CA1281888C - Fasteners - Google Patents
FastenersInfo
- Publication number
- CA1281888C CA1281888C CA000516983A CA516983A CA1281888C CA 1281888 C CA1281888 C CA 1281888C CA 000516983 A CA000516983 A CA 000516983A CA 516983 A CA516983 A CA 516983A CA 1281888 C CA1281888 C CA 1281888C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- filament
- socket
- fastener
- insertion head
- fasteners
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 130
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 130
- 229920003002 synthetic resin Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 239000000057 synthetic resin Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 229920001169 thermoplastic Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000004416 thermosoftening plastic Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 10
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 description 10
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 8
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 8
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000000875 corresponding effect Effects 0.000 description 6
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 4
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 description 3
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 description 3
- XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N Iron Chemical compound [Fe] XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000000903 blocking effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000012634 fragment Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000012856 packing Methods 0.000 description 2
- -1 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 230000003405 preventing effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 101150034533 ATIC gene Proteins 0.000 description 1
- 239000004677 Nylon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004698 Polyethylene Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004743 Polypropylene Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000789 fastener Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052742 iron Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000003754 machining Methods 0.000 description 1
- 210000002445 nipple Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 229920001778 nylon Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920000728 polyester Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920000573 polyethylene Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920001155 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 1
Landscapes
- Labeling Devices (AREA)
- Package Frames And Binding Bands (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A fastener is disclosed, which comprises an integral body molded from a thermoplastic synthetic resin and which consists of a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into said socket and a filament having said socket at one end and said in-sertion head at the other end. The filament has a U-shaped configuration curved near the middle point of its length, and the socket and the insertion head are connected to each other at or in the proximity of their respective outer ends by easily breakable weak connections. In one embodiment, the curved parallel filament portions are also connected to each other by easily breakable weak connections. In the vicinity of the middle portion at which the filament is curved, the filament can also be provided with a tag mount.
An assembly of such fasteners is also disclosed.
A fastener is disclosed, which comprises an integral body molded from a thermoplastic synthetic resin and which consists of a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into said socket and a filament having said socket at one end and said in-sertion head at the other end. The filament has a U-shaped configuration curved near the middle point of its length, and the socket and the insertion head are connected to each other at or in the proximity of their respective outer ends by easily breakable weak connections. In one embodiment, the curved parallel filament portions are also connected to each other by easily breakable weak connections. In the vicinity of the middle portion at which the filament is curved, the filament can also be provided with a tag mount.
An assembly of such fasteners is also disclosed.
Description
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 attachiny 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 Drawlngs 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 8A, B, C, and 9A, 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;
~'~81~
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 of 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;
Figure 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;
Figure 23 is a plan view showing a fourteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 2~ is a side view of the embodiment as shown in Figure 23;
~igures 25 and 26 are explanatory views showing how the fastener illustrated in Figures 23 and 24 is used;
- 3 ~L~89~
Figure 27 is a fifteenth embodimen~ of this invention;
Figure 28 is a plan view showing the main portion of a sixteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 29A 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 29A;
Figure 30A 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 30A is used;
Figures 31A and 31B are plan and side views of an indivisual fastener according to a ninteenth embodiment of : 15 this invention;
Figures 32A and 32B are partial plan and side views of the embodiment as illustrated in Figures 31~ and 31B;
Fiyure 33 is a plan view showing the main portion of a twentieth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 3~ 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 2~th embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 35;
Figure 37 is a partial side vlew of the 2~th embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 35;
~2~888 Figure 38A is a plan view showing the main por~ion of a twenty-fif~h embodiment of this invention;
Figure 38B is an enlarged plan view of the embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 38;
Figure 39A is a plan view showing a twenty-sixth embodiment of this invention;
Figures 39B and 39C are partially enlarged views of the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 39A;
Figure 40A 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 40A;
Figure 41 is a plan view showing a twenty-eighth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 42A is a plan view showing a twenty-ninth embodirnent of this invention;
Figure 42B is a cross sectional view of the main portion of the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 42A;
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 insertlon 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.
~ 5 ~ ~ ~8~888 When 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-sertion head 4 is inserted into the insertion hole of the socket 2 to form a closed loop with engagement pieces 18 at the in-sertion 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 auantity 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 attachiny tags, the fila-ment is required to have a length which is greater than a certain value and have a diameter which is smaller than a certain dia-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 - flow into the mold which is narrow and long.
8~88 Thus, the conventional practice was to form the filament by the mold which has a greater diameter than a certain value and a ~horter length than a certain value and ~o 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 foxm 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 moldins 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 to be halved and the injection pressure to be reduced when forming the fastener almost equal in length to the conventional fastener, thereby _ 7 ~ 888 reducing the si2e and energy consumpti~n of the fastener molding de~ice.
A fourth object of this invention is to provide a fastener which enables the travel or stroke of the extension S 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 cartons 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 50 that it will not slide along the filament and in which the tag can be securely attached to the fastener 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, ~hese three structural members being integrally formed of thermoplastic syntheric resin;
whereby the filament is folded at the middle portion and a 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 achieved by a fastener in which a fllament portion ex-tending from the socket and a filament portion extending from the insertion head are held together and connected to each other directly or through expanded portions pro-vided 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 the 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 pieceof thermoplastic synthetic resin such as nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene or polyester.
- 10 ~ ~8~8~38 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 ~ in this case is provided around the entire inner circurnference 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 lla and llb 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 lla, llb.
/at Designated 12 is a guide surface of the annular projection ~, 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 toge~her paired articles or attach a tag hanging on the loop to an article.
8~L88a In this invention, the filament 3 is folded into a ~-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 Eirst 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 pro]ection 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 ~X~ 388 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 2~a 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 separa-tion.
A second, third and fourth tie pieces 26, 27, 28 to be de.scribed later have the sarne function as the first tie piece 2~.
A pair of engagement pieces 18 are radially projected from the rear end surface of the head portion 17. The engage-ment pieces 18, when the insertion head ~ is inserted into the socket 2, comes into contact with the engagement surface lla ~a~L8~
or llb of the engagement tooth 8 to prevent the head 4 from being retracted out of enyagement with the socket 2. In Figure as viewed from the side, the junction with the rear end o~
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 engagemen-t pieces 18 which have some resiliency expand toward the rear end of the inser-tion head ~ 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.
lS ~ormed 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-ment 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 inser-tion head ~ 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 ~8~38~3 to provide the stopper 21 and it may be given an~ 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 ~. 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 engagernent. For example, the socket 2 and the insertion head ~ can be constructed as shown in Figures 8A to 8C and 9A to 9C.
Fiyure 10 illustrates a second embodiment of this invention in which a bulge 25 is provided to the filament portion 1~ at a location corresponding to the grip portion 23 on the filarnent portion 15 to ensure that the filament will be extended over the entire length in the drawing process a~ter it.has been molded.
~9L2~ 8 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.
~ igure 11 shows a third embodiment in 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 l~a 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 opexation. In the drawing operation where the grip portion 23 and the bulge 25 are gripped by the drawing machine forstretching 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 o~ the second tie piece 26 which is shown to have its center portion 26a throttled.
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 inser-tion 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.
~ igure 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 27a 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 25a 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 25a 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~B~lf388 Figure 16 shows a seventh embodiment of this invention, in which the head portion 17 of the insertion head is connec~ed to the end portion of the socket 2 through the first tie piece 24. Constructed in this way the interval bet~een 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.
~ igure 17 shows an eighth ernbodiment 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 firs-t 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 tne hole 7 of the socket 2 thus improving the appearance of the fastener and the tag attached on it.
Figure 18 shows a ninth em~odiment 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 faste-ners 1, in which the sockets 2 are connected to each other by first subconnector bars 29 and the intermediate expanded ~5 portions 16 of the filaments 3 are connected to the main connector bar 36 (which serves as a runner when molding the 88~3 fastener assembly) by second subconnector bars 30. This first and second subconnector bars can easily be broken off.
~ igure 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 throuyh third subconnector 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 subconnector 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 subconnector bars 32 or sixth subconnector bars 34. The sockets 2 are also connected to the third main connector bar 38 through fifth subconnector bars 33 or seven-th subconnector bars 35. These subconnec-tor bars can easily be broken off by hand. These subconnector bars 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 have their junction points with the fasteners throttled so that no fragments of the subconnector bars are left on the fasteners when they are separated fro~ them.
- 19 ~ 8~8~
Next, the process of engaging the insertion head 4 with the socket 2 of the fastener 1 of Figures ~ and 5 will be explained referring to ~igure 3~
First the first connector piece 24 is broken off to separate the insertion head 4 from the socket 2. The inser-tion 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 guide~ along the insertion hole 7 and the head portion 17 advances through the guide surface 12 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 ~o smoothly clear the guide surface of the engagement tooth 8.
As soon as the rear free end of the engagement pieces 18 clears the ænnular projection 9 of the engagement tooth 8, the engagement pieces 18 snap open by the resiliency ; 20 and their rear free ends are trapped and supported between the annular wall 6, the engagement surface lla 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 inser-tion 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.
~ ;~a~88~3 Since in the preceding thirteen embodiments (Figures 4 thr~ugh 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 ratincJ.
Furthermore, since a weak connection that can easily be broken off by hand is formed between the external end of the socket havincJ an insertion hole and the insertion head or between the filarnent portions near the insertiorl head and socket to form an endless loop, the soc~et and the insertion 21~ 8~ 388 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 oE the first through thirteenth embodiments facilitates the handling when packing them in cartons ox 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 ~ourteenth 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 theitag P to the fastener prior to the tagging wor}~.
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 characteri~es this embodiment is a tag mount 40 attached to the external end of the interme~iate 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 - 22 - ~X ~ ~88 piece 41 and an engagement projection 43 protruding from the seat plate 42.
The tie piece 41 is so formed that it cannot ~e easily broken off. The engagement projection 43 has a suffi-cient length so that after passing through the hole of thetag it still protrudes the other side of the tag. The tag mount gO 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 ~igure 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 thari 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 arranyement of socket g and insertion head g makes the tagging work easy. 1'he interrnediate expanded portion 16 may not necessarily be provided and the tag moun-t ~0 may be directly attached to the filament 3 at the folded portion.
'.
~ igure 27 shows a fifteenth embodiment of this invention in which a large number of fasteners 1 of the four-teenth embodiment are molded at the same time to form a fastener assembl~ 1'. The insertion head ~ and the tag mount ~0 at each end of the fastener 1 are connected to the connectox bars or runners 4~, 49 through tie pieces ~6, 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 29A and 29B show a seventeenth embodiment of this invention, in ~hich a resilient engagement projection 50 lS formed on the seat plate 42. The tag once fitted over the body portion 50a of the engagement projection 50 will be prevented from coming off by a stopper 50b.
Figures 30A and 30B show an eighteenth embodiment i oE this invention, in which the tay mount 40 consists of a female engagement rnember 51 located outside the intermediate eY.panded portion 16 and a rnale engagerlent member 52 located inside t.he intermediate expanded portion 16, the female and male engagemen-t members being connected to the portion 16 throu~h tie pi~ces 51a, 52a. When a tay is to be attached, ~8~
- 2~ -the male engagement member 52 is bent as shown by the arrow A to fit the projection 52h 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 attachrnent of the tag. The provision of the tag mount prevents the tag from movlng along the filament and makes it possible to secure the tag to the desired position on the article. The tay mount also renders easy the tagging wor~.
~ he fasteners of these embodiments have another advantage that since tags can be attached to the fastene~s before shipment the tlme 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 31A and 31B and Figures 32A 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 ernbodiment is so constructed as to enable a large number of fasteners to be attached with tags at one time.
- 25 - 1 ~ 8~ ~8~
Each fastener 1, as shown in Figures 31~ 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 pro~ided a tag mount 40, similar to that of the fourteenth embodimeni (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 32A, a number of fasteners are parallelly 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 48 by tie pieces 46.
With the fasteners 1 connected to the runner 48 in this manner the invervals between the tag mounts 40 are also T, so that a series of tags P the number of whi.ch is equal to that of the fasteners can easily be attached to the tag rnounts of the fasteners 1. ~fter the tags P are fitted to the tag mounts 40, ~ heated roller may be used to fuse the end of the engagement projection 95 of the tacJ mount 40 protrudiny from the tag ~ to form a flange 45 which then holds the tag from coming off the tag mount.
- 26 - ~28~88~
Figure ~3 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 21st embodiment the runner 48 is provided with a projection 48a 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 lnvention a large number of tags P can be fitted and secured to the fasteners at one time by an auto~atic 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 32A and then separate the corresponding fasteners 1 from the runner ~8 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 29A and 29B for the seventeenth embodiment.
As a twenty-third embodiment the tag mount 40 may be formed as shown in Figures 30A and 30B.
In the 19th through 23rd embodiments the fasteners of various si~es corresponding to the ~ag size can be obtalned ~y setting the angle made between the V-shaped filament portions of the fastener in accordance with the size of the 1~8~8 tag. ~'hen the melted synthetic resin is poured into the runner of the mold thus manufacture~, 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 l9th through 23rd embodiments (Figures 31A and 31B throuyh 34), the tag m.ount 40 of the fastener 1 is connected to the runner. A number of fasteners 1 are parallelly 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 4(), 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 ~ag P and are disposed corresponding to the location of each mounting hole cut in the individual tag _, the attachment of tag strip P to the fastener assembly can be done readily using an automatic a-ttaching device.
As a variation of the 2~th embodiment the tag mounts 40 may be formed as shown in Figures 29l~ and 2~B or Figures 25 30A and 30s.
2~ ~ ~2 8~ ~8 s The 24th embodiment (Figures 35 through 37) ensures a read~7 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 5 tag.
Since the fasteners of these erbodiments can be attached with tays by the maker before shipment, the amount o~
tagging work on the part of user such as stores can be reduced.
That is, the only work required of the user is to 10 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 15 of the mold.
The 20th through 24th embodiments can achieve the same effects as those of the preceding 1st through 13th embodiments since the fasteners of these embodiments have their filament folded at the middle.
~igures 38A 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 connec-tion that can easily be broken bv hand. Since the two filament portions 14 and 15 are virtually held together with only a slight gap ~ between f ~X8~388 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 oE the filament portions 14 and 15 are tied together by an intermediate ~lobal bulge 63. In summary the fastener of the 25th embodiment has its filament portions 14 and 15 arranged very close together and shaped like a letter r with the fllament portion 14 near the socket 2 bent so that the socket 2 is disposed away from the ai:is of the filament portion 15 extending from the insertion head 4.
~ ~:a3L888 The tie piece 24 between the global bulges 61 and 62 is a member to hold the filament portions 14 and 15 together to form an endless loop until the insertion head 9 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 imrnovable.
Figures 39A 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. ~o global bulges are formed and the structure of the socket 2 and the insertion head 4 is similar to that of the 25th embodiment.
The tie piece 24 may be needle-shaped as shown in Figure 39A or conical as in Figure 39B, or nipple-shaped as : in Figure 39C.
Figures 40A through 40D show a twenty-seventh embodiment of this invention. In Figure 40A the filament portions 15 and 16 are each provided with a plurality of global bulges 61, 61a, 61b and 62, 62a, 62b, and the global bulges on the filament portion 14 are connected to -the corres-ponding ylobal bulges on the filament portion 15 by tie pieces 24 as shown in Fic~ure 3~B.
The provision of a plurality of connections holds the two filament portions 14 and 15 more closely and *ightly - 31 ~ 1~ 8~ ~8~
thereby ma~ing it further difficult for the small gap to be widened and almost impossible for other fasteners to get into the small gap.
Instead of using global bulges, the filament portions 5 14 and 15 may be directly interconnected by tie pieces 24 which can take any form like a needle shape as shown in Figure 40s or a conical shape as shown in Figure 40C or a nipple shape as shown in Fiyure 4OD.
Figure 41 shows a twenty-eighth embodiment of this invention, in which khe socket 2 is connected to the stopper 21 with the global bulges 61 and 62 on the ~ilament 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 42A and 42B show a twenty-ninth embodiment of this invention, in which the socket 2 is formed into an oval tube as shown in ~igure 42A and the wall portion 69 at the insertion hole 7 is formed thick as shown in ~igure 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 pushiny it by a push-pin.
~igure 43 shows a thirtieth embodirnent of this invention illustrating a nurnber of fasteners molded at one time. The insertion heads 4 and the sockets 2 are connected ~ ~8188~
to a first main connector bar 36 through first and second subconnector 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 thir~
subconnector bars 31 which are easily breakable by hand.
~ 'igure 44 shows a variation of the 30th embodiment of Figure 30 (or a 31st embodiment), which consists of a large number of paired fasteners, the fasteners of each pair being arranged in opposite directions to reduce the intervals bet~een 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 25th to 31st embodiments the two filament portions 1~ 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 pre-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 toge-ther and connected by readily breakable weak tie pieces, the filament portions can easily ~Z8~88 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 filarnent folded at the intermediate expanded portion, the same effects as those of the 1st through 13th embodiments can be attained.
.. . . . .. .. , ., " . . . . . ..
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 attachiny 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 Drawlngs 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 8A, B, C, and 9A, 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;
~'~81~
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 of 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;
Figure 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;
Figure 23 is a plan view showing a fourteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 2~ is a side view of the embodiment as shown in Figure 23;
~igures 25 and 26 are explanatory views showing how the fastener illustrated in Figures 23 and 24 is used;
- 3 ~L~89~
Figure 27 is a fifteenth embodimen~ of this invention;
Figure 28 is a plan view showing the main portion of a sixteenth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 29A 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 29A;
Figure 30A 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 30A is used;
Figures 31A and 31B are plan and side views of an indivisual fastener according to a ninteenth embodiment of : 15 this invention;
Figures 32A and 32B are partial plan and side views of the embodiment as illustrated in Figures 31~ and 31B;
Fiyure 33 is a plan view showing the main portion of a twentieth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 3~ 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 2~th embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 35;
Figure 37 is a partial side vlew of the 2~th embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 35;
~2~888 Figure 38A is a plan view showing the main por~ion of a twenty-fif~h embodiment of this invention;
Figure 38B is an enlarged plan view of the embodi-ment as illustrated in Figure 38;
Figure 39A is a plan view showing a twenty-sixth embodiment of this invention;
Figures 39B and 39C are partially enlarged views of the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 39A;
Figure 40A 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 40A;
Figure 41 is a plan view showing a twenty-eighth embodiment of this invention;
Figure 42A is a plan view showing a twenty-ninth embodirnent of this invention;
Figure 42B is a cross sectional view of the main portion of the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 42A;
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 insertlon 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.
~ 5 ~ ~ ~8~888 When 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-sertion head 4 is inserted into the insertion hole of the socket 2 to form a closed loop with engagement pieces 18 at the in-sertion 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 auantity 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 attachiny tags, the fila-ment is required to have a length which is greater than a certain value and have a diameter which is smaller than a certain dia-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 - flow into the mold which is narrow and long.
8~88 Thus, the conventional practice was to form the filament by the mold which has a greater diameter than a certain value and a ~horter length than a certain value and ~o 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 foxm 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 moldins 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 to be halved and the injection pressure to be reduced when forming the fastener almost equal in length to the conventional fastener, thereby _ 7 ~ 888 reducing the si2e and energy consumpti~n of the fastener molding de~ice.
A fourth object of this invention is to provide a fastener which enables the travel or stroke of the extension S 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 cartons 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 50 that it will not slide along the filament and in which the tag can be securely attached to the fastener 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, ~hese three structural members being integrally formed of thermoplastic syntheric resin;
whereby the filament is folded at the middle portion and a 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 achieved by a fastener in which a fllament portion ex-tending from the socket and a filament portion extending from the insertion head are held together and connected to each other directly or through expanded portions pro-vided 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 the 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 pieceof thermoplastic synthetic resin such as nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene or polyester.
- 10 ~ ~8~8~38 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 ~ in this case is provided around the entire inner circurnference 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 lla and llb 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 lla, llb.
/at Designated 12 is a guide surface of the annular projection ~, 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 toge~her paired articles or attach a tag hanging on the loop to an article.
8~L88a In this invention, the filament 3 is folded into a ~-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 Eirst 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 pro]ection 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 ~X~ 388 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 2~a 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 separa-tion.
A second, third and fourth tie pieces 26, 27, 28 to be de.scribed later have the sarne function as the first tie piece 2~.
A pair of engagement pieces 18 are radially projected from the rear end surface of the head portion 17. The engage-ment pieces 18, when the insertion head ~ is inserted into the socket 2, comes into contact with the engagement surface lla ~a~L8~
or llb of the engagement tooth 8 to prevent the head 4 from being retracted out of enyagement with the socket 2. In Figure as viewed from the side, the junction with the rear end o~
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 engagemen-t pieces 18 which have some resiliency expand toward the rear end of the inser-tion head ~ 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.
lS ~ormed 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-ment 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 inser-tion head ~ 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 ~8~38~3 to provide the stopper 21 and it may be given an~ 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 ~. 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 engagernent. For example, the socket 2 and the insertion head ~ can be constructed as shown in Figures 8A to 8C and 9A to 9C.
Fiyure 10 illustrates a second embodiment of this invention in which a bulge 25 is provided to the filament portion 1~ at a location corresponding to the grip portion 23 on the filarnent portion 15 to ensure that the filament will be extended over the entire length in the drawing process a~ter it.has been molded.
~9L2~ 8 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.
~ igure 11 shows a third embodiment in 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 l~a 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 opexation. In the drawing operation where the grip portion 23 and the bulge 25 are gripped by the drawing machine forstretching 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 o~ the second tie piece 26 which is shown to have its center portion 26a throttled.
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 inser-tion 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.
~ igure 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 27a 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 25a 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 25a 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~B~lf388 Figure 16 shows a seventh embodiment of this invention, in which the head portion 17 of the insertion head is connec~ed to the end portion of the socket 2 through the first tie piece 24. Constructed in this way the interval bet~een 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.
~ igure 17 shows an eighth ernbodiment 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 firs-t 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 tne hole 7 of the socket 2 thus improving the appearance of the fastener and the tag attached on it.
Figure 18 shows a ninth em~odiment 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 faste-ners 1, in which the sockets 2 are connected to each other by first subconnector bars 29 and the intermediate expanded ~5 portions 16 of the filaments 3 are connected to the main connector bar 36 (which serves as a runner when molding the 88~3 fastener assembly) by second subconnector bars 30. This first and second subconnector bars can easily be broken off.
~ igure 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 throuyh third subconnector 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 subconnector 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 subconnector bars 32 or sixth subconnector bars 34. The sockets 2 are also connected to the third main connector bar 38 through fifth subconnector bars 33 or seven-th subconnector bars 35. These subconnec-tor bars can easily be broken off by hand. These subconnector bars 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 have their junction points with the fasteners throttled so that no fragments of the subconnector bars are left on the fasteners when they are separated fro~ them.
- 19 ~ 8~8~
Next, the process of engaging the insertion head 4 with the socket 2 of the fastener 1 of Figures ~ and 5 will be explained referring to ~igure 3~
First the first connector piece 24 is broken off to separate the insertion head 4 from the socket 2. The inser-tion 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 guide~ along the insertion hole 7 and the head portion 17 advances through the guide surface 12 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 ~o smoothly clear the guide surface of the engagement tooth 8.
As soon as the rear free end of the engagement pieces 18 clears the ænnular projection 9 of the engagement tooth 8, the engagement pieces 18 snap open by the resiliency ; 20 and their rear free ends are trapped and supported between the annular wall 6, the engagement surface lla 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 inser-tion 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.
~ ;~a~88~3 Since in the preceding thirteen embodiments (Figures 4 thr~ugh 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 ratincJ.
Furthermore, since a weak connection that can easily be broken off by hand is formed between the external end of the socket havincJ an insertion hole and the insertion head or between the filarnent portions near the insertiorl head and socket to form an endless loop, the soc~et and the insertion 21~ 8~ 388 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 oE the first through thirteenth embodiments facilitates the handling when packing them in cartons ox 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 ~ourteenth 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 theitag P to the fastener prior to the tagging wor}~.
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 characteri~es this embodiment is a tag mount 40 attached to the external end of the interme~iate 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 - 22 - ~X ~ ~88 piece 41 and an engagement projection 43 protruding from the seat plate 42.
The tie piece 41 is so formed that it cannot ~e easily broken off. The engagement projection 43 has a suffi-cient length so that after passing through the hole of thetag it still protrudes the other side of the tag. The tag mount gO 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 ~igure 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 thari 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 arranyement of socket g and insertion head g makes the tagging work easy. 1'he interrnediate expanded portion 16 may not necessarily be provided and the tag moun-t ~0 may be directly attached to the filament 3 at the folded portion.
'.
~ igure 27 shows a fifteenth embodiment of this invention in which a large number of fasteners 1 of the four-teenth embodiment are molded at the same time to form a fastener assembl~ 1'. The insertion head ~ and the tag mount ~0 at each end of the fastener 1 are connected to the connectox bars or runners 4~, 49 through tie pieces ~6, 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 29A and 29B show a seventeenth embodiment of this invention, in ~hich a resilient engagement projection 50 lS formed on the seat plate 42. The tag once fitted over the body portion 50a of the engagement projection 50 will be prevented from coming off by a stopper 50b.
Figures 30A and 30B show an eighteenth embodiment i oE this invention, in which the tay mount 40 consists of a female engagement rnember 51 located outside the intermediate eY.panded portion 16 and a rnale engagerlent member 52 located inside t.he intermediate expanded portion 16, the female and male engagemen-t members being connected to the portion 16 throu~h tie pi~ces 51a, 52a. When a tay is to be attached, ~8~
- 2~ -the male engagement member 52 is bent as shown by the arrow A to fit the projection 52h 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 attachrnent of the tag. The provision of the tag mount prevents the tag from movlng along the filament and makes it possible to secure the tag to the desired position on the article. The tay mount also renders easy the tagging wor~.
~ he fasteners of these embodiments have another advantage that since tags can be attached to the fastene~s before shipment the tlme 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 31A and 31B and Figures 32A 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 ernbodiment is so constructed as to enable a large number of fasteners to be attached with tags at one time.
- 25 - 1 ~ 8~ ~8~
Each fastener 1, as shown in Figures 31~ 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 pro~ided a tag mount 40, similar to that of the fourteenth embodimeni (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 32A, a number of fasteners are parallelly 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 48 by tie pieces 46.
With the fasteners 1 connected to the runner 48 in this manner the invervals between the tag mounts 40 are also T, so that a series of tags P the number of whi.ch is equal to that of the fasteners can easily be attached to the tag rnounts of the fasteners 1. ~fter the tags P are fitted to the tag mounts 40, ~ heated roller may be used to fuse the end of the engagement projection 95 of the tacJ mount 40 protrudiny from the tag ~ to form a flange 45 which then holds the tag from coming off the tag mount.
- 26 - ~28~88~
Figure ~3 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 21st embodiment the runner 48 is provided with a projection 48a 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 lnvention a large number of tags P can be fitted and secured to the fasteners at one time by an auto~atic 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 32A and then separate the corresponding fasteners 1 from the runner ~8 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 29A and 29B for the seventeenth embodiment.
As a twenty-third embodiment the tag mount 40 may be formed as shown in Figures 30A and 30B.
In the 19th through 23rd embodiments the fasteners of various si~es corresponding to the ~ag size can be obtalned ~y setting the angle made between the V-shaped filament portions of the fastener in accordance with the size of the 1~8~8 tag. ~'hen the melted synthetic resin is poured into the runner of the mold thus manufacture~, 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 l9th through 23rd embodiments (Figures 31A and 31B throuyh 34), the tag m.ount 40 of the fastener 1 is connected to the runner. A number of fasteners 1 are parallelly 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 4(), 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 ~ag P and are disposed corresponding to the location of each mounting hole cut in the individual tag _, the attachment of tag strip P to the fastener assembly can be done readily using an automatic a-ttaching device.
As a variation of the 2~th embodiment the tag mounts 40 may be formed as shown in Figures 29l~ and 2~B or Figures 25 30A and 30s.
2~ ~ ~2 8~ ~8 s The 24th embodiment (Figures 35 through 37) ensures a read~7 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 5 tag.
Since the fasteners of these erbodiments can be attached with tays by the maker before shipment, the amount o~
tagging work on the part of user such as stores can be reduced.
That is, the only work required of the user is to 10 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 15 of the mold.
The 20th through 24th embodiments can achieve the same effects as those of the preceding 1st through 13th embodiments since the fasteners of these embodiments have their filament folded at the middle.
~igures 38A 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 connec-tion that can easily be broken bv hand. Since the two filament portions 14 and 15 are virtually held together with only a slight gap ~ between f ~X8~388 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 oE the filament portions 14 and 15 are tied together by an intermediate ~lobal bulge 63. In summary the fastener of the 25th embodiment has its filament portions 14 and 15 arranged very close together and shaped like a letter r with the fllament portion 14 near the socket 2 bent so that the socket 2 is disposed away from the ai:is of the filament portion 15 extending from the insertion head 4.
~ ~:a3L888 The tie piece 24 between the global bulges 61 and 62 is a member to hold the filament portions 14 and 15 together to form an endless loop until the insertion head 9 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 imrnovable.
Figures 39A 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. ~o global bulges are formed and the structure of the socket 2 and the insertion head 4 is similar to that of the 25th embodiment.
The tie piece 24 may be needle-shaped as shown in Figure 39A or conical as in Figure 39B, or nipple-shaped as : in Figure 39C.
Figures 40A through 40D show a twenty-seventh embodiment of this invention. In Figure 40A the filament portions 15 and 16 are each provided with a plurality of global bulges 61, 61a, 61b and 62, 62a, 62b, and the global bulges on the filament portion 14 are connected to -the corres-ponding ylobal bulges on the filament portion 15 by tie pieces 24 as shown in Fic~ure 3~B.
The provision of a plurality of connections holds the two filament portions 14 and 15 more closely and *ightly - 31 ~ 1~ 8~ ~8~
thereby ma~ing it further difficult for the small gap to be widened and almost impossible for other fasteners to get into the small gap.
Instead of using global bulges, the filament portions 5 14 and 15 may be directly interconnected by tie pieces 24 which can take any form like a needle shape as shown in Figure 40s or a conical shape as shown in Figure 40C or a nipple shape as shown in Fiyure 4OD.
Figure 41 shows a twenty-eighth embodiment of this invention, in which khe socket 2 is connected to the stopper 21 with the global bulges 61 and 62 on the ~ilament 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 42A and 42B show a twenty-ninth embodiment of this invention, in which the socket 2 is formed into an oval tube as shown in ~igure 42A and the wall portion 69 at the insertion hole 7 is formed thick as shown in ~igure 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 pushiny it by a push-pin.
~igure 43 shows a thirtieth embodirnent of this invention illustrating a nurnber of fasteners molded at one time. The insertion heads 4 and the sockets 2 are connected ~ ~8188~
to a first main connector bar 36 through first and second subconnector 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 thir~
subconnector bars 31 which are easily breakable by hand.
~ 'igure 44 shows a variation of the 30th embodiment of Figure 30 (or a 31st embodiment), which consists of a large number of paired fasteners, the fasteners of each pair being arranged in opposite directions to reduce the intervals bet~een 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 25th to 31st embodiments the two filament portions 1~ 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 pre-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 toge-ther and connected by readily breakable weak tie pieces, the filament portions can easily ~Z8~88 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 filarnent folded at the intermediate expanded portion, the same effects as those of the 1st through 13th embodiments can be attained.
.. . . . .. .. , ., " . . . . . ..
Claims
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A fastener integrally moulded of thermoplastic synthetic resin comprising a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into the socket, and a filament having the socket at one end and the insertion head at the other, the filament being curved near the middle point of its length into a U-shaped configuration with substantially parallel first and second arms, terminating respectively at the socket and the insertion head, and a first weak easily breakable connection being formed between a first part of the fastener including the first arm of the filament and the socket, and a second part of the fastener including the second arm of the filament and the insertion head.
2. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between said insertion head and a side wall portion of said socket.
3. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near the insertion head.
4. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between a point on said first arm of the filament near said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said head.
5. A fastener as set forth in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the filament is curved near its middle forming a curve, and an intermediate expanded section connecting the first and second arms of the filament is provided at said curve.
6. A fastener assembly integrally moulded of thermoplastic synthetic resin made up of a plurality of parallely-arranged fasteners, each fastener comprising a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into the socket, and a filament having the socket at one end and the insertion head at the other, the filament being curved in the middle point of its length into a U-shaped configuration with substantially parallel first and second arms, termin-ating respectively at the socket and the insertion head, and a first weak easily breakable connection being formed between a first part of the fastener including the first arm of the filament and the socket, and a second part of the fastener including the second arm of the filament and the insertion head; wherein each said filament is connected at its curve to a first connector bar by a second weak easily breakable connection, and wherein the sockets of the plurality of fasteners are interconnected by a third weak easily break-able connection.
7. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein the sockets of the plurality of fasteners are connected to a second connector bar by weak easily breakable connections.
8. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein the sockets and the insertion heads of the plurality of fasteners are connected to a second connector bar by weak easily breakable connections.
9. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between said insertion head and a side wall portion of said socket.
10. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said insertion head.
11. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between a point on said first arm of the filament near said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said insertion head.
12. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the plurality of fasteners are all arranged in the same direction.
13. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein an intermediate expanded section connecting the first and second arms of the filament is provided at the curve of each said filament, and each said expanded intermediate section is in turn connected to said first connector bar by a weak easily breakable connection.
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A fastener integrally moulded of thermoplastic synthetic resin comprising a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into the socket, and a filament having the socket at one end and the insertion head at the other, the filament being curved near the middle point of its length into a U-shaped configuration with substantially parallel first and second arms, terminating respectively at the socket and the insertion head, and a first weak easily breakable connection being formed between a first part of the fastener including the first arm of the filament and the socket, and a second part of the fastener including the second arm of the filament and the insertion head.
2. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between said insertion head and a side wall portion of said socket.
3. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near the insertion head.
4. A fastener as set forth in claim 1, wherein said weak easily breakable connection is formed between a point on said first arm of the filament near said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said head.
5. A fastener as set forth in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the filament is curved near its middle forming a curve, and an intermediate expanded section connecting the first and second arms of the filament is provided at said curve.
6. A fastener assembly integrally moulded of thermoplastic synthetic resin made up of a plurality of parallely-arranged fasteners, each fastener comprising a socket with an insertion hole, an insertion head capable of being inserted into the socket, and a filament having the socket at one end and the insertion head at the other, the filament being curved in the middle point of its length into a U-shaped configuration with substantially parallel first and second arms, termin-ating respectively at the socket and the insertion head, and a first weak easily breakable connection being formed between a first part of the fastener including the first arm of the filament and the socket, and a second part of the fastener including the second arm of the filament and the insertion head; wherein each said filament is connected at its curve to a first connector bar by a second weak easily breakable connection, and wherein the sockets of the plurality of fasteners are interconnected by a third weak easily break-able connection.
7. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein the sockets of the plurality of fasteners are connected to a second connector bar by weak easily breakable connections.
8. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein the sockets and the insertion heads of the plurality of fasteners are connected to a second connector bar by weak easily breakable connections.
9. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between said insertion head and a side wall portion of said socket.
10. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said insertion head.
11. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein said first weak easily breakable connection is formed between a point on said first arm of the filament near said socket and a point on said second arm of the filament near said insertion head.
12. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the plurality of fasteners are all arranged in the same direction.
13. A fastener assembly as set forth in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein an intermediate expanded section connecting the first and second arms of the filament is provided at the curve of each said filament, and each said expanded intermediate section is in turn connected to said first connector bar by a weak easily breakable connection.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000516983A CA1281888C (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1986-08-27 | Fasteners |
Applications Claiming Priority (10)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP56-98386 | 1981-06-26 | ||
| JP1981093639U JPS58965U (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1981-06-26 | Sealing tool |
| JP59-93639 | 1981-06-26 | ||
| JP1981093640U JPS58966U (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1981-06-26 | Sealing tool |
| JP56-93640 | 1981-06-26 | ||
| JP9838681A JPS581666A (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1981-06-26 | Sealing tool |
| JP12941181A JPS6036588B2 (en) | 1981-08-20 | 1981-08-20 | Sealing tool |
| JP56-129411 | 1981-08-20 | ||
| CA000404928A CA1216141A (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1982-06-11 | Fasteners |
| CA000516983A CA1281888C (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1986-08-27 | Fasteners |
Related Parent Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000404928A Division CA1216141A (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1982-06-11 | Fasteners |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1281888C true CA1281888C (en) | 1991-03-26 |
Family
ID=27508206
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000516983A Expired - Lifetime CA1281888C (en) | 1981-06-26 | 1986-08-27 | Fasteners |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1281888C (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP4660469A1 (en) * | 2024-06-05 | 2025-12-10 | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Strip of fasteners |
-
1986
- 1986-08-27 CA CA000516983A patent/CA1281888C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP4660469A1 (en) * | 2024-06-05 | 2025-12-10 | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Strip of fasteners |
| FR3163123A1 (en) * | 2024-06-05 | 2025-12-12 | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Fastening Element Strip |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKLA | Lapsed | ||
| MKEC | Expiry (correction) |
Effective date: 20121205 |