WO1997007702A1

WO1997007702A1 - Waterproof double fastener

Info

Publication number: WO1997007702A1
Application number: PCT/KR1996/000144
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chung-Sil Seo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-08-23
Filing date: 1996-08-22
Publication date: 1997-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1998-02-23
Also published as: JP2000210107A; JP2007050266A; JPH10501726A; JP2009056322A

Abstract

A waterproof double fastener with integrated zip and waterproof fastener parts is disclosed. The zip fastener part is attached to the separate parts of a fastener-mounted object, while the waterproof fastener part is joined to the zip fastener part so that the waterproof fastener part overlaps the zip fastener part. The zip and waterproof fastener parts may be provided with respetive sliding pieces and be separately fastened by the sliding pieces. Alternatively, the zip and waterproof fastener parts may be commonly fastened by one integrated sliding piece. The integrated sliding piece has two types of fastening channels corresponding to the zip and waterproof fastener parts. The tapes with two rows of teeth-like parts of the zip fastener part are made of a woven fabric, which is produced by weaving conventional synthetic fiber yarns and thermoplastic synthetic resin yarns as the warps and wefts.

Description

WATERPROOF DOUBLE FASTENER

Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to fasteners used with tents, bags, boots, sacks, clothes, gloves and etc. and, more particularly, to a structural improvement in such fasteners for giving both an excellent waterproofness and a high fastening strength to the fasteners.

Background Art

As well known to those skilled in the art, several types of fasteners, for example, zip fasteners and waterproof fasteners have been used for closing openings or fixing together the separate parts of a fastener- mounted object, especially tents, bags, boots, sacks, clothes and gloves. A conventional zip fastener consists of two rows of metal or plastic teeth-like parts, which are brought together by pulling a sliding piece over them. Meanwhile, a waterproof fastener consists of two flexible tapes, which are made of synthetic resins such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PU (polyurethane) and which engage with each other in order to airtightly or watertightly close openings in, especially bags. One of the tapes of a conventional waterproof fastener has a fat edge, while the other tape has a grooved edge for tightly receiving the fat edge of the one tape thus airtightly or watertightly closing the openings in the object.

The conventional zip fasteners have an advantage in that they have two rows of teeth-like parts and thereby firmly fix together the separate parts of the object. That is, the zip fasteners have a high fastening strength. However, the zip fasteners have a problem in that a plurality of small spaces remain in the fastened teeth- like parts. The zip fasteners can't be thus used with an object which must be provided with waterproofness. Meanwhile, the waterproof fasteners have an excellent waterproofness since the fat and grooved edges of the two tapes thereof airtightly or watertightly engage with each other. However, the waterproof fasteners have a low fastening strength so that they are apt to be regrettably opened when an outside tensile force is applied to them.

Disclosure of the Invention

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a waterproof double fastener in which the above problems can be overcome by integrating the two types of fasteners, that is, a zip fastener and a waterproof fastener, into a single body, and which is provided with the advantages, that is, excellent waterproofness and high fastening strength, of the two types of fasteners. In order to accomplish the above object, a waterproof double fastener of the present invention comprises two types of fastener parts, that is, zip and waterproof fastener parts. The zip fastener part is provided with tapes having two rows of teeth-like parts. The tapes of the zip fastener part are attached to the separate parts of a fastener-mounted object, respectively. Meanwhile, the waterproof fastener part is provided with tapes having fat and grooved edges and is joined to the tapes of the zip fastener part so that the waterproof fastener part overlaps the zip fastener part.

In the above double fastener, the waterproof fastener part gives waterproofness to the fastener thus almost completely preventing moisture from infiltrating into the fastener-mounted object through the fastener. The zip fastener part inside the waterproof fastener part not only improves waterproofness of the fastener, it also gives a high fastening strength to the fastener thus allowing the fastener to resist against an outside tensile force.

In the present invention, the zip and waterproof fastener parts may be provided with respective sliding pieces and be separately fastened by the sliding pieces. Alternatively, the zip and waterproof fastener parts may be commonly fastened by one integrated sliding piece. The integrated sliding piece has two types of fastening channels with configurations corresponding to the teeth- like parts and fat and grooved edges of the fastener parts.

The tapes of the zip fastener part are made of a woven fabric, which is produced using a material that is suitable to be welded to both the waterproof fastener part and the fastener-mounted object through a high-frequency welding process. In an embodiment, the tapes of the above zip fastener part are produced by weaving conventional synthetic fiber yarns and thermoplastic synthetic resin yarns as the warps and wefts.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the construction of a waterproof double fastener in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectioned view of the double fastener of this invention before the fastener is fastened; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectioned view of the double fastener of this invention after the fastener is fastened;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the construction of a waterproof double fastener in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectioned view of the double fastener of Fig. 4, showing an integrated sliding piece engaging with both the zip and waterproof fastener parts; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the joined portion "B" of Fig. 4, showing the woven construction of a tape of the zip fastener part of the double fastener.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the construction of a waterproof double fastener in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the double fastener 10 of this invention includes two fastener parts, that is, a zip fastener part 5 and a waterproof fastener part 6. The tapes with the two rows of teeth-like parts of the zip fastener part 5 are attached to the edges of the separate parts of a fastener- mounted object 20, especially a tent, a bag, a sack, a glove and clothes, respectively. Meanwhile, the waterproof fastener part 6 is joined to the zip fastener part 5 so that the waterproof fastener part 6 overlaps the zip fastener part 5 with a space between the two parts 5 and 6. In the above double fastener 10, the zip fastener part 5 gives a high fastening strength to the fastener 10, while the waterproof fastener part 6 gives waterproofness to the fastener 10. In the embodiments of this invention, the double fastener 10 is used with, for example, a tent. The two fastener parts 5 and 6 may be provided with respective sliding pieces and be separately operated. Alternatively, the two parts 5 and 6 may be commonly provided with one integrated sliding piece and be operated at the same time. In accordance with the primary embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the two fastener parts 5 and 6 are provided with respective sliding pieces 11 and 12 so that the parts 5 and 6 are separately operated. In this embodiment, the first sliding piece 11 of the zip fastener part 5 has the same configuration and construction as the sliding piece of a conventional zip fastener. In the second sliding piece 12 of the waterproof fastener part 6, the configuration of the fastening channels 2 corresponds to the configuration of the fat and grooved edges of the part 6.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the construction of a double fastener in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the two fastener parts 5 and 6 are commonly operated by an integrated sliding piece 1. In the above sliding piece 1, the fastening channels 2 for the waterproof fastening part 6 are formed in the upper section and have the same configuration as the fat and grooved edges of the waterproof fastener part 6. The second fastening channels 3 are formed in the lower section of the sliding piece 1 and are used for fastening the zip fastener part 5.

The above sliding pieces 1, 11 and 12 have respective handles 4 in a conventional manner. In the above double fastener 10, the tapes 7 and 8 of the two fastener parts 5 and 6 are joined together at their edges 9 so that a space, which allows a smooth sliding motion of the sliding piece(s), is formed between the parts 5 and 6. The joined edges 9 of the two fastener parts 5 and 6 in turn are attached to the separate parts of the tent 20.

In a conventional manner, the waterproof fastener part 6 consists of two flexible tapes, one having a fat edge and the other having a grooved edge. The fat and grooved edges of the waterproof fastener part 6 are brought together by pulling the sliding piece 1 or 12 over them. The zip fastener part 5 consists of two rows of teeth-like parts, which are brought together by pulling the sliding piece 1 or 11 over them.

In order to attach the fastener parts 5 and 6 to the separate parts of the tent 20, the overlapping edges of the tapes 7 and 8 of the two fastener parts 5 and 6 may be sewn on the separate parts of tent 20 prior to coating the sewn edges with respective waterproof layers 13 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. However, the above sewing process for attaching the fastener parts 5 and 6 to the tent 20 has a problem in that it wastes labor, reduces work efficiency and increases the cost. In addition, the double fastener 10, which is sewn on the separate parts of the tent 20, may fail to retain waterproofness since the waterproof layers 13 are easily peeled off.

In order to overcome the above problem caused by the sewing process, the joined edges 9 of the tapes 7 and 8 of the fastener 10 may be welded to the separate parts of the tent 20 through a conventional high-frequency welding process. However, the use of the high-frequency welding process is limited in accordance with the materials of the tapes 7 and 8 and the material of the tent 20. That is, when the tapes 7 of the zip fastener part 5 are made of synthetic fiber yarns and either the tent 20 or the waterproof fastener part 6 is made of synthetic resins such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PU (polyurethane), it is almost impossible to weld the tape 7 to either the tent 20 or the waterproof fastener part 6 due to the intrinsic chemical characteristics of the above synthetic resins and fiber yarns. In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, the tapes 7 of the above zip fastener part 5 are thus preferably produced by weaving conventional synthetic fiber yarns 23 and thermoplastic synthetic resin yarns 24 as the warps and wefts as shown in Fig. 6. In the above case, the edges of the tapes 7 of the zip fastener part 5 are firmly welded to both the tapes 8 of the waterproof fastener part 6 and the separate parts of the tent 20 through a high-frequency welding process due to the thermoplastic synthetic resin yarns 24 of the tapes 7. The above high-frequency welding process does not remain any perforations in the joined portion between the fastener 10 and the tent 20 differently from the sewing process thus giving a reliable waterproofness and high strength to the joined portion between the fastener 10 and the tent 20. The joined portion of the fastener 10 formed by the high-frequency welding process is almost completely free from deformation or damage even when it is used or exposed to the atmosphere for a lengthy period of time. The expected life span of the fastener 10 of this invention is thus lengthened and thereby increases the quality of the tent 20. In addition, the high-frequency welding process for attaching the fastener 10 to the tent 20 is more easy and more efficient than the sewing process thus reducing the cost of the tent 20.

In the above double fastener 10, the fastener parts 5 and 6 are simultaneously or separately fastened by pulling the sliding piece(s) 1, 11, 12 over them as shown in Fig. 3. In the above state, the waterproof fastener part 6 gives almost complete waterproofness to the fastener 10 so that the interior of the tent 20 is less likely to be affected by moisture.

In addition, the zip fastener part 5 inside the waterproof fastener part 6 not only improves waterproofness of the fastener 10, it also gives a high fastening strength to the fastener 10 thus allowing the fastener 10 to resist against an outside tensile force. Due to the zip and waterproof fastener parts 5 and 6, the double fastener 10 of this invention is provided with both a high fastening strength and an excellent waterproofness.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a waterproof double fastener, which is formed by integrating zip and waterproof fastener parts into a single body. In the above double fastener, the tapes with the two rows of teeth-like parts of the zip fastener part are attached to the edges of the separate parts of a fastener-mounted object, especially a tent, a bag, a boot, a sack, a glove and clothes, respectively. Meanwhile, the waterproof fastener part is joined to the zip fastener part so that the waterproof fastener part overlaps the zip fastener part. The two fastener parts may be operated by one integrated sliding piece, which is provided with two types of fastening channels for the respective fastener parts. Alternatively, the two fastener parts may be operated by respective sliding pieces, which are provided with respective fastening channels for the fastener parts. In the above double fastener, the zip fastener part gives a high fastening strength to the fastener, while the waterproof fastener part gives waterproofness to the fastener. The double fastener of this invention can be highly effectively used with various goods, especially tents, bags, boots, sacks, clothes and gloves.

When the above double fastener is used with, for example, an opening of a tent, the waterproof fastener part almost completely prevents introduction of moisture, dust and cold atmospheric air into the tent through the double fastener. Meanwhile, the zip fastener part gives a high fastening strength to the fastener so that the fastener is almost completely prevented from being suddenly opened when an outside tensile force is applied to the fastener. The tent with the above double fastener thus has an improved quality.

Of course, the double fastener of this invention can be used with other goods, for example, bags, boots, sacks, clothes and gloves while yielding the same result as that described for the tent without affecting the functioning of this invention.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A waterproof double fastener comprising: a zip fastener part provided with tapes having two rows of teeth-like parts, said tapes being attached to the separate parts of a fastener-mounted object, respectively; and a waterproof fastener part provided with tapes having fat and grooved edges and joined to the tapes of said zip fastener part so that the waterproof fastener part overlaps the zip fastener part.

2. The waterproof double fastener according to claim 1, wherein said zip and waterproof fastener parts are provided with respective sliding pieces and are separately fastened by the sliding pieces.

3. The waterproof double fastener according to claim 1, wherein said zip and waterproof fastener parts are commonly fastened by one integrated sliding piece, said sliding piece having two types of fastening channels with configurations corresponding to the teeth-like parts and fat and grooved edges of the fastener parts.

4. The waterproof double fastener according to claim 1, wherein the tapes of said zip fastener part are made of a woven fabric, said woven fabric being produced using a material that is suitable to be welded to both said waterproof fastener part and said fastener-mounted object through a high-frequency welding process.