US935704A - Directory for commercial buildings and apartment-houses. - Google Patents

Description

B. v. STODDARD. I DIRECTORY FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND APARTMENT HOUSES. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1908.

985,704. Patented 0ct.5,1909.

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ADLER, VINCENT L.

ALLEN, RM.

AMBROSE K.

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BARNARD, J.L. BLACK, aw.

BURNS H.T.

CALAHAN, P. COLER,A.A.

CLARK, H.L.

COLBY, H.C.

cRAMER co.

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- E. V. STODD'ARD.

DIRECTORY FOB COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND APARTMENT HOUSES. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6-, 1908.

935.704. Patented 001;.5, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENOCI-I V. STODDARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

DIRECTORY FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND APARTMENT-HOUSES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ENOOI-I V. STODDARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Directories for Cornmercial Buildings and Apartment-Houses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to directories for commercial buildings and apartment houses, and its object is to provide one that can be expanded, or rearranged to meet different requirements and changing conditions. To this end it is built up of separable units that can be oined to build up as large a directory as required, when it is set up in the first in stance, or subsequently to meet new requirements, for the inclosing frame is adapted to be extended to accommodate any number of name-plate panels.

Other novel features of the invention are found in the means for removably supporting the name-plates within the panels.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a front elevation of one panel or unit of the frame; Fig. 2 is its central vertical section; Fig. 3 is its horizontal section; Fig. 1 is a view similar to Fig. 8, but showing a name-plate partially removed; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a name-plate; Fig. 6 is a front view of a two-panel frame, with the panels and doors in place; Fig. 6 is part of a vertical section through the center of one of the panels of Fig. 6, showing the panel in its place in the lower rail; Fig. 7 is a horizontal cross-section of the same; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the corner-blocks of the frame; Fig. 9 is a partial perspective view of the topra-il of the frame; and Fig. 10 is a partial perspective view of the end-stile.

One of the units, or panels, of the directory is shown apart from the frame in Figs. 1- l, inclusive, of the drawings. Referring to these figures, it is seen that the sides, or stiles, of the panel each has a tongue 3 on the outer edge, that the top piece 1 also has a tongue 3 on its edge, and that the bottom piece 5 has a recess 3 Instead of the recess 8 in the bottom piece 5 there may be a tongue 3*, as represented in Fig. 6 when the directory is designed for horizontal extension only, or is only one panel long. Referring still to the panel shown most clearly in Figs. 1%, inclusive, one of the stiles 2, for example, has a rabbet 6 its whole length, and in the back thereof a number of slots 7,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 6, 1908.

Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

Serial No. 461,410.

which serve to hold the name plates 8 in place. These name plates (see Fig. 5) are each straight, fiat pieces of a material that is suitable, and are, respectively, tapered down at one end, where a lug 9 is located that is adapted to enter the slots 7, whereas their opposite ends are, respectively, adapted to enter the recesses 10 in the stile 1, where each lies against a projecting rib 11. The ends of the plates 8 that carry the lugs 9 are held within the stile 2 by an overlapping piece 12, that is hinged to it, and adapted to fold down upon it. l/Vhen a name plate is to be removed from the panel, the piece 12 is swung outwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, till it uncovers the tapered ends of the name plates. hen one or more name plates have been removed, those remaining are held in place by the lugs 9 within the slots 7.

A glass door 18 may, if desired, be hinged to the head piece 4 of each panel, and both the head and bottom pieces of the door beveled on their inner face so that it closes tightly against said pieces, as shown in Fig. 2. In Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the door 13 is omitted in order that the position of the name plates may be seen clearly.

The frame which is adapted to contain one or more of the panels just described is shown in Figs. 6 to 10, inclusive. It comprises corner blocks l t that are mortised and dovetailed to the top and bottom pieces, as shown in Figs. 8 to 10, inclusive. These Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are so grouped in the drawings that they illustrate the manner in which both the top and bottom rails 16 and the side rails 15 are oined with the corner piece 14:, since they are shown in these figures in their proper relative positions and only sufficiently withdrawn from each other to show the construction of each.

The side rails 15 of the containing frame have recesses 17 in their inner faces, to re ceive the tongues 3 that project from the sides of the panels previously described, and the top and bottom rails 16 of the frame are also recessed at 18 to receive the tongues 3 (see Fig. 9). The doors 18, previously described, are held down upon the frame by suitable means, as latches 19.

The frame is readily expansible in either a vertical or horizontal direction to receive additional panels. When expanded horizontally, top and bottom rails 16 are used, which are mortised and dovetailed at both ends in the manner shown in Fig. 9 with respect to one end of a rail 16, by Way of illustration. It should be noted that the ends of rails 16 are so mortised that they respectively fit the corner piece l-it, when the directory is one section in width, and that the rails 16- are each mortised at one end to fit one end of any of the rails 16, and at its other end to fit a corner piece 14:, (see Fig. 6.)

It is obvious that if the directory is to be wider than the two sections shown in Fig. 6, all that need be done is to insert between the corner pieces 14 at the left of Fig. 6 and the top and bottom rails 16 additional rails like 16% and place a panel within the extension of the frame. It is also obvious that when the frame is to be extended vertically, all that needs be done is to insert, on each side, a rail that is mortised at each end to correspond, respectively, with the mortised ends of the rails 16, and is equal in length to the length of the panel.

In order to adapt a panel for both horizontal and vertical extension, its lower end should be recessed, as shown by 3" in Fig. 2, in which case the recess will receive the tongue 3 on the other section when one section is mounted on the other. If such a section is used alone, or alongside another, the tongue 3 on its top rail and the tongues 3 on its side rails are sufficientto hold the section within the frame.

V hen the directory is extended horizontally a secondary tongue 3 on one end of the tongues 3 enters a corresponding recess 3 in the adjacent tongue 3 of the next section.

' As each section is provided wit-h a secondary tongue and recess on'the same side, respectively, this feature is also adapted for horizontal extension.

The whole structure is supported from the wall on suitable brackets, or rests upon the floor.

What I claim is 1. An expansible frame for a building directory and like purposes, comprising corner pieces 14; corresponding top and bottom rails 16; corresponding side rails 15; and corresponding pieces for extension 16; the said corner pieces being mortised; the said top, bottom and side rails being mortised to correspond therewith; and the said extension pieces being mortised to fit between corner pieces onthe same side of the frame and the rails aforesaid; and means for securing together adjacent parts of the frame.

2. An expansible building directory, comprising a plurality of similar name plate sections or panels, adapted to lie side by side for horizontal extension, said sections or panels having means for retaining them together or end to end for vertical extension and adapted to receive and hold one of said sections, or several of them, both in horizontal and in vertical extension, comprising corner pieces, top, bottom, side rails and extension pieces, corresponding with the dimensions of said sections, all mortised to fit one another in position substantially as shown and described.

ENOCH V. STODDARD. lVitnesses C. S. DAVIS, D. GURNEE.

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