Fastener stringer

Abstract

A fastener stringer has a fastener tape provided with a tape main body portion and an element attaching portion and a plurality of fastener elements fixed by weaving to the element attaching portion of the fastener tape at the same time of weaving of the fastener tape, and is provided with a weaving structure with one pitch per one-rotation. A weft yarn of the fastener tape has a fineness larger than that of at least a part of a warp yarns disposed in the tape main body portion. Thereby, the productivity of the fastener stringer can be increased to reduce the cost. Further, the density of the weft yarn in the fastener tape can be increased, and the fastener tape can be less likely to be misaligned.

Claims

1. A fastener stringer comprising a fastener tape woven with a weft yarn and a plurality of warp yarns and a plurality of continuous fastener elements fixed by weaving to the fastener tape along a tape length direction at the same time of weaving of the fastener tape, in which the fastener tape is provided with a tape main body portion and an element attaching portion which extends in a tape width direction from one side edge part of the tape main body portion and to which the fastener elements are fixed, and the fastener stringer having a weaving structure in which the weft yarn is inserted once for each pitch of the fastener elements wherein: the weft yarn has a fineness larger than that of at least a part of the warp yarns disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape, the warp yarns disposed in the tape main body portion include first warp yarns having predetermined fineness and second warp yarns having a fineness larger than that of the first warp yarn, and the weft yarn has a fineness larger than that of the first warp yarns.

2. The fastener stringer according to claim 1, wherein: the tape main body portion has a thick yarn-continuing area in which a plurality of the second warp yarns are continuously disposed along a tape width direction.

3. The fastener stringer according to claim 2, wherein: the fastener tape has a weft yarn returning end portion which is disposed at the other side edge part of the tape main body portion and at which the weft yarn forms a loop and returns, the thick yarn-continuing area is disposed in a tape width direction from a position of a warp yarn adjacent to the weft yarn returning end portion, and a thin yarn-continuing area in which a plurality of the first warp yarns are continuously disposed is disposed between the thick yarn-continuing area and the element attaching portion.

4. The fastener stringer according to claim 1, wherein: the weft yarn and the second warp yarns have a fineness twice as large as the fineness of the first warp yarns.

5. The fastener stringer according to claim 4, wherein: the weft yarn and the second warp yarns have a configuration in which two yarns forming the first warp yarns are aligned.

6. The fastener stringer according to claim 1, wherein: the fineness of the weft yarn is in a range from 500 dtex to 1000 dtex, the fineness of the first warp yarns is in a range from 166 dtex to 500 dtex, and the fineness of the second warp yarns is in a range from 500 dtex to 1000 dtex.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a slide fastener having a fastener stringer according to Embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view schematically explaining a woven texture of the fastener stringer.

(3) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section of a position taken along line III-III shown in FIG. 1 in a state that the slide fastener is attached to the fastener attached member of a product.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic view schematically showing a conventional fastener stringer formed with a weaving structure with one pitch per one-rotation.

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic view schematically showing a conventional fastener stringer formed with a structure with one pitch per two-rotation.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(6) Hereinafter, a preferred Embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the Embodiments described below, and various modifications can be made as long as they have substantially the same structure as the present invention and exhibit the same functional effects.

(7) In the fastener stringer described in the following Embodiment, for example, a plurality of fastener elements fixed by weaving to the fastener tape are formed continuously by molding a monofilament in a coiled shape. The present invention is not limited thereto, however, a plurality of fastener elements may be formed continuously by molding a monofilament in a zig-zag shape. Further, a material of the weft yarn and the respective warp yarns configuring the fastener tape is not particularly limited, and the same yarn as that generally used in the conventional fastener stringer can be adopted.

(8) Here, FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a slide fastener having a fastener stringer according to the present Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view schematically explaining the woven texture of the fastener stringer. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which the slide fastener is attached to a fastener attached member of a product.

(9) In these figures, in order to make it easy to understand the features of the present invention, the woven structure (woven texture) of the fastener stringer is roughly shown. Actually, however, yarns having a predetermined thickness are used for the weft yarn and each warp yarn forming the fastener tape, and the woven texture of the fastener tape is formed densely in consideration of the function as a fastener stringer.

(10) In the following explanation, a front and rear direction means a tape length direction of the fastener tape, and means the same linear direction as the sliding direction in which the slider slides. A right and left direction means a tape width direction of the fastener tape, and is a direction parallel to a tape surface of the fastener tape and perpendicular to the tape length direction. An upper and lower direction means a tape top and back direction perpendicular to the tape top surface and the tape back surface of the fastener tape. In the case of the present Embodiment, in particular, a direction perpendicular to the front and rear direction and the right and left direction and on a side the tab of the slider is disposed with respect to the fastener tape is an upper side, and a direction on the opposite side is a lower side. Further, a warp direction (warp yarn direction) is a length direction of the warp yarn, and the same direction as the tape length direction of the fastener tape.

(11) A slide fastener 1 according to the present Embodiment has a right and left pair of fastener stringers 10 in which element rows 12 are respectively formed by weaving a plurality of fastener elements 11 into facing tape side edge parts (element attaching portions, described later) 21 of the right and left fastener tapes 20, a slider 40 attached along the right and left element rows 12 in a slidable manner, and a first stop 51 (also referred to as an upper stop) disposed adjacent to front end parts of the right and left element rows 12, and a second stop 52 (also referred to as a lower stop) adjacent to rear end parts of the right and left element rows 12 and connecting between the right and left fastener stringers 10.

(12) The slide fastener 1 of the present Embodiment is characterized mainly in the fastener tape 20 of the fastener stringer 10, and the slider 40, the first stop 51, and the second stop 52 of the present Embodiment are formed in substantially the same manner as the slider, first stop, and second stop generally used in the conventional slide fastener.

(13) The slider 40 of the present Embodiment is, for example, provided with a slider body 41 and a tab 49 rotatably held by the slider body 41. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the slider body 41 has an upper blade 42 and a lower blade 43 disposed parallel to each other, a connecting column (not shown) connecting a front end part of the upper blade 42 and a front end part of the lower blade 43, right and left upper flange portions 44 extending downward from right and left side edge parts of the upper blade 42, and a tab attaching portion 45 standing on an upper surface of the upper blade 42.

(14) In this case, the right and left upper flange portions 44 of the slider body 41 are contacted with the fastener elements 11 attached to the right and left fastener stringers 10, thereby, the position of the fastener elements 11 in the tape width direction in the slider body 41 is controlled.

(15) A front end part of the slider body 41 is provided with shoulder mouths disposed on both right and left sides of the connecting column, and a rear end part of the slider body 41 is provided with a rear mouth. Further, a substantially Y-shaped element guide pass is formed to connect the right and left shoulder mouths and the rear mouth so as to be surrounded by the upper blade 42, the lower blade 43, and the right and left upper flange portions 44. Furthermore, a tape insertion gap 46 for inserting the fastener tape 20 is formed between the right and left upper flange portions 44 and the lower blade 43 in the slider body 41.

(16) The first stop 51 and the second stop 52 are provided to be continuous with the front and rear of the element rows 12 respectively in the right and left fastener tapes 20. Since the first stop 51 and the second stop 52 are disposed, the slider 40 can be prevented from falling off from the right and left element rows 12.

(17) In the present invention, the structures, etc. of the slider 40, the first stop 51, and the second stop 52 can be arbitrarily changed, if necessary. Further, in the present invention, instead of providing the second stop 52 in the slide fastener 1, a separable rear end stop having an insert pin formed on one fastener tape 20, a box pin formed on the other fastener tape 20, and a box body integrally formed at a rear end part of the box pin and having an insertion concave portion into which the insert pin can be inserted may be provided.

(18) The right and left fastener stringers 10 in the present Embodiment respectively have a fastener tape 20 woven using a weft yarn 31 and a plurality of warp yarns 32 and fastener elements 11 formed continuously in a coiled shape and woven into the fastener tape 20 at the same time of weaving the fastener tape 20. Further, the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment is formed with so-called a weaving structure with one pitch per one-rotation in which one fastener element 11 is inserted and fixed together with the weft yarn 31 each time the weft yarn 31 is inserted once.

(19) In the present Embodiment, each of the right and left fastener tapes 20 has an element attaching portion 21 to which the fastener elements 11 are fixed by weaving, and a tape main body portion 22 extending in the tape width direction from the element attaching portion 21. That is, the tape main body portion 22 and the element attaching portion 21 are disposed to be divided in the tape width direction by a predetermined boundary part (not shown) along the tape length direction of the fastener tape 20.

(20) The tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 is a tape part which is overlapped and sewn to the fastener attached member 60 (for example, the fabric of the clothing) of the product when the slide fastener 1 is attached to the product such as the clothing. The tape main body portion 22 is, in a plan view of the fastener stringer 10 as viewed from above (see FIG. 2, for example), regarding the tape width direction, an area from a position of an element side end edge on a tape inner side in the fastener element 11 to a tape end edge (tape outer end edge) disposed on the opposite side to the tape end edge (tape inner end edge) on the side to which the fastener element 11 is attached.

(21) The element attaching portion 21 of the fastener tape 20 is a tape side edge portion 21 extending in the tape width direction from one side edge (tape inner-side side edge) of the tape main body portion 22 toward the fastener stringer 10 on the coupling counterpart side. The element attaching portion (tape side edge portion) 21 is, regarding the tape width direction, an area from the position of the element side end edge on the tape inner side in the fastener element 11 to the above-mentioned tape inner end edge of the fastener tape 20.

(22) The plurality of fastener elements 11 in the present Embodiment are formed to connect continuously in the tape length direction by molding a synthetic resin monofilament into a coiled shape. Each fastener element 11 has a coupling head portion 11a, an upper leg portion 11b and a lower leg portion 11c extending in the tape width direction from the coupling head portion 11a, and a connecting portion 11d extending from the upper leg portion 11b or the lower leg portion 11c to be connected to the fastener element 11 adjacent in the tape length direction.

(23) The coupling head portion 11a of the fastener element 11 is formed in the upper and lower direction so as to connect the upper leg portion 11b and the lower leg portion 11c, and is provided with a bulged portion bulging in the front and rear direction at an intermediate part in the upper and lower direction. The upper leg portion 11b extends toward the tape width direction from an upper end part of the coupling head portion 11a. The lower leg portion 11c extends toward the fastener width direction substantially in parallel with the upper leg portion 11b from a lower end part of the coupling head portion 11a.

(24) The connecting portion 11d connects the upper leg portion 11b of each fastener element 11 and the lower leg portion 11c of the fastener element 11 adjacent to one of the fastener elements 11 in the front and rear direction (in other words, connects the lower leg portion 11c of each fastener element 11 and the upper leg portion 11b of the fastener element 11 adjacent to the other of the fastener elements 11 in the front and rear direction).

(25) Each fastener element 11 is fixed to the element attaching portion 21 such that the coupling head portion 11a is protruded to an outside of the tape width direction from the tape side edge of the fastener tape 20 on the element attaching portion 21 side and the upper leg portion 11b and the lower leg portion 11c are woven into the element attaching portion 21 at the time of weaving the fastener tape 20.

(26) In the fastener stringer 10 according to the present Embodiment as above, the woven texture of the fastener tape 20 is, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, formed by reciprocating a carrier bar (not shown) with respect to a plurality of warp yarns 32 held along the warp direction and inserting the weft 31 into openings between the warp yarns 32. In the present Embodiment, polyester fibers are used for the weft yarn 31 and the plurality of warp yarns 32 forming the fastener tape 20.

(27) In this case, the weft yarn 31 of the fastener tape 20 is disposed to cross the warp yarns 32 in a form of a double yarn in which two weft yarns 31 are aligned. Further, the weft yarn 31 of the present Embodiment is formed of a thick yarn having larger fineness than a first warp yarn 33, described later, disposed in the tape main body portion 22. By using the thick yarn as the weft yarn 31 in this manner, positional shift of the weave (the part where the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 cross) is less likely to occur in the fastener tape 20, and the tape strength and abrasion resistance of the fastener tape 20 are effectively enhanced.

(28) The tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 is formed by weaving the weft yarn 31 and the plurality of warp yarns 32 disposed in the form of a double yarn as described above in a plain woven texture. In addition, a weft yarn returning end portion 23 is disposed at an end part of the tape main body portion 22 opposite to the side on which the element attaching portion 21 is formed. The weft yarn returning end portion 23 is formed by connecting a plurality of returning loop portions in the warp direction by hooking the returning loop portion formed of the weft yarn 31 to the returning loop portion of the weft yarn 31 to be inserted at the next position.

(29) In this case, two types of warp yarns 32 (first warp yarn 33 and second warp yarn 34) having different fineness are used as the warp yarns 32 forming the tape main body portion 22. In the conventional woven fastener stringer, for example, the same yarn having the same fineness is commonly used for the warp yarn forming the tape main body portion. On the contrary, in the case of the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment, the warp yarns 32 disposed in the tape main body portion 22 have a plurality of first warp yarns 33 having a predetermined fineness, described later, and a plurality of second warp yarns 34 having a larger fineness than the first warp yarn 33.

(30) Particularly in the present Embodiment, the plurality of second warp yarns 34 having a larger fineness are continuously disposed from the position of the warp yarn 32 adjacent to the weft yarn returning end portion 23 toward a direction to approach the element attaching portion 21 in the tape width direction. Thereby, a thick yarn-continuing area 24 formed of the plurality of second warp yarns 34 is formed in the tape main body portion 22. The thick yarn-continuing area 24 is formed to have a predetermined size (dimension) in the tape width direction.

(31) In this case, it is preferable that the thick yarn-continuing area 24 of the tape main body portion 22 is formed such that a dimension in the tape width direction of the thick yarn-continuing area 24 is ¼ or larger, and particularly ⅓ or larger with respect to the dimension of the entire tape main body portion 22 in the tape width direction. Further, when defined in a specific size, it is preferable that the thick yarn-continuing area 24 is, for example, formed from the position of the warp yarn 32 adjacent to the weft yarn returning end portion 23 to the position that a dimension of the fastener tape 20 on the weft yarn returning end portion 23 side in the tape width direction from the tape side edge is 3.5 mm or larger, and particularly 5 mm or larger.

(32) The thick yarn-continuing area 24 is formed continuously in the region of the tape width direction as described above, the density of the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 in the region is increased, and the tape strength and the abrasion resistance of the fastener tape 20 can be improved effectively. The high density of the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 means that the weight of the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 per unit area is large (heavy).

(33) Since the thick yarn-continuing area 24 of the tape main body portion 22 is provided with an appropriate dimension in the tape width direction, when the fastener stringer 10 is sewn and fixed to a fastener attached member 60 of the product, described later, the position of a sewn portion (sewn line) 61 for sewing the fastener tape 20 and the fastener attached member 60 can be easily set within the thick yarn-continuing area 24 with high yarn density in the tape main body portion 22 or the area close to the thick yarn-continuing area 24.

(34) Then, since the sewn portion 61 of the fastener attached member 60 is formed at the above-described position of the tape main body portion 22 (in particular, the position within the thick yarn-continuing area 24), when the slide fastener 1 receives a lateral pulling force to be pulled toward the outer side in the tape width direction via the fastener attached member 60, for example, the position of the weave in the thick yarn-continuing area 24 can be less likely to be misaligned. As a result, tape strength and abrasion resistance of the fastener tape 20 can be maintained properly. In the present invention, the position and size of the thick yarn-continuing area 24 are not particularly limited, and can be changed arbitrarily depending on the dimension in the tape width direction of the fastener tape 20, and the size of the fastener element 11, the use of the slide fastener 1, etc.

(35) Furthermore, in the tape main body portion 22 of the present Embodiment, a thin yarn-continuing area 25 in which a plurality of first warp yarns 33 thinner than the second warp yarn 34 are continuously disposed is formed between the above-described thick yarn-continuing area 24 and the element attaching portion 21. The tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 has not only the thick yarn-continuing area 24 formed of the second warp yarn 34 as described above but also the thin yarn-continuing area 25 of the first warp yarn 33, thereby, the tape main body portion 22 can be less likely to be misaligned as mentioned above, and at the same time, good appearance and good touch of the fastener tape 20 can be obtained. In addition, by providing the thin yarn-continuing area 25 in the tape main body portion 22, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the weight of the fastener stringer 10 can be reduced as compared with the case that the tape main body portion 22 is formed only with the thick yarn-continuing area 24, for example.

(36) In the present invention, the dimension in the tape width direction of the thin yarn-continuing area 25 is not particularly limited. Although at least one first warp yarn 33 is disposed in the tape main body portion 22, two or more first warp yarns 33 are preferably disposed continuously in the tape width direction. As a further preferable configuration, the thin yarn-continuing area 25 of the tape main body portion 22 is, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, provided in such a size that a running region in which the upper flange portion 44 of the slider body 41 runs is disposed in the thin yarn-continuing area 25.

(37) Since the running region of the upper flange portion 44 is positioned on the thin yarn-continuing area 25 of the tape main body portion 22, the fastener tape 20 can be stably inserted into the tape insertion gap 46 without securing a size of the tape insertion gap 46 in the slider body 41 to a large extent. Moreover, the dimension (height dimension) in the upper and lower direction of the upper flange portion 44 is appropriately secured. Furthermore, a step in the height direction can be stably formed between a position of the upper surface of the tape main body portion 22 in the fastener tape 20 and a position of an upper end of the connecting portion 11d in the fastener element 11.

(38) As a result, the fastener element 11 can be contacted with the upper flange portion 44, and the position of the element row 12 in the slider body 41 can be stably controlled. Therefore, the fastener element 11 can be stably held in the slider body 41 by preventing the fastener element 11 from popping out in the tape width direction (right and left direction) from inside the slider body 41 via the tape insertion gap 46. Thereby, the right and left element rows 12 can be smoothly coupled or disengaged by the sliding operation of the slider 40.

(39) Furthermore, in the thin yarn-continuing area 25 of the tape main body portion 22, higher flexibility can be easily obtained as compared to the thick yarn-continuing area 24. Since the running region of the upper flange portion 44 is disposed in such a thin yarn-continuing area 25, when the slider 40 is slid in the closing direction (forward) of the slide fastener 1, for example, the right and left fastener elements 11 can be easily coupled. Therefore, the sliding property of the slider 40 can be expected to be improved. Considering the advantages of the thin yarn-continuing area 25 of the tape main body portion 22 as described above, it is preferable that the thin yarn-continuing area 25 is formed such that three or more, preferably five or more first warp yarns 33 are continuously disposed from a position of the warp yarn 32 adjacent to the element attaching portion 21 toward the weft yarn returning end portion 23.

(40) Further, in the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment, the yarn having the larger fineness than the first warp yarn 33 disposed in the tape main body portion 22 is used for the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 disposed in the tape main body portion 22 as described above. Particularly in the case of the present Embodiment, yarns having the same fineness are used for the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34. Thereby, a plain woven texture can be firmly and stably formed by the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34. In addition, since the same yarns can be used for the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(41) In this case, the fineness of the weft yarn 31 and the fineness of the second warp yarn 34 are set to be twice as large as the fineness of the first warp yarn 33. When the fineness of the first warp yarn 33 is 330 dtex (300 denier), for example, the fineness of the weft yarn 31 and the fineness of the second warp yarn 34 are set at 660 dtex (600 denier). By making the fineness of the weft yarn 31 and the fineness of the second warp yarn 34 twice the fineness of the first warp yarn 33, tape strength of the fastener tape 20 can be improved, and appearance of the woven fastener tape can be improved. Particularly in the present Embodiment, the yarn used for the weft yarn 31 and the yarn used for the second warp yarn 34 are formed in a shape that two yarns (multifilament yarns) used for the first warp yarn 33 are aligned.

(42) Thereby, the fineness of the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 and the fineness of the first warp yarn 33 can be easily and reliably made different, and the fineness of each yarn can also be adjusted easily. Further, since the yarns of the weft yarn 31 and the yarns of the second warp yarn 34 can be respectively formed by using the yarns forming the first warp yarn 33, it is possible to further reduce the manufacturing cost. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 are respectively represented by a single yarn in order to make the arrangement of each yarn easy to be understood. Further, each of the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 of the present invention may be formed in a form of one multifilament yarn (twisted yarn).

(43) In the present Embodiment, specific fineness of the weft yarn 31, the first warp yarn 33, and the second warp yarn 34 are set as follows according to, for example, the size of the fastener tape 20.

(44) The fineness of the weft yarn 31 is set at 500 dtex (450 denier) or larger and 1000 dtex (900 denier) or smaller, and preferably 660 dtex (600 denier). The fineness of the first warp yarn 33 is set at 166 dtex (150 denier) or larger and 500 dtex (450 denier) or smaller, and preferably 330 dtex (300 denier). The fineness of the second warp yarn 34 is set at 500 dtex (450 denier) or larger and 1000 dtex (900 denier) or smaller, and preferably 660 dtex (600 denier).

(45) The element attaching portion 21 of the fastener tape 20 is formed of the weft yarn 31 continuously inserted from the tape main body portion 22 and disposed along the lower leg portion 11c of each fastener element 11 and the plurality of warp yarns 32. In this case, the warp yarn 32 disposed in the element attaching portion 21 has two head portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing 35 disposed closer to the coupling head portion 11a of the fastener element 11 and running on a lower surface side of the lower leg portion 11c of each fastener element 11 in the warp direction, six warp yarns for tightening 36 running in the warp direction so as to cross over the lower surface side of the lower leg portion 11c and the upper surface side of the upper leg portion 11b of the fastener element 11, and two connecting portion-side lower warp yarns for fixing 37 disposed closer to the connecting portion 11d of the fastener element 11 and running on the lower surface side of the lower leg portion 11c of each fastener element 11 in the warp direction. Further, in the case of the present Embodiment, the same yarn as the first warp yarn 33 of the tape main body portion is used for each warp yarn 32 (coupling head portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing 35, warp yarn for tightening 36, and connecting portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing 37) disposed in the element attaching portion 21.

(46) The weft yarn 31 disposed in the element attaching portion 21 is inserted in a direction perpendicular to the warp direction so as to run in a direction as described below (or run in the opposite direction thereof). That is, at a position where the upper leg portion 11b and the lower leg portion 11c in the warp direction are disposed, the weft yarn 31 runs in a weft direction from the tape main body portion 22 on the lower surface side of the lower leg portion 11c along the lower leg portion 11c, interlaces with the two head portion-side lower warp yarns for fixing 35 disposed on the coupling head portion 11a side to be returned so as to turn around the circumference of the head portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing 35 disposed the closest to the coupling head portion 11a. Further, the returned weft yarn 31 at the head portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing 35 runs on the lower surface side of the lower leg portion 11c in the weft direction and is returned to the tape main body portion 22.

(47) The two head portion-side lower warp yarns for fixing 35 in the element attaching portion 21 are disposed adjacent to each other in an area on the coupling head portion 11a side of the six warp yarns for tightening 36, and the weft yarn 31 is returned (reversed) by the two head portion-side lower warp yarns for fixing 35 at a position on the coupling head portion 11a side.

(48) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the six warp yarns for tightening 36 in the element attaching portion 21 are disposed in the warp direction while being alternately interlaced in a constant cycle respectively so as to interpose the upper leg portion 11b of the fastener element 11, the lower leg portion 11c of the fastener element 11 and the weft yarn 31 running along the lower leg portion 11c. In the present Embodiment, as the two adjacent warp yarns for tightening 36 having symmetrical running direction in the tape top and back direction as one set, three sets of warp yarns for tightening 36 are disposed at a predetermined interval in the tape width direction. Thereby, the plurality of fastener elements 11 (element row 12) can be firmly woven and fixed to the element attaching portion 21 of the fastener tape 20, and the pitches between the woven fastener elements 11 are stabilized at a constant size.

(49) The two connecting portion-side warp yarns for fixing 37 in the element attaching portion 21 are disposed adjacent to each other in an area on the connecting portion 11d side of the six warp yarns for tightening 36. These two connecting portion-side lower yarns for fixing 37 are alternately interlaced with the weft yarns 31 to form a weave.

(50) In the present invention, the woven texture of the element attaching portion 21 in the fastener tape 20 is not particularly limited, and, the number of warp yarns for tightening 36 disposed in the element attaching portion 21, for example, can be arbitrarily changed. In addition, as long as the plurality of fastener elements 11 can be firmly fixed, the element attaching portion 21 of the fastener tape 20 can also be formed with a woven texture other than the Embodiment described above.

(51) The fastener stringer 10 according to the present Embodiment as described above can be manufactured using a loom generally used for manufacturing the conventional ordinary woven fastener stringer, and can be easily manufactured as compared with manufacturing the fastener stringer 70 in which two loop rows 76 are formed in the tape main body portion 71b as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

(52) In addition, the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment is manufactured with a weaving structure with one pitch per one-rotation as described above. Therefore, the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment can significantly improve the productivity and can reduce the manufacturing cost of the fastener stringer 10 as compared to the fastener stringer 90 adopting the weaving structure with one pitch per two-rotation as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

(53) Furthermore, according to the fastener stringer 10 of the present Embodiment, since the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 in the tape main body portion 22 have a fineness larger than the first warp yarn 33 in the tape main body portion 22, the density of the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 in the tape main body portion (in particular, the density of the weft yarn 31 and the warp yarn 32 in the thick yarn-continuing area 24) can be significantly increased, as compared to the conventional fastener stringer 70 shown in FIG. 4, for example. As a result, positional deviation of weave can be less likely to occur on the fastener tape 20, as described later.

(54) The slide fastener 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be manufactured by using the two fastener stringers 10 of the present Embodiment as described above in a pair. When the slide fastener 1 shown in FIG. 1 is attached to products such as clothing, for example, a fastener attached member 60 of the product (for example, fabric of the clothing) and the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 are overlapped, and the overlapped part is sewing-processed using a sewing machine.

(55) As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the fastener tape 20 and the fastener attached member 60 of the product are sewn together with the sewn portion (sewn line) 61 formed by the sewing machine, so that the slide fastener 1 can be attached to the product stably. In this case, it is preferable that the thick yarn-continuing area 24 in the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 is overlapped with the fastener attached member 60 of the product, and the thick yarn-continuing area 24 is sewn to the fastener attached member 60 with the sewn portion 61.

(56) Then, when using the product to which the slide fastener 1 shown in FIG. 1 is attached as described above (when wearing clothes, for example) and in a case that the product is pulled etc., thereby the slide fastener 1 receives a lateral pulling force to be pulled toward the outside in the tape width direction of the fastener tape 20, force is applied to the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 via the sewn portion 61 so as to shift the position of the weave outward in the tape width direction.

(57) Even in such a case, in the slide fastener 1 shown in FIG. 1, the fastener tape 20 is formed such that the yarn density of the tape main body portion 22 (particularly the thick yarn-continuing area 24) is increased to prevent occurrence of misalignment. At the same time, the tape main body portion 22 (particularly the thick yarn-continuing area 24) of the fastener tape 20 is sewn to the fastener attached member 60 of the product. Therefore, even when the above-described force is applied to the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 via the sewn portion 61, the tape main body portion 22 (particularly the thick yarn-continuing area 24) is less likely to be misaligned, thereby the misalignment of the weave can be suppressed (see Embodiment 1 described later). As a result, it is possible to effectively suppress lowering of the tape strength and lowering of the abrasion resistance of the fastener tape 20 due to the misalignment of the fastener tape 20.

(58) In the fastener stringer 10 of the Embodiment described above, the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 has the thick yarn-continuing area 24 disposed adjacent to the weft yarn returning end portion 23 and the thin yarn-continuing area 25 disposed adjacent to the element attaching portion 21. In the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 in the present invention, however, a thin yarn-continuing area 25 formed of the first warp yarn 33 may be further provided between the weft yarn returning end portion 23 and the thick yarn-continuing area 24. A thick yarn-continuing area 24 formed of the second warp yarn 34 may also be further provided between the thin yarn-continuing area 25 and the element attaching portion 21.

(59) Further, in the present invention, as long as the weft yarn 31 of the fastener tape 20 is formed thicker than the first warp yarn 33 of the tape main body portion 22, it is possible to weave a fastener tape 20 having a tape main body portion 22 in which the first warp yarn 33 and the second warp yarn 34 thicker than the first warp yarn 33 are disposed alternately in the tape width direction and the thick yarn-continuing area 24 and the thin yarn-continuing area 25 are not provided. Further, it is also possible to weave a fastener tape 20 using only the first warp yarn 33 without using the second warp yarn 34 to the tape main body portion 22.

EMBODIMENTS

(60) Hereinafter, the present invention will be more specifically described by showing Embodiments 1 and 2 and a Comparative Example.

Embodiment 1

(61) A yarn having a fineness of 330 dtex (300 denier) was used as the first warp yarn 33 of the tape main body portion 22 and each warp yarn 32 disposed in the element attaching portion 21, and a yarn having a fineness of 660 dtex (600 denier) was used as the weft yarn 31 and the second warp yarn 34 of the tape main body portion 22 to manufacture a fastener stringer 10 according to the above-described Embodiment. In this case, the fastener stringer 10 of Embodiment 1 is formed with the weaving structure with one pitch per one-rotation. Further, the weft 31 and the second warp yarn 34 have a configuration in which two yarns used for the first warp yarn 33 are aligned.

(62) In the tape main body portion 22 of the manufactured fastener stringer 10, a thick yarn-continuing area 24 in which the second warp yarns 34 are continuously disposed in the tape width direction is formed. The thick yarn-continuing area 24 is, in the tape width direction of the tape main body portion 22, formed from a position of the warp yarn 32 adjacent to the weft yarn returning end portion 23 to a position of the warp yarn 32 separated by 4.5 mm in the tape width direction based on a position of the connecting portion 11d of the fastener element 11 (specifically, an end edge position of the connecting portion 11d on the tape main body portion 22 side).

(63) Then, the manufactured fastener stringers 10 of Embodiment 1 were used in a set of two to manufacture a slide fastener 1 shown in FIG. 1, and further, the right and left fastener tapes 20 in the obtained slide fastener 1 were sewn to the fastener attached member 60 of the product using a sewing machine. At this time, the position of the sewn portion 61 formed by the sewing machine was set at the position 5 mm away from the connecting portion 11d of the fastener element 11 in the tape width direction. Therefore, in Embodiment 1, the thick yarn-continuing area 24 in the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20 and the fastener attached member 60 of the product are sewn together with the sewn portion 61.

(64) Thereafter, in a state that the slide fastener 1 is closed (a state that the right and left element rows 12 are coupled), a lateral pulling force was applied to the right and left fastener stringers 10 of the slide fastener 1 by pulling the right and left fastener attached members 60 of the product toward an outside in the right and left direction with a predetermined load. Furthermore, the state that the lateral pulling force was applied to the fastener stringers 10 was maintained for a predetermined time.

(65) After a predetermined time has passed, the slide fastener 1 is removed from the fastener attached members 60 of the product while removing the lateral pulling force. Thereafter, the position of the weave at the point where the sewn portion 61 of the fastener tape 20 is formed was identified, and the length (i.e., the size of the misalignment) at which the position of the weave is shifted from the normal position (the position of the weave before the lateral pulling force was applied) was measured. The size of such a misalignment was measured at ten different positions on the straight line on which the sewn portion 61 was formed in the fastener tape 20 to determine the average value. As a result, the average value of the size of the misalignment in Embodiment 1 was 1.88 mm.

Embodiment 2

(66) Only a warp yarn having a fineness of 330 dtex (300 denier) was used as the warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape without using the second warp yarn 34 as in the above-described Embodiment 1 to manufacture a fastener stringer. Therefore, in the Embodiment 2, the fineness of the thickest warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape is 330 dtex (300 denier). The fastener stringer of Embodiment 2 is formed in the same manner as in the case of the above-mentioned Embodiment 1 except having changed the fineness of the warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion.

(67) The manufactured fastener stringer of Embodiment 2 was used to manufacture a slide fastener in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, and further, the slide fastener was sewn to the fastener attached member 60 of the product using a sewing machine. Thereafter, the size of misalignment was measured under the same conditions as in Embodiment 1 to determine the average value. As a result, the average value of the size of the misalignment in Embodiment 2 was 3.42 mm.

Comparative Example

(68) Only a warp yarn having a fineness of 330 dtex (300 denier) is used as a warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape, and a yarn having a fineness of 330 dtex (300 denier) is used as a weft yarn of the fastener tape to manufacture a fastener stringer. Therefore, in the Comparative Example, the fineness of the thickest warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape is 330 dtex (300 denier). The fastener stringer of Comparative Example is formed in the same manner as in the case of the above-mentioned Embodiment 1 except having changed the fineness of the warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion and the fineness of the weft yarn.

(69) The manufactured fastener stringer of Comparative Example was used to manufacture a slide fastener in the same manner as in Embodiment 1, and further, the slide fastener was sewn to the fastener attached member 60 of the product using a sewing machine. Thereafter, the size of misalignment was measured under the same conditions as in Embodiment 1 to determine the average value. As a result, the average value of the size of the misalignment in Comparative Example was 4.38 mm.

(70) Regarding the fastener stringer of Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2, and Comparative Example, the fineness of the weft yarn forming the fastener tape and the fineness of the thickest warp yarn disposed in the tape main body portion of the fastener tape are shown in Table 1 below, and the result of the average values of the size of the misalignment are also shown.

(71) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Fineness Fineness of thickest of warp yarn disposed in Size of weft yarn tape main body portion misalignment (dtex) (dtex) (mm) Embodiment 1 660 660 1.88 Embodiment 2 660 330 3.42 Comparative 330 330 4.38 Example

(72) As shown in Table 1, in the fastener stringer of Embodiment 2, the misalignment was able to be suppressed to a small extent by making the fineness of the weft yarn larger than the case of the fastener stringer of Comparative Example. As a result, it was confirmed that the misalignment of the fastener tape can be suppressed to a small extent by weaving the fastener tape using the thick weft yarn of 660 dtex as compared to the case that the thin weft yarn of 330 dtex is used.

(73) Furthermore, in the fastener stringer 10 of Embodiment 1, a plurality of warp yarns 32 (second warp yarns 34) having a larger fineness than those of the fastener stringer of Embodiment 2 are continuously disposed in the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20, thereby, misalignment was able to be further suppressed to a small extent. Accordingly, it was confirmed that the thick weft yarn 31 of 660 dtex is disposed in the fastener tape 20, and the thick second warp yarns 34 of 660 dtex are disposed in the tape main body portion 22 of the fastener tape 20, thereby, misalignment of the fastener tape 20 can be further suppressed effectively.

REFERENCE SIGNS

(74) 1: Slide fastener

(75) 10: Fastener stringer

(76) 11: Fastener element

(77) 11a: Coupling head portion

(78) 11b: Upper leg portion

(79) 11c: Lower leg portion

(80) 11d: Connecting portion

(81) 12: Element row

(82) 20: Fastener tape

(83) 21: Element attaching portion (Tape side edge portion)

(84) 22: Tape main body portion

(85) 23: Weft yarn returning end portion

(86) 24: Thick yarn-continuing area

(87) 25: Thin yarn-continuing area

(88) 31: Weft yarn

(89) 32: Warp yarn

(90) 33: First warp yarn

(91) 34: Second warp yarn

(92) 35: Head portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing

(93) 36: Warp yarn for tightening

(94) 37: Connecting portion-side lower warp yarn for fixing

(95) 40: Slider

(96) 41: Slider body

(97) 42: Upper blade

(98) 43: Lower blade

(99) 44: Upper flange portion

(100) 45: Tab attaching portion

(101) 46: Tape insertion gap

(102) 49: Tab

(103) 51: First stop

(104) 52: Second stop

(105) 60: Fastener attached member

(106) 61: Sewn portion (Sewn line)