A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RINGING DOOR BELLS, AND A BOLT TO BE USED WITH THE SAID APPARA
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Davies, of Tetbury, in the County of Glou-
cester, Machinist, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR RINGING DOOR BELLS, AND A BOLT TO BE USED WITH THE SAID APPARATUS,
Sealed the 15th July 1859, and dated the 21st April 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
April 1859.
I, JOHN DAVIES, of Tetbury, in the County of Gloucester, Machinist, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR RINGING DOOR BELLS, AND A BOLT TO BE USED WITH THE SAID
APPARATUS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THE SAID BOLT IS OR MAY BE
APPLICABLE," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of an apparatus for ringing the bells attached
to such doors as open both inwards and outwards, or that swing backwards and
forwards. The object of this part of my Invention is to insure the ringing of
the bell by the opening of the door whichever way the said door is opened.
The said apparatus is constructed as follows, and is fixed above the door with*
which it is employed :-A foundation plate, to which the bell and apparatus are
attached, carries at its lower edge two arms or levers, the said levers turning in
a vertical plane at right angles to the plane in which the closed door is
situated. The lower ends of the levers hang the one on one side, and the

page_text: other on the other side of the door when the said door is closed; and on the
opening of the door one of the said levers is struck by the door. The upper
and short ends of the levers enter a slot or opening formed in an arm attached
to the axis of the bell hammer. A coiled spring keeps the said arm in a raised
position until on the opening of the door one of the levers is struck, when the
said arm is depressed. As the door escapes from the lever the coiled spring
suddenly raises the hammer arm, the bell is struck, and the lever restored to
its normal position. The lower end of each lever has a short arm that turns
inwards, so as to allow of the closing of the door without moving the lever
which it has to pass. Instead of making the door act directly upon the levers
I prefer to place the apparatus so high that it is clear of the door, and place
a bolt at the top of the door, which, by being shot or withdrawn, causes the
door to act or not upon the bell at pleasure.
The said bolt constitutes the second part of my Invention, and is constructed
as follows: Instead of connecting the knob by which the bolt is moved by
fixing it rigidly to the bolt, I connect the bolt and knob by a spring riveted
near the acting end of the bolt, its loose end being forked and engaging
with the stem of the knob. When the bolt is shot the spring forces the end of
the stem into a hole in the bolt case, and the bolt cannot be withdrawn until
the knob has been raised so as to withdraw the end of the stem from the hole
it had engaged in. Instead of a knob the stem may be so formed that a key
is required to enter the bolt case to liberate the bolt. The bolt described may
be used as a fastening generally.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2
18th October 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DAVIES, of Tetbury, in the County of Gloucester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Davies, Her special licence that I, the said John
Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any a
tine agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
laud, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RINGING DOOR BELLS, AND A BOLT TO BE USED WITH THE
SAID APPARATUS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES TO WHICH THE SAID BOLT IS OR MAY BE
APPLICABLE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Davies,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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.
my, or
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:
My Invention consists, firstly, of an apparatus constructed in the manner
hercin-after described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, for
ringing the bells attached to such doors as open both inwards and outwards
or that swing backwards and forwards. The object of this part of my
Invention is to ensure the ringing of the bell by the opening of the door in
whichever way the said door is opened.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents in elevation an apparatus for ringing
door bells constructed according to my Invention, a bell being connected
therewith; Figure 2 represents a vertical section of the same; and Figure 3
represents a back elevation of the same. The same letters are employed to
indicate the same parts in the said Figures 1, 2, and 3. a is the foundation
plate of the apparatus, by which the said apparatus is fixed above the door
with which it is employed, the said plate being fixed by screws passing through
the holes a therein, the said screws entering a block of wood secured to the
door frame; is the bell, supported from the foundation plate a by the rod c.
The said foundation plate a carries at its lower edge two arms or levers d, e,
the said levers turning in a vertical plane at right angles to the plane in which
the closed door x is situated. The said levers d, e, turn upon the pins f, f;
fixed to the bearings g, g, the said bearings being cast in one piece with the
plate a. The said levers d, e, pass through a slot formed in the foundation
plate a, as represented in Figure 2. The lower ends of the levers d, e, bang
the one on one side, and the other on the other side of the door when the said
door is closed; and on the opening of the door one of the said levers is struck.

page_text: and raised by the door, and thereby made to act upon the bell in the manner
herein-after explained. The upper and short ends d, e, of the levers d, e,
enter and work in the slot or opening in the foundation plate a; i is a ring-
like arm or lever at the back of the plate a, and in front of the opening / in
the said plate. The arm or lever i is rigidly fixed to the axis k, carrying the
bell hammer. The ends d, e, of the levers d, e, pass through the arm or
lever i, and rest upon the lower edge of the opening in the said arm or lever,
as represented in Figure 2. The said arm or lever i has motion in a vertical
plane, and when the said arm or lever is not acted upon by either of the
levers d, e, it is maintained in a raised position, as represented by the coiled
spring m, one end of which is fixed to the pin n, and the other end to the axis
k, on which the said arm or lever i turns.
the levers d, e,
The action of the apparatns is as follows:-As the door a opens in one or
other direction it strikes against and raises one of the levers d, e. On the
rising of the said lever it turns upon its centre, and the short end of the said
lever pressing upon the arm or lever i, depresses the said arm or lever i. By
the depression of the said lever i, the axis k of the bell hammer 7, upon which
the said lever i is fixed, is made to perform a partial rotation, and thereby to
depress the hammer l.
As the door a escapes from under the lever d or e,
the said lever falls, the coiled spring m raises the arm or lever i, and causes
the hammer to strike the bell b. The lower end of each of
has a short armid, e, turning inwards upon the joints d', e.
returns to its closed position it strikes against and passes
without moving the levers d, e. Instead of making the door act directly upon
the levers d, e, I prefer to place the apparatus, Figures 1, 2, and 3, so high that
it is clear of the door, and place a bolt at the top of the door, which by being
shot or withdrawn causes the door to act or not upon the bell at pleasure.
The said bolt constitutes the second part of my Invention, and besides being
used in connection with the apparatus, Figures 1, 2, and 3, may also be used
in place of the ordinary door bolt and as a fastening generally,
As the door x
the parts d³, e",
Figure 4 of the Drawing represents a front elevation and an end elevation
of a bolt constructed according to the second part of my Invention; Figure 5
represents a side elevation of the same; Figure 6 represents a vertical section
of the same; and Figures 7 and 8 represent a side elevation and a front
elevation of a portion of the same. The same letters are employed to indicate
the same parts in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
Instead of connecting the knob by which the bolt is shot and withdrawn, by
fixing it rigidly to the said bolt, I connect the said knob and bolt together by
a spring in the manner herein-after explained. a is the bolt case in which

page_text: the bolt 6 slides, the said bolt having the form represented in the separate
views of the said bolt, Figures 7 and 8; c is the knob by which the bolt b
is raised or lowered in its case. The said knob c passes through and works
in a slot d in front of the bolt case. e is the stem of the said knob, which
stem passes through and works loosely in the said bolt b, as represented in
Figure 6, and is connected to the bolt 6 by the spring f, one end of which is
fixed to the bolt b, and the other free and forked end f2 engages in a groove
in the end of the stem e, and thus connects the knob c to the bolt b. The
said spring tends to press the stem e against the back of the bolt case.
When the bolt b is in the position represented in Figure 6, the end of the
stem e is pressed by the spring f into a hole at g in the back of the bolt
case, and the said bolt thereby fixed. In order to shoot the bolt, and make
it act upon the levers d, e, Figures 1, 2, and 3, (or to enter the staple in the
door or other frame when used as an ordinary bolt,) the knob c is pulled in
a plane perpendicular to the surface of the case, and the end of the stem e
raised from the hole g with which it was engaged. By now sliding the knob
in the slot d to the top of the said slot the end of the stem e comes opposite
the hole h, when the spring f forces the said stem into the said hole, and
fixes the shot bolt. Instead of a fixed knob c on the end of the stem e, the
said stem may be made without a knob, and formed so that a key is required
to be introduced into the said stem e, and temporarily fixed thereto for working
the bolt.
When the bolt, Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, is used in connection with the
ringing apparatus, Figures 1, 2, and 3, the said bolt must be let in flush with
the surface and top of the door, so that when the bolt is drawn down it will
clear the short moveable arms of the levers. The locking action of the bolt,
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, may be applied to any kind of bolt, whether large
or small, flush or projecting. Owing to the locking action holding the bolt
in its position, whether it is shot or withdrawn, the said bolt is secure whether
it is placed horizontally or vertically.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented in the Drawing,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention ;
but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the new or improved apparatus for ringing door bells, herein-
before described, and represented in the accompanying Drawings, that is to
say, an apparatus consisting essentially of two levers, between the lower
ends, of which levers the top of the closed door or a bolt on the top of the

page_text: door is situated, the said levers being so connected with the hammer of a
bell that the said hammer is made to strike the bell as the door opening in
either direction escapes from the end of one or other of the said levers.
Secondly, the new or improved bolt herein-before described and represented
in the accompanying Drawings, which said bolt may be used either in con-
nection with the apparatus herein-before described, and represented in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, or in place of an ordinary bolt, that is to say, a bolt
in which. the handle or stem whereby the said bolt is worked is so connected
with the bolt by a spring that the end of the said handle or stem is made to
enter holes in the bolt case when the bolt is either shot or withdrawn, and
thereby fix the said bolt, the liberation of the bolt being effected by pulling
forward the handle or stem of the bolt.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
CHARLES STANLEY.
JOHN DAVIES. (L.S.)