Patent ID: 8464401

Claim:
An article of clothing support device for receiving a support structure having a lengthwise axis, comprising: (a) a base; and (b) a surrounding sidewall extending from said base terminating in an opening, said sidewall being about a longitudinal axis, wherein said base and sidewall define an interior, said interior including a sidewall surface that is continuously curved about said longitudinal axis, said interior also including a base surface that is perpendicularly oriented to said longitudinal axis that is substantially continuously curved as between said base and said surrounding sidewall, said surrounding sidewall also including an exterior surface wherein a flange extends therefrom, with said flange forming a planar surface opposite of said interior, said flange planar surface is adapted to attach to a fabric, said surrounding sidewall interior including a height dimension that is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis and perpendicular to said flange planar surface and a width dimension that is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis and parallel to said flange planar surface, wherein said width dimension is greater than said height dimension, wherein a radius that is one-half of said height dimension is formed at an intersection of said height and width dimensions and said base to form said continuously curved surface, said interior also having a depth dimension extending from said base to said opening, wherein said depth dimension is greater than said width dimension, wherein said interior receives a portion of the support structure associated with an article of clothing, wherein the support structure is not attached to said interior, wherein the support structure is allowed omnidirectional movement in relation to said interior, with more movement of the support structure relatively parallel to said flange planar surface, wherein said omnidirectional movement includes bi-directional movement lengthwise along said longitudinal axis, such that operationally the support structure is able to have bi-directional movement along said longitudinal axis without translating the bi-directional movement into any movement of said support device.