US988090A

US988090A - Strap and fastener.

Info

Publication number: US988090A
Application number: US47288509A
Authority: US
Inventors: John Raymond Hamilton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1909-01-18
Filing date: 1909-01-18
Publication date: 1911-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 1928-03-28

Description

J'. R. HAMILTON.

STRAP AND FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11;, 1909.

988,090. 1 Patented Mar.28,1911.

A are,

. mechanism for uniting the terminals or JOHN RAYMOND HAMILTON, OF ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA.

STRAP AND FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented luar, 28, 1911,

Application filed January 18, 1909. Serial Ito-472,885.

The primary object of my invention is to produce an improved strap, preferably of metal, wherein provision is made for uniting and securing together temporarily or permanently, as desired, the opposite ends thereof when the strap is bent or doubled upon itself so as to bring said endstogether.

Another object is to produce fastening parts of one or more objects, such as the ends of a strap, or the ends of a plurality of straps.

Anotherobject is to produce fastening mechanism of a distinctive character, which may positively identify the article or articles to which it is attached and from which it cannot be removed or disengaged without either destroying the fastening mechanism or so far mutilating or changing its appearance as to afford evidence that the fastening mechanism has been tampered with.

My strap may be made of different metals and in a variety of shapes, weights, and sizes, and is applicable to numerous important and varied uses.

to which it may be applied, it is deemed sufiicient to specify that it may be employed as a paper fastener, a leg band for poultry, and a car door seal.

My device when made of light metalas in paper fasteners may be readily applied by simple manipulation without the aid of a tool, or for heayier and rougher uses, as in car door seals, its bending may require the use of pliers. The force necessary to apply it, however, has nothing to do with the nature of the invention itself, the distinctive features whereof are presented in the various-forms of embodiment to which it may be reduced, and irrespective of the Weight of metal in which those forms are embodied;

In the accompanying drawing, which constitutes a part of this specification, Fi re I is a perspective view of a simple an preferred form of embodiment. o my device, showing it of about the size and dimensions suitable for 'a paper fastener, and .in flat;

form before it is bent into service. Fig. II is a perspective'view of the sub ect matter of Fig. I, showing the strap bent to bring the tongue and. slotted ends opposite each other and in position ready for engagement. Fig. III illustrates upon an enlarged scale the engagement of the tongue and slotted end of the strap, as shown in Fig. II. Fig. IV is an end view of the subject matter of Fig. III illustrating the tongue bent down upon the slotted end of the strap. Fig. V is a transverse section of the tongue detached illustrating the angularity of unction of its two sides and one of the projections formed in said angle. Fig. VI is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the subject matter of Fig. III illustrating the engagement of the tongue and the slot lip. Fig. VII is a top plan view of the subject matter of Fig. IV. Fi VIII is a front elevation of a modified orm of tongue, showing one provided with oppositely serrated edges instead of the feather slotted edge shown, for example, in Fig. III. Fig.

' IX is a perspective view similar to Fig. III

but illustrating a perfectly smooth and curved tongue with a slot curved to fit it.

Fig. X is a view similar to Fig. VII illushating the tongue shown in Fig. IX bent down upon the slotted end of the strap, and illustrative of the manner in which it is expanded and kinked by bending to fill and grip the ends of the slot. Fig. XI is a plan view of a strap provided with a ter Not to attempt to enumerate all of the usesminally disposed tongue as a substitute for the struck up ton eshown in the previous figures. Fig. XI is a view similar to Fi I showinga strap provided with a struc up tongue and tongue slot at each end. Fig. XIII illustrates a mode of applying the strap shown in Fig. XII and of utilizing the tongue and the slot at each end thereof for fastening the ends of the strap together. Figs. XIV, XV, and XVI illustrate the strap shown in Fig. XII utilized. as an envelop closure in three different modes of application.

