IMPROVEMENTS IN INKSTANDS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert George Chipperfield, of No. 282, Kennington Park
Road, in the County of Surrey, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert George Chipperfield
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th January 1881.
ROBERT GEORGE CHIPPERFIELD, of No. 282, Kennington Park Road, in the
County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN INKSTANDS."
My Invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of inkstands,
some of which improvements may be employed separately for inkstands generally,
whilst they may be all employed in combination for an inkstand which I will now
describe. The inkstand is made of such capacity as to form a reservoir for a
considerable supply of ink, and it has a pen tube projecting down to nearly the
bottom of the reservoir, so that the surface of ink exposed to the atmosphere is
only that which presents itself within the tube. The bottom part of the reservoir
is preferably narrowed in, so as to be little larger than the end of the pen tube
which projects down into this part, and thus when the ink is so far exhausted that
the main body of the reservoir is empty, the residue of the ink is still collected in the
deeper small part, and thus only a small quantity of ink is required to raise the level
sufficiently to cover the end of the pen tube. At the upper part of the reservoir
there is an aperture fitted with a plug, which when the inkstand is charged with
ink is removed to permit the air to issue from the reservoir.
For the purpose of raising the ink to any desired level in the pen tube, I enclose
this plug within a hollow caoutchouc ball through which the stem of the plug
projects. The ball being secured by the lip of its lower orifice to the plug hole of
the reservoir, the plug can be pressed into the hole so as to make an airtight stopper,
or it can be withdrawn and the ball can be collapsed by hand so as to force air into
the reservoir, causing the ink to rise in the pen tube, the plug being then inserted into
the hole to retain the air thus forced in. The ball dilates itself by its own elasticity,
drawing in air around the stem of the plug. The pen tube is covered by a hinged
lid, and the reservoir is made with a raised lip or bulge as high as the top of the lid.
On the lid I fix a pair of projecting horns, between which when the lid is closed a pen
can be laid, the pen resting on the raised lip or bulge of the reservoir, and being kept
in place by the horns of the lid. When the pen and inkstand have to be used it is only
necessary to lift the pen in an oblique direction, so that by pressing it against the
hinder horn of the lid, the lid is thrown back open by the one action. This
arrangement of lid with projecting horns and projecting lip or bulge to form a rest
for the pen can be applied to inkstands of various kinds as well as to that described
above.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Robert George Chipperfield in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th July 1881.
ROBERT GEORGE CHIPPERFIELD, of No. 252, Kennington Park Road, in the
County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN INKSTANDS."
My Invention relates to an improved construction of inkstand, which I will
describe, referring to the accompanying Drawings.
Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical sections on planes at right angles to one another, and
Fig. 3 is a plan of an inkstand according to my. Invention. It is a vessel of glass,
ceramic ware, or other suitable material, made of such size as to form a reservoir A
for a considerable supply of ink, with a pen tube B projecting down within it. The
bottom of the reservoir is narrowed in so as to form a well C little larger than the
pen tube, and thus when the ink is so far exhausted that the main body of the
reservoir A is empty, the residue of ink is still collected in the well, C, and only a
small quantity of ink is thus made to suffice to seal the end of the pen tube. At the
upper part of the reservoir there is an aperture fitted with a plug D, which when the
vessel is charged with ink is removed to permit escape of air. The pen tube is
covered by a hinged lid E, faced internally with caoutchouc or other yielding
material. When it is desired to raise the level of ink in the pen tube, this may be
effected by inserting the nozzle of a hollow caoutchouc ball into the hole instead of
the plug D, and squeezing the ball so that the air is forced from it into the reser-
voir, lowering the level of the ink therein, and proportionally raising it in the pen
tube. The lid E then being pressed firmly down so as to prevent ingress of air to
the pen tube, the caoutchouc ball can be removed and the hole closed again by the
plug D. A small air syringe or pump may be employed in lieu of the caoutchouc
ball, and this may be removeable or may remain permanently in the hole, rendering
a separate plug unnecessary.
The reservoir is made with a raised lip or bulge F projecting a little higher than
the lid E, and on the lid are fixed two projecting horns G, G¹. A pen being laid
across the inkstand rests on the raised lip F, and is kept in position between the
horns G, G. When the pen and inkstand have to be used it is then only necessary
to lift the pen in an oblique direction backwards, so that by its pressure against
the hinder horn G₁ the lid is thrown back leaving the pen tube open, its opening
being thus effected by the single act of obliquely raising the pen; and, conversely,
the lid is closed by the act of putting the pen in its place over it.
The projecting lip F and the hinged lid E with its horns G, G¹, to act as described
for retaining a pen in position, and for facilitating the opening of the inkstand,
might obviously be applied to inkstands of forms other than that described, that is
to say, inkstands without pen tubes such as B, or wells such as C.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I claim with respect to inkstands,-
First. The combination of a reservoir A, a pen tube B, and a well C, as and
for the purposes described.
Second. The combination of the projecting lip F, and the hinged lid E, with
horns G, G, constructed and operating as described.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert George Chipperfield have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.