Year: 1885

page_text: I CHARLES LIONEL CARSON of Clements House, Clements Inn Passage,
London W.C. Newspaper Proprietor and Editor do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object an improved means of releasing the bolts or
fastenings of doors more particularly those of theatres and other public buildings
by a weak current of electricity thereby rendering exit possible by merely pushing
open the doors.
In carrying out my invention I pass through wires from any convenient part of
the building a current of electricity to an electro magnet. This magnet attracts
an armature attached to a rod which carries a projection or lug resting on a slotted
plate which bears it up. To the rod are also connected a weight or spring and a
wedge or equivalent.
When the armature is attracted towards the magnet the rod and its attachments
are borne in the same direction and the lug is carried along the slotted plate until
it reaches the slot in the plate. The weight or spring is then sufficient to
overcome the attractive influence of the magnet or the current is discontinued and
the rod with its attachments are drawn down, the wedge acting on a pin or
projection attached to or connected with the bolt which is withdrawn, thus
allowing the door to be easily pushed open.
In resetting the lock a knob, handle or equivalent connected with the weight is
pushed up, thereby carrying the rod and its attachments with it. When the lug
or projection reaches the slot in the slotted plate a spring forces it back into its
original position upon the plate leaving the bolt free to be shot out under the
influence of the usual spring and refasten the door.

page_text: Improvements in Electrical Apparatus for Releasing Door and
similar Fastenings.
I CHARLES LIONEL CARSON of Clements House, Clements Inn Passage
London W.C. Newspaper Proprietor and Editor do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention which has for its object an improved means of releasing the bolts
or fastenings of doors more particularly those of theatres and other public buildings
by a weak current of electricity thereby rendering exit possible by merely pushing
open the doors will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
in which Figure 1 is a sectional side view.
Figure 2 is a sectional edge view and
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 but on a smaller scale and shewing the
bolt or latch withdrawn.
A is the case or box preferably of metal like an ordinary mortise or other lock;
B is the bolt or latch impelled outwards by a spring C of any convenient
construction. B may be guided by pieces A¹ projecting from the casing.
D is a
rod vertical or otherwise according to the requirements of the case-in the
drawings it is shewn vertical. At one end-in the drawing it is the upper end-
of D is an armature E which may be caused to approach the electro magnet F,
upon a current being passed through it. G is a catch projecting from D and resting
upon some fixed support H and holding D up as in Figure 1. I is an inclined
plane or wedge also projecting from D and adapted when D falls to engage with
the pin or projection K on the bolt B. L is a spring or weight or both whose
object is to pull down D when not supported by catch G. In Figure 1 the spring L
is compressed between the fixed support M and the weight L upon the lower end
of D.
O is a slide by which D can be replaced after it has fallen and withdrawn
the latch. The latch may be retracted by a knob attached to or connected with the
latch and projecting from the side of the casing when the apparatus is fixed in
the door. As shown in the drawings however the apparatus is presumed to be
fixed in the framing in which the door works and as a knob could not in such a case
be used the latch would be pushed in by a corresponding latch in the door which
would be projected by a knob on the door or by other convenient means forcing in
the latch B as it advanced until B was clear of the door. The action is as
follows:-
The door being shut and the rod D raised as in Figure 1 the latch B shoots out
under the influence of its spring C; the door is now fast but it can be opened by
hand from whichever side is desired by pulling back the latch B in the manner
described above. To unlock the door a current is sent from the manager's office or
from such other place as the wires Q communicate with to the electro-magnet F
which then attracts the armaturé "E drawing the upper part of D towards it and
releasing the catch G from the support H. The force of the spring or weight L
immediately draws down D bringing the incline I into contact with the projection K
and so retracting the latch B the positions of the various parts being approximately
such as shown in Figure 3.

page_text: When it is desired to fasten the doors again all that is necessary is to raise the
slide O to the top of its slot; the incline I is then clear of K and the catch G
again engages with H being forced onto H by the spring S which presses against
the rod D.
Any required number of these appliances may be included in the same circuit so
that by making one contact all the doors in a theatre for example could be
simultaneously unfastened. As the electric current is only used to disengage the
rod I and the real work of withdrawing the latch or bolt is effected by the spring
or weight L, it is clear that a very weak current is all that is needed to sufficiently
excite the electro-magnets.
Although the rod D is shewn as being vertical and the latch B horizontal they
can of course be turned in any other direction that the circumstances of any
particular case may require,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In an apparatus such as described the combination with the spring-controlled
latch B of a rod such as D controlled by an electro-magnet and having an inclined
surface such as I adapted to engage with said latch B or with an attachment
thereof, a catch such as G and a weight or spring such as L substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
2. In an apparatus such as described, a rod such as D adapted to be held clear
of-the latch B by a catch G engaging with a fixed support H and to be released by
the attraction of an electro-magnet when under the influence of a weight or
spring L longitudinal movement is imparted to said rod D whose inclined face I
then engages with latch B or with an attachment thereof for the purpose of
withdrawing it the whole constructed and operating substantially as and for the
purpose specified.