A New or Improved Connection or Joint for the Terminals of Show Stands or Brackets, Principally Employed in Supporting and Displaying Millinery, Boots and Shoes, and other Articles.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1887
Complete Left, 19th Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 27th Apr., 1888
A New or Improved Connection or Joint for the Terminals of Show
Stands or Brackets, Principally Employed in Supporting and
Displaying Millinery, Boots and Shoes, and other Articles.
We, JOSEPH FORDRED and HERBERT SIMES FORDRED both of High Street
Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Fancy Drapers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows :-
The said invention consists of the improvement, or improvements hereinafter
described, in the terminals, or top supporting parts of stands, brackets or the like,
commonly employed in supporting and displaying millinery, boots and shoes, and
fancy and other articles, in shop windows; whereby the said terminals or upper
extremities, are made adjustable, so as to display the goods supported, to the best
advantage; that is, the said terminal part or upper end, is so constructed, that it
admits of being placed at any angle, with respect to its carrying stem or support.
Upon the underside of the knob like boss, which usually forms the extreme terminal
part, to a stand or support of the kind as described, a vertically depending spherical
socket is secured, with the open mouth hanging downwards; and within this said
socket, a ball or sphere, carried by a stalk or stem, works.
The socket is carried by an annular flange or base plate, through which screws pass,
in connecting it to the boss, while the stalk of the ball joint, is secured to the top of
stand, bracket or support; thus allowing the upper or terminal part as aforesaid, to
gyrate or make motion in a continued circle, upon a ball and socket joint, thus
admitting of the said upper part to be placed at any angle required.
A stiff joint is produced, by a crown or inside secondary cup, provided with a short
stem on its top side, taking into an axial hole, through the neck of the socket. This
hole has a screw worming within its upper end, which takes upon the top of the stem
of the crown socket; so that by rotating the screw, more or less binding can be put
upon the parts in contact, by the crown or supplementary inside sphere being pressed
more or less forcibly upon the top of the primary sphere.

page_text: Instead of a stiff joint being produced, by means, as described, a spring enclosed
between the top of the ball joint, and the inside top of the spherical socket, may be
employed.
Instead of the boss being carried by the socket, it may be carried by the stem of
the ball, while the socket is carried by the stem of the support or bracket.
The joint may be employed for carrying mirror, photographic and other frames, or
for other purposes, where a stiff and universal joint is required.
The base plate of the socket may if necessary be made the stand, while the other
part carries a stem, which may carry a terminal or table top, upon which articles may
be displayed.
I propose to cover the head like terminals as aforesaid, with Utrecht velvet, or
similar pile fabric, upon which articles such as millinery can be better displayed, than
upon a plain or unpiled surface, by the pile of the velvet, acting as a drag upon the
article supported.
DL:
11 1
T
1000

page_text: A New or Improved Connection or Joint for the Terminals of Show
Stands or Brackets, Principally Employed in Supporting and
Displaying Millinery, Boots and Shoes, and other Articles.
We, JOSEPH FORDRED and HERBERT SIMES FORDRED, both of High Street,
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Fancy Drapers, 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 :-
The said invention consists of the improvement, or improvements liereinafter
described, in the terminals, or top supporting parts of stands, brackets or the like,
commonly employed in supporting and displaying millinery, boots and shoes, and
fancy and other articles in shop windows; whereby the said terminals or upper
extremities, are made adjustable, so as to display the goods supported, to the best
advantage; that is, the said terminal part or upper end, is so constructed, that it
admits of being placed at any angle, with respect to its carrying stem or support.
Upon the underside of the knob like boss, which usually forms the extreme terminal
part, to a stand or support of the kind as described, a vertically depending spherical
socket is secured, with the open mouth hanging downwards; and within this said
socket, a ball or sphere, carried by a stalk or stem, works.
The socket is carried by an annular flange or base plate, through which screws pass,
in connecting it to the boss, while the stalk of the ball joint, is secured to the top of
stand, bracket or support; thus allowing the upper or terminal part as aforesaid, to
gyrate, or make motion in a continued circle, upon a ball and socket joint, thus
admitting of the said upper part, to be placed at any angle required.
A stiff joint is produced, by a crown or inside secondary cup, provided with a short
stem on its top side, taking into an axial hole, through the neck of the socket. This
hole has a screw, worming within its upper end, which takes upon the top of the stem
of the crown socket; so that by rotating the screw, more or less binding can be put
upon the parts in contact, by the crown or supplementary inside sphere, being pressed
more or less forcibly upon the top of the primary sphere.
Instead of a stiff joint being produced, by means as described, a spring enclosed
between the top of the ball joint, and the inside top of the spherical socket, may be
employed.
Instead of the boss being carried by the socket, it may be carried by the stem of the
ball, while the socket is carried by the stem of the support or bracket.
The joint may be employed for carrying mirrow, photographic and other frames, or
for other purposes, where a stiff and universal joint is required.
The base plate of the socket, may if necessary, be made the stand, while the other
part carries a stem, which may carry a terminal or table top, upon which articles may
be displayed.
We propose to cover the head like terminals as aforesaid, with Utretcht velvet, or
similar pile fabric, upon which articles such as millinery, can be better displayed, than

page_text: upon a plain or unpiled surface, by the pile of the velvet, acting as a drag upon the
article supported.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawing, the
manner in which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, an adjustable connection joint, for the
terminals of show stands or brackets, for displaying boots and shoes, and other similar
goods; and which said adjustable joint, is equally applicable, for the displaying of
other goods, such as millinery, hats and caps, and the like, by changing the rest, or
support, to suit the article requiring to be displayed.
Figure 2 represents a vertical section of figure 1, and figure 3 is a front elevation
of figures 1 and 2.
The same letters of reference, indicate corresponding parts in figures 1, 2 and 3.
a is a rest or support, for goods to be displayed, and upon the underside thereof, is
a fixedly secured ball or sphere b, connected to the said part a, by a neck b².
The ball joint b, works within a cupped socket c, secured to the upper part of a
stand d, or to a bracket supported in any convenient manner.
Situated within the interior, and upon the underside of the ball or sphere b, is a
pressure cup with a stalk e², directed down the axial hole or passage c², which is
wormed, and wherein a pressure screw f takes; so that by forwardly rotating the said
screw, the pressure cup è can be made to bear upon the underside of the sphere to any
extent desired, thereby producing a stiff joint, and which also admits of the ball
gyrating or moving within its socket, and the rest carried by it being placed in any
position which the articles supported, require.
The stand or terminal part d, is wormed at its upper part d², and screws into the
lower end c³ of the mounting of the cupped socket c; so that on the ball requiring to
work more or less stiff within its socket, it is only necessary to unscrew the joint
connection, and turn by a screw driver or other means, the pressure screw f.
Figure 4 represents a vertical section of a modified form of our invention, in which
the pressure screw is worked from the side, instead of in the axial direction of the
joint connection.
a is the stand or rest, 6, 62, is the ball joint and neck of same, c is the cupped
socket, with a side neck e, wherethrough a pressure screw fobliquely and upwardly
screws and passes, and with its inner end taking its abutment against the end of the
stalk of the pressure cup e, which comes on the underside of the ball joint b; so
that by arranging the pressure screw, and parts as represented, the stand has no needs
to be disconnected from the joint connection of the rest, for increasing the stiffness
of the joint, should it become loose on wear.
The cup socket of the ball joint, has a base or securing plate d, by means of which,
the connection is secured to any article.
Figure 5 represents our invention applied to a looking glass or mirror.
Figure 6 represents another form of our invention, in which the rest or support,
carries the cupped socket, while the stand or bracket, carries the ball and its stalk.
a is the rest or support, for displaying millinery and other like articles, and which
support is faced with Utretcht velvet or plush, and has attached to its underside, an
attachment plate d', with a depending cupped socket c, which gyrates or rolls upon
the stationary ball joint b, carried by a stalk 62, with an attachment socket 63 at its
lower end, wherein the upper screwed end d², of a stand d, takes.
e is an inside pressure cup, and f is an axially directed pressure screw, which on
being rotated, (on the rest or stand a being removed) gives the necessary stiffness to
the joint.
To decrease the wear of the moving parts, and at the same time to impart
smoothness of action, a ring his interposed, between the inside of the cup c, and the
outside of the ball or sphere b.
Figure 7 represents another form of our invention, in which a flat spring is
employed, for giving a self-adjusting pressure to the underside of the sphere, and by
which means, the joint has always the necessary stiffness imparted to it.
a is the rest, b is the ball or sphere, working within the cup c, whose lower end is

page_text: provided with an attachment plate d; and placed nearly across the diameter of the
hollow of the said cup c, under the ball, is a yielding spring, or yielding spring plate i,
preferably slitted near its edges, and when in position, as in figure 7, the underside of
the sphere b, comes upon the top side of the spring. Thus, the upward pressure of
the spring, which is supported by its outer edges, and with its middle, bulged
inwardly, exerts itself upon the underside of the ball or sphere joint, thereby pressing
the said ball or sphere, upon the inside of the cup, wherein it is enclosed, and so
making a stiff joint; so that the rest will stand or remain in any position, to which it
may have been placed.
Figure 8 represents a modification of figure 7, in which a coiled spring is employed,
instead of a flat spring, for giving the necessary adjustable pressure.
The acting face of the pressure cup, is faced with leather, or a leather washer e³, is
disposed between the underside of the ball joint, and the said pressure cup.
a is the rest, b is the ball or sphere, c is the cup, d the flange, e is a pressure cup,
whose stalk e, is shouldered near its upper end, and which works within a cylindrical
hole c², made axially within the combined cup and flange c, d; and between the flange
of the stalk, and the bottom of the hole c³, a coiled spring i, is disposed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is.
First. Connecting, and mounting, the rests, rest-plates or other supports, for
various purposes, to their stands, brackets or the like, by a ball and socket joint, for
the purpose as herein described and set forth.
Secondly. Imparting stiffness in working, to ball and socket joints; for the
purposes as herein described, by means of a pressure cup e, e³, and pressure screw f
screwing within the interior of the body part of the socket, substantially as described
and set forth, in figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Thirdly. In a ball and socket joint, for connecting and mounting the rests and
other supports, as herein described and set forth in figures 1, 2, 3 and 6, and which
said parts are constructed, arranged, and work, substantially as described and
illustrated.
Fourthly. Disposing the pressure screw, for imparting the necessary pressure to
the ball of the joint, through the intervention of a pressure cup or plate, on the side,
as set forth in figures 4, and 5.
Fifthly. Disposing between the ball, (of a ball and socket joint, for the purpose as
herein described) and its cup, of a yielding spring, plate or disc, for the purpose,
substantially as described and set forth in figure 7.
Sixthly. Automatically imparting pressure to the pressure cup, or its equivalent,
for the purpose as herein described, by a spring, disposed around its stalk, or placed
thereunder, substantially as described and set forth.
Nuh 1000
Nach 1000
JOSEPH FORDRED.
HERBERT SIMES FORDRED..
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicants.