Patent Application
20050193528
The entire disclosures of Japanese patent application number 2004-062800 filed on Mar. 5, 2004 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Background
This invention relates to a reverse-separating device for a slide fastener used on a clothes having an opening formed in its front, such as a jumper, overcoat; and particularly to a reverse-separating device made of metal attached to the ends of a slide fastener for opening and closing a pair of right and left fastener stringers of the slide fastener.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, there has been known an ordinary separating device which is comprised of a separable pin attached to the bottom end of one of the two stringers and a retainer attached to the bottom end of the other stringer. The retainer is comprised of a retainer box and a retainer pin which extends upward from the retainer box and is of a U-shaped cross-section. The retainer box and the retainer pin either can be made as one unit at one time by a die-casting process. Alternatively, they can be separately made and thereafter be assembled by clamping the retainer pin within the retainer box. In either method, the retainer pin is clamped onto the bottom end of one fastener tape. In order to close the slide fastener, the separable pin attached to one stringer is inserted into the retainer box attached to the other stringer, and thereafter, the slider moves upward to close the slide fastener.
A reverse-separating device for a slide fastener is shown in the specification of UK Patent Application Publication No. 624334. A retainer pin 100 of this reverse-separating device is reproduced in
The ordinary separating device which is comprised of the retain box, the retain pin and the separable pin described first above cannot be used as a reverse-separating device.
On the other hand, the retainer pin 100 of the reverse-separating device reproduced in
In view of the problems mentioned above, it is an object of this invention to provide a metal-dicast reverse-separating device for a slide fastener wherein a retainer pin and a separable pin are simple in construction and so each can be produced in a single step, and furthermore, the retainer pin and the separable pin can be efficiently subjected to feeding operation with an automatic parts feeding machine.
It is another object of this invention to provide a metal-dicast reverse-separating device wherein the retainer pin can be clamped to the bottom end of the fastener tape through its plastic deformation reliably, easily and sightly.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a metal-dicast reverse-separating device, wherein the retainer pin is attached to the fastener stringer with the stopper spaced from the lower edge of the fastener tape and the impact that the stopper suffers when the stopper stops the reverse-separating slider will not influence the end of the fastener tape, so that the retainer pin is durable.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a metal-dicast reverse-separating device which is improved in strength to endure stresses tending to thrust up perpendicularly of the fastener chain, wherein the stopper sets up the limit up to which the separable pin can be inserted into the reverse-separating slider, to thus determine accurate relative position between the retainer pin and the separable pin.
It still another object of this invention to provide a metal-dicast reverse-separating device wherein the retainer pin can maintain its predetermined posture and the retainer pin and the reverse-separating slider can keep engaged with each other reliably.
In accordance with this invention, a reverse-separating device for a slide fastener is comprised of a pair of fastener stringers including a pair of fastener tapes and two rows of fastener elements mounted along the respective opposed longitudinal edges thereof The reverse-separating device comprises a retainer pin made of metal and attached to the lower end of one fastener stringer, a separable pin made of metal and attached to the other stringer and a reverse-separating slider mounted reciprocally on the rows of the fastener elements and having a pair of flange formed on its respective opposed sides. Each of the retainer pin and the separable pin comprises a pair of upper and lower walls, a side wall connecting the upper and lower walls along the front edge thereof and a slit formed longitudinally along the rear edge to thus provide a U-shaped cross-section. At the lower end of the slit, the upper wall and the lower wall of the retainer pin project rearward beyond the slit and are connected by a bridge portion to thus provide a loop-like stopper with a cavity formed therein The loop-like stopper is adapted to abut against the flange of the reverse-separating slider and to stop the downward movement thereof.
Description will be now made below about the reverse-separating device according to the embodiment shown in
As shown in
The presence of the loop-like stopper 22 at the bottom end of retainer pin 5 permits the upper and lower walls 15, 16 to plastically deform uniformly over the entire length of the retainer pin 5, thus facilitating clamping the retainer pin 5 to the fastener tape 2a. In addition, the loop-like stopper 22 has the following additional advantage. If the stopper 22 were left U-shaped as the rest of the retainer pin 5, instead of being looped; retainer pins would be likely to be tangled with each other when they are ground by a barrel grinding machine or they are fed by an automatic feeding machine, etc. Once they are tangled, it is difficult and tedious to untangle the tangled retainer pins. Since the stopper 22 is of loop-like shape, the retainer pins will never be tangled, so that they can undergo smooth grinding and feeding operation.
As better shown in
Then, as shown in
In order to attach the separable pin 6 to the reinforced portion 12b of the fastener tape 2b, the reinforced portion 12b is first inserted into the slit 48 of the separable pin 6, and then, the upper wall 45 and the lower wall 46 of the separable pin 6 are compressed with the reinforced portion 12b interposed therebeween, so that the upper wall 45 and the lower wall 46 of the separable pin 6 firmly claim the reinforced portion 12b of the fastener tape 2b therebeween, with their locking ribs 41 biting the reinforced portion 12b.
As mentioned above, the separable pin 6 has the projecting fin 27 formed on its side wall 47 and adapted for overlapping engagement with the projecting fin 25 of the retainer pin 5. With this construction, once the retainer pin 5 and the separable pin 6 are engaged within the reverse-separating slider 3, they can be maintained in arcurate relative positions even if the reverse-separating device is subjected to severe stresses tending to thrust it up perpendicularly to the fastener plane. Furthermore, the projecting ledge 28 is formed on the upper end of the projecting fin 27 in such a way to project laterally therefrom. With this construction, when the separable pin 6 is inserted through the upward-separating slider 4 into the reverse-separating slider 3 as shown in
The reverse-separating slider 3 and the upward-separating slider 4 have their respective element-passing channels 34 formed therein, through which the fastener elements 7a, 7b pass. Specifically, each slider 3, 4 has a pair of upper and lower wings 33 arranged in parallel to each other and joined by a guidepost 30 to define between the upper and lower wings 33 an element-passing channel 34 through which the fastener elements 7a, 7b pass. The element-passing channel 34 of each slider 3,4 extends longitudinally of the slider 3, 4 or from the shoulder side to the bottom side thereof The upper and lower wing 33 have respective pairs of opposed flanges 31 protuberantly formed along their opposed side edges or on the opposite sides of the element-passing channels 34 and adapted for guiding the fastener elements 7a, 7b when they pass through the element-passing channel 34. The reciprocation of the reverse-separating slider 3 and the upward-separating slider 4 along the rows of fastener elements 7a, 7b causes the fastener elements 7a, 7b of the right and left fastener stringers 1a, 1b pass through the element-passing channels 34 of the reverse-separating slider 3 and the upward-separating slider 4, thus bringing the fastener elements 7a, 7b into coupling or uncoupling disposition.
Turning to the operation of the reverse-separating device; first, the reverse-separating slider 3 slides along the fastener stringer la incorporating the retainer pin 5 downward or towards the retainer pin 5 until the front end of the flange 31 of the reverse-separating slider 3 comes into abutting engagement with the stopper 22 of the retainer pin 5. Then, the upward-separating slider 4 slides downwards or towards the retainer pin 5 until the upward-separating slider 4 comes into abutting engagement with the bottom end of the reverse-separating slider 3. Then, as shown in
As shown in
In order to fully open the left and right fastener stringers 1a, 1b, the reverse-separating slider 3 is moved down towards the retainer pin 5 into abutting engagement with the stopper 22 of the retainer pin 5, and then the upward-separating slider 4 is moved down towards the reverse-separating slider 3 into abutting engagement with the reverse-separating slider 3, so that the left and right fastener stringers 1a, 1b are separated except for their bottoms. Then, the separable pin 6 attached to the other fastener stringer 1b is pulled apart from the reverse-separating slider 3 and the upward-separating slider 4, so that the left and right fastener stringers 1a, 1b are fully opened. In the slide fastener incorporating the reverse-separating device according to the present invention, the fastener elements 7a, 7b, the retainer pin 5, the separable pin 6, the upward-separating slider 4 and the reverse-separating slider 3 are all made of metal. The slide fastener is attached to the front side of a jumper, overcoat or other garment where an opening is formed in its front.
Conclusions, Ramifications, and Scope:
The retainer pin and separable pin of the reverse-separating device according to this invention are simple in construction, and so they each can be produced in a single step through die-casting process. When each of the retainer pin and the separable pin is clamped to the respective fastener tape, the upper and lower walls of the retainer pin undergoes plastic deformation throughout the entire length Since the stopper of the retainer pin is a loop-like with a cavity formed therein, the stopper will not prevent its upper and lower walls from being plastically deformed uniformly throughout their entire length. Furthermore, while a multiplicity of retainer pins are subjected to a grinding process in a barrel grinding machine or a feeding process in an automatic parts feeding machine, etc., the retainer pins will never be tangled with each other, so that the retainer pins can undergo grinding and feeding operations, etc. smoothly.
Furthermore, the retainer pin has a pair of recesses formed on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower walls in the region of the stopper. With this construction, when the retainer pin is clamped to the lower end of the fastener tape, it can undergoes plastic deformation through the entire length, so that the retainer pin can be attached to the fastener tape reliably and sightly.
The retainer pin is attached to the fastener stringer with its stopper slightly spaced from the lower edge of the fastener tape or the fastener stringer. Therefore, the impact that the stopper suffers when the stopper stops the reverse-separating slider will not influence the end of the fastener tape, so that the reverse-separating device is durable. The retainer pin can be used reliably for a long period of time.
The retainer pin and the separable pin have their respective projecting fins formed longitudinally on their respective side walls so as to project forward therefrom. When the retainer pin and the separable pin are disposed in opposed relation, the projecting fins of both pins comes into overlapping engagement with each other. With this construction, even if the reverse-separating device is subjected to heavy stresses tending to thrust up perpendicularly of the fastener chain, the proper relative position between the retainer pin and the separable pin will not be disrupted, so that the coupled fastener element rows will never be uncoupled from their bottom ends. Furthermore, the separable pin has a projecting ledge formed on the upper end of the projecting fin so as to extend laterally therefrom and the projecting ledge is adapted to abut against the projecting fin of the retainer pin and to thus prevent the separable pin from further moving into the reverse-separating slider. Therefore, the separable pin is prevented from being inserted more than needed, so that the wearer can place the retainer pin and the separable pin in suitable relative position reliably and easily.
When the stopper of the retainer pin comes into abutting engagement with the flange of the reverse-separating slider, the lower end of the front edge of the retainer pin abuts against the guidepost of the reverse-separating slider, while the rear edge of the retainer pin abuts against the inner surface of the flanges of the reverse-separating slider, so that the retainer pin can be firmly retained within the reverse-separating slider. Therefore, the retainer pin is supported within the reverse-separating slider at their three points and so can maintain its predetermined posture therein, and the stopper and the flange of the reverse-separating slider can keep engaged with each other reliably.
While the above descriptions contain many specificities, these shall not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplificatons of embodiments thereof. Many other variations are possible. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and the legal equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-062800 | Mar 2004 | JP | national |
