CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR LADIES' DRESSES AND OTHER SUCH LIKE PURPOSES, AS ALSO IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lester John Lewis, Jeweller, of New Bridge Street,
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR LADIES' DRESSES AND OTHER SUCH LIKE
PURPOSES, AS ALSO IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME."
"
Sealed the 29th April 1859, and dated the 29th October 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lester John Lewis at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th October 1858.
I, LESTER JOHN LEWIS, Jeweller, of New Bridge Street, Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "CERTAIN. IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR LADIES DRESSES AND OTHER SUCH
LIKE PURPOSES, 'AS ALSO IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME," to be
as follows, that is to say:-
My improved fastening has for its object flatness of construction, in order
that when-applied for fastening ladies' dresses and such like purposes, the
common process of washing and renovating the garments to which such
fastenings may be applied shall not injure them, either by the beating of the
maid in washing, or the mangle or iron in the process of mangling or ironing
them. And I effect this by allowing the hook to lay on the same plane with
the two side bars, the ends of which are bent into the usual circular form for
fastening them to the garment, and at the spring of the hook the wire of

page_text: which they may be composed is planished or flattened down for receiving the
eye, which is formed somewhat similar to the common eye, with the exception
that the part that passes over the hook and in itself forms the eye, is made
more of a circular shape, the ends of the wire being turned in the reverse
direction, as in the ordinary mode; this part, like the other, is so indented or
planished at the part that comes in contact with the hook, as to allow them
when united to be flat and compact, thereby offering the necessary amount of
resistance to prevent the disengagement of the hook and eye so made when
not desired by the wearer..
And my improvements in the machinery for forming such kinds of hooks
and eyes consists in forming a suitable stand and bed, to which a shaft is fitted
in suitable bearings, for carrying the necessary cams or eccentrics; and on
the bed is fixed two projecting ears, between which a lever is placed working
on a pin or fulcrum that is passed through the ears and through the lever;
the extreme end of this lever stands above the main shaft in connection with
a cam, which causes the lever to rise and fall as the shaft revolves. This lever
I call the planishing lever, because it planishes the hooks and eyes as they are
formed, as well as forming the indentations before described; and I also use
this lever to impress my private or trade mark at the time of planishing; and
on the bed between the ears and underneath the lever last described, sliding
pliers are placed acted on by a cam on the shaft. The extreme end of such
pliers when drawn back leaves a place for the wire to be pushed forward by
regular feed apparatus, and as the shaft revolves, the pliers are pushed forward
into a corresponding part, which is actuated by a connecting rod placed
underneath the bed, and which rod is acted on also by a cam on the shaft.
The meeting of these pliers or parts not only cuts off the wire to the proper
length, but also forms the hook or eye I may be forming, at which time the
main cam will have lifted the lever first described, causing the end to descend
on the hook or eye so formed, and thereby flatten, mark, and indent the same;
and by a continuation of the revolution of the shaft, the planishing end of the
lever will rise from the hook or eye on which it has operated, and the pliers
will open and allow the hook or eye to fall between them into a receiver
below in a finished state. But in order to give the true form to such hooks
and eyes, I apply simultaneous lateral pressure, which bends them into the
'desired shape; this lateral pressure I obtain from two suitably formed levers
working horizontally on two perpendicular pins or fulcrums fixed on the bed,
the long end of each lever being forced out right and left by horizontal cams
also fixed on the main shaft, helical or other suitable springs being used to
keep the ends of the levers against the cams. Thus the regular and con-

page_text: tinuous revolution of the shaft by any mechanical agency will bring the several
parts into the progressive action necessary for cutting off, forming, planishing,
and delivering the hooks or eyes thus formed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed,
by the said Lester John Lewis in the Great Seal Patent Office on.
the 29th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LESTER.
JOHN LEWIS, Jeweller, of New Bridge Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and 'grant unto me,
the said Lester John Lewis, Her special license that I, the said Lester
John Lewis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Lester John Lewis, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FASTENINGS FOR LADIES' DRESSES AND OTHER
SUCH LIKE PURPOSES, AS ALSO IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Lester John Lewis, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
"
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Lester John Lewis, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
My Invention consists, first, in a particular form of hook and eye, and in
the mode of treating them, in order that they shall lie in close contact when
applied to dresses, and not be subject to the voluntary disengagements that
other hooks and eyes are subject to while in use

page_text: And, secondly, in the machinery for forming, planishing, marking, and,
indenting such hooks and eyes, which consists of a bed or table piece, best
formed of cast iron, fitted to a suitable stand of wood, iron, or other suitable,
material. At the back part of the bed bearings are formed for carrying a
shaft, on either end of which fast and loose pulleys are applied, for giving
motion to the machine or apparatus, and a fly wheel or fly wheels, as may be
desired. And on this shaft are also fixed or formed the various cams, for
producing the different actions and motions for supplying and cutting off the
wire (from which such hooks or eyes may be intended to be made), as also in
giving form to the said hooks or eyes made from such wire, likewise the
planishing, indenting, marking, and delivering the same. But as the
description of the said hooks and eyes, with their particular characteristics,
as well as the machine, with its varied and consecutive motions cannot be
intelligibly described without illustrations, I will proceed to describe the
Drawings hereunto annexed, observing that the same parts of the apparatus
will be found to be marked with the same letter of reference in the various
views and details hereafter referred to.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a hook and eye made according to my improvements, in
the form or position they would assume when joined together as in use; and
Fig. 2, a hook and eye detached, the hook being reversed for exhibiting the
part to which the arrow points, which is indented for the purpose that the in-
dentation shall meet the indentation in the eye (as also indicated by an arrow)
that when put together, as in Figure 1, they shall not only lie close together
but be not so liable to undo or disconnect by any slackness or freedom of the
dress or part of the dress to which they may be attached, as hooks and eye
made of the ordinary construction; Fig. 3 is a top view of my machine o
apparatus by which I purpose producing the hooks and eyes before referred to
and for convenience, the pulleys are shown in dotted lines; but the fly whee
is omitted, and the relative state and position of the several movements an
parts, are just in position ready to begin, the wire being represented by th
red line. The turning of the shaft in the direction of the arrow marked A
will cause the cam B to act on the lateral lever C, which is forked in the fro
for the purpose of clipping a pin secured to the base of a pair of pliers, (on
but partially seen in this Figure) marked D, D. These pliers are for holdin
the wire and advancing it to the forming tools at each revolution of t
machine, and, when the wire is sufficiently advanced, the vertical cam E
brought into action, which presses down the arm of the lever F, which wor

page_text: on a fulcrum at a, and thereby elevates its front end. The use of this lever is
to press on the top arm of the pliers, as will be hereafter referred to, and being
elevated by the depression of its back end, relieves the wire from the pliers, in
order to allow them to be brought back, or to the right hand to grip a fresh
length of wire for the next operation. But to prevent the backward action
of the pliers carrying the wire back with it, the cam G anticipates the effect
of the cam E by causing the front end of the lever H to be slightly depressed,
so that the cutting off tool secured by the screw marked I may hold the wire
and prevent its being dragged back by the retirement of the pliers. The cam P
now takes up the motion and advances the back forming tools (entirely
obscured in this Figure) simultaneous with the cam G before referred to, per-
forming its second operation, namely, cutting off the wire which now lies across
a small bolster.or bed, for receiving it between the back forming tools, entirely.
hid in this Figure, and the plánishing tool fixed in the lever L, which by the
form of the cam is still allowed to remain on the bolster last-mentioned, until
the cam P las further advanced the tools, for giving form to the hook by
causing the wire to clip the planishing tool, when the cam O takes up the next
motion, bringing the front forming tools back, so as to form the side arms of
the hook, simultaneous with which the lateral cams W and X, in connection
with the levers U and V bring together the side tools d, e, which are adjusted
by the set screws f and g, and as they approach the planishing tool by an in
dentation in the cam M is lifted from the bed, which allows the side tools to
complete the general form of the hook. At this moment the lever T working
over a cam beneath it, causes the back tools to rise clear of the side tools, and
become free of the hook; which is held at that point by the side tools, when the
side tools will again retire, leaving the hook attached to the under side of the
front tools, when the cam O is again brought into action to perform its second
opération, namely, to bring the front tools forward and with them the hook,
holding it on the bed exactly in position for planishing and indenting, when
the cam M again acts on the lever L, to which the planisher is attached by
the screw J, and further regulated by the front screw K, presses it down, per-.
forming the treble operation of planishing, indenting, and marking, when the
planisher again rises by the movement of the cam M; from this operation the
cam O further advances the front tools, which still retain the hook by means
of two small wires around which the ends of the wire have been bent to form
the holes for sewing through (when fastening such hooks to garments). When
the cam M again operates on the lever L causing the thrower-off, which is
secured to the front end of this lever by screws, to press on the hook so formed,
which entirely frees it from the front tools to fall through a hole in the.bed to

