The disclosure of Italian Patent Application No. TO2009A001040 file on Dec. 24, 2009, including specification, drawings and claims are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a slide fastener or a zipper provided with decorative members such as decorative beads or stones.
More specifically, the present invention concerns a slide fastener comprising two adjacent stringers, each including a flexible fastener tape having outer and inner longitudinal edge portions and an intermediate portion therebetween and carrying coupling means provided in each fastener tape, each stringer being provided with a respective plurality of decorative members.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,292 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,185 disclose a slide fastener or a zipper of this type.
The slide fastener described in those references comprises stringers with plastic injection moulded teeth on fastener tapes. Decorative beads or decorative stones, for instance lead crystal beads, are moulded in the upper surfaces of the coupling teeth at the same time when the coupling teeth is injection moulded on the fastener tapes.
With such slide fasteners, the beads or the stones incorporated in the coupling teeth may be damaged in use by the open or close operation of the slider of the fastener. Furthermore; in said slide fasteners of the prior art, the beads or the stones which have been damaged or injured in use of clothing for many years are likely to become noticeable or become lusterless.
An object of at least one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a slide fastener in which decorative members such as decorative beads or stones, which are protruded from a fastener tape are hard to be damaged or injured in use of the slide fastener.
In order to achieve at least one of the above objects, according to an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slide fastener wherein an inner edge portion of each fastener tape is bent into a U shape and turned to a rear face at an inner side of each fastener tape, and a continuous coil element which forms a coupling teeth is affixed to an outside face of the fastener tape which is bent into the U shape. In use of the slide fastener in a clothing, the coupling teeth arranged in a rear face at an inner side of each fastener tape is less visible from a side of an outside surface of the fastener tape. A plurality of decorative members such as decorative beads or stones, are affixed to the outside surface of each fastener tape. In a presently preferred embodiment, said beads are affixed to a surface of each fastener tape by means of an adhesive layer.
In another aspect of at least one embodiment, said beads are carried by each support tape which is affixed to the outside surface in which an intermediate portion of each fastener tape is formed.
The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing slide fasteners in which a plurality of decorative members such as decorative beads and stones are affixed to a surface of a fastener tape, according to the abovementioned embodiment.
According to a slide fastener with decorative members and a manufacturing method thereof in the present invention, it is possible to prevent the decorative members such as decorative beads or stones, which are protruded from a fastener tape from being damaged or injured due to the open or close operation of the slide fastener.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, provided merely by way of nonlimitative example, wherein:
With reference to
In the slide fastener 1, the fastener tapes 3 are hard to be separated from each other and a coupling teeth (fastener element) 4 provided in an inside surface which is a rear side or rear surface of each fastener tapes 3 is less visible even when a load or a tensile force is applied to the fastener tapes 3. “CONCEAL” which is a kind of slide fastener in which the fastener element 4 is less visible from an outside surface which is front surface of each fastener tape 3 is a registered trademark of YKK Corporation.
Each fastener tape 3 has an outer edge portion 3a which is to be sewn to a clothing and the like along a longitudinal direction of the fastener tape 3, an inner edge portion 3b, and an intermediate portion 3c between the outer edge portion 3a and the inner edge portion 3b (see in particular
The inner edge portion 3b of each fastener tape 3 is bent into a U shape and turned inside, and a coil element 4 which is the coupling teeth continued along the longitudinal direction of the fastener tape 3 is affixed to the outside face of the fastener tape 3 bent into the U shape. That is, the coil element 4 is provided in the rear surface which is the inside surface of the fastener tape 3. The coupling teeth 4 provided in the rear surface of the fastener tape 3 is not limited to the coil element 4. For example, a resin element may be injection moulded onto the fastener tape 3 and provided along the longitudinal direction of the fastener tape 3 with a gap therebetween. A metal element may also be provided along the longitudinal direction of the fastener tape 3 with a gap therebetween.
A plurality of decorative beads 6 such as lead crystal beads, are affixed to the outside surface of the fastener tape 3 in which the intermediate portion 3c of each fastener tape 3 is formed. That is, the decorative beads 6 are provided in a surface which is outer side of each fastener tape 3. The decorative beads 6 or decorative stone 6 which is decorative members 6 may be a decorative glass (crystal glass) which has clarity and optical refraction index to glow red, blue or achroma and which is made for example of a lead glass in which lead oxide is added to a main component of a glass, such as potassium or calcined soda, or a nonlead crystal glass in which a titanium compound or the other chemical compound is added to a glass. Generally, a glass in which the percentage of the lead oxide with respect to the entire glass exceeds 24 percent is referred to as a lead crystal.
The arrangement is such that when a slider which is not shown slides and the fastener is closed, as shown in
Preferably, each of the decorative beads is arranged in the longitudinal row along the longitudinal direction of at least one of the fastener tapes 3.
The decorative beads 6 arranged in one of the fastener tapes 3 can be longitudinally staggered with respect to the decorative beads 6 arranged in another one of the fastener tapes 3.
The decorative beads 6 are affixed to the outside surface in which the intermediate portion 3c of each fastener tape 3 is formed by means of an adhesive layer 7. The decorative beads 6 are arranged not only in the longitudinal row along, the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes 3, but also in a curved row or to form various shapes constituting characters, symbols, a graphic or a pattern on the outside surface of the fastener tape 3.
In a presently preferred manufacturing process, for example as shown in
The decorative beads 6 are applied to the outside surface of the fastener tape 3, in which the intermediate portions 3c of the fastener tapes 3 is formed, while being kept in their relative positions by the carrier tape 8. Once the decorative beads 6 have been attached to the fastener tapes 3, the carrier tape 8 is removed. In
A protective, detachable cover tape 9 (shown in phantom in
In another embodiment, shown in
The arrangement is such that when the fastener 1 is closed, as shown in
The support tapes 5 are preferably of the thermally weldable type, and are thermally applied to the outside surfaces of the fastener tapes 3, in which the intermediate portions 3c of the respective fasteners tapes 3 are formed.
The support tapes 5 affixed to the fastener tapes 3 can be manufactured separately from one another, or can be obtained by cutting a single tape provided with two sets of the decorative beads 6. Such a tape can be cut before or after being applied to the tapes 3 of the slide fastener. The number, the length, the shape of support tapes 5 may be changed in accordance with the arrangement of decorative beads 6 in various shapes constituting a curved line, characters, symbols, a graphic or a pattern formed on the outside surface of each fastener tape 3.
In a slide fastener 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention, the decorative beads 6 cannot be damaged by the slider used for engaging/disengaging the fastener elements 4 of the stringers 2.
Furthermore, in the slide fastener 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention, the slider and the fastener elements 4 are provided on the rear surface of the fastener tapes 3, and as shown in
Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the embodiments and details of construction can be widely varied with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of non-limitative example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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TO2009A001040 | Dec 2009 | IT | national |