US840759A - Letter-clasping device. - Google Patents

Description

No. 840,759. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907-. G.- B. ELLIOTT & J. T. LOGGINS.

LETTER OLAS PING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. 1906.

lmwtws .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ULAUD B. ELLIOTT AND JOHN T. LOGG'INS, OF HEMPSTEAD, TEXAS; LETTER-CLASPING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 8, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CLAUD B. ELLIOTT and JOHN T. LOGGINS, citizens of the United States, residing at Hempstead, in the county of Waller and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Letter- Clasping Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention pertains to means for clasping letters and the like; and it has for its ob ject to provide a simple and inexpensive device constructed with a view of being fastened in an open state and placed in a pigeonhole, so as to receive letters, and of being then expeditiously closed and fastened in a closed state in order to tightly clasp and hold the letters until the same reach their destination.

With the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when the same are read in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in Which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device constituting the present and preferred embodiment of our invention, as the same appears when the clamping members are secured in a partly-open position. Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the clamping members fully opened and secured in such position. Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged section illustrating the arrangement of the fastening member and the set-screw of the device relative to one of the clamping members thereof.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings, re-

ferring to which A is the base of our novel device, which is rectangular in form and is preferably, though not necessarily, made of metal. I

B and C are the clamping members of the device, which are in the form of rectangular frames made of light but stiff wire and are pivotally connected at their inner ends to the base A, preferably in the manner illustrated-that is, to say, by the arrangement of their inner end bars in eyes formed by bending the side bars of the base A. 4

D are springs, which are arranged to return the clampingmembers B and O to and normally hold the same under pressure against the base A. These springs D are coiled about the inner end bars of the clamping members, and each spring has an arm at one end, which is attached to one end bar of the base A, preferably by being bent around and F is a protection,

' vided atone end said end bar, as best shown in Fig. 2, and also has an arm at its opposite end, which is attached to one side bar of one clamping member, preferably by being bent around said side bar, as shown at theleft of Fig. 1.

E is the'fastening member of the device, preferably in the form of a screw. The

with a lateral arm 0, and is also provided with a longitudinal slot 6, from one end of gle a seat a, which latter is formed in the said arm 0. In the arm 0 is also formed a crosswise slot a to loosely receive a pin a on the outer end of the clamping member C. The set-screw F extends loosely through the slot 6 in the fastening member E and engages a threaded aperture (1 in a lug e on the outer end bar of the clamping member B. It is provided, as best shown in Fig. 3, with a shoulder f to engage the side of the member E remote from lug e, whereby it will be seen that it will serve, when turned in one direction, to adjustably fix the clamping member B to the fastening member E.

In the practical use of our novel device the set-screw F is first loosened. Then to open the device the user catches the fastening member E and-with an upward pull brings the clamping members B and 0 together, as shown in Fig. 2. Then by sliding the fastening member E laterally, which movement is permitted by the slot a, the projection F- on clamping member B is positioned in the seat 0 in arm 0, which holds the device open, as

which extends at a right anfastening member E is proshown in Fig. 2. The device is now placed in a pigeonhole of a letter-case, and letters are placed endwise in the devicei. e., on the base A and between the side bars of the clamping members B and C. When the proper number of letters are positioned in the device, the loaded device is removed from the pigeonhole and the fastening member E is moved laterally in the direction 0pposite to that mentioned to disengage the seat 0 from screw F, when the springs D will I obviously move the clamping members B and C down on the letters, so as to tightly clasp the letters against the base A. With this done the set-screw F is tightened, when, as will be readily apparent, the clamping members will be locked against casualbpening, and in that way loss of a letter from the package while the same is enroute will be precluded.

When desired, the springs D may be depended on to hold the clamping members against casual opening, and for this reason we do not wish to be limited to the use of the screw F or other means for the purpose of locking the clamping members in their closed positions nor to the use of a screw to run in the slot of the fastening member.

To open thepackage when the same reaches its destination, it is simply necessary to move the clamping members B and C outward until the screw F seats in the seat 0 at the inner end of the fastening member E, .when the clamping members B and C will be secured in their outer positions and the letters may be readily drawn out of the device.

It will be gathered from the foregoing that the device shown and described is simple and inexpensive in construction, is easily manipulated, is well ad apted to withstand the rough usage to which such devices are ordinarily subjected, and is susceptible of being used to advantage repeatedly.

The construction shown and described constitutes the present and preferred embodiment of our invention; but it is obvious that in practice various changes in the form and construction of the parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without involving departure from the scope of our invention as claimed.

I-Iaving described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a letter-clasping device, the combination of a base, clamping members pivoted thereto, and a fastening member connected to one clamping member and having a slot for the adjustment of the other clamping member and also having a seat extending fgom the slot for adjustably fixing said mem- 2. In a letter-clasping device, the combination of a base, clamping members pivoted thereto, a fastening member connected to one clamping member and having a longitudinal slot and a seat extending from the inner end of said slot, and means carried by the other clamping member and movable in the slot of the fastening member and into and out of the seat at the inner end of the slot.

3. In a letter-clasping device, the combination of a base, spring-pressed clamping members pivoted thereto; one of said clamping members carrying a lug provided with a threaded aperture, a fastening member connected to the other clamping member and having a longitudinal slot and an angularlydisposed seat at the inner end of the slot, and a set-screw extending through. the slot of the fastening member and into the threaded aperture of the lug of the clamping member and having a shoulder arranged to engage the fastening member.

4. In a letter-clas'ping device, the combination of a base, clamping members pivoted thereto; one of said clamping members carrying a projection, and a fastening member carried by and movable on the other clan'iping member and having a slot and a seat in communication with the slot to receive the said projection.

5. In a letter-clasping device, the combination of a base, clamping members pivoted thereto; one of said clamping members carrying a projection, and a fastening member connected to and adjustable laterally on the other clamping member and having a slot and a seat in communication with the slot to receive the said projection.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAUD B. ELLIOTT. JOHN T. LOGGINS.

WVitnesses It. II. PINCKNEY, BYRON GLIEOK.

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