CASE FOR SURFACE-TYPE FASTENER

Abstract: Male and female surface-type fastener tapes (Fl, F2) are unwound from respective spools (Sl, S2) in a housing (ll) and drawn out of the housing (ll) through a tape guide (l5; 30) swingably disposed in a slot (l4) defined in a side panel (l3) of the housing (ll). The spools (Sl, S2) are disconnected from the housing (ll) and can easily be replaced with new ones simply by opening a cover (l2) of the housing (ll). The tape guide (l5; 30) is automatically directed toward the position where the tapes (Fl, F2) are unreeled off the respective spools (Sl, S2). Therefore, the tapes (Fl, F2) are properly and smoothly mated together by the tape guide (l5; 30) as they are progressively passed through the tape guide (l5; 30).

Description: The present invention relates to a case for storing and dispensing an elongate surface-type fastener, and more particularly to such a case for storing male and female surface-type fastener tapes separately therein and drawing out the tapes in a mating combination as a continuous surface-type fastener which may be cut off for use or sale. One conventional case for storing and dispensing a surface-type fastener is disclosed in French Patent No. 24l5595. The disclosed case has a shaft therein and houses a spool with a male surface-type fastener tape wound thereon and another spool with a female surface-type fastener tape wound thereon. The spools are fitted side by side over the shaft. The male and female surface-type fastener tapes can be unreeled off the respective spools and drawn out of the case through a slot defined in a side wall of the case while the tapes are being mated together as a continuous surface-type fastener. The shaft which supports the spools is fixedly positioned in the case by removably bushings. Therefore, when the tapes are fully unwound from the spools, it is time-consuming to replace the spools with new spools on which respective tapes are wound. Further, as the length of the tape wound on a spool is reduced, the position where the tape is unreeled off the spool is varied, i.e., shifted radially inwardly toward the center of the spool. Since the slot through which the tape can be withdrawn is open in a fixed direction, the tapes as wound from the spools at such varying position may not be properly brought into mating engagement. The present invention seeks to provide a case for a surface-type fastener which allows spools to be easily replaced with new spools and also permits male and female surface-type fastener tapes to be drawn in properly mating relationship until they are wholly unreeled off the respective spools. According to the present invention, there is provided a case for storing and dispensing a surface-type fastener, comprising a housing including a side panel having a slot, and a pair of substantially coaxial spools for supporting male and female surface-type fastener tapes respectively thereon, characterizing in that said spools are rotatably disposed in said housing and axially disconnected from said housing, and a tape guide is swingably supported in said slot by said panel, said tape guide having a guide channel of a cross-sectional shape complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the male and female surface-type fastener tapes which are mated together. Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which preferred structural embodiments incorporating the principles of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example. Figure l is a plan view of a case for a surface-type fastener according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II - II of Figure l; Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the case, showing a slot and a tape guide for drawing out male and female surface-type fastener tapes; Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the tape guide shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a tape guide according to another embodiment; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of a spool; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the case of the invention. The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when embodied in a case generally designated by the reference numeral l0 in Figures l through 3. The case l0 comprises a box-shaped housing ll which is of a square shape when viewed in plan. The housing ll is made of cardboard, plastics, metal, or other material and accommodating therein two coaxial spools Sl, S2 disposed side by side, the spools Sl, S2 being disconnected from the housing ll. Around the spools Sl, S2, there are wound male and female surface-type fastener tapes Fl, F2, respectively. The male surface-type fastener tape Fl may be a tape with a number of male-type engaging elements such as hooks mounted on one side thereof, and the female surface-type fastener tape F2 may be a tape with a number of female-type engaging elements such as loops mounted on one side thereof. The male and female surface-type fastener tapes Fl, F2 can be combined or mated together by engaging the hooks and the loops with each other. The case l0 containing the spools Sl, S2 with the tapes Fl, F2 wound thereon may be shipped or placed in a retail store for sale. The housing ll has an upper cover l2 which is hinged at one edge so as to be freely openable and closable, the upper cover l2 lying substantially perpendicularly to the axes of the spools Sl, S2. The spools Sl, S2 can easily be put into