GB2173253A

GB2173253A - Apparatus for discharging slide fasteners with sliders mounted thereon

Info

Publication number: GB2173253A
Application number: GB08608234A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hideto Fujii
Original assignee: Yoshida Kogyo KK
Current assignee: YKK Corp
Priority date: 1985-04-05
Filing date: 1986-04-04
Publication date: 1986-10-08
Also published as: JPH0212891Y2; GB8608234D0; KR870003312Y1; GB2173253B; KR860012760U; MY101097A; JPS61167815U; HK63890A; SG57190G; PH26139A

Abstract

A slide-fastener discharging apparatus includes a cooperating pair of discharge rollers (21, 22) for discharging slide fasteners (F) successively along a longitudinal path, and a slider guide member (28) non- rotatably disposed in an annular recessed portion (27) of one of the discharge rollers (22) for guiding sliders (S) of the respective slide fasteners (F) toward a downstream side of the recessed discharge roller as the slide fasteners are discharged from the discharge rollers. The slider guide member comprises a strip of sheet material having an elongate guide portion (29) extending from an upstream side of the recessed discharge roller (22) toward the downstream side of the latter along the periphery of the annular recessed portion (27) in confronting relation to the other discharge roller (21). With the slider guide member thus provided, the slide fasteners can be discharged smoothly from the apparatus without the occurrence of deformation of the sliders and their pull tabs. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for discharging slide fasteners with sliders mounted thereon The present invention relates generally to the production of slide fasteners having sliders mounted respectively thereon, and more particularly to an apparatus for discharging such slide fasteners successively out of a slide-fastener processing or finishing machine.

As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos 59-103610 and 58-127604 and reillustrated respectively here in Figs. 13 and 14, it has been a conventional practice to discharge finished slide fasteners F successively either in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction from a slide-fastener processing or finishing machine by means of a pair of discharge rollers. One of the discharge rollers A or B has an annular recessed portion or groove C or D for receiving an upper portion of each slider including a pull tab to prevent the slider and its pull tab from being deformed or otherwise damaged by the discharge rollers when the slide fasteners are discharged from the discharged rollers.

The conventional slide-fastener discharging apparatus having such discharge rollers are disadvantageous in that the sliders are likely to be trapped in the annular groove C, D in the discharge roller A, B when the slide fasteners F are discharged from the discharge rollers. Such trapped sliders move along with the grooved discharge roller A, B with the result that a smooth discharge of the slide fasteners F is difficult to achieve. This tendency becomes greater when the slide fastener F includes a slider S having a large-sized heavy pull tab T1 (Fig. 11) or a pull tab T2 having a hook-shaped free end (Fig. 12).

It is believed possible by means of the present invention to provide an apparatus for discharging the slide fasteners smoothly in succession along a longitudinal path.

It is further believed possible by means of the present invention to provide a slide-fastener discharging apparatus having structural features which enable a slider to pass smoothly through a pair of discharge rollers of the apparatus when each slide fastener is discharged from the discharge rollers.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for discharging slide fasteners having sliders mounted respectively thereon, comprising: (a) a cooperating pair of discharge rollers for discharging the slide fasteners successively along a longitudinal path, at least one of said discharge rollers having in its periphery an annular recessed portion for receiving the sliders when the slide fasteners are discharged from said pair of discharge rollers; and (b) a slider guide member non-rotatabley disposed in said annular recessed portion of said one discharge roller and having an elongate guide portion extending from an upstream side of said one discharge roller toward a downstream side of the latter in confronting relation to the other roller for guiding the sliders downstream of said one discharge roller as the sliders are fed through said annular recessed portion.

The invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts cut away for clarity, of a slidefastener discharging apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an axial cross-sectional view of one of a pair of discharge rollers of the slidefastener discharging apparatus; Figure 3 to 7 are fragmentary cross-sectional, partly front elevational views showing the manner in which a slide fastener with a slider mounted thereon is progressively discharged from the slide-fastener discharging apparatus; Figure 8, appearing with Fig. 2, is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational, partially cross-sectional view of Fig. 6; Figures 9A and 9B are views similar to Figs.

2 and 6, respectively, but showing a modified slide-fastener discharging apparatus; Figures 10A and lOB are views similar to Figs. 2 and 6, respectively, but showing another modified slide-fastener discharging apparatus; Figure 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of a slide fastener to be discharged by the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the slide fastener including a slider having a large-sized heavy pull tab; Figure 12 is a view similar to Fig. 12, but showing a slider pull tab having a hookshaped free end; Figure 13 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in cross section, of a conventional slide-fastener discharging apparatus; and Figure 14 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another known slide-fastener discharging apparatus.

Figs. 1 to 8 show an apparatus 20 for discharging finished slide fasteners F successively out of a slide-fastener processing or finishing machine (only partially indicated by phantom lines in Fig. 1).

The apparatus 20 includes a pair of upper and lower discharge rollers 21, 22 for discharging the slide fasteners F one after another along a horizontal longitudinal path.

The discharge rollers 21, 22 have respective peripheral portions made of resilient hard synthetic rubber so that they can firmly grip therebetween the individual slide fastener F without damaging the same.

The upper discharge roller 21 is rotatably mounted on a frame 23 and driven by a suitable drive means (not shown) to rotate coun terclockwise in Fig. 1. The lower discharge roller 22 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 24 supported by and extending between a pair of opposed arms of a U-shaped roller holder 25.

The roller holder 25 is connected to a piston rod 26 of a fluid-actuated cylinder (not shown). The lower discharge roller 22 is normally spaced from the upper discharge roller 21 and, upon operation of the cylinder, it is brought into frictional engagement with the upper discharge roller 21 for corotation therewith. As best shown in Fig. 2, the lower discharge roller 22 has a central annular recessed portion or groove 27 extending in and along its peripheral surface for receiving an upper portion (directed downwardly in Fig. 1) of a slider S including a pull tab P (Fig. 1) while the respective slide fastener F is being discharged by the discharge rollers 21, 22.

The slide-fastener discharging apparatus 20 further includes a slider guide member 28 non-rotatably associated with the lower discharge roller 22 and disposed in the annular recessed portion 27 of the later for guiding the upper portion of the respective slider S toward a downstream side of the lower discharge roller 22. The slider guide member 28 comprises a strip of resilient sheet material, such as spring steel bent into a substantially D-shape and has a width slightly smaller than the width of the annular recessed portion 27 of the lower discharge roller 22. The Dshaped slider guide member 28 extends circumferentially around the annular recesses portion 27 and movably rests on the periphery of the latter 27.The slider guide member 28 includes a curved elongate guide portion 29 extending from an upsteam side of the lower discharge roller 22 toward a downstream side of the latter in confronting relation to the upper discharge roller 21, the guide portion 29 terminating in a discharge end 30 projecting outwardly beyond the periphery of the lower discharge roller 22. The discharge end 30 is disposed immediately above an inlet portion of a discharge chute 31 disposed downstream of the lower discharge roller 22. The guide portion 30 further has an arcuate inlet end 32 extending substantially parallel to the periphery of the annular recessed portion 27. Thus, the guide portion 30 has a varying curvature progressively increasing/decreasing in a direction from the inlet end 32 toward the discharge end 30.The guide member 28 further includes a pair of end portions contiguous to the inlet and discharge ends 32, 30, respectively, and extending convergently toward each other.

The opposite ends of the strip or guide member 28 are connected together by a bolt-andnut fastener 33 so that the slider guide member 28 is detachable from the lower discharge roller 22. The slider guide 28 may be replaced by another slider guide member constructed to suit with the structure of a slider mounted on the respective slide fastener finished by the slide-fastener finishing machine. As described above, the D-shaped slider guide 28 is rested on the periphery of the annular recessed portion 27 of the lower discharge roller 22 but it is held in interlocking engagement with the roller holder 25 against corotation with the lower discharge roller 22.

The operation of the apparatus 20 is described below with reference to Figs. 3 through 7 taken in conjunction with the operation of the slide-fastener finishing machine.

As shown in Figs 1 and 3, a freshly finished slide fastener F is supplied by a pair of reciprocable grippers 34, 34 (Fig. 1) from the slide fastener finishing machine to the slide fastener discharging apparatus 20. In this instance, the lower discharge roller 22 is held in its non-operating position remote from the upper discharge roller 21. The grippers 34 is moved downstream along along respective pairs of guide rails 35, 35 until a leading end of the slide fastener F passes the discharge rollers 21, 22. Then the cylinder is actuated to extend its piston rod 26, thereby causing the lower discharge roller 22 to press the slide fastener F against the upper discharge roller 21. Thus the slider faster F is firmly gripped between the upper and lower discharge rollers 21, 22, as shown in Fig. 4.The grippers 34 release the slide fastener F and then it is moved along the guide rails 35 away from the discharge rollers 21, 22 for gripping a leading end of the next succeeding finished slide fastener. Then the upper discharge roller 21 is rotated to feed the slide fastener F downstream of the discharge rollers 21, 22 whereupon the slide fastener F supplied to the discharge chute 31 while being guided by the discharge end 30 of the slider guide member 28, as shown in Fig. 5. During that time, the lower discharge roller 22 rotates clockwise in the same figure due to the frictional engagement with the slide fastener F.

Continuous rotation of the discharge rollers 21, 22 causes a slider S of the slide fastener F to enter the annuler recessed portion 27 and then to move into the nipping point between the discharge rollers 21, 22. During that time, the slider S is guided on and along the guide portion 29 of the slider guide member 28 (Fig. 8) and, due to the friction between the slider S and the guide portion 29, the slider guide member 28 is displaced toward the discharge chute 31 (Fig. 6). As the slide fastener F is further advanced by the discharge rollers 21, 22, the slider S slides smoothly from the nipping point toward the discharge end 30 along the guide portion 29 and then it is discharged from the discharge end 30 onto the discharge chute 31, as shown in Fig. 7. Due to the resiliency of the slider guide member 28, the slider S is positively discharged out of the annular recessed portion 27. After the slide fastener F has been fully discharged to the discharge chute 31, the rotation of the upper discharge roller 21 is stopped and the lower discharge roller 22 is returned to its non-operating position of Fig. 3 for a subsequent cycle of discharging operation.

Figs. 9A and 9B show a modified slider guide member 28a made of a strip of resilient sheet material bent into a generally D-shape.

This guide member 28a is structurally the same as the guide member 28 of the foregoing embodiment with the exception that the Dshaped guide member 28a is secured to the roller holder 25 such that it is not rested on but spaced radially outwardly from the periphery of the annular recessed portion 27 of the lower discharge roller 22. Due to such spaced disposition, the guide member 28a is free from abrasive wear on its inner surface and has a higher resiliency than the that of the guide member 28. The guide member 28a is held out of engagement with the annular recessed portion 27 throughout the slide fastener discharging operation.

Another modified slider guide member 28b shown in Figs. 10A and 10B is also made of a strip of resilient sheet material but the resilient strip is bent into a genrally L-shape. The L-shaped guide member 28b is secured at its one end to the roller holder 25 and extending from an upstream side of the discharge roller 22 toward a downstream side of the same along a part of the full circumference of the annular recessed portion 27 in radially outwardly spaced relation to the latter. This guide member 28b is simple in construction and can be manufactured less costly.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. For instance, the annular recessed portion 27 may be provided in the upper discharge roller 21 so that the slide fasteners F can be discharged with the upper portion of the respective sliders S facing either upwards or downwards. The upper and lower discharge rollers 21, 22 may be disposed in close juxaposition provided that the respective slide fastener F is pushed toward the discharge rollers 21, 22 by means of a pusher arm (not shown), instead of being drawn by the reciprocable grippers 34, 34.

Claims

1. An apparatus for discharging slide fasteners having sliders mounted respectively thereon, comprising: (a) a cooperating pair of discharge rollers for discharging the slide fasteners successively along a longitudinal path, at least one of said discharge rollers having in its periphery an annular recessed portion for receiving the sliders when the slide fasteners are discharged from said pair of discharge rollers; and (b) a slider guide member non-rotatably disposed in said annular recessed portion of said one discharge roller and having an elongate guide portion extending from an upstream side of said one discharge roller toward a downstream side of the latter in confronting relation to the other roller for guiding the sliders downstream of said one discharge roller as the sliders are fed through said annular recessed portion.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, said elongate guide portion being curved along the periphery of said annular recessed portion and having a discharge end projecting outwardly beyond the periphery of said one discharge roller.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further including a chute disposed downstream of said discharge rollers and having an inlet portion disposed below said discharge end of said elongate guide portion.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, said curved elongate guide portion further having an inlet end extending substantially arcuately along the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, said elongate guide portion having a varying curvature progressively increasing/decreasing in a direction from said inlet, end toward said discharge end.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, said slider guide member comprising an elongate strip of resilient sheet material.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, said slider guide member comprising an elongate strip of sheet material bent into a generally Dshape and extending circumferentially around said annular recessed portion.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, said D-shaped slider guide member normally resting on the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7, said D-shaped slider guide member being spaced radially outwardly from the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, said slider guide member comprising an elongate strip of sheet material bent into a generally L-shape extending along a part of the full circumference of said annular recessed portion.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, said L-shaped slider guide member being spaced radially outwardly from the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

12. An apparatus according to claim 7, said spider guide member comprising an elongate strip of resilient sheet material.

13. An apparatus according to claim 1, further including a roller holder for rotatably supporting thereon said one discharge roller, said slider guide member being held into interlocking engagement with said roller holder against corotation with said one discharge rol tier.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, said slider guide member comprising an elongate strip of sheet material bent into a generally D-shape and extending circumferentially around and retained on the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, said D-shaped slider guide member being displaceable toward said downstream side of said one discharge roller in response to the engagement of the sliders with said elongate guide portion of said slider guide member.

16. An apparatus according to claim 13, said slider guide member comprising a curved elongate strip of sheet materil extending at least a part of the full circumference of said annular recessed portion in spaced relation to the periphery of said annular recessed portion, said slider guide member being secured to said roller holder.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, said slider guide member having a generally Dshape disposed circumferentially around said annular recessed portion.

18. An apparatus according to claim 16, said slider guide member having a generally Lshape connected at its one end to said roller holder and substantially entirely covering an upstream side of the periphery of said annular recessed portion.

19. An apparatus according to claim 1, each of said discharge rollers having a peripheral portion made of a resilient hard synthetic rubber.

20. An apparatus substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.

21. An apparatus substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 modified as in Figs. 9A and 9B of the accompanying drawings.

22. An apparatus substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 modified as in Figs. 10A and 10B of the accompanying drawings.