An Improved Connecting Link and Key Ring.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th Mar., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Connecting Link and Key Ring.
I, WILLIAM THOMAS WOODRUFF, of 41 Saint James's Street, Piccadilly, in
the County of London, Silversmith and Jeweller, 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, reference being had to
the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
My invention relates to, an improved connecting link, particularly applicable for
securing a watch, or other article of jewellery, to a chain, ribbon, or the like, and
it has for its object to obtain a secure and easy connection which will serve instead
of an ordinary snap hook or swivel, and yet will not necessitate the use of a spring
which, owing to rust, or climatic influence, is apt to weaken or break, and therefore
to render the device ineffective..
According to my invention, I form the link in two parts, or legs, which are
hinged or pivotted together near one extremity so as to be able to separate, or
spread apart, when it is desired to connect an article thereto. The free ends of the
legs are bent or hooked, the hook of one being turned in the opposite direction to
that of the other, and these hooks are flattened on their inner sides or faces so that
they overlap like the halves of a split ring. By this means, a pull or tension on
the said hooked portions tends to keep the legs tightly together.
Links constructed as above indicated, may be used as a key ring, or for other
purposes; and may advantageously be made of large size for use for connecting or
attaching various parts of harness, or of rigging.
And in order that my invention may be readily understood, I will proceed to
describe the same fully, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a front elevation and Fig. 2 a central vertical section of one form of my
improved link, closed.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing the same open.
Fig. 4 is also a front elevation, and represents two of such links connected
together, as hereinafter described.
The
Fig. 5 represents, likewise in front elevation, a slightly different form of link.
a, a', are the legs of the link, and 6 the pin or pivot by which they are secured
together. Each leg is bent round into the form of a hook, as clearly seen in
Fig. 3, the hook of one leg being turned in the opposite direction to that of the
other, so that when brought together and closed they complete the link.
hooked portions, as well as the parts in immediate proximity to the pivot b, are
flattened on their adjacent or contact faces, as at a², Figs. 2 and 3, so as to lie
closely over each other when the legs are brought together. The part a³ of each
leg between the flattened portions is so shaped as to serve as a stop or abutment
for the opposite leg, and so prevents the legs being pushed beyond the proper
amount.
To open the link, it is only necessary to separate or pull apart the legs in opposite
directions; and in order to close the said link, it is sufficient to press together the
legs thereof.
The link shown in Figs. 1 to 3 is provided with an eye or ring c which is formed
in a piece with the leg a, but a swivelling eye or ring such as c¹ (Fig. 5) may be
rovided if necessary

page_text: In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, which will be found useful as a substitute
for a key ring, two such links as described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, are
connected together by a pin or pivot d, so that one link can be used say for private
keys, while the other can be used for office keys. Any number of these improved
links may, however, be mounted on the same pin, and be arranged to pivot thereon.
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. My improved construction of connecting link, substantially as described and
shown with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The combination of two or more of my improved connecting links to form a
key ring, substantially as described and as shown with reference to Fig. 4 of the
drawings
Dated this 28th day of January 1895.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, Loudon, and 6, Victoria Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.