IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENERS FOR BUTTONS AND CERTAIN OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I, RICHARD HOOKHAM, of No. 50 St. Paul's Road, Camden Square London,. N.W.
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
FASTENERS FOR BUTTONS AND CERTAIN OTHER ARTICLES, to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is so to secure a button to a plate on the opposito
side of the leather or fabric to which it is to be attached that,
(1) It may be free to move in any direction upon its attachment, as in the case
of buttons sewn on in the ordinary way, while being held firmly down on the
leather or fabric.
(2) That the plate shall lie flat against the inside of the leather or fabric when
the strain is put on the button, while presenting no projection of any importanco
on the side next the wearer.
(3) That the button shall admit of being taken off and on without the use
of a tool.
(4) That no injury shall be caused to the leather or fabric.
(5) That in consequence the button can be shifted to another place without the
mark of the first fastening being noticeable.
(6) That the same fastener shall be capable of being removed and refixed an
indefinite number of times.
(7) That the fastener shall be applicable to the various kinds of buttons in
general use.
I effect this by means of a loop or staple of steel wire with sharpened points, and
an oblong or oval plate pierced or formed in the manner hereinafter described.
The loop or staple of wire is made with a bend of semicircular or nearly
semicircular form; the two legs are of equal length and parallel; the whole when
so bent lying in one plane and being about three quarters of an inch in length.
At a distance of about an eighth or three sixteenths of an inch from the bent end,
and at points equidistant from the centre of the curve, I again sharply bend the
wire staple in such a way that the bent part lies in a plane at right angles (or
about right angles) to the plane of the legs.
The plate is about half an inch long by a quarter of an inch broad, and has two
holes pierced in it near to one of its ends. The line joining theso holes is at right
angles to the long axis of the plate and they are equidistant from it: the distance
Dici

page_text: between the holes being about equal to the distance between the legs of the
wire staple.
I take the wire staple or loop formed as above and pass it through the shank of
a button, and with the sharp ends pierce the material to which the button is to be
secured, holding the staple in such a way that a line joining its points is parallel to
the edge of the fabric, and the semicircular end pointing away from this edge.
The points being thrust through the material are then passed through the holes
of the plate, the other end of the plate lying away from the edge of the material.
The plate being pressed against the inside of the material the staple is now passed
right through till the sharp bend in the legs just appears through the plate. The
curved part of the staple (containing the button-shank) will now stand at right
angles to the surface of the material, or nearly so, and the remaining portion of the
legs of the staple will lie flat along the plate, and parallel to its long axis.
The plate is either formed by bending at the end furthest from the edge of the
material in such a way that by springing the legs of the staple outwards or inwards
along the plane of the plate they can be slipped under these bends and securely
held there or the plate is pierced, and the legs of the staple being again bent
twice at right angles are sprung through the piercing, in such a way that their
points, when left free, slip under a portion of the plate; or by other means I insure
that the legs of the staple shall be held close to the inner surface of the plate, and
in such a way that their points shall be concealed and protected.
It is clear that as soon as strain is put upon the button in the direction of the
edge of the garment, the bent staple forms a lever of which the pierced material is
the fulcrum. The short end of this lever being pulled forward, the long ends are
pressed upward and hold the plate closely against the inside of the leather or
fabric at the same time the long end of the plate pressing against the fabric
prevents its forward edge from tilting up; and causing the inconvenience usually
experienced where plates or washers are used for this purpose, while the short end
of the plate is of sufficient length to prevent the long end from inconveniently
falling away from the fabric when no strain is being put on the button.
It is also clear that the staple passing through the holes of the plate at right
angles to the plane in which its legs are held firmly down upon it, cannot with any
ordinary strain forward be drawn from it: and in that form of the fastener where
the ends of the staple, being passed underneath the plate through the piercing, have
an additional double bend, still greater security is obtained.
I find in practice that I may use so small a steel wire in the case of boots where
the strain is generally great, that the holes made by it, even after wear, are not
noticeable.
The ends of the staple may for some purposes be left unsharpened. It will then
be necessary where the attachment is made to leather or other hard material to use
a tool for piercing the holes; but in nearly all cases a common pin will be found
to answer the purpose.
"This fastener may be used for attaching other movable articles besides buttons,
such, for instance, ae jewellery, and medals to clothing, and rings to hangings.
Dated this 1st day of January 1884.

page_text: I, RICHARD HOOкHAм of 50 St Paul's Road, Camden Square London, N.W.,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FASTENERS FOR BUTTONS AND CERTAIN OTHER ARTICLES" and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The object of this Invention is so to secure a button to a plate on the opposite
side of the leather or fabric to which it is to be attached (1) that it may be free to
move in any direction upon its attachment, as in the case of buttons sewn on in
the ordinary way while being held firmly down on the leather or fabric (2) that
the plate shall lie flat against the inside of the leather or fabric when the strain is
put on the button while presenting no projection of any importance on the side
next the wearer-(3) that the button shall admit of being taken off and on without
the use of a tool-(4) that no injury should be caused to the leather or fabric-
(5) that in consequence the button can be shifted to another place without the
marks of the first fastening being noticeable-(6) that the same fastener shall be
capable of being removed and refixed an indefinite number of times-(7) that the
fastener shall be applicable to the various kinds of buttons in general use.
I effect this my means of a loop or staple of steel or spring wire with sharpened
points and an oblong or oval plate pierced or formed in the manner hereinafter
described--The loop or staple of wire is made with a bend of semi-circular or
nearly semi-circular forn-the two legs are of equal length and parallel; the
whole when so bent lying in one plane and being about three quarters of an
inch in length-At a distance of about an eighth or three sixteenths of an inch
from the bent end and at points equi-distant from the centre of the curve, I again
sharply bend the wire staple in such a way that the bent part lies in a plane
at an obtuse angle to the plane of the legs-The plate is about half an inch
long by a quarter of an inch broad and has two adjacent holes pierced in it,
near one of its ends-The line joining these holes is at right angles to the long
axis of the plate and they are equi-distant from it; the distance between the
holes being about equal to the distance between the legs of the wire staple-
I take the wire staple or loop formed as above, and pass it through the shank
of a button, and with the sharp ends pierce the material to which the button
is to be secured, holding the staple in such a way that a line joining its points
is parallel to the edges of the fabric and the semi-circular end pointing away
from this edge-The points being thrust through the material are then passed
through the holes of the plate, the other end of the plate lying away from the edge
of the material-The plate being pressed against the inside of the material, tho
staple is now passed right through till the bend in the legs just appears through
the plate The curved part of the staple (containing the button shank) will now
stand at right angles to the surface of the material, or nearly so, and the remaining
portion of the legs of the staple will lie flat, along the plate, and parallel to its
long axis.
The plate is either formed by bending at the end and furthest from the edge of
the material, in such a way that by springing the legs of the staple outwards or
inwards along the plane of the plate they can be slipped under these bends and
securely held there; or the plate is pierced, and the legs of the staple being again
bent twice at right angles are sprung through the piercing, in such a way that
their points, when left free, slip under a portion of the plate; or by other means I
ensure that the legs of the staple shall be held close to to the inner surface of the
plate, and in such a way that their points shall be concealed and protected.

page_text: It is clear that as soon as strain is put upon the button in the direction of the
edge of the garment, the bent staple forms a lever of which the pierced material is
the fulcrum The short end of this lever being pulled forward, the long ends are
pressed upward and hold the plate closely against the inside of the leather or
fabric; at the same time the long end of the plate pressing against the fabric
prevents its forward edge from tilting up, and causing the inconvenience usually
experienced where plates or washers are used for this purpose; while the short end
of the plate is of sufficient length to prevent the long end from incoveniently
falling away from the fabric, when no strain is being put on the button.
It is also clear that the staple passing through the holes of the plate at right
angles to the plane in which its legs are held firmly down upon it, cannot with any
ordinary forward strain be drawn from it; and in that form of the fastener where
the ends of the staple, being passed underneath the plate through the piercing,
have an additional double bend, still greater security is obtained.
I find in practice that I may use so small a steel wire in the case of boots and
shoes, where the strain is great, that the holes made by it, even after wear are not
noticeable.
The ends of the staples may for some purposes be left unsharpened; it will then
be necessary where the attachment is made to leather or other hard material to use
a tool, for piercing the holes, but in nearly all cases, a common pin will be found to
answer the purpose.
This fastener may be used for attaching other movable articles besides buttons,
such for instance as jewellery, and medals to clothing and rings to hangings.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which my Invention
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a button to which a fastener constructed
according to my Invention is applied, the material to which the said button is
attached being shewn in section--Figure 2 illustrates in longitudinal vertical
section, the same fastener and button as in Figure 1-Figure 3 is a sectional back
view of button and fastener-Figure 4 is a plan of the underside of Figure 1
exhibiting the terminal ends of the attachment wire loop or staple in dotted lines-
Figure 5 shows the front side of the attachment plate, with the shank of the wire
staple in section-It also exhibits the limbs of the staple passing through the
attachment plate from the upper side, and coming through the piercing, and
passing through again to the inner side for fastening-Figure 6 shows the wire
loop or staple attached to the shank of the button, the free ends of the staple
having been passed through the material, to which it is to be attached, and through
the attachment plate prior to the springing of the arms of the wire staple to the
front side of the attachment plate.
Figure 7 is a back view of the staple and button-Figure 8 is a plan and side
view of the attachment plate, and Figure 9 is a front and side elevation of the wire
staple or loop-Figure 10 represents the underside of the attachment plate and
staple legs, one of which said legs is shown in the act of being passed from the
under to the upper side of the attachment plate-Figure 11 represents my new or
improved fastener when used with a shankless button, the staple loop connector
being threaded through holes or piercings in the middle part of the said button,
or through under piercings as represented in Figure 12-Figure 13 is a linen button
with the fastener applied.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
a is a loop or staple preferably formed from steel wire, and made with a semi-
circular band au³, a³, are the legs of the said wire staple or loop which run
parallel or nearly parallel with each other, and when so bent lie in the same plane
as best seen in Figures 3 and 9, the terminations of the legs a³ ³ may be blunt
dubbed or pointed-b is the attachment plate consisting essentially of a thin metal
plate cut from sheet metal with holes b, 6 through which the terminal ends of the

page_text: wire staple passes-The attachment plate b has a central piercing with an
opening b at one end, best seen in the plan Figure 8 through which the terminal
ends of the wire loop or staple pass in securing the parts together-c is the fabric
or other material to which the button d is to be attached, and 2 is the shank of
the said button.
In connecting or attaching a button, it is only necessary to pass one of the legs
of the wire staple or loop a through the shank of the button and with the
ends a³, a pierce the material to which the button is to be secured, the staple
being presented in such a way that the legs come in advance of the part linking
with the shank of the button, so that the points after being thrust through the
material c are then passed through the holes b², 62 of the plate bas represented in
section Figure 6, the plate is then pressed against the under side of the material-
The spring legs a³, a³ which are at an obtuse angle, to the plane of the other part
are either at the same time or successively pressed upwards to the underside of the
plate b and at the same time forced laterally to the middle of the plate, until their
terminal a, a become coincident with the opening when the said ends are
sprung through to the upper side; they then open out moving in a plane parallel
to the plane of the plate upon which they rest, as best seen in Figures 4 and 5.
In consequence of the legs being bent to an obtuse angle such as represented,
they firmly press upon the surface of the plate and keep flat upon the underside of
the material, to which the button is attached-The button d is by the fastener
herein before described, efficiently and securely connected to an article of dress or to
any other article to which it may be applied.
The shank of the button when attached, by my new or improved fastener; is
free to move upon its attachment loop in any direction-The attachment plate lies
flush or nearly flush with the underside of the material and presents no projection
of any importance on the side next the wearer; the button is capable of being
removed by simply pressing the ends of the spring legs of the attachment loop or
staple, so as to be coincident with the opening in the plate, when they are in a
position to pass through the opening and the parts become detached-In
consequence of the smallness of the piercings produced by the staple loop, no
injury is caused to the material-the parts of the same fastener are capable of
being re-used an indefinite number of times, and the fasteners are applicable to the
various forms of buttons in general use.
In Figures 14 and 15 the legs of the staple loop a are secured by the attachment
plate b having the metal of one of its ends 65 turned back upon itself in such a way
that by springing the legs of the staple along the plane of the plate, they can be
slipped under the metal of the bended end where they are securely held-In
Figure 14 this is effected by springing the legs together so that they will pass
through the central opening 6 and, after passing below the bent part, spring
outwards; in Figure 15 they are first sprung outwards, and then pass under the
bent part, by closing together till they assume their normal position relatively to
one another.
The application of my Invention to other movable articles, such for example, as
jewellery, and medals to clothing; and rings to hangings differs in no essential
respect from its application to a button.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
First The method of, and means and appliances for, attaching or connecting,
buttons and certain other articles to dress and other objects by means of a spring
wire or other looped staple or plate; and maintaining the same in position, when
50 connected; the parts being arranged, combined and operating in the way and
for the purpose, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
Figures of the Drawing.

page_text: Secondly The improvements in fasteners for buttons and certain other articles
herein before described and illustrated in the several Figures of the Drawings; that
is to say, the construction and combination of the staple loop a, a, a³ and plate b
with its holes and piercings 62, 63, 6 for the purpose and substantially as described
and illustrated.