Tag attacher

Abstract

There is disclosed a hand-held apparatus for attaching tags to merchandise. Apparatus according to the invention uses a fastener assembly having a plurality of fasteners. Each fastener has a bar section and a button or head section joined by a filament section. Each bar section is connected to a common runner or rail by a respective neck or connector. The apparatus causes one fastener at a time to be severed from the connector at the intersection of its bar section and the respective connector. The bar section of the severed fastener is pushed by a push rod through an elongated bore of a needle while the filament section passes along a side opening in the needle which communicates with the needle bore. Fastener assembly advancing means includes a toothed member and a movable member. In one embodiment, a pawl member includes a first flexible resilient arm having a tooth at its free end portion cooperable with the toothed member and a second flexible resilient arm connected to the pawl member, cooperable with a guide and movable with the pawl member. In another embodiment, relatively movable slides are coupled by a lost-motion connection. A one-piece pawl coupled to one of the slides has a tooth cooperable with the toothed member and a flexible resilient arm cooperable with a guide for urging the tooth into cooperation with the toothed member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.