A FOT Carving OTKS.
Year: 1885

page_text: A FOT Carving OTKS.
I, WILLIE TOWNSEND Cambridge Works Solly Street Sheffield in the
County of York Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN GUARDS FOR CARVING FORKS and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of Guards for
Carving Forks, the object being to dispense with the use of springs and to
make the action of opening and closing automatic My invention consists in the
peculiar construction of the guard, and the position of the axis on which it turns,
so that when the fork is placed upon the table, the guard will close, and when
raised from the table the guard will stand in its errect position and ready for use.
This automatic action is obtained by so placing the axis on which the guard
turns, that a preponderence of weight is at the rear of the axis, so that when the
fork is held in the hand, the guard naturally tips up or is raised to the desired
position-F is a catchpiece or stop, to prevent the guard from turning back further
than is required.
When the guard is raised a small portion of its peculiarly constructed body
projects from the underside of the shank of the fork, but when the fork is placed
on the table, its weight acts upon the said projection forcing it back and closing
the guard.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I annex a sheet of drawings
illustrating the same.
Fig. 1. is a side and back view of the guard shown separately.
Fig. 2. represents a fork with guard, part of the fork being cut away to show the
parts clearly.
The shank of the fork A has a slot B, cut, punched, or otherwise, formed com-
pletely through it as shown, in which the body C, of the guard B' can freely swing
upon its axis E.
The guard piece B' may be of any suitable shape, but I make the body Cas
shown, its perimeter from a to b, being preferably part of a circle struck from the
centre of its axis E, for the purpose of filling up the back part of the slot B as close
as possible, in whatever position the guard may be.
The lower part of the body C, at b is shaped to what may be termed a blunt
point, and the axis E, is placed near the front, and towards the top of the body of
the guard.

page_text: It will thus be seen that a guard so constructed, and being able to move freely
upon its axis, will on account of the preponderance of weight being placed at the
back of its axis, be raised to a vertical position, or to such position as is desired for
the purpose of a guard.
Also that when placed upon the table the weight of the fork, first resting upon
the blunt point of the projection of the body b, will force it back into the slot, and
thereby bring the guard B' into its closed position.
I wish it to be understood that I am aware that a fork guard has been made to
work automatically-by means of a tail piece carried through the slotted shank and
terminating in a weight, and that I therefore do not claim such action broadly, but:-
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1 The improved construction of Carving fork guards as hereinbefore described
and as illustrated.
2nd The manufacture of carving fork guards having a body inclosed or nearly
so by the shank of the fork and so balanced upon its axis that when the fork
is raised from the table the guard-piece will rise to its highest position, at the
same time a part of the body will project from the underside of the slot for the
purpose of automatically closing the guard when the fork is placed upon the table,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated.