other Circular or Oval Objects.
Year: 1885

page_text: other Circular or Oval Objects.
I LOUIS COURLANDER 84, North End Croydon, in the county of Surrey,
Jeweller, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for MEASURING AND
REGISTERING THE SIZE OF CIRCLES AND OVALS, SUCH AS HEADS, WRISTS, ARMS,
NECKS, OR ANY OTHER OBJECT, to be as follows:-
:
A square framework of iron or other material hinged at one angle and cut
through at the opposite angle to allow the frame to open out at right angles
forming three sides of an oblong so as to admit the object to be measured. A long
flat spring measure, (the inside of which may be marked as a meter if necessary)
is enclosed within the framework and is kept in position by sockets or other
holders in the framework and moveable sockets as may be found convenient. The
object to be measured is enclosed in the open spring and the frame work then
enclosed around it to its original square form; the cut through angle being secured
by a hasp or a thumb screw. Two thumb screws pierce the framework at right
angles which, fitting and screwing into moveable sockets inside the frame, press
the spring to the exact form of the object to be measured. The frame can then be
opened to set the object at liberty, when, upon shutting the frame again, the exact
size and form of the object remain. A meter may, also, be marked on the inner
sides of the square frame to enable the exact size to be read off at șight,
Dated this Nineteenth day of November 1005

page_text: An Instrument for Measuring the ad,
other Circular or Oval Objects.
I, LOUIS COURLANDER, of 84, North End, Croydon, in the County of Surrey,
Jeweller, 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 to the construction of an improved instrument for
measuring and registering the dimensions, as well as shapes, of regular as well
as irregular circles and ovals..
".
The head or the wrist for instance, both of them irregular ovals in point of
sectional outline, may be easily measured, as far as simply girthing them, with an
ordinary tape measure. But the operation gives the girth only. It gives no
intimation of the shape of the head, or of the wrist. A hat or a bracelet may be
made to exact linear measurement round the head, or the wrist, as the case may
be, and yet not fit the wearer, because the shape has not been followed by the
hatter, or the jeweller, for the very good reason that he has not had it before him
with anything approaching exactitude.
My invention supplies an instrument which not only readily ascertains the
linear measurement, but ascertains the exact shape along the line of measurement,
indicating the shape at the same time, so that it can be recorded, or copied at the
time. If it is not convenient to copy the shape at the time of measuring, the
indications on the scales of the instrument may be recorded, and the instrument
set thereto at any future date, when it will reproduce the shape.
I attain the object of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the following.
figures, in which
:
Fig. 1 shews a measuring instrument made according to my invention, opened
to its full extent before being applied to the object to be measured,'e.g., a lady's
wrist.
1.
ช
I
Fig. 2 shews the instrument partially closed.
Fig. 3 shews it 'closed, the measuring band indicating a perfect oval as the
outline of the wrist.
Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is
Fig. 1.
sectional plan of the right hand half of the instrument illustrated in
Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 5 looking at it from the right hand.
The frame of the instrument consists of two parts a, a¹ hinged together at b,
and which, when closed, produce a square or nearly so, the hinge b and point of
opening being at corners of the frame diagonally opposite to each other.
The two ends a³, a² are extended outwards and their contacting faces sloped, as
shewn, for the purpose of making a neat junction, as well as to provide a convenient
method of fastening the closed frame. One of the ends is, accordingly, furnished
with a loop a³ which is passed over the convex surface a to keep the frame
alosed

