Improvements in Letter and Bill Files:
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 10th Nov., 1894
COMPLETE DIVIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter and Bill Files:
I, WILLIAM OTTERBEIN GOTTWALS, of Corner of Ann and O'Connor Street,
in the City of Ottawa, in the County of Carleton and Province of Ontario, in the
Dominion of Canada, Manufacturer, 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 that class of bill files which comprise a file-board and
arches secured thereon, or other suitable paper-holding devices, adapted to retain
letters, bills and other papers. One feature of my invention relates to a bill-file
the paper-holding devices of which are composed of stationary arch-members and
movable arch-members adapted to be opened, to permit the impaling or placing of
papers on the arches.
It is the object of this invention to provide for a bill file comprising a file-board
and suitable paper-holding devices, a cover of convenient and improved construc-
tion adapted to enclose and protect the papers which the file contains and to be
readily opened to permit the free inspection of the contents of the file.
A further object of my invention, is to provide for a bill file, with or without a
cover, a paper-holding device of very simple and cheap construction which may, if
desired, be permanently filed away with its attached papers.
In order to make my invention more clearly understood, I have shown in the
accompanying drawings means for carrying it into practical effect, without limiting
my improvements in their useful applications to the particular construction which,
for the sake of illustration, I have delineated.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bill-file, commonly known as a binding case,
embodying my improvements, being shown closed.
Figure 2 is a similar view of the same, showing it open.
Figure 3 is a perspective view, on a larger scale, of a paper-bolding device
embodying certain features of my invention, which may be employed with the
herein described file-board and cover.
Figure 4 is a similar view, the movable arch-members of the device being thrown
open to permit papers to be placed on or removed from the file.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a clasp for attaching the paper holder to the
file-board.
Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the file-board provided with a suitable
paper-holding device, and having hinged thereto at the upper end a cover 2. Such
hinging may be effected along the line 3 by a strip of leather or muslin or in any
other preferred manuer. The main portion of the cover is indicated at 4 and is
provided with side pieces 5 and an end piece 6, these latter parts being properly
secured to the portion 4' and to each other. 7 is an end piece or back forming a
portion of the cover, by means of which the latter is hinged to the file-board as
above mentioned, being flexibly connected with the portion 4 along the line 8, so
that the file may be fully opened as seen in Figure 2.
9, 9 indicates side flaps hinged to the sides of the file-board along the lines 10,
and adapted to lie flat in the same plane with the file-board as seen in Figure 2, or
to be folded up against the sides of the pieces 5 and clasped thereto by suitable
fastening devices 11, when the cover is closed, as best seen in Figure 1. When the
parts are in this latter position, it will be observed that the contents of the file are
entirely enclosed, guarded against inspection and protected from dust or injury.
The paper-holding device which embodies certain features of my improvement
comprises a base plate 12, which may be of comparativoly thin sheet metal, and is

page_text: .
formed at 13 with perforations through which pass the stationary arch-members of
the arches. Said members, 14, are formed at their lower ends with flat heads 15,
which are adapted to lie against the bottom of the plate 12 in contact with which
they are held, by solder or by a confining plate or strip 16. By this means the
stationary arch-members may be very cheaply assembled with the plate and in such
a manner as to have a rigid and durable attachment thereto. The upper ends of
the arch-members 14 are adapted to be overlapped by the ends of the movable
arch-members hereinafter described, and in order to provide for a secure joint of
the arch-members with each other when thus overlapped, I form the ends of either
the movable or the stationary arch-members with grooves or sockets in which the
ends of the other arch-members may rest. In the construction illustrated, said
recesses are shown as formed in the stationary arch-members 14 and are indicated
at 17.
The movable arch-members, 18, are formed preferably of a single piece of wire,
the ends of which are curved into the usual arches and the cross shank, 19, of
which connects the members 18 and forms a transverse journal, adapted to be held
in bearings upon the base plate in which the movable arch-members may oscillate.
towards and from the members 14. 20 indicates a bearing or bearings formed upon
the plate 12, and preferably by bending up a portion or portions thereof, as
illustrated in the drawings. 21 indicates notches or apertures in said bearings
through which the arch-members 18 pass while their journal 19 is held within the
bearings. The manner in which said arch-members are inserted in the apertures 21
in assembling the parts of the device is shown in dotted lines in Figure 4. After
the journal 19 is in place within the bearing, the front edge of the latter may be
bent down slightly so as to securely confine it. The apertures 21 are so situated
that in turning the members 18 towards the stationary arch-members 14, the edges
of the apertures will be encountered by the vertical portions of the arch-members 18
before the points of the latter have come into engagement with the recesses 17.
Thereafter the continuation of said movement.or turning will be accompanied by a
slight bending of the arcb-members 18 or of the bearings 20, or of the plate 12,
and the resilience of one or the other of said parts will, after the points of the
arch-members 18 have been caused to pass by the arch-members 14 and to the front
of the latter, cause said points to be drawn back into the recesses 17 and securely
hold together the stationary and movable arch-members. To effect their
disengagement, it is only necessary to draw the arch-members 18 slightly forward,
spring them slightly out of line with the arch-members 14 and permit the elasticity
of the parts to draw the movable arch-members back into the position shown in
Figure 4.
While the paper-holder may be attached to the file board in various ways, I
prefer that illustrated in Figure 5, in which 22 is a plate of sheet metal, such as
tin, which is adapted to be securely clamped to the file-board 12, as by tangs.23
which may pass through the board and be clinched upon its back. 24 is a rearward
extension of the plate 22, bent upwards and forwards from the top edge of the
plate 22, and adapted to pass over the plate 12 and under the journal 19, as seen in
Fig. 2. The bearings 20, abutting the part 24 on each end, serve to keep the
paper-holding device from lateral displacement. 25 is a forward extension or flap
formed on the lower or front edge of the plate 22 and adapted, when the plate 12
is in place, to be bent over its front edge and down upon its top surface us seen in
Figure 2.
Having now particularly described' and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tiou and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a bill-file, the combination, with a file board provided with the paper-
holding arches, of a cover hinged to the upper end of said board, and side flaps
hinged to the sides of the boards and adapted to clasp upon the cover when the
latter is in place over said arches substantially as set forth.

page_text: 2. In a bill-file, the combination of a file board provided with paper-holding
arches, a cover hinged to the upper end of said board and having back end and side
pieces, and side flaps hinged to the sides of the file-board and adapted to be clasped
over the side pieces of the cover when the latter is in place, substantially as set
forth.
3. In a bill-file, the combination, of a file board provided with paper-holding
arches, of a cover hinged to the upper end of said board and having side and end
pieces, and having next to the file board an end piece or back hinged to said board
and hinged to the main portion of the cover, and side flaps hinged to the filo board
and adapted to be secured to the covor when the latter is in place.
4. In a bill-file, the combination of a base plate provided with a bearing or
bearings having apertures, arch-inembers rigidly affixed to said plate, and inovable
arch-members formed with a cross shank having their vertical portious passed
through said apertures and the said cross shank situated within said bearing or
bearings, the ends of said arch-members being adapted to over-lap and engago each
other as described.
5. In a bill-file, the combination of a base plate provided with fixed arch-
members and having a portion bent up to. form a bearing or bearings and provided
with apertures, and movable arch-members having a cross shank at their lower ends:
situated within said bearing or bearings and having their vertical portions passed
through said apertures, the ends of one set of said arch-members being provided on
their sides opposite to the other arch-members with grooves or sockets which the
ends of said other archi-members are adapted to engage, substantially as set forth.
6. In a bill-file, the combination of a base plate having fixed arch-members and
movable arch-members, the latter being provided with a cross shank and elastic
bearings on said plate adapted to receive said cross shank, and having apertures.
for the vertical portions of said movable arch-members, substantially as set forth.
7. In a bill-file, the combination with a paper-holding device comprising a base
plate, a bearing or bearings thereon, stationary arch-members, and movable
arch-members having a cross shank journalled in said bearing or bearings, of a
securing plate or clasp adapted to be attached to the file-board and having a rear
extension passing between said journal and base-plate, and a front extension or flap..
adapted to be folded upon said base plate, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 8th.day of September A.D. 1894.
WM. O. GOTT WALS,
Per A. Harvey, his Attorney..