CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A portion of an article of clothing has a reinforced strip, such as an embroidered strip. A first connector member has a male or female connector on its front face and a rearwardly-projecting member on its rear face. The rearwardly-projecting member passes through the strip to the opposite side of the article of clothing and into an opening in a second connector member. It is secured therein by an elastic snap-fit, for example. A complementary article of clothing (such as the other sock of a pair of socks) has a similar construction but with the other of the male or female connectors on the first connector member. The male connector of the one article snap fits into the female connector of the other to releasably connect them together, such as for washing or storage. To separate the articles the strip of the one article is grasped in one of the user's hands and the strip of the other article in the user's other hand and they are pulled apart. The first and second connector members of both articles remain attached to their respective article.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the filing date benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/015,087, filed Jun. 20, 2014, and of German application 10 2013 014 735.2, filed Sep. 4, 2013. The entire contents of both of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Numerous attempts to fit socks with connecting elements that allow the two socks of a pair of socks to be detachably connected to prevent the loss of a sock when washing and storing the socks are known. Examples are disclosed in International Application PCT/EP/2012/00106 (which was filed on Jan. 11, 2012 and published on Jul. 19, 2012 as WO 2012/095310) and in related U.S. application Ser. No. 13/941,348 (which was filed Jul. 12, 2013, and published on Nov. 14, 2014 as US 2013/0302558). The entire contents of both of these applications and publications are hereby incorporated by reference.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is an assembly that includes: an article of clothing, a portion of which includes a reinforced strip; a first connector member having a front face having a female or male connector; the first connector member having at a rear face thereof outwardly-projecting prongs extending through the strip from a front thereof to a back thereof; and a second connector member positioned on a back side of the strip and into which at least one prong extends and is secured.

Also disclosed herein is an assembly that may include: a first connector member having a front face with a female or male connector thereat and a rear face having a plurality of outwardly-projecting prongs, each of which has an end lip; and a second connector member having a plurality of through-holes, each of which is configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs with a respective lip engaging a respective outward ledge (bearing surface) at the through-hole to thereby affix the first and second connector members together. Each of the prongs may be slanted outwardly (or inwardly, or perpendicular and thereby not slanted at all). The prongs may be configured to snap outwardly (or inwardly) into place with the respective lips engaging respective outward ledges as the prongs are inserted into the through-holes to thereby attach the connector members together.

Further disclosed herein is an assembly that may include: an article of clothing, a portion of which includes an embroidered strip; and a first connector member that has a front face with a male or female connector thereat and a rear face positioned on and held to the strip. The strip may have, for example, a width of 10 mm, a length of 30 mm, and a thickness of 1.5 mm. A number of different constructions for securing the first connector member to the strip are disclosed herein. If the clothing article is a sock, the strip may be positioned longitudinally on the calf portion of the sock. As an example only the top end of the strip may be at least one mm from the top edge of the sock.

The above embroidered strip may include a stabilizer layer on a backside of the material of the article of clothing and for example, through which embroidering threads may pass. The stabilizer layer may be non-woven, woven, mesh, film or foil and may be applied to the backside by adhesive, an adhesive backing or the embroidery threads themselves. The connector member (or connecting element) may be connected to the embroidery advantageously by sewing, ultrasonic welding, a groove/tongue connection and/or a riveted connection.

The embroidery strip may be constructed using various densities. A denser and/or multi-layered embroidery may provide additional stability. For example, a (first) (black) embroidery layer may underlie a (second) embroidery layer having a pattern that may include different colored contours/highlighted areas. The embroidery design may vary from a unicolor (any color) embroidery of any shape (such as a square, heart or star) to any pattern or image embroidery of various colors of any shape.

Even further disclosed herein is a method that may include: (a) grasping an embroidered reinforcing first strip of a portion of a first article of clothing; (b) grasping an embroidered reinforcing second strip of a portion of a second article of clothing; and (c) pulling the grasped first and second strips apart to thereby release a male connector secured (directly) to the first strip from a female connector secured (directly) to the second strip. The two articles of clothing are thereby separated and the male and female connectors remain secured on and to their respective strips, and thereby to their respective clothing articles.

Referring to the above method one way to secure the male connector to the first strip is for the connector to be part of a front face of a first connector member, which on a rear face thereof has outwardly-projecting first prongs. The first prongs pass through the first strip and into a second connector member on the opposite side of the first strip (and the clothing material). The female connector may be secured to the second strip in a similar fashion as the male connector, that is, with third/first and fourth/second connector members. The prongs may have hooked ends and snap into place in the second connector members with the ends engaging (bearing against) ledges at the receiving holes in the second connector members. Alternatively, the prongs may be bendable and fit into pockets (or bearings) in the second connector members and bend into holding configurations, such as by using a metallic tongue-and-groove construction.

Disclosed herein is a connector assembly that affixes a front plate of a first connector member of the assembly on and to a reinforcing strip of a sock with a snap-together permanent connection in a very small device and without compromising the comfort to the user wearing the sock. A back second connector member of the assembly may extend inwardly towards the user's skin no more than a millimeter, according to one embodiment. Four prongs of the first connector member lean outwards to provide a resilient snap/spring effect to permanently secure the two connector members together. The rounded heads of the prongs (or snaps) facilitate the insertion of the prongs into the through-holes of the second connector member. The forwardly facing ends of the prongs bias against the bearing ledge surfaces of the through-holes to secure the lock. This lock is stronger than the releasable connection of the male connector (mushroom-shaped posts) to the female connectors (openings) and thereby does not disassemble when the socks are pulled apart. In other words, the load bearing capacity of the sum of the four prongs is greater than that of the mushroom-shaped posts and holes.

The connecting member may be secured to its reinforced strip at, to and on an end portion of the strip, and the rest of the reinforced strip (that is, the other end) forms a gripping (or handle) portion of the strip. It is the gripping portions that the user grips and pulls on to separate the connected clothing articles. The (embroidered) gripping portion thereby serves a number of purposes and has a number of advantages. Being adjacent to the connector members the user's grasping fingers will be adjacent to the connector members thereby reducing the stress and tearing tendencies exerted on the underlying material of the clothing. The gripping portion being reinforced, such as with an integral embroidering, and continuous with the end portion for the connector, increasing assembly integrity.

The gripping portions may be configured, colored or the like to be readily identified by the user so that the user intuitively knows where to grasp on the clothing article. The user is thereby less likely to grasp an unreinforced and more distant location on the clothing article, increasing the likelihood of the article tearing. Further, using embroidery the gripping portion may be easily customized by the manufacturer to match or complement the article (sock) and/or for identification, advertising or trade dress purposes.

The (embroidered) reinforcing strip may be positioned generally at any location on the article of clothing (such as socks, gloves and gauntlets). (Socks in the sense of the present disclosure are understood to mean any hosiery goods.) For example, the strip may be located on the calf portion of a sock, facing outwardly. It thereby is visible when being worn, such as when the user is crossing his legs, thereby being decorative and/or source identifying. The calf portion of the sock often has a looser fit on the user than other portions of the sock, and thus the strip and connectors are less tactilely noticeable to the user when the sock is worn. The connector member may be positioned at and on the lower end of the strip and thereby be more visible to the public when the socks are worn (and particularly when the user's legs are crossed), which may be advantageous when a logo (trademark) is on the outer surface of the connector member. The logo may be formed thereon/therein in a two-plastic injection molding process with the rest of the first connecting member. The logo may incorporate the connector members (the posts and the openings) within it.

Instead of having prongs extending rearwardly from the (front) first connector members, posts may be provided on the (rear) second connector members. The posts extend forwardly, through the reinforced strips, and into openings in the first connector members in which they may be secured with glue, ultrasonic welds, interference fits or the like.

Another construction is to not have second connector members, but rather just have the first connector members secured directly to the strips with glue, sewing, welding or the like. For example, the male and female connectors may be snap and ring/opening connectors. (Or they may be mushroom-shaped posts and corresponding openings.) The connectors may be configured such that when connected together the respective clothing (or similar) articles cannot rotate relative to one another.

The unique configurations and constructions of the first and second connector members allow for easy and secure attachments of the members on and through the reinforced strips. Additionally, the members may be made with very small dimensions and in an injection molding or a 3D printing process. The first connector member may be made, for example, with dimensions of 10 by 10 mm on the top plate and a thickness of 1.0 +2/−0.5 mm. The total thickness of the connector members and the (embroidered) reinforced strip may be very small, on the order of 3.5 +5/−3 mm. Where the article of clothing is a sock, for example, the second connector member may extend a distance backward/inward relative to the material of the unreinforced portion less than three mm and thereby be barely perceptible by the wearer.

The reinforced strip may be an embroidered strip formed on and through the material of the article of clothing. Embroidering does not cause the material to bunch or stretch and an embroidered strip is permanently affixed and will not separate from the clothing material. By selecting the threads, their colors and the stitching patterns used, attractive patterns may be formed on the strips. The patterns may also be selected to form trademark/trade dress designs.

Also disclosed herein are: a pair of complementary articles of clothing; methods of making and using the clothing articles including any portions thereof; each of the components, members and elements disclosed herein (individually or in combination) and methods and making and using them; and any combination or subcombinations of the components, members, steps and elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pair of socks embodying connector assemblies of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the socks of FIG. 1, showing the socks in a connected condition and being grasped and pulled apart by a user according to the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 and showing the two socks separated.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of a male first connector member of one of the connector assemblies of FIG. 1 illustrated in isolation.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the connector member of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the (bottom) second connector members of the connector assemblies of FIG. 1 illustrated in isolation.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the second connector member of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged top plan view of a female first connector member of the connector assemblies of FIG. 1 illustrated in isolation.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 14-14 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the connector member of FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a perspective exploded view of the connector assemblies of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly of

FIG. 16 shown assembled.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged, perspective cross-sectional view showing a portion of the connection of the first connector member to the second connector member.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly on a sock.

FIG. 20 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the female connector assembly on another sock.

FIG. 21A shows the assemblies of FIGS. 19 and 20 releasably connected together.

FIG. 21B is an enlarged view taken on circle 21B of FIG. 21A.

FIG. 22 is a view similar to FIG. 19 but showing an alternative embroidered strip.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged view taken on circle 23 of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a snap button alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 1 but showing an enlarged view of the snap button alternative embodiment of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view showing an alternative connector assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 26 shown assembled.

FIG. 28 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 28-28 of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a top plan view (similar to FIG. 1) of a pair of socks embodying further alternative connector assemblies of the disclosure.

FIG. 30 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the connector assemblies of FIG. 29 including their strips.

FIG. 31 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the male connector assembly of FIGS. 29 and 30.

FIG. 32 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view (similar to that of FIG. 31) of the female connector assembly of FIGS. 29 and 30.

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view showing a further alternative male connector assembly with the members separated.

FIG. 34 is a view similar to that of FIG. 33 but showing the corresponding female connector assembly.

FIG. 35 is a view similar to FIG. 33 but showing the members connected together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure according to an aspect thereof allows the temporary connection of articles of clothing, in particular socks, such as during the washing process and/or during storage, by a connecting system attached to the articles of clothing.

A complementary pair of articles of the disclosure is indicated in FIG. 1 generally at 50. The pair 50 is depicted as first and second socks shown generally at 54 and 58. Sock 54 includes a first connector assembly 62 and sock 58 includes a complementary second connector assembly 64. Each of the connector assemblies may include a respective reinforcing strip 68, 72 and a respective connector 76, 80 secured to its respective reinforcing strip by various alternative constructions/means as discussed in detail herein.

The first connector 76 may have a male connector on its front face as shown generally at 84 in FIGS. 4 and 6-8, and which may include first and second spaced mushroom-shaped posts 88, 92. Similarly, the second connector 80 may have a female connector on its face as shown generally at 96 in FIG. 13 and which may include first and second spaced openings or through-holes 100, 104. The (resilient plastic) openings 100, 104 are configured to receive therein and releasably hold the (resilient plastic) posts 88, 92, as can be understood from FIGS. 16 and 21A, for example. Alternatively, the first connector may have a male connector (e.g., post) and a female connector (e.g., opening) on its front face and the second connector may have a corresponding female connector and a corresponding male connector on its front face.

