IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DOOR- LOCKS OR LATCHES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th June 1883. Communicated to
him from abroad by Messiours Mayer, Langfelder & Hammerschlag, of Vienna,
Austria
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO DOOR-
LOCKS OR LATCHES" [a communication to him from abroad by Messieurs Mayer,
Langfelder & Hammerschlag, of Vienna, Austria]
This invention has for its object to provide a novel door-locking device, by means
of which the drawing and undrawing of the catch-bolt can be offected from a point
remote from the door, as for instance from a bedstead; it is therefore particularly
suitable for hotel-rooms, where the doors are generally kept locked and should be
frequently opened to allow the hotel servants to enter the room.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide a lock-plate and a movable
cranked bolt, placed on the rear side of the said plate. A coiled spring, bearing
against one shoulder of the cranked bolt constantly pushes it outwards, whilst a
bent lever by the rising of its horizontal arm bears against the opposite shoulder of
the cranked bolt and causes the undrawing of the said bolt.
In the case of single doors the said lock is screwed to the door-post, whilst in
folding-doors, it is fastened to the door, which generally remains shut. The said
lock is operated by a wire similar to a bell-pull. One end of this wire is fastened
to the horizontal arm of the said bent lever by means of a pin, which passes
through a notch made in the lock-plate and bears at its top a perforated button.
The other end of the draw-wire, by the pulling of which the undrawing of the
catch-bolt is effected, is provided with a ring. As the spring keeps a constant
strain upon the wire against the door, the ring is to be provided with an
arrangement permitting it to be fixed in the two positions corresponding to the
drawn and undrawn bolt. This is obtained, by two securing-buttons, fastened to a
plate, screwed to the wall. The upper button is perforated and through it passes
the end of the wire so that when the catch-bolt is drawn the ring is checked by
the bottom surface of this button. In order to undraw the bolt, the ring is
pulled down far enough to allow it to be secured upon the lower button.

page_text: In some exceptional cases, as for instance in case of sudden death of the person
locked in a room, it may be required to unlock the door from the outside of the
room. In order to permit the unbolting of the door from the outside without
damaging the door or the lock, the axis of the bent lever is extended outwards
through the door, and its end is made square-shaped, it is provided with lateral
cheeks or notches, so that it can be made to turn by means of a suitably shaped
key. This outward unlocking of the door being only reserved for exceptional
cases, the outer aperture is generally covered by a metallic plate screwed to the
door. In order to allow the opening of both leaves of a folding-door, an S-shaped
hook is interposed in the draw-wire above the door-leaf, from which hook the
wire-end may, if necessary, be unhooked.