Device For Facilitating Pullup Or Sliders On Slide Fastener Chains

Abstract

Device for facilitating pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains, in which storage means containing rows of sliders, which may differ in color or style from each other, are movable in a direction transverse to the rows to align a selected row of sliders with gripping means which are movable from a rest position distant from the storage means to an advanced position for gripping in the advanced position a slider at the end of the selected row and for withdrawing the gripped slider from the storage means during return of said gripping means to the rest position while holding in said rest position the slider in a position facilitating pull up of the latter with a slide fastener chain.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device for facilitating pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains in which the slider is gripped by the device in the region of the slider lug.

Devices of this type are known in the art in which a slider is placed by hand from a container between the jaws of a gripping device, whereafter the jaws are closed to hold the slider in a predetermined position on the gripping device and while the operator grips the tapes of a pair of slide fastener stringers having coupling elements engaged with each other and threads these stringers into the stationary held slider until the slider is pulled up to a certain extent on the two stringers. The device serves only to hold the slider in stationary position during threading of the two stringers through the channel of the slider so that the operator may use both hands, as necessary, for this operation. In using this known device, the operator has to select a slider and place it by hand between the open jaws of the gripping device and to subsequently close the jaws, and this operation necessarily slows down the assembly of sliders and slide fastener chains. An additional disadvantage of this known device is that the operator sometimes does not place the slider properly into the device, so that the slider is not properly held during the assembly operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide for a device for facilitating pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages of such devices known in the art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a device of the aforementioned kind which is simple in construction so as to be produceable at reasonable cost while standing up properly under extended use and which greatly expedites pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains.

With these objects in view, the device, according to the present invention for facilitating pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains, mainly comprises gripping means movable between an open and a closed portion for gripping and holding a slider in a predetermined position, storage means adapted to hold a plurality of rows of different sliders axially aligned with each other, guide means for guiding the storage means for movement in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the rows to bring a selected row in alignment with the gripping means, moving means for moving the gripping means between a rest position spaced from the storage means and an advanced position ready to grip a slider at the end of a selected row, and operating means cooperating with said gripping means for moving the same between the open and closed positions so that the gripping means when moved to the advanced position may grip a slider at the end of the selected row and hold the thus gripped slider in a predetermined position while said gripping means move to said rest position and for then releasing the slider after the latter has been pulled up on a slide fastener chain.

The gripping means, according to the present invention, comprise two jaws at least one of which is movable toward and away from the other jaw so as to assure a secure gripping and proper holding of a slider during pullup of the same with a slide fastener chain. The device, according to the present invention, makes it also possible to directly pick up a selected slider with the gripping means so that placing of a slider by hand between the jaws becomes unnecessary. The selection, pick up and properly holding of a slider, can therefore be made with one and the same device. Since during selection of a specific type of slider, a transverse movement of the storage means relative to the gripping means is carried out, it is possible to coordinate a great variety of different slider types with a single gripping means so that a great variety of sliders differing in type or color, may be in any desired sequence, assembled with slider fastener chains.

It is also possible to construct the device, according to the present invention, for fully automatic operation. Thus it is possible to combine the above-mentioned movements between the gripping means and the storage means and the movement of the gripping jaws between open and closed position with each other and to control these movements from control means which are actuated by a plurality of actuating buttons, one for each type of slider.

The device according to the present invention therefore includes preferably also control means which control movement of the clamping jaws of the gripping means in dependency of the movement of the gripping means between the rest and the advanced position. Preferably, the control means control the movement of the clamping jaws in such a manner that the latter are held in the open position during movement of the gripping means from the rest to the advanced position, to close the clamping jaws when the gripping means are in the advanced position so that the jaws will grip the lug of a slider at the end of a selected row and to then hold the clamping jaw in a closed position during return movement of the gripping means from the advanced to the rest position.

Even though it would be possible to carry out relative movements between the storage and the gripping means simultaneously, that is to carry out the movement of the storage means in transverse direction to the rows of sliders therein simultaneously with the advance of the gripping means from the rest to the advanced position, it is preferred, in order to simplify the arrangement, to carry out these relative movements one after the other and to use therefore control means which assures the automatic sequence of these movements, that is to assure first a transverse movement of the magazine relative to the gripping means to align a selected row of sliders in longitudinal direction with the gripping means and then to move the gripping means in longitudinal direction between the rest and the advanced position toward and away from the end of the selected row.

In order to simplify the device, it is preferred to move the gripping means between the rest and the advanced position along a path extending in the direction of and forming a continuation of the selected row of axially aligned sliders. This simplifies the perfect alignment of the gripping faces of the jaws of the gripping means with the faces of the sliders gripped by the jaws which extend in the direction of the slider row.

The storage means of the device according to the present invention is preferably composed of a plurality of exchangeable magazines. Preferably, releasably holding means are provided on the magazines for holding the latter in a releasable manner in the storage means. The releasable holding means preferably comprise cooperating male and female elements respectively provided on the magazines and the storage means and interengaging with each other when the magazines are placed in the storage means. The magazines are preferably constructed as elements for packing and supporting the sliders longitudinally aligned with each other. These magazines, after all sliders are withdrawn therefrom by the gripping means, are removed from the storage means and discarded, whereafter they are replaced by new magazines filled with sliders. Such magazines may be in the form of guide rails of U-shaped cross section made from plastic material or cardboard in which the sliders are supported axially aligned with each other, or these magazines may be formed by elongated strips in which the sliders are arranged aligned in axial direction with each other. It is also possible to place the sliders without a separate carrier into the storage means by connecting the sliders at opposite ends easily separable from each other to form an elongated rod. This is comparable with staples in which the individual staples are connected to each other up to the time of their use by a thin plastic sheath. The jaws of the gripping means which close with a relatively great force can in this case be used to separate the slider at the end of the rod from the remainder thereof.

In order to facilitate gripping of the lug of the slider by the jaws of the gripping means, it is preferred to guide the sliders on a pair of guide rails having edge portions engaging in the channels of the sliders to guide the latter movable in longitudinal direction. The guide rails are preferably provided at the ends thereof facing the gripping means with releasable holding means for releasably holding a slider at that end of the guide rails. Such a releasable holding means will prevent an undesired movement of the front slider of the row of sliders out of the guide rails, but permit movement of the slider when the latter is gripped by the gripping means and pulled, during movement of the gripping means from the advanced to the rest position, out of the guide rails. Such a releasable holding means may be in the form of a leaf spring or in the form of a deformable projection projecting in the path of the slider.

The sliders are preferably arranged in the storage means or the magazines aligned in longitudinal direction with each other and in such a manner that the end of each slider which is adapted to receive engaged coupling elements of a slide fastener chain faces the gripping means.

One of the jaws of the gripping means is preferably stationary, and the other is movable toward and away from the stationary jaw. The side face or gripping face of the stationary jaw is preferably aligned in axial direction with a corresponding side face on the lug of a slider at the end of the selected row. Preferably, the stationary jaw has a stop portion projecting from one end of its gripping face in a direction transverse thereto toward the gripping face of the other jaw and this stop portion is adapted to engage a front edge of the lug of the gripped slider. If the slider is a lock slider provided with a locking tooth for engagement with a coupling element of the slide fastener chain and in which the locking tooth is integral with one end of the slider lug, then the movable jaw is preferably provided with a releasing tongue projecting intermediate the opposite ends of the gripping face of the movable jaw towards the gripping face of the stationary jaw, and this releasing tongue is constructed to engage in an opening of the lug during movement of the gripping means to the closed position to thereby move the locking tooth connected to the lug out of the channel of the gripped slider. This releasing tongue in combination with the stop portion on the stationary jaw will also locate the slider in an exact position on the gripping means.

In order to simplify construction of the device, according to the present invention, it is preferred to arrange the various slider rows in the storage means parallel to each other and substantially in a common plane which is inclined with respect to the horizontal in downward direction toward the gripping means. In this way, the sliders in the various rows tend to move under the influence of gravity toward the lower end of each row at which they are gripped by the gripping means and withdrawn from the storage means. Should the gravity force not be sufficient to move the sliders toward the aforementioned end, then it is also possible to arrange a rotating brush above the sliders in which the brush rotates in such a direction so as to tend to move the sliders toward the lower end of each row. Preferably, the gripping means are moved during its movement between the advanced and the rest position in a plane which is substantially parallel to the plane in which the row of sliders are located.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction, and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a partial schematic side view of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the device shown in FIG. 1 viewed in a direction normal to the plane in which the guide rails of the storage means are located;

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken to the gripping means per se and drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a partial top view of a slide fastener chain with engaged coupling elements; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of a magazine which may be used in the apparatus according to the present invention and showing one of the sliders carried thereby.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The device according to the present invention comprises gripping means 10 arranged in front of a storage means 11 adapted to store or support a plurality of rows of sliders of different kind.

The gripping means, best shown in FIG. 3, preferably comprise two jaws 12 and 13, of which the jaw 12 may be fixedly connected to a slide 14, whereas the other movable jaw 13 is pivotedly connected by means of a pivot pin 16 intermediate its ends to slide 14 so as to be tiltable in direction of the double arrow 15 about the pivot pin 16 between an open and a closed position. A rod 17 is attached to the lower end of the movable jaw 13 and the rod 17 forms the piston rod of a cylinder and piston means 18 carried by the slide 14 and operated for instance by compressed air. If compressed air or any suitable operating fluid is fed through the conduit 20, shown in FIG. 1, into the respective end of the cylinder and piston means 18, the rod 17 is moved in the direction of the arrow 19, to tilt thereby the movable jaw 13 in the direction of the double arrow 15 towards the left, as viewed in FIG. 3, to bring thereby the gripping means from the closed position shown in FIG. 3, to the open position.

The slide 14 carrying the gripping means 10 is movable with the latter in the direction of the arrow 55, shown in FIG. 2, and the slide is guided for movement in this direction between a pair of guide members 21. Moving means are provided for moving the gripping means 10 between a rest position spaced to the left, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, from a storage means 11 and an advanced position in which the gripping means are located beneath a slider 32 at the end of a selected row. These moving means may comprise double-acting cylinder and piston means 23 having a piston rod 26 connected to the slide by means of a member extending downwardly from the slide 14 between the guide members 21. Conduits 24 and 25, communicating at opposite ends with the cylinder of the cylinder and piston means 23 serve to feed compressed air or a similar pressure fluid into and out of the opposite ends of the cylinder to thereby move the slide 14 and the gripping means 10 carried thereby between the rest and the advanced position of the latter.

Instead of providing double-acting cylinder and piston means 23, it is evidently also possible to feed pressure fluid only at one end of the cylinder so as to cause movement of the piston rod 16 in one direction, while movement of the piston rod 26 in the opposite direction occurs under the influence of a coil compression spring located between the other end of the cylinder and the piston, and moving the piston in the opposite direction during discharge of the pressure fluid from the one end of the cylinder. The cylinder and piston means 18 may also be constructed as a double-acting cylinder and piston means or as a single-acting cylinder and piston means which is moved by pressure fluid only in one direction, whereas movement in the opposite direction occurs under the influence of a compression spring arranged in the manner as described above. It is also possible to use instead of cylinder and piston means, solenoid-operated means for moving the jaws of the gripping means between the open and the closed position, and the gripping means between the rest and the advanced position.

The guide members 21 are connected to the frame 27 of the device on which also the storage means 11 are mounted.

