Abstract:
A fastening device for detachably joining together paired articles of clothing, such as socks or gloves, is described. The device includes male and female fastener portions that are adapted for attaching to the articles of clothing and provided with complementary threads for detachably coupling to each other. In applications, the device protects the article of clothing from loss or mismatch during their laundering or storing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a fastening device for detachably joining together articles of clothing, such as a pair of socks or a pair of gloves.  
         [0002]     It is recognized that there is difficulty in retaining together two individual socks belonging to a pair throughout the process of washing, drying and storing the socks after use. As an illustration, through the laundering process, pairs of socks can become separated or lost, thus leaving the launderer with the unwanted task of having to match up the pairs of socks afterwards. It is also generally appreciated that individual socks frequently become lost in this process.  
         [0003]     In order to overcome this problem and difficulties associated in easily keeping together pairs of socks, or other articles of clothing, such as pairs of gloves, it is known to provide various devices for fastening such articles of clothing.  
         [0004]     Boxer, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,853, for example, describes an article to hold a pair of socks together during laundering or the like, particularly, a flexible patch secured to each sock which adheres them to each other when pressed together. Such self-contained hook and loop VELCRO fasteners, however, are relatively inelastic while the shank portions of socks stretch.  
         [0005]     In Klotz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,348, the use of special bands wrapped around the shanks of sock pairs to keep them together during washing is disclosed. However, such bands have the disadvantage of lack of availability at the time of discarding socks.  
         [0006]     Ursino, U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,413, provides a snap type fastener device for securing socks, which includes decorative covers that concealed the fasteners while the socks are being worn. The removable covers, however, are especially dangerous, as they present a choking hazard to children. Furthermore, the fastening means attaches through the body of the socks, thereby requiring a plurality of circumferentially spaced axially extending ribs to engage an annular rim portion of the fastener. This configuration does not secure the snap fastener means securely through the sock, in that it could disengage easily while the socks are in wash.  
         [0007]     Other related devices are shown in Bellet, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,241; Dean, U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,294; Stubbs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,590; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,660; Butler, U.S. Pat. No. 1,682,771; Bohman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,663,877; Hofmeister, U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,617; Sneider, U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,267; Ciuffo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,855; Hicks, U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,658; Hurst, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,998; Christy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,541; and Messman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,558.  
         [0008]     Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a new and improved device for releasably, yet securely, fastening pairs of articles of clothing together without damaging the articles of clothing.  
         [0009]     Another object is to provide a time and labor saving device in laundering pairs of clothing articles, such as socks.  
         [0010]     Another object of the invention is to prevent the loss of one of a pair of articles of clothing, such as a single sock from a pair of socks or a single glove from a pair of gloves.  
         [0011]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple device for releasably attaching two pieces of fabric together for any practical use intended by the user.  
         [0012]     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to readers from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPIION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the male fastener portion of the present invention in an opened position.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the female fastener portion of the present invention in an opened position.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view showing the male fastener portion of the present invention being affixed to an article of clothing, such as a sock.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the male fastener portion of the present invention affixed to an article of clothing, such as a sock.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing the female fastener portion of the present invention being affixed to an article of clothing, such as a sock.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the female fastener portion of the present invention affixed to an article of clothing, such as a sock.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the male and female fastener portions of the present invention secured onto their respective socks and positioned opposite each other.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the male and female fastener portions of the present invention respectively secured onto a pair of socks with two positioning tabs removed.  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  shows the male and female fastener portions of the fastening device as illustrated in  FIG. 8  attached to each other.  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  illustrates cross-sectional views of the male fastener portion secured onto a sock, taken across the lines B-B of  FIG. 8 , and of the female fastener portion secured onto a sock, taken across the lines C-C of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
       [0023]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
