IMPROVED BILL FILE AND COMBINED PERFORATING DEVICE
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of the firm of Allison Brothers, Patent Agents,
Chancery Lane, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declaro the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVED BILL FILE AND COMBINED PERFORATING DEVICE,"
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements upon that class of bill files in which the
papers are filed upon one or two fixed needles projecting upward from a suitable
base-plate and against whoso upper ends the ends of curved transfer wires, pivoted
to the base-plate, are made to close so as to permit the filed papers to be thrown
back from the needles.
The object of the improvement is to produce a more simple, cheap and durable
bill file than any now in use, and by combining therewith a simple perforating
device, providing ready means by which an aperture may first be cut in each paper
before inserting it on the needle, so as to facilitate an inspection of the papers filed
and the use therewith of an index strip or strips, and so as to render also the file
of papers more compact than is the case where the papers are forced down upon
the needle without previous perforation, leaving torn and ragged edges around the
needle.
The invention consists primarily in constructing the file with a single needle and
a single transfer wire, whose outer, curved end is brought to bear in the customary
manner against the end of the needle, but whose inner end is carried through an
aperture in the base-plate and bent under the plate into an arm to extend parallel
with the plate at a right angle to the plane passing through the transfer wire and
needle and then up again in line parallel with the outer length of the wire through
a second aperture; and in forming an off-set on the under side of the base-plate
between and slightly in front of the apertures through which the wire passes; and
in fitting a flat tension spring under the plate so that its free end shall bear upon
the arm of the wire to hold it firmly against the plate; these devices being so
arranged, as that whenever the transfer wire is thrown back from the needle the
leverage obtained. by its contact with the edges of the apertures in the base-plate
through which its lower end and arm pass, will serve to force out the spring
bearing upon the arm and cause said arin to ride up and rest upon the off-set
projecting from the under side of the base-plate, in which open position the transfer
wire is retained by the spring to allow of ready access to the needle. In some

page_text: cases lugs may be made to project from the under side of the base-plate to serve
as stops to limit the vibration of the transfer wire by limiting the movement of its
bent arm.
Although in cheapest simplest form the improved bill file is constructed with
n single needle and transfer wire, the invention is applicable to files constructed
with two needles and two transfer wires, the bent arm of the single transfer wire
above described, being replaced by the connecting arm of the two wires. The
spring is brought to bear upon said connecting arm and the arm is made, by
the vibration of the two wires when they are thrown back from the needles, to
ride over and upon the retaining off-set under the base-plate; the spring, the arın
and the off-set performing in this connection the same functions in the samo
manner as they do in connection with a single transfer wire.
The invention consists furthermore in combining with the base-plate carrying
the needles and transfer wires, a punch or perforating device adapted to cut
a clean hole through a sheet or sheets of paper or card-board. This paper punch
may be constructed and arranged to be operated independently of the transfer
wires, but it is constructed preferably of a metallic rod secured to the transfer
wire to project therefrom above the bed-plate and having its solid end bent to
enter a counterpart aperture in the bed-plate when the wire is thrown back from
the needle, the end of the punch rod being made to register accurately with said
aperture so as to constitute in conjunction therewith a suitable cutter.
In simplest form, the improved bill file is constructed of two bits of wires of
wrought iron; a cast metal base-plate and a flat steel spring. One of the wires,
constituting the needle, is riveted at its lower end to the base-plate to project
therefrom in an oblique direction so as to slant upwards when the base-plate is
hung up in a vertical position against the wall, and its upper end is pierced with
an eye and is hevelled off to form a piercing point. The second wire is combined.
with the base-plate by bending its lower end into an arm to pass in manner as
-hereinbefore-described-in-and-out-through two apertures pierced in the plate in the
rear of an off-set projecting on the under side of the plate between said apertures.
A flat spring is riveted at one end to the under side of the plate to bear with its
free end-against-the-arm-formed-by-the-wire-as-it-extends across from-one-aperture-
to the other.
The combination of a punch with the device involves merely the attacliment of
a short bent rod to the vibrating transfer wire above the base-plate and the drilling
of a suitable hole in the plate to receive the solid free end of this rod as the wire
is thrown back. This simple attachment furnishes the means for punching a neat
clean hole in cach paper to enable it to be readily slipped upon the needle and
when inserted thereon to be readily passed back or forth over the needle and the
transfer wire closed against it, thus facilitating the use of alphabetical index strips
with the file of papers, and of a binding strip of cloth or stout paper which, when
the file is full, is folded in over the outer edges of the papers and confined conjointly
therewith by a cord. This cord, when the file is full, is led through the eye of the
needle and the papers and binding strip are drawn off from the needle upon the
cord, which being then itself detached from the needle is tied up over and upon
the binding strip to fasten and hold the papers by their edges in a permanent form.
The bill file although complete when constructed substantially as above described,
without other support than its base-plate, may be perfected by combining it with
a tablet composed of a thin board of suitable description, the base-plate being
constructed with a shouldered flange adapted to fit against one edge of the tablet
so that it may be secured to the tablet by a single screw; and this combination of
the metallic bill file with a thin, light tablet, to which it is secured by means of
a flange and single screw, constitutes also a part of this invention.
AL

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of the firm of Allison Brothers, Patent Agents,
Chancery Lane, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVED BILL FILE AND COMBINED PERFORATING DEVICE,"
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements upon that class of bill files in which the
papers are filed upon one or two fixed needles projecting upward from a suitable
base-plate and against whose upper ends the ends of curved transfer wires, pivoted
to the base-plate, are made to close so as to permit the filed papers to be thrown
back from the needles.
The object of the improvement is to produce a more simple, cheap and durable.
bill file than any now in use, and by combining therewith a simple perforating
device, providing ready means by which an aperturo may first be cut in each paper
before inserting it on the needle, so as to facilitate an inspection of the papers filed
and the use therewith of an index strip or strips, and so as to render also the filo
of papers more compact than is the case where the papers are forced down upon
the needle without previous perforation, leaving torn and ragged edges around the
needle,
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a bill file with
a single needle and transfer wire, the transfer wire being shown in the open position
by full lines and in the closed position by dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a transverse
section of same, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under side of the base-plate.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a bill file with two needles and transfer wires, tho
transfer wires being shown in the closed position by full lines and in the open
position by dotted lines; Fig. 5 is a transverse section of same, and Fig. 6 is a plan
view of the top side of same.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show different forms of indexing strips.
The invention as shown in Figs 1, 2 and 3 consists primarily in constructing the
file with a single needle A and a single transfer wire B, whose outer, curved end C
is brought to bear in the customary manner against the end of the needle, but
whose inner end is carried through an aperture D in the base-plate E and bent
under the plate into an arm F to extend parallel with the plate at a right angle to
the plane passing through the transfer wire and needle and then up again in line
parallel with the outer length of the wire through a second aperture G; and in
forming an off-set H on the under side of the base-plate E between and slightly
in front of the apertures through which the wire passes; and in fitting a flat
tension spring I under the plate E so that its free end shall bear upon the arm F
of the wire B to hold it firmly against the plate; these devices being so arranged,
as that whenever the transfer wire B is thrown back from the neodle Å the leverage
obtained by its contact with the edges of the apertures in the base-plate E through
which its lower end and arm F. pass, will serve to force out the spring I bearing
upon the arm and cause said arm to ride up and rest upon the off-set H projecting
from the under side of the base-plate E, in which open position the transfer wire is
retained by the spring I to allow of ready access to the needle A. In some cases.
lugs may be made to project from the under side of the base-plate to serve as stops
to limit the vibration of the transfer wire B by limiting the movement of its bent
arm F, but by suitably forming the holes in the base-plate through which the
transfer wire B passes they will themselves form stops to limit the movement of
the bent arm F.

page_text: Although in cheapest, simplest form the improved bill file is constructed with
a single needle and transfer wire, the invention is applicable to files constructed
with two needles and two transfer wires, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the bent
arm F of the single transfer wire (sec Fig. 2 at G.) not being cut off, but carried up
to form the additional transfer wire, to stand any desired distance from the other
transfer wire by lengthening the arm F (see Fig. 5); the spring, the arm and the
off-set performing in this construction the same functions in the same manner as
they do in connection with a single transfer wire.
The invention consists furthermore in combining with the base-plate carrying
the needle and the transfer wire, a punch or perforating device adapted to cut
a clean hole through a sheet or sheets of paper or card-board. This paper punch
may be constructed and arranged to be operated independently of the transfer
wire, but it is constructed preferably (as shown in Fig. 1) of a metallic rod J
secured to the transfer wire B to project therefrom above the base-plate E and
having its solid end K bent to enter a counterpart aperture L in the base-plato E
when the wire B is thrown back from the needle A, the end of the punch rod J
being made to register accurately with said aperture so as to constitute in
conjunction therewith a suitable cutter.
In one form, the improved bill file is constructed of the two bits of wires A and B
of wrought iron; the cast metal base-plate E and the flat steel spring I. The
wire A constituting the needle, is riveted at its lower end to the base-plate E to
project therefrom in an oblique direction so as to slant upwards when the base-plato
is hung up in a vertical position against the wall, and its upper end M is pierced
with an eje N and is bevelled off to form a piercing point O. The second wire B
is combined with the base-plate E by bending its lower end into an arm F to pass
in manner as herein before described in and out through the two apertures D and G
pierced in the plate E slightly in the rear of the off-set H projecting on the under
side of the plate E between said apertures. The flat spring I is riveted at one
end to the under side of the plate E to bear with-its-free-end-against-the-arm-F
formed by the wire B as it extends across from one aperture to the other.
The combination of a punch with the device involves merely the attachment of
the short bent-rod-J to the vibrating transfer wire Babove the base plate E-and-
the drilling of a suitable holo L in the plate to receive the solid free end of this
rod as the wire B is thrown back.
When two needles and transfer wires are employed (as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6)
cach transfer wire may be provided with a punching arrangement so as to make
two holes in the papers to be filed in the positions necessary for passing them on to
the needles.
This simple attachment to the transfer wire or wires furnishes the means for
punching a neat clean hole in each paper to enable it to be readily slipped upon
the needle and when inserted thereon to be readily pressed back or forth over the
needle and the transfer wire closed against it, thus facilitating the use of alphabetical
index strips with the file of papers, such strips being of any desired form and
provided with letters, figures or signs thereon, according to the purpose for which
they are used. A cord P is led through the eye N of the needle A over the papers
to be bound, a piece of paste board having been previously placed below and above
such papers on the needle, so that the papers when lifted off the needle pass on to
the cord, which is then cut off at the needle, and the double cord is tied over the
top ends of the papers and pieces of paste board.
The index strips may be made in many forms, and letters, figures or signs used
thereon in many ways, but preferably these strips are made square of one size for
the entire alphabet, figures or signs to be used thereon, the strip for the first letter,
figuro or sign being omitted because the papers to which such letter, figure or sign
refers, go on top of all papers on needle A. The letters, figures or signs are
arranged separately on a strip, and printed thereon as shown in Fig. 7, so that in
whatever position a strip is turned, when any one side is brought round parallel
with the square ends of the papers punched to a gauge by this file and placed on

page_text: needle A, the letter, figure or sign reads right side up at the upper right hand
corner of each strip.
It will be seen by referring to the square strip Fig. 7, oblong strip Fig. 8, and
circular strip Fig. 9, that many forms of strips, and many ways of printing letters,
figures or signs thereon may be adopted; also that these strips may be used to come
even with the top ends of the papers punched by this file to a gauge so that all
the papers on needle A are also even; or these index strips may be made to extend
slightly beyond the even upper top end of the papers as punched and filed on
needle A, so as to more fully present the letter, figure or sign on each strip to view
at the upper right hand corner.
-
The bill file although complete when constructed substantially as above described,
without other support than its base-plate, may be perfected by securing it in any
desired manner to a suitable tablet or back board.
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. In a bill file the combination of a recessed base-plate E provided with a fixed
needle or needles A, pivoted transfer wire or wires B passing through holes in the
base-plate and provided with a straight bont arm F beneath it, upon which arm
a flat spring I is caused to press, as and for the purposes specified.
2. In a bill file consisting in a recessed base-plato provided with a fixed needle
or needles, a pivoted transfer wire or wires passing through holes in the base-plato
and provided with a straight bent arm beneath it, upon which arm a flat spring I
is caused to press, the combination with the bent arm of the transfer wire or wires
of a projection or off-set H, formed on the under side of the base-plate, substantially
as and for the purposos specified.
3. In a bill file consisting in a base-plate provided with a fixed needle or needles
and a pivoted transfer wire or wires, the combination with such pivoted transfor
wire or wires of a punch or bent rod J working in conjunction with a hole pierced
in the base-plate, for the purpose of punching holes in the documents to be filed
upon the fixed needle or needles, all substantially as herein described.
4. The improved indexing strips for bill files with fixed needles, provided with
letters, figures or signs so arranged as to appear in the proper position on the top
edge of the strips when upon the needles, upon which they are placed so that
their top edge comes even with or projects beyond the top edge of the documents
filed, all substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Dated thin 9th Joys of Ontahan 1001