page_text: In each side of the frame adjoining the hinge, I form a slot c. Each slot receives
the nose c' of a bar c³. One of these bars is longer than the other, for a reason to
be explained further on. Instead of slotting the frame, the ends of the bars c²
may be shouldered, and made to embrace the frame in any convenient way, it
being necessary, for the purpose of my invention, that the ends of the bars should
be visible close to the scales marked on the frame for the purpose of easily reading
off the indications of the instrument.
The bars are advanced to, or withdrawn from, their respectively opposite
(when the instrument is closed) sides, for the purpose of compressing the spring
girthing band d, or allowing it to expand, by the devices described further on.
For the purpose of preventing the band a falling out of the frame, and of
keeping it in its place within the same, as well as for facilitating the use of
the instrument, I provide two loops d. One of these is passed round one bar c³
and the band, the other embracing the opposite side of the frame and the bar.
These loops are capable of sliding freely on the side of the frame and bar
respectively, and allow the band to slide within them for the purpose of allowing
it to readily adjust itself to the outline of the object to be measured while it is
suffering compression before the advancing bars c².
Instead of the two loops before mentioned, and illustrated herewith, I may use
any other device for retaining the band within the frame, without confining it too
rigidly. For instance, I find that a longitudinal slot in the band where it touches
the frame and a headed pin passed through said slot into the frame, answer the
purpose very well.
The devices for advancing and withdrawing the two bars care, preferably,
duplicates of each other. As illustrated in the figures, each device consists of the
following parts, viz;—.
Two screws e, e¹, both fixed to the bar at points (approximately) equidistant
from the centre of the bar.
Two flanged sleeves f, g, screwed internally to receive the screws e, e¹ respectively,
and capable of being rotated smoothly in holes formed through the respective sides
of the frame. One of these sleeves, viz., g, is sufficiently long to receive a pinion g'
and a milled head g2 upon its projecting end. The other sleeve f receives a
pinion f¹, upon its outer end. Sleeve f and pinion flare fast together; as are,
likewise, sleeve g pinion g¹ and milled head g²; and
One intermediate pinion working on a pin h¹ projecting from the frame, and
gearing with the pinions ƒ and g.
Both screws are of the same pitch, and both pinions ƒ and g of the same diameter.
Each of the latter is flanged on the outside. These flanges f³, g³, overlap the
intermediate pinion, and prevent it working off its pin.
I do not confine myself to the exact details described above, and illustrated
herewith, of the devices for the purpose of advancing and withdrawing the bars c²,
inasmuch as I may vary the same without departing from the principle and
substance of the invention, although the devices I have described give satisfactory
results. It is evident that the two screws e, el might be replaced by one central
screw, and a guide rod on each side thereof. This arrangement would not require
either the pinions f¹ or h or the pin h¹. And if the ends of the bars c² are
shouldered and made to embrace the sides of the frame, it will suffice to use one
screw to each bar, and dispense with guide rods.
The frame of the instrument is marked with a scale along the side of each slot,
one scale being preferably marked with the letters of the alphabet and the other
with figures. Any other signs may be used, provided they are distinguishable,
otherwise, the record of the indications of the instrument would be ambiguous.
If both scales were marked with, say, figures, and the readings were 8-4, these
readings might, unless acted upon by the artizan forthwith, be indistinguishable
from a record 4-8. But if the reading is H-4, and it is required to work to this,
say, a month after the measure is recorded, there would be no doubt at all about

page_text: setting the instrument to give the outline of the object, the measuring of which
gave the reading H 4.
The nose e¹ of each bar has a small notch cut in it to align with the markings of
the respective scale.
One bar c² is longer than the other, for the purpose of allowing the shorter bar
to be advanced far enough to take the small diameter of a narrow elliptical or
oval-shaped object.
The band may itself be marked as a measuring tape and the scales may be cut
upon the inner faces of the two sides of the frame in which the slots are.
The method of using my invention is as follows.
The frame is opened, and having been passed round the object to be measured,
the two ends of the band d are placed one inside the other, and the frame closed
and fastened. The operator, continuing if necessary to bold the instrument in his
left hand, advances the two bars c³, c², one by one, compressing the band d, until
the exact girth and shape are obtained, when the frame is unfastened, releasing
the band, and removed. The readings are then noted and, if necessary, or
convenient, recorded.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is,
1. The combination of a square or an approximately square frame produced by
hinging together two pieces, each one bent to a right angle and therefore forming
two sides of said frame, with two bars parallel respectively to the two adjacent
sides of the frame, each bar rigidly connected to a screw device working in the
frame side parallel to said bar by which device it can be advanced to or withdrawn
from the opposite frame side, and with a spring measuring and girthing band
contained in the quadrangular space between the two bars and the respectively
opposite sides of the frame, said band being compressible by the advancement of,
and expansible after the withdrawal of, said bars, substantially as and for the
purpose described.
2. The combination with the hinged frame and. band-compressing and -releasing
bars of an instrument for measuring irregular circular or oval shapes or objects,
of two scales and an index upon the end of each bar, working over or by the side
of said scales respectively, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 8th day of Anril 1886
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.