Abstract: A gripper mechanism for feeding a pair of elongate strips such as a pair of slide fastener stringers has a pair of gripper holders supporting a pair of grippers for gripping the slide fastener stringers, respectively, and a pair of sliders joined to the gripper holders, respectively, and slidably disposed in a housing for independent movement therein. In response to engagement with a cam on a feed path, the grippers are opened to grip or release the slide fastener stringers. The grippers are normally urged by a spring to clamp the slide fastener stringers. A pinion is angularly movably supported on a slide block in the housing and held in mesh with a pair of racks, respectively, of the sliders. A spring acts between the housing and the slide block for normally urging the slide block in a direction to move the gripper holders into abutment against the housing. The gripper holders can be moved relatively to each other toward and away from the housing.

Abstract: A slide fastener chain with reinforcing strips is fed along a feed path through a finishing apparatus for trimming the reinforcing strips. The finishing apparatus has a chain guide unit, a cutter unit, and a chain tensioner unit. The chain guide unit includes a stop having recesses for accommodating some coupling elements and steps for engaging endmost coupling elements. The chain tensioner unit has a presser gripper for pressing the slide fastener chain against a support base and a presser roller for depressing the slide fastener chain to tension the same for thereby forcibly pushing the endmost coupling elements against the steps. When the slide fastener chain is tensioned by the chain tensioner unit, one of the reinforcing strips is accurately positioned with respect to the cutter unit. The reinforcing strip is then trimmed by central and side cutters which cut off excessive central and side portions completely.

Abstract: A device for positioning a pair of longitudinally advancing elongate slide fastener stringers comprises a pair of positioning jaws movable relatively to one another in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of each slide fastener stringer to define therebetween a guide channel for the passage of the slide fastener stringer. At least one of the positioning jaws includes a step for engaging the leading coupling element of each coupling element row mounted on one longitudinal edge of a tape of each respective slide fastener stringer, for thereby stopping the slide fastener stringer. The positioning device having the positioning jaws is capable of accurately positioning the slide fastner stringers even when the slide fastener stringer is laterally undulated or locally swelled during advancing movement thereof.

Abstract: In a method of cutting a continuous slide fastener chain into individual slide fastener lengths, the fastener chain is tensioned between its leading end and a succeeding element-free portion as they are gripped by downstream and at upstream grippers, respectively, at a specified point and a cutting station spaced upstream therefrom along a horizontal straight path by a varying distance corresponding to the length of a prospective individual slide fastener. Then the tension of the individual slide fastener length of the chain is relaxed by slightly moving the downstream gripper from the specified point toward the upstream gripper which is kept stationary at the cutting station, whereupon the fastener chain is cut transversely across the succeeding one element-free portion.