IMPROVE- MENTS IN STRAPS FOR WEARING APPAREL
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALEXANDER
SOUTHWOOD STOCKER and CLEMENT HEELEY, of Birmingham, Manufacturers,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of September, in the second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Alexander. Southwood Stocker and Clement Heeley, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Alexander South-
wood Stocker and Clement Heeley, our exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Alexander Southwood Stocker and Clement Heeley, our
exors, adors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STRAPS FOR WEARING APPAREL;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that we, the said Alexander Southwood Stocker and
Clement Heeley, or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner, the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Alexander Stocker and Clement Heeley, do hereby declare the nature of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to modes of making straps by combining plates of
metal with leather or cloth, or other fabric, in such manner that the joints or
connections shall be flexible, and in some cases capable of ready separation;
and, secondly, our Invention relates to other modes of constructing straps.
And in order to give the fullest information in our power, we will proceed
to explain the Drawing hereunto annexed; we would, however, first remark
that we are aware that straps for holding down garments have been before
made by combining metal plates with side picces of leather, cloth, or other
fabrics, but in such cases they have been made by permanently and immoveably
fixing of the plates of metal to the leather, cloth, or other fabrics.
Our Invention does not therefore relate to joining plates of metal generally
to side pieces of leather, cloth, or other suitable fabric, but only relates to such
cases where the side pieces of leather or cloth, or other fabric, are connected
with plates of metal by moveable or flexible joints, whereby greater con-
venience of applying such straps to retain down trousers or other parts of
garments is obtained; and, further, such straps will be found more agreeable
when used or worn than any metal straps heretofore made and used.
b
Figures 1 and 2 shew a plan and edge view of one construction of strap
made according to our Invention. a, a, are the two side pieces of leather,
cloth, or other suitable fabric, which are applied to the trousers or other
garment; b, b, are two plates of metal, which are bent over in such manner as
to embrace the rings c, c, and the plates 6 are fastened to the side pieces a by
rivets, as is clearly shown, or they may be fastened by other means; d is the
plate of metal which comes under the foot, the ends being turned over in such
manner as to embrace the rings c, c; by this means a strong yet flexible strap
is produced, as will readily be understood by examining Figures 1 and 2 of
the Drawing, and it will be seen that there is a slot cut in the plate d, the
object of which is to keep the strap correctly in its place by having a screw in
the boot or shoe, and in such manner that the head will pass through the
larger part of the slot, and when the strap is brought to a central position, the
head of the screw will prevent the strap coming off, and the side pieces a, a,
being fast to the trousers or other garment would prevent the strap coming
into such a position as to allow of the larger part of the slot at e coming

page_text: opposite the head of the screw. Instead of the plate d, a metal wire may
be used, as shewn in Figure 16.
Figures 3 and 4 shew a plan and edge view of another arrangement of strap
differing in some particulars from that above described, but is substantially
the same so far as the movement or flexibility obtained in the joining or con-
necting of the side pieces a, a, and the metal plate d; in the present case the:
rings c are dispensed with, and the plates b, b, pass through slits or openings
formed in the plate d, all which is clearly shewn in the Drawing.
Figures 5 shew another arrangement of strap, which differs from those.
above described, but has like them the same principle of combination in as
much as the flexibility of the joining or connecting of the plate d and the side
pieces a, a, is concerned. In this case the joints between the parts b and the
plate d are hinge joints, as is clearly shewn, and the plate d consists of one.
long plate with parts cut out to form the joints, and the ends of the plates d
are folded down and rivetted in the middle, as is clearly shewn in the
Drawing.
Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 shew another arrangement of strap similar in most
respects to that described at Figures 1 and 2, but in this instance the parts of
the strap are not affixed permanently together, but are readily attached one to
the other, and the plate d is affixed to the under part of the boot or shoe,
and the ends are turned over to form hooks, and it is desirable that the
plate d should be of steel, or of other metal which would have some
elasticity to cause it to press closely on the under side of the shoe or boot, as
is shewn. The rings c are applied by forcing them between the sole and the
ends of the plate d, by which, when once they are applied, they will not come
out by the act of wearing them, but may readily be removed by hand.
Figures 10 and 11 shew a side piece a, in order to explain how a spring
may be applied in order to obtain elasticity lengthwise of the straps; in this
case, in place of the plates 6 being fixed to the side pieces a, they are made
suitable to pass into a case and have coiled springs applied; which will allow
of the elongation of the strap when drawn on, but will readily be contracted
again by the springs, all which will readily be traced in these Figures of the
Drawing. Thus far it will be seen, that although the straps each vary in
some particulars in the detail of their construction, they all have one principle
of action, that of movement and flexibility to the joining or conuecting of the
side pieces a with the plates d; and we would remark that it will be evident
that other means may be resorted to for affixing the parts 6 to the parts a, d,
so long as a similar flexibility is obtained, and the parts may be differently
shaped without departing from the Invention as above described. And we

page_text: :
would remark that we generally make the side pieces a of leather, and the
parts b, c, d, of brass or iron, but other materials and metals may be used.
Another part of our Invention is shewn at Figures 12 and 13, and consists
in applying metal hooks with enlarged barbs or ends to the side pieces a, as is
shewn; and to the boot or shoe we apply a bent plate g with a slot cut
therein, having an enlarged opening at h, into which the barb or enlarged end:
of the hooks can enter, and then be slided in the narrower part of the slot,
and there be held securely, as will readily be understood by examining the.
Drawing at Figures 12 and 13.
Another part of our Invention is shewn at Figures 14 and 15, where two
plates i, i, are affixed to the side pieces a, a, each of them having a slot cut or.
formed therein, and there is to be a screw in the under part of the boot or.
shoe, the head of which will readily pass through the enlarged parts of the
slots, but will not pass through the narrower parts thereof; hence, when once:
the plates i are applied, they will be held securely when being worn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Clement Heeley, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred