Ultra-slim fastener and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

An ultra-slim fastener for a bra comprises a male part mounted on a first piece and a female part mounted on a second piece. The male part comprises a planar body having a downwardly depending leg terminating in an outwardly projecting foot extending parallel to the body. The female part comprises a substantially planar frame defining a cavity for reception of the foot. The cavity is roofed in towards the innermost end of the frame only, thereby defining an open mouth towards the outermost frame end. The frame is mounted directly onto a fabric strip. The strip forms a backing for the frame and the bottom of the cavity is closed off. The second piece further comprises an overlay mounted partially above the frame and on the fabric strip, sandwiching the frame between the overlay and the fabric strip. Such a fastener will be very thin yet very strong.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An ultra-slim fastener for securing a first piece and a second piece together, the second piece comprising a fabric strip having a face and an overlay, the fastener comprising:
 a male part mounted on the first piece and a female part mounted on the second piece;   the male part comprising a substantially planar body having an outermost body end, a downwardly depending leg disposed at the outermost body end and terminating in an outwardly projecting foot extending substantially parallel to the plane of the body;   the female part comprising a substantially planar frame having a top, an outermost frame end, an innermost frame end, and defining a cavity for reception and retention of the foot, the cavity being partially roofed in towards the innermost frame end and having a roof and a bottom, thereby defining an open mouth towards the outermost frame end;   the foot, the cavity, and the open mouth being dimensioned so that insertion of the foot into the cavity must be realized by inclining the body of the male part relative to the frame of the female part before bringing the male part and the female part together, retention of the foot in the cavity is realized by pivoting the inserted male part from an inclined orientation to a co-planar orientation with respect to the female part using the roof of the cavity as a fulcrum, and release of the foot from the cavity is realized by pivoting the inserted male part from the co-planar orientation back to the inclined orientation using the roof of the cavity as a fulcrum before moving the male part and the female part apart;   the frame of the female part being mounted directly onto the face of the fabric strip so that the fabric strip forms a backing for the frame and the bottom of the cavity is closed off by the fabric strip; and,   the overlay being mounted onto the top of the frame and onto the face of the fabric strip, sandwiching the frame between the overlay and the fabric strip, the overlay having an aperture corresponding with the open mouth.   
     
     
         2 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the frame of the female part is ultrasonically welded to the second piece. 
     
     
         3 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the open mouth comprises an upstanding collar surrounding the open mouth. 
     
     
         4 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 3  in which a portion of the upstanding collar nearest the innermost frame end extends further upwardly from the frame than the remainder of the upstanding collar. 
     
     
         5 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the cavity of the frame comprises a first downwardly depending flange adjacent the outermost frame end and a second downwardly depending flange, the second downwardly depending flange being positioned adjacent the innermost frame end and being dimensioned to protrude downwardly from the frame by the same distance as the first downwardly depending flange. 
     
     
         6 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the cavity has a side wall adjacent the outermost frame end which slopes towards the outermost frame end from top to bottom. 
     
     
         7 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the foot has a heel portion that slopes away from the outermost body end from top to bottom. 
     
     
         8 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the substantially planar body has an upwardly extending flange adjacent the outermost body end. 
     
     
         9 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the depth of the male part from the uppermost point on the male part to the lowermost point of the foot is no more than 0.0027 m deep. 
     
     
         10 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the depth of the female part from the uppermost point on the frame to the lowermost point of the second piece connected to the frame is no more than 0.0034 m deep. 
     
     
         11 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the depth of the fastener from the uppermost point on the male part to the lowermost point of the second piece connected to the female part when the male part and the female part are engaged is no more than 0.0035 m deep. 
     
     
         12 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the second piece comprises a laminate of tricot fabric and microfiber fabric. 
     
     
         13 . The ultra-slim fastener of  claim 1  in which the first piece comprises a fabric strip, and in which the fabric strip of the first piece comprises at least one of tricot fabric and microfiber fabric. 
     
     
         14 . A method of manufacturing an ultra-slim fastener, the method comprising:
 a. providing an overlay sheet and a fabric strip;   b. providing a female part having a frame and an open mouth;   c. cutting out an aperture in the overlay sheet;   d. bonding the overlay sheet to the fabric strip along at least one edge of both the overlay sheet and the fabric strip;   e. placing the frame of the female part on the overlay sheet with the open mouth in alignment with the aperture in the overlay sheet;   f. bonding the frame of the female part to the overlay sheet;   g. drawing the fabric strip over the other side of the frame of the female part so that a bond line along the bonded edge of both the overlay sheet and the fabric strip is sandwiched between the overlay sheet and the fabric strip; and,   h. bonding the fabric strip to the other side of the frame and bonding the overlay sheet to the fabric strip along any remaining un-bonded edges.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further including:
 in step (d), bonding the overlay sheet to the fabric strip along three edges of the overlay sheet and three edges of the fabric strip thereby forming a pouch; and, 
 in step (g), turning the pouch inside out, thereby drawing the frame inside the pouch. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  in which the overlay sheet is bonded to the fabric strip along one edge but spaced apart from the edge, thereby forming a flap. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the subsequent steps of:
 allowing the overlay sheet and the fabric strip to cool; and 
 trimming the overlay sheet and the fabric strip once they have cooled. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14  in which the steps of bonding the frame, the overlay strip, and the fabric sheet comprise ultrasonic bonding the frame, the overlay strip, and the fabric sheet. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising the steps of:
 folding a first piece back on itself intermediate its ends; 
 bonding one end of the first piece to one side of the body of a male part; and, 
 bonding the other end of the first piece to the other side of the body of the male part. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  comprising the initial step of bonding a layer of tricot fabric to a layer of microfiber fabric.