Improvements in Letter and the like Receptacles and Door Knockers.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 14th Mar., 1892-Accepted, 18th Apr., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter and the like Receptacles and Door Knockers.
We, AMOS FRANCIS WINCH, of 166, Rochdale Road, Agent, and RICHARD
ELLISON, of 3, Abbey Hills Road, Pattern Maker, both in Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention has for its object in the first place to provide a letter, newspaper
or the like receptacle for the doors of dwelling houses, offices, shop shutters and
the like, which when empty folds up flat and when receiving the letters, etc.,
expands as required, besides preventing draught through the letter, etc., aperture
formed in the door or shutter.
Our invention has for its object in the second place to provide the said letter, etc.,
aperture, in case of dwelling houses with. an oscillating knocker, and in case of
office doors or shutters with a plate, which serves as a double draught excluder and
can be retained above the aperture in position while the letter, etc., are passed
through the aperture and when used with the said folding receptacle will open the
8ame.
To this end our improvements consist in the first place in employing as letter,
etc., receptacle, a bag formed of netting, the open end of which we partly secure to
the inside of the door or shutter below the letter, etc., aperture in the same and
partly to the lower end of a flap, which is suspended at its upper end above the
letter, etc., aperture by means of hooks & eyes. The said flap is adapted to cover
the letter, etc., aperture and thus exclude draught as well as to open the bag on
being raised by passing the letter, etc., through the aperture into the same, the bag
being emptied of its contents by simply unhooking the flap. If desirable the bag
itself may be similarly suspended in order to facilitate the removal of the same.
Our invention consists in the second place in providing letter, etc., apertures in
doors of dwelling houses with a knocker or those of office doors or shutters with a
plate, which is arranged to cover the said aperture and to oscillate in a suitable
mounting in combination with a flap hinged inside the door or shutter over the
letter, etc., aperture in the same. The said knocker or plate passed its fulcrum is
formed with a nose which bears against the said flap and lifts it on the knocker or
plate being raised. The said flap besides serving to exclude the draught through
the letter, etc., receptacle, serves also to open the letter, etc., receptacle described
when used in connection therewith, by coming into contact with and raising the flap
to which the said receptacle is connected.
In order to retain the said knocker or plate in a raised position during the placing
of the letters, etc., into the receptacle, we form the nose thereof and respective
part of the mounting, in such a manner that it will lock itself in the said position.
Dated this 12th day of June 1891.
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
Agents to Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Letter and the like Receptacles and Door Knockers.
We, AMOS FRANCIS WINCH, of 166, Rochdale Road, Agent, and RICHARD
ELLISON, of 3, Abbey Hills Road, Pattern Maker, both in Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, 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 :--
Our invention has for its object in the first place to provide a letter, newspaper,

page_text: or the like receptacle for the doors of dwelling houses, offices, shop shutters and
the like, which when empty folds up flat and when receiving the letters, etc.,
expands as required, besides preventing draught through the letter, etc., aperture
formed in the door or shutter.
Our invention has for its object in the second place to provide the said letter, etc..
aperture, in case of dwelling houses with an oscillating knocker, and in case of
office doors or shutters with a plate, which serves as a double draught excluder and
can be retained above the aperture in position while the letters, etc., are passed
through the aperture and when used with the said folding receptacle will open the
same.
And in order that our invention may be more fully understood we have caused to
be appended hereunto three sheets of drawings marked with letters of reference
indicating like parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1, Sheet I, is a front view of a portion of a door with letter aperture to the
back of which is applied our improved letter, etc., receptacle. Figs. 2 & 3 are
vertical sections thereof showing the letter, etc., receptacle closed and open
respectively. Fig. 4 is also a vertical section and Fig. 5 a back view of our
improved letter, etc., receptacle, showing some modification in the fixing thereof.
Fig. 6, Sheet II, is a front view, Fig. 7 a vertical section and Fig. 8 a back
view of our improved letter, etc., receptacle and door knocker combined.
Fig. 9, Sheet III, is a front view, Fig. 10 a vertical section and Fig. 11 a back
view of our improved letter, etc., receptacle as used in connection with a horizontal
letter aperture and flap,
In carrying out our invention and referring to Sheet I, our improvements consist
in the first place in employing as letter, etc., receptacle, a bag a preferably formed
of netting, the open end of which we partly secure to the inside of the door or
shutter below the letter, etc., aperture in the same and partly to or near the
lower end of a flap d, which is suspended hinge like at its upper end above the
letter, etc., aperture c by means of hooks and eyes e or the like means. The flap d
is adapted to cover the letter, etc., aperture c and thus exclude draught as well as to
open the bag a on being raised by passing the letter, etc., through the aperture c
into the same, see Fig. 3, the bag a being emptied of its contents by simply
unhooking the flap d, see dotted lines Figs. 3 & 4. If desirable the bag a itself
may be similarly suspended in order to facilitate the removal of the same.
The bag a may be fixed to the door by means of a strip
adapted to receive
the respective portion of the bag a and secured to the door by means of screws or
other suitable means.
In order to ensure the back part of the bag a being fixed in its proper position
and thus prevent the falling out of letters, etc., we preferably dispense with the
strip and fix over the letter, etc., aperture ca thin board y, sec Figs. 4 & 5, having
a slot g' corresponding with the letter, etc. aperture e and adapted to receive at its
upper end the flap d as described and below the slot g' the bag.
In further carrying out our invention and referring to Sheet II, our improvements
consist in the second place, in providing letter, etc., apertures c in doors of dwelling
houses with a knocker which is arranged to cover the aperture c from the outside
and to oscillate in a suitable mounting in combination with a flap i¹ preferably
hinged inside the letter, etc., aperture e to the mounting. The knocker / passed
its fulcrum is formed with a nose 2 which bears against the flap i, so that on
the knocker being raised, see dotted lines Fig. 7, it lifts the flap to permit of
inserting letters, etc., whilst when down, it serves as a draught excluder.
When using the knocker h and flap in connection with a letter, etc.,
receptacle a, d, such as described, the knocker h and flap serve also to raise and
lower the flap d carrying the letter receptacle a, see Sheet II, the flap i thus acting
as a lever.
It will thus be understood that the knocker and flap i described may be used
independently of the folding letter, etc., receptacle a, d, or vice versû, or in
combination with each other.

page_text: In case of office doors or shop shutters, in lieu of a knocker h a plate k hinged
to a mounting i may be used to cover the outside of the letter, etc., aperture c, see
Sheet III, and to operate the flap d and letter, etc., receptacle described when using
a knocker h. The hinged plate k we have shown as applied horizontally, but it
will be understood that the same may also be used vertically in connection with the
folding letter, etc., receptacle a, d, described without departing from the nature of
our invention.
The letter, etc., receptacle a, d, described may be made of other material than
netting, such as canvas, leather, or of other suitable flexible material according to
requirements and to prevent the same from being unduly raised we connect the
lower end thereof by means of a staple a' or the like to the door b.
In lieu of making the upper end of the flap d removable, for the purpose of
removing the contents of the letter, etc., receptacle a, d it may be furnished with a
door d' having a lock.
In order to retain the knocker h or plate in a raised position during the placing
of the letters, etc., into the receptacle a, d, we form the nose thereof and
respective part of the mounting in such a manner that it will lock, i.e. tighter,
itself in the said position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is-
"In letter and the like receptacles and door knockers."
1st. A folding letter, etc., receptacle a partly suspended from a door or shutter,
by means of a flap d, adapted to open and close the letter, etc., receptacle a and
exclude draught from the letter, etc., aperture c, substantially as set forth.
2nd. The use of an oscillating door knocker h or plate having a nose /² in
combination with a flap suitably suspended, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
3rd. The door knocker or plate k specified in the preceding claim, in com-
bination with a letter, etc., receptacle a, d, as specified in Claim 1, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 19th day of March 1800
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicants.