US721950A - Routing-table. - Google Patents

Description

'PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903 D. M. HEALD.

ROUTING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED MT. 1, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

I THE nd'nns PLERS co. PnoYmLnnQ. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL MILTON HEALD, OF MILFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ROUTING-TABLE,

SPECIFIGA'IION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 21,950, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed October 1, 1902.

T at whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, DANIEL MILTON H EALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milford, in the county of Hillsboro, State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ron tin g-Tables and I do hereby declare the followingtobe 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. 1

This invention relates to routing-tables; and it has for its object to provide a construction including a table proper or base and a rack mounted above the base for rotary movement toward and away from the base to rest thereon or lie in spaced relation thereto, the rotary motion being given to the rack through the medium of spring-actuated mechanism, which serves also to hold the rack yieldably at Whatever elevation it may be placed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction which will be cheap of manufacture and efficient in operation and which will be light and easy of shipment, otherv objects and advantages of the invention being understood from the following description.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure lis a front elevation of a routing-table embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the routing-table with one upright removed and showing the rack in lowered position, the raised position of the rack being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one of the shelves of the rack, a number of the partition-wires being removed.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a routing table comprising a table proper or base including a top 10, having legs 11, and upon which top, at the ends and rear portion thereof, are the parallel uprights 12, having the connecting back piece 13 at their lower ends and the upper connecting-brace 14. From the uprights to the front edge of the table extend also the side pieces or cheeks 15, which prevent the loose mail-matter from falling off from the table-top. Between the uprights 12 is disposed a rack comprising a casing including end pieces 16 and connecting-shelves 17, the width of the casing being Serial No. 125,564. on, model.)

slightly less than the space between the uprights, as shown, to accommodate the springactuated mechanism for lifting the rack and for holding it at difierent elevations. Each of the shelves of the rack consists of spaced longitudinal slats-18, having transverse connecting end and intermediate pieces 19, the

u pperfaces of said slats and connecting-pieces lying in a common plane. The connectingpieces extend rearwardl y beyond the rear slat 18, and against their rear ends is secured a longitudinal piece 20. In the slats 18, as also in the connecting-pieces 19, are formed perforations 21, and in each transverse pair of perforations are disposed the ends of wire wickets or arches 22, which stand erect and parallel fromfront to back of the shelf. The wire wickets or arches form partitions, and in the interspaces between them are disposed the letters as they are sorted upon the tabletop 10. This construction of shelf is much lighter than the solid boardshelf, while possessin g all of the required rigidity, theletters being prevented from dropping between the longitudinal slats by means of the longitudinal wires or rods 23, whichare disposed between the slats and between the rear slat and the longitudinal piece 20, said wires or rods being parallel with the slats and being set into the faces of the connecting-pieces 19 to lie flush with the upper .faces thereof.

7 During the sorting of first-class mail-matter the rack is adjusted to the desired elevation; but when second-class matter is to be sorted the entire top of the table is required, so that the rack must be raised and held in elevated position free from the table-top.

To raise the rack, levers 25 are pivoted at their rear ends against the inner faces of the uprights 12, while their forward ends'are pivoted against the outer faces of the ends of the frame of the rack, said levers when the rack is in lowered position extending from their rear ends downwardly and forwardly.

Projecting from the side faces of the levers are pins 26 in such positions that when the rack is in lowered position said pins will lie vertically below the upper or rear pivots of the levers. Connected to the pins 26 are helical springs 27, which are passed upwardly and are connected at their upper ends to the eyes of eyebolts 28, which are passed upwardly through the brace LL and have adjusting thumb-nuts 29 engaged with their upper portions, so that the eyebolts may be drawn upwardly to increase the tensions of the springs or may be released to decrease such tension. With this construction it will be seen that when the rack is in lowered position the axes of the helical springs will lie in the rear of the upper or rear pivots of the lifting-levers. If then the lower end of the rack be drawn forwardly until the axes of the springs pass in front of said rear pivots of the levers, said spring will act to swing the levers on their rear pivots to raise the forward ends of the levers and therewith the rack, movement of the upper end of the rack to correspond to the movement of the lower end thereof being insured by the links 30, which are pivoted to the end pieces 12 and the ends of the rackframe, said links being at all times parallel with the levers and having the same lengths as the levers between their pivots. When the rack has been moved to the limit of its upwardv movement, the helical springs hold it against outward swinging movement, the cross brace 14, which engages in the notches 31 in the ends of the rack-frame, acting as a stop to limit the upward movement of the rack, while the back piece 13 limits the downward movement in connection with the top 10. The friction between the rack and the frame in which it slides is such that the tension of the springs is not sufficient to raise the rack, while the friction and springs together prevent downward movement of the rack. When the rack is to be raised, it is grasped and raised manually and requires no latches to hold it at different elevations.

It will be understood that in practice modifications of the specific construction shown may be made and that any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is- 1. Arouting-table comprisinga base, a rack mounted for movement bodily about an axis toward and away from the base, and a springactuated mechanism connected with the rack and disposed to oppose the movement of the rack in the direction of the base.

2. A routing-table comprising a base and a rack mounted for movement bodily about an axis toward and away from the base, means for limiting the movement of the rack and a spring-actuated mechanism connected with the rack for holding it at difierent points of its movement.

3. A routing-table comprisinga base, a rack mounted for movement bodily about an axis toward and away from the base, and a springactuated mechanism connected with the rack and disposed to oppose movement of the rack in the direction of the base, and adapted to hold the rack at different points of its move ment.

4. A routing-table comprising a base having uprights, a rack disposed between the uprights, levers pivoted at opposite ends to the rack and uprights, helical springs connected with the uprights above the pivotal connections of the lovers with the uprights and connected to the levers at points between their pivotal connections with the uprights and rack, said levers being movable with the rack to carry the points of connections of the spring below and beyond the points of connections of the levers with the uprights.

5. A routing-table comprising a base having uprights, a rack disposed between the uprights, levers pivoted at opposite ends to the rack and uprights, helical springs connected with the uprights above the pivotal connections of the levers with the uprights and connected to the levers at points between their pivotal connections with the uprights and rack, said levers being movable with the rack to carry the points of connections of the spring below and beyond the points of connections of the levers with the uprights and means for adjusting the tensions of the springs.

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

DANIEL MILTON HEALD.

Witnesses:

J. B. HEALD, ERNEST SHATTUCK.

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