CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SOLITAIRES AND OTHER LIKE FASTENINGS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph George Rollason, of the Firm of Rollason, Wood,
& Co., Stampers, Piercors, and Fancy Chain Manufacturers, of Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
SOLITAIRES AND OTHER LIKE FASTENINGS."
Sealed the 6th October 1877, and dated the 13th April 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph George Rollason at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th April 1877.
"
JOSEPH GEORGE ROLLASON, of the Firm of Rollason, Wood, & Co., Stampers,
Piercers, and Fancy Chain Manufacturers, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick. CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SOLITAIRES AND OTHER LIKE FASTENINGS."
In carrying my Invention into effect I stamp from sheet metal a circular or
other shaped disc or shell, the centre of which is pierced so as to receive a tubular
shank, the blank of which is stamped in a suitable shape, that when formed into the
shank, it leaves an opening on one or both sides, the purpose of which will be
herein-after described, also projections for securing it to the said disc or shell with
or without the aid of solder. I next take a blank with two cross-like projections or
arms near one end; the other end is enlarged and shouldered to act as a pusher. The
two projections before mentioned are turned up at right angles, and from their
shape form inclined detents or catches in connection with the pusher, which I place
transversely on the back of the hollow disc or shell, with a portion of the enlarged
end extending beyond the periphery of the said disc or shell; the other end, after
passing through the opening in the shank, enters a spiral spring lying in a rectan-
gular slot in the said disc or shell, and kept in position by a corresponding pusher,
which if required can continue through the said spring and enter the shank, when
it may be turned up so as to form an auxiliary detent or catch to work between
the said inclined detents or catches formed on the other pusher, and which are partly
within and parallel to the shank, the inclined portion of the detents being kept in
extension by the said spring.
To keep the whole in position I take a blank, having four or more projecting
tongues, which is formed into a rectangular box, the said tongues fitting in corre-
sponding holes in the disc or shell, which are turned down and secured; the said

page_text: box has a corresponding slot to the one in the disc or shell for the spring to bear
against, and is also pierced for the said shank to pass through; the ends of the box
form stops for the shoulders of the pusher or pushers to abut against.
The front part of the solitaire may be set with stones, or finished by having a
corresponding shell to the back, which may be engraven or ornamented in any
desirable way.
To form the second or back part I take a circular disc of metal, and secure thereto
a hollow tubular shank, the top end of which is suitably shouldered that when the
article of dress requires to be connected the tubular shank of the back part has
only to be passed through the button holes, and the shank on the back of the front
part pressed into it until the shoulder of the outer tubular shank snaps over the
inclined detents or catches, when the parts will be securely held together, which,
when required to be separated, the pusher or pushers have only to be pressed inward
by the finger and thumb, causing the inclined detents to retire within the shank
of the front part, thereby allowing it to be withdrawn, affording a ready means of
connecting and disconnecting the parts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and of an
Order of the Lord Chancellor filed by the said Joseph George Rollason in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st November 1877.
JOSEPH GEORGE ROLLASON, of the Firm of Rollason, Wood, and Co., Stampers,
Piercers, and Fancy Chain Manufacturers, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick. "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SOLITAIRES AND OTHER LIKE FASTENINGS."
In carrying my Invention into effect I stamp from sheet metal a circular or
other shaped disc or shell, the centre of which is pierced so as to receive a tubular
shank, the blank of which is stamped in a suitable shape, that when formed into the
shank, it leaves an opening on one or both sides, the purpose of which will be
herein-after described, also projections for securing it to the said disc or shell with
or without the aid of solder. I next take a rectangular blank with two cross-like
projections or arms near one end; the other end is enlarged and shouldered to act
as a pusher. The two projections before mentioned are turned up at right angles,
and from their shape form inclined detents or catches in connection with the
pusher, which I place transversely on the back of the hollow disc or shell, with a
portion of the enlarged end extending beyond the periphery of the said disc or
shell; the other end, after passing through the opening in the shank, enters a spiral
spring lying in a rectangular slot in the said disc or shell, and is kept in position by
a corresponding pusher, which if required can continue through the said spring, and
enter the shank, when it may be turned up so as to form an auxiliary detent or
catch to work between the said inclined detents or catches formed on the other
pusher, and which are partly within and parallel to the shank, the inclined portion
of the detent being kept in extention by the said spring.
To keep the whole in position I take a blank, having four or more projecting
tongues, which is formed into a rectangular box, the said tongues fitting in corre-
sponding holes in the disc or shell, and which are turned down and secured; the
said box has a corresponding slot to the one in the disc or shell for the spring to
bear against, and is also pierced for the said shank to pass through; the ends of
the box form stops for the shoulders of the pusher or pushers to abut against.
The front part of the solitaire may be set with stones, or finished by having a
corresponding shell to the back, which may be engraven, or ornamented in any
desirable way.
To form the second or back part I take a circular disc of metal, and secure thereto
a hollow tubular shank, the top end of which is suitably shouldered so that when the
article of dress is required to be connected, the tubular shank of the back part has

page_text: only to be passed through the button holes, and the shank or stem on the back of
the front part pressed into the said shank until the shoulder of the same snaps
over the inclined detents or catches on the front, when the parts will be securely
held together; when it is desired to disconnect the solitaire, the pusher or pushers
have only to be pressed inwards by finger and thumb, when the inclined detents will
retire within the shank of the front part, thereby allowing the said front part to
be withdrawn from the back, and releasing the article of dress, by which means a
ready mode of connecting and disconnecting the parts is obtained.
But as my Invention will be bost understood by referring to the Drawings
iercunto annexed I will describe the same, aided by the figures and letters marked
the front part pressed into the said shank until the shoulder of the same snaps
over the inclined detents or catches on the front, when the parts will be securely
held together; when it is desired to disconnect the solitaire, the pusher or pushers
have only to be pressed inwards by finger and thumb, when the inclined detents will
retire within the shank of the front part, thereby allowing the said front part to
be withdrawn from the back, and releasing the article of dress, by which means a
ready mode of connecting and disconnecting the parts is obtained.
But as my Invention will be bost understood by referring to the Drawings
hereunto annexed I will describe the same, aided by the figures and letters marked
thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a front and side view of the solitaire complete, and connected together;
Fig. 2 is a back view of same. A is the shell of the front part raised into form
to receive stones or other ornamental facing, and shown detached at Fig. 3, per-
forated with four slots at a, a, a, a, for attaching to the box, shown in plan and
side view at Fig. 4, the projections, as shown at b, b, b, b, Fig. 5, passing through
the slots a, a, a, a, and being bent over for securing same.
Fig. 6 is a detached plan and side view of the hollow shank formed from the
blank, as at Fig. 7.
Fig. 8 represents in plan and edge views the pusher B, with inclined detent C,
raised from the blank, Fig. 9. At c, c, shoulders are formed for the spring, shown
detached at Fig. 10, to abut against, the other end of the spring abutting against
the point d of the auxiliary pusher B₁, shown in plan and edge views at Fig. 11.
In connecting the parts I take the shell shown at Fig. 3, and place on it the hollow
shank D, Figure 6; the outer flanges e, e, are corrugated as at c³, c¹, so as to be
held in position when the box E is secured to the shell A, as will be herein-after
described. The spring f, Figure 10, is placed in a recess in the shell A, and the
combined pusher and detent B, Figure 8, is placed in position on the shell, the
narrow end entering the spring abutting against the shoulders c, c, which spring
is further hel position by the point & in the auxiliary pusher, Figuro 11; and
at this stage the parts so connected are represented at Fig. 12. The front part of
the solitaire will be complete, and the whole held in position by the securing of the
box E, Figure 4, to the shell A by passing the projections b, b, b, b, in in the box
through the slots a, a, a, a, in the shell, and bending them over on the other side,
the shank D and spring projecting through the slots h and i in the box, thus com-
pleting the front part.
-
The back or shank part of the solitaire is shown in plan and side views at F,
Figure 13, formed from the blanks G and H, Fig. 14, by suitable raising tools, and
connected together by the projections h, k, k, of the blank G², being passed through
and bent over in the corresponding slots L, L, L, in the disc H. The top end of the
tubular shank is enlarged, as seen in side view at m, m, Figure 13.
To connect the front and back parts together to complete the solitaire I take the
front, as at Figure 2, and pass the shank D with the detent C into the hollow
shank F, as best seen in the plan at Fig. 13. The solitaire so connected I have
shown in sectional side view at Fig. 15, the front and back parts being securely
held together by the shoulder of the tubular shank F, inarked m, m, of the back
part coming in contact with the inclined part of the detent C causes it to retire
within the shank or stem D on the front part until it passes over the ledge of the
said inclined detent, when the force of the spring f will cause it immediately to
enter the shouldered part m, m, of the shank F, as here shown, and thereby securely
connecting and holding the parts together.
To disconnect the front from the back the outer ends of the pushers B and B¹,
projecting beyond the periphery of the shell A, have only to be pressed inward by
the finger and thumb, when the detent C will be retired within the shank D of the

page_text: front part as at Fig. 22, where the stem D is shown in section, and having no
projection allows the front part to be freely withdrawn from the back.
An auxiliary detent may be formed by extending the point d of the pusher B¹,
Figure 11, through the spring, and bending the same into form, as shown in plan
and side views at Fig. 16.
As a modification of the arrangement described I form the pushers, as shown in
plan and edge views at Fig. 17, in the centre of which I raise small tongues marked
n, n; when these pushers are placed on the back of the shell A the tongues n, n,
project through the slots o, o, in the said shell. In this case I use a spring cut out
of sheet steel or other metal, as at Fig. 18, the terminal parts having recesses at
P, P, in which the raised tongues n, n, of the pushers lie and abut against to keep
the said pushers extended, as seen in the plan and sectional edge views at Fig.
19, showing the two detents of the frost part lying in the shouldered shank of the
back part.
Fig. 20 is a plan and sectional side view showing the detents pressed inward
with the shank disconnected at Fig. 21, the position of which is seen in dotted
lines in the sectional view, Figure 20.
In order to better disclose the arrangement of the parts the shell A in the plan
is represented broken away, showing the contracted form of the spring, and also
the inner ends of the pushers, carrying the detents, brought together to allow the
front part to be withdrawn, as shown.
Fig. 23 is a back view of this solitaire showing the two inclined detents c, c,
projecting outside the shank D.
Having fully described my Invention I wish it understood that I do not purpose
limiting myself to the details herein described and exhibited, as the same may be
varied without departing from the spirit of the same; but what I do claim and wish
to protect by these my in part recited Letters Patent is, the combination and
arrangement of the pushers and detents in connection with the shank or back part
F, and the mode of forming the blanks for the same, as herein described and fully
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph George Rollason, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.