This relates generally to items formed from flexible material such as fabric-based items and, more particularly, to integrating magnetic closures into items formed from layers of flexible material.
Zippers are commonly used as closures for bags, garments, and other items formed from fabric. Some zippers are formed from discrete interlocking elements mounted on fabric tape. For example, plastic elements may be molded onto a fabric tape or metal elements may be crimped onto a fabric tape. In coil zippers, a coiled monofilament is processed to form interlocking teeth. Coil zippers can be sewn to a fabric tape.
Zippers on fabric tape can be sewn to pieces of fabric or layers of other flexible materials such as leather or plastic. The pieces of fabric or other flexible material may form portions of a garment, the sides of a bag, or other items that use zippers.
Conventional zippers mounted on fabric tape can be unsightly. The tape on which the zipper is mounted may be too soft or too stiff relative to the fabric or other flexible material to which the tape is sewn, leading to wrinkles and other disruption to the flexible material when the zipper is used. Zippers may sometimes snag on portions of the tape or portions of the flexible material. Conventional zippers can also be cumbersome to use, often requiring more than one hand to open and close.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved closures for fabric, leather, and other layers of flexible material.
An item such as a bag that encloses an interior cavity or a garment may be formed from a flexible layer having portions that are coupled with a zipper. The flexible layer may be formed from a fabric, a material such as leather or plastic, or other flexible material.
A zipper may be formed from magnetic elements that are attracted to one another. One side of the seam may have a first set of magnetic zipper teeth that attracts a second set of magnetic zipper teeth on an opposing side of the seam.
The magnetic zipper elements may be co-molded with an elastomeric material to form a flexible, robust seam. An uncured elastomeric material such as silicone may be placed in a mold. Unmagnetized magnetic particles may be embedded in the uncured elastomeric material. A magnetic field may be applied while the material is in the mold to magnetize the magnetic particles. The magnetized particles may then be aligned and bonded together to form magnetized clusters by adjusting the applied magnetic field.
Following magnetization and alignment, the elastomeric material may be cured. During the curing process, the clusters of magnetic particles may bond with surrounding elastomeric material to form a robust mechanical connection without airgaps.
After removing the mold, the elastomeric material and/or the magnetic clusters may be machined or otherwise shaped to form the desired interlocking geometry for the magnetic zipper.
Magnetic material may be used in forming electronic devices, may be used in forming accessories such as covers, straps, and bags that are associated with electronic devices, may be used in forming fabric for electronic devices and accessories, may be used in forming fabric that is incorporated into seating, furniture, building structures, and other items, and/or may be used in forming other items. Configurations in which magnetic material is used in forming items based on one or more strands of magnetic material may sometime be described herein as an example. The strands of material may be monofilaments of material and/or may be multifilament strands such as strands of yarn. Strand-based items may be formed from intertwined strands such as woven strands, knitted strands, braided strands, strands that have been intertwined to form felt, or other intertwined strands (fabric, etc.).
Magnetic material may be magnetized to form permanent magnets. Permanent magnets may interact with each other. For example, permanent magnets may be arranged to attract each other or to repel each other. Electromagnets may be electrically configured to either attract or repel a permanent magnet. Unmagnetized magnetic material (e.g., ferromagnetic material or ferromagnetic material that has not been magnetized by application of an external magnetic field to form a permanent magnet) may also interact with permanent magnets and electromagnets. For example, a permanent magnet may attract a fabric or other structure formed from strands of unmagnetized magnetic material based on a rare earth alloy such as a neodymium alloy (e.g., NdFeB).
Zippers may include magnetic elements. Zippers may be used as closures in garments, bags, and other items. An illustrative item that may be provided with a magnetic zipper is shown in the cross-sectional side view of
Flexible layers for item 10 such as flexible layer 12 may be formed from sheets of plastic, layers of fabric, leather, paper, or other flexible material. Fabric may be formed from strands of plastic, metal, other materials, and combinations of these materials. The strands may be monofilaments or multifilament strands and may include materials such a plastic, metal, and other materials.
As shown in
As shown in
Zipper elements 24 may be partially embedded in an elastomeric material such as elastomeric strip 30. Zipper elements 24 may be formed from magnetic material that is co-molded with elastomeric material 30 so that the magnetic material 24 is bonded at the atomic level with surrounding elastomeric material 30. Integrating magnetic zipper elements 24 with elastomeric strip 30 in this way creates a robust closure that can open and close with minimum effort while providing a flexible seam between flexible layers 12 of item 10. Zipper 14 may be attached to flexible layer 12 using molding techniques, crimping, sewing, adhesive-based mounting techniques, weaving, knitting, and other attachment techniques.
After injecting material 30′ with particles 32′ in mold 46, a magnetic field 36 may be applied to material 30′ and particles 32′ to create magnetized particles 32 (step 50B). Magnetic field 36 may be applied using a matrix of electromagnets, using one electromagnet, or using any other suitable number or type of magnets.
Once magnetized, particles 32 may be positioned and aligned within material 30′ by appropriately controlling the strength and position of magnetic field 36. Magnetic particles 32 are aligned to form magnetic clusters 34 in which adjacent magnetic particles 32 atomically bond with one another within elastomeric material 30′. In the example of
Following magnetization and alignment of particles 32, uncured elastomeric material 30′ may be cured to form elastomeric material 30, and mold 46 may be removed (step 50C). Step 50C may also include shaping elastomeric material 30 and/or magnetic clusters 34 to form zipper elements 24 of a desired shape. Shaping operations may be performed using a computer-controlled cutting machine, laser cutting tools, or other suitable tools for removing portions of elastomeric material 30 and/or magnetic material 32. In the example of
If desired, elements 24 may have an interlocking geometry of the type shown in
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
In the example of
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/245,770, filed Oct. 23, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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62245770 | Oct 2015 | US |