US2997715A

US2997715A - Hand attaching tool

Info

Publication number: US2997715A
Application number: US61937A
Authority: US
Inventors: Romaine C Chapman
Original assignee: Scovill Inc
Current assignee: Scovill Inc
Priority date: 1960-10-11
Filing date: 1960-10-11
Publication date: 1961-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 1978-08-29

Description

United States Patent ff 2,997,715 HAND ATTACHING TOOL Romaine C. Chapman, Cheshire, Coun., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Oct. 11, 19,60, Ser. No. 61,937 7 Claims. (Cl. 1-31'7) This invention relates to snap fastener attaching tools, and more particularly, to hand attaching tools adapted for setting complemental parts of a snap fastener upon a garment or fabric support.

vThe recent growth of do-it-yourself practices, plus the marketing of various kinds of packaged snap fasteners over novelty counters, has brought about an increased interest in home Iattached fasteners for garments, in place of the usual buttons or hook and eye connections. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a suitable tool for attaching these fasteners.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a simple home attaching tool which readily adapts itself to the assembly of the various pants of a snap fastneer, as well as various sizes of fasteners. The construction is such that all the par-ts of attaching tool are held together as a unit thereby avoiding the possibility of any pieces becoming lost o-r misplaced, and also, permitting the user greater freedomv in attaching the fastener parts to a garment because there are no loose pieces to be held together while the fast-ener parts are being set.

Another object is to provide a home attaching tool of such character wherein means is provided for registering the parts of a snap fastener member in proper relationship to each other and to a selected position on the support material.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following specifications and accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. l is ya perspective view of the attaching tool in open position, embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a central sectional view of the tool in closed position;

FIG. 3 is a -top plan view of the tool base;

PIG. 4 is a perspective view of the two upper leaves of the tool prior to their assembly with each other;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged View of the hinge portions of the two upper leaves in position for assembly;

FIG. 6 is an lenlarged view of the bearing recess of the base portion; and,

FIG. 7 shows la sectional portion of 4the die end of the tool with the socket and prong ring elements in position to be clinched on a garment support.

My attaching tool is designed to set laundry-proof snap fasteners upon garments, the fasteners being of the general type shown in the Fenton Patents 2,131,347 and 2,724,162. The tool consists of three parts: a base 10, an upper leaf or punch 11 and -a lower leaf 12, all of which are preferably made of a relatively hard plastic material but with some degree of resiliency, such as nylon. The upper leaf 11 and the-lower leaf 12 are hingedly connected to each other and to the base portion on the same axis. The base 10 is in the form of a ilat elongated wedge that has a square opening 13 through its wider end in order topermit the upper and lower leaves 11 and 12 to pass therethrough as a unit when they `are to be assembled to the base. A wall portion '14 projects upwardly from the top surface of the base 10 and surrounds the opening 13 on three sides leaving the side toward the narrow end of the base open -to permit the upper and lower leaves 11 and 12 to hinge therein during the operation of the tool. The

opposed sides

15 and 16 of the wall porties are presided with bearing :17 and 1S in Patented Aug. 29, 1961 ICC which the upper leaf 11 is hingedly connected as will be dfmcribed later.

in order to provide a hinging connection for the upper and lower leaves 11 and 12, the lower leaf 12 has a reduced upwardly curved extension 19 terminating in a transverse cylindrical portion 29, the latter extending beyond the width of the extension 19 to provide

trunnions

21 and 22. The upper leaf terminates in an enlarged barrel portion 23 at one end with a clearance space 24 therebetween to accommodate the lower leaf extension 19. The adjacent walls of the barrel poition 23 are. formed `with bearing recesses 25 to receive the

trunnions

21 and 22 of the lower leaf 12. The bearing recesses 25 are connected to the periphery of the barrel portion 23 by connecting slots 26 that have, adjacent said recesses, a restriciton 27 of a cross dimension slightly less than the diameter of the trunnions 21 and 22 (see FIG. 5).

In assembling the upper and lower leaves 11 and 12 together as a unit, it is only necessary to align the

lower leaf trunnions

21 and 22 with the upper leaf barrel connecting slots 26 and insert them therein. After the

trunnions

21 and 22 contact t-he restrictions 27, a small amount of added pressure will cause them to snap past said restrictions and into the bearing recesses 25, thereby making a secure hinged connection between the upper and lower leaves. Should it be necessary to disassemble the upper and Ilower leaves for any reason, the above procedute need only be reversed.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the upper and lower leaves 111 and 12 are formed with tapering

portions

28 and 29 and

straight sections

30 and 31, respectively. The tapering portions 28 and `29 are shaped to more or less conform to the shape of the tapering base 10. The sides of the straight section 30 of the upper leaf 11 lie in a comm-on plane with the opposed ends of the barrel p0rtion 23 -and from this bar-rel portion lare extended reduced pivot pins 32. If desired, lips 31a may be extended from the ends of the straight section 31 shaped to conform to the barrel portion 23 and close up the gap made by the reduced extension 19 of the lower leaf 12 and for the sake of appearance.

After the upper and lower leaves have been hin-gedly connected together as above described, they may then be assembled -to the base 10. As previously pointed out,

recesses 117 and 18 are provided in lthe opposed wall por.

tions

15 and 16 of the base 10, and said bearing recesses 17 `and 18 are joined by tapering guide recesses or channels 33 intercepting through the bottom of the base 10 (see FIG. 6). As noted in FIG. 6, the dimensions across the most narrow or restricted portion of the guide recesses 33 is less than the diameter of the upper leaf pivot pins 32.

ln making the assembly of the two hingedly connected leaves to the base, the leaves 11 and 12 as a unit, are inserted upwardly, tapered ends first, through the square opening 13 in said base 10 as shown in dotted outline in FIG. 2. `As the assembled leaves unit is drawn upward-ly through the ope-ning 13, the pivot pins 32 are aligned with the tapering guide recesses 33 and are directed int-o the bearing recesses 1'7 and 18, then forced through the restricted portion of said recesses into snap locking engagement with said bearing recesses, thus completing the assembly of lthe tool.

In order to retain and set the general type of snap fastener elements disclosed in the above referred to patents, the narrow end of the base 10 is formed with two

die recesses

34 and 35 which serve to accommodate two different sizes of attaching prong rings, the smaller size of which is shown in FIG. 7. The depth of the

recesses

34 and 35 is sulicient to receive the flanges of the ,prong rings without danger ot .having them snp @in of position when inserting a garment support into the tool. The free end of the lower leaf is formed with two

elementretaining openings

36 and 37 slightly larger than the diameter of the

base die recesses

34 and 35, and are disposed in axial alignment therewith when the leaves' are in fastener assembly position so as to properly register the fastener elements with the prong ring in the base die recess. The underside of the upper leaf 11 adjacent its free end is formed with a pair of downwardly projecting

punch members

33 and 39 which are adapted to align with the

lower leaf openings

36 and 37 as well as with the

base die recesses

34 and 35. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bottom faces of the

punch members

38 and 39 are suitably shaped or formed to accommodate the particular shape of the fastener elements against which said punch members engage during the fastener setting operation.

To consider other reinements of my fastener setting tool, it is to be noted that the pivot pins 32 and the bearing recesses 25 of the upper leaf barrel 23, as well as the trunnions 2l and 22 of the lower leaf 12, all have a cornmon axis so that the lower leaf openings and the upper leaf punches are swung in a common arc and in proper alignment with the base recesses. Also, it is to be noted that the straight sections 3f) and 3l of the upper and lower leaves have a snug slidable or rotatable engagement with the adjacent surfaces of the opposed sidewalls and 16 of the base 10 so as to maintain the upper and lower leaves against any lateral distortion during the swinging movement.

As a further assurance that the fastener retaining features of the various parts of the tool are properly aligned, particularly Iduring the fastener setting operation, the lower base is formed with an upwardly projecting tapering alignment pin 40 that snugly fits into the sidewalls of a rectangular opening 41 in the lower leaf 12. The underside of the upper leaf 11 has a rectangular recess 42 to receive the terminal end of said alignment pin.

As an example of how one type of fastener member, including a socket element S and a prong ring P, may be attached to a garment support G, see FIG. 7. When a fastener is to be attached to a garment, the leaves 11 and 12 are swung upwardly and a prong ring P is placed in one or the other of the

die recesses

19 and 20, depending on the size of the fastener to be attached and, as illustrated in FIG. 7, preferably showing the smaller size fastener element. After the prong ring has been placed in the small die recess 35, the garment support G is positioned over the top of the prongs so that the prong ring is aligned with the desired point for fastener attachment. The lower leaf 12 is now swung down until it rests firmly against the garment support G. In this position, the opening 37 will overlie the die recess 35 and the prongs of the prong ring, as well as the garment material, will project a short distance in the opening 37. This not only smooths out the garment overlying the prongs to prevent puckering of the material, but also allows the user to see the exact position in which the fastener will be attached. The socket member S is now placed in the opening 37 over the garment and prong ring and the upper leaf 11 is swung down until the bottom face of the punch 39 rests on the socket. To complete the fastener assembly, the top surface of the upper leaf over the punch 39 is struck several blows with a hammer or the like, and causes the prongs of the prong ring to pierce through the garment material and become clinched within a suitable anvil portion of the socket member.

A pair of

cylindrical recesses

43 and 44 are located on the underside of the opposed ends of the base 10 and directly overlying these recesses on the top surface of the base are shallow

conical depressions

45 and 46. Should it be desired to attach the setting tool to a table or workbench, serews or nails may be driven through the relatively thin web separating the conical depressions and the cylindrical recesses, thereby anchoring the setting tool firmly in place.

While one form of the invention is shown and described, it is to be understood that the construction may be varied as to mechanical details without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of what is claimed.

What l claim is:

l. A hand operated tool for attaching complementary elements of snap fasteners to a support material, said tool comprising a base, an upper leaf and a lower leaf, means hingedly connecting said upper and lower leaves to each other at one end, means hinging said upper and lower leaves as a unit to said base, a die recess in said base adapted to receive the first element of a snap fastener, said lower leaf having a through opening therein adapted to align with said die recess and serving to position the second element of said snap fastener in registry with the first element in the die recess of said base, and a setting punch carried by said upper leaf co-operating with said die recess and said lower leaf opening for clinching the fastener elements through the interposed support material.

2. A hand operated tool as defined in claim l wherein both of said hinging means are in co-axial alignment with each other.

3. A hand operated tool for attaching the complementary elements of a snap fastener to a support material comprising a base, an upper leaf and a lower leaf, said upper and lower leaves having hinging means at one end of such a character that said leaves can be hingedly connected together by a snap action and permit said leaves to lie in parallel relationship to each other, a bearing block having three sides extending upwardly from said base, and means releasably and hingedly connecting said upper and lower leaves as a unit within said bearing block and permitting said upper and lower leaves to lie in substantially parallel relationship to the upper surface of said base, and fastener setting means in the free end of said leaves and said base co-operating with each other to set fastener elements upon said support material.

4. A hand operated tool as defined in claim 3 wherein the hinging leaves have opposed straight sides having a snug slidable fit within the side extension of said bearing blocks to stabilize the hinging action of said leaves relative to said blocks.

5. A hand operated tool as defined in claim 3 wherein said base has an upwardly projecting alignment pin and the lower leaf has a complementary slot for receiving said pin.

6. A hand operated tool as defined in claim 3 wherein the hinging means of the upper and lower leaves consists of an enlarged spaced barrel portion on one end of one leaf having bearing recesses in the adjacent faces of said barrel portions, and said other leaf having a projection on one end carrying opposed trunnions for bearing engagement in said bearing recesses.

7. A hand operated tool as defined in claim 3 wherein the means for releasably and hingedly connecting said upper and lower leaves as a unit to the base consist of pivot pins on one end of said assembled leaves and the opposed sides of said bearing block having bearing recesses with a guide channel leading thereinto with a restriction therein for causing the pivot pins to be guided therethrough and into snap-locking engagement in said bearing recesses.

No references cited.