Improvements in Holders or Receptacles for Matches or the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 27th Jan., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Holders or Receptacles for Matches or the like.
I, ERNST AUGUST GERKEN, of Molenbeck St. Jean, near Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, 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:―
The present invention relates to improvements in holders or receptacles for
matches or the like and consists essentially of a device with a spring or springs
for supporting or holding one or several sheaths or covers for the matches the
outer surfaces of which sheaths are provided with a suitable rubbing surface on
which to strike the matches.
The springs are made of strips of metal of suitable shape held on a support or
base by a screw threaded rod or other convenient arrangement said springs having
one or more branches which exert pressure laterally from the interior towards the
exterior of the receptacle so as to bear against the inner walls of the before
mentioned sheaths slid over the said spring or springs.
Instead of the springs bearing directly against the walls of the sheaths they
may be arranged inside a holder over which the striking sheath is passed the
said holder being composed of bands of sheet metal or the like bent in a suitable
manner and forming movable walls against which the ends of the flat springs bear,
the said springs forming at the same time the bottom of the holder. The springs
may also be so arranged that the free branches of the springs themselves form a
holder for the matches; or they may be simply so arranged as to form only the
bottom of the holder formed by the striking sheath supported only at its lower
part.
The springs in question can be formed by one or several strips of metal and
be so arranged as to be capable of supporting on the same base or stand one or
more sheaths or covers.
The accompanying drawing represents several different forms in which the
The same reference letters
object of the present invention may be constructed
indicate similar parts throughout the different figures.
a is a base or stand made of glass, porcelain, wood metal or any other suitable
material through which passes a rod b screw threaded at its lower part and having
on its upper end a heade for the purpose of pressing the centre part of one or
several flat springs & firmly against a wooden or metal intermediate block or
piece e or respectively, when a nut h underneath the base a on the end of the
threaded bar bis screwed up, thus holding the springs firmly on said base a.
When the free ends of the spring or springs & bear against the walls of a holder
formed of bent sheet metal bands g as indicated in Figs. 1 to 5, two intermediati
blocks or pieces e and f are used between which the centre part of said holder
is placed so that it is pressed firmly at the same time on the base a.
to 4 the holder is formed of two
In the forms of construction shown in Figs.
sheet metal bands g g arranged in the shape of a cross in order to form (when
the walls are pressed together by the sheath being placed thereover) a quadrangular
holder, the bottom of which is constituted by the spring or springs d. The free

page_text: ends of the springs & bear against the walls of the holder and compel them to
assume a position out of parallel with the vertical axis of the device (see Figs 3
and 4). The two opposite walls gl can only move as far as the lateral bends of
the two other opposite walls gallow (see Fig. 4). If it is desired to fix the
quadrangular sheath (Figs. 1 and 2) on the holder, the walls are pressed towards
one another by the hand and the sheath is passed over them, the said sheath i
being thus held firmly in place by the pressure of the springs & pressing from
the interior to the exterior. In the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2 two opposite
walls only are pressed apart by only one spring d with two branches whilst in
the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4 two springs d with two branches are
used, arranged in the form of a cross and exerting pressure against all the four
walls of the holder. The upper spring d is curved on two sides (Fig. 4) in order
to allow the branches of the lower spring to be bent upwards.
The holder and springs may also be so arranged as to be capable of supporting
a striking sheath of round or elliptical section.
Fig. 5, 5 and 5b represent a match holder of this description:-
In this arrangement the holder is preferably formed by only one strip of sheet
metal cut into the shape shown in Fig. 5" and then bent as indicated in dotted
lines, at the same time as the two branches of the band are bent or curved (sec
Fig. 5) so as to fit one into the other till they are pressed firmly together by the
sheath arranged on the said holder. In this form of construction the springs d
arranged in the form of a cross have rounded ends (see Figs. 5 and 5) in order to
press firmly against the circular wall of the holder g. They are both hollowed out
in the middle as shown in Fig. 5b so that the two arms of the springs can be bent
upwardly in order to form a concave bottom for the said holder.
Figs. 6 to 10 represent match holders in which no holder is provided between
the springs and the sheath the springs acting directly upon the walls of the said
sheath. The arrangements shown in these figures are at the same time so
constructed as to be capable of supporting on the same base or stand two striking
sheaths side by side thus giving a large rubbing surface for striking the matches,
whilst with this construction sheaths of small width may be used as for instance
the sheaths or covers of rectangular section known as "Swedish" match boxes.
These twin devices are arranged as follows:-The springs are arranged so as
to bear from the interior towards the exterior on the four walls of each sheath
and one of the springs constitutes the bottom of the holder formed by the sheath i.
The centre part of the strips of metal forming the springs (as in Figs. 1 to 5)
is held by means of the head c of the pin 6 firmly against the intermediate piece f
and the springs are thus fixed on the base or stand a. The part of the spring
or springs marked bears on the two larger sides of the sheath and is so bent
symmetrically on both sides as to form as a whole a shape similar to a letter X
(see Figs. 6, 8, 10) one half of which fits into one sheath and the other half
into the other sheath. The free branches of the said springs are preferably
prolonged downwardly and are bent as at 2 (Figs. 6, 7 and 10) for forming a
support for the sheath i, but as the two sheaths have already a support in the
centre between the two branches of spring this may be dispensed with, and
they may be made to simply bear against the walls of the sheaths (as indicated
in Figs. 8 and 9). Each sheath i is supported at its two narrow sides by springs d
formed by strips or branches bent upwards. These springs may occupy the
whole height of the sheaths i (see Figs. and S) or end at about the height of
the bottom of the holder formed by the bends of the springs (see for instance
Fig. 10). In this latter example the whole system of springs d d is formed
of only one piece of sheet metal, whilst in the examples shown in Figs. G to 9 the
four springs d for the four narrow sides of the two sheaths are cut out of one
sheet of metal and the two other springs for the four larger sides of the
sheath are cut out of another sheet of metal, the two metal strips being placed one
above the other in cross form and held together on the piece f.

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Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature or
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
claim is:-
1. A holder or receptacle for matches or the like consisting of a system of
prings supported on a base or stand and exerting pressure from the interior
owards the exterior of the holder either against the movable walls of the holder
n which a striking sheath is arranged or directly on the inner walls of the said
triking sheath, substantially as described.
2. In a holder or receptacle for matches or the like comprising a system of
springs composed of metal strips held on a support, the arrangement of the said
springs so as to constitute the bottom of a holder the walls of which are normally
pressed away from one another by the free ends of the said springs, substantially as
lescribed.
3. In a holder or receptacle for matches or the like the arrangement of springs
composed of one or several metal strips supported at or about their centre on a
base or stand, the free ends of said springs being so formed as to press firmly
against the walls of a sheath passed over the springs or the movable walls of a
holder interposed between said springs and sheath substantially as described.
4. In a holder or receptacle for matches or the like the arrangement of metal
strips so cut out and bent as to constitute a holder with movable walls in quadran-
gular, rectangular, circular, elliptical or other suitable form, said holder having a
bottom formed by one or more springs exerting pressure on its walls in such a
manner as to press them out of parallel with the vertical axis of the match
holder substantially as described.
5. A holder or receptacle for matches or the like comprising the arrangement of
a system of springs formed of metal strips cut out, bent and arranged so as to
support two striking sheaths side by side on the same base or stand substantially
as described.
6. In a holder or receptacle for matches or the like comprising springs for two
striking sheaths the arrangement of springs composed of strips of sheet metal
forming two branches symmetrically bent each of said branches being inserted in
one of the two sheaths and constituting the bottom of the holder for the matches
formed by the said sheath substantially as described.
7. The holders or receptacles for matches or the like of quadrangular or rectan-
gular cross section constructed substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 1 to 4 of the annexed drawings.
8. The holders or receptacles for matches or the like of circular or elliptical
cross section constructed substantially as described with reference to Figures 5,
5" and 5 of the annexed drawings.
9. The holders or receptacles for matches or the like substantially as described
with reference to Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the annexed drawings.
10. The arrangement of the parts as a whole and the details thereof forming
the improved match holders or receptacles substantially as described and illustrated
in the various figures of the annexed drawings.
I'
103 thin 11th day of December 1899.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant, 18, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C.