US71041A - Peters - Google Patents

Description

@termi faire, @anni @fnf IMPROVED SPRING-BUCKLE.

titi tlgthnle tristan 'tu in time ettet ndert mit nuttig gaat tf its sana.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that-I, J. FERGUSON MonsnLL, of Stamford, in the county of Fareld, and State of ,Connec tient, have invented -a new and improved Spring-Buckle; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

The nature of my `invention consists in a buckle, having a spring attached directly, or otherwise secured, to a bed-plate, andA provided with a ridge or jaw, or teeth or the equivalent thereof, so that a strap inserted under such ridgeshall be firmly held thereby against'any strain tending to pull the strap backward'ai'ter such insertion. It also consists in the combination with 'such spring, bed-plate, andjaw, of a loop, which serves as a pulley in tightening the strap, as well as a guide for the latter. In the accompanying drawings--a Figure 1 is a plan or top view, and i Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken on the plane of the line :e x, iig. 1.

Similar letters refer to like parts in both iigures.

A designates a bed-plate or strip of metal, or other suitable material, which may have its upper face'iat, as in the present instance, or be furnished with a surface moreor less corrugated.' To the upper face of this bed-plate there is secured a loop or guide, B, for the strap F; or the said loop or guide B may be part of the same piece of metal as the bed-plate A.- On the said loop or guide B the spring C is mounted, being riveted thereto, or otherwise securely fastened. The said spring C, in the present instance, consists of two iiat strips of metal, secured at their rear ends to theloop B; biitfthe said spring may be composed of a single strip, of any suitable form. This spring carries upon its under surface a ridge or jaw, D, the front of which has a straight edge, held, when the spring is in its normal condition, in a position close to or nearly against'the bedv plate A. Teeth or points may be substituted for the said ridge or'jaw D; or the said ridge or jaw D may be serrated or provided with teeth. E designates/another loop or guide for the strap F, which guide may be attached to or form part of the bed-plate A, and which is placed in front of the said ridge or jaw D. F designates a leather strap, for the purpose of illustrating the operation of the buckle, such strap being passed through.

the `buckle and the said loop E, its position when held b'y the buckle being clearly shown ing. 1.

' It may be desirable in some cases to dispense with that part of the bed-plate A directly under the ridge or jaw D, in whichfcase the said ridge or jaw would press the strap against the article (say a trunk) to which the buckle is attachediand the bed-plate A would become simply a frame to support the spring and attach the same tothe trunk. In such case the loop'E, it' used, could be secured to the trunk in front of the spring.

The operation of my invention is as follows: A strap, F, having been passed through the loop B, and under thejaw D, receives at once the pressure of the spring C through the said jaw D. The strap is thus firmly held between the jaw D and the upper4 surface of the bed-plate A, againstslipping, by any strain tending to pull th` strap back out of the buckle. The strap can be passed under the loop E, and the said loop E will serve to guide and hold-down the strap, and it -can be used as a pulley, so to speak, around which the strap can be pulled for the purpose of tightening the,same. If necessary to increase the friction of the edge of the jaw orridge upon the strap, so as to hold more firmly, this can be elcct'ed by cuttingslight gashes upon the surface-of the strap, as is'show'n in the present instance, or by using a strap with a corrugated surface; and such cutting of light gashes upon the surface do not injure or weaken a strap so much as does the punching out holes through a strap, which is requisite in the use of the ordinary buckle. To detach the strap 4`roin the buckle, the spring C must be raised far enough toallow the strap to be drawn out from under the jaw D; and'I will here remark, that any suitable attachment to the spring which can be taken hold of, for readily raising said spring, may be employed.

The advantages which' can be obtained by the use of my invention are various. I dispense with tongues,

such as are used in ordinary buckles, and stumps, used in some trace-fastenings, where it is necessary tol punch holes in the strap for the reception of such tongues and stumps, and thus limit the points at which the strap can be held by such buckles to the places where holes are punched in the strap. But it may-bc and usually is desirable that the buckle should be capable ofholding the strap, not merely at certain intervals where holes may be punched, but at any place to which it isv tightly drawn, which is the ease with my invention. Also when it is necessary, :ts with buckles on trunks, to frequently require the strap to hold tightly at one particular place in it, the strap being stretched by use, :L new place slightly in rem' ofthe other place on the strap must be used to hold with the sume tension. But with the ordinary buckle, two holes cannot be punched in the strap close together, as one would be likely to tear into the other, and the strap would, in any case, be greatly weakened. When, also, with an ordinary buckle, a. strap has been drawn very tightly and the tongue inserted, it is evident that, to unstrap, the strap must rst be drawn just as tight as before, so that the tongue be cleared frou1its insertion before the tongue can be raised; this is frequently troublesome und diiiicult, und is not necessary with my invention, for, by raising the spring, the strap is released. The pulley or loop E serves an efficient oil'ice for the tightening of the strap, as is evident; but should the loop E be torn away or destroyed, the buckle will' still hold the strap in its position.

` What I claim as my invention, und desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the bed-plate-A und spring C, carrying a ridge or jaw, D, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2- The combination of a. loop, E, with-the bed-plate A `and spring C D, substantially as :1nd for the purpos: herein specified.

J. FERGUSON MORSELL.

Witnesses:

` MKM. LIVINGSTON,

T. B. BEECHER.

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