A. Mechanical Apparatus for Enabling Invalids and others.to Read, Write, and Draw in a Reclining, Recumbent, or Upright Position with the Chest Expanded.
Year: 1885

page_text: "
A. Mechanical Apparatus for Enabling Invalids and others.to
Read, Write, and Draw in a Reclining, Recumbent, or
Upright Position with the Chest Expanded.
I JOHN CARTER of N° 6° New Cavendish Street Portland Place. London
in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
A. MECHANICAL APPARATUS FOR ENABLING INVALIDS AND OTHERS TO READ
WRITE AND DRAW IN A RECLINING RECUMBANT OR UPRIGHT POSITION WITH THE
CHEST EXPANDED to be as follows:-
"
My invention relates to an improved form of machine stand for facilitating
mental pursuits, the object of the invention being to provide a simple mechanical
apparatus capable of universal adjustment for enabling invalids, students and
professional persons to read write and draw in a reclining recumbent or perfectly
upright position with the chest expanded thereby obviating the inconvenience and
unhealthy effects of incessant stooping.
My apparatus as I prefer to construct it consists of a metal pillar or upright
supported in a hollow pedestal attached to a four footed stand. The said pillar is
capable of sliding freely in the pedestal so as to admit of vertical adjustment.
The upright is held at any desired height by means of a clamp consisting of a
divided collar at the top of the pedestal.
The collar has two horns one on either side of the opening in it. A thumb
screw passes through one horn and turning freely in it screws into the other horn
thereby drawing the horns together and causing the collar to nip the pillar and
hold it firmly.
-
This clamp will be found a great improvement over a set screw as it ensures
a greater security of fixing and dispenses with the spring lining which is always
slipping.
Attached to the sliding upright or pillar or clipped on to it is a jointed arm for
supporting the reading desk. The arm is slotted and the stem to which the
desk is jointed terminates in a screw which projects down through the slot and
receives a thumb nut on the under side by tightening which the stem can be
rendered fast ou the arm at any desired distance from the central pillar and with
the desk facing in the desired direction.

page_text: The joint connecting the desk with the stem is set fast when the desk has been
placed at any convenient inclination by tightening a nut upon a bolt passing
through the stem against a piece which is loose on the bolt and has teeth at one
end. These teeth are in this way made to engage with and to lock other teeth
radiating from the centre and formed on the portion of the joint piece to which
the desk is fixed. Or the desk may be fixed to any desired inclination by means
of a cup and ball socket joint.
To carry a lamp or other article I provide also a jointed arm. The inner portion
of the arin is clipped on to the central pillar in any desired position and at its
other it has a socket receiving a stem which when set in position can also be
clipped fast. The outer portion of the arm is jointed to the top of the stem in
such manner that it can move in a vertical plane; it is capable of being raised and
lowered at pleasure and it is fixed at any desired height by a small rack or toothed
segment passing through a slot in the stem immediately below the joint in this slot
engaging with a tooth or pin provided for the purpose. Such a jointed arm may
carry a candle lamp in a gimbal joint or any other article according to the require-
ments of the case. The jointed arm may terminate in a ball which may be clipped
in a corresponding cup or socket formed beneath a desk or table surface by a ring
hinged on one side of the socket and on the other side closed against the ball by
a screw and nut. If it be desired to maintain a lamp in a vertical position a
second member is provided to the outer portion or joint of the arm and then both
members are jointed to the stem of the lamp and also to the stem at the joint
connecting the outer and inner lengths of the arm. In this way a parallel rule
motion is obtained. The parts are held at any desired height by the means already
described. The lamp action will enable any kind of light to be placed in any part
of a room and adjusted to any position. This will be found a great boon to weak
sighted persons. The apparatus will also serve admirably for lighting a pianoforte.
Dated this 92nd day of Januar 100%

page_text: αρραίωνμο
Read, Write, and Draw in a Reclining, Recumbent, or
Upright Position with the Chest Expanded.
I JOHN CARTER of N° 6° New Cavendish Street Portland Place London in the
County of Middlesex 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 improved form of machine stand for facilitating
mental pursuits, the object of the invention being to provide a simple mechanical
apparatus capable of universal adjustment for enabling invalids students and
professional persons to read write and draw in a reclining recumbent or perfectly
upright position with the chest expanded thereby obviating the inconvenience and
unhealthy effects of incessant stooping.
My apparatus as I prefer to construct it consists of a metal pillar or upright
supported in a hollow pedestal attached to a four footed stand. The said pillar is
capable of sliding freely in the pedestal so as to admit of vertical adjustment.
The upright is held at any desired height by means of a clamp consisting of a
divided collar at the top of the pedestal.
The collar has two horns one on either side of the opening in it. A thumb
screw passes through one horn and turning freely in it screws into the other horn
thereby drawing the horns together and causing the collar to nip the pillar and
hold it firmly.
This clamp will be found a great improvement over a set screw as it ensures
a greater security of fixing and dispenses with the spring lining which is always
slipping.
Attached to the sliding upright or pillar or clipped on to it is an arm for sup
porting the reading desk. The arm is slotted and the stem to which the desk is
jointed terminates in a screw which projects down through the slot and receives
a thumb nut on the under side by tightening which the stem can be rendered fast
on the arm at any desired distance from the central pillar and with the desk
facing in the desired direction.
The joint connecting the desk with 'the stem is set fast when the desk has
been placed at any convenient inclination by tightening a nut upon a bolt passing
through the stem against a piece which is loose on the bolt and has teeth at one
end. These teeth are in this way made to engage with and to lock other teeth
radiating from the centre and formed on the portion of the joint piece to which
the desk is fixed.. Or the desk may be fixed to any desired inclination by means
of a cup and ball socket joint.
To carry a lamp or other article I provide also a jointed arm. The inner
portion of the arm is clipped on to the central pillar in any desired position and at
its other end it has a socket receiving a stem which when set in position can also
be clipped fast. The outer portion of the arm is jointed to the top of the stem

page_text: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved apparatus for enabling invalids to read
write, and draw in a recumbent position the apparatus may also be otherwise used.
Figure 2 shows in plan the appliance for clamping the central pillar in the
pedestal; a like appliance is used in some cases to secure the jointed arms to
the pedestal.
Figure 3 is a side view and Figure 4 is a back view of the desk or table.
a is the pedestal it is carried upon the stand b which is provided with castor
wheels b¹
c is the centre pillar of the apparatus it can slide up or down in the
pedestal a and can be secured at any height by the clamping screw d--the clamping
arrangement which is here used is also shown in Figure 2.
At the upper part of the pedestal is a divided collar with two horns a¹ a² through
which the clamping screw d passes; it turns freely in the horn a¹ and screws into
the horn a² thus drawing the two horns together and nipping the pillar c.
e is an arm which can be secured to the pillar c either higher or lower by means
of a pinching screw e¹. This arm which is slotted is also seen in the Figures 3 and 4.
f is a table or desk carried by the arm e: the jointed piece f¹ is fixed to the back
of the table or desk fand it is pin jointed at f' to a stem g the lower end g' of
the stem g passes through the slot in the arm e it has a screw thread cut upon it
and receives a winged nut on the under side of the arme by tightening this
nut upon the screw the arm is nipped between the nut and washer on the
under side of the arm and a collar or enlargement on the stem immediately above
the arm.
The piece has radial teeth cut upon it around the joint pin f and a
piece is made to engage with these teeth it is held by a bolt j which passes
through it and also through the stem g. The bolt j receives a winged nut j'.
When this nut is tightened the teeth or projections at the upper end of the piece i
engage with the corresponding teeth upon the piece f¹ and so the joint is locked
fast with the surface of the desk at any angle to which it may have been
previously set.
k is a candle lamp it is carried in a fork at the end of a jointed arm ¹³ which
at its inner end is clipped upon the pillar c at any required position by means of a
clip similar to that shown in Figure 2 and already fully described. 13 is an upright
stem at the outer end of the part of the jointed arm-it is there secured in
such a manner that it can turn freely about its vertical axis and it can be locked
when required by means of a pinching screw . The part of the arm is jointed
to the upper end of the stem ³ in such manner that it can be raised and lowered

page_text: turning about the joint pin-it is held in the required position by means of a
toothed segment jointed to the part 2 of the arm and passing through a slot in
the stem. The tooth on the under side of the segment 15 when permitted to do so
engages with a corresponding projection at the bottom of the slot in the stem (³
and so prevents the part 2 of the arın turning about its joint until the toothed
seginent bas first been released.
Another jointed arm of a similar construction carries a book holder m the arm
terminates in a ball m¹ and at the back of the book holder m a piece m² is fixed-
in this piece there is a socket to receive the ball m¹. To the part m² there is also
jointed a flap m³ in which is a circular hole the ball m¹ is received into this hole
and the flap by means of a bolt and nut m can be tightened upon the ball m¹
when the book support has been set to the desired position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The arrangements in connection with the arm e and desk or table f. by means
of which the said desk can be set to the desired position and inclination and there
clamped, substantially as described.
The combination of parts by which a lamp or other object may be supported
in any required position from the central pillar and consisting of parts 131
and substantially as described.
3. The combination of the pedestal a stand b. pillar c. and the parts by which
the said pillar is clamped in the pedestal or upright and a radial arm is clamped
upon the said pillar or upright substantially as described.
4. Mechanical apparatus for the use of invalids and others substantially as
described in the annexed drawings.