IMPROVEMENTS IN BRACE AND OTHER BUCKLES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Walker, of Birmingham; in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BRACE AND
OTHER BUCKLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Walker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd November 1880.
THOMAS WALKER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BRACE AND OTHER BUCKLES."
My Invention has reference principally to brace buckles of the kind commonly
called lever buckles, but is also applicable to other buckles.
I will describe my Invention in connection with a lever buckle.
Instead of forming the joint of the buckle as usual by ears on the lower part
cut from the sheet of which that part is made, engaging in holes in snugs formed
at the sides of the upper part, I form the said joint in the following manner :-
I form ears on opposite sides of the upper part of the buckle, the said ears being
turned at right angles. I form similar ears on the opposite sides of the lower part,
the ears of the lower part when the two parts are put together bearing against
the inner sides of the ears of the upper part. Coincident holes are made in each
pair of ears and short cylindrical rivets being placed in the said holes; the said rivets
are fixed in the outer ears by a rivetting process. Or the positions of the ears may
be reversed, that is, the ears of the lower part may be external and the rivets fixed
in them.
By this construction of joint the parts of the buckle turn with a smoothness
unattainable in joints of the ordinary kind, and the joint is stronger than the
ordinary joint.
:
In order to prevent the accidental unhooking of the ring carrying the tabs of
the brace from the suspending hook, I joint to the said hook a covering plate
which covers the front of the hook and is pressed thereon by a spring. In
engaging the ring carrying the tabs with the hook it is only necessary to insert the
ring between the covering plate and the lower part of the hook on which it bears.
By gently pressing the ring between the parts indicated it is raised to the open
mouth of the hook, and by the pressure of the spring covering plate it is forced
against the back of the hook and is immediately engaged with the hook. As the
ring cannot be disengaged from the hook except by pressing it in such a direction
as to raise the spring covering plate, there is no danger of the said ring and the
tabs carried by it becoming detached from the hook.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Walker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th May 1881.
THOMAS WALKER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BRACE AND OTHER BUCKLES."
My Invention has reference principally to brace buckles of the kind commonly
called lever buckles, but is also applicable to other buckles.
I will describe my Invention in connection with a lever buckle.
Instead of forming the joint of the buckle as usual by ears on the lower part
cut from the sheet of which that part is made, engaging in holes in snugs
formed at the sides of the upper part, I form the said joint in the following
manner:-
I form ears on opposite sides of the upper part of the buckle, the said ears being
turned at right angles. I form similar ears on the opposite sides of the lower part,
the ears of the lower part when the two parts are put together bearing against
the inner sides of the ears of the upper part. Coincident holes are made in each
pair of ears and short cylindrical rivets being placed in the said holes, the said
rivets are fixed in the outer ears by a rivetting process.
Or the positions of the ears may be reversed, that is, the ears of the lower part
may be external and the rivets fixed in them.
By this construction of joint the parts of the buckle turn with a smoothness
unattainable in joints of the ordinary kind, and the joint is stronger than the
ordinary joint.
In order to prevent the accidental unhooking of the ring carrying the tabs of
the brace from the suspending hook, I joint to the said hook a covering plate,
which covers the front of the hook and is pressed thereon by a spring.
In engaging the ring carrying the tabs with the book it is only necessary to
insert the ring between the covering plate and the lower part of the hook on which
it bears.
By gently pressing the ring between the parts indicated it is raised to the open
mouth of the hook, and by the pressure of the spring covering plate it is forced
against the back of the hook and is immediately engaged with the hook.
As the ring cannot be disengaged from the hook except by pressing it in such a
direction as to raise the spring covering plate, there is no danger of the said ring
and the tabs carried by it becoming accidentally detached from the hook.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in back elevation and edge view a lever brace buckle, the
two parts of which are jointed together according to my Invention; and Figure 2
represents a front elevation of the same applied to a brace; Figure 3 represents the
body or upper part of the buckle; and Figure 4 represents the lower or lever part
of the buckle detached; Figure 34 represents the blank from which the part,
Figure 3, is made; and Figure 44 represents the blank from which the part,
Figure 4, is made.
In the said Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, à is the upper or body part of the brace
buckle, and b is the lower or lever part carrying the gripping edge c, between
which and the inner face of the body part a the brace web d is gripped, as is well
understood. The two parts a, b, are jointed together in the following manner:-
The joint consists of the pierced ears e, e, formed on opposite sides of the upper
part or body a of the buckle, and similar ears f, f, formed on the opposite sides of
the lower or lever part 6 of the buckle, the said ears e, e, and f, f, being turned at
right angles to the parts carrying them.

page_text: The ears e, e, are made from the pierced projecting pieces e², e², on the blank,
Figure 34, and the ears f,f, are made from the pierced projecting pieces f³, f², on
the blank, Figure 4A. In putting together the two parts a, b, of the buckle the
ears ff, on the lower or lever part b are made to bear against the inner sides of
the ears e, e, on the upper or body part a, the holes in each pair of ears being made
to coincide. By passing short cylindrical rivets g, g, through the coincident holes
in the pairs of ears e, f, e, f, and expanding for rivetting the shanks of the said
rivets, the latter are fixed in their places, and the two parts a, b, of the buckle are
jointed together, the joint formed being very strong, and the jointed parts working
very smoothly.
The ears ff, on the lower part b may be situated external to the ears e, e, on the
upper part. In this case the rivets may be fixed in the external ears, and passed
through the holes in the inner ears of the upper part, and be rivetted to the said
inner ears.
This part of my Invention may be applied to buckles generally where the two
parts are required to be jointed together.
Figure 5 represents a back elevation, and Figures 6 and 7 represent side elevations
of a lever brace buckle, constructed according to my Invention, for preventing the
accidental unhooking of the tab ring from the suspending hook of the buckle;
Figure 8 represents the said buckle in front elevation applied to a brace; a, b, are
the two parts of the lever buckle jointed together in the manner herein before
described; his the suspending hook on the bottom of the part 6 of the buckle; i is
the tab ring carrying the tabs of the brace, the said tab ring being capable of being
hooked to or unhooked from the hook h; k is the covering plate for covering the
hook h, and preventing the accidental unhooking of the tab ring i from it. The
said covering plate k is jointed at 7 to the bottom of the part 6 of the buckle, and
the plate is pressed into the closed or covering position represented in Figures 5, 6,
and 8 by the spring m acting on the upper part of the said covering plate.
Instead of the separate spring m rivetted to the hook of the buckle a spring cut
out of the part b of the buckle may be used for acting upon the covering plate.
The said jointed covering plate k is hollow, as represented in Figure 7. In
engaging the ring i carrying the tabs with the hook h on the buckle it is only
necessary to insert the said ring between the lower edge of the covering plate k
and the lower part of the hook h, and press the said ring upwards between the
two parts h, k. The covering plate is thereby raised into the position represented
in Figure 7, and when the tap ring i has reached the open mouth of the hook h
the pressure of the spring covering plate k forces the said ring against the back of
the hook. The said ring is thereby engaged with the hook, as illustrated in
Figures 5 and 6, and is secured in that position so long as the covering plate k is
in the closed position represented in the said Figures 5 and 6. In order to liberate
the ring i from the hook the spring covering plate k is pressed upon at the point
indicated by the arrow in Figure 7, so as to raise its lower part from the hook,
and permit of the ring being lifted from the said hook, as seen in the said
Figure 7.
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 claim as my
Invention,―
First. The improvements in jointing together the two parts of lever buckles and
other buckles herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, and 4ª,
of the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, making on opposite sides of one part
of the buckle pierced ears turned at right angles to the part carrying them, and
making similar ears on the other part of the buckle, the pierced ears thus formed
on opposite sides of the two parts of the buckle being brought face to face, and
rivetted together, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvement or improvements in brace buckles herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, of the accompanying Drawing,
that is to say, the combination with the said buckles of the jointed spring covering

page_text: plate for covering the front of the hook of the buckle, and preventing the
accidental detachment of the tab ring of the brace from the hook of the buckle,
substantially as described and illustrated..
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Walker, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
37, Temple Street,
Birmingham.
THO. WALKER. (L.S.)