Improvements in and relating to Swivelling Doors.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 21st Mar., 1894-Accepted, 28th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Swivelling Doors.
I, HENRY GRATTAN FLOOD, Chief Steward of the 8.8. "Feliciana," but at
present residing at 14 Florence Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire do hereby declare the
nature of my invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to and comprises improved fittings for being applied
to the swivelling doors of hospitals, houses, and other buildings, but specially
applicable on board ship to the doors of state rooms, sleeping berths and cabins ;
whereby these doors can be adjustably opened or shut, and automatically locked or
retained in any desired position, such as in warm weather to cause a draft and
obtain as much cool air as possible, or in cold weather to avoid same, and at the
same time secure absolute privacy.
By these improvements the ordinary hooks or catches used for retaining the
doors in their open position are dispensed with, labour is saved, and the noise or
annoyance of the doors "banging" or swivelling to their shut position entirely
obviated.
The improvements essentially consist in fitting to swivelling doors two vertical
acting bolts or rods, both jointed at their one end, to an oscillating lever or plate
located at or near the centre line of door which is operated by a handle or lever to
draw or pull the rods inwards, and when released enable them to automatically
engage in adjustable slots or holes in quadrant plates or rails below and above the
door respectively so as to lock or retain the door in any desired open position.
Instead of having two locking rods, if desired only one need be fitted and used,
and which would preferably be made to act downwards, over a slotted quadrant
plate.
In carrying these improvements into practice under one arrangement in which
two vertical acting locking rods are used, these would preferably act through
guides and be covered in by panelling or otherwise at the back of the swivelling
door, and be connected to the opposite ends of a swivelling lever or plate
mounted on a stud axis near the horizontal centre line of the door, said stud being
fitted with a hand turning knob, or may be operated by a hand lever or locking
key. A quadrant or segmental plate would be fitted below the door in the line of
its travel, and would be formed with a series of slots or holes at suitable distances
apart for the lower shooting rod or bolt to slide into and lock the door in any
desired open position. A similar curved or segmental slotted rod or rail would be
fitted above the door for the upper sliding rod to shoot into, so that the turning of.
the hand knob in one direction would bring both sliding vertical rods or bolts out
of contact with the slots in the segmental rods and enable the door to be moved to
a more open or close position, and by the reverse turning or releasing of the hand
knob the bolts would automatically slide and lock themselves in the nearest
adjacent slots on the lower and upper rails, the lower rod being preferably made
heavier to give this gravity action; or the stud axis may be fitted with a helical or
The upper
other recoil acting spring to perform the automatic locking function.
locking rail would or may also be made to act as a curtain hanging rail, in which
case the one end of the curtain would be attached to some fixed part near the
closed position of the door, and be hung by ring or other hooks over the upper
lucking rail, and attached at its other end to a hook or projection on the upper
front end of door, so that by the opening of the door the curtain will be auto-
matically drawn out with it and made to cover the entrance to the apartment.
While by the closing of the door a projecting arm or finger on its upper front end

page_text: will push along the ring hooks of the curtain on the rail, and thus automatically
draw in the curtain by the closing of the door.
Alternatively when the door is fixed in any desired open position, by shifting
the end curtain ring from the catch hook on door, the curtain can be shifted or
adjusted by hand to give any desired open or close position of entrance to the
apartment. Where heavy top rails are used, such as for doors with considerable
travel, they would be stayed or suspended from the roof at their centre by a
vertical rod fitted with a loose turning toothed wheel at its lower end which works
within a slot in rail. By this means the rings of curtain can slide on the top rail
past the teeth of the horizontal turning wheel and thus escape clear of the vertical
stay rod.
Dated 21st June 1902
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Swivelling Doors.
I, HENRY GRATTAN FLOOD, Chief Steward, of the s.s. "Feliciana," but at
present residing at 14 Florence Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire do hereby
declare the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, that is to say :-
This invention has reference to and comprises improved fittings for being applied
to the swivelling doors of hospitals, houses, and other buildings, but specially
applicable on board ship to the doors of state rooms, sleeping berths and cabins,
whereby these doors can be adjustably opened or shut, and automatically locked
or retained in any desired position, such as in warm weather to cause a draught
and obtain as much cool air as possible, or in cold weather to avoid same, and at
the same time secure absolute privacy.
By these improvements the ordinary hooks or catches used for retaining the
doors in their open position are dispensed with, labour is saved, and the noise
or annoyance of the doors, "banging" or swivelling to their shut position entirely
obviated.
And in order that my said invention and the manner of performing or carrying
the same into effect or practice may be properly understood I have hereunto
appended an explanatory sheet of drawings in which the same reference letter are
used to indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where shown.
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a plan view of the swivelling door of a
ship's stateroom as fitted with my improvements.
Figures 3 and 4 are detached sectional views at right angles to each other
showing the central operating mechanism of the locking rods.
While
Figures 5 and 6 are a detached elevation and plan view respectively of my
improved hanging stay mechanism. And
Figure 7 is a transverse section showing a triangular shaped form of sliding
bolt receiving slotted tubular rod or rail.
Referring to these drawings:-In carrying these improvements into practice
under the arrangement shown two vertical acting locking rods a, a', are use.l and
these preferably act through guides and are covered in by panelling A' or otherwise
at the back of the swivelling door A, and connected to the opposite ends b b² of a
swivelling lever or plate 6* mounted on a stud axis c near the horizontal centre
line of the door A said stud c being fitted with hand turning knobs c¹ on opposite
sides of door A, or may be operated by a hand lever or locking key. A curved
or segmental rod or rail d formed with holes or slots d' is fitted above the door A

page_text: for the upper sliding rod a to shoot into; while a quadrant or segmental plate
would be fitted below the door A, in the line of its travel, and would be formed
with a series of similar slots or holes at suitable distances apart for the lower
shooting rod or bolt a¹ to slide into and lock the door in any desired open position.
By this arrangement. the turning of the hand knob c', in one direction, would bring
both sliding vertical rods or bolts a, a', out of contact with the slots in the
segmental rods and enable the door to be moved to a more open or close position ;
and by the reverse turning or releasing of the hand knob c', the bolts would auto-
matically slide and lock themselves in the nearest adjacent slots d', on the upper
and lower rails, the lower rod a' being preferably made heavier to give this gravity
action. Or a blade spring c³ may be fitted to act against an arm 6 on the axis c,
or this axis c may be fitted with a helical or other recoil acting spring to perform
the automatic locking function. The upper locking rail d would also be made to
act as a curtain hanging rail in which case the one end e¹ of the curtain e would be
attached to some fixed part near the closed position of the door A, and be hung
by ring or other hooks e over the upper locking rail d and attached at its other
end to a hook link e³, or projection on the upper front end of door A, so that by
the opening of the door the curtain will be automatically drawn out with it and
made to cover the entrance to the apartment. While by the closing of the
door A, said hooked link e' or a projecting arm or finger on its upper front end
will push along the ring hooks of the curtain e on the rail d and thus auto-
matically push in the curtain e by the closing of the door A. Alternatively when
the door is fixed in any desired open position, by shifting the end curtain ring e
from the catch hook e on door the curtain can be shifted or adjusted by hand, to
give any desired open or close position of entrance to the apartment.
Where heavy top rails d are used, such as for doors with considerable travel,
they would, as shown in detached views Figures 5 and 6, be stayed or suspended
from the ceiling at their centre by a vertical rod f fitted with a loose turning
toothed wheel at its lower end, but preferably two wheels f, f³, mounted round its
lower forked end f, and working within a slot d' ou each side of rail d. By this
means the rings e² of curtain can slide on the top rail d past the teeth of the
horizontal turning wheels f, f³, and thus escape clear of the vertical stay
rod f.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. The construction or arrangement and combination of vertical double
acting locking rods or bolts and their retaining slotted rods or plates, substantially
as herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Second. In connection with swivelling doors, the fitting of an upper slotted rail
or rod in which works a vertical acting locking rod or bolt, and having working
in combination with said rail a hanging and sliding curtain, substantially as
herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Third. In connection with swivelling doors, the fitting of a vertical stay rod
having a loose turning toothed wheel or wheels at its lower end to work within
slots in rail and enable the curtain rails to slide past, substantially as herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 20th March 1804
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.