Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1886.
Complete Left, 19th Oct., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 4th Feb., 1887.
1 EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and Engineers,
of 35, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus by which the bolt upon the front door of a
house can be released when desired by a person at a distance, by means of a current of
electricity through an insulated wire, or the pressure of air in a pipe.
The essential parts of the improved apparatus consist of two levers turning upon
centres, acting parallel to each other and one operating upon the other so that a small
force at the longer end of one is greatly multiplied at the shorter end of the other.
These levers are kept in their normal position by a moveable catch. The bolt which
is to be acted upon is held by a catch turning upon an axis in a box or case, provided
with a lever about eight times as long as the distance from the centre of the axis to
the point of the catch where it holds the bolt. The end of this lever has a rounded
part which engages in a notch upon an excentric hereinafter described.
A helical spring is arranged so as to bring the lever back to its position after the
bolt has been released.
The excentric having the notch into which the end of the lever enters is carried
upon a spindle turning in bearings, and a projection upon it causes the lever to bring
back the spindle and excentric to their normal position, by means of a spring, the
moment the door is closed.
The spindle has upon it a lever about ten times as long as the distance between the
centre of the spindle and the notch on the excentric so that the force applied to the
outer end of the long lever is only about one eightieth part of the pressure upon
the bolt

page_text: At this point at the outer end of the longer lever a releasing cam piece mounted
upon an axis, is capable by a very moderate movement of operating a lever through a
sufficient space.
This releasing piece is put in operation when required by a crank worked by means
of an armature and electro-magnet set in operation and acting in the usual well known
way, by a conducting wire from any distance, or instead of electro-magnets, the
pressure of air forced through a pipe from a distance may be used for the same
purpose, the air acting upon a moveable piston or diaphragm or other equivalent
device.
By the use of levers as described the power required is very small, and very little
strength of the electric current, or of pressure of air in the pipe, is sufficient.
Where an electric current is used, the electro-magnets are made to operate by
means of an insulated pressure stud or button completing the electric circuit.
through them.
EDWARDS & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and Engineers,
of 35 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, 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, and
accompanying drawings (that is to say)
The improvements which form the subject of this invention relate more especially to
apparatus by which a doorbolt can be released when desired, by a person at a distance
by the pressure of air or by means of an electric current.
In the accompanying drawings, which are in illustration of the invention, figures 1
and 2 are front views of apparatus for releasing the bolts of doors from a distance.
Figure 3 is a cross section through a-b. Figure 4 through gh. Figure 5 through
-d, and figure 6 through e. Figure 7 is a perspective view of figure 2 somewhat
modified. Figure 8 is a section through the operating cylinder, shewing the piston.
Figure 9 is an end view of the cylinder. Figure 10 is a section through the principal
actuating cylinder and piston. Figure 11 shows a coupling and support for the air
pipes, and figure 12 is a section through the cylinder of a bell sounding device.

page_text: In figures and 2 the bolt is shewn provided with a stop Land also with a lever
arm M rounded at its end which engages with a notch upon an excentric H (figures 6
and 7), the bolt K, stop L, and lever M being in one piece.
A spring N presses upon one side of the lever M for the purpose of bringing back
the parts to their original position after the door has been opened. A spindle G
turning in a bearing I carries the excentric H, into a notch upon which excentric the
end of the lever engages, as described above and illustrated in figure 7.
One side of this excentric projects in order that the lever M may be able to bring
back the spindle and excentric to their place when the holt is shut, and when the
spring N operates, the spindle G moves an arm F which slides for a short distance
on the piece E which is adjusted so as to form a catch to the arm. The piece E is
moved when desired by means of a rod D which is connected to a pivotted plate B
which is operated by the pressure of air in the bellows device I' (as shewn in figure 2,
and hereinafter described) or it may be moved by means of an electro-magnet A, A,
as shown in figure 1, in which latter case the wires are connected to an insulated
terminal at O, and the movement of the plate B is regulated by the screw G.
When the catch E is drawn back the lever arm F (which has a tendency to rise by
means of a spring round the spindle G one end of which spring is fixed to the frame)
rises and by the partial revolution of the excentric H (with which it forms a single
piece) allows the lever M to escape from the notch and turn upon its centre together
with the stop L and the bolt K, the extremity of the bolt K as it turns allowing the
catch проп the door to pass it and the door to spring slightly ajar by means of a spring
of the kind ordinarily used in house doors released from a distance by a string and
strong enough to overcome the resistance of the spring N. The parts as soon as the
door has passed the bolt are then instantly brought back to their position by the action
of the spring N.
To reclose the door it is pushed back, the bolt passing the catch which turns upon a
pivot and is provided with a spring so that after the bolt has passed it it is forced
back and retains the door firmly closed.
Tempered steel stops are arranged under the lever F and upon the piece E to assist
and soften the sudden movements of the bolt releasing spring.
R is the box or case of the apparatus.
In figures 7, 8, and 9 instead of the bellows device P (as shewn in figure 2) for
effecting by its pressure the release of the disengaging piece, a metallic piston is shewn
working freely in a cylinder.
The rod A of the piston has at its outer end a knob or groove which by its
backward and forward movement operates the rod which actuates the disengaging
piece. The piston is put in motion when desired, by the exhaustion of air behind it
through the air pipe B, which causes it to travel from L to M (figure 7) whence it
returns to L when the pressure of air behind it is restored. In figure 7 a helical
spring is shewn coiled round and operating upon the spindle G instead of a flat
spring.
Figure 10 shews the device by which the exhaustion of the air is effected from a
distance, for the purpose of undoing the bolt. It consists of a large cylinder A¹
provided at its upper end either at the side or at the top with an air pipe B₁ connected
by a union-joint G. This cylinder contains a piston formed of two discs 1 and D2
holding between them a leather packing ring E. The rod T has a spring coiled round
it by which the piston is returned to its position after it has been drawn back by the
knob or handle at its outer end.
The pipes B', figure 10, and B4, figures 8 and 9, are connected so as to be continuous
for their full length, so that when the piston is drawn back from L' to M' (figure 10)
by hand or otherwise, a vacuum is formed at the end L' of the cylinder, and by means
of the connecting pipe the piston which operates the bolt releasing device (figure 7) is
drawn back.
Where the connecting pipe passes to the door, the opening and shutting of which
has to be allowed for, a coupling of the kind shewn in figure 11 is used, the central
part of which is provided with screwed ends to which the ends of the air pipes B³, are

page_text: coupled by union joints L³, I, provided with leather or other packing so that if the
device is fixed in a line with the hinges of the door, one or other of the pipes can
turn without any loss of air.
Figure 12 shows a cylinder and piston for sounding a bell.
The piston rod A operates directly, by means of the vacuum caused by the large
piston (figure 10) upon the catch or lever or sounding device of a hell of any of the
well-known kinds.
The cylinder (figure 10) may be fixed in any desired position, and the piston may
be operated by a direct pull, or by levers or handles of any convenient kind, or it may
be fixed to any moveable piece of furniture, in which case the connecting air pipes
must be of india rubber or flexible material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of the bolt with the arm M, notched excentric H, lever F and
catch E, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the lever F and catch E, of the rod D and pivotted plate B,
arranged and operated when required for the purpose of releasing the arm F,
substantially as described and shewn.
3. The air bellows, or cylinder, piston and piston rod, and air pipe, combined and
arranged as shewn in figures 2, 7, 8, and 9, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
4. The cylinder, piston and rod, spring, and air pipe, substantially as described and
shown in figure 10, for the purpose of actuating from a distance the devices shewn in
figures 2, 7, 8, and 9.
EDWARDS & Co.,
Agents for the Patentee.