US1153115A

US1153115A - Lead-pencil.

Info

Publication number: US1153115A
Application number: US7935?813A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles R Keeran
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Publication date: 1915-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 1932-09-07

Description

. C. R. KEERAN.

LEAD PENCIL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6. ma.

1,158. 1 1 PilfGll'EGd Sept. 7, 1915.

k lln lllrpll lnmt -I my)? Wflnases fizz/622W ran ,point.

pairs ea rrr sic LEAD-PENCIL Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 'liifi5.

Application filed October 6, 1813. Serial Na. @3588.

To all 'uuwm may, concern lie it known that l, (Ii-mums R. KEERAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at lloomington, in the county of McLean and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful .lmprcveinentsin Lead-Pencils, oil which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to that type of pencil in which the lead is fed out as desired from the body thereof by manually operated means.

lhe object of the present invention is to construct a device of the nature above de scribed, which will permit of the use of a r lead of small diameter, so that a sharpening of the lead is not necessary in order to maintain a point, the leadbeing so small that its normal size is the proper size for a writing A. further object of the invention is to provide a body for holding the lead, which is so constructed as to properly reinforce the lead and prevent its breaking during use.

A. further object of the invention is to form said body of the same material from end to end, and of a one-piece construction,

and to use a fibrous material possessing certain characteristics hereinafter set forth.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the forward end of the bore that extends through the body as to have it perits performing its form thefunctions-of a clutch to keep the lead from falling out from the body, and to so construct the device as to enable the bore to l adjusted and continue its action as whenever it shall have become worn and u i ed to an extent to prevent clutching function on the lead.-

A. iurther omect of the invention is to 111- case the body with a metallic or similar sheathing or casing, which Will prevent outward expansion and splitting of the body,

and which will give an attractive exterior to the pencil; "and to have the body serve as a filler for the outer sheathing to prevent the shcathing from becoming bent or mutilated.

'The' invention furtheu consists in the few times of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

in the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of a pencil constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention; F 1g.

2, a longitudinal. section of the device shown .inl ig. 1.; Fig. 3, a detail on an enlarged scale and section, showing the torward barrel or body of thepencllfso as to elimiate the Whittling away of the wood formmg the body when it is desired to repoint or sharpen the pencil. In most of these de:

vices, the lead is of a diameter so that it must be cut away to form the Writing point, and d fficulty has been experienced in using a lead of small enough diameter so that the point is always present and eliminate the object onable feature of having the lead break during Writing. This is owing'to the fact that the lead is not "properly reinforced by the body of the pencil, and hence when pressure is placed on the lead during the Writing operation it will break; Further difiiculty has been experienced in preventing these small leads from dropping out from the body or barrel of the pencil, at undesirable times. i r

It is the primary object ofthe present invent-ion to eliminate both of tlic'above menj tioned dill'lculties, although, certain other novelcharacteristics, which will more fully appear hereinafter, are features of the present invention.

Referring, now,tothe drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the device consists of a body or barrel 5, which is preferably made of some fibrous substance, of any suitable kind; the barrel is tapered at its forward end 6 to simulate in appearance an ordinary lead pencil, and is provided with an axially disposed longitudinal bore 7, the'bore contracting at its outer end 8 so as to grad ually diminish in diameter toward the outer end thereof. The portion Z of the bore is intended to receive ale-ad S, whichlead is of small diameter or'gage, so that. by its nature it is always pointed without the nelead is intended to have a sliding fit within the major portion of the bore 7, but the for- Ward end 8 of thebore, by reason of its contraction, afiords a relatively tight fit for the lead at this point, and hence 'there is friction created between the walls of the forward end of the bore and the lead, which friction serves to clutch or hold the lead and prevent its dropping out from the body or barrel at undesirable times. 7

The lead is fed forward out from the bore byany suitable means, the means illustrated consisting of a sleeve 9, having an interior thread 10 meshing with a thread 11 on an outer shell or sheathing 12, and the sleeve 9 carries a wire or other member 13, which engages with the butt end of the lead, and, when the sleeve is turned, so as to advance along the body of the pencil, the member 13 acts to shove the lead forward and out from the bore, as desired. No claim is made, however, to this particular means for feeding the lead, as it is understood that any suitable means may be employed for performing this operation.

The sheathing 12 is preferably of metal or some analogous substance, and serves as a binder toprevent a splitting of the body, and furthermore gives a finish to the pencil, since it may be formed of some of the finer metals, as, for instance, gold or sliver, and thus make a very attractive device. The body 5 serves as a filler for this sheathing, so that the finer metals can be employed as a sheathing without danger of their becoming dented or mutilated by use.

A further function of the sheathing is as follows: It will happen that by continued usage the forward end 8* of the bore 7 will become worn, and the tight fit and subsequent friction between the lead and the walls of the bore at-this point will disappear. The body, as stated, is of fibrous material, and when the bore becomes so worn it may be again made of the desired dimensions by simply dipping the end of the pencil in Water, the water will swell the fibrous composition of the body, and since it can'notexpand outwardly becauseof the sheathing 12, it will expand inwardly and reduce the diameter of the bore, thus readjusting the clutch to operating position.

It will be noted that a portion 14 of the body extends beyond the end of the sheathing. By this construction a further means is afforded for reestablishing the close fit between the lead and the forward end 8 of the bore. This means consists in lightly tapping the projected end of the"body, which will result in a compression of the same and a closing and consequent reduction in diameter of the bore.

It will further be noted that the point of gripping of the lead is right at thevpoint of projection of the lead from the body, so that a reinforcement is given to the lead close to the writing point, thus preventing breaking, since so little of the lead need be projected as to render it difficult to break the small projecting portion. If the grip on the load were further back in the bore, then there would be suflicient leverage between the writing point and the point of grippage to cause a fracture of the same.

It will be further noted that the body 5 is of a relatively large transverse thickness throughout'its length, thus giving a firm and rigid reinforcement for the lead throughout the body of the pencil. The forward end ll of the body, as will be seen, is of a relatively blunt. construction and is not of a nature which will break under pressure or readily become mutilated.

The pencil is extremely cheap and simple to manufacture and will prove durable in use and extremely simple of operation.

I claim:

A pencil comprising a body portion of fibrous material, said bod having a bore therethrough, said bore being contracted at the outer end thereof to a size to give a tight fit of the lead therein and'being of a size throughout the remainder to permit of a sliding fit of the lead therein, said contracted portion serving as a clutch to maintain the lead in position, a metallic casing surrounding the body portion and terminat ing short of the end of the body portion, and means for forcing the lead outward through the bore in said body portion, substantially as described.

CHARLES R. Keenan.

Witnesses 2 WM. P. Bonn, Ernnnnu Banmno.