Year: 1887

page_text: Clans
I, JEAN SCHERBEL, of Dresden, Saxony, but at present of De Keyser's Royal
Hotel, Blackfriars, in the City of London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of
this Invention to be as follows :-
According to this invention the fastener is made of sheet steel or other suitable sheet
metal formed of a slightly concave or wavy section and along two opposite edges
provided with teeth the points or outer parts of which are bent downward and slightly
inward and are made to enter the leather or other material of which the belt or strap
is made and when required clenched on the under side. These fasteners are con-
veniently made out of long strips or of the length of the sheet, and the curved or wavy
shape is imparted thereto by rolling or stamping, the teeth being by preference cut out
by stamping. When the two abutting ends of the strap are placed on an anvil and
the fastener put over the joint, a hammer is brought down upon it (which may be
done by treadle gear) whereby the curved back of the fastener is flattened down, and
the teeth by the same blow made to enter both ends of the strap in a direction slanting
towards each other. If the teeth are made long enough to be clenched I form the
anvil with two spring slides which are recessed into it and which are pushed forward
so as to turn over or clench the teeth ends.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Belt or Strap Fasteners and in Apparatus
relating thereto.
1, JEAN SCHERBEL, of Dresden, Saxony, but at present of De Keyser's Royal
Hotel, Blackfriars, in the City of London, Merchant, 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 communication to me
from abroad by Teodor Remus, of Dresden, Saxony, Engineer) :-
According to this invention the fastener as shown on the accompanying drawings by
Figures 1 and 2, in side elevation and cross section respectively, is made of sheet steel
or other suitable sheet metal and formed of a concave or wavy section at a and along
two opposite edges provided with teeth b, the points or outer parts of which are bent
downward and slightly inward projecting somewhat below the level of the lowest part
of the curved part a, and are made to enter the leather or other material of which the
belt or strap is made and when required clinched on the underside or bent inward as
shown at Figure 6.
These fasteners are conveniently made out of long strips or of the length of the sheet,
and the curved or wavy shape is imparted thereto by rolling or stamping, the teeth
being by preference cut out by stamping.
Figure 8 is a cross section and Figure 9 a front. elevation partly in section of an
apparatus which is used for applying these belt fasteners.
When the two abutting ends of the strap are placed on the slides B on the anvil A
and the fastener put over the joint, so that the rows of teeth are at equal distances from
the ends of the belt as shown in cross section in Figures 3 and 8, the hammer F which
moves on guides E is brought down upon it (which may be done by treadle gear).
The sharpened points of the teeth 6 of fastener enter the leather but the wider parts of
the teeth pass through it without materially disturbing its fibres and thus weakening
its strength, the strap ends being kept in place by two rows of pins D which go through
slots in the slides B and with their points project slightly above the surface of said
slides and into the leather. The teeth do not alter their angular position with regard
to the curved part a until the latter touches the upper surface of the strap or belt,
which position is shown by Figure 4, but when this stage is arrived at and the pressure
or impact on the fastener being still continued the curved part a will be stretched or
more straightened so as to assume the form or position shown in Figure 5. The points
of the teeth b will thereby naturally approach each other until the curved part a of the
fastener is quite flattened down as shown in Figure 6 where the points of the teeth by
contact with the anvil glide off against it and are curved inwards or clinched and the
ends of the belt are as shown securely joined.
If the teeth ends are to be clinched after having been forced through the underside
of the belting as shown in Figure 7 (and not clinched during or towards the end of

page_text: the process just above described) which mode of fastening is preferable for joining
thick or web belting the slides B are slided back to the position shown by dotted lines
in Figure 8 thus leaving a space on each side of the central feather C. The hammer F
is for the purpose of this second mode of clinching first brought down on the fastener
so as to leave it in the position shown in Figure 7. The sliding plates B are now
pushed forward to their previous position up against the feather C and pressure is
again applied by the hammer F so as to turn over or clinch the teeth ends.
Instead of the flat anvil I may use one with a slightly V shaped recess or double
incline the strap ends meeting at the bottom of such recessed part, whereby the end
parts of the belt are brought nearer together.
As compared with other metal belt fasteners this one has the following advantages.
Firstly. Owing to the flexibility of the fastener and there being no inequalities in
the belt when said fastener is used to join the latter, thero will be no jerk in the motion
of the pulley when the joined part of the belt passes over same.
Secondly. The pliability of the belt is not limited in the least as it can adapt itself
to the smallest curves without prejudice to the holding power of the fastener.
. Thirdly. The fastener lies so close to the belt that nothing can be caught by it thus
avoiding accidents which frequently happen when the fastening projects above the
surface of the belt.
Fourthly. The fastening or joint possesses very great strength.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim as the
invention communicated to me is :
1. A strap or belt fastener made of sheet steel or other suitable metal and consisting
of a concave middle part or body a formed with teeth 6 along two opposite sides, so
constructed and applied that by means of blow or pressure the part a is flatttened down
on the strap while the teeth points first pierce the surface and then penetrate into the
strap and while so doing gradually assume a more inclined direction towards each other
and finally are bent round or clinched substantially as described.
2. The apparatus for applying metallic belt or strap fasteners consisting of an
anvil A with recessed sliding plates B and provided with pointed pins D substantially
as described.