Improvements in Hook and Eye Fastenings.
Year: 1894

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hook and Eye Fastenings.
We, FREDERIC WATSON WALL, Inventor SIDNEY MARTIN Gentleman &
JAMES HARRISON Gentleman, all of Fort Worth, in the County of Tarrant and
State of Texas, United States of America, 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
This invention consists in a hook and eye fastening of novel construction,.
substantially as hereinafter shown and described and pointed out in the claims.
The said invention, although applicable wherever hooks and eyes are suitable, is
more especially designed for fastening dresses and clothing, such for instance as
dress bodices, and when so applied the improved hooks and eyes prevent gaping of
the dress front, keep the latter in perfect alignment and when hooked prevent
the garment or dress from being accidentally unhooked.
Reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the
Specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
both the figures.
Figure I represents a face view of a hook and eye embodying the invention, and
in engagement with each other.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same applied to the meeting edges of a dress
bodice or other article shown only in part and in section.
A indicates the hook portion of the fastening and B the eye portion thereof.
Each of these members is made of a separate continuous piece of wire doubled
over upon itself to form a base portion p, and a return portion 9, and bent
to form in one member A, the hook proper a and opposite open side loops b, b.
for securing by stitching or otherwise, as at c, in Figure 2, said member A to the
one piece of cloth or meeting portion D of the garment. The piece of wire
which constitutes the other member B is doubled over upon itself and bent to form
the eye proper e with which the hook proper a engages and also to form opposite
open side loops b₁₁for securing by stitching or otherwise, as at c', in Figure 2,
said member B to the other piece of cloth or meeting portion D' of the garment.
Another very important feature of our invention, is constructing the members, A
and B with a bar or branch d extending laterally outward in approximately straight.
or cross-wise directions from opposite sides of the members, A and B, at or below
the root end of the hook proper a and eye proper e of the member B. These bars.
or branches d may be formed by the extension of the main body of each wire, and
afterwards doubling such extensions over upon themselves in the shape of elongated
open loops leaving rounded outer ends, the ends of the wire being in contact with
each other or nearly so, as shown. Said cross bars or branches d constitute aligning
strips which, when the members A and B are respectively stitched or secured to
the meeting portions D and D' of the goods, garment or dress bodice as shown in
Figure 2, come in line with the front edges of the goods or bodice, and which
branches d come in contact at their outer ends with corresponding strips or
branches d of the adjacent hooks and eyes in the same line or course as shown by
dotted lines in Figure 1. The eye proper e projects beyond the branches d of the
eye member B and over the branches d of the hook member A. This feature, and
the fact that the branches d of adjacent hooks and eyes are in contact with each
other at their outer ends prevent the goods or bodice from gaping, and the
branches d of the several hooks and eyes in the same line or course form an
unbroken edge or continuation, whereby strain on the goods will not be thrown on

page_text: the points of the attached fastenings and the hooks and eyes are restrained from
being accidentally disengaged. These hooks and eyes may be of varied sizes, and
be used on any place or garment where hooks and eyes are employed to make
concealed fastenings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a hook and eye fastening, a hook member consisting of an integral piece
of wire comprising a base portion and formed at one of its ends with transversely
disposed elongated branches and curved up at its opposite end, a return portion
extending longitudinally over the base portion from the upwardly curved end
thereof, the said return portion being provided with transversely disposed essentially
plane open loops located at some distance from the upwardly curved end of the
base portion, and a hook proper, joined to that end of the return portion which is
nearest to the transverse branches of the base portion, the hook extending rearward
over the return portion substantially as described.
2. In a hook and eye fastening, an eye member, consisting of an integral piece
of wire comprising a base portion formed at one of its ends with transversely
disposed elongated branches, and curved up at its opposite end, and a return portion
extending longitudinally over the base portion formed with the eye proper, and
being provided intermediate of the bend that joins it to the base portion, and the
eye proper, with essentially plane, transversely, disposed open loops, substantially
as described.
Dated this 7th day of May 1894.
For the Applicants,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.