Improvements in Dividers and Compasses.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 16th July, 1889-Accepted, 24th Aug., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by FREDERICK MOTZ, of 130, Franklin Street, Elizabeth,
in the State of New Jersey, in the United States of America, Engineer.]
Improvements in Dividers and Compasses.
1 FREDERICK BÖLIAN of 21 Featherstone Street, City Road, in the county of
Middlesex, Manufacturer's Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in.
and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to furnish for the use of draftsmen, mechanics'
and others dividers and compasses and their accessories-such as pen, pencil and
needle points, lengthening bars etc.-made from sheet-metal instead of cast metal,
whereby the manufacture of these instruments is rendered simple and less expensive
and the handling of the same facilitated owing to the lightness of the instruments.
The invention consists of a pair of dividers or compasses and their pen, pencil
and needle points, lengthening bars etc. made of sheet-metal, the legs of the
dividers and compasses and the detachable parts being reinforced by means of bent
or corrugated ribs.
The invention consists, secondly, in the combination, with the legs of compasses,
of detachable pen, pencil and needle points, and with means for clamping them
to the legs. The detachable points are made of two sections connected by a joint,
the sections being located in the plane of the legs, so that the lower sections can
bo set at a suitable angle to the upper sections, as will appear more fully hereinafter,
and finally be pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings figure 1 represents a side-elevation of a pair of
compasses made according to my invention. Figure 2 is a vertical transverse
section of the same. Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail side elevations and vertical
transverse sections, respectively, of a detachable pencil point and pen point.
Figure 7 is a detailed side view of a lengthening bar made according to my in-
vention. Figures 8 and 9 are, respectively, a side elevation and an end elevation
of a pair of dividers. Figures 10, 11 and 12 are horizontal sections through the
legs of my improved dividers or compasses and the detachable points of the same,
showing different forms of the same.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
Referring to the drawings, A A are the logs of my improved dividers or compasses,
and B B detachable parts of the same, which consist, respectively, of a needle
point, C, a pencil-point, D, a pen point, E, and a lengthening bar, F.
The legs of the dividers or compassos, as well as the detachable parts B B, are made
of suitable sheet-metal, preferably sheet-steel, and provided with longitudinal raised
ribs or corrugations a a and b b along the edges or at the contre, as shown, respectively,"
in figures 10, 11, and 12, which corrugations serve to reinforce the legs A A and
detachable parts B B and also impart a better finish and appearance to the same. I .
prefer to use the form shown in figure 10, in which two longitudinal reinforcing ribs.
or corrugations, a, are employed, one along each edge of the legs and detachable
parts.
The legs AA are arranged with their ribs outward, so that their flat ribs shall
come in contact, and are connected at their upper perforated ends by a pivot-joint, which
is formed of a solid hemispherical head, d, that is provided with a central screw-i
post, d, extending at right angles therefrom, and of a second hemispherical portion
formed of two parts, namely a perforated disk-shaped washer, d, and a rounded off
nut, d, which screws on the post d and serves to clamp the legs firmly to the head, d, of
the joint, as shown clearly in fig. 2. The legs A A are thus jointed by a pivot-connection..
and not by a hinge-joint, as in the dividers and compasses heretofore in use. The

page_text: pivot connection described can be made just as reliable and effective as the hinge joint.
By the spherical head the dividers or compasses can be conveniently held in the hands
for operating the instrument. The head may also be made of flattened sections, as I
do not confine myself to the special construction shown.
At some
The detachable parts B 1 are made of sheet-metal and correspond in cross-section
to that of the legs A A, so as to fit on the same. The upper end of each detachable
part, B, is provided with a central recess, e, which fits on the shank of a fixed screw, e,"
on the leg A, and is tightly clamped to the same by a thumb-nut, e².
distance below the upper end of each detachable part, B, is arranged a longitudinal
slot, f, which is provided with an enlarged middle-portion being of sufficient size to
pass over a winged thumb-nut, when the same is placed in line with said slot.
The wing-nut, screws on to a fixed screw-slank, f2, that is set into the leg, A, as
shown clearly in figure 2.
When the detachable part, B, is placed in position on the leg, A, the slot, f, is
passed over the wing-nut, ", and the recessed upper end then placed against the
shank. of the thumb-screw, e, whereby the slot, f, moves along the shank of the wing-
nut.. Both thumb-nuis, e², and f1, are then tightened and thereby the firm and
reliable connection of the leg A and detachable part B secured.
The detachable parts B B, with the exception of the lengthening bar F, are made
in two sections, of which the upper sections, B¹, are attached to the legs of the
compasses in the manner described, while the lower sections, B2, are provided,
respectively, with the needle, pencil, and pen point, C, D) and E, as shown in figs. 1, 3
and 5. The lower sections, 132, are connected with the upper sections by a pivot-
connection,. B³, which is formed of a screw-post, g, set into the upper section, B³, and
a flat screw-nut, g', that is placed over the overlapping parts of the sections and
applied tightly thereto by means of a key inserted into the holes of the nut, g'. The
pivot connection, B³, between the upper and lower sections of the detachable parts, B B,
permits the adjustment of the lower sections at any suitable angle to the upper sections
and legs, so as to facilitate the operations of the compasses while in use. The lower.
pivoted sections swing in the same plane with the upper sections, but can be set at
any suitable angle to the longitudinal axis of the same. The ribbed ends of the lower
sections, B²,,are bent outwardly and towards each other, so as to form sockets, i, for
the needles and pencils, or blades, i¹, of the pens, as shown, respectively, in figures 2,
4 and 6. The outwardly bent socket-shaped ends, i, of the sections B2 are provided in
the case of pencil-points with ears, 2, that are connected by a clamp-screw, ³, so that
the socket can be tightly clamped on the pencil, as shown in figures 3 and 4.
The needle-point, C, is provided with a screw-post, h, above the socket-shaped end,
which is set into the lower section, B2, and provided with a perforation, through which
the needle is passed, which is then clamped tightly by the clamp-nut, h³. In dividers
without detachable parts the needles are applied in the same manner to the lower
socket-shaped ends of the legs, A A, in which case, however, the legs are somewhat
enlarged at their lower narrow ends to provide the required space for the clamp-screws
of the needles, as shown clearly in fig. 8.
The blades of the pen-point, E, are bent up at right angles to the lower section, B³,
and provided,, respectively, with a screw-post, m, set into one blade and passed through
the other blade, and with a screw-nut, m', that is applied to the screw-post and acting
on the other blade, so as to adjust the blades, as shown clearly in figures 5 and 6.
The lengthening bar, F, has, like the other detachable parts, B B, a recess, e, and a
slot, f, at the upper end, and a clamping-nut, n, at the lower end for attaching the
needle, pencil or pen points in the same manner, as they are attached to the legs, A.
My improved dividers and compasses and the detachable parts of the same are
finished by plating the same with nickel or silver, whereby corrosion is prevented; and
the appearance considerably improved. They may be made up in sets and placed in
suitable boxes in the same manner as drawing-instruments made of cast-metal.
As all the parts of my improved dividers and compassos are stamped out by suitable
dies from sheet-metal, they can therefore be furnished at much less cost than cast-
metal dividers and compasses, which require a great deal of hand-work in finishing.

page_text: As the instruments can be made very accurate, they are equal to the cast-metal
instruments heretofore in use, and can be used in the same manner for all drafting and
other purposes.
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 pair of dividers and compasses, the legs of which are made of flat sheet-metal
provided with outwardly projecting re-inforcing longitudinal ribs, substantially as
specified.
2. A pair of dividers and compasses the legs of which are made of flat sheet-metal,
lying in parallel planes and provided with outwardly projecting longitudinal rein-
forcing ribs and united by a pivot-joint at the head, substantially as specified.
3. The combination, with sheet-metal compass-legs provided with outwardly pro-
jecting ribs along each edge and having centrally perforated upper ends, of a spherical
pivot-joint formed of a screw-post with an enlarged hemispherical head, a disk-shaped
washer, and a screw-nut, substantially as specified.
4. The combination of compass-legs made of flat sheet-metal and provided with
outwardly projecting reinforcing ribs, with detachable parts, also made of flat sheet-
metal and provided with similar reinforcing ribs and with means for connecting the
legs and detachable parts in parallel planes, substantially as specified.
5. The combination, with the sheet-metal compass-legs having longitudinal ribs and
fixed screw-posts, of detachable sheet-metal parts having corresponding ribs, recesses at
the upper ends and slots below said recesses, and clamp-nuts applied to said screw-
posts, substantially as specified.
6. In sheet-metal compasses, a detachable part made of longitudinally ribbed sheet-
metal and formed of two sections, which are connected by a pivot-joint and clamp-
substantially as specified.
screw,
7. In sheet-metal compasses, a detachable part made of longitudinally ribbed sheet-
metal, the ribbed lower end being bent outwardly, so as to form a socket, ears on
either side of said socket, and a clamp-screw for drawing said ears together and closing
said socket, substantially as specified.
Dated this 16th day of July 1880