Improvements in Hooks and Eyes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 28th Sept., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hooks and Eyes.
I, CHARLES EDWARD HALLOWELL, of 1208 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,
in the County of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., Physician, 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 certain new and useful improvements in hooks and eyes,
and has for its object to provide a fastening of the nature described capable of
being readily and easily fastened, and when fastened together the parts shall be
locked against accidental displacement, and the parts held flexibly fastened
together but prevented from having lateral motion with respect to one another,
and to provide a fastening such as described that shall be simple, durable and
inexpensive in construction and efficient and certain in duration. To these ends
my invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter
fully described and definitely pointed out in the claim.
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which;
Fig. 1, is a plan view of my improved hook and eye showing the parts fastened
together.
Fig. 2, is a side elevation of the same, and
Fig. 3, a section taken on the line 3—3 of Fig. 1, showing the eye disengaged
from the hook, and the locking tongue depressed to permit of the disengagement
of the eye.
In said drawings I have shown the hook and eye on a greatly enlarged scale for
the sake of better illustrating the construction thereof.
Referring to the drawings, the letter A, indicates the eye portion of the fastening
constructed as usual.
B, indicates the hook formed of a single piece of wire and consisting of two
loops c, c', (which serve to secure the hook to the garment,) a shank portion, the
hook portion D and the locking tongue G, and formed as follows:
A piece of wire of suitable length is bent into circular form at one end to form
the loop c, is then bent in a right line, as at f, to form one member of the shank, is
then bent downwardly at approximately an angle of forty-five degrees relatively
to the shank, as at d, thence is turned back in a semi-circle as at d¹ and over and
parallel with the portion d, for a short distance, as at d³, and is then bent to one
side, as at d' then downwardly at an angle, around, and back, in the same manner
as the parts d, d¹, and d³, then in a right line, as at parallel with the shank
portion, but slightly separated therefrom; the wire is then bent to form the
loop c', and is then bent upwardly at a sharp angle as at g² above the plane of the
shank members f, f', but for the greater portion of its length parallel with said
members to form a tongue G, and just before reaching the hook D, the end of the
wire is bent or curved slightly downward and then upward to form the curved
portion g, the end of the tongue being beveled off, as at g' for the purpose herein-
after described. I have described the hook as being made step by step in the manner
and in the order as above, but it will, of course, be understood that in practice the
hooks will be manufactured by machinery and practically at one operation. The
manner of describing it herein adopted being for the sake of more clearly
illustrating its configuration.

page_text: The operation of the fastening as thus constructed is as follows:
The hook and eye are fastened to the meeting edges of a garment or other
article in the usual manner. To fasten the two together it is merely necessary to
place the hook A in the curved portion g of the tongue G, and apply a slight
pulling force upon the two parts in an opposite direction, very slightly pressing
the eye against the tongue G at the same time, when the eye will slip past the end
of the tongue and seat itself in the hook D, where it will be positively held against
accidental displacement by the end of the tongue G, which, owing to the resiliency
of the tongue seats itself against the underside of the portion d of the hook D,
and any force exerted upon the eye to move the latter in the direction to disengage
it from the hook only serves to more tightly lock the eye in its seat in said hook,
owing to the inclination of the hook relatively to the shank, the inclined portion d,
causing the eye A to ride up thereon against the underside of the curved end g of
the tongue G, thus causing said tongue to bind or bear more firmly against the
underside of the portion d of the hook D. It will be noted that the end of the
tongue G rests under the hook D in close juxtaposition to the eye A, whereby
the latter is prevented from moving laterally in its seat in the hook D, yet securing
the hook and eye together flexibly. This is desirable inasmuch as it prevents the
two parts of the garment from having any rubbing action one upon the other,
which, in very delicate fabrics, mars the nap and finish thereof. In order to
permit the end of the tongue into such close juxtaposition to the eye I bevel
the end of the tongue, as at y¹ to permit the end of the tongue to slip past the
eye and lie close against the underside of the hook. To disengage the eye from
the hook, the tongue G is depressed by the finger, as shown in Fig. 3, the end
thereof passing between the members f,f', of the shank, when the eye may
instantly be disengaged.
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:
In a hook and eye fastening, a hook formed from a single piece of wire and
comprising a shank portion, consisting of two straight parallel members f, f¹ bent
to form the eyes c, e at one end, and at the other end bent to form the downwardly
inclined hook D, and the tongue G lying in a plane above the shank portion and at
its free end curved downward and then upward, and at its extreme end beveled as
at g and bearing against the underside of the portion d' of the hook D, and the
eye A seated in said hook against lateral movement, substantially as described.
Dated this 31st day of December 1894.
GEORGE H. HOLGATE,
Agent for Applicant.