A CLOTH FASTENER

Abstract: A fastener means for fastening a first piece of cloth to a fixed support or to a second piece of cloth. The fastener means comprises a first fastener member attached to the first piece of cloth (1) and comprising an outer and an inner part (3, 5) which are arranged to clamp the first piece of cloth therebetween, and a second fastener member arranged to be attached to the fixed support or to the second piece of cloth and to coact with the first fastener member. Each of the fastener members is provided with an opening (11; 12) and/or an outwardly projecting portion (13; 14), such as to enable the fastener members to be locked together with a snap-in action between the outwardly projecting portion and opening or openings respectively. The outer part (3) of the first fastener member includes a gripping portion (16) which serves as a lever arm and which, when pressed in a direction towards the second fastener member, is arranged to release the engagement between the fastener members, as a result of a pivoting movement about a common abutment line between the fastener members. In a preferredembodiment intended for use when joining two cloth pieces (1, 2) together, the second fastener member is identical to the first fastener member.

Description: A CLOTH FASTENER The present invention relates to a fastener means for fastening a first piece of cloth to a fixed support or backing or to a second piece of cloth, said fastener means being of a kind which comprises a first fastener member having an inner and an outer part and arranged to be attached to said first piece of cloth with said cloth clamped between said inner and outer parts, and a second fastener member attached to said fixed support or backing or to said second piece of cloth and arranged to co-act with the first fastener member, and in which fastener means each of the first and second fastener members has an opening and/or an outwardly projecting portion provided with a hook means and the two fastener membe'rs can be snapped together in locking fashion by inserting said hook means into a corresponding opening and pivoting in a first sense the first fastener member relative to the second fastener member. It will be understood that the word "cloth" as used here and in the following includes all manner of fabrics, coverings and like materials. In present day sailing craft, for example, the boom or booms is or are protected by means of a boom cover or sleeve which is nowadays, more often than not, held together by a zip-fastener or heavy-duty press studs. To a certain extent press studs are also used to fasten and secure boom tents and other forms of boat covers. Zip-fasteners are relatively expensive, and their use can present difficulties, for example when the boom cover must be stretched in order to bring it around the boom. The most serious drawbacks associated with the use of press OMPI studs are that they require the use of both hands when unfastening a boom cover for example, and that it is necessary to gather in the actual cover in order to manipulate the studs, which can place the cover material under great strain and increase the risk of damage when fastening the studs. Further¬ more, there is nothing to prevent a conventional press stud from unfastening when the cover is un¬ intentionally pulled or tugged. — - - Consequently, the prime object of the invention is to provide a fastener means of the kind described in the introduction with which, among other things, the aforesaid drawbacks are eliminated. This object is realized by means of the inven- tion, in that each of the fastener members attached to the cloth is provided with its respective lever arm which enables the fastener to be released without requiring the cloth to be pulled. The fastener means according to the invention is characterized in that the outer part of said first fastener member comprises a gripping portion which serves as a lever arm and which is arranged, when pressed towards the second fastener member to cause a pivot movement of said outer part in a second sense opposite the above mentioned first sense about a common abutment line lying between the fastener members to release the engagement between said fastener members and that said hook means are arranged to pro¬ hibit a releasing pivot movement in the first sense. When the fastener means according to the inven¬ tion is intended to fasten together two pieces of cloth, as hereinbefore defined, for example a boom cover, the second fastener member is preferably iden¬ tical to the first fastener member, and each of the outer parts of said members includes a gripping por¬ tion which serves as a lever arm, said gripping por¬ tions being arranged so as to enable _ OMPI them to be pressed toward one another, to disen-. gage the two fastener members one from the other. In this case, the inner parts of each of the fast¬ ener members is provided with an opening and with an outwardly projecting part, the outwardly pro¬ jecting part of one fastener member being arranged to be snapped into the opening of the second fastener member in locking fashion, while the corresponding outwardly projecting part of said second fastener member snaps into the opening in the first fastener member. ' When fastening together two flexible pieces of cloth, this fastener design will enable the fasteners to be released with the use of only one hand, without requiring the cloth to be gathered in or drawn. Another advantage afforded by a fastener means of such design is that only two items need be manu¬ factured and stored, since the two fastener members are mutually identical and each comprise only two parts. In order to prevent unintentional release of the fastener means, the outwardly projecting part, which preferably has the form of a slotted cylin¬ der, is suitably provided with a shoulder portion which is arranged to co-act with a shoulder portion on the inner part of the opposing fastener member in a manner which, inter alia, prevents the fastener from being released when the cloth is pulled or tugged. In accordance with one pre- ferred embodiment, the outwardly projecting part of one fastener member is arranged, when said fastener member is in -engagement with the other fastener member, to co-act with, locking tongues on - H the inner part of the' second fastener member, so as to prevent said second fastener member from being loosened from the cloth. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a partially exploded view of a fastener means according to the invention when used to fasten two pieces of cloth together. Figure 2 illustrates the fastener means shown in Figure 1 when used to fasten a boom cover. Figures 3 and M- are sectional views of the fastener means illustrated in Figure 1, in a locked and released position respectively. Figure 5 illustrates an alternative embodi- ent of a fastener means intended for fastening two cloth pieces together. Figure 6 illustrates the fastener means shown in Figure 5 in a fastening position. Figures 7 and 8 are sectional views of the fastener means illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, in locked and open positions respectively. The fastener means illustrated in Figure 1 includes two identical fastener members which are attached to thoseparts 1 and 2 respectively of the pieces of cloth to be fastened together. Each fastener member comprises two parts, an outer flat part 3 and 4 respectively, and an inner locking plate 5 and 6 respectively. The locking plates 5 and 6 are provided with resilient locking tongues 7 and 8 respectively, which, for the purpose of attaching respective fastener members to their pieces of cloth, are intended to be passed through an opening 9 in said cloth and into an opening 10 OMPI V/IPO in corresponding outer plates 3 and 4 respectively. To ensure positive anchorage of the cloth, the flat outer parts 3 and 4 and the inner locking plates 5 and 6 may be provided with grooves and cσrrespond- ing ridges arranged to co-act with one another to firmly lock said cloth pieces. To enable the two fastener members to be lock¬ ed together, the locking plates 5 and 6 are each provided with an opening 11 and 12 respectively, and a projection 13 and 14 located adjacent said opening. The projections 13 and 14 have the form of slotted cylinders so dimensioned that they are able to snap into the opening in an opposing lock¬ ing plate under a given degree of deformation. This is possible despite the fact that each fastener member comprises identical locking plates and outer, flat parts, because when mounting the fast¬ ener means illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 the one fastener member is upside down in relation to the other fastener members; Figure 2 shows the use of fastener means according to Figure 1 when fastening a boom cover. The use of identical fastener members makes the manufacture and the mounting of said fastener means more simple and less expensive. Furthermore, fast¬ ening is effected with a double snap-in engagemen , which provides a positive locking action. The openings 10 in the outer, flat parts 3 and 4 respectively are provided with fillers 15 , to pre- vent relative movement between two mutually engaging fastener members. Each of the parts 3 and 4 are provided with a respective gripping portion 16, 17 serving as a lever arm, these gripping portions OMPI being arranged to release the mutual engagement of the fastener members when said gripping portions are pressed towards one another, in a manner more clearly described hereinafter. Figure 3 is a sectional view of the two fast¬ ener members in engagement with one another. In this position of the fastener members, the projection 13 of the locking plate 5 has been pressed into the opening 12 of the locking plate 6 and in a corre- sponding manner, although not seen from the sectional view, the projection 14 of the locking plate 6 has been pressed into the opening 11 of the locking plate 5. As will be seen from the Figure, the projection 13 is provided with a shoulder portion 18 arranged to engage a shoulder portion 19 on the locking plate 6, so as to prevent engagement of the two fastener members from being released should the pieces of cloth 1 and 2 be pulled or tugged or should the lever arm 16 and 17 be moved apart. Further, when the cylindrical projections 13, 14 co-act with the locking tongues 8 and 7, respectively, the fastener members are prevented from releasing from respective parts 1, 2 of the cloth material. As shown in Figure 4, in order to disengage the fastener members the lever arms 16 and 17 are pressed towards one another, which can be done using one hand only relatively to one another along an abutment line lying between the locking plates 5 and 6. These locking plates are, to this end, provided with chamfered edge portions. As a result of the aforesaid pivoting movement, the outwardly project- OMPI ing elements 13 and.14, during co-action between their shoulders 18 and corresponding shoulders 19 on respective locking plates , will be drawn out of engagement with an opposing locking plate, as illu- strated in Figure 4 with respect to projection 13. The pieces of cloth 1 and 2 can then be separated, for removal of a boom cover according to-Figure 2 for example. Figures 5 - 8 illustrate an alternative embodi- ment, certain members of the fastener means being identified with the same references as those used in Figures 1 - . In the alternative embodiment the inner locking members 20 and 21 are of differ¬ ent design. For example, the locking element 20 is provided , with a projection 22 intended to engage in an opening 23 in the opposing locking member 21, so as to lock the two fastener members together. Figure 6 illustrates the fastener members when they are brought into engagement with one another, to fasten the two cloth pieces 1 and 2 together. Figure 7 is a sectional view of the fastener means illustrated in Figure 6 , and illustrates the projection 22 pressed into the opening 23 in the locking plate . 21. Engagement between the two fastener members is released in the same manner as that described with reference to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 - 4, namely by manually pressing the two lever arms 16 and 17 towards one another, whereupon the fastener members are swung relative to one another about a common contact line " during the co-action between a shoulder portion 24 on the projection 22 and a corresponding shoulder portion 25 on the locking plate 21. In order to insure against un¬ intentional release of the fastener means, inter alia as a result of pulling the cloth to which the fastener means is attached, the fastener means 5 should be directed with their respective lever arms inwardly of the said cloth pieces, in a manner corresponding to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In addition to fastening together two pieces of 0 cloth, in the above illustrated manner, a fastener means according to the invention can also be used to fasten a cloth to a fixed support. In this case, either one or the other of the fastener members illustrated, for example, in Figures 5-8 is attached 5 to the cloth, and the locking plate of the other fastener member is attached to the support to which the cloth is to be fastened. Disengagement between the fastener member attached to the cloth and the locking plate on the support is effected by pressing 0 the lever arm of the cloth-attached fastener member towards the support. This release can readily be effected using one hand only, without needing to pull the cloth. The fastener members are also oriented in a manner to prevent unintentional release 5 of the fastener members. The aforedescribed fastener means, which may suitably be made from a thermoplastic material, for example acetal resin, may be modified in several respects, for example with respect to the design Q of the outer and inner members of respective fast¬ ener means, and also with respect to the design of the locking tongues and snap-in means. A common feature with all embodiments, however, is that they include lever arms to enable the snap-in engage- 5 ment between two fastener members to be released.

Claims: C L A I M S 1. A fastener means for fastening a first piece of cloth to a fixed support or to a second piece of cloth, comprising a first fastener member having an outer and an inner part (3, 5; 20) and arranged to be attached to said first piece of cloth (1) with said cloth clamped between said inner and outer parts, and a second fastener member attached to said fixed support or to said second piece of cloth (2) and arranged to co-act with the first fastener member, and in which fastener means each of the first and second fastener members has an opening (11? 12? 23) and/or an outwardly projecting portion (13 ? 14 ? 22) provided with a hook means (18? 24) and the two fastener members can be snapped together through a locking action between said outwardly projecting .portion or portions and opening or openings, respectively, by inserting said hook means (18 ? 24) into a corresponding opening and pivoting in a first sense the first fastener member relative to the second fastener member, characterized in that the outer part (3) of said first fastener member comprises a gripping portion (16) which serves as a lever arm and which is arranged, when pressed towards the second fastener member^ to cause a pivot movement of said outer part in a second sense opposite the above mentioned first sense about a common abutment line lying between the fastener members to release the engagement between said fastener members^ and that said hook means (18; 24) are arranged to prohibit a releasing pivot movement in the first sense. 2. A fastener means according to Claim 1 for use when fastening two pieces of cloth (1, 2) together, characte¬ rized in that the second fastener member is identical with the first fastener member, the outer parts (3 ? 4) __ OMPI of each of said fastener members comprising a gripping portion (6 ? 17) which serve as a lever arm and which are arranged to be pressed towards one another so as to release the engagement between said fastener members. 3. A fastener means according to Claim 2, characte¬ rized in that the inner parts (5 ? 6) of each of the fastener members is provided with an opening (11? 12) and with an outwardly projecting portion (13 ? 14), the projecting portion of one fastener member " being arranged to be locked in the opening of the other fastener member, through a snap-in action, while the corresponding projecting portion of said other fastener member snaps into the opening of the firstmentioned fastener member. 4. A fastener means according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the projecting element is substan¬ tially in the form of a slotted cylinder (13? 14? 22) . 5. A fastener means according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterized in that the hook means of the outwardly projecting portion (13 ? 14 ? 22) comprises a shoulder portion (18 ? 24) which, while co-acting with a shoulder portion (19 ? 25) on the inner part (6 ? 21) of the opposing fastener member, prevents unintentional release of the engagement between the fastener members, for example as a result of pulling or tugging said cloth pieces. 6. A fastener means according to any one of Claims 1-5, characterized in that the outwardly projecting portion (13 ? 14 ? 22) of one fastener member, when said member is in engagement with the other fastener member, co-acts with locking tongues (7 ? 8) on the inner part (5 ? 6) of the other fastener member, to prevent release of the fastener member from the cloth material (1 ? 2) .

Inventors: PETTERSSON KLAS ARNE, PETTERSSON, KLAS, ARNE
Applicants: PETTERSSON KLAS ARNE, PETTERSSON, KLAS, ARNE
Application year: 1982
Main classification: A44B17
IPC codes: A44B17