Curved Zippers

Abstract

A zipper with at least one curve includes a first tape and a second tape, and interlocking elements attached to the first tape and the second tape, wherein the first tape and the second tape are curved, and wherein a curve of at least one of the tapes was caused by compaction of that tape.

Claims

1. A zipper comprising: a first tape and a second tape; and multiple interlocking elements connected to each of the first tape and the second tape, wherein interlocking elements from the first tape may join with interlocking elements of the second tape, and wherein the first tape is formed from a first fabric compacted to a first degree of compaction, and wherein the second tape is formed from a second fabric compacted to a second degree of compaction distinct from the first degree of compaction, wherein at least a portion of the first tape and a corresponding at least a portion of the second tape are curved.

2. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the first fabric and the second fabric are selected from cotton or polyester or nylon.

3. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the first tape and the second tape were compacted prior to being connected to the interlocking elements.

4. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the interlocking elements comprise teeth or a coil and are formed from brass or steel or stainless steel or nylon.

5. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the first tape comprises a first fusible substrate.

6. The zipper of claim 5, wherein the second tape comprises a second fusible substrate.

7. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the interlocking elements were attached to the first tape and the second tape after the first fabric and the second fabric were compacted.

8. The zipper of claim 7, wherein the interlocking elements were attached to the first tape and the second tape after fusible substrate was fused with compacted fabric.

9. The zipper of claim 1, wherein a curve of the first tape was caused, at least in part, by compaction of the first tape.

10. The zipper of claim 9, wherein a curve of the second tape was caused, at least in part, by compaction of the second tape.

11. The zipper of claim 9, wherein the interlocking elements were attached to the first tape before the first tape was curved.

12. The zipper of claim 11, wherein the interlocking elements were attached to the second tape before the second tape was curved.

13. The zipper of claim 1, wherein the first tape is woven with a first edge portion having a tighter weave than the rest of the first tape.

14. The zipper of claim 13, wherein the second tape is woven with a second edge portion having a tighter weave than the rest of the second tape.

15. The zipper of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the first tape is fused with a fusible substrate.

16. The zipper of claim 13, wherein less than the entire zipper is curved.

17. The zipper of claim 13, wherein the zipper has more than one curve.

18. The zipper of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the first tape has a different degree of curvature than a corresponding at least a portion of the second tape.

19. A product comprising a zipper according to claim 1.

20. The product of claim 19, wherein the product is selected from: a garment, footwear, an item of sports equipment, boat covers, bags, pencil cases, backpacks, computer/laptop cases, luggage, zip-up portfolio cases, zip-up storage bins, sleeping bags, tents, make up/toiletry bags, lunch bags, hats with zipper pockets, toys, toy clothing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0199] Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0200] FIGS. 1A-1G show prior approaches to curved zippers (FIGS. 1A-1G show parts of drawings from other patent documents, and, to avoid confusion, the original drawings have been cropped and edited to remove reference numbers used in those patent documents);

[0201] FIG. 2 shows aspects of a zipper;

[0202] FIG. 3 shows aspects of making zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof;

[0203] FIGS. 4A-4B, 5A-5B, and 6A-6E show aspects of zippers and making zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof; and

[0204] FIGS. 7A-7C are photographs of curved zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0205] Zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof are described here.

[0206] The following detailed description is not intended to limit the current invention. Alternate embodiments and variations of the subject matter described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Background

[0207] As shown in FIG. 2, and as is well known, a zipper 10 (also referred to as a zipper assembly) includes a zipper chain 12 comprising two individual rows interlock elements, e.g., teeth (left row of teeth 14 attached to left tape 16 and right row of teeth 18 attached to right tape 20) that, when interlocked, may form the combined zipper chain 12. A slider 100 may be configured and positioned such that the left row of teeth 14 pass into and through a left-side channel 102 in the slider's top left shoulder 104, and the right row of teeth 18 pass into and through a right-side channel 106 of the slider's top right shoulder 108.

[0208] The left and right side channels 102, 106 may combine below piece 110 within the body cavity of slider 100 (generally hidden from view and depicted with dashed lines in FIG. 1) to form a mouth 112. In operation, and as is known, as the left row of teeth 14 and the right row of teeth 18 pass through mouth 112, they may interlock to form zipper chain 12.

[0209] As is also well known, the slider 100 may be moved from one end of the zipper to the other. As the slider is moved in one direction, the rows of teeth (the left row of teeth 14 and right row of teeth 18) may continue to be interlocked as they pass through slider 100 to form the length of the combined zipper chain 12. As slider 100 is moved in the other direction, it may contact the joined zipper chain 12 at a junction between the left row of teeth 14 and the right row of teeth 18 to force them apart, separate them from one another, and generally unlock the two rows of teeth 14, 18. This separation and unlocking may result in two separate and individual rows of teeth 14, 18. This allows zipper chain 12 to be combined to fasten the left and right sides together and separated to unfasten them. In this way, the zipper 10 may be used as a fastener for jackets, pockets, luggage, and other products.

[0210] The interlocking elements may be connected directly to the left and right tapes (e.g., in the case where they are metal teeth or the like), or they may be attached to a separate chain which is then attached to the left and right tapes.