or removed from the housing ll while the upper cover l2 is open. The housing ll also has a side panel l3 with a slot l4 defined therein near one corner of the housing ll. A channel-shaped tape guide l5 is swingably disposed in the slot l4 for drawing therethrough the tapes Fl, F2 from the spools Sl, S2 while mating the tapes Fl, F2 together. The housing ll may vary in size dependent on the size of spools to be stored therein. As illustrated in Figure 7, the length L of one side of the square-shaped housing ll is slightly larger than the diameter of spools to be housed therein, and the height H of the housing ll is slightly larger than the sum of the heights of the two spools placed one on the other. Therefore, the spools Sl, S2 positioned in the housing ll can be rotated about their own axes when the respective tapes Fl, F2 are unreeled off the spools through the slot l4. The size of the housing ll, the size of the slot l4, and the size of the tape guide l5 therefore vary dependent on the size of the spools, the length of the tapes wound on the spools, the size of the tapes on the spools. As shown in Figure 6, each of the spools Sl, S2 stored in the housing ll comprises a hollow shaft l6 flanged at one end l7 thereof, a pair of flanges or discs l8, l9 mounted on the shaft l6 in axially spaced relation, and a cap 20 snapplingly fitted in the other end of the shaft l6, the cap 20 projecting axially from the flange l9. The flange l8 is integral with the hollow shaft l6 while the flange l9 is detachably mounted on the hollow shaft l6. The tapes Fl, F2 are wound around the shafts l6, respectively, and retained between the flanges l8, l9. The caps 20 and the flanges l7 serve to allow the spools Sl, S2 to rotate smoothly in the housing ll as shown in Figure 2. When all of the tapes Fl, F2 are dispensed out of the case l0, the upper cover l2 is opened, and the empty spools Sl, S2 are simply removed. Then, new spools with tapes wound thereon are inserted into the housing ll. Therefore, the spools can easily be replaced with new spools in a short period of time. As shown in Figure 7, the slot l4 is defined in the side panel l3 substantially centrally in the height H of the housing ll. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the tape guide l5 disposed in the slot l4 has a guide channel 2l extending therethrough from end to end, the guide channel 2l being of a cross-sectional shape complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the mated male and female surface-type fastener tapes Fl, F2. The guide channel 2l has a prescribed length N such that when the tapes Fl, F2 are passed through the guide channel 2l in overlapping relation, their male- ­ and female-type engaging elements engage each other and the tapes Fl, F2 are mated together before they emerge from the guide channel 2l. The tape guide l5 is made by bending a metal sheet until its ends are overlapped. The overlying end of the metal sheet is bent away from the guide channel 2l into a retainer plate 22 and a locking finger 23 with a recess 24 defined therebetween. In the illustrated embodiment, the retainer plate 22 and the locking finger 23 lie in alignment with each other and are slightly displaced from the center to the lefthand side of the tape guide l5. However, the retainer plate 22 and the locking finger 23 may be disposed centrally in the transverse direction of the tape guide l5. The tape guide l5 may be placed in the slot l4 in the following manner: The upper cover l2 is open and the tape guide l5 is put into the housing ll with the locking finger 23 held down against the upper surface of the tape guide l5. Then, a front end 25 of the tape guide l5 where the locking finger 23 is located is inserted into the slot l4 until the front end 25 projects out of the slot l4. The locking finger 23 is now erected to sandwich a portion of the side panel l3 above the slot l4 between the retainer plate 22 and the locking finger 23, i.e., in the recess 24. Since the tape guide l5 in the slot l4 is engaged by the side panel l3 only at the confronting edges of the retainer plate 22 and the locking finger 23, a rear end 26 of the tape guide l5 which is positioned within the housing ll is freely swingable about the recess 24. The tape guide l5 is therefore allowed to be automatically oriented toward the position where the tapes Fl, F2 are progressively unreeled from the respective spools Sl, S2 while such position is gradually shifted radially inwardly toward the central axes of the spools Sl, S2 as the tapes Fl, F2 are dispensed. Such automatic reorientation of the tape guide l5 toward the tape unreeling position is effective in smoothly guiding the tapes Fl, F2 into the tape guide l5 and properly mating the tapes Fl, F2 within the tape guide l5 at all times until the tapes Fl, F2 are fully unwound from the spools Sl, S2. The tape guide l5 is prevented from being dislodged from the slot l4 by the retainer plate 22 which engages the inner surface of the side panel l3. Figure 5 shows a tape guide 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The tape guide 30 is of a hollow unitary structure made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, or the like. The tape guide 30 has a guide channel 3l extending therethrough and a pair of cylindrical coaxial stopper or retainer rods 32, 33 mounted respectively on upper and lower surfaces thereof substantially centrally in the width of the tape guide 30 across the guide channel 3l. The tape guide 30 also has a locking finger 34 formed by a recess 35 defined in a front end 37 of the tape guide 30 near the stopper rod 32. The locking finger 34 is inclined upwardly away from the guide channel 3l and has a notch 36 defined in its upper surface in line with the stopper rod 32. The locking finger 34 thus constructed is resiliently deformable toward the guide channel 3l until it lies almost flatwise in the recess 35. The tape guide 30 can be inserted in the slot l4 by placing the tape guide 30 in the housing ll and moving the front end 37 of the tape guide 30 into the slot l4 while depressing the locking finger 34 against the resiliency thereof until the front end 37 projects from the slot l4. Then, the locking finger 34 is released to spring back or erect about the notch 36, thereby sandwiching the side panel l3 of the housing ll between the locking finger 34 and the stopper rod 32. With the tape guide 30 thus positioned in the slot l4, the rear end 38 of the tape guide 30 located in the housing ll can freely swing about the space between the stopper rod 32 and the erected locking finger 34. The stopper rods 32, 33 engage the inner surface of the side panel l3 to retain the tape guide 30 in the housing ll, and also serve to prevent the tape guide 30 from being tilted with respect to the vertical axis of the tape guide 30 so that the tapes Fl, F2 can be unreeled off the respective spools Sl, S2 at equal rates. Figure 3 shows the manner in which the male and female surface-type fastener tapes Fl, F2 are progressively unwound from the respective spools Sl, S2 and drawn out of the housing ll through the tape guide l5 typically by the user who pulls the tapes Fl, F2. The tapes Fl, F2 as they are unreeled off the spools Sl, S2 are twisted 90° in opposite directions so that their surfaces bearing the hooks and loops are brought into face-to-face relation. The tapes Fl, F2 are displaced toward each other by the tape guide l5 when they enter the tape guide l5. While the tapes Fl, F2 are progressively passed into and through the tape guide l5, the hooks and the loops on the tapes Fl, F2 are interengaged to combine or mate the tapes Fl, F2 together in a proper relative position within the guide channel 2l. The mated tapes Fl, F2 are subsequently drawn out of the housing ll as a combined continuous surface-type fastener F. Therefore, the pair of properly mated tapes Fl, F2 can smoothly be pulled manually out of the case l0 for use or sale. Normally, the terminal ends of male and female surface-type fastener tapes are fixed to their spools by adhesive tapes. Where male and female surface-type fastener tapes are stored in and to be dispensed from the case l0 of the invention, the terminal ends of the tapes should not be bonded or otherwise connected to the spools, so that the entire tapes can smoothly be drawn out of the case l0. This is advantageous because the empty spools Sl, S2 can immediately be replaced with new spools after the tapes have been dispensed away.

Claims: 1. A case (l0) for storing and dispensing a surface-type fastener (F), comprising a housing (ll) including a side panel (l3) having a slot (l4), and a pair of substantially coaxial spools (Sl, S2) for supporting male and female surface-type fastener tapes (Fl, F2) respectively thereon, characterizing in that said spools (Sl, S2) are rotatably disposed in said housing (ll) and axially disconnected from said housing (ll), and a tape guide (l5; 30) is swingably supported in said slot (l4) by said panel (l3), said tape guide (l5; 30) having a guide channel (2l; 3l) of a cross-­ sectional shape complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the male and female surface-type fastener tapes (Fl, F2) which are mated together. 2. A case (l0) according to claim l, said tape guide (l5; 30) having a front end (25; 37) positioned in said slot (l4) with a rear end (26, 38) swingable with respect to said housing (ll). 3. A case (l0) according to claim l, said spools (Sl, S2) being placed side by side within said housing (ll), said housing (ll) having an openable and closable cover (l2) lying substantially perpendicularly to the axes of said spools (Sl, S2). 4. A case (l0) according to claim l, said tape guide (l5) having a retainer plate (22) projecting away from said guide channel (2l) and a locking finger (23) projecting away from said guide channel (2l), said side panel (l3) being sandwiched between said retainer plate (22) and said locking finger (23). 5. A case (l0) according to claim l, said tape guide (30) having a pair of stopper rods (32, 33) projecting in opposite directions away from said guide channel (3l) and a locking finger (34) projecting in one of said directions away from said guide channel (3l), said side panel (l3) being sandwiched between one of said stopper rods (32, 33) and said locking finger (34). 6. A case (l0) according to claim 5, said locking finger (34) being resiliently deformable toward said guide channel (3l). 7. A case (l0) according to claim l, each said spool (Sl, S2) including a hollow shaft having at one (l7) of its opposite end a flange (l8), a further flange (l9) detachably mounted on the other end of said shaft (l6), and a cap (20) snappingly fitted to the other end of said shaft (l6).

Inventors: ASAHI, SADAHO, MINAMI, HIROO, YAMADA, YASUO
Applicants: YOSHIDA KOGYO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: A44B18, B65H75, B65D25, B65D85, B65D83