GB2226227A

GB2226227A - Improvements relating to buttons

Info

Publication number: GB2226227A
Application number: GB8925102A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kenneth Jenkinson Meadows
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-11-09
Filing date: 1989-11-07
Publication date: 1990-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2009-11-07
Also published as: GB8826262D0; GB8925102D0; GB2226227B

Abstract

The present invention provides a button comprising a body (1) with a stem (5) projecting therefrom. In use, the stem (5) pierces the cloth (9) and preferably securely engages with a locking member (11). The body (1) is common to all of the desired button sizes, shapes, etc. and has a recess (3) into which a button head (25) can be securely, though detachably, located. The button heads (25) can be relatively simply made to have the desired range of designs etc. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO BUTTONS The present invention relates to a button for use on cloth.

In particular the present invention relates to a button of the type which can be simply secured to a piece of cloth by a projection from the rear of the button piercing the cloth. The projection itself can be designed to secure the button to the cloth or the projection can be detachably engageable with a locking member. As will be appreciated, buttons are traditionally sewn on by means of cotton thread passing through the cloth and two or four holes in the button. However, sewing buttons can be time consuming and particularly difficult for those unable to sew.

Also it is sometimes not possible to match the colour of the original thread used, which has the effect of making the garment, or whatever the button is attached to, look unsightly. In the light of these problems the type of button to which the present invention relates was developed, it being a relatively simple matter to pierce the cloth and to engage the piercing projection with the locking member.

Buttons of the type to which the present invention relates are relatively expensive to manufacture as compared to conventional buttons wherein holes are merely formed. Further, this manaufacturing cost is amplified by the number of different sizes and designs required to cater for the public demand for buttons.

Thus such buttons are necessarily relatively expensive, thereby limiting their marketability as compared to traditional sew-on buttons.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a button of the above type, which is readily adaptable both with regard to size and design, to thereby reduce the manufacturing costs and enhance marketability.

According to the present invention there is provided a button for mounting on a piece of cloth, which button comprises a body with a stem extending therefrom, the stem, in use, piercing the cloth to secure the body and stem to the cloth, the body being adapted to be securely attached to a button head.

Thus, by virtue of the present invention a variety of different size and design button heads can be simply manufactured by, for example, injection moulding, the button heads incorporating a selected motif, if desired, and being simply attachable to a common button body. Preferably the button heads each have a resiliently deformable projection which can be simply pressed into a complementary recess in a button body. One such button head is in the form of a disc which is shaped to correspond to a conventional sewn on button.

Preferably the stem has a tapered end portion which simplifies penetration of the cloth, and whilst the stem itself may be designed to hold the button in position, a locking member is preferably provided which is a snap-fit over the free end region of the stem. Preferably the free end region of the stem is a snap-fit in a blind recess in the locking member, the locking member and/or stem being made of a resilient material. In this way, when the button is used on a garment, the stem cannot contact the wearer's skin to cause irritation, the locking member preferably having a smooth profile.

To facilitate piercing of the cloth by the stem, the free end region of the stem preferably has a threaded configuration so that the button body can be rotated and the stem effectively screwed through the cloth. Further, whether or not the stem is threaded, the button body can have a roughened or profiled upper edge configuration of an undulating peripheral edge region, to facilitate rotation of the button body and thus penetration of the cloth.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for constructing and mounting a button on a piece of cloth comprising forming a button body with a stem projecting therefrom, forming a button head of desired design and attaching the button head to the button body, passing the stem through the cloth and securing a locking member to the free end region of the stem.

The present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.l is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig.2 is an axial cross-sectional view of the assembled embodiment of Fig.l; and Fig.3 is an axial cross-sectional view of a modified form of the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings comprises a unitary construction cylindrical button body 1 which is provided with an axially extending cylindrical recess 3, the recess being open at one axial end of the body 1. A stem 5 projects from the other axial end of the body 1, and is coaxial with the body 1. The free end region 7 of the stem 5 has an enlarged tapered configuration for use in both piercing cloth, such as the piece of cloth 9 evident in the drawings, and attaching the body 1 to a locking member 11. In an alternative embodiment (not illustrated) the stem 5 is itself designed to secure the body 11 to the cloth 9 without a locking member.

Preferably the button body 1 is formed from a suitable plastics material by injection moulding. Whilst not illustrated, the free end region 7 can have a thread formed in its surface to aid penetration of the cloth 9, rotation of the body 1 effectively screwing the stem 5 through the cloth 9. Further, to aid penetration of the cloth 9 whether or not the stem is threaded, the upper peripheral edge of the body 1 can be roughened or profiled e.g. have an undulating configuration, to make it easier to grip and rotate the body 1.

The locking member is likewise preferably moulded from a suitable resilient plastics material, the locking member 11 having a part-spherical configuration with a circular planar face 13. A recess 15 is provided in the planar face 13, the recess 15 having a complementary shape to that of said stem 5. Thus, with the stem 5 passing through the cloth 9, the locking member 11 is pressed over the free end region of the stem 5, the enlarged tapered configuration gripping in the recess 15. If release is required, the locking member 11 can be manually pulled off the stem 5, the locking member 11 deforming to release the stem 5. Alternatively, if desired, the button body may additionally or alternatively be made of a resilient material so that the stem 5 can deform for release.

A modified form of stem 17 is shown in Fig.3 of the accompanying drawings, the stem 17 having a number of reduced dimension sections 19 which grip with the complementary configuration of the recess 21 in the locking member 23. This configuration provides the desired locking facility whilst also facilitating piercing of the cloth.

The part-spherical configuration of the locking members 11 and 23 reduces the likelihood of skin irritation when the button is used on the cloth of a garment.

A button head 25 completes the button of the present invention, the button head 25 having a generally disc-shaped section 27 which is, in conventional garment use, engaged through a buttonhole in a garment. One face 29 of section 27 is provided with a desired motif or alternatively just a particular button design, whilst an attachment projection 31 projects from the other face. The attachment projection 31 is generally cylindrical with an annular, curved section, rib 33 extending around its free end region. At least the rib 33 is of a flexibly resilient material, though preferably the whole of the button head 25 and/or the button body 1 is made of a flexibly resilient material.This is necessary to allow for the required deformation to allow the attachment projection 31 to be inserted into and pulled out of the recess 3, recess 3 being of complementary shape to that of the attachment projection 31. To facilitate entry of the attachment projection 31 into the recess 3, the upper annular edge 35 of the body 1 is tapered inwardly. Further, to hold the button head to the body 1, the base of the recess 3 has an annular groove 37 into which the rib 33 engages.

One particular button head (not illustrated) comprises a thin disc, the upper surface of which is shaped to resemble a conventional sewn on button, this disc being secured in the base of recess 3.

Whilst the recess 3 is cylindrical, as is the attachment projection 31, any alternative complementary configurations can be substituted, provided the button head and body 1 can be easily interengaged and held together, whilst being separable when and if required.

The present invention thus provides a relatively cheap button for easy attachment to cloth, the button body and locking member being common to all button designs and thus minimising manufacturing costs, whilst different shaped button heads may be used, with or without any desired motif.

Claims

1. A button for mounting on a piece of cloth, the button comprising a body with a stem extending therefrom, the stem, in use, piercing the cloth to secure the body and stem to the cloth, the body being adapted to be securely attached to a button head.

2. A button as claimed in claim 1, in which the body has a recess into which a complementarily shaped part of the button head can be securely but releasably engaged.

3. A button as claimed in claim 2, in which the recess is cylindrical with an annular groove provided in the wall of the recess adjacent to the bottom of the recess, the complementarily shaped part of the button head fitting snugly within said recess.

4. A button as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, in which the button head is made of a flexibly resilient material.

5. A button as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, in which the body is made of a flexibly resilient material.

6. A button as claimed in claim 3, or claim 4 or claim 5 when dependent upon claim 3, in which the body is cylindrical, said recess extending coaxially within the body, the annular edge region of the body, which defines the open end of the recess, being sloped radially inwardly of the body, into said recess.

7. A button as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the stem has an enlarged free end region which is engageable in a complementary recess in a locking member.

8. A button as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the stem is elongate with at least one reduced dimension section along its length, the stem being engageable in a complementary recess in a locking member.

9. A button as claimed in claim 7 or 8, in which the locking member is of part-spherical configuration with a planar face in which said complementary recess is located.

10. A button as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, in which the locking member and/or the stem are made of a resiliently flexible material.

11. A button for mounting on a piece of cloth, constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.