Deactivatable hook and loop fastener

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Austrian Application A8/2001, filed Jan. 3, 2001, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

a) Field of the Invention

The invention is directed to a hook and loop fastener of a known type, particularly for the pockets of articles of clothing such as coats, jackets, shirts and blouses.

b) Description of the Related Art

Hook and loop fasteners of the known type are often used in place of zipper fasteners, buttons, and so on: e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,059 A (Louis Spitz), Apr. 14, 1981 in connection with a jacket comprising removable sleeves, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,133 A (Zapiti), Jul. 20, 1999 where buttons and zipper fasteners on articles of clothing are replaced by hook and loop fasteners. In FR 2,188,972 A (Turri), Feb. 22, 1974 , the problem of deactivating and adjusting hook and loop fasteners, especially in sports clothing, is solved by the arrangement of hook and loop fastener strips and by the use of a plurality of hook and loop fastener strips. This is either ineffective or is complicated, particularly in pockets of articles of clothing such as coats, jackets, shirts and blouses.

Hook and loop fasteners of the known type always close upon contact. This is not always desirable, especially in pockets of articles of clothing such as shirts, jackets, coats and blouses.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to enable temporary deactivation of these automatic fastener mechanisms in a simple manner. This object is met by the features contained in the characterizing part of the [claim] invention.

In accordance with the invention, a hook and loop fastener, particularly for the pockets of articles of clothing such as coats, jackets, shirts and blouses, comprising a hook fastener part, a loop fastener part and a deactivation flap which is attached to an article of clothing for being inserted between the hook fastener part and the loop fastener part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1

shows a front view of an article of clothing having turned out flap pockets which may incorporate fasteners in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2A

is an enlarged front view of a turned out flap pocket incorporating a hook and loop fastener in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2B

is a sectional view along

2

B—

2

B of

FIG. 2A

;

FIG. 3A

is an enlarged front view of a turned in flap pocket incorporating the hook and loop fastener of the invention; and

FIG. 3B

is a sectional view along

3

B—

3

B of FIG.

3

A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The subject matter of the invention is a hook and loop fastener of a known type which is preferably arranged on the inside of pockets of articles of clothing, wherein a flap is provided, as is known in pockets of jackets, shirts, coats and blouses, but which serves specifically to deactivate and activate the hook and loop fastener. The deactivation flap is inserted into the pocket, that is, between the two components of the hook and loop fastener, in order to deactivate the hook and loop fastener, and is flipped outside in order to reactivate the hook and loop fastener.

Referring to the drawings, an article of clothing

10

is shown in

FIG. 1

with flap pockets

11

, where the flaps are turned out, the two hook and loop fasteners are arranged in the area of the opening contact one another, and the pockets are held closed.

This is shown more clearly in FIG.

2

A and FIG.

2

B.

FIG. 2A

shows an enlarged view of a pocket flap

11

a

where the flap is turned out. The hook and loop fastener parts

13

and

14

are indicated by dashed lines and contact one another, and the flap pocket

11

is held closed.

In the sectional view

2

B—

2

B in

FIG. 2B

, it is seen that one part of the hook and loop fastener

14

is attached to the inner side of the outer wall

11

d

of pocket

11

b

. The inner wall

11

c

has the other part

13

of the hook and loop fastener attached to it. The two parts of the hook and loop fastener are allowed to contact each other which keeps the pocket closed.

Referring now to

FIG. 3A

, here the flap

11

a

(indicated in dashes) is turned in and is therefore located between the hook and loop parts (once again in dashes) and the pocket is held open.

The sectional view

3

B—

3

B in

FIG. 3B

shows that the flap

11

a

is inserted between the two components

13

and

14

of the hook and loop fastener. This keeps the outer wall of the pocket

11

d

to remain open.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.