Patent Publication Number: US-2013247279-A1

Title: Magnetic Collar Stud Assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to the field of clothing accessories. More specifically, this invention involves a magnetic collar stud assembly for securing a shirt collar in place. In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic collar stud assembly includes two magnets of opposite polarities where one magnet is positioned inside the shirt and the other magnet is positioned outside the collar. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various accessories currently exist for holding the collar of a traditional button-down shirt in place. One of the most popular accessories is a pair of collar stays. Collar stays are long, flat and typically plastic structures that are positioned inside a collar to hold the collar in place. 
     An additional accessory for holding a collar in place is a pair of traditional collar studs. Collar studs generally include a decorative side and an attachment side. In the most common example of a collar stud, the decorative side and the attachment side are connected by a thin rod. The collar studs generally act by forcing the decorative side through a slit in the inner collar of a shirt and then through a slit in the outer collar of the same shirt. The thin rod is positioned inside the two slits and the decorative side and the attachment side hold the collar against the shirt in a fixed position. 
     The traditional collar studs are limited for several reasons. First, the traditional collar studs require a pair of slits in the shirt collar for inserting the thin rod. Thus, traditional collar studs cannot be worn on shirts that do not have specially made slits in the collar. Second, traditional collar studs are limited to a fixed position—the position of the slits. It is not possible to position traditional collar studs other than at the slits without forming additional slits on the collar, which would be unsightly. 
     Magnetic elements have previously been used in the clothing field and for the specific use of keeping a shirt collar aligned and fastened. U.S. Pat. No. 7,409,730 to Boos (hereafter “Boos”) discloses a Method and Apparatus for Keeping a Shirt Collar Aligned and Fastened Magnetically. Boos discloses a metal collar stay insertable into a conventional collar stay pocket and a magnet, magnetically attachable to the collar stay through the shirt front, for holding the collar in the selected position. Boos further discloses one or more detents in the collar stay for preventing relative longitudinal movement between the magnet and the collar stay. The magnet disclosed in Boos is flat and may be difficult to handle with one&#39;s fingers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,634 to Eisenpresser (hereafter “Eisenpresser”) discloses a decorative multi-use magnetic button construction which includes a decorative shell having a cavity containing a first magnet. The first magnet contacts a base of the construction and the base contacts a garment. The construction is held in place on the fabric by attraction to a second magnet on the opposite side of the magnet. The device of Eisenpresser lacks a mechanism for holding the magnets in place beyond their inherent magnetic attractive forces. Further, similar to the device of Boos, the Eisenpresser device is flat and may be difficult to handle with one&#39;s fingers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the deficiencies and drawbacks relating to securing a collar in place, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a magnetic collar stud assembly. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved magnetic collar stud assembly that is more secure than existing devices for securing a shirt collar. 
     In summary, there is provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention A collar stud assembly for selectively securing a collar to a shirt, comprising an outer decorative assembly, the outer decorative assembly including a frame and a first magnet having a first polarity; a second magnet, the second magnet being spherical and having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity; wherein the frame includes an indent, the indent adapted to match the curvature of the second spherical magnet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top, front, left side perspective view of a shirt collar being secured by a preferred embodiment of the magnetic collar studs of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the magnetic collar studs of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a top, back, right side perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the magnetic collar studs of the present invention, as applied to a portion of a shirt collar; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-section view thereof, taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of a shirt collar being secured by a preferred embodiment of the magnetic collar studs of the present invention, where the shirt collar is positioned in a traditional position; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section view thereof; taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front elevation view of a shirt collar being secured by a preferred embodiment of the magnetic collars studs of the present invention, where the shirt collar is positioned in a spread position; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-section view thereof; taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ; and 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a pair of the magnetic collar studs of the present invention, magnetically connected in a synchronized manner. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown a preferred embodiment of a collar stud assembly  100 . The collar stud assembly  100  includes an outer assembly  105  and a spherical magnet  110 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the outer assembly  105  is positioned on the outside of an outer collar  210  of a shirt  200  and the spherical magnet is positioned inside an inner collar  220  of the shirt  200 . The collar stud assembly  100  holds the outer collar  210  against the inner collar  220  in a fixed position. 
