400,195. Sliding-clasp fasteners. WINTERHALTER, M., 19, Davidstrasse, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Feb. 11, 1932, No. 4102. Convention date, Jan. 11. [Class 44.] In the manufacture of sliding-clasp fasteners by supplying the fastener elements to the stringer from a series of suitably spaced shoots, means are provided for mechanically supplying the elements to the shoots. Fig. 3 shows an electrically controlled machine embodying the invention. A container 7 with shoots 8 below which the stringer, not shown, is supported is kept supplied with elements placed haphazard in a distributer 5 which delivers them, correctly orientated, through a conduit 6 to the shoots. Distributer 5 and conduit 6 are mounted on a carriage 4 slidable along rails 3 and moved intermittently to bring the conduit 6 over the shoots 8 successively. Discharge of the elements from conduit 6 is controlled by an oscillated member 82 with points 84, 85 which are alternately moved into the conduit. Member 82 is held in the position shown by a spring 87, allowing elements from the distributer 5 to collect in the conduit 6 supported by point 85. When the supply reaches the required height, the topmost fastener element closes contacts 86 immediately below point 84, and so energizes magnet 89 which attracts an armature 88 carried by member 82. Point 84 then cuts off the supply and point 85 is withdrawn, allowing the collected elements to discharge into a shoot 8, and contacts 86 to open, the parts then returning to the position shown. When magnet 89 de-energizes, a switch (not shown), closes the circuit of a magnet 114 which attracts an armature 113 carried by a lever 15 pivoted at 16 and normally held against an adjustable screw-stop 116 by a spring 115. The movement of lever 15 effects movement of carriage 4, which has two rails 92, 93, respectively acted on by one-way clutch devices 94, 109. Device 94 is mounted on and reciprocated by the upper end of lever 15, and when moved to the right moves the carriage, but when moved to the left, moves idly. Device 109 is fixed on a bracket 14 and acts as a detent, allowing movement of carriage 4 to the right, but normally preventing return movement. Each device comprises a sleeve, Fig. 6, surrounding the corresponding rail 92, 93 and having a conical bore 97 towards the smaller end of which balls 102 are urged by a spring 104 so as to grip the rail. When the carriage 4 reaches its predetermined limit of movement to the right, collars 123, 124 on the rails 92, 93 displace bushes 106 to the right against the action of springs 108, the inner ends of the bushes displacing the balls 102 out of gripping engagement. The bushes are retained in displaced position by pivoted hook-like members 119, and whilst so retained, the carriage 4 returns freely under the action of weight 131 and cord 129 passing over pulley 130. When the carriage has returned, stops 128 engage the inclined ends 122 of members 119 and release the bushes 106, which are then returned by springs 108 to allow balls 102 again to grip the rails. Figs. 1 and 13 show an arrangement in which spindle 93 is threaded and co-operates with a pivoted detent 18 replacing the device 109 described above. A pair of depending arms 134 pivoted to lever 15 are connected at their lower ends by a bar 135 passing freely through an aperture in lever 15, and are also connected by link 147 with an upstanding pivoted arm 149. When carriage 4 reaches its predetermined limit of movement to the right, collar 145 displaces a plate 141 which lifts detent 18 out of engagement and brings a projection 140 on the detent into engagement with bar 135, causing arms 134 to be displaced so that the upper end of arm 149 displaces bush 106 to the right and releases device 94 as described above. Carriage 4 is then returned to the left, and a collar 146 restores plate 141, detent 18, and device 94 to engaged condition. Movements of lever 15 are effected by an eccentric 17. A rocking device 20 controls discharge of the fastener elements from conduit 6. A disc 21 resiliently driven by a coaxial pulley (not shown) has a radial pin 22 which passes into and out of conduit 6 as the disc rotates. When a sufficient number of elements has collected in the conduit, the topmost element is engaged by pin 22 and disc 21 is arrested. The relative movement which then occurs between the disc and its driving pulley is utilized, through a lever mechanism (not shown), but described in detail in the Specification, to rock member 20, discharging the fastener elements into shoot 8, at the same time closing a contact in the circuit of an electromagnet 192 which controls rotation of eccentric 17. A continuously driven ratchetwheel 196 rotates freely on shaft 132 to which the eccentric 17 and a crank-arm 197 are keyed, the arm carrying a pawl 199 held out of engagement with ratchet wheel 196 by a pin 201 forming the movable core of magnet 192 and engaged in a slot 200 in the pawl when the magnet is de-energized. Energization of the magnet withdraws pin 201 allowing the pawl to engage with, and be carried one revolution by, wheel 196, the arm 197 imparting motion to the shaft 132 and eccentric 17, which make a revolution and are then rearrested by pin 201 again entering slot 200. The distributer 5 comprises a dished member 151, Fig. 15, in the bottom of which rotates a disc 152 with peripheral recesses 153 which receive correctlyorientated fastener elements 9 from the superposed supply and discharge them into conduit 6, entrance being facilitated by a rotating disc 209 forming part of the floor of member 151. The front wall of conduit 6 mav be made flexible and have resting thereon at suitable positions lever arms 211 which are rocked by deformation of the wall due to passage of an irregularly positioned member 9 and serve to close'contacts in circuit with any suitable machine-stopping &c. device. The distributer also has radial oscillated arms with terminal brushes (not shown) to keep the supply of fastener elements distributed over disc 152, and has spring fingers (not shown) serving to throw out wrongly orientated elements from the recesses 153. Arrangements are described employing two distributers, operating alternately, or in tandem, one filling recesses 153 left vacant in the other. A modification is described having no distributer, the elements being directly supplied to a series of conduits 6 from a stamping press which punches out the elements from a sheet previously provided with projections and recesses to form the interengaging portions of the elements. Burr &c. may be removed from the elements by a member 243, Fig. 27, inserted in the wall of conduit 6 and held up to its work by a spring 245, the member 243 having a slot 244 with sharpened working edges to act as cutters. The elements 9 are positively fed past this device by a pinned wheel 247. A similar device may be embodied in the floor of the distributer 5 in the previously described forms of the invention. Rotary brushes 248, Fig. 29, may project into conduit 6 to further trim elements 9, and jets of air, and suction means, may be embodied to remove the metal dust. In all forms of the invention the stringer may be held in a template 10 movable up to the outlets of shoots 8 by eccentrics 12. The shoots 8 may be built up in container 7 by alternating wide and narrow strips, and the container may have a transparent wall. Preferably, the container 7 is in two grooved parts of glass or other material held together by catches so that it may be opened to remove obstructions, &c. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 included the device for compressing the jaws of the fastener members on to the stringer forming the subject-matter of Specification 398,816 and a rotary device for conveying fastener members direct from conduit 6 to the edge of an intermittently moved stringer forming the subject-matter of Specification 398,819. The Specification also described means immediately below shoots 8 for compressing the fastener member jaws on to the stringer, a grab-like member which could be oscillated longitudinally and in which fastener elements were placed, the edges of the jaws having teeth forming a series of apertures in which correctly orientated members were received and dependingly held whilst being applied to the stringer, conveyer devices comprising a screw, or a pair of screws of opposite sense, for carrying a succession of spaced fastener members to a shoot, or to the stringer, a rotating drum device in which fastener members were tumbled on to a comb template supported within the drum, two different forms of comb template comprising a pair of endless bands driven side-by-side, the stringer being fed between them, and the bands having teeth or projections between which the fastener members were received on the stringer from shoots 8 described above, and a wire helix rotating within a horizontal casing having a longitudinal slot along its lowest portion, the wire serving to feed depending fastener members, spaced by the wire convolutions, along the slot. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.