WO2010091500A1

WO2010091500A1 - Applique with rotatable panels for attachment to fabrics such as articles of clothing or other cloths

Info

Publication number: WO2010091500A1
Application number: PCT/CA2010/000163
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lawrence R. Higa
Original assignee: Higa Lawrence R
Priority date: 2009-02-12
Filing date: 2010-02-05
Publication date: 2010-08-19

Abstract

An appliqué attachable to fabrics such as articles of clothing or other cloths, and which can serve as a useful learning or teaching aid especially for young children, is disclosed. The appliqué includes front and rear panels and two or more circular panels rotatably held between the front and rear panels. The front panel includes apertures through which radially inward portions of the circular panels are visible. For the purpose of teaching, each circular panel may be marked with a set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through one of the apertures as the panel is rotated. Markings such as numbers and non-numeric images may be arranged on the differing panels to teach basic concepts such as concepts of numbers or concepts of arithmetic.

Description

APPLIQUE WITH ROTATABLE PANELS FOR ATTACHMENT TO FABRICS SUCH AS ARTICLES OF CLOTHING OR OTHER CLOTHS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to United States provisional application number 61/202,268 filed February 12, 2009, entitled "Fabric Applique With Rotatable Panels", naming Lawrence R. Higa as the inventor. The contents of the provisional application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, and the benefit of the filing date of the provisional application is hereby claimed for all purposes that are legally served by such claim for the benefit of the filing date.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to appliques, sometimes referred to as patches, for attachment to fabrics such as articles of clothing or other cloths. The fabric may be natural or synthetic. While not limited to educational purposes for young children, it is considered particularly suitable for such purposes.

Parents will go to great lengths to teach their children how to recognize numbers or letters, how to count, or how to perform simple arithmetic. There are a plethora of toys designed to fulfill such purposes. However, none appear well adapted to capture a child's attention over an extended period of time during any given day.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a learning or teaching aid which is more than an easily ignorable toy and which can be positioned on clothing or other fabrics for the focus of a child.

The prior art reveals various inventions which appear designed to provide record information by means of an article which may be attached to fabric such as a piece of clothing. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,730,658 appears to disclose a "scoring display unit" attachable to the glove of a golfer, Other prior art examples include U.S. Patent No. 6,030,228 for a "Basic Educational System" and U.S. Patent No. 7,291 ,015 for "Articles With Spinning Globe", both of which involve articles which may be attached to clothing and both of which appear designed to provide information whether to a child or otherwise, but neither of which is designed to enable questions to be posed and to provide answers to such questions as part of an educational process.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an applique attachable to a fabric, the applique comprising front and rear panels; a first circular panel rotatably held between the front and rear panels for rotation on a first axis of rotation; and a second circular panel rotatably held between the front and rear panels for rotation on a second axis of rotation distanced away from the first axis of rotation. An outer portion of the first circular panel projects outwardly from above the rear panel and below the front panel. Also, an outer portion of the second circular panel projects outwardly from above the rear panel and below the front panel. The front, rear, and circular panels are made from flexible material such as fabric material.

The front panel includes a first aperture through which a radially inward portion of the first circular panel is visible; the first circular panel being marked with a first set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through the first aperture as the first panel is rotated on the first axis. Also, the front panel includes a second aperture through which a radially inward portion of the second circular panel is visible, the second circular panel being marked with a second set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through the second aperture as the second circular panel is rotated on the second axis.

Advantageously, one of the two circular panels overlaps the other to facilitate an overall structure which, for panels having a given circular diameter, is more compact than that which would result if there was no overlap. In another aspect of the present invention, the set of indicia marked on the first circular panel comprises a set of numerals, and the set of indicia marked on the second circular panel comprises a set of non-numeric images, each member of the set of non-numeric images being representative of a corresponding one of the numerals in the set of numerals.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the applique further comprises a third circular panel rotatably held between the front and rear panels for rotation on a third axis of rotation distanced away from the first and second axes of rotation, an outer portion of the third circular panel projecting outwardly from above the rear panel and below the front panel. Similar to the other panels, the third panel is made from flexible material. The front panel includes a third aperture through which a radially inward portion of the third circular panel is visible, the third circular panel being marked with a third set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through the third aperture as the third panel is rotated on the third axis.

In a further aspect of the present invention where the applique includes three rotatable circular panels, the set of indicia marked on the first circular panel comprises a first set of numerals; the set of indicia marked on the second circular panel comprises a second set of numerals; and the set of indicia marked on the third circular panel comprises a third set of numerals, each member of the third set representing a mathematical combination (such as addition) of a selected numeral from the first set and a selected numeral from the second set.

Advantageously, one of the first and second circular panels overlaps with the other one of the first and second circular panels, and one of the second and third circular panels overlaps with the other one of the second and third circular panels to provide a structure which, for given circular diameters, is overall more compact than that which would result if there was no such overlap.

To further advantage, the rear panel of any one of the appliques described above may include a heat transfer backing to enable the applique to be attached to a fabric such as an article of clothing or other cloth by ironing the applique on the fabric.

In a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article of clothing such as a shirt, trousers, etc. to which is attached an applique as described above. The applique may be attached to the clothing by means of ironing, stitching, or otherwise.

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of a first applique in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of the first of two rotatable panels forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the second of two rotatable panels forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear plan view of the applique shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an assembly view, partially cross-sectioned, showing a rivet loosely securing one of the two rotatable panels forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 1 to the rear panel forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a front plan view of a second applique in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front plan view of one of two substantially similar rotatable panels forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a front plan view of a third rotatable panel forming part of the applique shown in FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 5, there is shown an applique generally designated 10 attachable to a fabric such as an article of clothing (not shown). As suggested by the marking "Match the Number", applique 10 is particularly designed as a learning or teaching aid for young children. The applique comprises a front panel 15, a rear panel 20, a first circular panel 25 and a second circular panel 35.

Circular panel 25 is rotatably held between front panel 15 and rear panel 20 for rotation on an axis of rotation 26, an outer portion 27 of panel 25 projecting towards the left in FIG. 1 outwardly from above the rear panel and below the front panel. Similarly, circular panel 35 is rotatably held between front panel 15 and rear panel 20 for rotation on an axis of rotation 36, an outer portion 37 of panel 35 projecting towards the right in FIG. 1 outwardly from above the rear panel and below the front panel. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, axis 36 is distanced away from axis 26.

Circular panel 25 includes a hole 30 (see FIG. 5) along axis 26 for receiving a rivet . Likewise circular panel 35 includes a similar hole 40 (again, see FIG. 5) along axis 36 for receiving a similar rivet. Although not shown, rear panel 20 includes a pair of complimentary holes with which holes 30 and 40 are axially aligned when applique 10 is assembled.

In FIGS. 1 and 4, the hidden portion of the outer perimeter of panel 25 is indicated by circular broken line 28. Similarly, the hidden portion of the outer perimeter of panel 35 is indicated by circular broken line 38. As best seen in FIG. 4, there is a central region 50 between arcuate portions of broken lines 28 and 38. In this region, circular panel 25 overlaps with circular panel 35.

Advantageously, and although not essential, such overlap enables applique 10 to have a more compact structure from left to right. By way of example, the overall size of applique 10 may be about 75 mm by 95 mm. To provide projections 27, 37 in the particular design shown in FIG. 1 , it will be noted that the perimeter of front panel 15 includes a generally rectangular recess 17 on its left side and a generally rectangular recess 19 on its right side. While this facilitates a somewhat more compact structure from left to right, some may consider the provision of such recesses to undesirably complicate the fabrication of the panel. They may prefer that front panel 15 be substantially rectangular as in the case of rear panel 20. If this was done with the example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 then, to provide outer projecting portions equivalent in area to those shown in FIG. 1 , axis of rotation 26 may be displaced to the left and axis of rotation 36 may be displaced to the right. In such a case, projections 27, 37 would extend outside the boundaries of rear panel 20 and the overall length of the applique would be somewhat increased. Also, the degree of overlap between panels 25 and 35 would be somewhat reduced.

Front panel 15 includes a first circular window or aperture 16 through which a radially inward portion of panel 25 is visible, panel 25 being marked with a first set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through aperture 16 as panel 25 is rotated on axis 26. As best seen in FIG. 2, the set of indicia on panel 25 comprises the numerals "1 " to "5". The individual numerals are elements of the set.

Front panel 15 also includes a second circular window or aperture 18 through which a radially inward portion of panel 35 is visible, panel 35 being marked with a second set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through aperture 18 as panel 35 is rotated on axis 36. As best seen in FIG. 3, the set of indicia on panel 35 comprises non-numeric images of one to five dots. Each image is an element of the set, and corresponds to one of the numerals "1 " to "5" in the first set of indicia.

All panels 15, 20, 25 and 35 are formed from a suitable flexible material. One material which is presently preferred is a twill fabric presently available under the brand name TWILLY from Gunold GmbH, Stockstadt, Germany / Gunold USA, Kennesaw, Georgia. Of course, and as will be well understood by those skilled in the art of manufacturing appliques, suitable materials from other sources may be used. As will also be well understood by those skilled in the, the indicia marked on circular panels 25, 35 (and, as well that shown on the face of front panel 15) may be applied by various means including machine embroidery.

Preferably, a heat transfer backing (not shown) is applied to rear panel 20 to enable applique 10 to be attached to a desired fabric by ironing the applique on the fabric. In the absence of a heat transfer or other backing applique 10 may be sewn to the desired fabric.

As noted above, circular panels 25 and 35 are rotatably held between front panel 15 and rear panel 20. As best seen in FIG. 5, this structure is enabled by first riveting the circular panels to rear panel 20. In FIG. 5, circular panel 25 (or 35) is loosely secured to rear panel 20 by means of a snap rivet generally designated 45 which comprises a female portion 46 and a male portion 47. The securement is "loose" in the sense that rivet does not press panel 25 (or 35) against panel 20, the distance between the opposed inner faces of male and female portions 46, 47 being slightly greater than the combined thickness of the two panels. Any significant pressure would create undesirable friction impairing rotation of panel 25 (or 35).

Snap rivet 45 as illustrated in FIG. 5 is a plastic rivet which is presently commercially available from ITW Fastex®, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. Of course, it will be understood by skilled persons that other suitable rivet designs or structures sewn to act as rivets may be used.

Once circular panels 25, 35 have been secured to rear panel 20, front panel 15 is then secured to rear panel 20. This may be done by sewing, of course taking care not to sew through either of the circular panels.

For the purpose of illustration, panel 25 as shown in FIG. 2 has been rotated away from the position shown in FIG. 1 where the numeral "5" appears upright in aperture 16. In the rotational position shown in FIG. 2, none of numerals "1" to "5" would properly appear with an upright orientation in aperture 16; instead, a portion of the numeral "1" and a portion of the numeral "2" would appear. It also may be noted that aperture 16 is not aligned directly above axis 26 in FIG. 1. Instead, it is displaced to the left. This is necessary by reason of the overlap between circular panels 25 and 35. Similar remarks apply to the rotational position of panel 35 as shown in FIG. 3 relative to the position shown in FIG. 1 , and to the displacement (now to the right) of aperture 18 from alignment directly above axis 36.

Although shown in black and white in the drawings, the panels of applique

10 and the various indicia marked on the panels preferably have a range of colors to better attract the attention of a child. In use, the applique typically will have been applied to an article of clothing (e.g. the sleeve of a child's garment) or other cloths (e.g. a child's blanket). The objective for the child is to rotate panels 25, 35 to various differing positions where the non-numeric image which appears in aperture 18 matches the numeral which appears in aperture 16 (or vice-versa).

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, there is shown an applique generally designated 60 which, like applique 10, is attachable to a fabric such as an article of clothing (not shown). As suggested by the marking "MY FIRST COMPUTER", applique 60 is particularly designed as an aid to teach young children basic concepts of arithmetic (that of addition, with the embodiment shown). Applique 60 will not be described in the same detail as applique 10 because several of its features are similar to applique 10.

Applique 60 comprises a front panel 65, a rear panel 70, a first circular panel 75, a second circular panel 85, and a third circular panel 95. As indicated by FIG. 7, panels 75 and 85 have substantially the same construction. All panels are formed from a suitable flexible material as in the case of the panels used for applique 10. Circular panels 75, 85, 95 are rotatably held between front and rear panels 65, 70 for rotation on respective axes of rotation. Each circular panel is loosely secured to rear panel 70 by a snap rivet (not shown in FIGS. 6-8, but substantially the same as snap rivet 45 illustrated in FIG. 5). The axes of rotation have not been labelled but will be readily apparent on inspection of FIG. 6. Panels 75 and 85 overlap, and panels 85 and 95 overlap - all to provide a more compact structure measured from left to right in FIG. 6. Panel 65 is secured to panel 70, for example by sewing while taking care not to interfere with the rotatability of the circular panels.

In contrast to applique 10 where outer portions of the circular panels project outwardly to the left and right from above rear panel 20 and below front panel 15, circular panels 75, 85 95 of applique 60 all project upwardly from above rear panel 70 and below front panel 65. Other projecting arrangements made be adopted. For example, applique 60 could be modified such that panel 75 projects to the left, panel 95 projects to the right, leaving only panel 85 to project upwardly. However, the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 6 is considered preferable.

Front panel 65 includes six apertures 66, 66a, 67, 67a, 68, 68a, through which inner portions of circular panels 75, 85 and 95 are visible. Apertures 66, 67 and 68 are generally square or rectangular. Apertures 66a, 67a and 68a are generally circular.

Panels 75, 85 and 95, are marked with a total of six sets of indicia: two sets on panel 75, two sets on panel 85, and two sets on panel 95. The respective sets of indicia successively move into view through corresponding ones of the six apertures as the panels are rotated on their respective axes. Three of the sets are sets of numerals. The remaining three are sets of non- numeric images.

More particularly, panels 75 and 85 each include a set of indicia comprising the numerals "1" to "3" and panel 95 includes a set of indicia comprising the numerals "1 " to "6". As well, panels 75 and 85 each include a set of indicia comprising non-numeric images in the form of one to three dots and panel 95 includes a set of indicia comprising non-numeric images in the form of one to 6 dots.

As with applique 10, applique 60 typically will have been applied to an article of clothing or other cloth. However, with applique 60, the objective for the child is to rotate panels 75 and 85 to selected positions where desired numeral appear in apertures 66 and 67, or where desired non-numeric images appear in apertures 66a and 67a, then to rotate panel 75 to a position where the numeral in aperture 95 equals the sum of the numerals in 66 and 67. If the child has difficulty with the recognition of numerals, he or she may initially rely on only the numbers of dots in apertures 66a, 67a and 68a - and eventually come to associate those numbers with the corresponding numerals which appear in apertures 66, 67 and 68. Hence, applique 60 may serve not only to assist children to learn basic concepts of addition but also (and similar to applique 10) to associate numerals with the number of objects (dots) which appear in non- numeric images.

Of course, it will be understood that applique 60 may be modified in various ways. For example apertures 66a, 67a and 68a and the non-numeric images which normally would appear in those apertures may be omitted. Alternately, apertures 66, 67 and 68 and the numerals which normally would appear in those apertures may be omitted. However, the modified applique would then not enable the child to associate numerals with the number of dots which appear in non-numeric images.

