Elastic and resilient panel and grommet for interchangeable logos

Abstract

An article includes a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member comprising an outer portion and an inner portion, wherein the outer portion contacts the outer surface with a flange and engages the hole with an outer portion collar, wherein the inner portion contacts the inner surface with a flange and engages the hole with an inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar contacts the inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar and the inner portion collar are bonded, and wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates in general to the field of clothing and accessory articles. In particular clothing and accessory articles that allow the use of interchangeable logos.

BACKGROUND

Clothing and accessory articles often display logos or other decorations. These logos are typically permanently fixed to the articles by sewing, silk screening, or other processes. However, one example of clothing, in this case, shoes, is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2006/0048407 A1 entitled “BREATHABLE WORKSHOES AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH”, allow the use of interchangeable logo buttons.

The breathable workshoes are constructed of a resilient and flexible material. The resiliency and flexibility of the material allows the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons from holes in the toe or other areas of the workshoe. This allows the user to selectively change the logo buttons on the workshoes.

Users often collect a variety of logo buttons. Therefore, it may be desirable to wear a number of logo buttons at a time, or to display the logo buttons on an article of clothing besides workshoes.

The breathable workshoes are predominantly constructed of a flexible and resilient plastic material. However, other clothing articles are commonly manufactured with a variety of materials including cotton, polyester, wool, leather, etc. Many of these materials have limited flexibility or resiliency, thus a user cannot repeatedly insert and remove interchangeable logo buttons. In other words, many materials that are commonly used to produce clothing articles lack the necessary flexibility or resiliency to allow the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons. From the above, it is apparent that a need exists in the industry for a solution to these deficiencies.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, disclosed is an article comprising a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, and at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member attached to the outer surface of the fabric engaging the edge of the hole, wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

In another embodiment, an article comprising an elastic panel having an inner surface and an outer surface at least one hole through the outer surface and the inner surface, wherein the hole is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

In another embodiment, disclosed is an article comprising a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface, at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface, a flexible grommet member comprising an outer portion and an inner portion, wherein the outer portion contacts the outer surface with a flange and engages the hole with an outer portion collar. The inner portion contacts the inner surface with a flange and engages the hole with an inner portion collar, wherein the outer portion collar contacts the inner portion collar. The outer portion collar and the inner portion collar are bonded and, the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

Other systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages of the disclosed elastic and resilient panel and grommet for interchangeable logos will be apparent or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. All such additional systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages are intended to be included within the description and are intended to be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following figures. Matching reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the figures, and components in the figures are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating a breathable work shoe and an interchangeable logo button;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating an interchangeable logo button;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates an elastic panel and an interchangeable logo button;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article with an elastic panel and an engaged interchangeable logo button;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of a clothing article and an elastic panel and an engaged interchangeable logo button taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates flexible grommets and an interchangeable logo button;

FIG. 7 is a cut away view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets; and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets and an engaged interchangeable logo button; taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of shoes exemplified in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2006/0048407 A1 entitled “BREATHABLE WORKSHOES AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH”. The shoe 100 is constructed of a flexible and resilient plastic material. This material allows the holes 105 in the shoe 100 to stretch and return to their original shape when an interchangeable logo button 102 is inserted into a hole 105. The resiliency of the material allows a user to repeatedly insert and remove interchangeable logo buttons 102 from the holes 105.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the prior art illustrating an interchangeable logo button 202. The interchangeable logo button 202 comprises a button member 204 that may display a logo and a stem member 206 that is attached to a retaining member 208. The retaining member 208 may have a rounded portion 210 that facilitates insertion of the interchangeable logo button 202 into a flexible and resilient hole in a clothing article (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates an elastic panel 314 and an engaged interchangeable logo button 302 engaged in one of the holes 316. This embodiment illustrates a possible application of the elastic panel 314 in a hat 300. Those skilled in the art will understand that the elastic panel 314 may be incorporated into a variety of clothing articles not limited to hats. For example, the elastic panel 314 may be incorporated into but not limited to: shirts, shorts, swim wear, belts, sunglasses, shoes, watchbands, trousers, or skirts. Additionally, one skilled in the art will understand that the elastic panel 314 may be incorporated into non-clothing articles such as, but not limited to: hand bags, tote bags, luggage, umbrellas, towels, blankets, key chains, or wallets. Further, the elastic panel 314 is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be one of a variety of shapes including but not limited to: circular, trapezoidal, triangular, or an irregular shape.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of elastic panel 414 and an engaged interchangeable logo button 402. In the present embodiment, panel 414 is incorporated into hat 400 by stitching 407, however, one skilled in the art will appreciate that elastic panel 414 may be incorporated into hat 400 by another process such as, but not limited to, bonding, or other suitable process. In this embodiment, elastic panel 414 has three holes 416 that may engage and retain an interchangeable logo button 402. Though this embodiment shows three holes 416, arranged in a colinear fashion, the elastic panel 414 is not limited in the number of holes 416 or their arrangement in the elastic panel 414.

