Fastener

Abstract

A fastener for fastening together first and second parts (10,11) of a fabric article. The fastener comprising a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element (2) secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female fastening element (3) secured to the other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element (2) being insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and female fastening elements. The male and female fastening elements of each pair of fastening elements are provided with matching identifying means (13) and the identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from each other.

Description

The present invention relates to a fastener for fastening together parts of a fabric article such as clothing. In particular, the fastener is for use on baby or children's clothing.

Known fasteners, such as pop studs or press studs, are well known as fasteners on clothing. Such fasteners are used because they allow the two parts to be joined together and separated easily and quickly. Each pop stud comprises a male part and a female part which releasably lock together when the two parts are pushed together. The fastener is formed of a series of pop studs, a line of male parts on one part of the clothing, and a line of female parts on the other part.

Known fasteners of this type have the disadvantage that the different parts of the fastener can easily be mismatched, i.e. an incorrect pairing is made between a male part and a female part. This mismatch is often not apparent until almost all of the pop studs have been connected. It is then necessary to unfasten all of the wrongly connected pop studs, and restart the process of fastening the two parts of the article together.

The present invention provides a fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener comprising:

a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and female fastening elements; wherein:

the male and female fastening elements of each pair of fastening elements are provided with matching identifying means and the identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from each other.

The present invention also provides a fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener comprising:

a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and female fastening elements; wherein:

the fastening elements are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of the fabric article and a second row on the second part of the fabric article, each pair of fasteners having one fastening element located in the first row and the other fastening element in the second row; and

the male and female fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are arranged in opposite orientations to one another so that in each row each male fastening element is separated from the other male fastening element in the row by at least one intervening female fastening element.

This has the advantage that an incorrect pairing of fastener fastening elements is avoided. This prevents these mistakes and so eliminates to need to re-fasten the fastener.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the fastener of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a second embodiment of the fastener of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a front view of a third embodiment of the fastener of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the fastener of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, parts 10,11 of the fabric clothing are separated by an opening 12. The separation of the first and second parts 10, 11 enables the article of clothing to be put on or taken off the wearer.

A fastener 1 comprises a plurality of male fastening elements 2 and a plurality of female fastening elements 3. The male fastening elements 2 are equally spaced adjacent to the edge of the second part 11 of the article of clothing. The female fastening elements 3 are equally spaced adjacent to the edge of the first part 10 of the article of clothing. The male fastening elements 2 and female fastening elements 3 are positioned opposite to one another to form pairs of fastening elements 4, 5, 6. When the male and female fastening elements of each pair of elements 4,5,6 are connected, the parts 10,11 of the article of clothing are correctly fastened together.

The male and female fastening elements 2,3 are formed so as to function as conventional pop studs. Either or both of the fastening elements 2, 3 are elastically deformable to allow a snap locking action between the fastening elements 2,3 when the male fastening elements 2 are inserted in to the female fastening elements. The fastening elements 2,3 are also elastically deformable to allow disengagement when a force is applied to separate them.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first pair 4 of the fastening elements is of a first colour, e.g. blue. The third pair 6 of fastening element is the same colour as the first pair. The second 5 and fourth pairs 7 of fastening elements are of a second colour, e.g. red. This sequence is repeated so that each pair of fastening elements is of alternating colour. The male fastening element 2 and female fastening element 3 of each pair are the same colour.

The use of alternating colours prevents a user from accidentally mismatching the pairs of fastening elements, e.g. connecting the male element of the first pair to the female element of the second pair. The person using the fastener is able to see the correct pairing of the fastening elements by matching the colours to avoid making mistakes, or to immediately correct a mistake.

Generally a person using the fastener will only consider mismatching pairs of fastening elements which are adjacent to one another. However, some users may occasionally attempt to mismatch fastening elements which are not adjacent, i.e. connecting the male fastening element of the first pair with the female fastening element of the third pair. This error can be avoided by using a second embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 2. This embodiment uses three different colours, such that the first, second and third pairs 4,5,6 are of different colours. The male fastening element 2 and female fastening element 3 of each pair will be the same colour.

This sequence of three colours is repeated along the length of the fastener, so that every third pair of fastening elements is the same colour. This embodiment of the invention prevents users from mismatching pairs of fastening elements which are adjacent or separated by one other pair.

In a further embodiment of the invention, not shown, each pair of fastening elements is a different colour. This ensures that when two fastening elements of the same colour are connected together, the user is certain that they have been correctly matched. The colours could be arranged in a well known series, for example, in the colours of the rainbow.

The identifying feature of the fastening elements 2,3 described above is their colour. It is also possible to use other means to identify the correct pairing of the fastening elements 2,3.

As shown in FIG. 3, a shape 13 is associated with each fastening element. The same shape 13 is associated with the male fastening element 2 and female fastening element 3 in each pair, each adjacent pair having different shapes. For example, the first pair 4 can be associated with a square shape, and the second pair 5 can be associated with a triangular shape. As explained with reference to the colours, three different shapes could be used for the first three pairs, this sequence repeating along the length of the fastener. Alternatively, a different shape could be used for each pair of fastening elements. A shaped identifier, e.g. 13 can be adjacent to the fastening elements 2,3 or the identifying shape could be the actual shape of the fastening elements.

In the same manner, a character or indicia such as a number could be associated with each pair. Alternatively, each pair of fastening elements could have associated with them a texture which is different from the adjacent pair.

The fastener described above can be used on fabrics or fabric clothing, for fastening together different parts of the article. In particular, the fabric fastener can be used for baby or children's clothing. The fastener of the present invention is of particular benefit because children often move around as the fastening elements are being connected, making it more difficult to ensure that the pairs are correctly attached. The fastener could also be used on other articles, for example duvet covers.

With reference to FIG. 4, a mismatch of the pairs can be avoided by having alternate male and female fastening elements on the first part of the article 10, and alternate male and female fastening elements of the second part of the article 11. Each pair still consists of a male fastening element and a female fastening element, which are located opposite one another. A user cannot connect the male fastening element of the first pair to the opposite element of the adjacent pair. This is because the opposite element of an adjacent pair is also a male fastening element, and so no connection is possible.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the use of different colours, shapes or textures are not required in order for a user to match the pairs. However, the use of different colours, shapes or textures could be combined with the fastener of FIG. 4 to further ensure that the pairs of fastening elements are correctly matched.

To assist the use of the fastener in poor light conditions, or in the dark, luminescent material could be incorporated in the fastener. The fastening elements themselves could be made of a luminescent material, or the shapes 13 associated with the fastening elements could be made of luminescent material.

The selection of a correct pair of fastening elements could be achieved using magnets, or using a magnetic property of the fastening elements. One fastening element of a pair is associated with a magnet having its North pole uppermost, and one fastening element of a pair is associated with a magnet having its South pole uppermost. When a correct pairing of fastening elements is made, a North pole is adjacent a South pole and the two magnets will attract each other.

A first part of an article may be provided with a series of male fastening elements, the magnets associated with each element alternating between having a North or South pole uppermost. A second part of an article may be provided with a series of female fastening elements, the magnets associated with each element also alternating between having a North or South pole uppermost. The magnets associated with pairs of fastening elements have complementary poles uppermost. If a user attempts to mismatch a male fastening element with a female fastening element adjacent to the correct female fastening element, then two magnets with the same pole uppermost will be urged together and will repel each other. This will inform the user that a mismatch will be made.

The magnets are not sufficiently strong to securely hold the first and second parts of the article together, the magnets serve only to ensure a correct matching of fastening elements.

In an alternative embodiment, an electronic circuit may be secured in the article of clothing which is able to detect when a pair of fastening elements is correctly closed. The electronic circuit may be connected, for example, to two Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). One LED may be green, and would be instructed by the circuit to flash when a pair of fastening elements was correctly joined. One LED may be red, and would be instructed to flash by the circuit when a pair of fastening elements was incorrectly joined. Alternatively, a single LED could be used which can flash in two different ways to indicate whether the pair is matching or not matching. The electronic circuit may detect the joining of a pair of fastening elements by the presence of a small current passing through the joined fastening elements.

The user would therefore be informed immediately whether the fastening elements are correctly joined. This has a particular advantage that the user is still informed in poor light conditions or in the dark.

The fastening elements 2, 3 have been described above as pop studs. The fastening elements may alternatively be a hook and loop fastener, buttons and holes, bolts and holes, or any other male and female fastening element.

The first part 10 and second part 11 may be parts of the same article, or may be completely separable from each other.

The first and second parts 10, 11 have been described as an article of clothing. The first and second parts may alternatively be formed of a material other than fabric, for example any rigid material.

Claims

1. A fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener comprising:

a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and female fastening elements; wherein:

the male and female fastening elements of each pair of fastening elements are provided with matching identifying means and the identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from each other.

2. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening elements are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of the fabric article and a second row on the second pair of the fabric article, each pair of fastening elements having one fastening element located in the first row and the other fastening element in the second row.

3. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means of the fastening elements of each pair match the identifying means of another pair of fastening elements separated therefrom by an intervening adjacent pair of fastening elements.

4. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means of the fastening elements of each pair match the identifying means of another pair of fastening elements separated therefrom by two intervening pairs of fastening elements.

5. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein the identifying means of each pair of fastening elements is unique to that pair of fastening elements.

6. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening elements are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of the fabric article and a second row on the second part of the fabric article, each pair of fasteners having one fastening element located in the first row and the other fastening element in the second row; and

the male and female fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are arranged in opposite orientations to one another so that in each row each male fastening element is separated from the other male fastening element in the row by at least one intervening female fastening element.

7. A fastener for fastening together first and second parts of a fabric article, the fastener comprising:

a plurality of pairs of fastening elements, each pair comprising a male fastening element secured to one of the parts of the fabric article and a female fastening element secured to the other part of the fabric article, the male fastening element being insertable into the female fastening element to detachably engage the male and female fastening elements; wherein:

the fastening elements are arranged in a pair of rows, a first row on the first part of the fabric article and a second row on the second part of the fabric article, each pair of fasteners having one fastening element located in the first row and the other fastening element in the second row; and

the male and female fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are arranged in opposite orientations to one another so that in each row each male fastening element is separated from the other male fastening element in the row by at least one intervening female fastening element.

8. A fastener as claimed in claim 7 wherein the fastening elements of each pair are provided with matching identifying means and the identifying means of the fastening elements of adjacent pairs of fastening elements are different to each other whereby the fastening elements of the adjacent pairs can be distinguished from each other.

9. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means comprises a colour applied to or with associated with the fastening elements.

10. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means comprise a shape of or a shape associated with the fastening elements.

11. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means comprises an alphanumeric character provided on or associated with each fastening element.

12. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means comprises a textured surface of or associated with each of the fastening elements.

13. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying means comprises a magnet in or associated with each of the fastening elements, or fastening elements having a magnetic property.

14. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fastening elements are formed of a luminescent material.

15. The fastener as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an electronic circuit and an illumination means,

wherein the electronic circuit has a means for detecting the joining of a pair of fastening elements,

the electronic circuit connected to the illumination means such that a matching pair of fastening elements results in a first light from the illumination means, and a non-matching pair of fastening elements results in a second, different, light from the illumination means.

16. A method of joining two parts of a fabric article with the fastener as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

a) identifying a matching pair of fastening elements by matching the identifying means thereof;

b) engaging the male part in the female part of the matching pair; and

c) repeating steps a) and b) until all the pairs of fastening elements have been engaged.