Improvements in and relating to Hooks and Eyes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 11th Mar., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Hooks and Eyes.
I, CHARLES EDWIN BARNES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing
at No. 231 Hamilton Avenue, in the City of Paterson County of Passaic and
State of New Jersey, one of the United States of America, Manufacturer 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:-
My present invention relates to hooks and eyes as fastening devices for the
purpose of securing and holding together parts of clothing or other articles the
object being to provide a simple and efficient device of this character which will be
free from projecting parts that are liable to become entangled in laces, delicate
fabrics, etc., the several parts of the hook and eye lying substantially in the same
plane, and the invention therefore consists essentially in the construction, arrange
ment and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described, and
then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
In the annexed drawing illustrating my invention-
Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved hook and eye practically applied to two
contiguous edges of a fabric which are to be united.
Figure 2 is an edge view of the hook and eye, showing how its parts lie in
substantially the same plane so as to be non-projecting.
Figure 3 is a detail plan view of the hook and eye removed from the fabric
showing the parts engaged, but illustrating the detailed construction thereof.
Figure 4 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of the eye.
Figure 3 is an edge view of the same.
Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the
different figures of the drawings.
For the purpose of more clearly representing how my improved hook and eye
may be practically applied, I have in the present example of the invention shown
in the drawings a fabric, having two contiguous edges, C, C, ou one of which the
eye proper is secured, and on the other of which the hook proper is secured, both
being shown in proper relative position for actual use. Of course the hooks and
eyes are designed for use with all kinds of cloth and all kinds of fabrics and other
articles having parts which it may be desirable or necessary to unite temporarily
together. I am therefore restricted to no particular use for the hook and eye...
A designates the eye. This eye has a slightly raised part a' which is liftet
away from the fabric to which the eye is secured sufficiently far to leave a small
space between them which can receive the hook, said part a thus serving in con-
nection with the fabric to provide an opening in a plane perpendicular to the
surface of the fabric to which it is attached. The end of the part a' which is
farthest away from the edge of the fabric C is provided with an eye a through
which pass stitches for the purpose of securing the device to the fabric at; that
point. The other end of the part a', that is to say, that end which is nearest the
edge of the fabric C, is provided with two eyes a' a', one lying on each side of the
intermediate part a', and through these openings a pass stitches which secure
the device firmly to the fabric, as shown clearly in Figure 1. It will thus be
noted that the eye A is securely stitched at each end to the fabric and that it has
no projecting points. It may be made of a single length of wire, suitably bent to
form the openings a, a¹, a¹ and the intermediate part a', which in this case will
consist of two parallel closely-located lengths of wire.
In Figures 4 and 5, I have shown a slightly modified form of this eye, it being

page_text: designated by the reference letter A. In this modified form, instead of having
the part a formed with two parallel lengths of wire it consists simply of one
length of wire a³, which at one end is bent so as to provide the eye a², while at
the other end it is suitably bent to provide the looplike eyes at a', which--lie, one
on each side of the part a³. The main structure and the function of the modified
eye A is identical however, in all respects with the eye A, since the eye A' has
no projecting parts and provides essentially an opening in a plane perpendicular to
the surface to which the eye is attached, which opening is designed to receive a
hook moved thereinto by shifting it side wise in a plane which lies parallel to the
surface to which the eye is secured, as I have already just described. Of course
this eye can be constructed from metal by stamping it out, or in, any other way.
producing it, instead of making it from wire as just suggested, and I reserve the
liberty of making it in any way, of any material and of any shape as respect its
minor details that may be found most convenient and desirable in actual practice,
not dispensing of course with the essential structure thereof, to which have
referred.
b
B designates the hook. I have shown a couple of them in Figure 1, in
connection with a couple of eyes A. The hook B is also shown fully as respects
its exact form, in Figure 3, where it is in engagement with the eye A. This
hook has a right angled bend, , at one end of which is a loop or eye b*, used for.
the purpose of securing the device to the fabric by means of stitches, as indicated
in Figure 1. From the eye b curves the hook proper having at one end the
loop which is not intended for stitching, but simply for providing a neat round
end for the part 6 and also for the purpose of providing a shoulder at the outer
end of the part b, which shall prevent a disengagement of the parts of the hook
and eye after they have been interlocked. Behind the angular bend b³, or in other
words, on that side thereof farthest away from the edge of the fabric I preferably
form the hook B with a rectangular part 6 terminating in an eye 63 which is used
for the purpose of stitching the hook device to the fabric. The eye end 61. lies
close to one part of the angular bend 6, there being only a very short distance
between them, said distance being only sufficiently large to permit the passage
therethrough of the part a of the eye. The entire hook B with all its parts,-
loops, eyes and bends-lies in the same plane.
י,
The structure of this hook may vary somewhat in actual practice, and the inner
part thereof may perhaps be dispensed.with. It is essential, however, that it retain
the loop, whereby it is secured close to the edge of the fabric and also the
part b, carrying the loop b', which lies close to the angular part *.
These hooks and eyes, formed substantially in the manner that I have described,
may readily be connected and disconnected from each other for the purpose of
uniting and disuniting the edges of the fabric, as will be obvious from the fore-
going description of the construction and arrangement. It will be noted that the
hook, when it is being placed in engagement with the eye, will be shifted or moved
in a vertical plane, that is to say, in a plane parallel to the surface to which the
eye is attached, instead of, as is commonly the case with hooks and eyes now in
common use, being shifted, in a horizontal plane or a plane at right angles to the
surface to which the eye is secured. This is a great advantage because I am
enabled thereby to cause a closer connection between the hook and eye, one that
will prevent any possibility of the two parts of the clothing, from gapping or
falling apart. It is especially to be noted that the eye being secured on the edge
of one part of the fabric and the hook being secured on the edge of the other
part, the points at which they are both secured will be very closely contiguous
when the engagement of the hook with the eye has taken place. In fact it will
be seen that the point of contact between the hook and eye and the points of
attachment of both hook and eye to the cloth will lie in the same line, which line
is parallel with the edges of the cloth. It is by this mode of connection that I
enable the edges of the cloth to be situated extremely close together after the
hooks and eyes have been fastened to each other and I obviate the disadvantages

page_text: of an insecure connection which is a common fault of numerous hooks and eyes
how in common use.
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. A hook and eye, consisting of an eye, having loops or openings in each end
for securing it to the cloth and having an intermediate part which is bent in a
plane perpendicular to the surface to which the eye is attached, one end of this
eye being secured at the edge of the fabric, and the hook having an inner angular
portion provided with a loop whereby it is secured to the fabric, and having an
outer angular part secured by a loop near the edge of the fabric to which it is
attached, and having a hooking part which is adapted to engage the eye by being
moved in a plane parallel to the surface to which the eye is secured, all the parts of
the said hook being situated in the same plane, substantially as described.
2. In a hook and eye, an eye having an intermediate length, at each end of
which is an eye or loop used for the purpose of stitching the eye to the fabric,
one of said loops being secured at the edge of the fabric, while the intermediate
length is bent in a plane perpendicular to the surface to which the eye is secured,
and the hook having an angular outer bend formed with an eye or loop for
stitching it to the opposite edge of the fabric and a projecting angular part b
adapted to engage the aforesaid eye, said part b having a terminal loop b¹ adapted
to lie close to the inner angular portion of the hook, which angular portion is
provided with an eye for securing it likewise to the fabric, all the parts of the
hook being situated in the same plane, substantially as described.
1009
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.
ted CJ
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.