         [0024]     Although every reasonable attempt is made in the accompanying drawings to represent the various elements of the embodiments in relative scale, it is not always possible to do so with the limitations of two-dimensional paper. Accordingly, in order to properly represent the relationship of various features among each other in the depicted embodiments and to properly demonstrate the invention in a reasonably simplified fashion, it is necessary at times to deviate from the absolute scale in the attached drawings. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would fully appreciate and acknowledge any such scale deviations as not limiting the enablement of the disclosed embodiments.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is shown the fastening device of the present invention, which is generally comprised of two portions, a male fastener portion  10  ( FIG. 1 ) and a female fastener portion  10  ( FIG. 2 ). Together, the male fastener portion  10  and the female fastener portion  10 A comprise the present invention, a fastening device. Generally, the male and female fastener portions are each comprised of, respectively, a first end  12 ,  12 A, an opposite second end  14 ,  14 A, and a positioning tab  16 ,  16 A therebetween. On the respective inner surfaces  22 ,  22 A of the second ends  14 ,  14 A of each respective male and female fastener portion  10 ,  10 A, there are a plurality of fastening pins  24 ,  24 A. (Referring to  FIG. 7 , the “inner surface” refers to the surface which is adjacent to an article of clothing  34 , such as a sock, when the male and female faster portions  10 ,  10 A of the fastening device are attached to the sock. See also  FIGS. 3-6 . This will become evident as the preferred embodiments are described herein.) The respective inner surfaces  26 ,  26 A of the first ends  12 ,  12 A of each respective male and female portion  10 ,  10 A, are further comprised with a plurality of fastening holes  28 ,  28 A for receiving the respective and corresponding fastening pins  24 ,  24 A from the second ends  14 ,  14 A of each fastener portion  10 ,  10 A. The fastening pins  24 ,  24 A and the fastening holes  28 ,  28 A of respective male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A are complementary, in that the fastening pins  24 ,  24 A, as demonstrated below, insert through the fastening holes  28 ,  28 A when attaching the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A to separate articles of clothing.  
         [0026]     With regard to the male fastener portion  10 , the fastening pins  24  on the inner surface  22  of the second end  14  are positioned away from the center of the inner surface  22  and near the periphery or outer circumference of the inner surface  22 . Conversely, the fastening pins  24 A on the corresponding inner surface  22 A of the corresponding second end  14 A of the female fastener portion  10 A are positioned near the center of the inner surface  22 A and away from the periphery or outer circumference of the inner surface  22 A. The purpose of such positioning of the fastening pins  24 ,  24 A of each portion shall be obvious in view of further discussion on the preferred embodiments of the invention.  
         [0027]     With respect to the male fastener portion  10 , the first end  12  has a raised circular-shaped male locking element  18  protruding from the outer surface of that portion, said male locking element  18  being further comprised of threads  20  on its outer surface. In a similar fashion, with respect to the female fastener portion  10 A, the first end  12 A also has a raised corresponding circular-shaped female locking element  18 A protruding from its outer surface, which is configured much like a “bottle cap” with corresponding receiving threads  20 A (not shown in  FIG. 2 ; shown in  FIGS. 5-8 ,  10 ) formed therein, for engaging with and receiving the threads  20  on the male locking element  18 . This configuration thereby allows the male locking element  18  to be securely, yet releasably, attached to the female locking element  18 A by manually engaging and twisting those components in a “clockwise” or “tightening” fashion. That is, the inner threads  20 A on the female locking element  18 A are complementary to the outer threads  20  on the male locking element  18 , in that they are configured to achieve a tight lock by manually screwing together much like a plastic bottle cap is twisted onto the plastic bottle neck by means of interlocking threads. This allows for secure attachment of the male fastener portion  10  to the female fastener portion  10  and for de-attachment thereof.  
         [0028]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , there is shown the male fastener portion  10  of the present invention being affixed to an article of clothing  34 , such as a sock. The positioning tab  16  has a hinged means  30  between the first end  12  and the second end  14 . To facilitate folding of the male fastener portion  10  over the top edge of the sock  34 , the hinged means  30  may be a portion of the positioning tab  16  which has a reduced cross section. The male fastener portion  10  is attached to the sock  34  by first placing the positioning tab  16  on the outer edge of the sock  34  in such a manner that the male locking element  18  is directed outwardly from the sock  34 , i.e., away from the body of the wearer and on the outside of the sock when worn. The fastening pins  24  push through the sock  34 , and once the fastening pins  24  have penetrated the fabric of the sock  34 , the fastening pins  24  insert through the fastening holes  28 , thereby securely attaching the male fastener portion  10  to the sock  34 . The fastening pins  24  are relatively rigid, yet with enough flexibility and elasticity, that they are capable of being forced through the fastening holes  28 . Comprised of a resilient material, once the fastening pins  24  are fully inserted through the fastening holes  28 , the fastening pins  24  regain their original shape, and due to the larger diameter at the distal ends thereof relative to the diameter of the fastening holes  28 , the fastening pins  24  are prevented from disengaging from the fastening holes  28 . As such, this attachment by means of the fastening pins  24  and the fastening holes  28  is to securely attach the male fastener portion  10  to the fabric  34 . It shall be generally appreciated by those skilled in the art that any number of means may be utilized to attach the first and second ends of the male fastener portion  10  through a fabric  34 , and the present invention is meant to encompass such other attaching means.  
         [0029]     Still referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the male fastener portion  10  is securely attached to an article of clothing  34 , such as a sock, the fastening pins  24  of the male fastener portion  10  are enclosed within a ring-shaped protective shield  38 , thereby hiding from view and protecting the fastening pins  24  when the male fastener portion  10  is securely attached to the fabric. Due to the fact that the fastening pins  24  on the inner surface  22  of the second end  14  of the male fastener portion  10  are positioned away from the center of the inner surface  22  and in proximity to the periphery or outer circumference of the inner surface  22 , as described above, this protective shield  38  is configured in such a way that it creates a recess or cavity  39  within the male locking element  18 .  
         [0030]     Referring now to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , there is shown the female fastener portion  10 A of the present invention being securely affixed to an article of clothing  34 , such as a sock. Again, the positioning tab  16 A has a hinged means  30 A between the first end  12 A and the second end  14 A. To facilitate folding of the female fastener portion  10 A over the top edge of the sock  34 , the hinged means  30 A may be a portion of the positioning tab  16 A which, again, has a reduced cross section. The female fastener portion  10 A is attached to the sock  34  by first placing the positioning tab  16 A on the outer edge of the sock  34  in such a manner that the female locking element  18 A is directed outwardly from the sock  34 , i.e., away from the body of the wearer and on the outside of the sock when worn. The fastening pins  24 A push through the sock  34 , and once the fastening pins  24 A have penetrated the fabric of the sock  34 , the fastening pins  24 A insert through the fastening holes  28 A, thereby securely attaching the female fastener portion  10 A to the sock  34  in the same manner as described above. Again, this attachment by means of the fastening pins  24 A and the fastening holes  28 A is to securely attach the female fastener portion  10 A to the fabric  34 .  
         [0031]     Still referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the female fastener portion  10 A is securely attached to an article of clothing  34 , such as a sock, the fastening pins  24 A of the female fastener portion  10 A are also enclosed within a dome-shaped protective shield  40 , thereby hiding from view and protecting the fastening pins  24 A. Due to the positioning of the fastening pins  24 A on the inner surface  22 A of the second end  14 A and the fastening holes  28 A on the inner surface of the first end  12 A of the female fastener portion  10 A, the protective shield  40  is positioned in the center of the recessed area of the female locking element  18 A.  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIGS. 7, 8  and  10 , it can be seen that, when the male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A are engaged, the protective shield  40  on the female locking element  18 A fits inside the complementary recess  39  formed by the protective shield  38  on the male locking element  18 . The respective protective shields  38  and  40  are preferably circular in shape, but they may assume other shapes so long as they do not interfere with each other when the male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A are engaged and twisted relative to each other to lock the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A together.  
         [0033]     Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention employs the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A to facilitate positioning of the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A onto articles of clothing  34 , such as a pair socks, the present invention may optionally omit such use of the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A. That is, the fastening device in accordance with the present invention may be provided without the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A. With such alternative embodiment of the present invention, a user may be able to position and attach the first and second ends of the respective male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A onto articles of clothing or other fabric materials without the assistance of the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art, particularly with regard to fashion and clothing design, but not limited thereto, that the present invention may be adopted to fastening any two pieces of fabric together. As such, for example, the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A, with or without positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A, may be used as a “screwable” button/snap for a shirt, and it would allow the user to place the buttons/snaps in any desired position on the shirt, thereby achieving functionality and design. The invention may be further widely adopted in other industries and uses—anywhere there is a need to securely, but releasably, attach two pieces of fabric together.  
