US3922763A

US3922763A - Fabric fastener

Info

Publication number: US3922763A
Application number: US536503A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas Jay Buerger
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-12-26
Filing date: 1974-12-26
Publication date: 1975-12-02
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-02

Abstract

A plastic ring has a tongue extending downwardly from the top of the ring and has a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue. The bottom edge of the tongue slightly overlaps the top edge of the tab. The tongue is normally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of the ring to fit over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to be detachably fastened together. To lock the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the top edge of the locking tab so that a portion of the fabric is pinched between the bottom edge of the tongue and the top edge of the locking tab. To release the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the locking tab back to its original position.

Description

United States Patent Buerger 1 Dec.2, 1975 FABRIC FASTENER [22] Filed: Dec. 26, 1974 [21] Appl. N0.: 536,503

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 24/246 [51] Int. Cl. A44B 21/00 [58] Field of Search 24/259 PF, 246, 245 R,

24/245 A, 245 B, 248 GC, 248 HE, 248 PC, 248 SL, 252 HE, 255 R, 255 HE, 255 SL, 256, 259 B, 73 MF, 73 PF Primary Examiner-Geo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or FirmHenry C. Fuller [57] ABSTRACT A plastic ring has a tongue extending downwardly from the top of the ring and has a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue. The bottom edge of the tongue slightly overlaps the top edge of the tab. The tongue is normally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of the ring to fit over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to be detachably fastened together. To lock the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the top edge of the locking tab so that a portion of the fabric is pinched between the bottom edge of the tongue and the top edge of the locking tab. To release the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the locking tab back to its original position.

10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,922,763

FABRIC FASTENER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to fabric fasteners that can be used to hold the overlapped ends of a diaper or other fabric together. The principal object of this invention is to provide a fabric fastener that is safer than the pins which have heretofore been used for holding fabric ends together. Other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A fastening ring has a tongue extending downwardly from the top of the ring and has a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue. The bottom edge of the tongue is close enough to the top edge of the locking tab to pinch a piece of fabric therebetween. The tongue is preferably disposed at an acute angle to the plane of the ring fit over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to be temporarily fastened together. The fastening ring is locked by manually displacing the tongue past the locking tab so that a portion of the fabric is pinched between the bottom edge of the tongue and the top edge of the locking tab. The fastening ring is released by manually displacing the tongue past the locking tab back to its original position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the fastener of FIGS. 1-4 with the tongue displaced toward the plane of the ring.

FIG. 6A is a top view of the fastener of FIGS. 1-5 with the tongue positioned over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to be fastened together, the tongue being in the open position.

FIG. 6B is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastener and fabric shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a top view similar to FIG. 6A with the tongue of the fastener in the locked position.

FIG. 7B is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastener and fabric shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a third embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. The scope of the invention is defined in the claims appended hereto. 1

Referring to FIGS. l5, the preferred embodiment of the invention is designed for use as a diaper clasp and comprises a plastic fastening ring 10 which has a tongue 12 extending downwardly from the top of ring 10 and has a locking tab 14 extending upwardly from the bottom or ring 10 beneath tongue 12. Ring 10, tongue 12, and locking tab 14 are preferably integrally molded of a suitable plastic such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, tongue 12 is normally disposed at an acute angle of approximately 30 degrees to the plane 16 of ring 10 so that it can be placed over the top edge of two pieces of fabric which are to be fastened together as described hereinafter. The upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10 which are adjacent to the upper side edges of tongue 12 are preferably inclined toward the front of ring 10 as indicated in FIG. 2. This directs shoulder portions 18 away from the baby when the fastener is used on a diaper and helps prevent contact between the fastener and the babys skin.

The upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10 are made thin enough to permit swinging motion of tongue 12 but are thick enough to reduce sideways sliding movement and prevent upward movement of tongue 12. This is important because while it is necessary to swing tongue 12 toward the plane 16 of ring 10 to lock the fastener, sideways sliding of tongue 12 tends to unlock the fastener. With nylon as the material of the fastener, a circular cross-section with a 3/64 inch diameter has been found to be suitable for shoulder portions 18.

