US3070865A

US3070865A - Spring-locking slider for zipper fasteners

Info

Publication number: US3070865A
Application number: US164440A
Authority: US
Inventors: Otto J Huelster
Original assignee: Scovill Inc
Current assignee: Scovill Inc
Priority date: 1962-01-05
Filing date: 1962-01-05
Publication date: 1963-01-01
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-01

Description

Jan. 1, 1963 o. J. HUELSTER SPRING-LOCKING SL'IDER FOR ZIPPER FASTENERS Filed Jan. 5, 1962 as A INVENTOR 0')- 1'0 1 Huelsl'er ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fihce Patented Jan. 1, 1963 Tidy/6,865 SPRlNG-LUCKENG SHEER FOR ZIPPER FASTENERS @tto It. Huelster, Lake Piymouth, Plymouth, gonna, as-

signor to Scovill Manufacturing (lompany, Waterbury, Qonn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Jan. 5, 1962, Seer. No. 164,440 3 Claims. (Ci. 24-2tl5.14)

My invention is an improved spring-locking slider for zipper fasteners.

it is desirable to make automatic or spring-locking sliders of the minimum number of pieces and a threepiece locking slider generally means the slider body, the locking member and the pull tab.

Several attempts have been made along this line but the results have been only partially successful. A long spring member is objectionable because of the amount of material required and the unsightly appearance of a long section of the spring material, which is usually of stainless steel, contrasting with the metal of the slider body. Furthermore, there is more likelihood of damage to a long spring or in fact, any spring which is not sufficiently protected. Some short springs have been proposed which were partially concealed but the resulting product was diflicult to make and expensive to assemble because it was required to be attached to the inner surface of the slider Wing before the slider body was bent to final shape.

T he object of my invention, therefore, is to provide an improved three-piece spring-locking slider overcoming the above drawbacks and having in combination all the desirable features of such a slider. The spring itself is short and economical to manufacture; it is concealed except for an arched bridge engaged by the pull tab; it has comparative easy action, yet reliable to accomplish its purpose. The spring is well protected against outside blows or pressure and finally, it is easy and therefore, economical to assemble.

The spring is held or anchored in position by means of a loop portion at one end of the spring having lateral ears that fit into channels extending outwardly from an opening in the slider wing. it can thus be assembled from the outside after the slider body has been bent up to shape, whereupon it is only necessary to force a lug formed from the wing material downwardly against the spring loop. Also, a force in an upward direction, that is, toward the neck end of the slider, is imparted to the spring by means of a tongue struck out of the loop material with the free end of the tongue bearing against an abutment projecting into the wing opening.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purpose of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my improved lock slider;

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the pull tab and locking member in slider-locked position;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of the upper portion of the slider showing the parts in unlocked position;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective View of the three parts of the slider before assembly; and,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a slider as it appears attached to a Zipper fastener.

In FIG. 5, my improved slider is shown attached to a zipper fastener which may be of any well-known type having a pair of fabric tapes carrying rows of complemental fastener elements or scoops 11.

T he slider body, generally indicated by the numeral 12, is preferably of the type that can be made of sheet metal and consists of a front wing 13, a back wing 14, connected together by a hollow neck portion 15. Each wing has inwardly directed

flanges

16 and 17 which together with the neck define a Y-shaped channel through which the fastener elements 11 pass during opening or closing of the zipper.

in describing the detailed features of the slider and in the use of the terms upper and lower, it is to be understood that the term upper applies to that end having the neck portion of the slider, and the term lower will apply to the opposite or open end of the slider. The front wing 13 is formed with transversely extending upper and lower

spaced openings

18 and 19, respectively, with a bridge 20 of wing material therebetween. From the

openings

18 and 19 are formed upper and

lower lugs

21 and 22 struck outwardly from the front wing material and integral with said wing material on that side of each opening opposite said bridge 20. The

lugs

21 and 22 may be generally S-shaped in contour and are adapted to overlie the

openings

18 and 19, respectively to some extent. The

lugs

21 and 22 are first made to extend at a more upright angle as indicated in dotted line in FIG. 2 for reasons as will appear later.

A locking member 23 is provided preferably made of a strip of flat spring metal and formed with a central arched portion 24 and a U-shaped loop section extending under the upper lug 21. The loop section as shown in FIG. 4 is preferably two

loops

25 and 26 extending parallel to each other and disconnected at their free ends. The inner end of said loops extend into the upper opening 18 and side extensions of these loops provide laterally extending ears 27. The ears are adapted to fit into lateral channels 28 extending outwardly from the side walls of the upper opening, which channels extend completely through the thickness of the upper wing material.

From the stock that originally existed between the

loops

25 and 26 is formed an inwardly-extending spring tongue 29 preferably slightly tapering toward its free end. The free end of the tongue 29 is adapted to bear against an upwardly facing incl ned wall or abutment 36) projecting into the upper opening 18 from the bridge 20. When initially assembled, this tongue is under tension even in the locked position shown in FIG. 2. It is to be noted that the upper section of the

loops

25 and 26 bear against the underside of the upper lug 21, and by reason of the stressed condition of the spring tongue, the inner edges of the cars 27 will be forced into abutting engagement with the adjacent walls of the lateral channels 28, thus establishing a three-point contact for that end of the locking member 23 in anchoring the same to the upper wing 13.

The opposite or lower end of the locking member is provided with an extension 31 projecting through the lower opening 19 and terminating in a locking pin 32 with a shoulder 33 between said pin and arched portion 24. Because of the stressed condition of the spring tongue 29 as described above, the shoulder 33 is normally held down against a ledge 34 extending into the lower opening 19 and forming a part of the bridge 20, or in other words, in locked position as shown in H6. 2.

A pull tab 35 is provided that maybe of any desired shape, but it is usually a rectangular piece of heavy sheet metal having a piercing 36 adjacent one end, resulting in bifurcations 38 connected together at one end of the tab by a through-and-through pintle 39 extending under the locking member arch 24 and confined thereby in the space between the arch 24 and bridge 20.

In the assembly of my three-piece locking slider, the

lugs

21 and 22 are initially disposed in the dotted line position of FIG. 2. The pull tab will first be laid against the upper surface of the front wing 13 with the pintle 39 resting on the bridge 20. The locking member 23 will then be dropped into position from above and with suitable tools. the

lugs

21 and 22 will be forced downwardly to the full line position, wherein the upper lug 21 will contact the upper section of the

loops

25 and 26, forcing that end of the locking member downwardly to a position where the spring tongue 2? will contact and be biased outwardly by the inclined wall 36', thus establishing a threepoint contact for anchoring the locking member as described above and at the same time, imparting tensional stress to said locking member, particularly to the spring tongue.

It is to be noted that the upper surfaces of the

lugs

21 and 22 are substantially on a level with the spring central arched portion 24 which is for the purpose of protecting said locking member against any crushing force from above, such as might occur during ironing. The position and shape of the lower lug 22 is such as to overlie the spring member shoulder 33 and serve as a stop when the spring is pulled to its unlocked position such as shown in FIG. 3.

While I have shown and. described one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it is to be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description, and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A three-piece spiing locking slider for zipper fasteners comprising:

(a) a slider body having front and back wings joined together at one end bya neck so as to provide a -shaped channel between them, said front wing having transversely extending upper and lower spaced openings with a bridge of wing material between them; said upper opening having portions constituting laterally extending channels;

(3 upstanding upper and lower lugs struck up from the material of said front wing, one on the side of each opening opposite said bridge, said lugs extending also over said openings toward each other;

(c) a locking member of spring metal positioned over said bridge and having a central arched portion between said lugs, a U-shaped loop section extending under the upper lug and with the inner portion of said loop extending into said upper opening, an extension at the lower end of said arched portion ex tending through the lower opening and providing a locking pin movable into and out of the slider channel with a shoulder between said pin and arch, said lower lug ext-ending over said shoulder to limit outward movement of said locking member;

(at) ears on the inner portion of said U-shaped loop section projecting into the lateral channels of said upper opening with their upper edges bearing against the adjacent walls of said channels;

(e) an inwardly extending spring tongue projecting through said U-shaped loop section and having its free end bearing against an upwardly facing wall of said upper opening, said upper lug bearing against the outer surface or" said U-shaped loop section to confine the upper end of said locking member with the spring tongue under tension; and,

(f) a pull tab having a pintle extending under said arched portion and confined thereby in the space between said arched portion and said bridge, whereby outward force exerted on the pull tab will move the locking pin out of the slider channel against the spring action of said spring tongue.

2. A slider as defined in claim 1 wherein said loop section is two parallel-spaced loops and wherein said spring tongue extends downwardly between said loops.

3. A slider as defined in claim 1 wherein that portion of the upwardly facing wall of the upper opening against which the spring tongue bears, is inclined.

No references cited.

Claims

1. A THREE-PIECE SPRING-LOCKING SLIDER FOR ZIPPER FASTENERS COMPRISING: (A) A SLIDER BODY HAVING FRONT AND BACK WINGS JOINED TOGETHER AT ONE END BY A NECK SO AS TO PROVIDE A Y-SHAPED CHANNEL BETWEEN THEM, SAID FRONT WING HAVING TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING UPPER AND LOWER SPACED OPENINGS WITH A BRIDGE OF WING MATERIAL BETWEEN THEM; SAID UPPER OPENING HAVING PORTIONS CONSTITUTING LATERALLY EXTENDING CHANNELS; (B) UPSTANDING UPPER AND LOWER LUGS STRUCK UP FROM THE MATERIAL OF SAID FRONT WING, ONE ON THE SIDE OF EACH OPENING OPPOSITE SAID BRIDGE, SAID LUGS EXTENDING ALSO OVER SAID OPENINGS TOWARD EACH OTHER; (C) A LOCKING MEMBER OF SPRING METAL POSITIONED OVER SAID BRIDGE AND HAVING A CENTRAL ARCHED PORTION BETWEEN SAID LUGS, A U-SHAPED LOOP SECTION EXTENDING UNDER THE UPPER LUG AND WITH THE INNER PORTION OF SAID LOOP EXTENDING INTO SAID UPPER OPENING, AN EXTENSION AT THE LOWER END OF SAID ARCHED PORTION EXTENDING THROUGH THE LOWER OPENING AND PROVIDING A LOCKING PIN MOVABLE INTO AND OUT OF THE SLIDER CHANNEL WITH A SHOULDER BETWEEN SAID PIN AND ARCH, SAID LOWER LUG EXTENDING OVER SAID SHOULDER TO LIMIT OUTWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER; (D) EARS ON THE INNER PORTION OF SAID U-SHAPED LOOP SECTION PROJECTING INTO THE LATERAL CHANNELS OF SAID UPPER OPENING WITH THEIR UPPER EDGES BEARING AGAINST THE ADJACENT WALLS OF SAID CHANNELS; (E) AN INWARDLY EXTENDING SPRING TONGUE PROJECTING THROUGH SAID U-SHAPED LOOP SECTION AND HAVING ITS FREE END BEARING AGAINST AN UPWARDLY FACING WALL OF SAID UPPER OPENING, SAID UPPER LUG BEARING AGAINST THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID U-SHAPED LOOP SECTION TO CONFINE THE UPPER END OF SAID LOCKING MEMBER WITH THE SPRING TONGUE UNDER TENSION; AND, (F) A PULL TAB HAVING A PINTLE EXTENDING UNDER SAID ARCHED PORTION AND CONFINED THEREBY IN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID ARCHED PORTION AND SAID BRIDGE, WHEREBY OUTWARD FORCE EXERTED ON THE PULL TAB WILL MOVE THE LOCKING PIN OUT OF THE SLIDER CHANNEL AGAINST THE SPRING ACTION OF SAID SPRING TONGUE.