US3705446A

US3705446A - Apparatus for processing slide fasteners

Info

Publication number: US3705446A
Application number: US120614A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pertti O Gustavsson
Original assignee: William Prym Werke GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: William Prym Werke GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1967-06-05
Filing date: 1971-03-03
Publication date: 1972-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 1989-12-12
Also published as: FI47517B; CH468798A; NL142738B; US3570434A; GB1170887A; YU33400B; AT308687B; YU124368A; JPS4919423B1; ES354678A1; BE715836A; FI47517C; DK131644B; DK131644C; NL6807841A; FR1564177A

Abstract

Apparatus for processing slide fasteners including a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers with engaged coupling elements to portions of a garment or the like, cutting means for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the sewn on portions thereof, and means to permanently connect the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers.

Description

United States Patent Gustavsson [54] APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SLIDE FASTENERS Pertti O. Gustavsson, Boras, Sweden William Prym-Werke KG, Stollberg/Rheinland, Germany Filed: March 3, 1971 Appl. No.: 120,614

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 734,262, June 4, 1968, Pat. No. 3,570,434.

Inventor:

Assignee:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 5, 1967 Sweden ..7840/67 Sept. 6, 1967 Germany ..l? 42946 US. Cl ..29/34 A, 29/2015 ST Int. Cl. ..B23p 23/00 Field of Search ..29/34 A, 207.5 ST, 408;

[451 Dec. 12,1972

Primary Examiner-Gil Weidenfeld AttorneyMichae1 S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT I Apparatus for processing slide fasteners including a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers with engaged coupling elements to portions of a garment or thelike, cutting means for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the sewn on portions thereof, and means to permanently connect the cut-off ends of the remainder of vthe stringers.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SHEET 1 BF 3 PATENTED on: 12 I972 FIG] PATENTED HEB 12 9 3.705.446

sum 3 0F 3 INVENTOR Per-(f5 0. G t- PATENTEDBEIII m2 7 3.705.446

SHEET 3 [IF 3 INVENTOR PnT 601mm ATTORNEY 1 APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SLIDE FASTENERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a divisional application of the copendingapplication Ser. No. 734,262 filed June 4, i968 under the title Zip Fastener" now US. Pat. No. 3,570,434.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION sequently thereto, the sewn on slide fastener stringers are connected to each other by a stapleor. the like in an additional operation inwhich the article with the stringers sewn'thereto are moved to a stapling or similar coupling elements engaged with each other onto portions of a garment or the like, cut-off means spaced in longitudinal direction of the stringers from the needles of the sewing machine for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the portions thereof sewn to the garment, and means intermediate the needles and the cut-off means for permanently connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the pair of stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other.

Therefore, the sewing of the two stringers to the garmentor the like, the cutting off of the remainder of the two stringers and the placing of a permanent connection for connecting the cut-off ends of the two stringers can be carried out in one and the same apparatus. The control of movement of the various elements of the apparatuscan thereby easily performed from single conmachine. These staples serve to connect the two stringers of the slide fasteners in the region of one end thereof with each other and also to form a stop for the slider of the finished slide fastener.

This known processing of slide fasteners is cumbersome, and requires considerable space and anumber of operators so that this way of processing is costly and time'consuming. This known handling of attaching of slide fasteners to garments or similar articles has the additional disadvantage that the coupling elements on the two stringers which are not yet s'ewn to the garment or the like may become disengaged from each otherat the cut-off ends of the stringers which would make subsequent attaching of a staple or the like to connect the SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which. avoids the above mentioned disadvantages and which facilitates sewing of two side fastener stringers to a garment or the like as well as cutting off the non-sewn stringer portions and to connect the cut-off ends of the non-sewn stringer portions permanently to each other so as to avoid opening of the coupling members at the cut-off ends.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of theaforementioned kind, in which the sewing of the two slide fastener stringers to a garment or the like, the cut-off of the unsewn stringer portions and the permanent connection of the cut-off stringer portions at the cut-off ends to each other can be carried out in a single apparatus and in proper sequence without the necessity of shifting the garment or the like from one apparatus to another.

With these objects in view, the apparatus for processing slide fasteners mainly comprises, according to the present invention, a two-needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers having along inner edges thereof time ' present invention is that an adjustment of the garment or the like with the slide fastener stringers attached thereto during the placing of the permanent connection is not necessary since after sewing of the slide fastener stringers to the garment or the like, the row of coupling elements are properly positioned so that the permanent connection may be properly placed at the desired spot without the necessity of further adjusting the article.

A further advantage is that the connector for connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the slide fastener stringer may be placed onto the portions of the stringers which are not yet sewn to the article. Any disengagement of the coupling elements at the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers is in this way positively prevented.

The above mentioned advantage of joining the two stringers of a continuous fastener at the end portions previously left disconnected is especially of interest in the case where an apparatus according to the present invention is supplied with numerous different types of slide fastener stringers which have to be processed in any desired sequence. When the slide fastener stringers are changed from one type to another, the end portions of the disconnected stringers left in the machine will in such case have to be removed and replaced by different ones. During such exchange one could hitherto hardly prevent the engaged coupling elements from accidentally opening at the place where the stringers have been cut. This danger is avoided with the apparatus according to the present invention in that the cut-off ends of the not yet sewn on stringer portions are permanently connected to each other.

While the cut-off of the remainder of the stringers and the permanent connection thereof at the cut-off ends may be carried out in two successive operations, it is of advantage to carry out these two operations substantially simultaneously. The apparatus of the present invention preferably includes therefore operating means for simultaneously operating the cut-off means and the connecting means.

The permanent connection of the two stringers at the cut-off ends may be carried out in various different ways. One way of connecting the cut-off stringer ends is to use preformed staples having prongs which are driven through the two stringers and then bent over so as to permanently connect the two stringers to each other. In this case, the connecting means provided on the apparatus preferably include a stationary anvil and a driver for driving the prongs of the preformed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the two stringers and for subsequently bending the prongs on the anvil on the other side of the stringers to thus connect the two stringers permanently to each other. If preformed staples are used, the apparatus preferably also includes means for feeding preformed staples to the driver.

Instead of using preformed staples it is also possible to construct the connecting means of the apparatus according to the present invention in such a manner to provide the connecting means with punch and die means for cutting pronged staples from a strip of material and for subsequently driving the prongs of the thus formed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the two stringers, and for bending the prongs then on the other side of the two stringers to thus connect the latter to each other. In this case, the apparatus will preferably include means for feeding a strip of material for forming the staples to the punch and die means. The punch and die means are preferably formed in such a manner that the staple can be cut from the strip without any waste.

An additional possibility to connect the cut-off remainder of the two stringers to each other is to make this connection by a welding operation. In this case the connecting means comprise welding means including a stationary member and a reciprocating member movable toward and away from the stationary member and heating means for heating at least one of the members. When the coupling elements on the two stringers are formed from thermoplastic material, the aforementioned welding means may be arranged for welding the coupling elements of the remainder of the two stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other so as to permanently connect the two stringers at the cut-off ends thereof, or a strip of weldable material may be fed in a direction transverse to the elongation of the stringers in the region of the cut-off ends of the remainder thereof at least partly across the stringers and between the aforementioned members of the welding means as to connect the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers by a portion of the strip welded thereto.

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 top view showing a piece of top material with a length of a continuous slide fastener sewn to it with the apparatus according to the present invention, and in front of it, the end portion of the two stringers of the slide fastener which are not yet sewn to the top material with the two stringers permanently connected to each other by a connecting piece;

. FIG. 2 is an end view of one modification of the apparatus according to the present invention in which preformed staples are used for permanently connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the two stringers;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial partially sectioned front view of another modification of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross section taken along line V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5a is a top view ofa strip of material from which the staples may be cut; and

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic front view of a further modification of an apparatus according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The various stages of operations to be performed with the machine according to the present invention can be visualized from FIG. 1. As shown therein, the slide fastener 1 comprises two

stringers

2 and 3 of continuous length unwound from a supply reel (not shown), which in FIG. 1 should be assumed to be arranged on the far side of the lower end of the drawing. In addition, to a single reel, several other types of slide fasteners may be provided on other reels, ready to be inserted in the apparatus according to the present invention. The stringers are unwound from the reel and inserted in the machine according to the present invention in the direction of the arrow 4. The tapes of the slide fastener are joined to the top material 6 at the stitching point of the machine, the exact location of which is at the lower end of the rows of stitches 5 shown in chain lines in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the top material 6 consisting of two parts separated by a slit.

The slit in the top material is so arranged relative to the tapes passing through the machine that it is exactly aligned with the coupling elements 8 and 9 on the two

stringers

2 and 3 of the fastener. The material 6 and the tapes of the two stringers are picked up by the conveyor at the stitching point of the machine and joined together by lines of stitches 5 formed simultaneously in both stringers of the fastener. The top material 6 may be folded in known manner in the region of the slit 7 for which purpose known folding devices may be used which are mounted for instance on the pressure foot of the sewing machine.

When the desired length of tape has been sewn to the top material 6 this length 10 is severed from the remainder 11 of the continuous fastener 1 which is still connected to the supply reel and not yet joined to the top material 6, by the cut 12 shown in FIG. 1. At the same time as the cut is made, a connector 13 is fitted onto the yet unprocessed end portion 11 of the continuous fastener l to keep the coupling elements 8 and 9 of the two

stringers

2 and 3 securely engaged at this point.

When the length 10 has been stitched to the top material and severed from the remainder 11 of the fastener, the top material 6 is removed and passed on for further processing of the slide fastener, such as fitting a slider to the two stringers. The end portion 11 of the fastener is already correctly positioned in the

gers

2 and 3 will not become separated during the processing.

As will be seen from the chain lines 3 in FIG. 1, the I lines of stitching have in the 'present case been continued beyond the end of the top material 6 into the end portion 11 still joined to the reel. The lines of the stitching. extending into the end portion 11 below the cut 12 are evidently not used for the attachment of the top material, however, the connector 13 is-placed on the far side of the stitching point and can therefore not obstruct the process of stitching the end portion 11 onto the next piece of top material.

If it is desired, to sew a fastener of different color or. size to the next piece of top material instead of the fastener 1 illustrated, the end portion 11 "can be simply pulled out of the machine and the end of anew fastener be inserted. The connector 13 will insure that the coupling elements on the two

stringers

2 and 3 on the pulled out fastener will not come apart in the process, even if roughly treated. V

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate details of one embodiment of the machine according to the present invention. The fastener I seen in FIG. 3, coming from a supply reel (not shown), is fed to the machine from the left. In the position shown the tape is on thepoint of beingjoined to'a piece of top material about to be inserted into the machine. On its way throughthe machine the fastener 1 passes first through a guide before passing through the stitching point 23 where the two needles 21 and the pressure foot 22 are located. Subsequently thereto, the fastener passes through the cutting means of the apparatus comprising a movable cutting member 24 and is a stationary cutting-member 25. The cutting edges of the two

members

24 and 25 define the cutting point 26 of the machine. v

The movable cutting member 24 is connected by a piston rod 27 to a piston 28 reciprocably arranged a cylinder 29 operated by compressed air. The piston 28 is vertically reciprocated in dependence on the supply of compressed air through the

pipes

30 and 31 communicating with the interior of the cylinder. Thereby a corresponding movement is imparted to the movable cutting member 24 so that upon downward movement of the movable cutting member 24,-the cutting edges of l the

members

24 and 25 of the "cutting means will sever the length of the fastener 1 passed between the two cutting members from the end portion of the fastener left in the machine.

In accordance with the present invention, the connecting points 32 at which the two stringers at the cutoff end of the fastener are to be connected to each other is located between the stitching point 23 and the cut-off point 26. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, preformed staples aregused for connecting the two stringers at the'cut-off ends to each other. The connecting means, that is the means for driving the prongs of the preformed staples through the twostr'ingers and for bending the prongs subsequently thereto in engagement with the bottomfaces'of the two stringers, comprise a reciprocable driver 33 and a stationary anvil or plate 34.

The staple 35 are fed beneath the driver along a conveying path 36. At the end of the path is a barrier or stop which permits advancing of the staples one at the time along the path. The conveyor. path is shown in the form of a rail 36 leading from an elevated container, not shown in the drawing, downwardly so that the preformed staples will move along the rail downwardly by gravity. The manner in which the staples in the container are placed in proper position on the rail 36 does not form part of the present invention, and is therefore not illustrated in the drawing.

The driver 33 of the stapler or connecting means is likewise connected to the piston rod 27 and on the above mentioned movement of the piston rod 27, the driver 33 is thereby, synchronously with the cutting member 24, moved up-and down. At its downward movement, the barrier or stop 37 is moved about its hinge point 39 thereby automatically advancing the staples for the distance of one staple toward'the driver 33 so that the apparatus is always ready for operation.

By virtueof positioning of the fastener 1 in exact alignment with the machine, the staple 35 which is I lowered by the driver 33 is inserted in the end portion of the fastener left in the machine at the correct desired distance from the cutting point. When the'ends of a staple have penetrated the tape at the fastener 1, they come into contact with the bending plate or anvil of the stapler, where they are bent over in the desired direction by, means of suitable cavities provided in the anvil.

FIGS. 4 andSillustrate another embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, in which the apparatus includes punch and die means for forming staples from a strip of staple material, for instance brass or similar material, and for subsequently driving the thus formed staples through the cut-off ends of the two stringers to permanently connect the two stringers at the cut-off ends to each other. In FIGS. 4 and 5 only the means for forming and driving the thus formed staples throughthe stringers are shown, whereas the other elements of the apparatus, that is the sewing needles and the pressure foot, as well as the means for cutting off the stringers are not illustrated therein. It is however to be understood that theelements of the apparatus il- Iustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 are again located betweenthe stitchingp'oint 23 and the cut-off point 26 as shown in FIG. 3.

The'connecting means 47 that is the means for forming a staple from a strip 41 of staple material and for driving the thus formed staples through the cut-off ends of the two stringers comprises a stationary housing 40 formed at one side and in the lower portion thereof with a slit through which a strip of staple material 41 is stepwise fed by a schematically illustrated feeding mechanism 42 into the interior of the housing. The housing is provided at its lower end with inwardly projecting die parts 40a and 40b of a configuration as best shown in FIG. 5, which may be integrally formed with the housing 40 or attached thereto in any convenient manner. A punch 43 is located within the housing 40 for reciprocating relative thereto in vertical direction. The punch 43 has a pair of downwardly extending branches 43a and 43b respectively ground to match the contours'of the die parts 40 and 40b. A pressure punch 45 is located and guided between the branches 43a and 43b of the cutting punch 43 and movable relative thereto in vertical direction. A compression spring 46 sandwiched between the punches 43 and 45, as shown in FIG. 4, and ears 45a projecting laterally from the upper end of the pressure punch 45 and engaging corresponding shoulders on the cutting punch 43 maintain at the start the punch 45 in the position relative to the punch 43 as illustrated in FIG. 4. A withdrawable anvil 44 is located beneath the bottom end of the punch 45 and between the two die parts 400 and 40b. The anvil 44 is withdrawable in a direction normal to the plane of the drawing sheet. A stationary anvil 34, corresponding to the anvil 34 shown in FIG. 3, is located downwardly spaced from the withdrawable anvil 44 and the die parts 40a and 49b.

The above described apparatus will operate as follows:

The strip 41 is stepwise fed into the interior of the housing 40 until the left end of the strip, as viewed in FIG. 4, will abut against the inner face of the left housing part. The cut-off and forming punch 43 is then moved in downward direction, for instance by the piston rod 27', forming part of cylinder piston means as shown in FIG. 3, and during downward movement of the punch 43 the part 55 of the strip portion located within the housing will be cut off, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. a, from the remainder of the strip by the cooperation of the branch 43b with the die part 40b and during further downward movement of the punch 43, the portions of the cut-off part of the strip 41 located laterally to opposite sides of the anvil 44 will be bent about this anvil. During this downward movement of the cutting and bending punch 43 the pressure punch 45 will remain stationarily while the spring 46 is compressed. The punch 43 may move downwardly until the lower ends of the branches 43a and 43b engage or nearly engage the two stringers resting on the upper surface of the stationary anvil 43. Subsequently thereto, the anvil 44 is withdrawn in a direction normal to the movement of the punch 43 from beneath the formed staple, so that the force of the compressed spring 46 moves the pressure punch 45, which engages the upper surface of the staple, forcefully downwardly so that the prongs of the staple will penetrate through the two stringers to engage the stationary anvil 40' which then cooperates with the pressure punch 45 to bend the prongs of the staple toward the bottom face of the stringers. The withdrawal of the punch 44 may be carried out in any convenient manner, for instance by means of a second cylinder and piston means connected thereto, which is operated in timed sequence with the cylinder and piston means cooperating with the punch 43. It is to be understood that the apparatus includes also cut-off means as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 3 in which the movable cut-off member may be operated by the same cylinder and piston means which move the punch 43 of the connecting means 47 in the manner as described above, however, for simplification and reason, these cut-off means are not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Evidently, instead of providing a compression spring cooperating with the two punches it is also possible to provide separate moving means for the punches 43 and 45 which will move the two punches in proper sequence and through the necessary different strokes.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment according to the present invention in a schematic manner. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the connecting means of the apparatus for permanently connecting the free ends of the cut-off stringers comprises welding means designated with the reference numeral 56 in FIG. 6. For simplification reason and for reason of clarity, the cut-off means of the apparatus which are located downstream of the welding means 56 are not shown in FIG. 6, which shows only the pressure foot 22 which is located upstream of the welding means.

The welding means 56 comprise a stationary member, shown in FIG. 6 as a bridge 49 of material having a high electrical resistance, and a reciprocatable member 48 movable toward and away from the bridge 49 and operated for instance by the same piston and cylinder means which reciprocates the movable member of the cutting means. After the two slide fastener stringers have passed beneath the pressure foot 22 of the sewing machine part of the apparatus according to the present invention, the movable member 48 will be moved together with the movable member of the cutting means in downward direction, whereby the coupling members 8 and 9 on the two stringers which are formed of thermoplastic material are pressed against the bridge 49. At this moment, a current is passed through a transformer 53, the conductors 50 and through the bridge 49 so that the latter will be heated whereby the coupling elements which are engaged by the bridge will be softened and be pressed by the member 48 into each other, so that after recooling of the heated coupling elements a welding connection of the two stringers will result. A time relay 54 located in circuit with the transformer 53 regulates the duration and heating of the bridge 49.

In some cases, it will however be desirable to use not only the material of the coupling members but additional welding material to form the welded connection. This is also illustrated in FIG. 6, which shows schematically feeding means 52 for feeding a strip of welding material 41, for instance a strip of thermoplastic material, between the

members

48 and 49. Due to downward movement of the member 48 the material of the strip 51 will be pressed against the coupling members located between the

members

48 and 49 so as to weld during heating of the bridge a portion of the strip 51 to the coupling members. The right edge of the movable member 48 cuts in its lower end position the necessary portion from the strip 51.

Instead of contact heating as described above, it is also possible to use for producing of the necessary heat high frequency currents or supersonic soundwaves. In such a case, the therefore necessary elements are placed instead of the above mentioned high resistance bridge 49 on the apparatus.

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 apparatus for processing slide fasteners differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an apparatus for processing slide fasteners in which in one and the same apparatus two stringers of the slide fastener are sewn onto a base material, the stringers cut off and the cut-off parts of l060l0 001i the two stringers are connected to each other at the cut-off ends thereof, 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.

Without further analysis, the foregoingwill so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it forfvarious 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 v1'. Apparatus for processing slide fasteners comprising, in combination, a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair-of continuous slide fastener stringers having along inner edges thereof coupling elements engaged with each other onto portions of sheet material; cut-off means spaced in longitudinal direction of the stringers a predetermined distance from the needies of the sewing machine for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the portions thereof sewn to thesheetmaterial; and means-intermediate said needles and said cut-off means for permanently connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the pair of stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cut-off means and said connecting means are connected to each other for simultaneous movement.

3. An apparatusas defined in claim 1 and including operating means for simultaneously operating said cutoff means and said connecting means.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said operating means comprise fluid operated cylinder and piston means and means connecting said piston means to said cut-off means and said connecting means.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said cut-off means comprise a stationary member having a cutting edge and a reciprocatable member having a cutting edge cooperating with the cutting edge of the stationary member andwherein said operating means comprise means connected to said reciprocatable member for reciprocating the same.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said connecting means comprise a stationary element and a reciprocatable element connected to said reciprocatable member of said cut-off means for simultaneous reciprocation.

7. An apparatus as .defined in claim 6, wherein said stationary element comprises an anvil and wherein said reciprocatable element comprises a driver for driving feeding means comprise a rail ending short of the path.

of reciprocation of said driver and movable stop means at the end of the rail located in the path of reciprocation of the driver.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said connecting means comprise punch and die means for cutting and forming pronged staples from a strip of material and for subsequently driving the prongs of a thus formed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the two stringers and for bending the prongs on the other side of the stringers to thus connect the latter to each other, and means for feeding said strip of material stepwise to the punch and die means.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said punch and die means comprise a stationary guide member including a die section, a withdrawable anvil adjacent said die section, and punch means arranged for reciprocation in said stationary guide means and connected to said operating means to be reciprocated thereby relative to said die section and cooperating with the latter and said withdrawable anvil for cutting off portions of the strip, for forming the cut-off portions into U-shaped staples provided with prongs, and for driving the prongs of a thus formed staple, after withdrawing of said withdrawable anvil, through the stringers.

. 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting means comprise welding means including a stationary and a reciprocating member movable toward and away from said stationary member and heating means for heating at least one of said members, said members being arranged to extend at least partly across the remainder of said pair of stringers in the region of said cut-off ends thereof.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein at least said coupling elements on said stringers are formed from thermoplastic material and wherein said welding means are arranged for welding the coupling elements of the remainder of said stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 12 and including means for feeding a strip of weldable material in a direction transverse to the elongation of said stringers, in the region of the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers at least partly across the same and between said members of said welding means so as to connect said cut-off remainder of said stringers by a portion of said strip welded thereto.

Claims

1. Apparatus for processing slide fasteners comprising, in combination, a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers having along inner edges thereof coupling elements engaged with each other onto portions of sheet material; cut-off means spaced in longitudinal direction of the stringers a predetermined distance from the needles of the sewing machine for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the portions thereof sewn to the sheet material; and means intermediate said needles and said cutoff means for permanently connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the pair of stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 and including operating means for simultaneously operating said cut-off means and said connecting means.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said cut-off means comprise a stationary member having a cutting edge and a reciprocatable member having a cutting edge cooperating with the cutting edge of the stationary member and wherein said operating means comprise means connected to said reciprocatable member for reciprocating the same.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said stationary element comprises an anvil and wherein said reciprocatable element comprises a driver for driving prongs of a preformed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the two stringers and for bending the prongs on said anvil at the other side of the stringers to thus connect the two stringers to each other.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, and including means for feeding preformed staples to said driver.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said feeding means comprise a rail ending short of the path of reciprocation of said driver and movable stop means at the end of the rail located in the path of reciprocation of the driver.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting means comprise welding means including a stationary and a reciprocating member movable toward and away from said stationary member and heating means for heating at least one of said members, said members being arranged to extend at least partly across the remainder of said pair of stringers in the region of said cut-off ends thereof.