AN IMPROVED LEVER HINGE FOR SUSPENDING AND CLOSING DOORS AND GATES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Patrick O'Connor, of Wavertree, near Liverpool,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED LEVER HINGE FOR SUSPENDING AND
CLOSING DOORS AND GATES."
Sealed the 12th August 1854, and dated the 14th February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Patrick O'Connor at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
February 1854.
I, PATRICK O'CONNOR, of Wavertree, near Liverpool, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED LEVER HINGE FOR SUSPENDING
AND CLOSING DOORS AND GATES" to be as follows
My Invention consists of certain mechanical arrangements for closing doors,
gates, &c., the object of which is to cause the door to close itself when released
from the hand, or to hold it back when required. One of the plans I propose
is as follows: To the top and heel of the door are fixed a pair of spindles,
the bottom one has projecting arms which carry a pair of friction rollers; this
spindle works in a metal box fitted in the floor. The upper plate of the box is
level with & screwed to the floor, the spindle. being sufficiently long to projèct
below it and allow the friction rollers to work clear of the woodwork, or a
suitable chamber may be made in the ground to receive the box and lever.

page_text: The lower part of the spindle box has a couple of studs projecting from it,
to which a lever is secured by a pin; the short end of the lever is curved
upwards and rests against one of the friction rollers before named, the other
end of the lever hangs downward, within the space between the flooring and the
ceiling below it, or in the chamber above referred to. The face of the short
end of the lever should be of steel and curved from the centre, forming two
inclines; when the door is opened, the friction roller (against which the lever
rests), travels along the incline until it passes the highest point at the centre;
this will keep the door open without using a weight or other means. To close
it, nothing more is required than to push or turn the door with the hand a short
distance, and when the roller has passed the apex of the curve, the lever will
act upon the door & close it. At the outer or long end of the lever, a weight
should be placed, and its position adjusted by a set screw; the amount of weight
and length of the lever will have to be regulated by the size of the door or
gate to which it is fitted.
In the foregoing arrangement the door is described as turning upon pivots
fixed at the top and bottom; the lever may, however, be applied with equal
facility to doors or gates supported by hinges. In this case a friction roller
is secured to the framing, from which it should project about 1 inches.
The lever is fastened to the door by a piu, in such manner that when the door
is turned, the pressure of the friction roller against the lever causes it to assume
an angular position, the outer end being kept parallel to the door by a guide.
When the door is released, the pressure of the lever against it causes it to
close; if desirable, a catch or pin may be fitted to the guide, to retain the lever
and prevent the opening of the door until the pin is removed. There
are many ways in which my Invention may be modified to suit particular cases,
and I reserve the right to make these modifications; but what I wish to protect
is substantially described in the foregoing.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord 35

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Patrick O'Connor, Her special licence that I, the said Patrick O'Connor,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Patrick O'Connor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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
LEVER HINGE FOR SUSPENDING AND CLOSING DOORS AND GATES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Patrick O'Connor, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, 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 Patrick O'Connor, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My Invention consists in the use of a weighted lever, applied in the manner
herein-after described, for the purpose of closing doors or gates, and of retaining
them open when the door or gate is thrown back and is at right angles to the
framing. In the Drawing annexed to this Specification, two arrangements of
my improved lever hinge are shewn. Fig. 1 is a plan; Fig. 2, a side elevation,
partly in section; and Fig. 3, an end view of a lever hinge adapted for doors.
A, A, is a metal box fitted between the joists, and placed so that the brass
plate which covers the box is flush with the floor. Across the upper part of
the box A is screwed a T piece of iron C, which partly supports the spindle D.
To the lower part of the spindle is fitted the cam or curved piece of metal E,
(or the spindle and cam may be cast in one piece). F is a friction roller, the
spindle of which is rivetted to a sliding piece of metal G, which traverses to
and fro' in grooves g', g', made in the bottom of the box A. A slot g" is
made at one end of the sliding piece G, to allow it to travel free of the
door spindle D, which rests on the bottom of the box A. H is a short lever
fitted on the spindle I; upon this axis or spindle the weighted lever K rests.
To the axis I is also secured the arm L, having at its extremity the pin M,
against which the short end of the lever K rests. The axis or spindle I is
supported by the cheek plates N, N. O, O, are a similar pair of plates, carrying

