US2096634A

US2096634A - Book end

Info

Publication number: US2096634A
Application number: US61498A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gilbert Alfred
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-02-08
Filing date: 1936-01-30
Publication date: 1937-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1954-10-19
Also published as: GB433757A

Description

A. GILBERT Oct. 19, 1937.

BOOK END Filed Jan. 30, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 19, 1937. A. GILBERT 2,096,634

BOOK END Filed Jan. 30, 1936 f 5 Sheets-Sheet? HA5 flTTOR/VEY Oct. 19, 1937. GlLBERT 2,096,634

BOOK END Filed Jan. 50, 1936 I 5 Sheets-Sheet s //VVE/V70AJ Alfred Gilberr ey- Patented Oct. 19, 1937 l I Wire! STATES PATEN O FICE 2,096,634 .3001; END Alfred Gilbert, London, England Application January 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,498

- In Great Britain February 8, 1935 26 Claims. (01. 2 11-43) This invention concerns improvements inor Figure 4is a perspective view of the winding relating to book ends in which one book end is bar employed in the book ends illustrated in Figs. connected to another book end (or to another 1 to 3 and 5;

member serving as a book end) by means of a Figure 5 shows the book ends illustrated in I flexible member, e. g., a strip or ribbon of-fabric, Fig. 1 collapsed for transport; ,5 extending between the lower parts of the book Figure 6 is an underneath perspective view of ends and in .which the distance between the book a modified form of book end constructed in ends is adjustable (so that the book ends are able accordance with this invention; to receive between them more or less books as Figure '7 is an underneath perspective View of desired) by varying the effective external length a further modified form of book end constructed of the said flexible member, i. e. the length of that in accordance with this invention; part of the flexible member disposed between the Figure 8 is a vertical sectional elevation of a book ends. part of a book endconstructed in aocordancewith One object of this invention is to provide book this invention and illustrates a modification .5 end-s of the kind specified but which are relawhich can be applied to any of the constructions 2 tivelysimple and robust in construction; whilst shown in Figs. 1 to '7;

a further object or the invention is to make such Figure 9 is a perspective view ofa modification book ends readily transportable and an underof the book ends shown in Figs. 1 to 3;

lying idea of this invention is to provide a book FigurelO is asectional view of a further modi- 33 end such as referred to above and which includes fication of the book end shown in Figs. 1 to 3; I

anadjustable member adapted to have one end Figures 11 to 16 are fragmentary views which a .T/ in the form of a winding ban adjustmehtio f the tween the book ends and they are supported by of the said flexible member attached thereto, show by way of example various possible modifisaid adjustable member being adjustably I supcations, within the scope of the present invention, ported on the book end, and the latter and the to the winding bar andco-opjerating parts of the adjustable member having interengaging or inbook end shown in Figs. 1 to 3;

terlocking parts adapted when co operating to In Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a retain the adjustable member in .an adjusted pair of book ends I and 2 connected together by a position. i 7 flexible fabric strip 3, preferably a silk ribbon of The adjustable n emberconveniently is either substantial width. Books 4 may be placed beeffective length of the flexible memben'being the latter in a vertical position on end as indieffected by rotation of this bar about its axis, or cated. The extent to which the book ends can the adjustable member may comprise an anchorseparate isad'justable and is limited by the ribing bar adjustable along the book end. Alterbon 3.

natively a combined winding bar and anchoring The book ends land 2 are identical with one bar may be employed. another, and each is of L-shape and comprises a The adjustable member may be adapted to be foot 5 and an upright 6, and both these parts are freed from the book end for adjustmentpurposes preferably made from moulded synthetic resin.

