A NEW OR IMPROVED BELL PULL FOR DOOR BELLS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Charles Montague
Prince at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 25th July 1868.-A communication from abroad.
by Sterling Bonsall and Louis Hillebrand, both residing at Phila-
delphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
I, ALEXANDER CHARLES MONTAGUE PRINCE, of the Office for Patents,
No. 4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
BELL PULL FOR DOOR BELLS," a communication to me from abroad by
Sterling Bonsall and Louis Hillebrand, both resident at Philadelphia,
in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a new or improved construction of bell pull,
the object of which is to facilitate the pull against the action of the bell
spring by converting the ordinary horizontal action of the handle into a
downward lever action. This is effected by forming a slot at or near one
end of the plate to which the bell pull is applied, such plate being
screwed to the door jamb or wall; the slot may be of an angular or
rounded shape, and at the opposite end of the plate another slot is

page_text: formed, across which a pintle or shaft is arranged, which consists of a
wire or rod so placed in a mould as to be cast into and fastened to the
sides of the slot. Through the middle of the plate is a slot, through
which a screw is passed, with which the plate is fastened to the jamb of
the door or wall. The handle consists of a bar or plate, to the outer side
of which is secured an arm terminating in a suitable knob or button.
which may be of any ornamental form, and may be attached either to
the end or middle of the bar. To the inner side of the bar is secured a
tongue, consisting of two parts joined or hinged together; one end is
firmly connected to the bar, and is slightly curved in a downward
direction, the other part is also curved. The other end of this compound
tongue terminates in a hook or eye to which the bell wire is attached,
and near this end are placed lugs or stop pins, which prevent the tongue
from being entirely withdrawn through the slot in the plate. On the
inner side of the slot is formed a boss, which shall enter a corresponding
opening in the door or wall, and serve to prevent the turning of the
plate, and also to guide the tongue in its forward and backward motion.
From the lower part of the inner side of the bar there projects an arm
which consists of a piece of metal rounded on the top, and its lower side
so cut away that there shall be formed with the bar an open slot or fork;
the bottom edge of the bar is bevelled so as to readily enter the slot; the
open slot or fork will then straddle and bear on the pintle or shaft in
such a manner that when the pull is in operation it shall act as a hinge;
the fork may however straddle or bear on the lower edge of the slot
instead of the pintle, and readily acts as a hinge, as has been before
described, but it is preferable to use the pintle, as it makes a stronger
hinge and better finish. By placing the fork over the pintle and
fastening it to the joint of the tongue, the bar is so fastened that a hinge
is formed at the lower part, and the bar conceals the head of the screw
through the slot and prevents the removal of the plate. By attaching
the usual wire or chain to the hook or eye of the tongue the pull is
completed, which being operated moves in an oblique or curved down-
ward motion, at the same time allowing the tongue to move horizontally
and thus draw the wire in the same line; the power being applied to the
handle in a downward direction gives a greater facility or ease of
operation. The tongue may be made in one piece if required.
The novelty of this Invention consists in actuating the bell pull by a
downward oblique or curved downward motion as described; in the
construction of a hinge by the forked end of the handle resting over a

page_text: pintle placed across a slot or over the edge of the same as described; in
the tongue formed in two parts so hinged as to allow the handle to move
downward while the link moves horizontally and connects the bell wire
with the handle in the tongue in one piece attached to the handle for the
same purpose; and, in the plate, the handle, the hinge, and tongue
combined to form a bell pull as described. In order to facilitate the
return of the handle a flat spring is attached to the under and inner
surface of the slot in the fixed plate, through which the pull passes. This
spring extends vertically downwards and bears against the lower internal
surface of the hinged plate, terminating in a tongue which passes
between two forks formed in one piece with the plate; the spring passes
round the hole through which the screw is inserted to fasten the fixed
plate to the door jamb. To accomplish this the pin on which the hinged
plate works is cut away in the middle so as to leave the necessary space
for the tongue of the spring, and the two forks grip the two extremities
or sides of the pin or pintle and so obtain a fulcrum.