Improvements in Fastenings or Holders for Lacing Gloves, Shoes, or other similar Articles, or for other purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1890-Accepted, 20th Dec., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fastenings or Holders for Lacing Gloves, Shoes, or
other similar Articles, or for other purposes.
A communication from abroad by FRANKLIN SCOTT MCKENNEY, of Detroit,
State of Michigan, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Man-
chester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 has for its object an improved fastening for lacing gloves, shoes
and analogous articles, and for other purposes to which it is found adapted, and it
consists in the devices and appliances hereinafter specified and claimed and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings, in which, for purposes of illustration, the invention
is shown in Figure 1 as applied to a glove.
Figure 2 is a separate view of the blank of which the improved fastening is
constructed.
Figure 3 is a modification of the same showing the tongue of the blank turned
over to form a loop.
Figure 4 is a view showing said tongue bent partially over to form a hook.
Figure 5 is a cross section through one of the fastenings and the material to
which it is secured.
Figure 6 is a similar view showing the fastening constructed with a hook instead
of a loop.
Figure 7 is an inverted plan showing the location of the base plate upon the
inside of the glove.
Figure 8 is a view from the opposite side showing the outline of the base plate in
dotted lines.
Figure 9 is a section on the line a―x, Figure 5.
The improvement, as will be seen, is adapted for a concealed fastening, or it may
be projected through the material upon which it is employed, either in the form of
a loop or as a hook, as may be desired.
The application of the invention to a glove is shown herewith, for the purposes
of illustration, it being, however, adapted for a variety of uses.
As so illustrated, A, represents the fastening and B a glove to which it is applied.
The blank, Figure 2, from which the fastening is constructed, consists essentially
of a base plate A¹ and a tongue A2, the base plate being slit at the sides of the
tongue to allow the tongue to set back of the edge of the base plate, as shown.
The base plate may or may not be slotted or perforated as shown at Z, Z1, Z2,
whereby the fastening may be secured upon the glove or other material desired.
For various purposes, where a loop is desired, the tongue may be bent over and
back to form a loop a³, the tongue being turned over and back in a direction
opposite to that occupied in the blank. For various other purposes, where a hook
is required, the tongue is bent over and backward in the same direction as in the
formation of the loop, only not as far as to form a loop, but leaving the free end of
the tongue open to constitute the hook a*.
The difference in forming a loop or a hook, it is evident, is only one of degree, as
it depends only upon the extent to which the tongue is bent over, the principle of
construction being the same.
The tongue may be variously shaped within the scope of the invention, depending

page_text: upon the use to which the fastening is to be put. When the tongue is intended to
form a hook, the extremity thereof is rounded, as shown in full lines, Figure 2.
When the blank is designed for a loop, the tongue may be formed straight, as shown
in dotted lines, Figure 2.
That portion of the loop or hook forming a bearing for the lacing cord, as at a³,
is preferably bent into concave-convex form to afford a rounded surface to lessen
the friction and wear of the cord.
Where the loop or hook is desired to project through the article, as from the
outer face of the glove, the article may be suitably slit to allow the passage of the
loop or tongue. The leather may be slit at right angles to the edge, the tongue
then inserted and turned at right angles to the slit, and then properly bent over
and back as described. This, it will be seen, will of itself effectually clamp
sufficiently to hold the fastening in place. Attention is called to the fact that, in
so securing the fastening in place, a broad, firm bearing of the fastening upon the
article is secured to stand the strain of the lacing cord thereupon.
The invention is not, however, limited to the particular manner of securing the
fastening upon the glove.
As shown especially in Figures 7 and 9, it will be observed that the two wings as a²
of the base, at either side of the loop or hook, engage the article on the one side
thereof together with the entire body of the said base, while the loop, or hook
engages the article on the opposite side. While there is no disengagement of the
fastening from the article, when it is unlaced, it is apparent also that the stronger
the strain of the lacing cord upon the fastening, the more firmly it is held in place.
The advantages of such a fastening are evident. With but slight modification,
the fastening is adapted both for a loop or a hook. It is simple, economical and
easily applied. The invention contemplates, in some cases, as when applied to a
glove, for example, the application of a series of loops at the lower edges to be
laced, while a series of hooks may be applied along the upper portion of said edges,
as shown in Figure 1.
It is preferred that the edges of the base which extend laterally from the tongue
should be cut straight as shown at a³, in order to form a straight contact with the
folded edge of the glove or other article. It is also preferred that the slits in the
base should diverge at the base of the tongue, as shown, for instance, in Figures 2, 3
and 4, allowing the fastening to more securely engage the article to which it is
applied. It is preferred, furthermore, to construct the tongue and wings, the one
with recesses and the other with corresponding shoulders toward the base thereof,
as shown at Q, to facilitate the firm engagement of the fastening in the article.
In the application of the fastening, the article being slit, at right angles to the
marginal edge, when the fastening is in place, the said recesses or shoulders, it
is evident, will engage the article to unite the two more firmly. This construction
allows the incision in the article to close more nearly together upon the tongue.
It is evident that, by turning over the loop fastening and engaging it to the
binding edge customarily employed in the manufacture of gloves, the fastening
may be entirely concealed when the glove is laced up, as shown in Figure 1,
along the lower edges of the glove. In said Figure 1, concealed fastenings are
shown so secured along the lower portion of the glove to be brought together in
lacing, while, along the upper portion of said edges, exterior lacing hooks E, of
any desired construction, are engaged upon the glove, with which the cord is engaged
in the customary manner.
It is wished that this application of concealed fastenings along a portion of the
distance of the edges of the glove, together with external hooks along the remaining
portions of said edges, should be protected broadly.
Its advantages are apparent. By this means, the lacing remains in permanent
engagement with the fastenings at the lower portions of the edges. The end of the
cord is to be simply pulled up to bring the lower edges together, and the free end is
taken up by roving it about the external hooks.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A fastening for gloves and other articles, consisting of a base provided with
a tongue A2 struck therefrom and with base extensions a6 a7, said tongue and base
extensions formed, the one with marginal shoulders Q, and the other with adjacent
corresponding marginal recesses, substantially as set forth..
2. A fastening for gloves and other articles, consisting of a base provided with a
tongue A2 struck therefrom, and with base extensions as a provided with straight
marginal edges as, the said tongue separated at its edges by a diverging slit, sub-
stantially as set forth.
3. In a lacing, the combination, with an article to be laced, of a series of concealed
fastenings engaged upon opposite edges of the article for a portion of the distance
to be laced, hooks engaged upon said sides for the remaining distance, and a lacing
cord in permanent engagement with said fastenings and passed back and forth about
said hooks when the article is laced up, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of October 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant..