Improvements in the Manufacture of Elastic Loops.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Apr., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Elastic Loops.
We, ALFRED EDWARD MATHEWSs, of Northwood House, King's Heath, Birming-
ham, Engineer, and JOHN RICHARD GREEN, of Warstone Lane, Birmingham,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to the articles known as elastic loops which are used to
fasten the collars of loose shirt fronts & for other purposes. An elastic loop is
made by attatching a loop of elastic cord by first knotting the two ends of the
elastic cord together & then passing the loop thus formed through a small hole
in the back part of the button, leaving the knot inside the finished button, our
improvement consists firstly in doing away with the knot, & to accomplish this
we draw the elastic through the hole in the back part of the button leaving the
loose ends inside & then attach the ends together & also to the inside of the back
of the button with glue pitch or any similar substance the button is then finished
in the usual way, this forms a complete substitute for the knot preventing the
elastic pulling out of the button.
Secondly we propose making the button in one piece only & this we accom-
plish by making one or more lips or wings at the side of the front shell of button
which lips or wings are made semicircular at their extreme edges so that when
the said lips are formed over at the back of the shell, they meet together & the
semicircular edges form a small round hole through which the elastic cord passes
& is either glued or knotted as before explained, in the case of one lip only being
used we leave it long enough to alow a small hole being pierced in it to receive the
elastic as before described.
.
1000
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Elastic Loops.
We, ALFRED EDWARD MATTHEWS, of Northwood House, King's Heath, in the
County of Worcester, Machinist, and JOHN RICHARD GREEN, of Warstone Button
Works, Warstone Lane, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Button Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
Our invention relates to the articles known in commerce as elastic loops which
are used to fasten the collars of loose shirt fronts and for other purposes, the said
elastic loops consisting of a loop of elastic cord attached to a button or head.

page_text: In the ordinary manufacture of elastic loops they are made by attaching a loop
of elastic cord to a double shell button by first knotting the two ends of the elastic
cord together and then passing the loop thus formed through a small hole in the
back shell or part of the button leaving the knot inside the back shell, the button
being finished by closing the front shell upon the back shell containing the knot
of the elastic cord.
Our improvements consist principally in doing away with the knot of the
clastic cord and this object we accomplish by drawing the elastic cord through the
hole in the back shell of the button leaving the loose ends of the loop inside the
back shell and then attaching the ends together and also to the inside of the
back shell of the button with glue, pitch or other adhesive substance. Or the two
ends only of the loop may be glued or secured together by an adhesive material
forming a head within the back shell. The button is then finished in the usual
way. By this method of manufacture there is provided a perfect substitute for
the ordinary knot used for preventing the elastic cord being pulled out of the
button.
Our invention consists further in making the button to which the elastic cord
is attached in one piece or one shell only, and this we accomplish by making two
lips or wings at opposite sides of the shell which is to constitute the front of the
button which lips or wings are notched or made semi-circular at their extreme
cdg s so that when the said lips or wings are closed over at the back of the shell
they meet and the semi circular notches form a small circular hole through which
the ends of the elastic cord pass and are either glued together or glued together
and to the crossing back wings or are knotted thereto.
Instead of two wings or lips one lip or wing only may be used on the front shell.
In this case the single lip or wing is of a length sufficient to cross the back of the
shell, a small hole being pierced in its middle to receive the elastic cord as before
described.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents partly in elevation and partly
in section an elastic loop made in the ordinary way, that is, with the elastic cord
secured to the button by a knot. In the said Figure 1, a is the elastic cord secured
to the back shell of the two shell button b, c by the knot d, which is passed into
the said back shell b in the manner hereinbefore described. The front shell c is
closed upon the back shell b after the knot has been passed into the said back
shell to complete the button.
In making an elastic loop according to one part of our invention we take an
unknotted piece of elastic cord, double it and draw or pass its loose ends through
the hole in the back shell b so that the loose ends of the elastic cord a project
inside the said back shell as represented in Figure 2; Figure 3 represents the
perforated back shell separately. We next attach the projecting loose ends of the
elastic corda together and to the inside of the back shell preferably by means
of melted glue applied by a brush to the said ends of the elastic cord and to the
bottom of the shell so as to embed the said ends in the glue. On the cooling
and solidifying of the glue the looped elastic cord is attached to the back shell
as represented in section in Figure 4 and plan in Figure 5, where the solidified
glue in which the loose ends of the cord are embedded is marked e. The elastic
cord is thus prevented from being pulled out of the shell and the ordinary
knotting of the ends of the elastic cord dispensed with.
Instead of attaching the loop of elastic cord to the back shell by glueing the
ends of the loop together and to the back shell as represented in the drawing, the
ends only of the loop may be glued together within the back shell. In this case,
the solidified glue at the connected ends of the loop forms a head which prevents
the loop being pulled out of the button.
The button of the elastic cord is finished in the ordinary way by closing the
front shell upon the back shell 6 to which the elastic cord is attached, as repre-
sented in Figure 6.
Instead of employing glue by which to attach the loose ends of the elastic cord

page_text: together and to the back shell, pitch or other adhesive material may be employed
such for example as a strong solution of shellac in alcohol or wood naphtha.
In making the button of the elastic loop of a single piece or shell we provide
the shell to form the front of the button with side lips or wing pieces at opposite
parts as represented in elevation in Figure 7 and cross section through the two
wing pieces in Figure S. The ends of the wing pieces i, i are notched or made semi-
circular at f so that when the lips or wing pieces are closed in opposite direc-
tions over the back of the shell they meet at the middle of the said shell and
form a crossing bridge piece at the back of the shell as represented in Figure 9,
the notched or semi-circular ends f of the said bridge piece forming a circular
hole for the passing through it of the elastic cord.
Instead of using two wings to the single shell button, a single long wing per-
forated at its middle with a hole may be employed as represented in elevation
in Figure 10 and section in Figure 11 where the long wing is marked g and the
perforation Figure 12 represents the finished button after the long perforated
wing g has been closed over the back of the shell.
Figure 13 represents a button of the kind represented in Figure 9 to which
the elastic cord has been fastened by knotting the end of the said cord; or the
loose ends of an unknotted elastic cord may be passed through the hole in the
bridge of the button Figure 13 and the said loose ends fixed together and to the
button by glue, pitch or other adhesive matter as described with respect to
Figures 2, 4 and 6.
Figure 14 represents a button of the kind represented in Figure 12 to which
the loose ends of an elastic cord a have been fixed by glue or pitch. A knotted
elastic cord may however be fixed to this kind of button. In this case the un-
knotted portion of the cord is threaded through the hole in the single wing before
or after the said wing is closed upon the back of the shell so as to leave a knot
in the inside of the shell.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim as our invention of "improvements in the manufacture of elastic loops
First Attaching the loop of elastic cord to the button or head of the elastic
loop by passing or threading the loose ends of the unknotted loop of elastic cord
through the hole in the back shell of the button or head and securing together
the said loose ends of the loop projecting inside the back shell and to the said
back shell or securing together the loose ends of the loop alone inside the back
shell by means of glue, pitch or other adhesive material substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying
drawing.
Secondly; Attaching the loop of elastic cord to a button or head consisting
of a single shell provided with one or more side lips or wings closed upon the
back of the shell and crossing the button in the direction of a diameter the said
crossing part of the button or head being furnished with a hole for the passage
through it of the loop of elastic cord which may be fixed to the button or head
either by a knot or by glue, pitch or other adhesive material substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 7 to 14 both inclusive of the
accompanying drawing.
D
1
011... & 1908
ALFRED EDWARD MATTHEWS,
JOHN RICHARD GREEN.