US2513182A - Covered buttons, buckles, and the like - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1950 H. KOEHL Em. 2,513,182

COVERED BUTTONS, BUCKLES, AND THE LIKE Filed July 7, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 F 4 l a .2! -5 F/G Q F/G. 1 Fla.

INVENTOR. I v M M i June 27, 1950 Filed Jul 7, 1949 H. KOEHL EIIAL covmzn BUTTONS, BUCKLES, AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. lZ

N V TOR. M

H. KOEHL EI'AL COVERED BUTTONS, BUCKLES, AND THE LIKE Jl m e 27, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 7, 1949 VENTOR. uvwx M Patented June 27, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,513,182 ooveiuzn nn'r'rous, BUCKLES, AND THE mu:

Herman Koehl and Hans A. Prym, Woodstock,

Com, assignors to Prym Engineering Company, Killingly, Com, a partnership Application July I, 1949, Serial No. 103,400

Claims. (01. 24-113) Our invention relates to parts for assembling covered buttons, buckles and the like. More particularly, it concerns means whereby any desired flexible covering material can easily be attached to the form pieces of such articles without the use of special equipment and skill.

The covering of buttons, buckles and the like with special fabrics, leather and similar flexible covering materials, in order to make such articles match or complement the appearance of the clothing on which they are to be used, has generally been entrusted to specialty shops. This is because special machinery or tools and experienced operators are required to assemble such articles, when employing the parts now available. It is frequently very inconvenient for the seamstress or housewife to turn over to someone else the task of preparing such specially covered articles, so that there has long been an unsatisfied demand for some very simple and efl'ective means of preparing these articles at home.

The principal object of our invention is to provide parts for buttons, buckles and the like, that can be suitably covered and assembled to finished articles without the need for special equipment, experience or skill. A particular ob- J'ect is a form piece over which the flexible covering material may easily be stretched, provided with integral means for holding the covering material thereon. Another object is a closure member for the back of the form piece, adapted releasably to lock the covering material in place upon the latter. A further object is to provide holding and locking means designed to accommodate various thicknesses of covering material. Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of our invention.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating several embodiments of the invention. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of sheet metal blank from which a form piece for a button is made.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the form piece made from the blank shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a, section of the form piece taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a sew-on loop having resilient arms and extensions for insertion in the form piece.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the sew-on loop.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the form piece with the arms and extensions of the sew-on loop inserted therein.

Fig. 7 is a similar sectional view showing the flexible covering material stretched over the form piece and held thereon by the integral holding means.

Fig. 8 is a, bottom'view of a closure member showing the slot through which the sew-on loop passes.

Fig. 9 is a section of the closure member taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view showing the completely assembled, covered button produced by snapping the closure member of Figs. 8 and 9 into the opening of the covered form piece shown in Fig. 7.

Figs. 11 and 12 are sectional views of completely assembled, covered buttons including alternative forms of closure members.

Fig. 13 is a bottom view of a form piece for a buckle according to our invention.

Fig. 14 is a section of the form piece taken on the line "-14 of Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a plan view of a closure member designed for use in connection with the form piece of Figs. 13 and 14.

Fig. 16 is a section of the closure member taken on the line l6-l6 of Fi 15.

Fig. 17 is a sectional view showing the completely assembled covered buckle produced by forcing the closure member of Figs. 15 and 16 into the opening of a covered form piece as shown in Figs. 13 and 14.

Fig. 18 is a bottom view of another form piece for a buckle, this time having a rectangular rather than a round shape.

The sheet metal blank I of Fig. 1 is easily produced by punching it from strips. It is provided along its edge portions with pointed teeth 2 for a purpose to be described. This sheet metal blank is then pressed into the shape of the form piece shown in Figs. 2 and 3'. That iorm piece has the shape of a round cap 3 with a continuous outer rim and an opening I at the back, which is lined with the inwardly pointed teeth 2 directed toward the center of the space enclosed by the cap.

The next step in assembling the button of Figs. 1 to 12 is to insert the sew-on loop of Figs. 4 and 5 into the form piece of Fig. 3, as shown in Fig. 6. This sew-on loop is composed of a single piece of wire. It includes a loop portion 5, two arms 6 and extensions 1. These arms and extensions fit inside the round cap 3 adjacent its inner surface to hold the sew-on loop resiliently thereto with its loop portion 5 extending beyond the opening. The resilient nature of the sew-on loop constitutes an advantageous feature of our invention, because it imparts a spring action to the loop portion 5. This enables one to sew the assembled button closely on to an article of clothing, giving it a neat appearance, and yet to use such a button for buttoning-on a thick fabric.

Fig. 7 shows the manner in which the flexible covering material 8 is stretched over the round cap 3 and held thereon by means of the pointed teeth 2. It should be noted that the points of these teeth are directed inwardly, i. e. toward the center of the interior of the cap 3. This is an important feature of our invention, since it permits the stretching of the flexible covering material 8 over the rim of cap 3 and aids in holding it firmly and evenly over the front of the cap 3; i

We prefer to shape our form piece in sucha man the stretching and attachment of the flexible covering material.

The final step in assembling the covered button is to insert a closure member into the opening of the form piece. A preferred form of closure member is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. It is composed of a sheet metal disc 9 provided with a slot l and a folded rim II.

The fully assembled button is shown in Fig. 10. It will be noted that the folded rim ll of the sheet metal disc 9 bears against the-inwardly, pointed teeth 2, thereby additionally securing the covering material I to the cap 3. The loop portion of the sew-0n loop passes through the slot Ill.

The inwardly pointed teeth 2 cooperate resiliently with the folded rim ll of the disc 9, so that the closure member may be snapped into the form piece. -While being inserted, this closure member helps to stretch the covering material 8 evenly over the cap 3. An advantage of the pointed teeth 2 and their resilient cooperation with the rim or edge of the closure member, is that our device will accommodate covering material of varying thicknesses. It is possible for the ointed teeth to penetrate the covering material more or less deeply and for the points to' act as springs bearing against the closure member.

As indicated in Figs. 11 and 12, our closure members may be made in a variety of different forms. In Fig. 11 the closure member is composed of a dish-shaped disc i2 of resilient material. In order to impart greater resilience to its outer edge, this'dish-shaped disc is'provided with a plurality of incisions II. This enables the disc l2 to be forced' past the inwardly pointed teeth 2,

so that the edge of that disc will hold the covering material 8 tightly against the pointed teeth.

The closure member shown in Fig. 12 consists of a simple, fiat disc ll composed of compresslble material such as rubber, cork composi- 5 of the sewing loop may pass. a

In Figs. 13 to 1'7 are shown the parts of the assemblyof a covered buckle according to our invention. The hollow, sheet metal, form piece in this case is ring shaped and provided at'the back with an opening 2| that is lined with serrated "i5 ner that the serrated edges lie closely adjacent to the outer rim of the form piece, thereby pro- 3 viding a maximum sized opening and facilitating 4 teeth 22 of said serrated edges perform the same function as in the button shown in the previous figures. In this case the center of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece -is not a single point but a series of points constituting a center line. The form piece for the buckle is provided with the-usual crossbar 23 which causes but a minor interruption of the adjacent serrated edge. The closure member shown in Figs. 15 and 16 is a simple washer 24 composed of resilient, compresslble. aterial. It is inserted into the opening 2| and holds the covering material 25 tightly against the inwardly pointed teeth 22. as can best be seen in Fig. 17. Obviously this closure member may also take diiferent forms analogous to the forms illustrated in Figs. 8 to 11. The form piece shown in Fig. 18 likewise has inwardly pointed teeth 28 lining the opening 21 and directed toward the center line of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece. Obviously the closure member for this form piece should have a shape corresponding tosaid opening 21. Fig.- 18 is included to illustrate the fact that our 4 invention is not limited to roimd shapes. It will be evident to anyone that a great variety of different shapes of buttons, buckles and the like are possible, embodying the principles of our invention.

By-means of the parts described above it is possible for the'housewife or seamstress to prepare buttons having any desired flexible covering material in the home without use of special equipment. No particular skill or experience is necessary to stretch the covering material evenly over the form piece and to attach it thereto-by means of the inwardly pointed teeth. These ,teeth hold the material securely and cooperate with the rim of the closure member to lock it -thereon. The-insertion of the closure member serves to impart additional tension to the covering material and to assure an unwrinkled covering.

One advantage of our device is that the covering material can be readily replaced, if desired.

This can be done by forcing the resiliently fitting closure member out of the opening of the form piece by means of a pointed instrument inserted between the inwardly pointed teeth. After removal of the closure member, the covering material can be lifted off the pointed teeth and re- 30 by means of the closure member.

Many other modificatiom will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of our invention. Thus, our invention is not limited to the particular materials mentioned. For example, the form piece may be made of plastic instead of sheet metal. All such modifications are included within the scope of the appended claims, unless expressly excluded by the limitations set forth therein.

' We claim:

1. A device of the class described. comprising a hollow form piece having a continuous outer rim and a relatively large opening at the back into which a flexible covering material can easily be e s f h Sheet metal- The inwardly pointfidit" inserted, the "edges of said opening being located with inwardly pointed teeth directed toward the center of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece, for holding such covering material and permitting it to be stretched over the outer surface of the form piece.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a hollow sheet metal form piece having a continuous outer rim and a relatively large opening at the back into which a flexible covering material can easily be inserted, the edges of said opening being continuous, located closely adjacent to said outer rim and lined with inwardly pointed teeth directed toward the center of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece, for holding such covering material and permitting it to be stretched over the outer surface of the form piece, and a closure member for said opening fitting resiliently against the inwardly pointed teeth of said edges.

3. A device of the class described, comprising a hollow sheet metal form piece having a continuous outer rim and a relatively large opening at the back, the edges of said opening being located closely adjacent to said outer rim and being lined with inwardly pointed teeth directed toward the center of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece, a closure member for said opening fitting resiliently against the inwardly pointed teeth of said edges, and a sew-on loop of wire having arms extending into the form piece ad- Jacent its inner surface with extensions bearing against the inner rim thereof and its outer loop portion passing through an opening in the closure member. v 4. A covered button, buckle and the like, comprising a hollow sheet metal form piece having a continuous rim and a relatively large opening at the back, the edges of said opening being continuous, located closely adjacent to said outer rim and lined with inwardly pointed teeth directed toward the center of the space enclosed by the hollow form piece, a flexible covering material stretched over the form piece and held thereon by the inwardly pointed teeth, and a closure member for said opening fitting resiliently against the inwardly pointed teeth of said edges, thereby additionally securing the covering material to the form piece.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the closure member is composed of a, sheet metal disc having a folded rim near its edge. forming a trough therewith into which fit the points of the teeth lining the opening at the back of the form piece.

HERMAN KOEHL. HANS A. PRYM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,213,695 Scutti Jan. 23, 1917 1,426,651 Kleinmann Aug. 22, 1922 2,087,201 Cox July 13, 1937 2,089,389 Lyon Aug. 10, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 62,334 Switzerland Nov. '7, 1919 439,786 Germany Jan. 18, 1927 507,295 Great Britain June 19, 1939 512,528 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1939

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