US590273A - Colin campbell mcphee - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

C. C. MCPHEE.

LETTER CLIP. No. 590,273. Patented Sept. 21,1897.

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WITNESSES.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

COLIN CAMPBELL MCPHEE, OF CHATHAM, CANADA.

LETTER-CLIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,273, dated September 21, 1897.

Application tiled February 24:, 1896. Serial No. 580,601. (No'model.)

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Be it known that I, COLIN CAMPBELL Mo- PHEE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city of Chatham, in the county of Kent, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Letter-Clip, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in letter-clips by which a spring-plate having upturned lugs and claws bent downward, engaging with a pair of handle-bars containing and operating a traveling roller, the said spring-plate being secured to any suitable base-board for the purpose of receiving letters and holding them firmly in place and providing an easy removal of any one or all of the said letters; and the object of my improvement is, rst, to facilitate the introduction of letters into the clip; secondly, to hold all letters iirmly in their place that have already been inserted while successive letters are being introduced; thirdly, to admit of any one of the letters being removed without displacing the others; fonrthly, this device being a self-ejector, to admit of all the letters being taken out and the ready replacement of the same, and, iifthly, to receive any width of paper. I attain these objects by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of the device, showing position of the parts while clip is down at rest. Fig. 2 is a side view of the device, showing position of the parts when the clip is up and the roller is under pressure of the clip. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the entire device at rest. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section showing the handle-bars reversed for the purpose of removing the letters.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The clip consists of any suitable base-board A, to one end of which is attached the spring-l plate B. This spring-plate B is cut, shaped, and bent so that the two raised lugs a, d are formed, as are also the two downwardly-bent claws c c, an angle being formed at the junction of the upright lugs d d and the bent claws c c. Hinged on the bar E, that is secured to the upright lugs d a at c e, are the handle- 1 bars d d, which are an extension of the handle D from the angle at bearings ff', the elongated spindle or axle g engaging with the spindle g, and rotating on same is the traveling roller F. The handle D forms a loop from bearingf to f. v

The method of voperating is as follows: The letter to be filed is inserted beneath the roller and passed up into the angles formed at the junction of lugs and claws, the downward pressure being put on handle D. The roller F acts as a movable fulcrum, so that the claws c c of spring-plate B are raised gradually as roller and extended axle g pass forward, feeding the letter in beneath. So soon as letter has escaped the claws c c and is rolled beneath the pressure is removed from handlebar D and all the parts revert to their former position. The angle formed by the handlebars d d and handle D is an obtuse angle, so that the 'spring nature of plate caused the immediate return of roller upon removal of pressure, as the bars never become perpendicular to base-board. The removal of pressure upon roller` which engages the letter is always concordant with the return of claws upon the letter, so that it will be readily seen that either claws or roller engage inserted letters continuously to the full extent of the springplate. The claws while at rest and the roller while in process of introduction form a continuous clamp, so that no matter if clip be suspended upon a wall the already-inserted letters are fully and firmly held in their place without falling out while additional letters are being introduced. By reversing the Inotion for inserting letters and passing the handle D over the lugs d d the open ends ofl the handle-bars d d are brought in contact with the base-board, and as the motion is continued these ends again form another movable fulcrum, which as they go downward from top of clip gradually raise claws c c, and as these bars approach an almost perpendicular position they can be allowed to remain in that position, having claws c c raised, so that any letter or letters can be selected and removed and the remaining ones rengaged by claws as ends of bars d d are returned by reverse motion, or, if it is desirable t0. remove all the letters from beneath claws, instead of reversing this motion it can be continued until al1 IOO Io lugs a, a, and engaging with the roller F for the purpose of engaging the papers as they are oered and for feeding them beneath claws c, 0, and also for holding all previously-inserted papers from dropping out during the insertion of the last paper, substantially as 15 specified and set forth.

COLIN CAMPBELL MCPHEE. Witnesses: T. J. RU'rLEY, W. J RUTLEY.

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