A New or Improved Convertible Card Table.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 12th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Convertible Card Table.
I, JOSHUA SWITHENBANK, Junior, of 15, Godwin Street, Bradford, in the
County of York, Produce Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a new or improved portable card table adapted to be
readily converted into a walking stick or vice versa and particularly useful for
railway travellers and the like.
The said improvements consist of the general construction and arrangement of
parts hereinafter described adapting the complete table to be reduced to the size of
and enclosed within a hollow walking stick of medium size.
To carry out my invention I employ a hollow stick with a joint about the middle
and with the handle or the knob movable so as to uncover the hollow interior. A
central rod fitted inside the stick is provided with a notched head to which a
number of arms or ribs are pivoted in a similar manner to an umbrella frame and
stays hinged to said arms extend to a runner loosely mounted upon said rod and are
pivoted thereto in a similar manner. The arms are covered or connected by a
silk, cotton or other suitable material which when extended forms the table top.
To extend the arms the handle or knob is turned aside and the lower half of the
stick is removed and the central rod pushed up until a catch or shoulder on said
runner meets a stop in the stick which holds it stationary, and further movement of
the rod raises the lower ends of said arms, until such arms assume an approximately
horizontal position for they are prevented from moving bodily by said stays which
spread out to support them. To hold the parts in this position a catch on the rod
engages a projection in the stick.
Preferably three legs are employed pivoted to a collar on the rod in such a
manner that they may be folded by the side of such rod and packed in the lower
portion of the stick. These legs drop down when the lower portion of the stick is
removed and said collar is so arranged that it is sufficiently inside the upper part of
the stick when the top is extended to permit the legs when spread out to bear
against the bottom of the upper part of the stick so as to prevent them opening out
too far.
The said collar may be capable of slight longitudinal motion on the rod so that
moving said collar on such rod disengages the above mentioned catch.
Dated this 10th day of May 1890.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Convertible Card Table.
1, JOSHUA SWITHENBANK, Junior, of 15, Godwin Street, Bradford, in the
County of York, Produce Merchant, 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 :-
This invention relates to a new or improved portable card table adapted to be
readily converted into a walking stick or vice versa and particularly useful for
railway travellers and the like.
The said improvements consist of the general construction and arrangement of
parts hereinafter described adapting the complete table to be reduced to the size of
and enclosed within a hollow walking stick of medium size.
To carry out my invention I employ a hollow stick with a joint about the middle

page_text: and with the handle or the knob movable so as to uncover the hollow interior. A
central rod fitted inside the stick is provided with a notched head to which a
number of arms or ribs are pivoted in a similar manner to an umbrella frame and
stays hinged to said arms extend to a runner loosely mounted upon said rod and are
pivoted thereto in a similar manner. The arms are covered or connected by silk,
cotton or other suitable material which when extended forms the table top.
To extend the arms the handle or knob is turned aside and the lower half of the
stick is removed and the central rod pushed up until a catch or shoulder on said
runner meets a stop in the stick which holds it stationary, and further movement of
the rod raises the lower ends of said arms, until such arms assume an approximately
horizontal position for they are prevented from moving bodily by said stays, which
spread out to support them. To hold the parts in this position a catch on the rod
engages a projection in the stick.
Preferably three legs are employed pivoted to a collar on the rod in such a
manner that they may be folded by the side of such rod and packed in the lower
portion of the stick. These legs drop down when the lower portion of the stick is
removed and said collar is so arranged that, it is sufficiently inside the upper part of
-the stick when the top is extended to permit the legs when spread out to bear
against the bottom of the upper part of the stick so as to prevent them opening out
too far.
To fully describe my invention reference is to be had to the accompanying sheet
of drawings forming a part of this Specification in which similar letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures.
+1.
Figure 1, is an elevation on a reduced scale of the stick with the different pieces
slightly apart to show the method of joining them together.
Figure 2, is a perspective elevation of the table.
Figure 3, is a longitudinal section of the same.
Figure 4, is a longitudinal elevation of the parts in the relative position they
occupy when closed in the interior of the stick but the stick itself is not shown."
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are detail views hereinafter referred to.
And
>
The handle A screws into the top of the hollow upper part B of the stick. The
lower part C is also hollow to within a short distance from the bottom and screws
into the bottom of B. The central rod D has a notched head a a plan view of
which is shown on a larger scale Figure 5 and the arms E are pivoted thereto in a
similar manner to the ribs of an umbrella. The stays F are also pivoted in this
way to the runner b, and at their other ends are connected to the arms E. The
runner b is loosely mounted on the rod D and is provided with a flange d to engage
the shoulder e or bottom of the internal screw ferrule H by which the handle A is
attached. The arms E have a suitable piece of cloth attached to them in the same
way as the cover of an umbrella is attached to the ribs which cloth when the arms
are extended as shown in Figure 2 forms the top J. The cloth is not shown in
Figure 4 but when the arms are folded as in that figure the centre of the cloth is'
drawn down and it lies folded between the arms the same as if an umbrella were
turned wrong side out and the ribs placed together.
↑
To extend the arms E the, rod D is pushed up until the flange d engages the
shoulder e then further motion of the rods tend to spread out the stays F and bring
the arms horizontal with the cloth tightly stretched between them. The parts are
secured in this position by the pin i in the rod D bearing upon the top of the screw
ferrule H as represented in plan on a larger scale with the stick in section
Figure 6. The top of the ferrule has a slot to allow the pin i to pass through,
then the part B of the stick is turned round to the position shown:.-
The legs L are pivoted to the notched collar a¹ at the bottom of the rod D and
the conical projection m below such collar, clearly shown in the enlarged section
Figure 7, is provided to spread out such legs to the proper angle. The various
parts are so relatively arranged that when the table is open the. legs. bear against
the bottom of the ferrule Hand are thus confined between that and the projection m
so as to hold them comparatively rigid.

page_text: When the table is not in use the rod D is pulled down so as to draw the parts
above into B and the legs are folded over against D (Figure 4) in a position to be
passed into the portion Č.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare what I
claim is :-
A card table and walking stick combined adapted to be readily converted from
one to the other, substantially as herein shown and described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawing.
Dated this 10th day of February 1801
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.