Snap fastener

A snap fastener, particularly for use on garments, comprising a cup-shaped female component including a conical end wall having a convex inner side and a concave outer side substantially parallel to said inner side, and a rim surrounding said end wall and extending beyond said inner side, said end wall including a central portion having a central opening and an electrically deformable female coupling element surrounding said opening;

• a first anchoring device including an annular first main body portion adjacent the inner side of said end wall and having an aperture and a ring-shaped inner edge face surrounding said aperture, said first main body portion surrounding said female coupling element and said first anchoring device further comprising a ring-shaped outer edge face surrounding said first main body portion and a plurality of deformable first anchoring elements extending from said first main body portion in a direction away from said end wall, said rim overlying said first main body portion around said first anchoring element;
• a first retaining device having a first chamber for said first anchoring elements;
• a male component including a male coupling element insertable into said female coupling element from the concave side of said end wall, said male coupling element including a heat having a maximum diameter exceeding the diameter of said opening in the undeformed condition of said female coupling element so that the female coupling element undergoes radial deformation during insertion as well as during extraction of said male coupling element, said male coupling element further including a plate-like member having a first side facing said head and a second side, a peripheral wall extending from the second side of said plate-like member and a shank connecting said head with said plate-like member, said head having a shoulder facing said plate-like member and said head further having means for deforming said female coupling element of said end wall only within the inner edge face by increasing the conicity of said concave inner side with the exertion of a first force during insertion of said male coupling element into said female coupling element, said deforming means including means for flexing said female coupling element along said inner edge face until the head passes through said opening and said shoulder having means for deforming substantially the entire end wall all the way to said outer edge face with the exertion of a greater second force during extraction of said male component from said female component at which time the entire end wall undergoes deformation in a direction counter to that during insertion of said male coupling element, said deforming means including means for moving said end wall to and beyond a dead-center position in which said end wall is substantially flat and on to a position in which said inner and outer sides are respectively concave and convex as a result of deformation of said female coupling element by said shoulder and in which the diameter of said central opening is increased beyond the diameter of said head;
• a second anchoring device including a second main body portion adjacent the second side of said plate-like member and a plurality of second deformable anchoring elements extending from said second main body portion in a direction away from said plate-like member, said peripheral wall overlying said second main portion around said second anchoring elements;
• and a second retaining device having a second chamber for said second anchoring elements.