US400614A - Columnar closet - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. 'E. H. WATSON. GOLUMNAR. CLOSET.

(No Model.)

No. 400,614. Patented Apt 2,1889.

(N0 Mbdel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. I y E. H. WATSQN.

GOLUMINAR CLOSET. No. 400,614. Patented Apr. 2, 1889.

N. PETERS. Phalolilhogmpher, Wnhil slon. D. C.

v UNITED ST TE PATENT OFFICE.

EMMA HOPPER WATSON, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

COLUMNAR CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,614, dated April 2, 1889.

Application filed October 31, 1888. Serial No- 289,610- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be itknown that I, EMMA HOPPER WATSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elizabeth, Union county, New Jersey, have inventvided with a series of pockets to contain fiat articles and the two sides adjacent to the edges of the door being inclined toward one another at their rear edges to facilitate the exposure of the pockets fixed thereon when the door is op'ened.

It also consists in a closet with three equal sides and in a particular construction for the cap uponthe column to form a secret apartment,

The device is particularly adapted for retaining writing materials and stationery of all kinds, letters, valuable papers, and memo- I randa in convenient proximity to a writingdesk, and by the use of a columnar form for the closet a receptacle is formed of great capacity in proportion to the floor-space that it occupies, and the articles contained therein are sustained at a convenient height for inspection and use when placed by the side of a desk or work-table. The column or obelisk I may be made of any polygonal cross-section having an uneven number of sides; but the three-sided form is one in which the contents may be most fully exposed and reached when one of the sides is opened, and I have there- 'fore illustrated such form herein.

' The pentagonal column shown herein is provided with a triangular base, such form of base securing the utmost steadiness for a structure extending upward so far in proportion to its width. The column may be formed of any desired material and ornamented in any suitable manner, and when formed of fireproof sheathing the surface of such sheathln g may be concealed by a coating of lincrusta- Walton, or by any other kind. of decoration.

apartment in the cap.

The inside of'the door and the walls of the column are provided with pockets open upon their upper sides to receive the various articles that may be stored therein. Such pockets are not adapted to hold bulky articles, but utilize the space more effectively than shelves, as they may be made nearly the full width of the door or opened side, and may be extended vertically upon the walls of the column for a much greater distance than its transverse dimensions.

By storin g papers, memoranda, and articles of stationery in such a receptacle they are protected from dust and from being thrown into confusion by the wind or any other cause.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a triangular columnar closet with the door closed. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the column upon the side where the lid of the cap is hinged, with the lid and the columndoor both opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a column with the door open and in side exposed. Fig. 4 is a section on line :1: 0c in Fig. 1, the door being shown open; and Fig. 5 is a plan of a pentagonal column witha door, embracing two of its sides, partly opened. Fig. 6 is a view, upon a larger scale, of a frame for one of the column-walls; and Fig. 7 is' a transverse section of the same with its asbestus coating in section upon line y y in Fig. 6.

In Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, A is the base, provided with feet. B C are the walls, D the door, E the cap, and F the lid to the secret The cap is separated from the interior of the column by a head, K, and the lid F is formed of one of the triangular sides of the cap, with its hinge F upon one of the rear sides of the column, as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to be noticed in opening and closing the door D, and the existence of an opening into the cap is thus concealed in the whole interior of the column.

G is a knob upon the door D, to open the same, and G a lock upon the door, adapted to fasten it when closed. Any convenient form of lock or latch could be used.

H are pockets attached to the walls instead of shelves, and I are pockets attached to the inner side of the door D.

In Fig. 5 it will be noticed that the base (constituted by the feet B) being formed with fewer sides than the pentagonal column, is necessarily of larger dimensions than the foot ofthe column, and the column is thus afiorded more stability than if the feet were attached merely to its corners.

In Fig. 4 the pockets are shown of curved plan, which shape would be most readily formed by bending thin sheets of wood, metal, or pasteboard and securin their edges to the edges of the walls 0 or door D; but pockets of any other form may be used.

In Fig. 5 the pockets H are shown with their front sides parallel to the walls 0 to afford the greatest possible space within each of the pockets, and the pocket I upon the door D is made of such dimensions as to fit closely against the ends of the pockets upon the walls.

In Fig. 5 the walls are shown formed of sheets of asbestus, C, secured upon the inner and outer sides of frames J, one of which is shown separately in Figs. 6 and '7 upon an enlarged scale.

The frame shown in Fig. 6 is adapted to form one side of the column, and is beveled at its longitudinal edges to fit the adjacent side, and the base and cap could be similarly constructed, and a series of such frames could be readily secured together and to the baseA and cap E to form a column of the desired form. The entire device would thus be protected for a considerable time from the effects of fire, so as to preserve its contents from destruction if it were removed from the building before it had been exposed to a heat of too great intensity.

Casters M may be affixed to the feet B, if desired, as shown in Fig. 1. The base A would be preferably formed of castv metal, or otherwise weighted, and made as heavy as the entire structure, so as to afford the column considerable steadiness when placed in position for use, and the feet maybe extended to any required distance from the corners of the column to increase the stability in any desired degree.

Such a columnar closet when made of four feet in height would have its sides from nine to twelve inches in width, and it is obvious that such a closet provided with suitable pockets would hold a large quantity of stationery, letters, papers, and memoranda, while occupying very little space upon the floor. It is also obvious that such a closet may be readily moved to any spot in a room where it may be used, and that it may also be put entirely out of the way in a large closet or pantry, if desired.

By using asbestus sheathing of sufiicient thickness to form a rigid door the entire closet may be made of such material without the use of auxiliary frames, and the parts be secured together by any suitable metallic fastenings. It will also be understood that the use of apolygonal form for the cap permits the formation of a lid in the cap with the joint upon the angles, and the joint is thus rendered much less conspicuous than if formed in the flat surfaces of the material.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and at that the triangular form is especially adapted to expose the pockets upon the inner walls, G, and that when the door is closed, as indicated by the dotted line (1 in Fig. 4, the several pockets would fill the entire space within the closet and the entire accommodation thus be utilized.

I am aware that it is common to provide ticket-closets with strips upon the inner side of the door, as well as upon the back of the closet, to suspend rows of tickets, as in United States Patent N 0. 40,088. In my invention the entire inner walls of the closet, including the door, are provided with shallow pockets adapted to hold stationery, and the capacity of the structure is thus made many times greater than could be afforded by providing the closet with shelves. This increased ca pacity will be clearly seen by inspecting Fig. 3, in which fifteen pockets are shown, all of them being much greater in dimensions than any shelf that could be placed within the col- 1111111.

By forming the column like an obelisk and with an equal number of sides, as in the three and five sided examples illustrated, the inner walls of the column are much better exposed for the application of pockets than with the rectangular form generally used for closets.

I hereby disclaim the United States Patent No. 40,088, referred to above, and any other closet not columnar in form with equal sides, like an obelisk. The obelisk or columnar form affords the greatest internal capacity for wallpockets in relation to the transverse section of the closet.

Having thus set forth my invention, What I claim herein is 1. A columnar closet in the form of an obelisk with an uneven number of sides, one or more of the sides being hinged to form a door, the inner sides of the door and column being provided with a series of pockets to contain flat articles, and the two sides adjacent to the edges of the door being inclined toward one another at their rear edges to facilitate the exposure of the pockets fixed thereon, substantially as herein set forth.

2. A columnar closet in the form of an obelisk having three equal sides, one of the sides being hinged to form a door, and all the inner sides of the column, including the door, being provided with pockets, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The columnar closet consisting. in the hollow obelisk formed with an uneven number of sides, the pyramidal Gap E, the head In testimony WhereofIhave hereunto set rny K, separating the interior of the cap and obhand in the presence of two subscribing witelisk, the door D, hinged at one side of the nesses.

obelisk, and the lid F, formed of one side of EMMA HOPPER WATSON. 5 the cap and having its hinge arranged at a Witnesses:

different side from the door D, as and for the J. MADISON WATSON,

purpose set forth. W. H. BERGFELS.

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