The holes 416 may also have a grommet member 418 with, for example, a rounded profile extending from the outer surface 401 of the elastic panel 414. The purpose of the grommet member 418 is to strengthen the holes 416 in order to facilitate the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo buttons 402. In this embodiment, the grommet members 418 are molded from the same piece of material as the elastic panel 414. However, those skilled in the art will understand that in some embodiments, the grommet members 418 may be molded separately from the elastic panel 414 and installed in the elastic panel 414 using a variety of known plastic bonding processes such as, but not limited to ultra-sonic welding, hot plate welding, or high frequency welding.

One skilled in the art will also understand that the holes 416 and the grommet members 418 are not limited to circular shapes, and can be any one of, but not limited to: rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, a predominantly straight shape such as one similar to a button hole, or any other irregular shape.

In this embodiment, the elastic panel 414 comprises PVC. However, one skilled in the art would understand that the elastic panel 414 may be manufactured from any suitable material that accepts a logo button or the like.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of hat 300, the elastic panel 514 and the engaged interchangeable logo button 502. The elastic panel 514 is attached to the hat fabric 550. The present embodiment includes a hat band 552, but one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hat band 552 may or may not be included in other embodiments. The elastic panel 514 may have one or a plurality holes 516. In the present embodiment, the circumference of the holes 505 on the outer surface 501 of the elastic panel 514 is in contact with grommet members 518 and the grommet members 518 are in contact with the outer surface 501 of the elastic panel 514. One skilled in the art will understand that the holes 516 are not limited to having one grommet member 518 on the outer surface 501 of the elastic panel 514, but may, alternatively, have an additional grommet member 518 on the inner surface 503. In another possible embodiment, there may be no grommet member 518, or there may be a grommet member 518 on the inner surface 503 but not on the outer surface 501.

A user may insert the retaining member 508 and stem member 506 of the interchangeable logo button 502 into the hole 516. The flexibility and resiliency of the elastic panel 514 allows the hole 516 and the grommet member 518 to expand. This expansion facilitates the insertion of the retaining member 508 into the hole 516. In this embodiment, the rounded shape of the grommet member 518 and the rounded portion of the retaining member 508 assist the user in inserting the interchangeable logo button 502 into the hole 516. Once the retaining member 508 has passed through the hole 516, the resilient qualities of the elastic panel 514 and grommet member 518 allow the hole 516 and grommet member 518 to return to their original shape. Since the hole's shape has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining member 508, the retaining member 508 retains the interchangeable logo button 502 in the hole 516. A user may remove the interchangeable logo button 502 from the hole 516 by first applying force to the elastic panel 514 so that the hole 516 expands to a diameter greater than the diameter of retaining member 508. Then, the user may pull the stem 506 and the retaining member 508 out of the hole 516.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a clothing article that incorporates flexible grommets and an interchangeable logo button. In the illustrated embodiment, flexible grommet members 620 engage a plurality of holes 616 in the fabric 612 of a hat 600. The holes 616 and flexible grommet members 620 allow the repeated insertion and removal of interchangeable logo button 602. Again, one skilled in the art will understand that the holes 616 and flexible grommet member 620 are not limited in application to hats but may be incorporated into a variety of clothing articles or other non-clothing articles as discussed in alternative embodiments above.

FIG. 7 illustrates one possible embodiment of flexible grommet members in a fabric. One skilled in the art will understand that the fabric 712 may comprise a number of materials including, but not limited to: cotton, polyester, wool, rubber, leather, nylon, plastic, a blend of polyester and wool, or any other suitable material.