One construction for securing the male and female connectors 84, 96 (or the first and second connectors 76, 80) to the respective reinforcing strips 68, 72 is by using a first connector member 112 on the outside of the strip and a second connector member 116 on the inside of the strip with a connection means/mechanism extending between them and passing through the reinforcing strip.

The connection means/mechanism may include a plurality of prongs (or snaps) 130, 134, 138, 142. The prongs may be integrally formed as part of the first connector member 112, extending rearwardly from a back face of the front plate 146 and arranged concentrically about a central axis of the front plate. One embodiment has four prongs, as shown in the drawings and an alternative has three. Each of the prongs 130, 134, 138, 142 may be identical, slanted outwardly (or inwardly) and have an end crook or hook 152 with a distal end 156, as shown for example in FIGS. 6-8.

The (bottom) second connector member 116, as shown in FIGS. 9-12, may be formed as a plate or disc 166 with rounded corners, and having four concentric identical through-holes 170, 174, 178, 182. Each of the through-holes may have a respective outwardly-facing recessed ledge, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 at 190. With the four prongs 130, 134, 138, 142 positioned in a point symmetrical arrangement, the second connector member advantageously can be snapped on in any orientation without prior alignment. The forward face of the second connector member may have a raised portion surrounding the through-holes 170, 174, 178, 182 and spaced inwardly from a perimeter of the forward face.

With the prongs 130, 134, 138, 142 passing rearwardly through the reinforced strip 68 and into the respective through-holes 170, 174, 178, 182, the resilient prongs snap into place such that each distal end 156 engages or bears against a respective ledge 190. The first connector member 112 is thereby affixed to the second connector member 116 and on the reinforced strip 68 at the desired location thereon. The engagement of the ends 156 against the ledges 190 can be seen in and understood from FIGS. 17 and 18. The rounded portions of the hooks 152 may extend out the back face of the second connector member 116 only a slight distance (FIGS. 17 and 18) (or not at all) so as to be barely perceptible by the wearer. For example, it may extend less than two mm relative to the surrounding un-reinforced (sock) material.

The rearwardly-disposed prongs 130, 134, 138, 142 of FIGS. 16 and 17 have the advantage that they may be completely customized for the purpose. Since they may use an injection molding or 3D printing process, they are shaped to snap fit into a very slim plastic disc (e.g., the second connector member). The dimensions and thermoplastic material may be chosen according to the occurring forces. The prongs may be positioned spaced a distance from the edge of the embroidery of the strips 68, 72 to prevent fraying of the embroidery.

Exemplary dimensions for the connector follow:

• • with the first and second connector members attached together, the curved rounded portion of the hooks may be flush with or extend out from the outer back surface of the second connector member less than 1.0 cm (see FIG. 17, for example); that is, with the first and second connector members connected together, the rounded hook portions of each of the prongs may extend 0.1-0.8 mm, or less than 1.0 cm, out beyond the back face of the second connector member.
  • the first connector member may be rectangular and have a width of 5-30 mm and a length of 5-30 mm.
  • the first connector member may have a width of 10 mm and a length of 10 mm.
  • each of the prongs may slant outwardly (or inwardly) at an angle of between 5 and 30 degrees, or 10 degrees.
  • the first connector member may include a disc (front plate 146) having a rectangular configuration with a width of 10 +20/−5 mm, a length of 10 +20/−5 mm and a thickness of 1.0 +2/−0.5 mm, and the second connector member may have a width of 8 +20/−5 mm, a length of 8 +20/−5 mm and a thickness of 0.8 mm+2/−0.5 mm.
  • the first and second connector members when affixed on the piece of material (e.g., a sock or a reinforced strip portion of a sock) may have a total thickness of 3.5 +5/−3 mm.

The reinforced strips 68, 72 may be embroidered strips and may have the following properties, materials or dimensions. They may include a stabilizer layer 210 as shown in FIG. 21B on the backside of the material 214 of the article of clothing (sock). The stabilizer layer 210, in turn, may be a layer of non-woven, woven, mesh, film or foil and may be applied to the backside by self-adhesive (backing), adhesive or embroidery threads.

One or both of the embroidered reinforced strips are shown in FIGS. 16, 17, 19, 20, 21A, 21B, 22 and 23. The strips 68, 72 may have, for example, a width of 10 mm, a length of 30 mm, and a thickness of 1.5 mm. They may have a width of 5 to 50 mm and a length of 5 to 100 mm. They may have a thickness of 1.5 +2/−0.5 mm. An exemplary strip may have a width of 10 mm +20 mm/−5 mm with a length of 30 mm +50/−20 mm. The embroidered strips may have a density of 700 to 1300 stitches per square centimeter or 40 (or 200) to 2000 stitches per square centimeter. The strips may use polyester, rayon or cotton embroidering threads, for example.

The articles of clothing (complementary articles) may be socks, which may be made of wool, cotton, modal, cotton blends (e.g., with modal, polyamide, spandex, nylon, acrylic, polyester, olefins, bamboo, spandex, cashmere, silk, linen, mohair, synthetics, semi-synthetics, rayon, lyocell, or cellulose fiber). The connector assemblies may be secured to the calf part of the socks facing laterally outwardly (or laterally inwardly). The connector assemblies thereby are visible when being worn, such as when the user is crossing his legs, thereby being decorative and/or source identifying. The calf portion of the sock often has a looser fit on the user than other portions of the sock, and thus the strip and connectors are less tactilely noticeable to the user when worn.

The connector member 76, 80 may be positioned at/near the lower end of the strip 68, 72 and thereby be more visible to the public when the socks 54, 58 are worn (and particularly when the user's legs are crossed). This may be advantageous when a logo (trademark) is on the outer surface of the member 76, 80. The logo may be formed thereon/therein in a two-plastic injection molding or 3D printing process with the rest of the first connecting member. The logo may incorporate the connector members (the posts and the openings) within it.

The sock 54, 58 may be a men's or woman's dress, crew, sports or medical sock and in the worn state the bottom edge of the first connector member 76, 80 may be 7 to 30 cm or 12 to 17 cm from the sock bottom. The top of the strip 68, 72 may be between 0 cm and 30 cm from a top edge of the sock. The sock may be a baby's sock or a child's sock and in the worn state the bottom edge of the first connector member is 3-20 cm or 4-10 cm from the sock bottom. The top of the strip may be between 0.5 cm and 30 cm from a top edge of the sock.

As stated above, the connecting member 76, 80 may be secured to its reinforced strip 68, 72 at an end portion of the strip and the rest of the reinforced strip (e.g., the other end) forms a gripping (or handle) portion 230 of the strip. It is the gripping portion 230 that the user 240 grips and pulls on to separate the connected clothing articles, e.g., socks 54, 58. This is illustrated in and apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3. The (embroidered) gripping portion 230 thereby serves a number of purposes and has a number of advantages. Being adjacent to the connector members 76, 80 the user's grasping fingers 240 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 24) will be adjacent to the connector members thereby reducing the stress and tearing tendencies exerted on the underlying material of the clothing. The gripping portion 230 being reinforced, such as with the integral embroidering, and continuous with the end portion for the connector increases the integrity of the socks.

Another reinforcing strip of the present disclosure is a strip of material 250 secured to the top surface of the fabric of the article of clothing, e.g., sock. An example thereof is illustrated in FIGS. 30-32. The strip of the material 250 may be formed, for example, of fabric or flexible plastic, and be secured by gluing, sewing, stitching or punching to the clothing material (e.g., the sock knit), as shown generically by reference numeral 260. The strip 250 may have the same width and length dimensions as the above-described embroidered strip, such as shown in FIGS. 19, 20, 21A and 21B.

An alternative connector assembly of the disclosure is illustrated in FIGS. 26-28 generally at 270. It may have small dimensions similar to the above-described connector assemblies. This assembly 270 may include a front first connector member 276 having male or female connectors such as described above, for example the four posts as shown in FIGS. 26-28 at 280 and four openings, similar to those shown in FIGS. 13-15 at 100, 104. The back second connector member 310 may have perpendicular posts 320 (FIGS. 26 and 28). On the back side/face of the first member 276, openings/holes 290 may be provided and alignable with the posts 320 (FIGS. 26 and 28) of the second member 310. The posts 320 then are passed forwardly through the clothing article 330 (or more particularly a reinforced strip thereof), which is shown generically in FIGS. 26-28 and into the openings 290 in the back of first connector member 276. They are secured therein using glue, ultrasonic welds, interference fits or the like, and as shown generically in FIG. 28 at 340.

For the embodiment of the assembly 270 in FIGS. 26-28 the disc or plate 344 of the back second connector member 310 may be extra thin. This is because it is only holding the posts 320, and does not supply the snap-fit / riveting bearing for prongs as the second connector member 116 of connection assembly 62 does.

Instead of the male mushroom-shaped posts and the corresponding openings in the opposing connection assembly, a snap arrangement may be used. Specifically, and referring to FIGS. 24 and 25, the male connector may include a metal or plastic snap 330 and the female connector may include a receiving ring or cavity 340. The round snap button may have a diameter of 2-20 mm. The metal or plastic snap 330 and metal or plastic receiving ring 340 (FIGS. 24 and 25) may be based on a system used in the apparel industry for which many factories already have suitable assembly machinery.

The prong ring/socket pieces of FIGS. 24 and 25 may be attached to the fabric with a kick press machine with a respective mold. In other words, the principle of a capped prong ring and the receptor being a socket piece inside the socks may be employed. An embroidered strip may be used for this system or the separately formed strips in FIG. 30.

A further connection assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 33-35 generally at 400. It includes a forward first connection member 410 and a back second connection member 420. A male connection member is illustrated in FIG. 33 with one or more posts 430. And a female connection member is illustrated in FIG. 34 with one or more corresponding openings 440. The first connection member has a plurality of prongs 450 preferably made of a bendable metal in contrast to the plastic of the plate portion of the member. The metal prongs advantageously may simply be pierced through the embroidery (reinforcing strip), while for the previously-described plastic prongs the embroidery (reinforcing strip) may need to be pierced with a machine before the snap/prong assembly.

The second connection member 420 has one continuous circular or a plurality of pockets or bearings 470, which receive a respective prong 450 when the connection members are assembled together, such as on a reinforced strip. The prongs 450 thereby bend as they are pushed into the pockets 470, as illustrated in FIG. 35, to secure the two members 410, 420 together. (The clothing material and reinforced strip are not illustrated in these figures for explanatory purposes.)

The prong connection assembly embodiment of FIGS. 33-35 may have at least two connection points for a redundant safe connection. The non-twistable connection keeps the socks and their (gripping area) reinforcing strips positioned towards each other. Generally any color or graphic may be integrated in the molded cap piece in a print/two-injection molding manufacturing process. Additionally, the snaps may be custom designed as needed for specific forces.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including” and “having” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

Although the terms first, second, third and so forth may be used herein to describe various members, elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these members, elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first member, element, component, region, layer or section discussed below can be termed a second member, element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the aspects of the present teachings.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (such as “between” versus “directly between,” and “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent”). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Although the present inventions have been described herein in terms of preferred and alternative embodiments, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-described embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. The embodiments may be defined as pairs of complementary articles, one or the other of the articles, a set of two connecting assemblies having connecting elements for a pair of complementary articles of clothing, one or the other of the connecting assemblies, methods of using or assembling, and/or subassemblies or sub-methods. The inventions may further include each of the individual components separately. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present inventions extends to all such modifications and/or additions and that the scopes are limited solely by the claims set forth herein.

Claims

1. An assembly, comprising:

an article of clothing;

a portion of the article of clothing includes a reinforced strip;

a first connector member having a front face having a female or male connector;

the first connector member having at a rear face thereof outwardly-projecting prongs extending through the strip from a front thereof to a back thereof; and

a second connector member positioned on a back side of the strip and into which the at least one prong extends and is secured.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the prong has an end hook, the second connector member has a through-hole with an inset ledge at the through-hole, and the end of the hook engages the ledge with the first and second connector members attached together.

3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein with the first and second connector members attached together, a curved rounded portion of the hook is flush with or extends out from an outer back surface of the second connector member less than 1.0 cm.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the prongs are outwardly or inwardly slanted.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the strip is a strip of fabric or plastic material that is secured to the article of clothing by gluing, sewing, heat sealing or punching.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the strip is an embroidered strip.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the prongs bend outwardly into respective pockets in the second connector member and are thereby secured, and wherein the prongs before securement to the second connector member are vertically disposed and parallel to one another.

8. An assembly, comprising:

a first connector member having a front face with a female or male connector thereat and a rear face having a plurality of outwardly-projecting prongs; each of the prongs having an end lip; each of the prongs slanting outwardly or inwardly; and

a second connector member having a plurality of through-holes; each of the through-holes configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs with a respective end lip engaging a respective outward ledge at each through-hole to affix the first and second connector members together.

9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the prongs are configured to snap outwardly into place with the respective lips engaging respective outward ledges as the prongs are inserted into through-holes to attach the connector members together.

10. The assembly of claim 8 wherein each of the prongs slants outwardly at an angle of between 5 and 20 degrees.

11. The assembly of claim 8 wherein a forward face of the second connector member has a raised portion surrounding the through-holes and spaced inwardly from a perimeter of the forward face.

12. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the male or female connector is a female connector that includes two longitudinally aligned openings.

13. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the male or female connector is a male connector that includes two longitudinally aligned mushroom-shaped posts.

14. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the through-holes are configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs with the prongs passing through a piece of material to affix the first and second connector members together on and to the piece of material; and wherein the first and second connector members when affixed on the piece of material have a total thickness of 3.5 +5/−3 mm.

15. The assembly of claim 8 further comprising:

a third connector member having a front face with a female connector thereat and a rear face having outwardly-projecting prongs; each of the prongs having an end lip and each slanting outwardly; the prongs being symmetrically disposed about a central vertical axis through the third connector member;

a fourth connector member having through-holes, each configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs of the third connector member with a respective lip engaging a respective ledge at each through-hole to affix the third and fourth connector members together;

the female or male connector of the first connector member being a male connector; and

the female connector of the third connector member being configured to receive and releasably hold the male connector of the first connector member.

16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the through-holes of the second connector member are configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs of the first connector member with the prongs passing through a first piece of material to affix the first and second connector members together on and to the first piece of material; and wherein the through-holes of the fourth connector member are configured to receive therein a respective one of the prongs of the third connector members with the prongs passing through a second piece of material to affix the third and fourth connector members together on and to the second piece of material; and wherein the connection of the first and second connector members and the connection of the third and fourth connector members are stronger than the connection of the male and female connectors so that the connection of the male and female connectors releases before that of the first and second connector members and the third and fourth connector members when the first and second strips are grasped and pulled apart.

17. An assembly, comprising:

an article of clothing;

a portion of the article of clothing including an embroidered strip; and

a first connector member having a front face with a male or female connector thereat and a rear face positioned on and held to the strip.

18. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the embroidered strip includes a stabilizer layer on a backside of the material of the article of clothing.

19. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the embroidered strip has a width of 5 to 30 mm and a length of 10 to 80 mm.

20. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the embroidered strip has a density of 200 to 2000 stitches per square centimeter.

21. The assembly of claim 17 further comprising:

a second connector member positioned on a back side of the strip and having a plurality of forwardly-disposed posts; and

the posts extending through the strip into respective openings in the rear face of the first connector member and secured therein to hold the first connector member to the strip.

22. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the first connector member is at and on an end of the strip.

23. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the male or female connector is a male connector that includes a male snap.

24. The assembly of claim 17 further comprising:

the first connector member having at the rear face outwardly-projecting prongs penetrating through the strip from a front thereof to a back thereof; and

a second connector member positioned on a back side of the strip and into which the at least one prong extends and is affixed.

25. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the male connector is a metal or plastic snap and the female connector is a receiving ring or cavity for the snap.

26. The assembly of claim 17 wherein the first connector member has a male connector on the front face and a female connector at the front face.