Improvements in Carving Forks.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 29th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1896
PROVISIONAL SI MOTTICATION
Improvements in Carving Forks.
I, WILLIAM CHARLES HORNER, of 32 Wharf Road, City Road, in the
County of London, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to forks which are used for holding joints and the like
while they are being carved; and consists in improvements in the guards which
are used therewith, and in the mode of attaching the same to the fork.
In the body of the fork I form a slot of such shape that when the guard is open
or in an erect position, the shank of the guard fits the slot in such manner that it
remains fixed in the erect or open position without the use of springs or any
equivalent devices.
In fork guards which have been fitted in this way, up to the present time, the
guard as soon as it is moved by the hand from its erect position, being loosely held
by a pin or equivalent device flies backward and forward in a manner at once
annoying and disagreeable to the user. Now in this invention I apply the guard
in such manner that when once folded down to the fork it is held in this closed
position by reason of its end springing into the space between the prongs, the guard
itself forming the spring.
Dated this 30th day of Mo 1805
WILLIAM J. MUNDEN,
106 Priory Park Road, Kilburn, London, N.W.,
Agent for the Applicant.
improvещению
I, WILLIAM CHARLES HORNER, of 32 Wharf Road, City Road, in the
County of London, Clerk, 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:--
This invention relates to forks which are used for holding joints and the like
while they are being carved; and consists in improvements in the guards which
are used therewith, and in the mode of attaching the same to the fork.
In the body of the fork I form a slot of such shape that when the guard is open
or in an erect position, the shank of the guard fits the slot in such manner that it
remains fixed in the erect or open position without the use of springs or any
equivalent devices.
In fork guards which have been fitted in this way, up to the present time, the
guard as soon as it is moved by the hand from its erect position, being loosely held
by a pin or equivalent device flies backward and forward in a manner at once
annoying and disagreeable to the user.
Now in this invention I apply the guard in such manner that when once folded
down to the fork it is held in this closed position by reason of its end springing
into the space between the prongs, the guard itself forming the spring.

page_text: In order that my invention may be most fully understood and ascertained,
I append a sheet of drawings in which :-
:-
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fork and guard according to my invention.
Fig. 2 is an elevation (part section) of same.
A designates the handle, B the body or stem, and C the pronged part of a
carving fork according to my invention. The handle and prongs are of the
ordinary type, but the body or stem is slotted as shewn in Fig. 2, the slot having
a nearly vertical part 6 into which the shank d of the guard D fits when the latter
is in the erect or open position. The stem has also a recessed part. 6' which is so
shaped as to allow the guard D to partly fit in and be pressed closely down to the
stem B, assuming the position shewn in chain dotted lines in Fig. 2." The shank d
is slotted at d¹, and through this slot passes a pin d² which is fixed tightly in the
stem B of the fork, but is of such diameter that the slot d in the shank d can
pass freely up or down until one end or the other comes into contact with the
pin d.
The other end of the guard D has formed integrally with or fixed to it a globular
or other shaped knob E, and the guard itself is so arranged and shaped as to form
a spring. This forces the knob E when the guard is closed (in the position shewn
in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 2) up against either the sides or end of the part c of
the prongs C of the fork in such manner as to cause it to form a spring catch
which holds the guard D closed.
Thus all that is necessary to open the guard for use is to spring the knob by
hand out of the pronged part and lifting it allow the shank to drop into the slot b
until the upper end of the slot d' rests upon the pin d², it being then held firmly in
the erect or open position. To close it all that is necessary is to raise the guard
until the lower end of the slot d¹ touches the pin d², when the guard can be turned
downwards upon the stem B; a slight pressure of the finger then forces the guard
knob E to spring between the prongs C.
The guard can be made of any suitable shape and instead of using a pin d²
to prevent it from being removed, or falling from the fork, any other method
may be employed.
Instead of the knob E the end of the guard may be finished in any convenient
shape which will serve as a catch, and prevent the guard from opening unless this
is desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A carving fork the guard of which is retained in the open or erect position
without the use of a spring, but which is held in the closel position by means of
its end springing between the prongs, substantially as shewn and described.
2. A carving fork the guard of which is retained in the open or erect position
without the use of a spring, by reason of the guard shank dropping into a slot
in the fork stem, but which is held in the closed position by means of its end
springing between the prongs, substantially as shown and described.
3. The combination of a carving fork having a slotted stem with a guard which
is retained in its open position without the use of a spring, by dropping into a slot
in the fork stem, and is held in the closed position by reason of its end springing
between the prongs, substantially as shewn and described.
4. A carving fork, the guard of which is retained in the closed position by its
end springing between the prongs, substantially as shewn and described.
Dated this 28th day of February 1896
WILLIAM J. MUNDEN,
106 Priory Park Road, Kilburn, London, N.W.,
Agent for the Applicant.