US3103049A - Slide fasteners and protective containers - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 10, 1963 E. L. HAWLEY SLIDE FASTENERS AND PROTECTIVE CONTAINERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1961 Sept. 10, 1963 E. L. HAWLEY SLIDE FASTENERS AND PROTECTIVE CONTAINERS Filed June 20, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 10, 1963 E. L. HAWLEY sum: FASTENERS AND PROTECTIVE CONTAINERS Filed June 20, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,103,049 SLlilDiE FAdTENERS AND PRUTEETlVE QGNTAlNI-ERS Edwin L. Hawley, li-lerne Bay, Kent, England, assignor to E353. (Research dz Development) Limited, Kent, England, a company of Great Britain Filed lune 2t 1%1, Ser. No. 1125,4110 Claims priority, apphcation Great Britain; lune 23 196i) 7 Claims. (*Cl. 24-4401) The present invention concerns slide fasteners and pro tective containers and more particularly it concerns slide fastener sliders for use in closing male and female fastener strips by urging them together into interlocking engagement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a slide fastener slider which is completely removable from the fastener strips which it is adapted to close.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided for a slide fastener comprising male and female fastener strips having laterally disposed longitudinal slider guides and formed to interlock by relative lateral movement, a slider comprising: a body dimensioned to straddle locally juxtaposed regions of the fastener strips; opposed closure members carried by said body for engaging the slider guides of locally juxtaposed fastener strip regions straddled by said body to retain the slider on said fastener strip regions; and means for adjusting the separation of said closure members between a closure value corresponding to the spacing of the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips and a release value adequate to release the closure members from the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips to permit removal of the slider therefrom.

Thus the slider may comprise a longitudinally divided two pant body, the opposed closure members being respectively carried by each part of the body, and means being provided to adjust the body parts laterally relatively to one another.

Alternatively, the closure members may be carried on a saddle shaped body part formed of a resiliently flexible material, means being provided to distort the said part to effect the said adjustment of the separation of the closure members.

The present invention .also includes a slide fastener assembly including a slider as described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention therefore, there is provided a slide fastener comprising male and female fastener strips having laterally disposed longitudinal slider guides and formed to interlock by relative lateral movement and a slider comprising: a body dimensioned to straddle locally juxtaposed regions of the fastener strips; opposed closure members carried by said body for engaging the slider guides of locally juxtaposed fastener strip regions straddled by said body to retain the slider on said fastener strip regions; and means for adjusting the separation of said closure members between a closure value corresponding to the spacing of the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips and a release value adequate to release the closure members from the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips to permit removal of the slider therefrom.

The slider guides may conveniently be constituted by longitudinally extending channels.

The fastener strips may, for instance, be those described and claimed in my copending patent application Serial No. 1,290, filed January 8, 1960, now Patent No. 3,074,137.

The slide fastener and slider in accordance with the present invention finds particular application in conjunction with containers intended for the storage and transport of objects which would be liable to deterioration if subjected to atmospheric conditions for substantial periods.

Such containers are desirably provided with access openings and according to another aspect of the invention there is provided a container, particularly for the purpose described above, such container having an access opening, the meeting edges of which are closable by a slide fastener assembly as described above.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention the access opening may extend completely about the perimeter of the container. According to this latter aspect of the invention there is provided a container comprising at least two separable sections; male and female fastener strips having laterally disposed longitudinal slider guides and formed to interlock by relative lateral movement disposed respectively on the perimeters of meeting edges of such sections; and a slider comprising a body dimensioned to straddle locally juxtaposed regions of the fastener strips, opposed closure members carried by said body for engaging the slider guides of locally juxtaposed fastener strip regions straddled by :said body to retain the slider on said fastener strip regions, and means for adjusting the separation of said closure members between a closure value to the spacing of the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips and a release value adequate to release the closure members from the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips to permit removal of the slider therefrom.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with one aspect of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a slide fastener assembly adapted to open .and close the container shown in FIGURE 1 and comprising a closing slider and interlocking male and female fastener strips;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the slide fastener assembly illustrated in FIGURE 2 with the slider in a closing position on the fastener strips;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the slider shown in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are perspective views, exploded and normal, showing an alternative slider, and

FIGURES 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of a slide fastener assembly comprising the fastener strips illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 and the alternative slider illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6, the sections being taken as shown by line 77 of FIGURE 6.

Although the slide fastener slider of the present invention may find a variety of applications in the closure of male and female fastener strips it finds particular utility in conjunction with a container such as designated 1 in FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawings. The container 1 consists of two separable hemi-spherical sections 2 and 3. The meeting edges of the separable parts 2 and 3 .are formed as male and female fastener strips 4 and 5 which may be interlocked and disengaged to close and open the container.

The container it is particularly adapted for the storage and transport of objects subject to deterioration when exposed unprotected to atmospheric conditions for sub stantial periods, and is preferably formed of a substantially moisture and moisture vapour transmission resistant flexible and heat scalable material 6. The material 6 may be a textile fabric made from natural and/or man-made fibres, e.-g. cotton or glass fibre, rein-forced by a thermoplastic synthetic resin, for instance, a vinyl chloride polymer or copolymer resin (hereinafter referred to as P.V.C.). Alternatively the flexible material may be formed of a flexible thermoplastic synthetic resin such as a polyethylene of a polypropylene resin either reinforced or not. The said flexible material may, if required, comprise a moisture and moisture vapour proof barrier layer, laminated with it or bonded thereto. Thus, the said container may be formed of a material such as is described in the co-pending patent application Serial No. 706,782 filed January 2, 1958, now Patent No. 3,035,956, which describes, inter alia, a material composed of at least one moisture-vapour resistant layer of a ductile metal foil (cg. lead) enclosed between fabric reinforced P.V.C. Alternatively the barrier layer may be formed of a synthetic resin having a higher resistance to the transmission of moisture and moisturewapour than P.V.C.

The interlocking fastener strips 4 and illustrated in the drawings (see, for instance, FIGURES 2 and 3) are of the form described and claimed in my said co-pending patent application Serial No. 1,290 though other types of fastener strips may be used. The inwardly facing surfaces of the strips 4 and 5 are respectively formed with a rib 7 of downwardly barbed or hook-shaped and a correspondingly shaped groove 8 for interlockingly receiving the barbed rib 7, the lower parts of the meeting surfaces of the strips being downwardly and outwardly chamfered at 9 and 10 to provide a longitudinally extending gap 11 (see FIGURE 3) at the lower surface of the strips when these are interlocked together, this gap providing for an outward rolling of the upper parts of the strips about a longitudinal, downwardly moving axis as compressive inwardly and downwardly directed pressure is exerted transversely of the interlocked strips near the bases thereof thereby to disengage the strips from one another with opposite outward and downward rolling actions. 1

The strips 4 having the barbed rib 7, hereinafter referred to as the male strip, is preferably, as shown in the drawings, formed with an auxiliary groove 12' above the said rib 7, and in such a case the other strip 5, hereinafter called the female strip, is formed with an auxiliary rib 13 for interlocking engagement with the said auxiliary groove 12, the arrangement being such that, as the strips are pressed together near their bases, as described above, the auxiliary rib 13 is first withdrawn from. the auxiliary groove 12 so as to render the upper shoulder of the groove 8 more flexible and'to thus facilitate the withdrawal of the hook-shaped rib 7 from the groove 8.

The male strip 4 has in its outwardly directed surface, positioned substantially centrally to its height a slider guide constituted channel 14 while the female strip 5 has a similar channel 15 positioned adjacent its base, these channels serving to receive inwardly directed closune parts carried by a slider as will subsequently be described.

The strips are also formed with attachment flanges l6 and 17 having longitudinally extending slots 18 and 19 into which slots the material 6 can be inserted and heat sealed for instance, by high frequency dielectric welding.

