Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Zipper or required component thereof – Slider having specific configuration – construction,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-17
2003-03-25
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3677)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Zipper or required component thereof
Slider having specific configuration, construction,...
C024S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536084
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a reinforced, lockable zipper closure system. More specifically the present invention relates to an improved heavy duty slider body system comprising various components such as a unitized, reinforced slider body, an eyelet cast in the body, a slider body pull with releasing pull clip, simple repair of pull tab and a seam lock.
BACKGROUND
Zippers are used as closure devices for many common items such as garments, furniture and sporting goods including sleeping bags and tents. Luggage, sports bags and other products using locking zipper systems require heavy duty, lockable slider bodies. Some lockable slider body systems require the joinder of a pair of eyelets and an external lock inserted across the docked eyelets. Other systems use openings at the ends of the pullers to receive a lock. Sometimes a single slider body is used with a D-ring where the slider body's eyelet is locked to a D-ring mounted on a stationary object at the end of the zipper track. These traditional alternatives do not fit flush and are subject to excessive torque forces.
A zipper assembly traditionally comprises two opposing stringers, one or more slider bodies and a pull tab for each slider body. The stringers contain interlocking elements or teeth. The slider body has channels that span each of the opposing stringers. When the slider body is pulled along the stringers' longitudinal axis, the teeth close or open depending on which direction the slider body is pulled. A pull tab is used to facilitate the pulling of the slider body.
The pull tab has a gripping end and a connector end. A traditional method of attaching the pull tab to the slider body is to have the connector end of the pull tab formed to be an eyelet and to have an extrusion of the slider body secure the connector end. This extrusion is called a bail.
The bail is shaped like an arch and has a forward leg and a rear leg. The rear leg is manufactured in a slightly raised position. The pull tab connector is traditionally secured to the slider body by placing the pull tab connector eyelet under the raised bail leg and then the leg is squeezed closed thus securing the pull tab connector. Once secured, the pull tab pivots about the bail thus facilitating pulling the slider body in either direction.
Alternatively, the pull tab connector end is formed from flat stamped steel having opposing, inward pointing ears with a gap between the ears. The ears are inserted into indentations on either side of the slider body. The ears are then squeezed together closing the gap enough to secure the pull tab to the slider body. A bail that is deformed in order to secure the pull tab has been stressed and thus more likely to fracture. Pull tab ears tend to pull out of the slider body indentations with minimal torque force.
The slider body has, in addition to the bail and lock eyelet, a bottom and top plate and a slider body box or, as frequently referred to in the industry, as the slider body diamond. The bottom and top plates are in horizontal planes. The slider body diamond, located in the front of the zipper, lends strength and stability to the slider body. A lock eyelet is optionally mounted on the top plate in the front. The bail, shaped as an arch, is mounted on the top plate toward the rear.
Heavy duty zippers such as those used with luggage are subject to a lot of stress. These types of applications typically use zinc die cast slider body with a bail. The process of closing the bail to secure the pull tab causes stress and may cause cracks in the bail making it subject to fracture while in use. Repairing this type of breakage is costly and difficult. If the components of the slider body are reinforced so as to mitigate stress fracture, the zipper is prone to damage when external forces, such as mechanical baggage handlers, abuse the zipper. If the pull tab does not yield to excessive force, then other components of the zipper, such as the stringer, bail or lock eyelet may be damaged. Repair of such damaged components usually require expertise and tools not generally available at a retail shop. Often the luggage or other product to which the zipper is attached has to be sent away for repair or replacement. Repair, even if done at a retail location, requires substantial wait by the customer. Immediate repair is rarely available or practical.
Luggage zipper slider body systems are often designed with an eyelet to match up with a D-ring or a second zipper with a second eyelet so that a lock may be applied across the two eyelets (or eyelet and D-ring). Inserting a lock introduces another point where failure might occur in the zipper slider body locking system, particularly if the eyelets do no match up in a flush manner.
Areas of failure occurring with heavy duty zippers subject to substantial torque and shear force are: 1) the bail holding the pull tab connector eyelet; 2) the lock eyelet, particularly when a torque force is applied to the lock; and 3) the top and bottom slider body plates which may pull away from the slider body diamond. Traditional, heavy duty zipper slider body locking systems begin to fail at about 20-25 inch pounds of force at the bail, 12-15 inch pounds of rotational force at the eyelet, and 60-80 pounds force applied to the top and bottom plates. The stringers and the tape holding the stringer may also fail, but usually failure at the bail, lock eyelet, bottom plate or top plate occurs well before the 200 pounds of static force required to damage the stringers and the stringer tape. Heavy duty pull tabs rarely fail.
It is desirable to avert failures at such levels of force. Increased bail strength, lock eyelet reinforcement as well as bottom and top plate strength would help ameliorate the problem. An integrated manufacture of the slider body including the bail and lock eyelet, along with additional support structure for the lock eyelet would further help achieve this end.
Additionally, a pull design that releases under predetermined force levels so as to preserve the integrity of the rest of the zipper and yet is easily reparable with original parts is also desirable.
Pull designs are disclosed in Aoki et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,615 (Aoki); Minami, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,434 (Minami); and Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,497 (Jackson), all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Aoki discloses a slider body having a pull tab support, such that the pull tab can be removed and attached quickly by using a resilient V shaped retainer to secure the pull tab to the pull tab support.
Minami discloses a slider body fastener that is thinned in the body of the pull tab making the pull tab flexible. This design enhances safety aspects by lessening the chance of injury from the pull tab.
Jackson discloses a separable zipper pull tab that comprises a hook piece that inserts within the cavity of the pull tab, said hook piece frangibly secured to the pull tab such that when sufficient force is applied to the zipper, the hook piece detaches from the pull tab. Modular repair requires new parts or the application of adhesives. Jackson requires the introduction of either a shear pin, retaining clip or adhesive to secure the hook piece to the pull tab. As noted above, the bail and lock eyelet are particularly subject to failure at common usage levels of force.
Another embodiment described in Jackson has a non-secured, free end of a connecting arm of the hook yield so that the end of the connecting arm will disengage from the pull tab cavity. Under this condition the hook piece would have to be removed in order to implement repair. The hook piece, if reused, has been deformed thus lowering the separation force threshold.
In the traditional design, when the pull tab is separated from the slider body most of the time the failure occurs at the slider body. This requires replacement or repair of the entire zipper or slider body, incurring more cost than simply replacing the pull tab. Modular replacement of a pull tab requires multiple steps and new parts or materials to implement a
Ideal Fastener Corporation
Roberts Abokhair & Mardula LLC
Rodriguez Ruth C.
Swann J. J.
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