Patent Application
20060162042
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to an improved laminated zipper, particularly to an improved laminated sewing-free concealed zipper closure for an outwear having one-piece-fabric-slit body and method of making same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In addition, for a conventional zipper closure, the zipper is stitched directly to the front panel of the printed fabric, where the sewing thread also becomes another slit on the front panel. It's likely the whole printed jacket or coat will become a chaotic scrap front panel sewn together.
To overcome the drawbacks of such a design, it is necessary to provide a one-piece-fabric-slit body front with sewing-free laminated concealed zipper closure to make a consistent look of an outwear without any significant segment when it is made of a printed fabric.
To overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, it is thus an object of the present invention to provide a one-piece-fabric-slit body front with sewing-free laminated concealed zipper closure to make a consistent look of an outwear without any significant segment when it is made of printed fabric.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an laminated concealed zipper closure with extra strength against abrasion, a water-resistant effect and different clothing aesthetic.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method for making such a laminated concealed zipper closure.
To achieve these objects, an laminated concealed zipper closure in accordance with the present invention comprises: an upper fabric formed with one slit dividing the upper fabric into a left panel and a right panel, each of the left and right panels having an edge facing the other; a first narrow fabric piece attached underneath the left panel; a second narrow fabric piece attached underneath the right panel; a zipper attached underneath the first narrow fabric piece and the second narrow fabric piece; a first transparent reinforcing member straddling over the edge of the left panel and the first narrow fabric piece; and a second transparent reinforcing member straddling over the edge of the right panel and the second narrow fabric piece.
Accordingly, the present invention further discloses a method of making a laminated concealed zipper closure, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an upper fabric; (b) cutting a slit through the upper fabric and dividing the upper fabric into a left panel and a right panel each having an edge facing the other; (c) placing two narrow fabric pieces adjacent to each of the edges with a small gap between the respective edge; (d) placing a transparent reinforcing member above each of the edges and the respective narrow fabric pieces; (e) bending the transparent reinforcing member such that the transparent reinforcing member straddles over the edge of each of the left and right panels along the length thereof and substantially parallel to the slit and each of the narrow fabric pieces is underneath the upper fabric; (f) placing a thermally meltable compound between each of the left and right panels and the respective narrow fabric piece along the length of the slit; (g) stitching a first zipper tape underneath one of the two narrow fabric pieces; (h) stitching a second zipper tape underneath the other of the two narrow fabric pieces; and (i) heat-pressing the upper fabric, the two narrow fabric pieces and the first and the second zipper tapes.
These and other modifications and advantages will become even more apparent from the following detained description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and from the drawings in which:
Referring
As illustrated in
A zipper 130, preferably nylon or plastic with a about 3 cm width, is attached underneath the first narrow fabric piece 123 and the second narrow fabric piece 124, and includes a first zipper tape 131, a second zipper tape 132 and a slider (not shown in figure). Accordingly, the first zipper tape 131 has a tooth side 1312 and a fixing side 1311 stitched to the first narrow fabric piece 123 underneath the left panel 121. The second zipper tape 132 has a tooth side 1322 and a fixing side 1321 stitched to the second narrow fabric piece 124 underneath the right panel 122. The slider is disposed between the first and the second zipper tapes 131, 132 to engage the tooth sides 1312, 1322 of the first and the second zipper tapes 131, 132. A first transparent reinforcing member 125 straddles over the edge of the left panel 121 and the first narrow fabric piece 123, while a second transparent reinforcing member 126 straddles over the edge of the right panel 122 and the second narrow fabric piece 124.
To attach the first and the second narrow fabric piece 123, 124 to the upper fabric 110, a first thermally meltable compound 141 is inserted between the left panel 121 and the first narrow fabric piece 123 for attaching the first narrow fabric piece 123 to the left panel 121, and a second thermally meltable compound 142 is inserted between the right panel 122 and the second narrow fabric piece 124 for attaching the second narrow fabric piece 124 to the right panel 122. Each of the thermally meltable compound 141, 142 may be a thermally meltable polyurethane resin in form of a glue film which would melt upon being heated by a thermal welding machine to result in adhesion effects.
The first and second transparent reinforcing members 125, 126 may be made of polyurethane (PU) or PVC. Accordingly, each of the first and the second transparent reinforcing members 125, 126 has a width of approximately 1 cm which binds the edge of each of the left and right panels 121, 122 by approximately 0.50 cm and the respective first and second narrow fabric pieces 123, 124 by approximately another 0.50 cm, such that each of the first and the second transparent reinforcing members 125, 126 offers the respective edge extra strength against abrasion as well as does not interrupt the pattern of the printed fabric.
Additionally, the improved laminated concealed zipper closure 100 in accordance with the present invention can further comprise a first thin nylon glue coated fabric layer 151 disposed between the left panel 121 and the first narrow fabric piece 123 and straddling over the first thermally meltable compound 141, and a second thin nylon glue coated fabric layer 152 disposed between the right panel 122 and the second narrow fabric piece 124 and straddling over the second thermally meltable compound 142 to offer extra strength. An inner flap 160, usually made of PU shell backing brush material with a width of about 3 cm, can further be stitched underneath the first zipper tape 131. Also a first thermal tape 161 of about 1.7 cm wide may be attached underneath spanning across the left panel 121 and the inner flap 160 and a second thermal tape 162 of about 1.7 cm wide may be attached underneath spanning across the second zipper tape 132 and the right panel 122 to clean finishing the zipper 130 and the inner flap 160.
Referring to
Additionally, as shown in
From the above, it can be seen that the present invention provides a front panel consisting of only one piece of fabric and so the whole pattern of the printing can be consistent from one side to the other side. Incorporated in conjunction with the contemporarily filed application, entitled “Improved Laminated Pocket Zipper with Zipper-Lip, Method of Making Same and Storage Cab Thereof pending Zip-Lip pocket,” the garment 50 can now be presented by a non-interrupted clean, all sew-free body front with no stitching interruption and two side pockets, and a complete pattern of a printing/picture/drawing or whatever artwork can be put right on the front panel.
The structure of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.
