IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK RESTS FOR CHAIRS, AND OTHER FURNITURE
Year: 1886

page_text: I, DAVID MCCLURE, of Jeffersonville, in the county of Clark, and State of
Indiana, United States of America, Medical Doctor, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK RESTS FOR CHAIRS, AND OTHER
FURNITURE, 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 that class of book-rests which are designed to be
attached to chairs, sofas, bedsteads, etc.; and its object is, first, to hold a book in a
convenient position to be read by a person resting on the chair or other furni-
ture; to which it is attached; second, to hold a copy book or paper in such
relation to the first-named book that the copy-book may be convenient to be
written upon, while the other is convenient for reference or comparison; third, to
hold the leaves of a book, or sheets of music, etc.
To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts
forming a book-rest, hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a chair with my invention attached. ·
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the attachments of the main standard.
Figure 4 is a side elevation showing the rest in a different position.
Figure 5 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 6 shows the leaf holder in service.
Figure 7 is a central vertical section of the leaf holder.
Figure 8 shows a modification of the spring-action of the leaf holder; and
Figure 9 shows a modification of the means for attaching the leaf holder to the
book rest.
A represents a chair, which may be of any usual construction. B is the
standard-holder, securable to the chair by means of clamp-screw, C, and vertically
perforated to receive the standard, D, which is a straight rod of round iron having
a socket, F, firmly secured to its top end. The piece, F, is bored completely
through its length, and the principal portion of its body extends above the
standard, serving as a socket to receive one vertical portion of the arm, G. Upon
the other vertical portion of this arm one shelf, N, of my book-rest is mounted by
neans of a peculiar joint and socket, T P.
The arm, G, is a crank whose axis and wrist are vertical, whereby the shelf, N,
may be swung upon the axis close in front of the reader, or to one side, as he may
desire, and in any of these positions the shelf-socket, P, may be revolved upon the
crank-wrist to place. the book squarely with the line of sight or at any angle
desired. The joint at the pivot-bolt, T, enables the shelf to be inclined at any
angle desired.

page_text: By means of the crank-arm and the joint at T the shelf, N, may first be set
vertical, as shown in dotted lines; Fig. 4, and then it may be swung around against
the side of the chair-back and be there set at any point of the compass on the
wrist to put it out of the way of general use of the chair.
The shelf or table, M, is hinged upon a horizontal rod, L, which has an offset
upon which the table may rest, or the table may be turned over the rod as a
hinge-pin to hang down when not needed. The socket, F, on the standard, D, is
reduced in diameter at its upper end, forming a cylindrical bearing, f, on which a
socket, J, is fitted to revolve. In this socket-piece the rod, L, is rigidly fixed,, and
a set-screw, h, to engage the bearing, f, may fix the socket, J, and the rod and
table thereby supported at any point of the compass. The standard, D, is
adjustable as to height only. By this means the two shelves are both together
raised or lowered, and by the set-screw, E, are fixed at the height desired. The
arın, G, may be turned in the socket, F, to set the shelf, N, at the desired point,
and the arm, L, may be turned upon the socket, bringing the table, M, in such
relation to the shelf, N, that it may hold a copy-book and the shelf, M, serve as a
writing-table, whereby the operator sitting in his chair may have both his reading-
book and memorandum-sheet held in such relation to each other and to himself
that he may conveniently use both at once.
'
In this device either shelf may be turned and fixed at any desired angle without
disturbing the other, and both may be folded back at the side of the chair, as in
Figs. 4 and 6, when not in use, whereby the chair is open for general use, and is
not so likely to be tipped over by the weight of the shelves as when they project
from the corner thereof in position for service.
In Fig. 6, B' represents a book spread open upon the book shelf, N, which is
here shown as a plane table, though it may as well be trough-shaped, as shown in
Figs. 1 and 2. is a base piece rigidly secured to the shelf, N, as in Fig..6, or
removably secured by means of a thumb-screw, P', as in Fig. 9. G' is a standard
Blattened and slotted at N¹ to receive a screw, M', whereby it is bound to the base
piece, L. E is a fan-shaped arm or sector pivoted at F in a slot in the upper end
of the standard, G¹. C³ ³ are two arms of the leaf-holder adapted to rest their
outer ends directly upon the leaves of the open book. These arms are secured in a
head, D¹, which is journaled upon a stem, Q, having a head, S, and connected with
the sector, E. H₁ is a spring on the standard, G¹, adapted to bear up against the
arm, E', as in Fig. 8 or against a shoe, J³, which bears against the said sector, E¹,
as in Fig. 9. The outer edge of the arm, E', is curved and the two side edges
straight, the general form being triangular. In service the arms, C³, are thrown
forward, as in Fig. 6, and are forced down upon the book by the spring,. H',
bearing up against the outer end of the sector, E¹. When not in service, or when
it is desired to turn a leaf, the arms, C³, are to be raised as in Fig. 7, when the
spring will hold them raised. The spring, H¹, enables the arms, C³, to adjust
themselves upon books of average thickness, and the slot, N¹, enables the
standard, G¹, to be raised or lowered to adapt it to extremely thick books, or to
a few leaves like music. The head, D¹, swivel fitted upon the stem, Q, and kept
thereon by the head, S, and cross-pin, R, enables the arms, C³, to rock sideways to
adapt themselves to the differing thickness of the two sides of a book, so that the
latter may be equally well held when open at its fore part, middle, or after part.
To this same end, the standard, G¹, may be set on its screw, M³, to incline either
way from a vertical position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is :—
1. The combination of a clamp shaped to be attached to a chair and having a
perforation vertically through it, a set-screw extending to the said perforation, a
standard fitted into the said perforation and provided with a socket fixed to its
upper end for the reception of a book-rest, the said socket reduced circumferentially

page_text: to a bearing having a shoulder at the lower end thereof, and a memorandum-shelf
or arm rest provided with a supporting arm having a head perforated to fit upon the
said bearing and shoulder and provided with a set-screw, substantially as shown
and described, whereby the arm, when loosened, will revolve horizontally upon the
socket without descending.
2. The combination of a clamp shaped to be attached to a chair and having a
perforation vertically through it, a set-screw extending into the said perforation,
a standard fitted into the said perforation and provided at its upper end with a
fixed socket opening upward and having an interior bottom, the said socket
reduced circumferentially to a bearing having a shoulder at its lower end, a
inemorandum-shelf or arm-rest provided with a supporting-arm having a head
perforated to fit upon the said bearing and shoulder and a set-screw to bind on the
bearing, and a book-rest provided with a crank-shaped arm fitted at its lower end
within the said socket to rest on the bottom thereof, and a set-screw in the socket,
substantially as shown and described, whereby the shelf and the book-rest may
both be held in any desired position in relation to each other, or either may be
loosened and revolved to change its position horizontally without descending and
without disturbing the other, as set forth.
4. The combination, with the standard, G¹, bifurcated at its upper end, and
means of securing it to a table or other support, of the sector, E', pivoted in the fork
of the standard and provided with a stem, Q, the spring, H, around the standard,.
the shoe, J', between the spring and sector, and the arms, C³, secured upon the
stem of the sector, substantially as shown and described.
5. The combination, with the standard, G³, bifurcated at its upper end, the
head, D¹, and two arms, C³, rigidly secured therein, the sector, E, having the
headed stem, Q, inserted and secured loosely in the head, D', and the spring, H',
between a portion of the standard and the sector, substantially as shown and
described.
6. The combination of the standard, G₁, bifurcated at its upper end and slotted
along its lower portion, the arms, C3, secured in the standard by a swivel joint, the
securing or base piece, L, and the screw, M', passing through the slot in the
standard into the said piece, L, substantially as shown and described.
7. As an article of manufacture, a book-leaf holder comprising a standard slotted,
in its lower portion and bifurcated in its upper portion, a securing-piece and screw
therefor, a pair of arms universally jointed to the top of the standard, and a spring
acting between the standard and the universal joint, substantially as shown and
described, whereby the post may be secured upon a table or other support and be
capable of vertical adjustment, and the said arms can rock to adapt themselves to a
book whose two cpen pages are out of level, and the arms can be held either upon
the book or away therefrom, as required.
•
8. The combination with a standard adapted to be secured to a chair or other
article of furniture, of an arm journaled to revolve on the said standard and a
sector therefor, the said arm having a horizontal offset and a shelf hinged or
journaled to revolve upon the said arm as specified, whereby the shelf may be
supported in a horizontal position or be allowed to hang freely, for the purpose set
forth.