Patent Publication Number: US-2021169151-A1

Title: Flexible and adjustable shirt collar support system with integrated magnets

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to shirt collar support systems and, more particularly, to a flexible and adjustable shirt collar support system with integrated magnets. 
     Shirt collars can look unkempt if not properly supported since unsupported collars tend to slide away from the neck opening of the shirt. Such a disheveled look is further exacerbated when the shirt is worn with an overgarment, such as a sport coat, blazer or jacket, because the unsupported shirt collar tends to slide under the collar of the overgarment. 
     As can be seen, there is a need for a flexible and adjustable shirt collar support system with integrated magnets for pivotably moving and attaching ferromagnetic collar stays about the integrated magnets. 
     The present invention described here firmly supports the shirt collar from under the collar, by way of an arcuate device providing malleable functionality, allowing the wearer to selectively shape the shirt collar to the desired shape. The present invention embodies integrated magnets and ferromagnetic collar stays for positioning the shirt collar for the desired effect and, if needed, reshaping the collar support to change the shape of the supported shirt collar. The integrated magnets, being embedded in or affixed to the arcuate device will not move, shift or fall off. 
     This flexible and adjustable collar support device wraps around under a shirt collar to provide firm support for the collar, wherein the integrated magnets at each end allows the use of ferromagnetic collar stays to firmly hold the shirt collar in place at desired orientations relative to the wearer. If the shirt does not have slots for collar stays, the flexible, bendable and adjustable feature of the malleable arcuate collar support device will retain the shape of the collar without the use of collar stays. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a shirt collar support system, includes the following: an arcuate body having a horse-shoe shape; and an integrated magnet disposed at or near each end of the horse-shoe shape, wherein each integrated magnet is embedded in or affixed to the arcuate body; a malleable elongated element integrated along a longitudinal length of the horse-shape for substantially the entirety of the longitudinal length, or wherein the arcuate body is made of malleable material so that the horse-shoe shape can be bent permanently out of shape for selectively adjusting the horse-shoe shape. Adjusting the horse-shoe shape means decreasing or increasing the neck opening area&#39;s diameter. 
     In certain embodiments, the arcuate body may include a first portion and a second portion that removably attach to form the horse-shoe shape; the first portion extending from one end to a first rear portion; the second portion extending from one end to a second rear portion; the first rear portion having a plurality of spaced apart teardrop slots; and the second rear portion having a plurality of raised knobs, wherein each raised knob can securely associated with one of the plurality of teardrop slots. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, the above shirt collar support system may include two ferromagnetic collar stays, one of the two ferromagnetic collar stays for pivotably attaching about each of the two integrated magnets. 
     In yet another embodiment, the shirt collar support system includes the following: an arcuate device having a horse-shoe shape; the horse-shoe shape having two opposing branches, each branch defined by an inner edge and an outer edge; and a magnet integrated to the arcuate device at or near each end of the horse-shoe shape, wherein each magnet integrated to the arcuate device at or near each end is embedded in or affixed to the arcuate device; a malleable elongated element integrated along a substantial entirety of a longitudinal length of the horse-shoe shape; the longitudinal length defined by a distance between the magnets integrated to the arcuate device at or near each end, or wherein the arcuate device is made of malleable material so that an inner edge of each of the two opposing branches are movable between a compressed position and an expandable position in a retain condition. 
     In yet another embodiment, the shirt collar support system may also include a first portion and a second portion that removably attachable to form the horse-shoe shape; the first portion extending from a first end to a first rear portion; the second portion extending from a second end to a second rear portion; the first rear portion having a plurality of spaced apart teardrop slots; and the second rear portion having a plurality of raised knobs, wherein each raised knob is dimensioned to securely associate with one of the plurality of spaced apart teardrop slots; and two ferromagnetic collar stays; one of the two ferromagnetic collar stays selectively and pivotably attaches about each magnet integrated to the arcuate device at or near each end. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 : is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention with a malleable elongated element  3 ; 
         FIG. 2 : is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention without the malleable elongated element  3 ; 
         FIG. 3 : is an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a right portion of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4 : is an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a left portion of the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5 : is an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of the right portion of the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6 : is an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of the left portion of the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7 : is an elevation view of an exemplary unitary first embodiment of the present invention, in a flat condition; 
         FIG. 8 : is an elevation view of an exemplary unitary second embodiment of the present invention, in a flat condition; 
         FIG. 9 : is a bottom view of an exemplary unitary second embodiment of the present invention, in a flat condition; 
         FIG. 10 : is a perspective view and a top view of an exemplary unitary first embodiment of the present invention, the top view shows a heel (H), a branch (B), a toe (T), an inner edge (IE), and an outer edge (OE) for the horse-shoe shape; and 
         FIG. 11 : is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in use, illustrating a before and after demonstration. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
     Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a shirt collar support system having an arcuate device providing malleable functionality for retaining manually selected shapes to conform to a desired collar shape without the need for collar stays. Additionally, the arcuate device provides distal integrated magnets for pivotably engaging and thus selectively positioning ferromagnetic collar stays for firmly holding a shirt collar in place. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 11 , the present invention may include a shirt collar support system embodying an arcuate device in either a modular first embodiment  11  ( FIGS. 2, 5, 6, and 8 ), a modular second embodiment ( FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 10 ), and a unitary first embodiment  7  ( FIGS. 7, 10, and 11 ), or a unitary second embodiment  10  ( FIGS. 8 and 9 ). The modular embodiments have left and right portions of the arcuate device that removably attach to each other to form a whole, while the unitary embodiments are a single, unitary arcuate device. Each arcuate device, unitary or modular, may be made of various metallicized, plasticized or any material adapted to be repeatedly bent as contemplated herein without failure. The difference between the first and second embodiments, generally, is that the first embodiment have a malleable elongated element  3 , such as a wire, integrated along a longitudinal length of the relevant arcuate device. The integration of the malleable elongated element  3  is through embedding the malleable elongated element  3  in the material of the body of the arcuate device or joining the malleable elongated element  3  and the body of the arcuate device by adhesion or the like. The malleable elongated element  3  may be metallic or other material that can be bent and/or pressed and so permanently reshaped—in other words, pressed permanently out of one shape into a new shape—without breaking or cracking. 
     The arcuate devices of the second embodiments, i.e., the one with the distinguishable malleable elongated elements  3 , may be made from the same malleable material found in the malleable elongated element  3  so that the entirety of the bodies of the arcuate devices can be bent and/or pressed and so permanently reshaped—in other words, pressed permanently out of one shape into a new shape—without breaking or cracking. 
     It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the use of directional terms such as upper, lower, upward, downwardly, top, left, right and the like are used in relation to the illustrative embodiments as they are depicted in the figures, the upward direction (or upper) being toward the top of the corresponding figures, downward direction being toward the bottom of the corresponding figures, and right and left terms being defined relative to when the present invention is being worn and the viewer is looking at the wearer. 
     The modular first and second embodiments  11  and  12  may include a right portion  6  and  8 , respectively, and a left portion  1  and  9 , respectively. Each left and right portion  1 , 9  and  6 , 8  extends from a rear portion  20  to a front portion  30 . The front portion  30  has an upper edge and a lower edge wherein the lower edge tapers upwardly toward the upper edge as both edges extend toward the front portion  30 . 
     The front portions  30  provides magnets  2  integrated into the body of the arcuate device of the present invention. The integration may be by way of embedding the magnets  2  in the body material or joining the two materials (i.e., the body material and the magnetized material) through adhesion or the like. The integrated magnets  2  and malleable elongated elements  3  can be embedded via an injection mold process or placed in a mold or attached via a strong adhesive to the outside or inside of the arcuate device. 
     The rear portions  30  of the left and right portions  1 ,  9 ,  6  and  8  of the modular embodiments provide left and right connectors  5  and  4  for removably attaching the left and right portions  1 ,  9 ,  6  and  8  so as to define the horse-shoe shaped arcuate device dimensioned and adapted to slide in between a shirt collar, as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . The left and right connectors  5  and  4  may be a plurality of spaced apart teardrop slots  5  and a plurality of spaced apart raised knobs  4 , wherein each teardrop slot  5  is dimensioned and adapted to receive the flanged portion of the raised knob  4  through an upper portion of the teardrop slot  5  so that by sliding the raised knob  4  down into the lower portion of the teardrop slot  5 , the left and right connectors  5  and  4  are secured together laterally. With that said, because of the plurality of raised knobs  4  and/or plurality of teardrop slots  5  to select from during such securement, the overall arcuate device and thus shirt collar support system is adjustable by selecting which raised knob  4  to operatively associates with a teardrop slot  5 . Thus, the present invention provides an adjustably sized arcuate device. 
     A method of using the present invention may include the following. A user may select a unitary embodiment of sufficient (collar) size or, alternatively, adjust one of the modular embodiments by using the left and right connectors  5  and  4  so that the resulting engaged left and right portions  1 ,  9  and  6 ,  8 , respectively, is the appropriate collar size. Then the user may manipulate the body of the arcuate device into the desired shape and placed under the shirt collar. The malleable elongated element  3 , in the first embodiment, assists in holding manually formed collar sizes and shapes. Since the unitary embodiments  7  and  10  of the collar support system are made of a malleable material, they can retain the desired shape and can be reshaped if needed. Additional adjustment may be needed after placing under the shirt collar  15 . 
     Then ferromagnetic collar stays  13  may be inserted into the shirt collar stay sleeves  17 . The shirt collar  15  is then folded down and around the collar support system and the ferromagnetic collar stays  13  collar stays, which are magnetically attached to the integrated magnets  2  in the collar support system. The integrated magnet  2  acts as a pivot point about which a proximal end of the ferromagnetic collar stays  13  rotates for adjusting the ferromagnetic collar stays  13  at different relative angles for different types, sizes and styles of collars  15 . 
     It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.