Referring to the numerals on the drawin 1 indicates my strap, which being ma e preferably of fiat flexible metal of any kind and Wei ht suitable and preferred for the use to which it, is intended to be applied, is characterized by the presence near one end of a slot-engaging tongue 2, and near the other of a tongue-receivlng aperture 3. The

three elements specified are present in every form of. embodiment of my device whose modifications contemplate variations in the shape and disposition of the tongue and in the tongue, shown in Fig. VIII, down upon the shape and disposition of the aperture 3, t which is made to receive the tongue when the strap is a plied in service, the shape and dimensions of the body of the strap 1 being variable at pleasure. The disposition of the tongue to the strap is susceptible of any desired variation. In all of the figures of the drawing except Fig. XI is shown a tongue which is cut out of the body of the strap and struck up to a position substantially at right angles to it, in which position it presents itself for ready insertion into the aperture in the opposite end of the strap when said end of the strapis bent over and brought into position to permit the tongue to enter the aperture. The tongue is preferably made, for reasons which will presently appear, angular in cross section, as shown in Fig. V, or curved in cross section, as. shown in Fig. IX, for example, that is the distance between the edges of the tongue is less than the width of the material of the tongue,rand the aperture 3 is preferably a slot which is made to conform to the shape of the tongue for whose accommodation it is provided. Whether the slot be angular, as clearly shown in Fig. I or on an enlarged scale in Fig. VII, or whether it be in the form of an arc, as shown in Figs. IX and X, there is always present in it a slot lip 5 (see Fig. VI) which enters the concave side of the tongue and which may be utilized for engagement of projections, upon the tongue extending toward it. Such projec .tions are indicated by the numeral 6, and may be formed, for example, by puncturing the metal of the tongue at intervals. The projections 6 afford by engagement with the slot lip 5 means for uniting the tongue end of the strap to the slotted end thereof. In addition to or in lieu'of such means for uniting the two ends of the strap, engaging means upon the opposite edges of the tongue may be employed. For example, feather slits 7 in the tongue may be employed, as shown in Fig. III, or serrations 8, as shown iii Fi VIII.

It should he observed that while the slot and tongue connection with or without the projections 6, the slot-engaging slits 7, or the serrations 8 perform the function of ad justably uniting the two ends of the strap,

they are most readily adjustable when the tongue is of the smooth form shown in Fig. IV, and that the security of permanent union is obtained by bending the end of the tongue down upon the slotted end of the strap, as shown, for example, in Fig; VII. As shown in that figure, the edges of the tongue next adjacent to a bend 9 therein are expanded beyond the ends of the slot and serve to positively secure the ends of the strap together. This function is also developed by the serrations 8 in bending oeaoao the strap after it has passed through its slot. A smooth tongue 10 formed for engagement with an are shaped slot 11 is shown in Fig. IX. The effect of bending the end of the tongue 10 upon the slotted end of the strap after insertion of the tongue into its slot 11 is to force out the edges of the tongue into engagement with the ends of the slot, and to produce in the tongue, as shown in Fig. X, a kink 14:. This kink is characteristic of each form of my device, being shown at 9 in Fig. VII as well as at 14 in Fig. X, but in a less pronounced degree. It cannot be removed after being once formed in the tongue, and constitutes a means of security wherever a permanent union is desired.

When once my device has been permanently attached to an object by the bending and kinking of the tongue it cannot be removed therefrom without destroying the device, or without mutilating the kinked tongue in a way to constitute it into a telltale. This feature is of special value in certain applications of my device, as, for example, in car door seals and leg bands. For the purpose of temporary adjustment, the smooth tongue, shown in Fig. IX, 1s best adapted before it is bent and kinked. Afterward it lends itself most efiectively to permanency of adjustment. It may be observed in this connection that the slotted and serrated forms of tongue shown in Figs. III and VII, for instance, are adjustable within their respective slots, provided that they do not efi'ect a close fit transversely therein. If the fit is a loose one, the tongue may be moved back and forth in its slot until it is bent and thereby secured by the spreading of the tongue. See Figs. IV, VII, and X. If the slitted or serrated tongue fit its slot closely, or if the feathers defined by the slits 7 be spread before the tongue is inserted, itis not susceptible of reverse adjustment therein, but the slits or serrations afford in themselves means of engagement with the ends of the slot that is substantially permanent.

In Fig. XI I show a slight modification of the form of embodiment of my invention, in which-a strap 15 is provided at one end with a slot 16, and at the other with terminally disposed slot-engaging tongue 17 the re spective shapes preferred of the tongue and l slot being conformable to each other. The manner of cooperation of the tongue and slot is identical with that of the tongues and slots previously described. This form of strap being simple, light, and easy of application, especially adapts itself to use for a leg band, although its use for that purpose is not to be regarded as exclusive of the other forms of strap illustrated.

In Fig. XII, I illustrate a strap 18 which is provided at each end with a tongue, that at one end being indicated by the numeral if 19 and that at the other by the numeral 20. Thesetongues are both preferably struck up from the body of the strap, thereby defining therein at one end an aperture 21 and at the other end an aperture 22. Adjacent to the tongue 19 is a slot 23, and adjacent to the tongue 20 is a slot 24. The slots 23 and 24' are designed to accommodate the one or the other of the tongues. If, for instance, the tongue 20 is designed to enter the slot 23, the tongue 19 will enter theaperture 22, and contrariwise. When the strap 18 is applied as a paper fastener, to which use it is especially adaptable, both the

tongues

19 and 20 pass in opposite directions through the papers or the like which are to besecured together by them. When'the ends that carry the two tongues are pressed toward each other, if the tongue 19 enters the slot 24, the tongue 20 will enter the aperture 21, as has been stated. Both tongues, after being passedthrough the papers and through a respective slot and aperture, may bethen bent down upon the outside of the strap 18, as shown at 25 and 26 in Fig. XIII, when the slot-engaging tongue will be kinked after the manner previously described with reference to the single tongued strap. In operation, therefore, the strap 18 affords a double and secure fastening when applied as shown in Fig. XIII, with a security of permanent attachment equal to the single tongue fastener. The strap 18 is also susceptible of a convenient double use, being applicable, like a staple, for closure of envelops, as suggested in the three different modes of its application Xpistaple shown in Figs. XIV, XV, and

It is obvious that the fastening mechanism employed for uniting the ends of my strap may be employed for uniting a plurality of objects which is, as specified, contemplated within the purview of my invention.

It is my purpose not to limit myself to the exact details of construction herein shown and described, but to reserve the right to modify and varythe same within the scope of the invention as herein specified and defined in the appended claims.

\Vhat I claim is:

l. A flexible metallic strap in one piece, provided with a slot at one end, and a flexible slot-engaging tongue at the other, adapted to effect a union when the strap is bent or doubled upon itself, so as to bring the tongue and slot into engagement, and means which is a part of the strap itself, provided for adjustably uniting the tongue and slot.

2. A flexible metallic strap in one piece, provided with a slot at one end, and a flexible slot-engaging tongue at the other, adapted to effect a union when the strap is bent or doubled upon itselfso as to bring the tongue and slot into engagement, and means which is a part of the strap itself, provided for adjustably .uniting the tongue and slot, said means comprising slot-engaging means upon the ton e. v

3. A flexible metallic strap in one piece, provided with a slot at one end, and a flexible slot-engaging tongue at the other, adapted to effect a union when the strap is bent or doubled upon itself so as to bring the tongue "and slot into engagement, means which is a part of the strap itself, provided for adjustably uniting the tongue and slot, said means comprising projections upon the tongue, and a slot lip for engagement of projections upon the tongue.

4. The combination with a strap provided with a slot, of a flexible tongue upon the strap adapted to enter said slot when the strap is bent, and to be bent thereafter into permanent engagement with the strap, and means for permanently engaging the tongue in the slot.

5. The combination with a strap provided with a slot, of a flexible tongue fitting the slot and adapted to enter the same when the strap is bent to effect their engagement, the distance between the edges of said tongue being less than the width of the tongue, whereby, when the tongue is bent above the slot, as described, it will expand into se cure engagement with the ends of the slot. W V

6. Fastening mechanism for uniting parts of one or more objects, which consists of the combination of one part provided with a slot, of another part provided with a slotengaging flexible tongue, said slot and tongue being fitted to each other, the distance between the edges of said tongue being less than the width of the tongue, whereby, when the tongue is bent above the slot, as described, it will form a permanent kink in the tongue, substantially for the pur-',

pose specified.

7. A flexible metallic strap in one piece, provided'with a slot near one end, and a slotfitting and engaging flexible tongue at or near the other end adapted to effect a union when the strap is bent or doubled upon itself, so asto bring the tongue and slot into engagement, and means which are a part of the strap itself, provided for adjustably and permanently uniting the tongue and slot..

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN RAYMOND HAMILTON.

Witnesses:

H. H. BRITLAIN, C. C. HAMM.