Improvements in Fastenings for securing together the Ends OI Straps, Traces, Harness, Driving Belts, and Bands and the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 8th May, 1888
Specification Accepted, 8th June, 1888
Improvements in Fastenings for securing together the Ends OI
Straps, Traces, Harness, Driving Belts, and Bands and the like.
I CARL KROMBERG of Werden-am-Ruhr,. Rhenish Prussia in the Empire of
Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement and accompanying drawings :-
:-
My said Invention relates to fastenings for securing together the ends of straps,
traces, belts and bands and is chiefly intended to facilitate the disconnection of the
said straps, traces or bands under circumstances when such disconnection would be
difficult or impossible with the ordinary buckles or fastenings. For example in the
case of traces or harness straps or bands, when the horse falls, the labour of
disconnecting the fallen animal from the vehicle or from the harness is at all times
difficult and sometimes almost impossible when the horse has fallen on the traces so as
to pull the straps taut with his weight. In a fastening made according to my
invention the strap or band can be easily disconnected even when the strap or band
is subjected to strain, while the fastening is perfectly secure under ordinary working
conditions.
To render the improved fastening more clear I will now proceed more particularly
to describe its construction with reference to the annexed sheet of illustrative
drawings.
.
The ends of the strap to be connected are shown in section at Figs. 1 and 2 and
are marked respectively r and r'. The fastener is composed of two halves a and b.
Each balf consists of a trough shaped piece of metal the sides being serrated so as to
engage with each other when placed together as in Fig. 5. Pins c project from the
halves and pass through holes in the strap ends upon which the halves are laid and the
pins e projecting slightly above the level of the strap. The pins are so placed that
the ends pass each other and the points where they come in contact are flattened as
seen in Figs. 4 and 7 and at Fig. 3. When the two halves of the fastener are laid on
the ends of the strap and the ends placed together, a sheath shown separately at
Fig. 5 is drawn over the whole as shown at Fig. 5 thus holding the halves together
and preventing disconnection. To prevent the sheath h from shifting I attach a flat.
C

page_text: spring to the side of one of the halves and form or secure a knob g on the free end
of the spring. When the sheath h is pushed on over the two halves and over the
spring, the knob snaps into the hole o and thus holds the sheath in position and
prevents slackness in a sidelong direction. Springs i let into the back of one or of
both of the halves a, b press upon the upper or lower side of the enclosing sheath h
and prevent slackness in the other direction. When a strap so connected is subjected
to strain the engaged teeth of the sides and the opposing pins c take the pull, the
enclosing sheath holding the said parts firmly in contact. In the case of a trace or
harness strap, should the horse fall and the strap have to be disconnected while still
under strain, I depress the knob g and slip off the sheath whereupon the halves of
the fastening and the ends of the strap fall asunder. Should my improved fastening
be applied to driving belts or bands I prefer that the ends of the belt or band shall
butt instead of overlapping and in the case of broad belts or bands I might have
a row or several rows of pins or studs c. In such an application of my fastener
it would be preferable to have the spring and knob on the upper side of the half
which lies on the upper side of the driving belt or band.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
(1) The general arrangement construction and combination of fastener for connecting
the ends of straps, traces, harness, driving belts and bands and the like substantially
as hereinbefore described and shown.
(2) The improved strap, trace and belt fastener consisting of the halves a and b
with serrated sides engaging with each other the said halves carrying pins which
enter the strap ends; the spring and knob f. g and springs i and the surrounding
sheath h, arranged combined and acting substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 7th lo.. SM 1000
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester,
Agents.