         [0034]     Referring now to  FIGS. 7, 8  and  9 , once the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A are securely attached to the respective single socks  34  forming a pair of socks, the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A may be removed. The removal of the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A is facilitated by a plurality of perforations  32 ,  32 A, or other convenient means generally known to those skilled in the art, whereby the user of the fastening device of the present invention can easily tear off the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A from the secured male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A that form the fastening device. Although it is preferable that the positioning tabs  16 ,  16 A be removed before the male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A are brought together, this step is not required to achieve full use and functionality of the invention. The male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A may then be securely attached to each other by simply engaging the complementary threads  20 ,  20 A of each portion by screwing them together, much like a plastic bottle cap with internal threads is twisted onto the complementary threads on the top of the bottle neck. That is, by screwing the male locking element  18  clockwise relative to the female locking element  18 A (and vice versa), the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A are securely attached together; conversely, by turning the male locking element  18  counterclockwise relative to the female locking element  18 A (and vice versa), the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A are released from each other. This process is completely reversible. In a preferred embodiment, the corresponding threads  20 ,  20 A on the respective male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A are sufficiently blunt so as to require a minimal turn of only between approximately 90 degrees to 180 degrees to achieve a tight lock between the male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, only a twist of between 45 degrees to 90 degrees is required, thereby requiring even less manual torque in order to achieve a fully fastened and secured state of the two portions. In a further preferred embodiment, the female locking element  18 A of the female fastener portion  10 A is equipped with a plurality of ribs  36  on its outer side for providing traction to the user for twisting the female fastener portion  10 A either on or off the male fastener portion  10 .  
         [0035]     In a further preferred embodiment, the male and female fastener portions  10 ,  10 A of the fastening device comprising the present invention are comprised of hypoallergenic and/or corrosion-resistant materials that can withstand the highest temperatures commonly used in home and commercial laundry and dry cycles and would not cause allergic skin reactions.  
         [0036]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , it is intended that, when the articles of clothing are worn, such as a pair of socks, the flat outer surfaces  15 ,  15 A of the second ends  14 ,  14 A of each portion will be immediately adjacent to the body of the wearer, i.e., those surfaces  15 ,  15 A are between the sock and the skin of the wearer of said socks. Contrarily, it is intended that the male and female locking elements  18 ,  18 A of each portion will be oriented outwardly from the body of the wearer, i.e., the locking elements  18 ,  18 A are on the outside of the socks when worn by the user. As such, when the male and female portions are attached to articles of clothing, such as a pair of socks, the locking elements  18 ,  18 A will be on the outside of each sock.  
         [0037]     In another embodiment of the invention, optional indicia means may be used. Specifically, an indicia means  17 ,  17 A may be incorporated on the flat surfaces  15 ,  15 A of the second ends  14 ,  14 A of each portion. The indicia means  17 ,  17 A may be a letter of the alphabet, a number, a geometric design, combinations thereof, or any other means. Preferably, the indicia means  17 ,  17 A is flush with the flat surfaces  15 ,  15 A. In addition, the indicia means  17 ,  17 A may be a color, wherein the entire fastening device or both portions of the fastening device are colored. The indicia means  17 ,  17 A may serve to identify the clothing item or the owner of the clothing. For those items such as socks, and other items which are normally comprised of pairs, the identical indicia means may be applied to both members of the pair so that the pair is more readily and rapidly identified. This is especially helpful for individuals who, for example, have several pairs of socks closely resembling one other in color (e.g., blue, navy blue, black) or pattern, or for individuals who may be color blind.  
         [0038]     The fastening device in accordance with the present invention can be used not only for connecting together fabric materials, such as pairs of socks, during the washing and drying cycles, but whenever it is desired to keep the two socks of a pair together, such as when storing them. In addition, colors, raised Braille indicia, and other indicia having numbering, letters and designs, such as animal figures, symbols or other logos may be placed on the male and female fastener portions of the present invention for providing information and/or for aesthetic purposes.  
         [0039]     Due to the large number of indices and combination of indices which may be used, the fastening device has many institutional uses and applications.  
         [0040]     Furthermore, the fastening device in accordance with the present invention is easily attached to an article of clothing  34  without special equipment. It is quickly attached in seconds by hand and without the need for any tool. The fastening device in accordance with the present invention can be attached to the article of clothing  34  when initially purchased or at any time subsequently.  
         [0041]     Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention and the method of using the same have been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will be considered infringement of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.  
         [0042]     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.  
         [0043]     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.