Improvements in Combined Cigar Cutters and Match Holders.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1899
Complete Specification Left 13th Oct 1899 Accented 13th lon
_
1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Combined Cigar Cutters and Match Holders.
I, ANDREW REIERSON FOSSUM, of Cottonwood, in the County of Lyon and State
of Minnesota, United States of America, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the invention is to provide an improved combined cigar cutter
and match holder, arranged to properly cut the cigar, and deliver a match to
the user for conveniently lighting the cigar.
The device consists of a box having a bottom and cover and an upwardly ex-
tending end portion or arm on which the match holder is mounted. Near the
centre of the box upon the bottom is secured a support or post in which is mounted
pivotally a lever, one end of which is provided with a press-button extending
above the cover, a V-shaped spring holding the lever and button normally in an
elevated position. The other end of the lever is formed into a fork which fits
over a spiral-grooved or simply twisted, square, or in the present instance flat,
vertical shaft journalled in a bottom plate and bracket secured up under the
cover. The twist or spiral of the shaft extends only partly up so that when the
fork moves upward the shaft makes half a turn, and then stands still while the
fork moves farther up and by lifting under the ring-shaped end a push rod causes
a man-shaped figure secured by a foot-piece to the top end of the shaft, to bend
at the hip-joints, stoop forward, and in his forked or claw-shaped hand pick up
a match from the holder. When the press button is released the spring pulls
the rod downward. thereby straightening up the figure, so that the match gets
above the holder and as the fork moves farther down it turns the spindle or shaft
and thereby the figure towards the operator, to whom it presents the match.
Near the upper end of the shaft are provided two opposite arms which may
be made like a two-armed collar to the ends of which are connected by links,
the free ends of knife-levers or cutters which are pivoted to the under side of
the cover, and when thrown by the arms and links outward, their cutting edges
move across the cigar openings in said cover and co-acting with the lower sharp
edges thereof, cut off the tips of the cigars inserted in either of the said holes.
The cigar is thus cut off and ready for use at the same time and in the same one
operation of the press button, that caused the figure to pick up the match turn
and present it.
It may be further stated that when the spring returns the hand lever upwards
to its normal position, the shaft and the arms return also the cutter-levers to
their normal position. The figure is made in two pieces or sections, an upper
and a lower one pivoted together so that the upper part may stoop forward when
operated by the rod extending from it down through, the lower hollow section.
The circular foot piece on which the figure stands, is secured by the pin or screw
into the top end of the shaft and oscillated in the circular opening in the cover.
In a modification a sliding collar is provided upon the twisted shaft having
an annular groove engaged by the fork of the hand lever while in the first ar-
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page_text: rangement the fork is of a different shape, fitting directly over the twisted shaft.
The arm of the collar is guided by two vertical rods to prevent the collar from
turning with the shaft and a roughened surface is provided on the top of the
cover to ligh the match thereon.
It is obvious that many modifications may be made in this device without
diverging from the spirit and scope of the invention, thus for instance, the hand
lever may be extended out through a vertical slot in the front end of the box,
in which case a drawer may be inserted from the rear end of the box and the
springs may be of any suitable shape and be placed in any suitable position.
The push rod may be guided in a hole in the collar, be without the ring, and be
lifted by a disc or washer resting upon the fork around the shaft. The collar
may be a disc, or have only one arm operating one cigar cutter, to which a second
cutter may or may not, be connected by a link, and the figure may be that of a
bird or animal instead of a man. Also many of the parts may be connected and
operated by cords, belts or strings or other equivalent devices.
Toted this 17th day of January 1899
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
I, ANDREW REIERSON FOSSUM, of Cottonwood, in the County of Lyon and State
of Minnesota, United States of America, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved combined cigar
cutter and match holder, arranged to properly cut the cigar and deliver a match
to the user for conveniently lighting the cigar.
The invention consists of novel features and parts, and combinations of the
same, as will be described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the improvement, on the line 1-1 of
Figure 2;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same with parts broken out.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of the device for turning the
shaft.
Figure 4 is a plan view of the same;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the two armed collar for operating the cigar cutters;
and
'
Figure 6 is a reduced plan view of a modified form of the improvement.
The frame of the device consists of the box 7, having the bottom 8 and the
cover 9, and the upwardly extending end portion or arm 10, on which the match
holder 11 is mounted. Near the centre of the box I secure upon the botton 8,
the support or post 12, in which I mount pivotally the lever 13, one end of which
is provided with the press-button 14, extending above the cover 9.
15 is a
V-shaped spring holding the lever and button normally in an elevated position.
The other end of the lever 13 is formed into a fork 16, which fits over the spiral-
grooved or simply twisted. square, or in the present instance flat, vertical
shaft 17, journalled in the bottom plate 18, and the bracket 19, secured to the

page_text: underside of the cover 9. The twist or spiral of the shaft extends only up to the
point 20, so that when the fork moves upward the shaft makes half a turn, and
then stands still while the fork moves farther up and by lifting under the ring-
shaped end 21 of the pushing-rod 22, causes the man-shaped Figure 23, secured
by the foot piece 24 to the top end of the shaft, to bend at the hip-joints 25,
stoop forward, as shown in dotted line, and in his forked or claw-shaped hand 26,
pick up a match 28 from the match box 11. When the button 14 is released
from pressure of the operator's hand, the spring 27 pulls the rod 22 downward,
thereby straightening up the Figure 23, so that the match gets above the match
holder and as the fork moves farther down it turns the spindle or shaft .17 and
thereby the Figure 23 toward the operator, to whom it presents the match 28.
Near the upper end of the shaft 17, I provide the two opposite arms 29, which
may be made as shown in Fig. 5, like a two-armed collar, to the ends of which
arms I connect by the links 30, the free ends of knife-levers or cutters 31, which
are pivoted at 32 to the under side of the cover 9, and when thrown by the
arms 29 and links 30 outward, as in the dotted lines 313, (Figure 2) their cutting
edges 33 move across the cigar openings 34, and co-acting with the lower sharp
edges thereof, cut off the tips of the cigars inserted in either of the said holes.
The cigar is thus cut off and ready for use at the same time and in the same one
operation of the press button, that caused the Figure 23 to pick up the match,
turn and present it.
The whole apparatus is so simple that further description is hardly needed;
still, it may be further stated, that when the spring 15 returns the lever 13 up-
wards to its normal position, the shaft and the arms 29 return also the cutter-
levers 31 to their normal position; that the Figure 23 is made in two pieces or
sections, an upper and a lower one, and pivoted together at 25, so that the upper
part may stoop forward when operated by the rod 22, extending from it, down
through the lower, hollow section. The circular foot piece 24, on which the figure
stands, is secured by the pin or screw 35 onto the top end of the shaft, and os-
cillated in the circular opening 36, in the cover.
To parallel partitions 37 enclose between them the lever 13 and the parts
directly connected therewith, and rounded ends 38 and 39 connect said parti-
tions. The tips falling through the openings 34 therefore fall outside the chamber
enclosed between the walls 37, 38 and 39, and cannot get into the mechanism.
43 (Figure 6) is a drawer having members on each side of the central chamber
formed by the walls 37, and sliding under the end plate 40 of the box.
Figures 3 and 4 show a modification in which I provide a sliding collar 44
upon the twisted shaft 17, and engage its annular groove 45 by the fork 16* of
the lever 13, while in Figures 1 and 2 the fork is of a different shape fitting
directly over the twisted shaft. 46 represents two vertical rods guiding the
arm 47 of the collar, to prevent the latter from turning with the shaft. 48
(Figure 2) is a roughened surface secured to or formed on the top of the cover
and serving to light the match thereon.
From the above description it will be seen that I provide a cheap, novel,
durable, effective and somewhat comic device, by which a smoker, with a single
pressure of the hand, cuts off the cigar tip and brings a match from the match
box into very convenient reach.
It is obvious that many modifications may be made in this device without
diverging from the spirit and scope of the invention; thus, for instance, the hand
lever 13 may be extended out through a vertical slot in the front end of the box.
in which case the drawer 43 (Figure 6) may be inserted from the rear end of
the box and the springs 15 and 27 may be of any suitable shape, and put in any
suitable position. The rod 22 may be guided in a hole in the piece 29, be with-
out the ring 21, and be lifted by a disc or washer resting upon the fork 16,
around the shaft. The piece 29 may be a disc, or have only one arm operating
one cigar cutter, to which a second cutter may or may not be connected by a
link: and the Figure 23 may be that of a bird or animal instead of a man." I

page_text: am also aware that many of the parts may be connected and operated by cords,
belts or strings or other equivalent devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A cigar cutter and match-holder comprising a manually operated lever, a
cutter adapted to be actuated from the lever, and a match picker adapted to be
actuated from the lever and arranged to pick up a match and bring it into
position for delivery, substantially as shown and described.
:
2. A match-holder comprising a manually operated lever and a match, picker
adapted to be rotated by said lever and a part of it being arranged to be swung
into an inclined position to pick up a match, substantially as set forth.
3. A match-holder comprising a normally-operated lever, a rock-shaft receiving
its motion from the lever, a figure carried by the shaft and provided with claws
for picking up and delivering the match, substantially as set forth.
4. A match-holder comprising a manually-operated lever, a rock-shaft operated
by the lever, a figure secured to and turning with the shaft, said figure consisting
of a rigid portion secured on the shaft, and a tilting portion pivoted to the rigid
portion and provided with a claw for picking up matches, and a pivotally
secured rod, operated by the lever.so as to swing or tilt. the pivoted portion, and
suitable springs for returning the lever and figure to their normal positions,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
5. A match-holder comprising a spiral-grooved or twisted shaft, a tilting
figure secured on one end of the shaft and provided with claws for picking up
and delivering the match, a manually operated lever having a forked end en-
gaging the twisted portion of the shaft, imparting to it about half a turn, a rod
operated by said lever and tilting the figure toward the match box, and means
for returning the lever and figure to the normal position, substantially as set
forth.
6. A cigar cutter comprising a box-like frame, having one or more cigar open-
ings in its cover, and one or more cutters adapted to move across the openings and
cut off the cigar tips, a rock-shaft having one or more arms operatively connected
with the cutter or cutters, and a spring-pressed manually-operated lever imparting
a rocking motion to the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
7. A combined cigar cutter and match-holder comprising a box-like frame,
with cigar openings in the cover and cutters moving across the openings to cut
off the cigar tips, a rock-shaft having one or more arms operatively connected
with the cutters; a match holder on the frame, a tilting figure secured on the
rock-shaft, normally turned away from the match-holder, and having a claw for
picking up the match, a spring-pressed manually-operated lever imparting a
rocking motion to the shaft and figure, and also a tilting motion to the figure,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
8. A combined cigar cutter and match-holder comprising a box-like frame' with
cigar openings in the cover, cutters adapted to move across said openings, a
rock shaft having one or more arms operatively connected with the cutter or
cutters; a match-holder on the frame, a tilting figure secured on the rock-shaft
normally turned away from the match-holder, and having a claw for picking up
the matches, a spring-pressed manually-operated lever adapted to impart a
rocking motion to the shaft and figure, and also a tilting motion to the figure,
and means for preventing the cigar tips from getting into the mechanism, and
means for emptying the cigar tips out of the device, substantially as shown and
described.
9. A match holder comprising a box or frame, a match box mounted on one
end thereof, a figure resembling a human being, secured on one end of a rock
shaft in front of and normally turned away from the match-holder, and having
one hand extended and provided with a match-picking claw, the hip joint 25

page_text: and spring-returned pushing rod 22, extending down through and below the lower
portion of the figure, a spring-returned, manually-operated lever oscillating the
shaft and figure, and acting on the rod 22, to tilt or bend the figure at the hip
joint when turned toward the match-holder, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
10. A match-holder comprising a suitable frame and a match box, a figure
mounted on the upper end of a vertical rock-shaft, and provided with a joint
allowing it or a portion of it to tilt to an incline, it also having a match picking
claw adapted to enter the match holder when the figure is in its inclined position,
the rod 22, extending from the tilting portion of the figure and down at the side
of the shaft; the said shaft having its lower portion twisted or spiral-grooved and
its upper portion plain, a manually-operated spring pressed lever, having at its
operative end a fork straddling the shaft and imparting about half a turn to it
by moving along its twisted portion, and when moving along the plain portion
holds the shaft still, with the figure turned toward the match box, while pushing
under the end of the rod 22, so as to tilt the figure, and suitable means for return-
ing the figure to its normal position, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
ated this 19th dow of October 1900
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.