1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an end stop which is attached to a core portion formed on fastener tapes adjacent to fastener elements in a slide fastener employing the fastener tapes each having the core portion on one side edge thereof, the end stop having a function of stopping a sliding action of the slider, and more particularly to a bottom end stop for a slide fastener made of metal.
2. Description of Related Art
According to U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,691, a conventional bottom end stop for a slide fastener which can be attached to a side edge of a fastener tape easily is configured as shown in
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-152023, another bottom end stop for a slide fastener shown in
The bottom end stop for the slide fastener shown in
In the bottom end stop 306 for the slide fastener shown in
The present invention has been achieved in views of the above-described problems, and a main object of the invention is to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which occurrence of cracks can be prevented in the bottom end stop when the bottom end stop for the slide fastener is fixed to a fastener chain, thereby providing an excellent product quality and enabling such a decoration as letters, marks or patterns to be expressed on the surface of the bottom end stop simply to ensure an excellent decoration performance.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns can be expressed simply, effectively and securely on the surface thereof, the bottom end stop being attachable to a core portion formed on a side edge of the fastener tape simply.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which a root of an upper side of a base portion connecting the upper and lower portions of the center of the bottom end stop and the root of the upper plate on the front side are reinforced to inhibit deformation thereof, the bottom end stop for the slide fastener being of type in which a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns can be expressed simply on the surface of the bottom end stop.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which projecting portions are formed on both right and left side faces of the base portion connecting the upper and lower portions of the center of the bottom end stop so as to reinforce the base portion including the circular groove portion, the bottom end stop being hard to damage.
Another object of the invention to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which a space for accommodating the core portion formed on one side edge of the fastener tape is secured between the arm portions on the upper plate and the lower plate of the bottom end stop, so that the bottom end stop can be attached to the side edge of the fastener tape firmly.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bottom end stop for a slide fastener in which the upper plate is made difficult to deform by increasing the strength of the upper plate itself while the lower plate is formed deformable easily, whereby the bottom end stop can be attached to one side edge of the fastener tape simply and securely.
To achieve the above-described object, according to a main aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bottom end stop for a slide fastener constituted of an upper plate, a lower plate and a base portion. The upper plate is formed of a flat plate while a flange is provided on each of both side ends by bending each side end thereof at right angle. The lower plate is provided with a circular groove portion whose bottom portion is circular shaped in the center of a rear face thereof. The centers of the upper plate and the lower plate are connected through the base portion, while each core portion of each of right and left fastener tapes is sandwiched between the upper plate and the lower plate on the right and left sides of the base portion.
Because the upper plate of the bottom end stop is formed of a flat plate and the flanges are provided on both side ends thereof by bending, the bottom end stop itself can be finished in a rigid structure. Further, a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns can be expressed on the surface of the bottom end stop because the upper plate is flat. In addition, the lower plate is provided with the circular groove portion at the bottom portion in the center thereof. With this configuration, when the bottom end stop is mounted on the core portion formed on one side edge of the fastener tape, the lower plate surrounds the core portion easily and holds it, thereby preventing occurrence of cracks in the center of the lower plate and finishing a bottom end stop excellent in decoration with an excellent quality.
Preferably, the upper plate of the bottom end stop is formed of a flat plate which cannot be deformed and the lower plate is deformable plastically so as to approach toward the upper plate.
Consequently, a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns can be expressed easily on the surface of the upper plate because the upper plate is not deformed. Further, because the lower plate is deformed plastically, the bottom end stop can be attached to the core portion formed on one side edge of the fastener tape only by deforming the lower plate on the rear side of the bottom end stop. As a result, the bottom end stop can be formed with an excellent appearance and an operation for attaching the bottom end stop can be carried out easily.
Preferably, a swelling portion is provided on the upper side of the base portion which connects the upper plate and the lower plate of the bottom end stop through a central portion such that the swelling portion protrudes and swells from the surface of the upper plate.
Consequently, both the root of the upper portion of the base portion formed in the center of the bottom end stop and the root of members extending to the right and left sides of the upper plate are reinforced to produce a rigid bottom end stop difficult to deform. Additionally, a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns can be expressed easily on the surface of the reinforced swelling portion or the surface on both sides of the swelling portion. Consequently, a bottom end stop having an excellent appearance can be finished.
Preferably, projecting portions projecting to the side are provided on both the right and left side faces of the base portion which connects the upper plate and the lower plate of the bottom end stop through the central portion, and the circular groove portion is provided in the lower plate by engraving so as to be directed to between the right and left projecting portions.
Consequently, the projecting portions reinforce the base portion, thereby preventing the base portion from being damaged when the lower plate is deformed.
Preferably, the lower plate of the bottom end stop is located to oppose the upper plate in a vertical direction, and arm portions are formed so as to extend from the central portion side of the lower plate to both the right and left sides of the lower plate while departing from the upper plate.
Consequently, space for accommodating the core portion formed on one side edge of the fastener tape can be secured between the upper plate and the arm portion, so that the core portion can be inserted easily and held firmly.
Preferably, as for the upper plate and the lower plate of the bottom end stop, the upper plate is formed thicker than the lower plate, thereby blocking deformation of the upper plate.
Consequently, the strength of the upper plate is intensified so that it is made difficult to deform, and on the other hand, the lower plate is made easier to deform than the upper plate. The structure of the lower end stop which allows the lower plate to be deformed easily can be achieved with the simplest structure. That is, the effects which the present invention can achieve are remarkable.
A bottom end stop for a slide fastener of the present invention is constructed as shown in
The slide fastener 1 is manufactured as follows. First, the fastener elements 4 at a predetermined interval in the length direction of a continuous long fastener chain are removed to form a space portion having no fastener elements 4, and the slider 8 is loaded on the fastener elements 4 from the space portion, the fastener elements being inserted through the slider 8. Then, the top end stop 5 is attached adjacent to the fastener element 4 on the space portion on one side, while the bottom end stop 6 is attached adjacent to the fastener element 4 on the other space portion located on an opposite side in the length direction of the fastener chain to the space portion on the one side across the fastener elements 4. Thereafter, the fastener tape 3 is cut at the space portion, thereby completing the slide fastener 1 of a predetermined length.
The fastener elements 4 used in the slide fastener 1 are constituted of individual fastener elements 4 fixed at predetermined pitches in the length direction of the slide fastener 1, and the fastener elements 4 are arranged across front and rear faces on one side edge of the fastener tape 3. As a preferable example, the fastener element 4 may be of single unit type or continuous linear zigzag type, and the material of the fastener element 4 may be of metal or resin. Further, the top end stop 5 may be made of metal or resin, and the bottom end stop 6 is formed of metal and attached to a core portion 7 formed on one side edge of the fastener tape 3 by pressing.
The bottom end stop 6 is formed such that the slider 8, through which the fastener elements 4 are inserted, butts against, and as shown in
As shown in
In the upper plate 11 and the lower plate 12, the swelling portion 15 and the groove portion 18 are connected through the base portion 20 in the vertical direction as shown in
Decoration such as letters, marks and patterns is expressed on the flat surface of the upper plate 11 by engraving. As shown in
A bottom end stop 6 for use in a slide fastener according to a first embodiment shown in
Both sides of the swelling portion 15 formed in the center of the upper plate 11 extend flatly to the right and left directions, and flanges 14 are formed on both side edges thereof such that they are bent at right angle downward with respect to the upper plate 11. A decoration such as letters, marks and patterns may be expressed on the flat portions on both sides of the swelling portion 15. The lateral width of the upper plate 11 is substantially equal to the width dimension when the right and left fastener elements 4 engage each other. The length of the flat portion formed on both sides of the upper plate 11 in the length direction of the slide fastener 1 is equal to the length of plural pieces of the fastener elements 4 in the length direction of the slide fastener 1, that is, the dimension of the plural pieces of the fastener elements 4 in the length direction of the slide fastener 1, thereby taking a role of pressing down the core portion 7 in the fastener tape 3. Further, as shown in
As shown in
The base portion 20 which connects the upper plate 11 with the lower plate 12 in the vertical direction is formed from the rear face of the swelling portion 15 up to the groove portion 18. The projecting portion 21 projecting outwardly or toward the fastener tape 3 side is formed on the side face of the bottom end stop 6 throughout the entire length of the bottom end stop 6, thereby reinforcing the base portion 20, so that the core portion 7 formed on the fastener tape 3 is pressed from the front side. Further, the circular groove portion 18 formed in the bottom side face of the base portion 20 is provided concavely to be directed to between the right and left projecting portions 21 which project from the side faces of the base portion 20 so as to reinforce the base portion 20. Consequently, the arm portion 17 is made easy to deform and the circular groove portion 18 is formed, which makes it possible to eliminate a portion on which tensile stress is concentrated at the time of deformation, and to prevent occurrence of cracks.
In the bottom end stop 6, projections 23 each having an appropriate shape are formed on required positions of the inner faces of both the upper plate 11 and the lower plate 12. For example, as shown in
In the bottom end stop 6, as shown in
In the bottom end stop 6 in which the core portion 7 formed on one side edge of the fastener tape 3 is inserted, only the arm portion 17 formed on the lower plate 12 is deformed without deforming the upper plate 11 and the bottom end stop 6 is fixed with the core portion 7 pressed against the upper plate 11 and the base portion 20. At this time, the groove portion 18 is formed circularly so as to prevent cracks from being generated at a portion of the groove portion 18 of the lower plate 12 by deformation of the arm portion 17 of the lower plate 12. For this reason, tensile stress to be applied to the lower plate 12 at the time of processing is distributed by the circular groove portion 18 and inhibited from being concentrated locally, thereby blocking occurrence of cracks. In the meantime, as a countermeasure for blocking the upper plate 11 from being deformed, the upper plate 11 can be formed thicker than the lower plate 12.
As described above, examples of the type of the fastener element 4 for use in the slide fastener 1 of this embodiment, that is, the type of the fastener element 4 which is located across the front and rear faces of one side edge of the fastener tape 3 include a single body type, such as a type in which metallic wire having an outer shape of the fastener element 4 is cut out and pressed on one side edge of the fastener tape 3, a type in which individual fastener elements 4 are injection-molded on one side edge of the fastener tape 3 by injection molding means using resin, and a type in which a continuous linear zigzag type fastener element 4 is located across one side edge of the fastener tape 3. With the core portion 7 attached to an end portion of the fastener stringer 2, 2 with coil-like or zigzag-like continuous fastener elements 4 attached to the surface on one side edge of the fastener tape 3 by passing therethrough or interposing the core portion 7 therein, that is, with the core portion 7 attached to the surface of the fastener tape 3, the core portion 7 is arranged on the side of the upper plate 11 side of the bottom end stop 6. Then, only the flat lower plate 12 is deformed by pressing corresponding to the fastener tape 3, so that the bottom end stop 6 can be attached to the fastener tape 3.
A bottom end stop 6 for use in a slide fastener according to a second embodiment shown in
The plan view shape of the bottom end stop 6 is square and no convex portion projecting to a downward side of the slide fastener 1 exists at the lower end portion of the bottom end stop 6. The upper plate 11 is formed relatively thicker than the lower plate 12, so that deformation of the lower plate 12 is facilitated. At the time of pressing, only the lower plate 12 is deformed, and a core portion 7 is sandwiched between the upper plate 11 and the lower plate 12 to attach the bottom end stop 6 to the core portion 7.
The slide fastener having the bottom end stop for the slide fastener of the invention sewed thereto is attached to an opening of a product one end of which is open while the other end thereof is closed. The bottom end stop for the slide fastener is used in, for example, bags, knapsacks, and clothes, in particular, trousers and skirts. By expressing a decoration such as letters, marks and patterns on the surface of the bottom end stop, the bottom end stop is used for products whose design performance is taken as important.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006-313156 | Nov 2006 | JP | national |