U.S. patent application number 10/755278 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-07 for slider with two pull tabs.
This patent application is currently assigned to RIRI S.A.. Invention is credited to Bernasconi, Sergio.
Application Number | 20050071960 10/755278 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34069964 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050071960 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bernasconi, Sergio |
April 7, 2005 |
Slider with two pull tabs
Abstract
A description is given of a slider (1) with two pull tabs (2, 3)
arranged symmetrically with respect to each other and each provided
with a ring (2a, 3a), the slider comprising a hollow body (4)
containing an escapement (5), the pawl (6) of which is designed to
be inserted between the teeth of the zip in order to prevent
movements between the zip and the slider (1), the escapement (5)
being provided with elastic means (7) which keep its pawl (6)
inserted between the teeth until it is disengaged by one or other
of the pull tabs (2, 3). In the slider in question one (2) of the
pull tabs (2, 3) is in contact with the escapement (5) via its ring
(2a) in such a way that, when operated, it produces the said
disengagement, and the other pull tab (3) is positioned with its
ring (3a) in contact with an inclined plane (8) of a rigid member
(9) which is positioned in such a way that operating the
abovementioned pull tab (3) causes a rotation of the rigid member
(9) sufficient to press it against one end (20i) of a movable pin
(10) and to move it axially in such a way that the other end (20s)
pushes the escapement (5), overcoming the resistance of the said
elastic means (7) and disengaging the pawl (6) thereof.
Inventors: |
Bernasconi, Sergio;
(Mendrisio, CH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & THOMPSON
745 SOUTH 23RD STREET
2ND FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
US
|
Assignee: |
RIRI S.A.
MENDRISIO
CH
|
Family ID: |
34069964 |
Appl. No.: |
10/755278 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/422 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 24/2573 20150115;
A44B 19/308 20130101; A44B 19/306 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
024/422 |
International
Class: |
A44B 019/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 7, 2003 |
CH |
01697/03 |
Claims
1. Slider (1) with two pull tabs (2, 3) arranged symmetrically with
respect to each other and each provided with a ring (2a, 3a), the
slider comprising a hollow body (4) containing an escapement (5),
the pawl (6) of which is designed to be inserted between the teeth
of the zip in a reversible manner in order to prevent undesired
movements between the zip and the said slider (1), this escapement
(5) being provided with elastic means (7) which keep its pawl (6)
inserted between the teeth until it is disengaged by one or other
of the said two pull tabs (2, 3), enabling the slider (1) to be
moved with respect to the abovementioned teeth, which slider (1) is
characterized in that one (2) of the pull tabs (2, 3) is directly
in contact with the said escapement (5) via its ring (2a) in such a
way that, when operated, it produces the said disengagement, and
the other pull tab (3) is positioned with its ring (3a) in contact
with an inclined plane (8) forming part of a shaped rigid member
(9) contained in the hollow body (4), this inclined plane (8) being
positioned in such a way that operating the abovementioned pull tab
(3) causes a rotation of the rigid member (9) sufficient to press
it against one end (20i) of a movable pin (10) housed in the body
(4) of the slider (1), and to move it axially in such a way that
its other end (20s) pushes the said escapement (5), overcoming the
resistance of the said elastic means (7) and disengaging the pawl
(6) thereof from the teeth of the zip.
2. Slider with two pull tabs according to claim 1, in which the
said elastic means are a strip (7) which flexes elastically, is
integral with the said escapement and is housed in the hollow body
(4) of the slider (1) in such a way as to press against an internal
wall (4p) thereof.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to the technological field of
zips, which, as is known, basically consist of two rows of opposing
teeth connected together or separated by sliding a specially
designed member known as the slider along them by pulling a part of
the slider that acts as a handle and is known as the pull tab,
which is connected to the slider by a ring formed at or connected
to its end.
[0002] In order to make it possible to operate the slider from
either side of a zip, sliders have been designed with two pull tabs
positioned symmetrically with respect to each other on opposite
sides both of the slider and of the zip.
[0003] The present invention relates to sliders of the type with
two pull tabs as described above. The sliders are provided with an
escapement, located inside their hollow body, having a pawl which,
when the slider is not to be moved, is pressed by elastic means
between the teeth of the zip, thereby locking the slider in a
desired position.
