CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, AND BLINDS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I JOSEPH
BUNNETT, of Deptford, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twelfth day of December,
One thousand eight hundred and fifty, in the fourteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Joseph
Bunnett, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my exors, adññors,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my exors, adññors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DOORS,
WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, AND BLINDS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that I, the said Joseph Bennett, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled
in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Bunnett, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My improvements in shutters have reference to the use of curved or bent
laths of metal in the construction of revolving shutters for closing windows or
doorways, to the metal hinges for connecting the said curved or bent laths
together to form a shutter, and also to the machinery or apparatus for raising
or lowering shutters so constructed.
Figure 1 is an outside view, Figure 2 an inside view, and Figure 3 an end
section of part of a revolving metal shutter formed of curved or bent laths.
A, A, are the laths, and B, B, the connecting hinges, constructed in the manner
shewn by the Drawings, Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is what I call a blank
of metal, cut out in the form shewn. Figure 5 shews the blank as bent up to
form the hinge. The hinges are fixed to the bent laths by rivets at a, a, a, and
the male part of the hinges m are united to the female part f of the adjacent
hinges by straight pins at p, p. The section, Figure 3, shews the manner in
which the hinges lay in the curves of the bent laths forming the shutter.
Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, are sections of curved or bent laths, suitable for
the formation of revolving metal shutters when connected together by metal
hinges, as herein-before described.
My improvement in the apparatus for raising and lowering revolving metal
shutters, formed of curved or bent laths, consists in the employment for that
purpose of a worm and wheel, as shewn in Figure 11, which is a side view,
and Figure 13 a back view thereof. C is the axle or roller to which the
upper part of the shutter is affixed. A is the shutter wound upon the roller.
D is a worm wheel, keyed upon the roller C. E is an upright shaft or spindle,
having at its upper end an endless screw or worm which takes into and turns
the worm wheel D, when acted upon by the winding handle H and bevil gear G
at the lower end of the spindle E. F, F, are metal brackets, which support
the end bearings of the roller C and the upper end of the shaft or spindle E.
It is found advantageous in some cases to relieve the raising gear of some
portion of the weight of the shutter, by means of counterbalance weights.
Figures 12 and 13 shew the arrangement I employ for this purpose, Figure 12
being an end view, and Figure 13 a back view thereof. A is the shutter.
C, the axle or roller. E, the winding shaft and worm. 9,9, the side grooves
in which the shutter slides. I is a drum or roller, inade fast upon the axle C,

page_text: to which is attached by a flat band or chain J a series of weights i, i, i, so
formed and jointed together as to form a continuous chain, which is deposited
in a box or receptacle provided for that purpose at the side of the window
or doorway to which the shutter is applied.
In the upper part of Figure 12 the counterbalance weight or chain is shewn
as it would appear if the shutter was closed, while the dotted lines at the lower
part of the Figure shew the position of the weights at rest when the shutter
is open.
As the shutter is unwound from off the roller C, the band or chain J
is wound upon the drum I, and the weight chain i, i, i, is lifted, and counter-
balances the increasing weight of the shutter.
In order effectually to close revolving shutters, and prevent their being
lifted from the outside (especially when counterbalanced, as herein-before
described), I employ a peculiar formed chain, which I call a stop chain, one
end being affixed to the top of the shutter, and the other end to the roller C,
as shown at K, K, Figure 13. This stop chain is shewn separately (of the
full size) at Figures 14 and 15, Figure 14 being a side view, and Figure 15
an edge view thereof. This stop chain is formed of a series of three or more
flat plates or links, one or more series of which are so formed and arranged
as to bend only in one direction. In Figures 14 and 15 the central series
of links is so formed, and bend freely round the roller C, but will not bend
in the opposite direction. On closing the shutter the stop chain hangs as
shewn at Figure 12, K, K, which is the extreme limit of curvature of which
it is capable in that direction. If an attempt were made to prize up or open
the shutter by lifting, the chain K, K, forms a rigid bar or stop between the
top of the shutter and the roller, which effectually prevents the shutter from
rising. On turning the winding handle, however, the chain K is wound upon
the roller C simultaneously with the shutter.
Figure 16 shews a pair of counterbalanced revolving iron shutters, applied
to close an opening or doorway in the wall of a warehouse or other building,
as a protection against the spread of fire. In this case raising gear is
dispensed with. L; L, is a section of an eighteen inch brick wall. M is one
of the counterbalanced revolving iron shutters closed. N is the outer shutter,
shewn open.
On the lower bar of each shutter there are handles m and n,
by which the shutters are raised or lowered, their weight being so nearly
counterbalanced as to permit the opening and closing to be effected by hand,
without the employment of machinery for that purpose. When closed, one
or both of these shutters may be secured (if desired, by a lock or other fastening
in the usual manner. From the construction of these shutters, and the large

