AN INVISIBLE TIE CLIP WHICH ALSO SERVES AS ADVERTISING MEDIUM

Description

The invention of the tie clip

The invention is an invisible tie clip, designed to be used in combination with knotted ties, that invisibly attaches the tail of the tie to the back of the front of tie if the tail of the tie is too short to be inserted through the loop (a standard feature sewn onto the back of the front of the tie in the factory) or if the person wearing the tie does not want to rely on the standard effectiveness of the loop. The invention invisibly attaches the tail of the tie to the back of the front of the tie, so that the tail of the tie and the back of the wide front of the tie are securely attached to one another. The two ends of the tie can still be pulled apart relatively easily (with the same degree of exertion that is used to undo or loosen the tie). The invention is aimed primarily at the consumer market for adults, within the clothing industry for example. If the tail of the tie is too short to be inserted through the loop on the back of the front of tie, the tail of the tie will hang out at an angle from behind the wide front of the tie. This looks dreadful. This can be prevented easily and inexpensively with the aid of the invention. If the tail of the tie is long enough to be inserted through the loop, a gust of wind or certain body movements can cause it to slip out of the loop. This can also be prevented with the aid of the invisible tie clip. So this is an invention that can be used in both instances. The added value of the invisible tie clip is that it saves the user time when knotting the tie and also provides the assurance of a presentable appearance because the tie clip does its work invisibly. No flapping tie tail during the day, and no longer any worry that the tail of the tie will slip out from the loop or from behind the wide front of the tie during an unguarded moment. The invisible tie clip is user- friendly and offers the assurance of a presentable appearance when wearing a tie. The invisible tie clip is designed in such a way that the tail of the tie will also remain securely attached to the back of the front of the tie on a windy summer day if the user is outdoors and is simply wearing a shirt and tie. It will be as if the two ends of the tie are one. If the tail of the tie is simply inserted through the loop on the back of the front of the tie, the two ends of the tie are highly likely to come apart in heavy wind.

Another advantage of the invisible tie clip is that when knotting the tie the wearer no longer needs to consider whether the tail of the tie is long enough to be inserted through the loop. So it will take the wearer less time to knot the tie. The wearer can also use more of the tail of the tie to create an extra large knot or a double knot without making the tie too short. Another version of the invisible tie clip can be used to bring a company logo to the attention of a specific target group an in an innovative way. The flat top section of the invisible tie clip can be any shape (oval, square, rectangular, etc.) and contains ample space for a company logo or the initials of the user. This makes the invisible tie clip an ideal business gift. It can also be sold separately in (clothes) shops and gift shops as a tie accessory. Like the well- known tie slide, the invisible tie clip could conceivably also be made of precious metal (as a piece of jewellery). The invisible tie clip is small and can easily be carried in a pocket when not in use. The flat top section of the invisible tie clip can be any shape and colour. Another advantage of the invisible tie clip is the speed and ease with which the tail of the tie can be attached to the back of the tie. The advantage of this simple ergonomic attachment manoeuvre is that it reduces the amount of time required to tie a neat knot in a tie. The invisible tie clip does not have any sharp edges and is held in place on the fabric of the tie simply with the aid of the clipping mechanism which consists of 'S' bend and two long thin grips. The advantage of the invisible tie clip is that the tie can easily be loosened or undone by pulling the tie loose from the knot. The tail of the tie will then slowly slide free of the tie clip without getting stuck and without there being any wear on the tie.

The technology

The aim of the invention is to produce an invisible tie clip that ensures that the tail of a tie can no longer slip out from behind the wide front of the tie (during an unguarded moment). This is achieved by invisibly attaching the tail of the tie securely to the back of the wide front of the tie. The invisible tie clip is at the back of the tie and is totally invisible. The invention is intended to improve on an existing tie clip referred to in the patent literature under US patent number US 3802032. Like the existing version, the presented invention is primarily intended to attach the tail of the tie so it will not slip out of the loop or slip out from behind the front of the tie during an unguarded moment so that it is then visible. This invention solves a number of problems inherent in the existing tie clip and also improves on a number of disadvantages. The existing tie clip only has one grip, whereas this invention has two long thin grips, which means that the invisible tie clip is less likely to slip sideways. Thanks to the two long thin grips the invention is more likely to remain straight than the existing tie clip. The existing tie clip is U-shaped and only grips a relatively small section of the fabric of the tail of the tie,

which means that it has little gripping power. The invisible tie clip is S-shaped. This means that the invisible tie clip is able to grip a larger section of the fabric of the tail of the tie and that it therefore has considerably more gripping power so the invisible tie clip is more likely to remain in place. The two long thin grips of the invention are also longer than the single grip of the existing tie clip, which enables the invisible tie clip to remain far more securely attached to the back of the front of the tie. The top surface of the invention is also flatter than the top surface of the existing tie clip, which makes it possible to stick or print a logo or some other lettering or image on the invisible tie clip. The invention can be used as a marketing medium possibly in the form of a so-called business gift.

The technical specifications of the invisible tie clip are as follows:

The tie clip is 3 cm long and 2 cm wide. The two long thin grips at the back of the clip are approximately 3 mm wide. The gap in the flat back section of the clip is approximately 7 mm wide. The two long thin grips in the flat back section of the clip are approximately 3 cm long. The invisible tie clip is made of metal or some other hardwearing material. The metal is approximately 1 mm thick.

Brief description of the drawings

There follows a concise description of the invention with reference to the versions illustrated in the drawings.

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a version of the invisible tie clip seen from the side. This clearly shows that the tie clip is made of a single S-shaped piece of metal.

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional view of a version of the invisible tie clip seen from below. This shows the two long thin grips in the flat back section of the clip. Figure 3 is a three-dimensional view of the invisible tie clip tie clip seen from the side.

This shows that there is ample space for an initial, a company logo or some other form of advertising on the flat top surface of the tie clip.

Detailed description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of the invisible tie clip seen from the side. The flat back and middle sections of the invisible tie clip are rectangular. In the version shown in Figure 1, all of the flat sections are shown as rectangular. But the top section could also be round or square or any other shape. The raised edge along the left side of the flat top section makes the attachment of the invisible tie clip more ergonomic. The edge (Ia) slopes at an angle of approximately 20 degrees so that the user can easily slip a nail or fingertip behind the raised edge to separate the (flat top and middle) sections of the clip from one another so the tail of the tie can be secured between them quickly and easily.

Figure 2 shows the effect of the insertion of the invisible tie clip by the user. The two long thin grips (2a) in the flat back section of the invisible tie clip, which are approximately 3 cm long, are inserted between the stitches of the vertical basted seam at the back of the front of the tie until the fabric of the tie is held fast. Figure 3 is a three-dimensional view of the invisible tie clip seen from the side. This shows that there is ample space (3 a) to print text or some other form of advertising on the flat top surface of the tie clip.

Although the invention is described with reference to the versions shown in the three drawings, it should be noted that the invention is by no means limited to the versions shown in the drawings and described in the descriptions. The invention also encompasses all of the versions that differ from the versions shown in the drawings and described in the descriptions in terms of the features defined in the section entitled 'Claims'.