IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ATTACHMENT TO WINDOWS, DOORS, AND STEPS OF BUILDINGS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hesketh Hughes, of Homerton, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR ATTACHMENT TO WINDOWS, DOORS, AND STEPS OF BUILDINGS.”
Sealed the 3rd April 1872, and dated the 9th October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hesketh Hughes at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th October 1871.
I, HESKETH HUGHES, of Homerton, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ATTACHMENT TO WINDOWS, DOORS, ANd Steps
OF BUILDINGS," to be as follows:—
This Invention relates to apparatus for attachment to windows, doors,
and steps of buildings whereby they are preserved from wear and tear
in opening, closing, or other causes, the apparatus being so made that
they can be secured to the parts of buildings intended to receive them
without the use of separate fastenings such as screws or nails.

page_text: For windows I take a tube or two half tubes and slit or cut it at
various parts of its length to form fangs, which can be bent outwards
and made to enter the frame to be held thereto. The sash is fitted with
a plate similarly fanged and formed with projections on the face, which
have plugs or stoppers thercon to work in the tube and enable the sash
to be retained at any height when raised or lowered by hand. For
doors, shutters, and steps I fang a flat or other shaped plate in a similar
manner to the tube or half tubes, and I form other projections on the
opposite side, which projections form a roughened surface. The tubes,
half tubes, and plates can be shaped to fit the various parts of the
buildings named which they are intended for.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hesketh Hughes in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 9th April 1872.
"TO ALL TO WHOM THESE 'PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HESKETİ
HUGHES, of Homerton, 'in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-onc, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Hesketh Hughes, Her special licence that
I, the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during thic 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR ATTACHMENT TO
WINDOWS, DOORS, AND STEPS OF BUILDINGS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,

page_text: and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hesketh Hughes, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement theroof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say:—
This Invention relates to apparatus for attachment to windows, doors,
and steps of buildings whereby they are preserved from wear and tear in
opening, closing, or other causes, the apparatus being so made that they
can be secured to the parts of the buildings intended to receive them
without the use of separate fastenings such as screws or nails.
For windows I take a tube or two half tubes and slit or cut it at
various parts of its length to form fangs, which can be bent outwards
and made to enter the frame to be held thereto. The sash is fitted with
a plato similarly fanged and formed with projections on the face, which
have plugs or stoppers thereon to work in the tube, and enable the
sash to be retained at any height when raised or lowered by hand. For
doors, shutters and steps, I fang a flat or other shaped plate in a similar
manner to the tube or half tubes, and I form other projections on the
opposite side, which projections form a roughened surface. The tubes,
half tubes, and plates can be shaped to fit the various parts of the
buildings named.
The part of my Invention relating to windows is clearly shown on the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figuro 1 represents a tube a
of metal with fangs or tongues b, of tapered form cut at intervals through
it, these fangs being turned outward at right angles or nearly so, to act as
nails when driven into the wood of the sash or "style," as the case, may
bo. The inner face of the tube is comparatively smooth so that a plug
or stopper liko sliding piece c may move up and down in it when the
sash is raised or lowered, the plug being so made that it touches the
tube with the necessary degree of clastic pressure to prevent the sash
dropping by its own weight. The tube has a slit down it in which
a web or fillet d slides, the web forming the connection between the
tube and the sash to which it is attached by other fangs or tongues e

page_text: which are similarly formed from the plug web, as will be understood by
reference to Figure 2.
In the case of windows in which top and bottom sashes are arranged
as in ordinary dwelling houses (Figure 3), I shape my tubes preferably
in pairs from the same strip of metal, as scen in Figure 4, so that the
plugs or stoppers of one, say the upper sash, may slide in one tube, and
those of the other, say the lower sash, in the other tube; the fit of the
plugs being such that either sash is held at any part of its course to
which it may be moved without fear of shifting itself by its weight or
otherwise, unless pressure or force be applied thereto.
. The plugs or stoppers may be entirely of metal and of the same or
other quality as the metal of which the tubes are made, or they may be
composed partly of metal and partly of other material which has the
property of sliding upon or against metal, such as cork or other slightly
yielding body not easily affected by changes of temperature.
The tubes are preferably arranged in grooves or recesses in the
"styles" or in the sashes, so that the front edges, where the slits are
situated, are flush with the face of the wood; by this means the sashes
work close up and prevent the passage of wind-draughts or dust, par-
ticularly if the plug web is of the same length as the sash in which it is
placed..
•
In Figure 5 I have shown a plug or stopper of the compound form,
the fang or tongue portion having two circular pieces f, g, one at top
and the other at bottom, for receiving the central portion h, which may
be of cork, hard close-grained wood or the like, the central piece being
slightly larger in diameter than the rings so that it forms the part of the
plug which touches the tube. Any number of these plugs may be used
on cach side of the sash, but in practice I have found that two is a
sufficient number, as I have shown at Figure 3.
Figures 6 and 7 represent views of a sash frame or a "style" in which
two half tubes or plates bent into that shape are placed, one set of fangs
being cut to enter the wood on the edge, the others being cut on a
portion turned at right angles so that they enter into the wood on its
front or its back face as the case may be. In some cases the two half-
tubes are secured by the fangs to separate pieces of the sash or the frame,
so that one of the pieces with its half tube can be withdrawn as occasion
requires it, for enabling the window to be cleaned on the outside or for
1

page_text: other purposes. The fangs or tongues are of sufficient strength to bold
the tube or the plug in rigid connection to its own piece of wood, and
they are in some cases cut out of the straight line or in a zig-zag order, so
that the holes which should be previously made for their reception do
not tend to split the wood should the fangs be rather close together.
By the use of my Invention the "styles" instead of being hollow,
which they must be where cords and weights are employed, may be solid,
and will thus give greater rigidity to the sash frame, without that bulky
appearance up the two sides of the opening in which the ordinary sash
frames are fitted; in addition, the cords and weights are dispensed
with, thus obviating the often dangerous breaking of cords, sudden
dropping of frames and breaking of glass, which has been a source of
great annoyance and expense to householders.
In the case of railway and other carriage windows I propose to fit the
tube or tubes in some other part such as in or to the panel i, as shown
in Figures 8 and 9, in one of which the plug is attached to a bar or
rod j attached to the sash frame k, the web of the plug working in the
slit in the tubo when it is drawn up or down by the knob 2, as shewn
more clearly in Figure 10. By this plan existing carriage windows can
be adopted to my Invention, but in the case of new carriages in which I
prefer to fix my half tubes as in Figure 10, so that a double web or two
separate web's can be employed to ensure steadiness and positive vertical
action, the two half tubes are secured to the panels by fangs as spoken
of in the case of the house windows. In the latter views I have shewn
the tubes as fitted in or to the central portion of the panel, but they
may be arranged at the sides, and in that case, as in houses where the two
half tubes are fitted, one of them on each side may be attached to a
fixed portion of the "style," and the other in a moveable portion, that
is to say, it may be on a piece which is hinged to the fixed portion as
scen in Fig. 7", so that by loosening a button or a thumb screw the piece
can be turned upon its hinges to enable the sash to be drawn, say, to the
inside of a room or removed altogether, so that the outside of the glass
can be cleaned without danger to the servant or person so employed.
In all the Figures I have shown the tubes as being fitted for the vertical
action of the plugs or stoppers, but they can just as easily be arranged
for a horizontal action, and not only for windows but also for shutters
and doors of buildings, cupboards, and articles of furniture, such as
writing tables, secretaires, book cases, &c.

page_text: The fanged or tongued metal can be used for many purposes, cither in
a flat, curved, or rounded form, beyond those already named, and when
I shape the pieces for step or tread plates for stairs, I cut the fangs near
the edges only, leaving the other portion to be abrased or roughened on
one surface, so that they form a good serviceable body for obtaining a 5
foothold when ascending or descending.
In Figures 11 and 12, I have shown two forms of plates. suitable for
step or stair plates, with one portion flat, and with a series of punctured
or raised ribs or projections, on which the tread takes place, these being
arranged in zig-zag order to prevent slipping or sliding thereon. Tho 1
other portion of the plate is rounded to fit over the front edge of the
stair to which it becomes rigidly fixed when the fangs are driven into the
top surface. Theso plates may be the full length or nearly so of tho
step or stair, or they may be in short picces, so that as some of them
become worn down, they can be lifted by withdrawing the fangs and 1
fitting other plates in their places.
Any design or pattern may be stamped or punctured in, on, or
through the plates, but I prefer the zig-zag one, shown in Figure 11, or
in Figure 15, or the diamond-shaped one shown in Figure 12, both of
which have been punctured through the back, so as to throw up a 2
raised ragged edge to cach rib. or puncture, the height of which is
regulated by the size and the distance the tool is caused to pass into or
through the metal.
In some cases I lay two plates of metal, say one of iron and one of
brass, together and punctured both at the same time, so that the ragged 2
edged ribs or punctures of one metal may show themselves on the
surface and be in combination with the ragged edged punctures of the
other metal, to obtain not only an ornamental effect, but a more subtle and
better wearing surface than can be obtained from the use of one metal
alone.
This will be observed by referring to Figure 13, where the upper 3
plate is supposed to be of brass and the lower one of iron, which has
been previously galvanised to prevent oxidation or the formation of rust.
If the iron plate is alone punctured, I propose in some cases to form the
holes of square, oblong, or of round shape, into which similarly shaped
pieces, rivets, or nails for instance can be fitted, so that their ends stand a
up above or level with the edges of the punctured holes of the top plate,
or a plate of metal may be cast with spikes, projections, or protuberances
upon one surface, so that when the two plates are placed in position the

page_text: studs of the lower plate shew themselves on the top of the upper plate,
or a composition such as asphalte may be spread over the back of a
punctured plate, so that portions are caused to project through the holes
for the same purpose. In cases where it is necessary to subdue the
noise occasioned by heavy boots, I sometimes place a layer of félt,
kamptulicon, or other absorbent of sound underneath it.
I have shown the fangs or tongues as being stamped from the metal
near the edges, but 'in some case I stamp them from the extreme edges,
so that when turned at right angles and driven into the step or stair no
fang holes are exposed to view; this will be seen by Figure 14, where
the plate is shown with parallel punctures. The plates may be made of
half round or an equivalent shape to fit over the edge of the step or stair
only, other pieces of flat shape being secured on the flat of the tread or on
such other portions as are subject to wear.. By this means a whole floor or
passage or any part thereof can have the punctured plates attached. In
the case of long strips or plates I sometimes nearly sever them at
intervals, so that when in position all spring or upheaving at any part
is prevented under the tread; thus for railway stations and carriages, and
also for offices where the traffic is great, any one piece or section can be
O removed and a fresh section put down.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,—
Firstly. The employment of tubes or half tubes in or from which
fangs or tongues are formed by stamping, or otherwise for facilitating
5 their attachment to windows and doors, when bent outwards for the
purpose.
Secondly. I claim the employment of plugs or stoppers forming part
of or attached to plates in or from which fangs or tongues are stamped or
otherwise formed to facilitate their attachment to sashes or frames as
O described and shown.
Thirdly. I claim the employment of plugs or stoppers composed
preferably of metal and cork, or other similar substance, to slide in
tubes for enabling the windows, doors, or frames of buildings to be
opened or closed without the use of cords, weights, or other equivalents,
as described and shewn, or any mere modification thereof.