IMPROVEMENTS IN DOOR SPRINGS
Year: 1884

page_text: Wе THOMAS PHILIP BACHE and GEORGE SALTER of the firm of George Salter
and Company of West Bromwich in the County of Stafford Manufacturers do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOOR
SPRINGS" to be as follows:-
Our Invention has reference to such door springs as consist principally of a helical
coil of wire the ends of the coil being connected respectively to the door and door
post or frame.
Our Invention has for its object to regulate the tension of the door springs and
consists in effecting that object by constructing and arranging the parts of the said
door springs in the manner hereinafter described.
We connect one end of the coiled spring to the door frame by means of a wire
loop and screw or other convenient attachment but instead of connecting the other
end of the coiled spring permanently to the attachment piece or bracket by which
it is connected to the door we make the said attachment piece or bracket separate
from the coiled spring and connect the end of the spring to it in the following
manner:-
That end of the spring referred to has secured to it a screw having a square or
angular end by which it can be turned by a spanner and the bracket or attachment
piece fixed on the door has a screw box or screwed hole made in it for receiving the
said screw.
After the bracket carrying the screw box has been fixed on the door
the screw at the end of the coiled spring is screwed into the screw box of the
bracket until the required tension has been put on the spring. By means of a key
or cotter made to take into slots in the screw box and screw or by means of a side
fixing screw carried by the bracket made to bear against one of the flat faces of the
screw the latter is prevented from rotating in its screw box. By withdrawing the
key or cotter or relaxing the fixing screw described the tension of the spring may
be adjusted from time to time as required.
Or instead of the screw arrangement described the separate attachment plato
may carry a V shaped or double arm the two parts being situated at right angles
to one another and the end of the coiled spring be provided with two loops. By
placing the lower loop of these loops upon one or other of the inclined arms on the
attachment plate the tension of the spring and consequently its strength may be
regulated. By means of the upper loop and by the use of a key or lever the spring
is placed in its proper position on the attachment plate fixed to the door.
Dated this Fifth day of January 1884.

page_text: We THOMAS PHILIP BACHE and GEORGE SALTER of the firm of George
Salter and Company of West Bromwich in the County of Stafford,
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of our Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN DOOR SPRINGS" and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statemont:—
Our Invention has reference to such door springs as consist principally of
a helical coil of wire the ends of the coil being connected respectively to the door
and door post or frame.
Our Invention has for its object to regulate the tension of the door springs and
consists in effecting that object by constructing and arranging the parts of the said
door springs in the manner hereinafter described.
We connect one end of the coiled spring to the door frame by means of a double
wire loop and screw or other convenient attachment, but instead of connecting the
other end of the coiled spring permanently to the attachment piece or bracket by
which it is connected to the door we make the said attachment piece or bracket
separate from the coiled spring and connect the end of the spring to it in the
following manner. That end end of the spring referred to has secured to it
a screw having a square or angular end by which it can be turned by a spanner
and the bracket or attachment piece fixed on the door has a screw box or screwed
hole made in it for receiving the said screw. The bracket carrying the screw box
is first fixed on the door; the screw at the end of the coiled spring is next screwed
a short distance into the bracket and the bottom end of the spring fixed; the
screw is then further screwed up until the required tension has been put on the
spring. By means of a key or cotter made to take into slots in the screw box and
screw, or by means of a side fixing screw carried by the bracket made to bear
against one of the flat faces of the screw, the latter is prevented from rotating in
its screw box. By withdrawing the key or cotter or relaxing the fixing screw
described the tension of the spring may be adjusted from time to time as required.
Or instead of the screw arrangement described the separate attachment plate
may carry a V shaped or double aim, the two parts being situated at right angles to
one another and the end of the coiled spring be provided with two loops. By
placing the lower loop of these loops upon one or other of the inclined arms on the
attachment plate, the tension of the spring and consequently its strength may be
regulated.
By means of the upper loop and by the use of a key or lever the spring is
placed in its proper position on the attachment plate fixed to the door.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in front elevation a door
spring applied to a door and door post or frame, the connecting and tension
adjusting mechanism of the said spring being constructed according to our
Invention Figure 2 is a side elevation of the adjustable end of the spring and
a section of the bracket and Figures 3, 4 and 5 represent detached parts of the
said adjustable end.
a is the door and b the door post or frame; c is the coiled wire spring connected
by the wire loop d and screws e, e to the door post b. The said wire loop d, as
will be seen by reference to the Drawing is double and is made from the wire of
the spring; fis the separable attachment piece or bracket by which the upper end
of the spring c is attached to the door a. The said attachment piece or bracket f
has an angular figure and is fixed to the door by a screw as represented. In the
said bracket f is a screw box or screwed hole g (see Figure 2) and around the said

