US3461514A - Snap member - Google Patents

Description

8 9, 1969 E. MORRIS 3,461,514

SNAP MEMBER Filed April 19, 1967 U.S. Cl. 24-204 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Snap member is formed of one portion having at least one female element of resilient material formed with a hole of given diameter and depth therein, and another portion having at least one male element provided with a pinlike extension comprising a shank portion of substantially the same diameter and length as the corresponding diameter and depth of the hole formed in the female element and an enlarged head portion located at the free end of the shank portion. The pinlike extension is insertable through the hole of the female element so that the shank portion thereof lies within the hole and the enlarged head portion thereof extends out of the hole. At least the portion having the female element is formed of plastic material which can have the same color as that of a web to which the portion is attachable. One of the portions can be located on a zipper slide and the other portion at the terminus of the zipper whereat the slide is located in the closed condition of the zipper.

My invention relates to a snap member and more particularly to a snap member of the type having a male and female portion.

It is an object of my invention to provide a snap member having a color matching or contrasting with the color of web material such as parts of a garment that are to be secured therewith.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a snap member that is rust proof.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a snap member comprising a female and a male portion respectively having a plurality of female and male elements that is readily formed by an extrusion process.

It is another object of my invention to provide a snap member comprising two portions having a single male and female element, respectively, formed readily by being sliced from extruded strips having a plurality of the respective elements.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide a snap member which will remain engaged when subjected both to compression and tension.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a snap member whose male and female elements are engageable blindly i.e. by touch only, without actually being viewed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I provide in accordance with my invention snap member comprising two portions, one of the portions having at least one female element of resilient material formed with a hole of given diameter and depth therein, the other of the portions having at least one male element formed with a pinlike extension comprising a shank portion of substantially the same diameter and length as the corresponding diameter and depth of the hole formed in the female element and an enlarged head portion located at the free end of the shank portion. The pinlike extension is insertable through the hole of the female element so that the shank portion thereof lies within the hole and the enlarged head portion thereof extends out of the hole.

In accordance with further features of my invention, at least the portion having the female element is formed of plastic material, and when both portions are formed of plastic material, they can have the same color as United States Patent webbing material to which they are attachable. The portions can also be formed of strips respectively having a plurality of male and female elements spaced along the length thereof. The portions have means, located at an edge thereof distant from the respective male and female elements, for attach ng the portions to respective webs.

In accordance with a further feature of my invention, I provide a snap member wherein one of the portions is located on the slide of a zipper and the other of the portions is located at the terminus of the zipper whereat the slide is located in closed condition of the zipper whereby the male and female elements of the portions are engageable in the closed condition of the zipper.

Those features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described herein as snap member, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalence of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the snap member of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view partly in section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view reduced in size of another embodiment of the snap member of FIG. 1 shown attached to a pair of webs;

FIG. 4 is a front view of yet another embodiment of the snap member of FIG. 1 in combination with a zipper;

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are front views respectively of the two portions of the snap member of FIG. 1 having respective female and male elements; and

FIG. 7 is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawing and first particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6 thereof, there is shown a snap member according to my invention including one portion 10 provided with a female element 12 and another portion 14 provided with a male element 16. The female element 12 is formed with a main hole 18 (FIG. 5) of given diameter and depth and two smaller holes 20 spaced therefrom and connected therewith by a slit 22. This construction adds to the resilience of the plastic material of which at least the portion 10 is formed so as to permit expansion of the hole 18 of the female element 12 for a hereinafter-described purpose. The portion 10 is also provided at the end thereof distant from the female element 12 with an attaching element 24 formed with an elongated slot 26. As shown for example in FIG. 4, the portion 10 is attached to a web by suitable stitching 28 passing through the slot 26.

The other portion 14 is also provided with an attaching element 24 corresponding to the attaching element 24 of the portion 10 and is also formed with an elongated slot 26 by means of which the portion 14 can be stitched to a web. The male element 16 of the other portion 14 is cranked from the attaching element 24' (FIG. 2) and has a pinlike extension 28 extending therefrom. The pinlike extension 28 has a shank portion 30 of substantially the same diameter and length as the diameter and depth of the hole 18 in the female element 12 and an enlarged head portion 32 at the free end of the shank portion 30. A concave recess 34 (FIG. 2) is formed in the female element 12 at one end of the hole 18 and has a width greater than the diameter of the hole 18 and a depth substantially equal to the length of the enlarged head portion 32 of the extension 28.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the pinlike extension 28 of the male element 16 is inserted through the yielding hole 18 formed in the flexible female element 16 so that the shank portion 30 lies within the hole 18 and the enlarged head portion 32 lies within the recess 34. In the engaging condition of the portions and 14 (FIG. 2), the attaching elements 24 and 24', the female element 12 and the pinlike extension 28 are all located in the same plane, and the portion of the male element 16 from which the extension 28 protrudes lies in a plane parallel to the plane in which the attaching element 24', for example, lies.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the snap member consists of two striplike portions 10' and 14', respectively, corresponding to the portions 10 and 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2. However, portion 10' is provided with a plurality of spaced female elements 12' extending along the length thereof, and portion 14' is similarly provided with a corresponding plurality of male elements 16'. As shown in FIG. 3, the portions 10' and 14 are attached by stitching through slots formed therein (not shown) with respective web material 36 such as that of a dress or other garment or the like.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the one portion 10 having the female element 12 is shown stitched to a fabric web 36 along the edge of which one row of zipper teeth 38 is secured. Another row of zipper teeth 38 is also secured to an adjacent fabric web 36. A zipper slide rides on the rows of teeth 38 and is provided with unillustrated conventional means for causing the adjacent rows of teeth 38 to interlock. The zipper slide 40 is provided with an extension in the form of a male element 16" which is engageable with the female element 12 at the terminus of the zipper at which the slide 40 is located in the closed condition of the zipper ie at the top of FIG. 4. The male element 16" has a construction similar to that of the male element 16 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is of course within the scope of my invention to substitute the male element portion 14 for the female element portion 12 and to provide the zipper slide 40 with a female element instead of the male element 16".

The snap member of my invention can be made entirely of plastic material having substantially the same color as that of the fabric web to which it is attached. The colors of the snap member and the web can, of course, also be complementary or contrasting.

The embodiment of the snap member of my invention as shown in FIG. 3 can be made by an extrusion as well as a molding process in strips having a plurality of respective female and male elements. Snap members with single male and female elements can be simply formed by suitably slicing up strips such as those of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

In the modified embodiment of FIG. 7, the features which are similar to those of FIG. 4 are identified by like reference numerals. In the closed condition of the zipper as shown in FIG. 7, the female and male element portions 10 and 14 of the snap member of FIG. 1, suitably attached by stitching to the webs connected by the zipper, are located adjacent a conventional zipper slide 40 and can be snapped together to provide an added firm connection between the webs.

Iclaim:

1. Snap member comprising two portions, one of said portions having at least one female element of resilient material formed with a first hole of given diameter and depth therein and a pair of additional holes diametrically spaced on opposite sides of said first hole and conlength as the corresponding diameter anddepth of said first hole formed in said female element and an enlarged head portion located at the free end of said shank portion, said pinlike extension being insertable through said first hole of said female element so that the shank portion thereof lies substantially completely within said first hole and said enlarged head portion thereof extends out of said first hole into a recess formed at an end of said holes and having a diameter greater than the spacing between said additional holes and a depth, corresponding to the length of said enlarged head portion.

2. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein at least the portion having said female element is formed of plastic material.

3. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein said portions are of plastic material attachable to edges of web material, said portions having the same color as said web material.

4. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein said portions consist of strips of plastic material, one of said strips having a plurality of female elements spaced along the length thereof and the other of said strips having a corresponding plurality of male elements spaced along the length thereof.

nected by respective elongated slits with said first hole,

the other of said portions having at least one male element formed with a pinlike extension comprising a shank portion of substantially the same diameter and 5. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein said portions have means, located at an edge thereof distant from the respective male and female elements, for attaching said portions to respective webs.

6. Snap member according to claim 5 wherein said attaching means comprises a slot formed in said portions for receiving a thread stitching said portions to the respective webs.

7. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein both of said portions comprise an attaching element for attaching the respective portion to a respective web, said one portion additionally having a female element coplanar with the attaching element thereof, said other portion additionally having a cranked portion located in a plane parallel to that of its attaching element, said pinlike extension extending from said cranked portion and being located in the plane of its respective attaching element, whereby, in the engaged condition of said snap member, both respective attaching elements, said female element and said pinlike extension are located in the same plane.

8. Snap member according to claim 1 wherein one of said portions is located on the slide of a zipper and the other of said portions is located at the terminus of the zipper whereat the slide is located in closed condition of the zipper whereby the male and female elements of said portions are engageable in the closed condition of the zipper.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,310,119 7/1919 Harper. 1,811,684 6/1931 Cooper 2475 2,223,347 12/ 1940 Axthelm 24205 .11 2,397,801 4/ 1946 Mitchell. 3,152,376 10/1964 Boser 24216 3,255,503 6/1966 Sozzi 24205.11

FOREIGN PATENTS 58,646 4/1913 Austria. 985,896 7/1951 France. 1,052,657 1/ 1954 France. 1,057,213 3/1954 France.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner 24-2051 1, 217

US. Cl. X.R.

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