Necktie Restraint

Abstract

A necktie restraint includes an elongate member having first and second ends and a buttonhole therebetween. The necktie restraint includes a first magnetic member coupled to the elongate member adjacent the first end and a second magnetic member coupled to the elongate member adjacent the second end. The second magnetic member is complementary to the first magnetic member so as to selectively couple the first end to the second end. The buttonhole is configured to receive a shirt button to selectively couple the elongate member to a shirt and the elongate member is configured to pass through a necktie tab to selectively couple the elongate member to the necktie.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to neckties and, more particularly, to a necktie restraint that provides an elongate member that may be engaged to a shirt button and that includes spaced apart magnets that may be folded around a necktie tab so to restrain a necktie to a shirt.

A traditional necktie includes an elongate fabric material that is tied in a knot about a user's neck and then includes a pair of tails, one larger than the other, hanging from the knot across the torso of a wearer. Unfortunately, the tails often become separated and disoriented from one another, resulting in a sloppy or unprofessional presentation. Most neckties include a necktie tab on an inner surface of the larger tail, presumably to receive the smaller tail and maintain a connected and oriented presentation. However, the lengths of the tails may not enable the smaller tail to be received in the tab or the tails may become separated in use and require repeated re-orientation.

Various devices have been proposed in the art for restraining the tails of a necktie so as to maintain an orderly presentation. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices disadvantageously require piercing the necktie, employ multiple pieces that may become lost or are uneasy to manipulate, require applying adhesive to the necktie, or do not restrain the necktie to a shirt.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a necktie restraint that may be attached to a shirt button and then connected to a necktie tab. Further, it would be desirable to have a necktie restraint that includes only a single member that may be folded about the tab of a necktie and releasably secured with magnets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A necktie restraint according to the present invention includes an elongate member having first and second ends and a buttonhole therebetween. The necktie restraint includes a first magnetic member coupled to the elongate member adjacent the first end and a second magnetic member coupled to the elongate member adjacent the second end. The second magnetic member is complementary to the first magnetic member so as to selectively couple the first end to the second end. The buttonhole is configured to receive a shirt button to selectively couple the elongate member to a shirt and the elongate member is configured to pass through a necktie tab to selectively couple the elongate member to the necktie.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a necktie restraint to restrain a necktie to a shirt.

Another object of this invention is to provide a necktie restraint, as aforesaid, having only a single component and coupling to a button of a shirt and to the tab of a necktie.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a necktie restraint, as aforesaid, having spaced apart magnets that releasably couple to one another so as to envelop a tab of a necktie.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a necktie restraint, as aforesaid, that is user-friendly to use and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a necktie restraint attached to a shirt and button according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a side view of the necktie restraint as in FIG. 1 in use with a shirt and necktie;

FIG. 2b is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from a portion of FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3a is a perspective view of the necktie receiver as in FIG. 1 removed from the shirt and in an unfolded configuration;

FIG. 3b is a perspective view of the necktie receiver as in FIG. 3a in a folded configuration;

FIG. 4a is a top view of the necktie receiver as in FIG. 3a;

FIG. 4b is a sectional view taken along lines 4b-4b of FIG. 4a;

FIG. 4c is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from a portion of FIG. 4b;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the necktie restraint in use with a shirt and necktie; and

FIG. 6 is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from a portion of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A necktie restraint will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a necktie restraint 100 for use with a necktie 10 and a shirt 15 having buttons 16 includes an elongate member 110, a first magnetic member 120, and a second magnetic member 130. The necktie 10 has front and rear sides 12a, 12b, and a tab 14 extends from the necktie rear side 12b (FIG. 2a).

