Improvements in or relating to Holders for Pens, Pencils, or the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 19th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 19th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Holders for Pens, Pencils, or the
like.
A communication from abroad by FRIEDRICH E. HEINRICHS, Stuttgart, First
Lieutenant, and HEINRICH SCHUSTER, Lendsiedel, Magistrate.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a device for automatically holding a pencil, pen,
or other similar article in the required position in its outer case. This device
can, in practice, be arranged in various ways without departing from the scope of the
invention.
According to one method of carrying out this invention, a hexagonal tube is
provided, in which another hexagonal tube is rigidly fastened in such a manner that
the angles of the latter come in the middle of the flat surfaces of the former. The
inner tube is provided with holes which lie as close to one another as possible on all
its six flat sides.
Inside the inner tube is arranged a short movable case or block of metal, the under
part of which bears a screw thread, into which the pencil or other article is screwed.
At the upper part of the block is a hollow space very concave above, and slightly
hollowed below, and having six openings in the sides. These are exactly as wide as
the holes in the inner tube. Inside the hollow space is placed a ball, preferably of
metal, the diameter of which corresponds exactly with the openings in the chamber
sides, so that it can roll in and out of these openings.
As long as the pencil holder is held in an upright position, the ball will roll into the
middle of the hollow space, and then the block of metal together with the pencil will
emerge from the tube if the point of the pencil be directed downwards, in which case
a contraction of the outer tube prevents the whole of it from falling out, or
conversely, if the point of the pencil be turned upwards the piece of metal, together
with the pencil, will fall back into the tube.
If, however, the pencil holder is held in a sloping position as is usually the case
while writing, the ball rolls through one of the six openings out of the hollow chamber
in the metal block, and enters one of the holes in the inner tube, and lies thus, one
half in the angle of the hexagonal outer tube, and the other half in the corresponding
opening of the metal block. In this position it prevents any further movement of the
metal block, and the pencil is thereby firmly fixed in any desired position ready for
use.
According to a variation of this arrangement, the six sided inner tube is provided
with longitudinal grooves, instead of holes, which are as wide as the diameter of the
ball, and it is, as before, surrounded by an outer tube in which any required number
of consecutive rings can be stamped or otherwise formed. The ball within the metal
chamber, on the pencil holder being inclined, falls through one of the grooves into
one of the rings of the outer tube, and thereby fixes the pencil in any desired
position.
According to a second modification the metal block with the ball has circular cross
incisions and slides in a tube which has a number of contiguous semi-circular recesses
in its outer case. The ball, in this case, on the pencil holder being slanted, falls
into one of the recesses and works then precisely as in the arrangements described
above.
It is evident that the capability of fixing the pencil in any desired position in any

page_text: of the three forms of pencil holders depends on the number of rows of holes, of rings,
or of recesses arranged in the length of the holder. Also, by a special arrangement
of the pencil holder, as for instance when pencil leads are used which can be brought
right up to the point of the pencil case by means of a screw arrangement, or for pens,
it can be so arranged that the metal head piece is fixed always at one point only of
the length of the case by employing, instead of a great number of holes, rings or
recesses, only a single row of them corresponding to the openings in the hollow
chamber.
WM. P. THOMPSON,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Holders for Pens, Pencils, or the
like.
A communication from abroad by FRIEDRICH E. HEINRICHS, Stuttgart, First
Lieutenant, and HEINRICH SCHUSTER, Lendsiedel, Magistrate.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.L.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6 Bank Street, Manchester both in
the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement—
This invention relates to a device for automatically holding a pencil, pen or other
This device can, in
similar article in the required position in its outer case.
practice, be arranged in various ways without departing from the scope of the
invention.
In the drawings
:-
Figures 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are sectional elevations of various ways in which this
invention may be carried out.
Figures 2, 4 and 6 are sectional plans corresponding to Figures 1, 3 and 5.
Referring first more particularly to Figures 1 and 2:-
According to one method of carrying out this invention, a hexagonal tube a is
provided, in which another hexagonal tube bis rigidly fastened in such a manner that
the angles of the latter come in the middle of the flat surfaces of the former. The
inner tube is provided with holes c which lie as close to one another as possible on
all its six flat sides.
Inside the inner tube bis arranged a short movable case or block d of metal, the
under part of which bears a screw thread, into which the pencil e or other article is
screwed. At the upper part of the block is a hollow space s, very concave above and
slightly hollowed below, and having six openings in the sides. These are exactly as
Inside the hollow space s is placed a ball n
wide as the holes e in the inner tube b.
C
preferably of metal, the diameter of which corresponds exactly with the openings in
the chamber sides, so that it can roll in and out of these openings.
As long as the pencil holder is held in an upright position, the ball will roll inte
the middle of the hollow space s, and then the block of metal d together with the
pencil e will emerge from the tube a if the point of the pencil be directed down
wards, in which case a contraction of the outer tube a prevents the whole of it from
falling out, or conversely, if the point of the pencil be turned upwards, the piece o
metal d, together with the pencil, will fall back into the tube a.
If, however, the pencil holder is held in a sloping position as is usually the cas
while writing, the ball n rolls through one of the six openings out of the hollo
chamber s in the metal block d, and enters one of the holes c in the inner tube b, an
lies thus one half in the angle of the hexagonal outer tube a, and the other half i
the corresponding opening of the metal block d. In this position it prevents an

page_text: urther movement of the metal block a and the penis ereby my
esired position ready for use.
Referring now to Figures 3 and 4.
According to a variation of this arrangement, the six sided inner tube b is provided
with longitudinal grooves m, instead of holes c which are as wide as the diaineter of
he ball n, and it is, as before, surrounded by an outer tube a, (in this case circular
n section) in which any required number of consecutive rings can be stamped or
otherwise formed. The ball n within the metal chamber d, on the pencil holder
being inclined, falls through one of the grooves m into one of the rings of the outer
ube, and thereby fixes the pencil e in any desired position.
Referring to Figures 5 and 6:
According to a second modification, the metal block d with the ball n has circular
cross incisions or slots, and slides in a tube which has a number of contiguous semi-
circular recesses r in its outer case. The ball n, in this case, on the pencil holder
being slanted, falls into one of the recesses r, and works precisely as in the
arrangements described above.
It is evident that the capability of fixing the pencil in any desired position in any
of the three forins of pencil holders depends on the number of rows of holes c, of
rings or of recesses arranged in the length of the holder.
Ünder some circumstances, as for instance, when pencil leads are used which can
be brought right up to the point of the pencil case by means of a screw arrangement,
or for pens, it can be so arranged that the metal head piece d may be fixed for use
at one point only of the length of the case by employing, instead of a great number
of holes, rings or recesses, only a single row of them corresponding to the openings
in the hollow chambers.
Such a construction is shown in Figures 7 and 8, which respectively show the
pencil or penholder closed up, and open for use.
Instead of any desired number of fixing points or rings, only one such ring c is
arranged in the metal holder a. The sliding metal head piece d is provided with
two radial holes or slots ss rising slantingly on opposite sides, in each of which a
ball or pin n n plays. These balls or pins fall halfway into the rings c on the sliding
out of the metal head piece d and the pencil fastened therein as soon as the
holder a is held in a sloping position with the point downwards, and thereby fix
the position of the pencil e (Figure 8) because they rest with their other halves in
the holes or slots c.
if the holder be held in the contrary position, namely, with the point upwards,
the balls or pins n n slide back into the grooves ss, the metal head piece d is thereby
released and slides back towards the cover i.
If only balls n are to be employed, it is not always necessary to provide the
metal head piece d with holes s s. In that case, the balls can be simply arranged to
play freely on the smooth plain or otherwise suitably shaped surface Z of the
metal head piece d, so that, when the holder is pointed downwards as is usual
during writing, they may fall to half their depth into the ring c, and thus prevent
any slipping back of the metal piece and the pencil contained therein.
In order to render a better using up of the pencil possible, the holder can be fitted,
near its lower end, with spirals which allow the screwing up of a short outer piece g
corresponding to the consumption of the pencil. The lower end of the case of the
holder a must, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, be somewhat narrowed in, whereby the
metal head piece d is prevented from falling out.
In order to avoid any unintentional falling out of the pencil from its position,
various safety arrangements can be introduced in all the above described forms of
construction. Figures 7 and 8 show such an arrangement in the shape of a spring
knob 1, which is attached to the metal piece d, and, on the drawing back of the
same, falls through an opening 2 made in the cover of the holder, and thus effects
the fixing (Figure 7). To release it, the spring knob is simply compressed, thereby -
enabling it to fall through the opening 2.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a holder for pencils, pens and the like, the arrangement, in a case a, of a
sliding circular metal head piece d which is provided with balls n n or their equiva-
lent playing freely in two radial upwardly slanting slots ss or on the upper surface
of the said metal piece, which, when the holder is held in a sloping position, fall half
into a recess such as carranged in the case, and thus fix the pencil in the desired
position, substantially as described and shown.
2. The various modified forms of the improved holder for pens or pencils, each
taken as a whole, substantially as described and as illustrated in Figures 1, 3, 5 and 7
of the drawings.
Dated this 18th day of March 1800
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.