An Improved Window-sash Fastener.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 1st July, 1899-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Window-sash Fastener.
I, JOHN BURROWS PARSONS, of Begonia, Severn Road, Weston-super-Mare,
Commercial Traveller, 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 consists in an improved fastener for locking window-sashes.
The fastener consists of a lever which is pivotted on the upper face of the
meeting rail of the lower sash of the window and is free to be turned on its
pivot over the division between the sashes. Fixed on the upper face of the
meeting rail of the upper sash of the window is a bracket having a toothed rack
corresponding with the toothed nose of the lever. In the unlocked position,
the lever lies parallel with the meeting rail to which it is pivotted and clear of
the division between the sashes. In this position it is retained by a tongue and
a recess, the tongue being formed on the lever, and the recess into which the
tongue enters being provided in the meeting rail of the lower sash. To lock
the sashes, the lever is turned on its pivot and the toothed nose thereof gears
with the rack of the bracket, and the two sashes are thereby prevented from
moving.
In being moved to the locking position, the nose of the lever makes contact
with the underface of the bracket aforesaid and if the sashes be not quite closed
the effect is to bring the meeting rails of the sashes to an even level.
The lever is divided into two parts which are connected by a hinge.
When the lever is in the locking position, the body thereof lies over the
division between the sashes, and the tail of the lever is then turned down
inwards on the hinge, the tongue aforesaid entering a recess provided for it in
the front face of the meeting rail of the lower sash. The lever cannot then
be turned on its pivot until the tail is freed from the restraint of the tongue
in the recess. This, which is easily done from the inside, cannot be done from
the outside of the window without first breaking or cutting away the glass.
The lever having a series of teeth, the appliance is adapted for use with
sashes of different width depending on the number of teeth on the lever and
the rack. The lever pivot remains always in the same position, but the bracket
and rack can be moved, being only necessary that the position be such that at
least one tooth of the lever engages in the rack.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings, Fig. 1 repre-
5 sents in plan my improved fastener for window-sashes. The appliance is shown
in the position which it occupies when the sashes are not thereby locked. Screwed
or otherwise secured to the meeting rail a of the lower sash of the window is
a plate 6 through which is passed the pin c passed also through the body or
leading part d of a lever having a toothed nose d' as shown. The tail of
0 the lever is hinged to the other part at and has on its under face a tongue d
(shown in dotted lines), preferably shaped like the tongue of a door latch, that
is to say, knife-edged. Screwed or otherwise fixed on the meeting rail e of
the upper sash of the window is a bracket f having an inclined or sloping cover

page_text: or top shown partly broken away at Fig. 1. At one end of the bracket is a
toothed rack corresponding to the toothed nose d¹ of the lever.
The lever d, d, when in the unlocked position as shown at Fig. 1, lies on
the meeting rail a and clear of the division between the sashes. In this-the
unlocked position it is retained by the tongue in engagement with a corre-
spondingly-shaped recess h provided in the rail a and seen at lig. 2 which is
a plan showing the lever turned on the pivot pin c to the locked position. In
this the locked-position the teeth of the lever nose d' engage with the rack g
and, as seen more particularly in the front view, Fig. 3, the tail of the lever
is turned down inwards on the hinge d³, and the tongue d' enters the recess
provided in the front of the rail a (indicated in dotted lines at Fig. 1) and
shaped like the recess h. aforesaid. In the locked position, the lever d, d¹, d*
cannot again be turned about the pivot pin c without first raising the tail d
on the hinge sufficiently to withdraw the tongue wholly out of the recess i.
This, which is easily effected from the inside of the window, cannot be done
from the outside without first breaking or cutting away the glass.
It will be seen-see Fig. 3-that the cover or top of the bracket e is inclined
and that the nose of the lever is wedge-shaped. By virtue of this the lever nose
in passing into the bracket and making contact with the under face of the cover
brings the meeting rails of the sashes to an even level should they not, when
closed preparatory to locking, be even.
As sashes vary in width, the lever has a row of teeth and is thus adapted for.
use with sashes of different width, depending on such width and on the number
of teeth on the lever and on the rack.
The fastener illustrated in the drawings is adapted for use with two other
widths of sash rail in addition to that shown. The three teeth of the lever and
rack enable the appliance to be used with sash rails wider to the extent of one
tooth or two teeth. In applying the fastener to such wider sash rails, the
bracket is moved back away from the rail a to the necessary extent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
A window-sash fastener, consisting of a lever such as d, d, divided and
hinged and pivotted on the meeting rail of the lower sash and having a wedge-
shaped toothed nose such as adapting the fastener for use with sash rails of
more than one width, and a bracket such as f with rack such as g adapted for
fixing on the meeting rail of the upper sash; the arrangement being such that
the toothed nose of the lever engages with the rack when moved accordingly
to lock the sashes, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.
Dated this 30th day of June 1899.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent, Bristol.