Improvements in and in connection with Sliding and Swivelling Doors and Partitions.
Year: 1894

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883), as required by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 9th day of April 1896.
Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 19th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 5th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in connection with Sliding and Swivelling
Doors and Partitions.
I, GEORGE NAPIER, of 44 Navigation Road, Altrincham, in the County of
Chester, Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention refers more especially to doors or partitions that are used for the
purpose of dividing large rooms such as school rooms when required into two or
more smaller ones.
The doors or leaves of which the partition is comprised may be hinged together
in pairs or otherwise or may be in separate sections or leaves to be moved inde-
pendently of the others being so mounted as to slide horizontally and swivel or
turn to be placed in the same plane and against the walls of the room leaving the
floor space free from obstruction.
The invention is designed to provide improved mechanism to maintain the doors
in a vertical position consisting of a link or links pivoted to the top and bottom
of the first leaf and to the wall with a swivelling pulley or support upon which
the leaves travel, also in an arrangement of slide by which the leaves while
travelling are caused to swivel and are maintained in a vertical position consisting
of a groove which forms a slide for a pin or projection attached to the several
leaves.
In carrying out the invention the first leaf, door or section of the partition is
secured in position by a link or links at the top and bottom thereof. These links
are pivoted to the top and bottom of the leaf or door and are also pivoted to the
wall the top and bottom links being connected by an upright rod or shaft. The
pivot or centre carried by the links upon which the leaf swings is placed at such
a distance from the edge thereof as to allow this leaf to swivel with the others
upon its central axis the links maintaining them in a vertical position.
The leaves or doors while sliding and swivelling may either be supported from
the floor or hung from above but I prefer to support them from the bottom the
doors being held in position and guided by a pin and block which slide between
strips of wood or the like forming grooves or channels at the top secured to the
ceiling or beams and at the bottom on or below the floor these grooves being
arranged at any suitable angle at the point at which it is desired the leaf should
swivel.
I prefer to trench out the floor to receive a channel iron to form the groove
which acts as the guide for the doors.
The roller which supports the weight of the door may run at the bottom of the
groove formed in the floor as is ordinarily the way in which case a pin or block
slides in the groove or the roller inay be formed to run on each edge of the channel

page_text: iron at the level of the floor in which case the roller is grooved out in the centre
and the bearing therefore is fork shaped embracing the roller in the centre and
extending down into the groove formed by the channel iron or the channel iron
may be made with two grooves a pin or block running in one and the end of the
bearing in the other.
For thin, light leaves or doors a swivelling slide may traverse an iron rail of
suitable section placed in a groove in the floor. This slide is grooved to slide
along the top edge of the iron rail to guide or keep the leaf in position.
The supporting roller or slide is carried by a bracket or bearing provided
with a swivelling stem and to the bottom rail of the leaves or doors I fix a
suitable plate or bracket to receive the swivel stem in which it can be adjusted
and secured.
Dated this 16th day of November 1894.
Improvements in and in connection with Sliding and Swivelling
Doors and Partitions.
I, GEORGE NAPIER, of 44 Navigation Road, Altrincham, in the County of
Chester, Joiner, 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 is designed to provide improved means to maintain the leaves,
doors or sections of sliding swivelling partitions in an upright position such as
are used for the purpose of dividing large school or other rooms into two or more
smaller ones.
It consists essentially in applying to the first leaf or door of the partition a link
or links pivoted thereto and to the wall, whereby this leaf and the others hinged
thereto are maintained in an upright position when being swivelled and in the
arrangement of a groove or grooves forming a slide in which a pin or block
moves placed so as to guide the leaves or doors and maintain them in their
upright position when swivelling; also in the formation of the swivelling pulley
or support either to travel over the upright edges of channel iron or along an
inverted Tiron.
The invention will be fully described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Fig. 1. Front elevation of partition with links for maintaining it upright pivoted
thereto.
Fig. 2. Plan of same extended.
Fig. 3. Plan of same when partly swivelled.
Fig. 4. Side elevation partly in section showing leaves swivelled.
Fig. 5. Detail of link for attaching to top and bottom edges of leaf or door
(enlarged).
Fig. 6. Side elevation and plan of link for attaching to face of leaf or door.
Fig. 7. Plan of partition showing two leaves held upright by links and two by
means of grooves or guides.
Fig. 8. Plan of partition with one leaf held upright by links and three leaves
hinged together and held upright by pins sliding in grooves.
Fig. 9. Plan of partition with leaves hinged together in pairs swivelling about
their centres and held upright by pins sliding in grooves.
Fig. 10. Transverse section and front elevation of double grooves E E" and
guiding pin G fitting therein.

page_text: Fig. 11. Plan of partition with leaves ainged together in pairs swivering abou
their edges and held upright by pins sliding in grooves.
Fig. 12. Side elevation of bottom swivelling supporting bracket and pulley and
pin for leaves swivelling about their edges.
Fig. 13. Side elevation of top bracket for same.
Fig. 14. Side and end elevations of adjustable swivelling supporting bracket and
pulley to run above the groove.
Fig. 15. Sectional elevation of adjustable swivelling supporting bracket and
pulley to run at bottom of groove.
Fig. 16. Side and end elevations in section of another modification of swivelling
supporting bracket.
Fig. 17. Side and end elevations of top guiding brackets.
The partition comprises a number of leaves, doors or sections A each of which
is constructed in the ordinary way and they may all be hinged together or they
may be hinged in pairs or each section may be kept separate as desired. The
leaves or doors while silding and swivelling may either be supported from the floor
or suspended from above.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, to the first leaf A¹ I pivot a link B at the top and
another link C at the bottom upon which this leaf can swing allowing the edge a
to alter its position against the wall. The links B and C are also pivoted to the
wall D so that they may assume any position between standing at right angles
thereto and lying parallel against it, and they are also connected by an upright
rod D' parallel to the wall to which they are affixed to cause both to move
together and always maintain the same relative position to each other. These
links hold the leaves A of the partition upright and maintain them in that
position when swivelling or turning into a plane parallel with the wall D. By
their use I am enabled to dispense with a half leaf or door which it is necessary
to use when the first leaf is hinged to the wall and the leaves swivel on a central
axis.
or a
If desired or found convenient the leaves or doors may be connected one to the
other by similar links, or part of the partition may be supported thereby ;
single leaf of a partition or a door standing by itself may be thus supported by
links. The links may be secured either at the top and bottom edges or to the face
of the leaf or door.
Referring to Fig. 7 the first two leaves A and A' are hinged together and are
maintained in their upright position by the links B and C similar to those described
with reference to Figs. 1 and 6. The other two leaves are hinged together
swivelling upon their centre axis and they are maintained in their upright position
while swivelling by a pin G sliding in a groove or channel E E' by which they are
caused to turn or swivel at the desired point. In the floor F I form a longitudinal
groove E which at the point e turns out into a side groove E¹ at an angle thereto
and parallel to the wall D and in the bottom rail a of the leaf is placed a block
or pin G which slides in these grooves. Above the door corresponding grooves
are provided formed by strips or beams attached to the ceiling or otherwise
suspended and in these a pin corresponding to G travels. The pulley h travels on
a rail at the bottom of the groove E and the transverse groove E¹ leads out of this
groove.
Each leaf may be separate instead of being hinged together in which case each
will be independently held in an upright position when swivelled by a separate
transverse groove E' bottom and top.
In Fig. 8 the first leaf or door A' of the partition is supported in its upright
position when swivelling by links such as already described. The other three
leaves are hinged together to swivel about their centres and are supported by
swivelling brackets H and rollers h which run in the longitudinal groove E. They
are maintained upright when turning or swivelling by the pin G which traverses a
separate longitudinal groove E" and the transverse groove E' which turns off

page_text: therefrom at right angles at the point e.
above the top of the partition.
Similar pins and grooves are placed
In Fig. 9 the leaves A of the partition are hinged together in pairs to swivel
about their centres and are supported by a supporting bracket H and rollers
similar to that shown in Fig. 14 which runs on a level with the top of the groove E
a guiding pin or fork fitting into it. The leaves A are held upright when swivelling
by the pins G in the transverse grooves E. Where the rollers run on top of the
groove E it is desirable to provide a second longitudinal groove E" for the pins &
to traverse as shown.
In Fig. 10 a transverse section drawn to an enlarged scale of the grooves E
and E is shown with the pin G affixed to the rail a of the leaf A and a front
elevation of the pin G with plate g to which it is attached.
In Fig. 11 the leaves A of the partition are hinged together in pairs and swivel
at one edge in this case the longitudinal groove E is provided with only a short
transverse groove or notch E¹ with which the pin G engages when the leaf is
required to swivel and which then holds it upright. Corresponding grooves are
constructed above the partition to guide the top edge of the leaves.
The leaves are supported on a bracket H (see Figs. 12 and 13) and runner
placed underneath and near one side edge. The runner or pulley runs upon a
rail in the bottom of the groove and the pin or block G forming part of the bracket
slides along the groove E and enters the notch E¹. In Fig. 13 the top bracket H¹
is shown, it is provided with a pin or block G which engages with the short groove
or notch corresponding to E' and a second pin G' with a friction runner g¹ which
bears against the side of the longitudinal groove.
These arrangements described for maintaining the leaves of partitions upright
while swivelling may be applied to partitions either supported from below or
suspended from above.
In Fig. 14 is shown in detail the construction of supporting bracket when the
roller is formed to run on the top of the channel iron K which forms the groove E.
The plate or bracket H is fitted into the bottom rail a' of the leaf A with a
socket into which the stem m of the bearing M is inserted. The socket and
stem m are screwed to hold the two together and allow the stem to swivel and also
to be easily adjusted. The bearing M is of forked shape to embrace the runner or
pulley which is formed with a groove over which the forks m² of the bearing
extend down into the groove E in the channel iron K to slide therein and guide the
partition. Where this form of supporting pulley is employed it is desirable to
provide a second longitudinal groove E" from which the transverse or side groove E¹
extends otherwise at the point e where the two grooves come together an uneven
surface would be presented to the roller h.
In Fig. 15 a modified form of adjustable supporting bracket is shown instead of
screwing the stem m into the socket ' of the bracket H as in Fig. 14 the socket is
provided with a screwed sleeve N the position of which can be adjusted in the
socket and secured by a lock nut n the stem m fits loosely into the sleeve N and
swivels therein. The lower end of the sleeve forms the base for the bearing M to
rest against.
In Fig. 16 a modified form of swivelling supporting bracket is shown applicable
for light partitions in which a pulley or roller is dispensed with and the swivelling
piece M' slides along the iron rail or bar K' of T or other shape. The swivelling
piece M is grooved to fit over the rail K' and the rail K¹ may be set level with the
floor or at the bottom of a groove E as may be desired or found convenient. The
stem m swivels in the socket h¹¹ of the bracket H and may be screwed or loose
therein as desired.
In Fig. 17 two forms of top guiding brackets suitable for use with this class of
partition are shown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood

page_text: that I am aware that a Patent No. 15878 of 1892 has been granted to Messrs. Brady
and Peace relating to the hinging together of the sections or flaps of movable folding
partitions or screens substantially as described and shown in their Specification and
drawings, and I make no claim to such hinging but I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A swivelling partition constructed with links pivoted to the first leaf and to
the wall to maintain it in an upright position substantially as described.
2. In a swivelling partition, door or the like the combination with one or more.
doors or leaves of links pivoted thereto at one end and at the other pivoted to an
upright rod or bar secured to the wall substantially as described.
3. The sliding arrangement for maintaining the leaves of swivelling partitions
upright when swivelling consisting of pins attached to the doors and transverse
grooves top and bottom in which the pin slides substantially as described.
4. The combination with a swivelling partition provided with a pin or block on
the top and bottom edges of a longitudinal groove and a side groove or notch
at an angle thereto both top and bottom in which the pin or block slides to
maintain the leaves in a vertical position whilst being swivelled against the wall.
5. A swivelling supporting bracket for movable partitions constructed with a
central bearing for the roller extending down into a longitudinal groove in the
floor and a roller with a central groove and side running surfaces to bear upon
the top edges of channel iron or other material of which the groove is constructed
substantially as described.
6. A bottom support for a swivelling partition constructed with a plate with a
screwed socket to receive the screwed stem of the pulley bearing or a screwed
sleeve into which the stem fits loosely substantially as described and shown with
reference to Figs. 14 and 15.
7. A swivelling supporting bracket for partitions constructed substantially as
described and shown with reference either to Fig. 12, Fig. 14, Fig. 15 or Fig. 16.
Dated this 16th day of August 1895
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents.