US412604A - Henry croggon - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

H; CROGGON.

SPONGE 0UP.

, Patented 001:. 8, 1889. @g/I UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

HENRY CROGGON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SPONGE-CUP.

srncrrrcn'rron forming part of Letters-PiatntNo;412,604, dated October 8, 1889. Application filed m 24, 1889. Serial No. 318,542. awn.)

To aZZ whom it may concern} Be it known that I, HENRY CROGGON, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sponge-Cups; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my improved sponge-cup; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same with the sponge removed; Fig. 3, a section on linear w of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a similar section of a modified form of the cup.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The object ofmy invention is to provide an improved sponge-holding cup for the use of money counters and handlers, and for other purposes; and to this end my invention consists in the cup with the parts thereof arii'ianged and constructed as hereinafter speci- In sponge-holders or holding cups as heretofore made for use by money handlers and counters and by other persons needing a moist sponge to dampen the fingers upon, it has been customary to have a simple cup of glass or pottery with itsjsides inclined upward and inward, so as to receive and hold a wet sponge. The objection to such cups, in which the sponge is in contact with and engaged by the rim or upper edge, is that the water is apt to get from the sponge over the said edge and run down the cup sides. As in order that the fingers may be moistened properly and most readily it is necessary that the sponge should project above the retaining cup edge, it is obvious that when the sponge is pressed or squeezed at all, as by the fingers of the user, some of the water in the sponge is very sure to be forced out upon and over the cup edge to run down, as indicated above. On account of the natural expansion of a sponge when wet its sides are liable to spread out so as to overhang .the retaining cup edge or rim, if a sponge large enough to be properly held and retained by the cup is used. This spreading and overhanging of the sponge facilitates the objectionable overflowing and running of water down the cup sides. occurring during use of the cup.

'With the above-stated objections to sponge cups or holders as heretofore made in View, I have invented the holder as shown in the drawings.

In such drawings, A designates a cup or dish of any desired depth and of any suitable materialfor instance, pottery, china, glass,-

or metal adapted to resist corrosion by water or plated with non-corrodible metal or material. Instead of carrying the cup or dish sides upward and inward and making the concavity of such diameter as to fit and hold the sponge to be used, as in the holders heretofore made, I make such concavity larger than the sponge, and preferably make its walls with an upward and outward slope or inclination, as shown in the drawings. If desired, however, the sides of the concavity can be made to extend. upward and inward, as inthe cups heretofore made and used; but

they are not to be in contact with or to assist in holding the sponge.

Within the dish or cup A,l place the spongeholder proper, having its upper edge engaging the sponge B at some distance from the dish or cup edge. 3, such holder consists of several upwardly and inwardly extending fingers O C, preferably made or cast in one piece with the cup. Such fingers, which can be of any desired number and are arranged to stand around the sponge and engage it at different points, are separated from each other at their bases, so as to leave spaces 0' C, through which any water in the cup outside of the fingers can fiow inward to the sponge-receiving space. Each finger O is preferably concaved on its inner side, as shown, to give the best spongeholding action. It is also made tapering or diminishing in width toward its top in order to facilitate the contact of the fingers of the user with the sponge. The outer sides of its edges are also preferably made rounded or beveled, so as not to leave exposed any sharp edge or angle.

Instead of forming the sponge-engaging holder proper of a series of separate fingers,

,as described, it can consist, as shown in Fig.

4, of a continuous flange or rim C extending upwardly and inwardly from the cup-walls, and having along its base or lower portion a As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and

series of openings 0 C for the same purpose as the spaces between the fingers in the' holder shown in the other figures of the drawings. The fingers C C or the flange O can be cast or formed in one piece with the cup or dish A, or can be made separate and fastened in place in any desired way.

Vhile I prefer to make the fingers O of the shape shown and described, I do not limit myself thereto, as they can be instead narrow arms or rods projecting upwardly and inwardly from the cup interior or having their upper ends bent inward, so as to best hold the engaged sponge down in position.

The manner of using my invention is as follows: The sponge B is forced into the holder proper, whose upper edge stands within and well away from the edge of the cup A. The sponge when wet cannot then overhang or come in contact with the cup edge or rim so that water can get from it over such rim, as in the sponge-holders heretofore made and used. With the sponge wet either before or after it is put in place within the grasp of the fingers C O or flange C any water which may flow or be squeezed from the sponge over the edges of the fingers or flange during use will simply run down within the dish or cup and flow back to the sponge again through the spaces or openings 0 C.

With the sponge-retaining fingers of the shape and arrangement shown and described, and having their edges rounded on their outer sides, the holder is a mostconvenient and comfortable one for use. The most ready access of the fingers of the user to the sponge is afforded, and there are no exposed sharp edges or surfaces.

IVhile in the sponge-holding cup as heretofore made, with the cup rim or edge engaging the sponge, but little more water than enough to just wet the sponge could be used at one time, and consequently the sponge could not be maintained at the same degree of saturation for any length of time when in use, I can place in my dish or cup A suflicient water to keep the sponge thoroughly wet for a long time without any danger of overflow or spilling. Such water has constant access to the sponge through the spaces or openings 0 C, and will be taken up continuously by the sponge to supply the place of that removed by the fingers of the user.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is- 1. As an article of manufacture, acup having a sponge-receiving holder, a rim extending around outside of such holder so as to be out of contact with a sponge therein and made higher than the portion of the cup between it and the holder, and one or more openings connecting the interior of the holder with the space between the latter and the rim, substantially as and for the purpose set forth;

2. As an article of manufacture, a cup having within it a series of fingers adapted to receive and hold a sponge out of contact with the cup edge, at their upper ends made separate and standing away from such edge, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. As an article of manufacture, a cup havin g within it a series of sponge-holdin g fingers or projections extending upward and inward with their upper ends within and some distance from the edge of the cup, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4.. As an article of manufacture, a spongeholder consisting of a dish or cup having extending upwardly and inwardly within it a series of fingers adapted to engage and hold a sponge, such. fingers being separated from each other and made tapering toward their upper ends, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. As an article of manufacture, acup having extending upwardly from points within and below the level of its rim a series of fingers adapted to grasp and hold a sponge between them and having spaces between their sides for the passage of water, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of July, A. D. 1889.

HENRY CROGGON. Witnesses:

E. T. WHITE, HENRY C. HAZARD.

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