US832909A - Drawing-table. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED OCT. 9,, 1906.

T. S. HOMANS. DRAWING TABLE. APPLICATION 111L111) n11.17, 1904.

2 snhnrs-snnm 1.

, INVENTOR PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

, IIVI/ENTO/i' M J/M r11: NORRIS versus 1:0,, wAsn/Nuruu. v. c-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

"DRAWING-TABLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 17, 1904. Serial No. 198,612.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. HoMANs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drawing-Tables;and I do hereby declare the following to. be a full, clear, and eXactfdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My ,invention relates to drawing-tables which are usedmore especially for the production of large-sized drawings, and particularly drawings which contain. a great deal of detail work, such as designs of complicated machinery, &c.; and it consists of a certain new and useful construction for facilitating the production of such drawings, as hereinafter fully explained.

It is now customary in mechanical drawing to use a large flat board on which the drawing-paper is fastened. It is obvious that the rear portion of such a board is more or less inaccessible from the front of the table, from which, position the draftsman is obliged to work in order to be able to view his drawing correctly. ,This defect in the method becomes greatly augmented in cases where a great deal of detail is required, and the attitude the draftsman must assume is necessarily awkward, irksome, and unhealthful, and the process of drawing consequently hindered. i i j The object of invention isto. obviate this difficulty of reaching over to the rear portion of the table; and my invention consists, broadly, of a construction in which the table-top is movable and is composed and made up of narrow longitudinal sections suitably hinged together and guided or constrained in such a manner that when the draftsman moves the rear portion forward the front portion will bend, curl, or otherwise move out of the way.

Having thus explained the essential features of my invention, I will now describe my preferredconstruction, referring to the accompanying drawings, which show the upper part of the table only, it being understood that any suitable stand or substructure may be used. I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device with the left-hand frame and some other parts removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view. Fig. 3 is a detailed side elevation of the front end with the left-hand frame removed. Fig. 4 shows a portion of the front of the table in section. Fig. 5 is a detailed plan of one of the link-hinges.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the frames 1 are joined together by the ties 2 and furnish bearings for the two revoluble shafts 3. Each of these shafts has two sprocketwheels 4 fastened to it and situated just inside the framework, one on either side. 5 represents the longitudinal sections, preferably of wood, which make up the movable table-top. (See Figs. 3 and 4.) Said sections have lugs or tenons 6 on their ends, which fit into the recesses of the link-hinges 7 and are fastened to them by screws 8. The links 7 are hinged together by the pins 9, which pins project beyond the links, partly for the purpose of engaging with the sprocket-wheels 4 their ends rest upon the ledges 10 of' the frames 1. Preferably the links form two that they lie close together and form one continuous surface when the chains are other when the chains are going around the sprocket-wheels 4. The ledges 10, forming supports for the pins 9, prevent any sag to the working surface of the table.

; endless chains, one on each end of the movable table-top. .The sections 5 are so shaped The top thus formed may be moved forwarder backward at will, at the same time always preserving a continuous and rigid working surface. The hand-wheel 11 is fastened to one of the shafts 3 in order to facilitate the moving of the table-top. Strips 12, which are part of the frames 1, furnish guides and rests for a T-square or any one of the commonlyused parallel-motion rulers. v The paper may be fastened directly to the table-top, as by thumb-tacks; but owing to discrepancies in workmanship and shrinkage of material and the difficulty of avoiding crevices between the sections 5 I have 'preferred to cover the tabletop with a flexible covering 13 stout enough to hold the points of the drawing instru'mentsand to obviate any little irregularity of the table-surface.

It will be seen that the sections 5 of the table-top present shar edges or corners at the front and back 0 the table where the chains are bent around the sprocket-wheels These sharp edges have a tendency to crease both the drawing-paper and the flexible covering 13 if the latter are allowed to cling to ITO the tabletop and follow it around the curves. This is not objectionable at the rear part of the table, for the reason that the drawingpaper need never go around that portion; but at the front I prefer to use a semicylindrical guard 14, which is secured to the frames 1. The covering 13 and the paper leave the movable table-top at the point where it be gins to turn and slide over this guard. The drawing-paper may either be fastened to the covering or may be fastened to the movable table-top by tacks, which go through the covering. In the latter case if the covering is made to go over the guard 14 tacks can be used only at the top of the sheet of paper, so consequently I prefer to employ the flexible tapes 15, preferably of metal. These tapes may be endless and not attached to the table. Their purpose is to bind the covering and paper to the table, and yet they are not tight enough to prevent the free movement of the covering over the guard.

I do not wish to limit myself to an endless construction of either chains, covering, or tapes, for the reason that the movable table-top may be guided by grooves in the frames or by other suitable means and yet serve the purpose intended.

What I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. In a drawing-table; the combination, with a suitable standard, of a movable tabletop supported thereon; said table-top being composed of a series. of sections connected together by links forming endless chains; sprocket-wheels for controlling the movement of said chains a flexible-surface-covering for said table-top; a guard for keeping said covering away from the edges of the table-top; and flexible tapes for binding said covering and the drawing-paper to the said table-top.

2. In a drawing-table, the combination with a suitable standard, of a movable tabletop composed of a series ofsections suitably connected together and supported on the 7 standard, means for guiding the movement of the table-top, a flexible surface-covering for the table-top, and a curved guard arranged beneath the covering to protect the covering and the drawingrpaper from the edges of the sections.

3. In a drawing-table, the combination with similar side frames, secured together with a space between them, of parallel front and rear rotatable supports journaled between the frames, endless bands fitted to the supports, a series of parallel cross-strips secured on the bands, a, flexible covering forthe strips, a curved guard arranged beneath the covering at the front end, endless flexible tapes arranged outside of the covering to maintain the covering and drawing-paper in position.

4. In a drawing-table, the combination with a suitable standard, of rotating supports journaled in the standard, a movable tabletop. composed of a series of connected sections, said table-top being carried on the supports, and endless flexible tapes arranged around the table-top adjacent to each end to maintain the drawing-paper in position.

5. As a new artlcleof manufacture, a

drawing-table having a flexible, movable top, composed of a series of separate sections having flat upper surfaces, and a smooth, flexible covering secured to said sections, directly to receive the drawing-paper, and in combination therewith a suitable frame, front and rear shafts journaled therein, sprockets on the ends of'said shafts, and endless chains on each side carried on said sprockets, the sections being secured at their ends to the respective chains.

6. In a drawing-table, the combination with a frame, of a movable table-top composed of a series of sections arranged across the top and supported on the frame, a flexible covering for the table-top, and a .cu-rved guard at the front arranged'beneath the covering as a protection from the edges of the sections.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a drawing-table having in combination a supporting-frame, a sectional table-top for receiving the drawing-paper movable onthe frame, a convexly-curved guard arranged at the front ofthe table, and a flexible table-top secured on the sections to pass without the guard, to carry the paper over said guard.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a drawing-table having in combination a supportingframe-, a tabletop movableon the frame for receiving the drawing-paper, said table-top consistin of a series of sections covered by a fl'exib e cover, and a convexlycurved guard, having a smooth outer surface, arranged at the front of" the table, said guard having its upper edge substantially in alinement with. the table-top and adjacent thereto at the line where the table-top begins to turn downwardly, to permit the drawing-p aper to slide smooth and uncreased' over the outer surface of'the guard and be carried under the table and there maintained in close contact with. the table-top, while the flexible cover also passes without the guard, substantially as described and shown.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS S. HOMANS.

Witnesses:

Images