US2816590A - Billfold - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 17, 1957 w. c. BooTs 2,816,590

BILLFOLD Filed May` l0, 1955 nited States Patent i BILLFOLD William C. Boots, Rumford, R. I., assignor to Foster Metal Products Incorporated, Attleboro, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 10, 1955, Serial No. 507,327

3 Claims. (Cl. 150--38) This invention comprises a bill fold improved in its construction from the standpoint of security, convenience and appearance.

It is characterized by folded cover leaves enclosing in their fold vertex a straight bar which maintains the bill fold as a Whole in flat condition and provides adequate foundation for mounting the clamp and spring elements of the device.

A novel feature of the invention resides in the clamp which is preferably curved and shaped at its free end to engage the folded bills opposite an intermediate portion of the bar with spring pressure. The clamp is moreover provided with an outwardly projecting operating arm by which it may be retracted when desired and with a hidden toe or ear for operative spring connection.

As herein shown, the bar element may be of channel shape thus affording secure bearings for the pivot of the clamp as well as a housing for its operating spring. The web of the channel is notched at one end to permit the curved clamp to pass through it and extend in `clamping relation with a substantial fiat area provided by the web or back of the channel bar.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing the bill fold in open condition,

Fig. 2 is a view in enlarged scale in longitudinal section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the spring member,

Figs. 4 and 5 are views in perspective of the channel bar as seen respectively from different angles, and

Fig. 6 is a View in cross-section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 2.

The bill fold as herein shown comprises cover leaves 10 and 11 of leather, fabric or other sheet material of ornamental appearance, and these leaves may be folded from a single sheet or otherwise assembled to form a fold vertex. A channel bar 12, such as that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is placed in the fold vertex of the cover leaves. The bar is formed of metal and may be plated or otherwise attractively finished. It has parallel side iianges and a solid at back or web and this is cut back or notched at the upper end of the bar to provide a passage 13 for a portion of the clamp member as will presently be described. From the side flanges of the bar pro ject a pair of spurs or prongs 14. In assembling the parts ,2,316,599 Patented Dec. 17, 1957 ICC of the bill fold these spurs are forced through the material of the cover leaves and clenched substantially in the vertex of the fold so that the solid web of the bar 12 is exposed inside the bill fold.

The clamp member 15 is roughly T-shaped, having a curved inner arm which extends through the passage 13 of the channel bar and is connected thereto by a pivot 16 which extends through both anges of the bar. The clamp member has an outwardly extending operating arm 17 by which it may be temporarily lifted to disengage bills engaged between the long curved stem of the clamp member and the solid ilat web of the bar 12. The clamp member is also provided with a short arm or toe 18 extending below the pivot 16 and lying fully within the channel of the bar 12.

A bar-shaped spring 19 is mounted Within the channel of the bar 12 and arranged to engage the toe 18 of the clamp member tending to rock the member always in a clockwise direction against the solid flat area provided by the web of the bar 12. The spring 19 is secured in place by a rivet 2t) which extends between the flanges of the bar 12 holding the back of the spring against the web of the bar. The upper end of the spring 19 is reduced to aord clearance between it and the web of the bar 12.

The bill fold is finished by a tubular sleeve 21 which, as best shown in Fig. 6, is slipped over the fold vertex of the cover leaves and the open side of the channel bar 12. The sleeve is of such dimensions as to embrace the clenched spurs 14 and to indent slightly the cover leaves beyond the clenched ends of these spurs.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail a preferred embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A bill fold comprising folded cover leaves, a straight channel bar located in the fold vertex of the cover leaves and having a solid flat web exposed inside the bill fold, a clamp pivoted between the sides of the channel bar and extending over one end of the bar and into contact with the at web of the bar, the clamp having a toe enclosed in the channel of the bar, and a at spring also enclosed in the channel of said bar, secured in place therein and yieldingly engaging the toe of the clamp at a point at one side of its pivotal axis.

2. A bill fold comprising folded cover leaves, a channel bar fastened in the fold vertex of the leaves with its open side facing the vertex and presenting a solid web inside the bill fold and being notched at one end, a curved clamp pivoted between the sides of the channel bar and passing in an arc through the notch of the web, and a flat spring secured in place between the sides of the channel bar and operatively engaging the clamp at a point biasing it toward the web of the channel bar.

3. A bill fold as described in claim 2 further characterized in that the spring is of the straight bar type and is disposed longitudinally within the channel bar with one end operatively engaged with the clamp at a point biasing it toward the bar.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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