IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRING HINGES."
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Collinge, of 65, Bridge Road, Lambeth, in
the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SPRING HINGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Collinge at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th January 1855.
I, ARTHUR COLLINGE, of 65, Bridge Road, Lambeth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SPRING HINGES" to be as follows:-
My improvements apply to hinges for causing a door swinging both ways to
return to its central or closed position, and remain there unless force be applied
to open it in either direction. The hinge consists of a top centre and a bottom
shoe and spring box.
The top centre consists of a pin fixed to the upper part of the door frame,
and fitting in a socket attached to the upper part of the door in such a
manner that the door may be removed and replaced when desired.
The bottom shoe is attached to the lower part of the door, and fits tightly
on a square-ended pin, which forms the centre spindle of the spring box, and
rotates with the door.
The spring box is sunk in the threshold, the square end of the centre
spindle only projecting upwards into the shoe. Within the box, in a hole or
slot in the centre spindle, is fitted a projecting arm, capable of sliding hori-
zontally, and carrying at its outer end a roller, which is caused to bear upon

page_text: the interior surface of the box by a spiral spring compressed between the
centre spindle and the outer end of the arm. The interior surface of the
spring box is heart-shaped, each side being of a spiral curvature, so that
wherever the roller may bear upon it, there is an inclination to the middle
point, which corresponds to the closed position of the door, where the two
opposite curves meeting, determine the motion of the roller in neither direc-
tion. When the door is moved out of its middle or closed position, the centre
spindle and its horizontal arm revolve with it; the roller running along the
inclined surface is forced towards the centre, and compresses the spring. When
force is no longer applied to the door, the compressed spring, forcing the roller
against the inclined curved surface, causes it to run towards the middle posi-
tion, thereby turning the centre spindle and with it the door back to neutral
or closed position.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Arthur Collinge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th July 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
COLLINGE, of 65, Bridge Road, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and. grant unto
me, the said Arthur Collinge, Her special license that I, the said Arthur
Collinge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Arthur Collinge, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the 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 SPRING HINGES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Arthur Collinge, by an instrument in writing under my hand.
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause.
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters. Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Collinge, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof (that is to say):—
My improvements apply to hinges for causing a door swinging both ways to
return to its central or closed position, and remain there unless force be applied
to open it in either direction. The hinge consists of a top centre and a bottom
shoe and spring box.
The top centre consists of a pin fixed to the upper part of the door frame,
and fitting in a socket attached to the upper part of the door, in such a
manner that the door may be removed and replaced when desired.
The bottom shoe is attached to the lower part of the door, and fits tightly
on a square-ended pin, which forms the centre spindle of the spring box, and
rotates with the door.
The spring box is sunk in the threshold, the square end of the centre
spindle only projecting upwards into the shoe. Within the box, in a hole or
slot in the centre spindle, is fitted a projecting arm, capable of sliding hori-
zontally, and carrying at its outer end a roller, which is caused to bear upon
the interior surface of the box by a spiral spring compressed between the
centre spindle and the outer end of the arm. The interior surface of the
spring box is heart-shaped each side, being of a spiral curvature, so that
wherever the roller' may bear upon it, there is an inclination to the middle
point, which corresponds to the closed position of the door, where the two
opposite curves meeting, determine the motion of' the roller in neither.direc-
tion: When the door is moved out of its middle or closed position; the 'centré
spindle and its horizontal arm revolve with it; the roller running along the
inclined surface is forced towards. the centre, and compresses the spring.
When force is no longer applied to the door, the compressed spring; forcing
the roller against the inclined curved surface, 'causes it to run towards the
middle position, thereby turning the centre spindle and with it the door back
to neutral or closed position.
Figure 1 of the annexed Drawing represents a plan, and Figures 2 and 3
longitudinal and transverse sections, of so much of a spring hinge as my
improvements relate to when the hinge is applied to a single door swinging
both ways. a, b, c, d, is a covered box filled with oil and fixed in the threshold
of the door. The interior surface b, c, d, of the box, which is symmetrical on
each side of the central line a, c, is of a curvature, such as to be inclined to
radii drawn from a centre e, the inclination being 'greatest towards the apex c
and-least towards b and d. In the centre e is fitted a vertical pivot or axis

page_text: capable of revolving, its lower end being spherical, and fitting a cup in the
bottom of the box, while its upper part passes through the cover of the box,
and has a square head, on which is fitted an arm or lever f attached to the
heel of the door. There is a hole through the pivot e, through which a bar g
can slide freely. This bar has a roller h at one end and a shoulder there,
between which and the pivot e is fitted a spiral spring i, compressed so as to
cause the roller h to bear against the curved internal surface of the box.
When the door to which the hinge is applied has its heel attached to the
arm f, and its upper corner fitted with a pivot vertically above the axis e,' on
moving it in either direction out of its closed or central position; the axis e is
caused to revolve, carrying with it the sliding bar g and the roller h, and the
roller travelling along the inclined surface of the box is forced towards the
centre e, and the spring i is thereby farther compressed, as indicated by
the dotted lines on Figure 1. The door being left free, the spring presses the
roller against the inclined surface, causing it to travel in the direction of
the inclination, and thereby turning the axis c, and thus bringing the door to
its central or closed position, corresponding to the position of the roller at c,
in Figure 1, where it rests between the two inclinations of the opposite sides
of the box.
In the case of folding doors, each leaf of which is required to move on
pressure being applied to one of them, I apply a double or sympathetic spring
hinge, which I will now describe: it differs in some respects from the arrange-
ment shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, but the two spring hinges are alike in their
principle of action, so far as the mode of using the spiral spring together
with bars on the interior thereof, which are governed in their action by curved
surfaces.
Figure 4 is a plan, Figure 5 a longitudinal section, and Figures 6, 7, 8 are
transverse sections, of so much of the apparatus as my improvements apply to.
a is a covered box containing oil, and of suitable length, fixed in the threshold
of the folding doors; b', 63, are two pivots or vertical axes, fitted with arms c', c²,
attached to the heels of the doors. The middle parts of the pivots b², 6², are
elliptical rollers or pulleys, to which are fixed pieces of flexible strap e¹, e²,
by the screws and washers d', d². The ends of the straps are fixed to eye
pieces f, ff, f, respectively, and these eyes are connected by means of
screwed rods g¹, g³, g³, g, with two semi-cylindrical bars h³, h², which have
semicircular collars k¹, k², k³, k, fixed on their ends by means of nuts on the
screwed rods.
Between the collars and surrounding the two bars h¹, h², are two rings 1, 1,
and a spiral spring m. The bars h¹, h, can slide freely along. each other's

page_text: flat faces through the rings and the spring, and the rods g¹, 92, are screwed
into the opposite ends of the bar h', while g³, g', are screwed into the opposite
ends of h², to the proper depth for tightening the several ends of the flexible
straps e, e, respectively. The heels of the folding doors being fixed to the
arms c', c, and their upper corners being fitted with pivots vertically above
the axes 61, 63, respectively, when either door is pushed out of its closed or
middle position the pivot connected with it is caused to turn (as, for example,
the pivot b, in the direction of the arrow marked on the Figure 4); and by
means of the straps, rods, and bars connecting the one pivot with the other,
the pivot is also caused to turn in the direction of the arrow, and the ono
bar being thus drawn longitudinally along the face of the other, the collars
cause the rings 1, 2, to approach each other, and thereby compress the
spring m.
On the doors being left free, the compressed spring extends itself, causing
the rings to recede, and thus forcing the bars to slide backwards along each
other as far as the collars permit, thereby turning each of the pivots b², b², in
the direction opposed to that of the arrow, and bringing back the doors to
their middle or closed position. I make the rollers elliptical instead of circular,
so as in some degree to equalize, by. increasing leverage during revolution, the
increasing power of the spring during compression.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do
not claim any of the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is, the
combination of parts shown and described by Figures 1, 2, 3.
And, secondly, I claim the combination shown and described by Figures
4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Collinge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
JOHN EDKINS.
ARTHUR COLLINGE. (L.s.)