Textiles: weaving – Fabrics – Special shape
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-23
2002-06-11
Falik, Andy (Department: 3765)
Textiles: weaving
Fabrics
Special shape
C024S392000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06401763
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide fastener stringer in which a continuous element row formed of synthetic resin monofilament is woven and fixed on a fastener tape along a side edge of the tape at the same time when the fastener tape is woven.
2. Description of the Related Art
A well known woven slide fastener stringer of this kind is disclosed in, for example, United Kingdom Patent No. 1221114 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2-17162. According to the Publication, an element row, which is comprised of plural coil-like coupling element portions arranged in parallel and obtained by forming synthetic resin monofilament, is fixed along a side edge of a fastener tape. The element row is woven and fixed with fixing warp yarns and foundation weft yarns at the same time when the fastener tape is woven.
Each of the coupling element portions is comprised of a coupling head protruded outward from the side edge of the fastener tape, a pair of upper and lower leg portions extended in parallel inward of the tape and a connecting portion for connecting the upper and lower leg portions of adjacent coupling element portions. In the slide fastener stringer disclosed in the aforementioned publication, the foundation weft yarns, each of which is comprised of double yarns, are disposed below the lower leg portion of each coupling element portion. That is, one coupling element portion is woven together with the weft yarn each time when the weft yarn is weft inserted.
In the woven slide fastener stringer disclosed in said United Kingdom Patent, transparent monofilaments are used for warp yarns and weft yarns composing a foundation structure of the fastener tape. Similarly, transparent monofilaments are used for all the warp yarns for fixing the coupling element rows. This woven slide fastener stringer is characterized in that the foundation structure is formed to be coarse and that intersecting portions of the warp yarns and the weft yarns of the foundation structure are made to fused and fixed to each other.
The woven slide fastener stringer disclosed in said Japanese Laid-open Publication No. 2-17162 on the other hand is characterized in its weaving structure. Specifically, as shown in
FIG. 11
attached to this specification, each coupling element portion E is supported by 12 fixing warp yarns W
1
to W
12
in total. On the side of connecting portions of the coupling element portions E, eight warp yarns W
5
to W
12
are guided in successively in the same repeating patterns of high-high-low-middle in a plan view of the fastener tape. Further, on the side of the coupling heads, four warp yarns W
1
to W
4
are guided in successively in the repeating patterns of high-middle-low-middle. Here, “high” means that the warp yarn supports the upper and lower leg portions L from above, “middle” means that the warp yarn is disposed between the lower leg portion of the upper and lower leg portions L and the foundation weft yarn w, and “low” means that the foundation weft yarn w supports the upper/lower leg portions from below. Meanwhile, in
FIG. 11
, a representation of the coupling heads of the coupling element portions is omitted to a necessary extent to facilitate understanding graphically.
With such a weaving structure, not only a pitch between adjacent coupling element portions becomes stable, but also density of warp yarns composing a warp yarn pocket can be remarkably intensified without giving any high tension. Thus, the pitches between the coupling element portions are stabilized so that excellent flexibility of the fastener tape can be secured. Consequently, this slide fastener can be sewed to a fabric material, to which the slide fastener is to be attached, such as clothes and bag at high speeds.
The woven slide fastener stringer disclosed in the above-mentioned United Kingdom Patent has a coarse fastener tape, which is composed of transparent monofilaments. Therefore, even when a slide fastener with such a slide fastener stringer is attached to colored clothes for example, it is still possible to perceive the colors of the clothes.
Although, the warp yarns for fixing the coupling element portions are also transparent monofilaments, the slide fastener stringer only has such a weaving structure that four fixing warp yarns run over an upper portion of the coupling element portion and then run below an adjacent coupling element portion, and the respective adjacent fixing warp yarns are woven alternately so as to intersect each other. Therefore, a tightening (fixing) strength of the coupling element portions with respect to a side edge portion of the tape is merely uniform in a region from the connection portions to the coupling heads thereof.
In the slide fastener stringer disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Publication, particularly the four warp yarns disposed on the side of the coupling heads, among the fixing warp yarns for fixing the coupling element portions arranged in parallel, run in the same repeating patterns of high-middle-low-middle with respect to the coupling element portions and the weft yarns as described above. The running patterns of the respective adjacent warp yarns are shifted by one pitch of the element portion (weft yarn).
On the other hand, among the fixing warp yarns, eight warp yarns disposed on the side of the connecting portions of the coupling element portions run in the same repeating patterns of high-high-low-middle, which are shifted by one pitch of the element portion (weft yarn).
Both kinds of the repeating patterns of the fixing warp yarns on the sides of the coupling heads and the connecting portions of the paired upper and lower leg portions have no large difference in terms of a weaving structure. Therefore, both the coupling head sides and the connecting portion sides of the paired upper and lower leg portions are fixed with substantially the same strength. Moreover, there is no reference to a variation in said tightening strength of the warp fixing yarns at the coupling head side and the connecting portion side in the above-mentioned Publication. Therefore, the fixing strength of the fixing warp yarns does not vary in a longitudinal direction of the upper and lower leg portions.
Meanwhile, major functions of the coupling element portions in a slide fastener are to guide sliding of a slider during an opening or a closing operation of the fastener by means of the slider, to facilitate introducing of coupling heads smoothly into between adjacent element head portions of opposing coupling element portions when closing the fastener, and to keep a firm coupling between adjacent element head portions when the coupling element portions engage with each other so as not to be disengaged from each other easily.
However, according to a fixing structure for the coupling element portions in the slide fastener stringer as disclosed in the above-mentioned United Kingdom Patent or Japanese Laid-Open Publication, the tightening (fixing) strength of the respective fixing warp yarns for fixing the upper and lower leg portions of the coupling element portions does not vary in the longitudinal direction of the upper and lower leg portions as mentioned above. The fixing strength of the respective coupling element portions to the fastener tape is, however, required to be as large as possible in order to secure a smooth movement of a slider. At the same time, the coupling heads, which are free ends of the coupling element portions, are required to have gaps therebetween sufficient for introducing mating coupling heads and to secure strong couplings between the coupling heads after being coupled with each other.
Furthermore, according to the fixing structure for the element portions in the slide fastener stringer as disclosed in the above-described Japanese Laid-Open Publication, the fixing strength for fixing the paired upper and lower leg portions of each coupling element portion by each fixing warp yarn does not differ in the longitudinal direction of the upper and lower leg portio
Falik Andy
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
YKK Corporation
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