Improved Means for Lowering and Adjusting the Windows of Railway and other Carriages.
Year: 1890

page_text: Dat: of Application, 20th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 20th July, 1891-Accepted; 22nd Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Lowering and Adjusting the Windows of
Railway and other Carriages.
We, CHARLES GROOMBRIDGE, Inventor, and WILLIAM ALFRED SOUTH,
Veterinary Surgeon, both of 40 New Bond Street, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved means for lowering and adjusting the windows
of railway and other carriages, and it has for its object to permit of such windows
being readily lowered to any extent by the simple movement of a knob or button
placed within easy reach of the occupants of the carriage.
According to our invention we connect, either directly or indirectly, one end of a
lazy tongs arrangement to the window, and the other end to the lower portion of
the door. This lazy tongs arrangement carries a stud or pin which is capable of
engaging with the teeth of a pivotted rack. The upper extremity of this rack is
furnished with a knob or button which projects from the inside of the door, and
when such knob or button is actuated the rack is disengaged from the stud or
pin, and the window then falls by gravity, but is capable of being arrested at any
moment by releasing the knob or button and thus regulating the extent to which
the window can be lowered. So soon as the knob or button is released, the pivotted
rack resumes its normal position under the action of a spring, and the rack again
engages with the pin or stud, thereby preventing any further descent of the
window.
In order to avoid the too rapid descent of the window, as well as to aid in raising
the same, we employ any convenient number of spiral springs. One end of each of
these springs is connected to one extremity of the intermediate bars, rods or links
of the lazy tongs by a flexible metallic strip, or chain, secured to curved or rounded
bosses or projections formed on the extremities of the bars or links above mentioned,
which are prolonged for this purpose. The other end of each of the spiral springs
is connected, in any suitable manner, to each of the members constituting the top
and bottom pair of links or rods of the lazy tongs arrangement. Or one end of
these spiral springs may be connected to a curved boss or projection formed on the
extremities of the top and bottom members of the lazy tongs, and the other ends of
the springs to the intermediate links or rods; the purpose of the curved bosses or
projections and the flexible connections being to obtain a gradual increase or
decrease of the power of the springs in accordance with the opening or closing of
the lazy tongs.
A window provided with the means hereinabove described is raised in the ordinary
manner, and when released by the hand remains stationary at the desired point,
while the power employed in raising is reduced to a minimum by the action of
the spring lazy tongs.
Dated this 20th day of October 1890.
ERNEST DE PASS,
78, Fleet Street, London, Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Lowering and Adjusting the Windows of
Railway and other Carriages.
We, CHARLES GROOMBRIDGE, Inventor, and WILLIAM ALFRED SOUTH,
Veterinary Surgeon, both of 40 New Bond Street, in the County of Middlesex, 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 reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improved means for lowering and adjusting the windows
of railway and other carriages, and it has for its object to permit of such windows
being readily lowered, to any extent, by the simple movement of a knob or button
placed within easy reach of the occupants of the carriage.
According to our invention, we connect, either directly or indirectly, one end of
a lazy tongs arrangement to the window, and the other end to the lower portion of
the door. This lazy tongs arrangement carries a stud or pin which is capable
of engaging with the teeth of a pivotted rack. The upper extremity of this rack
is furnished with a knob or button which projects from the inside of the door, and
when such knob or button is actuated the rack is disengaged from the stud or pin,
and the window then falls by gravity, but is capable of being arrested at any
moment by releasing the knob or button and thus regulating the extent to which
the window can be lowered. So soon as the knob or button is released, the pivotted
rack resumes its normal position under the action of a spring, and the rack
again engages with the pin or stud, thereby preventing any further descent of the
window.
