Hook for clothing

Abstract

A hook 1 for clothing comprises a pair of hook members 10A, 10B formed in the same shape. Each of the hook members 10A, 10B includes a male hook 12 and a female hook 14 spaced our at a prescribed interval on one surface side of a base part 11 having a plate shape. The hook members 10A, 10B are disposed such that, in an engaged state, the one surface side of the respective base parts 11 face each other. One male hook 12 of the hook members 10A, 10B is engaged with the other female hook 14, and the other male hook 12 is engaged with the one female hook 14.

Description

clothes hook

[0001] The present invention relates to a clothes hook used to open and close clothes such as trousers and skirts.

[0002] Conventionally, clothing hooks have been known that consist of a male hook (male hook) and a female hook (female hook) that engage or disengage to open or close clothing such as trousers or a skirt (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, the male hook is attached to one end of the open end of the trousers or the like, and is made of a plate member bent into a U-shape. The female hook is attached to the other end of the open end of the trousers or the like, and is made of a plate member bent into a ring shape.

[0003] Patent No. 6169349

[0004] In the above-mentioned clothing hooks, the male and female hooks are separate components, and there is a risk of the male and female hooks being mistakenly attached when attaching to clothing. Furthermore, if they are engaged at only one point, rattles will occur when engaging, so conventionally, two male and two female hooks have been used to reduce rattles when engaging.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a clothing hook that can prevent incorrect attachment of hook members and that can reduce rattling when engaged by using a pair of hook members.

[0006] The present invention provides a means for solving the above-mentioned problems as follows: That is, the clothes hook of the present invention is a clothes hook having a pair of hook members formed to the same shape, each having a male hook and a female hook spaced a predetermined distance apart on one surface of a plate-like base, and when the hook members are engaged, the one surfaces of the bases are arranged facing each other, and one male hook of each hook member engages with the other female hook, and the other male hook engages with one female hook.

[0007] According to the above configuration, since the pair of hook members have the same shape and are the same parts, it is possible to prevent the hook members from being attached to clothing such as trousers incorrectly, compared to when different parts are used. Furthermore, the number of manufacturing steps for the hook members is reduced, which improves productivity of the hook members and makes inventory management easier. Furthermore, since the pair of hook members are engaged at two points, the pair of hook members can be securely engaged and rattle in the engaged state can be reduced. Furthermore, the hook members can be used as they are on reversible clothing without any design changes to the hook members.

[0008] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the distance between the male hook and the female hook of each hook member is greater than the width of the female hook. This allows the female hook of one hook member to be positioned between the male hook and female hook of the other hook member while the other hook member is being engaged. From this state, the pair of hook members can be easily and reliably engaged at two locations simply by moving one hook member relative to the other hook member.

[0009] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the one surface of the base of each hook member is ribbed so as to rise toward the male hook side, thereby improving the strength of the base without changing the material or thickness of the hook member, and providing a clothes hook with excellent durability.

[0010] In the above configuration, it is preferable that the male hook is formed by bending one end of the base into a substantially U-shape, and that a convex portion is formed at the bent portion of the male hook. This makes it possible to improve the strength of the bent portion of the male hook without changing the material or thickness of the hook member, and to provide a clothing hook with excellent durability.

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the hook members from being attached incorrectly, and the pair of hook members can reduce rattling when engaged.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a clothes hook according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an engaged state of the clothes hook of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a separated state of the clothes hook of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a state in the middle of engagement of the clothes hook of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a front view of a hook member constituting the clothes hook according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the hook member of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side view of the hook member of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a front view of a hook member constituting the clothes hook according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the hook member of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a side view of the hook member of Fig. 8.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] (First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 7 show a clothes hook 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The clothes hook 1 has a pair of identically shaped hook members 10A, 10B, which engage or disengage to open or close clothing such as trousers or a skirt. FIG. 1 is a front view of the clothes hook 1 attached to the open end of trousers 100. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the engaged state of the clothes hook 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the disengaged state of the clothes hook 1, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the clothes hook 1 in the middle of engagement. FIG. 5 is a front view of the hook member 10A (10B) constituting the clothes hook 1, a plan view of the hook member 10A (10B), and a side view of the hook member 10A (10B). The engaging surfaces of the pair of hook members 10A, 10B are referred to as the front side (surface side), and the sides opposite the front side are referred to as the back side (rear side).

[0015] 1 to 4 show a case where the clothes hook 1 is attached to the open end of a pair of trousers 100. As shown in Fig. 1 to 4, one hook member 10A of a pair of hook members 10A, 10B of the clothes hook 1 is attached to a portion 101 on one end side of the open end of the trousers 100, and the other hook member 10B is attached to a portion 102 on the other end side of the open end of the trousers 100.

[0016] A pair of hook members 10A, 10B will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 7. Because the pair of hook members 10A, 10B have the same shape, hook member 10A will be described as a representative. Hook member 10A is formed by punching a single sheet of material, such as stainless steel or brass, using a press and then bending the punched sheet. Hook member 10A has legs 15 formed at the four corners of a substantially rectangular base 11. Each leg 15 extends from one of the four corners of the base 11 and is formed by bending the leg 15 substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the base 11. Each leg 15 extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the back surface of the base 11. The tip of each leg 15 is formed in a substantially triangular shape.

[0017] Male hooks 12 and female hooks 14 are formed at a predetermined distance on the surface side of the base 11. The male hooks 12 are provided on one end of the base 11, and the female hooks 14 are provided on the other end of the base 11. The male hooks 12 are formed by bending one end of the base 11 into a roughly U-shape. The tips of the male hooks 12 are formed in an arc shape. A reinforcing rib (protrusion) 16 is formed at the bent portion of the male hook 12 by press working. The female hook 14 is formed as an annular portion by bending two portions 13, 13 extending in opposite directions into a roughly U-shape at the other end of the base 11. The two portions 13, 13 extend in the longitudinal direction of the base 11, in other words, perpendicular to the direction in which the male hooks 12 and female hooks 14 are arranged. A slit is formed between the two bent portions 13, 13. The slits extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the base 11. The width of the slits in the female hooks 14 (the width in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 11) is smaller than the thickness of the female hooks 14 (the thickness of the base 11). Note that the ribs (protrusions) 16 may not be provided.

[0018] The distance L1 between the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 is greater than the width of the female hook 14, specifically the width W1 of the two portions 13, 13 that make up the female hook 14 (L1 > W1). The width W1 of the two portions 13, 13 is the width along the longitudinal direction of the base 11. The thickness t1 of the male hook 12 is smaller than the height of the female hook 14, specifically the height H1 of the two portions 13, 13 that make up the female hook 14 from the surface of the base 11 (t1 < H1). The thickness t1 of the male hook 12 is the same as the thickness of the base 11.

[0019] In this embodiment, the size of the base 11 is approximately 7.6 mm × 20.6 mm, the distance L1 is approximately 4.8 mm, the width W1 is approximately 3.6 mm, the thickness t1 is 0.6 mm, and the height H1 is 1.4 mm. The thickness t1 is the same as the thickness of the base 11, and the width W1 is the length of the slit in the female hook 14 (the length along the longitudinal direction of the base 11). The width of the slit in the female hook 14 (the width in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 11) is approximately 0.2 mm, the inner diameter of the female hook 14 (the distance from the bottom of one approximately U-shaped portion to the bottom of the other approximately U-shaped portion in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 11) is approximately 9.6 mm, the length of the male hook 12 (the length of the approximately U-shaped portion along the longitudinal direction of the base 11) is approximately 9.5 mm, the length of the protruding portion of the male hook 12 (the length along the longitudinal direction of the base 11 from the bottom of the approximately U-shaped portion to the tip) is 8.9 mm, and the length of the leg 15 is approximately 6 mm. The ratio of the width to the length of the slit in the female hook 14 is approximately 0.056, and the ratio of the width of the slit in the female hook 14 to the thickness of the female hook 14 is approximately 0.33.

[0020] Here, the thickness of the base 11 is preferably 0.5 to 0.7 mm, and more preferably 0.55 to 0.65 mm. The width of the slit in the female hook 14 is preferably, for example, 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and more preferably 0.15 to 0.25 mm. The length of the slit in the female hook 14 is preferably, for example, 3.5 to 5.5 mm, and more preferably 4.0 to 5.0 mm. The inner diameter of the female hook 14 is preferably, for example, 8.0 to 11 mm, and more preferably 9.0 to 10 mm. The length of the male hook 12 is preferably, for example, 8.0 to 11 mm, and more preferably 9.0 to 10 mm. Furthermore, the ratio of the width to the length of the slit in the female hook 14 is preferably, for example, 0.045 to 0.065, and more preferably 0.050 to 0.060. The ratio of the width of the slit in the female hook 14 to the thickness of the female hook 14 is preferably, for example, 0.25 to 0.45, and more preferably 0.3 to 0.4.

[0021] Furthermore, the width W1 is preferably, for example, 2.5 to 4.5 mm, and more preferably 3.0 to 4.0 mm. The distance L1 is greater than the distance W1 (L1 > W1), and is preferably, for example, 4.0 to 6.0 mm, and more preferably 4.5 to 5.5 mm. The ratio of the distance L1 to the distance W1 is preferably, for example, 1.20 to 1.45, and more preferably 1.25 to 1.40. The length of the protruding portion of the male hook 12 is greater than the distances W1 and L1, and is preferably, for example, 8.0 to 10 mm, and more preferably 8.5 to 9.5 mm. The ratio of the length of the protruding portion of the male hook 12 to the distance W1 is preferably, for example, 2.30 to 2.65, and more preferably 2.40 to 2.55.

[0022] In this embodiment, the hook member 10A is attached to one end portion 101 of the open end of the trousers 100 using a fastening machine. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 , the hook member 10A is placed on one side of the one end portion 101 of the open end of the trousers 100, and the washer 20 is placed on the other side. The legs 15 of the hook member 10A are aligned with the openings 21 formed in the four corner areas of the washer 20. The legs 15 inserted into the openings 21 are then bent using a fastening machine to secure the hook member 10A to the washer 20, thereby attaching the hook member 10A to the one end portion 101 of the open end of the trousers 100. Similarly, the hook member 10B is attached to the other end portion 102 of the open end of the trousers 100 using a fastening machine. Note that the washer 20 and other components are not shown in FIG. 1 , and the washer 20, trousers 100, and other components are not shown in FIG. 4 .

[0023] Engagement and separation of the pair of hook members 10A, 10B of the clothes hook 1 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. First, to engage the pair of hook members 10A, 10B in the separated state shown in Figure 3, the hook members 10A, 10B are positioned with the front surfaces of their bases 11 facing each other, and the hook members 10A, 10B are brought closer to each other. Then, as shown in Figure 4, the female hook 14 of one hook member 10B is positioned between the male hook 12 and female hook 14 of the other hook member 10A. At the same time, the female hook 14 of one hook member 10A is also positioned between the male hook 12 and female hook 14 of the other hook member 10B. Then, the male hook 12 of one hook member 10A is inserted into the female hook 14 of the other hook member 10B from the outside. One hook member 10A can be moved relative to the other hook member 10B in a direction that increases the area where the bases 11 of the pair of hook members 10A, 10B overlap. At the same time, the male hook 12 of the other hook member 10B is inserted into the female hook 14 of the first hook member 10A. This causes the bases 11 of the pair of hook members 10A, 10B to overlap, and the pair of hook members 10A, 10B enter an engaged state as shown in FIG. 2.

[0024] To separate the pair of hook members 10A, 10B in the engaged state shown in Fig. 2, one hook member 10A is moved relative to the other hook member 10B in a direction that reduces the area where the bases 11 of the pair of hook members 10A, 10B overlap. As a result, the male hook 12 of one hook member 10A comes out of the female hook 14 of the other hook member 10B, and at the same time, the male hook 12 of the other hook member 10B comes out of the female hook 14 of the one hook member 10A. Then, after the male hook 12 of one hook member 10A has completely come out of the female hook 14 of the other hook member 10B, as shown in Fig. 4, the bases 11 of the hook members 10A, 10B are moved away from each other.

[0025] In this embodiment, as described above, the clothes hook 1 has a pair of hook members 10A, 10B formed in the same shape, and each of the hook members 10A, 10B has a male hook 12 and a female hook 14 spaced a predetermined distance apart on the front surface side (one side) of the plate-like base 11, and when the hook members 10A, 10B are engaged, the front surfaces of the bases 11 are arranged facing each other, and the male hook 12 of one of the hook members 10A, 10B is engaged with the female hook 14 of the other, and the other male hook 12 is engaged with the one female hook 14.

[0026] According to this embodiment, the pair of hook members 10A, 10B have the same shape and are the same part, which prevents incorrect attachment of the hook members 10A, 10B to clothing such as trousers 100 compared to when different parts are used. Furthermore, because the hook members 10A, 10B are the same part and have a simple configuration in which only the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 are provided on the surface side of the base 11, the manufacturing process for the hook members 10A, 10B is reduced, improving productivity of the hook members 10A, 10B and facilitating inventory management. Furthermore, because the pair of hook members 10A, 10B are engaged at two points, the pair of hook members 10A, 10B can be securely engaged and wobble in the engaged state can be reduced. Furthermore, the hook members 10A, 10B can be used as is on reversible clothing without any design changes to the hook members 10A, 10B. In detail, if the male and female hooks are separate parts, when a reversible garment is used inside out, the positions of the male and female hooks are reversed from when they are on the front side, which makes the operation method reversed and makes it difficult to use. However, according to this embodiment, the male hooks 12 and female hooks 14 of a pair of hook members 10A, 10B are in the same positional relationship whether the reversible garment is used on the front side or inside out, so there is no problem with operation even if hook members 10A, 10B are used as is.

[0027] In this embodiment, in hook members 10A, 10B, the distance L1 between the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 is greater than the width W1 of the female hook 14, so that when the pair of hook members 10A, 10B is in the middle of being engaged, as shown in Fig. 4, the female hook 14 of one hook member 10B can be positioned between the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 of the other hook member 10A, and at the same time, the female hook 14 of one hook member 10A can be positioned between the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 of the other hook member 10B. From this state, the pair of hook members 10A, 10B can be easily and reliably engaged at two locations simply by moving one hook member 10A relative to the other hook member 10B.

[0028] In this embodiment, the male hook 12 is formed by bending one end of the base 11 into a roughly U-shape, and a rib (convex portion) 16 is formed at the bent portion of the male hook 12. This makes it possible to improve the strength of the bent portion of the male hook 12 without changing the material or thickness of the hook members 10A, 10B, and to provide a clothes hook 1 with excellent durability.

[0029] In this embodiment, the female hook 14 is an annular portion having a slit. By providing a slit in the female hook 14, the female hook 14 can be easily formed by bending, facilitating the production of the hook members 10A and 10B. Furthermore, because the female hook 14 is formed in a generally annular shape, the female hook 14 is less likely to deform even when a force is applied in the front-to-back direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 , the up-and-down direction in FIG. 2 ). Furthermore, providing a slit in the female hook 14 has the advantage of making it less likely to react to a needle detector that detects the presence or absence of needles remaining in clothing, etc. Here, because needle detectors are sensitive to the shape and size of continuous metal, providing a slit in the female hook 14 breaks the continuity of the metal, making it more difficult for the needle detector to detect metal, thereby preventing false detections. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the male hook 12 is provided at one longitudinal end of the base 11, and is formed by bending one longitudinal end of the base 11 into a roughly U-shape, while the female hook 14 is an annular portion formed by bending two portions 13, 13 extending in opposite directions into a roughly U-shape at the other longitudinal end of the base 11, with a slit formed between the two folded portions 13, 13 along the longitudinal direction of the base 11. Because both the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 are thus formed by bending them into a roughly U-shape, a strong engagement state between the hook members 10A, 10B can be achieved, and the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 can be structured to be resistant to deformation even when a force is applied in the forward and backward directions. Furthermore, the male hook 12 and the female hook 14 can be easily formed by bending, and the hook members 10A, 10B can be easily manufactured.

[0030] Furthermore, the hook members 10A, 10B can be stably fastened because the leg portions 15 provided at the four corners of the base portion 11 of the hook members 10A, 10B are fastened by striking them against the open end of the trousers 100. Furthermore, the male hooks 12 and female hooks 14, which are formed in a substantially U-shape, can prevent the engagement from being easily released in the left-right direction (left-right direction in Figures 1 and 2) and the front-to-back direction.

[0031] (Second embodiment) Figures 8 to 10 show a clothes hook according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a front view of a hook member 30 constituting the clothes hook according to the second embodiment of the present invention, Figure 9 is a plan view of the hook member 30, and Figure 10 is a side view of the hook member 30.

[0032] In the second embodiment, the shape of the hook member 30 differs from the shape of the hook members 10A and 10B of the first embodiment, but other configurations are substantially similar. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the hook member 30 is attached to clothing, such as pants 100, by sewing, which differs from the hook members 10A and 10B of the first embodiment. Specifically, the hook members 10A and 10B of the first embodiment have legs 15 formed at the four corners of a substantially rectangular base 11. The hook members 10A and 10B are attached to clothing by driving each leg 15 into place with a fastener. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 , protrusions 35 are formed at the four corners of a substantially rectangular base 31, and each protrusion has a circular engagement hole 36. In the second embodiment, the hook member 30 is attached to clothing by threading at the four locations where the protrusions 35 and engagement holes 36 are provided.

[0033] 8 to 10 , in the hook member 30, the distance L2 between the male hook 32 and the female hook 34 is greater than the width of the female hook 34, specifically the width W2 of the two portions 33, 33 that make up the female hook 34 (L2 > W2). Furthermore, the thickness t2 of the male hook 32 is smaller than the height of the female hook 34, specifically the height H2 of the two portions 33, 33 that make up the female hook 34 from the surface of the base 31 (t2 < H2). In this case, as described below, the central portion 38 on the surface side of the base 31 is higher than the surrounding portions, and the height H2 is the height from the central portion 38 on the surface side of the base 31 to the two portions 33, 33 that make up the female hook 34. The female hook 34 is an annular portion having a slit that extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the base 31. The width of the slit in the female hook 34 (the width in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base 31) is smaller than the thickness of the female hook 34 (the thickness of the base 31). While reinforcing ribs (protrusions) 37 are formed by press working at the bent portions of the male hooks 32, a configuration without the ribs (protrusions) 37 is also possible. The distance L2, width W2, thickness t2, height H2, etc. described above are substantially the same as the distance L1, width W1, thickness t1, height H1, etc. described above in the first embodiment. It is also preferable that the dimensions of the thickness of the base 31, the width of the slit in the female hook 34, the length of the slit in the female hook 34, the inner diameter of the female hook 34, the length of the male hook 32, etc., be within substantially the same range as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, it is preferable that the ratio between the width and length of the slit in the female hook 34, the ratio between the width of the slit in the female hook 34 and the thickness of the female hook 34, the ratio between the distance L2 and the distance W2, and the ratio between the length of the protruding portion of the male hook 32 and the distance W2 are also within approximately the same range as in the first embodiment.

[0034] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the surface side of the base 31 of the hook member 30 is ribbed so as to rise toward the upper male hook 32. A central portion 38 on the surface side of the base 31 is formed so as to protrude toward the male hook 32 compared to the surrounding portion. The surface of the raised central portion of the base 31 is formed flat. Furthermore, a central portion 39 on the back side of the base 31 is formed so as to be recessed compared to the surrounding portion, and the thickness of the base 31 is approximately uniform throughout. Note that in the second embodiment, the arc-shaped portions at the tips of the male hooks 32 of the hook member 30 are slightly inclined upward, but such an inclination may not be provided.

[0035] The second embodiment also provides the same effects as the clothes hook 1 of the first embodiment described above. That is, it is possible to prevent the hook member 30 from being attached incorrectly, and it is possible to reduce rattle when the pair of hook members 30, 30 are engaged. In addition, in the second embodiment, the front surface (one surface) of the base 31 of the hook member 30 is ribbed so as to rise toward the upper male hook 32, so that the strength of the base 31 can be improved without changing the material or thickness of the hook member 30, and it is possible to provide a clothes hook with excellent durability.

[0036] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but should be defined by the scope of the claims. Furthermore, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included.

[0037] This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-151354, filed in Japan on September 3, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0038] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 clothing hook 10A, 10B hook member 11 base 12 male hook 14 female hook 100 trousers

Claims

1. A clothes hook having a pair of identically shaped hook members, each of which has a male hook and a female hook spaced a predetermined distance apart on one side of a plate-like base, and which is arranged so that when the hook members are engaged, the one side of the base faces each other, and one male hook of each hook member engages with the other female hook, and the other male hook engages with one female hook.

2. A clothes hook according to claim 1, characterized in that in each hook member, the distance between the male hook and the female hook is greater than the width of the female hook.

3. A clothes hook according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in each hook member, the one surface side of the base is ribbed so as to rise towards the male hook side.

4. A clothes hook as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the male hook is formed by bending one end of the base into a roughly U-shape, and a convex portion is formed at the bent portion of the male hook.

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