An Improved Fork for Culinary Use and for other purposes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 1st Jan., 1895-Accepted, 2nd Feb., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Fork for Culinary Use and for other purposes.
WILLIAM CHARLES HORNER, 32 Wharf Road, City Road in the County of
London, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
•
To provide a culinary fork of much greater usefulness and utility than has
hitherto been in use. Its principle feature being that articles such as joints, meats,
puddings &c. &c. can be withdrawn from cooking or other vessels and transferred to
where desired without the slightest risk of the article slipping or falling from the
fork.
The arrangements consist of a handle, one main stock piece, having two or more
prongs as an ordinary fork and made of steel, brass or other metal. From near the
point of each prong is made to project, at will, at nearly right angles, small points.
of steel or other metal. These small points are made to project by levers running
down from the handle through a slot cut in the stock piece and prongs to within a
short distance of the fork points, or by other mechanical arrangements. The upper
end of the levers is fitted with a back thumb spring which keeps the levers in their
place. To use the fork, when the operator has inserted it into the article about to
be lifted or otherwise dealt with, the upper end of the lever is pressed which forces
out from the prongs the small steel points which catch and wedge in the article
being dealt with. The article without any fear of slipping from the fork is placed
where required. The operator then releases his hold of the top of the lever which
allows the spring guides to relax and forces the levers and points into their original
position within the prongs after which the prongs can be easily withdrawn.
The fork can be made with one, two, or more prongs, and the points can be made
to project from the front, back or sides of the prongs as desired.
Dated this Wifth day of Anril Dighteen hundred and ninety-four.
An Improved Fork for Culinary Use and for other purposes.
WILLIAM CHARLES HORNER 32 Wharf Road, City Road, London N. Brewers
Clerk, 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 object of this invention is to provide a culinary fork of much greater
usefulness, and utility than has hitherto been in use. Its principal feature being
that joints of meat and such like articles can be withdrawn by it from cooking
vessels and transferred to where desired without any risk of the article slipping
from the fork. It can be used in every case where an ordinary kitchen or carving
fork is required, with the additional advantage that the article being lifted is
prevented from slipping from the fork, and the article is held on with greater ense
than is the case with an ordinary fork.
The fork proper is the same in size and shape as an ordinary carving fork, having
two prongs, stock piece and handle. Two deep slots are cut in the prongs on their

page_text: concave sides. These slots are run to about within one inch of the fork points at
the one end, and out through the shoulder at the other. Into each of these slots
is run a lever from a junction outside the shoulder of the fork, the lever is carried
along beneath the body of the fork and part of the handle. It is held in position
by a small arm or support coming from the stock piece, close to the handle. At
the top it is fitted with a back thumb spring. The lever is held to the support by
a small thumb screw, which when removed allows the lever to be taken apart from
the fork when required to be cleaned. The lever has one joint, about midway
between the support and the fork shoulder. At the extreme end of each lever
within the prongs are made two small points beside each other and at nearly right
angles to the levers themselves. These small points lie within the slots, their tops
being slightly below the level of the tops of the prongs. It is these points being
made to protrude at right angles, or nearly so, from the prongs, and by so
protruding inserting themselves into whatever article is on the fork, and thus
preventing it slipping.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1. is a side view of a fork according to my invention.
Fig. 2. is a face view of same.
Fig. 3. is a detail shewing the preferred shape of the points.
A, designates the handle, B the stock piece or stem, and C, C, the prongs of the
fork. These are of the ordinary description, but each of the prongs C, has a slot F,
cut partially through it, in which one of the two ends of lever E fit loosely so as to
be capable of moving freely. The extreme ends of the lever E, are shaped so as
to form a barbed point e', and the lever jointed at the point e, with one end of the
lever D. This lever D, is pivoted by the thumbscrew d¹ to a projecting piece d'
formed integrally with, or rigidly attached to the stem B, or to the handle A:
and the handle end of the lever is maintained in its normal position by the spring d.
A guard may be attached to the lever D, or to any other part of the handle or
- stem, when the fork is to be used as a carving fork.
To use the fork the operator inserts it into, or places it underneath the article
to be lifted, as may be necessary, then grips the upper end of the lever which forces
out from the prongs the other ends of the lever on which are the small points;
these points catching the article and holding it on the prongs until the grip of the
top of the lever is loosened, when the points and lever are at once sent back by the
thumbspring to their original position within the prongs, and the fork is easily
withdrawn.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A fork for culinary or other purposes, having points normally retracted within
+lots in the prongs, but capable of being protruded so as to form barbs, substantially
as shewn and described.
2. A culinary fork substantially as shewn and described.
3. The combination of a culinary or other fork having a slotted prong or prongs
with the lever D pivoted to the stem of the fork and the lever E having a point
or points e¹ substantially as described and shewn.
Dated this First day of January Eighteen hundred and ninety-five.
WILLIAM CHARLES HORNER.