DESCRIPTION

Zippers That Deal With Too Much Shrinkage

[0211] In order to deal with too much shrinkage, the tapes may be compacted, e.g., using heat and pressure to remove some or all of the shrinkage.

[0212] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a spool of tape 30 may be fed into a compactor 32 to produce compacted tape 34 with some or substantially all of the shrinkage in the tape removed. The compactor 32 may include a drum or the like. Those of skill in the art will understand, upon reading this description, that the amount of compaction of the tape 30 by the compactor 32 will depend on the type and/or cut of material used for the tape 30, and the temperature, speed, and pressure of the compactor 32.

[0213] The compacted tape 34 may be spooled. A zipper may then be formed using the compacted tape 34.

Zippers that Deal with too Little Shrinkage

[0214] Consider the case where a zipper is attached to a fabric of an item (e.g., a garment) and where the fabric shrinks at a higher rate than the tapes. For example, the fabric may shrink about 15 percent, whereas the zipper's tapes only shrink, say 2-5%. In those cases, after washing, the garment will pucker along the zipper garment connection.

[0215] To deal with this case, preshrink the garment fabric by an amount that leaves little or no shrinkage, in any case no more than the shrinkage of the zipper tapes. The fabric may be preshrunk by compaction. The zipper tapes are attached to the garment after the fabric has been shrunk/compacted.

[0216] So, in the example above, the garment fabric is preshrunk by at least 10-15%.

[0217] The garment fabric, when attached to the zipper, may appear puckered, as the garment body may still be bigger. However, after washing the body of the garment, the connected fabric and zipper will have shrunk and will lay flat.

Zippers that Stretch

[0218] In order to allow zippers to stretch, the tapes may be compacted to remove all or substantially all of their shrinkage (e.g., as shown above). Then the teeth may be applied to the compacted tapes. In this way, the resulting zipper will be able to stretch the amount compacted.

[0219] In an alternate approach, the zipper may be formed with pre- or un-compacted tapes, and then the fully-formed zipper may be compacted. The resulting zipper will stretch by the amount compacted.

[0220] An exemplary approach to compacting the zippers is shown in FIG. 4A, in which assembled zippers 36 (with teeth attached to tapes) are fed into a compactor 38, e.g., on a belt 40 or the like. The compactor 38 may include one or two drums 42, 44. Since the zipper 36 is already at least partially assembled, one or both of the drums 42, 44 are cut or grooved to allow the zipper's rail (teeth) to pass through uncompacted, while the tapes on either side of the rail are compacted.

[0221] As shown in FIG. 4B, zipper includes a left tape 50-L and a right tape 50-R, connected to the rail or teeth elements 52. As noted, in order to prevent compaction of the teeth elements 52, the drum 42 may include a notch or groove or cut 54 to allow the teeth elements 52 to pass through uncompressed. A similar notch or the like may be incorporated into the drum 44, in which case the zippers 36 may be fed into the compactor 38 with the teeth elements facing up or down.

[0222] One or both of the drums 42, 44 may be grooved and/or coated, at least in the regions that will come into contact with the tapes.

[0223] The compactor 38 may include a suitable guide mechanism 46 to correctly and accurately position the zippers 36 as they pass between the drums 42, 44. The compacted zipper 48 may then be attached to an item (e.g., a garment or the like).

[0224] In order to achieve compaction of the zippers 36, one or both of the drums may be heated. Those of skill in the art will understand, upon reading this description, that the amount of compaction of the tape by the compactor 38 will depend on the type and/or cut of material used for the tape, and the temperature, speed, and pressure of the compactor 38. The compressed zipper 48 will be able to stretch the amount compacted.

Zippers that Stretch and Recover

[0225] In order to allow zippers to stretch and recover, the tapes may be compacted to remove their shrinkage. Then a fusible (e.g., a 2-way fusible substrate) may be applied to the back of the tapes to provide memory to the tapes.

[0226] For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, a zipper 36 may be passed through a compactor 38, e.g., as described above, to remove shrinkage of the tapes. Then a fusible substrate (or fusible) 56 may be applied to the back of the tapes (50-L, 50-R) to provide a memory and allow it to recover after it is stretched. The zipper 36 and the fusible substrate 56 are fed into a heating press 58, preferably using a guide 60. The heating press 58 may include two rollers 62, 64. The result is a zipper 66 in which the tapes have been compacted (by compactor 38) and then be fused with a fusible substrate (by heating press 58).

[0227] The speed, temperature, and pressure of the heating press 58 depend on the type of fabric used for the tapes and on the type of fusible substrate 56 being used.

[0228] The speed, temperature, and pressure of the heating press 58 need not be the same as those of the compactor 38, as the compactor 38 is used to compact the tape fabric, whereas the heating press 58 is used to fuse the fusible substrate 56 to the compacted tape fabric.

[0229] As shown in FIG. 5B, the fusible substrate 56 is preferably in two parts, namely fusible substrate 56-L for the left tape 50-L and fusible substrate 56-R for the right tape 50-R.

[0230] The fusible substrate is preferably a 2-way stretchable fusible.

