Improvements in or connected with Book Cases and like Articles of Furniture.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th June, 1895-Accepted, 31st Aug., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Book Cases and like Articles of
Furniture.
I, WILLIAM MUNDY POINDEXTER, of No. 806, 17th Street, N.W., in the
City of Washington, District of Columbia, in the United States of America,
Architect, 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 :-
My invention relates partly to the manner of locating the pins or equivalent
supports for the ends of the shelves of book-cases, this part of my invention
having for its object to render it unnecessary in the act of adjusting a shelf, to
give any attention to the rear or inner supports for the shelf, but requiring simply
the selection of the two front supports to determine the height of the shelf, and
the passing of the shelf inward over these two front supports until it is arrested
at the proper time and directed upon the two corresponding rear supports. This
part of my invention is carried out by employing for rear supports two vertical
series of pins or equivalent supports at certain fixed distances apart, then adapting
the front supports to engage and to act as trunnions for the shelves and so
locating each pair of said front supports that when a shelf is introduced over
them at an upward inclination it will be arrested at the proper time and caused
to swing downward upon the proper corresponding rear supports, and without
interference with the rear supports next above.
My invention further relates to a construction of front supports and shelf
whereby each pair of said supports is adapted to guide the shelf as described
and whereby the said supports are normally retracted but may be dropped into
active position at will. In carrying out this portion of my invention, I employ
for front supports movable dogs arranged in vertical series on the side walls
of the case, and mounted in recesses which they enter when not in use, but from
which they are readily withdrawn for service. I also employ certain details in
the construction of these parts to be hereinafter referred to.
My invention further relates to the manner of mounting the movable dogs upon
the book-case, this being preferably done through the medium of a separate
mounting such as a strip or cleat in which all the dogs on one side are mounted
and which is then applied to the side of the case in one of a number of ways
differing according to taste and the construction of the case.
A strip, cleat, or equivalent mounting having movably secured therein one or
more of the dogs, constitutes a new article of manufacture, and is applicable to any
book-case of common construction.
The details of construction of the various parts of my invention will now be
described with reference to the drawings forming part of this Specification and in
which :-
:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a book-case of known construction, having my
invention applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a detail perspective showing the application of the invention to a
book-case of different construction.
Figure 3 is a detail view illustrating that part of my invention which relates to
the manner of rendering the shelves self-leveling.

page_text: Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the construction of a fire proof or metallic book shelf
in connection with my invention.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are respectively a detail perspective, a horizontal section, and
a vertical transverse section of a book-case partition-wall on opposite sides of
which, one form of my support is mounted and likewise illustrating one manner of
applying the same to metallic cases.
Figures 9, 10 and 11, are horizontal sections illustrating different positions in
which the cleat may be placed in the case.
Figures 12, 13 and 14, and 15, 16 and 17, illustrate two different embodiments of
the movable supports embracing the same general principle.
Figure 18 is a detail view of a modified arrangement of self leveling shelf.
Figure 19 is a further modification of the housing, which is adapted for insertion
of the dogs from the front.
In Figure 1 is shown a structure designed as a metallic, fire proof and ventilated
book-case and embodying two sections placed back to back, and in each of which
my invention is employed. In this case, 1 represents the sides, 2 the shelves
resting upon front supports 3, and rear supports 4, which are applied to the sides
through the medium of strips or cleats 5, 6, while 7 and 8 represent the base and
top of the case.
The part of my invention which relates to the relative location of the supports
and the manner of manipulating the shelves to render them self-leveling, is
illustrated by Figure 3. The front supports 3 are rounded or otherwise adapted to
serve as trunnions, and the shelf is provided with a shoulder, which may be formed
by a notch 9, whereby when the shelf is passed inward in the manner illustrated
by the upper part of Figure 3, it is engaged by the front pins and arrested after it
has moved the proper distance and takes the position shown by full lines in the
lower portion of said figure, after which the shelf is released and falls upon and is
arrested by the proper rear supports to level the shelf. The inner corner, or if
more convenient to make, the rear edge of the shelves are preferably shouldered as
shown at 10. The relative positions of the front and rear supports are determined
by the depth of the shelf and the proximity of the stops in a vertical line. The
front support must be so located that an are having a radius at least equal to the
depth of the shelf beyond the shoulder and with its centre at the front support, will
include the corresponding rear support but exclude the one next above it, so that
when the shelf is pushed in the proper distance over any pair of front supports it
will pass the next higher pair of rear supports and fall upon that pair of rear
supports which will establish the level of the shelf.
If the supports are quite close together it is obvious that the arc in which
the rear edge of the shelf swings must be of materially shorter radius than if
the supports are further apart. The maximum are being thus determined by the
vertical distance between supports, the radius of the arc in which the rear bearing
point of the shelf swings is adjusted accordingly, by simply selecting the distance
between front and rear supports. If the vertical distance between supports is so
far reduced in giving a much wider range of adjustment, that the available radius
of arc in which the rear bearing point swings, is materially limited, the full depth
of the shelf may nevertheless be retained in either of two ways. First by moving
the front supports rearward so as to sufficiently reduce the are while maintaining
the rear bearing points at about the rear edge of the shelf, and secondly by
retaining the front supports near the front and bringing the rear supports
forward, and reducing the dimension of that part of the shelf that requires to
contact and bear on the rear supports so as to leave the remainder as an
extension adapted in size to swing between the vertical planes of the rear supports,
as shown in Figure 18. It is not essential that the front and rear supports 3, 4
shall be exactly in the same horizontal plane, as it is obvious from the drawings
that they might be slightly otherwise and the difference compensated by the relative
depth of notch 9, and shoulder 10. If the pair of front supports is lower than its
corresponding rear ones, a slight advantage is gained in that the shelf swings in

page_text: a direction which assists it in clearing the rear supports next above, and the
position of the rear supports may in that case be kept further back, which will
obviously add to the stability of the shelf. The fundamental principle of this part
of my invention is having the supports and shelf so arranged that when the shelf is
trunnioned on the front supports, the are described by its rear bearing includes the
proper rear supports to level the shelf, but excludes those next above them.
That part of my invention which relates to the construction of the front supports
is best illustrated by Figures 6 to 18. From these figures it will be observed that
the front supports 3 have rounded upper surfaces which adapt them to receive a
shelf containing the slots 9, and permits said shelf to swing, said supports 3 being
in the form of dogs permanently trunnioned as in Figures 6 to 8 by means of
pintles 13 or equivalent pivots, and adapted to swing up into said slots and lie
flush with the face of the part in which the latter are made or simply confined at
one end in the recess and arranged to swing in and out at their upper ends as shown
in Figures 12 to 18. In mounting these dogs, they are provided with cross-heads 14
which either fit between cheeks 15 formed on the part in which they are mounted,
and through which cheeks the transverse pintles 13 pass, as shown in Figures 6 to 8,
or as shown in Figures 12 to 18, said cross-heads are extended to form shoulders 3",
which engage behind the side walls of slots 9 and prevent the displacement of the
dogs while not opposing the freedom of their upper ends to swing in and out of
the slots. In this construction the dogs are supported vertically by shoulders 3b on
the faces of the dogs which rest upon the lower walls of slots 9. In Figures 12
to 14 the dogs are provided with a backing 5', which may either be an inserted
strip, or the side wall of the book-case, to prevent dislodgment of the dogs. In
Figures 15 to 18, the dog has an under-cut shoulder 3 which prevents dislodgment
inward and thus dispenses with backing 5". To cause the dogs to retain their
vertical position in recesses 12, they are counterbalanced inward. To counter-
balance them inward, and at the same time to adapt them for engagement by the
finger and to be drawn into active position, when mounted on fixed pintles, they
are recessed on their under faces as shown at 16 in Figures 6 and 8. This has the
effect of throwing the centre of gravity sufficiently to one side of the pintles to
retain them in vertical position without opposing their rest in a horizontal position
when drawn down. The pivoted dogs are further provided with shoulders 17, see
Figure 8, which engage with the edges of their sockets at 18 to limit their inward
movement. As will be seen in the forms of dogs shown in Figures 12 to 18, the
counterbalancing effect is accomplished by supporting them by the front
shoulders 3 on the lower sides of the respective slots 9, and to render them.
convenient for engagement, the face plate 5 is concaved at 5ª to expose the upper
edge of the dog to engagement by the finger.
In a
These dogs 3 may be mounted directly between cheeks or flanges 19 on the side
wall 1 of a book-case or I prefer to mount them in channel iron such as represented
in the drawings, the recess 13 being formed in the face of the channel iron while
the flanges serve as the cheeks through which the pintles 13 are passed to trunnion
the dogs. The form illustrated by Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18 may be mounted in
a simple slotted plate, as they are not dependent on the flanges 15. This channel
iron may then be attached to the side walls 1 of the book-case in any convenient
manner which will vary according to taste or the construction of the case.
metallic case, they can be conveniently attached by forming flanges 19 at such
distance apart as will admit the channel iron 20 between them and then kept from
displacement by any suitable means such for instance as a pin or screw 21. This
will readily be understood upon reference to Figures 6, 7 and 8. In securing the
channel iron to wooden cases, the side walls are plowed so as to permit the channel
iron to be countersunk as shown at 22 in Figure 9 or as shown at 23 in Figure 10
or said channel iron may be attached to the surface by any suitable means as
illustrated at Figure 11.
If desired, for any reason, to insert the dogs from the front, this may be done
by constructing the socket as shown by Figure 19. It will be observed that the

page_text: upper part of the recess has its sides recessed back to the side walls of the housing
so that the cross-head of the dog may enter there and being dropped down to
proper position will permit the described operation of the dog without being
further affected by the recesses.
From what has been said with regard to this channel iron provided with the
series of trunnioned dogs, it is obvious that this may constitute an article of
manufacture to be sold for general application to book-cases or for use in other
suitable connections.
In Figures 4 and 5 I have shown the construction of shelf which I prefer to use
in a metallic or fire proof structure.
While it may be preferable to make the front or outer pins after the manner set
forth with reference to Figures 6, 7 and 8, it is obvious that the first part of my
invention which relates to the relative location of the front and rear supports, is
not dependent upon any particular form of these parts nor upon their being
movable or otherwise adapted to be gotten out of the way when not in service.
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, plain fixed pins are ample for this purpose. It is
obvious that any common and well known pin, removable or fixed, may likewise
be employed.
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. In a book-case, means for adjustably supporting shelves consisting of a series
of suitably spaced projections at the inner portion of each side, and a series of
correspondingly spaced projections on the outer portion of each side constructed to
engage the shelf at the proper point and so located with respect to the inner series
and with respect to bearings of the shelves that the shelf passed in over any pair
of front supports will be directed down upon the corresponding pair of rear supports,
substantially as herein before described.
2. In a book-case, the combination of front and rear supporting projections
spaced apart and corresponding pair and pair as shown, and shelving constructed
to engage the front supports and to swing thereon; the front supports being so
located with respect to the rear supports, that the arc in which the rear bearing
of the shelf swings will include the corresponding rear supports but exclude those
above them, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. As a means for adjustably supporting shelves, the combination of a series of
rear supports, suitably spaced apart to give the desired range of adjustment, a
series of front supports correspondingly spaced apart and a shelf recessed to engage
the front supports and swinging thereon, said front supports being spaced
apart from their corresponding rear ones, a distance which will cause the rear
bearing of the shelf to pass in front of the next higher rear support and swing
down upon the proper rear supports to level the shelf, substantially as herein before
described.
4. In a book-case or like articles of furniture, the combination of a series of
suitably spaced fixed rear supports, correspondingly spaced front supports and a
shelf adapted for engagement by the front supports; said front supports
being movable into and out of active position at will and located at points to
cause the shelf to swing thereon down upon the corresponding rear support
without interference with supports above the latter, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
5. A support for the shelves of book-cases or analogous purposes, consisting of
the dog 3 mounted as explained to permit it to be turned up out of active
position and counterbalanced inward, substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described.
6. The herein described support for the shelves of book-cases or for analogous
purposes, consisting of the dog 3 having a trunnion to permit it to be turned up out
of position,.,counterbalanced inward to permit it to stand in vertical position,.

page_text: and having means for limiting inward movement, substantially as herein before
described.
7. As a new article of manufacture, means for supporting shelving at any desired
height, consisting of the channel iron having its connecting web slotted at regular
distances apart and a series of dogs trunnioned between the flanges of the channel
iron, projecting through the recesses, adapted to be held in horizontal position by
the lower sides of the recesses and adapted to fold upward into the recesses when
not in use, substantially as herein before described.
8. As a new article of manufacture, means for supporting shelving at any desired
height consisting of the plate or mounting having slots formed in its face and the
series of dogs mounted in said plate so as to fold in and out of the slots, supported
at points to counterbalance them inward in vertical position and having means to
limit the inward movement, substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 25th day of June 1895.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applican