and Eyes Used for Fastening or securing Certain Articles of Wearing Apparel.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 16th May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 22nd June, 1888
111
K and Eyes Used for Fastening or securing
Certain Articles of Wearing Apparel.
I MARMADUKE WEATHERELL ALCOCK of Bold Street Whalley Range Manchester
in the County of Lancaster Warehouseman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
It is customary to fasten when in wear mantles, jackets and many other articles of
apparel chiefly for lady's wear by means of articles attached thereto known as
hooks and eyes which are secured one to either side of the opening or vent of the
garment.
As most ordinarily constructed these hooks and eyes are so made that the former
may when in any position slip easily into and out of the latter and when in wear
should the garment become slack the hook often slips out when it is not intended that
it should do so.
A hook made of steel has been devised to obviate this with a spring
to close over the hook when it has received the eye but it has been found very
inconvenient in wear and that the spring is liable to be bent beyond its clastic
limit.
My invention is designed to provide a hook fastening that while being easy to
adjust and secure will not be liable to become unfastened by an accidental movement
or disarrangement of the garment and be free of the objections which are known to be
inseparable from a spring hook.
It consists essentially in forming the hook with an enlargement or projection at or
near its point where it enters the eye and the eye of an oblong or other shape to
correspond with the hook so that when the hook is at an inclination to the eye the
latter slips over the end of the hook without obstruction but when the two are in the
same straight line the eye will be prevented from engaging or disengaging with
the hook.
In carrying out my invention I prefer to make the hook of wire bent after the
manner in which such hooks are at present made. At the point or bill of the hook
however I bend the wire to curve outwards so that at a point between the bend of the
wire forming the hook and the point of it the bill is made considerably wider than

page_text: merely the double width of the wire and wider than the eye which is to receive it.
The eye is made oblong preferably with parallel sides and narrower than the breadth
of the bill of the hook. The length of the eye allows it to engage or disengage with
the hook when turned sideways or inclined to it but when in the same straight line
will by reason of its being too narrow be prevented passing over the hook.
It is obvious that the book may be made otherwise than of bent wire such as by
being stamped out of sheet metal but I prefer the former and the widening thereof or
projection thereon may be of any suitable shape or in either direction of the bill of the
hook but I at present think the arrangement described will be the best. And also the
eye may be suitably shaped either rectangular, elliptical or otherwise as may be
dictated by fancy or taste while it retains the above mentioned characteristics.
Dated this 23rd day of August 1887.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Bank Street, Manchester,
Patent Agents.

page_text: Certain Articles of Wearing Apparel.
I, MARMADUKE WEATHERELL ALCOCK, of Bold Street, Whalley Range, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Warehouseman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
It is customary to fasten, when in wear, mantles, jackets and many other articles of
apparel, chiefly for lady's wear by means of articles attached thereto known as
hooks and eyes which are secured one to either side of the opening or vent of the
garment.
As most ordinarily constructed these hooks and eyes are so made that the former
may when in any position slip easily into and out of the latter and when in wear
should the garment become slack the hook often slips out when it is not intended
that it should do so. A hook made of steel has been devised to obviate this with a
spring to close against the hook when passed into the eye but it has been found
very inconvenient in wear and the spring is liable to be bent beyond its elastic
limit.
My invention is designed to provide a hook fastening that while being easy to
adjust and secure will not be liable to become unfastened by an accidental movement
or disarrangement of the garment and be free of the objections which are known to be
inseparable from a spring hook.
It consists essentially in forming the hook with an enlargement or projection at or
near its point where it enters the eye and the eye of an oblong or other shape to
correspond with the hook so that when the hook is at an inclination to the the
latter slips over the end of the hook without obstruction but when the two are in the
same straight line the eye will be prevented from engaging or disengaging with
the hook.
It will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1. shows the hook and eye in proper position when in wear.
Fig. 2. shows the hook and eye separately and apart.
eye
Fig. 3. shows the hook and eye placed at the inclination they assume when engaging
or disengaging one with the other.
The hook A and the eye B are preferably made of wire as shown, in the same
manner as such articles are at present constructed. At the point or bill of the hook A
the wire is curved or bent outwards as shown, at the point a the bill of the hook is
considerably wider than it is at the bend d where it is merely the double width of the
wire of which it is made. The point a may be situated anywhere between the bend
of the wire which forms the hook and the end of the bill, and of any desired shape
but a hook of the shape shown is preferred. The eye B is formed with the opening b
which engages with the hook A narrower in a transverse direction than the width of

page_text: the hook at the point a, but longer than the greatest width of the hook A. The eye
is preferably made of the shape shown with the opening boblong with parallel sides.
The length of the opening allows the eye to engage or disengage with the hook
when turned sideways or inclined to it as in Fig. 3, but when the hook and eye are in
the same straight line, as in Fig. 1, the eye will by reason of the opening & being
narrower than the bill of the hook at a be prevented passing over the hook.
It is obvious that the hook and eye may be made otherwise than of bent wire such
as by being stamped out of sheet metal but I prefer to have them made of wire. So
also may the widening or enlargement of the bill of the hook be of any suitable shape
or in either direction or may be affixed or attached to the hook but I consider the
arrangement shown will be the best. The eye also may be altered in shape either
rectangular, elliptical, or otherwise. as may be dietated by fancy or taste while it
retains its characteristic feature.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A hook and eye for fastening or securing articles of wearing apparel, the hook
formed with an enlargement or projection on the bill and the eye with an opening so
formed that they will only engage or disengage when the one is inclined or turned
sideways to the other substantially as described.
2. In a fastening for wearing apparel the combination of the hook having a lateral
enlargement or projection on the bill with an eye having an opening greatest in its
longitudinal direction substantially as and for the purposes described.
Dated this 15th day of May 1888.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester,
Patent Agents.