Concealed slide fastener
In a concealed slide fastener in which coupling elements 11, 13, 15 are injection moulded on the edge 25, 27 of a tape 17, 19, a coupling portion 53 of a coupling element is provided on one side of the tape 17, 19 and a shelf 47 of the coupling element on the other side of the tape 17, 19. A coupling portion 53 bears on the shelf 47 of the opposed coupling element with the respective tape 17, 19 sandwiched between them, to limit out of plane separation of the coupling elements. The coupling portion 53 can be made the full thickness of the coupling portion on one side of the tape without the need to provide any recess or undercut in the coupling head 43 and the coupling element can be moulded using a two part mould.
The entire disclosures of British Patent Application 0604599.1 filed on Mar. 7, 2006 are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a concealed slide fastener and in particular to a concealed slide fastener having moulded elements.
Examples of concealed slide fasteners having moulded elements are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,278, JP-A-2000-201708, JP-U-2598345 and U.S. Pat. No. 3, 124,871.
A drawback of the prior art arrangement is that the coupling part 109 is formed completely to one side of the tape. Because the element body 107 must be of sufficient thickness in the region 107a above the tape, to prevent it fracturing, the body portion 107b below the tape must be kept relatively thin to avoid the element body 107 being too thick overall. Thus, the coupling part 109 formed is on only about one half the overall thickness of the body. The coupling part 109 serves two main functions. Firstly, heads 117 of the coupling parts on opposed elements engage behind each other to prevent separation in the plane of the fastener. Secondly, shelves 113 are formed on the heads 117 to bear on shelves 115 provided on the opposed elements to limit out of plane bending of the fastener and prevent separation of the coupling elements by out of plane movement. This shelf 113 forms an undercut on the head 117 facing the tape and so it is necessary to use a sliding core mould for moulding the coupling elements 101 on the tape. If the coupling part 109 is too thin, particularly at the region of a shelf, it is likely to break when the fastener is flexed roughly or even in normal use. Also, the thin coupling element head 117 itself contributes less resistance to out of plane bending of the fastener. However, the overall thickness of the element 101 must be kept small for aesthetic reasons, and also to reduce the amount and cost of materials.
SUMMARYIn one aspect of our invention we provide a concealed slide fastener comprising a pair of stringers in which moulded coupling elements are provided on the edge of a respective tape, the coupling element including a body straddling the edge of the tape, a coupling portion extending from the body on one side of the tape and a shelf projecting from the body on the other side of the tape; when the coupling elements of the opposed stringers are engaged, the coupling portions of the coupling elements of one stringer bearing on the shelves of the opposed elements of the other stringer through the respective tape. By forming the shelves on the other side of the tape, the coupling head can be the full thickness of the body on the one side of the tape. Preferably there is no undercut facing the tape, and so the coupling elements can be moulded without a sliding core: a two-part mould can be used.
Preferably, the tape portion within the body is positioned substantially at a mid plane of the body.
The coupling element head is formed on a neck which extends from the front face of the body. A coupling element head engages behind the heads of two opposed coupling elements on the other stringer and lays between their respective necks. A shoulder is provided each side of the neck, to provide an abutment surface for the head of an opposed element.
The shelf may extend the full width of the body, in the elongate direction of the tape. Preferably two shelves are provided, at opposite ends of the body surface, and respective protrusions forming the shelves form a recess between the protrusions. The recess may partially accommodate the shelves of opposed elements.
The protrusions of opposed coupling element are spaced from each other by the thickness of the intervening tapes. Depending on the desired appearance, a greater spacing may be provided. Particularly for a waterproof fastener, the protrusions may be arranged to pinch the tapes together.
As well known, as the fastener is flexed, a coupling element head bears on the adjacent necks and heads of the opposed coupling elements and the opposed shoulders. By maximising the height of the element heads, to the thickness of the body on one side of the tape, the coupling elements are better able to resist flexing of the fastener. Preferably the element heads and the necks are shaped so that a coupling head abuts the shoulders on the opposed elements and also abuts the side surface of the adjacent coupling heads at a region which transitions from the head to the neck. Preferably the side surfaces abut one another at a region midway between the opposed tapes. The heads also bear on the shelves of the opposed elements through the respective tape to prevent separation by out of plane movement.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying description and claims.
The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Description is now made in accordance with some preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings appended hereto.
A slide fastener according to the present invention has a pair or fastener tapes, two rows of coupling elements injection-moulded onto the respective inner longitudinal edges of the fastener tapes and a slider movable along the coupling element rows in order to couple or decouple the coupling elements.
Referring to
There is formed on the side free of the coupling portion 53 on the front face 31 of the body 29 at each outer end 35 thereof, projections 33 projecting from the front face 31. A recess 37 is formed between the projections 33. As shown in
A coupling portion 53 extends out from the front surface 31 of the body 29 and is formed by a coupling element head 43 on a neck 45. There are formed shoulders 46 on the lateral opposed sides of the neck 45 on the front face 31 of the body 29. From
Thus it can be seen that the upper faces 49 of the coupling element heads 43, that is, the faces close to the projection 33 are adjacent the underneath surface of the tape 17, 19 where it exits the coupling body 29 and the shelves 47 are adjacent the upper surface of the tape 17, 19, generally in line with the upper and lower walls of the slots 30. The projections 33 are formed for the purpose of forming the shelves 47. As shown in
Referring to
Since the shelves are formed on the other side of the tape, the coupling head can be the full thickness of the body on the one side of the tape. Thus, there is no undercut facing the tape, and so the coupling elements can be moulded without a sliding core: a two part mould can be used.
Since the height of the element heads has been maximised to the thickness of the body on one side of the tape, the coupling elements are better able to resist flexing of the fastener.
While the above descriptions contain many specificities, these shall not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of embodiments thereof. Many other variations are possible. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by appended claims and the legal equivalents.
Claims
1. A concealed slide fastener comprising a pair of stringers in which moulded coupling elements are provided on the edge of a respective tape, the coupling element including a body straddling the edge of the tape, a coupling portion extending from the body on one side of the tape and a shelf projecting from the body on the other side of the tape; when the coupling elements of the opposed stringers are engaged, the coupling portions of the coupling elements of one stringer bearing on the shelves of the opposed elements of the other stringer through the respective tape.
2. A concealed slide fastener as claimed in claim 1, the coupling element further including projections formed so as to project from the body at each outer end on the side of the tape opposite to the side whereon the coupling portion extends from the body, the shelves being formed on the side of the projections which face the tapes.
3. A concealed slide fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the coupling elements can be moulded only with a mould which can split into two mould parts substantially along the plane of the tapes.
4. A concealed slide fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tape is positioned at a mid plane of the body.
5. A concealed fastener as claimed in claim 1, wherein two shelves are provided on a coupling element and a recess is formed between the shelves.
6. A concealed slide fastener as claimed in any of claims 1 or 2, wherein the shelves of opposed coupling element are spaced from each other at such a distance as to allow the respective tapes to be interposed therebetween.
7. A slide fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the coupling portion comprises a neck extending from the front face of the body and a head formed on the neck, and shoulders are formed on the body adjacent the neck, wherein the coupling portion abuts the adjacent opposed coupling portions at the shoulders and at the transition regions between the head and the neck.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 27, 2007
Publication Date: Sep 13, 2007
Inventor: Mark Davies (Runcorn)
Application Number: 11/711,322
International Classification: A44B 19/02 (20060101);