SLIDER CAPABLE OF MINIMIZING SCRATCHING ON ZIPPER, ZIPPER USING THE SLIDER, AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCT USING THE ZIPPER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a slider, especially to a slider capable of minimizing scratching on a zipper by providing grooves on inner surface to contain leaked molten raw material from a border line of a combination mold.

Description of the Related Art

The body of a slider generally consists of a top cover, a bottom cover, a pair of sidewalls and a link part connecting the top cover and the bottom cover, and an internal passage is formed therein. When in use, two chains of a zipper are confined within the internal passage, and a user can pull up or down a tab, which is connected with the body of the slider, to make the two chains of the zipper engaged or disengaged with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a three-dimensional view of a conventional slider 1, the conventional slider 1 has a top side plate 11 and a bottom side plate 12 opposing the top side plate 11, where the top side plate 11 has a top outer surface 111 and a top inner surface 112, and the bottom side plate 12 has a bottom outer surface 121 and a bottom inner surface 122. Besides, a link part 13 is located at front end of the slider 1 and connected with the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12, both the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 have two side walls 14 extending from two side edges thereof, and a pair of extension parts 17 are each connected between the bottom inner surface 122 and a side wall 14. Besides, a pull handle 18 is located on the top outer surface 111 (the pull handle 18 can also be located on the bottom outer surface 121). In addition, two border line marks a and b are formed on the bottom inner surface 122a due to leaked molten raw material from two border lines of a combination mold (not shown in the figure) when the slider 1 is being formed in a molding process.

To be more specific, the slider is manufactured by using a combination mold to perform a slider molding process. The slider molding process includes filling or injecting a volume of molten metal or molten plastic into the combination mold, and cooling and then demolding the combination mold to produce the slider. As for the formation of the internal passage, a set of mutually matched blocks are initially plugged in the slider combination mold before the molten metal or molten plastic is filled or injected into the molten metal or molten plastic, and are pulled out after the formation of the slider is completed to form a space for the internal passage.

FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively show a schematic view of the slider 1 with both the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 facing upwardly after the slider 1 is cut open. Each of the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 has a set of border line marks a, b, and c produced by the set of mutually matched blocks. To be more specific, each of the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 has a pair of longitudinal border line marks a, a pair of front end transverse border line marks b, and a pair of rear end transverse border line marks c.

Each front end transverse border line mark b is located at the front end of the slider 1 and is connected to the front end of a longitudinal border line mark a; and each rear end transverse border line mark c is located at the rear end of the slider 1 and is connected to the rear end of a longitudinal border line mark a.

Besides, it is clear from FIG. 2 that the longitudinal border line marks a are the routes where two chains 4 and their fixing threads 41 must pass in the slider 1 to make the two chains 4 engaged or separated. As the fixing threads 41 are sewing threads or warp-and-weft yarns, etc., the routes they pass must be kept smooth to avoid causing damage to the zipper.

In fact, during the casting process of the sliders, the set of mutually matched blocks will keep closing and separating from each other, resulting in tear and wear due to continuous collision of the mutually matched blocks, thereby producing spills 5 on the border line marks a, b, and c of the top inner surfaces 112 and/or the bottom inner surfaces 122. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, when the set of mutually matched blocks are pulled out of the combination mold, as the tail end of the mutually matched blocks can be worn by repeating friction with the combination mold, at least one uneven scratch 6 can be produced on the top inner surface 112 and/or the bottom inner surface 122 of the slider 1, and the uneven scratch 6 mostly appears at one or both sides of the longitudinal border line mark a.

The spills 5 formed on the aforementioned border line marks a, b and c can damage the zipper. For example, the spills 5 on the longitudinal border line marks a of the slider 1 on the top inner surface 112 can scratch a waterproof layer attached on the surface of a pair of support fabric straps of the zipper, or even damage the surface of the chains 4, or abrade the sewing threads and the pair of support fabric straps, etc., When the aforementioned spills or scratches break the fixing threads 41 of the chains, the fastening elements of the chains will fall off from the pair of supporting fabric straps and the zipper will not function normally, making an article of apparel, on which the zipper is mounted, unable to use normally.

Furthermore, since the aforementioned spills 5 or scratches 6 can wear the surface of the fastening elements of the chains made of plastic steel or metal, this defect on the chains can spoil the aesthetics of an article of apparel having the zipper mounted thereon.

To cope with the issues mentioned above, the conventional way is to use a small abrasive file to reach into the slider 1 and remove the spills 5, which is called a trimming process. Since the size of the abrasive file must be smaller than the internal space of the slider 1, otherwise the internal space will be enlarged and the normal function of the zipper will thereby be affected. Therefore, it is not possible to completely scrape away the spills 5. In addition, the abrasive file is not capable of correcting the unevenness of the scratches 6.

In addition, due to the huge quantity of slider production, which can be tens of thousands or even millions of pieces per batch, it is costly and impossible to clean up the spills by the conventional process of rubbing each piece. Therefore, how to minimize the spillage on the border line marks in the inner space of the slider, and thereby reduce the scratching damage to the zippers when the zippers are in use, is a difficult problem to be solved in the field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a slider capable of minimizing scratching on a zipper, where a pair of longitudinal grooves are provided in parallel on an top inner surface and/or a bottom inner surface, and where each of the grooves accommodates at least a part of a set of combination mold border line marks formed during the production process of the slider, so as to reduce the scratching damage to the zipper caused by spills on the combination mold border line marks, and to prolong the service life of the combination mold and the zipper.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, a slider capable of minimizing scratching on a zipper is proposed, which includes a top side plate, a bottom side plate opposing the top side plate, and a link part connecting the top side plate and the bottom side plate, the bottom side plate having two side walls extending from two side edges thereof, the top side plate having a top inner surface and a top outer surface, the bottom side plate having a bottom inner surface and a bottom outer surface, and an internal passage being formed by the top inner surface, the bottom inner surface, the side walls and the link part; and the slider being characterized in that a pair of parallel longitudinal grooves are formed in the top inner surface and/or the bottom inner surface during a molding process to accommodate at least a part of a set of border lines of a combination mold to contain a leaked amount of a molten raw material from the border lines, so that the slider can minimize scratching on the zipper.

In one embodiment, the slider further includes at least one pull handle disposed on the top outer surface and/or the bottom outer surface.

In one embodiment, there are a set of border line marks on each of the top inner surface and the bottom inner surface, the set of border line marks including a pair of longitudinal border line marks, a front transverse border line mark connected to each of the longitudinal border line marks, and a rear transverse border line mark connected to each of the longitudinal border line marks.

In one embodiment, a pair of top stop receiving parts are formed on the front end of the top inner surface and/or that bottom inner surface to receive a pair of top stops of the zipper, and each of the grooves is partly disposed in one of the top stop receiving parts.

In one embodiment, the grooves each have a different width and depth.

For possible embodiments, the slider can be a pinless slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider, a press-fastened pinned slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider for invisible zippers, or a pinless slider for invisible zippers.

For possible embodiments, the slider material can be alloy metal or plastic.

In one embodiment, the intersections of both the front end transverse border line mark and the rear end transverse border line mark with each of the longitudinal border line marks are shaped with a beveled or rounded corner.

The present invention further provides a zipper having a slider as mentioned above to minimize scratching on the zipper when the zipper is in use, thereby prolonging the service life of the zipper.

The present invention further provides a commercial product having the zipper as mentioned above to offer a reliable zipping operation.

For possible embodiments, the commercial product can be an article of clothes, an article carrier, or a camping gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a conventional slider;

FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the bottom inner surface of the slider of FIG. 1 to show the relative positions of the border line marks and the chains;

FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the top inner surface of the slider of FIG. 1 to show the relative positions of the border line marks, spills, and scratches;

FIG. 4a illustrates a plan view of a first embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show that the bottom inner surface has a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the spills and scratches on the border line marks;

FIG. 4b illustrates another plan view of the first embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show the relative positions of the border line marks, spills and scratches on a top inner surface;

FIG. 4c illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4a taken along a line X1-X2;

FIG. 5a illustrates a plan view of a second embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show a bottom inner surface having a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the longitudinal border line marks and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark;

FIG. 5b illustrates another plan view of the second embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show a top inner surface having a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the longitudinal border line marks and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark;

FIGS. 5c and 5d illustrate two plan views of the top inner surface and the bottom inner surface of the first embodiment to show, respectively, that the intersection of the longitudinal border line marks and the rear end transverse border line mark has a beveled or rounded corner;

