Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention pertains to slide fasteners and, more particularly, to slide fasteners adhesively installed on articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In installing a slide fastener as a closure for an opening in an article, such as a garment, it has been the general practice to sew the slide fastener to the article utilizing a sewing machine with a special presser foot designed for use with the particular type of slide fastener to be installed. The sewing or stitching of slide fasteners to articles has the disadvantages of requiring a special presser foot as noted above, of necessitating matching thread color with fabric and of requiring the necessarily complex steps concomitant with sewing such as initial positioning of the slide fastener on the article by stitch basting or pinning. These disadvantages are compounded in the mass production of garments and other articles having slide fastener closures in that the steps required for sewing are difficult to perform automatically and are time consuming.
While the prior art, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,768,922, 3,561,073 and 3,685,103, is generally cognizant of adhesively bonded slide fastener installations which avoid the need for sewing or stitching slide fasteners to garments, prior art efforts to utilize fabric bonding adhesives to eliminate sewing in slide fastener installations have, in general, not been found to be fully satisfactory. The primary problem with prior art adhesively bonded slide fastener installations is that they are vulnerable to stress and subject to failure. Another problem with prior art adhesively bonded slide fastener installations is that they have not been easily formed and the methods of installation have not been sufficiently simple and facile to permit slide fasteners to be installed in garments other than with precision equipment without sacrificing strength by reducing the adhesive bonding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is summarized in a slide fastener installation including an article having main fabric sections folded upon themselves to form first and second flaps with the folded edges of the first and second main sections defining an elongate opening for the article, first and second adhesive means disposed between the first flap and the first main section and between the second flap and the second main section, respectively, to bond the first and second flaps to the first and second main sections, respectively, a slide fastener for closing the elongate opening including first and second carrier tapes, and third and fourth adhesive means disposed between the first carrier tape and the first flap and between the second carrier tape and the second carrier tape, respectively, to bond the first and second carrier tapes to the first and second flaps, respectively.
The present invention is further summarized in a method of installing a slide fastener having a pair of carrier tapes on an article having a pair of main fabric sections folded upon themselves to form a pair of flaps and define at the folded edges an elongate opening to be closed by the slide fastener including the steps of adhesively bonding each of the flaps with a respective one of the main sections, and adhesively bonding each of the carrier tapes of the slide fastener with a respective one of the flaps.
A slide fastener package according to the present invention for use with the slide fastener installation and the method of installing a slide fastener described above includes a pair of carrier tapes each carrying interengaging elements along an inner edge thereof, and a plurality of adhesive strips adhesively carried on each of the carrier tapes, at least one of each plurality of adhesive strips being easily peeled from the carrier tapes.
A primary object of the present invention is to over-come the above described disadvantages of the prior art by providing a strong slide fastener installation that can be constructed by a simple and easy method of installation.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an adhesively bonded slide fastener installation subject only to shear loads by utilizing a double adhesive sandwich structure.
Another object of the present invention is to utilize strips of adhesive to bond fabric flaps of an article to back sides of the fabric as well as to bond carrier tapes of a slide fastener to the flaps.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple method of installing a slide fastener on an article utilizing strips of adhesive.
The present invention has an additional object in that a slide fastener package includes a plurality of adhesive strips removably secured to the carrier tapes of a slide fastener such that the adhesive strips can be peeled from the carrier tapes for use in installing the slide fastener.
Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art are that the slide fastener installation is subject only to shear loads since shear bonds can normally withstand much higher loads than peel bonds, no special cutting or sizing of the width of fabric flaps is required for proper alignment, and the method for installation is simple and easily performed.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of a slide fastener installation embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial isometric view of a slide fastener package embodying the present invention, prior to installation;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing another embodiment of a slide fastener installation according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A portion of a garment or other suitable article having a slide fastener closure according to the present invention is generally indicated at 10 in FIG. 1 and has an elongate opening 11 between main fabric sections 12 and 14 that is opened and closed by the slide fastener. The main fabric sections 12 and 14 are folded upon themselves to form flaps 16 and 18, respectively, and the folded edges of sections 12 and 14 form the elongate opening 11. While separate sections 12 and 14 of the garment 10 are illustrated, the sections can be parts of an integral fabric of a garment or parts of separate fabrics joined together, such as by a seam, to form the garment. The use of folded flaps at an opening where a slide fastener is to be installed is conventional in order to provide smooth and uniform fabric edges not subject to fraying at the opening to be closed by the slide fastener.
The slide fastener 20 secured to the garment 10 to close the opening 11 is generally indicated at 20 and includes a slider 22 controlling the meshing of interengaging elements 24. A carrier tape 26 of the slide fastener 20 carries interengaging elements 24 on an inner edge thereof, and a pair of laterally spaced, elongate adhesive strips 27 and 29 are adhesively secured to tape 26 extending longitudinally in parallel relation with the interengaging elements 24. Slide fastener 20 also includes a carrier tape 30 carrying interengaging elements 24 along the inner edge thereof, and a pair of laterally spaced elongate, adhesive strips 31 and 33 are adhesively secured to tape 30 extending longitudinally in parallel relation with the interengaging elements 24.
As shown in FIG. 2, the slide fastener 20 is preferably packaged with adhesive strips 27 and 31 adjacent the outer edges of tapes 26 and 30, respectively, and adhesive strips 29 and 33 centrally disposed adjacent the inner edges of tapes 26 and 30, respectively. The adhesive strips 27, 29, 31 and 33 are formed of a layer of heat-bondable adhesive with the strips being slightly tacky and temporarily secured to the carrier tapes so as to be easily removed therefrom by peeling, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
The slide fastener installation according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, is formed by peeling adhesive strips 29 and 33 from carrier tapes 26 and 30 and securing the adhesive strips 29 and 33 to the interior surfaces of main sections 12 and 14 of the garment 10 with flaps 16 and 18 being folded to sandwich the adhesive strips. Slide fastener 20 is positioned with interengaging elements 24 aligned with opening 11 and adhesive strips 27 and 31 sandwiched between carrier tapes 26 and 30 and flaps 16 and 18, respectively. With the structure assembled in this double adhesive sandwich, heat and pressure are applied to compress the garment and the slide fastener and provide a permanent, heat actuated bond between flaps 16 and 18 and main fabric sections 12 and 14, respectively, and between carrier tapes 26 and 30 and flaps 16 and 18, respectively.
A slide fastener installation according to another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 with parts identical to parts of FIG. 3 given identical reference numbers and not described again and parts similar to parts of FIG. 3 given the same reference numbers with 100 added. The primary difference between the slide fastener installations of FIGS. 3 and 4 is that outer adhesive strips 127 and 131 are peeled from the carrier tapes and disposed to bond flaps 16 and 18 to main sections 12 and 14, respectively, while inner adhesive strips 129 and 133 are sandwiched between carrier tapes 126 and 130 and flaps 16 and 18. The slide fastener 120 is of the type presenting a seam-like appearance, commonly referred to as invisible or hidden slide fasteners, where the carrier tapes 126 and 130 are folded on themselves such that the folded edges meet with the interengaging elements 124 out of view from the exterior of the garment.
The adhesive strips for use with the present invention can be of any known type such as that described in B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company Bulletin No. TC 3-A-1, Nov. 1959, and, preferably, are of the thermoplastic type which will soften in response to the application of heat, such as from a conventional iron, and upon cooling will provide a lasting bond which is flexible and capable of withstanding normal machine washing and dry cleaning processes. The adhesive strips can also be liquid activated to aid in initially positioning and retaining the adhesive strips between the flaps and the fabric sections.
The adhesive strips carried on the slide fastener package of FIG. 2 are easily removed therefrom by peeling; however, it is necessary only that two of the adhesive strips be easily removed in that the strips remaining on the carrier tapes need not be used in accordance with the method of the present invention. While the adhesive strips are preferably supplied along with the slide fastener secured to the carrier tapes, the adhesive strips for use with the method and slide fastener installation of the present invention could be supplied in separate roll form or a release paper if desired. Of course, where the adhesive strips are of the liquid activated type, they are moistened prior to being disposed in the double sandwich structure for simultaneous pressing and heating to adhesively bond the flaps to the fabric sections and the carrier tapes to the flaps in accordance with the method of the present invention.