Improvements in Racks or Holders for Suspending Billiard Cues, Brooms, and other articles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th May, 1893-Accepted, 17th June,
1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Racks or Holders for Suspending Billiard Cues,
Brooms, and other articles.
I, CHARLES WORDEN of Elm Place, Rye, in the County of Westchester and
State of New York, United States of America, Builder, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved holder or rack
more especially designed to conveniently and securely support billiard cues, brooms,
and like handled articles, and which is simple and durable in construction, auto-
matically engages and clamps the handle of the article and permits of readily
removing the article from the holder or rack whenever desired.
The invention consists of a rack formed of a series of vertically arranged ribs or
lugs attached to a back or wall board, each having in one side a recess which, is
wedge shaped in depth, that is to say the bottom of the recess is inclined the recess
being deepost at the upper end and running out to the face of the lug at the
lower end.
•
In each recess a roller is received between which roller and the plain side of the
rolling wedge,
next lug the handle of the article is gripped, the roller acting as a
the lower ends of the lugs being pointed to permit the handle to be readily inserted,
in an upward direction, between the rolling and fixed gripping jaws.
Dated thin 19th dow of Awoust 1892
C. WORDEN,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Racks or Holders for Suspending Billiard Cues,
Brooms, and other articles.
I CHARLES WORDEN, of Elm Place, Rye in the County of Westchester and
State of New York, United States of America, Builder, 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 object of this invention is to provide a new and improved holder or rack
more especially designed to conveniently and securely support billiard cues, brooms
and like handled articles, which is simple and durable in construction, automatically
engages and clamps the handle of the article, and permits of readily removing the
article from the holder or rack whenever desired.
The invention consists of a rack formed of a series of vertically arranged ribs or
lugs attached to a back or wall board each having in one side a recess which is
wedge shaped in depth, that is to say the bottom of the recess is inclined, the recess
being deepest at the upper end and running out to the face of the lug at the lower
end. In each recess a roller is received, between which roller and the plain side of
the next lug the handle of the article is gripped, the roller acting as a rolling
wedge, the lower ends of the lugs being pointed to permit the handle to be readily
inserted in an upward direction between the rolling and fixed gripping jaws.
The invention also consists of various parts and details and combinations of the
same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this

page_text: Specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding. parts in
all the figures.
Figure 1 is a front view of the improvement with one of the ribs or lugs in
section; Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same on the line - in Figure 1 ;
and Figure 3 is a sectional plan view of the same on the line y-y in Figure 2.
The improved holder or rack is provided with a back or wall-board A, adapted
to be fastened on a wall or other support in any suitable manner. On the front of
the board A are arranged a series of ribs or lugs B, B1, B2, B3, etc., extending
vertically so as to form between two adjacent ribs or lugs, the spaces C, C, C², etc.,
into which the handle H of the article to be supported is passed. The lower ends
of the ribs or lugs B, B1, B2 etc., are pointed, as at D, so as to permit of conveniently
inserting the handle into the space C, C, or C³, etc., from below.
Each of the lugs B, B1, B2, is provided on one side with a recess E, the bottom
of which is inclined, as is plainly shown in Figure 1, the inclination extending from
near the lower end of the lug outward and upward. The upper end of the recess
is closed by a suitable cap F', secured partly on the respective lug B, B', and the
wall board A.
In each of the recesses is held a roller G, adapted to travel with its periphery on
the inclined bottom of the respective recess, the diameter of the said roller being
somewhat larger than the width of the respective space C, C1, C2, so that when the
roller is in its lowermost position, as shown to the left in Figure 1, the right hand
side rests against the opposite straight side of the next following lug B¹, B³, B³.
The roller is thus prevented from rolling out of its recess and becoming lost.
The device is used as follows:
When the board A. is fastened on a wall or other support, the lugs B, B¹, etc.,
extend vertically so that the rollers G travel into their lowermost position, as shown
to the left in Figure 1. When the handle H of a broom, cue, or like article is to
be supported in the holder or rack, the end of the handle is passed between the
pointed ends D of the two adjacent lugs, so as to engage the lower side of the
respective roller held between the said lugs, whereby the roller is caused to travel
upwards into the recess E, and upward and inward on the inclined bottom of the
said recess. A further upward movement of the handle of the article in the
respective space C, C1, or C2, causes the roller C to travel so far inward as to
permit the handle to pass the said roller. The handle is then released so that the
roller presses on one side of the handle, the opposite side resting against the
straight side of the next following lug. The roller is sufficiently heavy to press
with such force upon the handle as to support the article in place on the holder
or rack.
When it is desired to disengage the article from the rack, the handle is moved
upward slightly, so that the roller G travels upward and slightly inward, to permit
of drawing the handle forward and out of the respective space C, C¹, C². The
roller then by its own gravity travels down the inclined bottom of the respective
recess E, to its former resting position, shown to the left in Figure 1.
It will be seen that when the handle has been engaged by the roller as above
described, and the hold on the handle is released, the article is securely held in
place by the roller, especially if the article having the handle is very heavy. The
greater the downward pressure on the handle, the tighter the roller G will press
against the said handle."
In hanging up various articles such as brooms, cues, and the like, the handle is
not liable to warp, as it is freely suspended from near its upper end.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manuer the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
In a holder or rack, the combination with a wall board, of a series of vertically
arranged and spaced ribs or lugs secured to the wall board, having pointed ends
and provided in one side with recesses having inclined bottoms and a roller in each

page_text: recess substantially as described, whereby a handle when inserted in the space
between two ribs will be pressed by the roller against the side of the adjacent side
or lug and held thereby, substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 12th day of May 1893.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
WORDEN,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.