Patent Publication Number: US-6701584-B2

Title: Zipper guard

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to an attachment to a zipper slide for reducing zipper snags, and relates in particular to a one-piece attachment which may be snap-fit or molded to a zipper slide. 
     2. Description of Prior Developments 
     Guides for zipper slides have been developed for the purpose of minimizing snags between the zipper slide, zipper teeth and surrounding fabric material, as well as snags with other objects which may become lodged between the zipper slide and the zipper teeth. Although these guards provide adequate performance, their structure can be somewhat complicated and the guards can be difficult to mount on the zipper slides. An example of such a zipper guard is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,308, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a guard for a zipper slide which is easy to mount, inexpensive to fabricate and install, and which can be quickly and easily applied to new zippers or retrofitted to existing zippers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been developed to meet the needs noted above, and therefore has as an object the provision of a guard for a zipper slide which is easy to mount on a zipper slide and which is inexpensive to manufacture. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a guard for a zipper slide which can be quickly and easily retrofitted to existing zipper slides. 
     These and other objects are met by the present invention which is directed to a one-piece homogeneous plastic molded guard for a zipper slide. The guard includes a resilient snap-fit mounting which allows the guard to be quickly and easily mounted to a lug or lugs typically provided on conventional zipper slides. 
     By molding the entire guard as a single one-piece homogeneous molding, the cost of the guard is minimized. Moreover, no assembly of components is required to construct the one-piece guard. It is quickly and easily applied with a simple snap-fit mounting to a zipper slide, either at the time the zipper is fabricated or retrofitted on an existing zipper. 
     A particular advantage of the present invention is its simple one-piece molded construction which minimizes its cost and facilitates its mounting on a zipper slide. Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a simple snap-fit mounting which positively secures the guard to a lug or lugs present on most zipper slides. 
     The aforementioned objects, features, and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity, and will, in part, become clear from the following more detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form an integral part thereof. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a top right rear perspective view of a zipper guard constructed in accordance with the invention and fitted to a conventional zipper slide; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the zipper guard of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a rear view of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a left side elevation view of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a top left rear perspective view of the zipper guard of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 8 is a top right front perspective view of the zipper guard and zipper slide of FIG. 1, with the pull tabs removed from the zipper slide for clarity; and 
     FIG. 9 is a view in central section taken along line  8 - 8  of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described in conjunction with the drawings beginning with FIG. 1, which shows a zipper slide assembly  10  constructed in accordance with the invention. Slide assembly  10  includes a guard body member  12  connected to a conventional zipper slide  14 . 
     The zipper slide  14  includes a first or upper slide plate  16  connected to a second or lower slide plate  18  which together define a central channel  20  through which zipper teeth are guided in a known fashion. As seen in FIG. 9, a post  21  interconnects the upper and lower slide plates  16 ,  18 . Pairs of first and second sidewalls  22 ,  24  respectively extending toward one another from the first and second plates  16 ,  18  define a pair of longitudinally-extending slots  26 . The slots  26  allow for the passage of fabric strips to which the rows of zipper teeth are connected. 
     In the example of FIG. 1, zipper slide  14  is shown fitted with a pair of pull tabs  28 . Each pull tab  28  is pivotally connected to a pull tab lug  30  extending outwardly from a central portion of each slide plate  16 ,  18 . While two pull tabs are shown, the guard body member  12  can be readily connected to a zipper slide having only a single pull tab  28 . 
     Lugs  30  are generally arcuate or arch-shaped members extending above and over their respective slide plates so as to respectively form a pair of openings or sockets  32  between the lugs and slide plates. A pair of arms  34  on each pull tab  28  is pivotally anchored within the sockets  32  in a known fashion. 
     As further seen in FIGS.  1  and  7 - 9 , guard body member  12  is connected to and projects forwardly from the front end of the zipper slide  14 . Guard body member  12  is preferably formed as a one-piece homogeneous plastic molding. The plastic is selected to have significant abrasion resistance. 
     A particularly suitable plastic is acetyl plastic, but any other tough and somewhat resilient plastic can provide acceptable performance. Plastic is preferred to metals, as plastic will cause less wear on modern plastic zipper teeth than a similar guard formed of metal, and plastic can be easily and economically molded. 
     Guard body member  12  can be formed separately from the zipper slide  14  and later connected to the zipper slide with a snap-fit connection, as described below. Alternatively, guard body member  12  can be molded directly to the zipper slide  14  in, for example, an insert molding operation. In either case, by molding the guard member  12  as a single plastic part, it can be manufactured extremely economically. 
     As seen in FIGS. 1-6, the guard member  12  is formed with a tapered or rounded leading edge portion or nose portion  35  having forwardly converging front sidewalls  36 . Sidewalls  36  diverge rearwardly to a pair of substantially parallel opposed rear split sidewalls  38 . The front portions of the upper surface  40  and lower surface  42  of the guard body member  12  taper forwardly toward one another as they converge at the tip  44  of the nose portion  35 . 
     In this manner, the nose portion  35  is formed as a compound wedge having a first wedge defined by forwardly converging front sidewalls  36  and by a second wedge defined by forwardly converging upper and lower surfaces  40 ,  42 . This compound wedge acts as a plow to plow away fabric and other material that would otherwise cause a zipper snag if allowed to enter the front entrances  46  of the guard member  12  and then into the zipper slide  14 . 
     As seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, the guard member  12  has a somewhat bullet shaped profile when viewed from above, below and from either side. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front and rear views define a generally rectangular profile. 
     A front entrance port or front opening  46  is formed in the guard body member  12  through each of the front sidewalls  36  to receive zipper teeth attached to a zipper strip. As seen in FIG. 9, each opening  46  extends rearwardly into an internal channel  48 . The channels  48 ,  48  converge rearwardly toward one another and open rearwardly into a nest or pocket  50  via rear entrance ports or rear openings  52 . 
     A longitudinally-extending slot  54  extends rearwardly from each front opening  46  along and through each rear sidewall  38 . Each slot  54  extends inwardly from each sidewall  38  and opens into and communicates with each internal channel  48 . The slots  54  align with the slots  26  on the zipper slide  14  to allow for the passage of a fabric strip on which zipper teeth are connected. 
     The internal channels  48  and slots  54  separate and divide the central and rear portions of the guard body member  12  into four rearwardly-extending cantilevered legs. One pair of legs  56 ,  58  extends along and over one side of pocket  50  and a second pair of legs  60 ,  62  extends along and over the opposite side of pocket  50 . As seen in FIGS. 1 and 9, the legs act as zipper slide engagement members. 
     The rearward end portions of each pair of legs  56 ,  58  and  60 ,  62  are respectively separated by an open notch or socket  64 ,  66 . Socket  64  extends from the upper surface  40  into pocket  50  and socket  66  extends from the lower surface  42  into pocket  50 . Sockets  64 ,  66  are dimensioned to receive the lugs  30  with a close fit as seen in FIG.  7 . 
     As seen in FIGS. 2,  6  and  8 , in order to securely retain the guard body member  12  on the zipper slide  14 , each leg  56 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62  is formed with an inwardly projecting cantilevered connector member, such as a hook or tooth  68 . Each pair of laterally opposing teeth  68  defines a nip region  70  between them, at the entrance to each respective socket  64 ,  66 . 
     Nip region  70  is dimensioned to receive lug  30  with a resilient over-center interference snap-fit. As the lugs  30  are pressed into the sockets  64 ,  66 , they enter the nip regions  70  and cause the legs  56 ,  58 ,  60  and  62  to deflect slightly laterally outwardly toward their respective sidewalls  38 . Once the lugs  30  pass through the nip regions  70 , the teeth  68  resiliently snap inwardly into the openings or sockets  32  beneath the lugs  30  and act as resilient latches or hooks which securely and tightly hold the guard body member  12  on the zipper slide  14 . 
     In this manner, the guard body  12  is securely connected and anchored to the zipper slide  14 . As seen in FIG. 9, the pocket  50  within the guard body  12  has a contoured arched inner front surface which matches the contour of the front portion  71  of the zipper slide  14  so as to receive the zipper slide with a close secure interfit when the lugs  30  are embraced within the sockets  64 ,  66 . Raised ribs  72  may be provided on the upper and lower surfaces  40 ,  42  around the sockets  64 ,  66  to provide strength and rigidity to the toothed latches  68 . 
     There has been disclosed the best embodiment of the invention presently contemplated. However, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. For example, the rear corners on each leg  56 - 62  can be chamferred, for example, along dash lines  74  as shown in FIG.  2 . This gives the guard body member  12  a rearwardly tapering or converging boat tail profile which reduces interference with the surrounding material as the zipper slide moves rearwardly.