Improvements in or relating to Door Porters or Stops.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 14th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 14th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 3rd July, 1897
PROVISIONAL
CATION.
Improvements in or relating to Door Porters or Stops.
We, FREDERICK MANN of 154 Elthorne Road, Hornsey Rise, in the county of
Middlesex, Cabinet Maker, and HENRY HERBERT AKERS of Herbert Lodge, Wester-
ham, in the county of Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention is for the purpose of securing a door or the like in any required
position so that it is only necessary to open the door as wide as it is required and it
will then stay in that position. In the case of doors provided with springs one of
these porters will be sufficient, but where no spring is employed and it is desired to
fix the door, one porter may be employed upon each side of the door.
In carrying out the invention the porter proper may be pivotted in a suitable:
bracket which can be screwed or otherwise secured to the door; the bracket would be
provided with a spring. Or the porter could be pivotted direct to the door.
The porter itself consists of an arm with any convenient form of head to engage
with the floor, the head being preferably curved to a circular or other curve or sweep
other than a circular sweep struck from the centre upon which the arm pivots. The
arm or its pivot end may be provided with a head having flats like the joint of a
knife, a spring and the end of the arm serving to hold the porter in any required
position, preferably three positions being provided-one in the downward position
adapted to engage with the floor, another one in a horizontal position from which it
may be turned to its operative position by a person's foot, and the third an elevated
position where it is out of use, and substantially out of the way.
In operation the porter hangs nearly or quite free, and easily drags over the ground
as the door is opened, but when it is adapted to close the door the porter grips the
floor and prevents the return of the door.
The porter may be faced with rubber or other material to prevent it from causing
damage and may be of any desired size. The form of the spring may be varied from
that previously described, or no spring need necessarily be provided at all. For.
example if a slót be provided in the arm or stem of the porter and a pin or equiva-
lent in the bracket the operations previously described in connection with the spring
can be accomplished and the desired results attained.
In some cases as for example where the door operates over a well the arm of the
porter may be made extensible and may if necessary be fixed at the required length
in any convenient manner.
FOLL 1 TL 1000

page_text: ham, in the County of Kent, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion, 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 for the purpose of securing a door or the like in any required
position so that it is only necessary to open the door as wide as it is required and it
will then stay in that position., In the case of doors provided with springs, one of
these porters will be sufficient, but where no spring is employed and it is desired to
fix the door, one porter may be employed upon each side of the door.
In carrying out the invention the porter proper may be pivotted in a suitable
bracket which can be screwed or otherwise secured to the door; the bracket would be
provided with a spring. Or the porter could be pivotted direct to the door.
The porter itself consists of an arm with any convenient form of head to engage
with the floor, the head being preferably curved to a circular or other curve or sweep
other than a circular sweep struck from the centre upon which the arm pivots. The
arm or its pivot end may be provided with a head having flats like the joint of a
knife, a spring and the end of the arm serving to hold the porter in any required
position, preferably three positions being provided-one the downward position in
which the porter is adapted to engage with the floor, another one a horizontal
position from which it may be turned to ite operative position by a person's foot, and
the third an elevated position where it is out of use, and substantially out of the
way:
In operation the porter hangs nearly or quite free, and easily drags over the ground
as the door is opened, but when it is attempted to close the door the porter grips the
floor and prevents the return of the door. By giving the porter a sufficient length of
arm it will act with efficiency even though the floor over which the door-swings be
very irregular or uneven.
The porter may be faced with rubber or other material to prevent it from causing
dainage and may be of any desired size. The form of the spring may be varied from
that previously described, or no spring need necessarily be provided at all. For
example if a slot be provided in the arm or stem of the porter and a pin or equivalent
in the bracket, the porter will maintain either of the two extreme positions herein-
before referred to, without the aid of a spring."
In some cases, as for example where the door operates over a well, the arm of the
porter may be made extensible and may if necessary be fixed at the required length
in any convenient manner.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the improved door porter;
Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the door porter in
action.
Figures 3 and 4 are sections of a modification showing the door porter in two
positions.
Figure 5 shows in vertical section a construction of door porter alternative to that
which is shown in Figures 1 and 2.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figures 1 and 2, a bracket A is constructed with two lugs)
A¹ between which is pivotted by means of a pin or screw A² a movable arm or friction
cam B. The bracket A is fixed to the door C (Figure 2) by screws A³ passing
through holes A(Figure 1) at such a height from the floor D that the head B of the
door porter B when in action presses upon the floor as shown in Figure 2.1
A spring E fastened by means of the screw E¹ to the back of the bracket A passes
through a slut in the bracket and presses against the pivot end of the arm B which
has three flats B² formed upon it. The movable arm B may be placed in a horizontal
position as in Figure 1 or in action as in Figure 2, or in a vertical position B³ as
indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2, the spring E pressing against the corres-
ponding flat B on the end of the arm B and keeping it in the desired position.
The arrow in Figure 2 indicates the direction in which the door porter prevents

page_text: the door from moving, the head B₁ of the movable arm being so formed that the
more the door is pushed in the direction of the arrow the harder the door porter
presses upon the floor.
The bracket A may be fixed to the door in any convenient manner or it may be.
dispensed with altogether and the arm B pivotted direct to the door in which a slot
would be formed to receive it.
Instead of the spring E shown in the drawing a spiral or other convenient form
may be used, as in the example shown in Figure 5 in which a rod Be pivotted to the
upper end of the arm B and passing through a guide A is controlled by a spiral
spring B7 in such a manner that the spring keeps the arm B down when the parts
are in the position shown by full lines, and keeps it up when the parts are in the
position shown by dotted lines, the pivot to which the rod is attached being eccentric
to the pin or screw A², and also being out of line therewith when the arm B is in
either of its extreme positions. Figures 3 and 4 show a modified form of the door
porter in which there is no spring. A slot B is formed in the arm B and a pin or
screw A2 passes through this slot and the lugs A¹ and so connects the arm B with the
bracket A. When the stop is in action as in Figure 3 the pin A2 presses against the
end of the slot nearest the head B¹ of the door porter and so prevents the door from
moving in the direction of the arrow. To change the position of the porter from
that of Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 4, where it is out of action, the movable arm
is drawn forward until the end B of the slot is touching the pin, when it is free to
move through the required angle; care must be taken that the distance between the
pin A2 and the bracket A is greater than the thickness of metal at the end B5 of the
movable arm.
To prevent damage to the floor the head B¹ of the door porter may be made of or
covered with indiarubber, or other soft material. These door porters are found to be
advantageous inasmuch as they serve as short struts to carry part of the weight of
heavy doors which otherwise would come entirely on the hinges.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim
is :-
1. In a door porter a pivotted arm or friction cam such as B carried on the
door and so shaped or disposed that whilst yielding to movement of the door in one
direction it automatically prevents movement in the reverse direction.
2. In a door porter the combination with a pivotted arm or friction cam of the kind
described of a spring operating in conjunction with the arm to maintain the latter in
or out of action substantially as described.
3. In a door porter the combination of a pivotted arm such as B and a spring to
cause the arm to maintain any one of three positions substantially as described and
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
4. A door porter with a slotted pivotted arm substantially as and for the purpose
described.
5. A. door porter of the kind described with an operative head which consists of or is
covered with indiarubber or other yielding material to prevent damage to the floor.
6. The combination of a pair of door porters, one carried on each side of a door
substantially as and for the purpose described.
7. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete door
porter substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, or Figures 3 and
4, or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 19th day of Antil 1807