IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SKYLIGHTS, CONSERVATORY AND OTHER GLAZED ROOFS OR STRUCTURES, AND IN BLINDS AND LOUVRES FOR SUCH STRUCTURES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF SKYLIGHTS, CONSERVATORY AND OTHER GLAZED ROOFS OR STRUCTURES,
AND IN BLINDS AND LOUVRES FOR SUCH STRUCTURES."-A communication
from abroad by George Hayes, of the Oity and State of New York,
United States of America.
Sealed the 30th January 1872, and dated the 22nd August 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd August 1871.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Oivil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF SKYLIGHTS, CONSERVATORY AND OTHER GLAZED ROOPS OR STRUCTURES, AND IN
BLINDS AND LOUVRES FOR SUCH STRUCTURES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to both flat and curved skylights and other
glazed roofs or structures for conservatories, domes, and cupolas, and it

page_text: consists in a novel construction of the same, whereby while every pro-
vision is made for expansion and contraction without straining the
parts or breakage of the glass, lightness and strength is secured to
the structure, which may be put together cheaply and expeditiously.
Moreover, leakage is avoided, and putty to secure the glass may, if
desired, be dispensed with. Provision is also made for carrying off
water that may pass any of the joints. The bars or rafters are formed
of hollow sheet metal body, having combined with it a lower hollow
moulding and intervening stay plate, and the whole is fitted together
to form rebates for the glasses and gutters for the escape of water which
may beat or leak into the structure or be formed by condensation on the
inner side. A sheet metal cap is soldered on to the top of the bar or
rafter, or rivetted to the same for securing the glasses in the rebates of
the latter. A vertical stay plate is combined with the shell or body,
moulding, rebates, and gutters of the hollow metallio bar or rafter, so
that great strength is secured without adding materially to the weight
of the rebated and guttered rafter. The roof bars or rafters are formed
of plates bent so as to support each other, and to form gutters in juxta-
position with each other, and under cover of the base or bases which
support the glass. By this means while lightness is combined with
strength the bar or rafter will present diminished obstruction to the light,
and has a graceful and ornamental appearance. The clip for the joints
of the glass is formed out of a piece of sheet metal bent to constitute a
groove for the lower pane of glass, and a rebate for the upper one. It
also forms a gutter, which communicates with the gutters of the bars or
rafters, and serves to carry off condensed vapour or other water that may
have found its way boneath the glass. The transoms are made of sheet
metal stiffened by cast-iron blocks, and have an intermediate wooden
filling.
The blinds and louvres for ventilating these glazed structures are
formed of a series of stationary weather strips secured to the inner sides
of the frame of the blind, so as to lap over the ends of the slats of the
Wind
A Jau
and thereby cover the space between them and the

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for I'atents, 60, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SKYLIGHTS, CONSERVATORY
AND OTHER GLAZED ROOFS OR STRUCTURES, AND IN BLINDS AND LOUVRES FOR SUCH
STRUCTURES," being a communication to me from abroad by George
Hayes, of the City and State of New York, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
This Invention relates to both flat and curved skylights and other

page_text: ticularly when said structures are of a ventilating description, and it
consists in a novel construction of glazed structures, whereby, while
every provision is made for expansion and contraction without straining
the parts or breakage of the glass, lightness and strength is secured to
the structure, which may be put together cheaply and expeditiously.
Morcover, leakage is avoided, and putty to secure the glass may if
desired be dispensed with. Provision is also made for carrying off water
that may pass any of the joints, and by using. galvanized sheet iron,
brass, and copper, paint is rendered unnecessary.
The Invention also relates to blinds and louvres applicable to such 1
structures and other purposes, and consists in a novel construction of
the same, whereby rain and snow are prevented from being driven in
between the ends of the slats of the blinds and louvres and the frames
or stiles to which they are fitted.
To these several ends or purposes the Invention more immediately 1
consists, firstly, in the use of a bar or rafter formed of a hollow sheet
metal body, having combined with it a lower hollow molding and
intervening stay plate, and the whole is fitted together and arranged
to form rebates for the glasses and gutters for the escape of water which
may beat or leak into the structure or be formed by condensation on the
inner side. A sheet metal cap or caps is or are soldered on to the top
of the bar or rafter, or rivetted to the same for securing the glasses in
the rebates of the latter. A vertical stay plate is combined with the
shell or body, molding, rebates, and gutters of the hollow metallic bar
or rafter of a skylight or other glazed roof or structure, so that great
strength is secured without adding materially to the weight of the
rebated and guttered rafter. The roof bars or rafters are formed of
plates bent so as to support each other, and to form gutters in juxta-
position with each other and under cover of the base or bases which
support the glass. By this means while lightness is combined with :
strength, the bar or rafter is made to present diminished obstruction to
the light, and has a graceful and ornamental appearance. The clip for
the joints of the glass is formed out of a piece of sheet metal bent to
constitute a groove for the lower pane of glass, and a rebate for the
upper one in a sloping roof or other like structure. It also forms a
gutter which communicates with the gutters of the bars or rafters,
and serves to carry off condensed vapor or other water that may
have found its way beneath the glass. The transoms are made of sheet

