DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING INSIGNIA
A device for displaying insignia includes two parts. The first part includes an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate that is fastened to a surface of the insignia. The second part includes an article of clothing made of a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed and that engages and releases the flexible hooks when attaching and removing the insignia.
This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/449,149, filed May 31, 2003, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/384,937, filed Jun. 1, 2002. This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/384,937, filed Jun. 1, 2002. Each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of removable insignia. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention is directed to a device for attaching and removing insignia to articles of clothing.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,866 granted to French for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A REMOVABLE NAMETAG AND INSIGNIA shows in
In one embodiment, a device for displaying insignia includes an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate. The hook substrate is fastened to a surface of the insignia. The device also includes an article of clothing made of a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed. The looped material engages the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the article of clothing and releases the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the article of clothing.
In another embodiment, a method of displaying insignia includes steps of providing an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate, fastening the hook substrate to a surface of the insignia; and making an article of clothing from a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed. The insignia is attached to the article of clothing by engaging the flexible hooks with the looped material. The insignia is removed from the article of clothing by releasing the flexible hooks from the looped material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe above and other aspects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the description in conjunction with the following drawings presented by way of example and not limitation, wherein like references indicate similar elements throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions, sizing, and/or relative placement of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to clarify distinctive features of the illustrated embodiments. Also, common but well-understood elements that may be useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of the illustrated embodiments.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTSThe following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, rather for the purpose of describing by specific examples the general principles that are incorporated into the illustrated embodiments. For example, certain actions or steps may be described or depicted in a specific order to be performed. However, practitioners of the art will understand that the specific order is only given by way of example and that the specific order does not exclude performing the described steps in another order to achieve substantially the same result. Also, the terms and expressions used in the description have the ordinary meanings accorded to such terms and expressions in the corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where other meanings have been specifically set forth herein.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions, sizing, and/or relative placement of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to clarify distinctive features of the illustrated embodiments. Also, common but well-understood elements that may be useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of the illustrated embodiments.
The exemplary flexible hook 102 in
In one embodiment, a device for displaying insignia includes an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate. The hook substrate is fastened to a surface of the insignia. The device also includes an article of clothing made of a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed. The looped material engages the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the article of clothing and releases the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the article of clothing.
In the embodiment of
Another advantage of the looped material 302 is that the insignia 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 may be placed at different locations on the looped material 302 rather than only in a specific area as in the case of a separate loop fastener. For example, if the cap 300 is worn with the bill forward, the insignia 312 may be attached to the front of the cap 300. On the other hand, if the cap 300 is worn with the bill in the back, the insignia 308 may be attached to the back of the cap 300 so that the insignia 308 is in front of the wearer. A further advantage to the combination of the insignia 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 and the looped material 302 is the elimination of the step of sewing a separate piece of loop material to the article of clothing at one or more locations to mate with the insignia. This is important from a manufacturing perspective not only because steps in the manufacturing process are eliminated, but also because the machine work and inventories required for maintaining a different shape of loop material for each shape used for insignia are also eliminated. Reducing the number of manufacturing steps and the number of pieces required to assemble the article of clothing advantageously results in improved quality and fewer manufacturing defects. Also, the article of clothing may be purchased in large quantities without risk of becoming obsolete when the insignia shape is changed.
In addition to the cap 300 illustrated in
In another embodiment, a calendar is made of the looped material and used with insignia having the shapes of pieces of clothing to assist autistic children in learning to dress themselves. As each piece of clothing is put on, the corresponding insignia is moved to the next day on the calendar until the space for the current date is cleared. In other embodiments, game boards for games such as tic-tac-toe are made by adhering the looped material to a rigid surface such as plastic, wood, or cardboard and played on with insignia having the shape, for example, of X's and O's and other playing tokens.
In a further embodiment, the looped material may be a fabric used, for example, for a surface such as a liner inside automobiles, buses, trains, aircraft, and other vehicles. The insignia may be used to display instructions, safety warnings, and advertisements as well as various visual effects inside a vehicle from the roof or other surfaces inside the vehicle without adding a separate piece of looped material in the areas where the insignia are attached. As a result, the appearance and texture of the surface is maintained uniform over an area that includes and extends beyond an area from which the insignia is removed. For example, an insignia may be placed in various locations on the roof inside an automobile without requiring a different material from the liner in the area where the insignia is attached. When the insignia is removed, the area from which the insignia is removed has the same appearance and texture as the rest of the surface outside the insignia.
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In another embodiment, a method of displaying insignia includes steps of providing an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate, fastening the hook substrate to a surface of the insignia; and making an article of clothing from a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed. The insignia is attached to the article of clothing by engaging the flexible hooks with the looped material. The insignia is removed from the article of clothing by releasing the flexible hooks from the looped material.
Step 2002 is the entry point of the flow chart 2000.
In step 2004, an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate is provided. The hook substrate may be a commercially available hook substrate such as the Velcro™ example in
In step 2006, the hook substrate is fastened to a surface of an insignia, for example, with an adhesive that can withstand the extreme temperatures that may be encountered by the article of clothing. For example, a cap may be worn outdoors in winter at the cold temperature extreme and left on the dashboard of a locked car in the summer at the hot temperature extreme.
In step 2008, an article of clothing is made from a looped material that maintains a desired look and feel for the article of clothing when the insignia is removed, which means that no intermediate fastener appears on the article of clothing behind the insignia when the insignia is removed. The looped material preferably has low-profile loops such as found in polyester and nylon tricot materials and has a look and feel that is designed to be comfortable and attractive when made into garments. The loops in the looped material attach the insignia to the article of clothing by engaging the flexible hooks with the looped material. The insignia may be removed from the article of clothing by pulling the insignia away from the article of clothing to release the flexible hooks from the looped material.
The insignia may be, for example, embroidered fabric, stamped metal, stamped or sculptured leather, or laminated plastic. The hook substrate should be fastened to the insignia by an adhesive that will not separate or bubble when exposed to the temperature extremes anticipated when wearing or storing the article of clothing. Also, the process for fastening the hook substrate to the insignia should avoid entraining air, and the back surface of the insignia should be suitably prepared to ensure a strong bond to the hook substrate. The insignia and hook substrate assembly may be cut around the border of the insignia with a die. Insignia made of hard materials such as metal should be cut from the back side only to avoid damaging the insignia, while soft materials may be sealed on both sides to thoroughly remove any air between the insignia and the hook substrate.
Step 2010 is the exit point of the flow chart 2000.
Although the flowchart description above is described and shown with reference to specific steps performed in a specific order, these steps may be combined, sub-divided, or reordered without departing from the scope of the claims. Unless specifically indicated, the order and grouping of steps is not a limitation of other embodiments that may lie within the scope of the claims.
The specific embodiments and applications thereof described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not preclude modifications and variations that may be made within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A device for displaying insignia comprising:
- a first part comprising an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate, the hook substrate fastened to a surface of an insignia; and
- a second part comprising an article of clothing made of a looped material for engaging the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the article of clothing and for releasing the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the article of clothing while maintaining a desired look and feel of the article of clothing where the insignia is removed.
2. The device of claim 1 further comprising the insignia.
3. The device of claim 2 further comprising an adhesive for fastening the hook substrate to the insignia.
4. The device of claim 3, the adhesive selected to withstand temperatures between about (−30) to about (+110) degrees centigrade.
5. The device of claim 3, the adhesive formulated for bonding to a vinyl hook substrate.
6. The device of claim 2, the insignia comprising an embroidered patch.
7. The device of claim 2, the insignia comprising molded plastic.
8. The device of claim 2, the insignia comprising stamped metal.
9. The device of claim 2, the article of clothing comprising one of a hat, a shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of pants, a pair of shoes, a purse, a handbag, a backpack, a tote bag, and a pair of gloves.
10. The device of claim 2, the article of clothing comprising one of a cap, a baseball glove, a golf glove, a jersey, a team uniform, an equipment bag, a duffel bag, a visor, and a pennant.
11. A method of displaying insignia comprising steps of:
- providing an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate;
- fastening the hook substrate to a surface of an insignia; and
- providing an article of clothing made from a looped material for engaging the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the article of clothing and for releasing the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the article of clothing, the looped material maintaining a desired look and feel for the article of clothing where the insignia is removed.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of fastening the hook substrate to the insignia by an adhesive.
13. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of selecting the adhesive to withstand temperatures between about (−30) to about (+110) degrees centigrade.
14. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of formulating the adhesive especially for bonding to a vinyl hook substrate.
15. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of embroidering the insignia as a patch.
16. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of molding the insignia from plastic.
17. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of stamping the insignia from metal.
18. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of making the article of clothing as one of a hat, a shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of pants, a pair of shoes, a purse, a handbag, a backpack, a tote bag, and a pair of gloves.
19. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of making the article of clothing as one of a cap, a baseball glove, a golf glove, a jersey, a team uniform, an equipment bag, a duffel bag, a visor, and a pennant.
20. The method of claim 12 further comprising a step of applying pressure to the insignia to remove air between the insignia and the hook substrate.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising a step of applying pressure to the insignia by drawing an edge at a non-vertical angle over the insignia.
22. The method of claim 12 further comprising a step of applying pressure to the hook substrate by drawing an edge at a non-vertical angle over the hook substrate.
23. The method of claim 22 further comprising a step of applying pressure to the hook substrate by drawing an edge at a non-vertical angle over the hook substrate.
24. A device for displaying insignia comprising:
- a first part comprising an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate, the hook substrate fastened to a surface of an insignia; and
- a second part comprising an article of clothing made of a looped material for engaging the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the article of clothing and for releasing the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the article of clothing without an intermediate fastener between the article of clothing and the array of flexible hooks.
25. The device of claim 24 further comprising the insignia.
26. A method of making a removable insignia comprising steps of:
- providing an array of flexible hooks formed on a first surface of a hook substrate and an adhesive applied to a second surface of the hook substrate;
- providing an insignia;
- fastening the insignia to the second surface of the hook substrate by the adhesive;
- cutting the insignia and the hook substrate around a border of the insignia; and
- removing air entrained between the insignia and the second surface of the hook substrate.
27. A device for displaying insignia comprising:
- a first part comprising an array of flexible hooks formed on a hook substrate, the hook substrate fastened to a surface of an insignia; and
- a second part comprising a surface made of a looped material for engaging the flexible hooks to attach the insignia to the surface and for releasing the flexible hooks to remove the insignia from the surface while maintaining a uniform appearance and texture of the surface over an area that includes and extends beyond an area of the surface from which the insignia is removed.
28. The device of claim 27, the surface comprising a liner inside a vehicle.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 26, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 16, 2007
Inventors: Timothy Hall (The Colony, TX), Dwight Harms (The Colony, TX)
Application Number: 11/691,265
International Classification: A41D 13/00 (20060101);