Drawstring Retention Clasp

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to drawstring devices for clothing or bags or similar items and more particularly pertains to a new drawstring retention clasp to minimize or prevent a drawstring from being inadvertently drawn completely into the guide sleeve. It is common for drawstrings to be used on clothing and bags. It is also quite common for these drawstrings to be inadvertently or accidentally drawn completely into the guide sleeve that contains the drawstring, such that the ends of the drawstring are not accessible. As a result, the drawstring cannot be tightened until the drawstring is extracted from the guide sleeve, which can be a challenging and annoying process.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to drawstring devices for clothing or bags or similar items. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose a drawstring retention clasp, wherein the rear cover has a width greater than the diameter of an opening in a guide sleeve of an article of clothing or a bag or similar object to minimize or prevent a drawstring clamped by the drawstring retention clasp from being inadvertently drawn completely into the guide sleeve.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a drawstring retention clasp generally comprising a front housing and a rear cover. The rear cover is designed to be detachably connected to the front housing. The front housing includes a front surface and a rear surface. The rear cover includes an engagement surface designed to be placed against the rear surface upon connection of the rear cover to the front housing. The front housing includes a guide recess positioned in the rear surface that is open-ended and designed to extend along the length of the rear surface. The guide recess is designed to receive a drawstring of an article of clothing or a bag or similar object. The rear cover is designed to cover the guide recess and clamp a drawstring between the guide recess and the engagement surface. The rear cover has a width that is greater than the diameter of an opening in a guide sleeve of an article of clothing or a bag or similar object to minimize or prevent a drawstring clamped between the guide recess and the engagement surface from being inadvertently drawn completely into the guide sleeve.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a disassembled view of a drawstring retention clasp according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure in use.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new drawstring retention clasp embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the drawstring retention clasp 10 generally comprises a front housing 12 and a rear cover 14. The rear cover 14 is designed to be detachably connected to the front housing 12. The front housing 12 includes a front surface 16 and a rear surface 18. The rear cover 14 includes an engagement surface 22 designed to be placed against the rear surface 18 upon connection of the rear cover 14 to the front housing 12. The front housing 12 includes a guide recess 20 positioned in the rear surface 18 that is open-ended and designed to extend along the length of the rear surface 18. The guide recess 20 is designed to receive a drawstring 70 of an article of clothing or a bag or similar object. The rear cover 14 is designed to cover the guide recess 20 and clamp the drawstring 70 between the guide recess 20 and the engagement surface 22. The rear cover 14 has a width that is greater than the diameter of an opening in a guide sleeve of an article of clothing or a bag or similar object to minimize or prevent the drawstring 70 clamped between the guide recess 20 and the engagement surface 22 from being inadvertently drawn completely into the guide sleeve.

In accordance with at least one possible embodiment, the front housing 12 includes a locking projection 24 positioned in the guide recess 20. The rear cover 14 includes a projection recess 26 positioned in the engagement surface 22. The locking projection 24 and the projection recess 26 are designed and positioned to work together to further lock the drawstring 70 in place between the guide recess 20 and the engagement surface 22. While the figures show the locking projection 24 in the guide recess 20, it would be possible to place the locking projection 24 on the engagement surface 22 such that it would project into the guide recess 20, which could include the projection recess 26 or not.

In accordance with at least one possible embodiment, the rear cover 14 includes snap-fit arms 28. The front housing 12 includes snap-fit recesses 30 designed and positioned to engage with the snap-fit arms 28 to detachably connect the rear cover 14 and the front housing 12. While a snap-fit connection is shown in the figures, it should be understood that other detachable connections could be used.

In accordance with at least one possible embodiment, the front housing 12 is substantially rectangular. In accordance with at least one possible embodiment, the rear cover 14 is substantially oval-shaped or elliptical such that the ends thereof project substantially beyond the outer edges of the front housing 12. It should be understood that other shapes and designs for the front housing 12 and rear cover 14 are possible, provided that the width or diameter thereof exceeds the width or diameter of an opening in a guide sleeve for the drawstring 70.

In accordance with at least one possible embodiment. The front surface 16 includes a decorative image or design. This provides the user with the added benefit that the drawstring retention clasp 10 also has a decorative function. Alternatively, the front surface 16 includes a transparent plate 32, as shown in FIG. 8. The front housing 12 includes a slot 34 positioned behind the transparent plate 32 designed to receive a sheet bearing an image or design thereon. Such a design would allow the user to customize and/or change the decorative design of the drawstring retention clasp 10 as desired. In accordance with at least one possible embodiment, the rear cover 14 could also include a decorative image or design.

FIG. 7 shows the drawstring retention clasp 10 in use, wherein two of the drawstring retention clasps 10 are attached to the ends of a drawstring 70 of a hoodie or sweatshirt 72. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the width or diameter of the rear cover 14 exceeds the width or diameter of the two guide sleeve openings 74.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, 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 specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure 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 disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.