Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a separable slide
fastener for use on knit garments such as cardigan sweaters.
Prior Art:
There have been proposed separable slide fasteners
which have in their stringer tapes longitudinal coarse
regions or openings loosely receptive of a chain of thread
loops for attaching the stringer tape to a knit garment,
and which include a separable bottom end stop mounted on a
lower end of ~he stringer tape. Such separable slide fas-
teners are described in copending Canadian patent appli-
cations Nos. 367,916 and 374,823 filed January ~, 1981 and
April 7, 1981 , respectively, which have been assigned
to the present assignee. The proposed separable slide fas-
teners are connedted to knit garments on a knitting machine
or linking machine with needles of the machine insertable
into the openings in the stringer tape. The separable slide
fastener as attached to the knit garment is prevented from
becoming puckered or wavy since the openings in the tape
that loosely accommodate the thread loops take up forces
applied to the knit garment. The knit garment such as a
cardigan sweater, while worn with the slide fastener closed, is sub-
jected to a lateral pull particularly at its hem ox lower
end around the wearer's waist, imposing more tension on a
lower end of the slide fastener than on other parts of the
latter. Therefore, an end of the chain of thread loops
: L~L6~ V
which e~tends around the lower end of the slide fastener
is likely to be displaced laterally off the tape end under
continued or sudden lateral stresses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide
a separable slide fastener attachable to a knit garment
and having means for anchorinq a thread loop stably on a
separable bottom end stop on a lower end of the slide
fastener against displacement under forces applied to the
knit garment to which the slide fastener is attached.
A separable slide fastener according to the present
invention includes a reinforcement member mounted on each
of stringer tapes at a lower end thereof and connected to
a separable bottom end stop attached to the end of the
stringer tape, the reinforcement member extending trans-
versely of the stringer tape across a wale-free coarse
region between laterally spaced webs of the stringer tape.
The reinforcement member includes a thick body injection-
molded around the lower end of the stringer tape and having
a pair of opposite surfaces disposed one on each side of the
stringer tape and diverging progressively away from each
other such that the body increases progressively in cross
section outwardly away from the separable bottom end stop.
When the separable slide fastener is attached to a knit
fabric by chains of thread loops, the tapered body of the
reinforcement member engages a lowermost one of the thread
loops and prevents the lowermost loop fr~m being disp~aced
~6~
thereoff in a direction away from the separable bottom end
stop. The thick body may have a bottom surface facing away
from the stringer tape at an angle of inclination with respect
to the end of the slide fastener. The thick body may also
have a central opening for receiving therein lower thread
loops by which ~he slide fastener is attached to a knit fabric.
Many other advantages and features of the present
invention will become manifest to those versed in the art
upon making reference to the detailed description and the
accompanying drawings in which preferred structural embodi-
ments incorporating the principles of the present invention
are shown by way of illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
-
FIGo 1 is a plan view of a separable slide fastener
according to the pxesent invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the
separable slide fastener illustrated in FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the separable slide fastener
of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line
IV-IV of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view
of the ~eparable slide fastener shown in FIG. 1 as attached
to a knit fabric with thread loops;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a separable slide
fastener according to another enbodiment;
FIGo 7 is a fraymentary plan view of another separable
slide fastener as mounted on a knit fabric, and
~s~
FIG. 8 (on the sheet of FI~r 2) is an end view of the
separable slide fastener illustrated in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in FIG. 1, a separable slide fastener 10
for use on a garment such as a cardigan sweater having ccmpletel~
separahle opposite edges along which the fastener i5
attachable, comprises a pair of warp-knit stringer tapes
11, 12 each including a pair of first and second longitudinal
warp~knit webs 13, 14 with a wale-free coarse region 15
therebetween which is preferably devoid of one to four
wales. ~The webs 13, 14 are interconnected by a connector
--~~''thread 16 extending transversely across the wale-free .~egion
15 at longitudinal intervals, providing a plurality of
rectangular openings 17 arranged longitudinally in and
along the wale-free region 15. A pair of rows of coupling
elements 18, 19 which are made preferably of filamentary
plastic material is 'mounted respectively on the second
webs 14, 14 along longitudinal opposite edges thereof.
A slider 20 is slidably mounted on the rows of coupling
elements 18, 19 for taking the latter into and out of
interdigitating engagement to open and close the slide
fastener 10.
A pair of top end stops 21, 22 is secured respec-
tively to the opposed edges of the webs 14, 14 and located
at upper ends of the stringer tapes 11, 12 to prevent
the slider 20 from moving off the rows of coupling elements
18, 19 past the top end stops 21, 22. A separable bottom
-- 4
~5~
end stop 24 is mounted on lower ends of the stringer tapes
11, 12 and includes a box 25 and a box pin 26 extending
therefrom, the box 25 and the box pin 26 being injection-
molded on the lower end of the stringer tape 11, and a pin
27 injection-molded on the end of the stringer tape 12 and
insertable into and removable from the box 25 in parallel
relation to the box pin 26. The separable bottom end stop
24 is located at a lower end of the rows of coupling ele-
ments 18, 19.
As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of
reinforcement members 28, 28 of thermoplastic synthetic
resin is mounted on the lower ends of the stringer tapes
;11, 12, respectively and connected to the separable bottom
; end stop 24. Each of the reinforcement members 28 includes
an L-shaped thin film 29 bonded to the stringer tape and a
thick body 30 injection-molded on the tape and extending
transversely between the first and second webs 13, 14 across
the wale-free region 15, the body 30 being disposed around
the lower end of the stringer tape as best shown in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, the thick body 30 is of a tapered
configuration having a pair of opposite surfaces 31, 32 dis-
posed one on each side of the stringer tape 11, 12 and
diverging progressively away from each other such that the
body 30 increases progressively in cross section outwardly
away from the separable bottom end stop. With the separable
slide fastener 10 attached to a knit fabric 33 (FIG. 2) by
chains of thread loops 34, the bodies 30 with the inclined
-- 5 --
surfaces 31, 32 engage lowermost end loops 35 and pre-
vent the latter from being displaced off the bodies 30
in a direction away from the separable bottom end stop
24 even under forces tending to pull the stringer tapes
11, 12 laterally apart.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the slide fas-tener 10
can be attached to a knit fabric 36 along an edge 37
thereof on a knitting or linking machine having knitting
needles or points (not shown) inserted through the knit
fabric 36 along a course 38 and the openings 17 in the
stringer tapes. Upon operation of the machine, needle
loops 39 are looped around the needles and then interlooped
with a chain of thread loops 40, thus forming a double
chain stitch which connects the slide fastener 10 to the
knit fabric 36.
According to another embodiment: shown in FIG. 6, a
reinforcement member 41 comprises an L-shaped thin film 42
and a thick body 43 having a bottom surface 44 facing away
from the stringer tape 11, 12 at an angle of inclination
with respect to the bo~tom end of the stringer tape 11, 12 n
With this arrangement, a thread loop (not shown) disposed
around the body 43 is prevented by the inclined bottom
surface 44 from being displaced off the body 43.
FIGS. 7 and ~ illustrate still another embodiment
in which a reinforcement member 45 on each stringer tape
46 having a wale-free region 47 comprises a thin film 4~
and a thick body 49 connected to a separable end stop 50
-- 6
~i~Q
and extending across the wale-free region 47. The thick
body 49 has a central opening 51 of a substantially tri-
angular shape which is substantially aligned with the
wale-free region 47. The thick body 49 has a pair of
opposite surfaces 52, 53 positioned one on each side of
the stringer tape 46 and diverging away from each other
such that the cross section of the body 49 increases
progressively in a direction away from the separable
bottom end stop 50. When attached to a knit fabric 54 by
thread loops 55, lower thread loops 56 are received in the
openings Sl and prevented by the inclined surfaces 52, 53
from being displaced off the bodies 49. The reinforcement
bodies 49 also serve to stabilize the lower ends of the
stringer tapes 46 when mounted on the knit fabric 54.
Although various minor modifications might be sug-
gested by those in the art, it should be understood that
I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted
hereon, all such embodiments are reasonably and properly
come within the scope of my contribution to the art.
