Woven Fastener Stringer Hiding Coupled Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional slide fasteners with woven fastener stringers fail to adequately hide coupled fastener elements when used in an inside out manner, leading to design and presentation issues in shoes, and they suffer from increased thickness and poor bendability and sliding performance when used in boots.
Innovation Solution
A woven fastener stringer configuration with a tape main body and an element attaching portion, where a continuous element row is woven and fixed, using weft threads, upper and lower fixing warp threads, and fastening warp threads, with specific direction conversions and extension portions to minimize visibility and maintain stability and balance of forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the continuous element row is woven into the element attaching portion with the engaging head portion projecting outward, then the fastener elements can engage smoothly, but the coupled fastener elements become visible from the front surface, causing design and presentation issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional arrangement by making the engaging head portion recessed into the fastener tape rather than projecting outward. The element attaching portion is extended toward the engaging head portion, allowing the head to be hidden within the tape structure while maintaining engagement functionality. This inversion resolves the contradiction by making the fastener elements invisible from the front surface while preserving smooth engagement operation.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the element attaching portion is extended toward the engaging head portion to hide fastener elements, then visibility is reduced, but the thickness of the fastener tape increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by extending the element attaching portion specifically in the region near the engaging head portion, rather than uniformly increasing the thickness of the entire fastener tape. This localized extension allows the head to be hidden while minimizing the overall volume increase. The extension is concentrated only where needed for hiding the fastener elements, maintaining thinness in other areas of the tape.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple warp threads are used to fix the continuous element row, then the attachment stability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fixing function into multiple warp threads with distinct roles: ground warp threads for basic structural support, upper fixing warp threads for securing the upper leg, lower fixing warp threads for securing the lower leg, and fastening warp threads for alternating straddling of upper and lower legs. This segmentation provides comprehensive stabilization through distributed fixing points, achieving high attachment stability while maintaining manageable complexity through functional differentiation.
Data Source
AI summary
In a woven fastener stringer, a weft thread is folded back while interlacing with a upper direction converting portion configured by an upper fixing warp thread and a lower direction converting portion configured by a lower fixing warp thread on a side close to engaging head portions of fastener elements. An upper extension portion configured by the upper fixing warp thread is placed in adjacent to a tape main body side of the upper direction converting portion. A lower extension portion configured by the lower fixing warp thread is placed in adjacent to the tape main body side of the lower direction converting portion. According to this, when a slide fastener is used in an inside out manner, it is possible to make it difficult to see the coupled fastener elements.