1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing device, and more particularly to a zip lock which is capable of sealing a plastic bag with enhanced tightness and less chance of air leakage.
2. Description of Related Arts
Zip locks have widely been utilized around the world to temporarily seal, for example, plastic bags. It brings the convenience which allows people to store food in the plastic bag for a prolonged period of time in a secured manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,866 of Juichi Kasai et al. discloses a plastic zipper comprising a pair of female hooks and a pair of male hooks formed on the surface of respective plastic films. There are several disadvantages regarding this invention. First, it is readily deduced from the drawings and the claims of that patent that the male hook and the female hook, when sealed and interlocked with each other, leave a continuous gap between the relevant male hook and the female hook. As such, the interlocking between the male hook and the female hook is liable to be insecure, especially when significant tolerance during the manufacturing process is present.
On the other hand, however, as observe from that US patent, the male and the female hook each has a sharp end portion interlocking with each other. As a result, there is virtually no room for tolerance, and the male and the female hook need to be very precisely manufactured in order for them to be fittedly and effectively interlocked with each other. Otherwise, any failure for fit engagement between the male hook and the female hook, possibly due to manufacturing defect (e.g. too big or too small of the male hook), will cause the engagement between the male and the female hook to be too loose and result in poor quality sealing of the container on which the plastic zipper is mounted. From this analysis, the above-mentioned patent invention is unsatisfactory both fro the point of view of manufacturing process which highly likely leads to unsatisfactory performance of the ultimate plastic zipper.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,442 of Heihachi Ishimatsu et al. discloses a synthetic resin fastener comprising a female talon and a male talon which engages with the female talon in the predetermined combination so as to achieve sealing of the plastic bag. It is submitted, although this synthetic resin fastener is capable of accomplishing fairly sealing, it nevertheless possesses certain discrepancies which make the synthetic resin fastener less than satisfactory.
First of all, the disclosed design in the patent specification involves very sharp ‘ridges’ and ‘projections’ constituting very sharp corners at the male and female talon and this geometrical feature brings difficulties in both the manufacturing process and the ultimate utilization of the fastener. From the manufacturing perspective, those very sharp edges or corners are difficult to manufacture and, if one employed extrusion technique, it would be very difficult to predict and control the quality of the final product because the sharp corners are liable to deform during the relevant manufacturing process. As a result, the engagement between the male and female talon may not be satisfactorily fit so as to allow air or liquid leakage via the fastener.
On the other hands, from the application perspective, the sharp edges and corners reduce the product life span of the fastener because, as a matter of simple materials mechanics, the shape edge and corners concentrate any stress applied to the fasteners and therefore, the fastener may break at the sharp edges or corners very easily.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a zip lock which is capable of sealing a plastic bag with enhanced tightness and less chance of air leakage with a view to significantly overcome the problems of the relevant conventional arts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a zip lock which is expected to be stronger in resisting tearing stress, and to have a longer expected life span under ordinary course of applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a zip lock comprising a zip fastener and a lock fastener which are arranged to engage with each other, wherein the points of engagement between the zip fastener and the lock fastener are substantially rounded so as to avoid stress concentration, to facilitate more accurate engagement between the zip fastener and the lock fastener, and to facilitate simpler manufacturing steps of the zip lock.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a zip lock which is easy to use for sealing the plastic bag and convenient to be unsealed, so as to facilitate widespread application of the present invention.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a zip lock for a storage bag having a first surface and a second surface, comprising a zip fastener and a lock fastener integrally provided on the first and second surfaces respectively,
the zip fastener having a zip body which is integrally extended from the first surface, and has a neck portion extended from the first surface, and at least an enlarged head portion integrally extended from the neck portion to form two round zipping grooves between the neck portion and the head portion at two sides thereof respectively,
the lock fastener, which is detachably attached to the zip fastener, having two locking arms spacedly and integrally extended from the second surface to define a engaging cavity between the two locking arms, wherein each of the locking arms has a round hooking end arranged when the zip body is inserted into the engaging cavity, the round hooking ends of the locking arms are engaged with the zipping grooves to seal two inner surfaces of the locking arms at two outer surfaces of the zip body respectively, such that the zip fastener is sealedly interlocked with the lock fastener for sealing the first surface with the second surface in an overlapping manner.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
Referring to
The zip fastener 10 has a zip body 11 which is integrally extended from the first surface 51, and has a neck portion 111 extended from the first surface 51, and at least an enlarged head portion 112 integrally extended from the neck portion 111 to form two round zipping grooves 113 between the neck portion 111 and the head portion 112 at two sides thereof respectively.
The lock fastener 10, which is detachably attached to the zip fastener 20, has two locking arms 21 spacedly and integrally extended from the second surface 52 to define an engaging cavity 24 between the two locking arms 21, wherein each of the locking arms 21 has a round hooking end 211 arranged when the zip body 11 is inserted into the engaging cavity 24, the round hooking ends 211 of the locking arms 21 are engaged with the zipping grooves 113 to seal two inner surfaces of the locking arms 21 at two outer surfaces of the zip body 10 respectively, such that the zip fastener 10 is sealedly interlocked with the lock fastener 20 for sealing the first surface 51 with the second surface 52 in an overlapping manner.
Referring to
Moreover, the lock fastener 20 further has a sealing arm 22 integrally extended from the second surface 52 at a position between the two locking arms 21 to divide the engaging cavity 24 into two sealing cavities 23 between two sides of the sealing arm 22 and the corresponding locking arm 21 respectively, wherein the sealing arm 22, having a second round end 221, is arranged to be sealedly inserted into the coupling groove 12 until the second round end 221 of the sealing arm 22 is positioned at the first round end 121 of the coupling groove 12 when the locking arms 21 are engaged with the zipping grooves 113 respectively.
According to the preferred embodiment, the zip fastener 10 can be manufactured by such traditional method as extrusion so as to integrally extend from the first surface. It is worth pointing out that since the enlarged head portion 112 and the zipping groove 113 are specifically designed to have a round outer surface having a predetermined radius of curvature, from the point of view of the manufacturing quality, it is expected that traditional extrusion technique is capable of producing a satisfactorily precise zip fastener 10 thus to enhance sound engagement thereof with the lock fastener 20. Moreover, the roundness design of the points of engagement (i.e. the round zipping groove 113 and the round hooking end 211, the second round end 221 and the first round end 121) significantly increases the surface area for engagement of the zip fastener 10 and the lock fastener 20 so as to enhance the sealing effect of the present invention.
Moreover, in order to enhance the strength of the zip fastener 10, a base portion of the zip bodies 11 can be made with extended thickness so as to increase the difficulty of which the zip fastener 10 can be broken by accidental tearing or sheering force.
Referring to
Moreover, the second round end 221 of the sealing arm 22 also has a radius of curvature substantially the same as the first round end 121 of the coupling groove 12 in such a manner than when the sealing arm 22 is inserted into the coupling groove 12 for engagement between the zip fastener 10 and the lock fastener 20, the first round end 121 and the second round end 221 are fittedly engaged with each other so as to substantially restrict a lateral movement between the zip fastener 10 and the lock fastener 20. Moreover, a surface roundness of the sealing arm 22 is shaped and sized matching with a surface roundness of a sidewall of the coupling groove 12 so that the sealing arm 22 is capable of easily inserted into the coupling groove 12 as guided by the sidewall of the coupling groove 12 and the surface roundness of the sealing arm 22.
It is worth mentioning that the sealing arm 22 should have a height substantially as a depth of the coupling groove 12 so that the sealing arm 22 is able to fittedly receive within the coupling groove so as to sustain unwanted sheering or tearing stress tending to unfasten the first surface 51 from the second surface 52. When a sheering or tearing force is applied to the zip fastener 10 or the lock fastener 20, the sealing arm 22 is adapted to act as a reinforcing member extended between the two sealing cavities 23 so as to restrict sheer disengagement between the zip fastener 10 and the lock fastener 20.
Referring to
The supplementary zip fastener 30 has a zip body 31 which is integrally extended from the second surface 52, and has a neck portion 311 extended from the second surface 52, and at least an enlarged head portion 112 integrally extended from the neck portion 311 to form two round zipping grooves 313 between the neck portion 311 and the head portion 312 at two sides thereof respectively.
The supplementary lock fastener 40, which is detachably attached to the supplementary zip fastener 30, has two locking arms 41 spacedly and integrally extended from the first surface 51 to define an engaging cavity 44 between the two locking arms 41, wherein each of the locking arms 41 has a round hooking end 411 arranged when the zip body 31 is inserted into the engaging cavity 44, the round hooking ends 411 of the locking arms 41 are engaged with the zipping grooves 313 to seal two inner surfaces of the locking arms 41 at two outer surfaces of the zip body 31 respectively, such that the supplementary zip fastener 30 is sealedly interlocked with the supplementary lock fastener 40 for sealing the first surface 51 with the second surface 52 in an overlapping manner.
Referring to
Moreover, the supplementary lock fastener 40 further has a sealing arm 42 integrally extended from the first surface 51 at a position between the two locking arms 41 to divide the engaging cavity 44 into two sealing cavities 43 between two sides of the sealing arm 42 and the corresponding locking arm 41 respectively, wherein the sealing arm 42, having a second round end 421, is arranged to be sealedly inserted into the coupling groove 32 until the second round end 421 of the sealing arm 42 is positioned at the first round end 321 of the coupling groove 32 when the locking arms 41 are engaged with the zipping grooves 313 respectively.
More specifically, the supplementary zip fastener 30 and the supplementary lock fastener 40 are embodied as the zip fastener 10 and the lock fastener 20 respectively so as to work complimentarily with the adjacent lock fastener 20 and the zip fastener 10. In other words, the supplementary zip fastener 30, having the same structure of the zip fastener 10, is provided on the second surface 52 adjacent to the lock fastener 20. The supplementary lock fastener 40, having the same structure of the lock fastener 20, is provided on the first surface 51 adjacent to the zip fastener 10 to align with the supplementary zip fastener 30. Therefore, the lock fastener 20 and the supplementary zip fastener 30 are detachably and sealedly engaged with the zip fastener 10 and the supplementary lock fastener 40 to provide a double-interlock sealing structure for the storage bag.
As a result, the supplementary zip fastener 30 has two supplementary zip bodies 31 spacedly and integrally extended from the second surface 52, and a supplementary coupling groove 32 having a first supplementary round end 321 extending towards the second surface 52 at a position between two inner walls of the supplementary zip bodies 31 respectively, wherein each of the supplementary zip bodies 31 has a supplementary neck portion 311 extended from the second surface 52, and an enlarged supplementary head portion 312 integrally extended from the supplementary neck portion 311 to form a round supplementary zipping groove 313 between the supplementary neck portion 311 and the enlarged supplementary head portion 312 at an outer side thereof.
On the other hand, the supplementary lock fastener 40 is detachably attached to the supplementary zip fastener 30, and has two supplementary locking arms 41 spacedly and integrally extended from the first surface 51, and a supplementary sealing arm 42 integrally extended from the first surface 51 at a position between the two supplementary locking arms 41 to form two supplementary sealing cavities 43, wherein the supplementary sealing arm 42, having a second supplementary round end 421, is sealedly inserted into the supplementary coupling groove 42 until the second supplementary round end 421 of the supplementary sealing arm 42 is positioned at the first supplementary rounded end 321 of the supplementary coupling groove 32, wherein each of the supplementary locking arms 41 has a round supplementary hooking end 411 arranged in such a manner that when the supplementary zip bodies 31 is inserted into the supplementary sealing cavities 43, the round supplementary hooking ends 411 of the supplementary locking arms 41 are engaged with the supplementary zipping grooves 313 to seal two inner surfaces of the supplementary locking arms 41 at two outer surfaces of the supplementary zip bodies 31 respectively, such that the supplementary zip fastener 30 is sealedly interlocked with the supplementary lock fastener 40 for sealing the second surface 52 with the first surface 51 in an overlapping manner, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 6 of the drawings.
It is worth mentioning that in employing the supplementary zip fastener 30 and the supplementary lock fastener 40, air or liquid container within the storage bag is more difficult to pass through the zip lock of the present invention so as to enhance the sealing effect of the storage bag.
Yet another alternative mode of the present invention is that both the zip fastener 10 and the supplementary zip fastener 30 are provided on the first surface 51 while the lock fastener 20 and the supplementary lock fastener 40 are provided on the second surface 52. In other words, the supplementary zip fastener 30, having the same structure of the zip fastener 10, is provided on the first surface 51 adjacent to the lock fastener 20. The supplementary lock fastener 40, having the same structure of the lock fastener 20, is provided on the second surface 52 adjacent to the zip fastener 10 to align with the supplementary zip fastener 30. Therefore, the zip fastener 10 and the supplementary zip fastener 30 are detachably and sealedly engaged with the lock fastener 20 and the supplementary lock fastener 40 to provide a double-interlock sealing structure for the storage bag.
A further alternative mode of the present invention is that the storage bag comprises a plurality of zip fastener 10 (or the supplementary zip fastener 30) spacedly provided on the first surface 51, and a plurality of lock fastener 20 (or the supplementary lock fastener 40) spacedly provided on the second surface 52 to sealedly engage with the zip fasteners 10 respectively so as to enhance the sealing structure of the storage bag.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.