IMPROVE- MENTS IN INKSTANDS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN INKSTANDS " A communic
Sealed the 14th January 1859, and dated the 3rd August 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd August 1858.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN INKSTANDS," a communication from a foreigner residing
.abroad, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of ink-
stand, whereby the evaporation and consequent clogging or thickening of the
ink is avoided, whilst at the same time the receptacle is so constructed that
there will be no danger of spilling the ink should it be accidently overturned.
The construction and form of the apparatus may be considerably modified;
.but the essential feature of this Invention is, the application and use of a
tubular piston or plunger fitting air and fluid-tight (by grinding or packing)
into a corresponding well formed in the bottom of the main receptacle for the
ink, and provided with a stopper at its upper end, which stopper fits air-tight
into the neck of the inkstand, and thereby excludes all external air from the
main body of ink, and prevents evaporation. The object of the tubular
piston or plunger and well is to raise a small quantity of ink when required

page_text: for use into an expanded dipping cup formed at the upper end of the plunger.
This raising of the ink is accomplished by the mechanical pressure of the
descending piston or plunger upon that portion of the ink contained within
the well, such portion rising up the hollow of the piston, and filling the dipping
cup. The capacity of the well should be made to suit the capacity of the
dipping cup and tubular passage leading thereto, so that the piston or plunger
can never displace more ink than the dipping cup and passage leading thereto
can contain. In the side of that portion of the piston or plunger which works
within the well there is inade a notch .or opening extending about half way
down the working portion of the piston, and a similar notch or opening is
formed about half way down one side of the well, so that when the piston or
plunger is turned to cause these notches to coincide, there will be a free com-
munication between the main body of the ink in the stand and that contained
within the tubular piston and dipping cup. A similar arrangement of notches
is made in the neck and stopper, and in such a position that they will coincide
at the same time that the notches below coincide. The object of this arrange-
ment is to allow the ink in the dipping cup to descend when the inkstand is
not required for immediate use, and this is accomplished by simply turning
the piston or plunger without raising it until the several notches coincide,
whereupon an air vent is formed in the upper part of the inkstand, and a com-
munication made between the ink in the dipping cup and that in the main
body of the stand or receptacle, consequently the ink in the dipping cup
and tubular piston or plunger falls until it finds the level of the main body of
the ink. As the slots extend only over half the contact surfaces, the tightness
of the joint remains intact when such slots are turned, so as not to coincide
with each other, and therefore by turning the piston or plunger slightly after
the ink has descended, the whole will be rendered perfectly air-tight again.
To raise the ink again, it is simply necessary to elevate the piston or plunger
and depress it again into the well. In order to prevent the ink from forming
jet, or spirting up over the dipping cup, as it would be liable to do on
depressing the piston suddenly, it is proposed to make the bore at the bottom
-of-the-piston-for-a.short.distance_very_much smaller than at the upper portion,
and to make the dipping cup of a trumpet-mouth form, that is, expanded
outwards at its lip.
a
The same results may be obtained by modifying the form of the apparatus,
as, for example, the lower portion of the plunger may be expanded and pro-
vided with a small nipple, which latter only would require to be ground to fit
the well; or the construction may be reversed by forming a cylindrical opening
or chamber in the under side of the piston, which chamber fits fluid-tight ove

page_text: a nipple or piston formed on and projecting internally from the bottom of the
inkstand.. In all these modifications the action of raising and lowering the ink
will be precisely the same. When the ink is lowered from the dipping cup, and
the piston or plunger turned, so as to leave the inkstand air-tight, it may be
overturned or packed up for conveyance without danger of any ink escaping.
Inkstands of this description may be made wholly or partially of glass or
metal, or of any other material suitable for the purpose, but I prefer to make
them entirely of glass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd February 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN INKSTANDS," a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be perforined, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:―
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
inkstand whereby the evaporation and consequent clogging or thickening of
the ink is avoided, whilst at the same time the receptacle is so constructed that
there will be no danger of spilling the ink should it be accidentally overturned.
The construction and form of the apparatus may be considerábly modified,
but the essential feature of this Invention is the application and use of à
tubular piston or plunger, fitting air and fluid tight, (by grinding or packing)
into a corresponding well formed in or at the bottom of the main receptacle
for the ink, and provided with a stopper at its upper end, which stopper fits
air-tight into the neck of the inkstand, and thereby excludes all external air
from the main body of ink, and prevents evaporation. The object of the
tubular piston or plunger, and well, is to raise a small quantity of ink when
required for use into an expanded dipping cup formed at the upper end of the
plunger. This raising of the ink is accomplished by the mechanical pressure
of the descending piston or plunger upon that portion of the ink contained
within the well, such portion rising up the hollow of the piston and filling the
dipping cup. The capacity of the well should be made to suit the capacity of
the dipping cup and tubular passage leading thereto, so that the piston or
plunger can never displace more ink than the dipping cup and passage leading
thereto can contain. In the side of that portion of the piston or plunger
which works within the well, there is made a notch or opening extending
about half way down the working portion of the piston, and a similar notch
or opening is formed about half way down one side of the well, so that
when the piston or plunger is turned so as to cause these notches to coincide,
there will be a free communication between the main body of the ink in
the stand and that contained within the tubular piston and dipping cup. A
similar arrangement of notches is made in the neck and stopper, and in such
a position that they will coincide at the same that the notches below coincide.
The object of this arrangement is to allow the ink in the dipping cup to
descend when the inkstand is not required for immediate use, and this is
accomplished by simply turning the piston or plunger without raising it until
the several notches coincide, whereupon an air vent is formed in the upper
part of the inkstand, and a communication made between the ink in the
dipping cup, and that in the main body of the stand or receptacle. Conse-
quently the ink in the dipping cup and tubular piston or plunger falls until it
As the slots extend only over
finds the level of the main body of the ink.
half the contact surfaces, the tightness of the joint remains intact when

page_text: such slots are turned so as not to coincide with each other, and therefore by
turning the piston or plunger slightly after the ink has descended, the whole
will be rendered perfectly air-tight again. To raise the ink again it is
simply necessary to elevate slightly the piston or plunger, and depress it again
into the well. In order to prevent the ink from forming a jet, or spirting up
over the dipping cup as it would be liable to do on depressing the piston sud-
denly, it is proposed to make the bore at the bottom of the piston for a short
distance very much smaller than at the upper portion, and to make the dipping
cup of a trumpet-mouth form, that is expanded outwards at its lip.
The same results may be obtained by modifying the form of the apparatus, as
for example, the lower portion of the plunger may be expanded and provided
with a small nipple, which latter only would require to be ground to fit a cor-
responding depression in the bottom of the well; or the construction may be
reversed by forming a cylindrical opening or chamber in the under side of the
piston, which chamber fits fluid-tight over a nipple or piston formed on and
projecting internally from the bottom of the inkstand. In all these modifica;
tions the action of raising and lowering the ink will be precisely the same.
When the ink is lowered from the dipping cup, and the piston or plunger
turned so as to leave the inkstand air-tight, it may be overturned or packed
up for conveyance without danger of any ink escaping.
Inkstands of this description may be made wholly or partially of glass or
metal, or of any other material suitable for the purpose, but I prefer to make
them entirely of glass.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood; I shall now pro-
ceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall refer.
to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a vertical section of
the improved fountain inkstand.
Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the same with the plunger removed,
and Figure 3 is a view of the lower face of the plunger detached. A is the
body of the inkstand; B, a well or reservoir sunk into the bottom thereof;
C is a plunger which fits fluid-tight into the well B. This plunger has a
passage c made up its centre, and opening at the top into the expanded or
trumpet-mouth dipping cup D. The lower portion of the passage through.
the piston is considerably contracted, as shewn at c', the object of which is to
tend to prevent the ink from spirting up when the plunger is depressed. The
upper portion of the plunger has a stopper E formed upon it, which fits fluid
and air-tight when the plunger is down into the neck e of the inkstand. By

page_text: keeping the stopper tight in the neck e, the air will be effectually excluded
from the main body of the ink, and the consequent clogging or thickening of
the ink, due to evaporation, to the entrance of dust, and foreign bodies will be
obviated. Figure 1 shews the inkstand with the ink in the act of descending.
The raising of the ink is effected simply by elevating slightly the plunger from
the well B, and then allowing it to descend again, whereupon the ink con-
tained in the well will be displaced by the plunger, and having no outlet
except up the central passage c, it flows up that passage and fills the dipping
cup, the capacity of which should be proportioned to that of the well. As the
plunger fits fluid-tight into the well, it follows that the ink, when once elevated,
will remain so until used up by the pen, whereupon the plunger is again
raised and depressed for a fresh supply. When the inkstand is not required
for immediate service, the dipping cup is emptied by simply turning the
stopper and plunger (without elevating them) until certain notches extending
half way down the sides of the plunger and stopper, and the sides of the well
and neck respectively, and shewn at f, f', (Figure 1) coincide, when the plunger
will no longer be fluid-tight in the well, and the air will have free ingress and
egress through the neck into and from the body of the inkstand, the result of
which will be that the ink in the dipping cup will be enabled to descend and
escape through the slots f¹ into the body of the stand, and remain at the same
level with the rest of the ink therein, whilst the internal air escapes as it is
displaced by the returning ink. A further turn of the plunger and stopper
will effectually exclude any more air, and will render the plunger fluid-tight
again in the well, in which state no ink can be spilt from the stand, which
may be inverted or packed up without the slightest danger. This inkstand
may be wholly or partially of glass, metal, or other substance applicable to the
manufacture of inkstands, but glass will be found to be the cheapest and best
material, as the joints may be readily made tight by grinding the contact
surfaces together in the ordinary well known manner.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of another form of piston or plunger, which is
considerably expanded at C, and provided with a smaller central nipple or
boss c, which latter only enters a well of a corresponding size at the bottom of
the ink vessel. Figure 5 represents a vertical section of a modified form
of this inkstand, wherein the well or chamber B is formed in the bottom of
the plunger itself, and a corresponding projection or nipple, formed on the
inner side of the bottom of the inkstand, fits the chamber B, and serves the
purpose of the plunger in the first arrangement. The resulting action of both
these modifications is precisely alike, but as regards their respective forms or
constructions, I may observe that I prefer the first arrangement.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself
to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe
or refer to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of the said Invention; but what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general constructions and arrangements of fountain inkstands, as
herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of fountain inkstands, wherein the ink is
raised into the dipping cup by the descent of a piston or plunger into a
corresponding well or cavity formed in or at the bottom of the ink vessel, or
by the descent of a piston or plunger having a chamber or recess made therein
and fitting on to a projection or nipple formed on the inner side of the bottom
of the ink vessel, such pistons or plungers being provided with central passages
leading into the bottom of the dipping cup, as herein-before described.
Third, the combination of a dipping cup, stopper, and tubular piston or
plunger in one piece, for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the application and use of slots, grooves, or passages extending
partially down the sides of the piston or plunger and stopper respectively, and
also partially down the sides of the well and neck of the ink vessel, for the
purpose herein-before described.
Fifth, the contracting of the central ink passage in the piston or plunger,
at or near the lower extremity, whereby the spirting of the ink above the
dipping cup is prevented or counteracted, as herein-before described.
Sixth, the application and use in fountain inkstands of fluid and air tight
joints, formed by the direct contact of the parts without the intervention of
packing, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of February, Oue thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)