US227479A - Flexible center-button - Google Patents

Description

(ModeL) v1 I.'1E[. BRUCE.

Flexible Center Button.

No. 227,479. Patented Ma /11,1880.-

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

NORMAN H. BRUCE, OF WEST TROY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO CHARLES F. NORTH, OF COHOES, YORK.

FLEXIBLE CENTER-BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,479, dated May 11, 1880.

Application filed April 13, 1880. (Model. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN H. BRUCE, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Troy, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flexible Genter- Buttons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in buttons for articles of hosiery and To other wearing-apparel.

Heretofore such buttons have been made of metal compositions and other such rigid material entirely throughout the structure, and have been found objectionable for certain uses,

I 5 not only on accountof the difficulty in passing the outer head through the button-holes of an article of apparel, but also for the reason that,

on account of their rigid nature when applied to articles of wearing-apparel,such as hosiery,

which requires to be folded and then subjected to great pressure to prepare them for packing and for the market, the said buttons,

when constructed of metal or similar rigid material, indent the pressing-boards, render 2 5 ing said boards worthless, or comparatively so, for further use, whichis a serious loss and inconvenience to those engaged in the manufacture of articles of wearing apparel, such as hosiery, shirts, and drawers.

The object of my invention is to obviate these objections; and to this end it consists in a button the outer or securing head of which is composed of an elastic flexible body, the said body having a rigid central shank com- 3 5 posed of a short rigid metallic cylinder secured to the flexible head of the button and to the fabric by upsetting or turning down its ends after the manner of an ordinary eyelet. The securing-head of the button as thus constructed 0 and attached to a fabric yields inwardly during the act of buttoning upon the part or parts which it is desired to connect together, the body or elastic portion of the head forming a flexible extensible yielding boss or center. By

5 means of this elongated flexible and elastic boss a seat for one or more thicknesses of fabric will be created in rear of the button, the connection being substantially as effective as if a rigid button were employed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents sectional views of my button, showing the flexible and elastic centers made of one and of two thicknesses, the metal rim being partly folded. Fig. 2 represents sectional views with the rim fixed upon the flexible and elastic head, with the tube ready to be eyeleted in position. Fig. 3 represents a section of the button secured upon a piece of hosiery. Fig. 4 represents a top view of the same. Fig. 5 represents a side view of the same, the center of button being extended and brought to such position by the act of buttoning. Fig. 6 is a side view, showing part of a garment buttoned upon the part carrying the button.

In the drawings, the letter A indicates a button embodying my invention, in which the letter B represents the flexible securing-head, and O the tube or shank by which it is attached to the fabric. In the presentinstance the tube or shank is represented as consisting of a short metallic tube secured to the flexible head of the button and to the fabric through an aperture in each by upsetting or turning down the ends of said tube or shank after the manner of an ordinary eyelet.

The head B consists of a disk composed of soft rubber or layers of cloth or other textile material cemented or vulcanized together, and provided with a central aperture, indi-' cated by the letter a, for the insertion of the connecting tube or shank.

' The flexible and elastic head may be composed of the flexible elastic material alone, or may be surrounded by a rigid rim of metal, E, leaving an annular flexible elastic center-piece, 8 5 which serves, in connection with the metallic tube or shank, to form the extensible elastic boss, as before mentioned.

The surrounding metallic rim of the button is formed from an annulus, E, struck up out of 0 metal, with a vertical rim, G, the flexible and elastic head or body being fitted within such rim, after which the rim is bent down over the margin of the flexible and elastic head, so as to hold the edges of the same firmly between 5 the rim and the other portion of the annulus as clearly illustrated in the drawings. The body in this instance is secured to the shank and the shank to the fabric in the same manner as before mentioned; but in lieu of using a tube or shank, the flexible and elastic head will, in some instances, be manufactured without a central opening, and be connected with the material by sewing.

It will be observed that in a button as thus constructed the head, by reason of its elasticity and flexibility, will yield or elongate inwardly by reason of the strain between the shank and head when the button is passed through the button-hole of a fabric, and that itwill further yield or elongate to accommodate successive fabrics as they may be passed over and behind the button, the elasticity of the head giving the button a tendency to draw the parts of the fabric or garment tightly together, thus providing a button by means of which one or more garments may be fastened to another and securely held together.

What I claim isl. A button for articles of hosiery and other wearing-apparel, consisting of a thin flexible and elastic disk having a central opening for the reception of a tube or shank for securing the button in position, the said head forming an extensible, elastic, and flexible boss adapted to yield inwardly during the act of buttoning, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A button for textile fabrics, the same consisting of an elastic flexible disk, the edges being protected by a surrounding continuous rim and adapted to be attached to a fabric or witnesses.

NORMAN H. BRUCE. Witnesses JAMES L. NORRIS, JAMES A. RUTHERFORD.

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