US1893379A - Separable fastener - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 3, 1933. GfsuNDBAcK V ,1,893,379 y SEPARABLE FASTENER l Original Filed F915'. 11, 1925 ZZ Y Y Jl/ENTOR.

' ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 3, 1933 UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE GIDEON SUNDBACK, 0F MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, l.ASSIGrNOR T0 HOOKLESS FASTENER COMPANY, OF MEADV'ILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENN- SYLVANIA SEPABABLE FASTENEB Original application med February 11, 1925, Serial No. 8,340. FDivided and this application led March 31, 1928. Serial No. 266,362.

eral flexibility together with the ability to compensate for a variation in the length of the fabric stringers to which the interlocking means are attached, yet is secure, strong, an

capable of being made cheaply in large quanf titles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of oppositely interlocking members having increased factors of strength, security, iiexibility and ease in locking and unlocking.

The fastener shown in my Patent 1,219,881, dated March 20, 1917, embodies continuous fabric stringers carrying locking members alike on each Stringer, but in alternating or stagtgered arrangement, whereby interlocking is e ected by the engagement of each member on one Stringer with two members on the other Stringer. As specially worked out in that patent, such fastener has a very considerable lateral iiexibility, but little or no accommodation to variation in Stringer length owing to the close alternating engagement of -the several locking members. It is known that continuous fabric stringers fluctuate considerably in length owing to humidity conditions, a Stringer when wet being appreciably longer than when dry. Hence, longitudinal contraction when drying causes the alternatelyinterlocked stringers to wave or curl up out of the interlocking plane, which, while not impairing the security ofthe fastener, is

objectionable in appearance on various artic es, articularly on rubber footwear which is subjected to extremes of moisture condi-' In the present invention, I have provided A a novel construction of cooperating locking members arranged directly opposite one another along a pair of flexible fabric stringers, with any desired spacing between the members yalong each Stringer. One of each pair of cooperating locking members is provided with a projection and the other with a recess so constructed that they will engage and disengage even though they are somewhat out of alignment due to shrinkage or expansion of the stringers. There is also sufficient flexibility between the interlockd members to compensate for shrinkage or expansion of the stringers thereby reducing the tendency to wave or curl which has heretofore proved objectionable. To facilitate engagement of the projection of one locking member with the recess of another, guiding surfaces are preferably provided longitudinally and transversely of the tip of the projection.

According to al specific feature of the invention, one member of each interlocking pair has a pin or lip, and the other member of the pair a cooperating socket. The pin is substantially straight, and projects longitudinally of the Stringer with at least the surface of the pin adjacent the edge of its Stringer parallel to such edge. The cooperating sockets have walls which are parallel tothe edge of the-Stringer. When a pin of one locking member is seated in the socket of its cooperatingv locking member, and a transverse force is applied to the stringers in an attempt to separatethem, Ythere will be no resulting component of force tending to move the pins longitudinally out of the sockets lby reason of the parallel engagement `of socket walls and pin surfaces. The cooperating locking members will thus remain securely locked together and can only be separated vby the progressive movement of the slider.

Inthe accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is,` a plan view of a separable fastener embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2a-2a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of on-e of the projection members shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the member shown in Fig. 3, showing the. socket'in such member' Fig. 5 is a side View of the member shown in Figs. 3 and 4;

5 Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a section of a fastener having the same type of locking members as shown in Fig. 1 except that they are arranged alternately on the stringers;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the recess member shown in Fig. 1 clamped to the corded edge of the Stringer; and showing the pin or lip therein;

Fig. 8 is an' enlarged transverse section through the recess and rojection members when interlocked, showing the pin or lip of one member seated in the socket of the other;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a modiiied form of sheet metal lockingmem- 0 ber; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged perspective View of still another 4form of sheet metal locking member.

In Fig. 1, the flexible stringers 1 are pro- 5 vided with cords 2 secured along their longitudinal edges. The projection locking members 3 are clamped to the corded edge of one Stringer, and the cooperating recessed locking members 4 are lclamped to the corded o edge of the opposite Stringer. These locking members are disposed substantially opposite one another on said stringers and are arranged to be engaged and disengaged by the up and down movement of a slider 5 having diverging channels. The slider may be moved up and down along the stringers by means o-a pivoted pull member 6.

The upper ends of the two stringers are provided with stop members 7 which are clamped to the corded edges of the stringers and' which are large enough to wedge laterally within the slider against each other or against the slider channels to limit the movement of the slider. A bottom stop member 8 is shown clam ed to the corded edges at the lower ends ofthef'stringers to fasten the lower ends together and prevent the slider from coming off the fastener when it reaches the lower limit o-its travel.

in detail in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, are stamped out of round material which is bent back on itself at 9 and 'bent together along thel line 10. The free outer ends are spread at 11 to form 5 clamping jaws for engaging the corded edge f of the Stringer. One side of the bend or fold is stamped to provide a socket 12 and an outer catch or hook por-tion I3. The socket 12 is adapted to be seated in the pin or lip 14 of the cooperating recessed member 4 with Jthe hook portion 13 engaging the rear side of the pin 14 in the manner shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The walls of the socket 12 are substantially straight, with the wall ad- 5 jacent the hook portion 13 parallel to the The projection locking members 3, shownl edge of the stringer to which the member 3 is clamped.

