IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WINDOWS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Chalmers, of the City and County of Perth
North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF WINDOWS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Chalmers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st July 1876.
WILLIAM CHALMERS, of the City and County of Perth, North Britain.
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WINDOWS."
" TM-
The class of windows to which this Invention relates is that which consists of
upper and lower sliding sashes, and its object is to enable both sides of the window
to be cleaned at the inside of the building in which the windows are situated,
thereby avoiding the necessity of and danger incurred by persons cleaning the
windows having to go to the outside of the building.
The improvements constituting the Invention consist in attaching the window
sashes at one side to the framing thereof by means of hinges, and in making the
batten or a portion thereof at the opposite side removeable, so that the sash or
the batten or a portion thereof being removed may be swung round on its hinges,
thereby projecting it into the interior of the building, and presenting both its inner
and outer sides to the window cleaner, the sash cord at the side where the remove-
able batten is situated being previously detached.
The upper sash is similarly arranged, and to enable it to open into the room a
portion of the parting bead at the side opposite the hinges is also removeable.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said William Chalmers in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 31st
January 1877.
WILLIAM CHALMERS, of the City and County of Perth, North Britain. "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WINDOWS."
My said Invention relates to improvements in that class of windows which con-
sists of upper and lower sliding sashes, and it has for its object to enable both sirles
of the window to be cleaned from or at the interior of the building instead of partly
[Price Gd.]

page_text: at the interior, and partly at the exterior, as heretofore, thereby avoiding the danger
incurred by persons under the latter method of cleaning.
The improvements constituting the Invention consist in providing each sash with
hinges at one of its sides, and in making the batten and parting bead or a portion
of them at the opposite side removable, so that the sashes may be swung round on
their hinges and projected into the interior of the building, theroby presenting both
the inner and outer sides of the window to the cleaner.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I now proceed
more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner in or under which
the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, reference being had to
the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended, Figure 1 is an clevation of a
window and window frame constructed in accordance with my said Invention;
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the frame, shewing the sashes of the window
projected into the interior of the building, whilst Figures 3 to 10 are respectively
detailed views of parts of the arrangement.
The upper and lower sashes A and B respectively are capable of sliding down-
wards and upwards in the usual manner in the frame C, cach sash being attached
by ropes or cords at both sides of it to counterweights D contained within the
frame C. The ropes or cords at one side of each sash are capable of being detached
from it, being for that purpose provided with a hook seen in detail at E, Figures
3 and 4 of the Drawings, which enters into an opening or recess made in a plate I,
Figure 5, secured to the side of the sash. At the other side of the frame C cach
of the sashes A and B is provided with hinges, whereby they are rendered capable
of being attached to the frame when it is desired to open the sashes inwards;
Figures 6 and 7 are respectively a front and side elevation of the part of one
hinge of the lower sash B, the said parts being attached to the frame C'at and e,
Figures 1 & 13; Figure 8 is an elevation of the other part b of one hinge of the
lower sash B, which portions are secured to the sash at the positions marked fand y,
Figure 1. On the part a of each hinge a dovetailed or other suitably shaped pro-.
jection is made, a similarly formed recess being constructed in the part b, as seen
more particularly at Figure 9, which is a detailed view of the hinge with the two
parts in gear with each other; Figures 10, 11, and 12 are detailed views of the
hinges for the upper sash A, the parts, which constitute the centres whereon the
sash swings, being attached to the frame C, at 7 and m, Figure 1, whilst the parts n
are secured to the sash A at o and p, Figure 1.
It is to be here understood that I do not confine myself to the construction of
hinges above set forth, as other forms of hinges may with equal facility be applied
to the sashes A and B for the purposes of my said Invention.
In order to prevent the lower sash B from being raised beyond the position at
which the separate parts of its hinges will gear with each other, a stop is made at
one or both sides of the frame C, as illustrated at 2, Figure 13 of the Drawings, and
a stop 8, Figure 14, is provided towards the lower end of one or both sides of the
frame to prevent the upper sash A from being lowered beyond a similar point.
A portion of the batten rod at that side of the frame O which is opposite to the
hinges is made removable in order to allow the lower sash to pass when being pro-
jected to the interior of the building, the said portion of the batton rod being at other
times retained in position by catches t, Figures 1, 15, and 16, (which are formed
with cross tails or their equivalent at their inner ends) entering the holes or
openings made in the plates u, Figure 14.
Figures 15 and 16 are elevations of the outer and inner sides respectively of the
movable portion of the batten rod.
To allow the upper sash A to be swung inwards on its hinges a portion of the
parting bead between it and the lower sash B at the side of the window opposite
the hinges is also made removable, the said portion when the window is closed
being retained in position by the catch v, Figure 14.

page_text: ย
In opening the sashes A and B to the position shewn at Figure 2 of the
Drawings, the lower sash B is first raised until its upper side comes in contact
with the stop r, Figure 13. The catches t are then turned till the indices or marks
upon their heads are vertical, at which time their cross tails or equivalent catches
(being also vertical in the slots of the plates u) permit of the movable portion of
the batten rod being taken out of its place, the sash B is then taken hold of in one
hand and the removable sash cord in the other, and the weight attached to the
said cord having been raised the sash is pulled inwards. The hook E, Figures 3
and 4, at the end of the said cord is then detached from the sash B, and it may be
entered into the hole in the upper plate u, Figure 14, to retain it in position con-
venient for being re-attached. When the cord has been so detached the sash B
is swung round on its hinges into the position shewn at Figure 2, wherein it is sup-
ported partly by the weight D, and partly by the portions b of its hinges entering
recesses in the frame C. The upper sash A is next pulled down to the stop a,
Figure 14, after which the catch is turned into the position seen at the said
Figure, and the portion of the parting bead between the catch and the stop s
removed, which permits of the upper sash being opened inwards after it has been
detached from its cord and weight as herein-before set forth with reference to the
lower sash. The upper sash may be arranged to open either approximately to the
angle shewn on the Drawings, or it may be made to open similarly to the lower sash,
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the improved construc-
tion of window herein-before described and shewn by the several Figures on the
appended Sheet of Drawings, wherein the upper and lower sashes are provided
with hinges at one side and with removable cords and weights at the other side, the
framing of the window being also formed with movable portions, substantially as
and for the purposo set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Chalmers, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-seven.
WILLIAM CHALMERS. (L.S.)