IMPROVEMENTS IN RULES FOR MEASURING AND IN OTHER INSTRUMENTS OR ARTICLES REQUIRING TO BE ADJUSTED OR DISPOSED AT VARIOUS ANGLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Nicholls, of Barnsbury Row, Islington, in
the County of Middlesex, Mathematical Scale and Rule Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RULES FOR MEASURING AND IN
OTHER INSTRUMENTS OR ARTICLES REQUIRING TO BE ADJUSTED OR DISPOSED AT
VARIOUS ANGLES."
Sealed the 16th March 1866, and dated the 10th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Nicholls at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th October 1865.
I, ARTHUR NICHOLLS, of Barnsbury Row, Islington, in the County of
Middlesex, Mathematical Scale and Rule Manufacturer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RULES FOR MEASURING
AND IN OTHER INSTRUMENTS OR ARTICLES REQUIRING TO BE ADJUSTED OR DISPOSED AT
VARIOUS ANGLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention refers to rules, gauges, telescopes, and various other
instruments or articles having to be adjusted to a desired angle, and its object
is to allow of such articles being adjusted in the required position, and of their
being retained thereat. "For this purpose I'construct the instrument or article

page_text: with a joint, hinge, connection, or fitting, consisting of a middle plate or turn-
ing plate, bar, or piece working in a head, socket, cap, or frame, and I form
such middle turning or working plate, bar, or piece, or the working part
thereof, of a polygonal figure, having any desired number of sides, or so as to
present a number of angles (which may be pointed or rounded off), and in the
head, socket, frame, or part in which it works I fit a spring in such position
that it will act on the middle or working plate or piece, and hold it in any
desired position to which it may be moved, but allow of its position being
shifted when required. The middle plate may sometimes be toothed, notched,
or serrated so as to form a ratchet wheel or disc, a spring catch, pawl, or
clawker engaging in its teeth or notches... A thumb, spring may be used
to retain the middle or working plate. A screw may be fitted in the joint
or contrivance above described so as to act on the working plate, bar, or piece.
To exemplify the Invention I will suppose one angle of the plate to
correspond with an angle of opening or extension of a rule, for example, say
45°; then by turning the plate accordingly (by means of one limb or jaw of
the rule to which it is attached) the rule will be kept at such angle. I
sometimes prefer to form the joint of steel. I sometimes place a stud or
pin in the joint, fitting, or connection, and another stud or pin in the end,
tip, or other part of the rule or other instrument, so that the latter may be
easily and accurately placed in position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Arthur Nicholls in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
NICHOLLS, of Barnsbury Row, Islington, in the County of Middlesex,
Mathematical Scale and Rule Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Arthur Nicholls, Her special license that I, the said Arthur Nicholls,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Arthur Nicholls, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there

page_text: after during the term 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 "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN RULES FOR MEASURING AND IN OTHER INSTRUMENTS OR ARTICLES
REQUIRING TO BE ADJUSTED OR DISPOSED AT VARIOUS ANGLES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Arthur Nicholls, 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 per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Nicholls, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say:-
This Invention refers to rules, gauges, telescopes, and various other
instruments or articles requiring to be adjusted or disposed at a desired
angle, and the object of the Invention is to retain such articles at the required
position when adjusted thereat. For this purpose I construct the instrument
or article with a joint, hinge, connection, or fitting, consisting of a "middle
plate" or turning plate, bar, or piece working in a "head," socket, cap, or
frame, and I form such "middle" working or turning plate, bar, or piece,
or the working part thereof, of a polygonal figure, or a figure having any
desired number of sides or angles, which may be either pointed or rounded off;
and in the head, socket, frame, or part in which it works I fit a spring in such
position that it will act on the middle or working plate or piece, and hold it
in any desired position to which it may be moved, but yet allow of its position
being shifted when required. The middle plate may sometimes be toothed,
notched, or serrated so as to form a sort of ratchet wheel or disc, a spring
catch, pawl, or clawker engaging in its teeth or notches. A thumb spring
may be used to retain the middle or working plate at any required position.
A screw may be fitted in the joint or contrivance above described to act on
the working plate, bar, or piece.
To exemplify the Invention I will suppose one angle of the plate to
correspond with an angle of opening or extension of a rule, for example, say
45°; then by turning the plate accordingly (by means of one limb or jaw of
the rule to which it is attached) it will be kept at such angle. I generally

page_text: form the joint of steel. I sometimes place a stud or pin in the joint, fitting,
or connection, and another stud or pin in the end, tip, or other part of the
rule or other instrument, so that the latter may be easily and accurately placed
in position.
I proceed with reference to the accompanying Drawings to exemplify more
particularly in what manner the Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure. 1 is an elevation of a (portion of a) rule constructed according to
my Invention; only a portion of the rule is shewn, but sufficient to illustrate
the improvements; Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views partly in section
shewing various forms of "middle"plate; Figure 8 is a view partly in
section, and Figure 9 an elevation, shewing the rule partly opened. In all
the Figures corresponding parts are indicated by similar letters.
"
A, B, are the limbs of the rule; C is the "head," that is to say, the metal
socket, frame, or cap, which is rivetted to the upper ends of the rule to receive
and protect the joint; D is a plate serving for what is called the "middle"
plate of the joint; it is in a piece with a shank rigidly connected with the
limb A, and the limb B is connected with it by a pin, screw, or rivet, on
which it works in the usual' manner. The plate D, instead of being circular
or arc shaped at its working part as usual, is of a polygonal figure, or presents
a number of sides or angles as exemplified by the forms shewn, though of
course other polygonal forms on the same principle of construction may be
adopted. E is a steel spring rivetted at its lower end to the limb B; or rather
to the portion of the head C, which is attached' to the limb B. The upper
end of this spring is in contact with the plate D. When the rule is being
opened or closed, the plate D in its travel with the limb forces the spring a
little outward, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, so that the plate may turn and
the rule be adjusted with sufficient freedom; but when the limbs are disposed
or adjusted at the required angle, the upper end of the spring E comes firmly
in contact with and "binds" the plate and holds it in the desired position,
thus forming a set joint or stop joint; or the plate D may be notched or
serrated, as in Figures 4 and 6, and in this case the spring E has at its upper
or working end a tooth e, which, when the rule is set at the desired angle or
position, drops into or engages in one of the notches of the plate, and so retains
the rule at such angle or position; this arrangement forins a stop joint. While
the rule is being opened and closed the spring is forced outward as above
described, and the tooth becomes disengaged from or releases the plate
sufficiently to permit the rule to work with the required freedom. In Figure 4
the springE is a thumb spring, its lower end-projecting from the edge of the
rule for convenience of manipulating; g is a spring with a rounded head

page_text: abutting against the bottom end of the spring E, so as to restore it to position
like the spring joint of an ordinary spring back knife. Figure 10 is an
elevation, and Figure 11 a section, showing an arrangement of joint, in which
a set screw i is used; the head of such screw has a milled or nurled edge for
convenience of working. It passes through the middle plate, so that when
the limbs of the rule are opened to the desired angle they can be held or
retained thereat by setting or fixing the plate by means of the screw. The
outer surface of the head C is divided off or graduated as shown, say, with a
semicircle of 180°; so that the rule may be readily adjusted and retained at
the desired angle. The end of the screw works in a female screw fitted in the
middle plate D.
Although I have described in the foregoing description and represented
in the Drawings the Invention as applied to rules, it may be applied in like
manner to various other articles which it is required to dispose or adjust at
various angles, or, in other words, in which hinges, joints, stop joints, or
set joints are used, as, for example, to shutters, telescopes, desks, doors,
surgical instruments, size sticks, tailors' squares, and other articles too
numerous to cite.
The mode of applying the Invention to these is obvious from the foregoing
description, the middle plate with the spring being used at or as forming part
of the joint or hinge of such instrument or article.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a rule having two studs or pins h, h, pro-
jecting therefrom at right angles to the horizontal plane of the rule; one of
these studs is fastened to the head or upper part of the rule and the other to
the tip or lower part thereof; these studs h are set in a straight line with each
other or equi-distant from the same edge of the rule. The object of these
studs is to adjust the rule more accurately at edges or the like, for example,
the studs may be placed against the rise of the edge of a shelf or slab for
better adjusting the rule.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that in respect of rules and
other instruments or articles requiring to be adjusted or disposed at various
angles, I claim,-
First, the employment of a joint, hinge, fitting, or connection consisting of.
a middle plate, working plate, bar, or piece of a polygonal figure, or having a
number of sides or angles, and combined with a spring acting thereon,
substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement and combination of a set screw with the

page_text: middle plate, working plate, bar, or piece, substantially in the manner and
for the purpose described.
Third, in respect of rules, I also claim the employment or application of
two or more studs or pins h, arranged in the manner and for the purpose
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Nicholls, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
FRANCIS STEPHEN WILDE.
ARTHUR NICHOLLS. (L.s.) '