AN IMPROVED WEATHER STRIP OR DRAUGHT EXCLUDER FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cook, of Chicago, Illinois, United
States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED WEATHER STRIP OR DRAUGHT
EXCLUDER FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cook at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st December 1870.
I, WILLIAM Cook, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America,
now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED WEATHER STRIP OR DRAUGHT
EXCLUDER FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS," to be as follows:--
The discomfort and serious consequences arising from the entrance of
a draught or current of cold air into heated rooms or apartments has

page_text: always been more or less a cause of annoyance in dwelling houses,
offices, shops, and other rooms and buildings, and the desire to obviate
such unpleasant consequences has given rise to many contrivances for
rendering doors and windows weather-proof without obstructing or
impeding their opening. Such contrivances have however been found
inefficient and unsatisfactory, either because they do not perfectly
exclude the draught, or because they prevent the convenient opening
and closing of the door or window.
The object of my Invention is the application to a door or window of
means for totally preventing the entrance of a draught without in
anywise interfering with the opening and closing of the same.
In
The said Invention is more especially designed for the bottoms of
doors, and what are known as French or casement windows, and consists
chiefly in placing upon the bottom of the door or window a hinged bar
of metal or wood, furnished at its edge with india-rubber or other
suitably flexible material, and having a spring or springs which raise
the bar from the ground or floor as the door or window is opened.
combination with the said bar is a stop which depresses or closes it
as the door or window is closed; the said or bar is also arranged in
combination with a sloping shelf or guard, which is chiefly designed to
prevent the entrance of rain under the door or window. In practice I
prefer to make the hinged bar of sheet zinc which is doubled, its two sides
being rivetted together, with a piece of india-rubber or other flexible
material between them, the edge of the said flexible piece projecting far
enough beyond the metal to bear and make a tight joint upon the floor.
The metal piece is hinged to the under side of the sloping ledge or guard
which is also preferably formed of sheet metal moulded into a suitable
shape. The said guard is secured upon the outside of the door by screws
or other suitable means. The said guard is formed to project over the
upper edge of the hinged bar, so that any rain falling upon the guard
will run over the same and fall down from its outer edge some distance
away from the bottom of the door or window, and will therefore not
collect and enter under the same. The aforesaid stop is fixed upon the
jamb of the door in such a position that as the door closes the hinged
bar comes in contact with the stop, and is thereby depressed or closed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Cook in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st June 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
Cook, of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America, and formerly of
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, now of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Cook, Her special licence that I,
the said William Cook, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Cook, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED WEATHER STRIP OR
DRAUGHT EXCLUDER FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Wood, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Cook, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say :-
The discomfort and serious consequences arising from the entrance
of draughts or currents of air, also of dust and rain into rooms, apart-
ments, or halls have always been causes of annoyance in dwelling

page_text: houses, offices, public halls, shops, and other rooms and buildings, and
the desire to obviate these evils has given rise to many contrivances
for rendering doors and windows draught-proof, dust-proof, and weather-
proof without obstructing or impeding the opening of the door or
window. Many of such contrivances have however been found
objectionable, either because they do not perfectly exclude the draught
or dust, or because they prevent the convenient opening and closing of
AL

page_text: edge some distance away from the bottom of the door or window,
and will therefore not collect and enter under the same.
The stop is
fixed or formed upon the jamb of the door or window frame in such
position that when the door or window is closed the hinged bar will
come in contact with the stop, and is thereby depressed or closed.
I now proceed more particularly to describe with reference to the
accompanying Drawings the mode in which I carry my Invention into
practical effect.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door or window with my apparatus
applied thereto; Figure 2 is a transverse section showing the door or
window closed; and Figure 3, an edge view showing the same open.
A is the window or door, and A* the frame thereof.
I now proceed to describe the parts which when constructed, combined,
arranged, applied, and acting as herein-after described constitute my
improved apparatus, weather strip, or draught excluder for doors and
windows.
b is a hinged bar of sheet zine, the upper part of this bar is turned
or bent over at b², and a hinge pin c is passed through it, and also
through hinge loops or rings which are on the bottom edge and form
part of a bent bar or narrow plate d of sheet zinc which is herein-after
called "guard," and which is screwed or otherwise secured to the door
or the sash bar of the window near the lower part thereof. The bent
(top) edge of the bar bis cut away or recessed at proper intervals to
allow room to receive the hinge loops or hinge rings, so that the parts
bx, c, and d, form a hinge for the bar to work on. The bar and
the guard d are sloped or bent outward; they are on the outside of the
door or window. The guard d at its lower or hinge end overlaps the
top edge of the bar b. The bar 6 is doubled at its lower edge, or in
other words, a narrow plate or strip of sheet zinc 6* is riveted at its
top edge to the bar b at about the centre of the depth of the latter;
e is a long narrow piece of india-rubber which is interposed between
the bars and b*. The rivets which unite those bars also pass through
the india-rubber e and retain it in place. This piece e projects below
the bottom edges of those bars; f is a spring riveted at one end to the
door or window in such position that it lies under the bar b. The free
end of this spring bears against the bar b. is a stop or projection
fastened to the jamb of the door or window frame, or it may be formed
by cutting a recess in the door or window frame.

page_text: When the door or window is closed, as shewn in Figure 2, the stop g
presses against the bar 6*, and depresses it together with the bar b,
the india-rubber e keeping them in a closed position, the india-rubber e
pressing on the floor, ground, or sill, step, or threshold of the window
or door, and this strip e forms a tight joint and together with the bar b,
and the guard d, which overlaps the top of the bar, effectually prevents
the entry of draught, dust, and rain.
When the door or window is opened the bar 6* is moved from and
therefore released from the stop g, and the spring f is free to act and
lift the bars 6 and 6*, and the india-rubber f, so that they may pass
clear of the mat, carpet, or oilcloth placed on the threshold step, or
sill of the window or door, and the ready and convenient opening of
the door or window is not interfered with.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim the improved
apparatus, weather strip, or draught excluder above described, consisting
of a hinged bar or plate combined with a flexible strip and with a
guard, a stop, and one or more springs, the whole being arranged,
combined, applied, and operating substantially in the manner and for
the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cook, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Thirtieth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
E. EDMONDS,
68, Fleet Street,
London.
WILLIAM COOK. (L.S.)