AN IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE TONGS."
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Moore, of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings,
and State of New York, United States of America, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE TONGS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Moore at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
April 1858.
I, DANIEL MOORE, of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, and State of New
York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE TONGS," to be as follows:-
Tongs used for wood, coal, or other fires, have heretofore been formed in
almost all cases with one moving leg united to the other, and to the handle
by a joint, and in the use of these tongs for a comparatively short time the
joint becomes loose, and the ends of the legs neither come properly together,
nor hold the pieces of wood, or other material being burnt, securely.
To obviate this difficulty various characters of joints have been devised, but
they are costly or inconvenient in handling the tongs.
The nature of my Invention consists in the use of a curved slide attached
to the inner part of one of the legs, receiving a tongue or its equivalent,
attached to the inner part of the other leg, by which the parallelism in the
movements of the ends of the tongs is maintained, ensuring a correct hold on
any article seized by the said tongs; the said slide is out of the way in handling
the tongs, great accuracy in fitting the joint becomes unnecessary, and the
joint can be smaller in its size than would be required if my improvement
were dispensed with.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Daniel Moore in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 16th
October 1858.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
MOORE, of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, and State of New York, United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself; Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me,. the said Daniel Moore, Her special license that I, the said Daniel
Moore, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Daniel Moore, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE TONGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Daniel Moore, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Daniel Moore, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
Fig. 1 is a side view of a pair of tongs, as fitted with my improvements;
and Fig. 2 is a section of my connecting slide. Similar marks of reference
denote the same parts.
Tongs used for wood, coal, or other fires, have heretofore been formed in
almost all cases with one moving leg united to the other, and the handle by
a joint, and in the use of these tongs for a comparatively short time the joints
become loose and the ends of the legs neither come properly together or hold
the pieces of wood, or other material being burnt, securely.
To obviate this difficulty, various character of joints have been devised, but
in all cases they are costly or else inconvenient in handling the tongs.

page_text: The nature of my said Invention consists in the use of a curved slide"
attached to the inner part of one of the legs, receiving a tongue attached to
the inner part of the other leg, by which the parallelism in the movements of
the ends of the tongs is maintained, ensuring a correct hold on any article
siezed by said tongs, and is also out of the way in handling the tongs; great
accuracy in fitting the joints becomes unnecessary, and said joint can be
smaller in its size than would be required if my improvement was dispensed
with.
In the Drawing, a is the handle, and b, c, are the moving and fixed legs of
the tongs, and d is the joint; these parts are to be of any desired size or shape, as
usual. e is a curved slide, formed as shewn sectionally in Fig. 2, made on or
attached to the inner side of one of the legs (b), and may be plain, as shewn,
or of an ornamental shape, if desired, so long as it be adapted to receive the
tongue i that is connected to the inner side of (c), and slides in the
aforesaid slide e, as the tongs are opened or shut.
It will now be apparent that the points of the legs b and c cannot separate
laterally from any looseness of the joint d, and that my device is not in the
way of freely handling the tongs, and cannot pinch or otherwise injure the
hands of the person using the tongs; and my said slide is cheap, durable,
can be of an ornamental character, and renders the tongs far more efficient
in use.
•
What I claim as my Invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,
the slide (e) and tongue i attached to the respective sides of the legs of
the tongs, and acting in the manner and for the purposes substantially as
specified.
In witnesses whereof, I, the said Daniel Moore, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
o Witnesses,
DANIEL MOORE. (L.S.)
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
289, Broadway, New York.
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
150, Canton St., Brooklyn, L. I.