US2148629A - End clasp for bracelets and the like - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 28, 1939. LEVESQUE 2,148,629

END CLASP FOR BRACELETS AND THE LIKE Fil ed March 11, 1938 :the ends .of cord Patented Feb. 28, 1939 v The present inventi Arthur H. Leves isignor :to ."R. a

que, North Attleboro, Mass, as- F. Simmons 00m pany, Attleboro,

-Mass., a partnership composed :of Harold E. Sweet and Hayward H. Sweet Application March 11,

' '5 Claims.

on relates 'to improvements in .end clasps or fastening devices for attaching :the -like.

".One object zvide an end a construction and arr b-which "facilitates the bracelet or card ends s, *straps, bands, bracelets and of the present 'invention'is to proclasp of 'the {type indicated having angement of the parts .thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clasp ofthe typejindicated having agripper element movable away ,Irom .the body-member to facilitate the insertion of the bracelet end and rockableinto binding engagement therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clasp of theit crating 'lever toward and away adapted totbe rocked engagement with the ype 'indicat and a ed'having arockable opgripper slidable on the lever from the body-member and with the lever into gripping bracelet end.

Still 'anothergob-jectiofthe invention is to pro- "vide .a clasp lsimple and c manufacture "mentali use.

of 'the type indicated which is of ompact :construction, economical to and assemble,-and neat-and ornan appearance to adapt itforits intended I "."Eurther objects of the "improvement are set "forth in the scribes a pre followin ferred f0 g specification "which derm of construction of the device, "by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanyin showing {the g drawing. In the drawing:

op planview of a cord bracelet present invention embodied in a pair of clasps attached to the ends of the cords and joined "by a suitablebuckle;

-Figx2-is an enlarged bottom plan view of one of the end olas the-operating and latched'i Fig. 3 is a improved clasp showin ment "with the ends :of

' 4 is a operating lever rock spect to the outwardly on the lever a member;

Fig. 5 is a manner in which the toward the body-memb bracelet-cords therein;

'Figbefi is a transverse ps shown in Fig. '1 illustrating lever overlying the body-member n closed position thereon;

longitudinal sectional view of the g it in gripping engagethe bracelet-cord;

milar to Fig. 3 showing the ed to open position with remember and the gripper slid Way from the bodyview si bodyview similar to Fi operating lever is rocked er to gripthe ends of the sectional view on line 6-6 .of Fig. 3 showing the teeth on the gripper in binding enga .let-cord; 1

gement with the ends :of the braceoperation of attaching the g. '4 showing the 1938, "Serial N0. 195,299

Fig.7 'is a perspective View of the end clasp shown with the parts in' 'trated in Fig. 4 to 'facilita ends of the bracelet-co thebody-mem'ber; and

Fig. 8'is a perspective view the relationship illuste the insertion of the rd, also illustrated, into of the parts of the end clasp in disassembled relationship with the gripper shown as only partly A usual type of end clasp formed. comprises a body- .member or housing having an open end for re- :ceiving the ends of a. cord-bracelet or the like and a lever .pivotall its open end. angular .grippin to engage and ileveris rocked toward the prior artclasps'the'bracel inserted into "the body tively narrow opening and "the top wall of 'th being apt to fray at considerable care and sert the bracelet-cord into th eration of attaching the bra sider-able time.

The lever is e body their ends. patience is required to iny mounted thereon adjacent provided with an g jaw adjacentthe pivot adapted hold the bracelet end when the body-member. In such et-end cannot be readily -'member due to the relabetween the gripping jaw -member, the cords As a result,

e clasp and the opcelet consumes con- Fig. 1 of the'present drawing illustrates a cord bracelet of usual construction comprising a pair of looped cords 2 and 3 having their ends gripped 'in fasteners or end clasps 4 forming the subjectnventi the looped matter of the present i 4 at the ends of directly connected to the oppo 5 of usual construction.

ends of the cords '2 and 3 or connectors 'l'ada of a wrist watch or to sim the like not herein shown. construction are also provid looped cords 2 and 3 to h parallel relationship.

As most clearl drawing each cla member l2, an operating [4. As shown in perspec member or housing I2 contour corresponding t bracelet 2 or tive 3 and side wa on. The end clasps o cords 2 and 3 are site ends of a buckle At the outer looped are terminal members pted to be attached to the bails ilar parts of jewelry or Metal loops 8 of usual ed for encircling the d them together in y illustrated in Fig. 7 of the sp 4 comprises a box-like body lever l3 and a gripper in Fig. 8, the body- .has a top wall l5 of a 0 that of the end of the lls l6 and I1 with one end and the bottom open, it being under- "stood that Figs. 2 to '8 illustrate the clasp in inverted position, or bottom side up. In some instances the body-member for adapting it to recei The side walls 16 and project beyond the top wall and are connected at their 0 may take other forms flat strap or band.

