US748789A - Account-book - Google Patents

Description

N0. '7 l8,789. PATENTED JAN; 5, 1904.

J. H. RAND. v ACCOUNT BOOK.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 31, 1902.

no MODEL. N

' f nu 7" 'W! n i in i lf i/ """---z of the columns out of alinement with the the column of names on the long leaf and UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ACCOUNT-BOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,789, dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed July 31 1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES H. RAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Tonawanda, in the county of-Niagara and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Account Books, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to record and account books, but more particularly to the daily-balance lodgers used in banks and composed of sections each comprising along leaf on the left-hand margin of which the depositors names are written or printed in a vertical column in alphabetical order and a number of short' leaves which termiuateat which are ruled into groups of vertical colums for the'entry of deposits, checks, and balances, a group of such columns being provided for each days business.

In large and active banks entries have to be" made quickly, owing to the great volume of. business transacted in a-comparatively short time, and in such institutions it is impracticable to employ a large number of short leaves in each alphabetical. section of the ledger, because the leaves sag to such an extent as to throw the horizontal entry-spaces name-spaces of the large or index leaves of the sections. Unless,therefore, the bookkeeper works slowly with such a ledger he is liable to make entries opposite the wrong names. To guard against such errors, it has been the custom in the larger banks to use lodgers. with a comparatively small number of such short leaves in each section; but this arrange ,ment requires the depositors names to be rewritten or printed at correspondingly short intervals, entailing much extra work when the names are written and incurring extra ex pense when they are printed.

One of theobjects of my invention is to; provide an improved account -book of this character which permits the use of a comparatively large number of leaves inthe various sections without any greater liabilityof mak:

ing mistakes than with a ledger having a smallnumber ofgleaves in a section, thus savlng the time incidentto frequently rewriting the depositors names.

Ledgers of the above description have the fierial No. 1 17,860. (lie model.)

further objection that in case a depositor discontinues his account the name of anew depositor cannot without causing confusion be substituted for that of the old depositor until the next set of leaves of that particular sectionis opened by rewriting the names. My invention has the further object to provide means which in such a case permits anew depositors name to be readily substituted in such a way that no confusion results and so that the place where the old account ends and the new one begins can be quickly referred to at some future time, if desired.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of an open bank-ledger with bound leaves embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the book, taken centrally through its back. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the sliding and reversible index in line 8 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view of a modified construction ofthe index. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-section in line 5 5, Fig. 2, showing one of the pintle-pockets.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring toFig. 1, A indicates the long or wide leaf of the section at which the, ledger is opened, and B the short or narrow leaves of thesame section. A indicates the usual column of depositors names written or printed adjacent to the left-hand edge of the wide loaf A, the names being arranged in alphabetical order to serve as an index and each wide leaf of a section forming part of this index in a manner common to such lodgers. C C 0 indicate the groups of vertical columns for the entry of the deposits, checks, and balances or other desired entries, these columns being subdivided into the usual horizontal spaces which coincide with the spaces, In the ledger shown of the. name-column A.

in the drawings each short leaf has six groups of columns on each side or enough for two weeks business, and each section preferably contains twenty-six of such leaves, so as to last a whole year, thus requiring the names to bewritteu or printed but once a year. With each of these sections of leaves is combined a movable index D, consisting of anarrow strip of stiff material, such as sheet metal or cardboard, arranged to extend across the pages parallel with their vertical entry-columns and bearing a duplicate of the deposi-.

tors names on the wide leaf A of the corresponding section and located in line therewith. Each of these movable indexes is mounted to slidelaterally onaswinging frame E, which is hinged to the book in such a manner that the index may be placed upon either of the opposing pages at which the book is opened and slid adjacent to the columns in which the current days entries are to be made for insuring the correct entry of the amounts opposite the corresponding names. The swinging frames are preferably constructed of heavy wire and composed of longitudinal arms or bars e e, extending along the upper and lower edges of theleaves, and a transverse bar a, connecting the outer ends of said bars and extending along the free vertical edges of the leaves, thethree bars forming asubstantially U-shaped frame. In order to permit the hinged frame to lie substantially parallel with the leaves, and thus allow the index D to lie flat on the page, the inner ends of the frame are pivotally or fiexibly connected with the back or bound portion of the book, preferably by a double joint,

consisting of short links 6 pivoted at their outer ends to the inner ends of the upper and lower frame-bars by transverse pins 6 and at their inner ends to transverse pivot-pins or pintles f, which are confined centrally in the sections of leaves and project beyond the adjacent edges of the leaves. These pintles may be held in place by any suitable means; but they are preferably inserted in transverse loops or pockets g, of canvas or other suitable material, which loops are bound in the book with the leaves, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The sliding index D is provided at its ends with transverse slides or sleeves h, which snugly embrace the upper and lower bars of the swinging frame and which permit the index to be shifted laterally thereon, but at the same time keep it firmly in position, so as to hold it from tilting or twisting and maintain its names in proper register with the corresponding entry-spaces of the ledge rpages.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the index-strip has the depositors names only on one side, and it is reversibly mounted on its swinging carrying-frame E by trunnions 2', secured to its ends and turning in bearings t", arranged centrally on the sleeves, so that in swinging the index from one of two opposing pages to the other it may be reversed to face upward in either position.

If desired, the index may be rigidly secured to its guide-sleeves, as shown in Fig. 4, in which case it is necessary to place the depositors names on both sides of the strip, so that those on one side will be exposed when the index is laid upon the left-hand page and those on the opposite side be exposed when the index is laid on the-right-hand page.

As shown in Fig. 1, the several index-carrying frames E extend around the upper, lower, and outer edges of the short leaves of the sections, and when the book is closed their outer transverse bars e occupy the spaces between the outer margins of the long leaves A. The frames do not, therefore, interfere with the closing of the book nor render the same any less compact than ordinary accountbooks of this kind.

In the use of the book after opening the same at the desired section the corresponding index D is slid beside the current days entrycolumns C 0' 0*, thus requiring the eye to be cast over a comparatively short space and lessening the liability of making an entry on the wrong line. When a page is filled up, the

index is raised from the same by means of the hinged frame, the page is turned over upon the preceding leaf, and the index is replaced upon the new page. As the index is in this manner successively placed upon each individual page of the corresponding section, the n umber of leaves that may be placed in a section and yet insure accurate entries is limited only by the requirements of convenience in the size and manipulation of the book, and each section may, if desired, contain twentysix short leavesenough to last a year-thus greatly reducing the time and labor incidental to rewriting the names at comparatively short intervals or the extra cost of repeatedly printing the same.

It will be observed that the several movable indexes D are not required to be detached from their swinging guide and carrying-frames E when a page is filled with entries; but the indexes remain permanently attached to the frames and the latter to the book. This avoids the loss of time and inconvenience attending the use of books in which the movable indexes must be detached from their guides and again replaced before beginning a new page.

The names may be written or printed directly upon the paper or other material of the index-strips D; but the latter are preferably provided with a vertical row of bold ers or pockets j, registering with the horizontal entry-spaces of the columns C O O and adapted to receive removable cards or slips j, which bear the names of the depositors. This construction permits the cardsto be readily changed when a depositor discontinues his account, and the name of a new depositor is substituted for that of the old one. The card-holders shown in the drawings consist of a strip of metal having card-retaining flanges at its upper and lower edges and at one end, the opposite end of the holder being open for the insertion and,removal of the card. In connection with these changeable name or index cards I preferably employ substitute name-tabs k, which are attached to the outer vertical edges of the leaves on which changes occur in the names of accounts. These tabs, which are preferably colored to render them conspicuous,correspond in width with the spaces of the name-columns A and are adapted to overlie such spaces. In the use of this feature of the invention when it is desired to substitute a new depositors name for that of a discontinued one the bookkeeper at the time of changing the correspond ing card on the movable index D writes the new depositors name upon such a tab and then pastes or otherwise attaches it to the edge of the leaf in the proper place to register with and cover the depositors name previously written or printed in the name-space in line with the changed index-card. At the same time the bookkeeper crosses off the former depositors name, but does not erase it. Should it later be desired to refer to the page where the substitute depositors account was commenced or the previous depositors account was discontinued, this can be readily done by turning to the proper section and opening the same at the tab by seizing the latter. The use of such tabs in conjunction with the changeable name-cards of the movable index D permits the entry-spaces opposite a discontinuing depositorsname to be utilized throughout the remaining leaves of the corresponding section without confusing the original and substituted accounts, thus avoiding waste of the remaining entry-spaces opposite the names of discontinued accounts, which would otherwise occur.

While my improvements are herein shown and described in connection witha book having tightbound or permanent leaves, the

same are equally applicable to loose leaf lodgers and to other record and account books of various kinds.

I claim as my invention 1. A record or account book having a hinged guide-frame capable of swinging to either side of the open book, and an index carried by said frame and capable of sliding thereon, substantially as set forth.

2. A record or account book having a' hinged frame capable of swinging to either side of the open book, slides mounted on said frame, and an index reversibly mounted on said slides, substantially as set forth.

3. A record or account book having a hinged guide-frame capable of swinging to either side of the open book, slides mounted on said frame, and an index carried by said slides and capable of swiveling thereon, substantially as set forth.

4. A record or account book having a swinging guide-frame hinged to the upper and lower edges of the book by a flexible joint, and an index carried by said frame and capable of sliding thereon, substantially as set forth.

5. A record or account book havinga swinging guide-frame hinged to the same bya double joint which consists of links pivoted at their inner ends to the back of the book and at their outer ends to the upper and lower members of the frame, and an index carried by said frame, substantially as set forth.

6. A record or account book having a pocket or loop bound in its back, a hinged guide-frame having pintles arranged in said loop, and an index carried by said frame, substantially as set forth.

7. Arecord or account book having aswinging U-shaped guideframe hinged at its inner ends to the back or binding edge of the book and extending around the upper, lower and outer edges of its leaves, and an index carried by said frame and capable of sliding laterally on the upper and lower members thereof, substahtially as set forth.

8. A record or account book having long leaves each provided on its outer margin with an index-column divided into name-spaces, a short leaf or leaves terminating at said index-column and having entry-spaces which register with said name-spaces, and a substitute name tab or tabs applied to the outer edges of said short leaf or leaves, each of said tabs being arranged in line with one of said entry spaces and the corresponding name-space of the index-column and extending beyond the short leaves sufficiently to overlie said name-space, substantially as so forth.

Witness my hand this 28th day of July, 1902.

JAMES H. RAND. Witnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, THEo. L. Port.

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