page_text: metal, stiffened by cast-iron blocks, and have an intermediate wooden
filling.
The blinds and louvres for ventilating domes, conservatories, and
other glazed structures, are formed of a series of stationary weather
strips secured to the inner sides of the frame of the blind, so as to lap
over the ends of the slats of the blind or louvre, and thereby cover the
space between them and the frame, so that rain and snow are prevented
from driving in between the ends of the slats and frame or stile of the
blind or louvre.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of
a metallic bar or rafter with its gutters and attachments constructed
in accordance with the Invention, the same being applicable to a
skylight and conservatory or other glazed roof. Figures 2, 3, 4,
and 5 are plan views of the details of the same; Fig. 6 is a vertical
section of a hollow metallic roof bar or rafter; Fig. 7 represents a
side elevation, as viewed from the interior, of a conservatory; Fig. 8,
a vertical transverse section of the same taken at the line x, x, in
Fig. 7; Fig. 9, a horizontal section at the line y, y, in Fig. 7; Fig. 10,
a section taken as denoted by the line z, z, in Fig. 8; Fig. 11, a
transverse section on a larger scale of one of the roof bars with cap
plates, showing the same as holding two sheets or panes of glass in
between them under a fixed condition of the lights, and Fig. 12 is a
similar view of like parts under a moveable or sliding arrangement
of one of the lights; Fig. 13 is a view, also on a larger scale than in
Fig. 8, of the clip for the joints of the glass; Fig. 14 represents a front
view of a blind made according to the Invention, the slats of the
blind being shown nearly full size, but the frame on a reduced scale;
Fig. 15 is a vertical section of the blind, showing the slats as thrown
open, and Fig. 16 is a similar view showing the slats shut.
In Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, A is a hollow metallic bar or rafter, of
which there may be any number according to the size of the roof, and
which in connection with cross beams or transoms form the main
supports of the roof, and as applied to a conservatory may be arranged
to run from the ventilator to the wooden curbing. The hollow bars A
are composed of a sheet metal body a bent to form rebates b, b, to
support the panes or sheets of glass along their one side or edge and
gutters c, c, for the escape of water that may beat or leak into the
structure. To brace the body a thus constructed and made to form a

page_text: part of the hollow metallic bar is a lower V, or other suitably shaped
sheet metal molding d bent at its upper edges to overlap and clip the
upper edges of the gutters c, c, as at e, e, and holding in between it and
the body a at the base of the latter a flat metal stay plate f, the whole
being secured together by rivets through the gutters c, c.
As thus con- t
structed the hollow bar has the appearance of a solid molded bar. The
glasses are secured in the rebates b, b, by means of sheet metal caps D
soldered or rivetted on to the top of the bar A, no putty necessarily
being used in securing the glass.
In Fig. 6, A' represents a hollow metallic bar or rafter of somewhat 1
different construction, the same however being composed of a hollow
sheet metal body a' bent to form rebates b', 6', to support the panes or
sheets of glass along their sides or edges and gutters c³, c', for the escape
of water that may beat or leak into the structure, also formed with a
lower V, or other suitably shaped sheet metal molding d¹ bent at its 1
upper edges to overlap and clip the upper edges of the gutters c', o';
but the rafter here shown differs from that shown in Fig. 1, by the
introduction of a vertical sheet metal stay plate e¹ arranged to extend
from top to bottom of the rafter, including its moulding ₫', and which
as thus arranged serves largely to stiffen the rafter without materially 2
adding to its weight, and that by slightly increasing the thickness of
will give much additional strength to the rafter with the same thickness
of shell or body to the latter.
In Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, A³ represents the base portion
of one of the sides of a conservatory; B is the glazed side of the
structure, and C³ the one half or portion of its roof; D³, D³, are the roof
bars or rafters. These bars may be made, as it may be termed, either
single or double according as they are used for fixed or movable
lights. For fixed lights the bar (as shewn by those marked D³, and as
more clearly represented in Fig. 11) is formed of a metal sheet a² bent to
give a broad base immediately below the adjacent panes of glass E³, E²,
and extending in the form of a straight hollow leg up between and
above the glass, and terminating below in reversely inclined or approxi-
mating sides, bent at their extremities to formed curved gutters bª, b².
Another curved sheet c³ is arranged below the curved sheet a², in such
manner as to form a semicircular or arched trough, the edges of which
are made to clip the edges of the gutters 6ª, 6ª, and when extra strength
is required to be given to the bar a stiffening plate & may be inserted

page_text: up its centre; F is the cap plate bent to encase the projecting portion
of the straight leg of the bar, and to rest preferably by bent or turned
down edges on the outer surface of the glass, or to lie in close proximity
thereto. The whole thus fitted may be secured together by rivets e*.
For a movable light the bar or rafter is slightly modified, but its
essential features remain the same, one of the most important of which
is the juxtaposition of the gutters &³, b, on opposite sides of the bar, and
the protection which such a bar affords against obstructing the light as
differently arranged and more widely separated gutters do. To accom-
modate a movable light the bars are constructed as shewn by those
marked D³, and as more clearly represented in Fig. 12 of the Drawing.
In this modification the sheet a³ is only bent to form a base on its
one side for the glass, but is otherwise shaped to constitute an upper
projecting leg and gutters b³, b, connected beneath by a trough-shaped
plate c. The cap plate F" is also differently shaped and made in
sections, the one of which is carried by the sliding sash G². The side
posts H³, H', are composed of two reversely arranged trough-shaped
bars, with flanges ƒ³, ƒ³, on opposite sides of their faces (see more
particularly Fig. 9). These trough bars lie with their faces one against
the other, and are secured together by rivets passing through their
flanges with or without a stiffening plate g³ between the bars. This is a
neat and light yet strong construction, and the sido flanges of the posts
form seats or bearing surfaces for the sashes. The clips I³ for the joints
formed by the upper and lower adjacent panes E³, E³, in the roof are
› made as shown in Figures 8 and 13 of a piece of sheet metal bent to
form a groove h³ for the lower pane of glass, a rebate for the upper
one, and a gutter ³, which latter communicates with the gutters of the
bars and serves to carry off condensed vapor or any water that may
have found its way beneath the glass. The stop strips or bars K³ for the
panes or sashes it is also preferred to construct with corrugations m³ to
provide for the escape of inside or outside water and to give strength.
The transoms I of the structure are hollow and made of sheet metal
stiffened internally by cast-iron blocks n³ arranged at suitable distances
apart, and with an intermediate filling of wood g³, the whole being
faced internally, if desired, with a plate of ornamental configuration.
In Fig. 7 only the centre portion of the transom is represented as
thus filled and faced, but the construction is designed to be similar
throughout the entire length of the transom.

page_text: The improvement in blinds and louvres, one of which A*, is represented
as applied to the conservatory illustrated in part in Fig. 7 in place of the
glass illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, is more clearly shewn in Figures 14,
15, and 16. B' is the frame of the blind, which may be made in any
suitable manner, and to which the slats of the blind A* are rivetted.
These slats are made of sheet iron, and have their lapping marginal
portions channeled or of curved transverse section the better to fit
together and prevent any rain or snow from driving in between them.
C', C', arc a series of weather strips, which are secured rigidly to the
inner faces of the side stiles or uprights of the frame of the blind. Each
of these weather strips, except the top and bottom ones, extends from
the centre of one slat to the centre of the next one, and conforms in its
vertical profile with the transverse profiles of the slats, and is so arranged
that when the slats are closed it laps over the outer face of the upper
half of one end of one slat and under the inner face of the lower half
of the corresponding end of the one above. The top strips lap over the
upper half of the top slat and the lower ones lap under the lower half of
the bottom slat. The two top strips are connected by a horizontal
strip c, which is attached to the top stile of the blind and laps over the
upper edge of the top slat when the blind is closed, and the two bottom
strips are connected by a horizontal strip c³, which is attached to the
bottom stile and laps behind the bottom edge of the lower slat.
By means of these weather strips rain and snow are prevented from
driving in between the ends of the slats and the stiles of the frame
and the blinds and louvres are thereby rendered practically water-tight
without materially adding to their cost.
This improvement is equally applicable to wooden as to metal blinds.
Having now described the Invention which has been communicated to
me as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid,―
First. The metallic bar or rafter A formed of a hollow sheet metal
body a, the stay plate f, and hollow molding d fitted together and
arranged to form rebates b, b, for the glasses and gutters c, c, as herein
set forth.
Second. The combination of the cap plates D with the hollow metal
bars or rafters A.

page_text: Third. The arrangement of the vertical stay plate e' with the shell or
body a¹ of the rafter, the molding d', the rebates b¹, b', and gutters c', c',
as described.
Fourth. The hollow metallic bar or rafter D' or D' constructed of
|plates a³ and c³, c³, bent to support each other, and to form gutters b³, bª,
arranged in juxtaposition with each other in combination with the
centre web d³ and under cover of the base or bases which support the
glass, as specified.
Fifth. The clip I constructed of sheet metal bent to form a groove ⁄³,
a.rebate i³, and a gutter, as described.
Sixth. The transom L' made of sheet metal with cast-iron blocks n³,
and intermediate wooden filling q³, as described.
Seventh. The weather strip C+ attached to the inside of the blind
frame, in combination with the slats 6' of the blind A*.
"
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of
February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-two.