Improvement in Means of Actuating Carriage and other Door Locks.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 19th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 15th. Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Means of Actuating Carriage and other
Door Locks.
I EDWIN ROBERT WETHERED Lieut.-Colonel of 100 Herbert Road Woolwich Kent
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to provide a means of actuating the lock, especially
of a carriage door, so that the latter can be opened from within, without having the
usual inside handle connected to the spindle of outside handle as at present, and so
to actuate the lock, by means of an external spring, exerting a more uniform force
than can be obtained by a small spring cramped within the limited space of the
lock case.
I employ a short metal arm, having one end circular, with a square hole to fit the
lock spindle. I place this arm preferably inside the lining of the door.
On the edge of the door pillar I remove sufficient wood to allow the circular end
to enter and work freely. The spindle of outside handle is passed through the square
of this arm, and out through the moulding, where it is secured by a nut in the
Sordinary way. This small arm is thus secured within the door lining, the circular
end, resting between the inside of pillar and door moulding. To the other. end I
connect one end of a metal rod, the other end of which is provided with a knob or
hand piece, passes perpendicularly up to the inside of the sash frame, where it is
retained in position.
To open the door the knob is pressed down, this forces the end of small arm also
downwards, causing the spindle of outside handle to rotate in a direction to open
the door, or I may by a cog or rack arrangement operate the knob or hand piece in
an opposite direction."
To the inner end of small metal arın, or the perpendicular rod, I attach a long
spiral, or other spring, in such a position that it shall draw or otherwise force the
small arm so as to rotate the spindle in a direction to project the lock bolt into the
door. As this will perform the same work as the lock spring, with much greater
freedom of action, the latter may be dispensed with.
When worked in combination with an automatic latch lock, the inside knob or
handle piece will be automatically raised or vice versa according to the arrangement
used.
The position of the knob or hand piece will indicate whether the door is securely
fastened or not.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Means of Actuating Carriage and other
Door Locks.
I, EDWIN ROBERT WETHERED, of 21, Brewer Street, Woolwich, in the County of
Kent, Lieutenant Colonel, 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 chiefly relates to what are known as slam-locks for the doors of
railway and other carriages, but my improvements are also applicable to locks for
other doors.
The principal object of my invention is to provide improved means-for operating
a lock from the inside of a door and to this end I suspend the handle from a lever

page_text: attached to the lock-spindle. By the use of this lever I am, in some cases, enabled
to arrange a spring in such a manner that the ordinary spring within the lock
can be dispensed with, whereby a lock of very small dimensions can be produced.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figures 1 and 2 are an elevation and plan respectively of part of a railway
carriage door shewing a slam-lock provided with a handle arranged according to my
invention.
Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2 respectively, shewing the
arrangement of a spring by the use of which I am enabled to dispense with the
ordinary internal spring of the lock; and
Figures 5 and 6 are similar views illustrating another arrangement of external
spring especially applicable to carriages for common roads.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a indicates the door, 6 the lock and e the lock-spindle. All of which parts are of
known construction.
d is the lever arranged according to my invention, and e is the handle suspended
therefrom. This lever may be arranged either within the body of the door or outside
the face of the same; the latter arrangement is shewn in Figures 1 and 2, in which
case a plate is secured to the face of the door in order to cover the said lever. When
the lever is arranged within the body of the door the free end thereof, from which the
handle is suspended, may be curved so as to project through a slot in the door, or
the handle may be connected to the lever d through the medium of a cord g passed
through a hole in the door, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4. In order, however, to
provide sufficient amplitude of movement, the cord, instead of being directly connected
with the lever, is connected to a bar i, one end of which is jointed to the said lever,
whilst the other end is arranged to slide in a guide j, as shewn.
When it is desired to make the lock as small as possible the ordinary internal
lock-spring is dispensed with as hereinbefore stated and an independent spring is
employed.
This independent spring, which is indicated by the letter k in the drawings, is, in
Figures 3 and 4, shewn in the form of a helical spring connected at one end to the
door itself and at the other end to the lever d; or when the lever d is on the exterior
of the door it may be connected to an independent lever mounted upon the lock-
spindle within the body of the door: whilst in Figures 5 and 6 the independent
spring k is represented as a spiral spring, one end of which acts on the lever d,
which in this case is on the exterior of the door and provided with a knob or handle
projecting through a slot in the covering plate f.
Although I have described my improved suspended handle as being upon one
side of a door only, it is obvious that such a handle may be arranged at each side
of a 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. A lock for railway carriage and other doors, the spring for operating which
lock is independent of the lock proper, and arranged to act either upon the lever
for operating the lock or upon an independent lever, substantially as, and for the
purpose, described.
2. The manufacture and use of slam-locks constructed substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, Figures 3 and 4 and Figures 5 and 6
of the accompanying drawings.
Dated 10th
م
A
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.