Improvements in Forks with Movable Prongs.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Forks with Movable Prongs.
A communication from THEODOR HAÜSLER, of Dresden, in the Empire of Germany.
I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, M.I.M.E.,
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:-
The polishing and cleaning of forks is particularly requisite between the prongs,
and is therefore often performed in a somewhat unsatisfactory manner.
The object of the present invention is to obviate this difficulty by means of an
improvement in the fork itself. This consists in the prongs of the fork being made
to inove so that each one can be thoroughly wiped and cleaned. Either the side
prongs are made movable and the middle ones are immovable or the middles ones are
movable and the side ones immovable. The former plan is represented in Figs. 1
and 2 of the accompanying plate, the latter in Figs. 4 and 5.
Each prong is made out of a substantial piece, and the middle prong a is fixed
directly in the iron tang which serves to fix the fork in the bandle, or is a prolongation
of the same.
Round a screw bolt c which is fixed through this prong a there are two other
prongs d d' which can be turned round by means of their tail pieces e e.
The outer prongs d d together with their tail pieces resemble bayonets (Fig. 3)
and are so placed together, that they stand in a line with the middle prong a. The
tail pieces ee are of the same form but not of the same length as the tang b which
bears the middle prong a and serve when closed to cover up the former.
In the clamp of the handle is a slide 9 which moves longitudinally and is pushed
outwards by the spring i. The tail-pieces e e are provided with sloping ends, so that
when the prongs are placed together the slide y springs back in consequence of
the spring power, and by engaging with the said ends retains the prongs in their
closed position.
If one wishes to draw the prongs on one side the slide 9 must be first pressed
back.
Should the side prongs be fixed and the middle ones movable as in figs. 4 and 5
then the middle prongs a a' can be turned round an axis fixed in the side-prongs d d.
When there are two middle prongs the one can be turned forwards the other backwards.
The tail-pieces e el rest in a groove of the middle portion 6. They can be held in this
position by the spring slide 7 which is arranged in the same manner as in the previous
case or they may be held together by a sliding ring r as shown here.
This new fork which is hardly distinguishable froin the one now in use, can, as may
be perceived, very easily be cleaned and offers this great advantage for the slight
increase in cost.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is ;-
In a fork the arrangement of movable prongs in such a manner that the movable
side prongs turn round or upon the fixed middle prong and when closed may be held
together by a spring slide such as g which is forced back by the sloping ends of the
tail pieces e substantially as specified.

page_text: 2. In a fork the arrangement of movable prongs in such a manner that the movable
middle prongs turn round or upon the fixed side prongs and are locked by a spring
slide such as g or by a ring such as r substantially as specified.
Dated th: 50 TL. 1980
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents.