JP7630168B2 - Holding member and snap fastener using same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology that enables a snap fastener (a clothing fastener) consisting of, for example, male and female snap buttons that fit together elastically to be attached to the fabric of clothing or the like without using a dedicated tool.

Snap fasteners that can be attached to fabrics such as clothing without using special tools are known (for example, Patent Document 1), and the retaining member 51 shown in FIG. 7(A), the female fitting member 60 shown in FIG. 7(C), and the male fitting member 70 shown in FIG. 7(D) constitute such snap fasteners. That is, the recessed portion 61 of the female fitting member 60 shown in FIG. 7(C) and the protruding portion 71 of the male fitting member 70 shown in FIG. 7(D) can be elastically fitted to each other, and the retaining member 51 can hold the male and female fitting members 60, 70 at predetermined positions on the fabric C, and no special tools such as punches are required to hold them. Note that one set of snap fasteners requires two retaining members 51 and one fitting member each of 60, 70.

In more detail, as shown in FIG. 7(A), the holding member 51 has a disk-shaped main body 52 and a shaft 53 protruding from the center of the main body 52. Two bulging portions 54 protruding outward are formed at two locations 180 degrees apart on the outer periphery of the tip of the shaft 53, and a slit 55 is cut from the tip surface of the shaft 53 between the two bulging portions 54.

On the other hand, the female fitting member 60 has a through hole 62 at the bottom of the recess 61 as shown in FIG. 7(C), and a similar through hole (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the approximately cylindrical protrusion 71 of the male fitting member 70 shown in FIG. 7(D).

To hold the female fitting member 60 with the holding member 51, the shaft 53 of the holding member 51 is passed through a hole H (see FIG. 7A) provided in the fabric C of the garment or the like, and the shaft 53 is protruded from the upper surface side of the fabric C while the main body 52 is positioned on the lower surface side of the fabric C as shown in FIG. 7B. Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, the female fitting member 60 is brought close to the shaft 53 of the holding member 51 from the upper surface side of the fabric C, and the shaft 53 is inserted straight from below into the through hole 62 of the fitting member 60. When this insertion is performed, the two bulging parts 54 at the tip of the shaft 53 are reduced in diameter by the slits 55 and then restored in diameter, so that each bulging part 54 passes through the through hole 62 and engages with the opening edge of the through hole 62, and the fitting member 60 is held in a predetermined position (position of hole H) of the fabric C by the holding member 51. The male fitting member 70 can also be held by the holding member 51 in the same manner.

JP 2014-145404 A

In the above conventional snap fastener, the slit 55 allows the expansion 54 to be reduced in diameter, so that the expansion 54, which has returned to its original diameter after passing through the through hole 62, can be firmly engaged with the edge of the through hole 62 and the shaft 53 cannot slip out of the through hole 62. In order to do this, it is necessary to enlarge the expansion 54 to a certain extent both radially and axially. However, if the expansion 54 is enlarged, the recesses 61 and protrusions 71 of the male and female mating members 60, 70 that receive the expansion 54 must also be enlarged, and the enlargement of the male and female mating members 60, 70 creates a problem in that when the end of a garment or the like to which they are provided is closed, a large gap is created at that point.

In addition, in the conventional snap fasteners described above, the slits 55 are deep, which may reduce the strength of the shaft 53 including the expanded diameter portion 54, and if the slits 55 were shallower, a considerable force would be required to pass the expanded diameter portion 54 through the through hole 62.

Furthermore, in the above conventional snap fastener, in order for the retaining member 51 to hold the female fitting member 60, it is necessary to insert the shaft 53 of the retaining member 51 straight into the through hole 62 of the female fitting member 60 from below. However, since the tip side of the shaft 53 is split into two by the slit 55, depending on the orientation of the shaft 53 around its axis during insertion, the female fitting member 60 is likely to tilt relative to the shaft 53, making the insertion process time-consuming.

The present invention was made with the above in mind, and its purpose is to provide a retaining member and a snap fastener using the same that can reduce the size of the male and female mating members, improve the strength of the retaining member, and improve the ease of attaching the snap fastener to the fabric.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the retaining member of the present invention is a retaining member for retaining a female or male fitting member constituting an elastically fitting snap button at a predetermined position on a fabric of clothing or the like, and has a main body having a shape or size that makes it impossible to insert into a through hole formed in the fitting member, and a roughly cylindrical shaft body that protrudes from the main body and can be inserted into the through hole from one end side of the through hole with a portion of it exposed from the other end side , and which reduces in diameter upon insertion , wherein a front region of the shaft body is roughly cylindrical, a tip portion of the front region is divided into three circumferentially , and the portion of the front region excluding the tip portion is cylindrical in the circumferential direction , and the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body is provided with a locking protrusion that can be engaged with the opening edge of the other end side of the through hole (Claim 1).

In the above-mentioned holding member, the locking projections may be ridges extending in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body, and may be provided in a plurality at intervals in the axial direction of the shaft body (Claim 2).

To achieve the above object, the snap fastener according to the present invention comprises a female or male snap button that constitutes the snap fastener, the retaining member described in claim 1 or 2, and a female or male fitting member that is held in a predetermined position on the fabric of clothing or the like by the retaining member (claim 3).

The present invention provides a retaining member and a snap fastener using the same that can reduce the size of the male and female mating members, improve the strength of the retaining member, and improve the ease of attaching the snap fastener to the fabric.

In other words, in the retaining member according to the invention of each claim of this application, by making the tip region of the shaft generally cylindrical rather than providing a slit, it is possible to minimize the deformation (degree of diameter reduction) of the shaft when it is inserted into the through hole of the fitting member, and as a result, the locking projection that locks onto the opening edge of the through hole can be made small. Furthermore, the tip region itself, which is generally cylindrical and does not provide a slit, can be made smaller due to its structure (without problems in terms of strength), so it is possible to reduce the size of the fitting member that receives the tip region of the shaft and the locking projection.

In addition, the holding member of the present invention has a generally cylindrical shape without any slits in the tip region of the shaft, which can improve its strength.

Furthermore, in the holding member of the present invention, the tip portion of the tip region of the shaft is divided into three parts in the circumferential direction, which makes it difficult for the fitting member to tilt relative to the shaft regardless of the axial direction of the shaft during insertion, making the insertion process easier. Also, if the tip portion of the tip region of the shaft is divided into four or more parts in the circumferential direction, its strength is likely to decrease, but by dividing it into three parts, it is possible to prevent this decrease in strength.

The retaining member of the invention according to claim 2 has multiple locking projections spaced apart in the axial direction of the shaft, making it possible to accommodate variations in the thickness of the material to which the snap fastener is attached.

1A and 1B are a perspective view and a plan view of a retaining member constituting a snap fastener according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a front view of the holding member, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1A to 1C are perspective views from above, below and a plan view of a female fitting member constituting the snap fastener, and FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1A to 1C are perspective views from above, below and a plan view of a male fitting member constituting the snap fastener, and FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 13A and 13B are a perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view of a modified example of the holding member. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another modified example of the holding member. 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing a method for setting the retaining member of a conventional snap fastener onto fabric, and 1C and 1D are explanatory diagrams showing a method for holding a female mating member and a male mating member by the retaining member of a conventional snap fastener.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention.

The retaining member 1 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the female fitting member 2 shown in Fig. 3, and the male fitting member 3 shown in Fig. 4 constitute a snap fastener that can be attached to the fabric of clothing or the like without using a special tool, and correspond to the retaining member 51, fitting members 60, 70 shown in Fig. 7, respectively. That is, one set of snap fasteners in this example is composed of a female snap button consisting of one retaining member 1 and a female fitting member 2, and a male snap button consisting of another retaining member 1 and a male fitting member 3.

As described above, just as the retaining member 51 constituting a conventional snap fastener is used to hold the engaging members 60, 70 in a predetermined position on the fabric C of clothing or the like (where a hole H is made with an appropriate tool such as an awl; see FIG. 7(A)), the retaining member 1 is used to hold the engaging members 2, 3 constituting a snap button in a predetermined position on the fabric C of clothing or the like.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the holding member 1 has a substantially disk-shaped main body 4 and a shaft 5 that protrudes from the center of one side (top side) of the main body 4.

The main body 4 has a shape or size that makes it impossible to insert into the through-hole 6 (see Figs. 3(A)-(D)) formed in the female fitting member 2 and the through-hole 7 (see Figs. 4(B)-(D)) formed in the male fitting member 3. In addition, around the shaft 5 on one side (top side) of the main body 4, multiple spike-like small protrusions 8 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction to dig into the fabric C and prevent the main body 4 from rotating around its axis. The small protrusions 8 may have any suitable shape that can perform this rotation prevention function, and may be, for example, approximately cylindrical as shown in Fig. 1(A) or may be cylindrical with a sharpened tip to form a cone as shown in Fig. 2(B).

The shaft body 5 has a generally cylindrical shape that can be inserted into the through holes 6, 7 of the male and female mating members 2, 3 from one end side and partially exposed from the other end side. A recessed portion 9a is formed that extends from the center of the tip surface of the tip region 9 (shaft body 5) toward the base end side so that the tip region 9 (see FIG. 2(B)) of the shaft body 5 has a generally cylindrical shape. The length of this tip region 9 (recessed portion 9a) is considered to be about 1/4 to 1/2 of the overall length of the shaft body 3.

The tip portion of the tip region 9 is divided into three in the circumferential direction to provide three protrusions 10, and the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 5 is provided with a locking projection 11 that can be locked to the opening edge of the other end (upper end) of the through holes 6, 7. Here, the locking projection 11 is a ridge (annular projection) that extends in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 5, and multiple projections (a total of five in the illustrated example) are provided at intervals in the axial direction of the shaft body 5.

On the other hand, the recess 12 of the female fitting member 2 shown in FIG. 3 and the protrusion 13 of the male fitting member 3 shown in FIG. 4 can be elastically fitted together, with the other end (upper end) of the through hole 6 facing the bottom of the recess 12, and the other end (upper end) of the through hole 7 facing the bottom of the protrusion 13.

The method of holding the male and female mating members 2, 3 by the retaining member 1 can be performed in the same way as the method of holding the male and female mating members 60, 70 by the retaining member 51 constituting the conventional snap fastener shown in Figure 7, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication.

The snap fastener of this example configured as described above can reduce the size of the male and female mating members 2, 3, improve the strength of the holding member 1, and improve the ease of attaching the snap fastener to the fabric C.

That is, in the holding member 1 of this example, the tip region 9 of the shaft 5 is not provided with a slit but is made substantially cylindrical, so that the deformation (degree of diameter reduction) of the shaft 5 when the shaft 5 is inserted into the through holes 6, 7 of the male and female fitting members 2, 3 can be suppressed. Accordingly, the locking projection 11 that locks with the opening edge of the through holes 6, 7 can be made small. Furthermore, the tip region 9 itself, which is substantially cylindrical without a slit, can be made small in size due to its structure (without problems in terms of strength), so that the tip region 9 of the shaft 5 and the fitting members 2, 3 having the recess 12 and protrusion 13 that receive the locking projection 11 can be made small. For example, in the conventional snap fastener shown in FIG. 7, it is considered that the outer diameter of the expanded portion 53 in the natural state needs to be 0.5 mm or more larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 62, but the outer diameter of the locking projection 11 in this example can be made approximately 0.1 mm larger than the inner diameter of the through holes 6, 7.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the holding member 1 has a generally cylindrical shape without any slits in the tip region 9 of the shaft body 5, which can improve its strength.

Furthermore, in the holding member 1 of this example, the tip portion of the tip region 9 of the shaft body 5 is divided into three in the circumferential direction, which makes it difficult for the fitting members 2, 3 to tilt relative to the shaft body 5 regardless of the axial orientation of the shaft body 5 during insertion, making the insertion operation easier. Also, if the tip portion of the tip region 9 of the shaft body 5 is divided into four or more in the circumferential direction, its strength is likely to decrease, but by dividing it into three, it is possible to prevent this decrease in strength.

In addition, the retaining member 1 of this example has multiple locking projections 11 spaced apart in the axial direction of the shaft 5, making it possible to accommodate variations in the thickness of the fabric C to which the snap fastener is attached.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following modifications can be mentioned:

Figures 1(A) and 2(B) show an example in which a total of five locking projections 11 are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 5, but the number of locking projections 11 is not limited to this, and may be four or less or six or more. For example, as shown in Figures 5(A) and (B), only one locking projection 11 may be provided on the outer circumferential surface of the tip region 9.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the locking projection 11 may extend in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 5.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Retaining member 2 Female fitting member 3 Male fitting member 4 Main body 5 Shaft body 6 Through hole 7 Through hole 8 Small projection 9 Tip region 9a Recessed portion 10 Projecting portion 11 Locking projection 12 Recess 13 Convex portion 51 Retaining member 52 Main body 53 Shaft body 54 Expanded portion 55 Slit 60 Female fitting member 61 Convex portion 62 Through hole 70 Male fitting member 71 Convex portion C Material H Hole

Claims (3)

A retaining member for retaining a female or male fitting member constituting an elastically engaging snap button at a predetermined position on a fabric of a garment or the like,
a body having a shape or size that makes it impossible to insert into a through hole formed in the fitting member;
a generally cylindrical shaft body that protrudes from the main body, is capable of being inserted into the through hole from one end side thereof and is partially exposed from the other end side thereof, and reduces in diameter during the insertion ;
A retaining member in which the front region of the shaft is roughly cylindrical, the tip portion of the front region is divided into three circumferentially , the portion of the front region excluding the tip portion is cylindrical and continuous in the circumferential direction , and a locking protrusion is provided on the outer surface of the shaft that can be engaged with the opening edge on the other end side of the through hole. The retaining member according to claim 1, wherein the locking projections are circumferentially extending protrusions on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body, and a plurality of such projections are provided at intervals in the axial direction of the shaft body. A snap fastener comprising a female or male snap button constituting a snap fastener, the snap fastener comprising a retaining member as described in claim 1 or 2, and a female or male mating member which is held in a predetermined position on the fabric of clothing or the like by the retaining member.