page_text: cams.
a receiver placed for the purpose, the shaft and cams will now be found to have
made a perfect revolution, ready to advance the wire for the next operation,
and so on. Having gone through the general movements produced by the
eccentricity of the cams, I will observe that the arm which is operated on by
the cam O is of an angular form at the back, fitted with a friction roller to
work against the cam, this arm works in an iron clip secured to the under side
of the bed, partly seen in this Figure marked E', E, and the front end is con-
nected with the sliding bed marked R, by the bolt screwed at the bottom side,
here marked S; upon this traversing bed R, the front tools are fixed, working
on the screw c; m, m, are side guides fastened to the fixed bed to guide the
sliding action of the tools, which are held together by the bow spring k;
Y, Z, are springs for holding back the side tools d and e, to the set screws
f and g, and by which means the cam end of the levers U and V are also kept
in constant contact with their respective cams W and X; the ends of the
levers being fitted with friction rollers to prevent jerking or undue wear on the
The friction roller marked b on the end of the lever L, held down
on the cam M by the india-rubber spring N, and the lever T is also held down
on the cam beneath it, (which is marked P¹ dotted out) by a spring passing
over its end marked o, the other end of the spring being connected to a hook
on the bed, and the lever H which works also on the same fulcrum with the
lever L is held at the back end by a spring p passed over a screw put in the
side of the lever for that purpose, and as the action of this lever requires nice
adjustment, a steel pointed screw passes through its back end, marked q, to
bear on the cam G. The range of action imparted by the lateral cams W, and
X to the side levers U and V is indicated by dotted lines. The lever C is
also fitted with a friction roller at its back end, and is held to its work by the
spring A¹, which is here represented as made of wire, to show that I am not
compelled to use any particular class of spring or yielding material for holding
the several parts in their desired positions; and B' is a standard secured to
the bed for the purpose of receiving a set screw, so as to alter the range of the
pliers, or to measure the exact quantity of wire required according to the form
or size of the hook or eye I may desire to make. The lever F works on a ful-
crum at a, and its back end extends back underneath the cani E, and is held up
to its work by a bow spring partly seen in this Figure marked F'; G' is a ratchet
wheel secured on the shaft in connection with the pall H', its use being to act
as a preventative to the shaft, with its various cams being turned in the wrong
direction. Fig. 4 is a front view of Figure 3 with the driving pulleys and fly
wheel shown, and in this Figure I have represented the apparatus fitted to a stand,
with the front part broken away for the purpose of showing the parts beneath.

page_text: The front end of the lever C', to which the friction roller Q is attached (described
in the last Figure) and operated on by the cam O as before referred to, is here
shown, marked with the same letter, and through the front end of this
part the
bottom end of the bolt S is shown and secured with the screw D', the part marked
E, E, is a cast-iron clip, secured on the bottom of the bed for the under
arm C' to work in, and which part is shown projecting at the back of Figure 3
marked with the same letter; F¹ is a strong spring, secured on the under side
of the bed by the same bolt and screw that forms the fulcrum for the lever .F,
and which nut is here shown in dotted lines; the back end of this spring bears
on the back end of the lever F for holding it constantly in contact with the
cam E, by which it is actuated. In this view the pliers are represented
marked D, D, and the pin which is clipped by the front or forked end of the
lever C is here shown marked r, by which means the pliers are moved forward
by the action of the cam; the wire which is also represented in this Figure by
the red line, not only passes through a hole in the pin r, but also in a holé
drilled at right angles in the axis of the pliers. The cutter off is here shown
marked s, secured to the front end of the lever H by the screw I, and the top
end of the thrower-off where it is united to the lever L is here shown marked t,
as also the portion of the front tools marked u, standing above the spring k,
as secured to the sliding bed R referred to in Figure 3. Before concluding
my description of this Figure, I will further observe that the arm in con-
nection with the friction roller Q and cam O is held to its work by a strong
wire or other spring attached to the under side of the front end of the arm,
and to a pin secured on the under side of the bed marked v. Fig. 5 is a top
view of this machine, with the levers C, F, L, H, U, and V, removed (as also
the various springs, set screws, and pliers; likewise the ratchet wheel G₁ and
pall H', and the top glands that hold down the shaft,) for the purpose. of
simply exhibiting the bolster marked w, on which is represented the planishing
tool marked x in section with the back, front, and side tools, in the relative
position they assume when commencing the various operations before described,
the red line indicating the wire, as in the other Figures; but in this view I am
enabled to show the tube through which it passes to the cutting-off tool,.and
which tube is marked y, y, the cutting-off being effected by the tool passing
down flush with the inner end of the tube, thus producing a kind of scissor-
action, and as the back tools marked Z, Z, advance, which are held by a
bow spring marked a¹, the jaws open and carry the wire forward around the
planishing tool shown in section, when the front tools u, u, which maintain
their central action by the pin c¹, are carried back, and having on their under
side two projecting pins, take the ends of the wire back in the. contrary

page_text: direction, when the closing tools d'and e advance and give the form, as before
described. The levers to which the back tools are connected are here shown;
one being fitted with the friction roller b, and which roller is held against the
cam P by the elastic band d', 'and the arm or lever T is broken off at the
back, for the purpose of exhibiting the cam P', obscured in the other Figures.
And inasmuch as it is intended to work this machine at a somewhat high
velocity, say at the rate of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
revolutions per minute, I have found it necessary to put a stop in front of the
pliers, so as to completely guard against- having too much or too little wire
than is necessary in the formation of a perfect hook or eye; to this end I have
placed a stop on the bed; shown both in-this, Figure and in Figure 3 marked f¹,
the backward stroke being regulated with a set screw working through the
bolt before described..
Q
Fig. 6 represents the several cams in the relative position, as exhibited in
Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrow marked M¹, showing their
various eccentricities starting from an imaginary central vertical line marked'O,
the true form of the lateral cam B being shown in the flat, its centre line
marked O, representing the same position, as the same character defines in the
other cams. The radial line marked g¹, of the cam X, represents the apex of
the eccentric lateral action; and between the radial lines h¹ and h¹ of the
same cam, a hollow part is formed, and which part is shown in dotted lines on
the same cam in Figures 3 and .5; and this cam corresponds exactly with the
cam marked W, the radial dotted line marked k³, indicating as in the corre
sponding cam X, the apex of the eccentricity of the cam, and m¹, m³, the
corresponding hollow. Fig. 7 is a detached side view of the main lever L,
showing the friction roller at the back end marked 6', with the screw marked
J for securing the planishing tool, and the adjusting screw marked K; and
my object in drawing this Figure in a detached view is to enable me to better
exhibit the planishing tool, as also the projection, which forms the indentation
which planishing tool is marked ; and as the bolster marked w, in Figure 5
must also be indented at the corresponding part of the planishing tool; I have
exhibited a sectional view of the bolster in its relative position with the
planisher and indenter; t is the thrower-off secured to the lever L by the
screw n¹; and Fig. 8 represents the under side of Figure 7, showing the true
form of the planisher, and which form is also represented in section marked a
in Figure 5, and in this view the true form of the thrower-off is also shown a
regards its under and working side.
Having thus described my mechanical arrangements and exhibited tools fo
making and finishing the description of hook exhibited in Figures 1 and 2

page_text: nevertheless I must be understood, that a modification of this arrangement and
tools will enable me to make and indent the eye there exhibited, and by
altering and adjusting the throw or range of the cams, I am enabled also to
make such hooks and eyes of any other desired size or guage of wire, the
same to be used for any purpose for which hooks and eyes in general are or
may be applied.
Having now described the nature and object of my Invention and the
manner in which the same may be carried into effect, I claim,―
First, as my Invention, that portion of the hook that relates to its con-
nection with and holding in the eye that may be connected with it, as herein
exhibited and described at Figures 1 and 2, without regard to size or purpose
to which such hooks may be applied.
Secondly, I claim, the indentation in the eye herein-before described, and
exhibited in Figure 2, such eyes being used in connection with the hook
herein-before referred to.
Thirdly, I claim the mechanical arrangements, or their equivalents, as
herein described and exhibited, for forming and finishing hooks and eyes, as
herein-before described, without reference to their size, or to the position in
which such machines may be worked, or to the power or means. used for
giving motion to the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said Lester John Lewis, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.
LESTER JOHN LEWIS. (L.S.)