A pair of stiffening ribs 20 are preferably formed in the portions of ring 10 immediately below shoulder portions 18 to help keep shoulder portions 18 from moving when tongue 12 is swung toward locking tab 14. Stiffening ribs 20 are desirable but are not essential to the operation of this embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 preferably extends slightly below the upper edge 24 of locking tab 14 when tongue 12 is moved adjacent to tab 14, thereby producing an overlap A between

edges

22 and 24. Overlap A serves to pinch fabric between

edges

22 and 24 when the fastener is locked as is described hereinafter. Overlap A is small enough to permit the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 to be manually forced over the upper edge 24 of locking tab 14 with two layers of fabric therebetween. An overlap of 1/32 inch has been found to be workable in connection with this embodiment of the invention. However, it should be understood that larger or smaller overlaps could be used in other embodiments of the invention. In the limiting case, the overlap A could be eliminated, providing the clearance between

edges

22 and 24 is small enough so that the two layers of fabric therebetween will be pinched sufficiently to lock the fastener.

Slit 28 is cut on a 45 angle to plane 16 of ring 10 between holes 26 in the bottom portion of ring 10 below the locking tab 14 to permit tab 14 to be moved manually far enough out of plane 16 of ring 10 to easily lock the fastener while making it considerably harder to unlock, thereby enhancing the fasteners holding strength while making application of said fastener much easier. However, holes 26 and slit 28 are not essential because substantially the same effect, i.e. movability of locking tab 14, could be achieved by making the bottom portion of ring 10 thin enough. Tab 14 can also be tapered as at 30 (FIG. 2) to enhance its movability and to provide a thin upper edge 24.

The bottom rear edge portion of tongue 12 is recessed at 32 to engage the locked fabric and to help keep tab 14 from sliding sideways off tongue 12 when the fastener is locked. The lower side edge portions 34 (FIG. 2) of tongue 12 are also enlarged to engage the fabric and help keep tab 14 from sliding sideways off tongue 12.

The above-described embodiment is intended for use as a diaper clasp but it can be used as a fastener for holding any two pieces of fabric together. To use the fastener, the two diaper ends 36 and 38 (FIGS. 6A and 6B) are overlapped and are held together with the thumb and forefinger of one hand (not shown) while the ring 10 is grasped with the other hand (not shown) and is slid down over the upper edge of diaper ends 36 and 38 with tongue 12 extending downwardly on the inside of diaper ends 36 and 38 as shown in FIG. 6B and with ring 10 and locking tab 14 extending downwardly on the outside of the diaper ends. Ring 10 is pushed far enough down so that the upper edges of diaper ends 36 and 38 touch the upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10. The forefinger of one hand is then placed on the inside surface of tongue 12 and is pressed outwardly-while the thumb of the other hand is pressed inwardly on the outside bottom edge of ring 10 with sufficient pressure to cause tongue.12 to ride up over the top edge24 of locking tab 14 and to overlap the outside surface of tab 14 as shown in FIG. 7B. A small portion 40 (FIG. 7B) of the diaper ends 36 and 38 is then pinched between the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 and the top edge 24 of locking tab 14 which are pressed together due to the tendency of shoulder portions 18 to return tongue 12 to its original position (FIG. 6B). The

pinching of diaper portion 40 locks the fastener and holds the diaper ends 36 and 38 together under ring 10.; The lock holds against sideways pull on the diaper ends 36 and 38 due to engagement of the fabric with the margin of the recess 32 and the enlarged ends 34 of tongue 12 and the resistance to sideways movement offered by upper shoulder portions 18.

It should be noted in FIGS. 7A and 78 that insertion and locking of the fastener of this invention causes an outward. bulge 42 in the diaper ends 36 and 38 which draws the ring 10, shoulders 18, and tongue 12 out wardly away from the babys skin so that no part of the fastener contacts the babys skin. Other advantages of this invention with respect to pins are that the fastener of this invention has no sharp points that could injure the baby or the person fastening the diaper and is too large to be swallowed by the baby. In addition, the fastener of this invention can be made of unbreakable plastic which is machine washable and can be boiled to kill bacteria. Also, because it is made of flexible plastic, the fastener of this invention will bend as the baby bends to afford more comfort. Further, the fastener of this invention can be economically manufactured by conventional injection molding techniques and it has no removable parts that can break off and leave small objects for the baby to swallow.

To release the fastener of this invention after it is locked, the bulge 42 of diaper ends 36 and 38 is pressed inwardly while at the same time the lower inside portion of ring 10 is pressed outwardly until tongue 12 rides up over locking tab 14 and returns to the unlocked position shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. The fastener can then be easily lifted off the diaper ends 36 and 38 to release them.

Although the particular shape of tongue 12 and locking tap 14 shown in FIGS. 1-78 is preferable, other shapes could be employed if desired. For example, FIG. 8 shows a variation in which the tongue 44 has a rounded point 46 and locking tab 48 has a wide arcuate upper edge 50 with spaced side portions 52 which are shaped as prongs to bite into the fabric clamped thereby. In FIG. 9, both the tongue 54 and locking tab 56 have relatively broad, flat facing edges. Other modi-. fications of the disclosed structure will be apparent to those skilled in the art and this invention includes all modifications falling within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. -A fastener for locking together two pieces of fabric comprising a ring having a tongue extending downwardly from the top of said ring and having a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of said ring under said tongue, said tongue being movable to a position at an acute angle to the plane of said ring to fit over the top edges of said fabric, and the material forming the junction of said tongue and said ring being flexible enough to permit the tongue to be displaced toward the plane of said ring past said locking tab to pinch a portion of said fabric between the bottom of said tongue and the top of said locking tab to lock the two pieces of fabric together.

2. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of said tongue overlaps the top edge of said locking tab.

3. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the amount of said overlap is no greater than l/32 of an inch.

4. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom rear edge of said tongue is recessed to grip said fabric to prevent sideways movement of the same.

5. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom side edges of said tongue are enlarged to gripsaid fabric and prevent sideways movement of the same.

6. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said ring, said tongue, and said locking tab are integrally joined together.

7., The fastener of claim 1 and further comprising two holes connected by a slit cut on a 45 angle to the plane of said ring located below said locking tab to enable said tab to be displaced slightly and assist in locking said fastener while making it considerably harder to unlock and thereby retaining said fasteners holding strength.

8. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said tongue is normally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of said ring.

9. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the shoulder portions of said ring adjacent to the upper side edges of said tongue are flexible enough to permit said tongue to be swung toward the plane of said ring but are stiff enough to prevent said tongue from being raised and reduce sideways displacement of said tongue.

10. The fastener of claim 9 and further comprising stiffening ribs in said ring below said shoulder portions thereof.

Claims

1. A fastener for locking together two pieces of fabric comprising a ring having a tongue extending downwardly from the top of said ring and having a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of saId ring under said tongue, said tongue being movable to a position at an acute angle to the plane of said ring to fit over the top edges of said fabric, and the material forming the junction of said tongue and said ring being flexible enough to permit the tongue to be displaced toward the plane of said ring past said locking tab to pinch a portion of said fabric between the bottom of said tongue and the top of said locking tab to lock the two pieces of fabric together.

3. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the amount of said overlap is no greater than 1/32 of an inch.

5. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom side edges of said tongue are enlarged to grip said fabric and prevent sideways movement of the same.

7. The fastener of claim 1 and further comprising two holes connected by a slit cut on a 45* angle to the plane of said ring located below said locking tab to enable said tab to be displaced slightly and assist in locking said fastener while making it considerably harder to unlock and thereby retaining said fastener''s holding strength.