Abstract:
A female component of a press stud including a monolithic body made by hot forming and defining a housing seat for a retaining member housed in the housing seat and intended to lock a corresponding male component in position selectively during use. A locking lip, integral with the monolithic body, extends from the housing seat and is deformed so as to partially close the housing seat in order to secure the retaining member therein. In order to produce the female component, the monolithic body is hot formed, and the locking lip is deformed after the introduction of the retaining member into the housing seat, by hot or cold crimping, upsetting or deformation in general.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the general field of press studs. While not being limited thereto, the invention has been devised with particular regard to a female component for a press stud, also known as a press fastener, to be fitted, for example, on a fabric flap in order to connect it to another fabric flap on which a corresponding male component has been fitted. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are various known press studs in which the female component comprises a cavity housing a magnet, a spring, a plastic ring or other retaining member for the purpose of securing, in use, a corresponding male component in connection with the female component, while still allowing it to be detached with a small degree of force. 
     These female components of press studs operate in the correct manner, but the manufacturing method, based on the cutting and bending of one or more metal sheets, limits the configurations that can be obtained. Purely by way of example, female components for press studs having square or polygonal outer profiles cannot be produced, except by means of complicated and costly operations which do not always give satisfactory results in terms of appearance. Furthermore, it is practically impossible to use the conventional techniques for manufacturing female components of press studs with complex profiles, such as star-shaped, knurled, or more generally scalloped profiles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a female component for a press stud which can be produced simply and economically, in configurations and shapes which may be complex, while maintaining an excellent capacity for connection to the male component by means of a retaining member housed and secured permanently in the female component. 
     In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention proposes a female component of a press stud comprising a monolithic body made by hot forming, defining a housing seat to accommodate a retaining member housed in the housing seat and intended to lock a corresponding male component in position during use, with a locking lip, integral with the monolithic body, extending from the housing seat and partially closing the housing seat to secure the retaining member therein. 
     A female component whose body is monolithic and produced by hot forming can offer a very considerable freedom of choice regarding the shape which can be produced, with benefits in relation to the creativity of designers and the demands of the fashion market. At the same time, the housing seat and the locking lip deformed so as to partially close the seat can securely house within the female component a retaining member capable of providing the technical functionality, in terms of the locking and release of the press stud, which is typical of press studs according to the prior art, produced by cutting and bending sheet metal. 
     Preferably, the retaining member is an elastically deformable member. More specifically, an annular plastic member may advantageously be used. In a variant, however, the retaining member has general properties of magnetic attraction. 
     Advantageously, the monolithic body and the locking lip integral therewith are made of plastic, or aluminium or an alloy thereof, or zinc or an alloy thereof such as brass or, more preferably, Zamak. The hot forming may include methods of hot moulding, injection or pressure casting, for example the injection of plastic material or Zamak, or hot pressing of brass. 
     The locking lip initially extends from the retaining member housing seat to allow the latter to be mounted in the monolithic body. The locking lip is then advantageously bent by crimping, upsetting or plastic deformation in general, preferably by a cold process, to partially close the housing seat, thus forming an annular edge which allows the retaining member to be secured in the housing seat. 
     The invention also relates to a press stud comprising a female component of the aforementioned type, interacting with a corresponding male component of a generally known type. The male component may also be made by hot forming, for example by the hot moulding, injection or pressure casting of aluminium or alloys thereof, zinc or alloys thereof, such as brass or Zamak, or plastic. 
     The present invention also relates to a method for producing a female component of a press stud, comprising the steps of:
         hot forming a monolithic body of a female component of a press stud, defining within it a housing seat from which there extends a locking lip which is integral with the monolithic body,   inserting a retaining member into the housing seat,   partially closing the housing seat by deforming the locking lip in order to secure the retaining member in the housing seat.       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be made clear by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which refers to the attached drawings, given purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a longitudinal section through a press stud with a male component fastened to a female component according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 2  is a longitudinal section through the female component of the press stud of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view, taken in the direction of the arrow III, of the female component of  FIG. 2 , 
         FIG. 4  shows a longitudinal section through a female component according to a variant of the present invention, 
         FIG. 5  shows a longitudinal section through the female component of  FIG. 2  during the production process, and 
         FIG. 6  shows a longitudinal section through the female component of  FIG. 4  during the production process. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the reference numeral  10  indicates the whole of a press stud comprising a male component  12  engaged by a snapping action or by pressure in a female component  14 , using an elastically deformable member which, in the specific example shown in the figures, is composed of an elastic ring  16 , preferably made of plastic and preferably having a substantially polygonal shape. The characteristics of an elastic ring  16  of this type are, for example, those illustrated in the document WO 1997/15207 filed by the present applicant. Clearly, the type and shape of the elastically deformable member housed in the female component is not essential for the purposes of the present invention, and can therefore be varied widely, not being limited to the example shown in the appended drawings. For example, the elastically deformable member may be a metal split ring. The elastic ring  16  may also be replaced with another retaining member, for example a magnetic member, which may be non-annular, in which case the male component will have a known shape suitable for engagement with this magnetic member. 
     The male component  12  is inserted into the female component  14  in an axial direction Z-Z and is secured therein by the elastic ring  16 . For this purpose, the male component  12 , of a generally known type, comprises a base structure  22  from which a stem  20  projects, this stem terminating in a head  18 . The stem  20  has a portion  20   a  of smaller diameter than that of the head  18 , such that the elastic ring  16  engages elastically with this portion  20   a  in the closed configuration of the press stud  10 , after the head  18  has been passed through it. 
     The base structure  22  of the male component  12  can be fixed, for example, to a flap of a garment by one of the methods known in the art, for example by sewing, riveting, stapling, gluing, or another known method. The shape of the male component  12  illustrated by way of example in  FIG. 1  is not to be considered as limiting the present invention. For example, if the female component comprises a magnetic retaining member, the male component may be similar or identical to the female component described above, or, more generally, it is not necessary for a portion of the stem  20   a  to have a smaller diameter than the head  18 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it can be seen that the female component  14  comprises a base structure formed by a monolithic body  30  with an external contour  32  which is, for example, polygonal. This shape has been selected purely as an illustration and example of the present invention and is not to be considered as limiting the innumerable possible shapes of the monolithic body  30 , particularly its profile which is completely visible to a user, comprising both the lateral perimetric surface and portions of the front surface which are visible to the user, for example after the female component has been fitted to a garment or the like. The shape of the monolithic body  30  may be different from the illustrated polygonal shape, and may, for example, be round, square, elliptical, heart-shaped or star-shaped, or, more generally, may be scalloped or may have any imaginative or geometrical shape, whether symmetrical or otherwise. 
     In a substantially central area of the monolithic body  30 , on the side opposite that which is to be placed in contact with a fabric or substrate, in other words on the side which is visible when the female component is fixed to a fabric or substrate, there is a cavity  34  which extends along the axis Z-Z. An inner portion  34   a  of the cavity is substantially cylindrical or preferably slightly flared to facilitate the forming of the female component during its production, and has a (maximum) diameter which is smaller than that of an outer annular portion  34   b  which acts as a housing seat  38  for the elastic ring  16 . A locking lip  40 , preferably annular and bent radially towards the axis Z-Z, secures the elastic ring  16 , or other similar retaining member, in the housing seat  38 . 
     The monolithic body  30  and the locking lip  40  of the female component are formed integrally with each other as one piece from a single material. In particular, they are not produced by the deformation of a sheet of metal, as in a known method for forming female components for press studs, but are produced by hot forming, for example by hot moulding, injection or pressure casting of metal or metal alloy, such as aluminium and its alloys, zinc and its alloys such as brass and Zamak, or plastic materials. The zinc alloys known as Zamak are particularly suitable for the application of the present invention, because they are easily workable and economical. 
     The female component  14  may also be formed from plastic, in which case the locking lip  40  is again formed integrally in one piece with the monolithic body  30 . In this case, the forming method preferably includes the use of injection moulding for forming these parts. 
       FIG. 4  shows a variant of the female component  114 , with identical numbers indicating elements identical to those described above. The female component  114  comprises a base structure formed by a monolithic body  130  with an external contour  132  which is, for example, polygonal. As in the embodiment described above, the polygonal shape depicted here has been chosen purely as an illustration and example of the present invention, and is not to be considered as limiting. 
     In a substantially central area of the monolithic body  130 , on the side to be placed in contact with a fabric or substrate, there is a cavity  134  which extends along the axis Z-Z. The cavity  134  acts as a housing seat  138  for a ring of elastic material  16  (or other similar retaining member) and for a cup-shaped body  150 . The cup-shaped body  150  has a lateral wall  152  which is preferably substantially cylindrical, and a base  154  having a hole  156  for fixing the female component  114  to a fabric or other substrate. At the end opposite the base  154 , the lateral wall  152  of the cup-shaped body  150  is extended in the form of an enlarged annular edge  158 , having a greater diameter than the lateral wall  152 , within which the elastic ring  16  is housed. A locking lip  140 , which extends from the monolithic body  130  and is preferably annular, is bent towards the axis Z-Z and secures the ring of elastic material  16  and the edge  158  of the cup-shaped body  150  in the housing seat  138 . 
     The monolithic body  130  and the locking lip  140  of the female component  114  are formed integrally with each other, in one piece, from a single material, while the cup-shaped body  150  is a separate element. In particular, the cup-shaped body is preferably produced by deformation of a metal sheet, while the monolithic body  130  is produced by the hot forming of metal, metal alloy or plastic, as described above for the monolithic body  30  of the first embodiment. 
     The female component  14 ,  114  is produced in successive processing steps. In a first step, a molten material (plastic or metal) is formed in a mould into a monolithic body  30 ,  130  having a locking lip  40 ′,  140 ′, as shown, respectively, in  FIG. 5 , which relates to the first embodiment of the female component  14 , and in  FIG. 6 , which relates to the second embodiment of the female component  114 . The locking lip  40 ′,  140 ′ extends around the edge of the cavity  34 ,  134  in the direction of the axis Z-Z, so that there are no undercut parts which would complicate the demoulding of the piece after the solidification of the molten material. 
     With reference to the first embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the open locking lip  40 ′ of the female component  14  allows the ring of elastic material  16  or other retaining member to be inserted into the cavity  34 . After insertion, the open locking lip  40 ′ is deformed and bent towards the axis Z-Z, so as to assume the configuration of  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in which the final locking lip  40  partially closes the cavity and secures the elastic ring  16  therein. 
     In the second embodiment, shown in  FIG. 6 , both the elastic ring  16  or other retaining member and the cup-shaped body  150  are inserted into the cavity  134  when the lip  140 ′ is open. The open locking lip  140 ′ is then deformed and bent towards the axis Z-Z, so as to assume the final configuration of  FIG. 4 , in which the final locking lip  140  partially closes the cavity  138  and secures the elastic ring  16  therein. 
     If the component is made of metallic material, then, depending on the dimensions and thickness of the locking lip  40 ,  40 ′;  140 ,  140 ′, it is possible to carry out the operation by hot or cold crimping, upsetting or, more generally, deformation. On the other hand, if it is made of thermoplastic material, it is preferable to heat the component locally to make the lip sufficiently malleable to be deformed so as to partially close the housing cavity  134 . 
     As mentioned above, the production process described here provides a simple and economical way of obtaining a component with a practically unlimited range of customization options in terms of the perimeter, designs, relief, processing, inserts, and the like, which would be impossible for a component made from a suitably formed sheet, owing to the limitations imposed by its processing. 
     Clearly, provided that the principle of the invention is retained, the forms of embodiment and the details of construction can be varied widely from what has been described and illustrated, without departure from the scope of the invention.