Improvements in Suspenders or Braces.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 21st July, 1897-Accepted, 4th Sept., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Suspenders or Braces.
I, WILHELM HALSTENBACH, of Barmen, Weiherstrasse 11, Rhenish Prussia,
Germany, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in gentlemen's braces or suspenders, and
it has for its object to provide means for distributing over the whole upper round
of the shoulders in equal repartition the whole of the pull or strain produced by
the weight of the dress supported by the suspenders.
The commonly used braces transfer the weight of each half upon the respective
shoulder and there always npon the same place, so that many persons are
uncomfortably affected by this locally felt burden, due to the comparatively narrow
band of the braces.
This locally felt burden on the region of the clavicles and the shoulder-blades is
often varying in intensity by the movements of the person, and for persons with
complaints of the chest it is a wearisome fatigue, depreciating their personal
efficiency or activity. Other defects of the ordinary braces are their tendency to
slide off the shoulder when men are working and standing in inclined attitude; and
the early loss of the elasticity of the belt by the friction on the shoulder region so
that they lengthen.
The above named defects of the commonly used suspenders are effectively
avoided by my invention. I combine the suspenders with a shoulder piece somewhat
in the shape of a mariner's collar, to which are connected the two back bands of
the braces and the two front bands each of which may be provided with a regulating
device or bucle of known kind.
The shoulder piece being made to occupy the upper full width between neck and
arms on both shoulders and the shape of the collar being suitably proportioned to
sit well round the upper part of the back, it will be clearly understood that the
effect obtained in use is a regular distribution of the combined pull of the branches
of the braces over the full width of the two shoulders and over the upper part of
the back; a partial transmission of the pull of the right and left sides is going
round the rear neck through the collar and at the two sides the braces cannot slide
down the one or other shoulder over the arm, as they are connected together by the
collar.
1000
WILHELM HALSTENBACH,
Per Karl S. Mayer,
Agent,

page_text: I, WILHELM HALSTENBACH, of Barmen, Weiherstrasse 11, Rhenish Prussia,
Germany, 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in gentlemen's braces or suspenders,
and it has for its object to provide means for distributing over the whole upper
round of the shoulders, in equal repartition the whole of the pull or strain produced
by the weight of the dress supported by the suspenders.
The commonly used braces transfer the weight of each half upon the respective
shoulder and there always upon the same place, so that many persons are
uncomfortably affected by this locally felt burden, due to the comparatively narrow
band of the braces.
This locally felt burden on the region of the clavicles and the shoulder-blades is
often varying in intensity by the movements of the person, and for persons with
complaints of the chest it is a wearisome fatigue depreciating their personal
officiency or activity. Other defects of the ordinary braces are their tendency to
slide off the shoulder when men are working and standing in inclined attitude; and
the early loss of the elasticity of the belt by the friction on the shoulder region so
that they lengthen.
The above named defects of the commonly used suspenders are effectively avoided
by my invention. I combine the suspenders with a shoulder piece somewhat in the
shape of a mariner's collar, to which are connected the two back bands of the braces
and the two front bands, each of which may be provided with a regulating device
or bucle of known kind.
The accompanying drawing shows the improved suspenders, and
Fig. 1 is a view of the braces spread on a table.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the braces as if they were in use on a person's body.
The belts of these braces are connected together by a shoulder piece SS, which lies
round the neck at the back side, reaching then over the shoulders and going down
on the upper part of the breast, with two flaps a and b, which are reduced gradually
in width, beginning on each side at the region of the clavicles, where the shoulder
piece has its greatest width from the neck to the upper arm-joint. The two belt
parts a fand bg are fastened in the fore part at a and b of the shoulder-piece S
and they are provided at the front ends as usual with regulating devices or
bucles fand g and with straps k; the back parts of the belt ce and d e (Fig. 1) are
fastened at the lower rear-part of the shoulder piece at c and d, so that four short
parts of belt with the shoulder-collar S and the heart-shaped joining piece h for the
back belts c, e, and d, e, and the straps k both at front and back, form the suspenders,
differing in shape from the ordinary braces in which two longer parts of belts with
necessary end fittings are used. In my invention the belt may also, instead of
consisting of four short parts, be carried right through in two complete lengths
from k to g or f respectively, the part from c to d and from d to b in this case being
sewn between the upper stuff and the lining of the shoulder-collar S, so that they
are thoroughly united to the collar. In both cases a uniform transmission of the
strain exercised by the pull of the straps over the full width of the back shoulder
part is obtained by the suitably shaped collar S.
From the Fig. 2, which shows the improved braces so as they sit on the human
body, it will be easily understood that the width of the shoulder covering collar

page_text: from h to i and from h¹ to ¹ distributes the said pull and strain over the largest
possible part of the shoulder-muscles and the clavicles.
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 I
claim is:
The combination in braces or gentlemen's suspenders, of a shoulder-collar shaped
piece S, S, with front belts a f, gb, and with back belts ch and dh, the front belts
being provided with regulating devices and buttoning straps k as usual; the back
belts being united to a heart-shaped piece h to which are fixed the back buttoning
straps, for the purpose specified and substantially as set forth.
Dated this 19th day of July 1897.
WILHELM HALSTENBACH,
Per Karl S. Mayer,
Agent.