US2973868A - Holder for stacked sheet material - Google Patents

Description

March 7, 1961 1. c. POSKIN HOLDER FOR STACKED SHEET MATERIAL Filed Oct. 12, 1959 I ll] HH I h I -l United States Patent HOLDER FOR STACKED SHEET MATERIAL Irvin C. Poskin, 1828 S. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Oct. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 845,769

Claims. (Q1. 211-51) This invention relates to a holder for stacked sheet material.

There have already been patented numerous devices for holding sheet material in place upon a supporting base, but there remains room for improving such devices in important particulars, for example, in regard to making it more convenient for the operator to insert or remove one or more sheets at a time by a singlehanded operation.

Accordingly, among the objects of the invention are to provide, for a sheet holder, an improved swingable sheet clamping arm manually releasable in a more convenient manner; to provide'a simplified more substantial mounting means for such an arm, whereby said arm is positioned for being released from the paper by being contacted by the hand that is supplying sheet material to, or removing it from the device; to construct the device so that it may be readily adjusted for use in either a right handed or left handed manne nd to make it in such a manner as to render it venient to arrange a plurality of the devices spaced apart in a vertical stack, so that the basal, sheet supporting portions of the stacked devices will function for shelves for different varieties of sheet material. a

This device is intended to supplant the use of paper type spindle holders, clothespin type, clamp type or large paper clips. This device is safer; stacks paper more uniformly; renders one or more sheets more accessible for examination; does not mutilate papers; is more adaptable for right or left hand use; utilizes a spring pressed clamp to hold sheets in place without puncturing; and is stackable for storing different assortments of papers and quantities of paper, all for ready access and examination.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear. 7

Referring to the accompanying drawing, illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one of a plurality of the stackable sheet paper holders, the side board being shown at the right.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof, with a corner portion in section.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. l, the pack of sheets being omitted.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device, the pack of sheets being omitted, and the side board being positioned at the left side of the device.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view on the smaller scale of a plurality of the stacked sheet paper holders.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the device comprises a somewhat elongated baseboard 7 with an upstanding rear wall member 8. Along each side portion of the upper face of said baseboard extends a groove 9, these grooves mating with grooves 16) in the front face of said wall member 8. A side board 11 is provided, the function of which will be described later, this side board having right angularly related edge portions which are removably fitted into said grooves at either side of the device, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The aforesaid upstanding wall member 8 is desirably a substantial board the lower edge portion of which is abutted against and nailed or otherwise secured to the rear edge of the base board 7. Said wall member is rectangularly notched in the central part of its upper edge to have fitted into it the notched rear end portion of a substantially horizontal mounting arm 12, which extends forwardly and is vertically spaced considerably above the baseboard 7. This arrangement provides for abutting a rear end portion (Fig. 3), of the arm 12 against said wall member 8, thus stabilizing the mounting of said horizontal arm 12.

Swingably mounted upon the front end portion of the aforesaid horizontal arm 12 is a sheet metal clamping arm 13 at all times extending downwardly at a rearward inclination, that is to say, being inclined toward the upstanding wall member 8. Said arm 13 is made sufficiently long to contact the baseboard 7 before the arm can be swung forwardly enough to reach a vertically extending position.

The front end portion of aforesaid horizontal arm 12 is notched or recessed at 12a vertically across its midwidth portion, and through this notched portion of the arm extends a horizontal pin 12b, the end portions of which project from the sides of the arm and serve swingably to support the aforesaid clamp arm 13, said clamp arm having side flanges 13a pivotally related to said pin. Said flangesdesirably are made longrenough materially to protect the hands of the operator from contact with the edge portion of the sheet'metal forming the clamp arm.

Within the recess 12a a rat trap spring around the pin 12b, said spring being arranged to swing the arm 13 forwardly until its lower endeither contacts the baseboard 7 or a pack of sheet material 15 deposited thereon as shown in Fig. l. a The upper end of'the sheet metalrarm 13 is desirably provided witha backwardly inclined stiffening flange 13b in front of the recessed part 12:; of the arm 12. e a

It is to be understood that the arm 13 may be made heavy enough to cause gravity to swing it forwardly and downwardly with enough force toenable the arm efficiently to perform itsclampingfunction.

Dowel pins- 16 are shown projectingfrom the upper side of the upstanding rear wall member 8, the lower side of said wall member having in its sockets 17 to co-operate with said'pins when a plurality of the devices arearranged in a stacked formation, as shown in Fig. 5, in which arrangement the baseboards 7 function as a series of shelves, affording a means for systematically assorting paper or other sheet material.

When the sheet material 15 is being stacked upon the baseboard the abutment means afforded bythe side board 11 co-operating with the upstanding rear wall member 8 serves to position and maintain the sheets of the pack in a properly assembled, neatly superimposed relation to each other.

To place a sheet or sheetsin the holder the clamp arm 1 13 is backswung by one hand and the sheets are placed in position as shown in Fig. 1 by the same hand contacting the under side thereof as that hand moves rearwardly. To remove a sheet orsheets from the pack they side board 11 is positioned as shown in Fig. 4.

When sheet material of a stiff character is stacked Patented Mar. 7, 1961 12c is coiled 3 upon the device, each sheet,- as it is inserted may be utilized to lift the clamp arm 13 as the sheet is slid thereunder; and even wheri thin, flexible sheets are inserted said arm 13 can be upswuing' by the hand that isinserting them, so that in any case the operator need use but one hand in operating the device.

When different assortments of sheet material are to be filed or temporarily pigeon-holed a plurality of the devices stacked one upon the other as shown in Fig. 5, will be found to be advantageously usable. The already mentioned dowel pins 16 and bores 17 with which they cooperate, dependably maintain the devices in the stacked relation shown in Fig. 5.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which come within the scope of the subject matter claimed.

I claim:

1. A sheet material holder comprising a baseboard, a wall member upstanding from an end of said baseboard, a horizontally extending mounting arm carried by the top portion of said wall member in an upwardly spaced relation to said baseboard, a clamp member carried by said mounting arm in a position releasably to engage sheet material overlying said baseboard, and an abutment member upstanding from an edge portion of said baseboard in a position to have abutted edgewise against it the sheets of a pack of sheet material overlying said baseboard, said abutment member being removably mounted, there being mounting means therefor at each side of the device, thus adapting the device for having sheets stacked upon the baseboard in either a right hand or left hand manner.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, and said baseboard and wall member having at each side of the device mating grooves which constitute said mounting means, and said abutment member having edge portions insertable into said grooves.

3. A device of the kind described comprising a baseboard, a wall member upstanding from one end of said baseboard, said wall member having a substantially horizontal upper edge portion, a horizontal mounting arm secured to the upper portion of said wall member and being spaced vertically above said baseboard, the upper surface of said mounting arm lying in the same horizontal plane as the upper edge of said wall member, so that a plurality of the devices may be superimposed upon each other in a stack, and dowel pins projecting upwardly from said wall member in a co-operative relation to bores provided for them in the bottom of a like device.

4. A device of the kind described comprising a baseboard having a front and a rear end, a rear member upstanding from the rear portion of said baseboard, a substantially horizontal mounting arm having one of its end portions fixed to said rear member and its opposite end portion spaced vertically above said base board and provided with a notch in its midwidth, a pin extend ing horizontally through the notched portion of said arm and having end portions projecting from both sides thereof, a sheet metal arm having an upper end portion provided with a pair of flanges which straddles said notched arm portion and is pivotally engaged by the projecting end portions of said pin, said sheet metal arm being too long to swing forwardly beyond the vertical in relation to said baseboard, whereby said sheet metal arm is always maintained inclined downwardly and to ward said upstanding rear member, and a spring positioned between said mounting arm and sheet metal arm, said spring normally co-operating with gravity to maintain said sheet metal arm inclined as aforesaid and in contact with sheet material overlying said baseboard, a portion of said spring occupying the notched portion of said arm.

5. A device of the kind described comprising a baseboard, a wall member upstanding from one end portion of said baseboard, a substantially horizontal mounting arm having one of its end portions fixed to said wall member and its opposite end portion spaced vertically above said baseboard, a sheet metal arm having an upper end portion provided with a pair of flanges which straddles the front end portion of said mounting arm and is pivotally connected therewith, said sheet metal arm being too long to swing away from said wall member beyond the vertical in relation to said baseboard, whereby said sheet metal arm is always maintained inclined downwardly and toward said upstanding wall member, a spring positioned between said mounting arm and sheet metal arm, said spring normally co-operating with gravity to maintain said sheet metal arm inclined as aforesaid and in contact with sheet material overlying said baseboard, an abutment member upstanding from a side edge portion of said baseboard in a position'to have abutted edgewise against it the sheets of a pack of sheet material overlying said baseboard, said abutment member being removably mounted, there being mounting means therefor at each side of the device, thus adapting the device for having sheets stacked upon the baseboard in either a right hand or left hand manner, the upper surface of said mounting arm being in substantially the same horizontal plane as the upper edge of said upstanding wall member, so that a plurality of the devices may be superimposed upon each other in a stack, and dowel pins projecting upwardly from said wall member in a co-operative relation to bores provided for them in the bottom of a like device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 303,886 Robertson Aug. 19, 1884 421,251 Dean Feb. 11, 1890 1,355,486 Longenecker Oct. 12, 1920 FOREIGN PATENTS 505,715 Canada Sept. 14, 1954

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