Improvements in or connected with Emergency Doors or Exits.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Oct., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Emergency Doors or Exits.
I, STANHOPE ALBANY SAY, of 40 The Avenue, Acre Lane, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:
1
The invention has for its object improvements in or connected with emergency
doors or exits, and relates to means whereby they are securely locked against being
opened from the exterior but are automatically unlocked on any one approaching
the same from the interior.
In carrying my invention into effect I preferably use folding doors meeting in
the centre and fitted with a fillet or rebate so that one door shall secure the other,
but my invention is equally applicable to single doors.
At the edge of the door, or at the edge of one or both of a pair of folding doors,
I fix a guide carrying a bolt of length equal or nearly equal with that of the door.
On the inner side of the door or doors I mount a portion of the flooring or tread
on hinges, the free end of such hinged portion being close to the door or doors.
I connect this hinged tread by a link to a lever at a point somewhat nearer the
axis than the free end of such lever. In a guide below the floor line, and vertically
underneath the before mentioned bolt, I mount a short bolt, which is operated by
the aforesaid lever, which latter is acted upon by a spring to press it upward so as
to keep the hinged tread and the short bolt normally upward. In connection with
the short bolt I employ a spring catch, which, when the short bolt is depressed,
acts to hold down the latter, and with it the hinged tread, until, by means of a
push" or a "pull" and suitable intervening connections, the spring catch is
withdrawn from the short bolt and the latter, with the hinged tread, is raised by
the spring lever. The short bolt, in its raised position, enters the lower end of
the bolt guide or socket carried by the door and, in doing so, locks the door at the
bottom and at the same time pushes the long bolt upwards to enter a socket in the
upper part of the door frame or case. . The free edge of the hinged tread, when in
its lowermost position, is flush or thereabouts with the door sill, but not below it, so
as to avoid any obstruction to free exit through the doorway.
<<
By the above means, when it is desired to pass through the emergency exit
from the interior, a person has only to walk straight for the doors and push them
open, as by so doing he will depress the hinged tread, which will, by means of the
spring lever, depress the short bolt, and this latter will, simultaneously permit of
the descent of the long bolt, thus liberating the door or doors at both top and
bottom. Then, when the emergency exit is no more required and it is desired to
again secure the door or doors, the latter are closed and the "push" or "pull" is
acted upon to release the spring catch holding down the short bolt, when the spring
lever will simultaneously raise the bolts into locking position and the hinged tread
into its operative position.
If desired the "push" or "pull" may be acted upon by the door, so that by
merely closing the latter, the spring catch is released and the door locked and one
or more light springs may be employed to push the door or doors open directly
the bolts are withdrawn therefrom.
I also may attach to the door an unlocking appliance to enable the door to be
unlocked from the exterior by means of a suitable key, if required. This may be
done by a key acting upon a rod descending to the bottom of the
door and the

page_text: lower end of which may be projected below the floor to depress the lower
short bolt.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1894.
STANHOPE A. SAY,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Emergency Doors or Exits.
I, STANHOPE ALBANY SAY of 40 The Avenue, Acre Lane, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, 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:-
The invention has for its object improvements in or connected with emergency
doors or exits, and relates to means whereby they are securely locked against being
opened from the exterior but are automatically unlocked on any one approaching
the same from the interior.
In carrying my invention into effect I preferably use folding doors meeting in
the centre and fitted with a fillet or rebate on their meeting edges so that one door
shall secure the other, but my invention is equally applicable to swing doors or
single doors.
My invention is represented in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is an interior elevation of a pair of folding doors showing my improved
mechanism applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, Figure 3 is a horizontal section drawn on the
line 3-3 of Figure 1,
°
Figure 4 is a partial vertical section drawn on the line 4-4 of Figure 1,
Figure 5 is an elevation showing the operating mechanism in the unlocked
position,
Figures 7 and
outside and
Figure 6 is a detail view showing the torsion lever which acts on the spring
catch,
are detail views of the device for unlocking the doors from the
Figure 9 is a view showing the mechanism adapted to a pair of swing doors.
I will now describe the method of carrying my invention into effect in connection
with a pair of folding doors as represented at Figures 1. to 5. a. a' are the doors
one of which is fitted with a fillet or rebate a² on its meeting edge so that when
closed and fastened the one door shall secure the other. Near the edge of the
door a I fix a guide or guides bcarrying a bolt bof length equal or nearly equal
with that of the door. On the inner side of the doors a. a' I mount a portion c of
the flooring or tread on hinges, the free end of such hinged part c being close to
the doors.
I connect this hinged tread c by a link d to a lever e at a point somewhat nearer
the axis e¹ than the free end of such lever e.
In a guide f below the floor line, and vertically underneath the before
mentioned bolt, I mount a short bolt f which is operated by the aforesaid lever e,
which latter is acted upon by a spring e² to press it upward so as to keep the
hinged tread c and the short bolt f normally upward. In connection with the
short bolt f1 employ a spring catch g, which when the short bolt fis depressed,
acts to hold down the latter, and with it the hinged tread c, until by means of a
push" or a "pull" and suitable intervening connections, the spring catch is
withdrawn from the short bolt fand the latter, with the hinged tread, is raised by
the spring lever e. In the drawings h³ represents a push" which is acted upon
by a stud or projection a³ on the hinge stile of the door, the said "push"
66
$6
3
is

page_text: connected with or acts upon the upper end of a torsion or other suitable lever h
whose lower end is in position to act upon the spring catch g to withdraw it from
the short bolt when the door a is being closed.
If desired the "push" may be otherwise placed so as to be operated by hand
or otherwise.
The short bolt, in its raised position enters the lower end of the bolt guide bl
or socket carried by the door a, and, in doing so, locks the door a at the bottom
and at the same time pushes the long bolt b upwards to enter a socket in the upper
part of the door frame or case. The free edge of the hinged tread, when in its
lowermost position, is flush or thereabouts with the door sill but not below it, so as
to avoid any obstruction to free exit through the doorway.
The broken lines in Figures 1, and 9 show a slight modification in which the
lever e is prolonged beyond its axis e and is provided with a weight to act thereon
instead of employing a spring for such purpose.
By the above means, when it is desired to pass through the emergency exit from
the interior, a person has only to walk straight for the doors and push them opeo,
as by so doing he will have depressed the hinged tread c, which will, by means of
the lever e depress the short bolt and this latter will simultaneously permit of
the descent of the long bolt b, thus liberating the door or doors at both top and
bottom.
Then, when the emergency exit is no more required and it is desired to again
secure the door or doors, the latter are closed and the "push" h or "pull" is acted
upon to release the spring catch g holding down the short bolt f, when the lever e
will simultaneously raise the bolts b, f, into locking position and the hinged tread c
into its operative position.
I may also attach to the door an unlocking appliance to enable the door to be
unlocked if required from the exterior by means of a suitable key.
In the drawings I have represented a lever i carried by an axis i¹ whose outer
end is suitably shaped to receive a key by which it may be operated.
The outer end of this lever i acts upon a stud or projection from, or within a
recess in the bolt b or is otherwise arranged to act thereon.
Other means of unlocking the doors from the exterior may however be adopted.
Figure 9 represents two connected short bolts operated by a single lever é and
adapted for use with swing doors in which case the meeting or lock stile of each
door is provided with a bolt b and guide or guides b¹ as will be well understood.
It will be evident that the invention is equally applicable to a single door.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improvements in or connected with emergency doors or exits substantially
as herein shown and described.
2. The improved arrangements for automatically locking and unlocking and
opening of emergency doors or exits from the interior substantially as herein
shown and described.
Dated October 23rd 1894.
S. A. SAY,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.