Improvements in Book Supports.
Year: 1897

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Book Supports.
We, GEORGE WALLACE LADD, Mechanic, of the Town of East Freetown,
County of Bristol, State of Massachusetts, and PATRICK HENRY O'BRIEN,
Mechanic, of No. 132 State Street, Town of New Bedford, County of Bristol, State
of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, do hereby declare the naturo
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:
-
Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in book supports,
the object of the same being to provide a simple and cheaply constructed device
of this character whereby books may be held in upright position upon the shelf
upon which they are placed when said shelf is only partially filled with books.
The invention consists of a tube having a partition on the inside thereof, a rod
or bar fitting within the lower end of said tube having a pointed prong or projection
upon its lower end, a thumb screw projecting through said tube and adapted to
engage the outer surface of said rod or bar for increasing or decreasing the length
of the support, a spindle slidingly mounted in the upper end of said tube having
a pointed prong or projection, and a spring for normally urging said spindle
outwardly.
The invention also consists in other details of construction and combinations of
parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.
In the drawings forming part of this specification,
Figure represents a perspective view of a book shelf showing my improved
supporter applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a vertical central longitudinal section through the supporter.
Like reference numerals indicate like parts in the different views.
Our improved supporter is made up of a tube 1 having a partition 2 upon the
inside thereof located at a point near the upper end. Fitting and slidingly mounted
within the lower end of the tube 1 is a cylindrical rod or bar 3 provided with a
prong or tooth 4 upon its lower end, the said rod or bar being adapted to be
adjusted at any desired relative position to the tube 1 by means of a thumb screw 5
projecting through the side of said tube and engaging the outer surface of said
rod or bar. Slidingly mounted in the upper end of the tube 1 is a spindle 6 having
a prong or tooth 7 upon its upper end and normally urged outwardly by means of
a coil spring 8 which engages the lower end of said spindle and the upper surface
of said partition 2.
In using our device the same is applied as shown in Figure 1 of the
drawings, wherein a book case 9 is shown provided with shelves 10, 10. Said
supporter is located between two of the shelves 10, 10, with the prongs or
teeth 4 and 7 engaging the inner surfaces of said shelves. It is held in this
position by means of the pressure exerted upon the opposite ends of the supporter
by the spring 8. The said supporter is capable of being adjusted so as to
accommodate it to book shelves of varying distances apart by means of the
slidingly and adjustably mounted rod or bar 3. The position of said rod or bar
with relation to the tube 1 may be changed by means of the thumb screw 5.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. A book supporter having a prong at the lower end thereof adanted to engage

page_text: the upper surface of a book shelf, and a spring-pressed prong in the upper end
thereof adapted to engage the lower surface of the next higher book shelf.
2. A book supporter baving a prong at the lower end thereof adapted to engage
the upper surface of a book shelf, a spring-pressed prong in the upper end
thereof adapted to engage the lower surface of the next higher book shelf, and
means for changing the length of said supporter, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
3. A book supporter made up of a tubular member having a prong at one end
and a partition on the inside thereof, a spindle slidingly mounted in said tubular
member provided with a prong upon its outer end and located at a point opposite
the prong on said tubular member, and a spring for normally urging said spindle
outwardly engaging the upper surface of said partition, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
4. In a book supporter, the combination with a tube, of a rod or bar adjustably
mounted in the lower end of said tube having a tooth or projection upon its lower
end, and an outwardly spring-pressed spindle in the opposite end of said tube
provided with a prong or projection upon its upper end, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
5. In a book supporter, the combination with a tube, of a slidingly mounted rod
or bar fitting within the lower end thereof provided with a pointed prong or
projection upon its lower end, a thumb screw extending through said tube
engaging the outer surface of said rod or bar for adjusting the relative positions of
said tube and bar, and an outwardly spring-pressed spindle in the opposite end of
said tube having a pointed prong or projection on its outer end, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
6. In a book supporter, the combination with a tube having a partition on the
inside thereof, of a slidingly mounted rod or bar in the lower end of said tube
having a pointed prong or projection upon it, a thumb screw for adjusting
the relative positions of said tube having a pointed prong or projection upon
its outer end, and a spring engaging the under side of said spindle and the
upper surface of said partition, substantially as and for the purpose described.
DOLOAL
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.