The storage means 11, in the embodiment illustrated, is constructed to receive five different types of sliders which are respectively arranged in parallel rows 28, 28', 28"' and 28.sup.IV. In the illustrated embodiment, the rows are arranged in a common plane 29 which is inclined in the direction of the rows at an angle with respect to the horizontal, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the ends 30, 30', 30", 30"' and 30.sup.IV, which face the gripping means 10, are located at a lower elevation than the opposite ends of these rows. Releasable holding means 31 are provided at the bottom end of each row so as to prevent the slider 32 at this end of each row to move in an undesired manner out of the storage means 11 under the influence of gravity. The releasable holding means 31 may be formed by tongues cut out and bent downwardly from a leaf spring 34, which extends transverse over the rows of and in which the tongues are respectively located in front of the lowermost slider of the respective row.

Since the construction of the storage means for each row of sliders is the same, it will be sufficient to describe this construction for the slider row 28. The sliders 32, 33 of the row 28 are guided in a longitudinal slot 36 for movement in longitudinal direction. The longitudinal slot 36 is formed between opposite and spaced edges of two strips or guide rails 37 and 38 which have a thickness smaller than the gap 39 between the plate 40 and the slider rails on the opposite plate 41 of a slider, as shown in FIG. 3. The guide rails 37 and 38 are arranged to respectively project with edge portions thereof from opposite sides through the gap 39 into the slider channels 42 formed in the sliders for guiding the coupling elements of a slide fastener chain. In FIG. 1, the plate 40 of the sliders is just visible.

The width of the gap 36 is dimensioned in such a manner so that the slider wedge 43, which connects the two plates 40 and 41 of the slider at one end of the latter, may pass easily between the opposite side edges of the rails 37 and 38. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the lugs 44 of the sliders and the pull tabs 45 suspended therein, project freely downwardly from the respective sliders. In this way, the lug 44 of the slider 32 at the front end of the selective row may be easily gripped by the gripper means 10 in the manner as will be described later on in detail. The sliders in the rows 28-28.sup.IV, differ from each other not with regard to size or shape, but only with respect to their color. Each row contains sliders of a different color. The sliders are supplied onto the guide rails of the different rows either by hand, or by vibrating hopper means known in the art and not forming part of the present invention. After selecting a row of sliders of a desired color, the storage means 11 are moved in direction transverse to the rows until a row of sliders of a selected color is axially aligned with the gripping means 10. To guide the storage means 11 for movement in direction transverse to the rows, a pair of angle members 46 and 47 are fixed to plates 53 which extend downwardly from and support the guide rails 37 and 38 for the sliders, and these angle members slidingly engage corresponding angle members 48 and 49, which in turn are fixed to the plate 27 which forms part of the supporting frame of the device. Arresting means are provided for releasably arresting movement of the storage means in transverse direction whenever one of the slider rows is axially aligned with the gripping means 10. Such arresting means may comprise a spring-loaded ball 50 located in a bore formed in the plate 27 and cooperating with a plurality of cavities formed in the bottom of the angle member 47 spaced in longitudinal direction of the latter in such a manner that the ball will snap in one of these cavities whenever one of the slider rows in the storage means 11 is axially aligned with the gripping means 10. To move the storage means in transverse direction, it is evidently necessary to exert a force big enough to overcome the force of the above-described arresting means.

The above-described device will operate as follows:

In the rest position of the device, the gripping means 10 are spaced from the left end, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, of the storage means 11. Contrary to the showing in FIG. 2, the jaws 12 and 13 of the gripping means 10 are in this rest position in the closed position in which the gripping faces 51 and 52 of the two jaws are close to each other so as to be adapted to grip the lug of a slider tightly therebetween. The gripping face 52 of the stationary jaw is in this position axially aligned with a side face of the lug of the front slider in the respective row.

