IMPROVEMENTS IN CLASPS OR LOCKS FOR BRACELETS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO BOXES, CASES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adolph William Magerhans, Jeweller, of the City of
New York, County and State of New York, United States of America,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLASPS OR LOCKS FOR BRACELETS,
APPLICABLE ALSO TO BOXES, CASES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES."
Sealed the 12th March 1880, and dated the 3rd November 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adolph William Magerhans
"
.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd November 1879.
ADOLPH WILLIAM MAGERHANS, Jeweller, of the City of New York, County
and State of New York, United States of America. IMPROVEMENTS IN CLASPS
OR LOCKS FOR BRACELETS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO BOXES, CASES, AND. SIMILAR
ARTICLES."
This Invention relates to the construction of clasps, locks, or fastenings, including
means for attaching the same, and is more particularly intended for bracelets made
of onyx or other valuable stones, or of glass and india rubber, as well as of all
imitation of stones, and where it is very desirable to shew as little as possible of the
gold or other metal of which the clasp or lock is made, and where from the nature
of the material of which the bracelets or other articles are made the usual means of
soldering the clasp or lock to the material cannot be applied.
In carrying the said Invention into practice the back plates of the lock to which
the lugs forming the clasp or hinge are attached are made either circular or square,
and fitted into suitable corresponding cavities or recesses made in the ends of the
bracelet or other articles to which the same are to be attached. To these plates
projecting pieces (two to each plate) made of a yielding or somewhat flexible
material, such as soft brass or silver, are securely fastened. The holes to receive
these projecting pins are drilled or bored into the material diagonally to each other.
The pins as above described being made of a soft material may be easily bent to enter
the holes, and by pressing the parts of the clasp or lock into their proper position
the pins will bend and follow the direction of the holes, and will there when the
lock is in its place hold the same perfectly secure without the necessity of rivetting
these back plates to the body of the bracelet, as is usually done at present on such
material which will not admit of the process of soldering.

page_text: To one of these plates the central part or lug of the clasp is attached, and the
corresponding lugs fitting above and below are attached to the other plate. Into
the central lug two bolts are fitted, acted upon by a spring placed between the same.
The outer ends of the bolts are made inclined and fit into suitable holes in the
upper and lower lugs.
The said bolts are provided with projecting pins passing through the lug or case
to enable the moving of the same when required to be moved out of the holes of
the upper and lower lugs for the purpose of opening the clasp.
This construction of the lock or clasp will allow the embedding of the same nearly
all within the body of the material, and will bring the edges of the bracelet nearly
close together, shewing only less than one-eighth of an inch of metal of the lock
different from the material of which the bracelet is made.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Adolph William Magerhans in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st April 1880.
ADOLPH WILLIAM MAGERHANS, Jeweller, of the City of New York, County
and State of New York, United States of America. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CLASPS
OR LOCKS FOR BRACELETS, APPLICABLE ALSO TO BOXES, CASES, AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES."
My Invention relates to the construction of clasps, locks, or fastenings for bracelets
or boxes, as well as to the manner of attaching the same when used for bracelets
made of onyx and other valuable stones, as well as for imitation of valuable stones,
glass, and india-rubber, where it is very desirable to show as little as possible of the
gold or other metal of which the clasp or lock made, and where from the nature
of the material of which the bracelet or other articles are made the usual manner
of soldering the clasp or lock to the material cannot be applied.
In order to explain the Invention as completely as possible I now proceed to
describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical
effect, reference being had to the illustrated Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed
and to the numerical figures and letters of reference marked thereon respectively as
follows:-
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. I. represents a top view of a bracelet with
my improved clasp attached; Fig. II. is an end view of the same shewing the
hinge; Fig. III. is a front view shewing the clasp; Fig. IV. is an enlarged
section of the clasp; Fig. V. is a horizontal section of the same; Fig. VI. is a
section of a clasp or lock provided with a locking arrangement; Fig. VII.
represents a lock arranged for boxes, cases, or similar articles, and Fig. VIII. is a
horizontal section of the same. Similar letters represent similar parts in all the
Figures.

page_text: The
A represents the bracelet, B the hinge, and C the clasp. The back plates v and w,
to which the parts forming the clasp or the hinge are attached, are made circular,
fitting into suitable cavities or recesses made in the ends of the bracelet.
shape of these plates may be changed for the various articles to which the clasp or
lock is applied, but for bracelets I prefer to make the same circular, as the
corresponding cavities for the same are more readily cut or ground in bracelets
made of onyx or other valuable stones. To these plates and w two projecting
pins h, h, are attached, made of a yielding or somewhat flexible material, such as
soft brass or silver.
The holes to receive these projecting pins are bored into the material of the
bracelet diagonal to each other. The pins being made of a softer material can
easily be bent to enter the holes, and by pressing the parts of the hinge or clasp
into their proper position these pins will bend and follow the directions of the
holes, and when the hinge or clasp are in place, and the back of the plates
v and w fits their corresponding recesses, these pins will hold the same perfectly.
secure without the necessity of rivetting these back plates to the bracelet.
To one of these back plates w the central part m of the clasp is attached, and to
the other back plate v the corresponding parts n, n, fitting above and below this
central part m, are attached. Into this central part m two bolts a, a, are fitted, acted
upon by a spring s placed between them. The outer ends 2, 2, of these bolts are made
beveling, inclining towards the back-plate v, and fit into suitable holes in the upper
and lower parts n, n. To the bolts a, a, projections x, x, are attached, working in
slots in the case m, whereby said slots can be moved inward against the action of
their spring 8 for the purpose of withdrawing the same by one operation out of the
holes in the parts m, n, whenever the clasp or lock requires to be opened, while the
inclined surfaces 2, 2, at the ends of said bolts will enable the easy closing of the
clasp in the usual manner.
This construction of the clasp when applied to a bracelet will allow the embedding
of the same nearly all within the body of the material forming the bracelet and the
bringing of the edges of the two parts of the bracelet nearly together, and as the
above described manner of attaching the back plates to the ends of the bracelet
obviates any necessity of the overlapping of these parts upon the material, I obtain
thereby a bracelet showing at each joint less than one eighth of an inch of the
metal forming the hinge or clasp, and different from the material.
For boxes, cases, or similar articles, the lock requires an arrangement for locking
or fastening the bolts by means of a key. For this purpose I arrange a revolving
plate or tumbler H between the bolts a, a, which is operated by a suitable key.
In this case the springs s are placed at the sides of the bolts acting against suitable
projections near the ends of the bolts, as will be more fully described. If this lock.
is made circular, similar to a clasp for bracelets above described, the same is attached
by means of pius into holes drilled diagonally, and nearly the whole lock may be
embedded in the material.
In Figures VII. and VIII. a similar lock is shown arranged in a square case, to
be fastened in the usual manner into the material or against the sides of boxes,
cases, &c., or upon the top of satchels or carpet-bags. The bolts a, a, are arranged
in the case M, and said bolts are provided with tongues p, p, which engage with an
upper case N or with suitable staples attached to the lid of the box. Suitable
projections x, x, attached to the bolts a, a, pass through the side of the case M to
operate these bolts. At the outer ends of the bolts a, a, projections d, d, are made
against which the springs s, s, abut. Near the centre of the lock-case M a small
frame F is arranged provided with a central pin G upon which a revolving plate or
tumbler His placed. This frame F is provided with two projections r and 1,
against which the outer ends of the springs 8, 8, abut. One of these projections
so arranged as to be capable of a slight horizontal motion, for the purpose hereinafter
described. This revolving plate H turns freely upon the central pin G, which
latter pin acts at the same time to centre the key. The plate H is provided with
two projecting parts t, t, and with a projection f, against which latter the key acts
is

page_text: for turning the revolving plate H into the desired position. When the revolving
plate H is in the position shown in Fig. VII. the bolts a, a, will pass over the
body of the plate H, and said bolts can be moved so that their projecting tongues
p, p, will come clear from the upper case N or from their staples. When the
revolving plate H is turned by means of the key one quarter around, and is brought
into the position represented in Fig. VI., the projecting parts t, t, on said plate
will come against the ends of the bolts a, a, and prevent the same from being
moved until the plate H is turned again.
To prevent this revolving plate H from turning otherwise than when acted upon
by the key the projection r, which, as above stated, is made capable of a slight
longitudinal motion, is provided with a small point or nose 3 fitting into suitable
recesses in the periphery of the revolving plate H, and as the end of one of the
springs s abuts against this projection ¹, this arrangement will hold the plate E in
any position the same will be moved by the key.
It will readily be understood that by making the. bolts a, a, longer or shorter the
fastening produced by the interlocking of their tongues p, p, with the upper casing
or with the staples may be placed at any desired point of the length of the lid or
cover, and each bolt may be provided with two or more projecting tongues, and all
be operated and locked by one and the same locking device, as above described.
Having now fully described and set forth my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. A clasp or lock consisting of the parts m and n, n, or its equivalent, with
two bolts a, a, suitable spring or springs and projecting pieces x, x, passing through
the case, combined and arranged to operate in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as described.
Second. A clasp and hinge for stone, glass, or imitation bracelets, provided with
projecting pins h, h, inserted into cavities or holes in the ends of the bracelet placed
diagonal to each other, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein
set forth.
Third. A clasp or lock consisting of two bolts a, a, arranged in a suitable case,
each bolt provided with one or more projections or tongues p, p, and projecting
pieces x, x, passing through the sides of the case, springs s, s, and frame F, with
projecting parts r, r, in combination with a revolving plate or disk H provided
with two projections t, t, arranged to operate in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as described.
Fourth. The revolving plate H turning on a central pin G attached to a frame F
in combination with a sliding projection r¹ attached to the frame F and provided
with a pointed end or nose 3 fitting into corresponding recesses in the periphery of
the revolving plate H, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adolph William Magerhans, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
ADOLPH WILLIAM MAGERHANS. (L.S.)
Witness,
HENRY E. ROEDER,
Patent Agent,
304, Broadway,
New York,
America.