Year: 1886

page_text: I, GEORGE HENRY BLISS of Pittsfield County of Berkshire, Massachusetts,
United States of America 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:—
This invention has for its object the production of a simple and efficient fastening
device for use with shoes and gloves.
The improved fastening herein described is composed of an anchor-plate which
is to be attached to one part of the shoe or other article with which it is to be
used in such position as to co-operate with the button-hole in the other part of the
said article.
The anchor-plate has at one end a bearing which receives and forms a steady
guide and journal for a piece of wire bent to form a lever and provided at its free
end with a button or projection to enter the button-hole, the wire of the said lever
fitting the bearing snugly so as not to move laterally.
The anchor-plate is provided with a catch over which the lever passes, the latter
springing over the catch.
:
This invention consists in a fastener composed of an anchor-plate having a catch
or projection, and a loop-like bearing, combined with a spring lever having an
attached button or projection, and pivoted with relation to the anchor-plate, one
end of the said lever being embraced snugly by the said loop-like bearing, whereby
the lever, held in manner substantially as will be described, is prevented from undue
lateral and longitudinal motion.
Also in the combination with an anchor-plate having one end upturned to form
a loop-like bearing and having a catch or projection, of a lever composed of wire
extended through the said loop-like bearing and held therein snugly, the opposite end
of the said lever being provided with a button or projection and being adapted to
spring down over and engage the said projection, all substantially as will be
described, the catch or projection being shaped substantially as will be shown,
whereby the lever may be disengaged from it without longitudinal motion of the
lever with relation to the anchor-plate.

page_text: Fig. 1 in side elevation represents a shoe provided with my improved fastening
devices, the overlapping portion or flap being partially open to illustrate some of
the fastening devices as fully operative in holding the said overlapping portion or
flap, one fastening device being just inserted into a slit, but not turned back, other
fastening devices being in readiness to be passed through the slits when the flap
shall be further turned down.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of a fastening device embodying my
invention.
Fig. 3 represents a side elevation, plan, and end view of the movable lever or
portion of the fastening device detached, and
Figs. 4 and 5 are modifications to be referred to.
The shoe A, having the top a, and overlapping portion or flap a¹, shown in Fig. 1
as provided with slits a³, are all of usual construction.
The anchor plate c is herein shown as a short piece of metal, having at or near
one end a catch or projection c¹, and at its other end a loop-like bearing c*, which
serves as the pivotal point for the lever d, carrying the button or hook-like pro-
jection b, the said lever being shown as composed of a piece of bent wire and
moving in the arc of a circle, the loop-like bearing embracing one end of the wire
composing the said lever, acting not only to prevent longitudinal movement of the
said lever but also lateral movement thereof.
If the button-carrying lever should be held so loosely as to permit lateral move-
ment thereof, difficulty would be experienced in causing the lever to correctly and
unerringly engage the catch or projection of the anchor-plate.
The lever d, in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, is bent as at d¹ to constitute a shank for
the head of the fastening device, which head may be of any usual or suitable shape
or material, the said head being applied to the shank by casting, or moulding, or
by pressure, as commonly practised in button making.
The lever d is so bent or shaped, substantially as shown, that when turned down
as in dotted lines Fig. 2, next the anchor-plate, the said lever will engage the
catch c¹ and be held or locked thereby in its backward or closed position.
The anchor-plate c is herein shown as attached to the top or material a of the
boot, shoe or other article by rivets e, one rivet being shown as having a washer e¹
applied to it, but instead, the anchor-plate may have prongs of any usual con-
struction to be inserted through the material and be clinched at the underside
thereof.
The fastening device having been attached to the top or material a will be
turned to occupy the position represented by the devices nearest the top of the
shoe, and the person to button the shoe with the devices in such condition will
cause the heads or projections 6 to engage or enter anugly the slits or eyes of the
overlapping portion or flap a', as shown by the fifth fastening device from the top,
and the head or projection appearing at the outside of the said flap will be engaged
by the fingers, and so engaged, the lever carrying the said head or projection will
be turned over, see Fig. 2, from the full into the dotted line position, thus straining
or drawing the flap snugly down in place, closing the top of the boot or shoe about
the foot as represented by the two lower fastening devices of Fig. 1.
In Fig. 4 I have shown a modification wherein the head or part b to enter the
button-hole slit is composed of wire, and in said Figure, I have shown the catch c¹
as located at the end of the anchor-plate and the lever d is provided with a
prolongation b to cooperate with the said catch.
In Fig. 5 the free end of lever d is bent to form a head 6 shaped to resemble
a hook, the latter being shaped to readily engage or enter an eye a³ located at the
under side of the overlapping portion or flap a¹, part of which overlapping portion
and an eye are shown in Fig. 5 near the said lever.
In case the fastening device is made as shown in Fig. 5, the hook may be made
to enter an eye made either as a loop. of thread or the eye may be made as part of
a wire sewed between the two plies of the usual overlapping portion, and the latter
at its upper side may have if desired a series of false buttons added to it.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The herein described fastener, composed of an anchor-plate having the catch
or projection c¹, and the loop-like bearing c³, combined with the spring lever having
an attached button or projection, and pivoted with relation to the anchor-plate,
one end of the said lever being embraced snugly by the said loop-like bearing
whereby the lever held in manner substantially as described is prevented from
undue lateral and longitudinal motion, as set forth.
2. The combination with the anchor-plate having one end upturned to form a
loop-like bearing c³, and having a catch or projection c³, of a lever d composed of
wire extended through the said loop-like bearing and held therein snugly, the
opposite end of the said lever being provided with a button or projection and being
adapted to spring down over and engage the projection c¹, all substantially as
shown and described, the catch or projection being shaped substantially as shown
whereby the lever may be disengaged from it without longitudinal motion of the
lever with relation to the anchor-plate.