US867455A - Flower or ornament holder for garments. - Google Patents

Description

No. 867,455. PATENTEDOGT.1,1907.

' e. WALKER.

FLOWER OB. ORNAMENT HOLDER FOR GARMENTS.

- APPLICATION FILED 3.2. 1906.

rm: NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNrTEn STATES PATENT oTTroE.

GEORGE WALKER, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed April 2, 1906. Serial No. 309,294-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WALKER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Flower or Ornament Holders for Garments, of whichthe following is a specification.

The invention relates to devices for holding flowers or other ornaments at the button-hole of garments, which dispenses with the use of pins and the like, and it is applied with ease and celerity without any unusual construction or arrangement of the material of the garment and without in any way injuring it, ashas often been the case with devices for this described. p

The invention consists of a garment ornament holder having a base which when in use extends upon one side of a lapel, for example, of a garment, across a slit or button-hole therein, and a pair of spring actuated gripping members, supported by the base, and projecting at substantially right angles to the plane thereof, which gripping members are adapted to extend through said slit and grasp an ornament upon the side of the garment opposite to the base.

The construction and operation of the device will be readily understood from the description hereinafter contained in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view-of the device formed from a single piece of wire; Fig. 2 is a plan of. the same device viewed from above it; Fig. 3 is an illustration of the device as used at hold a flower, the portion of the holder which constitutes the base being indicated in broken lines at the back of a lapel of a coat; Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device stamped from sheet metal, looking toward the hooked gripping members; Figv 5 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a plan of the same with a flower stem shown in dotted lines between the gripping members looking down upon Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the holder such as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, showing the manner in which the actuating spring is compressed by the pressure of the thumb and finger upon suitable projections on the arms, and the gripping members are separated.

Referring to the specific illustrations in the drawings, a a are parallel arms of the holder, which form a part of the supporting base for the gripping members or fingers f f secured to the inner end of each arm a a, each of which members extends in a parallel direction substantially'at right angles to said arms, and to the plane in which the other portions of the base lie, so that they are adapted to extend through a button-hole or other slit in a garment and clasp a flower or other ornament upon the side of the coat lapel, for instance, opposite purpose heretofore I where the respective portions l to that onwhich the said arms and other portions of the supporting base lie. Also it is preferable to bend the ends of the gripping members to form hooks h h as shown, which when in use will more securely clasp and hold the ornament.

A convenient and economical way of making the spring and applying it to the gripping members ff, is

wire, therefrom to the outer ends of thearms a a, are secured in any convenient manner. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the portions a a are integral or a part of a continuous wire with g g; while in Figs. 4 to 7 the ends of the portions 9 g are looped into holes at the outer ends of the parts a a. In the construction shown, the members ff are prevented from tilting upward when in use, by the portions of wire-g which bear upon the under surface of the material of the garment below the slit, and which extend from the spring s to the outer ends of the arms a a and constitute a portion of the base, and the gripping members are prevented from tilting downward by other portions 1) b of the base, which bear upon said under surface above the slit and extend from the arms a a in the same plane as the portions g, but in the opposite direction; and these portions 9 g, -b b, which constitute the supporting base, also serve as means to prevent the holderfrom passing through the slit when in use. To facilitate compressing the actuating spring of the gripping members, a projection, as p, is provided at the outer end of each arm a a, so that by the pressure of the thumb and finger thereon the spring may be compressed and the members f f separated for the insertion of an ornament after those members have been passed through the button-hole.

The two arms a a are made so as to move past each other in parallel paths when the members ff upon their respective inner ends are opened and closed; and to give firmness and uniformity to the operation, the arms are constructed so as to overlap and are interlocked by means of an eye or loop upon the end of each through which the opposite or companion arm passes, each eye sliding over the arm which passes through it when the members are opened or closed. In the position shown in the drawings, each gripping member and a portion 1) or 1) forms a part of, or is secured to, the arm which extends from the side opposite to that which the said portions respectively occupy in relation to each other; that is, the memb er f and part b are upon the arm a, and member f and part b are upon the arm a, and an eye on the end of arm a engages the arm a, and an eye on the end of the arm a Referring to Figs. 1 and 7 for illustration, when the holder is manipulated to open the gripping members, the member f and part b which. are upon arm a move to the left, and the member f and part b which are to coil a wire, as at s, and extend the portions 9 of the I engages the arm a.

upon arm a move to the right, and when the members are closed or brought together again by the action of the spring, their respective movements are reversed.

A convenient and economical construction is that shown in Fig. 1, in which the entire holder is formed by bending a single piece of wire into the desired shape. Figs. 4, 5 6 and 7 illustrate a holder formed from two pieces of sheet metal hinged together at 8 while the spring is a separate piece of wire, the ends of which are in engagement with the projections 19. The members f f and portions 1) b are integral with their respective arms, and are bent into the form and positions illustrated. Fig. 7 shows the gripping members opened to receive the ornament. As is evident, thereiore, the shape of the support tor, or the arms to which the gripping members are attached is not material, provided the gripping members are adapted to project through the button-hole or other slit in the material and are actuated by a spring to close them together, and their supporting base is constructed with its parts all substantially in a plane at right angles to the length of the gripping members and extending radially upon all sides thereof, so as to serve as a guard to prevent the holder when in use from being pulled through the slit in the garment, and the gripping members from tilting when the ornament has been inserted between them on the side of the material opposite to the supporting base.

This device is especially designed for use in holding flowers at the button-hole of garments, and its capacity is from a single stem to a large bunch of stems, for the gripping fingers may be pushed into a bunch of any size and hold it by gripping those stems which pass between the fingers. The ease with which the holder may be manipulated and accomplish its purpose will be appreciated by the user.

I claim:

1. A flower or ornament holder for garments, consisting of a supporting base which when in use is adapted to lie parallel with the surface of the garment, a pair of parallel arms which project into the area included within a circumscribing line connecting the extreme limits ofthe base, a

pair of gripping members one attached to each arm, and which project at right angles thereto and to the plane of the base upon one side thereof within said area, and a spring to actuate each arm and tend constantly to press the gripping members together.

2. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of parallel arms, a supporting base therefor which is adapted when in use to lie parallel with the surface of the garment, a hooked gripping member attached to each arm with the hook points turned in opposite directions in the same plane, which members extend at right angles to the supporting base upon one side thereof within the area circumscribed by a line passing through the extreme limits thereof, and which members are adapted to project through a button-hole and engage the ornament on the side of the garment opposite to the base, and a spring to actuate each arm and tend constantly to press the gripping members together.

3. A button-hole flower holder, comprisinga pair of interlocking parallel arms each provided with a gripping; member, which members project in the same direction at right angles to and upon one side of the plane, substair tially, in which said arms and the base of the holder lie, and within the area hounded by a line p: sing through the extremes of said base, which members also are adapted to pass through a button-hole and grip a (lower on the side of the garment opposite to said arms, and a spring which tends constantly to press said gripping members together.

4. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of arms with parallel portions which overlap one another. a spring to actuate the arms, a. gripping member which projects from each of said parallel portions in the same direction at substantially right angles thereto and to the plane practically in which the parts of the base of the holder lie, and within the area bounded by a line passing through the extreme limits of the base. which members are constantly pressed toward one another by the arm actuating spring, and are adapted to extend through :1 button-hole and engage an ornament on the side of the garment opposite to said arms.

5. A buttonhole ornament holder, consisting of a pair of arms with parallel portions which overlap and inter lock and are adapted to slide longitudinally past each other within the area cirmunscribed by a line passing through the extreme limits of the holder base. a spring to actuate said arms. a pair of gripping members, one o1 which is attached to each of said parallel portions of the arms and projects therefrom at right angles to and upon one side of the plane in which the arms and base of the holder'lie, and within said area of the base.

(i. A button-hole ornament holder, consisting of a supporting base, a pair of parallel gripping members which project substantially at right angles to the plane of the base upon one side thereof within the area circumscribed by a line passing through the extreme limits of the bas spring actuated arms to which the said members are attached and which tend constantly to press the members together, and parts as b, I), which serve as a part oi the. base and project from said arms in a direction substantially at right angles thereto aml to the said gripping members and radially therefrom in a direction different from that of the other portions of the base, but in substantially the same plane therewith, and which parts tend to prevent the gripping members from tilting while in use.

GEORGE WALKER.

Witnesses Rnunnx L. Itonnn'rs, Fnonnxen A. COLLINS.

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