexible material such as plastic, but it is not limited to either of these. 
     As seen in FIG. 8 a fastened assembly includes the attachment pads  12 ,  40  and screen material  60  having a mesh that is spaced and sized to receive a stem that passes through a corresponding mesh of the screen material. 
     To use the fastening device with only a single piece or thickness of screen material, the screen material  60  is located facing and near to the inner face of the first pad, and the stems are inserted through the mesh of the screen by applying pressure to the outer surface of the pad  12 . Next, each stem on the first pad is aligned with an opening  44  on the second pad. Then force is applied in opposite directions to the outer surfaces  19 ,  46  of the first and second pads  12 ,  40  sufficiently to insert the stems  16  through the openings  44  and into the corresponding receptacles  52  of pad  40 , thereby attaching the first and second pads to the screen  60 . The screen and attached pads are positioned adjacent the bracket  62  such that the central holes  26 ,  50  of the pads and the hole  68  of the bracket are aligned. An attachment is inserted though the three aligned holes to releasably secured the screen  60  to the bracket. Finally, the screen is supported on a fence or other supporting structure by attaching the bracket to the support at any suitable location, as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     The fastening device can be used also to connect two pieces of screen material by abutting their adjacent free edges at the location of the pads, or by overlapping short lengths of the screen material at the edges of the material pieces. To abut the edges, the screen material of a first piece of screen is located over the inner face  14  of the first pad  12  such that the screen edge is located near the centerline of the hole  26 , and the stems of the first group  24  of stems  16  are inserted through the mesh of that screen material by applying pressure to the outer surface  19  of the pad  12 . Similarly, the screen material of the other piece of screen material is located over the inner face of the first pad such that the screen edge is located near the centerline of the hole  26 , and the stems of the second group  28  of stems are inserted through the mesh of the second screen material by applying pressure to the outer surface  19  of the pad  12 . Next, each stem  16  on the first pad is aligned with an opening  44  on the second pad  40 . Then, force is applied in opposite directions to the outer surfaces  19 ,  46  of the first and second pads sufficiently to insert the stems through the openings and into the corresponding receptacles  52  of pad  40 , thereby attaching the first and second pads to the screen. The screen and attached pads are positioned adjacent the bracket  62  such that the central holes of the pads and the hole of the bracket are aligned. An attachment is inserted though the three aligned holes to releasably connect the attachment pads to the bracket. Finally, the screen is supported on a fence rail or other supporting structure by attaching the bracket to the support fence at any suitable location. 
     FIG. 9 shows the fastening device used to connect a double thickness or two pieces  80 ,  82  of overlapping screen material. Both screen pieces are located over the inner face of the first pad, and the stems of the first and second groups  24 ,  28  of stems are inserted through the mesh of both screen materials by applying pressure to the outer surface of the pad  12 . Next, each stem on the first pad is aligned with an opening on the second pad. Then, force is applied in opposite directions to the outer surfaces of the first and second pads sufficiently to insert the stems through the openings and into the corresponding receptacles  52  of pad  40 , thereby attaching the overlapping screen portions to the attachment pads. The screens and attached pads are positioned adjacent the bracket  62  such that the central holes  26 ,  50  of the pads and the hole  68  of the bracket flange  66  are aligned. An attachment is inserted though the three aligned holes to releasably secured the attachment pads to the bracket. Finally, the screens are supported on a fence or other supporting structure by attaching the bracket to the support at any suitable location. 
     In any of the described assemblies, once the screen material is engaged between the attachment pads  12 ,  40 , the screen and pads can be fastened on any structure at any desired location, without use of the bracket. For example, the screen can be supported by attaching the pads to a structural member using clips, staples, screws, bolts or nails driven through the aligned holes into the structure. Alternatively, the outer face of an attachment pad can be coated with a sticky adhesive, which would bond to an appropriate surface of the supporting structure, thereby supporting the screen. 
     Materials other than woven screen, such as a woven, knit or knotted material of open texture having holes, preferable evenly spaced holes such as those of a screen or net, can be secured between the pads by passing the stems through the mesh and into the receptacles. 
     The previously described versions of the present invention have many advantages, including easier and more secure positioning of screens in openings, such as windows, and less burdensome maintenance and cleaning of the screen. Also, multiple screens can be joined together by the fastening device so that the covering can be enlarged to accommodate different sized openings. Multiple screens can be used simultaneously by the fastening device so that the original screen can be covered to prevent water, dirt or inclement weather from entering a structure, to prevent small insects from infiltrating the screened enclosed area, and to provide visual privacy. The invention is very easy to use, versatile, reusable, reclosable and economical. 
     Although the form of the invention shown and described here constitutes the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not intended to illustrate all possible forms of the invention. Words used here are words of description rather than of limitation. Various changes in the form of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed.