IMPROVEMENTS IN GLOVE STRETCHERS
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph John Perry, of the Holborn Viaduct, and Abram
Charles Herts, of Bloomsbury, both in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GLOVE STRETCHERS." A communication
from abroad by John Herts, of the City of New York, in the United States of
America
Sealed the 6th November 1877, and dated the 9th May 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph John Perry and Abram
Charles Herts at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th May
1877.
JOSEPH JOHN PERRY, of the Holborn Viaduct, and ABRAM CHARLES HERTS, of
Bloomsbury, both in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVEMENTS IN GLOVE
STRETCHERS." A communication from abroad by John Herts, of the City of New
York, in the United States of America.
Heretofore glove stretchers have been made solid, of hard wood, bone, &c.; and to
be strong enough, it was necessary that the parts should be made thick and heavy.
To give the proper curved shape to the handles also necessitated cutting obliquely
across the grain, which rendered them weak. No provision was made for using
powder in connection with the stretcher, that operation having to be performed
after the stretcher had been removed, and by a separate apparatus.
The object of this Invention is partly to produce a stretcher that will be light,
strong, durable, and effective, and partly to combine with the stretcher proper a
receptacle for the powder used to facilitate drawing on the glove, so arranged that
the powder may be applied while the stretcher is yet in the glove and the glove
expanded.
The Invention consists partly in a tubular or hollow stretcher made in two parts
and hinged together, and partly in the combination of the stretcher with a
receptacle for containing glove powder, arranged to be operated simultaneously
therewith, or before the stretcher is removed, and both tending to accomplish the
same result.
Another feature of novelty consists in the peculiar construction of the hinge and

page_text: The hollow form of the stretcher gives great strength in proportion to the
weight and the material employed, which is a great desideratum in this class of
goods.
We prefer to construct the two halves of sheet steel, precisely alike, stamped or
pressed into the required tubular or hollow form, but they may be made of sheet
iron, cast metal, hard rubber, or any other material suitable for the purpose; if made
of metal they may be plated on the outside with gold, silver, or nickel, and be painted
or enamelled inside to improve their appearance.
The hollow on the inside of the jaws may be covered with a flat plate neatly
soldered, or otherwise attached thereto, so that the jaws would appear solid, but we
do not consider this necessary. The essential feature is the construction of the two
parts or halves of thin material stiff enough for the purpose, so as to present a
convex contour on the outside, and a concave contour on the inside.
We combine with the stretcher a powder receptacle, both conveniently arranged
in such a manner, in reference to each other, that the powder may be applied to the
interior of the glove while the jaws of the stretcher are inside the same, and extended
or open.
Our peculiar combined hinge piece and spring consists of a plate of spring steel
cut somewhat in the form of a T, the branches forming the hinged part and the
stem the spring. The branches are curved upward, to correspond with the concave
interior of one of the jaws, to which it is fitted and firmly rivetted, leaving the ends
projecting above to receive the other jaw; these ends are pierced with suitable holes
to receive a rivet, by which the jaws are hinged together. The spring portion or
stem is curved upward, and bears against the inner face of the opposite handle, or
against the box, thus tending to keep the jaws closed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Joseph John Perry and Abram Charles Herts in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th November 1877.
JOSEPH JOHN PERRY, of the Holborn Viaduct, and ABRAM CHARLES HERTS, of
Bloomsbury, both in the County of Middlesex. " IMPROVEMENTS IN GLOVE
STRETCHERS." A communication from abroad by John Herts, of the City of New
York, in the United States of America.
Heretofore glove stretchers have been made solid, of hard, wood, bone, &c.; and to
be strong enough, it was necessary that the parts should be made thick and heavy.
To give the proper curved shape to the handles also necessitated cutting obliquely
across the grain, which rendered them weak. No provision was made for using
powder in connection with the stretcher, that operation having to be performed
after the stretcher had been removed, and by a separate apparatus.
Now the object of this Invention is partly to produce a stretcher that will be
light, strong, durable, and effective, and partly to combine with the stretcher proper
a receptacle for the powder used to facilitate drawing on the glove, so arranged that
the powder may be applied while the stretcher is yet in the glove and the glove
expanded.
The present Invention consists, partly, of a tubular or hollow stretcher made in
two parts and hinged together, and partly of the combination of the stretcher with
a receptacle for containing glove powder, arranged to be employed either simul-
taneously therewith, or before the stretcher is removed, and both tending to accomplish
the same result.
Another feature of novelty consists in the peculiar construction of the hinge and
spring.
In the accompanying Drawings,-
Figure 1 shews a view of the improved stretcher with the jaws closed; Figure 2

page_text: shews a sectional elevation of the same with the jaws open, and showing the tubular
construction and the manner of arranging the powder receptacle.
Figure 3 shews the powder receptacle constructed in the form of a bulb of elastic
rubber.
Figure 4 shews a perspective view of the hinging piece and spring, all made from
one piece.
Figure 5 shews a modification of the same, constructed of spring wire, and
Figure 6 shows a modification of the hinge.
A, A, represents the two halves of the stretcher, which may be similar in shape,
a, a, being the jaws, and b, b, the handles by which they are operated; the two
halves are binged together at c.
One essential feature in the structure of the
parts A, A, consists in their being hollow or tubular, the jaws when closed presenting
a smooth rounded outer contour, or a polygonal contour, if that form be preferred.
This hollow form gives great strength in proportion to the weight and the material
employed, which is a great desideratum in this class of goods.
We prefer to construct the two halves of sheet steel precisely alike, stamped or
pressed into the required tubular or hollow form, but they may be made of sheet
iron, cast metal, hard rubber, or any other material suitable for the purpose; if made
of metal they may be plated on the outside with gold, silver, or nickel, and be painted
or enamelled inside to improve their appearance.
The hollow on the inside of the jaws may be covered with a flat plate, neatly
soldered or otherwise attached thereto, so that the jaws would appear solid, but we
do not consider this necessary. The essential feature is the construction of the two
parts or halves of thin material stiff enough for the purpose, so as to present a
convex contour on the outside, and a concave contour on the inside.
We combine with the stretcher a powder receptacle B, both arranged in such a
manner, in reference to each other, that the powder may be applied to the interior
of the glove while the jaws of the stretcher are inside the same, and extended or
open.
The precise form or precise arrangement of the receptacle B is not essential, but
we have shewn in Figure 1 a metallic or hard-rubber box B, provided with a capped
opening at d for the insertion of the powder, and a tube C extending centrally
forward from said box, and provided with a finely-perforated nozzle e for the escape
of the powder.
The box B is placed between the handles b, b, and should be attached to one of
then in some convenient and substantial manner, either removable or permanent.
Where the tube C extends forward centrally, as in Figure 2, we prefer to hinge it to
the jaws at the point c, and in order to preserve its central position between the
handles we arrange a small spring g,g, on each side of it in substantially the manner
shewn, such springs serving also to keep the jaws closed. •
.
In Figure 1 the powder receptacle B is shewn attached to one of the handles b,
and the tube C is represented in dotted lines as lying along the hollow in one of the.
jaws. In operating this device the stretcher is inserted and the jaws extended, as
desired. While thus extended the powder is ejected through the perforated nozzle e
by a quick jerking motion of the jaws downward, somewhat similar to that used in
ejecting the contents of spice boxes. If the hollow in the jaws be plated or covered
over these cavities may be arranged to receive the powder, and the plate or cover be
perforated at or near the front end for its expulsion; or the jaw might be perforated
for the same purpose.
In the modification shewn in Figure 3 the powder receptacle B is a bulb of elastic
rubber, and the powder is ejected by compression of the bulb. We prefer to
accomplish this by squeezing the bulb between the handles when they are pressed
together; and to avoid the expulsion of the powder every time the handles are
slightly compressed, as in stretching the glove fingers, we make the bulb so narrow,
as shewn, that the handles do not act upon it until the jaws are opened quite wide.
We are thus enabled, first, to stretch the fingers, and then withdraw the stretcher
back into the body of the glove, where room is had to close the handles on the bulb

page_text: and eject the powder. As the powder is very fine, almost impalpable, the per-
forations for its escape should be very small.
In Figure 1, but more clearly in Figure 4, is shewn our peculiar combined hinge
piece and spring, which consists of a plate of spring steel cut somewhat in the form
of a T, the branches f, f, forming the hinging part and h the spring. The branches
are curved upward, to correspond with the concave interior of one of the jaws, to
which it is fitted and firmly riveted, leaving the ends projecting above to receive
the other jaw. These ends are pierced with suitable holes i, i, to receive a rivet c,
by which the jaws are hinged together. The spring portion or stem h is curved
upward, and bears against the inner face of the opposite handle or against the
box B, thus tending to keep the jaws closed.
In Figure
this spring is shewn in a modified form, which possesses some
advantages, although the first named is the best for some purposes. A piece of
spring wire, bent out at the ends c¹, c¹, to form the rivets, has two coils a¹, a¹, bent
in it, which rest upon the inner surface of the handle, the doubled portion or
bight 6' extending upward and backward, impinging against the other handle to
form a spring. When this form of spring and hinge is used we prefer to omit any
separate hinging plate and form a lip e¹ on one part A, as in Figure 6. This lip is
set in, in the manufacture, so as to rest inside of the other part or half and form &
lap, through which the rivet c¹ passes.
When the tube C is to be maintained in a
central position, as in Figure 2, the spring that closes the jaws may be a thin leaf of
steel bent to a U shape, the curved part being perforated for the tube C to pass
through, and the ends arranged to press against the inner concave faces of the
handles, so as to keep them apart. To retain it in place the bow of the spring may
be attached to the tube, or the ends may be attached to the handles and the bow
left free.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into operation, we would have it
understood that what we claim is,―
1. A glove stretcher composed of tubular or hollow sections, substantially as and
for the purposes specified.
2. The combination of a glove stretcher with a powder receptacle B, either
elastic or non-elastic, attached to such stretcher, and arranged to operate in
connection therewith in such a manner that the powder may be ejected in the
interior of the glove while the jaws of the stretcher are expanded therein.
3. The spring device shewn in Figure 4, consisting of the spring h and hinging
piece ff, made in one piece, and perforated at i, i, to receive the hinging rivet c,
substantially as shewn.
In witness whereof, we, the said Joseph John Perry and Abram Charles
Herts, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventh day of Novem-
ber, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
JOSEPH J. PERRY. (L.S.)
ABRAM C. HERTS.
(L.S.)