The storage means 11 is then moved in transverse direction, as indicated by the arrow 54, to align a row of sliders having a selected color with the gripping means 10. This transverse movement of the storage means 11 may be carried out by hand, but it is preferred to automatically control this movement. For this purpose, a plurality of control buttons, one for each row of sliders, may be provided which control a moving mechanism of known construction to move, by pressing the respective button, the storage means 11 in transverse direction until a selected row of sliders is brought into alignment with the gripping means 11. Subsequently thereto, movement of the gripping means is enacted so that the latter will withdraw the front one of the sliders from the selected row. The movement of the gripping means may be programmed to occur simultaneously with the transverse movement of the storage means 11, but it is preferred to separately control the movement of the gripping means by a separate control button. Upon actuating this button, the gripping means 10 will start to move towards the storage means 11. Pressing the last-mentioned control button will actuate a control device of known construction which may for instance include means for energizing solenoid-operated valves for controlling flow of pressure fluid through the conduits 20, 24 and 25 in such a manner that pressure fluid may flow through the conduit 25 into the cylinder and piston means 23 to one side of the piston thereof, while pressure fluid is at the same time discharged through the conduit 24 and pressure fluid flows also through the conduit 20 into the cylinder and piston means 18 so that while the gripping means are moved toward the right, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable jaw 13 of the gripping means is moved to an open position, as shown in FIG. 2. In this position, the gripping means are moved to the advanced position in the region of the front slider 32 of the selected row of sliders. In the advanced position of the gripping means 11, the gripping face 52 of the stationary jaw of the gripping means is located closely adjacent to one side face of the lug 44 of the front one of the sliders in the selected row. The sliders are arranged in the rows in such a manner that their flat ends adapted to receive engaged coupling elements of a slide fastener chain face the gripping means 10. In the advanced position of the gripping means, the stop portion 56 on the stationary jaw 12 will engage the front edge of the lug 44 of the respective slider. When the gripping means 10 reaches its advanced position, the aforementioned control device will cause movement of the movable jaw 13 to the closed position. For this purpose, a normally open microswitch may be provided which is closed by contact with a part of the gripping means when the latter reaches its advanced position to thereby energize a solenoid-operated valve controlling flow of pressure fluid into and out of the cylinder and piston means 18 so that, if the latter includes, as described above, a coil compression spring for moving the movable jaw 13 to the closed position, the control device will cause discharge of pressure fluid from the cylinder and piston means 18 so that the coil compression spring can move the movable jaw to the closed position. During such movement, the gripping face 51 of the movable jaw will tightly engage the opposite face of the lug 44 so that the latter will now be tightly clamped between the gripping faces 51 and 52. As shown in FIG. 2, a releasing tongue 57 projects intermediate the opposite ends of the gripping face 51 from the latter toward the gripping face 52 of the stationary jaw 12. The releasing tongue 57 is arranged in such a manner so as to penetrate during movement of the movable jaw 13 to the closed position in an opening of the lug 44.

This position is best shown in FIG. 3. As also shown in FIG. 3, a locking tooth 58 is arranged at one end of the lug 44. The lug 44 is pivotably mounted on the slider and a spring, not shown in the drawing, acts on the lug to normally maintain the locking tooth 58 in a position in which the locking tooth projects through an opening in the slider plate 40 into the slider channel located between the plates 40 and 41. During penetration of the releasing tongue into the opening of the lug 44, the slanted bottom face of the tongue will cause tilting of the lug about its tilting axis in a direction to remove the locking tooth 58 at the end of the lug out of the slider channel 42 so that the locking tooth 58 will not block passage of interlocking elements of a slide fastener chain through this channel.

After the lug of the slider 30 in the selected row is thus securely clamped between the gripping faces 51 and 52, the control device will cause movement of the gripping means 10 with the gripped slider tightly held thereon from the advanced back to the rest position. For this purpose, the control device may include microswitches cooperating with portions of the movable jaw 13 in such a manner as to energize, respectively deenergize, solenoid-operated valves controlling flow of pressure fluid through the conduits 24 and 25 so that the piston of the cylinder and piston means 23 is moved to the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, thereby withdrawing the gripped slider from the storage means 11. When the front slider 30 is thus withdrawn from the respective row, the remaining sliders of the row will move under the influence of gravity downwardly, until the next slider will engage the releasable stop means 31. If the force of gravity should not be sufficient to move the remaining sliders of the row forwardly in the mentioned direction, for instance if the inclination of the guide rails for the sliders with respect to the horizontal should be too small, then a rotating brush may be arranged above the sliders in such a manner that the rotating bristles of the brush will provide an additional drive for moving the sliders in direction toward the lower bottom end of the storage means 11.

In the rest position of the gripping means 10 in which the gripping means are spaced towards the left, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, from the storage means, the gripped slider is held in the position as shown in FIG. 3, in which the slider channel 42 is unobstructed so that a slide fastener chain may be pulled up with the slider.

As shown in FIG. 4, such a slide fastener chain 60 comprises two slide fastener stringers 61 and 62 which at the facing edges thereof are respectively provided with coupling elements 63 and 64 which are engaged with each other. The operator then grips with his two hands respectively the tapes of the stringers 61 and 62 adjacent the end edge 65 of the chain, and inserts the coupling elements into the slider channel 42 while exerting a forward and at the same time lateral pull onto the two stringers. The coupling elements 63 and 64 move through the slider channel towards the opening wedge 43 at the end of the slider where the coupling elements become disengaged and move through the then forked slider channel. In this way, the slider is pulled up on the slide fastener chain. Subsequently thereto, the above-mentioned cycle is repeated and the pulled up slider is released from the gripping means while the next slider is withdrawn again from the storage means and brought to a position ready to be pulled up with a new slide fastener chain.

As mentioned before, the storage means 11, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, may be modified to contain instead of a plurality of fixed slider guide rails 37 and 38, a plurality of exchangeable magazines 70, one of which is shown in a front view in FIG. 5. The magazine 70 comprises an elongated carrier member 71, made for instance of plastic material, and having a substantially C-shaped profile. The ends 72 and 73 of this profile are located in one plane opposite and spaced from each other and engaged into the slider channel 42' of the slider 32' shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the slider plate 41' with the slider rails thereon are encompassed by the profile of the carrier 71, while the slider plate 40' is located outside the carrier profile.

The carrier 71 is in similar manner as described in connection with the storage means 11, filled with a row of axially aligned sliders. While one end of the elongated carrier 71 is closed, the other end, visible in FIG. 5, is open with the exception of a projection 74. The projection 74 is formed from the plastic material of the carrier 71 and projects in front of the end edge of the slider 32' located at the end of the row of sliders filling the carrier member 71. If a pulling force is exerted in direction of elongation of the carrier on the slider at the end of the row, the projection 74, formed from elastically deformable plastic material, will be deformed so that the front slider may be withdrawn from the magazine, whereas the next following slider will be held by the projection 74, which, after withdrawal of the front slider, will spring back to its original shape. The carrier 71 may have a rectilinear shape or be curved in such a manner so as not to obstruct the free movability of the sliders in longitudinal direction of the carrier.

A storage containing a plurality of rows of sliders may be formed by arranging a plurality of magazines 70 side by side. Such an arrangement may include a frame providing walls between adjacent magazine 70 and for maintaining the magazines in proper position between the walls of the frame, while facilitating replacement of empty magazines with new, filled ones, each of the magazines 70 may be provided on opposite sides thereof with semispherical projections 75 which may be snapped into complementary semispherical cavities provided in the separating walls of the frame. The magazine 70 may be arranged in the frame side by side and parallel to each other, but on the other hand, it is also possible to arrange the magazines in radial direction angularly displaced from each other. In the latter case, a circular movement of the thus formed storage means would be necessary in order to bring a selected row of sliders into axial alignment with the gripping means.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of devices facilitating pullup of sliders on slide fastener chains differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a device for facilitating pullup of a slider on a slide fastener chain, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Thus, it is also possible to use instead of a substantially rigid carrier, a flexible carrier for the rows of sliders, as for instance a flexible strip to which the sliders are connected axially with each other, and in which the strip is wound up on a roll. The jaws of the gripping means may also be arranged to engage not the lug of the slider, but other elements thereof, as for instance a pull tab of the slider. The latter case will be especially advantageous when the locking tooth is not connected to the lug, but to the pull tab 45 which in this case is pivotally mounted on the upper slider plate.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended.

Claims

I claim:

1. A device for facilitating pullup of a slider on a slide fastener chain comprising, in combination, gripping means movable between an open and a closed position for gripping and holding a slider in a predetermined position; storage means adapted to hold a plurality of rows of different sliders with the sliders in each row axially aligned with each other; guide means for guiding said storage means for movement in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of said rows to bring a selected row of sliders in alignment with said gripping means; moving means for moving said gripping means between a rest position spaced from said storage means to an advanced position ready to grip a slider at the end of a selected row; and operating means cooperating with said gripping means for moving the same between said open and said closed positions so that said gripping means when moved to said advanced position may grip a slider at the end of the selected row and hold the thus gripped slider in a predetermined position while said gripping means move to said rest position and for then releasing the slider after the latter has been pulled up on a slide fastener chain.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said storage means comprises a plurality of disposable magazines, one for each row of sliders, and means for releasably holding said magazines in said storage means.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein each of said magazines comprises guide rail means having a pair of elongated spaced and substantially parallel guide portions adapted to engage into channels of said sliders to guide the latter in longitudinal direction, and means at that end of each magazine which faces said gripping means for releasably holding a slider at said end.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said storage means comprises a plurality of elongated substantially parallel guide rails spaced in transverse direction from each other and having elongated edge portions adapted to engage into channels of the sliders so as to guide the sliders freely movable in longitudinal direction in said plurality of rows, and means for releasably holding a slider at that end of each row which faces said gripping means.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said sliders are arranged in said rows so that that end of each slider which is adapted to receive engaged coupling elements of a slider fastener chain faces said gripping means.

6. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said gripping means comprise two jaws at least one of which is movable toward and away from the other jaw, and wherein each of said jaws has a gripping face substantially parallel to the gripping face of said other jaw, and wherein said gripping faces move during movement of said gripping means between said rest and said advanced positions in the direction of the selected row of sliders.

7. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein one of said jaws is stationary and said gripping face thereof is aligned with a side face of a slider lug of a slider at the end of the selected row, said one jaw having a stop portion projecting from one end of its gripping face in a direction transverse thereto toward the gripping face of said other jaw and being adapted to engage a front edge of the lug of the gripped slider.

8. A device as defined in claim 7, wherein a releasing tongue projects intermediate the opposite ends from the gripping face of the movable jaw toward the gripping face of the stationary jaw, said releasing tongue being constructed to engage into an opening of the lug during movement of said gripping means to said closed position to thereby move a locking tooth connected to said lug out of the channel of the gripped slider.

9. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein said guide rails are located in a plane which is inclined in the direction of said rows at an angle to the horizontal toward said gripping means so that the sliders at the end of each row facing said gripping means are at a lower elevation than the other sliders in each row, and wherein said gripping means during its movement between said advanced and retracted positions moves in a direction substantially parallel to said plane.

10. A device as defined in claim 1, and including control means cooperating with said moving means and said actuating means for moving said gripping means from said closed to said open position during movement of said gripping means from said rest to said advanced position, for moving said gripping means to said closed position when it reaches said advanced position, and for maintaining said gripping means in said closed position during its return to and while in said rest position.

11. A device as defined in claim 10, and including additional control means for controlling movement of said storage means in direction transverse to said row of sliders relative to said gripping means to bring a selected row of sliders in axial alignment with said gripping means.