Device for securing a fabric material to a support surface

Claim 1

A fastener for securing a flexible sheet of fabric, such as a boat cover, to a support surface, the fastener comprising: a tongue member (16) adapted to be mounted on the support surface (2), and a mouth element adapted to be fixed through the fabric (1) and to cooperate with the tongue member, the mouth element comprising a front plate (11) and a rear plate (4) between which the fabric is clamped, the rear plate comprising a base member having an opening (8) therein and two separate resilient straight walls (5, 6) projecting outwardly from the base member substantially perpendicular to the plane thereof, one along each of two opposite edges of the opening, the walls incorporating locking means and passing through a hole (13) in the fabric which registers with the opening in the base member, and the front plate having an opening (12) therethrough which snap fits over the locking means on the walls, the locking means releasably holding the front and rear plates together so that the fabric is clamped therebetween, the tongue member having a projection (17) which passes through the opening in the base member, through the hole in the fabric and through the opening in the front plate in which the projections closely fits, and holding means (7) for retaining the projection in position when it has been passed through the openings and the hole, said locking means comprising flanges (9, 10) at the free outer edges of the walls, the flanges being adapted to snap away from each other over the edges of the opening in the front plate, and wherein one of the base member and the front plate has an elongate recess (14) and one of the front plate and the base member has a complementary shaped projection (15) which extends into the recess with a part of the fabric clamped therebetween when the front and rear plates are snap fitted together.