The recessed locking members 4, shown in detail in Fig. 7 are provided with clamping jaws 15 for clamping same to the corded edge of the stringer. The. forward end of each member 4 is bent to provide a tube-like portion 16 which is open ended to provide an edgewise recess 17. One Wall of the recess 17 1s rounded whilethe opposite wall is substantially flat, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7 The straight pin or lip 14 projects into the recess 17 trom the flat wall thereof and extends toward the rounded wall in a plane substantially parallel to the edge of the Stringer, as shown in Fig. 7 z The free end of the pin or lip 14 is substantially lla-t to cooperate with the flat wall of the socket 12.

The projection members 3, whch are formed of rounded stock, are each provided with guiding surfaces 18 and 1'9 above and below the tip of the projection, and also laterally or transversely thereof, so that said projection member has guiding surfaces to facilitate its cooperation with the recessed member 4 when the project-ion is slightly out of line with the recess in any direction due to shrinkage or expansion of the stringers. In Fig. 6 the same type of locking members are shown, but the projection and recessed membersare alternately arranged on each stringer instead of all members being alike on one Stringer as in Fig. 1. When the slider 5 is moved to engage the opposite locking members the iding surface 19 of each projection mem er rides over the .pin 14 of its cooperating'recessed member until the socket 12 engages said pin 14 as shown in Figs. 2 and 48.

The engagement between the socket 12 and the pin 14 prevents the locking members froml gages the wall of the socket 12 which is also Y parallel to the edges of the stringers, a transverse force perpendicular to the edges ofthe stringers will not cause them to movel away from each other in a longitudinal direction and hence the members will not come apart accidentally when locked.

The open-sided locking member shown in Fig. 9 consists of a strip of sheet metal bent to provide substantially parallel faces 2O connected by a bridging portion 21. A slot 22 is cut in the bridging prtion 21 to provide compressible jaws for clamping the member to the corded edge ofa Stringer. The pin o r lip 23 is struck up at the free end o f one of the faces 20 to receive and retain the socket 12 of an opposite projection member 3. The side of the pin 23 which is adj acent-"the corded edge of the Stringer is parallel to such edge.-

of 'stringers havin ment of a cooperating projection member 3 therein, so that the cooperating recessed member and projection member will not come apart when locked except when they are separated at an angle by the diverging channels of the slider.

Fig. l0 shows another form of sheet metal locking member having spaced pairs of clamping jaws 25 joined by the bridgng portion 26 in which is stamped the recess 27 for receiving a projection member such as that shown in Fig. l, the lip 28 being stamped out from the material cut in forming the recess 27. The pin orlip 28 engages the socket of the cooperating projection member inthemanner described above.

Among the advantages of this invention may bementioned increased flexibility of the fastener both laterally and longitudinally. Since the locking members are located opposite each other they may be spaced apart a suilicient distance to give the fastener great lateral flexibility without causing the members to become unfastened. This spacing of the pairs of oppositely disposed'locking members also permits contraction and expansion of the strmger material such as occurs when the fastener is used on Washable goods, for exam le, which get Wet and shrink on drying. xlVhen used on a shoe, for example, the longitudinal spacing of the pairs of cooperating locking members enables the fastener to come and go `with the natural movement of the foot in walking without causing the fastener to buckle or feel unduly stiff. The provision of cooperating pins and sockets with surfaces parallel to the edges of the stringers revents the members from coming apart un er strain when interlocked. The provision of guiding surfaces longitudinally and transversely of the tip of each projection facilitates entry of the projections within the recesses of the opposite locking members.

I claim:

1. A separable fastener comprising a pair o' a'plurality of pairs of locking members clamped substantially opposite one another thereon, one member of each pair having a recess and a pin projecting into said recess, and the other member of each pair having a socket adapted to entersaid recess and engage said pin.

2. A separable fastener comprising a pair of stringers having a plurality of pairs of cooperating locking members clamped substantially opposite one another thereon, one member of each pair having a rounded projection and the other member of each pair having a rounded wall andan opposite fiat wall to receive said projection between them, and a portion on said flat Wall extending toward said rounded wall to engage said projection.

, 3. A separable fastener comprising a pair of stringers, a plurality of pairs of cooperating locking members clamped substantially opposite one another on the adjacent edges of said stringers, l one member of each pair having a recess in a plane substantially perpendicular to the edge of its strlnger and a pin projecting into said recess substantially parallel to theedge of saidstringer, and the other member of each pair having a socket adapted to enter said recess and engage said pm.

4. A separable fastener comprising a pair of stringere, a plurality of pairs of cooperating locking opposite one another on the adjacent edges of said stringers, one member of each pair having a projection extending straight out from one Stringer and the other member of each pair having a tubular portion extending straight out from the other Stringer and at right angles to the edge of said Stringer to receive said projection.

5. A separable fastener comprising a pair of stringers, a plurality of pairs of cooperatinglocking members clamped substantially j opposite one another on the adjacent edges of said strin ers, one member of each pair having a ooked projection extending straight out from one stringer and the other member of each pair having a tubular portion extending straight out from the other Stringer and at right angles to the edge of said Stringer to receive said projection, and a lip projectin into said tubular portion to engagethe hooed portion of said projection to prevent said lockfng members from separating under transverse strain when engaged.

6. 'A separable fastener comprisinga pair of stringers, a plurality of pairs of cooperating locking members clamped substantially opposite one another on the adjacent edges of said stringers, one member of each pair having a rounded projection and a hook portion vset in from the end of said projection, and the other member of each pair having a rounded wall and an opposite -iiat wall to receive said projection between them, and a lip on sa'd flat wall substantially parallel to the edge ofthe Stringer to engage the hook portion vof said projection.-

7. A locking member for a slide type fastener comprising a strip of material bent upon itself and having clamping jaws formed in each of the ends of said material, a part of the bent portion of said member being punched out to form an irregular recess with a projection extending into said recess to enn members clamped vsubstantially ioo 9. A locking member for a slide type fastener com rislng a ilat strip of material bent upon itse f 'in the middle and having outwardly extending ends adapted to receive a projection of a cooperating locking member between them, a lip on one end of said member projecting toward the other end thereof to engage and retain the projection of the cooperating locking member therein, and compressible clamping jaws formed in said member at the bend.

. vided with a projecting lip to retain such projection between said ends, and compressible clamping jaws -formed in said member at the end.

11- Aseparable fastener comprising a pair of flexible stringers, a series of spaced locking members carried by'each stringer, each of said locking members being ixedly attached at one end to its; Stringer, the free ends of the members of one series being adapted to enter the members of the other series, certain of said members having sockets with flat walls and the members cooperating therewith each having a pin with its free end substantially flat for engagement with a wall of a socket.

12. A fastener of the class described comprising a pair of flexible stringers, a series of fastener elements mounted on each Stringer, each element of `each series being rigidly attached at one end to its respective Stringer, the free ends of said elements being adapted to overlap, each element of one series having a socket provided with a Wall disposed parallel to the edge of the Stringer, and a pin projecting from each fastener ele- `ment of the other series, said pins being adapted toenter the sockets in the elements of the first series, each pinhaving a surface parallel to the edge of the Stringer adapted to engage the aforesaid wall of the corre sponding socket whereby positively to resist separation of said elements.

1.3. A astener'of the class describedcomprising a pair of stringere each carrying a series of spaced fastener elements, an element of one series cooperating with an element of the opposed series to form an interlocking pair, each element of each series being provided at one end with means for rigid- C5 the socket of the other ly attaching it to the edge of its Stringer, the Y other or free ends of the elements of such an interlocking pair normally overlapping, the free end of one element of such pair being provided with a socket, and a pin projecting from the free end of the other element of said pair, said pin normallytting within element, the opposed surfaces of the engaging pin and socket being so: shaped that separating stress applied in a direction perpendicular to the edges of the stringers is devoid of any component tending to withdraw the pin endwise from its socket.

14. AQfastener of the class described, comprisingopposed series of spaced fastener elements, the elements of the respective series each being rigidly attached at one end. thereof to flexible strlngers, the other ends of said elements projecting free from the Stringer edge substantially in lateral alignment with said attaching ends and certain of said elements having sockets in their free ends each provided with a substantially straight Wall and others of said elements having pins on their free ends engageable with said sockets, that I surface of each pin adjacent to the edge of the Stringer being substantially straight and parallel to said e ge.

Signed at Meadville, in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania this 26th vday of March, A. D. 1928. f

GIDEON SAUNDBACK.

` CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION.

- Patent No. 1,893,319. l 4January '3, 1933,

p t GIDlioN sUNDBAeK. .It is hereby' certified that *error appears in the printed specification of the a ve numbercdpatent requiring correction as follows: Page 4, line 2l, claim l0, tor "end rendv "ben'd";`l and that the said Letters Patent should berend with this correction therein that the s ame may conform` tothe record of the case in the'Pat'enf Qffice.

sigmd'anirmleq thiszsth day of February, A. D. y193,2;

` y' M. ).Mooe, (Seal) 'Acting Commissioner of Patents.

Images