IMPROVEMENTS IN CIGAR CASTS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James John King, of 2, Leonard Square, Finsbury,
in the County of Middlesex, and Thomas Brindley, of the same Place,
Fancy Leather Workers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CIGAR
CASTS Ann Cana ASED Oran
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James John King and
Thomas Brindley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 9th December 1854.
I, JAMES JOHN KING, of 2, Leonard Square, Finsbury, in the County of
Middlesex, and I, THOMAS BRINDLEY, of the same Place, Fancy Leather
Workers, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CIGAR CASES, CARD CASES, AND OTHER SIMILAR CASES," to be as
follows:-
Our improvements generally refer to pocket cases, the object being to attain
a more ready abstraction of the contents of such cases. Cigar cases are made
with an opening at both ends, the one for filling the case, and the other for
withdrawing the cigars as required. The cigar case is formed of a thickness
to afford space for one cigar, and of sufficient breadth to contain the quantity

page_text: of cigars required, say five or six. The whole of the bottom is opened by means
of a plug or lid, which is removed and replaced when the case is charged. At
the opposite end of the case there is a small opening extending over a portion
of that end; it is furnished with a hinged lid, and a constant tendency to close
is produced by a slight spring. The cigars are consequently pressed towards
that part of the case, so that the end of one cigar will always be immediately
under this spring lid. The cigars are pressed towards this portion by a spring,
placed in the opposite side of the case; or the same may be effected by holding
the case in such a position that the cigar will fall to the position required. In
order to abstract a cigar from the case, a slide is fitted to the inside of the case
with a projecting nib, in the manner of a pencil case. This slide has a little
shoe, which, when the slide is at its lowest point, falls below the bottom or
end of case on which the cigars rest, so that on being depressed, after dis-
charging a cigar, the next cigar in succession is carried immediately over this
shoe on again raising the slide by the thumb nib, a cigar is projected at the
end of the case, and may be readily withdrawn therefrom. The cigar pro-
jected lifts the spring lid, before mentioned, which closes again on the cigar
being withdrawn, when the operation may be repeated until the whole of the
cigars are abstracted. We also apply this mode of withdrawing the contents
of a case to card cases, so as to project one card at a time, but omit the spring
lid, and simply leave a slit, through which the card may be projected. For
this purpose, the cards will be pressed or fall transversely to the breadth
of the case, while in cigars they are pressed laterally, or parallel with the
breadth of the case. In the card case the little shoe must be made to con-
siderable nicety, so as not to take more than the thickness of one at a time.
Books may also be projected from their individual cases in a similar manner.
Other articles may also be similarly acted upon in their containing cases,
in order to effect their more ready withdrawal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James John King and Thomas Brindley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 9th June 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
JOHN KING, of 2, Leonard Square, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex,
and I, THOMAS BRINDLEY, of the same Place, Fancy Leather Workers, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
James John King and Thomas Brindley, Her special licence that we, the
said James John King and Thomas Brindley, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said James John King and Thomas Brindley,
our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN CIGAR CASES, CARD CASES,
AND OTHER SIMILAR CASES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said James John King and Thomas Brindley, by an instrument in writing
under our hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said James John King and Thomas
Brindley, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):-
Our improvements generally refer to pocket cases, the object being to obtain
a more ready abstraction of the contents of such cases. Cigar cases are made
with an opening at both ends, the one for filling the case, and the other for
withdrawing the cigars as required. The cigar case is formed of a thickness to
afford space for one cigar, and of sufficient breadth to contain the quantity of
cigars required, say five or six. The whole of the bottom is opened by means
of a plug or lid, which is removed and replaced when the case is charged. At
the opposite end of the case there is a small opening, extending over a portion
of that end; it is furnished with a hinged lid, and a constant tendency to close
is produced by a slight spring. The cigars are constantly pressed towards that
part of the case, so that the end of one cigar will always be immediately under
the spring lid. The cigars are pressed towards this position by a spring, placed
in the opposite side of the case; or the same may be effected by holding the

page_text: case in such a position that the cigar will fall to the position required. In
order to abstract a cigar from the case, a slide is fitted to the inside of the case
with a projecting nib, in the manner of a pencil case; this slide has a little
shoe, which, when the slide is at its lowest point, falls below the bottom or end
of case on which the cigars rest, so that on being depressed, after discharging a
cigar, the next cigar in succession is carried immediately over this shoe; on
again raising the slide by the thumb nib, a cigar is projected at the end of the
case, and may be readily withdrawn therefrom. The cigar projected lifts the
spring lid before mentioned, which closes again on the cigar being withdrawn,
when the operation may be repeated until the whole of the cigars are
abstracted. We also apply this mode of withdrawing the contents of a case to
card cases, so as to project one card at a time, but omit the spring lid, and
simply leave a slit, through which the card may be projected. For this pur-
pose, the cards will be pressed or fall transversely to the breadth of the case,
while in cigars they are pressed laterally, or parallel with the breadth of the
case. In the card case, the little shoe must be made to considerable nicety, so
as not to take more than the thickness of one at a time.
projected from their individual cases in a similar manner.
also be similarly acted upon in their containing cases, in
more ready withdrawal.
Books may also be
Other articles may
order to effect their
Fig. 1 represents, full size, a side view of our improved cigar case; Fig. 2,
an edge view; Fig. 3, a side view of the same, with the side removed, showing
the arrangement of the interior; Figs. 4 and 5 represent transverse sections
at different parts; and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show some of the parts detached.
The external case a, a, may be made of millboard, papier machee, leather,
or other suitable material, sufficiently rigid to retain its proper form. The
case represented in the Drawings is rectangular, but it may be rounded at the
angles or edges, or otherwise suitably formed. The section, Fig. 3, represents
the case as containing three cigars; it will, however, hold a fourth when fully
charged. b, b, is a strip of wood, secured to the inside of the case, to which
another thin strip of wood c, c, is jointed at d; a slight spring e is fixed at
the lower end of c, which constantly exerts a pressure towards the cigars
in the case, and presses them against the opposite side of the case. The lower
part c is tipped with a slight strip of metal, formed of a curve, to maintain a
proper point of contact with the cigars, or the wood may be so formed.
The extreme end, from 1 to 2, is simply a piece of leather, to facilitate
pushing back the spring when filling the case; the leather nearly covers the
metallic part, and offers the point of contact with the cigar. The spring

page_text: presser is seen in the transverse section, Fig. 4, and a back view separately at
Fig. 6. The cigars are introduced at the lower part of the case, which has a
moveable cover e¹, hinged at f, and fastened by a spring catch g, which is
released by the thumb nib h. This cover e¹, e¹, has a raised projection i, i,
inside, and occupying nearly the whole area of the case, in order to raise and
keep the cigars in the position shown. In the area of case unoccupied by
i, i, is placed a little shoe or plate k, fixed to or forming part of a sliding
plate 1, 1, which is fitted so as to traverse up and down, and is acted on by a
thumb nib m. The traverse of the thumb nib m is regulated by the slot of
guard plate m', shown in Fig. 2. n is a small lid, whereat the cigars are
abstracted from the case; this is hinged to the fixed part o of the cover, as
seen at Fig. 7, and has a constant tendency to close, by reason of a piece of
elastic webbing p, fixed in a state of tension thereto, which becomes further
distended when the lid is raised. In charging the case, it is inverted and
the cover e¹, e¹, opened, when the spring tongue c may be pushed back by the
finger or by a cigar, and the whole inserted. When cover e¹ is shut, they
will be retained in the elevated position shown.
When it is desired to withdraw a cigar from the case, it is simply necessary
to raise the slide 1, 1, by the thumb nib m, when the shoe k lifts the cigar,
which, coming in contact with the lid n, raises it, and the cigar is projected, as
seen in the dotted lines Fig. 3, and may then be readily withdrawn. The
slide 1, 1, is again lowered, and when the shoe k falls below the surface 2', the
next cigar in succession will be pressed forward, and take its position above
the shoe k, and may be projected at the lid n, as before, and so on, until the
whole number are discharged. This case is represented of a size capable of
holding four; it may, however, be arranged to contain a larger number. The
raised projection i, i, we have represented as a receptacle for cigar lighters, as
also seen in plan, Fig. 8. This has a sliding lid to enclose the lighters,
which forms the rest for the cigars when the cover e¹, e¹, is closed. In with-
drawing the cigars from the case, the cigars are assisted into position by
holding the case, so that they fall by their own weight towards the sliding
plate 1, and in this way the requirements of the case may even be fulfilled
without the spring tongue c, c. The spring tongue is, however, of further use
in keeping the cigars from shaking about in the case while carried in the
pocket, and prevents their bruising. Fig. 9 represents a side view of our
improved card case, drawn about full size; Fig. 10 is an edge view; and
Figs. 11 and 12, transverse sections of the same; Fig. 13 is a lateral section,
showing one side of the interior of the case; while Fig. 14 represents the

page_text: opposite side of the interior. In external appearance this card case is some-
what similar to an ordinary card case, but without any lid to remove, the
object being to bring a single card up when required, so as to be readily taken
hold of. For this purpose it is furnished with a sliding plate q, similar to that
before described with reference to the cigar case, but occupying the breadth of
the case; it is kept in position by strips of wood r, r, and its thumb nib s and
slotted guard plate t. This sliding plate has also a small shoe or projection u,
which in this case must be very small, being required to take hold of only one
card at a time. The cards are inserted at the bottom of the case, which is
closed by a plug or lid v, seen separately at Fig. 15, having a recess w formed
in it, into which the little shoe descends, as seen in section, Fig. 12. The
cards being inserted are held in position by the plug v, so that the shoe u,
when the plate q is brought down, always passes below the cards in the case.
A slight spring a is fixed on the side of case opposite to sliding plate q, which
exerts a constant pressure on the cards to force them towards that plate.
When it is desired to remove a card from the case, it is simply necessary to
push up the sliding plate by the thumb nib s, projecting outside the case,
when the shoe u will bring up the card next and in contact with plate q, and
project it at the top, as seen in dotted lines in Figs. 9 and 11. Fig. 16 repre-
sents an end plan of case, and orifice through which the card is projected.
The part y is rigid with the case, but the mouth-piece z is a tolerably stiff
piece of leather, the rounded part of which is brought sufficiently close to the
side of case that the card in rising shall come in contact therewith, and
exerting a sufficient amount of friction to prevent the next card in succession
being brought up at the same time by the friction of contact with the card
lifted by the shoe u. In this manner the several cards may be raised up in
succession and projected, as described.
Holding the case so that the cards by their own gravity will fall towards
the sliding plate may also in this case be resorted to, to obviate the use of the
spring; but in order to facilitate the cards resting properly on the shoe u, they
should all be curved in the direction of their breadth before they are inserted
in the case. The ends of the spring should be turned back, so as not to catch
the shoe u when all the cards are exhausted. Pocket cases for containing
books, spectacles, and like articles may be thus similarly fitted with sliding
plates, and other parts connected therewith, whereby their contents may be
readily and easily abstracted when required.
Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that what we claim

page_text: is, the construction of cigar, card, and other pocket cases in the manner
herein-before set forth, in order to facilitate the abstraction of the contents of
such cases.
In witness whereof, we, the said James John King and Thomas
Brindley, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Ninth day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-five.
JAMES JOHN KING. (L.S.)
THOMAS
BRINDLEY. (L.S.)