The scope of the claims should not be limited by the specific embodiments set forth above, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. An applique attachable to a fabric, said applique comprising:

(a) front and rear panels;

(b) a first circular panel rotatably held between said front and rear panels for rotation on a first axis of rotation, an outer portion of said first circular panel projecting outwardly from above said rear panel and below said front panel;

(c) a second circular panel rotatably held between said front and rear panels for rotation on a second axis of rotation distanced away from said first axis of rotation, an outer portion of said second circular panel projecting outwardly from above said rear panel and below said front panel;

(d) said panels all being formed from flexible material;

(e) said front panel including a first aperture through which a radially inward portion of said first circular panel is visible, said first circular panel being marked with a first set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through said first aperture as said first panel is rotated on said first axis; and,

(T) said front panel including a second aperture through which a radially inward portion of said second circular panel is visible, said second circular panel being marked with a second set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through said second aperture as said second circular panel is rotated on said second axis.

2. An applique as defined in claim 1 , wherein said set of indicia marked on said first circular panel comprises a set of numerals, and wherein said set of indicia marked on said second circular panel comprises a set of non-numeric images, each member of said set of non-numeric images being representative of a corresponding one of the numerals in said set of numerals.

3. An applique as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

(a) a third circular panel rotatably held between said front and rear panels for rotation on a third axis of rotation distanced away from said first and second axes of rotation, an outer portion of said third circular panel projecting outwardly from above said rear panel and below said front panel;

(b) said third panel being formed from flexible material; and,

(c) said front panel including a third aperture through which a radially inward portion of said third circular panel is visible, said third circular panel being marked with a third set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through said third aperture as said third panel is rotated on said third axis.

4. An applique as defined in claim 3, wherein:

(a) said set of indicia marked on said first circular panel comprises a first set of numerals;

(b) said set of indicia marked on said second circular panel comprises a second set of numerals; and,

(c) said set of indicia marked on said third circular panel comprises a third set of numerals, each member of said third set representing a mathematical combination of a selected numeral from said first set and a selected numeral from said second set.

5. An applique as defined in claim 1 , wherein one of said circular panels overlaps the other one of said circular panels.

6. An applique as defined in claim 3. wherein:

(a) one of said first and second circular panels overlaps the other of said first and second circular panels; and,

(b) one of said second and third circular panels overlaps the other of said second and third circular panels.

7. An applique as defined in any one of claims 1 to 6, further including a heat transfer backing applied to said rear panel for enabling said applique to be attached to said fabric by ironing said applique to the fabric.

8. An article of clothing to which is attached an applique comprising:

(a) front and rear panels;

(d) said panels all being formed from flexible material;

(e) said front panel including a first aperture through which a radially inward portion of said first circular panel is visible, said first circular panel being marked with a first set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through said first aperture as said first panel is rotated on said first axis; and, (f) said front panel including a second aperture through which a radially inward portion of said second circular panel is visible, said second circular panel being marked with a second set of indicia comprising elements which successively move into view through said second aperture as said second circular panel is rotated on said second axis.

9. An article of clothing as defined in claim 8, wherein said set of indicia marked on said first circular panel comprises a set of numerals, and wherein said set of indicia marked on said second circular panel comprises a set of non- numeric images, each member of said set of non-numeric images being representative of a corresponding one of the numerals in said set of numerals.

10. An article of clothing as defined in claim 8, further comprising:

(b) said third panel being formed from flexible material; and,

1 1. An article of clothing as defined in claim 10, wherein:

(a) said set of indicia marked on said first circular panel comprises a first set of numerals; (b) said set of indicia marked on said second circular panel comprises a second set of numerals; and,

12. An article of clothing as defined in claim 8, wherein one of said circular panels overlaps the other one of said circular panels.

13. An article of clothing as defined in claim 10. wherein: