IMPROVEMENTS IN FILES FOR PAPERS to be as follows:
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1886.
Complete Left, 12th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 5th July, 1887.
I JOHN FREDERICK BENNET of 82 Queen Street Cheapside in the City of London
Manufacturing Stationer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FILES FOR PAPERS to be as follows:-
"
My invention relates to files of the kind known as apron files in which the papers
are filed by being placed on a bent wire the point of which is kept covered (except
when papers are being filed or removed) by the end of another piece of bent wire
which is so arranged that it may be raised in order to open the files.
The simultaneous raising of the said upper wire and apron for the purpose of filing
papers is attended with some inconvenience and my said invention is intended to
render the placing of papers on the file more easy and to obtain some other advantages
arising from the improved arrangement.
According to my invention I make the apron stiff or partially so, so that it may
as a lever when raised.
act
This apron thus stiffened may be connected by means of a cam-piece or excentric
or otherwise with the moveable wire so that the apron in rising presses by means of
the campiece upon a projection or tail piece of the upper or moveable wire and
either raises or depresses it and gives access to the lower wire for placing papers
thereon or removing papers therefrom.
The movable wire is fitted with a spring which tends to keep the file closed and
tho apron and movable wire either move, in one and the same direction and the file
opens by an outward and upward motion of the upper wire or the notion of the wire
is contrary to that of the apron, that is to say, the file opens by an inward and
downward motion of the upper wire.
In a modified form the apron and lever are not connected or are altogether dispensed
with but the wire by itself moves inward and downward when pressed so that the

page_text: same movement of the hand which serves to place a paper on the file pushes the file
open by pushing the moveable wire inwards.
I may provide a spring which holds the apron in position when fully opened or
entirely closed.
I sometimes also provide a slit or opening at or near the point or end of one or
both of the wires into which an ordinary paper fastener or the like may be inserted
in such manner that the papers in being slipped off the wire pass directly on to the
fastener and may thus be bound together direct from the file.
Dated this 12th day of August One thousand eight hundred and eighty six.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Files for Papers.
I, JOHN FREDERICK BENNET, of 82, Queen Street, Cheapside in the City of London,
Manufacturing Stationer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FILES FOR PAPERS" and in what manner the same is to b
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to files of the kind known as apron-files, in which the papers
are filed by being placed on a bent wire the point of which is kept covered (except
when papers are being filed or removed by the end of another piece of bent wire which
is'so arranged that it may be raised in order to open the file.
The simultaneous raising of the said upper wire and apron for the purpose of filing
papers is attended with some inconvenience and my said invention is intended to
render the placing of papers on the file more easy and to obtain some other advantages
arising from the improved arrangement.
According to my invention I make the apron stiff, or partially so, so that it may
act as a lever when raised.
This apron, thus stiffened, may be connected by means of a cam-piece or eccentric,
or otherwise with the movable wire so that the apron, in rising, presses by means of
the cam-piece, upon a projection or tail piece of the upper or moveable wire and
either raises or depresses it and gives access to the lower wire for placing papers
thereon or removing papers therefrom.
The movable wire is fitted with a spring which tends to keep the file closed and the
apron and movable wire either move in one and the same direction and the file opens

page_text: by an outward and upward motion of the upper wire or the motion of the wire is
contrary to that of the apron that is to say the file opens by an inward and downward
motion of the upper wire.
In a modified form the apron and lever are not connected, or are altogether dispensed
with but the wire by itself moves inward and downward when pressed so that the same
movement of the hand, which serves to place a paper on the file, pushes the file open
by pushing the movable wire inwards.
I may provide a spring, which holds the wire in position when fully opened or
entirely closed.
I sometimes also provide a slit or opening at or near the point or end of one or
both of the wires, into which an ordinary paper fastener or the like may be inserted
in such manner that the papers, in being slipped off the wire, pass directly on to the
fastener and may thus be bound together direct from the file.
My said invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a file constructed in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 1 shows certain details.
Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation with the apron hanging down in the same position
as that shown in fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but shows in full lines the position of the parts
when the apron is raised so as to be in a position perpendicular to the back, whilst
the dotted lines show the position of the parts when the apron is entirely thrown
back.
Fig. 4 shows a simplified form of my invention in sectional elevation, the file being
closed and the apron hanging down.
Fig. 5 shows the same form of file with the wires separated and the apron raised.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings A is the apron, B is the
back, B¹ is a framing cast or stamped from any suitable material and supporting
other parts as will presently appear, C is the moveable top-wire, C¹ is the fixed
bottom wire.
The wires C and Care, preferably, cut off obliquely where they meet as seen in
the drawings at c, c'. In the file represented in figs. 1 to 3 the top-wire C is fixed
upon a block or tail-piece D the shape of which is clearly, shown. The sectional
elevation (see figs. 2 and 3) of said tail-piece is such that the curved upper part d
affords a suitable surface for the cam-piece E to work against whilst the lower end
forms a stop d' in front to limit the movement of the tail piece and top-wire whilst
the back d forms the surface against which the spring D₁acts. The tail-piece D is
pivotted on the pin a, attaching it to the frame-piece B¹; E is the cam-piece which
actuates the tail-piece D. Fig. 1 clearly shows the cam-piece and illustrates one
way of inserting the same into its place.
It will be seen from Figs. 1-3 that the cam-piece consists of a central portion e,
which is the cam proper; the outer curve of the cam may be flattened and will then
hold the apron in the position shown in full lines in figure 3. e¹, e¹, are two cylindrical
portions which form the journals for the cam-piece to turn on and e³, e³, are two
flattened wing-pieces, whereby it is attached, say by rivets, to the apron.
In order to put the cam-piece into its place two holes are drilled in the piece B¹
which are to serve as bearings for ele¹. The metal is then slit open and bent back as
at 6, 6, the journals e¹, e¹, are dropped into their place and the metal is bent back
and this closes the slits.
It is obvious that the frame-piece B₁, is rivetted or screwed to the back to which
the apron may also be connected by a limp connection F so as to cover the edges of
the papers etc. suspended on the file.
The stiff apron is connected with the cam-piece E, by screws or rivets as will be
readily understood.
B' is a loop on the frame-piece B³, and serves for suspending the whole file.
The operation of this file will be understood from the drawings. Figs. 1 and 2
show it with the parts in the normal position. When the apron A is raised in order
to insert or withdraw a paper suspended on the file the central portion e of the cam-

page_text: piece E presses upon the upper portion d of the tail-piece D, pushing the latter
forward, and so depressing the top-wire C, and separating the points c, c', as shown in
full lines in Fig. 3.
If the apron A is entirely thrown back (as shown in dotted lines in fig. 3) the
part e is carried entirely clear of the tail-piece D, and the papers may be made to slide
over the two wires allowing each one to be separately inspected.
It has to be noted that the cam-piece will actuate the tail-piece, both when the
apron moves upwards from the position in fig. 1 and when the apron moves downward
from the position shown in dotted lines in fig. 3. The full lines in fig. 3 show the
extreme limit of motion of the tail-piece D and wire C.
In Figs. 4 and 5, a modification of this file is shown.
In this form the apron A is not connected with the other parts so as to actuate the
same. The shape of the tail-piece D is different. It has two notches one g¹ in front
and one at the back, and is pivoted at a.
A Ring G is provided which can engage with one or the other of the two notches.
I sometimes place a spring into the piece B¹ which holds the wires closed, and in that
case can, if desired, dispense with the ring G.
When released the tendency of the tail-piece is to fall forward and hold the wires
apart and it may be fixed in that position by forcing the ring G into the notch g³,
see fig. 5, or the tail piece and wire may be held in position by the spring.
When the wires are brought together they may be held together by forcing the
ring G into the notch g¹.
It will readily be understood that the details of construction of either form of my
file may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of my invention and
I therefore do not bind myself exclusively to the forms shown and described but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be carried into practice I declare that I claim
(1) An apron file in which the apron and the wires are so connected that the
movement of the apron will open and close the wire substantially as set forth.
(2) An apron file the wires of which separate by a downward and inward movement
of the upper wire.
(3) A file the moveable wire whereof is arranged, or mounted upon a suitable tail-
piece, such as shown in figs. 4 and 5, enabling the file to be normally open, but to be
closed when required substantially as set forth.
Dal 11M 1005
NEWNHAM BROWNE,
Agent for the Applicant.