US2579519A

US2579519A - Holding rack for elongated articles

Info

Publication number: US2579519A
Application number: US679743A
Authority: US
Inventors: Shepard Josiah
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-06-27
Filing date: 1946-06-27
Publication date: 1951-12-25
Anticipated expiration: 1968-12-25

Description

Dec. 25, 1951 .1. SHEPARD HOLDING RACK FOR ELONGATED ARTICLES Filed June 27, 1946 Patented Dec. 25, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,579,519 HOLDING RACK FOR ELONGATED ARTICLES Josiah Shepard, Chevy Chase, Md.

Application June 27, 1946, Serial No. 679,743 1 Claim. (01. 211-69) This invention relates to a holding rack for the convenient and secure retention of pens, pencils, crayons and other elongated articles which are used by draftsmen, architects, artists and school children.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a holding rack for pens, pencils and the like, which is economical and rugged in construction and which is capable of wide distribution and use at 'a low cost, to provide an excellent advertising medium addressed to those who use a multiplicity of pens, pencils and the like, drafting or other instruments, dental tools, drills and. other elongated articles.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rack for elongated articles which is adapted to rest upon a supporting surface with a high degree of frictional drag so that the rack does not slide easily along the surface and remains in the place where it is originally set. At the same time, the rack provides a stable support for the individual elongated articles which are disposed in parallelism thereon in clear view of the operator so that the selection of the desired one can be made with rapidity and accuracy in view of the segregated disposition of the individual items upon the rack above the level of the supporting surface whereby they are rendered easy to pick up and lay down.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rack which may be formed entirely of sheet material of flexible, rigid or semi-rigid characteristics, or which alternatively may be formed in part of solid rests for the elongated articles. In the former case, the racks lend themselves to stacking capabilities for compact shipment and storage.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rack which may be stamped out of sheet material in an economical manner with minimum waste. When white material is used for pencil or crayon racks of different colors, the individual rests of the rack may be identified with the different colors to designate the proper location of the respective crayons or pencils.

' Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention the rack in its fully loaded position is capable of convenient lifting and carrying without disturbing the distribution of the elongated articles thereon so that the same may be put in a drawer and returned to the point of use at any desired time with rapidity and dispatch.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing a rack constituted of a pair of parallel triangularlkshaped prismatic elements spaced laterally from each other and which are spanned by a base member adapted to be disposed in contact with the supporting surface on which the rack is placed. A plurality of notches are cut in the apex along the length of each prismatic element transversely thereof with the notches in each element in alignment with the corresponding notches in the adjacent element for the purpose of providing secure rests for the elongated articles which are bridged across the two prismatic elements. When the rack is formed of sheet material such as cardboard or pressboard, the base, in conjunction with the upstanding gable elements formed on each side thereof, provides sufficient frictional drag on the table on which the rack is disposed to maintain the rack in set position so that the artisan may at all times find the rack with the instrumentalities thereon in the position in which the same is placed originally, without occasioning any temporary loss of the instruments resulting from rolling or displacement thereof amongst papers or other items with which the operator may be working at the time.

The device is of particular utility for draftsmen working on an inclined board in which case the difiiculties arising from rolling pens and pencils are always present. If desirable, the base of the rack may be provided with apertures for the purpose of aifixing the rack permanently to any desired part or" the drafting board.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the rack in accordance with, the present invention as used on a drafting board;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view along line d-@ of Fig. 2;

. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view along line 'l-? of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the economies accruing from the stamping out of the holding rack of an H-configuration from sheet material.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing a drafting board T is shown having the rack R in accordance with the present invention disposed near one corner thereof, .with'pens andipencils P on the rack in posiin the course of their work and who desire to have these conveniently at'hand-for'selection for utilization.

The rack R is preferably formedot sheet-ii'late rial which may be of cardboard, plastic, metal or the like, which is stampedfrom a'la'rge' sheet S (Fig. 8). To make economic use of the -sheet material, the rack is formed of an H-configuration having vertical long. sides-'01 legs H and I2 and an intermediate bridging member 9 extending from the mid-portions ofsaid-sides and which serves as the base of the rack. Thereby only portion 39 in the sheet S may be considered as waste. Each of the vertical legs H and i2; is shaped to form triangular prismatic or gable-shaped elements with apexes l3 and f4. Scored lines liia and th at the junctions of the base I18 with sides H or :2 facilitate a bending; of the sides into a raised position so that the base may rest flatly on a support, while thereverse bending of the scored lines l3-and l4 along-the longitudinal median of each of the long sidestransforms the long sides into gable-shaped bodies having the apexes l3 and I l and. only their long. edges in contact with the support. A pluralityof notches iii are cut into apex l3 along the prismatic element it which are preferably diamond-shaped. Similar notches it are cut-in element i2 into the apex i l in alignment with the notches .55.- As shown in Figs. Zand 8, the diamond-shapedepenings t5- extending along the sides 1 i and lE'have the short diagonals thereof coincide with the scored longitudinal median lines l3 and i-Z and the lcn diagonals of each respective pair of openings in sides fl. and t2 are in alignment. fhus when sides ii and 12ers bentalong' the scored lines 53 and M, V-shaped notches" are formed therein each providing for supporting edges for an end oi" the pencil, pen orother' instrument, providing a secure rest therefor and presenting improvement over the supports known heretofore having. notches'in a" single plane of sheet material. The base lflm'ay'be of the same length as the prismatic elements'and I have fofundtha't sufficient drag isaifordedby the base" IQ of lesser length in conjunction with the terminals .of' the prismatic elements I l and I2 to retaintherack'in set position without undue freedom of movement. Thus a rack of H-c'o'nfigur'a'tion is preferred to utilize the sheet material'with minimum waste. If desired, the base i6 may be provided with apertures l8 for the purpose of se curing the rack to "the board by means of thumb tacks or the like. v

The base 10 lends itselfa-to the application of printed matter so that' the=device-may be used effectively as an advertising medium. Furthermore, additional refinements, such-as colored markings; individual to' the respective notches, be used to educate child'ren'to-the proper and systematic use of coloring crayons' and habits of orderliness:

As shown in 3, the'openings in 'the ends of the gable elements l 1 provide gconvenientiengag ing spaces for the middle and little fingers of both hands in order to remove the rack and the instrumentalities thereon from place to place, or for convenient disposition thereof in a drawer while awaiting repeated use of the rack and the articles thereonat some later time.

It is readily seen from an examination of Figs. 1 to 4, that a plurality of racks of sheet material may be conveniently stacked one abovethe other in a-minimum amount ofspa'ce, even when the rack is formed of infiexible sheet material such as metal or plastic.

While the invention in its preferred form contemplates the-stamping of the complete rack from pen rack is attained when the triangular prismatic-e'lements are of solid material such as wood or plastic, which may be finished according to different colors, for example-according to'the color of a desk such as mahogany or walnut, This embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 5 6 and; 7, wherein the solid prismatic elements 2! and 22 are provided with aligned

notches

25 and 2%, respectively, and are bridged by a base member 28 which is afiixed to the

prismatic elements

25 and 22 by means of screws 29. Aper-tures 23 may be provided in the base 29 for the purpose of affixing the rack to asupporting surface, either permanently or temporarily.

Depressions or dimples 2 1 are provided in the ends of solid prismatic elements 2. and, 221m order to facilitate a secure holding oflth e rack between the fingers of both hands when it is desired to carry the rack with the contents thereon from placeto place. i

From the above description, it is readily seen that the invention contemplates a simple rack which is capable of mass production at an insignificant cost when the same is produced of cardboard, pressboard or the like, and'the'c'ost of which may be varied by the utilization ofimore expensive materials such as plastics, metal or good, in order to cater to widely divergent mar-'- ets'.

While the advantages of my'invention don'ot depend upon any specific size of the'rack, I have found one having the following dimensions particularly desirable: length of each side 7 and Width 2" to allot 1" to each side of the triangular prisms; with six notches displaced 1" apart; and the base between the prisms being 3" long and 2 wide between the prisms.

WhileI have'describedrn'y invention as enibodied in a specific fornian'd as operatingin a specific manner for purposes of illustratiofi, ,it should be understood that 1 do not limit'my invention thereto, since various'mod'ifications will suggest themselves to" those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritofmy' inveii tion, the scope of which'is set forth in'the'an nexed claim.

I claim:

A blank of sheet material for forming a hold"- ing rack 'for pens, pencils or thelike having'an outline of the letter H' adapted to be stamped from a larger sheet iIl'WhiGh the blanks are interengaged and juxtaposed, said'blank having opposed ion'g sides bridgedby a-basemember ex' tending from the mid-portionsofsaid long sides at scored lines between said sides and said base member, a'plurality of diamond -shaped-openings extending along the-length of each-side' with the short diagonals of said openings--coinciding-"with the -scored" longitudinal media-n line of each longside and with the long diagonals of each respective pair of openings on said long sides being in alignment, so that when said long sides are bent along their median lines to form gable-shaped bodies, v-shaped notches are formed therein to provide secure rests for elongated articles of all shapes, contours and sizes which are adapted to extend between said long sides, the scored lines along the longitudinal medians of said long sides adapted to be bent reversely to the scored lines at the junctions of said base with said sides so that said base may rest flatly on a support While said sides of the gable-shaped bodies have only their long edges in contact with the support.

JOSIAH SHEPARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 635,282 Adair Oct. 24, 1899 1,125,064 Connell Jan. 19, 1915 1,158,916 Goldsmith Nov. 2, 1915 1,370,525 Eisenkraft Mar. 8, 1921 1,616,047 Hoge Feb. 1, 1927 1,906,031 Wilmarth Apr. 25, 1933 2,099,906 Reese et a1. Nov. 23, 1937 2,267,378 Smelling Dec. 23, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,672 Great Britain 1891