I1 of the body-member I2 l5 at its closed end uter extremities by r l8. Between the projecting ends I1 is a tab or strip l9 plained, the end of the tab I9 being slotted as indicated by the reference character 20. Although the side walls It and I! may take other forms they are herein illustrated as inclined downwardly toward the open end of the bodymember l2 and adjacent this end they are procontinuous guiding surface.

vided with alined bearing apertures 2|.

The operating lever I3 comprises a pair of spaced side rails 25 joined by a connecting web 26 adjacent one of their ends. Pintles 21 project laterally from the opposite ends of the rails 25 into the alined bearing apertures 2| in the body-member l2 to pivotally mount the lever 13 for rocking movement thereon. Flanges or guides 28, formed by relatively narrow continuations of the web 26, project inwardly from the opposite side rails 25, being of the same thickness as the web and in alinement therewith to provide a Although the lever i3 may be made by any suitable method, for example, as a stamping produced in dies, it is preferably constructed from an I-shaped wire strip or finding having side rails 25 and a continuous web therebetween. A length of the strip equal to the length of the lever to be formed is cut off and the web 26 is cut away at one end to provide the inwardly-directed guides 28. The guides 28 may be extended beyond the side rails 25 and swedged to cylindrical form and bent outwardly to form the pintles 27; or the ends of the side rails 25 may be extended, shaped and bent outwardly for this purpose. The operating lever 13 when pivotally mounted on the side walls [6 and H of the body-member I2 is adapted to be rocked away therefrom to the position illustrated in Fig. 4, or it may be rocked toward the body-member to the position illustrated in Fig. 3. In this latter position the operating lever l3 underlies and closes the open bottom of the clasp with its side rails 25 within the side walls 16 and H of the body-member I2.

In accordance with the present invention the gripper M is constituted as a separate element slidably mounted on the operating lever I3. As

herein illustrated the gripper M is constructed from a strip of sheet-metal bent at right-angles to form a jaw 39 with teeth 3| at its end and slotted at its edges to provide guideways 32 adapted to interfit with the guides 28 on the lever is. The gripper I4 is mounted on the operating lever l3 withits guideways 32 in engagement with the guides 28 thereof, being held in position by folding a portion 39 of the strip back on itself to form a loop All which embraces the connecting web 26 of the lever l3. The gripper I4 is of a width equal to the distance between the, side rails 25 of the lever l3 and the thick ness of the metal is equal to the width of the rails at either side of the web 26 so that when the gripper is mounted on the lever its outer faces are flush with the edges of the side rails to provide a smooth finish. The jaw 38 of the gripper I4 is guided for sliding movement on' the lever l3 by the interfitting guides 28 and guideways 32 while the opposite end of the gripper is guided by its parallel sides embracing the sides of the connecting web 26 of the lever.

The gripper I4 is of substantially the same length as the lever l3 and the cut-outportion oi the web 26 adapts it to slide longitudinally to the opposite extreme positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. When the gripper I4 is slid to the position illustrated in Fig. 4 its jaw 30 will be spaced a considerable distance away from the top wall [5 of the body-member l2; while when it is in the position illustrated in Fig. 5 its jaw 30 is in substantial alinement with the pintles 21 of the leverl3. The gripper I4 is limited in its sliding movement to the extreme position illustrated in Fig. 5 by the engagement of its end loop 40 with one edgeof the web 26 of the lever I3 and in its movement to the opposite position shown in Fig. 4 by the engagement of its jaw 38 with the opposite edge of the web 26. The outer face of the gripper I l adjacent the loop 40 is provided with a slot 4| to receive a pointed tool 42 or the like, shown by dash lines in Fig. 5,

' which may be used to slide the gripper M on the operating lever 13. The dimensions of the op erating lever l3 and gripper M are such that when the gripper I4 is slid to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 and the operating lever 13 is rocked toward the body-member l2 the rounded loop 48 of the gripper will snap within the curled tab or catch IS on the body-member to latch it in place between the side walls l6 and IT. The operating lever It may be unlatched by prying the looped end of the gripper free from engagement with the catch IS, a pointed instru ment being inserted in the slot in the end of the catch to facilitate this operation.

To attach the ends of the cords 2 or 3 to the end clasp 4 the latter is placed in inverted position and the operating lever l3 rocked on its pintles 21 to the open position shown in Figs. 4 and '7. The gripper M is then slid outwardly on the lever 13 to provide a relatively wide opening between the jaw 30 and the top wall [5 of the body-member I2. The ends of the braceletcord 2 or 3 may then be inserted into the bodymember l2 without difficulty. When the ends of the cord are properly positioned in the bodymember i2 the gripper I4 is slid on the lever E3 to press its jaw 30 into engagement with the ends of the cord in substantial alinement with the pintles 21 on the operating lever. The operating lever I3 is then rocked from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 3 and due to the engagement of the teeth 3| on the jaw 30 with the ends of the cords and the rocking movement of the jaw into the body-member l2 the ends of the cord are tightly gripped between the teeth and the top wall l5 as illustrated in Fig. 6. As the rocking movement of the operating lever i3 is continued the rounded loop 40 at the end of the gripper I4 is snapped within the curved catch 59 on the body-member l2 to latch the lever in closed position. As the operating lever I3 is rocked toward the body-member I2 the sliding gripper [4 tends to move outwardly thereon due to the penetration of the teeth 3! on the jaw 30 into the cords, but by holding the finger firmly against the looped end of the gripper this tendency is resisted. If desired, the lever l3 may be rocked by inserting a pointed tool into the slot 4i and pressing it toward the pivot of the lever in the manner indicated by dash lines in Fig. 5.

When it becomes necessary to replace or adjust the length of the cords, or to open the clasp 4 for any other purpose, the operating lever I3 is released from its catch [9 and rocked to its open position illustrated in Fig. 4. To this end a pointed tool such as that illustrated in Fig. 5 may be inserted through the slot 20 of the catch H] to pry the looped end. of the gripper l4 outwardly therefrom. As the operating lever I3 is swung to open position it pivots on the pintles 21 and rocks the jaw 30 from a position at rightangles to the top wall I5 of the body-member l2 to a position parallel thereto whereof to release theends of the cords. The gripper [4 may then be slid outwardly on the operating lever l3 to adjust its jaw 30 away from the top wall l5 of the body-member 12 as shown in Figs. 4 and 7 to permit worn bracelet cords to be removed and new cords substituted therefor. The new bracelet cords may then be gripped in the body-member 12 by rocking the lever l3 toward its open bottom in the manner as previously explained.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the present invention provides an improved form of relatively wide opening for receiving the cord or strap to be fastened in the clasp. It will further be observed that the invention provides a novel construction j sembly while being proof against and durable in use for the purposes specified.

out limiting myself in this respect,

and arrangement of elements in for economical manufacture and a clasp adapted convenient asderangement "While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the clasp, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made in the structure and arrangement of the parts of the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, with- I claim:

1. In a device of the type indicated, a bodymember for receiving the end of a bracelet or the like, a lever pivotally mounted on the body-memadapt the gripper to be moved away from the body-member to facilitate the application of the bracelet-end thereto, said gripper acting to clamp the bracelet-end to the body-member when the lever is rocked toward the latter.

2. In a device of the type indicated, a bodymember having a top wall, side walls and an open end and bottom, a lever pivoted to the side walls of the body-member and adapted to overlie the open bottom thereof, a gripper-element, and means for slidably mounting the gripper on the lever for movement away from the top wall 01' the top wall of the body-member as the lever is rocked toward the latter.

3. In a device of the type indicated, a bodyrnember for receiving the end of a bracelet or the like, a lever pivotally mounted on the body-member and having guides extendwing longitudinally thereof, a slide mounted on the lever to slide on the guides and having a gripper-jaw at one end, said slide being slidable longitudinally on the lever away from the body-member to facilitate the insertion of the bracelet-end into the bodymember, and said lever being rockable on the body-member to engage the gripper jaw with the bracelet-end.

4. In a device of the type indicated, a bodymember for receiving the end of a bracelet or the like, a lever pivotally mounted on the body-member to rock toward and away from the latter, said lever having side rails and a transverse connecting web therebetween, a slide on said lever embracing its connecting web and having a gripper-jaw at one end, said slide being slidable on the lever away from the body-member to facilitate the insertion of the bracelet-end into the clasp, and said jaw being arranged to engage the bracelet-end when the lever is rocked toward the body-member.

5. In a device of the type indicated, a bodymember having a top wall, side walls and an open bottom and end, a lever having spaced side rails with a connecting web therebetween, said side rails having inwardly-projecting guide-flanges, and a slide having a looped portion embracing the connecting web of the lever and a gripper-jaw adjacent its end, said jaw having guideways cooperating with the guide-flanges on the side rails of the lever to adapt the slide to be slid longitudinally thereof to facilitate the insertion of the end of a bracelet into the clasp and arranged to rock with the lever to clamp the bracelet-end in the body-member.

ARTHUR H. LEVESQUE.

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