A44B BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE (fastenings specially adapted for footwear A43C)
Introduced: September 1968
Description
A44B covers fastening devices and closures primarily used in clothing and textiles. This subclass includes buttons (of various materials and designs), pins, buckles, hooks, eyelets, and slide fasteners (zippers). It encompasses both the mechanical devices themselves and their manufacturing or application methods, covering traditional and innovative fastening solutions for garments, footwear, and fabric articles. Adjacent classes A44C (haberdashery articles) and A44F (corset components) address related but distinct accessory categories.
Title
Titles differ between systems:
IPC: BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE
CPC: BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE (fastenings specially adapted for footwear A43C)
Full Title
Full titles differ between systems:
BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE
BUTTONS, PINS, BUCKLES, SLIDE FASTENERS, OR THE LIKE (fastenings specially adapted for footwear A43C)
Additional Content IPC
Glossary
Button Buttons A hand manipulated fastener that includes a rigid or semirigid portion (i.e. button) which is attached (e.g. sewn) to the structure it is intended to fasten or secure (e.g. clothing) in a manner that allows its reorientation by either movement about its attachment or movement of the structure it secures. A button is intended to be used with a complementary opening having a flaccid portion (e.g. buttonholes, looped cords) that forms the second essential part of the fastener. Buckle Buckles A hand manipulated fastener including engaging or holding means and structure for guiding during fastening, which can selectively hold a cooperating strap or belt that is either the structure secured (e.g. end of a dress belt) or a second portion of the fastener (e.g. securing strap of a backpack flap). Pin Pins A hand manipulated fastener that includes both (1) a portion specifically shaped (e.g. pointed) to facilitate impaling of and penetration into the structure fastened or secured and (2) a remaining portion (e.g. head) intended to be manually pushed on that does not penetrate the structure fastened or secured. Slide fastener Slide fasteners A hand manipulated fastener that includes (1) two, opposed, elongated, configured surfaces that are each attached by mounting means to a secured structure and are intended to directly contact and interlock with each other when fastened and (2) a sliding device that is much shorter in length than the surfaces and which travels along their length to forcibly shift them into or out of interlocking engagement.
Limiting references
Fastening devices specially adapted for specific types of garments Buttonholes or eyelets for buttonholes Corset fasteners Glove fasteners Garter fasteners Belts, girdles, or waistbands for trousers or skirts Thumbtacks Devices for fastening or securing constructional elements or machine parts together Hand-manipulated hooks or eyes (e.g. swivel hook for dog leash) Places covering apparatus or methods for making, or for positioning on the structure being fastened, fasteners or components of fasteners appropriate for this subclass . Appliances or methods for marking-out, perforating, or making buttonholes Appliances or methods for setting fasteners on garments Processing sheet metal, tubes or profiles to make haberdashery Processing sheet metal, tubes or profiles to make buttons Processing sheet metal, tubes or profiles to make metal slide fasteners parts Wire-working to produce devices for fastening (e.g. slide fastener elements, buttons) Pressure or injection die casting of slide fasteners and slide fastener parts Producing slide fastener elements from plastic or other substances in a plastic state Producing buttons or semi-finished button parts from plastic or other substances in a plastic state
IPC and CPC are identically structured here. All 13 subcodes exist in both systems.
2 shared codes have differing titles between IPC and CPC.
Child Classifications
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- A44B 11/00 Buckles; Similar fasteners for interconnecting straps or the like, e.g. for safety belts +3 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- A44B 18/00 Fasteners of the touch-and-close type; Making such fasteners since 1980 +4 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- A44B 6/00 Retainers or tethers for neckties, cravats, neckerchiefs, or the like, e.g. tie-clips, spring clips with attached tie-tethers, woggles, pins with associated sheathing members tetherable to clothing (tie-pins A44B9/08; decorative or ornamental aspects A44C) since 1980 IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- A44B 9/00 Hat, scarf, or safety pins or the like (decorative or ornamental aspect A44C; hair pins A45D8/02; sewing needles D05B85/00) IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- A44B 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass since 2010 +1 CPC IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
Top Applicants
Top Applicants (IPC)
Class A44,2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- YOSHIDA KOGYO JP 1,597
- YOSHIDA KOGYO 1,058
- ZHEJIANG WEIXING INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 596
- FUJIAN SBS ZIPPER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 471
- GOERTEK TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 462
- GUANGDONG XIAOTIANCAI TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 408
- THE SWATCH GROUP RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CH 278
- 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY (MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY) US 267
- OMEGA CH 194
- APPLE US 187
Top Applicants (CPC)
Class A44,2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- YOSHIDA KOGYO JP 1,555
- YOSHIDA KOGYO 888
- THE SWATCH GROUP RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CH 358
- 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY (MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY) US 314
- APPLE US 234
- OMEGA CH 216
- GOERTEK TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 189
- APLIX FR 176
- FIDLOCK DE 149
- SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 145