Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dec., 1886.
Complete Left, 29th July, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1887.
I, HERMANN LEHMANN of Offenbach on the Main, German Empire, Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
Adjustable clasps, which may closely shut big albums as well as thin ones, or an
album, when it is filled with photographs, or when it is not filled, are well known,
but it is a great difficulty to obtain as fine and as manifold an adjusting of the sliding-
shutter as possible. To obtain such fine adjusting of the clasp is the object of my
invention. My improvements by which this aim is obtained consist in the combination
of a coarsely scaled rack with two catches, the teeth of which stand in different positions
to the rack. The two catches gear with the same rack.
Two angular metal pieces are fastened to the side edges of the two covers of the
album. One of these angular pieces is provided with a clasp-knob, whilst the other
angular piece possesses two attachment hinges. These hinges enclose a rotating
tubular piece, that contains another movable tubular piece, and to which a box is
fastened. The inner tubular piece is provided with a pressing knob and always pressed
outwards by a spring. Only for the sake of symmetry a non-acting pressing-knob is
arranged at the opposite attachment hinge.
The sliding-shutter is adapted to be moved in the box, fastened to the outer tubular
piece, it is provided with a hole into which the clasp knob is put on shutting the album.
The sliding-shutter bears the rack and two tubes containing spiral springs, which
always press the sliding-shutter upwards.
The above-mentioned box is provided with two or more catch levers, oscillating
round a pin. These catch levers are set against each other in such a way that the teeth
stand in different positions. The difference is equal to about half the distance between
the teeth of the rack The free ends of the catch levers are guided by a slit of the
tubular pieces.
It is evident that in the place of two, three and even more catch levers can be used,
for the purpose of adjusting the sliding shutter finer and finer and at shorter interstices.
The way in which the sliding-shutter is adjusted or deplaced is as follows:
By pressing on the pressing-knob, one of the tubular pieces is shoved into the other.
The outer tubular piece presses against the catch levers, by which means the catch
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page_text: levers are forced out of the teeth of the rack. The springs then press the sliding-
shutter upwards and the latter gets a position fit for big albums. If I wish to shut the
album more closely, I press the sliding-shutter down and at the same time the pressing-
knob too, in order to move the shutter against the box as much as the album permits
it, and one of the catch levers will then hold the shutter by means of the rack. By
the double pawls I may change the position of the shutter by the length of half a tooth
of the rack, because the other part gears into the rack.
I
It is evident that by using two catch levers with their pawls set apart as above
mentioned, the adjusting of the sliding shutter is finer than by using only one pawl.
choose a very coarse pitch of the rack so that the shutter is fixed very surely by
the big pitch and I may apply two or more pawls gearing into the rack in such a
way, that the teeth of these pawls lie in different positions to the rack.
may
The fastening or clasp just described can be used for all books the thickness of
which increases in time by the things put into them, as is in particular the case with
photo-albums, stamp-albums, and similar collection books.
Dated this 9th day of December 1886.

page_text: Improvements in an Adjustable Clasp for Albums.
I, HERMANN LEHMANN of Offenbach on the Main, German Empire, Manufacturer,
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:
Adjustable clasps, which may closely shut big albums as well as thin ones or an
album when it is filled with photographs, or when it is not filled are well known; but
it is a great difficulty to obtain as fine and as manifold an adjusting of the sliding-
shutter as possible. To obtain such fine adjusting of the clasp is the object of my
improvements. My improvements by which this aim is obtained, consist in the
combination of a coarsely scaled rack with two catches, the teeth of which stand in
different position to the rack. The two catches gear with the same rack.
A fastening of this kind is represented in the drawing. Figs. 1 and 4 are vertical
sections through the line e,-f, but it must be said, that the section is only made through
the adjustable sliding-shutter S and its tube t¹, the other part of the clasp, the box bis
shown in this figure by side-view.
Fig. 2 is a horizontal section a b of fig. 1.
с
Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section cd showing the way in which the clasp is secured
to the cover of the album.
Fig. 5 is a side-view of fig. 3.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
The angular metal pieces w and w¹ are fastened to the side-edges of the two covers d
and d¹. The angular piece w¹ is provided with the clasp-knob h and on the angular
piece w are the two attachment-hinges and 1. In these hinges I and 1 is a rotating
tubular piece to which the box 6 (figs. 2 & 3) is fastened. The tubular piece ŕ
contains the movable tubular piece r'. The tubular piece is always pressed outwards
by a spiral-springs and provided with the pressing-knob n. For the sake of
symmetry a similar non-acting or dummy pressing-knob n¹ is fastened to the
attachment-hinge l.
The sliding-shutter S may be moved in the box 6 and is provided with a hole o into
which the clasp-knob h is put on shutting the album (fig. 3). The sliding-shutter S
bears the rack z and the two tubes t t. These-spring cases t t together with the
sliding-shutter S are always pressed upward by the spiral-springs ss. t¹ are guide-
pins. On the box bare two or more catch levers q and q which may oscillate round
the pin x. The catch-levers q q₁ are set against each other in such a way, that the teeth
of them stand in different positions. The difference is equal to about half the distance
between the teeth of the rack z. The free ends of the catch levers q q³ are guided by
a slit of the tubular pieces r and r¹.
It is evident, that in the place of two, three and even more catch levers can be used,
for the purpose of adjusting the sliding-shutter S finer and finer and at shorter
interstices.

page_text: The way in which the sliding-shutter is adjusted or deplaced, is as follows:
By pressing on the knob n, the tubular piece is shoved into the tubular piece r.
The latter presses with the point against the catch-levers q g', by which means the
catch-levers q q' are forced out of the teeth of the rack. The springs & then press the
If I
sliding-shutter S upward and the shutter obtains a position fit for big albums.
wish to shut the album more tightly, I press the sliding-shutter S down and at the
same time the knob n. Now I am able to move the shutter S against the box bas
much as the album permits it, and one of the pawls 7 or q' will then hold the shutter
by means of the rack z. By the double pawls or q I may change the position of the
shutter by the length of half a tooth of the rack, because then the other pawl gears into
the rack z.
It is evident, that by using two catch-levers q and g₁ with their pawls set apart as
above mentioned, the adjusting of the sliding-shutter S is finer than by using only one
pawl. I may choose a very coarse pitch of the rack z, so that the shutter is fixed very
surely by the big pitch and I may apply two or more pawls gearing into the rack in
such a way, that the teeth of these pawls lie in different positions to the rack.
The fastening or clasp just described can be used for all books, the thickness of
which increases in time by the things put into it, as is in particular the case with
photo-albums, stamp-albums and similar collection-books.
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 :
In album-clasps.
1st. The combination of a rack z with two or more catch-levers q and q', heaving each
a pawl, placed at unequal distances from their ends; one of these elements (the two
pawls or the rack) being attached to the sliding-shutter S, the other being attached to
the box b, for the purpose of adjusting the clasp as finely as possible.
2nd. The combination of the sliding-shutter S provided with the spring-cases tt and
the rack z, with the alternatively working catch-levers q q', the oscillating tubular
piece and the movable tubular piece ² contained in it, so that by pressing on knob n,
the pawl qq may be forced out of the teeth of the rack z for the purpose as described.
2
Dated this 27th day of July 1887.
A. KUHNT & R. DEISSLER,
Attorneys,
38, Alexanderstr., Berlin, C., Germany.