[0231] As an alternative, before the zipper is assembled, the tapes may be compacted (to remove shrinkage) and then fused with a fusible to provide memory to the tapes (so that they may recover after being stretched). Then the teeth may be applied to the compacted tapes that have already been fused with a fusible substrate. In this way, the zipper will be able to stretch the amount compacted and recover an amount depending on the fusible used.

Zippers that Curve

[0232] To make zippers that curve according to exemplary embodiments hereof, the zipper tapes are curved, and then the teeth elements are attached to the tapes.

[0233] In some cases, e.g., as shown in FIG. 6A, the tape 70 is woven with a self-edge 72 (shaded in the drawing in FIG. 6A) that is tighter than the rest of the tape 74.

[0234] The self-edge 72 has a width Ws, and the rest of the tape has a width Wr, where Ws+Wr is the width of the tape Wt. Those of skill in the art will know and understand, upon reading this description, how to select the ratio of Ws to Wr (or of Ws to Wt) to achieve a desired curvature for the zipper.

[0235] The tape 70 is compacted using a heated compactor. When compacted, the self-edge 72 will compact less than the rest of tape 74. Thus, after compaction, the rest of the tape 74 will open up more than the self-edge 72. This will cause the tape 70 to curve, e.g., as shown in FIG. 6B.

[0236] As shown, e.g., in FIG. 6C, the tapes 70-L, 70-R for the left and right sides of a zipper should be curved so that the outside edge of one side has tighter compaction than the rest of that side, and, for the other tape side, the inside edge has tighter compaction than the rest of the tape.

[0237] The two curved tapes 70-L, 70-R may then be joined with their teeth, as shown in FIG. 6D, to form a curved zipper 76.

[0238] If the tapes 70-L, 70-R are compacted with a drum, the tapes may be done on opposite sides of the drum before being joined with the teeth.

[0239] In some cases, the self-edge may have stretch, allowing the curve to stretch. For example, in some implementations, the self-edge of the tape faces the outside of the drum to allow the curve to stretch. Fusible may be added to the self-edge to allow it to stretch and recover.

[0240] FIGS. 6A-6D show only a portion of a curved tape or curved zipper. As should be understood, other parts of the zipper may be straight or may also be curved. Different parts of a zipper may have different degrees of curvature. A zipper may have multiple curves. In some cases, tapes with different curvatures may be joined (e.g., sewn together) to form a zipper with multiple curvatures. The two tapes may have been formed or compacted separately. For example, a first zipper with a first curvature may be formed (as described above), and a second zipper with a second curvature may be formed (also as described above), and then a tape from the first zipper (having the first curvature) may be used with a tape of the second zipper (having the second curvature).

[0241] FIGS. 7A-7C are photographs of curved zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof. FIG. 7B shows aspects of a region 78 of the curved zipper 76″ of FIG. 7A. In particular, FIG. 7B shows the regions 72″ and 74″ on the zipper 76″ (corresponding to the regions 72 and 74 in FIG. 6A).

EXAMPLES

[0242] FIGS. 7A-7B are photographs of curved zippers according to exemplary embodiments hereof.

[0243] An example curved zipper, according to exemplary embodiments hereof, was tested against existing zippers. The results of these tests are summarized in the following table:

TABLE-US-00001 Strength Zipper Flexibility Inside Pucker Reduction Curved zipper according Up to 7% reduced  5-10% to exemplary embodiments hereof Zipper with knitted tapes Up to 5% Same as 20-30% regular zip Zipper with stretchable Up to 10% Higher than 30-50% tapes regular zip Zipper with cut tapes 50% Lateral Higher than 20-30% regular zip

DISCUSSION

[0244] Thus are described various zippers, items using the zippers, and methods of making the zippers and the items.

[0245] The above description includes descriptions of zippers that deal with too much shrinkage; and/or zippers that deal with too little shrinkage; and/or zippers that stretch; and/or zippers that stretch and recover; and/or zippers that curve. Although exemplary embodiments are described under various headings (e.g., Zippers that deal with too much shrinkage, Zippers that deal with too little shrinkage, Zippers that Stretch, Zippers that Stretch and recover, and Zippers that Curve), these headings are to aid this description and are not intended to limit the scope of any of the embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that the various embodiments under a given heading are not intended to be exclusive or mutually exclusive and that the various approaches may be combined. For example, a zipper that curves may also have stretch or stretch and recovery properties, and zippers that deal with too little or too much shrinkage may also curve and also stretch and recover.

[0246] In addition, when a particular property (e.g., stretch and recovery) is applied to one tape of a zipper assembly, that same approach need not apply to the other tape of the zipper assembly.

CONCLUSION

[0247] As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs” and includes the case of only one ABC.

[0248] As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation.

[0249] As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by the use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”

[0250] In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.

[0251] As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way.

[0252] It should be appreciated that the words “first” and “second” and so on in the description and claims are used to distinguish or identify and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, the use of letter or numerical labels (such as “(a)”, “(b)”, and the like) are used to help distinguish and/or identify and not to show any serial or numerical limitation or ordering.

[0253] While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.