Female snap button and snap button
AssigneeYKK Corporation
InventorsKenji Hasegawa, Hisanori Kato, Yuki Asano, Hiroki Fukushima, Tomoko Taguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A female snap is provided with: a first member for at least partially establishing an opening into which a post is inserted; and a second member which is able to restrict expansion of the opening in order to either increase the force needed for engagement/disengagement, or prohibit engagement/disengagement, of the post with respect to the female snap. The extent of expansion of the opening that is permitted by the second member varies depending on the relative positions of a contracting part of the second member and a contacted part of the first member in a peripheral direction going around the direction of insertion of the post into the opening.
Claims20
A female snap button with which a post of a male snap button is engageable and disengageable, the female snap button comprising:
- a first member at least partially-defining an aperture to which the post is inserted, the aperture being capable of expanding in accordance with the insertion of the post, from a first aperture width to a second aperture width that is greater than the first aperture width, and the aperture being capable of automatically recovering, in accordance with the completion of the insertion of the post, from the second aperture width to the first aperture width;
- and
- a second member capable of restricting the expansion of the aperture toward the second aperture width so as to increase the required force for engagement or disengagement between the post and the female snap button or so as to prohibit the post from engaging and disengaging with the female snap button;
- wherein one of the first and the second members is rotatable relative to the other of the first and second members,
- wherein the second member comprises at least one contact portion that is to be in contact with the first member, and the first member comprises at least one contacted portion that is to be contacted with the contact portion,
- wherein while the one of the first and second members is rotated relative to the other of the first and second members the extent of the expansion of the aperture toward the second aperture width allowed by the second member varies in accordance with the relative position of the contact portion and the contacted portion in a circumferential direction that is around an insertion direction of the post into the aperture, and
- wherein while the one of the first and second members is rotated relative to the other of the first and second members, the width of the aperture at least partially defined by the first member does not reach or exceed the second aperture width.
A female snap button comprising:
- a first member at least partially defining an aperture and capable of transforming from a first state to a second state in a transformation direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of a post of a male snap, wherein at the first state the post is allowed to pass through the aperture and at the second state the post is restricted from passing through the aperture;
- and
- a second member that is capable of restricting the transformation of the first member in the transformation direction,
- wherein one of the first and second members is rotatable relative to the other of the first and second members,
- wherein the second member comprises at least one contact portion that is to be in contact with the first member, and the first member comprises at least one contacted portion that is to be contacted with the contact portion,
- wherein while the one of the first and the second members is rotated relative to the other of the first and second members, the degree of the transformation of the first member allowed by the second member varies in accordance with the relative position of the contact portion of the second member and the contacted portion of the first member in a circumferential direction that is centered around the insertion direction, and
- wherein while the one of the first and the second members is rotated relative to the other of the first and second members, the width of the aperture at least partially defined by the first member does not reach or exceed an aperture width of the aperture when the first member is at the second state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.