US Patent 9220324 Breakaway zipper with notched box and elongated pin

A breakaway or pull apart zipper includes an improved retainer box and pin that decrease the chance of a jamb or hang up during unzipping of the zipper. The retainer box has a notch on the distal side that has a lateral stop shorter than one on a conventional retainer box. As such, the pin can rotate out of the retainer box during separation of the zipper sides as the garment is pulled apart instead of having to be pulled up and out of the retainer box. This rotation also causes the slider to tilt into the notch putting it into better alignment with the direction of the force pulling the zipper apart thereby facilitating separation of the pin from the slider and retainer box. The zipper also has a extended pin that loosely fits in the retainer box and goes from the bottom of the retainer box to at least half the slider height when the slider abuts the retainer box and the zipper is ready to come apart. This facilitates the separation process by keeping any flexible tape out of the slider that might jamb in the slider if twisted.