by a bodily movement of the adjustablemember The upright 6 is provided with a recess '5 on its .11) relative to the book end; such bodily movement inner side and the lower'part of this recess is 4 may be a transverse movement (i. e., aimovement closed by a cover sheet or plat'eB secured in posilaterally as distinct from an endwise movement), tion by screws 9. The plate 8 is preferably rebut the freeing movement may if desired be van cessed into the upright 6 so as to be flush with the endwise one. face of the latter. The plate 8 extends to the 4.3 In order that my invention may be clearly bottom of the upright 6 but does not extendto understood and readily carried into practice','-'I the top of the recess I so that an opening or have appended hereto sheets of drawings;'whe r eaperture I I] is left inthe inner wall ofthe upright in:- 6 .of the b ookend. This aperture is extended Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a pairof downwardly by providing the plate 8 with a .5 3 book ends constructed in accordance with this thumb or finger recess or hole H, the purpose of invention; which will become apparent from the subsequent Figure 2 is an endelevation of one of thebook description. ends shown in Fig. 1, apart of the book endbeing The recess 1, in combination with the cover shewn broken away for; illustrative purposes; plate 8, renders the lower part of the upright 6 Figure Sis a section on line 3.-3, (Fig.2) tubular, the passagethrough the tubular part being of flat rectangular cross section and of such a width and depth as to permit of the ready passage therethrough of the strip or ribbon 3.

The width of the recess I is restricted somewhat by a pair of inwardly extending parts I2 disposed at the sides of the recess, and the upper ends of these parts I2 constitute, with the plate 8 and the adjacent parts of the upright 6, a pair of recesses or sockets I3 of rectangular transverse cross-section into which are dropped the flat or rectangular ends I4 of a fiat winding bar I5. 1

Preferably the end portions I4 of the bar I5:

are wider than the other part of the bar and the end of the strip or ribbon 3 is clipped on to the bar I5 between the end portions I4 by a sheet metal clip I6 of inverted U-shaped cross-section.

The dimensions of the recesses I3 and the ends IA of the bar I5 are so correlated that when the bar I5 is in the position shown in full lines in the drawings it cannot rotate about its own axis. In order to rotate the bar, and so to adjust the unrolled length of the ribbon 3, it is necessary to lift the bar I5 from the position in which it is shown in full lines and to withdraw it from the upright 6 via the opening ID in the latter, this operation being facilitated by the provision of the thumb or finger hole II previously described. The process of removing the winding bar is indicated in dot and dash lines at H (Fig. 2).

Preferably the bar I5 is narrow and thin so that each revolution thereof only makes a small adjustment in the unrolled length of the ribbon, but greater adjustment per revolution can be had by using a wider and/or thicker winding bar. Also the recess or hole I3 is deeper from front to back than the thickness of the bar I5 to allow for the ribbon wound on to the latter.

Into the lower tubular end of the upright 5 projects an upstanding part I8 provided on the foot 5 of the book end. The part I8 is a tight fit into the upright 6 but permits of the book end readily being collapsed for packing as indicated in Fig. 5, which figure shows two book ends collapsed and packed together. From this figure, it will be seen that the parts nest nicely together, the parts I8 of the feet 5 of the two book ends extending in opposite directions.

A groove I9, having an inclined bottom, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, is provided in one face of the upstanding part I8 of the foot 5, and this groove is provided for the free passage of the ribbon or strip 3 which is laterally positioned by the side walls of said groove.

The outer face of the upright 6 is recessed upwardly as shown in Fig. 3 to ensure a snug interconnection of the foot 5 therewith so that to all appearances the foot and upright are in one piece.

Preferably the angle between the upright and the foot of each book end is left clear ofobstructions so that if desired the well known form of ornamental book ends can be placed on book ends according to this invention as roughly indicated in dot and dash lines at 20, Fig. 1.

It will of course be appreciated that instead of making the winding bar I5 entirely fiat, the centre part (taking the ribbon 3) could be'of circular cross section so long as at least one end or part of the bar was of non-circular cross-section and co-operated with a corresponding part of the book end.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the book ends shown in Figs. 1 to 3,'the modification consisting in hinging the foot 5 to the upright 6 instead of making these parts separable and interlocking. In the construction illustrated in Fig. 6 the foot 5 is hinged to the upright 6 by two hinges 2I so arranged and operating that the upright 6 can either occupy a position at right angles to the foot 5 or lie in the same plane as the latter, this collapsed position being indicated in the drawings by dotted lines 22. When the upright 6 is in the position indicated in full lines at Fig. 6 it cannot be turned further in the direction of the arrow because of its abutment at its lower end with the foot 5 which forms a stop. When the upright lies fiat as indicated by dotted lines 22 the book end is very convenient for packing.

' Fig. '7 shows a further modification of the book end illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. The book end shown in Fig. '7 has the'foot 5 interlocking with the upright 6 but this is effected without the aid of the upstanding part I8 of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3.

The foot in the construction shown in Fig. 7 has a pair of projections 23 engaging in corresponding recesses 24 formed in the lower end of the upright 6 when the latter is in the upstanding position shown in the drawings, the parts being retained in this position by locking pins, screws, or the like 25 passing through the projections 23 and into the upright '6. The upright 6 and foot 5 are completely separable by removing the pins 25 and can consequently be packed neatly and readily for transport or storage.

In Fig. 8 is illustrated a modification applicable to any of the book ends according to this invention and described above, but is especially useful in the case of relatively large size book ends where a relatively wide winding bar I5 is used and adjustment by rotating this may be in some cases too coarse. The object of this modification is to provide an intermediate or finer adjustment than that provided for by rotation of the winding bar.

For this purpose one of the walls, the inner wall in the construction illustrated in Fig. 8, of the upright of the book end is provided with one or more pairs of steps 26. The steps of each pair are disposed so that one is adapted to support one end I4 of the winding bar I5 whilst the other is adapted similarly to support the other end I4 of the winding bar. As will readily be appreciated from the drawings a relatively fine adjustment of the effective length of the ribbon 3 can be made simply by lifting the winding bar up one step in the upright 6, for example to the position indicated by chain dotted lines 21 in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 shows in perspective a modification of the book ends shown in Figs. 1 to 3, this modification consisting of providing the book ends each with a door 32 hinged to the upright of the book end and opening outwardly. This door gives access to the interior of the upright and the winding bar so thatadjustment of the ribbon 3 can be made without the necessity of removing books from between the book ends. If there is no play or slackness in the ribbon, it may be necessary to remove one or more books so as to provide the small amount of loose ribbon required to enable the'bar I5 to be lifted for winding up or unwinding the ribbon. In this instance the inner side of the book end is entirely closed. A ball catch or other suitable means can be provided normally to retain the door 32 closed.

Fig. 10 shows a similar arrangement to that illustrated in Fig. 9 but instead of the door 32 being hinged it simply lifts off the book end and is retained in its normal position at the bottom by engaging in a recess 60 in the foot 5 and at the top by having a fastening, as a hooked member 6i engaging a co-o-perating member, e. g., a bar 62 on the upright proper- 'A thumb recess 63"or other device may be provided to facilitate removal of the door 32..

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 11- the winding bar has its ends 28 of polygonal. (e. g., octagonal) transverse cross-section instead of fiat, so that the ends have a plurality of. faces 29 which can alternatively cooperate with the inner flat surfaces 33 and 3! of the outer and inner walls of the upright of the book end to prevent the unintentional rotation of the winding bar. The more faces 29' that are provided on. the ends 28 of the winding bar the greater the fineness of adjustment of the ribbon 3 that can be obtained.

Instead of making the ends of the winding bar of polygonal cross-section the same object can be achieved by constructing the winding bar and book end so that the one has a. groove or grooves engageable by a projection or projections on the other part. In the example shown in Fig. 12, the ends of the winding bar are cylindrical as shown at 34 and the extremities of the bar are provided with diametrical grooves or passages 35 whilst the upright of the book end is internally provided with a web or rib 36 for each grooved end of the winding bar, such web or rib being adapted releasably to engage in a groove 35. of the winding bar so as to prevent its unintentional rotation. By providing several crossing grooves 35 in each end of the winding bar a relatively fine adjustment of the ribbon 3 can be made as will readily be appreciated.

A further alternative is shown in Fig. 13 where the projections 36 of Fig, 12 are replaced by pins or the equivalent 3"! projecting up from the bottom of the sockets I3, one pin being arranged in each socket. The ends 38 of the winding bar are in this case each provided with one or more diametrical bores or passages 39 which replace the grooves 35 of the construction shown in Fig. 12. If a plurality of passages 39 are provided they are arranged to cross one another to give a plurality of winding bar positions and consequently the possibility of relatively fine adjustments of the ribbon 3. The passages 39 need not extend completely through the winding bar as shown.

Fig. 14 shows a construction employing recesses 49 provided in the upright of the book end each for the reception of a pin or tooth, or any one of a number of teeth or pins 4| provided on the winding bar. A plurality of teeth or pins 4| are shown in the drawings and are provided on each end of the winding bar, the teeth or pins being peripherally spaced around these ends.

Fig. 15 shows an arrangement in which the winding bar is prevented from rotation by pro viding each of its ends 43 with a radial pin 44 projecting outwardly therefrom and adapted to engage an abutment 45 (which may merely be a part of the book end as shown) to prevent un intentional rotation ofthe winding bar.

Fig. 16 shows an extension of the idea shown in Fig. 14, the pins 4| of the winding bar shown in the latter figure being replaced in Fig. 16 by ratchet teeth 66 provided peripherally around one end of the winding bar. With these ratchet teeth co-operates a gravity actuated pawl 51 pivoted at 68 to the book end and having a finger piece 69 by which it can be disengaged from the ratchet to free the winding bar. Access to the pawl and winding bar may be had by providing the book end with a door such as for example either of those respectively shown in Figs. 9v and 10. The

end 10: of the winding bar may be oi plain cylinidrical form and a close but rotatable fit inthe socket l3. However, if desired, the ratchet and pawl mechanism may be provided at both" ends of the winding bar instead of at only one endthereof. It will be seen that the windingpbar shown in the drawings is capable of being rotated to wind up the ribbon 3 irrespective of the pawl 6'! but the ribbon cannot be unrolled without the pawl first being disengaged from! the winding bar.

In each of. the constructions shown-in Figs. 11 to 16 the ribbon engaging or centre part of the winding bar can be flat or cylindrical. If cylindrical it may have a longitudinal slot 46 to receive the end of the ribbons In spite of the fact that it is preferred to use two exactly similar book ends in accordance with this invention as a pair, this is not essential as one end of the ribbon 3 could be fixed to one book end or to some other structure instead of being adjustably attached to a book end.

Although it is preferred to make book ends de-' scribed above from synthetic resin mouldings, the book ends may be made partly or wholly of wood or metal and it is possible for other materials to be introduced in the construction of the book I ends, as for example, glass and mirror glass;

Book ends constructed in accordance with the present invention have not the annoying trait of separating accidentally which is common in the ornamental and other unconnected ends; they also have the advantage of being readily adjusted to or from one another, and are sim* ple and effective in construction, whilst at the same time being of neat and compactappearance, Furthermore, they enable the ornamental efiect of existing ornamental book ends to-be retained if desired by mounting the ornamental book ends on book ends according to this invention as described above. In addition, they are readily and conveniently packed for storageor transit and when so packed occupy very little space.

While I have described and shown certain at present preferred embodiments of my invention it is to be distinctly understood that the inven'-' tion is not limited to such embodiments but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims. I What I claim is:

1. In a pair of book ends adjustably connected together by a flexible strip, a winding bar rotatable about its own axis and to which one end of the flexible strip is attached, supporting means on one of said book ends adapted non-rotatably to support said winding bar, and the winding bar being releasable, by a movement transverse to its own axis from such supporting means for adjustment of said flexible strip.

2. A book end adapted to form one of a pair of book ends adjustably connected together by a flexible strip, such book end having 'a' winding bar adapted to have one end of said flexible strip attached thereto, and means on said book en'd for supportingthe said winding bar thereon, the Winding bar having a perimet'rically"non-circular part and the book end including therewithin a part adapted to coact with said non-circular part of the winding bar normally to prevent rotation of the latter about its longitudinal axis but the winding bar being capable of being freed for rotation by a relative movement of the Winding bar and the coacting. part. of the supporting means,-

such relative movement being in a direction transverse to the axis of the winding bar.

3. A book end adapted to be connected to another member by a flexible adjustable co-miection strip, said book end including a winding bar adapted to have one end of said flexible strip attached thereto and having a non-circular part, and the book end having a supporting part adapted removably to carry said winding bar, such supporting part including a non-circular recess adapted to receive the non-circular part of said winding bar in a non-rotatable manner.

4. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection strip the efifective length of which is variable, said book end including a winding bar adapted to; have one end of the said flexible connection strip attached thereto, and said book end having supporting means for the winding bar which supporting means has a part adapted positively to interlock with a part of the winding bar normally to prevent rotation of the latter about its axis and said interlocking parts being adapted for release from one another by the movement of one of the parts relative to the other in a direction transverse to the axis of the winding bar.

5. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection member, said book end including a winding reel adapted for connection to one end of said flexible member, and the book end having supporting means adapted to hold said reel, the latter being adapted for rotation relative to the book end to wind or unwind said flexible member, and said reel having at the periphery of an end portion thereof a non-circular part or parts and the book end having a co-operatingly formed part or parts co-operatingly formed to prevent rotation of the reel when the supporting means and reel are interengaged.

6. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection strip, said book end including a winding bar adapted for attachment to one end of the connection strip, and supporting means on the book end adapted to carry said winding bar, radially disposed abutment means on the winding bar and interengaging abutment means on' the said supporting means adapted together to retain the winding bar against unintentional rotation, and said abutment means being capable of disengagement from one another by relative movement thereof transversely of the axis of the winding bar.

'7. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection member, said book end including a winding bar having rectangular ends and adapted for attachment to one end of said connection member, and the book end also having a pair of spaced noncircular recesses adapted to receive said rectangular ends of the winding bar and in which recesses said rectangular ends of the winding bar are non-rotatable about the axis of the bar.

,8. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection member, said book end comprising a foot, an upright mounted on and collapsibly associated with said foot and having a passage-way for said flexibleconnection member extending therealong, a winding bar adapted for connection to one end of said flexible connection member, supporting means within said book end adapted non-rotatably to support said winding bar, and the latter being disengageable from the supporting means when desired for adjustment purposes.

9. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection member, said book end comprising a foot and an upright mounted on and collapsibly associated with said foot and the upright having a passageway for said flexible connection member extending therealong, a winding bar adapted to be connected to one end of said flexible connection member and adapted for rotation about its own axis, said bar having a perimetrically non-circular portion and said book end having a co-operating part adapted to interengage therewith releasably to retain the winding bar in an adjusted condifor connection to one end of said flexible connection member and having a non-circular end adapted to be supported non-rotatably (but removably) in a co-operating non-circular socket provided in the upright of the book end.

11. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection member and comprising a foot and an upright hingedly connected together, stop means for limiting the hinging movement of the upright and foot relatively to one another in one direction, said upright having a passage-way for said flexible connection member, and an adjusting bar being provided and adjustably mounted in said upright, this adjusting bar being adapted for connection to one end of said flexible connection member, and cooperating means being respectively provided at the periphery of the winding bar and in the upright for releasably retaining said adjusting bar in a rotationally adjusted position.

12. A book end adapted to be connected to another member adjustably in relation thereto by means of a flexible member, said book end including an adjusting reel adapted to be connected to one end of said flexible member, and supporting sockets adapted to carry the ends of said adjusting reel, the latter and the supporting sockets being formed for interengagement with one another to retain the adjusting reel in a rotationally adjusted position, and the adjustment reel being adapted for release from the supporting means by a transverse bodily movement to permit of its adjustment and consequently the adjustment of the effective length of said flexible member.

13. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection strip, said book end comprising a foot and a partially tubular upright, the upright mounted thereon and foot being separable and collapsible for storage, a winding bar housed within said upright and adapted for connection to one end of said flexible strip so that the latter can be wound on to the bar, said upright hav ing sockets and said winding bar having end parts non-rotatably engageable with said sockets.

14. A book end according to claim 13 wherein the ends of said winding bar are flat and said sockets are of rectangular transverse cross-section.

15. A book end according to claim 13 wherein said upright is apertured to give access to said winding bar.

16. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a strip of flexible material, said book end having an upright book supporting side and a foot forming side, a winding bar adapted to be attached to one end of said flexible strip and on to which the latter may be wound, said winding bar having ends of angled transverse section and the book end having sockets removably to support the ends of said winding bar, these sockets each having a transverse section adapted to enable the ends of the winding bar non-rotatably to be interengaged therewith.

17. In combination a pair of book ends of L shape and a flexible ribbon connecting the book ends together, each book end having an upright part and a foot part connected together for collapsing at will and each book end including a reel attached to the adjacent end of said ribbon, the book end having sockets adapted removably to carry said reel and from which the latter can be lifted by a movement transverse to its own axis, and the ends of the reel having means co-operating with means on the book end releasably to lock the reel against rotation about its own axis.

18. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible strip and including an adjustable member adapted to have one end of said flexible strip attached thereto, means adjustably to support said adjustable member, and means on the book end and means on the adjustable member adapted for interlocking engagement with one another to retain the adjustable member in adjusted position, and the adjustable member being adapted for release from said interlocking engagement by a bodily movement of the adjustable member transverse to its own axis and relative to its book end.

19. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible strip, including a rotatable winding bar attached to one end of the said strip, means for supporting said winding bar rotatably on thebook end, and pawl and ratchet means respectively carried by the book end and the winding bar and adapted releasably to lock the winding bar against rotation in one direction.

20. A book end adapted to form one of a pair of book ends connected adjustably together by a flexible strip or member, such bookend including a winding bar and supporting means for the latter, the winding bar and supporting means being so co-operatingly formed that when interengaged the winding bar is non-rotatable relative to the supporting means, but the winding bar being capable of ready transverse bodily movement to disengage it from the supporting means to free the winding bar for rotation about its axis for adjustment of the flexible strip or member.

21. A book end adapted to be connected ad.-

justably to another member by a flexible connection strip the effective length of which is variable, said book end including a winding bar adapted for attachment to one end of said strip and rotatable about its own axis to adjust the effective length of the strip, supporting means in the book end for the winding bar and means on the book end. and the winding bar adapted normally to prevent rotation of the latter about its axis but capable of disengagement (to free the winding bar for rotation) by movement of the one relative to the other transversely of the axis of the winding bar.

22. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a flexible connection strip, said book end comprising a foot and an upright mounted on and collapsibly as- 'sociated therewith, a winding bar within the upright and adapted for connectionto one end of said strip, this winding bar having a flat end portion and the upright including a rectangular socket adapted non-rotatably to receive said flat end portion of the winding bar.

23. A book end adapted to be connected adjustably to another member by a strip of flexible material, said book end comprising an adjustment bar adapted to be connected to one end of said strip and on. to which the latter may be wound, the said adjustment member and the book end having co-operating means to retain the adjustment member, in rotationally adjusted posi-' material, such book end: comprising an upright 7 portion and a foot portion and having in the upright a winding reel rotatable about its own axis and adapted to be attached to one end of said flexible strip, said upright being partially tubular for the passage of said strip to said reel and having supporting means for the reel, and means within the upright and further means on the adjustment reel adapted positively to interlock together so as normally to lock releasably the adjustment member in a rotationally adjusted position in the upright.

26. A pair of book ends each comprising a foot part, an upright part, a flexible strip connecting the book ends together, a winding bar adapted for attachment to one end of the flexible strip, such winding bar being non-rotatably mounted in the upright but being movable transversely to its axis to free it for rotation and adjustment of said strip. 7

ALFRED GILBERT.