Untitled record

Application filed August 17, 1897. Serial No, 648,545. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, William R. Mestler, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New Y ork, have invented certain new 5 and useful Improvements in Stays and Lacings for Corsets, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part io of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to corsets and similar articles which are adjusted by cords or lacings, and has for its objects to provide 15 an improved stay and a roller which is simple in construction and permits the use of stays at the edges of the lacing-opening without detracting from their flexibility or interfering with the movements of the wearer; and to 2o these and other ends it consists in certain improvements hereinafter fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear view of ²5 ^a portion of a corset provided with my improvements, a part of the outer covering being broken away; Fig. 2, a cross-sectional view on the line xx of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view through one of the 30 compound steels, showing in dotted lines the position of the parts when the steel is bent.

Similar reference-numerals in the several figures denote similar parts.

As the particular construction of the cor35 set-body or other article is immaterial as far as my present invention is concerned, I have only shown the proximate edges of the two side portions of a corset, (indicated by 1 1,) which are connected by the lacing. Arranged 40 at the edge of each corset-section 1 are the compound stays, composed of two flexible steel strips 2 2^X, each located in a separate pocket formed in the textile covering material 3 and secured to the body-section 1 of 45 the corset,said strips extending the fulllength of the corset, and between them are arranged the rollers 4, over which the continuous lacing cord or tape 5 passes in the manner shown in Fig. 1, so that by drawing upon the tape the 50 stays at the edges of the body-sections are drawn together evenly and equally throughout their length.

The rollers 4 are each mounted upon spacing studs or pins 6, extending between the strips 2 2^X, and having shoulders 7 engaging 55 the inner proximate sides of the strips to keep the latter separated or spaced the required distance to permit the free rotation of the rollers. These studs are in the present embodiment secured rigidly to the inner strip 2 60 by having their reduced ends beyond the shoulder passed through countersunk perforations therein and upset or laterally extended into the countersinks to produce a smooth surface, as shown in Fig. 2. The 65 outer strips 2^X are provided with elongated slots 9, countersunk on the outer side, and the outer portions of the reduced ends of the studs are upset or spread laterally, as at 10, so that their outer portions are substantially 70 flush with the outer face of the strips, said heads serving to prevent the separation of the compound stays 2 and 2^X, but permitting them to be flexed by the movements of the wearer’s body, the studs then sliding in the slots in 75 the steels 2^X, as shown in Fig. 2.

This construction of lacing is particularly advantageous in that the corset may be laced tightly without liability of distortion, as the compound stays carrying the rollers at 80 the edge maintain all the rollers in the same plane, and at the same time the rollers are permitted to turn freely, and the stays are capable of being bent, so that the wearer may bend in any direction without interfering 85 with the free movement of the rollers, and without being injured by absolutely rigid back steels.

While it is eminently desirable that the outer side of the slots in the strips 2^X be conn- 90 tersunk to prevent the heads of the studs from wearing the textile covering, this is not absolutely essential, as said heads could be upset on the outside of slots not countersunk, which would hold the stays and permit the 95 necessary flexing, but the finish would not be as good.

It will also be understood that while the construction described is particularly adapted for corsets it could as well be applied to gloves or 100 to other garments or articles, and the stays could be applied otherwise than as shown.