In the illustrated embodiment, one or a plurality of holes 716 is cut in the fabric 712. The holes are of a diameter that will allow the retaining member 208 of an interchangeable logo button 202 (shown in FIG. 2) to pass through the hole 716. One skilled in the art will understand that if the fabric 712 does not have sufficient resilient properties, the retaining member 208 may not engage the inner surface 703 of the fabric 712 and retain the interchangeable logo button 202. Therefore, flexible grommet member 720 with elastic and resilient properties may be installed in hole 716 to engage an interchangeable logo button 202. The flexible grommet member 720 in this embodiment, is PVC, but those skilled in the art will understand that the flexible grommet member may be manufactured from any material with suitable flexibility and resiliency.

In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible grommet member 720 comprises two portions, an outer portion 722 and an inner portion 724. The outer portion 722 may have an outer portion collar 717 and the inner portion 724 may have an inner portion collar 715. The outer portion collar 717 and the inner portion collar 715 may be inserted into one of the holes 716. The outer portion 722 and inner portion 724 are sized and shaped so that mating surfaces 726 are in contact while the flanges 719 and 721 contact the outer surface 701 and the inner surface 703 of the fabric respectively. The outer portion 722 and inner portion 724 are bonded together at the mating surfaces 726 using a suitable bonding process such as ultra sonic welding. Thus, when bonded together, the outer portion 722 and inner portion 724 are retained by the hole 716. One skilled in the art will understand that the bonding process is not limited to ultra sonic welding but may include but is not limited to: hot plate welding, or high frequency welding.

Note that in the illustrated embodiment, the outer portion 722 and inner portion 724 are the same size and shape. However, the outer portion 722 and inner portion 724 are not limited to being the same, and may have different dimensions. For example, the flanges 722 and 721 may be sized and shaped differently or the dimensions of the outer portion collar 717 and the inner portion collar 715 may be different so that the mating surfaces 726 meet in hole 716 closer to or farther from the outer surface 701 of the fabric 712.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of fabric that incorporates flexible grommets and an engaged interchangeable logo button. In the illustrated embodiment, a user may insert the retaining member 808 and stem member 806 of the interchangeable logo button 802 into the hole 816 in the flexible grommet member 820. The flexibility and resiliency of the flexible grommet member 820 allows the hole 816 and the flexible grommet member 820 to expand. This expansion facilitates the insertion of the retaining member 808 into the hole 816. In this embodiment, the rounded shape of the flexible grommet member 820 and the rounded portion 810 of the retaining member 808 assist the user in inserting the interchangeable logo button 802 into the hole 816. Once the retaining member 808 has passed through the hole 816, the resilient qualities of the flexible grommet member 820 allow the hole 816 to return to the hole's original shape. Since the hole's shape has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the retaining member 808, retaining member 808 retains the interchangeable logo button 802 and the stem member 806 in the hole 816. A user may remove the interchangeable logo button 802 from the hole 816 by first applying force to the flexible grommet member 820 so that the hole 816 expands to a diameter greater than the diameter of retaining member 808. The user may then pull the stem 806 and the retaining member 808 out of the hole 816. The present embodiment includes a hat band 852, but one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the hat band 552 may or may not be included in other embodiments.

While particular embodiments of an elastic and resilient panel and grommet for interchangeable logos have been disclosed in detail in the foregoing description and figures for purposes of example, those skilled in the art will understand that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure, as protected by the following claims.

Claims

1. An article comprising:

an elastic panel having an inner surface and an outer surface;

at least one hole through the outer surface and the inner surface; wherein the hole is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the outer surface comprises a grommet member having an inner circumference and outer circumference; wherein the inner circumference of the grommet member contacts the circumference of the hole.

3. An article comprising:

a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface;

at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface;

a flexible grommet member attached to the outer surface of the fabric engaging the edge of the hole.

wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.

4. The article of claim 3 wherein the flexible grommet member is attached to the inner surface of the fabric engaging the edge of the hole.

5. The article of claim 3 wherein the flexible grommet member is attached to the inner surface and outer surface of the fabric engaging the edge of the hole.

6. An article comprising:

a fabric having an inner surface and an outer surface;

at least one hole through the outer surface and inner surface;

a flexible grommet member comprising an outer portion and an inner portion; wherein the outer portion contacts the outer surface with a flange and engages the hole with an outer portion collar; wherein the inner portion contacts the inner surface with a flange and engages the hole with an inner portion collar; wherein the outer portion collar contacts the inner portion collar; wherein the outer portion collar and the inner portion collar are bonded; and wherein the flexible grommet member is configured to engage interchangeable logo buttons.