GB2330294A

GB2330294A - Tie knot shaping device

Info

Publication number: GB2330294A
Application number: GB9802882A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jose Carlos Lopez
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-02-12
Filing date: 1998-02-12
Publication date: 1999-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-12
Also published as: GB2330294B; GB9802882D0

Abstract

A body 10 is inserted between the outer loop and the main body of a knot which a wearer has tied in a neck-tie and serves to retain the knot in the correct configuration. The body may be made of metal or plastics and may have non-slip surfaces.

Description

A Tie Knot Tidy Device The present invention relates to devices for giving tie knots a tidy appearance, that is a device that can be inserted into a pre-existing knot to form the knot to an aesthetically pleasing shape and to hold the knot in that shape.

The forming of a tie knot can be problematic since not all neck-tie wearers are skilled in the tying of knots and some are only capable of the most simple and rudimentary form of knot. Such knots may be inelegant, untidy and sometimes loosen and slip thereby giving the wearer an untidy appearance.

The present invention provides a simple and easy means of shaping a tie knot into a symmetrical elegant shape, and holding the knot in that shape.

Known prior art devices such as those shown in EP-A-255 849, and in EP-A-126 818 either replace the tie knot completely or require the neck tie to be wound around them in a manner almost as complicated as tying a proper knot with the tie itself.

According to the present invention there is provided a tie knot holding device for moulding and holding the tie knot in an aesthetically pleasing shape and which comprise a rigid tapered hollow body which is insertable into a previously tied tie knot between the knot body and the visible front loop of the knot.

A tie is sometimes referred to as a 'neck-tie' and both terms are used interchangeably in this specification. It is an advantage that the device can be easily slipped in place within the knot by the wearer before finally tightening the neck-tie in position around the neck, making the device quick and easy to use.

The hollow body is substantially in the form of one half of a truncated cone split down its longitudinal axis, and presenting a convex front face which in use lies against the front loop of the knot.

Preferably the side portions of the body on each side of the convex front face are curved back on themselves forming a shallow concave trough within the hollow body which in use embraces the side portions of the tie knot.

The device is preferably formed from sheet metal such as steel, aluminium alloy, copper and copper alloys etc., or may be moulded from plastics material such as polypropylene, nylon, phenolic moulding compounds, etc.

A non-slip surface may be provided on either of the inner or outer surfaces of the hollow body to cause it to grip the tie knot material and hold the device more firmly in location once the knot has been formed and shaped. The non-slip surface could be provided by a roughened surface on the body, by a coating including granular material, by a light tacky adhesive or by a hook member of a hook/loop locking system such as "Velcro" t The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a sketch showing an isometric view of the device, Fig. 5 is a sketch showing the device in use being inserted into a tie knot and, Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5.

With reference to Figs. 1 to 4, there is shown a tie-knot holding/moulding device according to the present invention.

The device comprises a hollow rigid tapered body 10 which is in the form of one half of a truncated cone which has been cut down its longitudinal centre line.

The body 10 has a convex front face 11 which curves in one plane but could curve slightly in the transverse plane. The upper edge 12 has a concave arcuate form and the lower edge 13 has a substantially parallel convex curved form.

The side portions of the front face extend into a pair of side wings 14, 15, each of which curves back around on itself to form a shallow concave trough within the hollow body at each side, and extends from the top edge 12 to the bottom edge 13.

The free vertical edges 16 of the wings 14 and 15 form a slight undercut with front face 11 so that in cross-section the device forms a yoke which can embrace the knot of a tie and substantially confine the knot within the front face and two wings.

With reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the tie or neck-tie 21 is first knotted around the neck of the wearer and before the knot is fully tightened and pushed into position around the wearer's neck, the device 10 according to the present invention is pushed into the knot between the front loop 20 and body 22 of the knot.

The wings 14 and 15 embrace the body of the knot and mould it into a shape dictated by the shape of the hollow body 10 and the front loop 20 of the tie knot is given an elegant smooth curved shape.

Claims

Claims 1. A tie knot holding device for moulding and holding the tie knot in an aestheticaly pleasing shape and which comprise a rigid tapered hollow body which is insertable into a previously tied tie knot between the knot body and the visible front loop of the knot.
2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the hollow body is substantially in the form of one half of a truncated cone presenting a convex front face which in use lies adjacent said front loop.
3. A claim as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the side portions of the body on each side of the convex front face are curved back on themselves forming a shallow concave trough within the hollow body which in use embraces the side portions of the tie knot.
4. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the device is formed of sheet metal such as copper, brass, aluminium alloy, stainless steel, bronze.
5. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the device is formed of a rigid plastic material.
6. A device as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein non-slip surfaces are provided on the hollow tapered body to securely hold the device within the tie knot.
7. A dress kit for a tie-wearer and which includes a plurality of devices as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, the devices being of different sizes and differing shapes to cater for different size ties and different forms of knot.
8. A knot tie holding device which is substantially as described herein.