An Improved Covered Dust-pan, Crumb-tray, or Crumb-gatherer.
Year: 1885

page_text: An Improved Covered Dust-pan, Crumb-tray, or Crumb-gatherer.
I, RICHARD GEORGE OWEN of 40, Warwick Road, South Kensington in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for AN IMPROVED COVERED DUST-PAN, CRUMB-TRAY, OR CRUMB-GATHERER and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to supply a dust-pan, crumb-tray or crumb-
gatherer which by a simple mechanical action can be held and opened with one
hand, and which closes automatically when no longer required to be open, and in
which the lid when held open, forms a guide or guard for the dust or crumbs.
To effect this about half the cover is fixed while the other portion is hinged to
the fixed part of the cover.
A thumb-bit is placed conveniently to the handle, so that the operator by a
slight pressure of the thumb sets in action one or more small levers, and tilts the
lid open.
When the pressure of the thumb is removed the lid falls back by its own weight
to the closed position.
By preference I construct my .dust-pans with a knife edge in front instead of
the ordinary wired edge, so that no obstacle is offered to the ready passage of the
dust or crumbs.
It is important to observe that the lever is designed to raise the lid to a level of
about 45 degrees, so that the cover serves as a guide or guard for the pan, and
helps to direct the dust or crumbs in the proper direction.
The motion imparted by the thumb-bit may be communicated direct to a small
lever on the top of the moveable cover, or may be conducted underneath, and to
the inside or outside of the said cover, all of which systems are shewn in Figure 1,
or the cover may be tilted from one end as in Figure 2.
This end action consists of a small fulcrum carrying a lever placed over the
handle and lying parallel therewith when at rest.
The end of the long arm of this lever is a thumb-bit and the short arm is cranked
and engages with a small stud or staple attached to the cover to be raised so that
by pressing on the thumb-bit the cover is lifted to the distance required.
In the accompanying drawings similar letters denote similar parts throughout.
Figure 1. shows an improved dust-pan of the ordinary pattern with direct
external action, and also with end or side action, carried underneath the cover to
one or both sides of the pan.
•

page_text: Figure 2. shows a crumb-gatherer with the action apple W
moveable cover.
A
denotes the thumb-bit.
B is the fixed cover.
C is the moveable cover.
D is the lever attached to the cover.
The dotted lines show the internal action at E.
F. F. are the connecting wires-The cover C being attached to the lever D is
under complete control and cannot be opened too widely.
H. is a modified action applied to the end of a similar cover.
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. A covered dust-pan, crumb-tray, or crumb-gatherer having the back part of
the cover fixed, and the front portion closing automatically, and capable of being
opened to an angle of about 45 degrees, so as to form a guide for the dust or
crumbs.
2. The special action of opening to a limited extent by means of a thumb-bit,
a self-closing hinged cover on a dust-pan, crumb-tray and the like. The said thumb-
bit being moved by means of the same hand which holds the utensil.
3. The combination of a knife-edge as regards dust-pans and crumb-trays with
the before named improvements: