IMPROVEMENTS IN PENCIL OR CRAYON CASES OR HOLDERS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Albert Hoster at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 11th May 1883.
"
ALBERT HOSTER of Bloomsbury Mansion in the County of Middlesex Electrician
and Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN PENCIL OR CRAYON CASES OR HOLDERS'
in use.
This invention relates to a simple and economical arrangement of pencil or
crayon case or holder whereby the lead crayon or other solid writing material is
more conveniently brought into position for use or entirely concealed and protected
within the case when out of use than by the arrangements heretofore employed
and consists of the following combination and arrangement of parts operating
together as described; namely a tubular outer case or holder of metal or other
suitable material provided with the usual tubular tapered or conical end or tip for
supporting laterally the stick of lead crayon or other solid writing material when
Inside the said case or holder there is contained a second tubular holder
in the form of a crayon holder at its lower end between the jaws of which inside
the outer case the inner end of the lead or crayon is gripped and held firmly at the
time of writing; the opposite end of this inner holder may according to one
arrangement be passed through the top of the outer case so as to be readily pushed
inwards or drawn out slightly as required by a sliding motion for the sole purpose
of releasing and gripping the inner end of the lead or crayon.
Over the gripping
jaws of the holder proper there is fitted a collar which may either slide over the
jaws or the jaws be made to slide through the collar the movement of the said
collar or of the jaws being governed in one direction by a helical spring surrounding
the stem of the holder proper which by its action on the collar or on the holder as
the case may be or on both in opposite directions maintains the jaws closed but
when its action is momentarily withdrawn by a slight longitudinal movement of
the inner holder or of the collar produced by the finger of the user the jaws will
open and release the lead or crayon which is then perfectly free allowing it either
to drop back by its own gravity inside the inner holder on reversing the same or
to drop outwards to any convenient distance on bringing the case or holder into
position for writing in which position the lead or crayon will be firmly held whilst
in actual use. The closing of the jaws again after the lead or crayon has dropped
back inside the inner holder prevents it from escaping or being accidentally lost by
the fact of the closing of its exit. Or the two gripping jaws of the inner sliding

page_text: holder may be opened or closed as required by forcing them into or withdrawing
them from a conical cavity inside the writing tip or in the body of the outer holder
by the finger of the user in conjunction with a helical spring In lieu of a sliding
holder or a sliding collar partly governed by a helical spring for releasing and
holding the lead or crayon the same result may be obtained without moving the
inner holder by the lateral pressure of the finger or thumb acting upon a lateral
spring or yielding stud projecting through the side of the outer case and connected
with a clamp or gripping jaw on an inner tube or holder.
In the above arrangements the protrusion and withdrawal of the lead or crayon
through or within the writing tip is effected solely by gravitation and the sliding
of the outer case or any part thereof for the purpose of covering or uncovering the
lead or crayon point is dispensed with as is also the sliding of the inner tube or
holder for the purpose of protruding and withdrawing the lead or crayon the
gripping end of this holder at no time being required to protrude beyond the end
of the usual writing tip whilst its movement or that of the collar is confined solely
to the gripping or releasing of the stick of lead or crayon and hence the construction
and action of the apparatus are both greatly simplified.