US2585690A - Adjustable attachment for shirt collars - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 12, 1952 J. V. SCHAFER ADJUSTABLE ATTACHMENT FOR SHIRT COLLARS Filed April 29, 1950 7 INVENTOR.

JOHN M SCHAFEI? ATTORNEV Patented Feb. 12, 1952 .ADJUSTABLEATTACHMENTroa snmcr COLLARS Q John Va Sehafer, Bronson, Mich. A plicationmaze, 1959, Seria1No;159,086

"This invention"relates generallyto'an' attaeh- 'ment for wearing apparer-andmere particularly isy directedto an 'fttaehmentadapted for {use with -'-'Praetical ly every 'person has; experienced-the "uncomfortable feeling-and uneasiness-that results from' Wearing-a-shirt of whichthe -collar-"is relatively tight onthe neck. Ofttimes =thechoking *e'ffect produced by a tightcollar on a-dress-shirt =is -s' uchf that the shirt "can no longer-he-used with satisfaction. -*It is,-'"of course, recognized that a tlght-edl'lar'is ordinarily due to ehrinkage-and/or growth-of-a-n*individual. j

One of the principal objects of the subject in- ---ventionis to provi'de-an attaehment or-expander "t8sClaims. (0]. 2-141) .expand' or increase its -size and thereby prolong the useful lif e of the shirt.

More specifically, the invention contemplates *theutilizationwf wanattachment-constructed of "resilient -material and-which=isso'designed-and constructed that it-ofiers Just-sujficientresilience to automatically compensate for variable-dimensionsthe neck bands ofcolla-rsand shirts and maintain alljportions thereof iri-propermcnform- "receive-3a button integral with ithe q-eollarand *wherein an int'ermediate portion- 61? *the 'body -is provided with a; hole or'aperture-ifor reeeiving 'the stem of a detachable collar button.

"A specific object -df the" invention is to provide -a novel-fietae'hable collar button constructed of plastic or the-equivalent and havingsubstantially corresponding enlarged round ends secured yin *parallel relation by a -cylindriealstem. Mere pai'ticularlyfiin this-respect' the deta-hable coll'ar button is preferably of such charaeter ="that it may be rever'sibly conneeted tothe resiiienfibody "of 'the attachment-andthereby pro'metethe-"i an'ge o'f adaotability of the attaehnierit toashirt collar.

Moreoverfi the ends =o'fthe detachable button are 6.5

fprferably' relatitely thima-nd of sueh -a size that zthfey serte to stabilize the body of the ea ement as well as thoseportionsof 'theecBIIar which carry the attachmeI-it. a v

-A-no'ther object of the" invention: isbto preyide *a'unique method oi -assembling a buttono'fj the character just referred to with the body -of the -attahment,' which rhethod consists" in stretchin the body to enlarge the hole, inserting either end "of the hutton through the*--ht le, and then-allowing' the body to return "to itsnormal -shapeso that'the stem of-t'he button will bere'eeived inthe hole and' the enlarged" ends-of the button' will be 1 "arranged on opposite sides of the'bo'dy. g

"A 'further object" of the-invention is to firovide an attachment of the character' abovereferred to in-whiclr the hole oriaperture in the internidiate portion ofthe body-is located at one sidekif the -'cen-terof' its 1ength andth irinererid ofone-"slot is' located closer to the 'hole' than" theinner end of the other slot. 'When'afietaeha-ble eo'llar button is received the aperture in "the bodyw if 'a n attachment -o'f this description, the attachment can beappliedto-a tight'shirt-collar irran'yone 'of a, number of positions-andthereby-promote its range'of "adaptability-ofuse'with-collars-of various sizes. The arrangementisprfer'ablysuch that when the attachment is in use, one extremity df "its'bodywill overlie the innersurfaeeofa portion of the neck band and engage the *neck "or the wearer to assist in imparti ng' stability to the col- --l'aringeneralat its front. The'attaeh'ment antomatieally cempensates for wariahle dimensional factois in collar construction. 7

' =A 'stillfurtherobject-of the invention'is to provide a modified attachment in which thefbody is providedwitha plurality of holes or a'pertures between slets for the-purpose .of providing greater adaptability of application "of theattaehmnt.

*Qthe'r objcts= ajnd advantagesef the invention war-became eyi'denirafterthe de'scriptfirffierim after set forthis considered in con junction wi'th the dra-wing annexed-hereto.

In the drawing; wherein l ike p'arts or elements are identified bythe samenum'erals:

Figure 1 isa front view' era dress :1 shift show ing one i type of an=attaehment =-"e'mbedying "t-iifie invention applied thereto;

F-ig-ure *2 i is a i top view of i the assemblyilmstratedin Figure -l" looking in the"direction of the arrows-2 =an eese view of 'thE T attachm v a sidek elevational w iew idf'tttie n illustrated in' Figure 3; g j

' Figu'i e fi is-a s'ide elevational tiew showing the i 3 body of the attachment, the detachable button being omitted;

Figure 6 is a view showing the body of the attachment stretched to a position whereby to permit entry of either end of the detachable Referring first to Figures 1 through 6 of the drawing, numerals l and 2 represent the front setup facilitates rapid assembly of the compondrawing.

panel portions or sections of a conventional dress shirt and 3 is a collar having a neck band 4. The neck band 4 is provided with a conventional button 5 permanently secured at one end thereof and a button hole 6 at its other end.

The attachment generally designated 1 is constructed of a desirablevstretchable or resilient material such as rubber, and includes, among other things, an elongated fiat relatively thin body 8 and a detachable collar button 9. More specifically, the'body is preferably of a uniform thickness and width withits extremities rounded as illustrated. The body is provided with a pair of corresponding slots and II, eitherofwhich will receive the button permanently secured to the shirt. These slots are aligned and located on the longitudinal medial line of the body with the outer ends of the slots disposed equal disstances from the ends of the body Each slot is generally rectangular in shape and is defined by apair of longitudinal marginal edges l2 and arcuate end edgesv I3.

The body 8 is also provided with a round hole or aperture Id of a relatively small diameter for receiving the cylindrical stem l5 of the detachable collar button 9. This hole is locatedin the body between and in alignment with the. slots Ill and II. More specifically, it is disposed at one side of the midpoint of the body closer to venience in securing the button to the body and in applying the attachment the diameter of the end I5 is preferably made slightly smaller. The space between the ends l6 and I1 is substantially equal to or slightly greater than the combined thicknesses ofthe body 8 and the extremity 6 of the neck band.

The unique method of assembling the button 9 with the body 8 consists in manually grasping the extremities of the body of resilient material and stretching it more or less as exemplified in Figure 6 to elongate the hole l4, forcibly inserting the end [6 of the button through the hole and then allowing the body to return to its original-shape so that the stem will be received in l the hole and the ends of the button will be arranged onopposite sides of the body as shown inFigures 3 and 4. The arrangement is such that either end of the button may be inserted into the hole from either side of the body. This 1 When applied in this manner the body 8 of the attachment will automatically conform to the neck of the wearer. Attention is directed to the fact that one extremity of the body 8, Or more specifically, that portion to the right of the button 9 as viewed in Figure l, is adapted to engage the neck of the wearer and thereby assist in frictionally holding the attachment in place. It will also be noted that the-thickness of the end l6. of the button 9 substantially corresponds to the thickness of the neck band. Moreover, that the diameter of the stem l5 and the diameters of the ends l6 and I! of the button 9 are such thatwhen the attachment is secured inplace asillustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the attachment andportions of the neck band will be held or maintain'edin proper relative relationship to prevent binding, pinching or buckling. The attachment may stretch to some extent in use but anyforce created by stretching does not produce any material efiect on the neck of the wearer.

Although the attachment is preferably applied as described above, it is, of course, recognized that it may be applied to a neck band in a different way. For example, the enlarged end ll of the detachable button 9 may be projected outwardly through the button hole slot 6 in the neck band and the button 5 on the neck band may then be inserted through the slot [0 of the body 8 of the attachment. 7 t e As pointed out above, the attachment may be applied to a shirt in more than one operative position. As illustrated in Figures l and 2 of the drawings, the attachment is shown in a position to obtain the maximum benefit of the distance be tween the slot l0 and the hole 14 in the body 8. If the collar is inclined to be too loose when the attachment is in this position, it may be turned and applied so that the detachable button 9 is received in the button hole 6 of the neck band and the button 5 is received in the slot II. This reversal will reduce in some measure the size of the collar or neck band because the longitudinal distance between the'aperture I4 and the button hole or slot l l is slightly less than the distance between the aperture it and the button hole or slot [0.

In practically all cases the use of one attachment will be sufiicient but if necessary, a second attachment may be readily applied to the shirt as illustrated in Figure 1; c

Figure 7 of the drawing exemplifies a modified attachment in which a pair of apertures l8 and 19 are arranged between a pair of button holes or slots 20 and M. It will be noted that the apertures l8 and I9 are located on opposite sidesof the mid-point of the body with the hole [8 disposed a greater distance from the slot 20 than hole I9 is with respect to slot 2!. With this unique arrangement it will be evident that the attachment can be applied to a collar in four. different ways to increase and vary its size This feature and the fact that the body maystretch providesan attachment that has an exceedingly wide range of adaptability.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spiritof the invention, and, therefore, I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact forms, constructions, arrangements, and combinations of the parts herein shown and described.

I claim:

1. An attachment for the neck band of a shirt comprising an elongated body having a button hole at each end thereof for selectively receiving a button on the neck band, and a button secured to the body between the holes and adapted to be received in a button hole in the neck band.

2. An attachment for the neck band of a shirt comprising an elongated body having a slot adjacent each end thereof for selectively receiving a button on the neck band, an opening in said body arranged between and unequally spaced from said slots, and a button detachably secured in said opening.

3. An attachment for expanding a shirt collar consisting of a resilient body having a pair of apertures therein and a pair of separate button holes provided in the body between the apertures, said apertures being arranged so that one is closer to one hole than the other is to the other hole, and a button having a projection secured in one hole and capable of being removed and then received in the other hole.

4. An attachment for a shirt collar consisting of a flat elongated resilient rubber body having a button hole and a pair of apertures therein with one of the apertures located closer to the hole than the other, and a button having a projection removably received in one aperture and capable of being removably received in the other aperture.

5. An attachment for a shirt collar consisting of a flat elongated resilient rubber body having a pair of separate button holes and a pair of separate apertures located between the holes, and a button having a projection removably received in one of the apertures and capable of being removably received in the other aperture.

6. An expander for a shirt collar consisting of an elongated flat resilient body having an apervided in the other extremity of the member, the

ture therein intermediate its extremities, a button arrangement being such that the member can be turned so that the button on the collar can be received in either slot.

8. A conventional shirt collar having an inner portion provided with a button at its outer side and an outer portion provided with a hole for normally receiving said button, a detachable connector comprising an elongated body interposed between and in conforming relationship with the inner and outer portions of the collar, and fastening means secured to thebody substantially midway its length and received in the hole of the outer portion of the collar, said body also being provided with a hole adjacent one extremity receiving the button on the inner portion of the collar for connecting the said portions together with the other extremity of the body extending inwardly for an appreciable distance in overlapping engagement with the inner surface of the outer portion of the collar.

JOHN V. SCI-IAFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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