IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOCHES AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS OR DRESS ORNAMENTS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William West,.of.Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturing Jeweller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOCHES
AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS OR DRESS ORNAMENTS."
Sealed the 23rd May 1879, and dated the 9th December 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William West at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th December 1878.
WILLIAM WEST, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturing
Jeweller. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOCHES AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS OR
DRESS ORNAMENTS."
My Invention consists of the improvements in the construction and arrangement
herein-after described of the parts of a brooch, which improvements are also
applicable to other dress fastenings or dress ornaments, such, for example, as shawl
pins, sleeve links, and the like.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a brooch.
To the back of the brooch I joint the pin by which the brooch is to be fastened
to the article of dress, but instead of jointing the said pin so as to make it in
turning from a greater or less angle with the back of the brooch, I so joint it that
in turning it preserves its parallelism with the back of the brooch, its pointed end
turning aside from off the back of the brooch.
At a point on the back of the brooch opposite that at which the pin is jointed a
spring catch for the reception and retention of the pointed end of the pin is situated.
This spring catch is constructed as follows:-To the back of the brooch an incline
is jointed; this incline consists of a bar or plate of metal the acting face of
which forms an angle of about forty five degrees with the back of the brooch
when the said incline is in its normal position.
The heel of the incline engages with a sliding pusher, the end of which projects
beyond the edge of the brooch. A coiled spring presses the pusher outwards,
and retains the said pusher and incline in their normal positions when the
Levine 631

page_text: pusher is not pressed upon by the finger or thumb. Over the incline is a
guard.
In using the brooch the pin is turned aside from off the back of the brooch
and is passed through the dress and the brooch turned so as to bring it over
the pin. The provided end of the pin comes against and depresses the jointed
incline and by the pressure exerted in turning the brooch into the position
described the pin enters the guard. Immediately the pin has passed the incline
the latter urged by the spring snaps into its normal position, thus closing the
entrance to the guard and securing the pointed end of the pin in the guard.
In order to unfasten the brooch the thumb or finger is pressed upon the pusher
when the incline is depressed, and by turning the brooch the pointed end of the
pin passes out of the guard and the brooch pin may be removed from the
dress.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William West in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th May
1879.
WILLIAM WEST, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturing
Jeweller. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOCHES AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS OR DRESS
ORNAMENTS."
My Invention consists of the improvements in the construction and arrangement
herein-after described of the parts of a brooch, which improvements are also applicable
to other dress fastenings or dress ornaments, such, for example, as shawl pins, sleeve
links, and the like.
I will describe my Invention as applied to a brooch. To the back of the brooch
I joint the pin by which the brooch is to be fastened to the article of dress, but
instead of jointing the said pin so as to make it in turning form a greater or less
angle with the back of the brooch, I prefer so to joint it that in turning it preserves
its parallelism with the back of the brooch, its pointed end turning aside from off
the back of the brooch. The ordinary or first described method of jointing the pin
may however be used with my Invention. At a point on the back of the brooch
opposite that at which the pin is jointed, a spring catch for the reception and reten-
tion of the pointed end of the pin is situated. This spring catch is constructed as
follows: To the back of the brooch an incline is jointed. This incline consists of
a bar or plate of metal, the acting face of which forms an angle of about forty five
degrees with the back of the brooch when the said incline is in its normal position.
The heel of the incline engages with a sliding pusher the end of which projects
beyond the edge of the brooch. A coiled spring presses the pusher outwards and
retains the said pusher and incline in their normal positions when the pusher is not
pressed upon the finger or thumb. Over the incline is a guard.
In using the brooch the pin is turned aside from off the back of the brooch and
is passed through the dress, and the brooch turned so as to bring it over the pin,

page_text: The pointed end of the pin comes against and depresses the jointed incline, and by
the pressure exerted in turning the brooch into the position described the pin enters
the guard. Immediately the pin has passed the incline the latter urged by the
spring suaps into its original position, thus closing the entrance to the guard and
securing the pointed end of the pin in the guard. In order to unfasten the brooch
the thumb or finger is pressed upon the pusher when the incline is depressed, and
by turning the brooch the pointed end of the pin passes out of the guard and the
brooch pin may be removed from the dress.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent back elevations, the covering plate being removed, of a
brooch, the fastening mechanism of which is constructed according to my Invention.
In Figure 1 the brooch pin is represented unfastened, and in Figure 2 fastened..
Figure 3 is an edge view of the brooch, and Figure 4 represents the pusher detached;
Figures 5 and 6 represent cross sections of the brooch drawn to a larger scale,
Figure 5 being taken through the jointed incline, and Figure 6 being taken through
the spring of the pusher. a is the back of the brooch, and 6 is the jointed pin of
the same, having a motion parallel with the back of the brooch. The spring catch
for fastening the pointed end of the pin consists of an incline c jointed to the
case d² on the back of the brooch a. Near the said incline is a guard d into which
the point of the piu is passed when the brooch is fastened. The said incline is
situated at the open side of the guard d, and when in its normal position closes the
said open side of the guard, as represented in Figures 3 and 5, and prevents the
pin 6 when in the guard from being removed therefrom-until-the-said—incline is
-turned-into the position represented in Figure 6. The heel c³ of the incline engages
in a slot e (see Figure 4) near the free end of the pusher f, the said pusher turning
on the centre f³, the thumb piece g of the said pusher being situated at the edge of
the brooch. The said pusher fis pressed outwards by the coiled spring h, one end
of the said spring taking its bearing against the fixed back of the brooch, and the
other end being supported upon the stud i (see Figure 4) and bearing against the
unjointed end of the pusher. By the pressure of the spring h on the pusher f the
jointed incline c is made to take the position represented in Figures 3 and 5 and
close the entrance to the guard d. To use the brooch the pointed end of the pin b
is turned aside from off the back of the brooch, as seen in Figure 1, and, after
having been passed through the dress, the brooch is turned so as to bring the
incline c on the brooch against the pointed end of the pin b. The pointed end of
the pin b bearing against the outer side of the said incline c tilts or turns it upon
its joint into the position represented in Figure 6, and the said pin benters the
guard d. Immediately the pin b has passed the incline c the latter urged by the
spring pusher snaps into its normal position Figure 5, thereby closing the entrance
to the guard d and securing the pointed end of the pin in the said guard. To
unfasten the brooch the pusher fis pressed inwards by its projecting end g. It
thereby brings the jointed incline c into the position represented in Figure 6 and
opens the guard d. By now turning the pin b aside its pointed end passes out of
the said guard and the said pin may be removed from the dress.
Figure 1 represents an arrangement of my Invention in which the pusher f
has a sliding motion instead of turning on a joint, the heel of the jointed incline c
being situated in a slot in the said sliding pusher. Figure 14 represents a back
elevation; Figure 1B in side elevation, and Figure 1° in cross section, an arrange-
ment of the spring catch represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, applied to a
pin having a rising and falling motion to and from the back of the brooch as usual.
In this arrangement b is a jointed pin of the ordinary kind,; d is the guard;
c, the jointed incline; and f, the pusher, the inner end acting upon the heel end of
the incline c, but the said incline is maintained in its raised or acting position, and
the back motion given to the pusher by the spring h bearing on the heel of the
said incline, as seen in Figure 1º.
Instead of a jointed incline, an inclined stop carried by a spring plate or arm

page_text: may be used. Figure 7 represents in back elevation, and Figure 8 in front eleva-
tion, with the covering plate removed, a brooch containing a spring catch fastening
made according to this arrangement; Figure 9 represents the catch mechanism
detached Figures 10 and 11 represent side elevations taken at right angles to one
another; and Figure 12, a cross section of the brooch with the inclined stop in its
raised position for closing the guard d; Figures 13, 14, and 15, represent the same
views as Figures 10, 11, and 12, but with the inclined stop depressed and the
guard & opened for the removal of the pointed end of the pin from the said guard;
Figure 16 represents a cross section of the brooch drawn to a larger scale.
kis the inclined stop working in an opening at the front of and closing the
entrance to the guard d, the said guard having a slot near its head into which the
pointed end of the pin 6 passes. The said inclined stop k is carried by the free end
of the spring plate or arm fixed at 12 to the brooch. This spring arm is capable
of a slight rising and falling motion. When the parts are in the normal positions
represented in Figure 16 the elasticity of the spring arm lifts the inclined stop
in front of the opening to the guard d and closes the said guard. The descent of
the inclined stop k to open the guard d is effected by the spring sliding pusher m,
the part n of which bears against the base of the incline p on the spring plate or
arm. When the pusher m is pressed inwards the part n of the said pusher
travelling over the inclinep depresses the spring arm l, and with it the inclined
stop k, and opens the guard d, as seen in Figures 13, 14, and 15, and the point of
the pin b may be removed from the said guard. When the point of the pin bis
pressed against the inclined stop k in the act of fastening the brooch, the said stop k
descends and opens the guard, and the point of the said pin passes into the said guard
and is retained there by the rising of the said stop , the action of the parts being the
same as that of the arrangement herein first described. The pin b may be temporarily
fixed or bound in its turned back position for passing through the dress by the
following arrangement -The cranked end of the pin b works in a tubular socket a²,
having an inclined top, the said socket being fixed on the back of the brooch, as
best seen in the enlarged view of the jointed end of the pin represented in Figure 13.
On the bottom of the cranked end of the pin ba slightly bowed spring a³ is
connected, the ends of the said spring bearing on the inner plate of the brooch.
When the brooch pin is turned though a semicircle the junction of its cranked part
travels up the inclined end of the socket a² and compresses the bow spring a³, and
the said spring by its pressure binds the cranked end of the pin on the socket, and
thereby firmly holds the said pin while it is being passed through the dress.
at its
Figure 17 represents in section, and Figure 18 in plan, of upperside with the
covering plate removed, a modification of the last described arrangement of fastening
catch. In this modification the spring sliding pusher m has an incline
inner end which works over an incline on the free end of the spring arm . The
action of this arrangement is the same as that last described, and corresponding
parts are marked with the same letters of reference.
Figure 19 represents in back elevation, and Figure 20 in cross section an
arrangement of my Invention in which the guard d is open at both sides, so that
the pin may enter the guard at either side, a jointed incline being situated at each
of the open sides of the guard. The inclines c, c, are pressed into their closing
positions by springs at s, 8, the said springs also giving the return motion to the
pusher t, which pusher can be moved in one or other direction to depress one or
other of the jointed inclines c, c, the said inclines being acted upon by an arm ton
the pusher t situated between the two inclines as represented. When the pin b is
moved in one or other direction to fasten the brooch it acts upon one or other of the
jointed inclines c, c, and passes into the guard d in which it is retained by the
rising of the incline. To release the pin b the pusher t is pressed inwards, one of
the sides of the guard d is thereby opened by the head of the incline acted upon by
the pusher moving inwards, and the pin may be removed from the guard through
the open side.
Or two inclined stops moving to and from one another may be used in conjunc-

page_text: tion with a pin having motion to and from the back of the brooch like an ordinary
brooch pin.
This arrangement of my Invention is illustrated in back elevation in Figure 21,
and cross section in Figure 22. In this arrangement two independent pushers u, u²,
are used, the pusher u carrying an inclined stop v², and the other pusher u² a similar
inclined stop v. By pressing the two pushers inwards between the thumb and
finger the two inclined stops v, v², separate froin one another. On releasing the
pushers the said stops close upon one another by the action of the spring w between
the two pushers. A forked guard or a guard open at top is used. On turning
down the pin b it enters the forked guard x and pushes back the inclined stops v, v²,
and passes between them. The two stops now close or snap upon one another and
enclose the pin between them, as seen in Figure 22. To release the pin b the
pushers are pressed inwards, and the two inclined stops separated when the pointed
end of the pin may be lifted from the guard.
The guard itself may have a sliding motion given to it so as to uncover the point
of the pin to release the fastening. This part of my Invention is illustrated in
Figures 23 and 24, Figure 23 exhibiting the sliding guard in its normal position,
and Figure 24 in the position in which it uncovers the point of the pin; d is the
sliding guard carried by the spring pusher y. In combination with the sliding
guard d I use a jointed incline c pressed into its closing position by a spring, the
said incline permitting the pin to pass into the guard, but a stop on the said incline
prevents it moving outwards to open the guard. When the pin b has passed into
the guard & the said pin is secured therein, and when it is wished to release the pin
the pusher y is pressed inwards, the guard d is thereby removed from over-the-
jointed-incline c-and-the-pin may now be lifted over the said incline and the brooch
unfastened.
In order to temporarily fix the pin of the brooch in its turned back position
while it is passed through the dress the arrangement represented in Figures 25
and 26 may be used. In this arrangement I make on the tubular head 2 of the
pin ba cam or locking shoulder 63, and I make in the spring pusher f, which
operates the jointed incline c, a recess f2 into which the cam or locking shoulder b³
can enter. On turning the pin b through a semi-circle from its fastening position,
Figure 25, to its unfastening position, Figure 26, its cam or locking shoulder b³
presses back the pusher in the direction of the arrow, Figure 25, and when the
said cam 63 has been brought opposite the recess 2 in the said pusher, the said
recess snaps upon the said cam and fixes the pin as illustrated in Figure 26. Before
the brooch can be turned upon the pin b for fastening it, it is necessary to press
upon the pusher f to release the locking cam or shoulder b³. The mechanisın for
fastening the pin in the guard is constructed according to one of the arrangements
before described.
In applying my improvements to dress fastenings or dress ornaments, such as
shawl pins, sleeve links, and other like articles, I construct and arrange the parts
substantially as described with respect to a brooch, excepting that in case of sleeve
links and like articles a jointed arm is used instead of a pointed pin.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention.
But I claim as my Invention of improvements in brooches and other dress
fastenings or dress ornaments,-
First. The construction and arrangement or combination of the parts of spring catch
fastenings for fastening and releasing the pins or arms of brooches, sleeve links, and
other dress fastenings or dress ornaments herein before described, and illustrated in
Figures 1 to 18, both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, the
combination with a jointed incline or an inclined spring stop and a guard or
shield for receiving the pointed end of the brooch pin or other like pin, or the
jointed arm of the sleeve link or other like article, of a pusher or releaser, the said

page_text: pusher or releaser when pressed upon so acting upon the incline or inclined stop of
the guard or shield as to cause it to open the said guard or shield and release the
pin or arm of the brooch or other article, the parts of the spring catch fastenings
being constructed, and arranged, and operating substantially in the several ways
described and illustrated.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of parts described and illustrated.
in Figures 19 and 20 of the accompanying Drawing, in which the guard or shield
is open at both sides and two jointed inclines or inclined stops are used.
Thirdly. The construction and arrangement of parts described and illustrated in
Figures 21 and 22 of the accompanying Drawing, in which two inclined stops
carried by independent pushers moving to and from one another are employed
in conjunction with a forked guard or shield.
Fourthly. The construction and combination of parts described and illustrated
in Figures 23 and 24 of the accompanying Drawing, in which the guard or shield
operated by a pusher is made capable of a sliding motion to cover and uncover
the end of the pointed pin or arm of the brooch or other article.
In witness whereof, I, the said William West, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and seventy nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM WEST. (L.S.)