IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CALLED EVER-POINTED PENCILS
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARK
FREEMAN, of Sutton Common, in the County of Surrey, Esquire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of August, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Mark Freeman, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I,, the said Mark Freeman, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Mark Freeman, my exors, adiiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS CALLED EVER-POINTED PENCILS;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Mark
Freeman, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Mark Freeman, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is performed, are fully described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
In the manufacture of ever-pointed pencils it has heretofore been usual to
force the lead outwards by means of a screw and apparatus so formed that
when it is desired to move the lead outward for a fresh point, it requires one.
part of the apparatus to be held in one hand, whilst the other hand turns
another part of the apparatus, and by this means the lead is (by the motion of
the screw acting on the forcing wire) forced outwards at the same time. It
is well known that unless great care is observed a person is very liable to
force out too much lead, and the same is broken off when the user is about to
write therewith. My Invention consists of so arranging apparatus that the
forcing wire (by which the lead is moved outwards) may be propelled, whilst
in the act of using an ever-pointed pencil," a regulated or certain distance;
and the movement of the lead may be effected by the same hand in which the
pencil is being used, by which means a pencil thus constructed may be used
without any necessity of removing the point thereof from the paper so long as
there is any lead in the pencil case, and, by suitable means, warning is given
just before the lead in a pencil case is used up. And in order that the Inven-
tion may be fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to
describe the Drawings hereunto annexed and the various Figures thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents an external view of an ever-pointed pencil case, with
apparatus applied thereto, the parts being shown on a magnified scale, in order
that they may be more readily seen and understood; and it will be evident
that the external shape, size, and design of the pencil case may be varied.
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the pencil case and apparatus. Figure 3
shows two views of the internal sliding tube. Figures 4, 5, and 6, show the
apparatus separately for forcing out the lead. In these Figures the same
letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts. a, a, is the external
case, which may be fitted up as a reservoir for leads, as has been before lone,
or not, as the manufacturer may determine. is the inner or sliding tube,
which slides within the case a; and this tube is retained in the tube or case a
by means of the screw or stud c, the stem of which slides in a slit in the case a
in the ordinary manner. d is the ordinary point or nozel into which the lead is
put, and progressively forced through the point as required for use by means
of a forcing wire, the apparatus for moving which is so arranged that by
pressing on an external instrument motion is given to the forcing wire, and

page_text: the same is moved a regulated and measured distance. Some of the parts
above mentioned, it will be seen, are similar to those of ordinary ever-pointed
pencils. e is a forcing wire, by which the lead is progressively moved out at
the point as it is required for use. This forcing wire has a toothed rack f
formed on it, by means of which, and the other apparatus shown in the
Drawing, the lead may be progressively forced out of the point whilst in the
act of using the pencil case, and by the same hand by which it is held. g is a
lever, moving on an axis i, fixed in the slide h of the pencil case. This lever
is so formed as to take into the teeth of the rack f; and when the shield g¹
(affixed to the lever g), is pressed on, the lever will move the rack, and conse-
quently the lead; and when the pressure is removed from the shield g', the
spring will raise that end of the lever g, which will cause the other end of
the lever to pass back, and take into another tooth of the rack f; and the
spring is so formed, that its other end will act as a catch or stop to prevent
the rack f moving back; and this is accomplished by the small projection j',
which is formed by punching out part of the spring. In order that the rack
may be moved back when a fresh supply of lead is required in the nozel of the
pencil, the shield is lifted to a slight extent, by which the back of the lower
part of the lever g comes against the curved part of the spring which lifts
the stop out of the teeth of the rack, and allows the rack to pass back
freely, by which arrangement that loss of time now consequent on returning
the screw of ordinary ever-pointed pencil cases by screwing it back will be
saved. The apparatus employed according to my Invention may be varied,
so long as the peculiar character of my Invention be retained, which,
amongst other things, consist of causing the mechanical parts used to be
so formed and combined that the lead may be forced through the nozel
or point of a pencil case in regulated quantities as it is used up at
the time when in use, and by the same hand which is using the pencil
case; and I have, in the Drawing, shown variations in the apparatus
employed. Figure 7 shows an ever-pointed pencil. Figure 8, a longitudinal
section thereof. Figure 9 shows a side view and plan of the inner tube; and
Figures 10 and 11 show the apparatus separately for moving the lead. The
various parts are marked with the same letters of reference, and the description
above given thereof will apply to these Figures, and the only difference in the
construction and arrangement of the parts is, that the spring catch for holding
the rack and the spring for moving back the lower end of the lever g is affixed
to or forms part of the lever g, so that the whole is in one instrument, as will
readily be traced in the Figures of the Drawing now under description.
Figure 12 shews another ever-pointed pencil having my Invention applied

page_text: thereto. Figure 13 is a longitudinal section thereof. Figure 14 shews the
springs by which the rack is moved forward, and by which it is held from
movement backward. Figure 15 shews the rack and forcing wire; such rack
is to have notches cut at such distances apart that the driving the spring in
assuming its natural bent position, will go back and take into the next notch;
and Figure 16 shews the stud or button by which the spring for moving the
rack is put in motion. In these Figures the parts used, which are similar to
those above described, are marked with the same letters of reference, and it
will be seen that in this case the lever g is not employed. 1, m, are the springs
for moving forward and for retaining the rack from moving back. The stem or
under part of the stud 9 passes through the inner tube, and the smaller part passes
through the springs 7 and m; hence, when the stud or button is pressed on, it
will tend to straighten the spring 1, which, acting against a tooth of the rack,
will move it forward, and when relieved from pressure, the spring / will return
to its usual bent figure, and the point thereof will thereby come back into the
next tooth of the rack. The teeth of this rack are to be formed a distance
apart equal to the distance moved through by the straightening of the bent
spring. The spring m is not influenced by the stud or button g, although the
stem passes through it, unless the stud be lifted upwards, when the head or
enlargement at the bottom of the stem will lift the spring m out of the notch
of the rack, the spring being at the same time pulled out of its notch by the
same means, and thus the rack is relieved from both springs, and can be
pressed back. In each of these arrangements there is a notch in the instru-
ment g, which, when the inner tube is drawn back, holds the instrument g
from being pressed inwards. Figure 17 shews the section of another ever-
pointed pencil.. In this instance the forcing wire e is constantly pressed on by
a coiled spring with a tendency to force out the lead from the nozel of the
pencil, but the same is controlled by means of an escapement, by which the
user can, when it is wished, allow of a regulated quantity of lead to be pressed
outwards. e is a rack formed at the end of the forcing wire. This rack has
two rows of teeth, the teeth of one row being intermediate with the teeth of
the other row. P is a coiled spring having a tendency to press the forcing wire
outward, one end of the coiled spring pressing against the flange es, on
the forcing wire, the other pressing against the ring o. The other parts
of this ever-pointed pencil are marked with the same letters of reference as
those before used. 7 is a sliding instrument having an opening through it so
that the toothed bar e¹ is stopped alternately by one of the surfaces q', 92, of
the instrument q. In using this arrangement of ever-pointed pencil, the
person presses alternately on the ends or buttons 7, 9. by which means the

page_text: rack bar e will be allowed to escape or move a distance equal to half of one of
the notches or teeth each time that the escapement instrument 9 is slided.
The forcing wire may be pressed, back when it is desired to introduce a fresh
lead.. Figure 18 shews a section of another arrangement of ever-pointed
pencil, the parts, being in a position for usc. Figure 19 shews another
section, in which the nozel or point has been introduced into the case, for it
will be seen that in this arrangement the nozel does not.slide into and from
the case in like manner to the other arrangements shewn. This.ever-pointed
pencil in its internal and external arrangements is similar in all particulars to
some now in use, except that the screw in what manufacturers call the
"movement" is cut in the reverse direction to those ordinarily employed,..in
order that the finger when desired may cause the lead to be moved outwards
by pressing round the wheel r, which is fixed or formed on the nozel or
point of the pencil, the end of the finger moving downwards, that is to say,
the finger being pressed on the wheel r, the end of the finger is then caused
to descend towards the paper (which is being written on), and by such act the
wheel, and consequently the nozel of the ever-pointed pencil, is moved partly
round, thus causing the forcing wire to press out the lead. I would remark
that the wheel r may be said to be an enlargement of the ordinary milled
surface ordinarily formed on the surface of the nozel of ever-pointed pencils';
but by causing it to project the end of a finger power to move the nozel
with facility, which, together with the screw working in the reverse direction to
that ordinarily practised, enables the user to cause lead to be moved out at the
point of the pencil as required, and when in use, and by the same band in
which the pencil is being used. a' is a projection from the case, which when
the nozel or point is within the case, as shewn at Figure 19, passes between
two of the projections on the ring.r, and also passes between two of the
projections d on the, part d, thereby preventing the same from turning
round as it might otherwise.do, whereby the lead would be wasted.
Another part of my Invention consists of applying to ever-pointed pencil
cases an instrument to give warning or notice of the lead being nearly used
up. For this purpose there is a projection n formed on the rack, or means of
giving motion to the forcing wire, which projection n, coming out of a hole in
the inner tube shews itself beyond the end of that tube, thus indicating to the
user of a pencil case that the lead is nearly used up; this will be found very
useful to short-hand writers and others, as they may take any opportunity
which may offer for replenishing the pencil case with lead.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that

page_text: I make no claim to the separate mechanical parts employed, and the details
may be varied so long as the peculiar character of either part of my Invention
be retained. And I would wish it to be understood that what I claim is,-
First, the so arranging apparatus in constructing ever-pointed pencils, that the
lead may be forced out in regulated quantities from time to time when in use.
I also claim the so arranging or forming the apparatus of ever-pointed
pencils that the user may force out the lead by the hand in which the pencil is
being used without requiring the aid of the other hand. And,
Secondly, I claim the application of an instrument for giving warning, just
previous to the lead being used up in an ever-pointed pencil, that such is the
casc.
In witness whereof, I, the said Mark Freeman, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our