page_text: air space between them, any opening so fitted may be closed in a perfectly
fireproof manner.
. Figure 17 shews an arrangement for ensuring the closing of internal
fireproof sliding doors, by the shutting of the outer door of the warehouse
or premises in which they are employed. O is a sliding iron door
fitted to an opening in the lift of a warehouse, and partly counterbalanced by
the weights W, W. To open the door it is lifted up until it is caught by a
detent placed at p² or other convenient part, which supports the door, and
prevents it from closing until the detent is withdrawn. On releasing the
detent the door closes by its own gravity. P is the other door of the ware-
house or building, which stands open throughout the day, but is closed when
the warehouse is shut up for the night. To the bottom rail (or other
convenient part) of the door P is affixed a rod or chain, led in the usual
manner by means of cranks to the detent p2 of the sliding door or doors.
Should the warehouse man, when leaving, omit to shut the door O, the closing
of the outer door P will withdraw the detent, and cause the former to be
shut at the same time.
My improvement in blinds consists in a method of opening and closing
shop blinds without the necessity of going outside for that purpose.
C
Figure 18 is a side view of a shop blind fitted according to my said s
improvement. Q is the blind roller, having at one end a worm wheel d.
is the winding spindle, having an endless screw or worm at its upper end and
a bevil wheel at its lower end, which takes into and is driven by another
bevil wheel on the winding shaft h². R is one of the blind irons, jointed at
in such manner that it exerts a tendency to prevent the blind being drawn
home in closing, but which tendency is overcome by the power of the worm
and wheel. Or, instead of this springing of the blind irons themselves, a
supplementary spring may be introduced to effect the same object at any
convenient place between the shop front and the blind irons, as for instance
at 3, where a spring is shewn as so fitted. The power of the worm and
wheel brings the blind rail home, but as soon as the winding apparatus is
released, the spring of the blind irons or of the supplementary spring acting
thercon, projects the blind rail from the front of the building to such a
distance beyond the perpendicular that the blind falls by its own gravity any
further distance that may be required.
Figure 19 shews another arrangement for the same purpose, an endless
chain being employed for raising and lowering the blind, instead of the worm
and wheel. S is a pulley, fitted with a pall and ratchet, and with a winding

page_text: bandle h. S is a corresponding pulley on the blind roller. s, s, is an endless
chain passing round the pulleys S and S³, and communicating motion from
one to the other, for the purpose of raising and lowering the blind.
My improvements in windows consist in constructing them so as to
facilitate the admission of air for the purpose of ventilation. One of the plans
I adopt for this purpose is shewn in Figures 20, 21, and 22, Figure 20 being
an inside front view, Figure 21 a side section, and Figure 22 a plan of a
ventilating glass window pane composed of two series of strips of plate glass,
laying in two parallel planes one before the other, the one series being fixed,
the other capable of being moved up and down, so as to form either a close
pane or a series of alternate openings, at pleasure. T, T, are some of the
fixed plates. V, V, are moveable ones, laying behind the others, so as to
leave alternate openings between them. The strips of glass are mounted in
light metal frames, being held therein by means of their edges being bevilled,
as shewn in Figure 22. These two frames are then mounted in an outer
frame, the one being fixed and the other sliding up and down when acted upon
by the following or some other equivalent arrangement. X is a small grooved or
milled edge pulley on a horizontal spindle, at the opposite end of which there is a
small bevil wheel x', which takes into and turns another bevil wheel a³ on the
spindle of a vertical quick threaded screw Y. y2 is a socket having an internal
thread corresponding to the screw Y, and attached to the lower edge of the inner
frame, containing the moveable series of glass strips. On turning the pulley X
(by hand if within reach, or by an endless cord if elevated) in one direction,
the screw Y revolves and draws down the moveable frame, so as to bring the
inner series of glass plates opposite the openings between the outer ones, thus
forming a close pane. Upon turning the screw Y in the reverse direction, the
moveable plates are lifted up behind the fixed ones so as to present a series of
openings varying from a hair's breadth to the full size of the intervals between
the glass plates, amounting in the whole to nearly half the surface of the
window pane. The edges of the glass plates are all bevilled upwards to direct
the entering current of air in that direction, and to divert the rain downwards.
Another of my improved methods of constructing windows so as to facilitate
the admission of air for the purpose of ventilation, consists in forming air
passages through the sash bars, capable of being opened and closed at pleasure,
and so arranged that the current of air shall be deflected and broken up to
prevent any inconvenience that might arise from a direct draught.
Figure 23 is a side elevation (shewn partly in section), and Figure 24 a
plan of a sash bar suitable for shop windows constructed agreeably to my
improvement. A2, A2, are open spaces between the edges of the plate glass

page_text: and the rebate of the sash bar, extending throughout the whole length of the
bar and communicating with the external air by the openings 62, 62, and with
the inside of the shop by openings at C, C, not in a line with or opposite to
each other, but so placed as to be intermediate to each other, so as to compel
any air entering from the outside to change its direction and lose its force
before it can enter the apartment. In order still more effectually to divide
the current of air, the inner apertures C2, C3, are covered with perforated
plates of metal, to which a sliding cover may be added for the purpose of
entirely closing the opening and excluding the air.
Figure 25 is a side elevation (shewn partly in section), and Figure 26 a
plan of another form of ventilating sash bar suitable for the windows of
dwelling houses. D2, D2, are openings on the outer side of the sash bar,
through which the air enters in the direction of the arrows, and striking
against a deflecting plate passes into the body of the bar, which is hollow,
being formed of two metal plates, an outer and an inner one, brought to the
required pattern by drawing. Both the inner and outer plate of the sash bar
are perforated exactly alike, so that in one position the holes correspond with
each other and air can pass freely through them; but on moving the internal
sliding plate by a stud placed at e2 for that purpose, the holes become either
partially or entirely closed, and the entrance of air is limited or prevented at
pleasure.
Figure 27 is a front view, and Figure 28 a side section, of a carriage
window constructed so as to admit air to enter while the window itself remains
closed. F is an open space formed in the bottom. rail of the window (and
similar spaces may be formed in the top and side rails also), fitted both inter-
nally and externally with perforated plates of metal f, f³. The inner plate f³
has another plate perforated to match, capable of being moved by the stud g²,
so as to open or close the apertures and control or prevent the admission of
air to the carriage. Between the plates f2 and f there is introduced a
deflecting plate g, which prevents the air from passing straight through the
perforated plates into the carriage, but compels it to pass circuitously, by
which means its force is effectually broken.
Figure 29 is a front view of a door, and Figure 30 a section through the
middle rail, in which a ventilating apparatus is introduced so as to obtain fresh
air in an apartment (a bed room for instance), without any necessity for opening
the door itself for that purpose. He is an inner perforated metal plate fitted
with a sliding plate perforated to correspond. H is an outer perforated plate.
I is a deflecting plate for the double purpose of preventing a direct draught, and
also to prevent persons from looking into the apartment when the ventilator is

page_text: open.
Instead of the middle rail, or in addition thereto, similar ventilators
may be placed in the top and bottom rails, or in the side rails, where finger
plates are usually fixed. Figure 31 is an outside front view, and Figure 32 a
cross section of a
ship's cabin window (or scuttle) constructed with a venti-
lating apparatus. K is a plate of thick glass in a metal rim which is hinged
to the frame L. The frame L is moulded and double, as shewn in the
section, being composed of an outer and inner member, in each of which there
are a number of corresponding openings which can be opened or closed at
pleasure, by slightly turning the inner moulding n³, the outer one m² being
stationary. The openings in the outer moulding m³ are fitted with trellis
work, or other small apertures, for the purpose of breaking up the water
should a sea strike the ventilator while open. Any water that enters
the ventilator being thus deprived of its force will be intercepted by the
circular form of the mouldings, down which it will flow to the outside of the
vessel. To move round the inner moulding so as to open or close the venti-
lating apparatus, I employ a screw P³ composed of a short single threaded
screw, which works in the frame of the scuttle, and in a quick threaded screw
beyond, which takes into cogs or teeth cut in the lower edge of the inner
moveable moulding n³. On turning the screw P2 by a suitable key or handle
it causes the inner moulding to turn slightly round and open or close the
ventilator according to the direction in which it is moved. When the screw
is turned so as to completely close the ventilator, it becomes jammed against
the frame, and the key or handle being removed the ventilator cannot be
improperly opened. The scuttle itself may be opened and shut by any of the
usual methods.
Having now described the nature of my improvements in doors, windows,
shutters, and blinds, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
I desire it to be understood that what I claim as new, and of my Invention,.
is-
Firstly, the various forms of bent metal laths for constructing revolving
shutters, herein-before described, and shewn in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Secondly, I claim the application of metal hinges constructed as herein-
before described, and shewn in Figures 4 and 5, to revolving metal shutters
formed with bent or curved laths.
Thirdly, I claim the use of the worm and wheel for raising and lowering
revolving metal shutters formed with bent or curved laths.
Fourthly, I claim the use of counterbalance weights applied to revolving
metal shutters in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described, and
shewn in Figures 12, 13, and 16.

page_text: Fifthly, I claim the use of a stop chain to prevent the lifting of revolving
shutters, as herein-before described, and shewn in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Sixthly, I claim the apparatus for closing internal sliding iron doors, by the
shutting of an outer door, as herein-before described, and shewn in Figure 17.
Seventhly, I claim the method of constructing and arranging shop blinds to
be opened and closed from the inside, as herein-before described, and shewn in
Figures 18 and 19.
Eighthly, I claim the construction of ventilating panes for windows, com-
posed of two series of glass plates sliding one before the other, as herein-
before described, and shewn in Figures 20, 21, and 22.
Ninthly, I claim the construction of ventilating sash bars for windows, as
herein-before described, and shewn in Figures 23, 24, 25, and 26.
Tenthly, I claim the construction of ventilating carriage windows, as herein-
before described, and shewn in Figures 27 and 28.
Eleventhly, I claim the construction of ventilators in doors, as herein-before
described, and shewn in Figures 29 and 30.
Finally, I claim the construction of ventilators for ships' cabin windows (or
scuttles) as herein-before described, and shewn in Figures 31 and 32.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bunnett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.