COIL-TYPE FLUID-IMPERVIOUS ZIPPER AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCT USING SAME

Abstract

A coil-type fluid-impervious zipper including: a left chain connected with a left supporting fabric tape, and a right chain connected with a right supporting fabric tape; where a left filler structure made of a first thermoplastic elastomer is formed within the left chain, a right filler structure made of the first thermoplastic elastomer is formed within the right chain, a left attachment strip made of a second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a right side of the left filler structure, a right attachment strip made of the second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a left side of the right filler structure, and when the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is zipped up, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are compressed to engage with each other within a first gap formed between the left filler structure and the right filler structure.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fluid-impervious zipper, especially, but not limited to, a fluid-impervious zipper with continuous coupling elements. The present invention also relates to a commercial product using the fluid-impervious zipper.

Description of the Related Art

The most difficult problem with waterproof zippers is water infiltration through the center gap. Therefore, the focus of the waterproof zippers has been on how to prevent fluid infiltration through the center gap. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,353, owned by the applicant herein, proposes a waterproof zipper producing method including: injecting a molten polymer material into a central gap between a pair of coil-type chains in a zipped-up status to provide, after cooling, a filler part and a caulking part for the pair of coil-type chains, where the filler part fills up the central gap and the caulking part fills up the gaps between the coupling elements of the pair of coil-type chains; adhering a waterproof layer to the upper surface of the pair of coil-type chains and their supporting fabric tapes; and dividing the waterproof layer and the filler part along a middle line of the central gap to create a dividing seam, whereby the gap between the pair of coil-type chains in the zipped-up state can be reduced from the central gap to the dividing seam, thereby minimizing the path of fluid infiltration to provide a waterproof function.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2, where FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section of a conventional coil-type waterproof zipper in a zipped-up status, where two rows of continuous coupling elements of the coil-type waterproof zipper are formed by heat molding two monofilaments of a thermoplastic polymer; and FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of the conventional coil-type waterproof zipper of FIG. 1 after undergoing multiple times of closing-and-opening operations. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each coupling element of the two rows of continuous coupling elements has a snap end c; the two rows of continuous coupling elements are sewn or woven onto a pair of supporting fabric tapes and each row has a core thread d disposed therein; and the two rows of continuous coupling elements are maintained in the zipped-up status by the interlocking of the snap ends c of the two rows.

In addition, the two rows of continuous coupling elements also include a filler part a and a caulking part b connected to the filler part a, both of which being formed by the aforementioned waterproof zipper producing method, where both the filler part a and the caulking part b are made of a thermoplastic elastomer; the filler part a is situated within the central gap of the two rows of continuous coupling elements in the zipped-up status; the caulking part b fills the space between the snap ends c of the two rows of continuous coupling elements and the core thread d; the engagement depth of the two rows of continuous coupling elements is denoted as e; and the filler part a has a dividing seam w1.

However, after multiple times of closing-and-opening operations, the stickiness of the thermoplastic elastomer of the caulking part b in the two rows of continuous coupling elements will be reduced due to multiple stretching impacts on the thermoplastic elastomer, causing the thermoplastic elastomer to be partly detached from the coupling elements and have irregular edges.

As shown in FIG. 2, the two rows of continuous coupling elements of FIG. 1 are in the zipped-up status after undergoing multiple times of closing-and-opening operations. Due to the detachment of the thermoplastic elastomer of the caulking part b from the coupling elements, the caulking part b can get folded during the closing operation of the two rows of continuous coupling elements, and thereby limits the lateral movement distance of the respective snap ends c of the two rows of continuous coupling elements, leading to a reduction of the engagement depth.

In addition, as depicted in FIG. 2, since the engagement depth is f, which is smaller than the engagement depth e as shown in FIG. 1, the initial dividing seam w1 between the two rows of continuous coupling elements in the zipped-up status is widened to be w2, thereby degrading the waterproof function of the waterproof zipper. Therefore, a novel waterproof zipper structure is needed in the field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a coil-type fluid-impervious zipper with two rows of caulked continuous coupling elements, which is capable of enhancing the fluid-impervious performance by having an additional pair of caulk strips formed between the two rows of caulked continuous coupling elements to minimize the zipped-up gap of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper.

To attain the objective, a coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is proposed, including: a left chain connected with a left supporting fabric tape, and a right chain connected with a right supporting fabric tape; where a left filler structure made of a first thermoplastic elastomer is formed with the left chain, a right filler structure made of the first thermoplastic elastomer is formed with the right chain, a left attachment strip made of a second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a right side of the left filler structure, a right attachment strip made of the second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a left side of the right filler structure, and when the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is zipped up, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are compressed to engage with each other within a first gap formed between the left filler structure and the right filler structure, so as to minimize a seam between the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip.

To be more specific, both the left chain and the right chain have a row of coupling elements and are sewn or woven onto a pair of supporting fabric tapes; each row can have a core thread disposed therein; each continuous coupling element has a snap end; and the two rows of continuous coupling elements are maintained in the zipped-up status by the interlocking of the snap ends of the two rows. Both the left filler structure and the right filler structure have a caulking part and a filler part, the caulking part being formed within the space between the continuous coupling elements to waterproof the continuous coupling elements, and the filler part being connected with the caulking part and situated within the central gap of the two rows of continuous coupling elements in the zipped-up status.

In addition, the left attachment strip is connected to the filler part of the left filler structure, the right attachment strip is connected to the filler part of the right filler structure, so that when the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is zipped up, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are compressed to engage with each other by the left filler structure and the right filler structure, thereby minimizing the width of the central seam of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper in the zipped up status to optimize the waterproof effect.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed by dividing an attachment strip filled between and attached with the left filler structure and the right filler structure.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed by dividing an attachment strip bonded on a combined free end surface formed by a free end surface of the left filler structure and a free end surface of the right filler structure

In one embodiment, both the left supporting fabric tape and the right supporting fabric tape have a waterproof layer attached thereon.

In one embodiment, both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip have an extension part, the pair of extension parts covering at least a portion of a top surface of the left filler part and at least a portion of a top surface of the right filler part.

In one embodiment, both the left filler part and the right filler part have a waterproof layer attached on a top surface, and both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are attached with the free end surface of both the left filler part and the right filler part.

In one embodiment, both the left filler part and the right filler part have a waterproof layer attached on a top surface, both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are attached with the free end surface of both the left filler part and the right filler part, and both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip have an extension part, the pair of extension parts covering at least a portion of the waterproof layer atop the left filler part and at least a portion of the waterproof layer atop the right filler part.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed separately.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip is formed at a right end of a left half of a layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer, the left half covering the left supporting fabric tape and the left filler part, and the right attachment strip is formed at a left end of a right half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer, the right half covering the right supporting fabric tape and the right filler part; and the left half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer has a left half of a waterproof layer attached thereon, and the right half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer has a right half of the waterproof layer attached thereon.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip covers a top surface of the left filler part and bonded with the free end surface of the left filler part, and the right attachment strip covers a top surface and bonded with the free end surface of the right filler part.

In one embodiment, the left attachment strip covers a top surface and bonded with the free end surface of the left filler part; the right attachment strip covers a top surface and bonded with the free end surface of the right filler part; a left half of a waterproof layer covers the top surface of the left attachment strip and the top surface of the left supporting fabric tape; and a right half of the waterproof layer covers the top surface of the right attachment strip and the top surface of the right supporting fabric tape.

In one embodiment, a left half of a waterproof layer is attached to the left supporting fabric tape by an adhesive, and a right half of the waterproof layer is attached to the right supporting fabric tape by the adhesive.

In one embodiment, both the left supporting fabric tape and the right supporting fabric tape have a water-repellent agent covering a surface thereof.

The present invention further proposes a commercial product using the aforementioned coil-type fluid-impervious zipper.

In one embodiment, the commercial product can be an article of clothes, an article carrier, or a camping gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section of a conventional coil-type waterproof zipper in a zipped-up status;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of the conventional coil-type waterproof zipper of FIG. 1 after undergoing multiple times of closing-and-opening operations;

FIGS. 3a and 3b show two cross-sectional views for illustrating the production of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3c shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5a shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5b shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 is produced by performing a first injection process (shown in FIG. 3a) and a second injection process (shown in FIG. 3b) on an existing zipper in a zipped-up status.

The existing zipper includes a pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 each having a first face 11a, a second face 11b opposite to the first face 11a, an inner edge 11c and an inner side 11d. The two inner sides 11d are opposing each other and have a central gap 12 between them, and each supporting fabric tape 11 has a row of continuous coupling elements 2 combined at the inner edge 11c by at least one bonding thread 3.

The continuous coupling elements 2 each have a top surface 21, a bottom surface 22 and a snap end 23; and the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 is made of a warp-knitted fabric or a woven fabric, and can be stretchable in the warp and/or the weft direction if required.

The two rows of continuous coupling elements 2 are each formed by heat-molding a polyamide monofilament or a polyester monofilament into a continuous coil shape. In addition, a core thread 25 is disposed within each row of the continuous coupling elements 2 by passing through an inner cavity 24 between the top surface 21 and the bottom surface 22 of each coupling element 2; and each row of continuous coupling elements 2 is combined with a corresponding supporting fabric tape 11 at the inner edge 11c by a sewing process using at least one bonding thread 3, where the top surface 21 of each coupling element 2 engages the second face 11b of a supporting fabric tape 11.

It is to be noted that, the coil-type zipper of the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned zipper having the core thread 25, other zippers such as a coil-type zipper without core thread, a continuous-folding-type zipper without core thread, an invisible coil-type zipper, or a coil-type woven zipper.

The first injection process for producing the zipper shown in FIG. 3a includes: injecting a molten volume of a first thermoplastic elastomer 4 into the central gap 12 to form a filler part 41 and a caulking part 42 while the zipper is in the zipped-up status, where the caulking part 42 fills a space 26, which includes the space confined between mutually interlocked coupling elements 2 and the space confined between the coupling elements 2 and the core thread 25 and/or the at least one bonding thread 3; dividing the filler part 41 along a middle line in the central gap 12 into a left filler part 411 and a right filler part 412; and opening and closing the zipper—and then leaving the zipper in the zipped-up status. As can be seen from FIG. 3a, after the operation of opening and closing, the zipper in the zipped-up status has a first gap 43 between the left filler part 411 and the right filler part 412.

As the caulking part 42 is formed by a molten volume of the first thermoplastic elastomer 4, the surface profile of the caulking part 42 can conform to the outline of the snap ends 23. However, after multiple times of closing-and-opening operations, the stickiness of the caulking part 42 will be reduced due to multiple stretching impacts, causing the caulking part 42 to be partly detached from the coupling elements 2 and have irregular edges. Accordingly, the caulking part 42 can get folded during the closing operation of the two rows of continuous coupling elements 2, and thereby limits the lateral movement distance of the respective snap ends 23 of the two rows of continuous coupling elements 2, leading to a reduction of the engagement depth and causing the first gap 43 to get widened.

After the first gap 43 gets widened, the second injection process is performed to produce the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 as shown in FIG. 3a. The second injection process includes: injecting a molten volume of a second thermoplastic elastomer 5 into the first gap 43 to form an attachment strip 51; and dividing the attachment strip 51 into a left attachment strip 511 and a right attachment strip 512.

In a varied embodiment, the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 can be formed separately and then attached to the left filler part 411 and the right filler part 412 correspondingly.

Please refer to FIG. 3c, which illustrates a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3c, the zipper of FIG. 3a is opened and the first face 11a of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the first face 11a of the right supporting fabric tape 11 are then disposed to be in close contact to form a combined free end surface provided by the left filler part 411 and the right filler part 412. Next, inject a volume of molten second thermoplastic elastomer 5 onto the combined free end face to form an attachment strip 51, and then divide the attachment strip 51 along a middle line into two strips to implement the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 shown in FIG. 3b.

In a varied embodiment, the attachment strip 51 of the second thermoplastic elastomer 5 is produced beforehand and then adhered to the combined free end face by heat fusion or using an adhesive, and is divided along a middle line into two strips to implement the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 shown in FIG. 3b.

As can be seen in FIG. 3b, the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 are disposed within the first gap 43 to experience a compressing force exerted by the left filler part 411 and the right filler part 412, so the seam 52 between the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 can be minimized to enhance the fluid-impervious performance of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1. In addition, both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 can have a water-repellent agent covering a surface thereof to offer a water-repellent effect. In addition, both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 can be made of a fluid-impervious material to make the entire coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 having an excellent waterproof function.

In addition, the second thermoplastic elastomer 5 and the first thermoplastic elastomer 4 can be of a same material or of different materials, and the material options include polyester elastomer, polyamide elastomer, polyurethane elastomer, polyolefin elastomer, and equivalents of the mentioned elastomers.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, both the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 have an extension part extruding the first gap 43, and the pair of extension parts covers at least a portion of a top surface of the left filler part 411 and at least a portion of a top surface of the right filler part 412.

In addition, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 can further undergo a water-repellent treatment, at least to have a water-repellent agent covering a surface of both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 and covering the coupling elements 2 to offer a water-repellent effect. In addition, both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 can be made of a fluid-impervious material to make the entire coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 having an excellent waterproof function.

FIG. 5a shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5a, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 further has a waterproof layer 53 on the first face 11a of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the first face 11a of the right supporting fabric tape 11. The waterproof layer 53 can be an elastomer coating or an elastomeric membrane.

In addition, the waterproof layer 53 is divided into a left part and a right part, where the left part covers the first face 11a of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the left filler part 411, and the right part covers the first face 11a of the right supporting fabric tape 11 and the right filler part 412.

In addition, as the left attachment strip 511 is attached to both the left part of the waterproof layer 53 and the left filler part 411, and the right attachment strip 512 is attached to both the right part of the waterproof layer 53 and the right filler part 412, the seam 52 between the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 can be further decreased when the zipper is zipped up due to a compression force from the left filler part 411 and right filler part 412.

FIG. 5b shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5b, a zipper attached with the waterproof layer 53 is opened and the left part of the waterproof layer 53 and the right part of the waterproof layer 53 are then disposed to be in close contact to form a combined free end surface provided by the left filler part 411, the left part of the waterproof layer 53, the right part of the waterproof layer 53, and the right filler part 412. Next, inject a volume of molten second thermoplastic elastomer 5 onto the combined free end face to form an attachment strip 51, and then divide the attachment strip 51 along a middle line into two strips to implement the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 shown in FIG. 3b.

In a varied embodiment, the attachment strip 51 of the second thermoplastic elastomer 5 is produced beforehand and then adhered to the combined free end face by heat fusion or using an adhesive, and is divided along a middle line into two strips to implement the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 shown in FIG. 3b.

Accordingly, the left filler part 411 and the right filler part 412 can contribute a compression force to further decrease the seam 52 between the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 when the zipper is zipped up, thereby offering an excellent waterproof effect.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 is a coil-type woven zipper without core thread, and has a left half of a waterproof layer 53 on the first face 11a of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the left filler part 411, and a right half of the waterproof layer 53 on the first face 11a of the right supporting fabric tape 11 and the right filler part 412. Besides, the bonding thread 3 is made of a warp-and-weft yarn.

In addition, both the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 have an extension part extruding the first gap 43, and the pair of extension parts covers at least a portion of the left half of the waterproof layer 53 and at least a portion of right half of the waterproof layer 53.

Accordingly, the interface between the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 can experience an enhanced compression force to better decrease the width of the seam 52 when the zipper is zipped up, thereby offering an excellent waterproof effect.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 is an invisible coil-type zipper with a core thread 25, and has a left half of a waterproof layer 53 on the first face 11a of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the left filler part 411, and a right half of the waterproof layer 53 on the first face 11a of the right supporting fabric tape 11 and the right filler part 412. Besides, the coupling elements 2 are combined with the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 by at least one bonding thread 3 on an outer edge 11e of a folded part of each of the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11.

In addition, both the left attachment strip 511 and the right attachment strip 512 have an extension part extruding the first gap 43, and the pair of extension parts covers at least a portion of the left half of the waterproof layer 53 and at least a portion of right half of the waterproof layer 53. As the first gap 43 is quite narrow, the seam 52 can be generated by a dividing line off from the central dividing line of the first gap 43 or not a straight line.

In addition, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 can further undergo a water-repellent treatment, at least to have a water-repellent agent covering the second face 11b of both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 and covering the coupling elements 2 to offer a water-repellent effect.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, a dual-layer membrane 6 produced by performing a heat fusion operation on a layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer 5 and a waterproof layer 53 is used in this embodiment. The dual-layer membrane 6 is then bonded onto the left supporting fabric tape 11, the left filler part 411, the right filler part 412 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 by undergoing another heat fusion operation, and meanwhile a portion of molten second thermoplastic elastomer 5 sinks into the first gap 43 to form an attachment strip 51.

By performing a dividing operation on the dual-layer membrane 6 along a middle line of the first gap 43, a left attachment strip 511 and a right attachment strip 512 are formed, where the left attachment strip 511 is a stack of a left half of the waterproof layer 53 and a left half of the layer of second thermoplastic elastomer 5, and the right attachment strip 512 is a stack of a right half of the waterproof layer 53 and a right half of the layer of second thermoplastic elastomer 5. As the first gap 43 is quite narrow, the seam 52 can be generated by a dividing line off from the central dividing line of the first gap 43 or not a straight line.

In addition, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 can further undergo a water-repellent treatment, at least to have a water-repellent agent covering the second face 11b of both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 and covering the coupling elements 2 to offer a water-repellent effect.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper has a pair of core threads 25, and the outlier parts of the coupling elements 2 are thinner to avoid abrasion of the bonding thread 3. An attachment strip 51 of the second thermoplastic elastomer 5 is formed within the central gap 12 and the first gap 43 and divided into a left attachment strip 511 and a right attachment strip 512, where the left attachment strip 511 covers a top surface of the left filler part 411, and the right attachment strip 512 covers a top surface of the right filler part 412.

It is to be noted that the depths of the attachment strip 51 and the filler part 41 can be varied. Besides, as the first gap 43 is quite narrow, the seam 52 can be generated by a dividing line off from the central dividing line of the first gap 43 or not a straight line.

In addition, the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 can further undergo a water-repellent treatment, at least to have a water-repellent agent covering the second face 11b of both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11 and covering the coupling elements 2 to offer a water-repellent effect.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-section of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the left attachment strip 511 covers a top surface of the left filler part 411; the right attachment strip 512 covers a top surface of the right filler part 412; a left half of a waterproof layer 53 covers the top surface of the left attachment strip 511 and the top surface of the left supporting fabric tape 11; and a right half of the waterproof layer 53 covers the top surface of the right attachment strip 512 and the top surface of the right supporting fabric tape 11.

In addition, the waterproof layer 53 can be an elastomer coating or an elastomeric membrane, and the depths of the attachment strip 51 and the filler part 41 can be varied within the central gap 12. Besides, as the first gap 43 is quite narrow, the seam 52 can be generated by a dividing line off from the central dividing line of the first gap 43 or not a straight line; and the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1 can offer a water-repellent effect by having a water-repellent treatment on the coupling elements 2 and the second face 11b of both the left supporting fabric tape 11 and the right supporting fabric tape 11.

In addition, the waterproof layer 53 can be attached onto the attachment strip 51 after the attachment strip 51 is divided, and then divided into two halves.

In addition, the supporting fabric tape 11 can be made of polyester fibers, polyamide fibers or polyolefin fibers, etc., so as to have a similar material characteristic or molecule polarity with the attachment strip 51. For example, when the attachment strip 51 is made of a polyester elastomer, the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be produced by polyester fibers; when the attachment strip 51 is made of a polyamide elastomer or a polyurethane elastomer, the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be produced by polyamide fibers; and when the attachment strip 51 is made of a polyolefin elastomer, the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be produced by polyethylene fibers or polypropylene fibers, so as to enhance the bonding of the waterproof layer 53 to the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11.

In addition, at least one of the first face 11a and the second face 11b of the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be impregnated with an adhesive, such as a waterborne polyurethane adhesive or a solvent-based adhesive, to enhance the bonding with the waterproof layer 53; or the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be coated or impregnated with an adhesive, such as a reactive hot-melt adhesive or a moisture-curing polyurethane adhesive, on the first surfaces 11a of the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 to enhance the bonding with the waterproof layer 53. Besides, the waterproof layer 53 can be an elastomer coating or an elastomeric membrane.

In addition, the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 can be stretchable in the warp and/or the weft direction to offer flexibility.

In addition, the second faces 11b of the pair of supporting fabric tapes 11 and coupling elements 2 can further undergo a water-repellent treatment to prevent fluid from infiltrating into the seam 52, thereby enhancing the waterproof effect of the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper 1.

Based on the foregoing designs, the invention can offer the advantages as follows:

• • 1. The invention can minimize the width of a dividing seam of a coil-type fluid-impervious zipper when the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is zipped up, thereby greatly enhancing the waterproof effect.
  • 2. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper of the invention can offer different degrees of waterproof effect by adjusting the widths of the left attachment strip, the right attachment strip, the left filler part and the right filler part.
  • 3. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper of the invention can meet different outline requirements, speed up production and reduce production cost by virtue of the easy-to-shape-and-form characteristic of the thermoplastic elastomer.
  • 4. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper of the invention can be applied to a variety of waterproof commercial products, such as clothes or pants, article carriers, backpacks and camping gears, such as tents, sleeping bags, etc.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.

Claims

1. A coil-type fluid-impervious zipper including: a left chain connected with a left supporting fabric tape and a right chain connected with a right supporting fabric tape;wherein a left filler structure made of a first thermoplastic elastomer is formed within the left chain, a right filler structure made of the first thermoplastic elastomer is formed within the right chain, a left attachment strip made of a second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a right side of the left filler structure, a right attachment strip made of the second thermoplastic elastomer is connected to a left side of the right filler structure, and when the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper is zipped up, the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are compressed to engage with each other within a first gap formed between the left filler structure and the right filler structure, so as to minimize a seam between the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip.

2. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed by dividing an attachment strip filled between and attached with the left filler structure and the right filler structure.

3. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed by dividing an attachment strip bonded on a combined free end surface formed by a free end surface of the left filler structure and a free end surface of the right filler structure.

4. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein both the left supporting fabric tape and the right supporting fabric tape have a waterproof layer attached thereon.

5. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip have an extension part, the pair of extension parts covering at least a portion of a top surface of a left filler part of the left filler structure and at least a portion of a top surface of a right filler part of the right filler structure.

6. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein both a left filler part of the left filler structure and a right filler part of the right filler structure have a waterproof layer attached on a top surface thereof.

7. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein both a left filler part of the left filler structure and a right filler part of the right filler structure have a waterproof layer attached on a top surface thereof, and both the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip have an extension part, the pair of extension parts covering at least a portion of the waterproof layer atop the left filler part and at least a portion of the waterproof layer atop the right filler part.

8. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip and the right attachment strip are formed separately.

9. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip is formed at a right end of a left half of a layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer, the left half covering the left supporting fabric tape and a left filler part of the left filler structure, and the right attachment strip is formed at a left end of a right half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer, the right half covering the right supporting fabric tape and a right filler part of the right filler structure; and the left half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer has a left half of a waterproof layer attached thereon, and the right half of the layer of the second thermoplastic elastomer has a right half of the waterproof layer attached thereon.

10. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip covers a top surface and a free end surface of a left filler part of the left filler structure, and the right attachment strip covers a top surface and a free end surface of a right filler part of the right filler structure.

11. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein the left attachment strip covers a top surface and a free end surface of a left filler part of the left filler structure and has a top surface substantially flush with a top surface of the left supporting fabric tape; the right attachment strip covers a top surface and a free end surface of a right filler part of the right filler structure and has a top surface substantially flush with a top surface of the right supporting fabric tape; a left half of a waterproof layer covers the top surface of the left filler part and the top surface of the left supporting fabric tape; and a right half of the waterproof layer covers the top surface of the right filler part and the top surface of the right supporting fabric tape.

12. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein a left half of a waterproof layer is attached to the left supporting fabric tape by an adhesive, and a right half of the waterproof layer is attached to the right supporting fabric tape by the adhesive.

13. The coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1, wherein both the left supporting fabric tape and the right supporting fabric tape have a water-repellent agent covering a surface thereof.

14. A commercial product including the coil-type fluid-impervious zipper as disclosed in claim 1.

15. The commercial product as disclosed in claim 14, being an article of commercial product selected from a group consisting of an article of clothes, an article carrier, and a camping gear.