Slide Fastener

Abstract

A slide fastener fastens separated portions of one or more outer material. A pair of fastener tapes includes a pair of main body portions, and a pair of folded portions formed by folding each of opposite inner ends of the pair of main body portions in substantially U-shape. A pair of elements are attached to the pair of folded portions. A slider engages and disengages the pair of elements. The pair of main body portions are sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener.

Description

The disclosure of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2009-002941 filed on May 7, 2009 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a slide fastener. In particular, the present invention relates to a slide fastener with covering tapes, which prevents elements from being exposed to the outside and has good appearance. The present invention also relates to a slider fastener capable of preventing the elements from being separated while maintaining good appearance.

A seat of a vehicle is covered by an outer sheet along the shape of a urethane resin mounted on a seat frame. In order to easily overlay the outer sheet on the urethane resin, a slide fastener may be provided at a back lining portion of the outer sheet. There is also a seat with a detachable outer sheet by using a slide fastener.

In such an outer sheet of a seat, a concealed type slide fastener may be used or a slider fastener may be provided upside down to conceal fastener elements from view. Accordingly, a fastened portion is obscured to provide the outer sheet having good appearance (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). In addition, appearance of the outer sheet is improved by piping formed at a portion where the fastener is not used, such as a seam line, or by changing a type of a stitch.

When using a slide fastener in a pocket provided at a rear surface of the seat, in order to have good appearance which has not been proposed, the slide fastener may be willfully displayed to the outside. In this case, it is necessary to make the slide fastener itself have good appearance. In order to make the slide fastener have good appearance, a piping may be formed in a fastener tape (for example, refer to Patent Document 2), or colors of the fastener tape, the elements, and the sewing yarn may be changed. Further, a slide fastener may be provided with covering tapes which cover the elements (for example, refer to Patent Document 3).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 51-49212 A

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-000295 A

Patent Document 3: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-027765 Y

However, to provide the piping in the fastener tape, an additional sewing is required. It increases the manufacturing cost of the slide fastener. When changing the colors of the fastener tape, the elements and the sewing yarn, it is not easy to change the color of the elements. Even when the color of the elements can be changed, the elements themselves may detract from the appearance of the slide fastener because the elements are exposed to the outside. The slide fastener disclosed in Patent Document 3 increases the attachment strength of the elements to the fastener tape to obtain a strong engagement state between the elements and the fastener tape, and at the same time prevents the covering tapes which cover the elements from being rolled up so that the slider can be smoothly moved. However, there is no mention of the appearance of the slider fastener in Patent Document 3. When the fastener tape is attached to the outer sheet, the elements are visually distinguished from the outer sheet. Accordingly, there is room for the improvement in light of the visual appearance. In addition, in the slider fastener disclosed in Patent Document 3, the elements are sewn to the planer faster tape. Accordingly, if the fastener tape is pulled together with the outer sheet in the width direction of the slide fastener, the tension force is directed applied to the pair of elements. Thus, the sewing yarn stitching the fastener tape onto the outer sheet and the fastener tape itself are exposed to the outside, it detracts from the appearance of the slider fastener.

SUMMARY

It is a first object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a slide fastener having good appearance. It is a second object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a slide fastener capable of preventing the elements from being separated while maintaining good appearance.

In order to accomplish at least one of the objects described above, according to a first aspect of at least one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slide fastener that fastens separated portions of one or more outer material, the slide fastener comprising: a pair of fastener tapes including a pair of main body portions, and a pair of folded portions formed by folding each of opposite inner ends of the pair of main body portions in substantially U-shape; a pair of elements attached to the pair of folded portions; and a slider that engages and disengages the pair of elements, wherein the pair of main body portions are sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener.

The slide fastener may further comprise a pair of covering tapes attached to the pair of elements, and the slide fastener may be attached to the outer material such that the covering tapes are exposed to the outside.

The pair of covering tapes may be sewn to the folded portions through the pair of elements. Alternatively, the pair of elements may sewn to the folded portions and the pair of covering tapes may be bonded to the pair of elements.

The pair of covering tapes may cover only upper surfaces of the pair of elements. Alternatively, the pair of covering tapes may cover the pair of elements such that the pair of elements are not exposed to the outside.

According to a second aspect of at least one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slide fastener that fastens separated portion of one or more outer material, the slide fastener comprising: a pair of fastener tapes including a pair of main body portions, and a pair of folded portions formed by folding each of opposite inner ends of the pair of main body portions in substantially U-shape; a pair of elements attached to the pair of folded portions; a slider that engages and disengages the pair of elements; and a pair of covering tapes attached to the pair of elements, wherein the slide fastener is attached to the outer material such that the covering tapes are exposed to the outside.

The pair of main body portions may be sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener.

The pair of covering tapes may be sewn to the folded portions through the pair of elements. Alternatively, the pair of elements may sewn to the folded portions and the pair of covering tapes may be bonded to the pair of elements.

The pair of covering tapes may cover only upper surfaces of the pair of elements. Alternatively, the pair of covering tapes may cover the pair of elements such that the pair of elements are not exposed to the outside.

When the slide fastener comprises the pair of covering tapes attached to the pair of elements and the slide fastener is attached to the outer material such that the covering tapes are exposed to the outside, it is possible to conceal the pair of elements from view by the pair of covering tapes to make the slide fastener have good appearance. With this configuration, since the pair of covering tapes are disposed at positions separated from the surface of the outer material by the height of the pair of elements, it is possible to provide three-dimensional decoration which have not been proposed conventionally, and to make a portion where the slide fastener is used good-looking.

Since the slide fastener itself has good appearance without using the other member such as the piping, it is possible to manufacture the slide fastener at low cost. Since the pair of covering tapes can be easily changed, it is possible to easily manufacture various types of slide fastener by replacing the pair of covering tapes in different material, color, width, or pattern. Thus, appearance of the slide fastener is improved.

When the pair of main body portions are sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener, even though a force is applied to the outer material in a horizontal direction (the width direction of the slide fastener), the force moves the pair of elements closer to each other. Thus, it is possible to prevent the pair of elements from being separated from each other. Further, since the sewing yarn stitching the pair of fastener tapes onto the outer material and the fastener tapes themselves are unlikely to be visible from the outside, good appearance of the slide fastener can be maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a slide fastener according to an embodiment of the prevent invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the slide fastener illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the slide fastener illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a slide fastener according to a first modified example;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a slide fastener according to a second modified example;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a slide fastener according to a third modified example;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a couch employing a slide fastener according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view illustrating the periphery of a seam line of an armrest of the couch illustrated in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view illustrating a binding member employing a slide fastener according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

A slide fastener according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a slide fastener 10 according to the embodiment includes: a slide fastener 20 which has a pair of fastener tapes 21, a pair of fastener elements 22 attached to the pair of fastener tapes 21, and a slider 23 that engages and disengages the pair of fastener elements 22; and a pair of covering tapes 30 attached to the pair of fastener elements 22. The slide fastener 10 fastens separated portions of outer sheet 40. In this embodiment, the slide fastener 20 is a conceal slide fastener. The pair of covering tapes 30 are attached to the upper surfaced of the pair of fastener elements 22. Reference numeral 11 in FIG. 2 denotes a cushion material such as foamed urethane of a couch.

The pair of fastener tapes 21 has a pair of tape main body portions 21a, and a pair of folded portions 21b which extend from opposite inner ends of the tape main body portions 21a. The folded portions 21b are formed by folding each of the opposite inner ends of the tape main body portions 21s in substantially U-shape. A element attaching portion 21c is provided at front end of each of the folded portions 21b. The fastener elements 22 are attached to the element attaching portions 21c at an opposite side of the tape main body portions 21a.

Each of the pair of fastener elements 22 is a coil element formed in a spiral shape with a synthetic resin monofilament such as polyamide or polyester. One unit of each coil includes an engaging head portion 22a for engaging with the opposite fastener elements 22, an upper leg portion 22b and a lower leg portion 22c extending from upper and lower ends of the engaging head portion 22a in a substantially horizontal direction, and a coupling portion 22d connecting the upper leg portion 22b to a lower leg portion 22c of an adjacent unit of each coil. A plurality of engaging head portions 22a are arranged in a straight line in each coil. In this embodiment, a leg portion adjacent to the element attaching portion 21c is referred to as the lower leg portion 22c, and a leg portion spaced apart from the element attaching portion 21c is referred to as the upper leg portion 22b among the fastener elements 22. A core string 24 is inserted through the inside of the fastener elements 22, and the fastener elements 22 are sewn to the folded portions 21b of the fastener tapes 21 by a sewing yarn 25 in a double chain stitch.