     The outer assembly  105  includes a frame  115 , a magnet  120  having a first polarity, and a decorative cover  125 . The frame  115  further includes an indent  130  and a cavity  135 . The cavity  135  is sized and shaped to contain the magnet  120  and the decorative cover  125 . Preferably, the magnet  120  is positioned inside the cavity  135  and the decorative cover  125  is fixed to the frame  115  thereby securing the magnet  120  inside the cavity  135 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the collar stud assembly  100  is adapted to selectively secure an outer collar  210  to an inner collar  220  of a shirt  200 . The spherical magnet  110  has a second polarity which is opposite the first polarity of the magnet  120 . Accordingly, the spherical magnet  110  and the outer assembly  105  are magnetically attracted to each other. Thus, when spherical magnet  110  is positioned on the inside of the inner collar  220  and the outer assembly  105  is positioned opposite the spherical magnet  110  on the outside of the outer collar  210 , the friction between the inner collar  220  and the outer collar  210  hold the inner collar  220  and the outer collar  210  in a fixed relative position. Further, the friction between the frame  115  and the outer collar  210 , holds the frame  115  and the outer collar  210  in a fixed relative position. 
     The spherical magnet  110  is held in a fixed position relative to the frame  115  by the indent  130 . The indent  130  is shaped and sized to match the curvature of the spherical magnet  110 . As best shown in the cross-section view of  FIG. 4 , the indent  130  in the frame  115  receives portions of the outer collar  210  and the inner collar  220  when the spherical magnet  110  is engaged with the magnet  120  of the outer assembly  105 . 
     The positioning of the portions of the outer collar  210  and the inner collar  220  in the indent  130  creates a shadow indent  230  in the collars. See  FIG. 4 . The shadow indent  230  receives a portion of the spherical magnet  110 . Thus, the indent  130  holds the spherical magnet  110  in a fixed position relative to the outer assembly  105 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the frame is cylindrical and includes a frame base  117 . The frame base represents to the bottom side of the frame, i.e. the side furthest from the decorative cover  125 . In the preferred embodiment, the indent  130  has a depth which is one third the width of the frame base. 
     The magnetic collar stud assembly  100  is removed from the shirt  200  by griping the spherical magnet  110  in between one&#39;s thumb and index finger and griping the outer assembly  105  between the thumb and the index finger of one&#39;s opposite hand. The spherical shape of the spherical magnet  105  make the spherical magnet  105  easier to grip and thus easier to remove and attach. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 through 8 , the collar stud assembly  100  allows a shirt to be worn in either a traditional manner (See  FIG. 5 ) or a spread collar manner (See  FIG. 7 ). In the traditional manner, two of the collar stud assemblies  100  are positioned close to the center and relatively lower on the shirt  200 . To switch from the traditional manner to the spread collar manner, the two collar study assemblies  100  are moved away from each other and high on the shirt  200 , against the friction of the shirt  200 . 
     Both the spherical magnet  110  and the magnet  120  are preferably constructed of neodymium magnets in the N42 to N52 range. Neodynium magnets are made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron to form an Nd 2 Fe 14 B tetragonal crystalline structure. Neodynium magnets are one of the strongest types of permanent magnet currently available. It has been found that using strong magnets such as neodymium magnets prevent the collar stud assembly from detaching during use. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a pair of collar stud assemblies  100  and  100   a  that are magnetically connected to each other for display or storage. In the preferred embodiment, a spherical magnet  110  of the collar stud assembly  100  has a magnetic polarity that is opposite the magnetic polarity of a second spherical magnet  110   a . Thus, the spherical magnet  110  and the second spherical magnet  110   a  are magnetically connected to each other. Since the spherical magnet  110  and the outer assembly  105  also have opposite polarities, the out assembly  105  and the second magnet  110   a  have the same polarity and will repel each other. Thus, the pair of collar stud assemblies  100  and  100   a  will tend to form a string with the two spherical magnets  110  and  110   a  in the center and the two outer assemblies  105  and  105   a  at the ends. 
     The accompanying drawings illustrate only a preferred embodiment of a magnetic collar stud assembly and its respective constituent parts and steps, however, other types and styles are possible, and the drawings are not intended to be limited in that regard. Thus, although the description above and accompanying drawings contains much specificity, the details provided should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but merely as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. The drawings and the description are not to be taken as restrictive on the scope of the embodiments and are understood as broad and general teachings in accordance with the present invention. While the present embodiments of the invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for present illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations to such embodiments, including but not limited to the substitutions of equivalent features, materials, or parts, and the reversal of various features thereof, may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.