Appliances for Automatically Opening and Closing Vessels, such as Inkstands, Salt Cellars, and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Appliances for Automatically Opening and Closing Vessels, such as
Inkstands, Salt Cellars, and the like.
I, JOSEF GORIUP, of Görz, Austria, Gentlein in, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
:~
My invention relates to an appliance for automatically opening vessels such as
inkstands and the like at the moment of using the same, either by touching the
vessel or by effecting a manipulation connected with its use, and also for closing
automatically the same, when the use is discontinued..
With inkstands, the pen is utilised for effecting the automatic opening and closing,
with salt cellars and such like receptacles, the spoon or other auxiliary implement is
employed, the act of taking up of the pen &c. being made to effect the opening,
while the laying of it down effects the closing.
On
The invention may be carried out in a variety of ways; thus in applying it to
inkstands, according to one arrangement, in employing that form of inkstand in
which the ink receptacle is adapted to rock upon pivots so that its orifice moves to
and from a fixed cover, I provide on the side of the vessel, opposite the opening, a
forked arm on which the pen is laid when not in use, the weight of the pen causing
the vessel to turn on its pivots so that the opening in brought against the cover.
taking up the pen on the other hand, the weight on the opening side of the vessel
preponderates, causing the opening to sink down away from the cover. In another
arrangement, the ink vessel is fixed and the cover is suspended over the opening by
a light rod and chain, passing over a pulley carried on a bracket, the other end of
the chain having a weight attached to it. The rod has fixed to it a forked rest for a
pen, and when a pen is placed on this, the weight thereof overbalances the weight on
the chain, causing the cover to descend and close the inkstand. According to another
modification the moveable cover is supported by a pivoted lever arm carrying the rest
for the pen and having a weighted tail that causes the lever to raise the cover
from the inkstand when the pen is removed, while the pen overbalances the
weighted arm so as to close the cover when it is placed on the rest.
According to another arrangement the cover is pivoted to the mouth of the
inkstand and has projecting from its hinge a weighted arm that tends to turn
the cover into the open position. In front the cover has projecting arms carrying
the pen rest, so that on placing the pen on the rest its weight effects the closing
of the cover. In place of or in combination with the balance weight may be
employed a spring also tending to raise the cover. According to another arrange-
ment, the cover is also opened by the action of a weighted arm, below which is
a pivoted elbow lever, one arm of which in being moved upward on placing a
pen on a rest on the other arm, pushes up the weighted arm of the cover so as
to close this. The arm of the cover need not have a balance weight, if the lever
arm is linked directly to it and is made sufficiently heavy.
In the above arrangements the cover of the inkstand may be made of a trough-
shape on its upper side and have a dipping hole formed in it immediately over

page_text: the mouth of the inkstand, which hole is closed by a loose ball of glass or other
material when the pen is laid on its rest. When the pen is taken off, and the
cover is thereby slightly tilted, the ball rolls away from the opening, thereby
uncovering the mouth of the inkstand.
With this arrangement the trough-shaped cover may be extended backward beyond
the hinge sufficiently to tend to tilt over of itself without the use of a balance
weight when the pen is removed. According to another modification of this arrange-
ment, the ball, instead of itself uncovering the mouth of the inkstand is made in
rolling backward on the tilting of the cover, to actuate a sliding or pivoted plate
on the cover so as to cause this either to slide away or to turn upward from the
opening.
According to a modification of the first above described arrangement, the inkstand
is fixed to the one arm of a pivoted double ended lever, the other arm of which
carries the pen rest, so that on placing the pen on the latter the arm carrying the
inkstand is tilted up so as to cause the mouth of the latter to close against a fixed
cover.
Although I have described all the above arrangements of the invention as applied
to inkstands, it will be obvious that they are equally applicable to salt cellars and
other receptacles the use of which involves the use of a separate appliance that has
to be taken up and laid down.
Dated this 7th day of March 1898
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
Appliances for Automatically Opening and Closing Vessels, such as
Inkstands, Salt Cellars, and the like.
I, JOSEF GORIUP, of Görz, Austria, Gentleman, 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 an appliance for automatically opening vessels such as
inkstands and the like at the moment of using the same, either by moving the vessel
or by effecting a manipulation connected with its use, and also for closing
automatically the same, when the use is discontinued.
With inkstands, the pen is utilised for effecting the automatic opening and closing,
with saltcellars and such like receptacles, the spoon or other auxiliary implement is
employed, the act of taking up of the pen &c. being made to effect the opening, while
the laying of it down effects the closing.
The invention may be carried out in a great variety of different ways; by way of
example I will describe various arrangements of the same as applied to inkstands,
referring to the accompanying drawing.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an inkstand A of conchoidal form resting
by means of two trunnions & upon two standards B, so that the inkstand can turn
freely.
At A¹ is attached a standard or carrier from which extends a fork c, terminating in
two yokes c¹ c¹ for the reception of the pen. The centre of gravity of the inkstand is
arranged in such a manner that its mouth a inclines downward, when the pen is
removed from the supports C¹.
As may be seen in the drawing, the cover or lid
the standards of the vessel upon a curved rod D,
rigid arms, forming an extension of the supports B.
is attached independently from
but it might be also fixed to two
When the pen is put upon the

page_text: yokes c¹, the vessel is moved by the weight of the pen in the direction of the arrow.
and the mouth a then bears against the lid d.
Fig. 2 represents an inkstand E resting upon a table, the cover e is suspended from
a chain f which is passed over a roller F (carried by arms G) and ends in a counter
weight f¹, or a spiral spring may be used. The stem of cover e has attached to it
at e a thin rod f to which are attached the supports f³ ƒ³, whereon the pen is laid.
The weight for spiral spring, lifts or raises the cover e as soon as the supports f³
are freed from the pen; when however the pen is laid upon f³ f3, the cover e is
depressed and closes the ink stand. The cover is guided by the sleeve f+, but it might
also be attached by a hinge to the vessel E in which case the sleeve f* would of course
be dispensed with.
In Fig. 3 H is a hoop shaped clamp surrounding partly the neck of the ink stand
(not shewn) and opening by means of a hinge h. The tails H¹ attached to the two
parts of clamp H enable the same to be opened, as by pressing the same together
the resistance of the spiral spring 112 is overcome. By this means the ring H and
its parts may be attached to any ink-stand. Upon the axis of the hinge is fixed a
vertical rod 2 upon which is pivotted the arm i, upon which the counter weight ¹
is fitted by screwing or otherwise. The cover L is provided on its fore part with two
arms carrying the pen . The position of the counter-weight is so regulated
that the cover I remains raised without the pen and is depressed as soon as the pen
is laid upon the arms i².
The inkstand illustrated in Fig. 4 has pivotted to its base plate a frame j, pro-
vided with cross bar j¹ upon which is attached the rod carrying the pivot of arm k¹
of cover K. This arm may be formed with a screw thread and carries the adjustable
counter weight k². When the frame is relieved of the pen the weighted part sinks
and raises the cover K. When however the frame is weighted by the pen, its front
part drops and lifts cross bar j¹ and rod k, which acts upon arm ¹ and closes the
cover. The arın may also be made rigid with the rod k and bar j¹.
Figs. 5 and 7 shew similar arrangements to Fig. 3; in Fig. 5 the cover M is
pivotted at m to the ink pot and has a tail m¹ connected by a spring m² to an ad-
justable screwed stud m³ on the base plate, the spring being of such a strength as
to pull open the cover, when the arms nn on the latter are not weighted by the
pen n¹.
In Fig. 7 the cover T is opened by the weight S when the arms tt are
relieved of the pen b¹. In Fig. 6 the cover R is hinged to the ink pot and opened
by a weight S on a tail r, as in Fig. 7; to a support P is pivotted a two ended bent
lever of which the one arm 172 can bear against the underside of the tail r, while,
the other forked arm q 2 forms the support for the pen. When this is in position,
its weight depresses arm qq and in raising arm 2 72, causes this to raise the tail of
the cover and so to close this. When the pen is removed, the weight S is sufficient
both to open the cover and depress the arm 1 72 of lever Q. In Fig. 8 the weight
of the pen causes the ink pot to be moved up to the stationary cover as in Fig. 1;
the ink pot is for this purpose fixed to a plate pivotted at ¹ to the base, and having
arms X2 with supports x for the pen; when this is placed in position, its weight tips
up the ink pot until it bears against the cover X' fixed to a rod that is adjustably
screwed into the socket X on the base.
The opening of the cover may also be effected in the manner represented in
Fig. 9.
Upon the ink stand is attached in a horizontal position a frame L¹ pivotted at l
and balanced by the counterweight this frame is provided with a trough 12 above
the mouth L³ of the ink cup, and having an opening L corresponding to the said
mouth. In this trough or gutter is a ball of glass or porcelain . The frame is
inclined in such a manner that when frame I is relieved of the pen the ball 12 runs
backwards and leaves free the opening L over the mouth L³ of the ink stand; but
when the arms 13 of the frame are weighted by the pen, the trough is depressed and
brings the ball again over the opening L. Figs. 10 to 12 illustrate three modifica-
tions on the principle shewn in Fig. 9. In Fig. 10 the trough L2 is made of greater
length, so that when not weighted by the pen it remains in an inclined position as

page_text: shewn in dotted lines so that the ball 12 runs back from the opening IA of the trough
covering the mouth L³ of the ink-stand and renders it possible to dip in the pen,
whereas when the pen-holder is laid upon the frame L', the trough L2 is depressed
in the position shewn in the full lines so that ball 12 runs back again and closes the
opening 1. In Fig. 11 the opening L is closed by a slide L', which is removed by
the backward motion of the ball 12 pushing back the slide Ls that slides in guides in
the trough L2; in Fig. 12 the plate L turns on the hinge at 15 and has a back
ledge 16
As soon as the pen holder is removed from the frame L1, the trough L² rises some-
what from the opening L³ of the ink pot so that the ball 12 rolls rearward so that in
bearing on the ledge it turns the plate L5 into the dotted position so as to uncover
the opening IA. When the pen holder is laid upon the frame L, this together with
the trough L is depressed again and the opening is closed by plate L5 which is
moved back by the returning ball 12.
As above stated, the described constructions are only given as examples of the
manner in which my invention can be carried into practice and I therefore in no
way limit myself to these.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. Appliance for automatically opening and closing vessels such as inkstands, salt-
cellars, and the like wherein the weight of a penholder spoon or the like applied
either to the vessel or to its cover is caused to act either on the vessel or upon its
cover in such manner as to close the orifice of the vessel while when the pen or other
object is removed the vessel or its cover is moved so as to uncover the said orifice
substantially as described.
2. Appliances for automatically opening and closing vessels such as inkstands,
saltcellars and the like wherein the said vessel is arranged to be moveable to and from
a fixed cover, and carries a frame or arm adapted to support a penholder spoon or the
like, and so arranged that when the penholder is placed upon the said support, its
weight moves the vessel so as to bring its mouth against the cover while when the
penholder is removed the vessel is moved by gravity away from the cover, sub-
tantially as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 8 of the drawings.
3. Appliance for automatically opening and closing vessels such as inkstands salt-
cellars and the like wherein the cover of the vessel is pivotted or otherwise moveably
connected to the inkstand, and is on the one hand acted upon by a weight or spring
tending to open the cover while on the other hand it has connected to it arms or a
frame adapted to support a penholder spoon, or the like, the said supports being so
arranged that when the penholder is placed thereon, its weight will overbalance the
action of the first named weight or spring so as to effect the closing of the cover,
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5, 7, and 8 of the drawings.
4. The modification of the arrangement referred to in the second claim, wherein
the support carrying the pen is separate from the cover and is made to act upon the
counterweight of the latter so as to cause the cover to close when the pen is on the
support substantially as described with reference to Fig. 6 of the drawings.
5. Appliance for automatically opening and closing vessels such as inkstands, salt-
cellars, and the like, wherein a trough shaped cover pivotted to the vessel has an
opening corresponding to the mouth of the vessel which is closed by a ball, and also
has projecting from it a support for a penholder, spoon, or the like, so arranged that
when a peu is placed on the support its weight causes the cover to tip up to a slight
angle, thereby causing the ball to roll away from the said opening in the cover and
thus give access to the mouth of the vessel, while on the other hand when the
removed, the cover will regain its horizontal position, causing the ball to roll back over
the said opening substantially as described with reference to Fig. 10 of the
drawings.
pen is
6. The modification of the appliance referred to in the third claim wherein the

page_text: trough shaped cover carries a sliding or pivotted plate covering the opening and
the ball in rolling backward when the pen is removed from the cover is made to
slide or tip the said plate so as to uncover the opening, substantially as described
with reference to Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings.