Removable Magnetic Closure System for Articles

Abstract

The present invention relates to a functional, removable, and reusable closure system for articles. In particular, the system is useful for clothing and apparel containing pockets or openings. The invention describes a closure system incorporating fasteners which are magnetically positioned and magnetically held on the article material. The fasteners are easily removed with a change in fastener piece geometry, do not damage or modify the article during attachment or removal, and therefore comprise a temporary, reversible, and reusable closure system. The closure system can be opened and closed with simple one-handed motion to interrupt the magnetic inter-fastener attraction. The closure system provides independent self-closure through magnetic inter-fastener attraction.

Claims

1. A system for temporarily joining an article, comprising a first removable magnetic fastener held on a first part of the article material and a second removable magnetic fastener held on a second part of the article material, wherein a. a removable fastener is comprised of independent pieces containing magnets or magnetic materials such that the pieces of the removable fasteners are held in place on the article material by intra-fastener magnetic attraction; b. independent joining of the article through inter-fastener magnetic attraction is achieved by decreasing the distance between the removable fasteners; and c. unjoining of the article is achieved by placement of an object between the removable fasteners to increase the inter-fastener distance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetic poles of each piece of the magnetic fastener are oriented to provide intra-fastener attraction of the pieces.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a non-magnetic material, wherein some or all surfaces of said magnets or magnetic material of fastener pieces are embedded.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said non-magnetic material includes polymer plastics, wood, or non-magnetic metals.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the intra-fastener pull force is at least 13 Newtons.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the inter-fastener pull force is at least 4 Newtons.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an intensification layer, wherein the intensification layers are added to the magnet or magnetic material surface opposite the intra-fastener magnetic attraction.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the added intensification layer increases the intra-fastener pull force by 1.5 times.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said article includes pockets and openings contained in clothing and accessories.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said material includes the type used in clothing and accessories.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said object placed between the removable fasteners is a human hand.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the magnetically opposing pieces of a fastener are rotated 90 degrees relative to each other about a central axis to decrease the intra-fastener magnetic attraction.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the rotated fastener is removed from the article by increasing the distance between the pieces of the fastener.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the removed fastener is re-attached to an article material.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the intra-fastener magnetic attraction is greater than the inter-fastener magnetic attraction.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the intra-fastener magnetic attraction is greater than 3 times the inter-fastener magnetic attraction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as an example and are not limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements and in which:

[0011] FIG. 1—Side views of embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1A illustrates a side view of a single removable fastener. Horizontal arrows in the drawing represent the magnetic pull force of a single removable fastener where the exposed magnet face exhibits a greater pull force than the enclosed magnet face. FIG. 2B illustrates a side view of a single removable fastener with a magnetic field intensifier layer. Horizontal arrows in the drawing represent the magnetic pull force of a single removable fastener where the pull force is enhanced on the exposed magnet face relative to the magnetic pull force depicted in FIG. 1A.

[0012] FIG. 2—Embodiments of the invention for self-closure of articles. FIG. 2A illustrates a side view of the two halves of a single removable fastener attached through material on one side of a pocket. FIG. 2B illustrates a side view of two removable fasteners attached through opposing sides a pocket opening for self-closure of the material sides.

[0013] FIG. 3—Illustration of the sequence to attach two removable fasteners on a pocket of a pair of pants. FIG. 3A illustrates a piece of a removable fastener is placed in the front-facing interior side of the pocket from the interior of the pants. FIG. 3B illustrates placement of the magnetically opposing piece of the fastener in the pocket interior followed by positioning a piece of the second fastener in the pocket interior such that the two interior pieces exhibit inter-fastener attraction through the backsides of the removable fasteners. FIG. 3C illustrates placing the opposing piece from the second removable fastener pair in the rear-facing interior side of the pocket from the interior of the pants.

[0014] FIG. 4—FIG. 4 illustrates the opening and independent self-closure of a pocket by insertion and removal of a single hand. FIG. 4A illustrates a closed pocket prior to hand insertion. FIG. 4B illustrates the open pocket as a hand is inserted between the two removable fasteners to disrupt the inter-fastener attraction. FIG. 4C illustrates the independent self-closing of the pocket once a hand is removed from the pocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[0016] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0017] As used herein, the term “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value, preferably within 5% of the reported numerical value.

[0018] As used herein, the term “magnet” means any material or object that contains an intrinsic magnetic field.

[0019] As used herein, the term “magnetic material” or “magnetizable” means any material that is attracted to magnets.

[0020] As used herein, the term “non-magnetic material” or “non-magnetizable material”means any material that is not attracted to magnets.

[0021] As used herein, the term “independent self-closure” means that a physical manipulation or action on the part of the user is not required for the closure mechanism to occur.

[0022] As used herein, the term “intra-fastener” means between the two pieces that make up a single fastener.

[0023] As used herein, the term “inter-fastener” means between two fasteners.

[0024] In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.

[0025] The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.

[0026] The system contains at least two fasteners that are temporarily held in place on the article through inter-fastener magnetic attraction. Alternately, the system contains at least two removable fasteners containing one or more intensification layers that are temporarily held in place on the article through inter-fastener magnetic attraction.

[0027] A removable fastener contains two pieces. Each piece contains a magnet. Non-limiting examples of suitable magnets are: (1) ceramic (also referred to as ferrite), composed of a sintered composite of powdered iron oxide and barium/strontium carbonate ceramic; (2) alnico, made casting or sintering aluminum, nickel and cobalt with iron and, optionally, small amounts of other elements; and (3) alloys of rare earth (lanthanide) elements, such as samarium-cobalt or neodymium-iron-boron (NIB) alloys. Also suitable for various embodiments of the present invention are: (4) injection-molded magnets, which are composites of resins and magnetic powders and resemble plastics in their physical properties; and (5) flexible magnets comprising magnetic powders and flexible resins (e.g., vinyl), which can be produced in flat strips, shapes or sheets.

[0028] The magnet is embedded within a non-magnetic or non-magnetizable material such that one polarity face of the magnet is exposed or partially exposed, and the opposite polarity face is embedded, or partially embedded, in the non-magnetic material. Non-limiting examples of suitable nonmagnetic materials are: polymers (e.g. polyurethanes, high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate, silicones), wood, or non-magnetic metals. The cross-sectional thickness of the nonmagnetic material will determine the inter-fastener magnetic attraction as a greater thickness will lead to a greater inter-fastener distance and less inter-fastener magnetic attraction. Nonmagnetic enclosure materials can include decorations, including but not limited to, color, text, or designs that are unique for identification of the device pieces. An embodiment of this is shown in FIG. 1A depicting a magnet (1) embedded in a non-magnetic enclosure (2) that comprises two pieces of a single fastener. The first piece and second piece of the removable fastener are attracted through the intra-fastener magnetic attraction of the exposed magnet surfaces of opposite polarity. In certain embodiments, the intra-fastener pull force of FIG. 1A is at least 13 Newtons.

[0029] FIG. 1B depicts the fastener of FIG. 1A with an optional intensification layer (3) that increases the pull force on the exposed magnet face, relative to the magnetic pull force without the optional intensification layer, resulting in a greater intra-fastener magnetic attraction. The intensification layer can be a magnet of identical or different composition, or a magnetic material (e.g. iron) that is placed in contact with the face of the magnet that is enclosed in the non-magnetic material. In certain embodiments, the addition of this intensifier layer of FIG. 1B results in an intra-fastener pull force of about 1.3 times increase over the pull force without the intensifier layer of FIG. 1A. In preferred embodiments, the addition of this intensifier layer of FIG. 1B results in about 1.5 times increase over the intra-fastener pull force without the intensifier layer of FIG. 1A.

[0030] FIG. 2A depicts a removable fastener composed of two pieces (4) and (5) held in place by magnetic attraction through material of a pocket (6). Here, removable fastener piece (4) is on the interior-facing side of the pocket and removable fastener piece (5) is placed on one side of the pocket opening where one would insert a hand. The opposing magnetic poles of the magnet surface (N) and (S) are shown such that the intra-fastener attraction is sufficiently strong as to hold the removable fastener in place with a material held between the two pieces of the removable fastener. In certain embodiments, materials typical of clothing and accessories, including but not limited to, cloth, fabric, leather, and synthetic polymers are held between the two pieces of the removable fastener. Rotating one piece of a single removable fastener by 90 degrees about the central axis decreases the intra-fastener attraction by about 4.5 times. This rotation and reduction of intra-fastener attraction allows simple, hand separation of the two fastener pieces in comparison to pulling the two pieces apart with the magnetic faces aligned at 0 degrees which requires substantial pull force by the user. Thus, while in use, the removable intra-fastener magnetic attraction is strong with material sandwiched between the two pieces, and a simple 90-degree twist of one of the removable fastener pieces permits rapid and simple removal of the removable fastener from the material held between the two pieces. This change in geometry of the fastener pieces enables the intended temporary use of the fastener and easy removal and placement of the fastener on a different article. FIG. 2B depicts a first removable fastener (4, 5) and a second removable fastener (7,8) attached to opposite sides of a pocket opening (6). The (S) magnetic pole on the backside of fastener (5) is attracted to the (N) magnetic pole on the backside of fastener (8) to form the inter-fastener attraction that forms the independent self-closure of the pocket. In certain embodiments, the intra-fastener to inter-fastener ratio is about 3:1. The inter-fastener attraction can be adjusted with the thickness of the non-magnetic material enclosure and the composition and mass of the intensification layer.

[0031] FIG. 3 describes the placement of two removable fasteners in a pants pocket. FIG. 3A depicts a 90 degree rotation of pieces (4) and (5) of the first removable fastener to separate pieces (4) and (5). After pulling pieces (4) and (5) apart, fastener piece (4) is placed in the front-facing interior side of the pocket (6). FIG. 3B depicts placement of the second piece (5) of the first removable fastener on the front-facing opening of the pocket (6) thus creating a matched removable fastener pair (4,5) of FIG. 2A. Then, the second removable fastener is separated by rotating pieces rotating pieces (7) and (8) by 90 degrees about the center axis. After pulling pieces (7) and (8) apart, piece (8) is placed in the rear-facing opening of the pocket (6) such that pieces (5) and (8) create the inter-fastener attraction. FIG. 3C depicts attachment of piece (7) on the rear-facing side of the pocket interior side of the pocket (6) to complete the second removable fastener and produce the pocket closure system depicted in FIG. 2B. Removal of the two fasteners from the pants pocket is achieved by rotating pieces (4) and (5) by 90 degrees about the center axis and pulling pieces (4) and (5) apart to remove the first removable fastener from the pocket material and subsequently rotating pieces (7) and (8) by 90 degrees about the center axis and pulling pieces (7) and (8) apart to remove the second removable fastener from the pocket material. The removal of the fasteners is accomplished without damage to the article and the involvement of any additional materials or skill on the part of the user.

[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates the opening and independent self-closing of a pocket by insertion and removal of a single hand. FIG. 4A depicts a closed pocket prior to hand (9) insertion. FIG. 4B depicts displacement of the intra-fastener magnetic attraction and opening of the pocket (6) by a hand (9) inserted with a typical downward insertion force into the pocket. FIG. 4C depicts removal of the hand (9) from the pocket with a typical upward removal force and independent self-closure of the pocket by the two removable fasteners with reestablishment of the inter-fastener magnetic attraction.