CUSTOMIZABLE MODULAR LANYARD SYSTEM

Abstract

The present disclosure is, in one aspect, directed to a customizable, modular lanyard system, which system includes a plurality of interconnectable sections that can be used to form a user customizable lanyard of a desired length and/or configuration. Each section of the plurality of interconnectable sections can have universal connectors at each of its ends. Each section of the plurality of interconnectable sections also can include a flexible material having at least one of a color, user selectable, design, or patterning and/or one or more graphic representations, themes, scenes, or character depictions. The system further can have a base that can be connected to the one or more of the universal connectors, which base can include a connector that allows for attachment of one or more articles to the user customizable lanyard.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present Patent Application is a formalization of previously filed, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/396,982, filed Sep. 20, 2016, by the inventors named in the present Application.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The specification and drawings of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/396,982, filed Sep. 20, 2016, specifically incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to necklaces or lanyards, and in particular to a customizable, modular lanyard system that can be used in a variety of configurations and can be customized with multiple varying parts or sections according to user preferences.

BACKGROUND

Necklaces or lanyards, including simple cords or fabric strips have been used for some time both as primarily decorative articles, such as in the case of jewelry or costume jewelry, and, more recently for holding badges, tickets or other articles, suspended around the neck of a wearer. For example, at many conventions or trade shows, the old-style or traditional nametag in the form of a card pinned or clipped to a person's shirt or jacket or a sticker with simple printing of a person's name and company and/or other affiliation, has been replaced by necklaces or lanyards that can be looped around the neck of a wearer, and also generally can include badge holders or pouches to hold tickets, ID cards, etc. At some conventions now, such as Science-Fiction and/or comic conventions, it also has become commonplace for attendees to wear clothing with various character insignia and/or to even dress up, i.e., as a Star Wars® Storm Trooper® or the like, and more and more, the attendees at these and even more conventional trade shows and/or conferences are expressing an interest in being able to personalize and/or create their own looks to differentiate themselves and/or otherwise stand out from other attendees.

Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a lanyard and/or similar system that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.

SUMMARY

Briefly described, in one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a customizable modular lanyard system. The customizable modular lanyard system will include a series of interconnectable lanyard sections or pieces, typically formed from a fabric or other, similar flexible material, and each of the lanyard sections also generally can be printed with various graphics or themes. For example, the lanyard sections can be printed with different movie or video game scenes, or with pictures of characters from a person's favorite movie, science fiction series, comic books, etc. Each lanyard section further will include a connector at each end thereof. The connectors can comprise universal type connectors, rather than requiring male and female type connection parts. As a result, the ends of each of the lanyard sections can be connected to a variety of different lanyard sections. Each end of a lanyard section further can be connected to itself so as to form a smaller loop such as for use as a bracelet.

A series of selected lanyard sections can be connected together, based on user preference in terms of design, as well as length, so as to create a customized lanyard of a desired length for the user. At a lower end of the lanyard, a lanyard base can be connected. One or more articles also can be attached, such as by a spring loop, ring, snap or other connectors, to the base; or alternatively, an additional lanyard section simply can be looped through a ring or slot in the article(s) and its end connectors attached to the connectors of the base or to adjacent lanyard sections. In addition, the customizable modular lanyard system further can be designed/customized by its wearer through the use of slidable charms that can be placed on one or more of the lanyard sections and can be slidable along the length thereof. For example, decorative pieces such as a shield (e.g., a Captain America® shield), a banner, or other decorative ornamentation can be mounted on the slider, which further can include a biased protrusion, an adjustable clip or other, similar mechanism to fix the slider in place as needed.

These and other advantages and aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, as follows. In addition, those skilled in the art further will appreciate and understand that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that the dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be understood that the drawings accompanying the present disclosure, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various aspects, features, advantages and benefits of the present disclosure, and together with the following detailed description, serve to explain the principals of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, accordingly, in practice, various features of the drawings discussed herein are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various features and elements shown or illustrated in the drawings and/or discussed in the following Detailed Description may be expanded, reduced or moved to an exploded position in order to more clearly illustrate the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth herein.

FIG. 1 generally illustrates a customizable modular lanyard system in one example embodiment, illustrating the interconnection of the lanyard sections and the use of at least one lanyard section as a bracelet.

FIG. 2A is an exploded front view schematically illustrating one embodiment of the customizable modular lanyard system and various components thereof to form a user customized lanyard.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the assembled lanyard of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a front view of the assembled lanyard of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2D illustrates a perspective interconnection of a lanyard base to the ends of a pair of lanyard sections to complete the lanyard such as illustrated in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2E is a perspective view illustrating the universal attachment clips.

FIGS. 3A-3D generally illustrate the slider for slidably mounting a charm or other decorative article along one or more of the lanyard sections.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate example charms that can be mounted on the slider of FIGS. 3A-3D.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate additional views of the customizable modular lanyard system according to the principles of the present invention, wherein various different printed lanyard sections are provided, as well as slider charm(s) and various example embodiments of lanyard bases or connections that can be used, such as for connecting a badge holder to the lanyard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-5B generally illustrate various example embodiments of a customizable, modular lanyard system 10 according to the principles of the present invention. It should be understood that while the lanyard system 10 has been illustrated in the various figures with various printed scenes, characters or other decorative views, and various lanyard sections 11 are illustrated with varying or different lengths, such decorative depictions and lengths/sizes/configurations are merely for illustrative purposes and should not be viewed as limiting the present customizable, modular lanyard system. Rather, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, various lanyard sections 11 of the customizable, modular lanyard system 10 can be used and connected together to form a variety of different, user customized lanyard designs without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In one example embodiment, as illustrated generally in FIGS. 1-2C and 5A-5B, the customizable, modular lanyard system 10 will include a series of lanyard sections or pieces 11 that will interconnect together to form a completed lanyard L. Each of the lanyard sections 11 can be provided with a varying and/or user selectable length, and further can be provided in varying sizes and/or widths as desired, in order to meet user preferences and/or to provide the users/wearers with more choices or selections for greater customization. Each of the lanyard sections also generally can be formed from a fabric or other, similar flexible, non-stick and/or non-scratch type material that can be dyed or printed. For example, as indicated in FIG. 1, each of the lanyard sections 11 can be provided with a different color such as blue, yellow, red, etc. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the lanyard sections can be printed with various graphic representations, themes, scenes, or character depictions 13 from movies, video games, science fiction series, or various other, different scenes or looks. FIG. 5A shows an example of various scenes or screen depictions from the MINECRAFT® video game; while alternatively, FIG. 5B shows lanyards L having lanyard sections 11 with varying pictures or graphical representations 13, for example, with scenes from a comic book or a video game such as the “Legend of Zelda®”.

In addition, the lanyard sections 11 can be customized further such as by placement of stickers, appliques or similar decals or embellishments that can be applied and attached, such as adhesively or by application of heat. As another alternative, users could select various graphics such as from an online website, or at the convention itself, order and have their own customized looks and/or printed scenes or other decorative effects created on a series of lanyard sections for forming and/or matching such sections to make their personalized lanyards L. Still further, the lanyard sections can be selectively printed with various thermochromic and/or photochromic inks and/or have appliques with such printing or inks so that they can change colors in different light conditions or upon contact with a person's body, to provide even more variation.

As further illustrated in FIG. 2B, the lanyard sections 11 can be provided with a length that can be made adjustable, and/or each section can be of a length so as to allow one or more such lanyard sections to further act as a bracelet B (FIG. 1), either by looping and connecting its ends 11A/11B or with multiple wrappings. As a result, a user can create a matching bracelet B, such as by simply shortening their lanyard L by removing one or more of the sections 11 and connecting the opposite ends 11A-11B of such removed section(s) as a bracelet.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2E, each lanyard section can include a universal connector or clip 15 at each end 11A/11B thereof. The universal connectors 15 are illustrated in one embodiment in FIGS. 2D and 2E, and can include a body 16 with a pair of flexible tongues or projecting prongs 17 connected or fixed thereto, which tongues/prongs 17 each can include a protrusion or protuberance 18 in a top or bottom surface thereof. The universal connector body 16 further will include one or more slots, openings, or recesses 16A, such as a pair of slots, or any other suitable number of slots, e.g., 3, 4, 6, etc., that are sized, configured, and/or arranged to at least partially receive the tongues/prongs 17. The universal connector body 16 also can include one or more biasing tabs 19 that are located substantially adjacent to at least one of the slots 16A, and when the tongues/prongs 17 are at least partially received in the slots 16A, the tabs 19 may at least partially engage at least a portion of the tongues/prongs 17 and/or the protrusion 18 positioned therealong. In addition, or in the alternative, the tabs 19 can engage a complementary recess or other suitable feature defined in or positioned along the tongues/prongs 17. As a result, the universal connectors simply can be urged together, whereby their prongs or tongues 17 will slidably engage each other and/or tabs 19 in a frictional, interlocked engagement to hold the lanyard sections 11 together. For example, when corresponding universal connectors are urged together, the pair of prongs/tongues 17 can be at least partially received within corresponding slots or openings 16A, and the protrusions 18, or recesses or other features, in the prongs/tongues can be brought at least partially into contract or engagement with the biased tabs 19 to substantially hold or secure the prongs/tongues within the slots/openings 16A. The universal connectors further generally can be designed with a desired breakaway strength, for example, approximately three to approximately six pounds, although greater or lesser breakaway strengths can be provided, so that if the lanyard is grabbed or caught, the sections 11 will separate easily, e.g., to avoid injury to the wearer. In addition, or alternatively, other types of universal connection mechanisms, including magnets or other, similar type of connectors also can be used.

FIGS. 2A-2B and 6A illustrate an example embodiment of a lanyard base 20 that can connect to the ends 11A/11B of a pair of lanyard sections 11 to complete the lanyard L and connect or secure other articles thereto. In one embodiment, the lanyard base 20 can include a body 21 which can include a series of slots or connection openings 22 (FIG. 2D) adapted to receive one or more of the tongues or protrusions 17 of the universal connectors of the pair of lanyard sections 11, with biasing tabs 19 along selected parts thereof such as illustrated generally in FIG. 2A, and further can include a D-ring or other type connector 23 at its distal end 24. In some embodiments, as also illustrated in FIG. 2A, a snap, clip, hook, or other, similar connector 26 also can be mounted to the base 20, such as by the D-ring 23, including being pivotally mounted to the ring so as to enable the hook to swivel and/or pivot in multiple directions. The clip hook 26 also can comprise a spring biased clip/hook or clasp, such as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D and 5A, to enable connection to a badge holder 28 (such as shown in FIG. 5B) and/or other articles. The articles can include carriers, such as envelopes, pouches, other rigid or flexible receptacles, or other suitable carriers; signs, such as name tags, identification placards, or posters or other items containing identification or other suitable information; event passes, such as tickets, vouchers, or other authorization documents; and/or ornamental items, such as pieces jewelry, medallions, charms, trinkets, ornaments, etc., though any suitable articles or items can be attached to the lanyard sections or base without departing from the present disclosure. The badge holder 28, which can include a plastic sleeve or similar article for holding a ticket or tag T, further can be clipped or hooked onto the lower end of the lanyard L, by a simple spring clip or O-ring, including an additional lanyard section simply being looped therethrough and connected via its universal end connectors to additional lanyard sections 11.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5A, 5B, decorative charms 30 also can be attached and/or slidably located along one or more of the lanyard sections 11. The charms 30 can include various characters, articles or other decorative items such as a MINECRAFT® pig (FIG. 4A); a sword and shield or cape as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D, or a figure, such as “Super Mario®” from the Nintendo games, as illustrated in FIG. 4C. Other types and designs of decorative charms also can be used.

The charms 30 generally can be mounted to a slider 31 (FIG. 3A) for mounting along a lanyard section (as shown), and can be attached thereto in a variety of ways, including by adhesives or other types of permanent attachments; or further can be simply clipped or attached to a slider 31 by a releasable connector F such as a magnet, a snap fastener, hook and loop fasteners or other type fastener, and/or even by the use of some releasable adhesive materials. For example, FIG. 3A shows a side view of a charm 30 being mounted to a slider 31. In one embodiment, the sliders 31 each generally can comprise a body 32 with an upper surface 33 against which the charm is mounted, and a lower or bottom portion or part 34, with a channel or recess 36 defined therebetween. A gap or opening 37 also can be provided in the lower or bottom portion 34, to enable the slider to be fitted onto the lanyard, even after the lanyard has been assembled. As further generally illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3D, at least a portion 34A of the bottom part 34 of the slider generally is biased inwardly toward the front portion, and further can include a projection or button 38 that will bear against a lanyard section to which the slider (with the charm attached thereto) is mounted. This can create a frictional engagement between the projection of the slider 31 and the lanyard section that generally will be sufficient to hold the charm 30 in a desired position or location along the lanyard section, while also enabling the sliding movement of the lanyard charm along the lanyard section, such as generally illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5A and 5B.

Each of the charms can be made of a plastic or synthetic material, such as a silicone or similar plastic material. In some embodiments, however, other types of charms, such as die cast metal charms or the like, also can be used. The slider body further generally can be made from a plastic material, although other types of materials also can be used, and typically also can have a reduced profile and/or size so as to be as unobtrusive as possible when mounting a charm to a lanyard section.

In use, for example, at a convention or trade show, a variety of different printed or decorative lanyard sections can be provided as can a series of different decorative charms. Users can simply select from the variety of different lanyard sections provided to create their own personalized, and/or customized lanyard L. Users can also select different length or size and different numbers of lanyard sections to create varying or different length lanyards as desired, and further also can select additional lanyard sections or utilize one of their previously selected lanyard sections as a complementary bracelet. Each of the lanyard sections will interconnect using the universal connectors at their ends to form a user customized lanyard of the desired length, with the distal ends of the bottom lanyard sections being connected to a lanyard base so as to close and form the completed lanyard with the lanyard base and its associated connector(s) at the bottom thereof. The wearer can clip their badge holder or other articles to the bottom of the lanyard, such as illustrated in FIG. 5B. They can also remove a lanyard section and use it as a complimentary bracelet B as shown in FIG. 1.

In an alternative embodiment, users could select, such as online before the convention or at the convention itself using a terminal or kiosk, various designs to be used or printed for their lanyard sections. The sections can be preprinted and a personalized lanyard assembled and mailed or provided on-site for each user or attendee, or could be printed or otherwise customized on-site. For example, screen-printing of the lanyard sections could be done on-site, or the lanyard sections could be provided with more generic backgrounds or scenes and heat-activated appliques or stickers selected and applied to the lanyard sections as desired by the wearer/user.

In addition, users can select and attach one or more charms, which can be slid and located at a desired position along a lanyard section. Users can select from available charms that they can use, or can bring their own charms which can be quickly and detachably mounted to a slider for slidable attachment to their lanyard.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the present disclosure provides a customizable and modular lanyard system that enables users to select and personalize or customize their lanyards or badge holders to provide a more personalized look and appearance.

In addition, while the foregoing description generally illustrates and describes various embodiments of the present disclosure, it will, however, be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the above-discussed construction of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as disclosed herein, and that it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as being illustrative, and not to be taken in a limiting sense. Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed to cover various modifications, combinations, additions, alterations, etc., above and to the above-described embodiments, which shall be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, various features and characteristics of the present disclosure as discussed herein may be selectively interchanged and applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiments of the disclosure, and numerous variations, modifications, and additions further can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A customizable, modular lanyard system, comprising:

a plurality of interconnectable sections that are connectable to form a user customized lanyard of a selected length and/or configuration, wherein each of the plurality of interconnectable sections comprises a flexible material having at least one of a color, user selectable, design, or patterning and/or one or more graphic representations, themes, scenes, or character depictions;

a series of universal connectors each disposed at an end of each of the plurality of interconnectable sections, wherein the universal connectors are configured to releasably couple to one another to form the user customized lanyard of the selected length and/or configuration; and

a base having a body configured to receive and releasably connect to the one or more of the universal connectors so as to attach the base to at least one section of the plurality of interconnectable sections, the base further comprising a connector that is configured to releasably attach one or more articles to the user customized lanyard.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more sections of the plurality of sections comprise a varying length, size, and/or width.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the flexible material comprises a fabric material.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each universal connector comprises a body having a pair of flexible projecting portions extending outwardly, recesses configured to receive at least a portion of a corresponding flexible projection portion therein, and one or more biased tabs defined in the body substantially adjacent the recesses, and wherein the universal connectors are connected by moving the flexible projecting portions of a pair of universal connectors into the corresponding recesses and into frictional, interlocked engagement with one or more of the biased tabs.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the flexible projecting portions comprises a protrusion disposed therealong, and wherein the protrusion is at least partially engaged by a biased tab when its projecting portion is moved into a corresponding recess of another universal connector.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the universal connectors each comprise a breakaway strength of approximately 3 lbs. to approximately 6 lbs.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the connector of the base is pivotally mounted thereto to enable the one or more articles to swivel and/or pivot in multiple directions.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more articles attached to the connector includes a carrier, a badge, a placard, a pass, and/or one or more ornamental items.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a series of decorative charms configured for attachment to one of the sections of the plurality of interconnectable sections.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein each charm of the series of decorative charms is mounted to a slider, the slider comprising a body having a first part including a surface to which the charm is mountable, a second part, and a channel defined between the first part and the second part, wherein the channel is configured to at least partially receive at least a portion of the one or more sections of the plurality of interconnectable sections such that the slider is movably attached thereto.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the second part of the body of the slider comprises a gap for receipt and movement of the portion of the section into the channel, and at least one projection adapted to bear against the portion of the section received within the channel and to which the slider mounted to generate a frictional engagement sufficient to hold the charm in a desired position or location along the section, while also enabling sliding movement of the charm therealong.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one section of the series of interconnectable sections is sized and/or configured to form a bracelet.

13. A method of generating a user customizable or modular lanyard, comprising:

receiving user selections of one or more designs, colors, patterns or indicia to be placed on one or more of a plurality of modular lanyard sections, wherein the one or more designs include one or more specific colors, graphic representations, themes, scenes, and/or character depictions;

applying the user selected designs to the one or more modular lanyard sections; and

providing the one or more modular lanyard sections having the user selected designs applied thereon, to the user, each modular lanyard section further comprising a universal connector at an end thereof such that the sections are releasably interconnectable by the user to form a user customized lanyard having a desired length and/or configuration.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein applying the one or more designs comprises printing or dying the one or more specific colors, graphic representations, themes, scenes, and/or character depictions selected by the user onto the desired sections of the plurality of sections; adhesively or heat pressing stickers, appliques, decals, and/or embellishments containing the one or more specific colors, graphic representations, themes, scenes, and/or character depictions selected by the user onto the desired sections of the of the plurality of sections; or combinations thereof.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more specific colors, graphic representations, themes, scenes, and/or character depictions selected by the user are printed onto the desired sections of the of the plurality of sections and/or the stickers, appliques, decals, or embellishments applied thereto with photochromic or thermochromic ink that change colors in different light conditions or upon contact with at least a portion of a person's body.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the user's selections are received at a kiosk or at an online website.