page_text: screwed hole g a set of equi-distant notches h, h is made (see Figure 3). The
upper end of the spring c has secured to it a screw i (shown separately in Figure 4)
with a square or angular part 2 by which it can be turned by a spanner of the
kind represented in Figure 6. The screw i is of a size proper to screw into the
screwed hole or screw box g in the bracket f. One side of the screw i is cut away
or flattened (see Figure 4). The spring is fixed to the door and door post and its
tension adjusted in the following way. The bracket f is first fixed on the door a
and the connecting screw i at the end of the coiled spring c is screwed a short
distance into the screw box g in the bracket by means of the spanner Figure 6
applied to the square part 12. The bottom end of the spring is next fixed by its
double loop e, e to the door post b and the screw i is further screwed into the screw
box of the bracket until the required tension has been put on the spring c. By
the advance of the screw in the bracket, the spring is elongated as it is twisted
and hence the puckering of the spring which would otherwise ensue is prevented.
After the tension of the spring has been adjusted a key or cotter k (shown
separately in Figure 5) is placed against the flat side of the screw i and depressed
into the notch h in the bracket opposite which the flat side of the screw has been
brought as represented in Figures 1 and 2. The screw is thereby prevented
from rotating in its screw box. By withdrawing the key or cotter k the tension
of the spring c may be adjusted from time to time as required.
Figure 7 represents the arrangement of our Invention in which a side fixing
screw bearing on the connecting screw of the spring is used for preventing the
rotation of the last named screw; Figure 8 represents the screwed bracket with
the connecting screw of the spring; Figure represents a side elevation and
Figure 10 a plan of the bracket detached; Figure 11 represents the connecting
screw detached and Figure 12 represents the side fixing screw detached.
The bracket fin this arrangement has a side snug with a screwed hole f³ for
receiving the side fixing screw and the sides of the connecting screw i arc
flattened and plain (see Figure 11) for the side fixing screw to take a bearing
against. The tension of the spring c is adjusted by relaxing the side fixing screw Z
and turning the connecting screw i by means of the spanner Figure 6 acting upon
the angular part 2 so as to bring another flat face of the said screw i opposite the
side fixing screw when by advancing the said fixing screw the spring c is held
in its adjusted position.
The connecting screw i, i² may be replaced by a plain connecting pin working
in a plain hole in the bracket. This modification of our Invention is illustrated in
front elevation in Figure 13 and side elevation in Figure 14; Figure 15 represents
a plan of upperside of Figure 13 and Figure 16 represents a plan of underside of
the bracket; Figure 17 represents the connecting pin separately and Figure 18 the
fixing key or cotter. In this modification a cross pin m above the horizontal part
of the bracket f secures the connecting pin n of the spring c to the bracket f, the
spring after adjustment being maintained in its position by means of the key or
cotter being made to bear against the cross pin m and inserted in one of the
small holes q in the bracket f (see Figures 13, 14 and 15). By removing the key
or cotter p and turning the connecting pin n by applying the spanner Figure 6 to
the square part n² of the pin n the tension of the spring c may be regulated and
again fixed by inserting the key or cotter p into one of the holes q in the
bracket f
By the methods of construction described and illustrated it is not necessary to
detach the spring when its strength has to be altered. When the spring is required
to be out of action it is only necessary to relax the screw or remove the key or
cotter or p so as to release the screw i. On the motion of the door the bracket
turns on the screw i or pin n and hence no change of figure in the spring takes
place.
Figure 19 represents in front elevation and Figure 20 in side elevation the
arrangement of our Invention in which the tension adjusting mechanism consists

page_text: of a V shaped or double arm on the bracket in conjunction with a double loop on
the end of the spring; Figure 21 represents a side elevation of the bracket
separately.
r, is the V shaped or double arm carried by the attaching plate or bracket f,
the two parts of the double arm being situated at right angles to one another
(see Figure 21). On one side of each of the inclined arms 7, is a projection
for the purpose herein after described. On the end of the coiled spring c are two
loops and t. By placing the lower loop s on one of the arins 7 or the tension
of the spring c connected to the door may be regulated. When the loop & is placed
on one of the arms or ³ it engages with the projection ³ and the loop is thereby
prevented from slipping off the said arm.
The double arm r, permits the spring being connected to the bracket after
cach quarter turn of the spring in order to regulate its strength to a nicety. Thus,
if the loop 8 of the spring be removed from the arm and turned through a
quadrant it may now be passed onto the arm 12. If it be turned through a second
quadrant it may be passed onto the arm and so on through any required angle.
The loop 8 of the spring is placed on one of the arms of the bracket by means of a
key or lever being passed through the upper loop t of the spring.
of wire.
This construction of spring and its attachment ends are made of one piece
to a plate fixed on the door it may be fixed
piece with the double arm as indicated in
Instead of fixing the double arm r,
to the door by a screw made in one
dotted lines in Figure 21.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is of improvements in door springs consisting principally of a helical
coil of wire :-
First Connecting the loose end of the coiled wire spring to a separable plate or
bracket fixed on the door and regulating the tension of the said spring by means
of a screw at the end of the spring being screwed into a screwed hole or screw box
in the connecting plate or bracket, the rotation of the screw in its screw box or
screwed hole being prevented either by a key or cotter, or by a side fixing screw
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 12 both
inclusive of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly The modification herein before described and illustrated in Figures 13
to 18 both inclusive of the accompanying Drawings in which modification a plain
pin at the end of the spring and a plain hole in the separable bracket are used in
place of a screw and screwed bole or screw box.
Thirdly The combination of a double wire loop at the loose end of the spring
with a V shaped or double arm fixed on the door for connecting the spring to tho
said door and for regulating the tension of the spring substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 19, 20 and 21 of the accompanying Drawings.
Dated this Sixth day of June 1884.
THOMAS PHILIP BACHE.
GEORGE SALTER.