Yoshida Kogyo K.k.

Nippon Notion Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Keiichi Yoshieda

Toshiaki Sodeno

Yuusei Sassa

Syuichi Honmoto

Kazuki Kuse

Kunio Miyazaki

Yoshitaka Iimura

Toyoo Morita

Yasunari Noda

Separable slide fasteners are manufactured from an alongate slide fastener chain composed of a pair of slide fastener stringers having rows of coupling elements alternating with element-free portions having substantially U-shaped recesses defined in inner edges thereof. The elongate slide fastener chain is fed under tension along a longitudinal path, and the slide fastener stringers are separated from each other. Then, an insertion pin is attached laterally to the inner edge of one of the element-free portions, and a box pin is attached laterally to the inner edge of another element-free portion confronting said one element-free portion. The insertion pin and the box pin which are laterally aligned with each other are threaded through a slider until certain coupling elements of the slide fasteners stringers are interengaged. Then, a box is attached to the box pin. An elongate product composed of joined separable slide fasteners may be sewn to successive garment fabrics, or may be cut off into individual separable slide fasteners.

Method of manufacturing separable slide fasteners

A garment-fastener assembling apparatus includes a drive mechanism for reciprocating an optical position indicator toward and away from an indicating position located in registry with the path of movement of a punch. The drive mechanism is constructed to operate under direct control of the movement of the ram so that the position indicator is reciprocated without interference with the punch or any other movable part of the apparatus and without causing prolongation of the cycle time of the apparatus.

Garment-fastener assembling apparatus with ram-driven position indicator

A fastener assembling apparatus has a safety device including a vertical elongate rod vertically movably supported by a reciprocable ram and having a feeler disposed adjacent to the path of movement of a punch carried on the ram, the rod being normally urged downwardly toward a lowermost position in which the feeler is disposed adjacent to a die of the apparatus, and an actuator operatively connected with a sensor and a ram-driving mechanism for activating the ram-driving mechanism only when the arrival of the rod at the lowermost position is detected by the sensor, thus avoiding any accident should the operator's finger be inadvertently jammed between the punch and die. A stopper lever is pivotably connected to the rod and normally urged toward a locking position in which the stopper is held in interlocking engagement with an abutment disposed on the ram, the stopper lever being driven by a further actuator to turn to a releasing position in which the stopper lever is disengaged from the abutment, thereby permitting downward movement of the rod.

Fastener-assembling apparatus with safety device

A fastener assembling apparatus includes an arrangement for adjustably setting a clinching force to be applied to a pair of fastener elements as they are clinched together by and between a punch and a die, thereby assembling the fastener elements in properly clinched condition without damaging the same. The clinching-force setting arrangement includes a spring-loaded slider block disposed in a lower horizontal portion of a generally C-shaped frame and slidably movable in a horizontal direction. The slider block has a downwardly sloping upper surface and is urged by a spring to hold the sloping upper surface in abutting engagement with an upwardly sloping lower surface of a die holder which is vertically movably disposed in the lower frame portion. The clinching-force setting arrangement also includes an adjustment rod disposed horizontally in the lower frame portion for adjusting the force of the spring. The clinching-force setting arrangement may include a further spring disposed in a ram for urging the punch downwardly, the punch being upwardly movable relative to the ram against the force of the spring, and a further adjustment rod for adjusting the force of the last-named spring.

Apparatus for assembling pairs of fastener elements

A gripper mechanism for feeding a pair of elongate strips such as a pair of slide fastener stringers has a pair of gripper holders supporting a pair of grippers for gripping the slide fastener stringers, respectively, and a pair of sliders joined to the gripper holders, respectively, and slidably disposed in a housing for independent movement therein. In response to engagement with a cam on a feed path, the grippers are opened to grip or release the slide fastener stringers. The grippers are normally urged by a spring to clamp the slide fastener stringers. A pinion is angularly movably supported on a slide block in the housing and held in mesh with a pair of racks, respectively, of the sliders. A spring acts between the housing and the slide block for normally urging the slide block in a direction to move the gripper holders into abutment against the housing. The gripper holders can be moved relatively to each other toward and away from the housing.

Gripper mechanism for feeding elongate strips

An elongate separable slide fastener chain is cut off into individual separable slide fasteners, the slide fastener chain having a plurality of longitudinally spaced element-free portions with pin-receptive boxes supported respectively thereon. The slide fastener chain is fed under tension in one direction, and then stopped to release the slide fastener chain of its tension. The leading and trailing ends of one of the boxes are clamped to position the slide fastener chain. Then, the slide fastener chain is severed across one of the element-free portions adjacent to the leading end of the box. With this arrangement, the slide fastener chain can be positioned accurately for severance and cut off into separable slide fasteners which are sightly in appearance and equal in length.

Method of and apparatus for cutting off separable slide fastener chain

An apparatus for discharging slide fasteners comprises a guide unit disposed on a horizontal longitudinal path downstream of a pair of feed rollers for receiving the slide fasteners therefrom one after another, and a gripping unit disposed in the path downstream of the guide unit for releasably gripping a leading end of the individual slide fastener received in the guide unit. The guide unit includes a stationary upper guide member and a lower guide member pivotally movable to open the bottom side of the guide unit to thereby allow the individual slide fasteners therein to fall and hence become suspended from the gripping unit.

Slide-fastener discharging apparatus

A slide fastener chain with reinforcing strips is fed along a feed path through a finishing apparatus for trimming the reinforcing strips. The finishing apparatus has a chain guide unit, a cutter unit, and a chain tensioner unit. The chain guide unit includes a stop having recesses for accommodating some coupling elements and steps for engaging endmost coupling elements. The chain tensioner unit has a presser gripper for pressing the slide fastener chain against a support base and a presser roller for depressing the slide fastener chain to tension the same for thereby forcibly pushing the endmost coupling elements against the steps. When the slide fastener chain is tensioned by the chain tensioner unit, one of the reinforcing strips is accurately positioned with respect to the cutter unit. The reinforcing strip is then trimmed by central and side cutters which cut off excessive central and side portions completely.

Apparatus for finishing slide fastener chain with reinforcing strip

A device for positioning a pair of longitudinally advancing elongate slide fastener stringers comprises a pair of positioning jaws movable relatively to one another in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of each slide fastener stringer to define therebetween a guide channel for the passage of the slide fastener stringer. At least one of the positioning jaws includes a step for engaging the leading coupling element of each coupling element row mounted on one longitudinal edge of a tape of each respective slide fastener stringer, for thereby stopping the slide fastener stringer. The positioning device having the positioning jaws is capable of accurately positioning the slide fastner stringers even when the slide fastener stringer is laterally undulated or locally swelled during advancing movement thereof.

Device for positioning slide fastener stringers in fastener finishing

A slider applicator has a stopper attached to an end of a slide rod slidably mounted in a pivotable casing for movement parallel to a feed path along which a slide fastener chain is fed through a slider supported on a slider holder. When the stopper is displaced for a prescribed distance by box and insertion pins on the slide fastener chain, a microswitch is actuated to operate an air cylinder for angularly moving the casing to lift the casing out of engagement with the box and insertion pins, which are now allowed to move with the slide fastener chain past the stopper. In the event of improper positioning of one of the box and insertion pins, adjacent endmost coupling elements are jammed in a slider to thereby prevent the stopper from being displaced for the prescribed distance. A sensor switch is then actuated to signal such improper positioning of one of the box and insertion pins.

Apparatus for applying sliders to separable slide fasteners

A button attaching machine having an apparatus for preventing button parts from falling from an intermediate chute when the latter is detached from a chute assembly. The apparatus includes a transverse lever pivotally connected at one end to a bracket mounted on a lower end of the intermediate chute, and a blocking member carried on the lever remotely from the bracket and having a first and a second projection. The lever is normally urged by a spring to turn so as to cause the first projection to penetrate into a channel of the chute, thus blocking the passage of the button parts. When the chute is mounted, the second projection is pushed by a stop until the first projection is retracted from the channel of the chute, thus allowing the passage of the button parts.

Apparatus for preventing fall of button parts from a chute

An apparatus for inspecting slide fasteners is disclosed. The apparatus includes a slide fastener suspension device having a horizontal rotary member provided with a plurality of equally-spaced clips for supporting each of the slide fasteners in a suspended condition, and a drive means adapted to intermittently rotate the horizontal rotary member. A first gripper is provided at a first position along a movement path of the horizontal rotary member so as to feed in succession the slide fasteners to the clips of the suspension device in a suspended condition. The apparatus also includes a second gripper provided at a second position along the path of the horizontally rotating member so as to remove the slide fasteners from the clips transferred by the horizontal rotary member in succession. The path of the horizontal rotary member between the first position and the second position provides a visual inspection region for the slide fasteners.

Inspection apparatus for slide fasteners

In a method of cutting a continuous slide fastener chain into individual slide fastener lengths, the fastener chain is tensioned between its leading end and a succeeding element-free portion as they are gripped by downstream and at upstream grippers, respectively, at a specified point and a cutting station spaced upstream therefrom along a horizontal straight path by a varying distance corresponding to the length of a prospective individual slide fastener. Then the tension of the individual slide fastener length of the chain is relaxed by slightly moving the downstream gripper from the specified point toward the upstream gripper which is kept stationary at the cutting station, whereupon the fastener chain is cut transversely across the succeeding one element-free portion.

Method of cutting a slide fastener chain

An apparatus, for assembling a pair of fastener elements of a garment fastener, includes a safe-confirmation member mounted on a lower end of a vertically movable supporting rod supported by a frame in parallel relation to a punch-carrying plunger, and a drive means for moving the supporting rod vertically between an uppermost position in which the safe-confirmation member is disposed around a punch, and a lowermost position in which the safe-confirmation member is disposed around the die in the absence of the operator's finger or a tool near the die. Upon arrival of the safe-confirmation member at the lowermost position, a detecting means produces a command signal to start lowering of the punch toward the die.

Apparatus for assembling a pair of fastener elements

In a method of and an apparatus for processing a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers having element-free spaces between a plurality of longitudinally spaced chains of partly interengaged coupling elements with sliders mounted respectively thereon, the stringers are fed downwardly in a vertical direction at a low speed by an upper roller feed unit until their leading ends are sensed, whereupon they are fed at a high speed by a lower roller feed unit. The coupling element chains are fully closed one by one by the respective sliders which are releasably held by a slider holder disposed between the feed units while the stringers are fed at the high speed. The stringers are stopped by a chain stopper having means insertable in the element-free space in response to the full closure of the coupling element chain, and are severed across the element-free spaces by a cutter disposed between the slider holder and the lower roller feed unit, the severed chains being automatically neatly stacked on a chute in juxtaposition to each other.

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Kurobe, Japan

Keiichi Yoshieda