Improvements in Door-locks, Specially Applicable to Railway Carriage Doors.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 9th July, 1890-Accepted, 6th Sept., 1890
COMPLETE DI ECIFICATIO
Improvements in Door-locks, Specially Applicable to Railway
Carriage Doors.
I, GEORGE WILLIAM BEAL, of No. 17 Melbourne Road Williamstown, near
Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, Railway Carriage Builder, 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 :-
This invention has been devised for the purpose of providing a simple and
inexpensive lock specially applicable to railway carriage doors which will remain with
its handle or handles and its locking tumbler in their open or raised positions
whilst the door is open, and which will allow said tumbler te automatically engage
with a suitable recess in the door jamb as soon as the door is completely closed,
thus preventing the damage to the handles, locks and other parts of railway
carriage doors which is at present caused by persons slamming them whilst the
bolt of the lock is protruding and the inside handle is turned down into its locking
position.
The essential feature of my invention consists in the employment of a pivoted
catch-piece adapted to engage with a shoulder upon the said pivoted locking tumbler
when the latter is raised or turned back out of engagement with its recess in the jamb
of the door. By this means I am enabled to retain said tumbler in its disengaged
position until such time as said catch is forced back out of engagement with it by said
tumbler coming in contact with the inclined surface of a striking-plate attached to the
jamb of the door when the latter is closed. This said tumbler is, according to my
invention, cam-shaped, and an anti-friction roller on the lower end of a short pivoted
lever is pressed forward against the cam-shaped edge of said tumbler by means of one
or more flat springs extending across the inside of the lock between two pairs of
suitably arranged lugs or projections therein, as clearly illustrated in my drawings,
wherein
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved lock (with the outside cover thereof
removed) showing same applied to a door, part of which, together with its jamb, is
shown in section, said view illustrating the various parts of my invention in the
positions they occupy when the door is closed.
Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1, but illustrating the various parts of the
lock as having been turned back to allow of the door being opened, whilst
Figure 3 is another similar view illustrating the parts of my invention in the positions
they occupy when the door is open, and
Figures 4, 5, and 6 are diagramatic plan views corresponding respectively to
Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
Heretofore it has been possible for careless people to turn the handles of the locks of
railway carriage doors into the position indicated in dotted lines at A in Figure 1
when the door was open, so that in the event of the door being suddenly closed
the inside handle came into violent contact with the jamb, thus doing considerable
damage either to the lock or to the handle, or to some other part of the carriage,
as will be well understood on reference to said Figure 1.
As hereinbefore stated, it is the object of my invention to prevent the tumbler B
being turned into its locking position except when the door is closed, thus
preventing any possibility of the handle A coming into contact with the jamb of
the door. I accomplish this by pivoting a catch-piece within the casing D of..

page_text: the lock, and by so arranging said catch-piece as that one of its ends will be
caused to engage with a shoulder b'formed on the said tumbler whenever it is turned
back out of engagement with the recess E in the jamb of the door, as illustrated in
Figure 3.
represents the short lever which depends from a pivot within the casing of the
lock, and which carries at its lower end an anti-friction-roller f', which latter is pressed
forward against the cam-shaped edge b' of the pivoted locking tumbler B by a flat spring
or series of springs G extending across the framing D between a pair of lugs gg in
the top and bottom of said framing. A pair of cheeks f³ are preferably formed upon
the pivoted lever F upon each side of the anti-friction roller ff, and if required, slots
or recesses f³ may be cut out of the side plates of the casing D in order to admit said
cheeks and allow the lever F to move to and fro. A spiral spring c' is coiled around a
small bent rod projecting downwardly from the top of the casing D and tends to
turn said spring catch C into engagement with the shoulder 6 of the locking tumbler B.
Said spring-catch C is provided with a projecting nib or nose c³ which, when the door
is closed, bears against the surface of the striking-plate H on the door-jamb and is
thereby held out of engagement with the locking tumbler B, as illustrated in
Figure 2.
The inside handle A as well as the usual outside one are rigidly secured upon a
spindle a passing through the lock, and having the locking tumbler B also secured
upon it in such a manner as that when either of said handles are turned said tumbler B
is caused to move therewith, thus enabling the occupants of the carriage to withdraw
said tumbler from the slot or recess E in the jamb of the door, as illustrated in
Figure 2, thereby allowing the door to be pushed open, as will be well understood.
When this has been effected the handle A may be released, and the parts will
then assume the positions indicated in Figure 3, that is, the lower end c of the
catch C will engage with the shoulder 6 of the tumbler B, and will retain same in its
raised position as illustrated in that Figure. The springs G will by this means have
been forced back into their straightened position, and will therefore tend to press the
lever F forward and cause its anti-friction roller f' to bear against the rear of the
locking tumbler B. When the door is nearly closed the tumbler B will be turned and
forced inwards by riding up the inclined surface of the striking plate H. The effect
of this is to turn the catch-piece C and to withdraw its rear end c out of engagement
with the shoulder b of the tumbler B so that when the door is completely closed said
tumbler will be free to enter the slot or recess E provided for it, and will therefore
hold the door closed until again turned out of engagement therewith, as above
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I déclare that what 1
claim is :
1. In door locks the combination with a locking tumbler (such as B) provided with
a shoulder (such as b) of a pivoted catch-piece (such as C) adapted to engage with said
shoulder when said locking tumbler is turned back out of engagement with the jamb
when the door is opened, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained, and as illustrated in my drawings.
2. In door locks the combination with a pivoted catch-piece (such as C) adapted to
retain the tumbler or bolt of the lock in its withdrawn or disengaged position, and
having a projecting nib or nose (such as c) of a striking plate (such as H) having an
inclined surface (such as h) adapted to keep said catch-piece out of engagement with
said tumbler when the door is closed, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained, and as illustrated in my drawings.
3. In door locks the combination with a locking tumbler (such as B) having a cam-
shaped edge (such as b¹) of a pivoted lever (such as F) pressed forward against such
cam-shaped edge by a suitably arranged spring or springs (such as G) so as to always

page_text: tend to force said tumbler into its closed or locking position, substantially as and for
the purposes herein described and explained, and as illustrated in my drawings.
Dated this Twenty-seventh day of May One thousand eight hundred and ninety.
GEO. W. BEAL.
G. F. Redfern & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.