US497972A - Combined lock and check-clasp - Google Patents

Description

H. J. WELCH. COMBINED LOCK AND CHECK CLASP.

(No Model.)

Patented May 23, 1893.

. preventing tampering with the lock.

and other pieces of property and also to enafter described. In its simplest form it em- UNITED STATES .HENRY JUSTUS WELCH, OF CARTI'IAGE,

ASSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF 'lO CALVIN V. GRAVES, OF NATURAL BRIDGE, NEW YORK.

COMBINED LOCK AND CHECK-CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,972, dated May 23, 1893.

Application filed February 27, 1893.

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, HENRY JUSTUS WELCH,a citizen of the United States, residing at Carthage, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Lock and Check-Clasp; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled 1n the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and usef'ul improvements in clasps designed primarily for use in the protection and identitication of property against loss by accident or theft, or otherwise.

Experience has fully demonstrated the fact that small articles, such for instance as overshoes, rubbers, umbrellas,satchels and the like which are temporarily left in stores, boarding houses, hotels, cars and other places are subject to loss by the appropriation thereof by persons who by accident or intent take the said articles, and in the case of the latter are always ready with the excuse that such appropriation was a mistaken identity, and thus they are exempt from prosecution for theft. In order to avoid this plea of mistaken identity and at the same time to lay the foundation for the better protection of such articles able one to better identify his own among many others I have devised the clasp hereinbodies a piece of material having a spring connection between its two halves or like portions and upon the one or both spurs or teeth to engage in the article to which it is to be attached, and a lock for holding the clasp in its closed position. The name and residence of the owner may be affixed upon the clasp in any suitable way. Means are provided for The clasp may be made as ornamental as tastes may dictate.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel Serial No. l1:63.905. (No model.)

features thereof will be specifically defined by the appended claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification and in which--` Figure l is a perspective View of my improved lock clasp ina position nearly closed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view with the same thrown open. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, on 6o an enlarged scale, of the lock mechanism.

Like letters .of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

My improved clasp may be made of any suitable material or combination of materials;

y I preferably form it of a single piece of spring metal and at the center thereof form it with a circular curvature as at a which forms a spring by the resiliency of the material and also extends the sides A A to admit of the 7o insertion of fabrics or other materials and also provides space for the lock mechanism. I may sometimes employ an additional spring B at the same bend or curvature as seen in Fig. 2.

On one or both of the leaves of the clasp near its free edgeI provide the spurs or teeth b as seen in Figs. l and 2 to engage in the article being held and hold firmly thereto; these spurs may be made in any suitable way, as 8o for instance by stamping up the metal of which the clasp is formed.

Upon the outer face of one of the leaves or halves of the clasp may be affixed the name and if desired the residence of the user; spaces c being provided for that purposeas seen in Fig. l. The entire device may be made Iire proof and used upon the suspender or other article of clothing to be a means of identification in case of death in a railroad accident or 9o the like. In order to hold the two leaves or halves in their closed position I provide a peculiar lock. It consists of a bolt D adapted to slide in openings in the bearings E fastened to the inner face of one of the leaves as seen in Fig. 2 and actuated by a spiral spring F as is seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The bolt is limited in its movements by the standards G and I-I one near each edge of the leaf and which serve also as guards against the picking of roo the lock. Upon the inner face of the other leaf is a catch I adapted to engage and move the bolt against the tension of the spring when the leaves are brought together and then the bolt is forced by its spring through the catch and the parts are held in their closed position.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the inf Vention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim as new is- Tl'e herein described lock clasp formed of a single piece of metal bent at its center, a

spring at the bend, spurs upon the inner face of one leaf near its free vend, bearings on the 15

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