Improvements in Norfolk Latches.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Norfolk Latches.
I, JAMES HALL of Chapman Road Small Heath near Birmingham in the County
of Warwick, Manager of Works, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
In Norfolk latches as ordinarily constructed, the handle and thumb-lever is upon
one side only of a door, whilst the other side has a finger-lift, which when raised,
pryses the latch, and opens the door from that side.
By my invention, a Norfolk latch is provided with a thumb lever, and handle upon
both sides of the door.
By constructing such Norfolk latches with thumb levers and handles in duplicate,
the latch is raised from both sides by pressure applied to the said levers, and a door
closed or opened from either the inside or outside by the handles; and further, the
said handles constitute a rest for the hand, when compressing the said levers.
In carrying out my invention, I proceed as follows:-
I take an ordinary gravitating latch, consisting of a bar, jointed at its inner end,
and working within a guide bracket at its other end. The underside of the said
latch, comes and rests upon a protruding and extended end, of an offside thumb lever,
wherein or whereunder, the shank or inner end of a near side thumb lever takes or
comes; so that when in use, the levers operate and co-operate in such a manner that
the latch can he lifted or raised, by pressure applied either from the near or from the
offside of the door.
The thumb levers have under webs or extensions, which are jointed to the top inner
sides of the handles, which are jug shaped, and provided with attachment flanges or
plates and it is upon these joint centres that the levers rock and raise each other,
and through them the latch, which falls by gravity.
Thus, the pressing of the near side thumb lever, raises the inner end of the offside
thumb lever, and through it, the latch, which on falling by its own weight, takes the
levers to their normal positions.
The pressure of the offside lever raises the latch, through its inner and extended
end, acting directly upon its underside.
The offside lever inner end is made of the figure of an inverted U, and wherein
the end of the other lever works. Or the same result may be obtained by making
the inner ends of the levers overlap each other, so as to operate and co-operate
together.
Dated this Sixth day of March 1889.
JAMES HALL.
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Norfolk Latches.
I, JAMES HALL, of Chapman Road, Small Heath, near Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Manager of Works, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
In Norfolk latches, as ordinarily constructed, the handle, and thumb lever is upon
one side only of a door, whilst the other side has a finger lift, which, when raised,
pryses the latch and opens the door from that side.

page_text: By my invention, a Norfolk latch is provided with a thumb-lever, and handle
upon both sides of the door.
By constructing such Norfolk latches with thumb-levers, and handles in duplicate,
the latch is raised from both sides by pressure applied to the said levers and a door
closed or opened, from either the inside or the outside by the handles, and further,
the said handles constitute a rest for the hand, when compressing the said levers.
In carrying out my invention, I proceed as follows:-
I take an ordinary gravitating latch, consisting of a bar, jointed at its inner end,
and working within a guide bracket at its other end. The underside of the said latch,
comes and rests upon a protruding and extended end of an offside thumb lever, wherein
or whereunder, the shank, or inner end of a near side thumb lever, takes or comes;
so that when in use, the levers operate and cooperate in such a manner, that the
latch can be lifted or raised, by pressure applied either from the near or from the
offside of the door.
The thumb levers have under-webs, or extensions, which are jointed to the top inner
side of the inner sides of the handles, which are jug shaped, and provided with attach-
ment flanges or plates; and it is upon these joint centres, that the levers rock and
raise each other, and through them, the latch, which falls by gravity.
Thus, the pressing of the near side thumb lever, raises the inner end of the offside
thumb lever, and through it, the latch, which on falling by its own weight, takes the
levers to their normal positions.
The pressure of the offside lever, raises the latch, through its inner and extended
end, acting directly upon its underside.
The offside lever inner end, is made of the figure of an inverted U, and wherein
the end of the other lever works. Or the same result may be attained by making the
inner ends of the levers, overlap each other, so as to operate and co-operate
together.
Figure 1, of the accompanying drawing, represents, in elevation, the near side of
a double-sided, or double action Norfolk latch, constructed, and arranged according to
my said invention.
Figure 2, represents a vertical section of the said double sided latch, figure 1,
upon the dotted lines A. B. It will be observed, that the latch rests upon the lever
of the offside, whose inner end, in its turn, rests upon the inner end of the near side
lever, so that by the raising of either one or other of the levers upon their rock
centres, the latch is raised, whilst the gravitating effect of the latch itself, operates
both levers, in the taking of them back into their normal positions.
Figure 3 represents a horizontal section, on the dotted lines CD figure 2, thus
exhibiting the bend top side of the offside lever, the latch resting crosswise upon it, and
the thumb rest of the near side lever.
Figure 4, is a transverse section of the combined levers upon the dotted lines E F
of the said figure 2.
Figure 5 is an elevation and cross section of the near side thumb-lever, and
figure 6, is a part longitudinal section, and a cross section of the offside lever.
a is a gravitating latch, jointed at its inner end a², to an attachment plate a³,
affixed to the near side of a door b, by attachment screws. The fore part of the said
latch, works within an attached guide bracket c, whilst the near end underside of
the latch, comes and rests upon an extended and protruding inner end d² of an offside
thumb-lever d, with thumb plate d². This lever, which is inverted trough shape, is
jointed at d', to the upper attachment and bracket end e², of a jug shaped handle e,
whose lower end is attached at e³.
The near side of the door, has a second handle f, attached at ƒ³, ƒ³, and carrying
at its upper top end, a near side thumb-lever g, whose under inner end g², comes
upon the underside of the extended end d², of the offside thumb lever d. The said
lever has a thumb plate g3, at its outer end, and is jointed at g', to the handle f
4 is the door frame, i the catch, secured to the said frame, by an attachment
plate 2.

page_text: The thumb lever's inner ends, may meet each other at an angle, and with the
latch resting upon the inner end of the near side lever that is to say, the inner ends
of the levers, are undercut, and chamfered respectively, so that the incline of the
one carrying the latch, rests upon the incline of the other, so that they re-act together
by the weight of the said latch.
Or the said inner ends may be jointed together, and further, one of the said inner
ends may be made to work within a gap, or recess of the other inner end, for the
purpose, as set forth.
The pressing of the near side lever thumb plate, raises through the intervention of
the extended end of the offside thumb lever, the latch.
On the other hand, the pressing of the thumb-plate of the offside thumb lever,
directly raises the latch, through its inner and extended end.
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
18:-
First A Norfolk latch provided with double sided thumb levers, or thumb levers
arranged on the two opposite sides of the said latch, substantially as described and
set forth.
Secondly-A Norfolk latch with two thumb levers and two handles, and with
the inner directed end of one lever, resting upon, or working within, or jointed to,
the inner end of the other, whereby the latch can be lifted by pressure, applied to either
of the said levers, substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 4th day of December 1889.
JAMES HALL.
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.