GB2379156A

GB2379156A - Fastener for joining pieces of fabric or fixing buttons

Info

Publication number: GB2379156A
Application number: GB0219539A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Carole Anne Goodman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-08-31
Filing date: 2002-08-22
Publication date: 2003-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2022-08-22
Also published as: GB0121062D0; GB0219539D0; GB2379156B

Abstract

A fastener for joining two pieces of fabric together using a button hole in one piece of fabric and which can have a decorative head larger than the button hole, consists of a back plate 3 which is attached to one piece of fabric and a front plate 1 which comprises or incorporates the decorative head. The front plate has a loop 2 which passes through the button hole and the back plate has a raised section 4 or ring which can be connected to the loop thus fastening the two pieces of fabric together. The back plate 3 may be waisted (7, Fig 4a) with a loop (8) fastened to the loop 2 of the front plate 1 by means of a clip (Fig 4b). In Fig 6, the back plate is replaced by a metal loop 14, attached to a piece of fabric 15, which projects through a hole in a second piece of fabric 16 and is connected to a spring clip 17 connected to a button 18. Instead of connecting two pieces of fabric, the fastener can be used to fix buttons and brooches to fabric.

Description

Fastener The present invention relates to a fastener which can be used to join two pieces of fabric together and to fix buttons, brooches etc. to a fabric or other similar material.

There are many types of fasteners which are used to affix buttons and the like to items of clothing such as dresses, suits, shirts, blouses etc. , these range from buttons inserted through button holes to safety pins and other devices in which a pin or other object is inserted through the fabric. Buttons which are inserted through a button hole can have only a limited use as a decoration, as the size of the button hole limits the size of the button and so it is difficult to have a large decorative buttons on most garments. In addition once a button is sown onto a garment it cannot easily be changed. When a pin or the like is inserted through the fabric, as is common with brooches, it is possible to change the brooch and to have any size of brooch which is desired, however repeated use will damage the garment and can leave holes in the fabric.

I have now invented an improve fastener which overcomes these disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided a fastener which comprises a back plate having a holding means able to receive and hold a clip attached to a front plate which clip is adapted to pass through an opening in a fabric, whereby when the back plate is positioned behind a hole in a fabric and the clip passed through the hole and held in the holding means, the fabric is held between the back and front plate.

The back plate can be of any size or shape but preferably is oval for convenience.

The clip can be in the form of a loop e. g. of metal or plastic which is attached to the front plate so that it projects out from the front plate and the loop can pass through a button hole or other small hole in the fabric.

The front plate can be a button, brooch or something similar or it can be a plate which can be attached to a button or brooch etc. The size of the front plate is not limited by

the size of the hole as only the loop passes through the hole which can be made correspondingly small.

The holding means is preferably a raised section on the back plate so as to form a loop or alternatively it can be a ring or the like attached to the back plate or which is looped around the back plate which can be waisted to locate the loop. The loop or ring on the back plate can be joined to the loop on the front plate by means of a connector such as a split pin etc.

Alternatively the holding means can be detachable from the back plate e. g. in the form of a strip e. g. of metal or plastic, which can pass through the loop and then each end of the strip secured to the back plate. Preferably it is made of a resilient material such as a springy metal or plastic so that it can clip in place easily and conveniently.

In use the back plate is attached to a first piece of fabric, e. g. by sowing or other conventional means, and another piece of fabric with a hole, such as a button hole is placed on the first piece of fabric with the hole positioned over the back plate, the front plate, which can be a button or the like, with a loop attached to it is placed over the hole with the loop passing through the hole. the loop is then connected to the raised section or loop on the back plate and the pieces of fabric joined together.

An embodiment of the invention is a fastener in which the back plate is a loop sewn to the first piece of fabric allowing it to fall flat when not in use. When the top layer is closed (as in a jacket) the metal loop will protrude through a small hole in the top layer of fabric and the front plate (button, brooch etc. ) will be clipped on to the protruding loop using a small spring action. in similar fashion to a clip earring.

It is a feature of the invention that the front plate, which corresponds to a button in a conventional button arrangement can be a lot bigger than the button hole as it does not have to pass through the button hole and can be in the from of a decorative button, brooch etc.

As the front plate is detached from the back plate, front plates which can be of different shapes, designs, configurations etc. can be interchangeably selected for use with any garment. This enables, for example a favourite brooch to be worn with a range of garments, without the need to pass pins through the fabric of the garment or otherwise damage the garment.

The size of the loop can be varied so that different thickness of material etc. can be joined together.

As well as fastening two pieces of fabric together the device of the present invention can be used to attach an object to a piece of fabric. cloth, sheet of material etc. in which case the back plate is not attached but, as it would not pass through the hole in the fabric, serves to hold the object to the fabric.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which :- Fig. 1 is a view of the front plate Fig. 2 is a view of the back plate Figs. 3 and 4 are views of an alternative embodiment of the back plate Figs. 5 are view of a further embodiment and Fig. 6 id a further embodiment Referring to fig. 1 the front plate (1) which is a button or can be attached to a button, brooch or the like has a rigid loop (2) attached to it. Referring to fig. 2. the back plate (3) has a raised section (4) which forms a loop or ring. There are holes (6a) and (6b) by which the back plate can be sown to a fabric.

In the embodiment of fig. 3 there is a ring (5) fixed to the back plate (3).

In use, the back plate (3) is sown to one piece of fabric and a second piece of fabric

with a button hole in it large enough to allow loop (2) to pass through it, is positioned ZD above the back plate. The loop (2) is passed through the button hole and connected to

loop (4) formed by the raised section of back plate (3) (fig. 2) or connected to the ring (5) (fig. 3) and the two pieces of fabric held together.

Referring to fig. 4a the back plate (3) is waisted so as to provide a narrower section (7) around which fits loop (8). This embodiment is used in the same way as the embodiment of fig. (3) with the loop (8) passing through the button hole and the clip of fig. 4b can then pass through the loop to hold the front plate to the back plate.

Referring to figs. 5 in which fig. 5a is a side view of a front plate and figs. 5b and 5c are a side view and front view of the back plate. This embodiment works in a similar way to the above embodiments except that (10) is the button and (11) is a pin which is part of the front plate. The back plate (12) is stitched to the fabric as in other embodiments and there are two holding clips to keep (11) in a straight line.

Referring to fig. 6 the back plate is in the form of metal loop (14) sewn to a first piece of fabric (15). The loop protrudes through a hole in the second piece of fabric (16) and is attached to a spring clip (17) which can be connected to a button (18), so holding the two pieces of fabric together.

Claims

Claims 1. A fastener which comprises a back plate having a holding means able to receive and hold a clip attached to a front plate, which clip is adapted to pass through an opening in a fabric, whereby, when the back plate is positioned behind a hole in a fabric and the clip passed through the hole and held in the holding means, the fabric is held between the back and front plate.
2. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 in which the clip is in the form of a loop which is attached to the front plate so that it projects out from the front plate.
3. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the holding means is a raised section on the back plate so as to form a loop.
4. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the holding means is a ring or loop attached to the back plate.
5. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the holding means is a ring or loop z, t=l which is looped around the back plate, which back plate is waisted to locate the loop or ring.
6. A fastener as claimed in claim 1, 3, 4 or 5 in which the loop or ring on the back plate is joined to the loop on the front plate by means of a connector.
7. A fastener as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the back plate is a loop adapted to be sown to a first piece of fabric allowing it to fall flat when not in use, which metal loop is able to protrude through a hole in a second piece of fabric placed over the first piece and the front plate can be clipped on to the protruding loop to hold the two pieces of fabric together.
8.. A fastener as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.