Slide fastener slider for easy mounting of a pull tab

Abstract

A joiner and a slide fastener slider incorporated with the joiner includes a slider body having an upper wing and a lower wing connected by a neck to define a channel for insertion of a slide fastener. A lug is integrally formed on the upper wing with a gap between the lug and the upper wing for the insertion of a pull tab. A joiner has a locking arm inserted into a bore of the upper wing. A spring piece and a pair of positioning legs are formed at one end of the joiner, and a pair of position-defining arms is formed at an opposite end of the joiner. A pair of inverse hooks is formed on the pair of position-defining arms. The lug includes a recess for receiving the spring piece, and a pair of recesses for receiving the pair of positioning legs. A position-defining element provided on the lug for limiting the displacement of the pair of position-defining arms.

1 . A joiner having a proximal end and a distal end, being coupled to a lug on a surface of an upper wing of a slider body of a slide fastener, and comprising
 (a) a spring piece at the proximal end,   (b) an inverse hook towards the distal end,   (c) a locking arm towards the proximal end,   (d) a plurality of positioning arms, wherein the inverse hook and the locking arm define a recess with an opening, the spring piece applies a spring force biased in urging the inverse hook towards the surface of the upper wing so that the opening of the recess is facing the surface of the upper wing and forming a closure for retaining a pull tab once inserted, and the inverse hook is operably movable away from the surface of the upper wing against the spring force upon receiving a force upon the distal end of the joiner in the direction from the distal end to the proximal end and thereby opens the closure for insertion of a pull tab.   
     
     
         2 . The joiner of  claim 1 , which is formed from a single piece of metal sheet. 
     
     
         3 . The joiner of  claim 2 , which defines a pair of inverse hooks. 
     
     
         4 . The joiner of  claim 3 , wherein the positioning arms comprise a pair of positioning legs at the proximal end in proximity of the spring piece and a pair of position-defining arms at the distal end in proximity of the inverse hooks. 
     
     
         5 . The joiner of  claim 4 , wherein the locking arm extends into the slider body through a bore defined on the surface of the upper wing. 
     
     
         6 . A slide fastener slider comprising:
 a slider body having an upper wing and a lower wing, the upper wing and the lower wing being connected by a neck so as to define a channel for insertion of a slide fastener, a lug being integrally formed on a top surface of the upper wing at one end near the neck and extending towards an opposite end to form a gap between the lug and the upper wing for insertion of a slider-pulling member, and a bore defined on the upper wing;   a joiner being made from a single metal sheet and configured to mount to the slider body, the joiner having a locking arm formed at a middle portion and inserted into the bore of the upper wing, a spring piece and a pair of positioning legs being formed at one end of the joiner, and a pair of position-defining arms being formed at an opposite end of the joiner, a pair of inverse hooks being formed on the pair of position-defining arms respectively and extended towards the locking arm, a recess being formed between one of the inverse hooks and the locking arm for holding the slider-pulling member;   the lug further having a recess provided at one end near the neck for receiving the spring piece, and a pair of recesses defined on two opposite sides of the spring-piece recess for receiving the pair of positioning legs respectively, and a position-defining element provided at an opposite end of the lug for limiting the displacement of the pair of position-defining arms as the joiner pivots about the pair of positioning legs between a normally closed position urged by the spring piece where the pair of position-defining arms is in contact with the upper wing and an open position where the pair of position-defining arms is in contact with the position-defining element of the lug.   
     
     
         7 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , wherein the lug comprises a generally U-shaped portion defining an opening end and a closed end, and the joiner is coupled to the lug through the opening end. 
     
     
         8 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , wherein the position-defining element is in the form of a pair of slots defined on the lug, and each of the slots has an open end and close end, the open end facing the upper wing for receiving the position-defining arm of the joiner, and the close end for limiting the movement of the position-defining arm. 
     
     
         9 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 7 , wherein the joiner is snap-fitted onto the lug through the opening end of the U-shaped portion. 
     
     
         10 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , further comprising a pair of position-defining projections provided on the top surface of the upper wing on both sides of the bore respectively for limiting the movement of the pair of inverse hooks. 
     
     
         11 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , wherein the lug is in the form of a solid lug, and the position-defining element is in the form of a pair of projections projecting outwardly from two opposite sides of one end of the solid lug opposite to the neck. 
     
     
         12 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 11 , wherein the joiner is snap-fitted onto and substantially covering the solid lug. 
     
     
         13 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , wherein the recess formed between one of the inverse hooks and the locking arm is generally C-shaped. 
     
     
         14 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 6 , wherein the slider-pulling member is a pull tab having a handle portion and a transverse rod. 
     
     
         15 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 14 , wherein the pull tab defines a bore allowing the inverse hook to pass through. 
     
     
         16 . The slide fastener slider according to  claim 14 , wherein the pull tab provides a side for applying an insertion force onto the inverse hooks or the position-defining arms to cause a movement of the joiner towards an open position and away from an close position urged by the spring piece.