IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW BUTTONS
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frank Wirth, of the firm of Wirth and Company,
Patent Solicitors, at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the empire of Germany, for an
invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW BUTTONS."-A communication from
Ludwig Emil Eduard Hunrath, Engineer, a person resident at Darmstadt,
in the empire of Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank- Wirth at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st June 1882.
FRANK WIRTH, of the firm of Wirth and Company, Patent Solicitors, at
Frankfort on the Main in the empire of Germany
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW
BUTTONS [A communication from Ludwig Emil Eduard Hunrath, Engineer, a
person resident at Darmstadt in the Empire of Germany.]
"
This Invention relates to screw-buttons or fasteners chiefly designed to replace
the ordinary buttons for articles of dress, especially of gentlemans dress, which
buttons have hitherto been sewn upon the article but which, when in use, were
easily torn off; fasteners made according to the said invention may also be made
use of in many ways for example to serve as studs, solitaires, links, or the like;'
they may also be employed for saddlery purposes
The advantages presented by the improved fasteners are as follow, that is to
say, simplicity of construction, facility in handling, durability, and security against
loss, and it also increases the durability of the button holes in linen wearing
apparel
By the squeezing through of the buttons hitherto used for shirt-fronts and the
like when putting on and taking off the shirt, the button holes of the shirt fronts
are easily torn, the linen is creased and crumpled, and also soiled through handling.
The improved fastener can be pushed easily through two very small holes and then
secured and thus prevents the soiling of the linen.
According to the said invention I provide a circular plate with cross-pieces
extending therefrom and carrying a boss or socket provided with an internal
screw-thread into which fits a screwed rod having a head in the form of a button
or stud or of other suitable form.

page_text: When the socket is passed through a hole in linen or other material and the
rod screwed into the said socket the fastener is permanently secured. When the
socket is passed through holes in two parts of an article of dress and the rod
screwed therein, the two parts are secured together.
⚫ The said fastener may also be used to secure the sliding and other rings for
neck-ties and the like. The socket being passed through the stuff the tie is made
of and the rod screwed therein, prevents the slipping down of the ring. To enable
the said fastener to made use of for any thickness of material a small plate is
inserted between the cross pieces and is secured by the screwed rod and held fast-
against the circular disc or plate.
For saddlery purposes and the like I employ a screw-button the lower circular
part of which is provided with a screwed rod on to which screws a disc having
two holes to receive a key by means of which the disc may be screwed on after
the said screwed rod has been passed through a hole in the material in order to
secure the fastener to the said material

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent & of
an order of the Lord Chancellor filed by the said Frank Wirth in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 7th December 1882.
FRANK WIRTH, of the firm of Wirth and Company Patent Solicitors, at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the Empire of Germany "IMPROVEMENTS IN SCREW
BUTTONS"-A communication from Ludwig Emil Eduard Hunrath, Engineer, a
person resident at Darmstadt in the Empire of Germany
This invention relates to screw buttons or fasteners chiefly designed to replace
the ordinary buttons for articles of dress, (especially of gentleman's dress) which
buttons have hitherto been sewn upon the article so that when in use they were
easily torn off; fasteners made according to the said invention may also be made
use of in many ways for example, to serve as studs, solitaires or the like; they
may also be employed for saddlery or similar purposes.
The said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the improved fastener.
Figure 2 is an elevation of the circular plate with the socket.
Figure 3 is a view of the screw and head
Figure 4 is a section on the line a a Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a section on the line bb
Figure 6 is an elevation of the stud as adapted for use as a button
Figure 7 is a sectional detail view of the same
Figure 8 is an elevation of the screw button as used for saddlery or similar
purposes.
According to this invention I provide a circular plate a' which forms the base of
the fastener with perpendicular pieces b' 61 extending therefrom and connected at
their upper extremities by a socket c. Figures 2, 4, 5, this socket is bored and
provided with an internal screw thread. I also provide a button as shewn in
Figure 3 having a stem projecting from its centre, this stem is screwed externally
and fitted to the internal screw of the socket c
When the socket c is passed through a hole in linen or other materal and the
button stem screwed into the socket the fastener is permanently secured When
the socket is passed through button holes in two parts of an article of dress and
the-button stem screwed therein, the two parts are secured together.
To enable the fastener to be made use of for any thickness of material a small
plate d is provided, after the socket has been put through the material e, this plate is
inserted between the perpendicular pieces 61 6¹ and the buttom stem screwed down,
pressing the material against the circular disc or plate a and thus holding it fast.
For saddlery purposes and the like, to the underside of the circular plate a¹
I attach a screw rod g and on this I place a disc f as in Figure 8 having a screw
hole in its centre corresponding to the screw g, this disc has two holes i i to receive
a key by means of which it may be screwed on after the said screwed rod has been
passed through a hole in the material k in order to secure the fastener to the said
material
The parts of the fastener must naturally be proportioned to the uses that are to
be made of it. That this is possible follows from the fact that the size of the head
and disc is quite independent of the size of the central part of the fastener which
may be made to suit the opening for which it is intended
The advantages presented by the improved fastener are as follows, that is to
say-simplicity of construction, facility in handling, durability and security
against loss and this latter is a very important feature when the fastener is used
for ornaments or jewels of value, it also increases the durability of the button holes
in linen and other wearing apparel

page_text: By the squeezing through of the buttons hitherto used for shirt fronts and the
like when putting on and taking off the shirt, the button holes of the shirt fronts
are easily torn, the linen is creased and crumpled and also soiled through handling.
The improved fastener can be pushed easily through two very small holes, and
then secured and thus prevents the soiling of the linen. This fastening may be
removed frrom one article to another at pleasure The said fastener may also be
used to secure the sliding and other rings for neck-ties and the like. The socket
being passed through the stuff the tie is made of, and the stem screwed therein
thus preventing the slipping down of the ring.
The studs with springs which have heretofore been in use for ornamental articles
have not sustained their character, inasmuch as the spring soon lost its strength
and the ornaments were in consequence lost. The buttons inserted by twisting
have likewise not proved sufficient for the safety of articles of ornament as they
are often twisted out
The accidental unscrewing of a fastener constructed according to this invention
cannot happen, and its loss through a jerk, pressure or the like is not possible as
the perpendicular parts surround the screw and render it very strong. On this.
ground the fastener will be of great use in securing ornamental buttons.
In order that the construction of the screw button or fastener may be better
understood, the screwed socket is not represented in the drawings of its proper
length in order to shew more clearly the space through which the small plate d is
passed at right angles to the perpendicular pieces b₁ b'. This small plate can be
pressed against the part of the article of dress for which it is used by means of the
screwed stem
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
Foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it under-
stood that I claim :-
The screwed socket connected to the foot plate or disc by the two pieces 61 61, in
combination with the upper part or head provided with the screwed stem adapted
to fit into the said socket, substantially as set forth and for the purpose specified
In witness whereof I the said Frank Wirth have hereunto set my hand and
seal this Twenty ninth day of November in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two