Apparatus and method for magnetically mounting an object to a sheet of material

Abstract

An apparatus for mounting an object, including functional objects as well as ornamental objects, to an intermediate sheet of material such as fabric or glass includes pieces that are magnetically coupled through the intermediate material so that the magnetically coupled pieces are securely and replaceably held thereto. An object retainer is secured in any desired manner to at least one of the magnetically coupled pieces. One or both of the magnetically coupled pieces may be placed into forms for added mechanical strength, ease of handling, distribution of force, or protection to the intermediate material. A coating layer may be placed on the retainer, on some or all of the magnetically coupled pieces, or on the forms if used, either over the entirety thereof or over selected surface areas.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This patent document claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 534,918 filed Jan. 7, 2004 (Verbaas et al., Magnetic holder apparatus), which hereby is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention relates generally to the mounting of an object on a sheet of material, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for magnetically mounting objects to sheets of material. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Ornamental items such as corsages typically are displayed from nonmetallic flexible material such as fabric, paper, and the like. A variety of techniques are known for mounting ornamental items to the material. Some of them rely solely on mechanical means, while others use a combination of magnetic and mechanical means. [0006] Numerous exclusively mechanical approaches are used for hanging ornamental items on c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] The present invention has a number of advantages over the related art. In some embodiments, one or more of the magnetically coupled pieces are resilient or flexible to maintain strong magnetic coupling even when the intervening material such as a fabric is stressed or distorted. In other embodiments, one or more of the magnetically coupled pieces includes multiple magnets, or are given a shape and size, or are placed within a form for various purposes such as, for example, to provide enhanced mechanical strength, ease of handling, distribution of force, protection of the intermediate material, or enhanced mechanical support for keeping bulky objects such as, for example, a corsage, from twisting away from a particular alignment. In other embodiments, a retainer is disposed at one of the magnetically coupled pieces, and both the retainer and the magnetically coupled piece are visually inobtrusive with respect to the object to be mounted. Suitable techniques include, for example, having one of or both the retainer and the magnetically coupled piece camouflaged with respect to the object to be mounted or with respect to the material to which the object is to be mounted, or of a relatively small with respect to the object to be mounted, or capable of being aligned with the object to be mounted. In other embodiments, one or more of the magnetically coupled pieces, or the retainer, or all pieces and the retainer include a coating or coated portions to protect delicate materials, which may be the intervening material or material in the object being held. In some of its embodiments, the present invention includes superior retainers for the object being held, such as, for example, supports for preventing a boutonniere from sagging or twisting.

[0015] Various embodiments of the present invention are suitable for mounting an object to various types of sheets of material (including multiple layers), such as, for example, fabric, paper, glass, cardboard, wallboard, partitions, layered masses, composite masses, laminates, and so forth. More particularly, two or more pieces are magnetically coupled through the intermediate sheet of material in a manner that securely yet replaceably mounts the object to the material. At least one of the magnetic pair of pieces includes a retainer for the object. An optional coating layer is placed onto one or more of the magnetically coupled pieces, either over the entire surfaces thereof or over selected surfaces (major surfaces, edges, and so forth) thereof for any desired purposes, such as to prevent damage to delicate clothing, to provide an attractive appearance or a camouflaged appearance, to facilitate handling by the user, to improve contact with the intermediate material, or any combination of the foregoing and other purposes. Some embodiments are suitable for mounting functional objects, while other embodiments are suitable for mounting ornamental objects.

Problems solved by technology

This approach requires either hooking onto the edge of a garment or penetrating through the garment, which results in mounting in an undesirable location or damage to the garment, respectively.

However, the disclosed crimping mechanism requires deformation of the material resulting in unsightly lines to be apparent in the way the material hangs.

Further, this crimping mechanism damages delicate clothing.

Generally speaking, known nonmagnetic corsage holders have disadvantages in the manner that they hold a corsage onto a piece of fabric.

Some corsage holders deform or damage clothing during the process of mounting the corsage.

Some corsage holders insecurely hold the corsage, or are difficult to position and often result in off-vertical axis orientation of the held object, or are difficult to replaceably mount.

Both approaches are disadvantageous in that the holder is visually intrusive.

It extends beyond and around part of the ornamental object, and may detract from the appearance thereof.

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