IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK AND OTHER CASES HAVING SHIFTING SHELVES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Thomas Rogers, of Thurlow Park Road, West
Dulwich, in the County of Surrey, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BOOK AND OTHER CASES HAVING SHIFTING SHELVES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Thomas Rogers at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th June 1881.
WALTER THOMAS ROGERS, of Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich, in the County
IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK AND OTHER CASES HAVING SHIFTING
of Surrey.
SHELVES."
In the construction of book cases many contrivances have been adopted for
facilitating the adjustment of shelves to suit different heights of book. The best
of these plans has however not provided for such an adjustment as would economize
to the full extent the vertical space of the book case.
Now the object of the present Invention is to provide a simple and efficient
means for adjusting book shelves so as to admit of their standing just clear of a
row of volumes of whatever height, and while leaving the books free of access,
to exclude the deposit of dust upon their upper edges without the use of leather
strips or coverlets. The Invention admits of various modifications without departing
from the principle of construction, which consists in the employment of a pair of
supporting pins for each end of the shelf, such pins being capable of adjustment by
means of racks or their equivalent to the height desired for supporting the shelf.
Suppose that it is intended to fit a book case to receive, say, four shelves, and to
provide for their several adjustment vertically to the extent of one and a half
inches, I fit in the sides of the book case four pairs of metal plates pierced with a
central hole and with a concentric ring of holes, the central hole will form the
socket for the centre pin of a second or face plate, or it may be a radius arm,
which carries a stud pin for supporting the shelf. This stud piu, whether applied
to the plate or arm, will be so situated with respect to the centre pin that an
extension of it to the back of the arm or plate will interlock with the ring of
holes in the socket plate. The position of these holes I determine by equally
dividing a vertical line running through the centre of the plate, say, into five parts,

page_text: and by drawing horizontal lines through these divisions until they cut the pitch
line of the ring of holes. At the points of intersection, on one side or the other of
the vertical line, I form the holes, which are intended to receive the rear extension
of the supporting stud. By shifting these studs into corresponding holes in the
four plates of the set a level bearing will be provided for the shelf at its opposite
ends. The underside of the shelf may be recessed at its extremities to receive these
supporting studs, which will also serve to lock the shelf in place. As a modifi-
cation of this arrangement the plates, which are bedded into the sides of the book
case, will have no central socket hole to receive a centre pin, but in place thereof a
second stud pin at the back of the face plate which carries the supporting stud
will be provided, so that two holes of the socket plate will be entered by pins on
the face plate. When it is desired to provide an unlimited adjustment for the
shelves I substitute for the socket disc plate longitudinal plates extending from
the bottom to the top of the case. These plates I pierce with holes arranged
in the manner described with respect to the disc plates, and by applying thereto a
face plate fitted with two studs at the back and a supporting stud in front I am
enabled to provide bearings at any desired level for the book shelves.
Another plan which may sometimes be conveniently employed is to form the
socket plato to receive a polygonal face plate which carries the supporting stud.
By shifting the position of this face plate in the polygonal socket plate the height
of the bearing stud may be regulated as desired. Or the socket plate may be
furnished with an internally toothed flange, and an arm carrying the bearing stud
may be fitted with teeth to engage with opposite sides of the ring of teeth, thus
by shifting the arm on its centre the stud pin may be raised or lowered to any
minute extent desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Walter Thomas Rogers in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th December 1881.
65
WALTER THOMAS ROGERS, of Thurlow Park Road, West Dulwich, in the County
of Surrey.
IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK AND OTHER CASES HAVING SHIFTING
SHELVES.'
"
In the construction of book cases many contrivances have been adopted for
facilitating the adjustment of shelves to suit different heights of books. The best
of these plans has however not provided for such an adjustment as would economise
to the full extent the vertical space of the book case.
Now the object of the present Invention is to provide a simple and efficient
means for adjusting both shelves so as to admit of their standing just clear of a row
of volumes of whatever height, and while leaving the books freely accessible, to
prevent the deposit of dust upon their upper edges without the use of leather strips
or "coverlets."

page_text: The Invention admits of various modifications without departing from tho
principle of construction, which consists in the employment of a pair of supporting
studs for each end of the shelf, such studs being capable of adjustment at evenly
graduated distances from a given point by the use of pin holes or their equivalent
to the height desired for supporting the shelf. Suppose that it is intended to fit n
book case to receive, say, four shelves, and to provide for their several adjustment
vertically within the limits of one and a half inches, I provide for each side of the
book case four pairs of metal stud plates which carry on their face a supporting
stud, and at their back a pair of pins to enter holes formed in side plates recessed
into the sides of the case. These side plates may consist of socket plates, one for
each stud plate, or they may extend from bottom to top of the bookcase, and be
pierced with a continuous series of holes for the reception of the pins at the back
of the stud plates.
ก
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet I. represents a portion of one sido
of a bookcase fitted according to this Invention, two of the stud plates being in
position to support a shelf represented by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan
of the same, and Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and
shewing the shelf in position.
In these Figures the parts are shewn as designed for a bookcase which is to
receive octavo volumes, there being, as is well known to the book trade, five usual
sizes of such volumes. A is the socket plate cast by preference in brass, and let
into the side of the bookcase, so as to stand flush therewith. This plate is shown
detached in front view, edge view, and cross section at Figures 4. B is the stud
plate which consists of a disc carrying on its face a stud b, and at its back two
pins b², b², as shewn best in the detached views, Figures 5. The face of the plate A
is recessed to such a depth as will admit of the stud plate B being inserted therein,
and standing flush with the face of the plate A. This plate B will also be cast in
brass, but it may, if thought desirable, be cast in malleable iron. This remark
applies also to the socket plates. These plates are pierced with a central hole a,
and with a concentric ring of holes a¹. The central hole a will form the socket for
the centre pin of the stud plate B, and into one or other of the holes a' the
pin 6 will be inserted. The position of the holes a' I determine by equally
dividing a vertical line running through the centre of the plate, say, in fivo equal
parts corresponding roughly to the various sizes of octavo volumes, and by drawing
horizontal lines through these divisions until they cut the pitch line of the ring of
holes. At the points of intersection, alternately at opposite sides of the pitch line,
I form the holes which are intended to receive the pin b. By shifting the pins 6
into corresponding holes in the four plates of the set, a level bearing on the
studs b will be provided for the shelf at its opposite ends. The shelf, as shewn
at C, I notch at both ends on its underside to receive the studs 6 of the two pairs
of stud plates, and thus the stud pins will present no obstruction to the end books
when inserted in the cuse. By recessing the shelf, as shewn at Fig. 3, the studs b
will serve also to lock the shelf in place.
In some cases it may be found desirable to provido against the stud plates
dropping out of place when the shelves are for a time removed. This modification
is illustrated at Figures 6 and 7, and consists in forming a kind of bayonet joint
between the plate A and the stud plate B. The holes a' in this examplo are cach
formed by drilling two holes of different diameters on the same pitch line, and
causing them to intersect. The entering pin b is made with a head or flange,
which, entering the larger portion of the hole, secures the locking of the stud plate
on a slight axial movement being given to that plate to bring the pin into the
smaller diameter of the hole. The stud plate B may be secured to the socket
plate A by a split ring or its equivalent on the end of the centre pin b', as shewn.
When an unlimited adjustment for the shelves is desired to provide for larger or
smaller sizes of books than the octavo, I substitute for the socket plates longi-
tudinal plates extending from near the bottom of the case to a short distance above
the level required for the highest shelf. These plates 1 pierce with holes, arranged

page_text: in the manner described with respect to the socket plates, and by applying thereto
a face plate fitted with two pins at the back and a supporting stud in front, I am
enabled to provide bearings at any desired level for the book shelves.
This modification is illustrated in Sheet II., Fig. 8 being a partial sectional
elevation of a book case fitted with the continuous plate A for carrying the stud
plates B; Fig. 9 a sectional plan view of the same, and Fig. 10 a vertical section
taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 8. The holes a¹ it will be seen form intersecting
rings, and thus allow of the stud plates being shifted to any desired height, the
centre pin b' being moved up froin one centre hole a to another when the fivo
shifts of the stud plate are exhausted; Figs. 11 shew the stud plate in back and
edge views.
A further modification of my Invention is shown at Fig. 12, in which notches
are substituted for the ring of holes in the socket plate, and a toothed bar fitting
into the notches takes the place of the stud plate. This bar B carries the
supporting stud b, and it is held firm in position against the downward pressure
of the book shelf by interlocking at its opposite ends with the notches formed on
the inner periphery of the socket plate A.
It will bo understood that the plate A and bar B must be made of sufficient
thickness to ensure a good bite of the tapered or toothed ends of the bar in the
notches in which they are inserted, there being in this instanco no back pins
employed.
I have described my Invention in connection with book cases only, but it will
be obvious that it is equally applicable to the support of shelves in cabinets and
cupboards whereever a nice and facile adjustment of shelves is required.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in Book
and other Cases having Shifting Shelves," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, 1 wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,-
The application to cases intended to receive shelves of interlocking parts con-
structed and arranged as above described, whereby level bearings for shelves may
be obtained at any desired height with facility.
In witness whereof, I, the said Walter Thomas Rogers, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, tho Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
WALTER THOMAS ROGERS
01