Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Zipper or required component thereof – Including means for obstructing movement of slider
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-14
2004-06-01
Sakran, Victor (Department: 3677)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Zipper or required component thereof
Including means for obstructing movement of slider
C024S381000, C024S389000, C024S397000, C024S419000, C024S433000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06742226
ABSTRACT:
BACKGOURND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide fastener characterized in a stopper portion thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
The slide fastener comprises a pair of fastener tapes, a plurality of coupling elements mounted on mating side edges of the tapes so as to be coupled with and separated from each other, a slider having a function for coupling/separating the coupling elements and stopper portions for limiting an end of operation of the slider. As the fastener tape, in general, a woven tape obtained by woven warp yarns and weft yarns has been widely used. A warp knitted tape having a warp knit structure has been prevailing.
Conventionally, a metallic stopper device is generally used for the aforementioned stopper portion of a slide fastener. The stopper device has a pawl which is to be pierced into the fastener tape and which can be mounted to the tape by wrapping the elements while being pierced through the tape. However, there was such a risk that the pawl of the metallic stopper device can come into contact with and injure the skin or can come into contact with yarns to be pulled or cut off. Such risk was needed to be prevented. For that reason, the structure of a stopper device itself has been improved so as to prevent the above-described trouble. On the other hand, there has been a proposal to produce a stopper device made of synthetic resin material, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-33529 and Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-31932. The Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-33529 relates to a bottom stopper device in which thermoplastic synthetic resin film is fused integrally with fastener elements at one side of the fastener elements. A skirt portion is provided continuously to a main body of the bottom stopper device. The skirt portion has an uneven face at a portion where the fastener tape is bonded to the synthetic resin film. The skirt portion has a high-density portion in which material of the synthetic resin film exists densely and a low-density portion in which material of the synthetic resin film exists coarsely.
Because the bonding faces of the fastener tape and the synthetic resin film at the skirt portion are formed uneven, the bonding area becomes larger so that the bonding strength can be higher than a case where the bonding face is flat. Further, because the fastener tape portion at the skirt portion is formed with the high-density portion in which the synthetic resin film exists densely and the low-density portion in which it exists coarsely, the bonding strength between the fastener tape and the synthetic resin film can be intensified by the high-density portion. Furthermore, flexibility at the skirt portion can be maintained by the low-density portion, so that the synthetic resin film is prevented from separating from the fastener tape. Further, the stopper portion can be prevented from being broken at the skirt portion.
On the other hand, the Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-31932 relates to a top stopper device made of thermoplastic synthetic resin and having a U-shaped section, which is attached to an end portion of each fastener element row mounted along each of opposing side edges of right and left fastener tapes. Through holes are formed on an inner side of each of the fastener element row of the fastener tape. An end portion of the top stopper device having a U-shaped section is extended so as to close the through hole. The end portion is then fused and integrated through the through holes. Thus, an inverted portion is formed so that it can swing with respect to the integrated portion in a sliding direction of a slider.
With such a structure, particularly the end portion of the top stopper device, with which a flange of the slider come into contact, is fused and integrated firmly through the through holes provided in the fastener tape. Further, part of fused resin penetrates into the fastener tape and hardens. At the same time, front and rear leg portions and the inverted portion of the top stopper device nip a core portion of the fastener tape. Thus, even when a strong impact is applied to the top stopper device due to the sliding operation of the slider, the top stopper device would not be removed or dropped, thereby ensuring its stabilized stop function for a long time.
Further, the inverted portion of the top stopper device is so constructed as to be capable of swinging in the sliding direction of the slider. Therefore, if a column of the slider comes into contact with the inverted portion, the inverted portion is deflected in an advancing direction of the slider. Then, the flange of the slider makes contact with an end portion of the top stopper device. Thus, impact applied to the leg portions of the top stopper device by the slider can be eased, thereby protecting the top stopper device from being damaged by such impact.
As already described above, recently there has been a rising tendency that a warp knitted tape is used for a fastener tape of a slide fastener particularly used in clothes, in order to prevent a finished product, to which a fastener tape is sewed, from being waved. Specifically, in a case where a woven fastener tape is sewed to a thin, flexible cloth or it is sewed to a cloth in a curved manner, the finished product is likely to be waved because the woven fastener tape has a fine woven structure in general, which is not extensible with high stiffness. Therefore such sewing of the slide fastener to clothes requires high skill and experience of sewing in order to prevent generation of such waving. On the other hand, a fastener tape composed of a warp knit structure is capable of being stretched/contracted to some extent due to its knit structure. Therefore, the configuration of the fastener tape can be deformed easily so as to conform with the cloth. Thus, in this case, even if the fastener tape is sewed to a thin cloth or in a curved manner, no waving is generated.
As described above, the slide fastener which is to be sewed to clothes is required to be safe first. Further, the slide fastener, particularly a fastener tape of the slide fastener, is required not to be conspicuous with respect to a product to which the slide fastener is sewed. Specifically, women's clothes such as skirt or underwear have been strongly demanded not to have its slide fastener seen from outside. Thus, currently, the slide fastener is sewed to a cloth as close to fastener elements as possible so that the fastener tape can hardly be seen in appearance.
However, as shown in by FIGS. 1 to 3 of the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-33529 or FIGS. 3 to 6 in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-31932, each fixing end portion of conventional top and bottom stopper devices is largely extended more inwardly of a fastener tape than end faces of connecting portions for connecting upper/lower leg portions of fastener elements. Consequently, when the slide fastener is sewed to a cloth, the sewing machine foot makes contact with the fixing end portions of the top/bottom stopper portions, so that the sewing machine foot is deflected in a width direction of the slide fastener thereby having the sewing line meander. Consequently, not only appearance of the finished product is damaged due to conspicuousness of the meandering of the sewing line but also in the case of a thin cloth, it gets tense at the meandering portion thereby further harming the appearance further.
As already described, a proper function of the top/bottom stopper devices is to restrict the top and bottom positions of the slider for opening/closing a slide fastener and to prevent the slider from slipping out. However, the existence of the top/bottom stopper devices must not harm the appearance of cloth on which the slide fastener is attached, as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been achieved to solve these problems. There
Matsuda Yoshio
Nakata Yoshifumi
Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLC
Sakran Victor
YKK Corporation
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