Patent Document

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/523,417, filed on Sep. 5, 1995, now abandoned, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/236,667, filed on May 2, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,974, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/989,197, filed on Dec. 11, 1992, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a new and novel fastener attaching tool particularly suited for use in consumer applications such as to recouple detached buttons to clothing, etc. 
     The conventional method of coupling or recoupling buttons to garments or fabrics, either by machine or by hand, is with thread. The button is held in place and a needle containing thread is inserted through each of two, three or more holes in the button and into the material several times until sufficient strands of thread exist to securely hold the button to the material. The thread must then be tied or otherwise fastened so that it will not unravel. In some instances, where it is desired to elevate the button from the material, a pedestal effect is achieved by laterally wrapping the strands with additional thread. The disadvantages to this method of securing buttons to fabric or garments are several. First of all, it is a slow and tedious job and the button can soon become detached if only one of the threads is severed or if the ends of the thread are not secured properly. 
     In the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,399,432, 3,470,834, and 3,494,004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, there is described a plastic fastener which may be used instead of thread to couple or to recouple a button to an article of clothing. The fastener typically comprises a flexible filament having a head at one end and a transverse bar at the opposite end. A plurality of such fasteners are typically manufactured as part of a clip in which the fasteners are interconnected in a row to a stringer or runner bar connected to the transverse bars of the fasteners by corresponding necks or connector posts. To sever an individual fastener from the fastener clip and to attach the severed fastener to a desired article (e.g., through a button hole and into an article of clothing), a fastener attaching device is typically used. Such a device typically comprises a casing, a needle projecting from the casing, the needle and the casing having longitudinal bores in alignment with each other, a plunger slidable back and forth within said bores, a handle telescoping over the rear of the casing for sliding said plunger within said bores, and means comprising an indexing wheel for feeding fasteners into the device successively with the transverse bars in alignment with said bores ahead of the plunger so that they may be projected through the needle by reciprocating the plunger. Typically, the rear end of the needle is shaped to define a knife edge so that insertion of the transverse bar into the longitudinal bore of the needle using the plunger causes the knife edge of the needle to sever the connector post connecting the fastener to the remainder of the fastener clip. 
     While the above-described fasteners have been found to be generally satisfactory for attaching buttons to certain articles of clothing, they have not found universal application for the following reasons: First, when placed in direct contact with a person&#39;s skin, the transverse bar of the fastener has a tendency to be irritating. This is in part because the above-described severing of the connector post often leaves a burr on the bottom of the transverse bar and is in part because of the somewhat sharp ends and large size of the transverse bar. Second, the fasteners are often too big to be used with many buttons and, therefore, require the use of specially designed buttons having large holes. Third, the fasteners tend to be conspicuous in appearance due to the fact that a separate fastener is used for every button hole, as opposed to being looped between two or more button holes in the same way that thread typically is. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel fastener attaching tool particularly suited for use in consumer applications such as to recouple detached buttons to clothing, etc. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a fastener attaching tool as described above which is adapted for use with a new and novel fastener clip, the fastener clip preferably comprising a pair of generally parallel runner bars and one or more fasteners, each fastener comprising a U-shaped filament and a pair of generally parallel transverse bars disposed at opposite ends thereof, the U-shaped filament being disposed in the plane of the pair of generally parallel runner bars and aligned with the longitudinal axes thereof, each of the pair of transverse bars being connected to a corresponding runner bar by a connector post, the connector posts being severably connected to the outer sides of their respective transverse bars. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fastener attaching tool as described above which lends itself to construction using moldable parts and thus may be mass-produced relatively inexpensively. 
     Additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects, features and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fastener attaching tool comprises a body, a needle block, a pair of needles, a spring, and an ejector mechanism. 
     Each of the pair of needles includes a longitudinally extending slotted bore adapted to receive one of the transverse bars of the fastener, with the adjacent end of the filament extending through the slot in the bore. The needles are mounted in a parallel arrangement in the needle block which, in turn, is removably mounted in a cavity formed in the front end of the body. Each needle has a knife edge formed on its outer side which is adapted to sever a connector post from its associated transverse bar as the transverse bar is pushed by it. 
     The body is also shaped to include a transverse feed slot disposed just to the rear of the needles down through which the above-described fastener clip is manually inserted. To assist in properly aligning the fastener clip within the feed slot so that the transverse bars of a desired fastener are aligned with the longitudinal bores of the needles, the inner walls of the slot are shaped to include a pair of feed bars which engage corresponding indentations formed on the outer sides of the fastener clip. 
     The ejector mechanism, which is slidably mounted back and forth within the body and is rearwardly biased by the spring, is manually operable from the rear of the body. Actuation of the ejector mechanism is preferably achieved using one&#39;s thumb, and the body is provided with a pair of finger openings so that the device may be held and used like a syringe. The ejector mechanism includes a pair of ejector rods which are slidable back and forth within the longitudinal bores of the needles and are used both to load the transverse bars of the aligned fastener into the longitudinal bores of the needles and to push the transverse bars therethrough into a desired article. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are hereby incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of a fastener clip constructed according to the teachings of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the fastener clip shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged front perspective view of one of the fasteners shown in FIG. 1 after it has been separated from the remainder of the fastener clip; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of one embodiment of a fastener attaching device constructed according to the teachings of the present invention for attaching an individual fastener from the fastener clip of FIG. 1 to a garment through a pair of button holes in such a way as to attach the button to the garment; 
     FIG. 5 is a partially exploded top view of the fastener attaching device shown in FIG. 4 with the body being broken away in part; 
     FIG. 6 is a section view of the body shown in FIG. 5 taken along line  6 — 6 . 
     FIGS.  7 ( a ) through  7 ( d ) are front, rear, top and right side views, respectively, of the needle block shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a section view of the body shown in FIG. 5 taken along line  8 — 8 ; 
     FIGS.  9 ( a ) through  9 ( d ) are top, right side, left side and rear views, respectively, of one of the needles shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIGS.  10 ( a ) and  10 ( b ) are bottom and right side views, respectively, of the ejector mechanism shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 11 is a top view, broken away in part, of a second embodiment of a fastener attaching device constructed according to the teachings of the present invention for attaching an individual fastener from the fastener clip of FIG. 1 to a garment through a pair of button holes in such a way as to attach the button to the garment; 
     FIG. 12 is an enlarged section view of the front end of the fastener attaching device of FIG. 4 shown with the pair of ejector rods in an advanced position to illustrate how one of the fasteners shown in FIG. 1 may be inserted through a pair of button holes and secured to a garment; 
     FIG. 13 is an enlarged section view similar to FIG. 12 but after the fastener attaching device has been removed showing how one of the fasteners shown in FIG. 1 is used to attach a button to a garment; 
     FIG. 14 is a top view of the combination of the button, garment and fastener shown in FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 is a fragmentary front view of a second embodiment of a fastener clip constucted according to the teachings of the present invention; 
     FIG. 16 is a left side view of the fastener clip shown in FIG. 15; and 
     FIG. 17 is a top view of the fastener clip shown in FIG.  15 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are shown front and bottom views, respectively, of a fastener clip constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, the fastener clip being represented generally by reference numeral  11 . 
     Clip  11  is a unitary structure preferably molded from polyurethane or similar materials. Clip  11  comprises five identical fasteners  13 , the number of fasteners being illustrative only. Each fastener  13  includes a flexible U-shaped filament  15  and a pair of transverse bars or feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  disposed at opposite ends thereof. To maximize the strength of the fastener, filament  15  is preferably rectangular in cross-section and has a non-uniform thickness, i.e., the arcuate region  16  has a thickness t 1  greater than the thickness t 2  at the ends. Feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  are appropriately dimensioned so that they may be inserted into a desired garment through a pair of button holes of conventional size and thereafter be retained by the underside of the garment. 
     Clip  11  also comprises a pair of runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2 , the top ends of which are joined to form a handle  21 . The outer edges of runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2  are provided with indentations  24  which, as will be seen below, assist in properly feeding clip  11  into a fastener attaching tool. 
     Each fastener  13  is connected to runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2  by severable connector posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2 , respectively. For reasons to be discussed below, connector posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2  are connected to the outer sides  25 - 1  and  25 - 2  of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2 , respectively. 
     In order that fastener  13  may be used with garments in which feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  may be placed in direct contact with a person&#39;s skin, fastener clip  11  includes the following features which are designed to minimize irritation of a person&#39;s skin. First, as noted above, connector posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2  are connected to the outer sides  25 - 1  and  25 - 2  of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2 . In this manner, when posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2  are severed, burrs  27 - 1  and  27 - 2  (see FIG. 3) are left on outer sides  25 - 1  and  25 - 2 , where they are not as likely to come into contact with a person&#39;s skin as they would be if they were left on the bottom surface of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2 . Second, feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  have a length l which is comparatively small, i.e., approximately 2 mm as compared to 6 mm for the transverse bars of existing like fasteners, and an overall size that is comparable to that of a knot of a thread used to secure a button to a piece of fabric. Consequently, feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  have relatively little surface area which may come into contact with a person&#39;s skin. Third, the top surfaces  29 - 1  and  29 - 2  of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2 , respectively, are generally flat to give feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  a low profile and to keep feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  from rocking relative to the underside of a garment to which fastener  13  has been attached (see FIG.  13 ). Fourth, feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  have rounded ends  31 - 1 / 31 - 2  and  33 - 1 / 33 - 2 , respectively. 
     To use fastener  13  to couple a button to a garment, an individual fastener  13  is first detached from fastener clip  11  by severing connector posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2 . Feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  of the severed fastener  13  are then inserted first through a corresponding pair of button holes and then through the desired garment. Both the severing and inserting steps may be done manually or with the aid of an appropriate fastener attaching tool. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown one embodiment of a fastener attaching tool suitable for use with fastener clip  11  in the above-described manner, the fastener attaching tool being represented generally by reference numeral  51 . 
     Tool  51  includes a body  53 , a needle block  55 , a pair of needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 , a spring  59 , and an ejector mechanism  61 . 
     Body  53  is a unitary structure preferably molded from a lightweight durable plastic. Body  53  is shaped to define a pair of transverse openings  63 - 1  and  63 - 2  which are provided so that a user may operate tool  51  like a syringe by placing the index and middle fingers through openings  63 - 1  and  63 - 2  while actuating ejector mechanism  61  with the thumb. Body  53  is also provided with a transversely extending feed slot  64  down through which fastener clip  11  may be inserted in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of body  53 . As can be seen best in FIG. 6, slot  64  is shaped to include a pair of feed bars  64 - 1  and  64 - 2  which, as will be discussed below in greater detail, are used to engage indentations  24  on runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2 , respectively, to properly align fastener clip  11  within tool  51 . 
     Needle block  55 , which is removably mounted in a cavity  65  formed in body  53  and accessible from the front end thereof, is shown in greater detail in FIGS.  7 ( a ) through  7 ( d ). As can be seen therein, block  55  is generally rectangular unitary structure having a pair of generally cylindrically shaped grooves  67 - 1  and  67 - 2  adapted to receive needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 , respectively. Block  55  is retained within opening  65  by means of a plurality of outwardly biasing tabs  69 - 1  through  69 - 3  which snap into place in corresponding slots  71 - 1  through  71 - 3  (see FIG. 8) in cavity  65 . 
     Block  55  is also preferably molded from a lightweight durable plastic. 
     Needle  57 - 1 , which is a mirror image of needle  57 - 2  reflected along its longitudinal axis, is shown in greater detail in FIGS.  9 ( a ) through  9 ( d ). As can be seen therein, needle  57 - 1  is a unitary structure shaped to include a generally cylindrical slotted bore  73 - 1 . Bore  73 - 1  has a cross-sectional diameter slightly larger than that of foot  17 - 1  of fastener  13 . The forward end  75 - 1  of needle  57 - 1  is pointed to permit its insertion through garments and button holes of conventional size. The rearward end  77 - 1  of needle  57 - 1  is open and is appropriately dimensioned to permit foot  17 - 1  to be loaded into bore  73 - 1  with the adjacent end of filament  15  extending through the slot of bore  73 - 1 . Needle  57 - 1  is retained within groove  67 - 1  of block  55  by means of a downwardly-angled fin  79 - 1  which engages a corresponding slot  81 - 1  in groove  67 - 1  (see FIGS.  7 ( b ) and  7 ( c )). 
     The left side of needle  57 - 1  (viewing needle  57 - 1  from its rearward end  77 - 1  as opposed to its forward end  75 - 1 ) is shaped to define a knife  83 - 1 . As will be described below in greater detail, knife  83 - 1  is used to sever the connecting post  23 - 1  connecting a desired fastener  13  to runner bar  19 - 1 . (A corresponding knife edge formed on the right side of needle  57 - 2  is similarly used to sever the connecting post  23 - 2  connecting the same fastener to runner bar  19 - 2 .) 
     Needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2  are preferably cut and stamped from sheet metal. 
     Ejector mechanism  61 , which is shown in greater detail in FIGS.  10 ( a ) and  10 ( b ), is slidably mounted within a longitudinally extending channel  89  formed in body  53  and accessible from the rear end thereof. As can be seen therein, mechanism  61  comprises an elongated generally rectangular ejector block  91  having a front portion  91 - 1  of comparatively smaller cross-section and a rear portion  91 - 2  of comparatively larger cross-section. A pair of ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  are fixedly mounted on the forward end of front portion  91 - 1 . As will hereinafter be described in greater detail, ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  are appropriately dimensioned and properly positioned so that, as ejector block  91  moves through channel  89 , the front ends of ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  cause feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  of a fastener  13  which is properly disposed within slot  64  to be loaded onto needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2  and thereafter to be ejected therefrom. A disc-shaped base  95  is fixedly mounted on the rearward end of rear portion  91 - 2  to facilitate manipulation of mechanism  61 . 
     Ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  are preferably made of metal, and the remainder of ejector mechanism  61  is preferably molded from lightweight durable plastic. 
     Lightweight movement of mechanism  61  within channel  89  is restricted by base  95  and by a pair of integrally formed posts  97 - 1  and  97 - 2  disposed on the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, of rear portion  91 - 2  which travel in corresponding guide slots  99 - 1  and  99 - 2  (see FIG. 5) formed in body  53 . Posts  97 - 1  and  97 - 2  are made to be depressable inwardly to permit insertion of block  91  into channel  89 . Spring  59 , which engages the front of channel  89  at one end and the forward end of rear portion  91 - 2  at the opposite end, biases ejector mechanism  61  towards the rear of channel  89 . 
     A fastener dispensing tool similar in construction to tool  51  is shown in FIG. 11, the tool being represented generally by reference numeral  101 . The differences between tool  101  and tool  51  are few, the principal differences being the shape of body  103 , the lack of a base  95  in tool  101 , and the construction of spring  105 . Tool  101  is operated in the same way as tool  51 . 
     In use, a desired fastener clip  11  is loaded into tool  51  by grasping handle  21  and pushing the clip down through inlet  106  slot  64  until the indentations  24  on runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2  corresponding to a desired fastener  13  are engaged by bars  64 - 1  and  64 - 2 . With this done, feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  of the desired fastener  13  are positioned behind needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 , respectively, and are in alignment with their corresponding bores  73 - 1  and  73 - 2 . 
     To attach a button to a piece of fabric using the fastener loaded in the above manner, the tips  75 - 1  and  75 - 2  of needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 , respectively, are inserted first through a pair of holes in the button and then through the piece of fabric. Ejector mechanism  61  is then advanced through channel  89  towards the front of body  53 . The initial advancement of ejector mechanism  61  causes ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  to push feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  of the desired fastener  13  into bores  73 - 1  and  73 - 2 . As the advancement of ejector mechanism  61  continues, ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  push feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  past knife edges  83 - 1  and  83 - 2  of needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 , causing connector posts  23 - 1  and  23 - 2  to be severed thereby. Finally, as the advancement of ejector mechanism  61  terminates, ejector rods  93 - 1  and  93 - 2  cause feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  to be ejected from the front ends of needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2 . Ejector mechanism  61  is then allowed to retract and needles  57 - 1  and  57 - 2  are withdrawn. 
     FIG. 12 shows a fastener  13  being inserted through a pair of button holes  8   1  and  8   2  and into a piece of fabric F using tool  51 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 14, there are shown section and top views, respectively, of a button  8  which has been coupled to a piece of fabric F using fastener  13 . As seen best in FIG. 13, the advantages resulting from gating fastener  13  to runner bars  19 - 1  and  19 - 2  on the outer sides of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  are substantial as burrs  27 - 1  and  27 - 2  are not left on the bottoms of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  where they are most likely to irritate a person&#39;s skin. The consequences of making the top surfaces of feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  flat, as opposed to curved, to give feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  a low profile and to keep feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  from rocking in the directions indicated by arrows C and D can also be seen in FIG.  13 . As seen best in FIG. 14, another benefit to fastener  13  is that, by having filament  15  extend between button holes  8   1  and  8   2  in a looped fashion, it creates the appearance that thread, as opposed to a plastic fastener, is being used to secure the button to the fabric. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 15 through 17, there are shown various views of a second embodiment of a fastener clip constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, the fastener clip being represented generally by reference numeral  131 . 
     Fastener clip  131  includes a plurality of identical fasteners  133 , each fastener  133  including a flexible filament  134  having a head  135  at one end and a foot  137  at the opposite end. Foot  137  is similar in size and shape to feet  17 - 1  and  17 - 2  of fastener  13 . Fastener clip  131  also includes a runner bar  141  which is severably connected to fasteners  133  by connector posts  143 , each connector post  143  being connected to the side of its corresponding foot  137 . 
     The embodiments of the present invention recited herein are intended to be merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous variations and modifications to it without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

Technology Category: 1