The strips described above are formed as extrusions of a flexible and preferably slightly resilient material such as a thermoplastic synthetic resin e.g. P.V.C., polyethylene or polypropylene.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 4 of the drawings a slide fastener slider 20 for laterally urging the previously described fastener strips into interlocked or closed relationship comprises a saddle-shaped body 21 which is longitudinally divided into two similar -shaped) halves 22 and 23 and the dependent arms of which (see FIG- URES 2 and3) are dimensioned to straddle fastener strips 4 and 5- when these are juxtaposed, either locally interlocked or preparatory to being interlocked.

The two halves 22 and 23 of the body, which may conveniently be formed, for example, of a corrosion resistant alloy, e.g. nickel-plated brass, or alternatively as a moulding of a thermosetting or thermoplastic synthetic resin, are secured together So as to be adjustable to and from one another transversely of their lengths, and one half of the slider carries a pair of pins 24 and 25 (see FIGURE 4) projecting from its inner vertical surface into the other half of the slider in order to form polyamide resin.

guides permitting the two slider parts to move towards and away from one another along a definite and predetermined path.

Stop means are preferably provided to prevent the two parts of the slider separating too far beyond a predetermined limit, and for this purpose in the embodiment illustrated the guide pins 24 and 25 are in the form of long studs screwed into one half 23 of the slider and projecting beyond the inner surface of the latter and into the other slider half 22 the studs being freely slidable in half 22 but having their heads 26 and 27 located in countersunk bores 23 and 29 so that, when the slider halves 22 and .13 are fully separated the heads 26'and 27 engage the bases of bores 23 and 2?.

Adjustment of the two slider halves relatively to one another between a closure and a release value of the fastener strips is effected by a central transverse screw 35) rotatably mounted in one of the slider parts 23 and screwing into the other part 22, said screw '30 being restrained against axial movement in the part of the slider in which it is ro-tatably mounted. In the embodiment illustrated, the screw 30 may be located in a transverse bore 31 in the part 23 and have at one end 'a large knurled head 32 housed in a recess 33 in the part 23 with a part of such heat projecting above the top of the slider part so that the head and screw are easily operatable by digital action, the other end of the screw engaging in a correspondingly screw-threaded bore 34 in the other slider part.

The countersunk bores 28 and 29 are located in a recess 35 in the side of the slider body and a cover plate 36 is secured to this recess by screws 37 and 38. A similar cover plate 39 is secured by screws 40 and 41 to a similar recess 42 on the other side of the slider body.

' The plate 39 serves to restrain head 32 of the screw 30 against axial movement out of its recess 33.

Each end of the slider is furnished with a closure member mounting part 43 and 44, such parts being centrally vertically divided into two halves each of which is carried by the corresponding half of the slide-r.

The said parts 43 and 44 at the opposite ends of the slide fastener slider 29 are of identical form and are preferably formed of a relatively friction free or self-lubricating material such as a molybdenum disulphide impregnated They are preferably formed as injection mouldings but they may be extruded as rods subsequently transversely divided or otherwise suitably made.

The parts 43 and 44- may be regarded as vanes which are screwed by four screws 45 to the opposite ends of the body parts of the slider and each of which is adapted to straddle the juxtaposed or locally interlocked fastener strips 4 and 5, the closure members 43 and 44 being recessed to receive the strips and the recesses being shaped so as to conform with the external cross-sectional shape of the fastener strips e and *5 and to provide inwardly directed closure members 46, 47, 48 and 49 for engagement in the previously described longitudinal slider guide channels l4 and 15 in the strips 4 and 5.

Each of the recesses 5i and 5 1 defined by the two halves of each closure member is substantially inverted U-shape, one substantially vertical inner edge of the recess being provided, at a position substantially half-way down the depth thereof, with an inwardly and slightly upwardly directed closure member 46-, 4d respectively, while the other inner vertical edge of each said recess is formed at its base with an inwardly directed closure member 4-7, 48 respectively, and a notch 52 is provided in the edge of the closure member immediately above the last named member 47, 38 to receive the part of the strip 5 which overhangs the channel 15 with which the closure member 47 or 8 engages.

The internal configurations of the recesses 50 and 51 of the vanes d3 and 44 of the slider 2t) correspond (see FIGURE 3) when the slider is adjusted to closure value of the separation of the closure members 46 and 47 and 48 and 49 with the external configuration of the interlocked fastener strips 4 and 5 so that the vanes 43 and 44 closely embrace the fastener strips 4 and 5 and the closure members 46, '47, 48 and 49 are urged into the channels '14 and 15 when the slider is closed.

The closing of the interlocking strips may be efiected by bringing a localised portion thereof into interlocking engagement as shown in FIGURE 2. or into juxtaposed side-by-side positions, adjusting the slider 20 to a release value of the above members 46 and 47 and 48 and 49 (see FIGURE 2 again), placing the slider over the locally interlocked or juxtaposed strip portions, operating the adjusting screw 3!) so as to adjust the slider closure members to a closure value as shown in FIGURE 3 and thereafter traversing the slider along the strips to interlock them together.

After closing the fastener strips 4 and 5 in this way, the slider 2% may then be adjusted by rotation of the screw 34 to a release value of its closure members and the slider completely removed from the fastener strips and used, for example, for operating other fasteners, or placed in store. Alternatively, the slider may be left in its closed position on the interlocked strips.

To disengage the interlocking male and female fastener strips 4 and 5 from one another, digital pressure is applied to the strips in opposite inward directions near the bases thereof where they are joined to the container which they are adapted to close, this inward pressure having the effect of causing the two strips to roll about a rolling longitudinally disposed fulcrum in order first to disconnect the auxiliary interlocking rib 13 and its auxiliary groove 12 to relieve the groove 3 which receive the barbed rib 7 of restraining pressure at its upper shoulder and so to facilitate the continued rolling of the strips about the said fulcrum to disengage the barbed rib 7 from its co-operating groove 8. When the strips have been separated at one point the remaining parts thereof may readily be pulled apart by hand. I

Referring now to FIGURES 5 through 8 of the drawings an alternative slider 53 comprises a body 54 in the shape of a saddle, the arms 55 and 56 of which are adapted to straddle the strips 4 and 5 when these are juxtaposed. The body is preferably formed as an injection moulding from a polyamide resin or like synthetic material. The body has a central transverse aperture 57 into which depends a saddle-shaped part 58 carrying the closure members.

The saddle-shaped part 58 is carried in a rigid pushpu-ll member 59 consisting of two substantially inverted U-shaped parallel plates 6% and 61 integral with and depending at right angles from. the long edges of an elongated strip 62 forming a hand grip for the push-pull member. This strip 62 is of such a length as to project on either side of the body 54 and has inclined knurled lower edges 63 at its projecting parts. The dependent legs of the U-shaped plates 6% and 61 are interconnected at their lower parts by rollers 64 and 65. The push-pull member 59 embraces the saddle-shaped part '58 which is constituted by .a vane of resiliently flexible self-lubricating material such as a molybdenum disulphide-impregnated polyamide resin which vane carries the inwardly-directed closure members 66 and 67 which are adapted to engage with the slider guide channels 14 and 15 of the fastener strips 4 and 5. The shape and configuration of the recess 68 of the resilient saddle-shaped part 58 and the disposition of the closure members 66 and 67 are identical to those of closure members 43 and 44- previously described with reference to FIGURE 3. The saddle-shaped part 58 is of substantially inverted U-shape and is secured to the body 54 at the former top centre by a pin 69 (see FIGURE 5) passing through a hole 90 in the upper central part of the saddle-shaped part 58. The pin 69 is secured to the under surface of the sliders body 54 under the aperture 57 by a pair of plates 70 and 71 secured by screws 72 and 73. The pin 69 and plates 76 and 71 are located inshaped recesses 74 and 75 in the underside of the slider body (see FIGURE 5). The vane at either side of the pin is provided with vertical slits 78 and 79 to enhance its flexibility. The saddle-shaped part 58 is formed at its upper part with outwardly directed shoulders 76 and 7-7 and the dependent legs of the vane are formed at their lower parts with outwardly directed feet 8% and 81. Referring now to FIG- URES 7 and 8 of the drawings it will be seen that when the push-pull member 59 is pulled outwardly from the slider body the rollers '64 and 65 engage the shoulders 76 and 77 and distort the closure member vane or saddleshaped part 58 so that the closure members 66 and 67 are flexed from out of the slider guide channels 14 and 15 of the strips 4 and 5. Pushing the member 59' back in the direction of the slider body, on the other hand, will allow the flexibility of the saddle-shaped part 53- to return the closure members 66 and 67 into the channels 15 and 16 while pressure of the rollers 64- and 65 on the feet 81 and 80 will urge the said members into the channels and hence urge the strips 4 and '5 into interlock. Preferably the flexible closure member or saddle-shaped part 58 will be in stable equilibrium in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 7 and this equilibrium will not be disturbed till the rollers 64 and 65 engage the feet 8b and 81.

The closing operation of the slider comprises locally interlocking the strips 4 and 5, adjusting the slider to a release value of the closure members as shown in FIG- URE 7, positioning the slider on the locally inter-locked strips, adjusting the slider to a closure value of the closure members as shown in FIGURE 8 and then traversing the slider along the strips.

The slider 53 is completely removable from the fastener strips 4 and S, and is disengaged therefrom by pulling the push-pull member 59 upwardly. Commensurate with the upward movement of the push-pull member, the rollers 64 and 65 roll upwardly, along their respective surfaces of engagement with the saddle-shaped part 58, from their positions as shown in FIGURE 8 to those as shown in FIGURE 7, thus flexing the resilient saddle-shaped part so that the closure members 66 and 67 thereof will pivot out of engagement with the fastener strip slider guides 14 and 15. The slider 53 is then merely lifted off the fastener strips 4 and 5.

I claim:

1. For a slide fastener comprising male and female fastener strips having laterally disposed longitudinally extending slider guides and formed to interlock by relative lateral movement, a slider comprising: a substantially U- shaped body adapted to straddle locally juxtaposed regions of the fastener strips and having means defining a transverse aperture thereof which is open at the surface of said body which is generated by the cross-bar portion of its said U-shape; a push-pull member comprising a pair of depending parallel plates fixed in registering spaced relation with one another and movable vertically in and out of the said transverse aperture; a roller mounted on the depending end of each of said plates; a saddleshaped part of resiliently flexible material mounted on said body between said plates; inwardly directed closure members carried by said saddle-shaped part and adapted for engagement with the slider guides of the fastener strips at such locally juxtaposed fastener strip region; said closure members and said body defining a longitudinallly extending passage from end to end of the slider for receiving the fastener strips whereby the slider is adapted for movement along any continuous length of such strips; said saddle-shaped part having oppositely disposed and exterior facing roller bearing surfaces respectively engaged by said rollers whereby pulling movement of the push-pull member out of the said aperture causes said rollers to distort the saddles-haped part so as to adjust the separation of the closure members to a value permitting removal of the slider from the fastener strips and whereby pushing movement of the push-pull member into the said aperture causes said rollers to permit return of said saddle-shaped part to its initial condition to adjust the separation of the closure member to a value corresponding to the spacing of the slider guides of interlocked fastener strips.

2. For a slide fastener comprising a pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending fastener strips adapted to interlock by relative lateral movement and including respective longitudinally extending slider guide regions along opposite exteriorly facing surfaces thereof, a slider comprising: a substantially U-shaped body defining a longitudinally extending passage for receiving said fastener strips, a pair of closure members respectively disposed on opposite sides of said body passage and mounted for movement in respectively opposite transverse directions with respect to each other whereby an end of each closure member moves into and substantially out of said body passage, said respective ends of the closure members being adapted to engage said-respective slider guide regions of said fastener strips in manner to interlock the strips when said ends of the closure members are moved into said body passage, and a push-pull member including a pair of depending portions disposed transversely of said body and for respectively engaging said closure members, said pushpull member being mounted for movement between a first position and a second position thereof with respect to said body and said pair of closure members, whereby upon movement of said push-pull member to its said first position its said depending portions respectively engage said closure member to move said respective ends of the closure members into said body passage, and upon movement of said push-pull member to its said second position said respective ends of the closure members move substantially out of said body passage.

3. A slider according to claim 2 wherein said pair of closure members are mounted for pivotal movement about respective end locations thereon which are spaced from said respective ends thereof, and said push-pull member spending portions respectively engage said closure members at respective locations which are spaced from the locations of pivotal movement of the latter, whereby movement of said push-pull member to its said first position pivots said closure members to move their said respective ends into said body passage and movement of said pushpull member to its said second position pivots said closure members to move their said respective ends substantially out of said body passage.

4. For a slide fastener comprising a pair of oppositely disposed, longitudinally extending fastener strips adapted to interlock by relative lateral movement and including respective longitudinally extending slider guide regions along opposite exteriorly facing surfaces thereof, a slider comprising a substanitally U-shaped body defining a longitudinally eXtending passage for receiving said fastener strips, a saddle-shaped part of resiliently flexible material mounted transversely of said body passage and including a cross-bar portion and a pair of closure members depending from said cross-bar portion and respectively disposed on opposite sides of said body passage, said saddleshaped part cross-bar portion having slit means extending thereinto from an upper edge thereof whereby said closure members are substantially pivotable, about respective upper end locations thereof adjacent said slit means, in respectively opposite transverse directions with respect to each other whereby a lower end portion of each closure member moves into and substantially out of said body passage, said respective lower end portions of the closure members being adapted to engage said respective slider guide regions of saidfastener strips in manner to interlock the strips when said lower end portions of the closure members are moved into said body passage, and a push-pull member including a pair of depending portions disposed transversely of said body and respectively engaging said closure members, said push-pull member being mounted for slidable movement between a first position and a second position thereof with respect to said body and said saddleshaped part, whereby slidable movement of said push-pull member to its said first position pivots said closure members to move their said respective lower end portions into said body passage and slidable movement of said push-pull member to its said second position pivots said closure members to move their respective lower end portions substantially out of said body passage.

5. A slider according to claim 4 wherein said saddleshape'd part is secured at a center location along its said cross-bar portion to said body at a center location along the cross-bar portion of its said U-shape, and said slit means comprise a pair thereof located respectively on either side of said center location of said saddle-shaped part cross-bar portion, and said saddle-shaped part further includes a pair of oppositely disposed and exterior facing bearing surfaces respectively associated with and extending in the direction of its said depending closure members, and said depending portions of the push-pull member respectively engage said bearing surfaces of the saddleshaped part.

6. A slider according to claim 5 wherein each of said depending portions of the push-pull member has a roller mounted on the depending edge thereof, each said roller being in roller cont-act engagement with the respective of said bearing surfaces of the saddle shaped part with which said push-pull member depending portions are associated, whereby said push-pull member depending portions are in roller contact engagement with said saddle-shaped part when said push-pull member is in its said first and second positions. 7

7. A container comprising at least two sections which are joinable and completely separable from each other along the full length of respective and oppositely disposed cofacing peripheral edges thereof, a fastener strip attached to and extending continuously along each of said cofacing edges of the sections, said fastener strips being adapted to interlock by relative lateral movement in one direction and to fully disengage by relative, substantially lateral movement in the opposite direction, said fastener strips including respective continuously extending slider guide regions along opposite exteriorly facing surfaces thereof, and a removable slider engaging said fastener strips, said slider comprising a substantially U-shaped body defining a longitudinally extending passage for receiving said fastener strips, a pair of closure members respectively disposed on opposite sides of said body passage and mounted for movement in respectively opposite transverse directions with respect to each other whereby an end of each closure member moves into and substantially out of said body passage, said respective ends of the closure members engaging said respective slider guide regions of said fastener strips to thereby interlock the strips when said ends of the closure members are moved into said body passage, and a push-pull member including a pair of depending portions disposed transversely of said body and respectively engaging said closure members, said push-pull member being mounted for movement between a first position and a second position thereof with respect to said body and said pair of closure members, whereby movement of said push-pull member to its said first position moves said respective ends of the closure members into said body passage and movement of said push-pull member to its said second position moves said respective ends of the closure members substantially out of said body passage to wholly disengage said slider from said fastener strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,355,816 Norner Aug. 15, 1944 2,366,797 Legat Jan. 9, 1945 2,500,363 Koeppel Mar. 14, 1950 2,888,727 Heimberger June 2, 1959 2,997,765 Moghadam Aug. 29, 1961

Claims (1)

1. FOR A SLIDE FASTENER COMPRISING MALE AND FEMALE FASTENER STRIPS HAVING LATERALLY DISPOSED LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLIDER GUIDES AND FORMED TO INTERLOCK BY RELATIVE LATERAL MOVEMENT, A SLIDER COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY USHAPED BODY ADAPTED TO STRADDLE LOCALLY JUXTAPOSED REGIONS OF THE FASTENER STRIPS AND HAVING MEANS DEFINING A TRANSVERSE APERTURE THEREOF WHICH IS OPEN AT THE SURFACE OF SAID BODY WHICH IS GENERATED BY THE CROSS-BAR PORTION OF ITS SAID U-SHAPE; A PUSH-PULL MEMBER COMPRISING A PAIR OF DEPENDING PARALLEL PLATES FIXED IN REGISTERING SPACED RELATION WITH ONE ANOTHER AND MOVABLE VERTICALLY IN AND OUT OF THE SAID TRANSVERSE APERTURE; A ROLLER MOUNTED ON THE DEPENDING END OF EACH OF SAID PLATES; A SADDLE-SHAPED PART OF RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE MATERIAL MOUNTED ON SAID BODY BETWEEN SAID PLATES; INWARDLY DIRECTED CLOSURE MEMBERS CARRIED BY SAID SADDLE-SHAPED PART AND ADAPTED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SLIDER GUIDES OF THE FASTENER STRIPS AT SUCH LOCALLY JUXTAPOSED FASTENER STRIP REGION; SAID CLOSURE MEMBERS AND SAID BODY DEFINING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING PASSAGE FROM END TO END OF THE SLIDER FOR RECEIVING THE FASTENER STRIPS WHEREBY THE SLIDER IS ADAPTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG ANY CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF SUCH STRIPS; SAID SADDLE-SHAPED PART HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED AND EXTERIOR FACING ROLLER BEARING SURFACES RESPECTIVELY ENGAGED BY SAID ROLLERS WHEREBY PULLING MOVEMENT OF THE PUSH-PULL MEMBER OUT OF THE SAID APERTURE CAUSES SAID ROLLERS TO DISTORT THE SADDLESHAPED PART SO AS TO ADJUST THE SEPARATION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBERS TO A VALUE PERMITTING REMOVAL OF THE SLIDER FROM THE FASTENER STRIPS AND WHEREBY PUSHING MOVEMENT OF THE PUSH-PULL MEMBER INTO THE SAID APERTURE CAUSES SAID ROLLERS TO PERMIT RETURN OF SAID SADDLE-SHAPED PART TO ITS INITIAL CONDITION TO ADJUST THE SEPARATION OF THE CLOSURE MEMBER TO A VALUE CORRESPONDING TO THE SPACING OF THE SLIDER GUIDES OF INTERLOCKED FASTENER STRIPS.

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