Oh, patents! Perugia’s improved fasteners

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

To fasten shoes with laces, bows or cords of any sort, the state of the art in 1930 was small metal eyelets or hooks, through which the laces, bows or cords were threaded or hooked. This caused the laces to wear out quite fast and consisted in an additional manufactured part.  

Perugia offered to improve the state of the art with tabs cut out of the shoe vamp that were then folded back and sewn in place. This was deemed far more aesthetic, and it caused less wear and was easier to produce. The tabs could be folded back on top of the shoe or tucked in on the inside the shoe.

To the right, a Figure drawing extracted from FR680710, that shows the tabs folded back and sewn in place. This was a French improvement patent, titled “Perfectionennements à la fabrication des chaussures”, awarded to Perugia on Jan 3, 1930.   

Velcro US2717437 (4)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Visit www.velcro.com too!

 

 

 

Screenshot of of Products page @ www.velcro.com

Velcro US2717437 (3)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Tadah!

G. de Mestral
Velvet fabric and method of producing same Filed Oct 15, 1952

Granted Sept. 13 1955

 

Assignor to Velcro, S.A. A corporation in Fribourg, Switzerland

 

“My novel fabric distinguishes from the other similar fabrics by the fact that the raised pile is made of artificial material, while at least part of the threads in said pile is provided near its end with material-engaging mean, as required for adhering to a similar fabric or for scouring purposes.”

 

“Each small bar 5 is provided with a longitudinal groove 7 in which is guided a knife 8 adapted to cut the loop 6 open and to form thus the raise pile threads. However, with a view of obtaining the hook 4, I heat the bar 5 before the cutting of the loops 6, so that the thread extending over the bar may assume and retain the shape imparted to it by the latter.”

Source: US US2717437

Velcro US2717437 (1)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

  You are listening to Velcro from Sound of Stereo by the group EP Zipper…

 

 Of course you would never suspect that one side of Velcro(R) is called the hook-side and the other side is called the loop side and that this is a translation of the original components of the word Velcro fusing “velours” and “crochet” in French. Velcro(R) was invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer, George de Mestral....

 

This is one of the advantages of being a patent translator; you will never again look at the most mundane objects with the same eye or innocence. In fact you may never look at the world in the same manner… Almost EVERYTHING is a patent! You already know about your Nike or Addidas sports shoes with shock-absorbing sole systems, but how about your wick-away shirts, your warm Synchilla(TM) jacket and your Gortex(TM) windbreaker to prevent you from getting soaked in the rain? What about your toothbrush and its 8,800 rotations and 20,000 pulsations per minute of brushing, giving you a dentist teeth clean every morning, noon and evening, your dental floss, the Zip-lock bag for your sandwhich at lunch, or all the zippers on your pants and dresses, the no-tear shampoo for your baby? If the item is not “patent-pending” it is surely already patented in the US, or elsewhere. Look at labels and you will start to notice that we live in a patented world!

 

Oh BTW, just in case you are wondering about Velcro(R): the “hook side” is the smooth side, and the fuzzy pile side is the “loop side”. :-)