Garment with magnetically attachable accessories

Abstract

A garment with a magnetically attachable garment accessory, including at least one magnet permanently affixed to the garment and at least one magnetic attachment body affixed to the garment accessory, the magnet capable of magnetically attaching to the attachment body. The garment and garment accessory can have a second set of complementary magnetic attachment elements, enabling the garment accessory to attach to the garment at two positions, thus spanning a portion of the garment. Because the garment accessory is readily detachable from the garment, the garment can easily be stylistically varied in innumerable ways.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]The present invention relates generally to the field of garments and garment accessories. More specifically, the invention relates to a garment with magnetically attachable accessories.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]It is known in the art to attach decorative and functional articles to garments using a variety of attachment methods. Several of these attachment methods use magnets to achieve this goal. Nearly all of these magnetic attachment methods expose large surfaces of the magnets during use, making the garments unsightly and exposing the magnets to corrosive elements. To prevent this exposure, one known solution is to enclose the magnet in the following fashion: 1) the magnet is glued onto a support layer of fabric, and 2) a cover layer is placed over the magnet and adheres onto the support layer. Conversely, the art also teaches that if the cover layer is adhesive, then there is no need to glue the magnet onto the support layer. In either soluti...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a garment is turned inside out to reveal the interior of the garment. A first adhesive layer is applied either to one side of the magnet or to a desired spot on interior side of the garment. The magnet is then attached onto the desired spot. A second adhesive layer is used to attach the magnet to a cover patch. This second adhesive layer can be applied first to either the magnet or to the cover patch. There are several advantages to using two separate adhesive layers. First, the present invention allows for division of labor in manufacturing. The process of attaching the magnet to the garment can be wholly separate from the process of covering the magnet. This can streamline the manufacturing process and reduce costs. Second, the cover patch need only be the same size as the exposed surface of the magnet, thus reducing the amount of fabric needed to cover the magnet. To prevent unintentional interactions with magnetic materials, one skilled in the art can design magnet covers such that the magnet only interacts on one functional or joining face.

[0007]In a second preferred embodiment of the invention, a garment is turned inside out to reveal the interior of the garment. A magnet is placed onto a desired spot on the interior side of the garment. A cover layer is placed on top of the magnet. The cover layer is sewn to the garment around the magnet, thus enveloping and securing the magnet onto the garment in the proper position. Like the first embodiment, this process is repeated to embed an attachment body to a garment accessory, thus enabling the garment accessory to magnetically attract and fasten to the magnet in the garment.

[0008]In a third preferred embodiment of the invention, a magnet is glued onto and between two cover layers. The cover layers can be glued together to completely envelop the magnet, creating a pillow-type magnet envelope. This magnet envelope is then glued onto the garment at a desired spot on the garment. As with the previous embodiments, this process is repeated to embed an attachment body to a garment accessory, thus enabling the garment accessory to magnetically attract and fasten to the magnet envelope in the garment.

[0009]In a fourth preferred embodiment of the invention, a magnet is placed between two cover layers. The cover layers are sewn together to envelop the magnet, creating a pillow-type magnet envelope. This magnet envelope is then sewn onto the garment at a desired spot on the garment. As with the previous embodiments, this process is repeated to embed an attachment body to a garment accessory, thus enabling the garment accessory to magnetically attract and fasten to the magnet envelope in the garment.

Problems solved by technology

Nearly all of these magnetic attachment methods expose large surfaces of the magnets during use, making the garments unsightly and exposing the magnets to corrosive elements.

Images