IMPROVEMENTS SAD OBEFTNG AND CLOSING WITHTOWN
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Thomas Parlour, of Brooklyn, New
York, United States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, London, Shipwright, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
SAD OBEFTNG AND CLOSING WITHTOWN"
Sealed the 16th October 1875, and dated the 21st April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Thomas Parlour
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st April 1875.
I, JOSEPH THOMAS PARLOUR, of Brooklyn, New York, United States
of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Shipwright,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING WINDOWS," to be as follows:—
My Invention is designed to furnish the means whereby windows may
be conveniently opened and closed, and consists in the combination with
existing or other windows of simple apparatus which when properly
arranged will not offer any obstruction to the light or air, and which

page_text: will permit the adjustment of the window with very slight exertion and
without the necessity of applying the hands to the sashes or frames.
The said Invention is more especially designed for the window sashes
of dwelling and other houses, but is also applicable to the windows of
railway and other carriages, and in all cases when windows are con-
structed with sliding sashes or frames.
My said Invention is carried into practice as follows:-For an ordinary
window constructed with a top and bottom sash which are opened and
closed vertically I provide each sash with a rack, and I provide pinions
which are supported to turn freely in suitable bearings, and are geared
into the said racks. I sometimes use a horizontal shaft placed across
the central part of the window. This shaft is hollow, and encloses
another shaft. Each shaft carries one pinion geared into the rack
of one sash. At one end the said shafts are provided with hand wheels,
which are let into the wall or side frame of the window, so that all of
them that is visible is a small portion just sufficient to permit of their
operation by hand. I provide reversible pawls to secure the sashes when
adjusted. These wheels and the other parts of the apparatus exposed to
view may be gilded, electro-plated, or otherwise decorated or ornamented.
Or I may arrange the said shafts and wheels below the window, the
rack of the upper sash being in this case extended down at the side of
the window to the pinion.
Or instead of using shafts extending across the window and provided
with hand wheels, as above described, I sometimes arrange shafts inside
the window frames or the adjacent walls, and provide them with toothed
or worm wheels or pinions geared with racks on the sliding sashes; and
instead of using the aforesaid hand wheels I may have spindles with
square ends projecting through the frame or wall for the application of
a key or wrench.
And in some instances I may find it more convenient to substitute for
the ordinary racks above described series of pins or small rollers placed
on plates on the side or sides of the sashes, the adjustment of the latter
being in this instance effected by means of a double cam geared in con-
nection with the said pins or rollers, and provided with a suitable
handle for its operation; or I use in place of a rack a device consisting
of a series of balls or spheres set on a frame on the side of the sash.

page_text: I may also use a ratchet wheel and spring pawl, or pawl lever, or a
simple spring and lever for effecting the desired purpose; or I use chains
attached to the sashes and passed over chain wheels.
It will be obvious that my Invention will obviate the inconvenience
attending the opening and closing of ordinary windows, whose sashes
frequently are very difficult to move, and are in many cases difficult of
access, especially in drawing and other furnished rooms where it is
usually necessary to remove and replace various articles of furniture,
and to disarrange the curtains every time the windows are opened and
closed. The sashes will always be raised squarely. And morcover my
said Invention will obviate the necessity of the ordinary locks or
fastenings on the sashes, as it will be impossible to move the sashes
without access to the adjusting mechanism.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Thomas Parlour in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
THOMAS PARLOUR, of Brooklyn, New York, United States of America,
now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Shipwright, 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 seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, Her special licence
that I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING WINDOWS," upon the con-

page_text: dition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
My Invention is designed to furnish the means whereby windows may
be conveniently opened and closed, and consists in the combination with
existing or other windows of simple apparatus which when properly
arranged will not offer any obstruction to the light or air, and which
will permit the adjustment of the windows with very slight exertion and
without the necessity of applying the hands to the sashes or frames.
The said Invention is more especially designed for the windows of
dwelling and other houses, but is also applicable to the windows of
railway and other carriages, and in all cases where windows are con-
structed with sliding sashes or frames.
The manner in which I carry my said Invention into practice is
clearly illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, which I will now
proceed to describe.
Figure 1 is an interior elevation partly in section of an ordinary sash
window provided with my improved apparatus; Figure 2 is a horizontal
section on the line x, x, Figuro 1; Figure 3 is a vertical transverse
section on the line y, y, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an interior clevation partly in section of a similar window 3
shewing a modification of the said Invention; Figure 5 is a horizontal
section on the line x³, x', Figure 4; Figure 6 is a vertical transversc
section on the line y¹, y¹, Figure 4.
Figure 7 shews part of a similar window with a further modification
of the said Invention.
Figure 8 shews a detached portion of my improved annaratus.
3

page_text: Figure 9 is an interior elevation illustrating the application of my
Invention to a railway carriage window.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
In Figures 1 to 7, a is the sash frame, and b, c, are the sashes of an
ordinary window, which sashes are opened and closed vertically. I pro-
vide the top sash b with racks d, and the bottom sash c with similar
racks e.
These racks both extend down below the bottom sash, as
shewn, and the racks of the top sash are fitted to work in grooves in the
frame or other suitable guides.
In the window shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 I arrange below the
frame a horizontal shafts f, g, which extend across the window, as
shown, and which are supported to turn freely in suitable bearings at.
f', g¹. On these shafts I fix toothed pinions h, i, which are geared into
the said racks. These shafts extend at one end into a case or box j, and
their extremities carry bevil pinions k, l, which are geared with similar
pinions on the short shafts ¹, ', that are journalled at k³, P. The front
ends of these short shafts project through the said case, and are made
square for the reception of keys or handles m, whereby the said shafts
are turned to raise or lower the sashes.
For locking the sashes in any position to which they may be adjusted
I arrange in combination with the shafts k, l, pins or bolts n, which
when pushed inward enter perforations in the bevil wheels on the said
shafts or in separate discs o fixed thereon; or I may provide the said
apparatus with any other suitable locking mechanism for securing the
sashes in any required position.
In the modification of my Invention shewn in Figures 4, 5, 6, a hori-
zontal shaft p is placed across the central part of the window, and is
supported in suitable bearings at p*. This shaft is hollow, and encloses
another shaft q. The hollow shaft p has at its ends two pinion's p¹
geared with the racks on the lower sash c, and the inner shaft q is pro-
vided with two similar pinions q' geared through intermediate pinions q*
with the racks of the upper sash b. The same shaft q has its end made
square at q³ for the reception of a handle for turning it to operate the
said upper sash. The pinion p¹ on one end of the hollow shaft is geared
with the pinion p³ on the short shaft p³, to which the handle is applied
for operating the lower sash. Instead of handles I may provide the

page_text: shafts p, q, with hand wheels sunk in the wall or side frame of the
window, so that all of them that is visible is a small portion just
sufficient to permit of their operation by hand. In combination with
the said pinions I arrange spring pawls p', q', or other suitable devices
for locking the sashes. The wheels and the other parts of the apparatus
exposed to view may be gilded, electro-plated, or otherwise decorated or
ornamented.
In Figure 7 I have shewn the racks fixed to the sashes b, c, by
lugs b, c, and working in recesses in the side pieces of the frame a,
instead of being fixed on the front of the sashes, as shown in other
Figures of the Drawings. This arrangement is more convenient in some
cases than the other arrangements herein described.
And in some instances I may find it more convenient to substitute for
the ordinary racks above described series of pins or small rollers placed
on plates at the side or sides of the sashes, the adjustment of the latter
being in this instance effected by means of a double cam geared in
connection with the said pins or rollers, and provided with a suitable
handle for its operation; or in place of a rack a device consisting of a
series of balls or spheres set on a frame in the side of the sash may be
used.
I may also modify my Invention by using a ratchet wheel and spring
pawl, or pawl lever, or a simple spring and lever for effecting the desired
purpose.
go
In Figure 8 I have shewn mechanism for operating the aforesaid shafts
in cases where it is not convenient to use a handle or hand wheel. This
mechanism consists of a wheel or disc with teeth or projections ¹ on
its periphery, and a double pawl s pivoted upon a lover t. The wheel r
is fast on the shaft, while the levert is fitted to turn freely to and fro on
the said shaft. The pawls can be adjusted to set either of its arms s¹, s³,
into gear with the projections on the said wheel for turning the latter
and its shaft in either direction to raise or lower the sash. I prefer to
use a spring for keeping one arm s¹ in gear with the wheel, and when
it is desired to set the other arm & in gear, I push this spring aside and
press the arm & down by means of the knob or button while moving
the levert to and fro.
It will be obvious that my Invention will obviate the inconvenience

page_text: attending the opening and closing of ordinary windows whose sashes
arc frequently very difficult to move, and in many cases difficult of
access, especially in drawing and other furnished rooms where it is
usually necessary to remove and replace various articles of furniture,
and to disarrange the curtains every time the windows are opened and
closed. And moreover my said Invention will obviate the necessity of
the ordinary locks or fastenings on the sashes, as it will be impossible to
move the sashes without access to the adjusting mechanism.
In the application of this Invention to a railway carriage door or
window a single shaft f is extended across the same below the opening.
This shaft is provided with a pinion geared into the rack d on the side
of the sash b. The said shaft is also provided with a small hand
wheel m, whereby the shaft is turned for raising or lowering the said
sash. The shaft and wheels are sunk into the woodwork of the door, a
small portion only of the hand wheel m projecting to allow the same to
be conveniently manipulated.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The apparatus for opening and closing windows consisting of
the racks on the sides of the window sashes, and the toothed wheels or
pinions geared with the said racks, and fixed on horizontal shafts
arranged below the window frame or sill, and supported in bearings
attached to the same and provided with means for adjusting and locking
the said shafts and sashes, as herein set forth.
Second. The apparatus consisting of the hollow or tubular shaft with
the shaft enclosed therein, and supported in bearings attached to the
frame, and provided with toothed wheels or pinions geared with racks on
the sides of the said window sashes, in combination with operating or
adjusting and locking devices, as herein set forth:
Third. The modification of my Invention wherein the racks are secured
to lugs projecting from the sides of the window sashes, as herein set forth
and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The mechanism consisting of the wheel or disc with pro-
jections or teeth on its periphery, and the pawls and lever arranged in
combination with toothed wheels or pinions and racks fixed on the

page_text: purpose specified.
Fifth. The adaptation of my said Invention to the windows of a
railway or other carriage, as shewn in Figure 9, and as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Thomas Parlour, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of October,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
JA". EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
JOSEPH T. PARLOUR. (L.S.)