US567194A - Philip newton - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.\

P. NEWTON.

FORK.

Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

Wilgzsscs o'ro-umo. WASHINGTON. a c,

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica,

PHILIP'NEWVTON, OF GRAND HARBOR, CANADA.

FORK.

SPECIFICATIONformingpart of Letters Patent No. 567,194, dated September 8, 1896.

Application filed April 20, 1895.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILIP NEWTON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Grand Harbor, in the Province of New Brunswick and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Fork, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to culinary utensils,

and particularly to a fork adapted for cooking purposes, as in placingarticles inand removing the same from vessels, the object-in View being to provide a simple and readilymanipulated device having duplicate forked members adapted to grasp an article by bearing, respectively, uponopposite sides thereof, the pressure necessary to hold said article being applied either by means of the grasp of the operator upon the handles or by spring action.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cooking-fork constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the rear portions of the handle members. Fig. 4 is a detail transverse section through the front ends of the handle members to illustrate the manner of securing the fork-shanks to said members.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawmgs.

The handle, which embodies the essential feature of my invention, comprises opposite handle members 1, which are bowed inwardly or toward each other at their centers and are pivotally connected by means of ears 2, said handle members diverging from this pivotal point toward their front and rear extremities to form front and rear grips, the entire length of the handle, including said front "and rear grips, being approximately equal to the width of the hand of an operator, whereby the operator by contracting the rear portion of the hand, as by the third and fourth fingers, may force the rear extremities of the handle members toward each other to open the front extremities of said handle members, or by con- Serial No. 546,506. (No model.)

tracting the front portion of the hand, as by the index and second fingers, the front portions of the handle members may be pressed toward each other to spread the rear portions. The rear extremities of the rear grips, or those portions of the handle members which are 10- cated in rear of the pivotal point, are preferextremities of the handle members in contact,

as shown in Fig. 1. In order to form comfortable exterior bearing-s11 rfaces for the handle members and at the same time secure a light construction, I preferably form the handle members of cross-sectionally concavo-convex strips of metal or its equivalent, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

Any desired construction of engaging members may be employed in connection with the handle above described, but in the construction. illustrated the fork-shanks 5, which carry the tongues 8, are attached, respectively, to the handle members and are adapted to lie in contact when the handle members are in their normal. or closed position. A simple form of connection between the shanks of the engaging devices and the extremities of the handle members is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein said front extremities 'of the handle members are longitudinally channeled to form cross-sectionally dovetailed grooves or seats in which are fitted the extremities 6 of the shanks, threaded fastening-pins 7 being extended through the front ends of the handle members to engage the extremities of the shanks and prevent longitudinal displacement.

From the above description it will be seen that by reason of .the deflection or divergence of the handle members in front and in rear of their pivotal point of connection the engaging devices carried, respectively, by the handle members may be either separated or swung toward each other to release or engage an article by pressure, respectively, upon the rear or front grips comprising said handle members, and hence the device may be operated without the use of the closing-spring 4:, but I prefer to use said spring, the same being of light tension, in order to hold the engaging members of the device in their contracted or closed position when the utensil is not in use.

By constructing the engaging devices independently of the handle, which forms the essential feature of my invention, and detachably securing the shanks of said devices, respectively, to the handle members, a broken member of the engaging devices may be replaced at a small cost without afiecting the efficiency of the handle.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A handle having opposite members pivotally connected approximately at their centers to form front and rear grips arranged respectively in front and in rear of the said point of connection, whereby the hand which grasps the handle is adapted to contract either the front or the rear portion of the handle by pressure applied either in front or in rear of the point of connection, in combination with engaging devices carried respectively by the handle members, substantially as specified.

2. A handle comprising opposite members pivotally connected approximately at their centers to form front and rear grips arranged respectively in front and in rear of the point of connection, said handle members being bowed inwardly or toward each other at their centers to form deflected or divergent front and rear portions, whereby the hand which grasps the handle may compress either the front or the rear grips to swing the handle 'members in opposite directions, and means for limiting the inward movement of the rear extremities of the handle members, in combination with engaging devices carried respectively by the handle members and projecting forwardly from the front extremities of said members, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of a handle comprising opposite members pivotally connected approximately at their centers and having front and rear grips arranged respectively in front and in rear of the pivotal point of connection, whereby the handle members may be swung in opposite directions by pressure applied respectively to the front and rear grips, the front extremities of the handle members being longitudinally channeled to form dovetailed grooves or seats, and an actuatingspring interposed between the rear portions of the handle members, to normally hold the front extremities thereof in contact, with engaging devices having cross-sectionally dovetailed extremities fitting removably in said seats or grooves, and fastening-pins engaging said extremities of the shanks and the contiguous portions of the handle members to prevent accidentallongitudinal displacement of the engaging devices, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP NEWTON. \Vitnesses:

ARTHUR A. LEARY, DELLA N. LEARY.

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