US338565A - Eugene c - Google Patents

Description

(ModeL) E. 0. SMITH.

BELT FASTENER.

No. 338,565. Patented Mar. 23, 1886.

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UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

EUGENE 0. SMITH, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

BELT-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 338,565, dated March 23, 1886.

(ModeL) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE 0. SMITH, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Belt-Fastenings; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to produce a belt-fastening more especially designed for use on narrow and light belts in continuous strips containing a number of said fastenings, said strips being adapted to be cut up into suitable lengths for the belts upon which they are to be used by the purchasers of said strips.

The invention consists, as an article of man ufacture, in a skeleton strip containing a number of fasteners constructed as hereinafter particularly described, and capable of being easily separated into such lengths as are suitable for the belts upon which it is to be used by the purchaser of the strip, all of which is hereinafter particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows my fastener applied to a belt. Fig. 2 is a side view of the fastener, showing also a portion ofthe belt in section. Fig. 3 is a view of the skeleton strip. Fig. 4. is a side view.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the several figures.

A and A represent the meeting ends of a belt to be connected.

Bis my improved fastener, made of thin sheet metal, preferably of sheet-steel, and slightly conveX,and has its edges turned over and a series of teeth or prongs, a, formed on each. These teeth stand at an angle of about forty-five degrees, or less, to the main body of the fastener, and are slightly curved inward and formed to taper downward to a point. Enlarged openings 1) are cut out of the body of the fastener at intervals of one-half inch, more or less, and directly opposite the spaces between said teeth,which diminish the weight of the fastener, and also facilitate the severance of the same, as hereinafter described. The prongs a are to pass through the belt, and when in position to be flush with the inner surface of the belt, and are not to be riveted,

but simply to slip easily into corresponding holes previously punched in the belt.

The peculiar position and formation of the prongs, as above described, preventthem from becoming detached while the belt is at work, but permit them to be readily withdrawn whenever desired. The fastener can thus be applied and removed by slipping the prongs into the holes (previously provided) or out of the same, respectively, and the fastener can thus be applied and detached without injury to the belt.

It is my intention to manufacture and sell these fasteners in continuous skeleton strips B, (see Fig. 3,) containing a number of the same, to be separated in such lengths as may be required by the purchaser whenever desired. For this purpose the enlarged openings b, formed in the fastener opposite the spaces between the teeth, are especially advantageous, as the out can be made through any one of them, and there is but little metal to cut through in detaching the length required, and the manufacture in a continuous skeleton strip, detachable, as above described, forms a convenient mode of supplying them to the public, inasmuch as the desired length can easily be separated by the dealer or purchaser at any time.

I do not claim as my invention a belt-fastener consisting ofa plate having teeth or prongs formed on its edges and turned downward or punched from the meta-l, or formed thereon at a distance from the edges, and passed through the belt and riveted or clasped on the under side thereof; nor do I claim as a belt-fastener a plate having teeth or prongs which partially penetrate the leather, said plate secured to the leather by separate rivets passed through the same. None of these can accomplish the ob jects of my invention, as the fasteners are attached permanently to the belt, and could not be removed without injury to the same.

By my improvement, as herein described,

the fastener can be applied to and removed 5 from the belt by hand and without injuring it in the least degree, as there are no permanent fastening devices, and the inclination of the teeth is such that they will hold the plate firmly in its position while the belt is upon IOO larged openings along its center at points opposite the spaces between said teeth, whereby the strip may be readily cut into fasteners of suitable lengths on transverse lines passing :5 between the teeth and through said openings, substantially as described.

- EUGENE SMITH.

Witnesses:

CHAs. BUsToN,

JOHN S. THORNTON;

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