IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF DESKS, SEATS, AND MUSIC STANDS, APPLICABLE TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Redmayne, of Sheffield, in the County
of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
DESKS, SEATS, AND MUSIC STANDS, APPLICABLE TO THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND
OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Redmayne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd June 1872.
I, THOMAS REDMAYNE, of Sheffield, in the County of York, do licreby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF DESKS, SEATS, AND MUSIC STANDS, APPLICABLE TO THE USE OF
SCHOOLS AND OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to that form of desk (especially applicable to
the use of schools) in which the board or plane surface which forms
the desk is capable of being adjusted and fixed cither in a horizontal
position to serve as a table, in a slightly inclined position to serve as a

page_text: desk, or in a nearly vertical position to serve as a back to the seat
which is ordinarily arranged in connection with such desks. It is also
applicable to music stands and other similar articles in which the angle
of a board or plane surface is required to be altered.
It consists of an improved method of adjusting or altering the angle
of the board or plane surface described, by which it is more readily
altered as required, and is less liable to shaking or oscillation than in
any arrangement as heretofore used. Also of an improved method of
locking or fixing the board or desk when it has been adjusted in the
required position, so that it cannot be again altered except by the person
in charge of it.
In order to carry out my Invention I make one or more standards or
frames to carry the desk, which standards I prefer to make serve also to
support the scat. These standards spring from a plate or basc, which
I prefer to make of iron or other metal, or partly of wood and partly of
iron. One of the standards springing from the base aforesaid I make
carry a seat, or one end of a seat of wood, which is bolted or screwed to
a cross piece or T arm at the top of the said standard. This standard
may be of any height to suit various ages and heights of children
or other persons using the seats. At a convenient distance from the
standard supporting the seat or end of a seat, as described, I form a
longer standard to support the top of a desk, which desk top I also
prefer to construct of wood. Near to the top of the longer standard I
make or fix a frame to hold a bookshelf, which I prefer to construct of
wood, and the said frame also contains fitting parts to hold or secure in
its place a notched wheel, for the purpose herein-after described. Upon
the frame holding the bookshelf and projecting through a hole pierced
in the said shelf is a tooth, stud, or catch to fit the suitable notchics
which are made in the wheel aforesaid. This said tooth, stud, or catch
serves to hold the notched wheel in whatever position it is desired to fix
it. I prefer to make the bookshelf with a back, which may be either
of wood or of perforated ironwork. On the upper side of the notched
wheel is formed or attached a double arm or transverse band, to which
may be screwed or fixed to the top of the desk, stand, or table. On the
centre of the notched wheel is a hole large enough to admit of the
insertion of a stud or pivot screwed into the iron framework, so as to
allow the wheel with the desk board attached to be lifted sufficiently
high for the notch to be free of the tooth or stud described, but so as to

page_text: prevent the said wheel from being lifted so high as to leave its proper
position. The size of the said wheel is so arranged that the notched
whcel may be lifted over the tooth, stud, or catch when it is required to
alter the position of the desk, stand, or table. When the notched wheel
is lowered, so that one of the notches fits over the tooth, stud, or catch
described, the said wheel is firmly held in its place and is prevented
from shaking or oscillating by its edge or circumference resting upon
and between suitable arms formed on or attached to the framework of
the standard so that no oscillation can take place. In order to prevent
the angle of the desk being altered I use a lock fitted with a square
key and fixed to the side of the notched wheel in such a position that
when it is locked a bolt is projected against the under side of the pin
which passes through the centre of the wheel, and thus prevents the
notch in the wheel from being lifted from the tooth or stud.
Another part of my Invention consists of an improved construction
and arrangement of the ink vessels used in school desks and in the
supports which carry them, and cousists in making such ink vessels
(which I prefer to make circular in horizontal section) slightly greater
in diameter at the bottom than in the middle of their height and in
surrounding the holes or recesses in the desk into which they fit with a
ring or projections of india-rubber or other suitable elastic material.
By this arrangement some force is required to force the bottom of the
ink vessel through the clastic ring or projections which however hold
the vessel sufficiently firm in the narrower part of its diameter to
prevent it from shaking, and the ink from being spilt.
The accompanying Drawing is in illustration of my Invention.
Figure 1 is an end view of a school desk with seat. Figure 2 shews on
a larger scale the apparatus for altering the angle of the desk or plane
surface, and also shews the arrangement for locking the desk at the
required angle.
A, Figure 1, is a cast-iron base from which rises the standard B which
supports one end of a scat C. Another standard of greater height D
also rises from the same base A, and is arranged at a suitable distance
from the standard B. Near the top of the standard D is formed a
frame E to which a shelf F is attached for carrying books or other
articles. The frame E is shewn continued upward, and is made double
so as to carry the wheel W which has suitably arranged notches N, N,
formed upon its periphery, into either of which the stud or tooth T fits

