Improvements in Letter and Bill Files.
Year: 1892

page_text: ate of Application, 27th May, 1892-Accepted, 23rd July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter and Bill Files.
We, WILLIAM OTTERBEIN GOTTWALS, Manufacturer, of 297 Maria Street,
and GEORGE LEWIS ORME, Merchant, of 113 Sparks Street, all in the City of
Ottawa, in the County of Carleton, Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada,
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 :-
Our improvements relate to devices for filing letters bills and papers. The
objects of our invention are a file of simple mechanical construction that can be
cheaply manufactured, that is handled with facility in placing papers on it and that
holds them effectively after placing them.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a complete file, showing papers and compressor
cover in position.
Fig. 2 is a top view of the base holding the fast and movable pins.
Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the same.
Fig. 4 is a section through the same on line xx Figs. 2 and 3 showing the
manner of securing the arch wire.
Fig. 5 is a section through the same on line y y Figs. 2 and 3 showing the action
of the spring and the arches opened for the reception of papers.
-
Fig. 6 shows a modification of said base and
Fig. 7 is a detail view of the compressor cover.
At the upper end of a board plate or other stiff backing A is secured a metallic
base B, which we prefer to stamp out of sheet metal and which is just large enough
to hold two sets of wires and the operating mechanism. It is made with a down-
ward projecting rim or flange b, so as to provide a hollow space between it and the
backing A. Two tranverse grooves b' are formed in said base, one near the lower
or front edge and one near the upper or rear edge, preferably on the lower surface
and having a perforation at each end, to form bearings for the wires, one of which
is movable and the other fast or rigid, the one receiving the fast wire, usually the
upper dr rear one, having also a perforation 611 in the center. Said grooves are
most conveniently formed in a stamped plate by a raised ridge 6". CC are the
two arched wires or transferring pins at the rear or upper end, which are formed of
one continuous wire, bent into suitable shape, the transverse portion of which lies
in the groove band is provided with a quirk c which is driven tight in the
perforation which holds the wire rigid. Said wires are made to lean rearwardly
or upwardly, so as to form an obtuse angle with the lower or front part of the base.
CC are the two straight receiving or front wires or pins, also formed in one piece,
the transverse portion lying movably in the lower or front groove and has secured
to it at the center a steel bit D bearing with its edge on a spring. E is a plate
spring secured at one end to the base by a bolt E' and having its free end e
nicked or quirked and bearing on the bit D. The end e is so shaped as to form
a sharp indentation and adjoining ridge, the edge of the bit D resting in the
indentation when the wire is open, i.e. leaning downward or forward, as in Fig. 5,
and keeping it at rest, but has slipped over the ridge and is in an inclined position
when closed, so that the spring presses the wire against the arches. The joints of
the pins, i.e. the ends c² of the wires are beveled and grooved and tongued so as to
keep in good alignment.
It will readily be seen that the transverse shank of the receiving wire C¹
might be journaled on the upper surface of the base, the bit D being reversed in
position and the spring E being also secured to the upper surface, as shown in
Fig. 6. The inclined position of the arch wires C affords opportunity for a

page_text: sufficient opening between the joints c' without necessitating too great an angle of
the receiving wires when open and leaning downward or forward. Instead of
having the front or receiving wires movable and the rear or arched transfer wires
stationary, the order may be reversed so that the front is stationary and the rear
movable.
.
F is the compressor cover, consisting of millboard' or other stiff material, provided
at its upper end with a metallic plate perforated with eyes f¹ to engage the
receiving wires. Gis a narrow transverse plate or bar having transverse slots gl
which are engaged by studs fl secured to the plate f, so that its upper edge is
adjacent to the receiving pins C and can be made to bind on them or be with-
drawn, sliding on the studs" by means of the slots g11. Said plate is controlled
by an excentric H pivotally secured to the plate f, provided with a handle / and
bearing on the lower edge of the plate G.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a letter and bill file, the combination of a backing A, a metallic base B
secured to said backing, a pair of arched transfer wires C made in one piece and
secured rigidly to said base in an upwardly inclined position, a pair of straight
receiving wires C₁ secured movably to said base, the points c of said wires meeting
and being beveled and grooved and tongued, a bit D secured to the wire C¹, a flat
spring E secured to the underside of said base and provided with quirked end
bearing on said bit D, a compressor cover F having plate f eyes f¹ and studs f",
a plate G having transverse slots g" adapted to engage the studs f" and the
excentric H pivotally secured to the plate f and bearing on the plate G, sub-
stantially as set forth.
2. In a metallic base of a letter and bill file, the combination of a rim or flange b,
transverse grooves with a perforation 6111 in one of them, a wire C bent to form
a central transverse portion having a quirk c and two upright inclined portions
terminating in arched ends, said transverse portion fitting in one of the grooves b
and said quirk adapted to be tightly driven in the perforation 511, a wire C¹ having
a central transverse portion adapted to fit and turn in the other groove band
having two upright straight ends meeting the ends of the arched wire, a bit D
secured to the central portion of the wire C and a spring E secured to said base.
and having a quirked end bearing on the bit D, substantially as set forth.
3. In a base of a letter and bill file, the combination of a metallic plate B
having a downward projecting rim b, two transverse grooves b¹ on the underside of
said plate forming raised ridges on the upper surface each having a perforation
at each end and one having a perforation in the center, all stamped out of a
single metallic sheet, substantially as set forth.
4. In a letter and bill file, the combination of a base having a groove 6' and
perforation of a wire C bent to form a central transverse portion having a
quirk c adapted to be rigidly secured in the perforation and having an outward
and upward projecting portion at each end of the transverse portion with a down-
ward projecting arched end, substantially as set forth.
5. In a letter and bill-file, the combination with a base having a groove b!, of a.
wire C¹ bent to form a central transverse portion adapted to fit and turn in-said
groove and outward projecting straight ends, substantially as set forth.
6. In a letter and bill file, the combination with a base having a groove 6¹ of a
wire C¹ bent to form a central transverse portion adapted to fit and turn in said
groove, a bit D secured to said transverse portion, a spring E-secured to said base
and having a quirked end bearing on said bit, substantially as set forth.
7. In a letter and bill-file, the combination of a compressor cover F having a
metallic plate with eyes f' and studs f", a plate G having transverse slots g
adapted to be slidingly engaged by said studs, and an excentric H pivoted to the
plate and bearing on the edge of the plate G, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 8. In a letter and bill file, the combination of a base having two transverse
grooves some distance apart, a pair of wires each bent to form a transverse central
portion adapted to fit in one of said grooves one adapted to be rigidly secured and
the other to oscillate or turn, each wire having outwardly projecting portions,
and the ends of one arched to meet the straight ends of the other, the transverse
portion of the movable wire fitted with a bit D and a spring E secured to said base
and having its free end bearing on said bit, substantially as set forth.
Doted this 0th day of Mar 1809
WILLIAM O. GOTTWALS
and
GEORGE L. ORME,
Per A. Harvey, their Attorney.
WILLIAM O. GOTTWALS
and
GEORGE L. ORME,
Per A. Harvey, their Attorney.