Improvements in or Applicable to Writing Desks and Slopes; Drawing Boards, Work and other Boxes, Dressing-cases, Show- cases, and other like Receptacles or Articles.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1886.
Complete Left, 17th Jan., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 25th Feb., 1887.
Improvements in or Applicable to Writing Desks and Slopes;
Drawing Boards, Work and other Boxes, Dressing-cases, Show-
cases, and other like Receptacles or Articles.
We, CHARLES GROOMBRIDGE, of Cliftcotte, Oliver Road, Leyton in the County of
Essex, Gentleman, and WILLIAM ALFRED SOUTH, of 40 New Bond Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Veterinary Surgeon do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to means or arrangement of mechanism for raising the upper
surfaces, lids or trays of writing desks and slopes, drawing boards, work and other
boxes, dressing-cases, show-cases, trunks, and other like receptacles or articles, so as
to afford ready access to the interior of such articles, without sufficiently disturbing
the horizontal position of such surface, lid, or tray, as to necessitate the removal of
any article resting thereon or therein, while, at the same time, the means employed
in effecting the elevation of the said surface, lid, or tray shall not interfere with the
interior space or capacity of the receptacle or article.
In carrying out our invention we proceed as follows: To the under side of the
surface, lid, or tray, to be raised, we attach or connect by hinges, pivots, or other
appropriate means, the upper ends of a suitable number of rods, bars, arms, or plates,
(preferably four) two of which are attached towards the front of the surface, lid,
board or tray, and another two at about the middle distance between the front and
the back of the surface, lid, or tray. The other ends of these rods, bars, arms, or
plates are attached by hinges, pivots, or other suitable means, to the interior of the
receptacle or article, at distances corresponding with their respective attachments to
the under side of the surface, lid or tray, and the position of their attachment is such
that, when the surface, lid or tray is lowered, the rods, bars, arms or plates, assume
the same line or plane horizontally as the line or plane of the surface, lid, or tray, to
which they are attached.
Upon the surface, lid, or tray being raised, the rods, bars, arms, or plates, pivot
upon their hinges and commence to support the surface, lid, or tray, and while they

page_text: maintain it in a horizontal, or nearly horizontal position, transfer it somewhat from
over the body of the receptacle or article.and thus permit the ready access to the
interior of the said receptacle.
The rods, bars, arms, or plates, when the surface, lid, or tray is in its lowered
position, lay as close as possible against the under side of the surface, lid, or
tray, and consequently their position may act somewhat as a dead point in resisting
the first movement in raising the surface, lid, or tray. To overcome this obstruction
to the ready raising of the surface, lid, or tray, we attach, towards the front of the
inside of the receptacle or article, two sloited arms, bars or levers (one on each side)
in such a way that they shall lay across the two front rods, bars, arms, or plates which
support the surface, lid, or tray, and at about the middle of the length of each of
these two supporting arms, rods, or plates we insert a stud or pin which works in the
slot of each of the levers, so that upon the first elevating movement of the surface, lid
or tray, the pins on the supporting rods, bars, arms or plates act upon the slotted
levers in such a way as to elevate their free ends, which ends pressing upward against
the under side of the surface, lid, or tray, elevate the portion of the surface, lid, or tray
farther from the elevating power and thus overcoming the dead point cause the
surface, lid, or tray, to rise at an equal rate of speed throughout its entire extent.
The length of the slots in the elevating levers is such that when the supporting arms,
rods, or plates, shall have passed somewhat beyond their perpendicular position, the
pins in the supporting arms are arrested by the termination of the slots, and thus, by
acting as stops, retain the supporting arms or rods in a somewhat vertical position,
thus supporting the surface, lid, or tray.
The means or mechanism herein described may equally well be applied to folding
surfaces, lids, or trays, provided such surface, lid, or tray be hinged at the required
distance so as to allow the portions forming the same to fold over or upon one
another.
ERNEST DE PASS, Fel. Inst. P.A.,
68, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in or Applicable to Writing-desks and Slopes,
Drawing-boards, Work and other Boxes, Dressing-cases, Show-
cases, Trunks, and other like Receptacles or Articles.
We, CHARLES GROOMBRIDGE, of Cliftcotte, Oliver Road, Leyion, in the County of
Essex, Gentleman, and WILLIAM ALFRED SOUTH, of 40, New Bond Street, in the
County of Middlesex, Veterinary Surgeon, 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, reference being had to
the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
.
Our Invention relates to means, or arrangements of mechanism, for raising and
throwing outwards the lids, trays, flaps, or inclined planes, of writing desks and slopes,
drawing-boards, work and other boxes, dressing-cases, show-cases, trunks, and other like
receptacles or articles, in such a way as to afford ready access to the interior of such
receptacles, without sufficiently disturbing either the horizontal, or the oblique position
of such lid, tray, flap, or inclined plane, as to necessitate the removal of papers, or
other articles, resting thereon, or therein, while, at the same time, the means or
mechanism employed, shall not interfere with the interior space or capacity of the
receptacle.
And in order that our Invention may be readily understood, we proceed to describe
the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1, is a
longitudinal section, taken on the line of the plan, fig. 2, and representing, by
way of example, our Invention, as applied to a writing desk or slope. In both these
figures the mechanism is shewn at rest, the lid, flap, or inclined plane, of the desk
being lowered and closed. Fig. 3, is a like section, but showing the lid, flap or
inclined plane, of the desk, raised.
In carrying out our Invention, we fix, to the under side of the lid, flap, or inclined
plane A, two angle pieces or brackets a, (one at each side) to which the upper ends of
two parallel supporting arms or levers b, are pivoited or articulated. These arms or
levers are further pivotted at bx, to the sides B, of the desk, and at or about the centre
of each arm or lever we fix a stud or pin c. Over each stud or pin e, a slotted
segmental bar or lever d, is free to travel. The lower end of each of these slotted
segmental bars or levers d, is also pivotted to the sides B of the desk, at e.
supporting arms or levers b, and the slotted segmental bars or levers d, lie, when the
lid, flap, or inclined plane of the desk is in its lowered and closed position, closely
against the sides B, of the desk, and against the under surface of the lid, flap, or
inclined plane A.
The
As this arrangement of parallel supporting arms or levers might, if used alone,
operate as a dead point in resisting the first upward movement imparted to the lid,
flap, or inclined plane A, the slotted segmental bars or levers d, above described, have
been provided to overcome this resistance to the elevation.

page_text: The purpose of these slotted bars or levers d, in conjunction with the supporting
arms or levers b, is to cause, (upon the first clevating movement of the lid, flap, or
inclined plane) the studs or pins c, on the supporting arms b, to act upon the slotted
lovers d, and to elevate their free ends, which ends, pressing upwards against the
under surface of the lid, flap, or inclined plane, elevate that portion of the lid, etc.
farthest from the front elevating power, and thus overcoming the dead point, cause
the said lid, etc. to rise at an equal rate of progression throughout its entire
extent.
Acting in combination with the arms or levers b, and slotted segmental levers d, is
a strut, hinged to the back part of the desk at h, and to the under side of the lid,
or slope, at i, the purpose of which is to support the back portion of the lid, flap, or
inclined plane, when raised. By shortening or lengthening this strut, the lid, tray,
flap, or inclined plane, may be arranged to take the horizontal, or any desired
obliquity of position, when raised.
The length of the slots in the segmental levers, d, is such that when the parallel
supporting arms or levers U, shall have passed somewhat beyond their perpendicular
position, the studs or pins e, on the supporting arms or levers 7, are arrested by the
termination of the slots, and thus these studs, by acting as stops, retain the supporting
arms or levers in a somewhat inclined position, and support the lid, flap, or inclined
plane, in its clevated position.
The means or mechanism above described, may equally well be applied to folding
desks, provided the lids, slopes, or inclined planes of the same be so hinged as to allow
the portions, constituting the same, to fold over, or upon, one another. Such an
arrangement is illustrated in figs. 4, 5 and 6 of the drawings, which represent
longitudinal sections and a plan of a folding desk, in its closed and open positions.
In fig. 6, the lid, slope or inclined plane, is shewn closed, the same letters of reference
indicating, in both these figures, like parts to those represented in figs. 1, 2 and 3.
A is the lid, flap or inclined plane of the desk; the parallel supporting arms or
levers;
d the slotted segmental levers, and the hinged strut. The portions C and D,
forming the lid, flap, or inclined plane A, are hinged at g, so that when folded and the
desk closed, they lie one upon the other, as shewn in fig. 4.
Although we have described and shewn our invention as applied to desks, yet, it is
obvious that the same may equally well be applied to the trays of work-boxes, dressing-
cases, trunks, or other like receptacles, also to the lids of show-cases. Our Invention
is also applicable to a drawing-board, provided the same be constructed with a recep-
tacle or box below the board or surface.
Having now described our Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, we declare that we claim :-
1. Providing or fitting writing desks and slopes, drawing-boards, work and other
boxes, dressing and other cases, trunks, and the like, with means or mechanism in the
manner substantially as herein described, so that the lids, trays, flaps, or inclined
planes of the same may be raised and thrown upwards and outwards to afford ready
access to the interior of such receptacles, without necessitating the removal of papers,
or other articles, on or in such lids, trays, flaps, or inclined planes, and while retaining,
to as great an extent as desirable, the horizontality, or normal obliquity, of the said
lids, trays, flaps, or inclined planes, as set forth.
2. The arrangement and combination of parts constituting the means or mechanism
herein described and shewn in the drawings as applied, by way of example, to desks,
and for the purposes set forth.
ERNEST DE PASS, Fel. Inst. P.A.,
68, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the Applicants.