Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 7th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 9th Mar., 1889
1 JOHN JENKIN CLARKE of the firm of J. J. Clarke Son and Company of Nos. 93
and 94 Broad Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists First in preventing the outer edges of the steel busks of corsets
I take
from cutting or injuring the corset. This I effect in the following manner.
the steel busk after it has been covered in the usual way and I cover one or both
edges of the said busk with an edging or protecting shield or pad made preferably of
the same kind of material as that of which the corset is made but cloth or other woven
material may be used. The strip of fabric to form the edging or protecting shield or
pad is pressed against and made to embrace the opposite sides of the edges of the steel
busk and is attached thereto either by glue paste or other adhesive material. This
part of my invention may be applied to busks composed of one or more strips or pieces
of steel. My invention consists secondly in preventing the accidental unfastening of
the stud part of corset fastenings from the eye part of the said fastenings in the ways
herein after described.
A corset fastening consists of strips of steel or busks attached to the edges of the
corset one strip or busk carrying a series of headed studs and the other strip or busk
carrying a series of eyes each eye part having in it a hole or piercing of larger
diameter at its inner than at its outer end. Through the larger part of the hole the
head of the stud passes in order to engage its shank with the smaller part of the hole.
In order to prevent the stem of the stud passing accidentally out of the smaller part
of the hole in the eye part of the fastening I contract the passage to the said smaller
part by means of two spring tongues made from portions of the sides of the larger part
of the hole, the free ends of the said spring tongues being turned inwards and towards
one another so as to offer an elastic resistance to the passage of the stud from the
smaller part to the larger part of the hole in the eye part of the fastening. When
the head of the stud is passed into the larger part of the hole and drawn towards the
smaller part of the hole its stem bears against the ends of the spring tongues which

page_text: re thereby pushed aside or separated. After the stem has passed into the smaller
part of the hole the spring tongues return to their normal positions and offer consider-
able resistance to the passage of the stud from the smaller to the larger part of the
ole and thereby prevent the accidental unfastening of the corset.
The same object may be obtained by soldering a wire spring to the back of the eye
part of the fastening the said wire spring having such a configuration that portions
near its free ends slightly obstruct the passage from the larger to the smaller part of
the hole in the said eye part so that the stud in passing into or out of the smaller part
of the hole has to slightly separate the free ends of the wire spring. Or the eye part
itself may be made elastic for the same purpose. In this arrangement the part of the
eye beyond the smaller part of the hole is provided with a longitudinal slit or incision
so as to convert the eye into two spring jaws. The passage between the two portions
of the hole in the eye is made so small that the spring jaws must open slightly before
the stem of the stud can pass into or out of the smaller part of the said hole. By this
arrangement considerable resistance is offered to the passage of the stem of the stud
out of the smaller part of the hole and hence the accidental unfastening of the corset
is prevented.

page_text: I JOHN JENKIN CLARKE of the firm of J. J. Clarke Son and Company of Nos. 93
and 94 Broad Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby
declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed.
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
-
My invention consists First in preventing the outer edges of the steel busks of
corsets from cutting or injuring the corset. This I effect in the following manner.
I
take the steel busk after it has been covered in the usual way and I cover one or both
edges of the said busk with an edging or protecting shield or pad made preferably of
the same kind of material as that of which the corset is made but cloth or other woven
material may be used. The strip of fabric to form the edging or protecting shield or
pad is pressed against and made to embrace the opposite sides of the edges of the steel
busk and is attached thereto either by glue paste or other adhesive material.
This part of my invention is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying
Drawing Figure 1 representing a front elevation and Figure 2 a cross section of a
covered steel busk the outer edges of which are covered with an edging or
protecting shield or pad marked a according to my invention. It will be seen by
an examination of Figure 2 that each edging or protecting shield or pad a 15-
formed of a strip of fabric the edges of which are folded inwards upon the strip
so as to give a double thickness to the strip at its edges. This strip being folded.
along its middle is pressed against and made to embrace the edge of the steel
busk band is attached thereto by glue paste or other adhesive material.
Instead of protecting both edges of the steel busk one edge only may be protected.
according to my invention.
This part of my invention may be applied to busks composed of one or more strips
of steel and to busks of various kinds.
My invention consists Secondly in preventing the accidental unfastening of the stud
part of corset fastenings from the eye part of the said fastenings in the ways hereinafter
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
A corset fastening consists of strips of steel or busks attached to the edges of
the corset, one strip or busk carrying a series of headed studs and the other strip or
busk carrying a series of eyes, each eye part having in it a hole or piercing of
larger diameter at its inner than at its outer end. Through the larger part of the
hole the head of the stud passes in order to engage its shank with the smaller
part of the hole. In order to prevent the stem of the stud passing accidentally
out of the smaller part of the hole in the eye part of the fastening I contract the
passage to the said smaller part by means of two spring tongues made from portions
of the sides of the hole the free ends of the said spring tongues being turned
inwards and towards one another so as to offer an elastic resistance to the passage
of the stud from the smaller part to the larger part of the hole in the eye part of
the fastening. When the head of the stud is passed into the larger part of the hole
and drawn towards the smaller part of the hole its stem bears against the ends of the

page_text: spring tongues which are thereby pushed asido or separated. After the stem has
passed into the smaller part of the hole the spring tongues return to their normal
positions and offer considerable resistance to the passage of the stem from the smaller
to the larger part of the hole and thereby prevent the accidental unfastening of the
corset.
Figures 3 and 4 represent corset fastenings made according to my invention drawn
to a large scale, c being the eye part on the strip or busk c and d the stud on the
other part 2 of the fastening.
e and
In the fastening represented in Figure 3 the two spring tongues are marked
are made from portions of the sides of the larger portion of the hole in the eye part c
of the fastening and in the fastening represented in Figure 4 the spring tongues e, e
are made by piercing out the metal near the sides of the hole f so as to produce the
said spring tongues. It will be seen by an examination of the drawing that the spring
tongues ee contract the passage to the smaller hole in the eye and offers an elastic
resistance to the passage of the stem of the stud d from one part of the hole in the eye
to the other part for the purpose and as hereinbefore fully explained.
The same object may be obtained by soldering or otherwise fixing a wire spring to
the back of the eye part of the fastening the said wire spring having such a configura-
tion that portions near its free ends slightly obstruct the passage from the larger to
the smaller part of the hole in the said eye part so that the stud in passing into or out
of the smaller part of the hole has to slightly separate the free ends of the wire spring.
This part of my invention is represented in plan of upper side in Figure 5; plan of
underside in Figure 6 and side elevation in Figure 7, where the wire spring is
marked 9 and the parts near the free ends of the wire spring which parts obstruct
the passage from the larger to the smaller part of the hole in the eye c, are
marked The action of this modification is the same as that of the arrangements
represented in Figures 3 and 4.
-
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that
I claim as my invention of "Improvements in and fastenings for corsets"
:-
First Preventing the edges of the steel busks of corsets from cutting or injuring
the corsets by covering one or both edges of the said busks with an edging or
protecting shield or pad substantially as herein before described and illustrated in
Figures I and 2 of the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly Preventing the accidental unfastening of the stud part of corset fastenings
from the eye part of the said fastenings by contracting the passage to the smaller part
of the hole in the eye part of the fastening by spring tongues made from the eye part
of the fastening as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the
accompanying Drawing; also attaching a wire spring to the back of the eye part of
the fastening for the same purpose as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the accompanying Drawing.
Dated the Fifth day of February 1880