US2684188A - Method and means for removing temporary fasteners from shirts - Google Patents

Description

Jul 20, 1954 2,684,188

B. V. STURZ METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS Filed March 22, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENT R.

Ber/mm 17 an:

Jul 20 1954 2,684,188

B. V. STURZ METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS Filed March 22, 1950 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Bernard I? 631/11 #7 TOIENE Y July 20, 1954 3 v STURZ 2,684,188

METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEMPORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS Filed March 22. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 77 new v Patented July 20, 1954 METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING TEM- PORARY FASTENERS FROM SHIRTS Bernard V. Sturz, Mountain Lakes, N. J.

Application March-22, 1950, Serial No. 151,229

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a method for temporarily fastening a folded shirt'or the like, and to means for removing the temporary fastening members from the shirt.

The present invention further relates to the method of securing temporary fastening members, such as common or straight pins, in a mans shirt or the like, so as to retain the shirt in a folded condition, prior to use thereof, and also to means for removing the pins from the shirt when it is desired to unfold or open the shirt.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efiicient method for removing temporary fastening members from a folded shirt.

An additional object is to provide means for removing, at one time, all of the temporary fastening members from a folded shirt.

Another object is to eliminate the laborious task of removing, individually, each of the temporary fastening members used'to secure a shirt in folded condition.

Further objects will be apparent by reference to the appended specifications, claims and drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the accompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and organizations of the instruinentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings wherein likereference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a front plan view .of a mans shirt, folded about a cardboard support or the like, in the manner in which such shirts are commonly sold to ultimate users.

Figure 2 represents a rear view of the folded shirt of Figure 1 with one embodiment of the present invention secured thereto.

Figure 3 represents a rear view, partly in section, like the view of Figure 2, showing in greater detail the fastening means of the present invention.

Figure 4 represents a fragmentary perspective view of one end of a pin-removing tape of the present invention, with a pin secured thereto.

Figure 5 represents a rear view of a folded shirt, like the views of Figures 2 and 3, but show ing the first step in disengaging the fastener removing means from the shirt; one pin having been removed from the fabric,

Figure 6 is a view like that of Figure 5, but showing the fastener-removing means still more completely disengaged from the shirt; two more pins having been removed from the shirt.

Figure 7 is a viewlike that of Figures 5 and 6;

2 the fastening-removing means of the present invention with all of the pins fully disengaged from the shirt.

Figure 8 represents a rear view of a folded shirt with a second embodiment of the fastenerremoving'means of the present invention secured thereto.

Figure 9 represents a perspective view of the fastener-removing means of the second embodiment of the present invention, with 5 pins at tached thereto.

Figure 10 represents a rear View of an unfolded shirt with the second embodiment of the fastener-removing means, and complementary fasteners, disengaged from the shirt.

Figure 11 represents a partial, vertical crosssectional View along lines I!-H of Figure 8.

It is customary among manufacturers and/or jobbers and/or retailers and/or launderers of shirts and particularly mens shirts, to fold and fasten the shirts in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 1 so that they are readily stored, transported, handled and displayed.

Mens shirts are customarily folded about a cardboard support so that the upper portion of the bosom of the shirt and the collar portion thereof are displayed as shown in Figure 1, with the rest of the shirt neatly folded behind the cardboard support with the ends of the shoulderportions secured together by a temporary fastener such as a common or straight pin or the like (as is shown particularly in Figure 3) and with the lower or tail-portion of the shirt folded upwardly, as shown inFigure 2, and temporarily fastened to the rest of the shirt by a plurality of temporary fastenings such as common or straight pins.

In the past, the temporary fastenings which have secured the shirt in a folded position'about the cardboard support, have been haphazardly and indiscriminately arranged wherever and however the person doing the folding believed a in was necessary. This indiscriminate positioning of the temporary fastenings on the shirt made it necessary for the ultimate user of such a folded and fastened shirt to take extreme care when removing the pins-and unfolding the shirt so asto be certain to remove all of the pins and so as not to tear or otherwise injure the fabric of the shirt. Such injury might occur if the shirt were forcibly and carelessly unfolded without first removing all of the pins.

Moreover, the pins have not always been readily located, and frequently the person unfolding the shirt has been injured by sticking his finger on an unobserved pin.

A shirt embodying the temporary fastening means of the present 'inventionmay be secured so that the folded and fastened shirt will present the sameappearance to the purchaser 'and'user (as shirts heretofore available without the fastoning means of the present invention) but all the pins which hold the shirt together in its temporarily folded position may be quickly, easily and simultaneously removed in one motion.

Thus, a shirt 20 may be folded about a cardboard support 2! with the bosom 22 and the collar 23 on one side of the cardboard and the rest of the shirt folded behind the cardboard in the enstomary manner. Thus, the shoulder- portions 24 and 25 overlap at a vertical midpoint of the back of the cardboard and may be fastened together therebehind by a pin 26.

The lower portion or tail-portion of the shirt may be folded upwardly behind the cardboard 2! along a lower fold-line 27 whereby to conceal the bulk of the folded shirt between the tailportion and the cardboard and to present a neat smooth appearance customary in folding and displaying shirts. The rear view of a folded shirt is generally indicated in Figure 2. A plurality of pins 23, 29, 3t and 3! secure the tailportion of the shirt to the body-portion along the left and right edges 32 and 33 thereof, with the end 34 of the tail-portion generally spaced somewhat from the collar 23.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to '7 inclusive, a pin-remover 3'6 is fastened to each of the pins 26, 23, 29, 3t and Si, as is shown particularly in Figure 3. The pinremover as may include a central, generally vertically disposed tape 3'! which extends from the collar 23 along the cardboard 2i and downwardly behind the upwardly folded tail-portion of the shirt. Near the overlapping shoulder- portions 24 and 25, a pair of tapes 38 and as are securely fastened to the central tape 3i and extend laterally therefrom toward the edges 32 and 33. The pins 28 and 3! are secured to the ends of the tapes 33 and 39, respectively, in the manner shown in Figure 4.

Near the lower end of the center tape 3? a second pair of tapes it and ii extend laterally toward the edges 32 and 33 and have secured thereto, at the ends, the pins 29 and 3!, respectively.

Where the central tape 31 crosses the overlapping shoulder-portions 2s and 25 of the shirt, the pin 26 passes through the tape 37 and is then secured to the shoulder-portions 2 and 25, to

hold them together, with the pin 25 disposed generally vertically and the point thereof extending toward the lower fold-line 2?.

Each of the pins 28, 29, 3B and 3! at the ends of their respective tapes, are inserted into the fabric of the shirt near the edges 32 or 33 to secure the tail-portion to the body-portion with the points thereof extending toward the lower fold-line 21 and with the body of the pin generally parallel to the edges 32 and 33.

In this manner all of the pins are connected by the pin-remover 36 while yet securely holding the shirt in folded position about the cardboard support Zl.

The cardboard support is not essential but it helps to support the shirt-fabric and makes it easier to fold the shirt.

The upper end 42 of the tape 3! may extend around and over the upper edge Q3 of the collar 23 and may have a tab 4d secured to the end thereof and disposed within the collar opening. The tab 44 may be secured to the body of the shirt by pinning, clamping, taping or any other suitable manner whereby the tab 44 may readily be visible and in a position to be grasped and disengaged from the shirt and held in the hand, as is shown in Figure 5.

When it is desired to remove the pins from the shirt, prior to wearing the same, the tab 44 may be grasped between the thumb and forefinger and lifted upwardly and away from the collar 23 until the tab 44 extends vertically upwardly from the cardboard support 2! generally parallel to the edges 32 and 33.

Thereafter a steady, firm, upward and outward pull on the tab M will pull the central tape 31 upwardly and outwardly away from the shirt,

isengaging the pin 2%; from the overlapped shoulder portions 24 and 25 and carrying the pin 26 away from the shirt, still secured to the tape 37 (see Figure 5).

A continued pull on the tape Bl tightens the two lower, lateral tapes til and ll, as shown in Figure 5, until the tape 3? and the tapes to and. ii are taut enough and pulled far enough to disengage the pins 25 and ill from the body of the shirt, as is shown in dotted lines in Figures 5 and 6. Although the pins 29 and 3% are removed from the fabric of the shirt, they still remain secured to the tapes it and t i.

A continued pull on the tape 3'? tightens the two upper lateral tapes 3S and 39 until these tapes are taut enough to pull upon and disengage the pins 23 and 3d from the body of the shirt.

This upward pulling motion on the interconnesting fastener of pin-remover 33 may be done in one smooth continuing motion so as to remove all of the pins and completely unfasten the shirt in one motion. Each of the pins 25, 28, 29, Si! and 32 are removed from the shirt, still secured to the pin-remover 36, without the necessity of the user laboriously removing each pin individually and without injuring the shirtfabric.

Thereafter the cardboard support 2i may be removed and the shirt is ready to wear.

It is to be understood that a fewer or greater number of pins and tapes may be employed than has herein been described. However, all of the pins would be generally parallel to each other and have a tape portion secured thereto; said tapes each secured to a central tape so that a single pull upon the central tape would tighten all of the pin-holding tapes and remove from the shirt the pins secured thereto. Thus, it may be desirable to use only the pins 23 and 38 or it may be desirable to use more than two pins along each of the edges 32 and 33.

The tapes may be of such length that all are tightened simultaneously, or they may be of lengths whereby pins are removed one at a time, but in close succession, so that less effort is re quired to unpin the shirt.

In the present invention, the pins 26, 28, 29, 39 and 3% are disposed generally parallel to the edges 32 and 33, as is shown particularly in Figures 2 and 3, with all of the pointed ends thereof pointing toward the fold-line 2?. However, the pins may each be inserted into the fabric so that a pull on the tape to which it is connected will smoothly and axially remove the pin from the shirt.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 8 to 11 inclusive, the pins 26, 28, 29, 39 and 3! are secured to the shirt 20 in much the same position as heretofore described. However, the interconnecting means between the pins is the se ondary member 45 which may be made of cardboard or fabric or the like and which is gen erally M-shaped, as shown particularly in Figure 9. This secondary member or pin-remover 45 may be a part of the cardboard support 2| or it may be a separate member secured to the cardboard H, as by fasteners 46 and 41, along the upper edge 48.

Thus, when the cardboard support 2! is in place behind the folded shirt 20, the pin-remover 45 may extend downwardly from the upper edge 48 with the left and right depending arms 49 and. 50 passing over the outer surface of the shirt, as shown in Figure 8, and with the central tab 5! depending between the overlapped shoulder- portions 24 and 25 and the folded tail-portion of the shirt.

The pins 26, 28, 29, 3'23 and 3| may be passed through the pin-remover 45 and then through the body of the shirt, as is shown in the crosssectional view of Figure 11.

If desired, a tab 52 may be formed in the upper edge of the secondary pin-removing mem ber 45 or in the cardboard 2! to provide a means for grasping the interconnecting support 2i and pin-remover 45, as is shown particularly in Fig ure 10.

When it is desired to remove the pins and the pin-remover of the embodiment of Figures 8 to 11 inclusive from the shirt, the tab 52 may be grasped between the thumb and forefinger, as is shown in Figure 10, and pulled upwardly with relation to the folded shirt 20. This pulling action causes the pins 26, 28, 29, 30 and SI to be Withdrawn from the shirt, still secured to the pin-remover 45, and also withdraws the cardboard support 2| and permits the unfastened shirt to fall away therefrom, fully opened, as is 7 shown in Figure 10.

Thus, I have described a means and method for fastening a shirt in a folded position, and also interconnecting means for said fasteners whereby all of them may be removed from the shirt easily and swiftly without endangering or harming the fabric of the shirt and without making it necessary for the person unfolding the shirt laboriously to search out and locate each and every pin holding the shirt in the folded position.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing de scription to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is the following:

1. In combination with a folded shirt, a pinconnector disposed adjacent one side of said folded shirt, a plurality of pins each secured to said connector generally parallel therewith and secured to said shirt generally parallel thereto, each of said pins being removable substantially simultaneously from said shirt by movement of said connector parallel to said side of said shirt.

2. A shirt-fastening device for temporarily holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together including a pin-connector, a pull-tab at one end of said pin-connector, a plurality of pins carried on said connector remote from said pull-tab, said pins disposed substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the connector, each of said pins being pointed away from the pulltab end of said connector so that each of said pins can be removed from said shirt without bending thereof on pulling said pull-tab when said device is Withdrawn from its operative position holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together.

3;. A shirt-fastening device for temporarilyi holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together including a flexible tape, a pull-tab at one end of said flexible tape, a plurality of pins carried on said tape remote from said pull-tab, said pins disposed substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the tape, each of said pins being pointed away from the pull-tab end of said tape so that each of said pins can be removed from said shirt without bending thereof on pulling said pull-tab when said device is withdrawn from its operative position holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together.

4. A shirt-fastening device for temporarily holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together including a thin perforatable shirt-support, a pull-tab at one end of said thin perforatable shirt-support, a plurality of pins carried on said shirt-support remote from said pull-tab, said pins disposed substantially parallel to each other and to the plane of the shirtsupport, each of said pins being pointed away from the pull-tab end of said shirt-support so that each of said pins can be removed from said shirt without bending thereof on pulling said pull-tab when said device is withdrawn from its operative position holding folded portions of shirt-fabric together.

5. The method of securing temporary fasteners to a folded shirt which comprises placing a pincarrying fastener connector having a pull-tab at one end thereof and carrying a plurality of pins on a portion thereof remote from said pulltab, against the folded shirt, aligning said pulltab adjacent the neck portion of said shirt, passing each of the pins carried by said fastenerconnector through said shirt-fabric in a direction generally parallel to the vertical axis of the shirt with the points of said pins directed away from the pull-tab.

6. The method of securing temporary fasteners to a folded shirt and of removing said fasteners substantially simultaneously from said shirt which comprises placing a pin-carrying fastenerconnector having a pull-tab at one end thereof and carrying a plurality of pins on a portion thereof remote from said pull-tab, against the folded shirt, aligning said pull-tab adjacent the neck portion of said shirt, passing each of the pins carried by said fastener-connector through said shirt-fabric in a direction generally parallel to the vertical axis of the shirt with the points of said pins directed away from the pulltab, and thereafter substantially simultaneously removing said pins from said shirt by pulling on the pull-tab of said fastener-connector and withdrawing said pins from said shirt without bending said pins.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PAIL NTS Number Name Date 653,152 Roeber July 3, 1900 759,614 Kaufman May 10, 1904 930,604 Moore Aug. 10, 1909 1,906,472 Liebowitz May 2, 1933

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