US1055171A - Twine-cutter. - Google Patents

Description

J. D. HESS.

TWINE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.15,1912.

1,055, 1 '71 Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

JOSEPH D. HESS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

TWINE-CUTTER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn D. Hess, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'lwine-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a twine-cutter blade and holder for attachment to the openfront of filing cases comprising small openend boxes or pigeon holes in which letters and other mail matter is placed to be put up in packages for distribution on mail cars, and in post offices the packages to be tied with twine.

The object of this invention is to provide for letter-boxes a blade-holder comprising a substantially flat frame which is structurally contrived to attach at the side and at the front edge of one of the vertical partitions of a letter-box case, the cutter-blade being held by the frame at the front and projecting in alinement with the said vertical partition, and the blade-holder so arranged that the lower front part of its frame will bear on the bottom at the front of the letter box, and said frame having an upper back part that will contact with the top at the rear of the letter box, whereby this improved holder affords a strong leverage to resist the down-strain caused by pulling twine downward on the edge of the cutterblade.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which,-

Figure 1 shows a small portion of a case of letter-spaces and one of the twine-cutter holders in position on the edge of a vertical partition. Fig. 2 is a view of a cutter-blade mounted on a spring-wire holder attached to the vertical partition of a letter space or pigeon hole. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the wire-holders showing the cutter blade projecting ready for use. Fig. 1 shows a horizontal section of a vertical partition and a wire holder gripping the same. Fig-5 is a View of a preferred form of cutter-blade. Fig. 6 shows a modification in the construction of the blade-holder. Fig. 7 shows another modification in the shape of the spring wire clamp and blade holder.

The cutter blade, 1, is attached to the holder which latter clips onto the front of a vertical partition of one of the open-end letter boxes and holds the blade with the cutting edge upward in convenient position Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 15, 1912.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

Serial No. 677,785.

for the person who has tied a bundle of letters, to pull the twine and bundle downward so that the twine will take across the cutting edge and be severed.

()no form of wire blade-holder having my improvement, is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 and comprises a wire frame, 2, of rectangular shape; in these figures the front end, 3, of the frame has the form of a square post; the longitudinal bars, 1, of this frame are fastened .to the square post and are slightly curved from end to end, the convexity of this curve in each of the two bars being away from the spring wire clip ends, 5, which are also rigidly fastened to the Said front post, 3, at the side opposite the ends of the bars, 4t. The said spring clips, 5, each have a bearing bend, 6, midway of their ends, and the convexity of this bend points toward the concavity of the said curve on the frame bars, t. This construction forms a clip or clamp that will grip the opposite surfaces of the vertical parlition, 7, of a letter box or pigeon hole, as seen in Fig. 4. In this position of the bladeholder the square post, 3, stands vertically at the front end of the vertical partition. One side of the post, 3, has a shoulder, 8, near its bottom and the cutter blade, 1, is secured by one end to the post above said shoulder by a screw-pin, 9, which serves as a pivot, whereby the blade may turn down or up, and thus may take either of two positions -a horizontal position with the cutting edge exposed upward, or the blade may take a vertical position alongside of the post, 3, in this latter position the blade is out of use; its edge is guarded by the post and is not liable to cut or injure anyone. When the blade is turned down to the horizontal position it is supported on the shoulder, 8, on the post and will then bear the strain occasioned by a downward pull of a piece of twine that may be across the cutting edge. The screw-pin, 9, has a thumb-nut, 20, by tightening which the blade, 1, will be held in either of itstwo positions.

The upper back corner of the bladeholder frame may be provided with one or more notches, 10, which, if the back end of the frame should tilt upward will engage with the meshed wires, 21, which form the tops and bottoms of some of said letter boxes. Instead of notches, 10, the upper back corner of the frame may have an upward lug, 22, to contact with the top of the boX and such lug will keep the blade-holding frame in its position.

A modification of blade holder is shown in Fig. 7 This form of holder is substan tially triangular in shape; it may be made of thin board, sheet-metal or of wire. The back end, 15, is higher than the front end, and has an inclined edge, 16, from the high to the low end; the high back corner of this modification may have notches same as in Fig. 3 and for the same purpose, or may have an upward-projecting lug, 22, to either engage between the wires, 21, or to contact with the top of the box when wires are not used.' At the low front end is a vertical bar or post, 17. One or more spring wire clips, 18, has an end fastened to said post while the other end is free and takes on one side of a vertical partition, 7, and serve to hold the triangular frame in close contact with the opposite side of the vertical partition. A cutter-blade, l, is pivoted to the front end, and has the same movement and operation as the blade shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The preferred form of cutter-blade has its free end provided with a well-known knob or bulb-shaped enlargement, 19, which serves as a guard or safety device to prevent ones hand or clothing from being cut by the blade while it is in the turned-down position.

A second modification of holder for a pivoted cutter-blade, is shown in Fig. 6. This form of blade-holder has substantially the shape of a try-square, and may be made of any suitable material such as sheet metal.

It has at the high back corner notches, 10; the two broken parallel lines, 11, indicate a flap spring 011 the reverse side, said spring serving to clip onto a vertical partition, 7 A blade, 1, is pivoted on a screw-pin and a thumb-nut, 20, will keep the blade in the desired position.

A small ring or eye, 12, is fixed at the front end of the blade holder and below the pivoted blade; this device serves to hold the free end of the pord or twine (not shown) that comes from a ball. Thus the operator will always find the loose end of twine hanging from this ring or eye, 12.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

A twine cutter blade holder for letterboXes, consisting of a substantially flat frame operative when in a vertical position and in contact with the side of a vertical partition of the letter-box, said frame having a lower front part that will bear on the bottom at the front of the letter-box, and an upper back part that will contact with the top at the rear of the letter-box, and said frame holding the cutter-blade projecting at the front and in alinement with said vertical partition with the cutting edge of said blade Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

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