[0004] Hence the need to make the different component parts of a
two-pull-tab slider in such a way that the said escapement is
disengaged from the teeth of the zip when any one of the two pull
tabs mentioned above is operated.
[0005] The inventor of the double pull-tab slider according to the
present invention has devised a reliable and inexpensive solution
which solves the problem outlined above in a very simple way.
[0006] In the slider of the invention one of the two pull tabs is
connected by its ring directly to the abovementioned escapement, in
such a way as to disengage it from the teeth by overcoming the
resistance of the above-described elastic means, and the other pull
tab has its ring pressing on an inclined plane formed on a rigid
member positioned in the hollow body of the slider in such a way
that, when operated, the said rigid member is rotated and pressed
against the bottom end of a pin mounted movably inside the said
hollow body whose top end is in contact with the escapement. When
the said pin is moved upwards, it likewise disengages the
escapement from the teeth of the zip, similarly overcoming the
resistance of the already-described elastic means.
[0007] The subject of the present invention is therefore a slider
with two pull tabs as disclosed in the appended claim 1.
[0008] A more detailed description will now be given of a preferred
illustrative embodiment of a slider according to the invention,
with reference also to the appended drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a slider with two
pull tabs according to the invention with the escapement inserted
between the teeth of the zip;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the slider of FIG.
1 when the escapement is disengaged from the teeth of the zip by
operating the upper pull tab;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through the slider of FIG.
1 when the escapement is disengaged from the teeth of the zip by
operating the lower pull tab; and
[0012] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the slider of the
previous figures, in which the shapes and positions of the various
component parts can be seen.
[0013] FIG. 1 shows that in a slider 1 according to the invention
there are two pull tabs 2, 3 arranged symmetrically either side of
the hollow body 4 of the said slider 1. In this description this
hollow body will be treated as if it were a single part, but in
reality, as shown by the exploded view of FIG. 4, it consists of
several component parts connected and fixed together by known
methods and principles.
[0014] The said two pull tabs 2, 3 are provided, as in almost all
known sliders, with a ring 2a, 3a at the end connecting them to the
slider 1. The abovementioned hollow body 4 contains an escapement
5, of which the pawl 6 is designed to be inserted between the teeth
of the zip (the teeth not being shown in the drawings for obvious
reasons of the need for clarity) to prevent the slider being slid
relative to these teeth and opening or closing the zip when not
wanted.
[0015] The escapement 5 is kept with the pawl 6 in the
abovementioned locked position by elastic means, which in the
present case take the form of a strip 7 which flexes elastically,
is integral with the escapement 5 and is housed in the hollow body
4 of the slider 1 in such a way as to press against an internal
wall 4p thereof.
[0016] When it is wished to release the teeth (the area occupied by
which is indicated by the arrow D as a guide) so that the slider 1
can be moved, the user simply rotates the upper pull tab 2 upwards
and pulls it in the appropriate direction to open or close the zip:
its ring 2a, which is in contact with and traversed by the
escapement 5, lifts its pawl 6 as the arrow F shows in FIG. 2,
overcoming the elastic resistance of the strip 7, and the slider 1
is free to move.
[0017] The same result is obtained (for which see FIG. 3) by
rotating downwards the other pull tab 3, which is underneath in the
drawings.
[0018] The reason for this is that the ring 3a of the pull tab 3 is
in contact with an inclined plane 8 forming part of a suitably
shaped rigid member 9 contained in the hollow body 4 in such a way
that it can execute limited rotations. Operating the pull tab 3
rotates the rigid member 9 and pushes it against the bottom end 10i
of a pin 10 housed in the body 4 of the slider in such a way as to
be capable of axial movement. This pin 10 has its above mentioned
other end 10s in contact with the escapement 5, and its
abovementioned axial movement overcomes the resistance of the
elastic strip 7 and moves the escapement 5 far enough to disengage
the pawl 6 from the teeth of the zip.
[0019] In conclusion by using the two-pull-tab slider 1 according
to the invention it is possible to control the slider 1 to open or
close a zip by acting on either of the two pull tabs 2, 3, and this
is achieved by means of the component parts which are simple to
produce, very inexpensive and operate with great reliability. As
regards what materials may be used for all the various parts of the
slider 1 of the invention, the inventor envisages the use of those
metals, metal alloys or plastics which are known to those skilled
in the art for this type of application.
* * * * *