US959470A - Conductor's report-book. - Google Patents

Description

s. RCREASEY. conntm'roms REPORT BOOK.

APPLICATION FILED IL'B.9, 1910.

Patented May 31, 1910.

SAMUEL E. CBEASEY, OF SANFORD, MAINE.

CONDUCTORS REPORT-BOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1910.

Application filed February 9, 1910. Serial No. 542,897.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. CRnAsnY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Sanford, county of York, State of Maine, have invented an Improvement in Conductors Report-Books, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention has for its object the production of a novel and eflicient book for the daily reports in use by car-conductors, whereby the report-sheets are held in a convenient manner for receiving from time to time, in the spaces provided thereon, such information and data which each conductor is required to furnish. The report-sheets are ruled off to provide appropriate vertical and horizontal columns, properly headed, in which must be inserted on each trip the starting point and time, car number, readings of the fare register, cash and ticket fares, etc., the form taking up the entire width of the sheet. Such a sheet is too large to be spread out when not in use, yet if it is folded into convenient compass it is not in a convenient form for use, as it must be unfolded Whenever entries are .to be made.

In my present invention I have provided, in combination with the report-sheet, a book for the same, comprising two flexibly connected outer-cover leaves, of stiff pasteboard or other suitable material which will afford a firm support, and an intermediate innercover leaf flexibly connected with the outercover leaves.

The report-sheet is folded centrally, from top to bottom, and it is folded oppositely at each side, the intermediate portion of the sheet being folded to embrace the innercover leaf while the portions outside the side folds lie upon the inner surfaces of the outercover leaves. Suitable means are provided to hold thereupon the corners of the report-sheet, and the portions of the latter which embrace the inner-cover leaf are de tachably held thereon. Now by swinging the inner-cover leaf in one direction one-half of the surface of the report-sheet is exposed for entries to be made thereon, and the other half of its surface is exposed when said inner-cover leaf is swung in the opposite direction.

The book is made of a size convenient for the pocket, and it not only effectually protects the report-sheet but also holds it in place in suchmanner that it can be used with the greatest ease and convenience.

The novel features of my invention will be fully described in the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a conductors-report book embodying my invention, thrown open to expose the left-hand half of the-surface of the report sheet; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the book shown in Fig. l, the outer-cover leaves being swung back equally from the intermediate innercover leaf; Fig. 3 is a detail in plan of the upper end of the inner-cover leaf, showing the sheet-retaining means moved into position to permit removal of the report-sheet.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the outercover leaves A, A of suitable size and made of stilf pasteboard or other suitable material, are hinged together or flexibly connected at their inner longitudinal edges, at A On the inner face. of each of said leaves I provide corner-lips a, a, which form pockets in which the corners of the report-sheet are received, the lips providing for report-sheets of various sizes, as will be obvious from an inspection of Fig, 1, and preventing turn ing up of the corners.

An intermediate inner-cover leaf B is flexibly connected at its inner longitudinal edge with the outer-cover leaves at 13*, the leaf B being preferably made of stifl material, and near its free edge it has an elongated longitudinal slot 6.

Diagonal slots 6 are extended into the leaf from its top and bottom edges, near its inner or hinged edge, said slots terminating in enlargements 17 one above the other.

I prefer to reinforce the outer corners of the leaf B by metal or other binding members 6*, to provide against any possibility of breakage due to the presence of the slot 6..

The leaf B can be swung in one direction or the other to lie upon either of the outercover leaves A, as will be apparent, and at such time the book is open for its full width, the book when closed being held in such condition in any suitable manner.

Herein I have shown a plurality of loops at on the free edge of one leaf A, to receive between them a similar loop a on the other leaf, and a pencil passed through the registering loops will retain the book closed.

The report-sheet C has its surface provided with rulings to form desired columns of spaces, both horizontal and vertical, see Fig. 1, the columns having the desired headings according to the information to be furnished.

