GB2048649A - Fixing hook-and-eye fastener devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Workholder tool has an elongate on recess 112 having relatively deep and shallow regions, 112b and 112a, to accommodate respectively the hook tongue and base of a hook 10. A spring loaded L-shaped pivoted foot 124 having a plate-like toe portion 132 holds the components in recess 112. The eye 14 is located in the deeper region 112b between body part abutment shoulders and abutment shoulders of the toe portion 132 which has a step on its upper surface beneath the staple seating and a terminal region 132' of reduced thickness to facilitate stripping the staple from the tool. The tool is preferably used with a clenching machine having a T-shaped die recess (90) fig. 15 (not shown) having hook prong clenching anvils (94) in the shallower narrower portion (90a) and staple prong clenching anvils (98) in the deeper wider portion (90b). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for fixing hook-and-eye garment fastener devices This invention relates to apparatus for use in fixing prong-attached hook and eye components of sheet metal hook-and-eye waistband fastener devices during the manufacture of garments such as trousers and skirts.

The invention is more particularly concerned with such apparatus which is designed for use where the hook component has a crush-resistant cranked form comprising a cantilever hook tongue in an elevated and longitudinally offset relationship to a relatively short prong-carrying base to which the hook tongue is integrally connected by a cranked or step formation and where the eye component is in the form of a pronged staple comprising a bar bridging between down-turned opposite shouldered end portions integral with the root ends of the prongs so as to have a generally rectangular inverted U-shape configuration.

Such components are usually supplied in sets including associated apertured backing members, one for each component, and in fixing to garment material each component is generally supported and held in aworkholdertoormounted in a clenching machine or press which is operated to cause the prongs of the component to penetrate through a thickness of the garment material and to co-operate with a clenching die so as to be bent over or clenched in clamping relationship with the respective backing member which is positioned on the underside of the garment material and located with respect to the clenching die.

In the clenching machine or press, the work-holder tool is generally mounted on an upper carrier part above the clenching die and during a clenching operation the machine or press is operated to bring about relative vertical' movement of the work-holder tool and clenching die towards and away from one another. When the work-holder too moves away from the clenching die after fixing of a component, the component is automatically released and stripped from the work-holder tool.

The clenching die usually comprises a recess for receiving and locating the backing member with anvil surfaces within the recess for clenching the fastener component prongs by impact. In' many cases, for attaching the fastener components to a waistband which is already made up, or partially' made up, into a closed ended pocket or sleeve the clenching die is carried by an arm or mandrel generally of cantilever form which can be inserted into the pocket or sleeve of the waistband. Some clenching machines or presses are also designed for fixing a pair of spaced hook components or eye components simultaneously, being provided with spaced pairs of work-holdertoolsandofclenching diesforthispur- pose.

Heretofore, it has been general practice for most clothing manufacturers to be supplied with and to use one or more pairs of clenching machines or presses, one machine or press of each pair having a work-holder tool or tools and a clenching die or dies designed for hook components and the other having a work-holder tool or tools and a clenching die or dies designed for the staple components. This dupli cation of machines for fixing the complementary components of hook-and-eye fastener devices, how ever, can be rather uneconomic, especially for rela tively small' manufacturers.

Consequently, there have been some attempts in the past to provide clenching machines or presses which can be used for fixing both the hook compo nents and the eye components, but the results of these attempts have not been altogether satisfactory in all respects. Thus, in our earlier British Patent Specification No: 848805, there is described a clenching press having a' mandrel having two arms of which one carries a clenching die for a hook com ponent and the other carries a clenching die for an eye component, the mandrel being pivotally mounted so as to be selectively positionable to bring the clenching die of each' mandrel arm selectively into an operative position beneath one or other of a pair of corresponding work-holder tools' mounted in the press and designed respectively to hold and support hook components and eye components.

Such' multi-armed mandrel, however, tends to occupy a lot of space which can be inconvenient and is subject to wear, particularly in respect of its pivot mounting, which may seriously affect the necessary precise alignment between the fastener components in the work-holder tools and the respective clenching dies. Moreover, two separate work-holder tools are required for the two components which usually have to be positioned in close proximity to one another and this again can be inconvenient for the operator in restricting access.

Other attempts have involved providing work holder tools which are designed to hold and support either the hook component or the eye component on adjacent seatings, but these have relied upon mag nets for holding the components in place so that they have been suitable only for components made of steel whereas sdme such fastener components am made of brass or other non' metallic metal. Also, a high degree of security is not obtained with magnetic holders which can lead in practice to defec tive clenching operations, and there are difficulties in designing the tools so as to obtain the necessary precise location of the components without prevent ing easy loading and release.Also, there have been problems in designing satisfactory complementary clenching dies adapted to receive hook component or eye component backing members in closely adja cent positions to' match the relative positions of the different components in such work-holder tools.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus for fixing the hook and eye components of such prong attached hook-and-eye garment waistband fastener devices which can enable a single clenching machine or press to be used for both components without the disadvan tages of prior art arrangements.

In one aspect, the invention provides a work holder tool for holding and supporting pronged hook and eye components of sheet metal hook-and-eye garment waistband fastener devices in a clenching machine or press while the prongs thereof are caused to penetrate through a thickness of garment material and to co-operate with a clenching die so as to be bent over or clenched in clamping relationship with an associated backing member positioned on the underside during fixing to the garment material, such hook components being of a crush-resistant cranked form comprising a cantilever hook tongue in an elevated and longitudinally offset relationship to a relatively short prong-carrying base to which the hook tongue is integrally connected by a cranked or step formation and such eye components being in the form of a pronged staple comprising a bar bridging between down-turned opposite shouldered end portions integral with the root ends of the prongs so as to have a generally rectangular inverted U-shaped configuration, said work-holder tool having (a) a body mountable on an upper carrier part of the clenching machine or press, (b) an elongate recess on the underside of said body providing a seating for receiving and locating a said hook component, the configuration of the recess matching the cranked profile of the hook component with a relatively shallow region providing a first seating portion for engaging the base of the hook component and with a longitudinally offset relatively deep region providing a second seating portion for engaging the hook tongue of the hook component, and (c) a spring-loaded pivoted foot carried by said body part, said foot having a plate-like toe portion which, in an operative closed position of the foot, extends longitudinally of the recess under said second seat ing portion so as to engage the underside of the hook tongue of a said hook component seated in the recess and hold and locate it in position during a hook clenching operation, the foot being movable angularly against its spring bias into an open position for releasing said hook component after fixing to the garment material, said recess also being designed to provide a seating for receiving and locating a staple constituting a said eye component in place of said hook component said staple seating being defined by a portion of the deeper region of the recess which is spaced from the shallower region and which is bounded by opposite side wall portions arranged to engage the opposite end portions of the staple so as to locate the staple laterally of the recess and by abutment shoulders forming stop surfaces arranged to engage said end portions of the staple so as to locate the staple longitudinally of the recess, and the toe portion of the pivoted foot is arranged so that in the operative closed position of the foot it passes between the opposite shouldered end portions of a said staple in position on the staple seating and engages the underside of the bridging bar to hold the staple on said seating during a staple clenching operation.

In general, the length of the staple between its opposite end portions will be greater than the width of the hook tongue of the hook component and the width ofthe recess between the opposite side wall portions bounding the staple seating will be greater than the width of the portion of the deeper region of the recess which lies intermediate the staple seating portion and the shallower region thereof.

Thus, the deeper region of the recess in the body may be bounded by opposite side walls having a stepped profile in longitudinal cross-section to provide the abutment shoulders forming stop surfaces which face away from the shallower region of the recess to define an inner boundary of the staple seating portion, but also, in preferred embodiments, the toe portion of the pivoted foot is provided with a pair of laterally disposed abutment shoulders forming stop surfaces facing towards the free end of the toe portion and, when the foot is closed, opposing those of the body so as to define an outer boundary of the staple seating portion.

These abutment shoulders of the toe portion can therefore help to position each staple correctly during loading into the workholdertool, and to ensure that after loading, when the foot is closed, the staple will be held with one edge of its end portions located up against the opposing stop surfaces formed by the shouldered abutments of the body.Moreover, release of a staple after a clenching operation fixing itto garment material is also facilitated since immediately there is an angular movement of the pivoted foot as it starts to open, the abutment shoulders of the toe portion and those of the body start to move further away from one another thereby helping to free the staple confined on its seating in the deeper region of the recess and reducing any tendency for itto be janimed in place.

Also in preferred embodiments, the upper surface of the toe portion is advantageously formed with a step extending transversely across its width at a position lying substantially midway beneath the staple seating, in the closed cohdition of the foot, such that when a staple is in place on said seating the underside of the bar thereof is engaged by the upper surface of the toe portion above the step but when the foot opens to release the staple the bar moves down over the step so as to clear the abutment shoulders of the body and to travel with enhanced freedom along the remainder of the toe portion to reach the free end.This feature helps to ensure that the staples, although confined in the deeper region of the recess and relatively far inwards on the toe portion of the foot during clenching, can be smoothly released and stripped frdm the workholdertool after completing a clenching operation fixing them to garment material, even if movement of the garment material is restricted by it being made up into a waistband sleeve or pocket fitted over a mandrel carrying the clenching dies.

Generally, as hereinafter described in relation to a specific embodiment, the terminal region of the toe portion below said step will be of reduced thickness as compared with the inner region above said step and' may advantageously be bevelled at its free end to facilitate not only stripping of the staples but also locating engagement with the cranked or step formation of hook components loaded into the workholder tool and release and stripping of such hook components.

In an advantageous form of specific construction, the body of the workholdertoof may comprise a cen tral solid hardened metal core or block having an upstanding stem portion for fitting to an upper carrier member of a clenching machine or press, the underface of the core or block being formed with a stepped profile to provide the relatively shallow and deep regions of the underside elongate recess, and a pair of side plates are secured to the core or block which provide side walls bounding the recess and a pivot mounting for the foot. The foot is preferably a substantially L-shaped' member of which one limb provides the toe portion while the other limb extends upwardly and, towards its free end, is carried by the pivot mounting.

The invention also comprises clenching machines or presses fitted with workholder tools as hereinbefore defined and clenching dies for clenching the prongs of both the hook components and the eye components or staples of the hook-and-eye fastener devices.

The clenching dies are each advantageously provided by a separate hardened metal plate element formed with a recess shaped to receive and locate selectively either a hook component backing member or an eye component or staple backing member and containing appropriate anvil surfaces for clenching the prongs of the two different components, such clenching die element being secured in a precise position to either a flat bed or to a mandrel of the clenching machine or press concerned.

The clenching die recess may be of substantially T-shaped form with a wider region for receiving and locating the staple backing member and with a narrower region for receiving and locating one end of the hook backing member which will generally be of elongate form and overlap at its other end into the wider region of the recess. The wider region will also contain the anvil surface surfaces for clenching the staple prongs and the narrower region will contain the anvil surfaces for clenching the hook compart- ment prongs in this embodiment, and the problem of the portion providing the staple clenching anvil surfaces forming an obstruction preventing a proper seating of an overlying part of a hook compartment backing member can be avoided by said wider region ofthe recess being made deeper than said narrower region.

By way of example, one embodiment of the invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the components of a typical sheet metal hook-and-eye waistband fastener device for the fixing of which the apparatus of the present invention is especially suitable; Figure 2 is a part-sectional side elevational view of a clenching machine or press fitted with workholder tools in accordance with the embodiment of the invention presently described; Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line Ill-Ill of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the clenching machine or press of Figure 2; Figures is a side elevational view of one of the workholdertools; Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the workholder tool viewed from the righthand side of Figure 5;; Figure 7 is an end elevational view of the workholder tool viewed from the lefthand side of Figure 5; Figure 8 is an underside view of the workholder tool showing a spring-loaded pivoted foot thereof in an open position indicated by chain dotted lines in Figure 5; Figure 9 is an underside view of the workholder tool showing the spring-loaded pivoted foot in its closed operative position and with an eye member component of the hook-and-eye fastener device seated in place; Figure 10 is an underside view of the workholder tool showing the spring-loaded pivoted foot in its closed operative position and with a hook member component of the hook-and-eye fastener device seated in place; Figure 11 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on line Xl-Xl of Figure 9; Figure 12 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on line Xll-Xll of Figure 10;; Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 11 but showing the eye member component being released in the final stages of a clenching operation after attachment to a garment waistband effected by clenching engagement with a clenching die of the clenching machine or press; Figure 14 is a view similar two Figure 12 but showing the hook component being released in the final stages of a clenching operation after attachment to a garment waistband effected by clenching engagement with the clenching die; Figure 15 is a plan view of the clenching die shown in Figures 13 and 14; Figure 16 is a longitudinal cross-section on line XVI-XVI of Figure 15; Figure 17 is a transverse cross-section on line XVII-XVll of Figure 15; and Figure 18 is a transverse cross-section on line XVIII-XVlil of Figure 15.

Referring to the drawings, the hook-and-eye waistband fastener device shown in Figure 1 represents a kind widely used in the clothing industry and comprises a hook component 10 with an associated complementary back plate 12 and an eye component in the form of a pronged staple 14 with an associated complementary back plate (often termed a "washer") 16.

The hook component 10 has a crush-resistant cranked form comprising a cantilever hook tongue 18 which is elevated and longitudinally offset with respect to a relatively short base 20 to which the root end of the hook tongue is integrally connected by a shallow cranked or step formation 22, the base 20 being provided along each opposite side edge with a pair of integral pointed attachment prongs 24, 24, which initially are bent so as to extend perpendicularly to the plane of the base.The associated back plate 12 is of elongate form with a pair of laterally spaced apertures 26, 26, towards one end to receive the pairs of hook prongs 24, 24, which are bent over or clenched in fixing and attaching the hook component to garment material so as to seat in a pair of grooves or channels -28,28, extending transversely of the back plate between the apertures 26, 26. When fixed, the other end of the back plate extends beneath the hook tongue 18 on the opposite side of the garment material.

The staple 14 comprises a bar 30 bridging between down-turned opposite end portions 32,32 having outwardly divergent and inclined side edges 34,34 leading to shoulders 36,36 integral with the root ends of the terminal pointed attachment prongs 38, 38, such that the staple as a whole has a generally rectangular inverted U-shape configuration. It may be noted that in this example, the bar 30 has a shal low central depression so that it has a shallow V-shaped form in cross-section providing slightly inclined opposite side faces 40,40 on the underside which facilitate engagement with the hook tongue 18 ofthe hook cdmponent 10.

The staple back plate or washer 16 comprises a rectangular sheet metal plate with a raised peripheral rim 44 provided a shallow channel-form cross-section and with a pair of prong-receiving apertures 46, 46.

The clenching machine or press 50 shown in this particular example is treadle operated type designed for simultaneous fixing of a pair of hook components 10 or staple components 14 in spaced relationship to a garment waistband. It has a solid cast base 52 for securing to a work-bench 54 and an integral and overhanding main frame 56 terminating in a head 58 provided with a transversely extending swivelling carrier block 60 on which is mounted a pair of spaced apart workholder tools 62,62, positioned one at each end of the carrier block 60.

Beneath the head 58 is a vertically movable bolster block 64 having a central depending stem 66 which passes through a vertical guideway 68 in the base 52 and which engages at its lower end with a short arm 70 of an operating lever 72 pivotally mounted at 74 to the front of the base. The operating lever72 is connected to a long depending foot treadle arm 76 (not illustrated in full) by means of which the operat ing lever 72 is moved angularly to raise and lower the bolster block 64 to operate the machine.

Along the front edge, the bolster block 64 is provided with a square section mandrel carrier bar-78 connected thereto by pivotally mounted end plates 80,80 which permit a limited angular movement, this carrier bar 78 being secured to one limb 82 of a U-shaped plate 84 constituting a mandrel which lies in a substantially horizontal plane. The other limb 86 of this plate 84 forms the main cantilever arm of the mandrel which is adapted to be inserted into a gar ment waistband made up, or partially made up, into a closed ended pocket or sleeve in knows manner and it carries a pair of spaced apart identical clench ing die elements 88,88 located so as to lie directly beneath the respective workholder tools 62, 62.

Each clenching die element88, as shown in more detail in Figures 15to 18, comprises a small square hardened metal plate formed with a T-shaped recess 90 in its upper surface adapted to receive and locate the respective back plates 12 and 16 of the hook component 10 and staple 14. The hook back plate 12 fits lengthwise of the recess 90 with its apertured prong-receiving end seated in the narrower "stem" portion 90a of this recess and the staple back plate 14 fits transversely into the wider "head" portion 90b ofthis recess as indicated in broken lines in Figure 15.

The recess 90 is provided within the narrow portion 90a with a raised anvil portion 92 having concave clenching surfaces 94,94, for engaging and clenching the prongs 24,24, of the hook component 10, and within the wider portion 90b there is a raised anvile portion 96 having concave clenching surfaces 98,98, for engaging and clenching the prongs 38,38, of the staple 14.

To enable the hook and staple anvil portions 92 and 96 to be situated in such close proximity within the recess 90 which is common to the two different back plates, the wider portion 90b of the recess has a greater depth than the narrower portion 90a so that the staple anvil portion 96 does not obstruct the hook back plate 12 and prevent it from seating properly.

The clenching die elements 88, 88 are secured to the mandrel arm 86 by screws 100 in accurately located positions and are precision made parts manufactured separately from the mandrel 84 which has significant practical advantages.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 5 to 14, each workholder tool 62 comprises a body 102 made up of a solid block-form square-section hardened metal core or bar 103 having an upstanding shank portion 104 and a pair of laterally projecting side plates, 106, 106, secured by fasteners 108. The shank portion 104 serves for mounting the tool on the carrier block 60 of the clenching machine or press and may be provided with one or more tapped holes, such as is shown at 110, for fixing screw means.

On the underside, the body 102 has an elongate recess 112 formed by a stepped profile of the lower end face of the bar 103 between the lower edges of the side plates 106, 106, this recess providing a seating for receiving and locating either a hook component 10 or a staple 14.

As shown, the recess 112 has a relatively shallow region 1 12a towards one end which is bounded by an end wall 114 and inner wall portions 116 of the side plates 106, 106, so as to provide a first seating portion for engaging the base 20 of the hook component 10. Towards the other end, the recess 112 has a relatively deep region 11 2b providing a second seating portion for engaging the hook tongue 18 of the hook component and also the seating for the staple 14.

The staple seating is defined by a portion 11 2'b of the deeper region of the recess which is spaced from the shallower region 11 2a and which has an enlarged width, being bounded by parts of the side plates 106, 106 that are cut-back to provide more widely spaced inner wall portions 120, 120 and abutment shoulders 122,122. The inner wall portions 120, 120, serve to engage the outer faces of the opposite end portions 32,32 of the staple 14 so as to locate the staple laterally of the recess and the abutment shoulders 122, 122, form stop surfaces arranged to engage an edge of said end portions 32, 32, so as to locate the staple longitudinally of the recess.

Each workholder tool 62 also has an angularly movable foot 124, in the form of an L-shaped metal pressing, which is pivotally mounted on the lugs 126, 126 forming one limb by a pivot pin 128 between the side plates 106, 106 at a position high up towards the projecting ends of the latter. A torsion bias spring 130 spring loads the foot 124 urging itto turn in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 5, and the other limb of the foot provides a plate-like toe portion 132. In an operative closed position of the foot 124, the toe portion 132 extends under the body 102 longitudinally of the recess 112 so as to cover or underlie the deeper portion 11 2b thereof with its free end 134 reaching just up to the shallower portion 112a.

Thus, as seen most clearly in Figures 10 and 12, the toe portion 132 is adapted to engage the underside of the hook tongue 18 of a hook component 10 seated in the recess 112 and to hold and locate it in position during a clenching operation for fixing it to garment material. As shown, the free end 134 of the toe portion 132 is bevelled along its top edge and engages the cranked or step formation 22 of the hook component 10 thereby to press the base 20 of the latter up against the end wall 114 and ensure correct longitudinal positioning, while the opposed inner wall portions 116, 116, closely confine and position the base 20 laterally.

Similarly, as seen most clearly in Figures and 11,thetoe portion 132 is adapted to engage the underside of the bar 30 of a staple 14 seated in the portion 112'b of the recess 112. For ensuring that such staple is correctly positioned longitudinally of the recess, the toe portion 132 has a pair of lateral projections 138, 138, forming shoulders which engage one edge of the end portions of the staple and locate the opposite edge up against the stop surfaces 122, 122, this being an important practical feature of this embodiment.

It should also be noted that the upper face of the toe portion 132 is cut away to provide a step 140 and a terminal region 132' of reduced thickness, the step 140 being located so as to lie directly under the centre line of the shallow V-shaped cross section of the bar 30 of a staple 14 seated in position. This is also of significant practical importance in that it facilitates release and stripping of the staple from the tool after a clenching operation, as hereinafter described.

For loading and release of the fastener components, the spring loaded foot 124 can open by angular movement against the bias of the spring 130. In the underside view of Figure 8, the foot is shown widely open corresponding to the position indicated in outline in Figure 5, and in Figures 13 and 14 a lesser extent of opening is shown. The relatively high rearward position of the pivot 128 helps to ensure that a relatively small angular movement opens the foot sufficiently wide for the toe portion 132 to move away from the seatings provided by the recess 112 and provide enough clearance for the hook or staple components to be released after a clenching operation.

In use, supposing for example that it is required to fix the components of a pair of the fastening devices shown in Figure 1 in spaced relationship to the opposite ends of a made-up trousers' waistband, the hook components 10 may be dealt with first by loading these into the two workholdertools 62,62, and by placing their associated back plates 12, 12, in position in the respective recesses 90, 90, of the clenching die elements 88,-88 on the mandrel arm 86 of the clenching machine or press 50.In loading each hook component into its respective workholdertool, the operator need only open the foot 124 of the latter slightly, enough to insert the hook tongue 18 behind the toe portion 132, and upon then releasing the foot and allowing it to close under the force of the spring 130 the hook component 10 will automatically be pushed home into a correctly located position seating within the recess 112, as shown in Figures 10 and 12.

The mandrel 84 is then tilted slightly about the pivot axis of the mounting of its carrier bar 78 so as to raise the mandrel arm 86 above the top surface of the block 64, and this arm 86 carrying the back plates 12, 12, in the clenching die recesses 90, 90, is introduced into the pocket or sleeve portion of the waistband to which the hook components are to be fixed.

Thereafter, upon operating the treadle of the clenching machine or press, the bolster block 64 is raised vertically to bring the clenching dies on the mandrel, covered by the waistband garment material 150, up directly beneath the workholder tools 62, 62. Thereby, the downwardly projecting attachment prongs 24,24, of the hook components which are held and supported by the workholder tools are caused to penetrate through the thickness of gar mentmaterial 150 and to pass through the back plate apertures 26,26, so as to engage the clenching surfaces 94,94 of the clenching die hook anvils 92,92, and to be bent over and clenched into the grooves 28,28.

Having completed the above-described clenching operation, the bolster block 64 is lowered together with the mandrel 84 carrying the garment waistband thereby causing the clenching dies 88,88, to' move away and separate from the upper workholder tools 62,62. The relative vertical' movement in separating results in each hook component 10, now attached to the waistband garment material 150, pulling downwards the toe portion 132 of the foot 124 of its respective workholder tool so that the foot automati- cally opens to release the hook component and to permit the waistband to be slipped off the mandrel arm 86, as indicated in Figure 14.

After thus fixing the hook components, the operation is repeated using a pair of the eye components or staples 14, 14, which are fixed in a similar manner to the opposite end of the garment waistband. In loading each workholdertool 62 with a staple, after opening the foot 124 slightly the staple can be fitted on the toe portion 132 up to the shouldered lateral projections 138, 138, and when the foot is reclosed the latter ensure that the staple is correctly located up against the opposing stop surfaces of the abutment shoulders 122, 122, as previously mentioned and as seen' most clearly in Figures 9 and 11.

Although the staples are each released from their respective workholder tools at the end of a clenching operation in a similar way to the corresponding hook components, their position further inwards on the toe portion 132 and confinement wholly within the deeper region 1 12b of the recess 112 tend to hinder a smooth and easy release and stripping from the workholdertools, as does also the effect of frictional drag between the toe portion and the garment material.As indicated, however, in Figure 13 the particular stepped configuration described of the toe portion 132 and reduced thickness of the terminal region 132' enables this problem of obtaining an easy release and stripping to be overcdme since, as soon as the foot begins to open, the bar 30 of the staple becomes free to move slightly, outwards along the toe portion, and to slide down the step 140 so as to clear the abutment shoulders 122, 122, and travel with enhanced freedom along the remainder of the terminal region 132' to reach the bevelled free end 132 of the toe portion.In Figure 13, an early stage in the release of a staple just after the foot 124 begins to open is indicated in chain dotted lines and the view in full lines shows the staple 14, attached to the garment material 150, as it finally passes off the free end 134 of the toe portion 132 upon completion of the release and stripping operation.

To appreciate more fully the problem of frictional drag, it should be understood that the thickness of the inner region of the toe portion 132 above the step 140 is commensurate with the depth of the opposite end portions 32,32 of the staple 14 so that during an attachment operation there is a solid support under the bridging bar 30 and the planar underside surface of the toe portion, lying in substantially flush relationship with the bottom edge faces of the side wall plates 106, 106, bears upon and compressesthe layer of garment material 150 while the prongs 38 are being clenched.This compression of the gar ment material is important for obtaining a secure clenching and fixing of the staple but it results in a tight fit of the toe portion 132 between the bar 30 and garment material 150 immediately after the clenching operation and, if it were not for the step 140 and reduced thickness of the terminal region 132' of the toe portion 132, there would be a considerable frictional drag of the underside surface of the latter against the garment material providing a hindrance throughout the release and stripping operation.It has been found moreover, that a simple tapering configuration of the terminal region of the toe portion instead of a stepped configuration as described and illustrated does not generally provide such a satisfactory solution to this problem of reducing the effect of frictional drag and is likely to increase the difficulties of initially positioning and locating a sta ple correctly on its seating during loading prior to a clenching operation.

The initial operation of loading the workholder tools with either the hook or staple components in the particular clenching machine or press illustrated may be facilitated by temporarily swivelling the car rier block 60 upwards in known manner to bring the underside of the tools into a forwardly presented position. However, this is not essential because with the particular form of construction described the fas tener components can as well be loaded quickly and accurately solely by tactile manipulation without need to rely on visual observation. In this respect, the shouldered projections 138,138 ofthetoe portion 132 are especially important and helpful when loading a staple without relying on close visual observation of the loading operation.

The construction of wo rkholder tools described also affords a high degree of support for the fastener components, both hooks and staples, during the actual clenching operations, especially around the region of the root ends of the prongs by reason of the close confinement and firm seating in the recess 112, and this is important for obtaining reliable clenching especially in mass production working.

The fastener components must of course be located so that their prongs are accurately aligned with the anvil surfaces of the clenching dies, and in fitting pairs of hooks and staples the spacing between the hooks and that between the staples must be exactly equal. These requirements, however, are also readily fulfilled with the structure of the apparatus described.

As the clenching die elements 88 are in the form of separate plates, this not only facilitates their manufacture but enables them to be secured to a standard form of mandrel in the exact positions required, and with a pair of clenching die elements the spacing between the hook anvil surfaces will automatically always be the same as the spacing between the staple anvil surfaces. Also, by placing one clenching die element close to the free end of the mandrel arm, the form of the clenching die recess enables both the hook component and the staple to be fixed very close to the closed end of a waistband sleeve or pocket if desired.

It will, nevertheless, be appreciated thatthe apparatus hereinabove specifically described represents only one example of an ambodiment of the invention since many and various detail changes or modifications can be made in the specific structure within the scope of the invention and, in particular, the workholdertools and clenching die elements described can of course be fitted to other types of clenching machines or presses.

Claims (11)

1. A workholder tool for holding and supporting pronged hook-and-eye components of sheet metal hook-and-eye garment waistband fastener devices in a clenching machine or press while the prongs thereof are caused to penetrate through a thickness of garment material and to co-operate with a clenching die so as to be bent over or clenched in clamping relationship with an associated backing member positioned on the underside during fixing to the garment material, such hook components being of a crush-resistant cranked form comprising a cantilever hook tongue in an elevated and longitudinally offset relationship to a relatively short prong-carrying base to which the hook tongue is integrally connected by a cranked or step formation and such eye compo nents being in the form of a pronged staple cdmpris- ing a bar bridging between down-turned opposite shouldered end portions integral with the root ends of the prongs so as to have a generally rectangular inverted U-shaped configuration, said work-holder tool having (a) a body mountable on an upper carrier part of the clenching machine or press, (b) an elongate recess on the underside of said body providing a seating for receiving and locating a said hook component, the configuration of the recess matching the cranked profile of the hook component with a relatively shallow region providing a first seat ing portion for engaging the base of the hook com ponent and with a longitudinally offset relatively deep region providing a second seating portion for engaging the hook tongue of the hook component, and (c) a spring-loaded pivoted foot carried by said body part, said foot having a plate-like toe portion which, in an operative closed condition of the foot, extends longitudinally of the recess under said second seating portion so as to engage the underside of the hook tongue of a said hook component seated in the recess and hold and locate it in position during a hook clenching operation, the foot being movable angularly against its spring bias into an open condition for releasing said hook component after fixing to the garment material, said recess being bounded by opposite longitudinal side walls and being also designed to provide a seating for receiving and locating a said staple eye component in place of said hook component, the staple seating being defined by a portion of the deeper region of the recess lying between portions of the opposite longitudinal side walls which are arranged to engage the opposite end portions of the staple so as to locate the staple laterally of the recess and lying adjacent abutment shoulders forming stop surfaces arranged to engage said end portions of the staple so as to locate the staple longitudinally of the recess, and the toe portion of the pivoted foot is arranged so that in the operative closed condition of the foot it passes between the opposite shouldered end portions of a said staple in position on the staple seating and engages the underside of the bridging bar to hold the staple on said seating during a staple clenching operation.

2. A workholder tool as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a first pair of said abutment shoulders of the body part forming stop surfaces which face away from the shallower region of the recess and define an inner boundary of the staple seating portion of the deeper region of the recess is provided by a stepped longitudinal cross-sectional profile of the opposite longitudinal side walls bounding said recess, and a second pair of said abutment shoulders is provided by lateral projections on the toe portion of the pivoted foot arranged so that the stop surfaces formed thereby face towards the free end of said toe portion and, when the pivoted foot is in its operative closed condition, towards the shallower region of the recess in opposing relationship to the stop surfaces of said first pair of abutment shoulders and define an outer boundary of the staple seating portion.

3. Aworkholdertool as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper surface of the toe portion of the pivoted foot is formed with a step extending transversely across its width so as to lie beneath the staple seating portion of the recess, when the foot is in its operative closed condition, at a mid-position thereof such that when a staple is in place against said seating portion the underside of the bar of the staple is engaged by the upper surface of the toe portion above the step but when the foot opens to release the staple the bar of the staple moves down over the step so as to clear adjacent said stop sur faces on the body part and to travel with enhanced freeddm along the remainder of the toe portion to reach the free end of the latter.

4. Aworkholdertool as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the terminal region of the toe portion of the pivoted foot beyond said step is of reduced thickness as compared with the thickness of the inner region of said toe portion above said step and is bevelled at its free end.

5. A wprkholdertool as claimed in any of the pre- ceding claims, wherein the body part of the work holder tool comprises a central solid hardened' metal core or block having an upstanding stem portion for fitting to an upper carrier' member of a clenching machine or press, the underface of the core or block being formed with a stepped profile to provide the respective relatively shallow and relatively deep reg ions of the elongate recess on the underside of said body, and a pair of side plates are secured to the core or block to provide the opposite longitudinal side walls bounding the recess and to provide a pivot mounting for the foot.

6. Aworkholdertool as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the pivoted foot is a substantially L-shaped member ofwhich one limb provides the toe portion while the other limb extends upwardly and, towards its free end, is carried by the pivot mounting.

7. A workholder tool for holding and supporting pronged hook-and-eye components of sheet metal hook-and-eye garment waistband fastener devices in a clenching machine or press, said tool being con structed and arranged substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference to Figures 1 to 14 of the accompanying drawings.

8. A clenching' machine or press fitted with a workholder hool as claimed in any of the preceding claims and provided with clenching die' means for clenching the prongs of both the hook components and the eye components or staples of said hook and-eye fastener devices.

9. A clenching machine or press as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the clenching die' means comprises a separate hardened' metal plate element formed with a recess shaped to receive and locate selectively either a hook component backing' member or an eye component or staple backing' member and containing anvil surfaces for clenching the prongs of the two different components, such clenching die plate element being secured to either a flat bed orto a' mandrel of the clenching' machine or press in a precisely located position thereon.

10. A clenching' machine or press as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the clenching die recess is of substantially T-shaped form with the wider region for receiving and locating the staple backing' member and with a narrower region for receiving and locat ing one end of the hook backing' member such that the latter, being of general elongate form, overlaps at its other end into the wider region of said recess, and said wider region of the recess also contains the anvil surfaces for clenching the prongs of the staple component while the narrower region of said recess contains the anvil surfaces for clenching the prongs ofthe hook component.

11. A clenching machine or press as claimed in Claim 8 and having clenching die means substantially as herein described and illustrated with referpence to Figures 15to 18 of the accompanying drawings.