Standard zipper fasteners, like those typically found on garments and sportsgear, are great for their limited use as linear fasteners. However, they do not work well to prevent water from soaking through, even if the fabric of the garment itself is water resistant. There are extruded linear fasteners, such as is used with the trademarked Ziploc food bags. Yet, the Ziploc fastener, even with a slider, would not work well with garments and sports bags, mainly because the user would be unable to brace the fastener from within.
The invention, in its simplest form, is a waterproof submersible vacuum-fit zipper. The SubZip, as it's called, is comprised of two mating parts (see
The mating parts are made of flexible elastomer-like material that can be produced through an extrusion, or injection molding process.
The unique design allows a watertight, airtight zipper to be easily engaged (closed) and then disengaged (opened). The user simply slides the thumb and forefinger the length of the zipper to close, and then pulls on the outside of the zipper to open.
This ease of use, flexible, watertight, airtight zipper design is useful in many water related applications, such as water sports apparel and gear.
The material that forms the extruded parts and over-molded parts is a soft elastomer-like material, between 80-90 Shore A in hardness. Suitable materials include TPU and PVC.
Note the dotted lines in
This is a unique use of the over-molding process for assembly, which allows parts to be butted together to form a flat and continuous surface between parts. This saves on material costs, and on mold tooling complexity. In this case, the flat surfaces formed into the invention allow the SubZip to be bonded (in this case, RF welded) to the fabric of a garment or bag, so that a hermetic seal is possible between them. Overlapping portions, or material discontinuities, would otherwise make the step of complete sealing very difficult, if not impossible. In this usage, the over mold uses the same material as the extrusions, which is of the same durometer/hardness, 80-90 Shore A.
The assembly is secured with a mechanical “ball-and-socket” union (a combination of a press fit and an interference fit) as well as with a vacuum. The Female Extrusion 30 accepts the Male Extrusion 31 to form a precision fit and a vacuum-seal. The corresponding features shaped into each mating part actually force all of the air out of the assembly, and create what is called the vacuum-fit. This special fit resists separation, and bolsters the strength of the mechanical union between the two mating parts.
Also, because all of the air is removed from between the two parts upon fastening, any capillary action that would otherwise fill voids with water (or other fluid) is prevented. Another hermetic seal is produced between the two zipper extrusions.
The slider is injection-molded of a hard plastic with a low coefficient of friction, in this case, Acetal w/20% PTFE(Teflon).
This application claims benefit of the filing date of 31 Mar. 2008, for the U.S. Provisional Patent Application to Brightman, having the Ser. No. 61/072,628.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61072628 | Mar 2008 | US |