A NEW OR IMPROVED BELL PULL FOR DOOR BELLS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Charles Montague
Prince at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 25th January 1868.-A communication from
abroad by Sterling Bonsall and Louis Hillebrand, both residing
at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
I, ALEXANDER CHARLES MONTAGUE PRINCE, of the Office for Patents,
No. 4, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex,.
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED BELL PULL FOR DOOR BELLS," a communication to me from abroad
by Sterling Bonsall and Louis Hillebrand, both resident at Philadelphia,
in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a new or improved construction of bell
pull, the object of which is to facilitate the pull against the action.
of the bell spring by converting the ordinary horizontal action of the
handle into a downward lever action. This is effected by forming a
slot at or near one end of the plate to which the bell pull is applied,
such plate being screwed to the door jamb or wall. The slot may be

page_text: of an angular or rounded shape, and at the opposite end of the plate
another slot is formed, across which a pintle or shaft is arranged,
which consists of a wire or rod so placed in a mould as to be cast
into and fastened to the sides of the slot. Through the middle of
the plate is a slot, through which a screw is passed with which the
plate is fastened to the jamb of the door or wall. The handle
consists of a bar or plate, to the outer side of which is secured an
arm terminating in a suitable knob or button, which may be of any
ornamental form and may be attached either to the end or middle
of the bar. To the inner side of the bar is secured a tongue consisting
of two parts joined or hinged together; one end is firmly connected
to the bar and is slightly curved in a downward direction, the other
part is also curved; the other end of this compound tongue terminates
in a hook or eye to which the bell wire is attached, and near this
end are placed lugs or stop pins, which prevent the tongue from being
entirely withdrawn through the slot in the plate. On the inner side
of the slot is formed a boss which shall enter a corresponding opening
in the door or wall and serve to prevent the turning of the plate
and also to guide the tongue in its forward and backward motion.
From the lower part of the inner side of the bar there projects an
arm, which consists of a piece of metal rounded on the top and its
lower side so cut away that there shall be formed with the bar an
open slot or fork. The bottom edge of the bar is bevelled so as to readily
enter the slot; the open slot or fork will then straddle and bear on
the pintle or shaft in such a manner that when the pull is in operation
it shall act as a hinge. The fork may however straddle or bear on
the lower edge of the slot instead of the pintle and readily acts as a
hinge, as has been before described, but it is preferable to use the
pintle as it makes a stronger hinge and better finish. By placing
the fork over the pintle and fastening it to the joint of the tongue
the bar is so fastened that a hinge is formed at the lower part, and the
bar conceals the head of the screw through the slot and prevents the
removal of the plate. By attaching the usual wire or chain to the
hook or eye of the tongue the pull is completed, which being operated
moves in an oblique or curved downward motion, at the same time
allowing the tongue to move horizontally and thus draw the wire in
the same line; the power being applied to the handle in a downward
direction gives a greater facility or ease of operation. The tongue
may be made in one piece if required.

page_text: The novelty of this Invention consists in actuating the bell pull
by a downward, oblique, or curved downward motion, as described;
in the construction of a hinge by the forked end of the handle resting
over a pintle placed across a slot or over the edge of the same, as
described; in the tongue formed in two parts so hinged as to allow
the handle to move downward, while the link moves horizontally and
connects the bell wire with the handle; in the tongue in once piece
attached to the handle for the same purpose; and in the plate, the
handle, the hinge, and tongue combined to form a bell pull, as described.