Improvements in Garment Hooks.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 1st Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Garment Hooks.
I, FRANK EMMERSON DE LONG, of 2032 North Eighteenth Street, in the City
of Philadelphia, County of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of
America, Manufacturer, 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 :-
My invention relates to garment hooks which are made from a single piece of
wire bent to the desired form, and which are employed, in connection with eyes,
for fastening wearing apparel and for kindred purposes; and further relates, and is
especially applicable, to that class of the same in which both the hook and the eye
are intentionally made quite wide, so as to cause them to present a broad bearing
upon or with respect to, and to prevent the puckering of, the material to which
they are applied.
In the use of these hooks, as in the use of the ordinary hooks and eyes, it is a
desideratum to provide as a part or member of the hook itself some device or means
to prevent the accidental or too easy disengagement of the eye.
It is the object of my invention to secure this desirable result, and to such end
my invention comprehends a garment hook formed of a single piece of wire bent to
form a bill, a shank, and thread-eyes, and also bent to embody laterally-disposed,
outwardly-expansible, eye-detaining spring keepers, which are so formed and
disposed relatively to the bill as to perform the function of slightly obstructing
both the engagement and the disengagement of the eye with regard to the hook.
A hook embodying a preferred form of my improvements is represented in the
accompanying drawings, and herein described, the particular subject-matter which
I claim as novel being hereinafter definitely specified.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a top plan view, and Figure 2 a bottom plan view, of a hook
embodying my improvements, and of an eye engaged therewith.
Figure 3 is a right hand side view of the hook as represented in Figure 1, with
the eye shown in section.
Figure 4 is a view in perspective of the hook represented in Figure 1, as it
appears when applied to the edge of a fabric in the ordinary mode of applying the
hook to a garment.
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, representing the position which the parts
occupy during the operation of engaging or disengaging the eye.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
The bill of the hook is formed of a single piece of wire, continuous as the bill-
side-bars a a, in each direction from its apex or point A, conveniently in the form
shown, to the eye-engaging bends a' a', where upon each side it returns upon itself.
so to speak, and passes back to form the shank-side-bars, a' a', which together
constitute the shank portion of the hook, and which at the rear are respectively
bent to form thread-eyes a*, which may be either in the form represented or in any
other preferred form, from which the wires are then carried forward along the
outside of, in substantial parallelism with, and generally in the plane of the shank-
side-bars a², to form what I term spring-base-bars a³ a³, which continue to a point
short of, or slightly to the rear of, the eye-engaging bends a' of the hook, and are
at such point bent upwardly in the bends a, with a curvature that may be made
generally correspondent to that of said bends, and are then extended backward as
the eye-detaining spring keepers at a', along the bill-side-bars, upon the respective
outside sides of said bars, to a point beyond the point where said bill-side-bars
curve, as shown, inwardly toward each other, to merge into each other in the region

page_text: of the apex or point of the bill, and as to their portions which are so extended,
are preferably Hared or turned slightly outward, and are also preferably folded or
bent back upon themselves to form the folds a³.
In the application of the eye B to a hook embodying the foregoing construction,
the eye is intentionally of a width but slightly in excess of that of the bill so that
it fits said bill quite closely, and, in its application to it, is caused first to pass over
-its apex, and then, as it is drawn further along, is caused to encounter the spring-
keepers, with the result of occasioning their lateral spreading apart or expansion,
until, in its further movement, it passes beyond them, and seats itself in the eye-
engaging bends of the hook, and is retained in place by the bends as of the keepers,
and can only be disengaged by the exercise of such slight force as will again occasion
the opposite springing out of the spring-keepers.
In practice, the form of the spring-guard-bars may be varied, but it is preferable
that they should be so inclined outwardly at their outer portions as to present, in
connection with the inward inclining of the bill-bars, tapering or flaring throats, s0
to speak, into which the eye is easily guided.
The breadth of the hook as an entirety is dependent upon the distance apart of
the side-bars, and may be varied according to the lateral extent or breadth of
bearing which it is desired that the hook shall possess. Thus the distance may be
less or greater than that represented in the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
⚫ claim is :
1. A hook formed, substantially as set forth, of a single piece of wire bent to
form a bill, a shank, thread-eyes, and the oppositely-disposed, outwardly-expansible
eye-detaining spring-keepers, hereinbefore described.
2. A hook for garments, having the usual bill, shank, and thread-eyes, and having
the wire forming the eye extended substantially parallel with and adjacent to the
bill, and its outer portion curved and adapted to be deflected away from the bill,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. A hook provided with two members structurally independent of the bill but
existing in close proximity to the respective sides of it, curved at their outer
portions to diverge from the bill, and free to be deflected away from it, substantially
as and for the purposes set forth.
4. A hook formed of a piece of wire bent to form a shank and a bill, portions of
which wire extend along the shank, at a point between the eye-engaging bends and
the bill apex are curved upward and extended along the outside of the bill, and at
their outer portions are bent away therefrom, substantially as and for the purposes
⚫ set forth.
Dated this 20th day of January A.D. 1893.