A New or Improved Device for Taking Measure for Garments.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 27th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 1st Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Device for Taking Measure for Garments.
I, Mrs. MARIE HORN, née Riess, of Gneisenaustrasse 35 Berlin in the Empire of
Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved apparatus for taking measure for garments
and enabling persons not skilled in the art to produce exact patterns determined
by the apparatus.
The improved device is adapted to be more easily placed and adjusted on the
body than similar means hitherto known and essentially consists of a vertical central
bar forming with two cross bars provided so as to fit below the curve of the chest
and with the axillary-, shoulder-, and neck-bars the frame of the front part of the
mechanism, while the frames for the back part and side parts are of a similar
construction. All other upright supports of the frame or skeleton are cords or
wires which, when fitting the device to the body, are situated at the seam lines,
whilst all other cross parts are a combination of spiral springs, cords and slides.
The
The front part consists of a middle piece, and two chest folds on each side thereof.
The centre bar and other bars mentioned above are provided with displaceable flat
slides while the wires or cords have displaceable cylindric slides, both kinds of slides
being internally elastic to secure their steadiness at the places given them.
flat slides pertaining to the centre bar have on each side little tubes which are cut
open on the inner side to admit of the introduction of cords which are secured
thereto by means of knots. The outer ends of said tubes are rivetted together with
spiral springs and have at their other extremities a similar tube as that referred
to and a hook. The cylindric slides above referred to are constructed in two
different ways, one kind having at the inner side a tube for the passage of the
cord which hangs free out of the same, and on this extension a slide, while the
other kind of slides is likewise provided at the inner side with a tube to which
the cord and spiral springs are attached and on the other side with an eyelet for
the hook of the spiral spring.
The device is used as follows:
After placing the front-, back-, and side-pieces on the body and connecting the
same by means of hooks and eyelets, the collar-, shoulder-, and axillary bars are
arranged in the usual manner, displaced relatively to each other and fixed. Sub-
sequently the bars extending from top to bottom are shifted exactly into the seam
lines of the garment the respective person is wearing at the time, and the hooks
placed in the eyelets. After shifting the slides, situated on the free extremities of
the cords, onto the respective tubes, the spiral springs are unhooked and resume
their normal position, while the lastmentioned slides hold each two bars or cords
extending from top to bottom at the fixed distance from each other. Subsequently
the single parts of the device are spread out on the plane and the outlines of said.
bars or cords drawn on cloth or paper, thus producing exact patterns.
The hooks and eyelets may also be replaced by any other suitable connecting
mechanism.
.
The application of spiral springs in lieu of flat cross rails as used heretofore
allows of a more rapid disposition of the single parts of the apparatus on the body
and of a more yielding and soft fit thereof, thus constituting over the existing
similar contrivances the most natural system for taking measure from the body.
Dated this 3rd day of July 1889.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Device for Taking Measure for Garments.
I, Mrs. MARIE HORN, née Riess of Gneisenau Strasse No. 35 Berlin in the Empire
of Germany, Gentlewoman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the means for taking measure for garments and has for its
purpose to provide an apparatus of this class which allows even such persons as are not
skilled in taking measure to produce exact patterns in a rapid and reliable manner.
The mechanisms hitherto known for taking measure for wearing apparel chiefly
consist of metal longitudinal and cross rails displaceable relatively to each other in
height and width in slots or particular casings and adjustably connected at the
crossing or connecting places by means of screws, springs or equivalent devices.
When fitting such appliance to the body, each of the many cross bars or rails
particularly in the lower portions of the single parts of the pattern has to be adjusted
and connected with the respective length bar. To produce exact patterns 80 to 100
such cross-bars are required, which is naturally conducive to great waste of time.
The improved apparatus cannot indeed dispense with the large number of cross bars
and the separate adjustment of each of the same. Its peculiar construction however
renders their displacement in the width unnecessary; moreover all troublesome fixing
contrivances for the crossing points are made superfluous by the nature of the
improved system, whereby the handling of the apparatus while being fitted and
adjusted on and removed from the body is effected in a more rapid and easy manner
than beretofore. The improvements in fact result in the saving of more than half the
time hitherto taken up by similar processes. The number of longitudinal and cross
bars is limited to those absolutely necessary for obtaining a steady skeleton for the
single parts of the garment. The usual longitudinal bars or rails are replaced by
metal cords or wires, while a combination of spiral springs with cords provided with
the adjusting slides and passing through said springs is substituted for the cross bars
or rails.
The improved apparatus adapts itself to the body as evenly and tightly as fleshings
and consequently allows a very true pattern skeleton to be produced.
Reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which like letters designate
like or analogous parts.
Fig. 1 represents the improved system shewn as applied to the front part of a
pattern garment.
Fig. 2 shows on an enlarged scale a complete systen of cross bands, the points I
to IV correspond to the same points indicated in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of connected cross bands on a larger scale than applied
in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a top view, vertical section and front view of a particular connecting
mechanism.
с
In the median line of the front part illustrated by Fig. 1 and consisting of the
middle portion A and the lateral chest folds B and C, a length rod a is provided which
with the crossbars 6 placed below the vaulting of the chest and the bars c d and e for
the arm pit, shoulder and neck respectively, forms the solid skeleton of the fore part;
the skeletons for the rear and side portions are made in a corresponding manner.
All
other length stays are formed of metal cords or elastic wires f, which when adjusting
the apparatus to the body, are so placed as to exactly coincide with the seam lines.
The rest of the cross stays consist of a combination of spiral springs g cords h and
slides i.
The flat slides & are so arranged on the length rod a as to be adjustable in height,
while the cylindric slides are in the like manner provided on the longitudinal cords
or wires. The slides k and I are made internally elastic by means of suitable spring
or other device to cause their firm adherence to the bars a or wires f. On both sides
of the slides & are provided tubes m the inner ends of which are open at the top. The

page_text: cords are passed through said tubes and secured therein by means of a knot /¹.
The spiral springs 9 are rivetted together with or otherwise fixed to the outer
extremities of the tubes and carry each at the other end likewise a tube m and a
hook n connected with the latter. The slides of the longitudinal cords are made
in two different kinds, one of which has a tube m on the inner side only, for the
passage of the cord h freely suspended from this tube and provided with the slide i.
Each of the other kind has likewise on the inner side a tube m, to which the cord h
and spiral spring g are secured, and on the other side an eye o for the hook n of the
spiral spring.
The improved apparatus is operated as follows:
The front, rear and side portions having been placed on the body and relatively
connected by aid of the hooks and eyelets provided, the neck, shoulder and axillary
bars are arranged and fixed in the usual manner. Subsequently the longitudinal
bars or wires a and fare so shifted as to precisely coincide with the corresponding
seam lines, while the hooks n of the spiral springs g are hooked into the eyelets o of
the respective wire of the contiguous portion of the skeleton, said eyelets catching
underneath the next wire as shown in Fig. 3. The slides i carried by the free
extremities of the cords h are then shifted up to the tubes m Fig. 3. This being done
the whole of the spiral springs 9 are unhooked, thereby rebounding spontaneously
on the cords h, while the slides i maintain the two longitudinal wires f of each
skeleton portion at the distances ascertained. On subsequently spreading the single
portions of the apparatus on an even surface, merely the outer edges of the longi-
tudinal cords need be traced for the purpose of obtaining an exact pattern.
As a substitute for the hooks n and eyelets o preferably the combination represented
in Fig. 4 is employed, Fig. 4ª being a top view, Fig. 4b a vertical section and Fig. 4°
a front view of the two constituents of said combination. One part thereof consists
of a metal strip r bent round hook-fashion the bottom end r¹ of which is connected
with the tube m of the spiral spring 9, while the elastic upper extremity ² terminates
in a narrowed middle piece 73. The other part is formed of a flat box s open in front,
whose top plate is provided with a recess s¹ and downwardly bent tongues s². On
introducing so far into s until the broader part 2 has passed the tongues s², the
hook catches upwardly and cannot be released but by depressing the tongue 3
which projects from the box, said hook being then spontaneously withdrawn by the
action of the spiral spring g connected therewith. The releasing of the connected
parts, as referred to, by a single depression of the tongues constitutes an important
feature of the invention, any displacement or torsion of the longitudinal cords, when
adjusted, being thereby obviated.
The automatic clamping action produced by the slides as mentioned above for
fixing the wires fat the determined distances is completely sufficient to meet the
requirements and the use of the troublesome adjusting devices as necessitated by other
systems can consequently be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
In apparatus as described for taking measure for garments
1) The combination of spiral springs g employed in each portion of the garment,
with slides which are adjustable in height on the outline wires or metal cords deter-
mining one side of each portion, and with a mechanism allowing of a detachable
connection with the respective outline wire or cord of the contiguous portion of the
skeleton, whereby all portions of the latter are allowed to be so connected with one
another as to ensure a tight fit of the whole to the body, substantially as illustrated
and described.
. 2) The combination with spiral springs 9 of cords held therein with one end by
knots, while their other extremities which are adapted to be passed loosely through
and suspended from the displaceable tubes m of the contiguous outline wire f, carry
adjustable clamping slides whereby the two outline wires of each portion of the

page_text: skeleton when adjusted on the body, can be maintained at the distance ascertained
thus allowing a true pattern of each portion to be produced after releasing the spiral
springs g substantially as illustrated and described.
3) The upwardly elastic hooks r secured to the spiral springs g, in combination
with the boxes s provided on the slides of the outline wires f, the top plate of each
box having in front two downwardly bent tongues s² serving as catch for the broader
portion of the hook, while the narrow portion thereof is adapted to project
from the box, whereby hooks and boxes s can be disconnected by depressing the
projections, without prejudice to the fixed portion of the outline wires, substantially
as set forth.
Dated thin 07th da of Tanusar 1800