Zip fastener
A zip fastener is provided for opening and closing and opening in an article such as a cargo pack for mounting on a bicycle. The zip fastener comprises zip tracks and a slider which is movable between opened and closed positions. In the closed position, the slider is accommodated within a hood. A gutter component is secured to the inside face of the pack and defines a gutter which can receive water, such as rainwater, leaking past the zip tracks in the region of the closed position of the slider. A drain hole is provided which allows liquid accumulating in the gutter to pass to the exterior of the pack. This measure prevents rainwater and the like from reaching the contents of the pack.
1 . An article having an opening and a zip fastener for closing the opening, the zip fastener comprising:
a pair of zip tracks;
a slider which is displaceable along the zip tracks between an open position of the zip fastener at which the zip tracks are released from each other and a closed position of the zip fastener in which the zip tracks are engaged with each other to close the opening;
a gutter provided on an inside surface of the article near an end of a first wall of the article, the gutter comprising a gutter component which is formed from a water-impermeable material and which extends across the zip tracks, the gutter component having side edges which are secured in a watertight manner to a material of the article on each side of the zip tracks and an end edge which is secured in a watertight manner to the material of the article near the end of the first wall; and
a drain hole in the material of the article providing a flow path from the gutter to an exterior of the article.
2 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the gutter component is secured to the material of the article by welding.
3 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the gutter extends at least beneath a region between the slider in the closed position of the zip fastener and an end of the pair of zip tracks.
4 . The article as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the gutter extends in a direction that the pair of zip tracks extends in for a certain distance less than a length of the pair of zip tracks.
5 . The article as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the gutter extends in the direction towards for a distance less than 10% of the length of the zip tracks.
6 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the gutter comprises an open end facing towards the direction that the pair of zip tracks extend in.
7 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a hood which is provided on the exterior of the article for accommodating the slider in the closed position of the zip fastener.
8 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the zip fastener extends downwardly from near a second wall toward the end of the first wall, the second wall being opposite the first wall.
9 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the article is a cargo pack provided with attachments for securing the cargo pack to a frame member of a bicycle.
10 . The article as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the article is made from a flexible material to which the zip tracks are secured.