The covering tape 30 is made of, for example, woven fabric, knitted fabric, non-woven fabric, resin material, synthetic resin material or leather. The covering tape 30 is disposed along the upper leg portion 22b of the respective element rows 22e, and is sewn to the folded portion 21b of the fastener tape 21 together with the fastener element 22 by the sewing yarn 25. Accordingly, since a dedicated process for attaching the covering tape 30 to the fastener element 22 is not needed, it is possible to suppress the increase of the manufacturing cost in the slider fastener 10.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, edge end portion of the outer sheet (outer material) 40 is folded in substantially U shape and is interposed inside the folding piece 21b of the fastener tape 21, that is, interposed in a space between the tape main body portion 21a and the attaching portion 21c. A folded portion 40a, which is the edge end portion of the outer sheet 40, is sewn to the tape main body portion 21a by a sewing yarn 41. Consequently, the slide fastener 10 is sewn to the outer sheet 40 such that the surface of the outer sheet 40 is placed at the same side as the surface of the fastener element 22, to which the covering tape 30 is attached. The fastener element 22 protrudes outwardly with respect to the surface of the outer sheet 40. Reference numeral 42 in FIG. 2 denotes a surface sheet, and reference numeral 43 denotes a backing material.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the tape main body portions 21a are sewn to the outer sheet 40 at positions inner than outer ends (i.e. the coupling portions 22d) of the fastener elements 22. More specifically, the tape main body portions 21a are sewn to the outer sheet 40 at tape-folded side with respect to the coupling portions 22d of the fastener elements 22.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the slide fastener 10 includes the concealing slide fastener 20 which is attached to the outer sheet 40 such that the pair of fastener elements 22 are disposed at an upper side, and the pair of covering tapes 30 attached to the surface of the pair of fastener elements 22, the fastener elements 22 can be concealed by the covering tapes 30, thereby improving the appearance of the slide fastener 10. In addition, since the covering tapes 30 are disposed at positions separated from the surface of the outer sheet 40 by the height of the fastener elements 22, it is possible to provide three-dimensional decoration which have not been proposed in the related art, and to make the fastener using portion good-looking.

In addition, since the slide fastener 10 itself has good appearance without using the other members such as a piping, it is possible to manufacture the slide fastener 10 at low cost. Since the covering tapes 30 can be easily changed, it is possible to manufacture various types of slide fastener 10 by replacing the covering tapes 30 in different material, color, width, or pattern.

Since the tape main body portions 21a are sewn to the outer sheet 40 at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of fastener elements 22 in the width direction of the slide fastener 10, even though a force is applied to the outer sheet 40 in a horizontal direction (the width direction of the slide fastener 10), the force only moves the pair of fastener elements 22 closer to each other. Thus it is possible to prevent the pair of fastener elements 22 from being separated from each other. Further, since the sewing yarn 41 and the fastener tapes 21 are unlikely to be visible from the outside, good appearance of the slide fastener can be maintained.

In the above described embodiment, the pair of covering tapes 30 are sewn to the folded portions 21b (the attaching portions 21c) of the pair of fastener tapes 21 through the pair of fastener elements 22. According to a first modified example, the covering tapes 30 may be bonded to the fastener elements 22 which are sewn to the folded portions 21b (the attaching portions 21c), as shown in FIG. 4. An adhesive 50 is interposed between the covering tapes 30 and the upper surface of the fastener elements 22. Since the covering band 30 is bonded with the adhesive 50 to the fastener elements 22 of the concealed slide fastener 20 which is a finished product, replacement of the covering tapes 30 is easy, so that it is possible to conveniently meet the various demands of customers. The adhesive 50 may be an adhesive sheet or the other adhesive means.

In the above described embodiment, the pair of covering tapes 30 cover only the upper surfaces of the pair of fastener elements 22. According to a second modified example, as shown in FIG. 5, the covering tapes 30 may cover the pair of fastener elements 22 such that the pair of fastener elements 22 are not exposed to the outside. Alternatively, each of the covering tapes 30 is formed to have the width for covering the upper leg portion 22b and at least a portion of the coupling portion 22d of the fastener element 22. The covering tapes 30 may be bonded with the adhesive 50 to the upper leg portions 22b and the coupling portions 22d of the fastener elements 22 which are sewn to the element attaching portions 21c of the fastener tapes 21. Since the upper leg portions 22b and at least a portion of the coupling portions 22d of the fastener elements 22 are covered by the covering tapes 30, the fastener elements 22 are unlikely to be seen from the outside, thereby further improving the appearance of the slide fastener 10.

According to a third modified example, as shown in FIG. 6, the covering tapes 30 may be omitted from the slide fastener 10. Even in this structure, since the tape main body portions 21a are sewn to the outer sheet 40 at positions inner than outer ends (the coupling portions 22d) of the fastener elements in the width direction of the slide fastener, it is possible to prevent the fastener elements 22 from being separated from each other. In addition, since the sewing yarn 41 stitching the tape main body portions 21a onto the outer sheet 40 and the tape main body portions 21a are unlikely to be visible from the outside, good appearance of the slide fastener 10 can be maintained.

Next, usage examples of the slide fastener 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

First, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, an example in which the slide fastener 10 is used in a seam line 62 of an armrest 61 for a couch 60 will be described.

In the couch 60, the slide fastener 10 is sewn to an edge portion of the outer sheet 40 covering the armrest 61. The seam line 62 of the armrest 61 is provided with decoration of one line shape, which is rimmed with the pair of covering tapes 30, when closing the slide fastener 10.

If the covering tapes 30 have the same color as that of the outer sheet 40 or the covering tapes 30 are made of the same material as that of the outer sheet 40, the slider fastener 10 is visually obscured in the couch 60. If the covering tapes 30 have the difference color as that of the outer sheet 40 or the covering tapes 30 are made of the difference material as that of the outer sheet 40, the couch 60 is decorated with the slide fastener 10.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, an example in which the slide fastener 10 is used as a binding member 70 to bind cords, or the like, will be described.

The binding member 70 binds a plurality (seven in this embodiment) of cords 71 by the outer sheet 40. The slide fastener 10 is sewn to edge portions (separated portions) of one outer sheet 40. By enclosing the cords 71 with the outer sheet 40 and closing the slide fastener 10, the plurality of cords 71 are bound by the outer sheet 40, and the outer surface of the cylindrical shape of the outer sheet 40 is provided with the decoration of one line shape by the pair of covering tapes 30.

If the covering tapes 30 have the same color as that of the outer sheet 40 or the covering tapes 30 are made of the same material as that of the outer sheet 40, the slider fastener 10 is visually obscured in the binding member 70. If the covering tapes 30 have the difference color as that of the outer sheet 40 or the covering tapes 30 are made of the difference material as that of the outer sheet 40, the biding member 70 is decorated with the slide fastener 10.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A slide fastener that fastens separated portions of one or more outer material, the slide fastener comprising:

a pair of fastener tapes including a pair of main body portions, and a pair of folded portions formed by folding each of opposite inner ends of the pair of main body portions in substantially U-shape;

a pair of elements attached to the pair of folded portions; and

a slider that engages and disengages the pair of elements,

wherein the pair of main body portions are sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener.

2. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a pair of covering tapes attached to the pair of elements,

wherein the slide fastener is attached to the outer material such that the covering tapes are exposed to the outside.

3. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pair of covering tapes are sewn to the folded portions through the pair of elements.

4. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pair of elements are sewn to the folded portions and the pair of covering tapes are bonded to the pair of elements.

5. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pair of covering tapes cover only upper surfaces of the pair of elements.

6. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 2, wherein the pair of covering tapes cover the pair of elements such that the pair of elements are not exposed to the outside.

7. A slide fastener that fastens separated portion of one or more outer material, the slide fastener comprising:

a pair of fastener tapes including a pair of main body portions, and a pair of folded portions formed by folding each of opposite inner ends of the pair of main body portions in substantially U-shape;

a pair of elements attached to the pair of folded portions;

a slider that engages and disengages the pair of elements; and

a pair of covering tapes attached to the pair of elements,

wherein the slide fastener is attached to the outer material such that the covering tapes are exposed to the outside.

8. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 7, wherein the pair of main body portions are sewn to the outer material at positions inner than outer ends of the pair of elements in a width direction of the slide fastener.

9. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 7, wherein the pair of covering tapes are sewn to the folded portions through the pair of elements.

10. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 7, wherein the pair of elements are sewn to the folded portions and the pair of covering tapes are bonded to the pair of elements.

11. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 7, wherein the pair of covering tapes cover only upper surfaces of the pair of elements.

12. The slide fastener as set forth in claim 7, wherein the pair of covering tapes cover the pair of elements such that the pair of elements are not exposed to the outside.