FIG. 6a illustrates a plan view of a third embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show that the bottom inner surface has a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the front end transverse border line mark, the longitudinal border line marks, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark;

FIG. 6b illustrates another plan view of the third embodiment of the slider of the invention to show a top inner surface having a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the front end transverse border line mark, the longitudinal border line marks, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark;

FIG. 7 illustrates a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show that a top inner surface and a bottom inner surface each have a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the front end transverse border line mark, the longitudinal border line marks, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark;

FIG. 8a illustrates a three-dimensional view of the fifth embodiment of the slider of the present invention; and

FIG. 8b illustrates a plan view of the fifth embodiment of the slider of the present invention to show that the bottom inner surface has a pair of grooves accommodating a part of the front end transverse border line mark, the longitudinal border line marks, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Most of the components of the slider of the present invention are identical to the slider shown in FIG. 1, i.e., the slider 1 of the invention includes a top side plate 11 and a bottom side plate 12 disposed opposite to each other, the top side plate 11 has a top outer surface 111 and a top inner surface 112, and the bottom side plate 12 has a bottom outer surface 121 and a bottom inner surface 122. A link part 13 connects the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 at the front end of the slider 1, and the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 each have a side wall 14 at the two side edges, and a pair of extension parts 17 are each connected with the corresponding side walls 14 of the bottom side plate 12. The link part 13 connects the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 at the front end of the slider 1, and the top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 each have a side wall 14 at the edge of each side, and the pair of extension parts 17 are each connected to a corresponding side wall 14 and a bottom inner surface 122 of the bottom side plate 12. A pull handle 18 is disposed on the top outer surface 111, and the pull handle 18 may be disposed on the top outer surface 111 and/or the bottom outer surface 121 as required.

As shown in FIGS. 4a to 4c, a plan view of the bottom inner surface 122, a top inner surface 112, and a cross-section of the bottom inner surface 122 of the first embodiment of the slider of the present invention are shown respectively. FIGS. 4a and 4b show that the slider 1 has only a pair of parallel grooves 8 on the bottom inner surface 122, and of course, only a pair of parallel grooves 8 on the top inner surface 112 can be provided according to practical needs. The top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 each have two side walls 14 on two side, and the side wall 14 of the bottom side plate 12 is higher than the side wall 14 of the top side plate 11. The positions of the grooves 8 are arranged to make each groove 8 accommodate a longitudinal border line mark a, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c.

As shown in FIG. 4c, which illustrates a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4a taken along a line X1-X2, the positions of the pair of grooves 8 and the sloped sides of the groove 8 can be seen in the figure.

In addition, each of the side walls 14 has an extension part 17 at a lower part thereof; the bottom inner surface 122 has a boss 15 for stabilizing the opening and closing function of a coil type zipper, such as a nylon zipper or a braided zipper, within the head 1, and the boss 15 has a shape, width and height dependent on the shape of the coil type fastening elements of the chains 4 (shown in FIG. 2), and thus the shape, width and height of the boss 15 do not have to be particularly limited.

Furthermore, although both the extension parts 17 and the boss 15 protrude from the bottom inner surface 122, however, as the distance between the extension parts 17 and the boss 15 is so wide, the fixing threads 41 of the fastening elements of the chains 4 still can touch the spills 5 on the respective longitudinal border line marks a and get scratched by the spills 5 when the slider 1 is pulled along the chains 4. The pair of grooves 8 of the present embodiment can accommodate a part of the spills 5 and scratches 6 on the longitudinal border line marks a and the rear end transverse border line mark c, so that the height of the spills 5 and scratches 6 accommodated in the grooves 8 can be lower than the respective inner surfaces 112, 122, thereby reducing the scratching on the zipper.

In fact, the front end of each of the longitudinal border line marks a gradually descends from the top inner surface 112 into the corresponding beveled edge of a groove 8, and finally to the bottom of the groove 8. The groove 8 extends from below the bottom inner surface 122, including the beveled edge of the groove 8, without an apparent boundary. The position at which each of the longitudinal border line marks a enters the corresponding area of the groove 8 can be set as desired. The profile shape, depth and width of each of the grooves 8 need not be restricted, and even each of the grooves 8 may have different widths or depths, depending on the size and needs of the zipper, but the depth of each of the grooves 8 is preferably 0.05 mm or more.

FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate a second embodiment of slider of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in that the bottom inner surface 122 has a pair of parallel grooves 8 in addition to the top inner surface 112. Each of the side walls 14 of the bottom side plate 12 is higher than the side walls 14 of the top side plate 11, and the inner side of the side walls 14 of the bottom side plate 12 has an extension part 17.

The pair of grooves 8 are positioned to correspond to the longitudinal border line marks a, and each of the grooves 8 accommodates an entire corresponding longitudinal border line mark a, a part of the front end transverse border line mark b, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c. The top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 each have a boss 15. The boss 15 and the extension parts 17 are used to stabilize the opening and closing function of the coil type zipper, such as a nylon zipper or a braided zipper, within the slider 1. The shape, width and height of the boss 15 depend on the shape of the fastening elements of the chains 4, and therefore need not be particularly limited.

Furthermore, although both the extension parts 17 and the boss 15 are above the bottom inner surface 122, however, as the distance between the extension parts 17 and the boss 15 is so wide, the fixing threads 41 of the fastening elements of the chains 4 still can touch the spills 5 on the longitudinal border line marks a and get scratched by the spills 5 when the slider 1 is pulled along the chains 4. The grooves 8 of the present embodiment can accommodate the spills 5 and scratches 6 on the corresponding longitudinal border line marks a and the rear end transverse border line mark c, thus reducing scratching on the zipper.

In addition, in die casting the slider, the breakage of the sliding blocks in the combination mold could occur when they are wedged with each other to experience an impact, and there will be excessive spills of a raw material at the intersections of the longitudinal border line marks a with the rear end transverse border line mark c. In order to solve the problem, referring to FIGS. 5c and 5d, each end of the sliding block may be designed with a beveled or rounded edge so that the intersections of the longitudinal border line marks a with the rear end transverse border line mark c have a beveled or rounded shape. That said, the present invention is not limited thereto, but any shapes capable of solving the problem of excessive spills can be used instead.

The front end of each of the longitudinal border line marks a of the slider 1 gradually descends from the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 respectively into a corresponding beveled edge of a groove 8, and finally to a bottom of the groove. The grooves 8 extend from below the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122, and each have two beveled edges. The position at which each of the longitudinal border line marks a enters the corresponding area of the groove 8 can be set as desired. The profile shape, depth and width of each of the grooves 8 need not be restricted, and even each of the grooves 8 may have different widths or depths, depending on the size and needs of the zipper, but the depth of each of the grooves 8 is preferably 0.05 mm or more.

FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate a third embodiment of the slider of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in that: both the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 of the slider 1 of this embodiment have a pair of parallel grooves 8, and a pair of top stop receiving parts 16 are formed on the front end of the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 for receiving a pair of top stops (not shown in the figure) of a zipper. Besides, each of the grooves 8 accommodates an entire corresponding longitudinal border line mark a, a part of the front end transverse border line mark b, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c.

Besides, a portion of each of the grooves 8 is located in the top stop receiving part 16, and the top stop receiving part 16 may be enlarged if necessary, so that a part of each front end transverse border line mark b and a part of each longitudinal border line marks a are located in the top stop receiving part 16. The top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 each have two side walls 14 at two side edges. Both the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 have a boss 15, and two extension parts 17 are located at two opposite side walls 14 of the bottom side plate 12. The boss 15 and the extension parts 17 are used to stabilize the opening and closing function of the coil type zipper within the slider 1. The shape, width and height of the boss 15 depend on the shape of the fastening elements of the chains 4, and therefore need not be particularly limited.

The grooves 8 extend from below the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122, and each have two beveled edges. In this embodiment, each of the grooves 8 accommodates an entire corresponding longitudinal border line mark a, a part of the front end transverse border line mark b, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c. The profile shape, depth and width of each of the grooves 8 need not be restricted, and even each of the grooves 8 may have different widths or depths, depending on the size and needs of the zipper, but the depth of each of the grooves 8 is preferably 0.05 mm or more.

FIG. 7 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the slider of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in that the slider 1 of the present embodiment is for use with zippers having individually toothed fastening elements for chains, such as metal zippers or plastic steel zippers. Since the top and bottom surfaces of each of the individual toothed fastening elements are essentially planar, there is no need to provide the boss 15 on the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122. The top side plate 11 and the bottom side plate 12 are each provided with two sidewalls 14 on two side edges, and the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122 have substantially the same configuration, as can be seen in FIG. 7. In addition, the top inner surface 112 of the slider 1 has a pair of parallel grooves 8, and each of the grooves 8 accommodates an entire corresponding longitudinal border line mark a, a part of the front end transverse border line mark b, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c.

The grooves 8 extend from below the top inner surface 112 and the bottom inner surface 122, and each have two beveled edges. In this embodiment, the depth and width of each of the grooves 8 need not be restricted, and even each of the grooves 8 may have different profiles, widths or depths, depending on the size and needs of the zipper, but the depth of each of the grooves 8 is preferably 0.05 mm or more.

FIG. 8a illustrates a three-dimensional view of a slider according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The slider 1, used for invisible zippers, has a bottom side plate 12 with two side walls 14 on two side edges of the bottom side plate 12, and a pair of winged flaps 141 extend inwardly at the top of each of the side walls 14; a link part 13 is disposed at the front end of the slider 1, and a tapered cover 131 is disposed on top of the link part 13; the pair of winged flaps 141 and the tapered cover 131 together form a combined top side plate 11a similar in function to a top side plate of a conventional slider, and the pair of winged flaps 141 and the tapered cover 131 together form a combined top side plate 11a similar in function to an existing cover plate of an existing slider, and a Y-shaped gap 19 is formed between the pair of winged cover plates 141 and the tapered cover plate 131 to allow the pair of supporting fabric straps to protrude out of the slider 1 through the Y-shaped gap 19.

The combined top side plate 11a has a combined top inner surface 113, the bottom side plate 12 has a bottom inner surface 122, and each of the side walls 14 has an extension part 17 on the inner side thereof, and each of the combined top inner surface 113 and the bottom inner surface 122 has a boss 15. The extension parts 17 and the boss 15 are used to stabilize the closing and opening of the fastening elements of the chains 4 within the slider 1.

FIG. 8b illustrates a plan view of the bottom inner surface 122 of the slider 1, in which the bottom inner surface 122 has a pair of parallel grooves 8. Each of the grooves 8 accommodates an entire corresponding longitudinal border line mark a, a part of the front end transverse border line mark b, and a part of the rear end transverse border line mark c.

The grooves 8 extend from below the bottom inner surface 122, and each have two beveled edges. The depth and width of each of the grooves 8 need not be restricted, and even each of the grooves 8 may have different profiles, widths or depths, depending on the size and needs of the zipper, but the depth of each of the grooves 8 is preferably 0.05 mm or more.

Since all zippers require a slider 1 for the function of opening and closing, both the top inner surface and the bottom inner surface of the slider 1 need to be as flat as possible, or even smooth, in order not to scratch the zipper, to be specific, not to scratch a waterproof layer of the zipper's supporting fabric surface, the sewing threads or the warp and woof yarns, or the individual toothed fastening elements, such as metal or plastic steel fastening elements. In particular, when the zipper is a precious metal zipper with shiny surfaces, to avoid the shiny surfaces from being scratched is usually a first priority requirement. The design of the grooves in the present invention not only avoids the problem of spills or scratching of the combination mold border line marks, but also eliminates the need for the traditional spills trimming process in the production of sliders. For sliders with particularly stringent requirements, a trimming tool matching the shape of the grooves can be used to efficiently remove the larger spills on each border line mark to ensure the spills will be not higher than the inner surfaces 112, 122 to avoid scratching on the zipper.

In addition, the slider of the invention is applicable for a variety of zipper chains, such as zipper chains having coil type fastening elements, zipper chains having continuous folding type fastening elements, metal zipper chains having independent tooth type fastening elements, plastic steel zipper chains having independent tooth type fastening elements, or waterproof zipper chains having coil type fastening elements. As the fastening elements of each type of zipper chains have different element sectional shapes, to make zippers stably opened and closed inside the slider, a boss can be formed on the corresponding centers of the top inner surface and the bottom inner surface accordingly.

The slider can be a pinless slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider, a press-fastened pinned slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider, a spring-loaded pinned slider for invisible zippers, or a pinless slider for invisible zippers, etc., and the material can be metal or plastic, etc., but not limited thereto.

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.

SLIDER CAPABLE OF MINIMIZING SCRATCHING ON ZIPPER, ZIPPER USING THE SLIDER, AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCT USING THE ZIPPER

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