Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
FASTENER
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastener
consisting of a socket having an insertion hole, an insertion
head to be inserted through the insertion hole and a filament
having the socket at one end and the insertion head at the
other, all these structural members integrally formed of
synthetic resin.
This kind of fastener has found wide use such as
in attaching tags and labels to merchandise, tying together
paired articles such as slippers and sandals, or sealing the
opening of bags or the cover of instruments.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional fastener;
Figure 2 is a side view of the conventional fastener
as illustrated in Figure l;
Figure 3 is an explanatory view showing how the
fastener is used;
Figure 4 is a plan view showing a first embodiment
of the present invention;
Figure 5 is a side view of the fastener as shown in
Figure 4;
Figures 6 and 7 are partially enlarged views of the
fastener shown in Figures 4 and 5;
Figures PA, B, C, and PA, B, C are plan views
illustrating other structures of the socket and insertion
head;
Figure 10 is a plan view showing a second embodiment
of this invention;
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, .
Figure 11 is a plan view showing a third embodiment
of this invention;
Figure 12 is a partially enlarged view of the
fastener as illustrated in Figure 11;
figure 13 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a fourth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 14 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a fifth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 15 is a plan view showing the main portion
off a sixth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 16 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a seventh embodiment of this invention;
Figure 17 is a plan view showing the main portion
of an eighth embodiment of this invention;
foggier 18 is a plan view showing a ninth embodiment
of this invention;
Figure 19 is a plan view showing a tenth embodiment
of this invention;
Figure 20 is a plan view showing an eleventh
embodiment of this invention;
Figure 21 is a partially enlarged plan view showing
a twelfth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 22 is a partially enlarged plan view showing
a thirteenth embodiment of this invention;
foggier 23 is a plan view showing a fourteenth
embodiment of this invention;
Figure 24 is a side view of the embodiment as shown
in Figure 23;
Figures 25 and 26 are explanatory views showing
owe the fastener illustrated in Figures 23 and 24 is used;
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Figure 27 is a fifteenth embodiment of this
invention;
Figure 28 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a sixteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure AYE is an enlarged plan view showing the
main portion of a seventeenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 29B is a side view of the embodiment as
illustrated in Figure AYE;
Figure AYE is an enlarged plan view showing the
main portion of an eighteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 30B is a partially enlarged side view showing
how the fastener of Figure AYE is used;
Figures AYE and 31B are plan and side views of an
individual fastener according to a nineteenth embodiment of
this invention;
Figures AYE and 32B are partial plan and side views
of the embodiment as illustrated in Figures AYE and 31B;
Figure 33 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a twentieth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 34 is a plan view showing the main portion
of a twenty-first embodiment of this invention;
Figure 35 is a partial plan view of a twenty-fourth
embodiment of this invention showing the connection of each
fastener;
Figure 36 if a partial plan view of the Thea embody-
mint as illustrated in Figure 35;
Figure 37 is a partial side view of the Thea embody-
mint as illustrated in Figure 35;
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Figure AYE is a plan view showing the main portion
of a twenty-fifth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 38B is an enlarged plan view of the embody-
mint as illustrated in Figure 38;
Figure AYE is a plan view showing a twenty-sixth
embodiment of this invention;
Figures 39B and 39C are partially enlarged views
of tile embodiment as illustrated in Figure AYE;
Figure AYE is a plan view showing a twenty-seventh
embodiment of this invention;
Figures 40B, 40C and 40D are enlarged views of the
embodiment as illustrated in Figure AYE;
Figure 41 is a plan view showing a twenty-eighth
embodiment of this invention;
Figure AYE is a plan view showing a twenty-ninth
embodiment of this invention;
Figure 42B is a cross sectional view of the main
portion of the embodiment as illustrated in Figure AYE;
Figure 43 is a plan view showing a thirtieth
embodiment of this invention; and
Figure 44 is a plan view showing a thirty-first
embodiment of this invention.
Figures 1 and 2 show the plan and side views of this
kind of conventional fasteners. The fastener 1 has at one end
of a filament 3 a socket 2 with an insertion hole and at the
other end an insertion head 4. All these component members
are integrally formed of synthetic resin in a straight line.
Generally the filament 3, after being formed, is drawn to have
a greater length and smaller diameter.
Jo
I
hen using the conventional fasteners of the above
construction, the following steps are taken. As shown in
Figure 3, the fastener 1 is passed through a hole of a tag P
to support the tag P on the filament 3; the socket 2 and the
insertion head 4 are held by fingers of each hand; and the in-
section head 4 is inserted into the insertion hole of the socket
2 to form a closed loop with engagement pieces 18 at the in-
section head 4 blocking the insertion head from being withdrawn
from the socket.
Manual work of coupling the socket and insertion head
of the conventional fasteners takes much time when attaching
price tags and labels to a large quantity of articles.
For the fasteners with long filaments 3, it is not
easy to find and pick up the socket and the insertion head and
therefore the coupling work is not efficient.
To improve the efficiency of coupling work efforts
have been made to couple the socket and the insertion head by
the use of instruments. However, it was difficult to develop
such a coupling device for the following reasons. The socket
and the insertion head are separated far apart through the long
filament, and the socket and the insertion head, when put close
together, tend to easily snap back to their separated positions
due to the elasticity of the filament.
Since the fasteners are also used in tying together
two or more articles in addition to attaching tags, the fife-
mint is required to have a length which is greater than a certain
value and have a diameter which is smaller than a certain die-
meter so as to provide flexibility.
However, there are certain limits to the length and
diameter of the filament because the melted resin has a high
viscosity when poured into a mold and therefore will not easily
I` flow into the mold which is narrow and long.
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Thus, the conventional practice was to form the filament by the mold which has a greater diameter than a
certain value and a shorter length than a certain value and
to stretch it to provide a long and slender filament. There
is however a limit to the extent to which the filament can
be elongated.
Therefore, when it is desired to form fasteners
with a long filament, the length of the mold must inevitably
be long requiring increased melted resin injection pressure.
Summary of the Invention
Accomplished to overcome the aforementioned
drawbacks of the conventional fasteners, the present invention
has an object to provide a fastener which facilitates the
coupling by a coupling instrument of the socket and the
insertion head.
A second object of this invention is provide a
fastener which has a sufficiently long filament which is
obtained by molding without subjecting it to the drawing
process after molding. More specifically stated, the second
object is to provide a fastener which has a filament at least
two times longer than the filament of the conventional fastener
if it is not subjected to the stretching process.
A third object of this invention is to provide a
fastener which enables the length of mold Jo be halved and
the injection pressure to be reduced when forming the fastener
almost equal in length to the conventional fastener, thereby
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reducing the size and energy consumption of the fastener
molding device.
A fourth object of this invention is to provide
a fastener which enables the travel or stroke of the
extension machine to be halved when elongating the filament.
A fifth object of this invention is to provide
a set of fasteners which when packed in car-tons and
transported will not be disturbed in arrangement and not
entangle each other so that the work for attaching the
price tags and labels to merchandise can be performed
efficiently.
A sixth object of this invention is to provide
a fastener in which a tag is fixed -to a part of filament
so that it will not slide along the filament and in which
the tag can be securely attached to the Easterner prior
to applying the fastener to an article.
A seventh object of this invention is to provide
a fastener which does not require manual work in attaching
a tag to the fastener and also enables a large number
of tags to be attached to the fasteners at a time.
The above first through fourth objects can be
achieved by a fastener which comprises a socket having
an insertion hole; an insertion head to be inserted into
the socket; and a filament having the socket at one
end and the insertion head at the other, these three
structural members being integrally formed of thermos
plastic synthetic resin; whereby the filament is folded
into a U-shaped configuration at the middle portion and a
SLYLY
weak connection is formed between the external end of
socket and the external end of insertion head, or between
the insertion head and the filament portion near the
socket in such a manner that they can easily be separated
from each other.
The above first through fifth objects can be
pus
-,.--~ achieved by a fastener in which a filament portion ox-
at.. "I so c top
tending from the socket and filament portion extending
from the insertion head are held together and connected
lo to each other directly or through expanded portions pro-
voided to these filament portions in such a manner that
they can easily be separated at the connected portion.
The sixth object of this invention can be
achieved by a fastener which has a tag mount at the
middle of the filament where the filament is folded.
The seventh object of this invention can be
achieved by a fastener which has a tag mount at the
middle portion of the filament where the filament is
folded and in which the sockets and the insertion heads
or the tag mounts are attached through weak connections
to a tie rod and the intervals between the adjacent
tag mounts are set equal to the intervals between the
holes of the tags.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
The present invention will be explained in the
following in conjunction with the preferred embodiments
of this invention referring to thy accompanying
drawings.
Figures 4 and 5 are plan view and partial cross-
sectional views of a first embodiment of a fastener
according to the present invention.
The fastener 1 consists of a socket 2, a
filament 3 extending from one side of the socket 2,
and an insertion head 4 provided at the front end of
the filament 3.
These constitutional Members are integrally
formed in one pacify thermoplastic synthetic resin
such as nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene or
polyester.
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The socket 2 is formed cylindrical for example and
this cylindrical body 5 has an insertion hole 7 surrounded
by an annular wall 6 into which the insertion head 4 is
passed. To hold the insertion head 4 against being drawn out
of engagement with the socket, the socket 2 has a circular
engagement tooth 8 in the insertion hole 7 at the center.
The engagement tooth 8 in this case is provided around the
entire inner circumference of the annular wall 6 but may be
provided only to a part of the inner circumference.
To describe in more detail, the engagement tooth 8
consists of an annular projection 9 concentric with the socket
2 and a connecting portion 10 connecting the annular projection
9 and the annular wall 6. The connecting portion 10 is formed
with engagement surfaces ha and fib on each side so that the
insertion head 4 can be inserted into the socket 2 in either
direction for engagement with one of the surfaces ha, fib.
Nat
Designated 12 is a guide surface of the annular
projection 9, and 13 a slide surface which is slanted about
10 or more degrees with respect to the axis of the socket 2.
The slide surface 13 may be set at angles less than 10 degrees
or it may be set parallel to the axis of the socket 2.
The filament 3 forms a loop when the insertion head
2 at one end of the filament 3 is inserted into the insertion
hole 7 of the socket 2 at the other to tie together paired
articles or attach a tag hanging on the loop to an article.
In this invention, the filament 3 is folded into a U-
shaped configuration at the middle and the filament portion 14
extending from the socket 2 and the filament portion 15
extending from the insertion head 4 are set almost parallel,
with their ends tied together by the intermediate expanded
portion 16.
In the first embodiment, the center line A of the
filament portion 15 passes the axis O of the socket 2 and
the external end of the insertion head 4 is connected to the
external end of the socket 2 so that the filament 3 as a
whole looks like a letter J. A tie piece 24, which connects
the insertion head 4 and the socket 2, is designed as a weak
easily breakable connection so that the insertion head 4
and the socket 2 may be easily separated. All such tie
pieces, unless otherwise stated in this disclosure, are
designed as weak easily breakable connections. The filament
portions 14 and 15 may be subjected to an extension process
after the molding to improve the strength and flexibility.
This extension process may be done with the filament still
inside the mold immediately after it is formed, or a dedicated
device for extension may be used.
The insertion head 4, which is to be inserted into the
insertion hole 7, has at the front end a head portion 17
slightly smaller in diameter than the annular projection 9
of the socket 2. The head portion 17 is shaped like a bullet
to facilitate the insertion into the hole 7. The front end of
the head portion 17 is connected to the side of the socket 2
through a first tie piece 24.
The first tie piece 24 is a member to hold the
insertion head 4 attached to the socket 2 so -that the fastener
1 forms an endless loop until the tie piece is broken to
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insert the insertion head 4 in the hole 7 of the socket 2.
Just before the insertion head 4 is fitted into the insertion
hole 7, the insertion head 4 can easily be separated from the
socket as by twisting the insertion head 4 with the socket
held immovable.
As can be seen from Figures 4 and 5, the first tie
piece 24 is formed almost conical and the junction aye with
the socket 2 is made smaller in diameter than any other portion
of the fastener 1.
The fact that the fastener 1 forms an endless loop
through the first tie piece 24 until the insertion head 4 is
separated makes the packing work as well as the tagging work
very easy.
The first tie piece 24 may be formed into any shape
as long as it can keep the insertion head 4 attached to the
socket 2 until the fastener is used. For example the tie piece
may be formed into column, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, with
only the junction 24b with the socket 2 throttled for easy
separation.
A second, third and fourth tie pieces 26, 27, 28 to
be described later have the same function as the first tie
piece 24.
A pair of engagement pieces 18 are radially projected
from the rear end surface of the head portion 17. The engage-
mint pieces 18, when the insertion head 4 is inserted into the socket 2, comes into contact with the engagement surface ha
G14~
1,
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or fib of the engagement tooth 8 to prevent the head 4 from
being retracted out of engagement with the socket 2. In Figure
4 as viewed from the side, the junction with the rear end of
the head portion 17 is made thin and the thickness of the
engagement pieces gradually increases toward the rear free
end thus forming a wedge shape.
hen not engaged with the socket (Figure 4), the
engagement pieces 18 which have some resiliency expand toward
the rear end of the insertion head 4 at an angle.
The number of engagement pieces 18 is not limited
to two but the use of two engagement pieces facilitates the
removal of formed fasteners from the mold. The engagement
pieces 18 may be provided to other portion than the rear end
of the head portion 17.
Formed behind the rear end of the head portion 16
are a first connector rod 19, a body portion 20 and a virtually
global stopper 21 in that order. The first connector rod 19
is somewhat flat because it is disposed between the two engage-
mint pieces 18. The body portion 20 is formed columnar and
smaller in diameter than the annular projection 9. The stopper
21 restricts the amount of travel or distance -that the insert
lion head 4 is allowed to move beyond the engagement tooth 8
and at the same time minimizes the play the insertion head
has when inserted into the hole 7. It is desirable that the
stopper 21 be formed such that its diameter is somewhat greater
than that of the head portion 17. It is however not necessary
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to provide the stopper 21 and it may be given any desired
shape when the distance the insertion head 4 is allowed to
travel beyond the engagement tooth 8 is not restricted.
At the left of the stopper 21 toward the filament
portion 15 is formed a second connector rod 22, and at the
boundary between the connector rod 22 and the filament portion
15 is formed a grip portion 23. The provision of the grip
portion 23 enables the fastener 1 to be held easily by hand
when inserting the insertion head 4. The grip portion 23 does
not have to be provided and may be given any shape or formed
to have a smaller diameter than the stopper 21.
The following embodiments will be explained centering
on the socket 2 and the insertion head 4 as shown in Figures 4
and 5. The present invention, however, is not limited to the
particular constructions of the socket and insertion head as
described in the succeeding descriptions but covers any con-
struction as long as the insertion head is inserted into the
socket for secure engagement. For example, the socket 2 and
the insertion head 4 can be constructed as shown in Figures
PA to 8C and PA to 9C.
Figure 10 illustrates a second embodiment of this
invention in which a bulge 25 is provided to the filament
portion 14 at a location corresponding to the grip portion
23 on the filament portion 15 to ensure that the filament will
be extended over the entire length in the drawing process after
it has been molded.
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In the drawing process the intermediate expanded
portion 16 is held by one gripper of the drawing machine and
the grip portion 23 and bulge 25 are clamped by another gripper,
and the two grippers are drawn apart elongating the filament
portions 14 and 15 uniformly without breaking the first tie
piece 24.
Figure 11 shows a third embodiment if which the
grip portion 23 and the bulge 25 are connected by a second tie
piece 26 which replaces the first tie piece 24 connecting the
socket 2 and the insertion head 4.
Since in this embodiment the grip portion 23 and
the bulge 25 are connected by the second tie piece 26, they
can easily be gripped by the drawing machine. This means that
drawing operation for the filament portions 14 and 15 becomes
easy as compared with the second embodiment (see Figure 10).
In the third embodiment the filament portion aye
between the socket 2 and the bulge 25 is so formed that its
diameter will be almost equal to that of the filament portion
14 that underwent the drawing operation. In the drawing
operation where the grip portion 23 and the bulge 25 are
gripped by the drawing machine for stretching the filament, it
seldom happens that either of filament portions 14 and 15
breaks since they are connected by the tie piece 26.
Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the second tie
piece 26 which is shown to have its center portion aye throttled.
I
- 16 -
Figure 13 shows a fourth embodiment of this invention.
The filament portion 14 is arranged so that it lies on the
line A passing through the axis o of the socket 2. The insert
lion head 4 is bent so that the head portion 17 is connected
to the outer surface of the socket 2 through the first tie
piece 24.
Figure 14 illustrates a fifth embodiment of this
invention. The insertion head 4 is projected beyond the
socket 2 -toward the right as seen in the figure so that the
stopper 21 is disposed opposite to the socket 2. The stopper
21 is connected to the outer surface of the socket 2 by a
third tie piece 27.
The third tie piece 27, like the first tie piece 24,
is formed conical with the junction aye with the stopper 21
throttled so that no fragments of the tie piece 27 will be
left on the stopper 21 when the stopper 21 is separated from
the socket 2. This assures the smooth insertion of the
insertion head 4 into the hole 7 of the socket 2.
Figure 15 illustrates a sixth embodiment of this
invention, in which a virtually global bulge aye is formed on
the filament portion 14 at a location corresponding to the
grip portion 23 of the insertion head 4 and the grip portion
23 and the bulge aye are tied together by a fourth tie piece
28 which can easily be broken by twisting the insertion head
by hand. The fourth tie piece 28 is formed in a manner similar
to the second tie piece 26.
~L~l6~
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Figure 16 shows a seventh embodiment of this
invention, in which the head portion 17 of the insertion head
is connected to the end portion of the socket 2 through the
first tie piece 24. Constructed in this way the interval
between the filament portions 14 and 15 can be reduced thereby
increasing the number of fasteners that can be formed by a
single mold of the same size.
Figure 17 shows an eighth embodiment of this
invention, in which the head portion 17 of the insertion head
is connected to the end portion of the socket 2 through the
first tie piece 24. This construction keeps the filament
portions 14 and 15 almost parallel to each other when the
insertion head 4 is inserted into the hole 7 of the socket 2
thus improving the appearance of the fastener and the tag
attached on it.
Figure 18 shows a ninth embodiment of this invention,
in which the second connector rod 22 of the insertion head 4
is bent to connect the head portion 17 to the end surface of
the socket 2 through the first tie piece 24. This construction
provides the same effect as the eighth embodiment.
Figure 19 shows a tenth embodiment of this invention
illustrating a fastener assembly formed of a number of faster
news 1, in which the sockets 2 are connected to each other by
first sub connector bars 29 and the intermediate expanded
portions 16 of the filaments 3 are connected to the main
connector bar 36 (which serves as a runner when molding the
- 18 -
fastener assembly) by second sub connector bars 30. This
first and second sub connector bars can easily be broken off.
Figure 20 shows an eleventh embodiment of this
invention which is a variation from the tenth embodiment shown
in Figure 19. The eleventh embodiment has the sockets 2
connected to the second main connector bar 37 through third
sub connector bars 31.
Figure 21 shows a twelfth embodiment of this invention,
in which the sockets 2 are connected to each other through fine
connector pieces and also connected to a second main connector
bar 37 through third sub connector bars 31.
Figure 22 shows a thirteenth embodiment in which the
fasteners 1 as illustrated in Figure 1 are arranged in staggered
relationship. The staggered arrangement of the fasteners 1
reduces the intervals between the fasteners 1 thus increasing
the number of fasteners 1 that can be formed in a single
molding operation. This arrangement also simplifies the
machining work of the mold. Designated at 38 is a third main
connector bar to which the insertion heads 4 are connected
through fourth sub connector bars 32 or sixth sub connector bars
34. The sockets 2 are also connected to the third main
connector bar 38 through fifth sub connector bars 33 or seventh
sub connector bars 35. These sub connector bars can easily be
broken off by hand. These sub connector bars 29, 30, 31, 32,
33, 34, 35 have their junction points with the fasteners
throttled so that no fragments of the suhconnector bars are
left on the fasteners when they are separated from them.
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laxity, the process of engaging the insertion head 4
with the socket 2 of the fastener 1 of Figures 4 and 5 will
be explained referring to Figure 3.
First the first connector piece 24 is broken off to
separate the insertion head 4 from the socket 2. The insert
lion head 4 is passed through a tag P either before or after
passing through a hole (not shown) of an article such as
clothes. Then the insertion head 4 is inserted into the hole
7 of the socket. As the insertion head 4 is guided along the
insertion hole 7 and the head portion 17 advances through the
guide surface I of the engagement tooth 8, the engagement
pieces 18 are pressed by the guide surface toward the first
connector rod 19 so that the outer surface of the engagement
pieces 18 is flush with the outer circumferential surface of
the head portion 17. This enables the insertion head 4 to
smoothly clear the guide surface of the engagement tooth 8.
As soon as the rear free end of the engagement
pieces 18 clears the annular projection 9 of the engagement
tooth 8, the engagement pieces 18 snap open by the resiliency
and their rear free ends are trapped and supported between
the annular wall 6, the engagement surface ha and the slide
surface 13. At the same time the stopper 21 abuts against
the other end of the annular projection 9 blocking the further
advancement of the insertion head 4.
At this point, the insertion head 4 is held immovable
in either direction, that is, it cannot either be retracted or
advanced through the insertion hole 7.
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Since in the preceding thirteen embodiments (Figures
4 through 22) the filament 3 is folded at the middle and a
weak connection such that it can easily be broken off by hand
is made between the socket 2 and the insertion head 4 or
between the insertion head and the filament 3, the filament
of the fastener which is molded but not yet subjected to the
drawing process is at least two times longer than that of the
conventional fastener formed from the mold of the same length.
Therefore when fasteners of -the same length as the
conventional fasteners are to be formed, the length of the
mold can be halved reducing the size of the molding device.
At the same time the molding pressure can also be reduced,
which in turn reduces the power consumption and prevents
formation of flash that may result from the use of high
molding pressure. In this way the present invention improves
the quality of products.
In addition, the stroke of the drawing machine for
extending the filament portions of fasteners of this invention
is half that required for the conventional fasteners and this
improves the productivity considerably and enables the use of
simpler drawing machines of lower rating.
Furthermore, since a weak connection that can easily
be broken off by hand is formed between the external end of
the socket having an insertion hole and the insertion head or
between the filament portions near the insertion head and
socket to form an endless loop, the socket and the insertion
head are kept from separating from each other thus facilitating
the coupling work done manually or with a coupling device.
Therefore the efficiency of the tagging work is greatly
improved.
Moreover, the endless form of the fasteners of the
first through thirteenth embodiments facilitates the handling
when packing them in cartons or when tagging.
Next a fourteenth embodiment of this invention will
be described referring to Figures 23 and 24.
In the preceding embodiments the tag P attached on
the filament 3 is free to move along the filament 3. Because
of this the tag P sometimes may not come to the desired
position on the filament or may turn with the back showing.
To overcome this drawback the fourteenth embodiment makes it
possible to securely fix the tag P to a certain location on
the filament 3 of the fastener and also to fix the tag P to
the fastener prior to the tagging work.
The construction of this embodiment is as follows.
As in the preceding embodiments the filament 3 is folded at
the intermediate expanded portion 16 and a weak connection is
made between the insertion head 4 and the socket 2 or between
the insertion head 4 and the filament 3. What characterizes
this embodiment is a tag mount 40 attached to the external
end of the intermediate expanded portion 16. The tag mount
40 consists of a tie piece 41 projecting from the intermediate
expanded portion 16, a seat plate 42 connected to the tie
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- 22 -
piece 41 and an engagement projection 43 protruding from the
seat plate 42.
The tie piece 41 is so formed that it cannot be
easily broken off. The engagement projection 43 has a suffix
client length so that after passing through the hole of theta it still protrudes the other side of the tag. The tag
mount 40 is formed integral with the fastener 1 at the time
of molding.
The process of tagging using the fastener 1 of the
fourteenth embodiment will be explained in the following.
As shown in Figure 25 and Figure 26 which is a view
taken from the arrow A of Figure 25, the engagement projection
43 is passed through a hole cut in the tag P near the end and
slightly larger in diameter than the projection 43, and the
head of the projection 43 protruding from the other side of
the tag P is fused by a heated iron to form a flange 45 so as
to prevent the tag P from coming off the engagement projection
43. Then the socket 2 and the insertion head 4 are separated
and the insertion head 4 is passed through a hole of an
article such as clothes and is inserted into the socket 2.
With the above simple procedure the tag P can easily be
attached to articles and prevented from moving. The close
arrangement of socket 4 and insertion head 4 makes the tagging
work easy. The intermediate expanded portion 16 may not
necessarily be provided and the tag mount 40 may be directly
attached to the filament 3 at the folded portion.
I
- 23 -
Figure 27 shows a fifteenth embodiment of this
invention in which a large number of fasteners 1 of the four-
tenth embodiment are molded at the same time to form a
fastener assembly Al. The insertion head 4 and the tag mount
40 at each end of the fastener 1 are connected to the connector
bars or runners 48, 49 through tie pieces 46, 47 which are
easily breakable. With this structure of the assembly 1' it
is possible to mold a large number of fasteners at one time.
Figure 28 shows a sixteenth embodiment in which the
location of connection between the socket 2 and the insertion
head 4 of the fastener 1 is changed from that of the fourteenth
embodiment. Many variations on the location of connection
between the insertion head 4 and the socket 2 are possible as
shown in the first through ninth embodiments.
Figures AYE and 29B show a seventeenth embodiment of
this invention, in which a resilient engagement projection 50
is formed on the seat plate 42. The tag once fitted over the
body portion aye of the engagement projection 50 will be
prevented from coming off by a stopper 50b.
Figures AYE and 30B show an eighteenth embodiment
of this invention, in which the tag mount 40 consists of a
female engagement member 51 located outside the intermediate
expanded portion 16 and a male engagement member 52 located
inside -the intermediate expanded portion 16, the female and
male engagement members being connected to the portion 16
through tie pieces aye, aye. When a tag is to be attached,
- 24 -
the male engagement member 52 is bent as shown by the arrow
A to fit the projection 52b of the male engagement member 52
into a recess 51b of the female engagement member 51 as shown
by the arrow B, thus clamping the tag between them.
In the fourteenth to eighteenth embodiments tag
mount is provided to the filament 3 at the folded portion for
secure attachment of the tag. The provision of the tag mount
prevents the tag from moving along the filament and makes it
possible to secure the tag to the desired position on the
article. The tag mount also renders easy the tagging work.
The fasteners of these embodiments have another
advantage that since tags can be attached to the fasteners
before shipment the time consuming tag attaching work on the
part of the user or store personnel can be obviated.
Furthermore, since the filament is folded at the
middle and the filament portions 14 and 15 are arranged almost
parallel to each other, the similar effect as obtained with
the first to thirteenth embodiments can also be attained.
Figures AYE and 31B and Figures AYE and 32B show a
nineteenth embodiment of this invention.
In the fourteenth to eighteenth embodiments the tag
can be secured to the filament of the fastener but the indivi-
dual tag attaching should be done manually, which will take a
lot of time. To overcome this drawback the nineteenth
embodiment is so constructed as to enable a large number of
fasteners to be attached with tags at one time.
I
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Each fastener 1, as shown in Figures AYE and 31B,
consists of a socket 2, an insertion head 4 and a filament 3,
the filament being folded at the middle portion. At the folded
portion is provided an intermediate expanded portion 16 at
the outside of which is provided a tag mount 40, similar to
that of the fourteenth embodiment (Figures 23 and 24). A seat
plate 42 of the tag mount 40, a tie piece 41 and one side of
the intermediate expanded portion 16 are arranged on the same
plane.
In the example arrangement shown in Figure AYE, a
number of fasteners are puerilely arranged with each fastener
folded at the intermediate expanded portion 16 like a letter V.
The socket 2 and the insertion head 4 of the adjacent fasteners
1 are connected by weak tie pieces 24 to form connecting
portions 55 and these connecting portions 55 are spaced from
each other at intervals T equal to the width of the tag P
attached -to the fasteners and are each connected to the runner
I by tie pieces 46.
With the fasteners 1 connected to the runner 48 in
this manner the intervals between the tag mounts 40 are also
T, so that a series of tags P the number of which is equal to
that of the fasteners can easily be attached to the tag mounts
of the fasteners 1. After the tags P are fitted to the tag
mounts 40, a heated roller may be used to fuse the end of the
engagement projection 45 of the tag mount 40 protruding from
the tag P to form a flange 45 which then holds the tag from
coming off the tag mount.
- 26 -
Figure 33 illustrates a twentieth embodiment and
Figure 34 a twenty-first embodiment. In Figure 33 a socket 2
and an insertion head 4 are each connected directly to the
runner 48.
In the sty embodiment the runner 48 is provided
with a projection aye to each side of which are connected the
socket 2 and the insertion head 4 in such a manner that they
can easily be separated from the runner 48.
With this invention a large number of tags P can be
fitted and secured to the fasteners at one time by an automatic
device before the fasteners are delivered to stores. Thus,
the store personnel is only required to separate individual
tags P along the perforated line 56 of Figure AYE and then
separate the corresponding fasteners 1 from the runner 48 for
attaching tags to merchandise. Thus the work required of the
store personnel for attaching tags to merchandise is very
simple.
As a twenty-second embodiment it is possible to
construct the tag mount 40 as shown in Figures AYE and 29B for
the seventeenth embodiment.
As a twenty-third embodiment the tag mount 40 may
be formed as shown in Figures AYE and 30B.
In the lath through 23rd embodiments the fasteners
of various sizes corresponding to the tag size can be obtained
by setting the angle made between the shopped filament
portions of the fastener in accordance with the size of the
tag. When the melted synthetic resin is poured into the
runner of the mold thus manufactured, a fastener assembly
without discontinuity can be obtained. The number of
fasteners connected to the runner can be determined when
manufacturing the mold.
Figure 35 shows a twenty-fourth embodiment of this
invention in which unlike the lath through 23rd embodiments
(Figures AYE and 31B through 34), the tag mount 40 of the
fastener 1 is connected to the runner. A number of fasteners
1 are puerilely arranged at intervals T equal to the width
of the tag and are connected to the runner 48.
As shown in Figure 36, a strip of tags P perforated
so that each tag of a width T can easily be separated by hand
is attached to the engagement projections 43 of the tag mounts
40, after which ends of the engagement projections 43 are
fused by a heated roller to form flanges 45 thereby securing
the tags P to the fasteners 1.
As described above, since the tag mounts 40 are
accurately spaced at intervals T equal to the width of each
tag P and are disposed corresponding to the location of each
mounting hole cut in the individual tag P, the attachment of
tag strip P to the fastener assembly can be done readily using
an automatic attaching device.
As a variation of the Thea embodiment the tag mounts
40 may be formed as shown in Figures AYE and 29B or Figures
25 AYE and 30B.
- 28 -
The Thea embodiment (Figures 35 through 37) ensures
a ready and quick tagging operation with the use of an automatic
device since a number of fasteners are connected to the runner
with tag mounts spaced at intervals equal to the width of each
tag.
Since the fasteners of these embodiments can be
attached with tags by the maker before shipment, the amount of
tagging work on the part of user such as stores can be reduced.
That is, the only work required of the user is to
remove the runner 48 from the fasteners by breaking the tie
pieces 40 and separate each tag P along the perforated line 56
of Figure 36 for quick attachment of tags onto merchandise.
The fastener assembly of the present invention can
be formed by pouring melted synthetic resin through the runner
of the mold.
The Thea through Thea embodiments can achieve the
same effects as those of the preceding sty through Thea
embodiments since the fasteners of these embodiments have
their filament folded at -the middle.
Figures AYE and 38B show a twenty-fifth embodiment
of this invention, in which the filament 3 is folded at the
middle and the filament portion 14 extending from the socket
2 and the filament portion 15 extending from the insertion
head 4 are interconnected by a weak connection that can easily
be broken by hand. Since the two filament portions 14 and 15
are virtually held together with only a slight gap D between
I
- 29 -
them, such troubles as filament, insertion head or socket
getting trapped in this gap D or other fasteners getting
entangled with the trapped fastener can be prevented.
The filament portion 14 extending from the socket 2
is provided with a bulge 61 and the filament portion 15
extending from the insertion head 4 with a bulge 62 and these
two bulges 61 and 62 are connected by a weak connection piece.
The filament portion near the socket 2 is bent so that the
socket 2 is disposed away from the insertion head 4.
These two bulges 61 and 62 are, as shown in Figure
36B, connected via a readily breakable weak tie piece 24 and
the filament portions 14 and 15 are set almost parallel and
held close together.
The gap D between the filament portions 14 and 15
are set so small, at around 0.3 to 0.5 mm, that no filament,
insertion head or socket of other fasteners cannot get into
this gap.
The global bulges 61 and 62 can have any size and
may not necessarily be provided. The filament portions 14
and 15 can directly be interconnected by the tie piece 24.
The ends of the filament portions 14 and 15 are tied together
by an intermediate global bulge 63. In summary the fastener
of the Thea embodiment has its filament portions 14 and 15
arranged very close together and shaped like a letter r with
the filament portion 14 near the socket 2 bent so that the
socket 2 is disposed away from the axis of the filament portion
15 extending from the insertion head 4.
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- 30 -
The tie piece 24 between the global bulges 6.1 and
62 is a member to hold the filament portions 14 and 15
together to form an endless loop until the insertion head 4
is fitted into the insertion hole 7 of the socket 2. When
the insertion head 4 is to be fitted into the insertion hole
7 of the socket 2, the connection between the global bulges
61 and 62 can be easily broken as by twisting the insertion
head 4 with the socket 2 held immovable.
Figures AYE through 39C show a twenty-sixth
embodiment of this invention, in which the filament portions
14 and 15 extending from the socket 2 and the insertion head
4 are directly connected by a tie piece 24. No global bulges
are formed and the structure of the socket 2 and the insertion
head 4 is similar to that of the Thea embodiment.
The tie piece 24 may be needle-shaped as shown in
Figure AYE or conical as in Figure 39B, or nipple-shaped as
in Figure 39C.
Figures AYE through 40D show a twenty-seventh
embodiment of this invention. In Figure AYE the filament
portions 15 and 16 are each provided with a plurality of
global bulges 61, aye, 61b and 62, aye, 62b, and the global
bulges on the filament portion 14 are connected to the cores-
pounding global bulges on the filament portion 15 by tie pieces
24 as shown in Figure 38B.
The provision of a plurality of connections holds
the two filament portions 14 and 15 more closely and tightly
I
thereby making it further difficult for the small gap to be
widened and almost impossible for other fasteners to yet into
the small gap.
Instead of using global bulges, the filament portions
14 and 15 may be directly interconnected by tie pieces 24 which
can take any form like a needle shape as shown in Figure 40B
or a conical shape as shown in Figure 40C or a nipple shape as
shown in Figure 40D.
Figure 41 shows a twenty-eighth embodiment of this
invention, in which the socket 2 is connected to the stopper
21 with the global bulges 61 and 62 on the filament portions
interconnected by a readily breakable tie piece. This con-
struction prevents the gap between the filament portions 14
and 15 to be widened if during transportation the connection
between the global bulges 61 and 62 should be broken, thereby
preventing the entanglement of fasteners.
Figures AYE and 42B show a twenty-ninth embodiment
of this invention, in which the socket 2 is formed into an
oval tube as shown in Figure AYE and the wall portion 64 at
the insertion hole 7 is formed thick as shown in Figure 40B,
a vertical cross section of the socket 2. The thick wall
portion 64 is provided to facilitate the removing of the socket
2 out of the mold by pushing it by a push-pin.
Figure 43 shows a thirtieth embodiment of this
invention illustrating a number of fasteners molded at one
time. The insertion heads 4 and -the sockets 2 are connected
- 32 -
to a first main connector bar 36 through first and second
sub connector bars 29 and 30 which are easily breakable by
hand. Intermediate global bulges 63 on the filaments 3 are
connected to a second main connector bar 37 through third
sub connector bars 31 which are easily breakable by hand.
Figure 44 shows a variation of the Thea embodiment
of Figure 30 (or a sty embodiment), which consists of a large
number of paired fasteners, the fasteners of each pair being
arranged in opposite directions to reduce the intervals
between the fasteners. This construction enables a large
number of fasteners to be formed by a single molding and a
reduction in the size of the mold.
According to the Thea to sty embodiments the two
filament portions 14 and 15 are arranged very close together
and interconnected by weak connections, so that there is
virtually no gap between the two filament portions thus pro-
venting other fasteners from being trapped between the filament
portions. Thus, when a large number of fasteners are packed
in cartons and transported, they are completely free from
entanglement and can easily be taken out of cartons one by one.
Therefore the use of the fasteners of this invention
for tagging assures high efficiency.
Further since the fasteners of the above embodiments
are formed like a letter r and the filament portions 14 and
15 are arranged very close together and connected by readily
breakable weak tie pieces, the filament portions can easily
Lo
- 33 -
be separated from each other by picking up the socket and the
insertion head by fingers after the socket or the insertion
head is passed through the hole of tag. In this way the
tagging work can be performed efficiently.
Furthermore, since these embodiments have their
filament folded at the intermediate expanded portion, the same
effects as those of the sty through Thea embodiments can be
attained.
