Pen or pencil holder.

(Application filed Nov. 19, 1901.) (No Model.)

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, ΤΗζ NORR'S PTTERS CO . PM3TO-I.ITH3-. WASHINGTON O. C.

United States Patent Office.

JAMES S. McCLUNG, OF PUEBLO, COLORADO.

PEN OR PENCIL HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,293, dated September 30, 1902.

Application filed November 19,1901. Serial No. 82,854. (No model.)

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, James S. McClung, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of 5 Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Pen or Pencil Holder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In public schools where the pupils are taught writing, arithmetic, and drawing as a io part of the daily curriculum requiring the use of pens and pencils it is considered of advantage for preservation of the health of the scholars to provide each one with a pen and pencil for individual use and require the rule 15 against indiscriminate use of such instruments to be strictly observed.

, The object of this invention is to provide a novel simple pen or pencil holder which affords very convenient means for holding a 20 number of pens or pencils separated and clearly distinguished from each other by suitable designating characters, so that each pupil will be enabled to quickly and unerringly select his or her individual pen or pencil when 25 school exercises commence and at the expiration of the period of daily use return the instruments correctly within the holder for subsequent use.

The invention consists in the novel con30 struction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described,and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, 35 in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a partly-sectional plan view of a pencil - holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view sub40 stantially on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1, and Fig.

is a transverse sectional view substantially on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1.

The improved device for holding pens or pencils consists of the following details of 45 construction:

represents a flat tray-board, which is preferably rectangular in contour and is of suitable dimensions for effective service. Between the ends of the tray-board 10 a plural50 ity of walls 11 are erected, which extend longitudinally in parallel planes, said walls being spaced apart an equal distance, providing channels 12 between them, which are of a width that will permit the bodies of leadpencils, slate-pencils, or pen-handles to be 55 readily slid endwise therein. The channels 12 are of greater depth than width, and upon the walls 11 a cap-piece 13 is seated and secured, thus providing a cover for all the channels. As an equivalent construction the chan- 60 nels 12 may be in the form of spaced grooves formed in a block of wood or other suitable material, and thus have a cover-piece that is integral with the spaced walls 11, said block being affixed transversely upon the tray- 65 board 10.

Near the longitudinal center of the walls 11 a slot 14 is formed transversely through all of them and is defined in height by the cappiece 13. The width of the slot 14 is propor- 70 tioned to adapt it to receive a stout gum. band IS, which is passed therethrough and at each doubled end receives a keeper-pin 16, said pins having contact with the outer sides of outer di vision-walls 11, which is enforced by 75 the resilience of the clamping-band 15, that is stretched somewhat when secured in place, as explained.

It will be seen that the simple act of pushing pencils or pen-handles into the channels 80 12 will cause them to impinge upon the lower edge of the transverse band 15, which will yield laterally, as shown in Fig. 2, and press upon the pencil-bodies with sufficient force to prevent their accidental displacement. 85

The pencils A (shown to illustrate the operation of the improved holder device in service) being respectively the individual property of an equal number of scholars; each occupying a seat that is numbered, are when 90 placed in the holder introduced into appropriate channels 12, that are designated by different numbers corresponding with the numbers of the seats occupied by respective pupils, so that each pupil will know, his or her 95 pencil when in the holder by the number that is opposite the end of the channel occupied by it, and of course can readily select and withdraw it for use. Obviously for convenience the number of pencils or the like to be 10) held in one of the improved holders should be restricted to avoid the requirement of tray2

710,293 boards having objectionable width, the preferred number to be contained in each holder being that, of a class of pupils seated on one row of seats and that may be eight or ten in 5 number.

By the provision of a suitable number of the improved holders for pens and pencils these instruments may be kept separate and each pencil or pen be clearly identified by its io owner or user.