AN IMPROVED SAFETY DOOR FASTENER, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES, RENTS A TOTAL
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Scourfield, of No. 25, Mostyn Road, Bow,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
SAFETY DOOR FASTENER, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES,
RENTS A TOTAL "
Sealed the 13th April 1875, and dated the 16th October 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Scourfield at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th October 1874.
I, THOMAS SCOURFIELD, of No. 25, Mostyn Road, Bow, in the County of
5 Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED SAFETY DOOR FASTENER, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY
CARRIAGES, CABS, AND SIMILAR VEHICLES," to be as follows:-
Hitherto it has been necessary in closing the doors of railway carriages,
cabs, and other similar vehicles, for the porter, guard, or driver to turn
O the handle and try the same in order to see if it is perfectly secure.
This more particularly on railways entails much additional labour on the

page_text: guards and porters, and if omitted to be done it frequently leads to
serious accidents. Now in order to obviate these disadvantages I proceed
as follows:-I provide a metal base plate furnished with a suitable
handle and tongue in the ordinary manner. To the front or face of this
metal base plate, a little below the centre pivot upon which the handle
and tongue turn, I attach a C spring by screws or otherwise, in such a
manner that the tail end of the spring pressing upon the tongue forces
it down in a horizontal position so long as the door is shut, thereby
keeping it perfectly tight and secure. In order however to counteract
the action of such C spring and to retain the tongue in a vertical position 1
when it is desired to leave the door open, I fasten a small catch at
the back of the metal base plate in such a position that the tooth of such
catch is caused by means of a spring pressing thereon to project suffi-
ciently through a small orifice formed in the metal base plate at a
suitable distance above the centre pivot of the handle to enable it to 1
lock into a notch formed in the tongue for that purpose, thereby coun-
teracting the tendency of the C spring on the face of the metal base
plate to force the tongue down and retain it in a horizontal position.
The tail end of the catch is so situated that it projects a little beyond
the edge of the door. Thus to release the tongue from its vertical position 2
it is only necessary to shut the door, when the tail end of the catch coming
in contact with the door case it is forced back, thereby lifting the tooth of
the catch out of the notch in the tongue, and thus allowing the tongue
immediately to fall back into the proper position to secure the door,
where it is firmly held by means of the pressure of the C spring as 2
before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Scourfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
⚫ on the 15th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SCOURFIELD, of No. 25, Mostyn Road, Bow, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Thomas Scourfield, Her special license that I,
the said Thomas Scourfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Thomas Scourfield, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED SAFETY DOOR
FASTENER, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY CARRIAGES, CABS, AND SIMILAR
VEHICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas
.Scourfield, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing,
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
+
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Scourfield, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the ssame i to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
Hitherto it has been necessary, in closing the doors of railway carriages,
cabs, and other similar vehicles, for the porter, guard, or driver to turn
the handle and try the same in order to see if it is perfectly secure.
This more particularly on railways entails much additional labour on the
guards and porters, and if omitted to be done it frequently leads to
serious accidents. Now in order to obviate these disadvantages I have
invented an improved automatic safety door fastener, the mechanism of
which, with the aid of the accompanying Drawings, I will now proceed
to describe, previously observing that similar letters of reference in the
various Figures indicate corresponding parts.
I provide a metal base plate B, shewn in Figure 1, and also in
Figures 2 and 3, and having a socket for the spindle G, Figure 4, to
work in. This metal base plate B I attach to the door by means of 3, 4,
or more screws. The spindle G, Figure 4, is furnished with a suitable
handle A, Figure 4, and tongue C, Figure 5, in the ordinary manner.
To the front or face of the metal base plate B, Figure 1, and a little
below the centro pivot upon which the handle and tongue turn, I attach
a strong curvilinear or other spring E, herein-after called the outward
spring, shewn at Figures 1 and 6, by screws or otherwise, in such a
manner that the tail end e of the spring E pressing upon the tongue 0
forces it down and causes it to fall in a horizontal position into the
staple D which is attached to the door post, such staple D being slightly
bevilled off at that part where the tongue O comes in contact with it on
closing the door, and so long as the door is shut it is kept perfectly tight
and secure by the action of such outward spring E. In order however
to counteract the action of such outward spring E and to retain the
tongue O in a vertical position when it is desired to leave the door open, as
shown in Figure 2, I fasten a small catch H, shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 7,
at the back of the metal base plate B in such a position that the tooth
of such catch H is caused by means of a spring I, shewn at Figures 8,
pressing thereon to project sufficiently through a small orifice i, Figure 1,
formed in the metal base plate B at a suitable distance above the centre
pivot of the handle A to enable it to lock into a notch c¹, Figure 5, formed
in the tongue O for that purpose, thereby counteracting the tendency of
the outward spring E on the face of the metal base plate B to force down
the tongue C and retain it in a horizontal position, as before described.

page_text: The tail end h, Figures 2 and 7, of the catch H is so situated that it
projects a little beyond the edge of the door; thus to release the tongue O
from its vertical position it is only necessary to shut the door, when the
tail end of the catch H and comes in contact with the head of a
screw F, shewn at Figures 1, 2, 3, and 9, which is fixed in a suitable
position in the door post for that purpose, when it is forced back, thereby
lifting the tooth of the catch H out of the notch c'in the tongue C,
and thus allowing the tongue C immediately to fall back in the proper
position to secure the door, where it is firmly held by means of the
pressure of the outward spring E, as before described.
My improved automatic safety door fastener is very suitable not only
for railway carriages but for all kinds of vehicles, and when used for
carriages or cabs and such like vehicles, the inside of the spindle, instead
of having a nut L fastened thereon, as shewn at Figures 2 and 4, may
be provided with an additional handle in the usual manner, so as to allow
of the door being opened or closed from the inside.

page_text: constructed substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Scourfield, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.