Improvements in School Desks and Fittings for the same.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 18th July, 1893-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in School Desks and Fittings for the same.
We, SAMUEL SMITH, of South Grove, Mile End, in the County of Essex,
London Board School Curator, and JOHN SMITH, of Salford Works, Richard
Street, in the City of Birmingham, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the manner in which we construct and arrange school
desks and their fittings whereby we are enabled to obtain a more durable desk, and
to render it more convenient for school purposes, than is at present possible with
ordinary systems of construction now in use.
In carrying our invention into effect we construct a desk having a table and seat
combined in one frame, and we arrange the seat with our improved hinge so that it
is possible to throw back the seat or a portion of it when it is desired to pass in
and out or to stand up between the desks. The general framework supporting the
desk table, footrail, backboard and seat we construct in the usual ordinary manner
out of metal or other suitable material, but the desk portion or table itself we
mount within and upon a framework preferably of metal so that the board or table
can be made with its outer surfaces interchangeable. This framework we form
with a projecting lip or tongue or recess at each end to enter into a groove or
channel or over a projecting lip or tongue which we form in or on the end edges of
the board or table; or we provide at one end of the frame a loose tongue piece
having a similar rib or projecting tongue piece for entering into a similar groove
or channel at the opposite end of the timber desk. This loose tongue piece we
provide with studs or bosses to receive screws which may be passed up through the
bottom framework and made to secure the tongue piece in position. Thus when it
is desired to remove or turn over the table the screws may be removed or the bolts
slackened from beneath the frame, thus permitting the tongue piece to be lifted up,
and with it the timber table itself, seeing that the table can be drawn out from the
fixed end portion of the frame directly the binding screws retaining the loose
tongue piece or the board itself have been removed. In this manner we are
enabled to replace a damaged and worn surface of a desk by a clean and
undamaged under surface of the same desk.
We provide within or upon this our improved frame for carrying the table, the
usual fittings or receptacles for the ink wells, which we provide with a cover
secured to its place by a peg in its edge and on which it turns to cover or uncover
the ink wells, pens, and slates, and we attach this framework to any form of
standard or leg to suit desks and fittings of any ordinary construction.
The hinged seat we make of great strength by means of our improved double
locking or double butting hinge; this improved hinge we construct with one
portion working upon or through the other, each having a long tail for attachment
to the different portions of a seat by means of screws fastening through the same..
One portion of this hinge we provide with a leg which passes through a slot within
the other, and through the three surfaces we then pass a pin upon which they may
turn; the inner moving piece we provide with a projection in the form of a lip
which rests upon the under surface of the other limb of the hinge while the one
side for supporting the wood is brought flush with the other. This lip thus
prevents one portion from passing right out of the other but in addition to this we
provide a butting surface so that when the two are brought in line with each other
the resistance shall be taken upon these broad surfaces or butts as well as upon the
single lip. We form the butts upon the hinges the one at one end and the other at
a position upon the male limb of the hinge such that it will truly meet the other

page_text: butt, and we pass screws through these butts into the timber for the purpose of
providing a more secure attachment and making a more rigid seat.
We employ our improved method of hinging seats by means of our improved
butt hinge to desks having standards of any ordinary construction and having desks
or table portions constructed in the manner as hereinbefore described or in any well 5
known manner.
Dated
171 1
1003
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in School Desks and Fittings for the same.
We, SAMUEL SMITH, of South Grove, Mile End, in the County of Essex,
London Board School Curator, and JOHN SMITH, of Salford Works, Richard
Street, in the City of Birmingham, Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to the manner in which we construct and arrange school
desks and their fittings whereby we are enabled to obtain a more durable desk, and
to render it more convenient for school purposes than is at present possible with the
ordinary systems of construction now in use.
In the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings-
Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 a sectional elevation of our improved desk.
Figures 3 and 4 are detailed sectional elevations of alternative methods of fitting
the desk boards.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views of our improved hinge shown in different elevations
at Figure 5 and in Figure 6, and in plan at Figure 7.
In carrying our invention into effect we construct a desk having a table A and
seat B combined in one frame C, and we arrange the seat with our improved
hinge D so that it is possible to throw back the seat or a portion of it when it is
desired to pass in and out or to stand up between the desks. The general frame-
work C supporting the desk table, footrail, backboard and seat we construct in the
usual ordinary manner out of metal or other suitable material, but the desk portion
or table A itself we mount within and upon a framework preferably of metal so
that the board or table can be made with its outer surfaces interchangeable. This
desk or table we form with a projecting lip or tongue a at each end to enter into
the groove or channel E of the desk framework (Figures 3 and 4); or with a
groove or recess at each end for receiving a projecting rib or tongue which we may
form on the desk framework; or we provide at one end of the frame a loose tongue
piece F attached to the desk framework having a similar rib or projecting tongue
piece for entering into a groove or channel in the timber desk. This loose
tongue piece F we provide with studs or bosses FF2 to receive screws G which
may be passed up through the bottom framework and made to secure the tongue
piece in position. Thus when it is desired to remove or turn over the table the
screws may be removed or the bolts slackened from beneath the frame, thus
permitting the tongue piece F to be lifted up and with it the timber table A itself,
seeing that the table can be drawn out from the fixed end portion of the frame
directly the binding screws retaining the loose tongue piece or the board itself have
been removed. In this manner we are enabled to replace a damaged and worn
surface of a desk by a clean and undamaged under surface of the same desk.
We provide within or upon this our improved frame for carrying the table, the
usual fittings or receptacles for the ink wells, which we provide with a cover
secured to its place by a peg in its edge and on which it turns to cover or uncover
the ink well, pers and slates, and we attach this framework to any form of standard
or leg to suit desks and fittings of any ordinary construction.

page_text: The hinged seat B we make of great strength by means of our improved double-
locking or double butting hinge D; this improved hinge we construct with one
portion D' working upon or through the other D, each having a long tail for
attachment to the different portions of a seat by means of screws fastening through
the same. One portion of this hinge we provide with a leg d' which passes through
a slot within the other and through the three surfaces we then pass a pin H upon
which they may turn; the inner moving piece we provide with a projection in the
form of a lip which rests upon the under surface of the other limb of the hinge,
while the one side for supporting the wood is brought flush with the other. This
lip thus prevents one portion from passing right out of the other but in addition to
this we provide a butting surface so that when the two are brought in line with
each other the resistance shall be taken upon these broad surfaces or butts as well
as upon the single lip. We form the butts D2 D3 upon the hinges the one at one
end and the other at a position upon the male limb of the hinge such that it will
truly meet the other butt, and we pass screws through these butts into the timber
for the purpose of providing a more secure attachment and making a more rigid
seat.
We employ our improved method of hinging seats by means of our improved butt
binge to desks having standards of any ordinary construction and having desks or
table portions constructed in the manner as hereinbefore described or in any well
known ordinary manner.
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. The construction and arrangement of school and like desks in which a
removable and renewable table is employed, substantially as and for the purposes
hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a school or like desk, the arrangement of a tongue piece or make up piece
such as F for enabling the table portion to be readily removed, substantially as
hereinbefore described, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. The construction of hinges for use upon school desks substantially as and for
the purposes hereinbefore described and as illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th day of July 1893.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.