Improvements in Book Supports.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 15th Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Book Supports.
I, JAMES WILSON COULTAS, of Clinton, De Witt County, State of Illinois, United.
States of America, School Superintendent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to that class of book supports which are employed in the
form of a stand for supporting large works of reference, such as dictionaries, etc. and
which serves to hold them in either a closed or an open position. It consists in the
peculiar construction and arrangement of hinged plates, springs, and clamping devices
for holding the two sides or leaves of the book support with an elastic pressure when
closed and in a locked open position, and also in the peculiar construction of the stand,
as will be hereinafter fully described.
The book support is mounted on a vertically-adjustable standard provided at its
upper end with a swivelling serrated disc fitting against another serrated disc which is
in one with a frame plate that carries the book support and clamped to it by a set
screw. By this means, the inclination of the book support may be changed to suit
the convenience of the user. At the upper and lower edges of the frame plate there
are flanges and outside of the flanges there are ears or lugs through which pass
clamp screws, which enter threaded holes in the underside of a back plate which
receives the back of the hook. Between the back plate and the frame plate are
clamped the shank plates of hinges which carry the sides or leaves of the book
support. These hinges are each composed of a plate screwed to the leaf and jointed
to the double shank plates in the same axial line. These shank plates of each hinge
are two plates cast together but separated at their shank ends and laying in different
planes so that when they are fitted together between the clamp plates, one of the
shank plates of one of the hinges lies on the same plane with one of the shank
plates of the other hinge. In this way a firm frictional contact is secured between
the shank plates of the two hinges and the latter may be adjusted in or out to
adapt the book support to receive different thicknesses of books.
I will now proceed to describe the locking spring hinges which hold the leaves of
the book support and close them with an elastic pressure and as both the hinges
are alike it will be sufficient to describe one of them. The shank plate and screw
plate are jointed together, forming an axis about which the hinged leaf of the book
support opens and closes, and a spiral spring is arranged parallel to the axis of the
hinge and lying between the points of articulation of the same. This spring has one
end hooked into the screw plate and the other end hooked into the shank plate,
the tension being so arranged as to tend to shut up the screw plate carrying the
leaf of the book support. Now, when the two sections of the hinge are opened
out in the same plane the spiral spring is adjusted to a new position where its
tension does not tend to close the leaf and allows the opened book in the book
support to remain open for inspection without being closed by the spring. To
accomplish this, the spiral spring is provided with pins at its ends and these are
embraced by links or hooks one of which is loosely connected to the shank plates
and the other to the screw plate. Now, when the screw plate and the leaf of the
book support is folded back to the opened position these links or books throw the
spiral spring away from the axial line of the hinge, and when in this position
the tension of the spring is exerted inside of the axial line of the hinge and does
not tend to close it as it does when the spring is concentric with the hinge. To
retain the hinged leaf in its opened position without allowing it to go back too far,
the screw plate has lugs which strike against the shank plates when the hinge is
open and limit the outward movement.

page_text: The stand which sustains the standard of the book support consists of three legs
which are cast with long vertical flanged edges that correspond in cross-section to
a segment of a circle. When these three flanged edges are fitted together they
form a tube into which the standard slides and is adjusted vertically by a set screw.
To hold these legs together to form the tube, the
received in a socket on a book shelf and are tightly her ends of the flanges are
therein by a set screw.
At
the bottom of the flanges there are other flanges at right-angles to the first which
are segments of a circle and fit within a clamp cup and are bolted down therein by a
set of clamp bolts. In this manner the stand is made in parts for compact storage
and may be readily put together and firmly held when in use.
I do not confine myself to the hold back spring hinge described, as any other
form of spring hinge which will maintain an opened position when opened and yet
close with a spring pressure may be employed.
Dated the oth
A 1000
J. W. COULTAS.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Book Supports.
I, JAMES WILSON COULTAS, of Clinton, De Witt County, State of Illinois, United
States of America, School Superintendent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 that class of book supports which are employed in the form
of a stand for supporting large works of reference such as dictionaries, etc., and which
serves to hold them either in a closed, or in an open, position.
The Invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of hinged
plates, springs, and clamping devices, for holding the two sides or leaves of the book
support with an elastic pressure when closed and in a locked open position, and also
in the peculiar construction of the stand, as will be hereinafter fully described.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
specification, wherein figure 1 is a side elevation of the book support and stand
complete. Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the centre of the clamp
plates. Figure 3 is a partial end elevation enlarged. Figures 4 and 5 are perspective
views of the hinge. Figure 6 is a cross-section, through line y-y, figure 1; and
figure 7 is a detail of the clamp cup at the base of the stand.
A is a vertically adjustable standard mounted upon the stand hereinafter described
and provided at its upper end with a swivelling serrated disc A¹ (see figure 3) fitting
against another serrated disc B₁ and clamped thereto by a clamp screw a. The
dise B is attached to, or formed in one piece with, a frame plate B that carries the
book support. By means of these serrated discs and the clamp screw, the inclination
of the book support may be changed to suit the convenience of the user. At the
upper and lower edges of the frame plate B there are flanges bb and outside of the
flanges there are ears or lugs c through which pass clamp screws d d. These screws enter
screw-threaded holes in the underside of a back plate which receives the back of the
book. Between the back plate C and the frame plate B are clamped, by the
screws dd, the shank plates D D' of the binges which carry the sides or leaves E
(which are usually made of wood) of the book support. These hinges are each com-
posed of a plate D' screwed to the leaf and jointed to the double shank plates D D¹
at e e in the same axial line. These shank plates of each hinge are two plates cast
together but separated at their shank ends (see figures 4 and 5) and laying in different
planes so that when they are fitted together between the clamp plates B and C
(figure 2) one of the shank plates of one of the hinges lies on the same plane with
one of the shank plates D¹ of the other hinge. In this way a firm frictional contact

page_text: is secured between the shank plates of the two hinges and the latter may be adjusted
in or out, to adapt the book support to receive books of different thickness.
I will now proceed to describe the locking spring hinges which hold the leaves of
the book support and close them with an elastic pressure, and as both the hinges
are alike it will be sufficient to describe one of them.
Referring to figures 4 and 5, the shank plate D and screw-plate D2 are jointed
together at e e forming an axis about which the hinged leaf of the book support opens
and closes. F is a spiral spring arranged parallel to the axis of the hinge e e and
lying between the points of articulation of the same. This spring has one end f
hooked into the screw-plate D* and the other end g hooked into the shank plate Di,
the tension being so arranged as to tend to shut up the screw plate carrying the leaf
of the book-support. Now, when the two sections of the hinge are opened out in the
same plane, the spiral spring is adjusted to a new position, as in figure 5 and dotted
lines in figure 3, where its tension does not tend to close the leaf and allows the opened
book in the book support to remain open for inspection, without being closed by the
spring. To accomplish this the spiral spring is provided with pintle pins ii at its
ends and these are embraced by links or hooks ; one of which is loosely connected to
the shank plates D and the other to the screw plate D³. Now, when the screw
plate D' and the leaf of the book-support is folded back to the opened position, these
links or hooks jj throw the spiral spring laterally away from the axial line e e of the
hinge, as shewn by dotted lines, figure 3 and full lines in figure 5.
position the tension of the spiral spring is exerted inside of the axial line e e of the
hinge and does not tend to close it, as it does when the spiral spring is concentric
with the hinge. To retain the hinged leaf in its opened position without allowing it
to go back too far, lugs k k are formed on the screw-plate D³ which lugs strike
against the shank plates when the hinge is open and limit the outward or opening
movement.
When in this
The stand, which sustains the standard A of the book support, consists of three
legs A which are cast with long vertical flanged edges A' that correspond in cross-
section to a segment of a circle (see figure 6). When these three flanged edges are
fitted together they form a tube into which the standard A slides and is adjusted
vertically by a set screw A. To hold these legs A together, to form the tube, a
book shelf A is formed with a socket A that receives the upper ends of the flanges A³
which are tightly held therein by the set screw A³. At the bottom of the flanges A³
there are other flanges A at right angles to A which are segments of a circle and
fit within a clamp cup A and are bolted down therein by a set of clamp bolts A³.
In this manner, the stand is made in parts for compact storage and may be readily
put together and firmly held when in use.
I would observe in conclusion that I do not confine myself to the hold-back spring
hinge shewn and described, as any other form of spring hinge which will maintain
an opened position when opened and yet close with a spring pressure, may be
employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is ;-
1. The combination, with the hinged leaves of a book support, of a pair of hold
back spring hinges adapted to maintain an opened position and yet close with a spring
pressure, substantially as shewn and described.
2. The combination, in a book support, of two hinged plates jointed together about
a fixed axial line, a spiral spring arranged parallel with, and adjacent to, that line and
having one end attached to one hinge plate and the other end to the other hinged
plate, and link bars connected loosely to the opposite ends of the spring and opposite
hinged plates whereby the axis of the spring is thrown away from the axis of the
hinge when the latter is opened and the hinge locked in open position, substantially
as shewn and described.

page_text: 3. The combination, with a book support, of two pairs of hinges each having one
leaf formed in two different planes and arranged to lap together reciprocally and a clamp
for fastening the same together, consisting of an upper plate which forms .a rest for
the back of the book, a subjacent frame plate, and set screws holding the two together,
substantially as shewn and described.
4. The stand, composed of legs A° with vertical circularly flanged edges A³ and
right angled flanges A at the bottom, in combination with the shelf A* with
socket A and set screw, the clamp cup A' and bolts, substantially as shewn and
described.
Doted this 9th day of January 1800