GB2402426A

GB2402426A - Deformable fastener for securing substrates

Info

Publication number: GB2402426A
Application number: GB0312898A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Bonneywell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-06-05
Filing date: 2003-06-05
Publication date: 2004-12-08
Also published as: GB0312898D0

Abstract

A fastener for securing together first and second substrates 20, 28 comprises a fastening portion 12 permanently attachable to the first substrate 20, preferably via base portion 14, and adapted to retain the second substrate 28 proximate the first substrate 20. The fastening portion 12 is manually deformable from a retaining condition in which its lateral dimension is at a maximum (as shown in figure 2) and to a release condition in which its lateral dimension contracts to a minimum (as shown by the dotted line in figure 4). The fastener 10 includes biasing means effective to urge the fastening portion towards the retaining condition. In a first embodiment the biasing means is provided by a resiliently deformable property of the fastening portion 12. In a second embodiment the fastening portion is deformable about a living hinge (figure 9, 38) and biasing means are provided elastic threads (figure 9,38).

Description

Fasteners The present invention relates to fasteners for releasably

securing together web-like substrates such as fabrics or other generally flexible sheet materials such as plastics sheet materials and the like. Such web-like substrates may commonly form parts of garments or may be parts of other apparatus or devices such as, for example, covers for furniture, perambulators, pushchairs, wheelchairs, foldable roofs for vehicles and the like.

Commonly known types of fastener include conventional buttons, pressstuds, snap fasteners and the like, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, buttons can be difficult to manipulate by anyone having restricted mobility of the hands, such as elderly persons. The present invention seeks to provide a fastener which is easy to use and which reliably secures substrates together.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a fastener for securing together first and second substrates, the second substrate defining a hole through which the fastener passes in use, the fastener comprising a fastening portion, permanently attachable to the first substrate and adapted to retain the second substrate proximate the first substrate, the fastening portion being manually resiliently deformable from a retaining condition in which its lateral dimension is maximum to a release condition in which its lateral dimension is minimum.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a fastener for securing together first and second substrates, the second substrate defining a hole through which the fastener passes, the fastener comprising: (i) a fastening portion, permanently attachable to the first substrate and adapted to retain the second substrate proximate the first substrate, the fastening portion being manually deformable from a retaining condition in which its lateral dimension is maximum to a release condition in which its lateral dimension is minimum; and (ii) biasing means effective to urge said fastening portion towards the retaining condition.

Preferably in these aspects of the invention, in the retaining condition the longitudinal dimension of the fastening portion is minimum and in the release condition the longitudinal dimension is maximum.

Preferably in the second aspect of the invention the biasing means comprises an elastic thread secured to an end part of the fastening portion distal from the first substrate and to a part of the fastening portion proximate said first substrate and/or securable directly to said first substrate.

In preferred embodiments the first aspect of the invention the fastener further comprises a base portion attachable in use to said first substrate, said fastening portion being permanently attached to said base portion.

In preferred embodiments of the second aspect of the invention the fastening means further comprises a base portion attachable in use to said first substrate, said fastening portion being permanently attached to said base portion and said elastic thread being alternatively or additionally securable to said base portion.

In the first aspect of the invention, preferably the fastening portion comprises a resilient plastics material, more preferably a material selected from silicones, polyurethanes, acrylonitrile-butadiene polymers, chloroprene rubbers and fluorine rubbers.

In the second aspect of the invention preferably the fastening portion is deformable about a living hinge formed at lateral extremities thereof.

In other preferred embodiments of each aspect of the invention, the fastening portion comprises a retaining section embodying the maximum lateral dimension in the retaining condition and a projecting section which is relatively narrow in the lateral dimension and which extends from the retaining section distally with respect to the first substrate.

A third aspect of the invention provides a construction comprising first and second web like substrates, said second substrate including a hole, and a fastener as defined hereinabove attached to said first substrate, said hole and/or said fastener being so sized that the fastener can pass through the hole in its release condition and cannot pass through the hole in its retaining condition, the fastener and the hole being, in use, in opposed relation whereby the fasten can pass through the hole to join the first substrate to the second substrate.

In a preferred such construction the first and/or second substrates comprise woven or non-woven fabrics.

The invention also relates to a garment including a construction according to the third aspect of the invention.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference will be made, by way of example only, to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side plan view of a fastener according to the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross section through the fastener of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an underneath plan view of the fastener of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the retaining and release conditions of the fastener; Figures 5A and 5B illustrate in top plan views alternative constructions for the fastener according to the invention; Figure 6 is a top plan view of a fastener according to a variation of the invention; Figure 7 is a side view of the fastener of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a fastener according to the second aspect of the invention; Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross section through the fastener of Figure 8; Figure 10 shows constructional detail of one fastener according to the first aspect of the invention; and Figures 1 la to 1 to illustrate the use of a fastener according to the invention in joining parts of a garment, such as a jacket.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 7 and 10, the fastener 10 comprises a fastening portion 12 and a base portion 14. In figures 1 and 2 the fastener 10 is shown in its securing condition and the fastening portion 12 defines the maximum lateral dimension of the fastener at dimension B-B. The fastening portion 12 comprises a lower (as illustrated, but not necessarily as in use) retaining section 16 and an upper (as illustrated but not necessarily as in use) projecting section 18 which extends away from the retaining section 16 and the base portion 14.

The base portion 14 is formed from a relatively rigid material such as a high impact polystyrene, polypropylene, ABS, polycarbonate, PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) or a suitable metal and is permanently attached to first substrate 20 by suitable means such as stitching 22. The base portion 14 and the fastening portion 12 are permanently, or at least firmly, attached to each other so that they cannot be separated in normal use. A suitable arrangement is illustrated in Figure 2 where the base portion 14 includes a pillar 24 with an enlarged head portion 26. The enlarged head portion 26 engages a lower part of the fastening portion 12 in a latching manner.

In one preferred construction, the fastening portion 12 comprises upper and lower component parts 12a, 12b which have mating surfaces 28a, 28b joined together by suitable means such as by ultrasonic welding. The upper and lower parts 12a, 12b and the base portion 14 may be made by any suitable means, such as injection moulding.

In use of the fastener, the base portion 14 is first attached to the first substrate 20.

The first substrate 20 may be a web of woven or non-woven fabric such as may, for example, be a part of a garment, a bag or suitcase or the like. The fabric may alternatively be part of a covering material for apparatus such as a pram, pushchair or the like. The fabric may be of a natural fibre such as cotton, or a synthetic fibre, or a mixture and may alternatively be of a natural material such as leather or of a synthetic leather-look material. The first substrate may alternatively, in some uses, be a generally rigid material such as a metal or plastic frame element of apparatus such as a pram, pushchair or the like on which the base portion 14 may be directly mounted.

The fastening portion 12 may be mounted on the base portion before or after the base portion 14 is secured to the first substrate 20.

The second substrate 28 includes a hole 30 in the manner of a buttonhole sized to effectively co-operate with the fastener, as will be described below. The second substrate 28 may be a woven or non-woven fabric, as for the first substrate 20.

In order join the first substrate 20 to the second substrate 28, the hole 30 in the second substrate 28 is brought into proximity to the fastener 10. The fastener 10 (specifically the fastening portion 12) is then deformed such as by squeezing with the fingers at B-B or by pulling projecting section 18 (Figs 1 la, 1 lb) so that its lateral dimension is reduced (see the ghost lines in Figure 4). The longitudinal dimension (along axis A-A) will normally be correspondingly increased. This deformation allows the fastening portion 12 to pass through the hole 30 (Fig 1 lb), after which the fastening portion may be released. Projecting part 18 assists in providing an area of the fastening portion 12 which is easily gripped by the user's fingers. The fastening portion then returns resiliently to its initial configuration (Fig l lo) where its lateral dimension is maximum, in which configuration it is unable to pass through the hole 30, since its lateral dimension is sized to be greater than the size of the hole. Thus, the second substrate 28 is attached by the fastener 10 to the first substrate 20. In order to release the second substrate 28 from the first substrate 20, the fastening portion 12 is squeezed at B-B allowing it to pass back through the hole 30 so that the first substrate 20 can be separated from the second substrate 28.

Figures SA and 5B illustrate alternative configurations ofthe fastening portion 12 in which the fastening portion 12 comprises a plurality of laterally extending arms 12c spaced circumferentially apart form one another.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a variation of the invention in which the separate base portion 14 is not used, the fastener 10' being formed with an integral base part 32 which is attached in use to the first substrate 20, such as by stitching.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a fastener according to the second aspect of the invention in which the fastening portion 34 is non-resilient, or has limited resilience. In this embodiment the fastening portion 34 comprises upper and lower parts 34a, 34b joined by one or more live hinges 36. The live hinges 36 allow the fastening portion to be deformed between the retaining condition in which the lateral dimension of the fastening portion 34 is maximum and the release condition in which the lateral dimension is minimum by squeezing the fastening portion along BB-BB. Biasing means are provided to urge the fastening portion towards the retaining condition. In the illustrated embodiment the biasing means are elastic threads 38 which are anchored at one extremity to the first substrate 20 and which are attached at their other extremity to a part 40 of the fastening portion 34 which is distal from the first substrate. Thus the elastic threads act to draw the part 40 towards the first substrate 20.

Claims

Claims: 1. A fastener for securing together first and second substrates,

the second substrate defining a hole through which the fastener passes in use, the fastener comprising a fastening portion, permanently attachable to the first substrate and adapted to retain the second substrate proximate the first substrate, the fastening portion being manually resiliently deformable from a retaining condition in which its lateral dimension is maximum to a release condition in which its lateral dimension is minimum.
2. A fastener for securing together first and second substrates, the second substrate defining a hole through which the fastener passes in use, the fastener comprising: (i) a fastening portion, permanently attachable to the first substrate and adapted to retain the second substrate proximate said first substrate, the fastening portion being manually deformable from a retaining condition in which its lateral dimension is maximum to a release condition in which its lateral dimension Is minimum; and (ii) biasing means effective to urge said fastening portion towards said retaining condition.
3. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 wherein said biasing means comprises an elastic thread secured to an end part of the fastening portion distal from the first substrate and to a part of the fastening portion proximate said first substrate and/or securable directly to said first substrate.
4. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 or 2 further comprising a base portion attachable in use to said first substrate, said fastening portion being permanently attached to said base portion.
5. A fastener as claimed in claim 3 further comprising a base portion attachable in use to said first substrate, said fastening portion being permanently attached to said base portion and said elastic thread being alternatively or additionally securable to said base portion.
6. A fastener as claimed in claim 1 or any claim dependent thereon wherein the fastening portion comprises a resilient plastics material.
7. A fastener as claimed in claim 6 wherein the resilient plastics material is selected from silicones, polyurethanes, acrylonitrilebutadiene polymers, chloroprene rubbers and fluorine rubbers.
8. A fastener as claimed in claim 2 or any claim dependent thereon wherein the fastening portion is deformable about a living hinge formed at lateral extremities thereof.
9. A fastener as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the fastening portion comprises a retaining section embodying the maximum lateral dimension in the retaining condition and a projecting section which is relatively narrow in the lateral dimension and which extends from the retaining section distally with respect to the first substrate.
10. A fastena as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reface to any of Figures 1 to 7, 10 and 11.
11. A fastena as claimed in claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 8 and/or 9.
12. A construction comprising first and second web like substrates, said second substrate including a hole, and a fastener as defined in any preceding claim attached to said first substrate, said hole being so sized that the fastena can pass through the hole in its release condition and cannot pass through the hole in its retaining condition, the fastena and the hole being, in use, in opposed relation whereby the fasten can pass through the hole to join the first substrate to the second substrate.
13. A construction as claimed in claim 12 wherein the first and/or second substrates comprise woven or non-woven fabrics.
14. A garment including a construction as claimed in claim 13.