page_text: the spindle P; this is for the purpose of reversing the. position of the lever K,
and placing it at right angles to that shewn in the Drawing, as, will be here-
after explained. .Q is a weight placed upon the lever K, the position of which
is regulated by means of the set screw Q¹, by means of which the weight is
firmly secured to the lever at any desired point; R is the heel of the door into
which the spindle D passes; the top of the door is held by: a spindle fitted in
the door, and revolving in a spindle plate affixed to the door frame S. Fig. 2
is a portion of the door frame, and T the brass plate which covers: the box A.
The Figures shew the different parts of the lever. hinge as they appear when
the door is closed. When the door is opened, the spindle D, which revolves
with it, causes the cam E to turn upon its axis, which, as it turns, puts the
roller F in,motion. The excentric motion of the cam causes. it to press the
roller F back towards the spindle D, carrying with it the sliding piece Grand
lever H, the. end of which (as will be seen by Fig. 2,) passes through the
sliding piece G. The levers H and L being fast to the axis or spindle I, the
motion of the sliding piece G depresses the lever L, the pin M.of which rests
upon and lifts the weighted lever K, the force of which bears upon the door
or gate tending.to close it. When, however, the door is thrown back at right
angles to the frame, one of the projecting points e, el, are brought opposite to
the roller F, and the door is retained in that position by the force of, the
lever K acting upon the sliding piece G and roller F, the pressure: of which is
sufficient to keep the door open.. When the door is moved so that the point.e!
passes the roller F, the pressure of the roller upon the cam E causes it to close.
In the arrangements shewn in the Drawings, the door is supposed to move
either to the right or left of the spindle D; the point or points e¹ may be made
at any part of the cam E, so that the door may be kept open at any desired
angle. The spindle by which the top of the door. is held to the framing is
made to slide downward in a slot made in the retaining plate; this allows of
the door being readily removed when required. When pushed up, the spindle
is retained in that position by a screw, which passes through a brass plate made
to cover the slot before named. The box A, A, of the lever hinge is fitted
flush with the flooring, and the lever K placed between the joists;. in this case
the joists are supposed to be parallel with the door frame, but should they
run in an opposite direction, the lever, instead, of resting on the spindle I, is
put, between the check plates O, O, resting on the spindle P, and pressing
against the pin M; the upper part of the lever K is hollowed at k¹ for this
purpose...
Fig. 4 is an elevation, and Fig. -5, a plan of a modification of the foregoing.
Ais the box; B, the spindle; C, C, a pair of rollers which press against

page_text: the lever D¹ when the door is opened; E¹ is the lever weight; F¹, the door;
G¹, the door frame. In the plan the dotted lines F¹, F', shew the position of
the door when closed; the rollers C¹, C¹, are then just clear of the lever D¹.
The elevation shews the position of the different parts. When the door is
opened one of the rollers C¹ presses against the apex of the curved face of the
lever D', which it lifts, causing it to press against the door and retain it open.
The faces of the levers and bed plates in which the spindles work should be of
steel; the other portions of this arrangement do not differ essentially from the
foregoing.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details of the various parts or the arrangement of the
same, as they may be considerably varied, neither do I confine myself to any
particular mode or place of affixing the lever hinge herein described to doors
or gates, as in some cases it may be preferable to fix it above the ground or
flooring and not concealed below it, as described. But what I claim and
desire to secure by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
The construction and arrangement of the lever hinge, or any mere
modification thereof, substantially as herein described and shewn by the
Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Patrick O'Connor, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
ТАТ
O'CONNOR. (L.S.)