Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 9th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 26th Jan., 1895
:―
I, WILLIAM BLAIR, of Portland Chambers, Longton, Staffordshire, Copper
Plate Engraver, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to a new or improved window catch which is simple in
construction and efficient in operation.
In carrying my invention into effect I attach to the lower rail of the upper
sash a device (hereinafter referred to as the striking piece) which consists of a
piece of metal which as seen in plan is wedge shaped, or of the form of a
In the said
truncated cone, and as seen in front elevation is of similar form.
piece of metal extending backwards is an orifice or recess adapted to engage the
nose of the bolt hereinafter to be described. The said piece of metal may have a
flange or plate for the purpose of enabling it to be attached to the sash rail.
To the upper rail of the lower sash I attach by means of a flange or base plate
or the like a device which I shall hereinafter call the locking piece. At the rear
end of the said locking piece (that is to say the end which engages the striking
piece hereinbefore mentioned) are two projections or fingers adapted to grip the
said striking piece and press it towards the locking piece as will presently be
described. Between the said projections, and working in a groove or guide piece
or the like, is a bolt to which a spring is adapted in such a manner as to press
the said bolt backwards, that is to say towards the striking piece, and so that the
end or nose of the said bolt may enter the orifice or recess in the striking piece.
The said bolt may be withdrawn by means of a straight or bent lever or by a rod
or by a projecting stud or finger piece or the like. A convenient device for
withdrawing the bolt consists of a knob or stud projecting from the bolt, or a part
in connection therewith. The shank of this stud or knob may itself be fitted with
a projection and with a spring so that when the knob is pressed against the action
of the spring the projection on the shank may press against a top plate or other
convenient part of the locking piece for the purpose of maintaining the bolt in
its retracted position. When this device is employed instead of having only the
lower edge of the nose of the bolt bevelled I have the upper edge bevelled also so
that as seen in side elevation the said nose is wedge shaped rather than chisel
shaped.
The action of my invention is as follows. Let us assume that the window is
open and that we proceed to close it. In pulling down the lower sash the
projections or fingers upon the locking piece will engage the inclined sides of the
striking piece embracing the same more and more closely until the window is in
its closed position. When this position is reached the nose of the bolt (previously
pressed inwards by the striking piece) is opposite the orifice or recess in the
striking piece so that the spring of the bolt forces the nose of the latter into the
said orifice or recess so as to lock the sashes together. To open the window
the bolt is withdrawn by its lever or rod or finger piece or by the knob device
hereinbefore mentioned. In the case of the knob device, after the bolt is withdrawn
the knob is pressed downwards or is turned so that the projection on the shank
may engage the top plate or other part and hold the bolt in its retracted position.

page_text: The lower sash may now be raised and in rising the upper bevelled edge of the nose of
the bolt will be brought against the upper edge of the orifice or recess in the
striking piece so that the bolt will be pressed still further back. The projection
on the shank of the knob will now no longer be engaged and the bolt will fly
outwards so as to be ready to again. go through the cycle of operations already
mentioned.
It will be understood that in the case of light windows where it is not necessary
to use both hands to raise the lower sash or to lower the upper sash the knob
device may be dispensed with in which case the bolt may be withdrawn by one
hand whilst the window is opened by the other.
For the Applicant,
J. G. LORRAIN, M. Inst. E.E., M. Inst. M.E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, Strand, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.
Figure 1 is a plan of the said form of my invention.
Figure 2 a front elevation,
Figure
3 a section showing the parts in their normal or locked position,
Figure 4 a section showing the parts in their unlocked position or when the bolt
is withdrawn,
Figure 5 an isometric projection showing the parts in their normal or locked
position, and
"
Figure 6 a front elevation of a modified form of striking piece.
In carrying my invention into effect I attach to the lower rail of the upper sash
a device (hereinafter referred to as the striking piece) which consists of a piece of.
metal A which as seen in plan is of the form of a truncated cone, and as seen in
front elevation is of similar form. In the said piece of metal extending backwards
is an orifice or recess a adapted to engage the nose of the bolt hereinafter to be
described. The said piece of metal A has a flange or plate a' for the purpose of
enabling it to be attached to the sash rail.
To the upper rail of the lower sash I attach by means of a flange or base
plate or the like a device which I shall hereinafter call the locking piece. At
the rear end of the said locking piece B (that is to say the end which engages
the striking piece hereinbefore mentioned) are two projections or fingers CC
adapted to grip the said striking piece A and press it towards the locking piece B
as will presently be described. Between the said projections, and working in a
groove or guide piece or the like, is a bolt D to which a spring d is adapted in
such a manner as to press the said bolt backwards that is to say towards the
striking piece A, and so that the end or nose of the said bolt may enter the

page_text: orifice or recess a in the striking piece A. The said nose d¹ has not only its
lower edge bevelled but its upper edge also so that it is wedge shaped rather than
chisel shaped. From the bolt D projects the pin or stud d' working in the slot b
and to the said pin or stud is pivotted the detent E having at one end a knob or
handle e and at the other the chisel shaped nose e¹ (see Figure 5). The said
nose el is adapted to engage in the sloping recess b² (see Figures 3, 4 and 5), on
the upper surface of the locking. piece B for the purpose of maintaining the bolt
in its retracted position. d³ is an extension piece of the bolt D which passes
through an orifice in the front of the locking piece B. In the case illustrated it
is of circular cross section so as to be conveniently embraced by the spring d
whose function is to press the bolt D into the recess a.
The action of my invention is as follows. Let us assume that the window is
open and that we proceed to close it. In pulling down the lower sash the projections
or fingers CC upon the locking piece will engage the inclined sides (shown in
dotted lines in Figure 2) of the striking piece A embracing the same more and
more closely until the window is in its closed position. When this position is
reached the nose of the bolt (previously pressed inwards by the striking piece)
is opposite the orifice or recess a in the striking piece so that the spring d of the
bolt forces the nose d' of the latter into the said orifice or recess a so as to lock
the sashes together in the position shown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5. To open the
window the bolt is withdrawn by pulling upon the knob e.
This is then raised so
as to tilt the detent E into the position shown in Figure 4 when the nose e' of E
engages in the inclined recess so that the bolt D is now maintained in its
retracted position. The lower sash may now be raised and in rising the upper
bevelled edge of the nose d' of the bolt will be brought against the upper edge of
the orifice or recess a in the striking piece A so that the bolt will be pressed still
further back. In so pressing backwards the bolt D the detent will have been
pressed backwards also and its nose e¹ will no longer be engaged in the inclined
recess so that the detent E will now drop into its normal position through the
greater weight of that end at which the knob is placed and the spring d will then
force the bolt D backward until it projects from the locking piece B in the same
manner as it projects when the sashes are locked in their normal position. The
window is now open again and the parts are in position to go through the same
cycle of operations again.
In Figure 6 I show a modified form of striking piece A which differs from that
hereinbefore described in that it is of greater height so as to provide several
superposed orifices or recesses a into any one of which the bolt D may engage as
may be desired. By this means the window may be locked in a partially open
position. Thus in the case illustrated in Figure 6 there are four orifices a shown
and it will be understood that when the bolt is locked in the lowest of these
recesses the window is shut whereas if it is locked in one of the three others the
window is securely locked in a partially opened position. The higher up the
orifice in A in which the bolt is locked the greater is the extent to which
the window is maintained open.
As will be seen in the drawings when the sash fastener is attached to the
meeting rails the plate extends over the front part of the lower rail of the
upper sash and it will also be seen that the said plate is cut away between
the projections C, C. The line - shows where the two meeting rails meet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inver-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The new or improved window catch substantially as set forth.
2. In a window catch the combination of the striking piece A with orifices or
recesses a therein and a locking piece having fingers CC and a spring actuated
bolt with wedge shaped nose substantially as set forth.

page_text: 3. The combination of the parts mentioned in Claim 2 with a device for
withdrawing the bolt and maintaining the same in its retracted position, substantially
as set forth.
For the Applicant,
J. G. LORRAIN, M. Inst. E.E., M. Inst. M.E.,
Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, Strand, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.