page_text: which is attached to the frame E. When the wheel W has the
stud T fitting into one of its notchics, its sides rest upon and are held
between the ends of the opening in the upper part of the frame E, as
shewn at S, S, in Figure 2. To a flange at the upper part of the whicel W
the end of the desk or board K is attached. A pin P passes through.
the centre of the wheel W and is fixed in the frame E as shown, but an
opening is made in the centre of the wheel W of such diameter that
whilst it prevents the wheel from being lifted completely out of the
frame it allows it to be lifted sufficiently high to withdraw the notch in
the wheel from the stud T and permit the wheel to be turned until any
required notch is fitted upon the stud. In this way the desk can be
adjusted to any required angle as shewn in dotted lines at Figure 1.
The wheel can be fixed in any required position by the locking arrange-
ment shown in Figure 2. L is a bolt which is turned inwards against
the centre pin P which is fitted to the frames by means of a square
spindle Q which works in a frame attached to the wheel, and to which
a suitable key can be fitted for the purpose of locking or unlocking the
bolt. When the bolt L is projected against the pin P as shewn in the
Drawing, it prevents the wheel from being lifted and the notch from
being thus disengaged from the stud T.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said
Thomas Redmayne in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 31st
December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
REDMAYNE, of Sheffield, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth. year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Redmayne, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Redmayne, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas Redmayne, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term

page_text: therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF DESKS, SEATS, AND MUSIC STANDS, APPLICABLE TO THE USE
OF SCHOOLS AND OTHER PURPOSES,” upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Thomas Redmayne, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said.
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office on or before
the First day of January One thousand cight hundred and seventy-three.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Redmayne, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement and accompanying Drawing (that is
to say)
:-
This Invention relates to improvements in that form of desk, music
stand, or analogous support for books or papers in which the angle of
inclination of the desk board is adjustable, so that it may be used either
as a table, as a desk, or (in some cases) as the back of a scat. Different
methods of effecting this object have long been known and practised, and
several of such methods have been described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to William James Cowlman and Alfred Doc, dated April
15th 1869 and numbered 1170; in the Provisional Specification and in
the Final Specification of Letters Patent granted to Thomas Richardson,
dated November 25th, 1869, and numbered 3404; in the Specifications
of the several Letters Patent granted to John Henry Banks, dated
September 1st, 1863, and numbered 2161, and dated June 16th, 1869,
and numbered 1862, and dated May 16th, 1870, and numbered 1400
respectively; in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to William
Blackburn, dated June 29th, 1869, and numbered 1961; in the Spe-
cification of Letters Patent granted to Henry Hugh Wippell, dated
March 1st, 1871, and numbered 550%; in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to Robert Stokoc, dated July 27th, 1871, and numbered
1971; in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to George Philip,
the younger, dated April 6th, 1871, and numbered 917, and others.
My present Invention consists of improved methods of effecting the
same object, by which improved methods the adjustable desk board is

page_text: held more firmly and with less shake or vibration in its required position
than has heretofore been the case, and by which its position is more
readily changed when required; also of improved methods of locking or
holding fast the desk board when it has been adjusted in the required
position; also of an improved method of constructing ink vessels and
their fastenings to be used with adjustable desks or with ordinary
desks.
In order to carry my Invention into effect I make a frame or standard
to carry the desk, and where a seat is to be used in conjunction with
such desk I prefer to make two of such standards of different heights
and of such shape that the lower one serves 'to support the seat, and I
prefer to make both standards spring from a plate or base which connects
the desk standard and the seat standard together. The standards and
base plate may be made of any suitable material, such as metal or wood,
but I prefer to make them of cast iron.
Where the desk and seat are of moderate length I arrange standards
as described at or near cach of their ends, but where they are of great
length I arrange additional standards at one or more points between
those already described. Where my Invention is applied to a music
stand, reading desk, or similar article of very short length, onc central
single standard only is necessary.
Where a seat in conjunction with an adjustable desk is used I form a
cross picce, bracket, or T arm at the top of the lower of the two standards
described, and I bolt or screw to it a seat or one end of a scat, which I
prefer to make of wood. This standard may be constructed of any
height to suit the height of the children or other persons who are to use
that seat.
The higher standard which supports the adjustable desk board herein-
after described is arranged at a convenient distance from the standard
which supports the seat as already described. Near the top of the desk
board standard I usually make or fix a frame or bracket which carries a
bookshelf constructed of any suitable material, but preferably of wood.
Above this bookshelf I form or arrange upon the standard suitable
framework or parts to support and secure in its place a wheel having
notches upon its circumference for the purpose to be described. Imme-
diately below this framework and formed upon or attached to the frame
carrying the bookshelf (or upon the standard itself if no bookshelf is
used) and projecting through a hole in the said shelf, I make a tooth,

page_text: stud, or catch which fits into one or other of the notches upon the wheel
already described. This wheel is made of any convenient diameter not
greater than the width of the top of the standard and does not turn
upon any pin or centre, but has a large circular central aperture.
Formed upon or attached to the upper part of the standard are two lugs
or supports fixed at a level slightly below that of the centre of the wheel
and in such a position that when the wheel is forced down (so that one
of its notches fits upon the tooth or stud described) two points in its.
circumference nearly opposite to one another are wedged between the two
lugs or supports aforesaid, and the wheel in this position is held perfectly
firm and free from shake. By raising the wheel vertically sufficiently
to disengage the tooth from the notch it can be turned round until either
of the other notches is above the tooth, and when again forced down is
held as firmly and as free from shake in its new position as before. The
desk board or one end of the desk board is bolted or fixed to a bracket
formed upon a suitable part of the circumference of the wheel described,
and when the wheel is turned the angle of the desk board is altered and
in this way it can either be fixed in a horizontal position to serve as a
table, in an inclined position to serve as a desk, or in a nearly vertical
position to serve as a back to the seat, or in any other desired position,
a suitable notch being made upon the circumference of the wheel to
correspond with each such position. I do not use any central pin or
axis for the wheel to turn upon, nor would it be possible to use any
such central pin for such purpose in my arrangement, for a slot in the
centre of the wheel would be necessary in order to allow the wheel to be
raised for the purpose of turning it when desired, and such slot would
only allow the wheel to be raised vertically when the wheel is in such a
position that the slot is vertical, and in any other position the slot would
be in a diagonal position which would necessitate the wheel being moved
in a similar diagonal direction in order to engage or disengage the tooth
from the notch, and such diagonal movement is rendered impossible by
the position of the two lugs or projections which hold the circumference
of the wheel as described. Moreover I find great advantage from the
absence of a central pin or bearing upon which the wheel might turn,
for when the wheel (and desk board) is lifted it is perfectly clear
and free from friction and can with great ease be turned into any new
position required. In order, however, to prevent the wheel or wheels
(and. desk board) from being lifted completely out of the framework of
the top of the standard I sometimes fix a pin or stud to the standard in

page_text: such a position as to be in the centre of the wheel when the latter is
pressed down into its position, but I make the pin or stud of so small a
diameter that the wheel can be raised until completely disengaged from
the tooth before the circumference of the central hole in the wheel
touches the pin. And sometimes I use the central pin or stud for the
purpose of forcing down the wheel when required with one of its notclics
upon the tooth and its circumference wedged between the two lugs or
projections described. For this purpose I make or arrange the pin or
stud so that it can be made to revolve by means of a suitable handle
(which may be made removeable) attached to one of its ends. And
upon that part of it within the wheel 1 form a cam or eccentric, so
that when the cam is turned it presses against the lower side of the
central hole in the wheel which is thus forced down, and when turned
the wheel is released and can be raised and turned as required.
up
Sometimes instead of the method just described I attach a spindle
carrying a cam and a handle to the wheel itself in such a position that
when the handle is turned the cam is projected against the central pin,
and the wheel is thus held firm until the cam is withdrawn.
By the arrangements and methods of construction described, great
firmness of the desk board is obtained in any of the positions in which it
is fixed, and its angle is altered with great casc since it is free from
friction when raised so that the notches are disengaged from the tooth.
Moreover, it is always raised vertically for altering its adjustment, and
can be fixed firmly in any position which cannot then be again altered
without the possession of a proper handle or key for the purpose.
Another part of my Invention consists of an improved method of
construction and arrangement of the ink vessels used in school desks
and in the supports which carry them, and consists in making such ink
vessels (which I prefer to form circular in horizontal section, but which
inay be oval, hexagonal, square, or of any other convenient form) slightly
greater in diameter at the bottom than at the middle of their height,
and in surrounding the hole or recess in the desk, into which each fits
with a ring or projection of india-rubber or other suitable clastic material.
By this arrangement some force is required to force the bottom of the
ink vessel through the clastic ring or projection, which morcover holds
the vessel sufficiently firm in the narrower part of its diameter to
prevent it from falling out or shaking, and the ink from being spilt.
The accompanying Drawings are in illustration of my Invention.

page_text: Figure 1 is an end elevation of a desk and scat; Figure 2 is a separate
elevation of the desk board with its wheel attached, removed from the
standard in which it is fitted; Figure 3 is an elevation from inside of
part of one of the standards, showing a method of fixing the desk board
at the required angle; Figure 4 is the same clevation showing a different
arrangement for the same purpose. The same letters refer to the same
parts in the different Figures.
when in its
lugs or pro-
The frame f has a
wheel g, and fitting
a (Figure 1) is a standard carrying the seat b, and connected by the
basc c with the standard d, which is of greater height than a. Near
the top of the standard d the bookshelf e is fitted as shown, and above
it is arranged the frame f at the top of the standard d. The frame f
carries the wheel g, shewn separately in Figure 2, which
place has its periphery wedged firmly between the
|jections h, h, shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1.
tooth or stud i arranged immediately beneath the
into one or other of the notches k, k, k, which are formed upon the
circumference of the wheel g. The desk board is attached to the
wheel by the bracket m, and the notches k, k, k, are arranged so that
cach corresponds to one of the positions in which the desk board is to
be fixed as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 at w, x, y, z, so that the
desk board serves either as a desk as shewn at w, or a table as shewn
at a, a back for the seat bas shewn at y, or a back for another seat
(not shewn in the Drawing) as shewn at *.
Figure 3 shews a cam n fitted to the wheel so that by turning up
the cam by means of a handle fitted upon a spindle to which the cam
is fixed, the cam is projected against the central pin o, and the wheel
cannot then be raised until the cam is turned down into the position
shewn in dotted lines.
Figure 4 shews the central pin o fixed somewhat below the centre of
the wheel g, and fitted with a cam or eccentric n. The pin o is move-
able and can be turned round by a suitable handle so that the wheel
is held down when the cam n is turned down, and is released when the
cam is turned up. Instead of making the pin o eccentric to the wheel g,
the hole in the centre of the wheel may be made of an eccentric or
other suitable shape to be acted on by the cam n.
Having now described my said Invention and the manner in which
it is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
the construction of desks, music stands, and similar articles, in such

page_text: manner that the desk board can be adjusted to different angles, nor do
I claim the use of a tooth and notches for the purpose of retaining such
desk boards at different angles, but I claim,—
First. The method of constructing such adjustable desk board by
attaching to it a wheel not turning upon any central axis or bearing,
but wedged at its circumference between two lugs or projections attached
to a standard in which it is fitted, in combination with notches fitting
upon a tooth or stud attached to such standard immediately below the
centre of the said wheel in such manner that the wheel is held firmly
at three points of its circumference, and is raised vertically for the
purpose of disengaging the notch in order to alter the angle of inclination
of the desk board, substantially as described and shown in the Drawings.
Second. The methods of holding such adjustable desk board in its
required position by means of a moveable spindle and cam attached to
the wheel described, or to the standard in which the wheel is fitted,
substantially as described and shewn in the Drawings.
Third. The method of constructing ink vessels and their fastenings,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Redmayne, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.