Device for preventing loss of a string in an article of clothing
A device for securing a string to an article of clothing, such as a garment or shoe, to prevent the string from being drawn away, for example into a string tunnel or through an eyelet. The device includes a clothing attachment mechanism and a string receiver. The attachment mechanism preferably includes a clip have first and second members movable between opened and closed clip positions for securing the device to the clothing at a selected location. The string receiver receives and holds the string preventing the string from being drawn away. The string receiver preferably defines an aperture for slidingly receiving the string. The device preferably includes a spring to bias the clip to the closed position. In one embodiment, the upper clip member is decoratively configured to resemble a wing.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/809,073, filed May 26, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to garments having strings received in string tunnels of the garment or shoelaces and, more particularly to a device for preventing loss of the string within the string tunnel of the garment or to capture a shoelace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONNumerous garments include strings received in tunnels or other enclosures formed in the garment. Examples of such garments include sweat pants or shorts having a waist string received in a string tunnel defined at a waist of the garment, and hooded sweatshirts having draw strings received in a string tunnel defined in the hood. In each of the these garments, end portions of the string extend outwardly from openings formed at the opposites ends of the string tunnel. In each of these garments, opposite ends of the string are grasped by a user for application of a pulling force to the string to tighten a portion of the garment (e.g., the waist of a pair of sweat pants) on the user. The ends of the string may then be tied to each other to secure the garment in the desired condition.
The relative movement between the string and the string tunnel of such garments is necessary for the above-described tightening function. However, the need for relative motion between the string and the tunnel can also have the undesirable effect of one or both of the ends of the string being drawn completely into the string tunnel. Withdrawal of the string end into the interior of the string tunnel in this manner renders the string unusable or “lost.” The risk that the string of such garments will become lost within the string tunnel of the garment is particularly great during laundering of the garment because of the agitation associated with the washing and drying of garments.
What is needed is a device for securing the end of a string to a garment to limit relative movement between the end of the string and the garment, thereby eliminating the risk that the end of the string will be drawn into a string tunnel of the garment. Also what is needed is a device for capturing and securing loose shoelaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a device for securing a garment string to a garment to limit relative movement between the string and the garment, thereby preventing the string from being drawn into the string tunnel and becoming lost in the tunnel rendering the garment string unusable for its intended purpose. The string-securing device comprises a garment attachment mechanism adapted to secure the device to a garment at a selected location on the garment. The string-securing device also comprises a string receiver adapted to receive and hold the garment string such that the garment string is prevented from being drawn into the string tunnel.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the string-securing device includes a clip having upper and lower members. The clip provides an opened clip position adapted to facilitate placement of the garment between the upper and lower members at the garment location and a closed clip position. Preferably, the upper and lower member define teeth to facilitate grasping retention of the garment portion between the upper and lower clip members.
According to one embodiment the string receiver is carried by the lower clip member and defines an aperture adapted for sliding receipt of a garment string.
Preferably, the string-securing device includes a spring adapted to bias the upper and lower clip members towards the closed clip position. According to one embodiment, the spring includes elongated arms at opposite ends of a central coiled portion, the arms received in notches respectively defined by the upper and lower clip members.
Arranged in this manner, the device is adapted for placement onto the string at a desired location through the sliding receipt of the end of the string through the aperture of the string receiver. The clip of the device is adapted to secure the device and, therefore, to secure the string, to the garment at the garment location.
According to one embodiment, the upper member of the clip is decoratively configured to resemble a wing and includes a clamp end configured to resemble a shoulder area of the wing and a handle end configured to resemble a tip area of the wing.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a clip for securing a loose shoelace.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying figures. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFor the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show a form of the invention that is presently preferred. However, it should be understood that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings.
Referring to the drawings, where like numerals identify like elements, there is illustrated in the figures a string-securing device 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention adapted for use with a garment of the type having a string received by a string tunnel of the garment (e.g., about the waist or neck area of a garment). Referring to
Referring to
Referring to the side view of the device 10 shown in
The string-securing device 10 preferably includes a string receiver 30 located on a portion of the lower member 22, preferably on the bottom surface of clip 18 as shown. The string receiver 30 includes an aperture 32 adapted for slidingly receiving a string of a garment, such as the waist string 14 of the garment 12 of
Referring the
The string-securing device 10 also includes a spring 40 for biasing the upper and lower clip members 20, 22 towards the closed clip position shown in the figures. Referring to the rear view of
Referring the
Referring again to
It should be understood that the device 10 is not limited to the pants-type garment 12 shown having a waist string 14 and has application to other garments having strings in string tunnels such as hooded sweatshirts, for example. It should also be noted that it not required that the garment include some feature such as the flap 16 of the pants-type garment 12 shown to facilitate secured placement of the device 10 onto the garment 12. The device 10 could be placed onto any garment 12, for example by folding a portion of the garment 12 and then placing the folded garment portion between the teeth 24 of the device 10 in its opened clip position.
The present invention can also be used to secure a shoelace for capturing loose shoelace ends. In this embodiment, the aperture 32 of the string received 30 is sized to receive a conventional shoelace (either flat or round). Once a end of the shoelace is inserted through the aperture 32, the device can be clipped to the other end of the shoelace or secured to the shoe.
The foregoing describes the invention in terms of embodiments foreseen by the inventor for which an enabling description was available, notwithstanding that insubstantial modifications of the invention, not presently foreseen, may nonetheless represent equivalents thereto.
Claims
1. A string-securing device for preventing loss of a garment string within a string tunnel of a garment, the string-securing device comprising:
- a garment attachment mechanism adapted to secure the device to the garment at a selected location on the garment; and
- a string receiver adapted to receive the garment string and hold the garment string such that the garment string is prevented from being drawn into the string tunnel.
2. The string-securing device according to claim 1, wherein the garment attachment mechanism includes a clip having first and second members movable with respect to each other between an opened position facilitating receipt of the garment between the first and second members at the garment location and a closed position.
3. The string-securing device according to claim 1, wherein the string receiver defines an aperture adapted for sliding receipt of the garment string.
4. The string-securing device according to claim 1, wherein the garment attachment mechanism includes a clip having upper and lower members movable with respect to each other between an opened clip position and a closed clip position and wherein the string receiver is located on the lower clip member.
5. The string-securing device according to claim 2, wherein the clip includes a pin received by the first and second clip members for rotatably connecting the first and second clip members to each other.
6. The string-receiving device according to claim 5 further comprising a spring for biasing the first and second clip members towards the closed clip position, the spring including an intermediate coil portion received by the pin and first and second spring arms at opposite ends of the coil portion respectively contacting the first and second clip members.
7. The string-securing device according to claim 6, wherein the first and second clip members each define a recess for respectively receiving the first and second arms of the spring.
8. The string-securing device according to claim 6, wherein each of the first and second clip members includes a clamp end and a handle end located on opposite sides of the pin and wherein the arms of the spring contact the handle ends of the clip members to bias the clip members towards the closed clip position.
9. The string-securing device according to claim 8, wherein the clamp end of each of the first and second clip members defines a plurality of teeth, the teeth of the first clip member adapted for meshing receipt by the teeth of the second clip member when the clip is in the closed clip position.
10. The string-securing device according to claim 5, wherein the string receiver is located on the second clip member opposite the pin of the clip.
11. The string-securing device according to claim 4, wherein each of the upper and lower clip members includes a clamp end and an opposite handle end and wherein an upper surface of the upper clip member is decoratively configured to resemble a wing, the clamp end of the upper clip member configured to resemble a shoulder area of the wing and the handle end of the upper clip member configured to resemble a tip area of the wing.
12. A string-securing device for preventing loss of a garment string within a string tunnel of a garment, the string-securing device comprising:
- a clip for securing the string-securing device to the garment at a selected garment location, the clip having upper and lower clip members rotatably connected to each other for relative rotation between an opened clip position facilitating receipt of the garment between the upper and lower clip members at the garment location and a closed clip position; and
- a string receiver defining adapted to receive the garment string and hold the garment string such that the garment string is prevented from being drawn into the string tunnel.
13. The string-securing device according to claim 12, wherein clip includes a pin received by the upper and lower clip members for rotatably connecting the upper and lower clip members to each other, and wherein the string receiver is located on the lower clip member opposite the pin.
14. The string-securing device according to claim 12, wherein the string receiver defines an aperture adapted for sliding receipt of the garment string.
15. A string-securing device for preventing loss of a string in an article of clothing, such as a shoe, the string-securing device comprising:
- a clothing attachment mechanism adapted to secure the device to the clothing at a selected location on the clothing; and
- a string receiver adapted to receive the clothing string and hold the string such that the clothing string is prevented from being drawn away.
16. The string-securing device according to claim 15, wherein the article of clothing is a shoe, wherein the clothing string is a shoelace, the string receiver having an aperture for receipt of the shoelace.
Type: Application
Filed: May 29, 2007
Publication Date: Nov 29, 2007
Inventor: Bernadette Izzo (Princeton, NJ)
Application Number: 11/807,562
International Classification: A41D 13/00 (20060101);