Zipper slide for invisible zipper

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6510594
  • Patent Number
    6,510,594
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, June 19, 2001
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 28, 2003
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Sandy; Robert J.
    • Jackson; André L.
    Agents
    • Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
Abstract
A zipper slide for invisible zipper is constructed to include a slide base, a hook plate, a spring element, a locating plate, and a pull tab, the hook plate being secured to the slide base at a top side, the hook plate having a hook tip hooked up with a coupling ring at one end of the pull tab, the spring plate being pressed on the hook plate, the slide base, the hook plate, the spring element and the connecting plate being fully automatically fastened together by an automatic stamping machine.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invent relates to invisible zippers and, more specifically to a zipper slide for invisible zipper, which can easily be assembled by an automatic machine.





FIG. 1

shows a zipper slide for invisible zipper according to the prior art. This structure of zipper slide


1


comprises a slide base


10


, a swivel hook plate


11


, a spring


12


, and a pull tab


13


. The hook plate


11


has a middle part pivoted to the slide base


10


by a rivet


111


. The pull tab


13


is coupled to one end of the hook plate


11


. The spring


12


is mounted in the slide base


1


and connected between a part-of the slide base


1


and the one end of the hook plate


11


. This structure of zipper slide


1


is functional. However, because the hook plate


11


is pivotally connected to the slide base


10


by the rivet


111


, the assembly of the zipper slide consumes much labor and, cannot be achieved by a fully automatic machine.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention has been accomplished to provide a zipper slide for invisible zipper, which eliminates the aforesaid drawback. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a zipper slide for invisible zipper, which can be assembled by an automatic machine to save labor and to reduce the manufacturing cost. According to the present invention, the zipper slide for invisible zipper comprises a slide base having a longitudinally extended partition block, a hook plate mounted in a recessed receiving chamber in the partition block of the slide base, a spring element mounted in the slide base and pressed on the hook plate to hold down the hook plate in position, a locating plate fixedly fastened to the slide base, and a pull tab coupled to a hooked tip of the hook plate by a coupling ring. The slide base, the hook plate, the spring element and the connecting plate are fully automatically fastened together by a stamping machine.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a sectional assembly view of a zipper slide for invisible zipper constructed according to the prior art.





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of a zipper slide for invisible zipper constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 3

is an elevational assembly view of the zipper slide for invisible zipper according to the present invention.





FIG. 4

is a side view in section of FIG.


3


.





FIG. 5

is a sectional view showing the pull tab pulled upwardly outwards, the hooked tip of the hook plate disengaged from the hook hole of the slide base according to the present invention.





FIG. 6

is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 7

is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to FIGS. from


2


through


7


, a zipper slide


70


for invisible zipper in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a slide base


20


, a hook plate


30


, a spring element


40


, a locating plate


50


, and a pull tab


60


. An automatic machine to save labor cost assembles the zipper slide


70


.




The slide base


20


is made of metallic material, for example, aluminum alloy or zinc alloy, comprising two parallel guide ways


21


, which receive the respective zipper tapes (not shown) and have a respective rear part disposed in communication with each other, and a longitudinally extended upright partition block


22


, which separates the guide ways


21


. The upright partition block


22


comprises a recessed receiving chamber


23


, having a first receiver


232


which receives the hook plate


30


, a second receiver


231


that receives the spring element


40


, and a hook hole


24


in one end of the recessed receiving chamber


23


.




The hook plate


30


is made of metallic material, for example, aluminum alloy or zinc alloy, having one end terminating in a hooked tip


31


hooked in the hook hole


24


of the partition block


22


of the slide base


20


, an opposite end terminating in a bearing point


32


supported in the first receiver


232


of the recessed receiving chamber


23


of the slide base


20


, and a top face


33


disposed at a top side thereof between the hooked tip


31


and the bearing point


32


and adapted to support the spring element


40


.




The pull tab


60


is made of metallic material, for example, aluminum alloy or zinc alloy, having a knuckle


63


at its one end to which a coupling ring


62


is pivoted for coupling the pull tab


60


to the hooked tip


31


of the hook plate


30


. The coupling ring


62


defines a hole


61


through which the hooked tip


31


of the hook plate


30


passes. As indicated in

FIG. 3

, the coupling ring


62


couples the pull tab


60


to the hook plate


30


. Further, the pull tab


60


can be marked with a trademark or logo.




The spring element


40


may be variously shaped. In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 2

, the spring element


40


is a flat spring plate. In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 6

, the spring element


40


is a curved clamping plate. In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 7

, the spring element


40


is a U-shaped spring plate. When installed, the spring element


40


is pressed on the top face


33


of the hook plate


30


to hold the hook plate


30


in position, keeping the hooked tip


31


of the hook plate


30


hooked in the hook hole


24


of the slide base


20


(see FIG.


4


). When pulling the hook plate


30


upwardly outwards against the spring force of the spring element


40


, the hooked tip


31


of the hook plate


30


is disengaged from the hook hole


24


of the slide base


20


(see FIG.


5


).




The locating plate


50


is made of made of metallic material, for example, aluminum alloy or zinc alloy, and fixedly fastened to the recessed receiving chamber


23


of the partition block


22


of the slide base


20


by stamping to secure the spring element


40


, the hook plate


30


and the coupling ring


62


to the slide base


20


(see FIG.


3


).




According to the present invention, the slide base


20


, the hook plate


30


and the spring element


40


are fastened together by stamping. Because the assembly process of the zipper slide


70


eliminates manual riveting, the manufacturing cost of the zipper slide


70


is low.




A prototype of zipper slide for invisible zipper has been constructed with the features of FIGS.


2


˜


7


. The zipper slide for invisible zipper functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.




Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A zipper slide for an invisible zipper comprising:a slide base, said slide base having a longitudinally extended upright partition block, said upright partition block comprising a recessed receiving chamber and a hook hole in one end of said recessed receiving chamber, said receiving chamber including a first receiver having a pair of distal end portions and a second receiver having a pair of distal end portions; a hook plate displaceably mounted in said slide base, said hook plate having one end terminating in a hooked tip extending into said hook hole of said partition block of said slide base, an opposite end terminating in a bearing point supported in said first receiver of said recessed receiving chamber of said base, and a top face disposed at a top side thereof between said hooked tip and said bearing point, said pair of distal end portions of said first receiver being upset by stamping to retain said bearing point within said first receiver; a flat spring plate having one end mounted in said second receiver of said recessed receiving chamber of said slide base and an opposing end pressed on the top face of said hook plate, said pair of distal end portions of said second receiver being upset by stamping to retain said one end of said spring plate within said second receiver; a locating plate fixedly fastened to the recessed receiving chamber of said partition block of said slide base by stamping; a coupling ring coupled to the hooked tip of said hook plate, said coupling ring defining a hole through which the hooked tip of said hook plate passes; and a pull tab coupled to the hole of said coupling ring.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
90208911 U May 2001 TW
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5625927 Chu May 1997 A
5625928 Terada et al. May 1997 A
5771546 Minato Jun 1998 A
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6314624 Lin Nov 2001 B1