MENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO BALANCING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGE AND OTHER WINDOW SASHES
Year: 1884

page_text: SE
I JOSIAH ADAMS, of Seven Swiss Road Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO BALANCING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAY CARRIAGE
AND OTHER WINDOW SASHES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object an arrangement of mechanism that shall be
quite out of sight and shall be effective and yet simple and cheap.
Railway and other carriage window sashes at present are almost invariably
raised and lowered with a strap.
This strap is very expensive, is liable to be cut and stolen, and requires an
expensive roller, strap holder and stud.
The strap arrangement requires a wide open space between the inner and outer
middle rail or cross-bar of the door, down which space or opening rubbish of
various kinds, and notably lighted matches, fusees, and burning tobacco are
frequently thrown, causing danger from fire and expense in removal. My Invention
obviates this danger and expense by allowing this opening to be closed over by a
strip of wood or other material.
Now I propose to balance the sashes by a weight and cords or chains, preferably
the latter, but thin wire rope will also act. The use of weights and ropes though
almost universal in house windows has hitherto been thought impracticable for
carriage windows, first, because the cords if the ordinary arrangement were used
would be exposed and soon get cut, second, the weights would easily catch, would
Bway about and clatter, and would occupy space in the framework exactly where
strength and space are most valuable for other purposes. My Invention however
places the weight in what would otherwise almost necessarily be a void place and
prevents it from swaying, and places the cord or chain entirely out of sight and
out of tampering way. I fasten my cords or chains, preferably chains, to the
bottom of the sash one on each side, pass them over a pulley on each side each
running on an axle or spindle, or over a hard metal pin on each side, and bring
the cords down to a bar of iron or other heavy material forming a weight and
stretching from side to side of the hollow panel or pocket of the door. This bar
preferably has india rubber buffers at each end to deaden shocks.
.

page_text: The pin or pulley is screwed, riveted or otherwise fixed to the cross piece or side
pieces of the door or frame. On the frame in any suitable place I usually place a
friction stop or holder to hold the window sash when required to be locked. In
order to ensure truth in the balance weight I make it rather lighter than the sash
and with one or more pockets closed with corks or screw stoppers or lids, and in
these pockets I place shot, old nails or other matter sufficient to equalize the
balance, or I can twine iron wire round or otherwise further weight the bar. This
Invention is applicable to ordinary windows provided there be a pocket below for
the weight bar, and has this advantage that the cords cannot be seen.
Dated this 9th day of Febrero 1884

page_text: In Figs. 1 and 2 the window merely slides up and down. A strip of wood or
other material L is placed on the outside of the door frame, falling against the
window sash so as to prevent rain entering the window box. This strip L is
pivotted in the framework at either end, so as always by its own weight to lie
close against the window frame. In Figs. 3 and 4 the window is shown capable of
rising over the outer ledge or weather rail 7 and the bottom strip standing
thereon as is customary with railway and other carriage sashes at the present time.
In order to be able to open or close the window from outside without necessity of
opening carriage door, I affix a catch or projecting piece M at the top of the sash,
and at the bottom of the sash fix a plate covering a recess and forming a catch m
by means of which the sash can be drawn outwards, until the rail engages with l
M being used at the same time to push the sash down into position. In those rare
cases where the depth of the sash-box admits of it, the abutments and the pulleys
on the weight can be done away with, and the sash and counterweight fastened to
the respective ends of the bands. The advantage of the abutment and pulley
arrangement on weight is that the sash weight has only half the travel, so can get
into a shorter sash-box and yet lift the sash the entire distance.
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
1st. The balancing apparatus for railway carriage and other window sashes
consisting of a sliding weight in the box below the window suspended on bands,
chains, ropes, or belts attached to the window sash at one end, and to an abutment
at the other, in such manner that the window can be open and shut while counter-
balanced by the weight yet without the weight appearing above the opening in
the window frame, substantially as described.
2nd. In a window sash balancing apparatus, a single counterweight stretching
across the width of the sash box and suspended by cords, bands, belts or chains
passing over pulleys or their equivalent and carrying the window sash suspended
from their other ends, substantially as described.