US165885A - Improvement in accountants hand-rests - Google Patents

Description

W.`D. SLOAN.

Accountants Hand-Best.

Pate'nted July 20,1875'.

N. PETERS. FHoTo-LITHQGRAPMEH, wAsHmGTon. D c,

YVILLIAM D. SLOAN, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN ACCOUNTANTS HAND-RESTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l, dated July 20, 1875; application tiled February 2, 1875 `:To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM D. SLOAN, of

Ythe city, county, and State of New York. have invented certain Improvements in Accountants7 Hand-Rests, of which the following is a specification Book-keepers, accountants, and others having occasion to write in heavy ledgers and the like are familiar with the inconvenience ex` perienced in writing at the lower part or foot of the page, due to the dilference in height between the page and the desk, upon which, unless additional support is provided, the hand and wrist of the penman must rest while writing. rlhe few devices hithertodevised to remedy this source of fatigue, inconvenience, and trouble have proved inadequate to any useful purpose, because ot their lack of stability when in use, and their lack of easy and accurate adjustability to any height or position required.

My invention consists in an adjustable rest, constructed with a clamp or hold-fast, whereby it may be rigidly, though temporarily, fixed upon the cover of the volume, and, as it were, form an extension of the said cover, movable with the volume, but fixed with reference thereto, and capable of adjustment to the exact level of the page, whereby writing at the bottom of the latter is rendered as convenient and easy as writing at the top thereof. The invention further comprises certain novel comA binations of parts, whereby the aforesaid main or essential feature of my said invention is advantageously carried into practice.

Figure l is a plan view of my accountants rest, with the shelf or top plate detached, made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a front edge view of the same; and Figs. 4. and 5 are detached views, representing certain parts of the mechanism.

A is a base plate or frame, formed with a rabbet, a, at one edge, the ilange a at the top of the rabbet being of such width as to afford a good bearingsurt'ace, and extending, preferably, the whole length ofthe plate A. Un the under side of this base-plate is a shaft, B, provided with a thumb-piece, b, at one end, and at the other with a long eccentric, A', the latter being circumferentially grooved or corrugated, as indicated at a. Shown at o is a spiral spring, coiled about the shaft B, attached at one end, a, thereto, and at the other, b, to the plate A, in such manner that the torsion of the spring will tend to turn the eccentric upward toward the liange a', to iirmly clasp between the said eccentric and ange the cover of the book, when the apparatus is applied thereto t'oruse, as hereinafter set forth. D is the shelfor top plate, upon which the hand of the accountant rests when making use of the invention. This plate is connected with the base-plate A by the two links C, arranged near the ends, one or both of these links being provided with a supplemental or; toggle link, U', pivoted at one end to the central part of C, and at the other to the base-plate. The links U are pivoted at their lower ends, one to each of two horizontal racks, E, that gear into opposite sides of a spur-pinion,' F. The pivot d of this pinion F works in a suitable bearing provided in the base-plate A, and has upon its lower extremity a ratchet-wheel, Gr, into which engages a stop-pawl, f, pressed inward by the spring g. On the ratchet-wheel G is a downwardly-projecting thumb-piece, h, whereby the ratchet-wheel may be turned in one direction. The links C have at their lower ends laterally-projecting studs e, which work in longitudinal guides in the base-plate A, in order to retain the said links in position when moved in one direction or the other in the adjustment, as hereinafter fully explained, ot' the shelf or top plate. A rod, l, extends from the outer end of the pawl j' through a Supporting-staple, t', to the opposite edge of the base-plate, the arrangement being such that by pulling the rod inward the pawl will be brought out of gear with the ratchetfwheel. By turning the latter in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, the spur-pinion F is caused to move outward the racks E, and, consequently, the lower ends of the links C, thereby causing the outer ends of the links to rise, and, consequently, to elevate the shelf or top plate D to a height proportioned to the degree ot' movement given to the racks E, as aforesaid. When the ratchet-wheel is released the pawl f prevents any reverse movement thereof, and, consequently, sustains the shelf at the height to which itis adjusted. The supplemental links C brace the links C, so that Y the shelf retains its position parallel with the base-plate A despite any inequalities of pressure upon it, as, for example, when the hand of the writer or accountant bears solely on one end thereof.

In the use of the apparatus the shaft B is turned by means of the thumb-piece b to bring the eccentric away from the flange a', whereupon the said flange is placed upon the upper edge of the cover ofthe ledger, or similar volume, the latter being opened with the eccentric A extended underneath the same. The thumb-piece bis then released, and the spring c then turns the eccentric up against the cover, (indicated at G', in Fig. 4,) so that the edge of the said cover is firmly clamped between the flange andA the eccentric; the

circumferentially grooved or corrugated surface of the eccentric preventing any longitudinal slip thereof, or consequent outward displacement of the apparatus from the cover. The apparatus being thus fixed upon the volunie, and the latter being opened at the requisite page, the ratchet-wheel Gr is actuated to raise and adjust the shelf D with its upper surface ush with the said page. The shelf is thus made to constitute, as it were, a continuation of the page, and to ai'ord a rest for the hand and wrist of the writer or accountant, so that he can write at the lower part or bottom ofthe page with the same facility and dispatch as at the upper part thereof. When it is desired to lower or depress the shelf D the rod I is pushed inward to disengage thc pawl f from the ratchet-wheel, wherenprm the shelf falls to and upon the base-plate, from which it may again be lifted and adinsted to any height desired. When it is required to detach the apparatus from the volume the eccentric is turned down by means of the thumb-piece b, and the cover being thus released, the apparatus is readily removed.

WVhat I claim as my invention isl. An adjustable accountants rest, constructed with a clamp or hold-fast, whereb5T it may be iixedly attached to the cover of a ledger or like volume, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In an adjustable accountants rest, the base-plate A, constructed with the rabbet a, the circumferentially-grooved eccentric A', spring c, and thumb-piece b, the whole arranged for operation, in the attachment of the apparatus to a suitable volume, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The links C, supplemental link or links C', spur-pinion F, ratchet-wheel Gr, and pawl f, in combination With the base-plate A and shelf or top plate D,the whole arranged for operation in the adjustment of the shelf or top plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WM. D. SLOAN.

Witnesses:

W. M. EDWARD, JNO. MASTERS.

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