AN IMPROVED DETACHABLE STANDARD BOARD FRAME FOR DRESSING BAGS
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Saunders and Curry
Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 8th March 1869.
We, WILLIAM SAUNDERS and CURRY SMITH, both of No. 12, Newgate
Street, in the City of London, Dressing Bag Manufacturers, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED DETACHABLE
STANDARD BOARD FRAME FOR DRESSING BAGS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to detachable frames for supporting the boards
whereon are placed the brushes, combs, razors, and other fittings and
instruments usually provided in dressing bags, and the said Invention
consists chiefly in the peculiar devices for securing the said frame in the
bottom of the bag, which devices allow the frame to be conveniently
fastened and released by the manipulation thereof at the top of the bag,
and which allow larger fitting boards to be carried in a bag of a certain
size than has hitherto been practicable with what are known as standard
frame bags.
Our improved detachable frame consists of two upright end pieces
united at the top by a cross piece, extending from end to end of the
bag. The end pieces are provided at the bottom with feet which rest
on bars or plates permanently fixed inside the bag at the bottom thereof.

page_text: To each of these bars is attached two sliding bolts formed with catches
which secure the feet of the end pieces and with projections arranged
to be operated upon by a vertical rod, extending to the top of the same,
and are provided with heads or buttons at the mouth of the bag. The
sliding catches are held by springs and are operated to release the frame
by pressing the heads of the rods.
The detachable frame may be constructed of brass or other suitable
metal and of a convenient size to suit a bag of any dimensions. The
two end pieces should be somewhat in the form of the letter A, the base
being of the same width as the bottom of the bag, and the upper part
carrying the cross-piece being extended nearly to the top of the bag. We
prefer that the feet of the end pieces should not extend beyond the bars,
on which they rest at the bottom of the bag, so that they may offer the
least possible obstruction to the insertion and removal of the frame.
The fixed bars at the bottom of the bag may be made of brass or other
metal and of a suitable strength to afford the required support to the
feet of the frame. I prefer to provide the ends of the said bars with
flanges or jaws to form a recess into which the feet are fitted, the said
flanges being bevelled or curved from the bottom outward to allow the
feet to enter freely. At the under side of each bar I place a thin strip
or plate; the sliding bolts are preferably placed between the said bar and
plate, the catch or hooks which hold the feet of the frame projecting up
through elongated holes or slots in the plates and feet. These hooks
are formed and arranged to project over the slots in the
slots being long enough to allow this projecting part to be moved back
clear of the feet when the same are to be released. The top of the hooks
are bevelled or chamferred so that they will allow the feet to be properly
adjusted, with the slots over the hooks, and when the frame is pressed
down the inclined part of the hooks acts as a latch the hooks first receding
to allow the foot to pass down over them and then securing the feet. The
springs are placed in recesses at the ends or other convenient part of
the bar. I prefer to use small spiral springs but other springs may be
used if desired. The small projections at the inner ends of the sliding
bolts upon which the vertical rods act in releasing the frame also extend
up through an elongated aperture or slot in the middle of the bar. The
projections of each pair of the sliding bolts lie close together and are
bevelled or chamferred at the top on the adjacent sides, to form a notch
or mouth, and this notch receives the point of the vertical rod which is
made conical, so that when the rod is depressed it acts as a wedge on the
feet, the said

page_text: two bolts and forces them apart against the pressure of the springs. The
hooks are thus caused to move back in the slots and release the frame
which can then be lifted out of the bag. I provide the bars with other
springs whose ends project upward through the same and raise the
frame clear of the hooks when it is released. I also provide the bars
with studs or pins which fit holes in the feet of the frame and insure its
being properly placed upon the bars.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that my improved frame
may be released at both ends simultaneously by pressing the heads or
buttons of the vertical rods, and that the fastening and unfastening of
the frame are effected without the trouble of passing the bands down to
the bottom of the bag.