US2871592A - Identification bracelet - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 3, 1959 w. J. POLZIN IDENTIFICATION BRACELET Filed May 15, 1958 Unite 2,s71,s92 mnnrrrrcnrron BRACELET Winfred J. Polzin, Thiensville, Wise, assignor to Will Ross, Inc.-, Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application May 15, 1958, Serial No. 735,569 2 Claims. c1. 40-41 This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 659,665 filed May 16, 1957, now Patent No. 2,846,796. Like said patent, this invention relates to identification bracelets useful for civilian defense purposes, in girls and boys camps, jails and other institutions, but especially in hospitals, and has more particular reference to an identification device in V the form of a band which may have its opposite ends connected to form a bracelet encircling a limb of a hos- Patented Feb. 3,'-1s59 ice the snap fastener may-be readily moved out of the way while a connection'is being established between the male pitaliz ed person, the band having provision to receive i and hold' a card with information and/ or indicla thereon to identify the hospitalized person.

Despite the fact that identification bands or bracelets of several types are presently in use or available, no one heretofore has succeeded in providing a completely'satisfactory identification bracelet.

Some are objectionable because their attachment to the limb of a person involves several tedious and time consuming steps during which special tools are often required to effect clinching or riveting of the ends of the band together in a more or less permanent fashion. Other identification bands are objectionable by reason of insufliciently ,secure fastening means and inadequate strength in the band itself to assure against conscious or unconscious removal of the bracelet by the person wearing the same.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide an identification band which has none of the objections outlined above, and which features easy to close and exceptionally secure fastening means by which its ends may be joined together entirely without the use of tools to form a bracelet encircling the limb of a hospitalized.

person, ease of adjustab'ility for size so that it does not need to be measured and cut to fit, sufiicient strength in the band itself to assure against, either accidental or intentional tearing of the band, and finally, assurance against displacement of the card or other identifying marker accommodated by the band.

In my aforesaid copending application Serial No. 659,665, filed May 16, 1957, now Patent No. 2,846,796, there is disclosed an identification band having a pocket tension stresses.

thereon adjacent to one, end of the band in which an identification card or the like may be received. One wall of the pocket is transparent so that indicia on a card in the pocket may be readily viewed therethrough. A snap fastener closes the mouth of the pocket, and the male element of the snap fastener projects through one of a series of lengthwise spaced apart apertures in the other end portion of the band to thus connect the ends of the band in bracelet fashion. In the identification device of said copending application the male and'female elements of the snap fastener were secured in the walls of the pocket, near the mouth thereof, and consequently it was somewhat difiicult to align the projecting male portion of the fastener with one of the apertures in the band, since the female member hid the area in which the connection was being made. To minimize this objection, the female snap fastener element and the apertured end portion of the band.

Thus it is a general object of this invention to provide an identification device of the character described which may be very easily and quickly fastened on the limb of a patient, even a squirming infant, without the need for fumbling or trial-and-error movements.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement ofparts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which: s

Figure l is a perspective view of the identification band of this invention in open or unfastened condition;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional veiw taken on the plane of theline 2-2 in Figure l; V Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device showing the same with its ends initially secured together to form a bracelet but with the snap fastener unfastened;

Figure 4 is a similar perspective view but showing the snap fastener closed; and

I plied to like parts throughout the several views, it will be seen that the identification band of this invention generally comprises an elongated strip 5 of flexible material, preferably a plastic of a type which has exceptionally good resistance to tearing when subjected to A substantial length of the band at one end portion thereof is widened to form one side wall 6 of an elongated pocket generally designated 7. Theother side wall of the pocket is "provided by a strip 8 of transparent and flexible plastic material. The strip 8 serves as the top or outer wall of the pocket when the, band is in use, and it has slightly less width than the bottom wall 6 of the pocket. The transparent strip is secured to the Wider wall 6 of the pocket along both longitudinal margins thereof by bonded joints it which are formed'by subjecting the overlapping marginal edge portions of the two pocket forming walls to heat and pressure in a well known manner. The wall 8 of the pocket is alsobonded to the band along a transverse line 11 at the junction of the band with the pocket, by the same means as effects the joints it}, all of these joints being made at the same time in a press heated to a suitably high temperature.

It is important to note that since the transparent top or outer wall 8 of the pocket is slightly narrower in its transverse dimension than the bottom wall 6 of the pocket, it will hold the wider bottom wall of the pocket in a bowed condition of outward transverse convexity as seen best in Figure 2. This is desirable not only from the standpoint of comfort to the wearer, but also by reason of the fact that the mouth 12 of the pocket is held agape to facilitate insertion of an identification card 13 of a size large enough to contain all of the informa tion or other indicia needed for proper identification of a hospitalized person. It is, of course, to be understood that the card must be so inserted into the pocket that its indicia is visible through the window provided by the transparent wall 8 andthat whenthe band is in place on the limb of a patient the window faces outward. The pocket 7 is wide enough to also receive a length of the opposite end portion of the band.

It is one of the features of this invention that the two end portions of the band may be securely fastened together entirely without the use of'tools without preliminarily measuring and cutting the band to the size of the limb to be encircled thereby. For this purpose the narrow end portion of the band is provided with a series of longitudinally spaced holes 14, any one of which is cooperable with a fastening device 15 to join the ends of the band and to close the mouth of the pocket. The structure of the bracelet thus far described is the same as that disclosed in my aforesaid copending application, now Patent No. 2,846,796.

The fastening device 15 comprises a snap fastener having cooperating male and female elements 16 and 17. At the ends of the two walls of the pocket adjacent to its mouth are a pair of flaps 18 and 19. The lower flap 1% is integral with the bottom or inner wall of the pocket, and thus comprises the end of the band itself, while the upper flap 19 is integral with and thus flexibly joined to the outer" transparent wall 8. The female element 17 of the snap fastener is secured to the upper flap 19, while the male element 16 is secured to the adjacent. end of the band which provides the lower flap 18. As is conventional, the female fastener element has a hole or well 20 therein of a size to tightly receive a tit or button 21 on the male element, projecting from the outer face of the band. The holes 14 in the narrow end portion of the band are of a size to freely accommodate the button 21 on the male fastening element, and the latter is adapted to be projected through one of these holes when the band is formed into a bracelet.

When it is desired to secure the band about the wrist or ankle of a hospitalized person, the band is wrapped around the desired limb with the transparent wall or window 8 of the pocket outermost and the convexly curved bottom wall of the pocket against the limb. This automatically assures that the male element of the fastener will face outward. A length of the apertured end portion of the band is then inserted into the pocket through the mouth 12 thereof to a distance such as to bring the band into more or less snugencircling relationship with the limb and to align one of the holes 14 in the band with the button 21 on the male element of the fastener. Such alignment of the proper hole-14 with the button is facilitated by reason of the fact that the upper flap 19, which carries the female snap fastener element, can be bent or folded back away from the button 21 on the adjacent end of the band to provide easy access thereto, as shown in Figure 3, so that the position of the holes in the apertured end portion of the band, with respect to the button 21, can be readily observed. When the desired hole 14 is properly aligned with the button 21, the button may be inserted thereinto to temporarily hold the hand, and the upper flap can then be dropped or moved to its closed position overlying the adjacent portion of the band so as to bring the female snap fastener element into accurate alignment with the button 21 on the male element. Then the person applying the band merely exerts finger pressure on the co- (5. operating elements of the fastener to project the button 21 into the hole 29 in the female element of the fastener, as seen in Figure 4.

It will be appreciated that once the ends of the band have been secured in place forming a bracelet encircling the limb of a hospitalized person, those portions of the snap fastener which are exposed on the outside of the pocket are nearly flush with the pocket walls and provide little or no surface which can be grasped by the person wearing the bracelet in a conscious or unconscious attempt to open the fastener. It will also be apparent that closure of the snap fastener will prevent displacement of the identification card.

It will be understood that the pocket 7 has sufiicient length so as to not only accommodate a suitable identification card 13 containing all of the necessary information pertaining to the hospitalized person, but to also accommodate a substantial length of the apertured end portion of the band, if necessary, thus enabling the band to be adjusted to form a bracelet of any of a wide variety of sizes. Inasmuch as the apertured end portion of the band is inserted under the identification card, it not only leaves the entire card readily visible through the transparent wall 8 of the pocket, but the card itself serves to hide that end portion of the band which is disposed in the pocket inwardly of the snap fastener.

The best assurance against either consciousor unconscious opening of the snap fastener is had when the button 21 on the male element fits quite tightly in the aperture 20 in the female element, and while it preferably requires the application of considerable pressure thereto, it should be capable of manual closure, by finger pressure, so as to obviate the use of tools. It is recommended that the band be cut with a scissors when the bracelet is to be removed from the limb of the patient.

From the foregoing description taken together with the accompanying drawing it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention provides an identification band which can be formed into a bracelet to encircle the limb of a hospitalized person or the like, and which band features a pocket to accommodate an identification card, and fastening means for joining the opposite ends of the band together in a simple but. most secure manner, entirely without the aid of tools,.and by which fastening means the identification card is held in its pocket without danger of displacement; and it will also be apparent that the identification device of this invention may be very quickly and easily adjustedto the required size and securely fastened in place, even on the limb of a squirming infant.

What is claimed as my invention is:

1. An identification bracelet comprising: a band of flexible material one end portion of which has a row of spaced apart perforations disposed longitudinally of the band; means on the other end portion of the band defining an elongated pocket having opposing walls and a mouth opening to the adjacent extremity of the hand, one of said opposing walls being integral with the band and the other being transparent, said opposing walls being permanently bonded to one another along both longitudinal margins thereof and along a transverse line which is adjacent to the junction between the band and the pocket so as to enable the pocket to hold a card with indicia thereon legibly visible through the transparent wall and to receive a substantial length of the opposite end portion of the band; a pair of flaps, each comprising a lengthwise extension of one of said Walls of the pocket at the mouth thereof; and a snap fastener comprising cooperating male and female elements secured on said flaps, the

male element being adapted to be engaged with the female element through any one of the apertures in the band when the apertured end portion of the band is inserted into the pocket to form the band into a bracelet, and by which engagement of the snap fastener elements a card is secured in the pocket.

2. A unitary identification bracelet adapted to be applied to the limb of a hospitalized patient, comprising: a band of flexible material having a row of apertures in one end portion thereof, said apertures being spaced lengthwise of the band; a short flap flexibly connected with the band at its other end for movement to and from a closed position flatwise overlying the adjacent end portion of the band and a part of the apertured portion of the band which may be laid thereon; a snap fastener to secure the flap in its closed position with the male element of the fastener passing through a selected one of the apertures to thus form the band into a bracelet of a size depending upon which of the apertures the male element passes through, the male element of the fastener being secured to said end portion of the band and projecting up from the side thereof which is covered by the flap when the latter is in its closed position, and the female element being secured to the flap and having its mouth at the side thereof which faces downwardly towards the band in the closed position of the flap; and an elongated substantially rectangular window of transparent flexible material overlying an imperforate portion of the band and having its side edges and one end thereof permanently bonded to the band so that the window and the adjacent portion of the band together form an elongated pocket into which an indicia bearing card may be inserted, the window being at that side of the band from which the male element of the fastener projects so that when the band is wrapped around the limb of a patient with the window facing outward, the male element of the fastener also faces outward to facilitate its engagement in one of the apertures in the band preparatory to closure of the snap fastener.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,199 Donohoe Sept. 22, 1931 2,111,664 Gross Mar. 22, 1938 2,641,074 Richmond June 9, 1953 2,655,747 Duskin 'Oct. 20, 1953 2,738,561 Trilling Mar, 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 330,705 Great Britain June 19, 1930

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