US20040163219A1

US20040163219A1 - Protection cover for use on a pull tab of zippers

Info

Publication number: US20040163219A1
Application number: US10/369,639
Authority: US
Inventors: Pearl Wu; Alun Chen
Original assignee: Jovial Phoenix Worldwide Corp
Current assignee: Jovial Phoenix Worldwide Corp
Priority date: 2003-02-21
Filing date: 2003-02-21
Publication date: 2004-08-26

Abstract

The protection cover adapted for use in combination with the pull tab of a zipper is mainly made up of a zipper embodiment, a pull tab and an arc shaped guard cover wherein the zipper embodiment is equipped with a guide slider having an upper wing piece and a lower wing piece with a cantilever coupling arm having one end fixed to the front end of the top surface of the upper wing piece. The cantilever coupling arm is connected to the front ring hole of the pull tab with the guard cover registered therewith. The two ends of the arc shaped guard cover are in contact with the surface of the upper wind piece to form a closed space whereby the guard cover separates the cantilever coupling arm from the ring hole of the pull tab so that the movement of the pull tab will not make the same in friction against the cantilever coupling arm, preventing the pull tab from scrubbing damage by the coupling arm or vice versa in operation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a protection cover, adapted for use in combination with the pull tab of a zipper, and is mainly made up of a zipper embodiment, a pull tab and a guard cover wherein the zipper embodiment is equipped with a guide slider having an upper wing piece and a lower wing piece with a coupling arm having one end fixed to the front end of the top surface of the upper wing piece. The coupling arm is connected to the front ring hole of the pull tab with the guard cover registered therewith. The two ends of the guard cover are in contact with the surface of the upper wind piece to form a closed space whereby the guard cover separates the coupling arm from the ring hole of the pull tab so that the movement of the pull tab will not make the same in friction against the coupling arm, preventing the pull tab from scrubbing damage by the coupling arm or vice versa in operation.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional zipper is equipped with a

zipper embodiment

10 and a pull tab 20 wherein the zipper embodiment 10 includes a guide slider 11 having an upper wing piece 12 and a lower wing piece 13 secured to the top and bottom of the guide slider 111. A cantilever coupling arm 14 having one end fixed to the end of the upper wing piece 12 and the other end free so as to define a small gap 15 at one end for the attachment of the pull tab 20 having a ring hole 21 at one end thereof.

Such a structure has the following disadvantages in operation given as below:

1. The periphery of the

ring hole

21 of the pull tab 20 will abrade against the surface of the coupling arm 14, resulting in the scratching of the surface of both parts.

2. As shown in FIG. 2, the

pull tab

20 will be easily disengaged from the cantilever coupling arm 14 as a result of the expansion of the small gap 15 due to long term operation.

3. The

cantilever coupling arm

14 is easily damaged at its joint with the upper wing piece 12 in production process as a result of excessive force applied thereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a protection cover which can separate the pull tab from direct contact with the coupling arm of a zipper embodiment in operation so as to protect the superficial surface of either the pull tab or the coupling arm from scratching damage due to direct frictional contact in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protection cover which can be registered with the cantilever coupling arm of the zipper embodiment and get the small gap between the coupling arm closed so as to prevent the pull tab from disengagement of the coupling arm as a result of excessive pulling.

One further object of the present invention is to provide a protection cover which is attached to the underside of a coupling arm of a zipper so as to make the connection joint of the coupling arm better protected from damage in the manufacturing process when subject to excessive force whereby defective products can be reduced and the quality of products can be increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the operation mode of a prior art zipper; [0010]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the disengagement of the pull tab from the zipper due to long term operation; [0011]
FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing the exploded components of the present invention; [0012]
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the assembly of the present invention; [0013]
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another assembly of the present invention.[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the perspective diagram of the exploded components in FIG. 3 in combination with FIGS. 4 and 5, the protection cover for use on a pull tab of zippers is mainly made up of a [0015] zipper embodiment 10, a pull tab 20 and an arc-shaped guard cover 30. The zipper embodiment 10 is made up of a guide slider 11, with its ends in integral connection to an upper and lower wing piece 12, 13 and a cantilever coupling arm 14 having one end fixed to the front end of the top surface of the upper wing piece 12 and the other end extended to the front end of the upper wing piece 12 to define a small gap 15. The coupling arm 14 is provided for the attachment of the plate-shaped pull tab 20 which has a ring hole 21 and can be selectively registered with either the guard cover 30 or 30′ that are made of plastic steel with a registration groove 31 or 31′ which is in contact with the inner surface of the coupling arm 14 in assembly. Besides, the end of the guard cover 30′ can integrally and horizontally extend with the registration groove 31′ to form an engagement hole 32′ which is made to fit to the end of the cantilever coupling arm 14. The ends of the guard cover 30 or 30′ are in abutment against the surface of the upper wing piece 12 so as to close the small gap 15 between the cantilever coupling arm 14 and the upper wing piece 12 and define a closed space 16.
In use, the [0016] coupling arm 14 of the zipper embodiment 10 and the ring hole 21 of the pull tab 20 are separated from each other by the guard cover 30 and the ring hole 21 can only move within the closed space 16 so as to avoid metallic components from direct friction with each other, free from superficial scratch of the metallic coupling arm 14 and the pull tab 20. Thus, the appearance of the coupling arm 14 and the pull tab 20 can be maintained without damage. Moreover, the ring hole 21 of the pull tab 20 is limited to move only in the closed space 16 so as to prevent the small gap 15 at the end of the coupling arm 14 from excessive expansion, resulting in the disengagement of the pull tab 20 from the cantilever coupling arm 14. In such a manner, the zipper can be operated with longer term and in better condition.

Claims

I claim:

1. A protection cover adapted for use on a pull tab of a zipper, comprising: a zipper embodiment, a pull tab, an arc shaped guard cover wherein said zipper is made up of a guide slider and an upper wing piece and a lower wing piece that are mounted on the top and bottom of said guide slider respectively; a cantilever coupling arm having one end integrally fixed to a surface of said upper wing piece and the other end is free from any connection so as to define a small gap at the tip of said coupling arm for the passage and registration of said pull tab;

a underside of said coupling arm of said zipper embodiment is registered with said guard cover which is integrally provided with a registration groove on an upper surface thereof for such a registration wherein both ends of said arc shaped guard cover are in abutment against surface of said upper wing piece so as to get a small gap between said coupling arm and said upper wing piece closed and to define a closed space under said coupling arm registered with said guard cover whereby a ring hole of said pull tab is limited to move only in said closed space without easy disengagement from said cantilever coupling arm; and said pull tab is separated by said guard cover from direct contact with said coupling arm in operation so that both said pull tab and said coupling arm are free from mutual scratching.

2. The protection cover as claimed in claim 1 wherein said arc shaped guard cover has a horizontally extended front end in integral connection with said groove of said guard cover and terminating in a hole in match with said front end of said cantilever coupling arm.

3. The protection cover as claimed in claim 1 wherein said guard cover is made of plastic steel.