US2394856A - Wrist watch strap - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 12,, 1946. D. B. HICKMAN WRIST WATCH STRAP Filed Feb. 10,- 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mid/41am.

Feb. 12, 1946. D. B. HICKMAN I I WRI-ST WATCH STRAP Filed Feb. 10; 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICE 2,394,856 WRIST WATCH swam}? Darold B. Hickman, North A'ttlboro, 'Mass. Application February 10, 194-4., serial No. 521,861

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a watch strap and more particularly tov an extensible wrist strap which has a connecting portion between the free ends thereof so that the strap may be unbuckled without entirely freeing the watch and strap from the wrist to prevent dropping of the watch while the sameis being placed on the wrist or removed therefrom. j

The connecting portion between the free ends of the strap of the present invention allows the strap to be extended :so that the strap and watch may beslipped over the hand but does not interfere with the operation of a conventional strap buckle, as the connectin'gportion is provided with cut away portions for enabling thetohgue or the buckle to'be engaged in the usual holes in the other end of the strap. It is therefore an object ofthe present i" vention to provide an improved extensible strap for a wrist watch.

Another object of the invention is to provide an extensible strap for a wrist watch in which a connecting portion extending between the free ends of the strap is formed to enable buckling of the strap without interference by the connecting portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide an extensible fabric or leather wrist watch strap having a conventional buckle attached to one end thereof and provided with a connecting portion which extends between the buckle end of the strap and the other end thereof so as to enable buckling of the strap without interference by the connecting portion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof shown on the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the wrist watch having a strap in accordance with the present invention attached thereto. 1

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the strap of Fig. 1 showing the strap partly buckled.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the'structure of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to 2 showing the strap completely buckled.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. .2 on an enlarged scale showing -a modified structure.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a further modified type of strap.

7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a further modified watch strap. i

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary ,plan view. of strap of Fig. 7 showing the strap partly'buckle'tl:

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8 showing the strap :of Fig. '7 completely buckled.

Fig. :10 is a fragmentary elevation of the apertured end of the strap of Fig. 7 on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary plan View of the portion of the strap shown in Fig. 10.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

the strap, of the present invention may have one portion H) provided, with apertures or perforations H and another portion l2 provided with abuckle l3, having a conventional tongue M for engagement in the apertures H. Each of the port-ions Ill and I2 have one end attached to a wrist watch 16 in' any known or suitable manner such as by pins l'l extending through loops l8 .in the strap. The particular strap shown is rprovided with two thicknesses of leather or fabric sewn together, for example, by the stitches l9 to provide the loops l8 at the end of the strap, although any other suitable type of strap, such as a single thickness strap having appropriately formed loops or other attaching means thereon, may be employed.

The free .end of the portion |ll has one end of a connecting portion 2| secured thereto in any desired manner, for example, by stitching 22 preferably with the end of the portion 2| terminating flush with the free end of the portion Ill. The connecting portion 2| preferably extends rearwardly along the portion ID to provide a 'tip 23 which may be easily inserted in and passed through the loop of the buckle l3. The other end of the connecting portion 2| is attached to "the buckle end of the strap, for example, by the stitching 24 so as to extend generally in the same direction as the buckle end of the portion l2. The connecting portion 2 I, as shown in Fig. 1, has a slot 26 formed therein for reception of the tongue M of the buckle as more clearly shown in Fig. 3. The tip end 23 of the portion ID of the strap may be introduced through the loop in the buckle l3 in the usual manner as "shown in Fig. 2 and the tongue M of the buckle inserted through the slot 26 in the portion 2| -into an aperture H 'inthe portion l0. As shown in Fig. 4, the end 23 may then be inserted through the keeper loop 21 carried by the portion I2. The connecting portion 2|, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, forms a small fold inside of the apertured portion Hi and by making the portion 2| of relatively thinmaterial, this portion does not unduly thicken the wrist watch strap.

Withmost thin leather or-textile materials :no trouble is experienced ini'operating the strap of Figs. 1 to 4 so as to cause the portion 2| to assume the fold shown in Figs. 2 and 4, but with certain materials which take a permanent set, it has been found that the portion 2| tends to pull through the buckle and fold between the portions l2 and Ill intermediate the buckle I 3 and keeper loop 21, resulting in a bulky connection between the free ends of the strap. This can be prevented by the structure shown in Fig. 5, in which a member 3| of relatively stiff material is attached to the buckle portion l2 so as to underlie the buckle l3. With this structure the extensible portion 2| is prevented by frictional engagement with the member 3| from pulling through the loop of the buckle l3 and is caused to assume a fold such as that shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The member 3| may be made of any suitable relatively stiff material such as stiff leather, fabric board, or thin metal. This member does not in any way interfere with the insertion of the end 23 of the portion l through the loop of the buckle as the loop of the buckle i 3 is pivoted about its pin 32.

Although the slotted construction of the connecting portion 2|, shown in Figs. 1 to 4, is preferred, other types of connecting portions such as that shown at 33 in Fig. 6 may be employed, particularly with other types of buckles, such as the buckle 34 of Fig. 6 having two tongues 36. Thus the connecting portion 33 may be a single narrow leather or fabric member having one end attached to the free end of an apertured stra portion 31 having two rows of apertures 38 for reception of the tongues 36 of the buckle. The connecting portion 33 may be secured to the strap 31 in any suitable manner such as by the stitching 39 and to the buckle portion 4| in any desired manner such as by the stitching 42. The extensible portion 33 shown in Fig. 6 will form a fold beneath the end of the strap 3'! in the same manner as the connecting portion 2| of Figs. 2 and 4, and if desired, a guide member such as shown at 3! in Fig. may also be employed with the modified structure of Fig. 6. In any event it will be apparent that the connecting portions of the various modifications of the strap shown are laterally spaced from the tongue or tongues of the buckles to enable the straps to be buckled.

A further modified strap, which has certain advantages over the straps previously described is shown in Figs. '7 to 9. In these figures the connecting portion 43 extending between the apertured end 44 of the strap and the buckle end 46 thereof has one end secured to the strap end 44 in any suitable manner such as by stitching 4'5 and its other end 48 secured to a slidable loop as embracing the buckle end 46 of the strap. A particularly effective manner of attaching the connecting portion43 to the apertured end 44 of the strap is shown in Figs. and 11. The inner layer 5! of the strap is slitted at 52 and the end of the connectin member 43 inserted under the portion'53 of the inner layer 51 and held by the stitching 4'! Referring to Figs. 7 to 9, the loop 49 slides on the buckle end 46 of the strap and is held thereon by the buckle I3 so that the ends 44 and 46 or" the strap are at all times comiected together by the connecting portion 43. In applyin the strap to the wrist the hand'is' first inserted through the opening inthe strap when the ends are in a position similar to that shown in Fig. 7. The end 44 of the strap is then inserted through the loop of the buckle l3 and the strap tightened in the usual manner. The tongue I4 of the buckle is then inserted through the slot in the connecting member 43 and then through an aperture H in the strap end 44. The loop 49 is then moved away from the buckle l3 into the position shown in Fig. 8. This movement tensions the connecting portion 43 to remove any fold which may have formed therein and positions the loop 49 for reception of the end 44 of the strap. The end 44 is then inserted into the loop 49 so as to occupy the position shown in Fig. 9, the loop 43 serving as both a slidable connection for the connecting member 43 and as a keeper loop for the strap end 44. It will be apparent that the type of connecting member and buckle shown in Fig. 6 can also be adapted to the structure of Figs. 7 to 11 by providing a sliding loop on the buckle end of the strap instead of fixedly securing the connecting member to the buckle end of the strap.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is understood that the details thereof may be varied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An extensible Wrist watch strap comprising two flexible portions connected to said wrist watch, the free end of one of said portions being provided with a buckle having a loop and a tongue and the free end of the other portion being provided with apertures for receiving the tongue of said buckle, a connecting strap portion having its ends connected to said free ends of said strap portions so as to pass through said loop when the strap is buckled, said portion being provided with a slot through which the tongue of said buckle can extend when said strap is buckled.

2. An extensible Wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having a tongue and free ends, one provided with a buckle having a loop adapted to receive the other of said free ends, a flexible connecting strap element extending between said free ends and being secured to said free ends, said flexible element having a portion extending through the loop of said buckle and spaced laterally from said tongue when said other of said free ends is received in said loop and having another portion folding within said strap, said strap having means to prevent said last-mentioned portion from passing through said loop.

3. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having free ends, one provided with a buckle having a loop adapted to receive the other of said free ends, a flexible connecting strap element extending between said free ends and being secured to said free ends, said flexible element having a portion extending through the loop of said buckle when said other of said free ends is received in said loop and having another portion folding within said strap, said buckle having a tongue for engagement in an aperture in said other end of said strap and said connecting element'having a cut away portion registering with said aperture for passage of said tongue.

4. An extensible wrist watch strap cprnprising two flexible portions, each having one end provided with means for attachment to a wrist watch, the other end of one of said portions being provided with a'buckle having a tongue, and r the other end of the other portion having apertures for reception of said tongue and a flexible connecting strap member extending between said other ends of said portions and having a connecting portion spaced laterally from said tongue to provide for the buckling of said strap without interference by said connecting portion, a loop slidably embracing said one portion of said strap and being retained thereon by said buckle, said connecting member having one end secured to said loop.

5. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising two flexible portions connected to said wrist Watch, the free end of one of said portions being provided with a buckle having a tongue and the free end of the other portion being provided with apertures for receiving the tongue of said buckle, a connecting strap portion having its ends connected to said free ends of said strap portions and being provided with a slot through which the tongue of said buckle can extend when said strap is buckled, a loop slidably embracing said one portion and being retained thereon by said buckle, said connecting member having one end secured to said loop, said loop being of suflicient size to receive the free end of said other portion to form a keeper loop for said free end.

6. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having means for attachment to a wrist watch and providing strap ends for attachment to each other, one of said ends.being provided with a buckle having a buckle tongue and a loop for receiving the other of said ends, said other end having a plurality of apertures therein for selectively receiving said tongue, a flexible connecting strap member attached to and extending between said ends to limit separation thereof, said flexible member being positioned interiorly of said strap whereby a portion of said member passes through said buckle loop beneath said other end when the latter is received in said loop, said portion of said flexible member being spaced laterally from said tongue to provide for insertion of said tongue into one of said apertures. 7. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having means for attachment to a wrist watch and providing strap ends for attachment to each other, one of said ends being provided with a buckle having a buckle tongue and a loop for receiving the other of said ends, said other end having a plurality of apertures therein for selectively receiving said tongue, a flexible connecting strap member attached to and extending between said ends to limit separation thereof, said flexible member being positioned interiorly of said strap whereby a portion of said member passes through said buckle loop beneath said other end when the latter is received in said loop, said portion of said flexible member having a longitudinal slot therein to provide for insertion of said tongue into one of said apertures, the attachment of said flexible member to said one end comprising a loop slidable on said one end and retained thereon by said buckle.

DAROLD B. HICKMAN.

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