Garment dye pen

Abstract

A garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated bleach marks thereon and a method for using the same. The garment dye pen comprises a tubular housing having a closed distal end and an open proximal end forming a fluid reservoir therein containing liquid dye. The open proximal end includes female threaded elements that align with a cap having aligning male threaded elements. The liquid dye is induced to evacuate the fluid reservoir through a nozzle on the cap. The cap further comprises a pointed tip brush applicator also configured to disperse the liquid dye when placed in contact with a bleach spot on a garment of clothing.

Claims

1. A garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics, comprising: a tubular housing having a closed distal end, an open proximal end forming a fluid reservoir filled with liquid dye therein; said fluid reservoir comprising an interior chamber conforming to the shape of said tubular housing; a cap comprising a nozzle and an applicator extending from said nozzle; wherein said cap further comprises a female threaded element aligned with a male threaded element disposed on said open proximal end and configured to removably secure said open proximal end to said cap; wherein said nozzle is in liquid communication with said fluid reservoir and said applicator; wherein said applicator includes a pointed brush tip comprising a plurality of brush bristles that form a cone-shape; wherein said applicator is configured to dispense said liquid dye.

2. The garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics of claim 1, wherein said tubular housing is substantially cylindrical and pen-shaped.

3. The garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics of claim 1, further comprising a lid configured to enclose said cap by friction fit.

4. The garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics of claim 1, wherein said liquid dye is composed of a variety of colors of dye; Said liquid dye is configured to substantially match the color of the garment of clothing and cover the bleach mark thereon.

5. The garment dye pen for covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics of claim 1, wherein an exterior surface of said tubular housing between said closed distal end and said open proximal end is void of an opening.

6. A method of covering relatively isolated discolored marks, such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics, comprising the steps of: selecting a garment dye pen comprising a tubular housing having a closed distal end and an open proximal end forming a fluid reservoir therein containing liquid dye of similar color to a garment of clothing, wherein the fluid reservoir comprises an interior chamber conforming to the shape of the fluid reservoir; placing a pointed tip brush applicator of a cap, which is removably fastened to the open proximal end, in contact with a bleach spot on a garment of clothing, wherein said pointed tip brush applicator comprises a plurality of brush bristles forming a cone-shape and said liquid dye is induced to evacuate said fluid reservoir through a nozzle on the cap to said pointed tip brush applicator; dispersing said liquid dye through the pointed tip brush applicator when placed in contact with said bleach spot on the garment of clothing and covering said bleach spot with said liquid dye; refilling said tubular housing with additional dye by inserting said additional liquid dye through said open proximal end.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the numeral annotations are provided throughout.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side perspective of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 shows an overhead perspective of the present invention placed in contact with a pair of jeans to apply liquid dye to a bleach spot thereon.

(4) FIG. 3 shows an overhead perspective of several other preferred embodiments of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) References are made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the garment dye pen. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as applied thereon a pair of jeans. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

(7) Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a side perspective of the preferred embodiment of the garment dye pen 20. The garment dye pen 20 comprises a tubular housing 21 is substantially cylindrical and pen-shaped having a closed distal end 22 and an open proximal end 23 forming a fluid reservoir therein. Liquid dye is filled within the fluid reservoir, wherein the liquid dye preferably includes a multitude of colors that are able to substantially match the color of a garment of clothing. The liquid dye is preferably a fiber reactive dye, however, without limitation, other embodiments include other suitable types of liquid dyes such as protein-based dyes and acid dyes.

(8) The open proximal end 23 further comprises female threaded elements 40, wherein a cap 27 with aligning male threaded elements 41 is removably secured to the open proximal end 23. The cap 27 includes a circular portion having an outer edge, wherein a sidewall extends perpendicularly therefrom. The circular portion includes a pointed tip brush applicator 29 that is in liquid communication with the fluid reservoir within the tubular housing 21. The pointed tip brush applicator 29 is centrally positioned on the circular portion and configured to be placed in contact with a bleach spot on a garment of clothing to disperse the liquid dye thereon for substantially cover the bleach spot thereon.

(9) The pointed tip brush applicator 29 includes a plurality of brush bristles 35. Preferably, the brush bristles are composed of polyethylene, however, without limitation, other embodiments are alternative composed of other suitable plastic polymers or metal. The pointed tip brush applicator 29 is substantially cone-shaped which enables the garment dye pen 20 to transfer liquid dye to a very restricted and selected area. Therefore, the pointed tip brush applicator 29 is configured to prevent overbroad covering of bleach marks thereon and the waste of liquid dye.

(10) In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4, the fluid reservoir within the housing 21 further comprises an interior chamber 45. The interior chamber 45 is substantially shaped and sized to match the fluid reservoir within the housing 21, however the interior chamber 45 is designed to provide an extra layer of protection in the case the housing 21 is cracked and damaged allowing liquid dye from within the fluid reservoir to spill out. In this way, the interior chamber 45 is particularly advantageous in potential leaking of liquid dye from the fluid reservoir and storing the liquid dye within the fluid reservoir. Preferably, the housing 21 and the interior chamber 45 are composed of a thermoset or thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene plastic, however, without limitation, other embodiments are alternatives composed of other appropriate resilient plastics.

(11) The garment dye pen 20 further includes a lid 33 that is substantially cylindrical in shape and adapted to removably secure to the cap 27 and prevent any leaking of liquid dye through the pointed tip applicator 29. The lid 33 includes a round portion having an outer perimeter, wherein a circular wall extends perpendicularly along the outer perimeter. The round portion and circular wall form an interior volume that is configured to receive the pointed tip applicator 29 and cap 27. Preferably, the lid 33 is removably attached by a friction fit, however, other embodiments may include fasteners.

(12) Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown an overhead view of the garment dye pen 20 in operation. The garment dye pen 20 comprises a tubular housing 21 having a closed distal end 22 and an open proximal end 23 forming a fluid reservoir therein containing liquid dye. The open proximal end 23 includes a cap 27 that is removably secured through male and female threaded elements. The liquid dye is induced to evacuate the fluid reservoir through a nozzle 26 on the cap 27. The cap 27 further comprises a pointed tip brush applicator 29 also configured to disperse the liquid dye when placed in contact with a bleach spot 51 on a pair of jeans 50. Generally, a pair of jeans 50 are a navy color, however the bleach spot 51 would take the color out from a particular area. The pointed tip brush applicator 29 can be pressed into contact with the bleach spot 51, which disperses the liquid dye over the entirety of the bleach spot 51 thereon. In this way, the garment dye pen 20 is particularly advantageous as the application of similarly colored liquid dye over the bleach spot 51 can conceal the bleach spot 51.

(13) The garment dye pen 20 can be held as if the garment dye pen 20 was a pen, pencil, or marker. After application of the liquid dye thereon, the pair of jeans 51 generally should be given time to dry to allow the liquid dye to react with the fibers of the pair of jeans 51. Depending on the liquid dye and timeframe, the liquid dye can be left to dry overnight or according to a specified timeframe. The pair of jeans 51 can then be rinsed out with water to remove the excess dye. In this manner, the garment dye pen is particularly advantageous as the pair of jeans 51 does not have to be washed and treated in a special manner afterwards, wherein any standard washing with similar colors will suffice and the bleach spot 50 thereon will remain covered with liquid dye.

(14) Referring now to FIG. 3, there are shown an overhead perspective of several other preferred embodiments of the garment dye pen 20 including the foregoing preferred embodiment described in FIGS. 1 and 2. The preferred embodiment 1 is the aforementioned embodiment with the navy-colored liquid dye. The other preferred embodiments 2, 3, 4, 5 include white liquid dye, red liquid dye, brown liquid dye, and black liquid dye, respectively, within its fluid reservoirs. Embodiments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are configured to be applied to similarly-colored garments of clothing or fabric, wherein the garment has a relatively isolated discolored mark, such as a bleach mark, a stain, or a faded spot. A user can substantially cover the relatively isolated discolored marks with a substantially similar liquid dye allowing the discoloration to be relatively unnoticeable. Therefore, in this way, a user can wear or use the garments and fabrics again.

(15) According to the preferred embodiment, the garment dye pen further provides a method of covering relatively isolated discolored marks such as bleach marks, stains, or faded spots, on garments of clothing or other types of fabrics, comprising the steps of: selecting a garment dye pen comprising a tubular housing having a closed distal end and an open proximal end forming a fluid reservoir therein containing liquid dye of similar color to a garment of clothing; placing a pointed tip brush applicator on a cap, which is removably fastened to the open proximal end, in contact with a bleach spot on the garment of clothing, wherein said pointed tip brush applicator comprises a plurality of brush bristles forming substantially a cone-shape and said liquid dye is induced to evacuate said fluid reservoir through a nozzle on the cap to said pointed tip brush applicator; dispersing said liquid dye through the pointed tip brush applicator when placed in contact with said bleach spot on the garment of clothing and covering said bleach spot with said liquid dye.

(16) It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above descriptions then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specifications are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

(17) Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.