Placket straightener

Abstract

A placket straightener device for minimizing buckling, gapping, or puckering of the overlapping placket panels on the ends of a shirt, such as a woman's blouse, when the fasteners, such as snap buttons or buttons with buttonholes, are fastened together. The device may be placed inside of the placket panel(s) or the device may be placed between two overlapping placket panels between the closed fasteners. The placket straightener device maintains a predetermined distance between the closed fasteners of the shirt thereby reducing buckling, gapping and puckering.

1 . A placket straightener device for limiting the separation of the material between at least two adjacent fasteners on a garment, such as a shirt, when the fasteners are fastened comprising:
 a body having a first end and a second end;   a recess formed in said first end of said body, wherein said recess is placed about one said fastener of said garment when said placket straightener device is installed on said garment;   a recess formed in said second end of said body, wherein said recess is placed about said second fastener of said garment when said placket straightener device is installed on said garment;   wherein said placket straightener device limits the movement of said adjacent fasteners relative to each other when placed between said adjacent fasteners.   
     
     
         2 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein the distance between said recess on said first end and said recess on said second end is about equal to the spacing between said two adjacent fasteners on said garment when said fasteners are fastened and with minimal separation of the material between said fasteners. 
     
     
         3 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 2 , wherein said distance between said recesses is one from the group consisting of about 2-inches, about 2.25-inches, about 2.5-inches, about 2.75-inches, about 3-inches, and about 3.25 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a grasping tab on said body wherein said tab is used for holding said placket straightener device when inserting and removing said placket straightener device from said garment. 
     
     
         5 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , made from at least one of the materials from the group consisting of plastic and metal. 
     
     
         6 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein said body, first end and second end are formed from tubing. 
     
     
         7 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein said body, first end and second end are substantially flat. 
     
     
         8 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 6 , wherein said body is comprised of at least one of copper and brass capable of being shaped in a non-linear configuration. 
     
     
         9 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a loop on at least one of said first end and said send end wherein one of said fasteners passes through at least one said openings prior to fastening the fasteners. 
     
     
         10 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end are about the shape of a “U.” 
     
     
         11 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein said body, first end and second end are formed wire. 
     
     
         12 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end is about the shape of a rectangle. 
     
     
         13 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end is about the shape of a washer. 
     
     
         14 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a loop on at least one of said first end and said second end wherein one of said fasteners passes through at least one said openings. 
     
     
         15 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end is removably attached to said body. 
     
     
         16 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein the distance between said recess on said first end and said recess on said second end is adjustable. 
     
     
         17 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first end and said second end is removably attached to said body and replaceable with an end having an alternative configuration. 
     
     
         18 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 11 , wherein the distance between said recess on said first end and said recess on said second end is adjustable by removing at least one of said first end and said second end from said body and attaching an end with an alternative configuration to said body. 
     
     
         19 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 1 , wherein said body is comprised of a plurality of irregularly shaped loops. 
     
     
         20 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 19 , wherein said body is configured to be placed about more than two adjacent fasteners. 
     
     
         21 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 19 , wherein said plurality of irregularly shaped loops are in linear configuration. 
     
     
         22 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 21 , wherein said plurality of irregularly shaped loops are about configured to be about the same size and shape. 
     
     
         23 . A removable and reusable placket straightener device for minimizing separation of the overlapping placket panels on the ends of a shirt or blouse when the garment's fasteners are fastened together comprising:
 a body having a length, a first end, and a second end;   a recess formed in said first end of said body for placement of said first end about one fastener of said shirt when said placket straightener device is placed between placket panels of said shirt when worn;   a recess formed in said second end of said body for placement of said second end about a second closed fastener of said shirt located adjacent to said first fastener when said placket straightener device is placed between placket panels of said shirt when worn;   wherein said placket straightener device restricts movement of said fasteners relative to each other.   
     
     
         24 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 23 , wherein said body is configured in the shape of an elongated strip of material comprising opposing sides. 
     
     
         25 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 23 , wherein said body is made from at least one of the group consisting of plastic and metal. 
     
     
         26 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 25 , wherein said body is made of transparent plastic. 
     
     
         27 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 23 , further comprising adhesive on at least of said opposing sides. 
     
     
         28 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 23 , further comprising at least one from the group consisting of perforations, demarcations and markings to indicate possible locations to shorten said placket straightener device. 
     
     
         29 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 23 , wherein the edges of at least one from the group consisting of said body, said first end and said second end are curved. 
     
     
         30 . A reusable placket straightener device for limiting separation of the overlapping placket panels on the ends of a shirt, such as a woman's blouse, when the fasteners, such as snap buttons or buttons with buttonholes, are fastened together comprising:
 a body having a length, a first end, and a second end;   a recess formed in said first end for placement about one fastener of said shirt;   a recess formed in said second end for placement about a second fastener of said shirt located adjacent to said first closed fastener when said placket straightener device is installed;   wherein distance between the recess in said first end and said recess in said second end is about equal to the spacing between said two fasteners on said shirt when said fasteners are fastened;   wherein said placket straightener maintains a predetermined distance between said closed fasteners.   
     
     
         31 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 30 , wherein said predetermined distance is about equal to the spacing between said adjacent fasteners. 
     
     
         32 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 30 , wherein said predetermined distance is larger than the spacing between said adjacent fasteners. 
     
     
         33 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 30 , wherein said second end is removable from said body and replaceable with an alternative second end. 
     
     
         34 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 33 , further comprising a groove and key mechanism to secure said second end to said body. 
     
     
         35 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 33 , further comprising a locking mechanism to secure said second end to said body. 
     
     
         36 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 30 , further comprising a grasping tab on said body wherein said tab is used to hold said placket straightener device when inserting and removing it from said shirt. 
     
     
         37 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 36 , wherein said grasping tab comprises a means for separating components of said placket straightener device. 
     
     
         38 . The placket straightener device according to  claim 36 , wherein said grasping tab comprises a means for locking said components of said placket straightener device.