US587322A - The norbis ueters - Google Patents

Description

(No Model. 2 sheets-sheen 1.

H. L. MOTTER.

INDEX.

No. 587,322. Patented Aug. 3,1897;

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INDEX.

Patented Aug. 3,1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

HARRY L. MOTTER, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

INDEX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,322, dated August 3, 1897.

Application filed October 16, 1896. $er1'alN0- 609,132. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HARRY L. MOTTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indexes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improvement in indexes for use in connection with accounts, generally and especially adapted for ledgers, orderbooks, invoice-books, letter-books, mailinglists, official records, insurance companies,

I banking and savings institutions, and in any or all places where it is desirable to have ready reference to the location of accounts, &c.

The leading feature connected with my index is the saving of time required to ascertain the page of an account or the like. So far as I am aware, prior indexes are so constructed and arranged as to require a bookkeeper to turn first to the initial letter of a name and from there to the second letter of a name before a reference to the proper page can be ascertained, but in my improved index the exact page and line desired are reached by a single turn of the index-pages.

A further object that I have in view is to so construct the tabs as to show at a glance upon which line of the index names containing a combination of the first and second letters of the desired name can be found on the pages of the index; anda further object of the invention is to provide numbered lines on each page of the index to be used in connection with corresponding numbers in the columns of the tabs having the second letters of the names, to guide the eye to the exact position on the page where a name is to be found.

My newly-devised index with the aboverecited features effects a material saving of time in referring to the names in the index and ascertaining the ledger-page of an account, &c., because the desired name and page can be ascertained at a glance by simply opening the book at the page, and the position on the page, upon which the name is written, as shown by the line-number in the column on the tab, other indexes requiring from two to four turns to obtain the same result.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing objects my invention consists, first, in numbering the horizontal lines on the pages of the index and in providing numbers in the columns on the tabs containing or designed to contain the second letters of the names appearing on the correspondingly-numbered lines in the index-pages.

The invention further consists in a peculiar construction and arrangement of tabs for alphabetical letters which require a larger number of names to be entered in the index than can be inscribed on two facing pages of the same, all of the columns being exposed to view, so that any combination of two letters and the appropriate line-numbers therefor may be seen at a glance.

The invention finally consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an index constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof with the indexpages open at the alphabetical letter A, in which I have shown two continuous indextabs devoted to four pages of the index. Fig. 3 is another plan in which two index-tabs are used in connection with four index-pages, one tab being notched to provide a space for the other index-tab to occupy a position in alinementwiththefirst-namedtab. Fig.4tisa cross-sectional view through my index-book. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the doublenotched leaf in connection with a singlenotched leaf and a two-part tab adapted to said leaves.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The index A consists of a number of leaves B, bound between stiff covers D in any usual or preferred style of the bookbinders art.

The leaves B of the index are notched or out along one edge to accommodate the tabs in step-like order. The notches may be cut in the right-hand edges of the leaves and the tabs arranged in vertical order, asshown by the annexed drawings; but it will be under- I i n 4 stood that the invention is not restricted. to this particular arrangement, because the leaves may be notched at the top or bottom edges and the tabs arranged thereon to overlap each other and be exposed to View in horizontal order, or the side edges of the leaves may be notched in inclined order to have the tabs lie inclined at the side of the index, all as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In my index I prefer to employ four pages, or two leaves, for the alphabetical letters which enter prominently or largely into the names of persons, firms, or business concerns, although it is obvious that the number of pages may be increased and varied according to the number of names to be indexed.

As one embodiment of my invention I have shown by Fig. 2 the two leaves for the letter A devoted to the two tabs E F, each of which is a continuous tab extending from the notched edge of the leaf out to the margin thereof. The tabs E F for the leaves devoted to the letter A are arranged one below the other in order to expose both tabs to View, and said tabs are attached to the leaves in any suitable way.

It is evident that a single tab for such letters as form theinitials of a small number of names may be used on a single leafas,'for instance, such letters as I, J, O, U, V, Y, and Zand in the instances mentioned I attach a single tab H to the leaves devoted to such letters of the alphabet, as indicated in the drawings. If necessity demands, however, the leaves devoted to the letters mentioned may be increased in number, in which case duplicate tabs are employed for the additional pages, and said tabs may be arranged as heretofore described and shown by Fig. 2, or they may be arranged as shown by Fig. 3. In this embodiment of my invention shown by Fig. 3 one of the leaves has its edge out into two notches, as at g g, and to the short notched edge 9 of one leaf is attached a short tab G, while to the next following leaf is attached another tab G, which is adapted to be exposed to view through the notch g and which is arranged in alinement with the tab G, whereby the two tabs G G to the two leaves or four pages present the appearance of a single continuous tab when the index is closed.

One of the leading features of my invention consists in providing each tab with an alphabetical letter of large size and with one or a series of smaller letters which indicate the second letters of the names inscribed in the index. Another feature consists in providing numbers for the series of lines on the pages of the index, and another feature is making the tabs with columns, in which are inscribed or printed the second letters and numbers of lines on which the entries are written.

By reference to Figs. 2 and 3 it will be noted that the lines of the facing or opposite pages are numbered beginning with the number l at the upper left-hand corner of the first page and continuingthence in consecutive order down to the bottom of the left-hand page. As shown, the lines of the two pages are numbered from 1 to 80, although the number of lines are optional. A given number of these lines are devoted to one letter which forms a combination with the initial letter of a name. Another number of lines is appropriated to another letter, and so on. The purpose of this will be apparent farther on in this description.

Each tab has in addition to a large alphabetical index-letter a series of lines It, forming a series of columns, and in these columns are placed the second or combination letters and the figures denoting the number of the line on the index-page where the entry is to be found.

In the example shown by Fig. 3 of the drawings the two tabs G G are provided with columns to receive the second or combination letters and the reference-numbers designat ing the lines on the pages, the tab G having in its columns the second letters a, e, i, l, o, r and the figures 1, 30, 58, 65, 70, 75, and the columns of the tab G have the letters u, v and figures 78, 80.

Of course the second or combination letters and the figures inscribed in the columns may be varied to suit the requirements of the subdivisions rendered necessary by the number of names to be inscribed in the index, and in some alphabetical letters, such as E and S, I provide two tabs with a sufficient number of columns to contain all, or nearly all, the letters of the alphabet which may enter into combination with the initial alphabetical letter. Some of the tabs-as, for instance, those devoted to alphabetical letters having a small number of names to be indexeddo not require the employment of an extensive list of second or combination letters in the columns h, and in such cases I prefer to provide the columns and leave them blank, so as to make all of the tabs present a uniform appearance.

It will be noticed by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings that when the index is opened all of the tabs are exposed to view, so as to present the initial letters and the columns with the second or combination letters, so that all of them are exposed at a glance. I prefer to so arrange the tabs as to conceal the line-numbers at the heads of the columns containing the second or combination letters;

but when the index is opened at the alphabetical initial these line-numbers are exposed to view in the columns with the second or combination letters, so that the eye is guided by a glance at the tab to the line-number where the name is inscribed on the indexpage.

In writing in the index the accountant should first turn to the initial letter and then select the line denoted by the column containing the second or combination letter of the name. For instance, all names, whether individual, firm, or corporation, beginning with Ge will begin with the thirtieth line, as designated by the number 30" in the column with e on the tab having the initial, G at the right of the exposed page. Names having the combination-letters Gi ,will begin with line 58 on the exposed page, as indicated by the number 58 in the column containing the letter i on the tab with the letter G. Where there are several names commencing with the same two letters, they should follow directly under the first entry,so that all names of such combination-letters will bejfound in a group beginning with the line designated by the small number on the tab. All names are indexed by the first two letters of the name, each letter of the alphabet being divided into as many subdivisions as there are second letters possible to occur in surnames, whereby the improved index is given a Very large number of subdivisions to receive the names to be indexed.

The numbers in the columns of the second letters on the tabs serve as a guide to direct the eye to the exact position on the exposed pages upon which the name is to be found, thus saving time and labor in searching through a long list of names to find the particular name desired.

I may provide the index with an auxiliary sheet or leaf 0, which is made of tough durable paper or other appropriate material and is bound. in with the index-leaves to form an integral part of the index-book. This leaf 0, however, may be omitted; but when it is used it is arranged to underlie the whole series of tabs in the notched edges of the index-leaves, and its edge projects slightly beyond the tabs and beyond the stiff covers, said exposed edge of the auxiliary leaf 0 being preferably protected by binding, as at c. This auxiliary leaf, when it is provided in the index-book, serves as a means to facilitate handling of the tabs, and it protects them from wear and tear, because the leaf 0 presents a continuous edge along which the fingers can slide easily when moving the hand across the tabs preparatory to selecting a particular tab having the proper initial of the name reference to which is desired.

In using the index the operator lifts the edge of the leaf 0 and moves the hand so that the thumb rests upon the tab containing the initial letter of the name. The leaves are now turned to expose the index-page devoted to name beginning with the initial letter, and during this operation the bookkeeper selects the column containing on the tab the second letter of the name and glances at the number at the head of said column. By this time the index is opened and the bookkeeper is able to inform himself of the exact location of the name, because the number in the column enables him to find the numbered line on which the name is entered. In the example heretofore mentioned in connection with the entry of the name in the index we will suppose the accountant desires to find the ledger-page where the account is kept with the German National Bank. The index is opened atthe page containing the, tab having the initial letter G, and as e is the second letter in the name the eye by glancing at the second column with letter e finds that names with Ge as the first and second letters are found at line 30 on the exposed page. The line is readily found on the page, because the lines are numbered, and thus the entry in the index may bereadily ascertained, as well as the ledger-page set opposite the name.

In addition to having the lines on the index-pages numbered, as described, the pages are ruled with columns j, k, Z, m, and n. In the column j the numbers are printed. In column is the names are entered. In column Z are noted the ledger-page numbers which are set opposite the. names entered on the numbered index-lines. In column m are entered from time to time the numbers of the ledger pages to which the accounts are transferred and in column may be inscribed the addresses of the names written in the index. By providing a column on each page for the reception of the addresses as well as the names of the persons, firms, or corporations with whom business is transacted the book is made to serve the double purpose of an index to accounts and an address-book.

In Very large-sized indexes I may find it necessary to leave an occasional blank sheet between the leaves containing the indextabsthat, is, to have the. tab on one sheet answer the'purpose of an index for the following sheet, the second or blank sheet having its edge out or notched to conform to the edge of the preceding sheet when there are so many names of a combination of letters that it requires two sheets of the book to accommodate them.

It is thought that the mode of using my index and the advantages thereof will be understood and appreciated from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings.

I am aware that changes in the form, proportion, and details of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such modifications as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An index having the lines on its pages numbered, substantially such as described, and the underlying tabs on the margins of the index-pages, each tab provided with a series of combination-letters referring to the second letters of names beginning with the initial letter and also provided with numbers in juxtaposition to the second or combination letters, which numbers on the tabs refer to the numbered lines on the index-pages appropriate to names having the initial letter tothe second letters of names inscribed in the index, and the series of figures on said tabs referring to the proper groups or numbered lines where names having the given initial and second letters are to be found on the index-pages, as set forth.

3. An indexsbook having the lines of its pages numbered in consecutive order, and the series of tabs provided with alphabetical initial letters, and attached to said pages to be exposed to view, each tab containing a series of exposed columns in which are inscribed letters and'figures which refer to the second letter of the name entered in the index and the number of the line on the page in which the name is entered, respectively, as set forth.

4. An index having one or more of its pages provided with a double notch, as g g, and a two-part tab, as G, G, one part G of said tab attached to the part g of the double-notched index-page, the other part G of the tab attached to a notched edge on an adjacent page and projected into view through the notch g of the preceding double-notched page,the two parts G, G of the tab being arranged substantially in alinement with each and provided with columns containing letters and numbers which refer respectively to the second letters of the names entered on the index-pages and to the number of the line on which the names are inscribed, as and for the purposes described.

5. An index having its pages provided with lines which are numbered in consecutive order, and a series of tabs bearing alphabetical letters referring to the initials of names to be inscribed on the index-pages and arranged to expose the faces of all the tabs, each tab if urther provided with another series of letters and with a series of numbers set opposite to, or in alinement with,said second series of letters, as set forth.

6. An index having the lines on its pages numbered in consecutive order and a series of tabs bearing initial letters and a seriesof columns containing a second series of letters and figures opposite to or in alinement with said. second series of letters, one or more of the index-pages having a double notch as g g to accommodate a two-part tab G, G which is devoted to one alphabetical initial letter and which has its two parts attached to the double-notched page and the next adjacent page, respectively, to have the two parts-thereof exposed to view, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY 'L. MOTTER.

WVitnesses:

'B. R. PAXTON,

JNo. W. PLOVVMAN.

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