As shown in FIG. 3a, the elongate member 110 has first and second ends 112a, 112b, and opposed sides 114a, 114b may extend from the first end 112a to the second end 112b. The elongate member 110 may be foldable to place the first end 112a adjacent the second end 112b (FIG. 3b), and the elongate member 110 may be constructed of textile or any other appropriate material. As shown in FIG. 1, the shirt 15 may have a distance D1 between consecutive buttons 16, and a distance between the first and second ends 112a, 112b may be at least as long as the distance D1. The elongate member 110 is configured to pass through the necktie tab 14 to selectively couple the elongate member 110 to the necktie 10; for example, a distance between the sides 114a, 114b may be selected to allow the elongate member 110 to pass through the necktie tab 14 (FIG. 2b).

The first magnetic member 120 is coupled to the elongate member 110 adjacent the first end 112a, and the second magnetic member 130 is coupled to the elongate member 110 adjacent the second 112b. As shown in FIGS. 4b and 4c, the magnetic members 120, 130 may be enveloped by the elongate member 110, and the magnetic member 120, 130 may be sewn into or otherwise coupled to (e.g., by adhesive, etc.) the elongate member 110. The second magnetic member 130 is complementary to the first magnetic member 120 to selectively couple the first end 112a, to the second end 112b (FIGS. 2b and 3b).

Means are included for coupling the elongate member 110 to a respective shirt button 16. For example, a loop may extend from the elongate member 110 to interact with the button 16. In another example, a buttonhole 115 configured to receive the shirt button 16 is located between the first and second ends 112a, 112b, as shown in FIG. 3a. The buttonhole 115 may be relatively adjacent to the first end 112a and relatively distant to the second end 112b, or in other words, may be closer to the first end 112a than to the second end 112b. The buttonhole 115 may extend generally parallel to the sides 114a, 114b, as shown in FIG. 4a.

In use, the elongate member 110 is coupled to a respective shirt button 16. As shown in FIG. 1, the button 16 may pass through the buttonhole 115. The second end 112b of the elongate member 110 may then be folded through the necktie tab 14, and the magnetic members 120, 130 may couple the first end 112a to the second end 112b, as shown in FIG. 2b. Once the elongate member is coupled to the shirt button 16 and the necktie tab 14 in this manner, the elongate member 110 may act as a tether and maintain the necktie 10 adjacent the shirt 15. Positioning the buttonhole 115 as described above may allow the magnetic members 120, 130 to interact without being directly adjacent the necktie tab 14, and the length of the elongate member 110 may allow the necktie restraint 100 to be used regardless of where the necktie tab 14 is located between the shirt buttons 16. For example, the necktie restraint 100 could be rotated one hundred and eighty degrees and attached to the lower shirt button 16 if necessary to interact with the necktie tab 14 (e.g., if the tab 14 were between those buttons 16 and not reachable by the restraint 100 when positioned as shown in FIG. 1).

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A necktie restraint, comprising:

an elongate member having first and second ends and a buttonhole therebetween;

a first magnetic member coupled to said elongate member adjacent said first end and sewn into and enveloped by said elongate member;

a second magnetic member coupled to said elongate member adjacent said second end and sewn into and enveloped by said elongate member, said second magnetic member being complementary to said first magnetic member to selectively couple said first end to said second end;

wherein: said buttonhole is configured to receive a shirt button to selectively couple said elongate member to a shirt; said first magnetic member is positioned between said buttonhole and said elongate member first end; said buttonhole is positioned relatively adjacent said first magnetic member and relatively distant from said second magnetic member; said elongate member is foldable to place said first magnetic member adjacent said second magnetic member; and said elongate member is configured to pass through a necktie tab to selectively couple said elongate member to said necktie.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. The necktie restraint of claim 1, wherein said elongate member is constructed of textile.

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. The necktie restraint of claim 1, wherein:

said shirt has a distance D1 between consecutive buttons; and

a distance between said first and second ends is at least as long as said distance D1.

8. The necktie restraint of claim 7, wherein:

said elongate member has a side extending from said first end to said second end; and

said buttonhole extends generally parallel to said side.

9. (canceled)

10-20. (canceled)