In order to avoid the too rapid descent of the window, as well as to aid in raising
the same, we employ any convenient number of spiral springs. One end of each of
these springs is connected to one extremity of the intermediate bars, rods, limbs or
links of the lazy tongs, by a flexible metallic strip, or chain, secured to curved or
rounded bosses or projections formed on the extremities of the bars or links above
mentioned, which are prolonged for this purpose. The other end of each of the
spiral springs is connected, in any suitable manner, to each of the members consti-
tuting the top and bottom pair of links or rods of the lazy tongs arrangement. Or
one end of these spiral springs may be connected to a curved boss or projection
formed on the extremities of the top and bottom members of the lazy tongs, and
the other ends of the springs to the intermediate links or rods; the purpose of the
curved bosses or projections and the flexible connections being to obtain a gradual
increase or decrease of the power of the springs in accordance with the opening or
closing of the lazy tongs.
A window provided with the means herein before described is raised in the
ordinary manner and when released by the hand remains stationary at the desired
point, while the power employed in raising is reduced to a minimum by the action
of the spring-controlled lazy tongs.
And in order that our invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a railway carriage door with a portion of the casing
removed so as to show clearly the mechanism contained therein; in this figure the
window is shown partially raised.
Fig. 2 is a similar figure to the preceding one, but showing the window in its
lowered position; and
Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line A A of Fig. 1.
a, a, are the top and bottom pair of links or limbs connected to the intermediate
1:1
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page_text: top links or limbs are pivotted at a² to a plate 61 secured to the lower part of the
window b while the lower links are pivotted in a bearing c¹ fixed to the lower cross
rail c of the carriage door. The axis of the intermediate links or limbs a', a¹, is
prolonged so as to form a pin or stud a³ which, as the window is raised or lowered
is caused to travel in a vertical line and is capable of engaging with the saw-like
teeth of the pivotted rack d having its fulcrum at d¹. This rack is retained in its
normal vertical position by the spring d², and its upper end is furnished with a knob
or button 3, whose spindle projects through a slot el formed in the cross rail e of
the door. Both ends of each of the intermediate links or limbs a', a', are prolonged
and formed with heads or enlargements a*, a*, to each of which is secured a flexible
metallic strip at, or chain, connected to one end of each of the spiral springs a³, a³,
whose other ends are secured to the links or limbs a, a.
When the lazy tongs close or contract, these springs become gradually extended,
and by acting upon the prolonged ends of the intermediate links tend to keep the
lazy tongs arrangement opened or expanded, thus the combined action of these
springs constitutes a counterbalance to the weight of the window and consequently
enables the window to descend gradually while allowing of its being arrested at
any desired point.
By actuating the knob or button d³, the rack can be shifted laterally so as to
remove its teeth from the path of the pin or stud a³, and the window will conse-
quently descend by gravity into the position seen at Fig. 2, and will cause the
sprin sa to become extended, as already explained.
When the window is to be raised it is unnecessary to actuate the knob or
button, for, by reason of the saw-like shaped teeth of the rack they offer no impedi-
ment to the upward movement of the pin or stud a which, as it comes against the
inclined part of each tooth, simply moves the rack laterally against the tension of
the spring and permits of the passing of the pin or stud. But when the window
is raised to the required extent, its weight causes the pin or stud a³ to rest upon
the upper surface of one of the teeth of the rack, and as this surface is straight,
the window is unable to shift the pivotted rack, and remains elevated until released
by the shifting of the rack by means of the knob or button.
Although we have described our improvements as applied to the lowering of
windows, we may by increasing the power of the springs, and by inverting the teeth
of the pivotted rack so that their inclined surfaces lie upwards instead of down-
wards, cause the window to rise instead of to fall.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The construction and use of the lazy tongs having their intermediate or
central limbs or links prolonged and formed with rounded heads or enlargements, as
and for the purposes described.
2. The combination with the lazy tongs, constructed as above described, of the
flexible metallic strips, or chains, secured at one end to the rounded heads or
enlargements, and at the other to the spiral springs attached to the upper and lower
limbs of said lazy tongs, as and for the purposes described.
3. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the means for
effecting the gradual lowering and adjusting of the windows of railway and other
carriages, substantially as described.
ted this 20th day of you
ERNEST DE PASS,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 6, Victoria Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicants.