US3820166A - Device for supporting and forming a necktie knot - Google Patents

Abstract

A NECKTIE IS FORMED OVER THE SUPPORTED BY AN INTEGRALLYFORMED PIECE OF PLASTIC WITH A PAIR OF SPACED APART VERTICALLY ELONGATED ROUNDED FORWARD PROJECTIONS WHICH PROVIDE A RECESS THEREBETWEEN TO RECEIVE PERMANENTLY PRE-DIMPLED PORTIONS OF A NECKTIE. THE INTEGRAL PIECE ALSO HAS A REARWARD PROJECTION WHICH ADDS BULK TO THE KNOT, AND LATERALLY ENTENDING THIN FLAT WINGS. A CLAMPING MEANS ATTACHED TO THE INTEGRAL BODY HAS A PRESSURE FOOT FOR HOLDING THE COLLARBAND OF A SHIRT AGAINST A REAR FACE OF THE REARWARD PROJECTION TO ORIENT THE DEVICE SO THE FORWARD PROJECTIONS ARE INCLINED UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY.

D R A W I N G

Description

United States Patent [191 Gouner DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND FORMING A NECKTIE KNOT [75] Inventor: Aubrey L. Gouner, Metairie, La.

[73] Assignee: Wembley Industries Inc., New

Orleans, La.

[22] Filed: July 3, 1972 211 App]. No.: 268,426

[52] US. Cl. 2/153 [51] Int. Cl A41d 25/08 [58] Field of Search 2/l50, 152 R, 152 A, 153

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.646.668 7/l953 Rinehart 2/153 2.669.724 2/1954 Jarrett 2/153 2.798.226 7/1957 Kanter 2/153 3.513.483 5/l970 Kanter at al. 2/l53 June 28, 1974 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrowne, Beveridge, De- Grandi & Kline ABSTRACT A necktie is formed over and supported by an integrally-formed piece of plastic with a pair of spaced apart vertically elongated rounded forward projections which provide a recess therebetween to receive permanently pre-dimpled portions of a necktie. The integral piece also has a rearward projection which adds bulk to the knot, and laterally extending thin flat wings. A clamping means attached to the integral body has a pressure foot for holding the collarband of a shirt against a rear face of the rearward projection to orient the device so the forward projections are inclined upwardly and rearwardly.

7 Claims, 13 Dr awing Figures- DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND FORMING A NECKTIIE KNOT This invention relates to a supporting and forming device which constitutes the core of a knot of a pretied necktie and provides a means whereby the necktie may be affixed to the collarband of a shirt.

Heretofore, there have been a variety of devices proposed for the purpose of supporting and forming a necktie knot, some of which have met with commercial acceptance. In many instances, these devices have been formed of flat sheet material which has resulted in a somewhat unnatural appearance of the necktie in the vicinity of the knot. This unnatural appearance is due, in part, to the flattening which has occurred where the necktie is dimpled in the interior of the knot and immediately below the knot, since most prior forming devices have not accommodated the dimpled portion of the knot.

Another shortcoming of some prior art necktie knot supporting and forming devices is that they present an unnatural orientation of the knot since they do not present the degree of forward inclination which is normally produced by a regular necktie. Some efforts to overcome this disadvantage have involved the use of a small rearwardly projecting stud element at the lower portion of the knot-supporting device, but this prior construction has the disadvantages of additional expense, the necessity to penetrate the necktie in the lower regions of the knot, and the unnatural appearance of a hardware-like stud or other element used for this purpose.

A further shortcoming of previous devices of the type described herein has been that the necktie presented an artificial appearance when not being worn due to the use of various types of tabs, rearwardly projecting hardware and partially exposed knot forming devices. According to this invention, however, the knot-forming device is essentially concealed, with the only visible additive thereto being the clamping device which is used to affix it to the collarband of a shirt.

It has previously been known to provide an exteriorly rounded necktie forming and supporting device which has a dimple-receiving recess, typical devices of this type being shown by US. Pat. Nos. 2,1 19,41 1 and 3,513,483. However, these devices have not been disclosed in a structure and method using a necktie which has had a dimple previously and permanently formed therein.

The device shown in the previously-mentioned US Pat. No. 3,5 l3,483 also has forward projections which are intended to give the necktie the desired forward protrusion, but the elements which provide for the orientation of the knot-forming device itself are quite different. In thisprior device, the shirt collarband is tails which include the shape of the forward projections. The angular orientation of the disclosed knot forming and supporting device is determined by its rear face which is held against the collarband by a pressure foot. The pressure foot is aportion of a biased clamping arm which is attached to the knot fonning and supporting device and extends over the upper edge of the collarband.

The necktie is centered on the device by stitching or stapling to form permanent dimples in the necktie, and then positioning the pre-dimpled areas in a recess on the front of the knot forming and supporting device.

In the disclosed device, there are a pair of vertically elongated forward projections which are spaced apart to provide therebetween a vertical recess for receiving the dimpled portions of a necktie. Preferably, the external necktie-contacting portions of the forward projections are convexly rounded to continue and accentuate the desirable rounded contour of the knot. The recess jections in a teardrop-like shape to increase the protrugripped by a clamping arm which is similar in many re- The present invention differs from the prior art with respect to the manner used to provide the angular orientation of the device, the manner of ensuring that the necktie is fixedly positioned on the device and the desion of the lower portion of a knot formed thereover.

For a more complete understanding of the structure and principles of a preferred embodiment of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 illustrates the appearance in use of a necktie mounted on a device constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a knot supporting and forming device constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seen along the lines 55 in FIG. 3 and illustrating in solid lines the clamping device for attaching the necktie to the collarband of a shirt;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 4 to illustrate the considerable depth of the device.

FIGS. 7-10 show the stages of forming a four-in-hand necktie knot around the device of the invention.

FIGS. ll, 12 and 13 respectively are front, rear and transverse sectional views of a completed assembly wherein a necktie is knotted around the device of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2-6, it will be seen that the device of the invention includes a solid body generally designated 2 which is integrally formed preferably by injection molding of an organic polymeric plastic material. The body 2 has a relatively deep central portion that will be observed in'FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, and a pair of thin flat lateral wings 4 which have their upper and lower edges extending rearwardly and upwardly from the central body of the device.

On the forward face of the central body, there are a pair of forward projections 6 which are horizontally spaced apart to provide therebetween a trough or vertical recess 8 which is intended to receive the dimpled portions of the necktie. The projections 6 have convex exterior surfaces for contacting the necktie, and these surfaces are in a teardrop-shape so as to produce a somewhat greater protrusion of the necktie toward the lower portions of the knot.

a shirt when in use. This face 12 establishes the orienta tion of the device and a necktie knot with respect to the collarband of the shirt. The rear face 12 will be generally vertical when attached to a collarband, and it is inclined with respect to the forward projections 6 so as to provide the natural-looking forward protrusion of the knot.

A spring clip clamping means 14 is used to attach the device to a shirt. This assembly includes a stationary metallic spring 16 held to the main body'by a rivet 18. A depending tang 19 on spring 16 is seated in a recess of corresponding shape in the main body to prevent the spring from pivoting on the rivet. At the upper end of the spring 16, there are a pair of resilient'forward fingers which have their upper edges turned rearwardly at 22, and a central rear finger 24 which has a forwardlyturned portion 26 at its upper end.

The purpose of the fingers 20 and 24 is to retain the crosspiece 28 of the T-shaped clamping arm 30. The crosspiece 28 has lateral extensions which ride in the horizontally oriented grooves formed by the inturned upper ends 22 of the forward fingers 20. When the clip is in the position illustrated in FIG. 5, the rearward edge of the crosspiece 28 is retained against the forwardly turned portion 26 ofthe central finger 24. However, movement of the arm 30 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. will permit the crosspiece 28 to pass an over-center position so that the forces created by the resilient fingers will bias the arm 30 for further movement in a clockwise direction until the shirtcontacting pressure foot 34 is aligned with and urged toward the rear face 12 of the knot-supporting and forming device. The force of the pressure foot is directed toward the rear face 12 to hold the device and a tie located thereon firmly against the collarband 36 of a shirt in a manner best illustrated in FIG. 13. The pressure foot 34 is smaller than the rear face 12, so the force exerted by the pressure foot will cause the rear face 12 to lie parallel to the vertical collarband, thereby providing a significant forward protrusion of the forward projections of the device and the knot placed thereon.

The manufacture of a tie by using the device of this invention is relatively uncomplicated. The body 2 is preferably formed by injection molding, and the clamping means 14 is attached thereto by a rivet 18. A tie is formed according to conventional cutting and sewing processes, but it is somewhat shorter than usual since it does not have to encircle the wearers neck. A pair of small incisions 38 and 40, shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, are made in the tie at points selected according to the location shown at 42 in FIGS. 8 and 9 and at 44 in FIG. 7. The stitching for holding one dimple or tuck in place is illustrated at 46 in FIG. 9.

The initial step of tying a knot around the device of the invention is shown in FIG. 7 where the front apron 48 of the tie is draped rearwardly and the rear apron 50 is laid over the upper edge of the device, with the arm 30 extending through the incision 38. At this point, the

preformed dimple 44 will be properly centered since it will lie in the recess 8 between the forward projections 6. r I

The front apron 48. is then wrapped horizontally around the device as shown in FIG. 8, drawn upwardly as shown in FIG. 9 and then pulled downwardly inside dimensions of the forming device to receive the clamping arm 30.

A further preparatory step is to form dimples in the tie in a known manner by providing central tucks in the appropriate places and holding the tucks in position by stitching or stapling. These tucks are made both at the the front part 52 of the knot to the position shown in FIG. 10. During this latter step, the arm 30 is passed through the incision and the dimple 42 will be laid between the forward projections 6 in order to ensure the proper centering of the front dimple and the front apron of the necktie.

As will be observed in FIGS. 11 and 12, this tying operation completely encloses the device of the invention and provides a most natural appearing'knot when viewed from either the front or the rear, sothat a prospective purchaser will not be detracted by the presence of any unnatural-appearing portions of the forming device except for the arm 30. The resulting product is extremely attractive despite the relative simplicity of making it.

Those skilled in the art will realize that this invention may take many forms other than the ones specifically described in order to follow the principles of and attain the advantages of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited only to the disclosed embodiment but encompasses modifications and variations thereto which are within the scope and spirit of the claims which follow.

I claim:

I. A necktie assembly comprising a supporting and forming device having a central body which includes a pair of vertically elongated forward projections which are horizontally spaced apart to provide therebetween a vertical recess for receiving the dimpled portions of a necktie,

a necktie formed in a knot around said device, said necktie having dimples permanently formed therein, said dimples being located in said groove to center the necktie on the device.

and attachment means for attaching the device to the collarband of a shirt.

' 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the central body has a rearward projection which provides a rear face for establishing the orientation of the device with respect to the collarband of a shirt, said rear face being inclined downwardly and rearwardly with respect to the axes of the forward projections.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the attachment means includes a pressure foot which is alignable with and biased toward the rear face of the device, said pressure foot being smaller than the rear face.

4. The device of claim 1 provided with thin flat wings extending laterally from the central portion in planes which lie rearwardly of the forward projections.

extending laterally from the central portion in planes which lie forwardly of the rear projection and rearwardly of the forward projections.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the entire central body is covered and concealed by said knot.

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