US1636552A - Pencil sharpener - Google Patents

Description

July 1927' c. R. CLARE PENCIL SHARPE NER Filed Sept. 24. 1926 INVENTOR Patented July 19, 1927.

CHARLES R. CLARE, OF HOMESTEAD; PENNSYLVANIA.

PENCIL SKARPBNEZE'.

Application filed. September; 24, me Serial m. muse.

My invention relates to. pencil sharpeners, and more particularly to a centering device, therefor, by means of which pencils of various sizes can be accurately positioned with respect. to the cutting or abrading member sothat the end of the pencil. will be properly shaped and the wood or other enclosing material uniformly cut away about the axis of the pencil- Another object of my invention is to simplify andimprove generally the form and arrangement of pencil centering devices.

\Vhile my invention is herein described as employed in connection with those types 0 sharpeners which employ rotatable abrading members mounted on relatively inclined axes, it will be understood that it is applicable to various other types of sharpening devices.

One form which my invention may take is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pencil sharpener to which my invention has been applied; Fig. 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of the centering device of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line III-HI of Fig. 2.

The sharpener is shown as having a stand ard 4 provided with a bearing portion 5 through which a shaft 6 extends. A crank 7 is secured to the shaft 6. The shaft 6 has formed integrally therewith or rigidly secured thereto, a cage 8, in which are journaled abrading rollers 9. The abrading rollers are provided with pinions 10 that mesh with teeth on the interior of a fixed internally-toothed member 11, that is secured to the standard 4, so that as the shaft 6 is rotated, the abrading rollers 9 will be turned on their'axes, in a manner well known in the pencil sharpening art. The cage 6 is provided with a tubular extension 12 that extends through one wall of a receptacle 13 which is detachably carried by the member 11, in the usual manner. i

The form and arrangement of the parts thus far described are well known in the art. Heretofore, sharpeners have been constructed to receive and position pencils of a given diameter, or have been provided with a plurality of bushings of different diameters, for centering pencils between the rollers 9. Another arrangement involves the use of centering devices having openings of various diameters that could be turned to bring any desired openi-ng'opposite to the end of the tubular extension 12, these devices. being supchanging the centering means, I provide a sleeve 14 that-1s insertable in the tube 12 and is provided with fingers 15 of yieldable mater1a1,.such as steel. These fingers. are shown as formed by cutting, longitudinal slots in v the sleeve and bending the fingers thereby formed, to the position shown more clearly f in Fig. 2. The outer ends of these fingers are preferably upturned slightly to keep them from biting into the pencil when withdrawmg it from the sharpener, and are flattened somewhat so that their edges will not bite into the pencil when the pencil is held stat1onary, and the sleeve revolved.

The sleeve 14 may be formed by rolling a strip of metal to tubular form and thenslitting the same, or may be formed by drilling a rod of untempered steel. In the latter case, the fingers 14 would have to be tempered in order to produce satisfactory results.

:With my invention applied, the sharpener will be operated in the usual manner, that 1s, the pencil held against rotation and the abrading rolls rotated about the same, and about their respective axes. The sleeve 14 will ordinarily rotate with the tubular extension 12 and the cage 8. It will be seen that since the fingers 15 are yieldable, they will tend .to maintain the axis of the pericil co-incident with the axis of the sleeve 14 and hold the inner end of the pencil accurately positioned between the rollers 9.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a pencil sharpener composed of a pair of abrading members mounted for rotatable movement about axes that are angularly disposed relative to one another, of a centering sleeve whose axis is located on a line that is symmetrically disposed between the first named axes,

and yieldable fingers carried by said sleeve in position to engage a pencil inserted therein and center the same betweensaid abrading members.

2. The combination with a pencil sharpener provided with an abradin'g member that is rotatable about a given axis, of a centering device for yieldably maintaining a penoil with its axis disposed in predetermined relation to the first named axis.

3. The combination with a pencil sharpener provided with an abrading member that is rotatable about a given axis, of a centering device for yieldably maintaining a pencil with its axis disposed in predetermined relation to the first named axis, comprising members disposed concentrically of the axis of the pencil.

4. The combination with a pencil sharp ener provided with an abrading roller that is bodily movable about a given axis and rotatable about an axis that is radially oii'set with respect to the first named axis, and means for yieldably supporting a pencil with its axis co-incident with the first named axis.

5. The combination with a pencil sharpener having a cage rotatable about a given axis, abrading rollers carried by said cage and rotatable about axes that are inclined with respect to the first named axis, of a centering sleeve, means for securing said sleeve to the end of said cage, with its axis co-incident with the first named axis, and yieldable fingers carried by said sleeve and extending from the peripheral portion thereof toward its axis.

6. A centering device for pencil sharpeners, comprising a sleeve having yieldable lingers that extend toward the axis of said sleeve and are slightly upturned at their outer ends and each flattened in a tangenv e tial plane.

7. A centering device for pencil sharpeners, comprising a sleeve having yieldablev fingers that extend toward the axis of the sleeve and are flattened in a direction tangentially of the sleeve.

In testimony whereof I, the said CHARLES E. CLARE, have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES R. CLARE.

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