Untitled record

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Spring Pen-Rae.:.

7^734-48 Patented Jan.2/,/868.

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JAMES M. KEEP, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Utters Patent No. 78,448, dated January 21, 1868; antedated July 22, 1867.

SPRING PEN-RACK,

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, James M. Keep, of the city of New York, in the State and county of New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in and a novel manner of cheaply constructing Spring Pen-Racks, so as to combine beauty, utility, and convenience, the object of such rack being to hold pens at the desk when not in use; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my improved penrack, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification. In the drawings__

Figure 1 is an elevated view of my pen-rack complete, showing in the perspective A A my improvement in the forming and arrangement of the springs and jaws for grasping the pen-staff; C C, the loops for holding the extreme ends of the series of springs to the bed or stand; D D, hooks for holding down the central or intermediate springs; B, the bed or stand.

Figure 2, a series of springs made from one continuous piece of elastic material..

Figure 3, a section of the continuous or compound springs, showing the peculiar curves and angles hereinafter described and claimed.

My improvement consists in the use of India rubber or gutta percha, or any of their elastic compounds, or of narrow sheets or strips of metal, when formed and arranged as hereinafter described; also in a very ready manner of fastening the same or other springs of pen-racks to their beds without the use of nails, rivets, or solder, thereby lessening the expense in manufacturing, and producing a more convenient and ornamental article than is now in general use.

To enable others more fully to understand, manufacture, and use my improvement, I will now proceed to describe-it in detail.

To construct a pen-rack with my improvements, I provide a strip or sheet of the elastic material before described, of any desired width and length, and of such thickness that by its elasticity it will easily yield to a gentle pressure, which is now to be bent in a zigzag or serpentine form, its curves forming upon its sides open loops of any desired shape, the inner sides of which are brought closely together, thereby forming a kind of jaw for holding the pen-staff, a construction that will be readily understood by referring to figs. 2 and 3. This arrangement forms a series or combination of springs and jaws, alternating upon opposite sides, and having at its ends the projections P P, at nearly right angles to the springs; the bed or stand B, fig. 1, being of sheet metal. From the upper surface is thrown out at-each end a portion of the metal, so as to form a loop or staple, C G, to receive the projecting endsP P. At proper intervals between these loops, and upon opposite sides, the hooks D D are forced up from other portions of the metal. The springs and bed being thus formed, they are attached together by inserting one of the projections P P into each of the loops C C, and then bringing down the central springs to the bed and confining them by closely bending down upon them the books D D. The rack is now complete and ready for use. The series of springs may be formed all of one piece, as at fig. 2, or in sections of such pieces, with one or more curves each, fig. 3; these sections being united to each other by passing one of the lower loops or curves within the other.

By this simple and peculiar construction and arrangement of springs it will bo seen that they are very compact, and operate in concert with each other, each performing its duty to the right or left with equal effect; and while the loops at the upper curves serve to give elasticity and hold the pen-staff fast in its phcc, they also yield simultaneously with the loops below, thereby rendering’the whole arrangement of sprincs and laws extremely pliable.

I am aware that the springs of pen-racks are now in use made of sheet metal, and arranged in pairs, each operating by itself, and soldered or riveted in the bed-pieces; I am also aware that a spring pen-rack has been constructed by the use of wire spirally coiled, the coils serving as springs, and at the same time forming one continuous spring, which is retained in its place upon the bed-piece by means of a bar running parallel with the spiral coil; therefore, I do not broadly claim constructing the springs of pen-racks of one continuous piece of wire, only so far as it relates to the arrangement and manner of forming the springs; neither do I claim a single spring or a double spring formed with parallel sides; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to