Tape-supported separable slide fastener

Claim 1

A slide fastener comprising a pair of stringer tapes; a first and a second coupling element respectively secured to said tapes, said elements being provided with interengageable links; a slider movably mounted on said elements for interlocking their links upon displacement therealong in an upward direction and for separating their links upon displacement therealong in a downward direction; and a bottom stop separably interconnecting said elements at their lower ends, said bottom stop including a socket secured to one of said tapes with limited relative mobility by the lower extremity of said first element, said socket having an internal channel removably receiving the lower extremity of said second element, said socket being provided with camming formations engageable by said lower extremities upon a spreading thereof for exerting an upward force on said socket, said camming formations being a pair of sidewalls bounding said channel, the laTter diverging downwardly and being provided at the bottom with a spreader defining with said sidewalls a pair of channel branches respectively receiving said extremities, one of said extremities partly overlying said spreader for preventing a relative upward movement of said socket beyond an upper limiting position, said spreader being unsymmetrically positioned with reference to said sidewalls, the channel branch receiving said one of said extremities being narrower than the opposite channel branch.