Information
-
Patent Grant
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6654988
-
Patent Number
6,654,988
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Date Filed
Tuesday, November 26, 200222 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, December 2, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 024 421
- 024 419
- 024 429
- 024 420
- 024 424
- 024 425
- 024 430
- 024 436
- 024 437
- 294 36
- 070 68
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A stoppable zipper slider is mainly a set of sustaining leaf springs, consisting of a single or a pair of pieces, on the inner surface of the covering portion of the zipper slider. The set of sustaining leaf springs, of single piece or two pieces, with one end sustaining downward against the top surface of a stopping hook piece and the other end propping up in between the tail of the hook piece and the slider body, enable a pull tab's sliding along a reserved gap within the covering portion and propping the bottom of one leaf spring open and then entering a braking notch of the stopping hook piece so as to accomplish the action of re-assembly.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stoppable zipper slider, wherein a pull tab can be re-assembled thereto, and more particularly to a zipper slider providing re-assembly of a pull tab to satisfy the necessity of changing to another non-specific pull tab.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional zipper sliders can be classified into two types, stoppable ones and non-stoppable ones. Non-stoppable zipper sliders are in widespread use in the art. Without the function of stopping motions, a zipper slider is likely to run away unexpectedly. Stoppable zipper sliders have a stopping hook piece (so-called a horse hook) embedded within the slider body. Since a post of the stopping hook piece can insert between in the teeth of a zipper while the zipper slider is moving thereabout, the zipper slider is stopped after being positioned at a location, and therefore unexpected runaway of a zipper can be avoided. This type of zipper sliders can be applied to both visible and invisible zippers. The conventional design uses a sustaining leaf spring install inside the covering portion of a zipper slider. By propping up the stopping hook piece by the downward sustaining leaf spring, the post of the stopping hook piece can insert between the teeth of a zipper accordingly so that the zipper slider is in a stabilized state. By pulling the pull tab of a zipper slider, the post of the stopping hook piece is driven to depart from the teeth so that a free control of zipper movement is enabled.
The above-mentioned stoppable zipper sliders must be fabricated in one sequence by which a stopping hook piece, sustaining leaf spring(s) and pull tab are simultaneously pre-installed within a covering portion and then sealed. Therefore, the slider body and the pull tab of the conventional stoppable zipper sliders are inseparable. That is, replacing the pull tab in a later fabrication sequence is out of the question. Restricted by fabrication in one sequence, a pull tab's shape, appearance, brand name, label, color and style cannot be changed subject to different needs, hence it is very inconvenient for both the manufacturers of zipper sliders and the downstream industries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a design of a braking zipper slider capable of a pull tab being reinstalled. That is, a braking zipper slider can be composed in advance and provides the flexibility of a secondary installation of a pull tab at a later time. Therefore, downstream industries can select an arbitrary pull tab for installation as needed, free from the limitation of fabrication in one sequence.
It is an secondary object of the present invention to provide a design of a braking zipper slider capable of a pull tab being reinstalled, wherein a set of sustaining leaf springs, consisting of a single or a pair of pieces, are embedded on the inner surface of the covering portion of the zipper slider; one end of the sustaining leaf spring(s) sustains downward against the upper surface of a stopping hook piece, and the other end sustains between the tail of the hook piece and the slider body. With such a design, a pull tab's can slide along a gap within the covering portion, prop the bottom end of the second leaf spring open and then enter a braking notch of the stopping hook piece so as to accomplish the action of reinstallation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2
is an edge view with all components assembled of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3
is an assembled cross sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4
is a diagram that illustrates a pull tab being inserted in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5
is a diagram that illustrates a replaceable pull tab embedded in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6
is an exploded edge view of a replaceable pull tab embedded in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a diagram showing the state of the pull tab being pulled in the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8
is an exploded edge view of the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9
is an edge view with all components assembled of the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10
is an assembled cross sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11
is an exploded edge view with all components disassembled of the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12
is a cross sectional view with all components assembled of the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13
illustrates the embodiment of the fixing and integration of the covering portion and the inserting section by two pivoting pins piercing through them.
FIG. 14
illustrates the embodiment of applying double riveting to integrate the covering portion and the inserting section.
FIG. 15
illustrates the embodiment of adding corresponding inserting pieces to the covering portion and the inserting section.
FIG. 16
is an edge view with all components in
FIG. 15
assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in
FIGS. 1
3
, the present invention is related to a “stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab” that includes a slider body
1
, a stopping hooking piece
2
, a set of sustaining leaf springs
31
,
32
, and a covering portion. Working together with a pull tab
5
, they constitute a stoppable zipper slider (as shown in FIG.
6
).
A slider body
1
is slidably mounted to the zipper for movement between a closed position and an open position, having an inserting section
11
formed on the top surface thereof and blocks
12
molded on both sides of the inserting section
11
for embedding a covering portion
4
. On one side of the inserting section an aperture
13
is chiseled for embedding a stopping hook piece
2
. At a corresponding location, a groove
14
is formed for the hook head
21
of the stopping hook piece
12
to insert thereinto and be held in a fixed position.
A stopping hook piece
2
having a hook head
21
, a post
22
and a hook tail
23
forms a braking notch
24
between the post
22
and the hook tail
23
. The stopping hook piece
2
is inserted in the aperture
13
of the slider body
1
, with the hook head
21
aligned with the groove
14
, the post
22
settled within the aperture
13
, and the hook tail
23
propping against a sustaining leaf spring
32
.
A set of sustaining leaf springs
31
,
32
consists of a first leaf spring and a second leaf spring. The first leaf spring
31
, being V or U shaped and embedded on a inner wall within the covering portion
4
, sustains downward against the top surface
25
of the stopping hook piece
2
. The second leaf spring
32
has one end embedded on the inner wall within the covering portion
4
and the other end sustaining against between the hook tail
23
of the stopping hook piece
2
and the slider body
1
.
A covering portion
4
, being a hallow shell, has a recess
41
underneath the middle section thereof. The front section of the covering section is mounted firmly on the inserting section
11
and blocks
12
of the slider body
1
by pivoting or riveting. There is a slot
43
formed at the rear end for the insertion of one end of the second leaf spring
32
. Moreover, there reserves a gap
44
in between the bottom of the rear section
42
and the slider body
1
, as shown in FIG.
3
.
A pull tab
5
, as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, gets into the braking notch
24
by pushing open the second leaf spring
32
along the reserved gap
44
of the covering portion
4
. After the pull tab
5
gets in, the second leaf spring
32
restores its original sustaining status so as to seal the pull tab
5
in the reserved gap
44
, completing the action of reinstallation (as shown in FIG.
6
).
According to the “Braking Zipper Slider Capable of A Pull Tab Being Reassembled” as realized by the present invention, prior to the pull tab being pulled (as shown in FIG.
5
), the post
22
of the stopping hook piece
2
prop up against the teeth of the zipper, and therefore the slider body
1
is held in a fixed position. When the pull tab
5
is pulled (as shown in FIG.
7
), the stopping hook piece
2
is lifted up and the post
22
thereof departs from the teeth, and therefore the slider body
1
returns to the sliding state, by which a free control of zipper slider movement is enabled.
FIG.
8
and
FIG. 10
illustrate another embodiment of this present invention in which the inserting configuration of the second leaf spring
32
in the covering portion
4
is modified slightly. The new configuration contains an end piece
321
added to the end of the second leaf spring
32
and the a slot
43
a
formed in the rear section
42
of the covering portion
4
for embedding the end piece
321
of the second leaf spring
32
. Therefore, the rear end piece
321
can protrude and conceal closely in the corresponding slot
43
a
in the rear section
42
of the covering portion
4
to obtain a better effect of fix-position linkage.
Except for the embodiment of the configuration of double sustaining leaf springs, namely, the first sustaining leaf spring
31
and the second sustaining leaf spring
32
, a configuration of single sustaining leaf spring
3
a
can be applied as well if necessary, as shown in FIG.
11
and FIG.
12
. One end of the single leaf spring
3
a
is V or U shaped and sustains downward against the top surface
25
of the stopping hook piece
2
. The other end of the single leaf spring
3
a
extends crookedly to sustain against in between the hook tail
23
of the stopping hook piece
2
and the slider body
1
, so that the pull tab
5
can get into the braking notch
24
through the reserved gap
44
of the covering portion
4
by pushing open the other end
31
a
of the sustaining leaf spring
3
a
, and therefore a re-assembly is accomplished.
The integration of the covering portion
4
and the slider body
1
mentioned above is for combining the covering portion
4
with the slider body
1
firmly. There is no particular restriction on the means used. As the above-mentioned embodiments had shown, the covering portion
4
and the inserting section
11
can be firmly integrated by a pivoting pin
6
passing through the covering portion
4
and the inserting section
11
. Also, either by using two pivot pins
6
passing through the covering portion
4
and the inserting section
11
simultaneously and have them pivoted at a fixed position as
FIG. 13
illustrates, or by applying riveting twice to securely combine them as
FIG. 14
illustrates. Moreover, as
FIG. 15
illustrates, by establishing inlay chunks
411
,
121
correspondently with blocks
12
at one side of the recess
41
at the lower part of the covering portion
4
and have them pivoted at a fixed position by using a pivoting pin
6
passing through the covering portion
4
and the inserting section
11
(Riveting can be applied as well), they can be equally securely combined.
To summarize the above points, it is obvious that, because of the capability of re-assembling a pull tab, the shape or type of the pull tab can be chosen in accordance with the need of downstream manufacturers, and therefore this design of “A Stoppable Zipper Slider Capable of A Pull Tab Being Re-assembled” is provided with novelty and practicality.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab comprising:a slider body having an aperture formed on a top surface thereof; a stopping hook piece embedded in said aperture of the slider aperture; and a covering portion inserted on a top surface of said slider body; said stopping hook piece having a head, a post and a tail, wherein a braking notch is formed between said post and said tail; a set of sustaining leaf springs comprising a primary leaf spring, embedded on an inner wall of said covering portion, sustaining against a top surface of said stopping hook piece and a secondary leaf spring, with one end inserted on an inner wall of said covering portion and the other end sustaining between said tail of said stopping hook piece and said slider body; and said covering portion having a middle section and a recess is formed under said middle section, a front section mounted at said slider body, and a rear section with a slot opened for inserting said one end of said secondary leaf spring; and a gap reserved between a bottom of said rear section and said slider body.
- 2. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1, wherein a pull tab slides along said gap of said covering portion, props a bottom of said secondary leaf spring open and then enters said braking notch of said stopping hook piece.
- 3. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1, wherein an end piece is formed at one end of said secondary leaf spring and said slot for being inserted by said end piece is opened at said rear section of said covering portion.
- 4. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1, wherein an inserting section and a pair of blocks are formed on a top surface of said slider body for embedding said covering portion.
- 5. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1 wherein a groove is formed on a selected location on said slider body for being embedded by said head of said stopping hook piece.
- 6. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1, wherein a shape of said primary leaf spring is one of U shapes and U shapes.
- 7. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 1, wherein said covering portion is a hallow shell, with said front portion embedded in said slider body by a way selected one of pivoting and riveting.
- 8. A stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab comprising:a slider body having an aperture formed on a top surface thereof; a stopping hook piece embedded in said aperture of the slider aperture; a single sustaining leaf spring; and a covering portion inserted on a top surface of said slider body; said stopping hook piece having a head, a post and a tail, wherein a braking notch is formed between said post and said tail; said single sustaining leaf spring having one end sustaining downward against said top surface of said stopping hook piece and the other end extending crookedly and sustaining between said tail of said stopping hook piece and said slider body; and said covering portion having a middle section, and a recess is formed thereunder, a front section mounted at said slider body, and a rear section with a slot opened for inserting said one end of said single sustaining leaf spring; a gap reserved between a bottom of said rear section and said slider body.
- 9. The stoppable zipper slider capable of being reassembled with a pull tab of claim 8 wherein a pull tab slides along said gap of said covering portion, props an end of said single sustaining leaf spring open and then enters said braking notch of said stopping hook piece.
US Referenced Citations (5)