A central fold is made in the sheet, from top to bottom, as at 0, and opposite, parallel side folds c are made, whereby in a manner the sheet is divided into two outer portions 0 and the two intermediate portions 0 The sheet is passed through the slot 6 of the inner-cover leaf B, with fold 0 within the slot, and the portions 0 of said sheet embrace the leaf B, as shown, while the side portions 0 lie upon the inner sides or faces of the outer-cover leaves A. At such time the corners of the sheet pass under the lips a and are thereby held in place, the side folds or creases c of the sheet lying very close to the junction of the inner and outercover leaves, as shown.

By passing the report-sheet through the slot Z) said sheet is better positioned on the leaf B, and the part of the latter beyond or outside such slot protects from injury the folded over part c of the sheet; at the same time the sheet is held from working outward. I now take preferably an elastic band d and stretch it around the leaf B from top to bottom, and snap it into the diagonal slits b, the contract-ion of the band drawing it into the enlargements Z2 as shown clearly in Fig. 1, the two sides of said band pressing the portions 0 of the report-sheet C closely against the inner-cover leaf B. By this means the report-sheet is firmly yet removably held in place, smooth and flat, and when the leaf B is swung over as shown in Fig. 1 the entire left-hand surface of the report-sheet is exposed for the entries to be made thereon. If the leaf B is swung over upon the left-hand leaf A then in like manner the entire right-hand half of the sheet 0 is exposed.

When a report-sheet is to be removed the band d is withdrawn from one of the diagonal slots- Z) and pushed up along the outer. edge of the leaf B, see Fig. 3, beyond the end of the slot Z), or it may be pushed clear of the said leaf, the diagonal slot I) at the top edge of the leaf holding the band in place and preventing it from snapping off altogether.

The report-book herein shown and described is simple and compact, it preserves the report-sheet from injury at all times,

and when entries are to be made the opening of the book presents the surface of the sheet in a smooth condition, with a firm backing or support therefor, and so arranged that the entire surface of the sheet is accessible.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2- 1. In a conductors report-book of the class described, the combination with two flexibly connected outer-cover leaves, and an intermediate inner-cover leaf flexibly connected therewith and provided with an elongated slot adjacent its free edge, of a reportsheet provided with suitable forms and passed through the slot in and folded centrally upon the opposite sides of the innercover leaf and laid upon the inner sides of said outer-cover leaves, and means to removably retain said report-sheet in place upon the inner-cover leaf, whereby by swinging the latter over upon one or the other of the outer-cover leaves the entire surface of the report-sheet can be exposed for entries thereupon.

2. In a conductors report-book of the class described, the combination with two flexibly connected outer-cover leaves, and an intermediate inner-cover leaf flexibly connected therewith and provided with an elongated slot adjacent its free edge, of a reportsheet provided with suitable forms and passed through the slot in and folded centrally upon the opposite sides of the innercover leaf and laid upon the inner sides of said outer-cover leaves, overhanging cornerlips on the latter to cooperate with and retain in place the portions of the report-sheet laid upon said outer-cover leaves, and detachable means to engage the portions of such sheet folded upon the inner-cover leaf near the inner edge of such leaf and maintain the report-sheet in place thereupon.

3. In a conductors report-book of the class described, a report-sheet provided with suitable forms and having a central fold and oppositely turned side folds, combined with two flexibly connected outer-cover leaves, an intermediate inner cover-leaf flexibly connected therewith and provided with an elongated longitudinal slot adjacent its free edge, the upper and lower edges of said leaf having diagonal slots enlarged at their inner ends, the central fold of the report-sheet lying within the longitudinal slot while the side folds lie substantially adjacent the junction of the outer and inner-cover leaves at opposite sides of the latter, an elastic retaining band embracing the portions of the sheet lying upon opposite sides of the inner-cover leaf and held in place in the enlarged inner ends of the diagonal slots, and means on the outer-cover leaves to engage and hold in place the corners of the report-sheet.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL E. CREASEY.

Witnesses JOHN V. TUCKER, J. M. DUBYEA.

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