Improved Apparatus for Adjusting Skylights and Securing the same in Position.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 30th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 1st Oct., 1891-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Adjusting Skylights and Securing the same
in Position.
I WILLIAM TREBILCOCK of Central City, Gilpin County, Colorado United
States of America, Carpenter do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention has for its object to provide a device whereby a skylight may be
raised and lowered without difficulty and be so secured that it cannot be raised or
lowered from the outside.
The apparatus consists of an apertured bracket or support which is secured to the
inside framing of the skylight in which a lifting and locking rod is adapted to be
slid up or down, said rod being formed with a series of notches so arranged as to
automatically engage with a spring actuated lock bar pivoted to the bracket and
inclined so as to admit of the rod being pushed upward past the bar but to lock against
same on its downward pressure. The said rod is held in its locked position by a
bar which is pivoted near its lower end to the rod while its upper end extends to
the rear of and up through the aperture in the bracket, its spring serving to normally
press said bar against the one wall of the aperture and the rod against the opposite
wall. This spring bar is formed with a series of notches inclined in a direction
opposite to the notches in the lifting rod and disposed about of an inch below the
horizontal plane of the same, whereby said bar will be locked from movement
upward when adjusted in position for a purpose presently described.
The lower end of the bar is extended below the pivot and rests against the
long arm of an angle lever pivoted to the lower end of the lifting rod, its short arm
being connected to a cord by means of which the device is operated and which
extends up over a pulley and down again to within easy reach for operation. The
pulley is mounted upon a shaft journalled on the bracket and disposed in a slottedl
standard through which the cord passes and is held to the pulley.
Upon the shaft is mounted to revolve therewith a disc, the peripheral edge of
which is formed with a series of notches having inclined faces, which edge is
adapted to engage and pass over a spring arm on the lock bar when the lifting rod
is operated, to raise the skylight, but to engage said arm and pull it outwards to
release the lock bar from the lifting rod when it is operated to lower the skylight,
the arrangement of the notches in the disc and the arm being such as to allow the
disc to slip over such arm when the disc is turned in the one direction and to engage
said arm as stated, when turned in the opposite direction.
The manner in which my improved combined lifter and lock is operated is very
simple. To raise the skylight the free end of the cord is pulled whereby the lever
forces the spring bar inward out of engagement with the edge of the aperture and
allows it and the lifting rod to be pushed up one or more notches. Then by
releasing the cord the lifting rod will seat itself into engagement with the lock bar
and be prevented from falling down and the spring bar swinging outward will lock
against the edge of the aperture in the bracket, thereby preventing anyone from
When it is desired to lower the
raising or lowering the skylight from the outside.
skylight, the operator takes hold of the free end of the cord, pulling slightly.
This releases the spring bar and then by continuing the pull lifts the skylight until
the disc revolves enough for the spring arm to catch in the first notch of the disc,
which by a slight reverse movement causes the lock bar to be pulled away and
become disengaged from the lifting rod. The bars are then gradually allowed to
drop one or more notches as desired, and then by a slight pull on the cord the disc

page_text: is revolved, thereby disconnecting the spring arm when the bars will automatically
lock themselves in place.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Adjusting Skylights and Securing the same
in Position.
I, WILLIAM TREBILCOCK, Carpenter, residing at Central City, in the County of
Gilpin, and State of Colorado, United States of America, 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 :-
My invention has for its object to provide a simple, cheap, easily-operated, and
effective, combined skylight lifter and lock which will serve to raise or lower the
skylight for ventilating purposes and hold it locked in any of its adjusted positions
so that it cannot be raised or lowered from the outside.
My invention consists in the peculiar combination and novel arrangement of the
several parts hereinafter fully described in the annexed Specification and particularly
pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which
Figure 1 is a side view of my improvement;
Figure 2 is a sectional plan view; and
Figure 3 is an end view, partly in section.
A indicates a bracket or support which is secured to the inside framing of the
skylight, as shewn, the outer end of the horizontal member a thereof being
apertured as at a¹ in which the lifting and locking rod B is adapted to be slid up
or down. By reference to Figure 3 of the drawings it will be observed that the
lifting and locking rod 13 is formed with a series of inclined notches which are
arranged to automatically lock in engagement with a spring-actuated lock bar C
pivoted at c on the member a of the bracket, such notches being inclined in the
manner shewn, so as to admit of the rod being pushed upward past the bar C but
to lock against same on its downward pressure. To hold said rod B in its locked
positions, I provide a spring-bar D pivoted near its lower end as at d to the rod B,
its upper end being extended to the rear of and up through the aperture a', the
leaf-spring E serving to normally press said bar D against the wall of the
aperture and the rod against the wall a³, as shewn. The bar D is formed with a
series of notches d'inclined in a direction opposite to the notches b in the rod B
and disposed about of an inch below the horizontal plane of the same, whereby
said bar D will be locked from movement upward when adjusted in position: for
a purpose presently described. The lower end of the bar D is extended below the
pivot d and rests against the long arm of an angle lever F pivoted in the lower
end of the rod B, its short arm" being connected to the cord G by means of which
the device is operated, the free end of said cord extending up over a pulley. H and
down again to within easy reach for operation. The pulley H is mounted upon a
shaft journaled on the bracket A and disposed in a slotted standard J through
which the cord passes and is held to the pulley, as shewn. Upon the shaft I is
mounted to revolve therewith a disc K the peripheral edge of which is formed with
a series of notches having inclined faces k', which edge is adapted to engage and
pass over a spring arm L on the lock-bar C when the rod B is operated to raise the
skylight but to engage said arm L and pull it outward to release the bar C from
the toothed rod B when it is operated to lower the skylight, the arrangement of the
notches in the disc K and the arm L being such as to allow the disc to slip over

page_text: such arm when the disc is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow and to
engage said arm L, as stated, when turned in an opposite direction.
The manner in which my improved combined lifter and lock is operated is very
simple. To raise the skylight, the free end of the cord G is pulled whereby the
lever F forces the spring-bar D inward out of cugagement with the edge a² of the
aperture a' and allows it and the rod B to be pushed up one or more notches. Then,
by releasing the cord, the rod B will seat itself into engagement with the locking
arm C and be prevented from falling down and the bar D swinging outward will
lock against the edge a², as shewn, thereby preventing anyone from raising or
lowering the skylight from the outside When it is desired to lower the skylight,
the free end of the cord is pulled slightly which releases lock bar D, then, continuing
the pull, lifts the skylight until the disc K revolves enough for spring-arm L to
catch in the first notch of disc K which by a slight reverse movement causes the
arm C to be pulled away and become disengaged from the rod B. The rod B and
bar D are then gradually allowed to drop one or more notches, as desired, and then,
by a slight pull on the cord, the disce K is revolved, thereby disconnecting the spring
arm L, when the rod B and bar D will automatically lock themselves in place.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1st. A lifter for skylights, transoms, etc., consisting of an apertured bracket, a
notched lifting bar connected to the skylight and arranged for lateral movement in
the aperture in the bracket, a locking lever for engaging said notched lifting bar to
hold it from downward movement, a spring-actuated locking bar pivoted to the lower
end of the lifting bar and projected through an aperture in the bracket, said spring
bar formed with notches arranged to engage the bracket and hold the lifting bar
from upward movement, and means for raising the lifting bar and unlocking the
locking lever from said lifting bar, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2nd. The combination, with the bracket A having an aperture a' as shewn and
the guide pulley H mounted thereon, of the notched lifting rod B, the spring-
actuated locking arm C adapted to engage the notched rod B, the spring bar D
arranged to operate in the aperture a¹ and hold the rod B in engagement with the
arin C, and the lifting cord G secured to the lower end of the rod B passed over
the pulley H and down to within easy reach of an operator, substantially as and
for the purpose described.
3rd. The combination, with the bracket A formed with an aperture a¹ the shaft I
mounted thereon provided with a pulley H and notched disc K and the spring-
locking arm C having a spring member Larranged for engagement with the notched
disc, of the rod B and bar D operating in the aperture a and notched as shewn,
the bar D pivoted near its lower end to the rod B, the angle lever pivoted in the
rod B and arranged to engage the bar D, the operating cord G secured at one end
to the lever F its free end passed over the pulley H and extended down as shewn
and arranged, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 1st day of October 1891.
W. TREBI
COCK,
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.