IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS, SOLITAIRES, SLEEVE LINKS, STUDS, AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS AND ORNAMENTS.
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS. PATENT to Martin Lowenstein, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Manufacturing Jeweller, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BUTTONS, SOLITAIRES, SLEEVE LINKS, STUDS, AND OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS
AND ORNAMENTS.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Lowenstein at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th September 1878.
"
MARTIN LOWENSTEIN, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturing
Jeweller. IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS, SOLITAIRES, SLEEVE LINKS, STUDS, AND.
OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS AND ORNAMENTS.”
My Invention has reference to buttons, solitaires, studs, and other like articles of
the kind, described, represented, and claimed in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to Emil Neupert on the 24th day of January 1876, No. 276, and to buttons
and other dress fastenings and ornaments of like construction.
My said Invention consists in constructing the said buttons, solitaires, and other
like articles in the manner herein-after described, whereby the fastening of the
button or solitaire to the article of dress is effected with great facility, and the
fastening is made very secure.
My Invention consists principally in constructing the inner or back part of the
button or solitaire by which it is connected to the article of dress.
In the patented button or solitaire before referred to the fastening is effected by
means of an oval-shaped bar turning on the inner end of the oval shank of the
button or solitaire, the said oval bar being made to cross the button or eyelet hole
in the dress to fasten the button or solitaire, and being made to coincide with and
lie upon the end of the oval shank in order to unfasten the button or solitaire.
Instead of making the back fastening bar in one piece I make the back fastening
bar in two pieces, constructed and used in the following manner:-According to my
Invention I make at the inner end of the oval shank of the button or solitaire a
.מ

page_text: fixed semicircular or semi-elliptical (or other shaped) bar, the said bar being situated
at right angles to the said shank, and forming a hook-like termination to the said
shank. In front of the said fixed hook-like bar of the shank is a second bar of the
same configuration, and capable of motion upon the first-named or fixed bar. This
moveable bar by being turned through a semicircle can either be made to lie closely
upon the first-named or fixed bar, or be turned from off the said fixed bar. When
in the first-named position the two bars consitute a compound hook-like termination
of the oval stem of the button or solitaire, and when the moveable bar is turned
from off the fixed bar a nearly complete circular or elliptical disc is formed at the
back of the shank of the button or solitaire. The moveable bar described is fixed
on an angular axis, which is pressed upon by springs essentially in the manner
described in the Specification of the Patent before referred to, the said springs
maintaining the moveable bar in one or other of the two positions described; or the
moveable bar is fixed in the manner herein-after described.
In fastening the button, solitaire, or other article to the cuff, wristband, or other
article of dress, the moveable bar at the back of the shank is made to lie upon the
fixed bar of the shank, and the compound hook-like termination to the shank is
passed through the button or eyelet hole and hooked thereto by the said hook-like
termination. This compound hook-like termination serves to hold the button or
solitaire securely in its place while the complete fastening is being effected. Having
thus hooked the button or solitaire to the button hole, the front or head of the
button or solitaire is turned through a semicircle. By this motion the moveable bar
of the compound hook described at the back of the shank is turned from off the
fixed foot bar so as to make the said moveable bar cross the button hole on the side
opposite that at which the fixed hook bar is situated. The button or solitaire is thus
fastened very securely to the dress. To unfasten the button or solitaire the front or
head of the button or solitaire is turned through a semicircle, so as to cause the
moveable hook bar to lie upon the fixed.hook bar of the shank. The compound
hook-like end of the shank can now be withdrawn from the button hole, and the
button or solitaire detached.
Instead of fixing the moveable hook bar of the shank in its fastening and
unfastening positions respectively by means of springs pressing on opposite sides
of an angular axis, the following arrangement of parts may be used for the same
purpose:-
The head or front shell of the button or solitaire to which the axis of the move-
able hook bar is secured is furnished with two spring tongues, the free ends of which
press upon a disc fixed to the open front of the oval shank of the button or solitaire.
When the moveable hook bar is in either its fastening or unfastening position the
free ends of the two spring tongues are situated opposite and snap into the open end
of the shank, and firmly hold the hook bar in the position to which it has been
brought.
When the head or front of the button or solitaire is turned for fastening or
unfastening it, the free ends of the spring tongues are lifted from the open end of
the shank, and when the said head has been moved through a semicircle the
spring tongues again lock the fastening by snapping into the open end of the said
shank.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Martin Lowenstein in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th March
1879,
MARTIN LOWENSTEIN, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturing
Jeweller. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS, SOLITAIRES, SLEEVE LINKS, STUDS, AND
OTHER DRESS FASTENINGS AND ORNAMENTS."
My said Invention consists in constructing the said buttons, solitaires, and other
like articles in the manner herein-after described, whereby the fastening of the
button or solitaire to the article of dress is effected with great facility, and the
fastening is made very secure.
My Invention consists principally in constructing the inner or back part of the
button or solitaire by which it is connected to the article of dress.
My Invention has reference to those kinds of buttons, solitaires, and other like
articles in which the fastening as ordinarily constructed consists of an oval-shaped
plate or bar on the inner end of the oval shank of the button or solitaire, the said
plate or bar being made to cross the button or eyelet hole in the dress to fasten the
button or solitaire, and being made to coincide with and lie upon the end of the oval
shank in order to unfasten the button or solitaire.
Instead of making the back fastening plate or bar in one piece, I make the back
fastening plate or bar in two pieces, constructed and used in the following
manner:
According to my Invention I make at the inner end of the oval shank of the'
button or solitaire a fixed semicircular or semi-elliptical (or other shaped) plate or
bar, the said plate or bar being situated at right angles to the said shank, and.
forming a hook-like termination to the said shank. In front of the said fixed hook-
like plate or bar of the shank is a second plate or bar of the same configuration as
and capable of motion upon the first-named or fixed plate or bar. This moveable
plate or bar by being turned through a semicircle can either be made to lie closely
upon the first-named or fixed plate or bar, or be turned from off the said fixed plate;
or bar.
When in the first-named position the two plates or bars constitute a compound,
hook-like termination to the oval stem or shank of the button or solitaire, and when
the moveable plate or bar is turned from off the fixed plate or bar a nearly com-
plete circular or elliptical disc is formed at the back of the shank of the button or
solitaire, and the latter is fixed to the article of dress.
The moveable plate or bar described is fixed by spring tongues or by springs
pressing on the axis of the said plate or bar in one or other of the two positions.
described, as herein-after more particularly explained.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my Invention is carried into effect.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation and Figure 2 vertical sections, the two sec-
tional views being taken at right angles to one another, and Figure 3 a back.
elevation of a solitaire of the kind described containing my improvements, the com-.
pound hook-like termination to the shank being in its unfastening position; Figure 4
represents a side elevation and Figure 5 a back elevation of the said solitaire with.
the compound hook-like termination in its fastening position. The other Figures.
represent parts of the solitaire detached and modifications of the same, as herein-
after explained.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.

page_text: a is the front or head of the solitaire, and b is the elliptical or oval or angular
shank of the same. At the inner end of the said oval shank b is a fixed nearly
semicircular plate or bar c, made in one piece with the said shank. The said plate
or bar c is situated at right angles to the shank b, and forms a hook-like termination
thereto; d is the second hook-like plate or bar of the same configuration as and
capable of motion upon the fixed plate or bar c. The moveable. plate or bar & can
either be made to lie closely upon the fixed plate or bar c, as illustrated in Figures
1, 2, and 3, or be turned from off the said fixed plate or bar, as illustrated in Figures
4 and 5. When the two plates or bars c and d are in the positions Figures 1, 2,
and 3, they form a compound hook-like termination to the stem or shank b, and
when in the positions Figures 4 and 5 they form a nearly complete circular disc to
the back of the shank. The shank 6 is represented in section in Figure 6, and with
its fixed hook plate or bar c¹ in plan of upper side in Figure 7, and elevation in
Figure 8. The said shank b is made in two parts or halves, marked respectively.b
and 62 in the elevation and plan Figure 9. The half 6 of the shank carries at the
top the hook-like termination c, and at its bottom the nearly semicircular flange b³.
The other half 62 of the shank has at its bottom a similar shaped flange 6 to that
on the bottom of the half b. The half 6 of the shank is made from the blank repre-
sented in Figure 10, and the other half 62 is made from the blank represented in
Figure 11. The two parts b,6%, of the shank are connected together by closing the
ends or edges of the said parts upon one another, so as to dispense with soldering.
When thus connected together an oval shank is made, having an open bottom
marked m (see Figure 6), a circular disc 63, 64, at its base, and a hook-like plate or
bar c at its top.
Fastened to the back face of the head a of the button or solitaire by rivets or
otherwise is a circular shell or socket e (shown separately in Figure 12), in the face
of which the circular base or disc 63, 64, of the shank fits. This shell or socket e,
when the head a is rotated, works upon the fixed disc 63, 6%, of the shank. The
moveable hook-like termination or plate d is connected to the socket e on the head
a, and the said plated is fixed in its fastening and unfastening positions respectively
in the following manner:-The moveable hook-like plate or bar d is shown
separably in Figure 13. It is provided with an axis f, which is passed through a
hole c² in the plate, or hook-like termination c on the shank b, and through the
shank itself. The inner end of the axis fis passed through a hole in the socket e
and. also through a hole in a disc g placed on the inner side of the said socket, and
the said axis fis then clinched on the inside of the said disc g. The head a, socket e,
disc g, and plate or bar d are thus connected together, so that on rotating the head a
(the shank b being prevented from rotating by the eyelet hole into which it is
placed), the moveable plate or bar or hook-like termination d is carried with it.
The disc g on the inner side of the shell or socket e is furnished with two spring
tongues h, h. This disc with its spring tongues is represented separately in Figure
14, and the blank from which it is made is represented in Figure 15. The shell or
socket e in combination with the disc g carrying the spring tongues h is represented
in plan in Figure 16. Slots i, i, are made in the shell e, through which the free
ends of the spring tongues h, h, project, and press during each semi-rotation of the 4
head a upon the under side of the disc 63, 64, at the open end of the oval shank b.
Instead of making the spring tongues h, h, out of a separate disc, they may be
made in one piece with the shell or socket e, as represented in section and plan in
Figure 17.
When the moveable hook plate or bar d is either in its fastening position (Figures 5
4 and 5) or in its unfastening position (Figures 1, 2, and 3), the free ends of the
two spring tongues h, h, are situated opposite and snap into the open end m of the
shank b, and firmly hold the hook plate or bar d in the position to which it has
been brought. When the head a of the button or solitaire is turned for fastening or
unfastening it, the free ends of the spring tongues h, h, are lifted from the open end 5
of the oval shank b, and when the said head has been moved through a semicircle

page_text: the said spring tongues again lock the fastening by snapping into the open end of
the shank.
In fastening the button, solitaire, or other article to the cuff, wristband, or other
article of dress the moveable plate or bar d at the back of the shank is made to lie
upon the fixed plate or bar c of the shank, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and
the compound hook-like termination c, d, to the shank is passed through the button
or eyelet hole, and hooked thereto by the said hook-like termination. This com-
pound hook-like termination serves to hold the button or solitaire securely in its
place while the complete fastening is being effected. Having thus hooked the
button or solitaire to the button hole, the front or head a of the button or solitaire
is turned through a semicircle, the oval shank b remaining stationary in the button
or eyelet hole. By this motion the moveable plate or bar d of the compound hook
c, d, at the back of the shank is turned nearly from off the fixed hook plate or bar c
so as to make the said moveable plate or bar cross the button or eyelet hole on the
side opposite that at which the fixed hook plate or bar c is situated, as illustrated
in Figures 4 and 5. The button or solitaire is thus fastened very securely to the
dress. To unfasten the button or solitaire, the front or head a is turned through a
semicircle so as to cause the moveable hook plate or bar d to lie upon the fixed
hook plate or bar e of the shank. The compound hook-like end of the shank can
now be withdrawn from the button hole, and the button or solitaire be detached.
The compound hook-like plate or termination c, d, to the oval shank, constituting
the essential part of my Invention, may be applied to buttons, solitaires, and like
articles in which the moveable hook bar or plate d is fixed in its fastening and
unfastening positions respectively by mechanism differing from that represented.
For example, bow springs in the hollow shank b pressing on opposite sides of an
angular axis, by which the moveable plate or bar is fixed to the head of the button
or solitaire, may be used in place of the spring tongues represented. Or the shank b
may be made slightly elastic by splitting or dividing portions of it near its base,
and the semicircular parts 63, 64, of the shank may be provided with two projections
or studs at opposite points on their inner side, and the face of the shell or socket e
fixed to the front of the button or solitaire may be provided with corresponding
depressions for the projections or studs on the shank parts to snap into. This
arrangement is represented in section in Figure 18, the hook-like termination being
in its unfastening position, and in section partly in elevation in Figure 19, the
hook-like termination being nearly in its fastening position. In the said Figures 18
and 19, 1, are the studs on the shank part, and m, m, the depressions in the shell
part e, into which depressions the studs snap after each semi-rotation of the plate or
bar d, so as to fix the said plate or bar either in its fastening or unfastening
position.
The said arrangements of bow springs and studs are not of my Invention; and in
place of the spring tongues, or bow springs, or studs, other equivalent arrangements
may be substituted therefor.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my
Invention,―
First. The combination with the elliptical or angular shanks of buttons, solitaires,
sleeve links, studs, and other like articles of the kind described, of a compound hook-
like termination marked c and d for fastening and unfastening the button, solitaire,
and like article, the said parts c and d being constructed and combined with the
other parts of the said button, solitaire, and like article, substantially as described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of the parts marked e, i, g, h, b³, and
6*, for fixing the moveable part of the compound hook-like termination of the shank
in its fastening or unfastening position, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly. Constructing the elliptical shank b, its hook-like termination c, and its

page_text: base disc 63, 64, in two parts or halves, in the manner described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, 'the said Martin Lowenstein, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
MARTIN LOWENSTEIN. (L.S.)