IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDOWS AND IN SASHES OR GLAZED FRAMES; AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Brittain at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 10th of September 1879.
HENRY BRITTAIN, of the Firm of S. Brittain and Son, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVEMENTS IN WINDOWS AND IN SASHES
OR GLAZED FRAMES; AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
My Invention has reference principally to the fixed and folding windows of
hansom cabs, the moveable and fixed windows of omnibuses and railway carriages,
the fixed and moveable windows of carriage heads, and the sliding or hinged
frames of show cases and cabinets, whether the said windows and frames be made
wholly of hollow metallic mouldings or of a combination of metal and wood; and
my said Invention consists, in part, of additions to and modifications of the
Invention for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the 18th day of
September 1876, No. 3648.
In applying my present Invention to the windows of cabs, omnibuses, railway
carriages and the like, I modify that part of my patented metallic windows by
which the glass is held so that it can be applied to the wooden frames and bodies
of carriages by screwing it to the inside of the framing and so constitute a inetal
rebate or recess to receive an elastic lining and the glass. By this means the
wooden framing is strengthened and the glass prevented from getting loose. In
order to adapt and strengthen the glazed frame for this purpose I add to the
trough or bead of the said frame a metal sheath or second bead with its edges
turned in to clip the edges of the trough on one side, the other edges being soldered
to the bottom of the bar of the glazed frame so that the face of the sheath stands
at right angles to the plane of the said bar. The top or lateral edge of the said bar
overlaps to form a contiuous slot through the whole length of the frame in place
o the slots described in the Patent before referred to, and the knuckles on the
glazing bar are made through its whole length to fit in the slot formed on the glass
frame. To fix the metal frame to the wood framing the bar of the glazed frame is
perforated and countersunk all round to receive wood screws, which, when the
metal frame is fixed in its place are driven home to secure it.
The glazing of the frame is effected as follows:- Into the trough of the frame
and along the face of the bar an elastic lining or cushion is pressed, abutting against
the edge of the trough on one side and against a small ridge of metal soldered
to the bar on the other side. The elastic lining in this bent position forms one
side and base of a bed to receive the glass. The glass being placed on the elastic
bed, the knuckle or projecting part of the glazing bar is inserted in the continuous

page_text: slot in the edge of the frame. The ends of the said knuckle part are then screwed
to the frame and the glazing is complete.
In applying my present Invention to the sliding windows of carriage heads,
I construct the outer frames and the inner or sliding frames or sashes of the said
windows and parts connected with them in the following manner :-
In making the outer sheet metal frame I form the small trough and the vertical
web referred to in my former Patent in one piece, which web is soldered to the
light hollow bar forming the top of the frame or outer case. I make the other
part of the case of a larger trough piece having a part constituting the pulley stile
or that part on which the inner glazed frame slides, the said stile part having an
angular figure and running parallel to the face of the casing. The said large trough
piece and the stile part are made in one piece. I make the inner sliding glazed
metallic frame or sash of the window hollow or tubular, the outer edge being
angular and having a figure the counterpart of that of the angular stile of the fixed
frame upon which it works. The inner edge of the sliding frame I make
substantially the same for the glazing and reglazing as described in my previous
Patent with the modifications before described to hold the elastic lining. Or the
inner edge of the sliding frame has a trough form to receive the edge of the glass
which is fixed in its place by putty. The parts constituting the sliding sash or
glazed frame are secured together by angle or elbow pieces and screws so that
the parts can be taken to pieces for reglazing, or the parts of the sliding sash or
glazed frame may be connected together by screwing to one elbow piece a rod
which passes through a tube in the hollow frame and also through the opposite
angle piece at which the said rod is secured by a screw nut.
In order to prevent the shaking or rattling of the sliding frames in the fixed or
outer metallic frames I provide the top edge of the said fixed frame with a
moveable or yielding angular style against which the top angular part of the
sliding frame or sash bears, screw pins carried by springs pressing upon the said
moveable or yielding stile and keeping it in close contact with the top of the
sliding frame or sash; the pressure upon the moveable stile may be regulated by
the screw pins carried by the springs described.
I also hold the sliding frame or sash firm in its position by attaching to the
stile friction or pressing shoes acted upon by springs, the said shoes being so
connected with a thumb bit or handle on the sliding sash that the act of grasping
the said thumb bit depresses the friction or pressing shoes and permits the sliding
sashes to move freely on the stiles.
I prefer to make this kind of carriage window in three parts, namely, of a middle
part and two outer parts; the middle part being fixed, and the outer parts capable
of sliding to and from the middle one for opening and closing the window. To
prevent the entrance of rain at the fixed middle part, the bottom of the outer frame
is furnished with a moveable "fence" rail worked from the inside of the carriage.
This fence rail consists of a slightly curved strip of metal passing under the bottom
of the fixed middle glazed frame and worked by a system of arms or levers from a
thumb plate. When the sliding frames are in their closed positions and the fence
rail is brought into use; the said fence rail bridges over and protects from rain the
uncovered part of the outer frame in which the sliding inner frames work. The
said fence rail also acts as a stop or bolt to prevent the sliding of the sashes or
glazed frames. The middle fixed glazed frame may be dispensed with and two
sliding frames only be employed, one of the said frames carrying the moveable
fence rail described. In this arrangement the fixed outer frame has a double
angular face, or two flat faces, so that one sliding frame or sash can move in front
of the other.
I apply the same kind of metallic windows to the fronts of broughams and other
carriages, except so far as regards the provision made for securing them to the
leather which in this case is dispensed with. For the back windows of broughams
and other carriages, I make them on the hinged principle of my previous Patent,

page_text: with screw attachments to secure to the wood, and a slight modification of the
fastening therein described by substituting a flat for the coil springs.
In applying my improvements to the sliding sashes or glazed frames of show and
other cases and cabinets, I modify the parts as follows:-I make the outside
moulding and the double angular sash stiles and the vertical inner face against
which the inner face of the sliding sash or glazed frame works, of sheet metal, the
said combined parts being screwed or otherwise fastened to the wood of the show
case or cabinet. I make the upper stile as well as the lower stile of the fixed frame
stationary, and I attach to the stile of the sliding sash or glazed frame, friction or
pressing shoes acted upon by springs as before described for preventing the rattling
of the sliding sashes.
In small show cases the top stile may be loose or yielding as described with
respect to the carriage window; I make the metallic frames of the sliding sashes
of show cases and cabinets in the manner before described, excepting that that side
of the hollow metallic frame which bears against the fixed metal moulding on the
show case or cabinet is open, and is provided with an elastic packing to effect a
close joint between the said sliding sash and the fixed moulding.
I apply my improvements to the windows of buildings, substantially as described
with respect to sliding carriage windows.
In applying metallic windows to railway and other carriage doors, I make the
sliding frames of the sashes with bevilled or square edges to bite upon bevilled or
square stiles in the case or frame of the door, and I use the provision for glazing
and reglazing described in my Patent before referred to, and the modification
herein before described.
For the purpose of retaining the sash or sliding window of the carriage door in
the position to which it may have been brought, I make one of the stiles in the case
of the door loose, and joint it at top to the case of the door. The bottom of the
said loose stile is connected to a spring by which the said stile is pressed forcibly
against the bearing edge of the sliding sash or window. To release the sliding sash
or window the loose or moveable stile is acted upon by a cranked lever so arranged
that one arm of it is depressed by the action of the strap in raising the sash, and
the other arm of the lever is made to press against the loose stile so as to force it
from the sash and permit the latter to be raised. When it is wished to open the
sliding sash the cranked lever is acted upon by a thumb plate near the meeting rail.
The loose stile is thereby forced from the sash, and the latter falls by its own
weight. I also effect the same object by means of the friction shoes described for
carriage and other windows.
The sliding sash or window last described has motion only in one plane, that is,
it is incapable of being moved outwards or inwards to lift it over the fence rail as
in ordinary carriage door windows or sashes. My improved sash or window
therefore requires a moveable fence rail to take the place of the ordinary fixed one.
The moveable fence rail which I use consists of a strip of metal jointed to the outer
ends of the meeting rail, the said fence rail being brought into position by the
action of the bottom of the sash or window when the latter is raised to its full
extent.
When the improved glazed sash is used like an ordinary carriage door and is
required to be moved backwards and forwards over the fence rail; the joints of the
cranked lever are fixed at right angles to the plane of the sash which brings the
action of the springs against the face of the glazed sash and secures it firmly to the
sides of the case.
For the windows of hansom cabs I use metallic sash rails or frames of the con-
struction before described, or made according to the patented Invention before
referred to, the two sashes of which the window is composed being jointed
together in the usual way, excepting that a spring is attached to each jointed part
near the hinge to keep the two parts open when at liberty to move. The lower
corners of the bottom. part of the window are furnished with projecting studs on
which concave rollers are mounted and work. The said rollers travel upon nearly

page_text: vertical guide rods or stiles within the cab. The cord by which the window is
opened is attached to the upper part of the window, and the free end of the said
cord is passed over a pulley in the roof of the cab, and through a sliding handle
working in a tube on the outside of the roof. The said cord also passes over
a second pulley at the end of the tube and returns into the cab. This second 5
pulley is carried by a swivelling socket so that it can be turned aside by the lateral
pressure of the cord, and the handle which has been pressed into the said socket is
turned down so as to engage it with a cross slot in the tube, and thereby lock the
handle and fix the window in its raised position.
The mechanism described permits the occupant of the cab to open or close the 1
window and to lock the window in its open position. The handle is within reach
of the driver and may be operated by him when required.