Apparatus for Controlling, Indicating, and Recording the Position: of House Doors, and for Facilitating Communication between the Interior of Buildings and the Street.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1890
CUAIT LEIM SI DUIFICATION
Apparatus for Controlling, Indicating, and Recording the Position:
of House Doors, and for Facilitating Communication between the
Interior of Buildings and the Street.
We, BERNHARD NIENHAUS, Building Contractor, of 24, Zülpicherstrasse, Cologne,
and JOHANN GAETCKE, Telegraph Official, of 19/21 Klosterstrasse, Cologne-
Lindenthal, both in the German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The general introduction of known contrivances for enabling lodgers residing on
the different floors or flats of a house, to open the outside door thereof, has hereto-
fore met with this obstacle, that the people residing on the ground-floor were strongly
opposed thereto, because such door was often left open without there being any
means of ascertaining in a manner sufficiently free from doubt, who was the offender.
Moreover, the occupier of the ground floor, who was the most inconvenienced of all
the lodgers, was often compelled for this reason, to act as the servant of others with
regard to the street door.
not.
The present invention is designed to remedy this defect, by supplying information
to any lodgers concerned, on whichever floor they may reside, as to whether any
person coming to them or leaving them, has closed the street door behind him or
It shall at the same time prevent the inmate from opening the door to strangers
or thieves, by furnishing information as to who is ringing the bell, and hence
enabling a resident to open the door if suitable, to dismiss intruders, to receive news,
messages or orders from a person and to answer him or her without allowing the
same to enter the house. This apparatus shall further enable any lodger to distinguish
from his place of abode, whether any one passes through the door, coming in or
going out; or whether the door, when opened from the outside or inside, has been
closed again; in order to obtain control over suspicious persons, and to ascertain if
they lock themselves in.
In case of any tampering with the speaking tube, or of attempts to break in through
the door, of the house, an alarm bell will serve to detect, or at least to scare away,
the malefactors. The door signals shall only be heard in the dwelling to which
they belong, unless other persons are also inserted into the apparatus or conduit in
order to exercise attention in common therewith, or to obtain the conviction that due
attention is bestowed at the controlling place.
Lastly, should no attention be paid to the signals the apparatus shall yet enable
any inmate to ascertain at any time, whether the door remains open or has been
closed; thus saving so much trouble, sparing the house and stairs, and keeping them
cleaner than heretofore, while guarding the said house, and thus fulfilling for all
purposes, the duties of a true house porter.
The improved apparatus chiefly consists of a combination of mechanical, acoustic,
electric and occasionally pneumatic actions, all operating for the fulfilment of the
objects hereinbefore mentioned. It is composed of :-
(1). The house door lock proper, of which a front view and several sections
along lines, y-y, and y-y' of Fig. 1 are respectively shown in Figs. 1 to 6
(Sheet 1) Figs. 4 and 5 being both sections along line -y, looking in the
direction of the arrow y² in the first instance, and in that of the arrow y³ in the
second,
(2). The speaking tube with its connections shown in Fig. 15 (Sheet 2) and of
the peculiar mouth piece placed in front of the house door, and whose arrangement
is illustrated by Figs. 12, 13, and 14 (Sheet 2) in cross sections and by a section on

page_text: (3). The commutator, which, when the door is to be opened pneumatically, acts
also as a cut-off for the air. The said commutator is shown by Figs. 8 to 11 (Sheet 2)
in plan, in front and in side elevation.
(4). The conducting wires, which are shown by the diagram Fig. 16 (Sheet 3) in
such a manner, that the new connections added to the existing circuits are drawn in
full lines, while all the others are drawn in dotted lines.
(1). The Lock. (Sheet 1.) The said lock comprises two halves, namely, the lock.
proper A, and the lock case B. In the case B is arranged a bolt or tumbler a which
is movable upon a suitable guide a (Fig. 1) and is constantly pressed forward by the
spring a¹, so that its thick end a² reaches in front within the lock, A, while remaining
at the rear a distance of about 5 " in the case B, to provide for the contingency
of the parts A and B receding from one another owing to the door becoming dry,
in which case the bolt or tumbler a can be moved forward as may be required, by
means of the screw knob a³ and nut a fixed to the screw threaded end of the said
bolt or tumbler.
Upon the base plate of the lock A, is arranged to pivot on the axis c', a pawl or
catch c, whose rounded beak 2 engages automatically by gravity as soon as the front
end of the bolt or tumbler is moved forward, within a notch a of such front end a²,
accurately corresponding in size and form with the said beak. The said pawl is first
raised by the end a, and then gears with the notch as, thus preventing the bolt or
tumbler from moving backward. The door is now closed to a certain extent, and
cannot be opened before this pawl c is raised. The raising of the pawl c can be
effected in several ways, that is to say,
1. By electricity, as shown in the drawing. For this purpose there is arranged
below the pawl oa lever c oscillating upon, whose shortest arm carries an
armature e, which is in such close proximity to the electro-magnet E placed there-
under, that a weak amount of magnetism is sufficient to raise the lever c° and with
it the beak of the pawl c, the required distance. The weight of the pawle may
in all cases be balanced to the required extent by making the short arm c" sufficiently
heavy. Should the door sink, the pawl c² requires re-adjustment, for which purpose
we employ a screw spindle c' and nut c, so as to alter the position of the lever, and
to prevent the arm co from dropping. The notch in the lock plate for the end a² of
the tumbler, is likewise enlarged at the bottom for the distance c" (Fig. 4) so as to
provide for the sinking of the door.
2. Pneumatically; by means of a flat air-bag, which presses, when inflated, on
the right hand side against a vertical plate ca connected with c and shown
in Fig. 1 by dotted lines, and also in Fig. 6, which illustrates the application of this
method.
3. By mechanical means; i.e. by opening the lock from the top or from inside the
door, this being effected by raising the knob c (Fig. 2) screwed in the pawl c.
4. From outside by means of the proper key, which raises first the locking bar d
enlarged at its lower end as shown in front view by Fig. 1 and in side view by Fig. 5;
and moves to the right hand side the ordinary tumblers e pivoted at e², which fit the
said key and are subjected to the pressure of e³, so that the part d' of the bar d
(Figs. I and 5) enters the groove and the key which has meanwhile reached the
notch d² now lifts the said bar d. This method of locking is not subject to failure
through the use of electricity or of pneumatic action, and quite independent of the
warping or jamming of the door.
In order to defeat the attempts of thieves, who may perforate the door and pass
an arm inside to open the lock, a second locking device is provided for the night,
which can only be raised by means of the proper key. In this case the key enters
the lock from inside, and in a reverse position through the guide 91 (Fig. 1) and is
turned to the right hand side, gripping do and pressing the bar d downward after d
has entered the slot e¹, until d¹ has reached the lower side notch of e. Consequently,
if the locking bar d is lowered, the lever arm fl which oscillates at f is pressed
down; while a pin fixed to the end of f¹ engages within a groove formed in the
lower and thin part of the bar d (Fig. 5); the second lever arın f² takes into a

page_text: Connection between the screw 18 and g³; and may, as well as the said case,
ommunicate with one of the poles of the battery. In the above mechanism, as
oon as the hand is placed upon the presser, the pin & comes in contact with the
spring. But the circuit of the current is not yet closed, as it leads from the
spring to two contacts (Sheet 3), which are placed within the house, the one
being fixed to the door frame or casement, and the other to the door itself, and
which can only come in contact for a short time when the door is ajar for about
the width of two fingers. When, however, the door is opened or closed, the two
contacts will be closed for a moment, at the same time as 12 and 13, and the
current will then pass from one pole of the battery to , case B, 12, 3 and 1 (Fig. 16),
reaching the commutator which in this case is moved to the left for controlling
purposes, and returning to the other pole of the battery through the bell. This bell
now begins to give short rings, sounding for the first time when the door is closed,
and for the second time when it is opened; every ring being moreover followed by
a second when the bolt is moved in or out as above stated. Owing to the fact that
time must elapse before some one enters through the door, the signal will sound
somewhat as follows:-
(a). When the commutator is moved to the left hand position.
Some one is coming in.
- Some one is going out.
The door is opened and closed from inside.
rrrr The door is opened and closed from outside.
(b). When the commutator is moved to the right hand position (After-control).
rrrrrr The door is closed.
The bell remains silent, the door is
open.
It must be remarked under (a) that, should the second half of the signal entirely
fail, the door is open; if one only in omitted, from the closing rr, then the
commutator should be turned to the right (After-control); if now the apparatus
gives rrrrrr, and the door is therefore really closed, the person has locked himself or
herself in. (See 3d signal.)
(2). The Commutator. (Sheet 2.) The commutator (Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11 and 7)
whose handle can be moved as usual between two lateral contacts and 18, serves
at the same time to cut off the air when the door is opened pneumatically. For
this purpose the india-rubber pipe passes, guided by corresponding grooves, from w
10 w; thence upwards to w² and then downwards, issuing finally at w³ at the lower
part of the base plate. A spring rests upon the india-rubber pipe between t¹
and w, and has the shape illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, being provided at its lower
end with a loop or protuberance, which is either fixed thereto, or formed directly by
ooping out the spring in the centre, as shown in Fig. 7; this loop corresponding
with the notch in which the india-rubber pipe is laid. In the central position, the
crank handle presses upon the spring and the latter on the india-rubber pipe,
so as to close the same (Fig. 9, normal position). The crank handle is moved to the
left for controlling purposes, or in order to open the door, and to the right hand side
for after-control only.
(3). The Speaking Tube. (Sheet 2.) Through the pressure knob plate arranged
in front of the house door, issues at the same a speaking tube, which, as shown
in Fig. 15, is branched off towards each flat, tenement, or floor, in the front and rear
part of the house, in such a manner that from every where the sonorous waves fall
directly towards the noisy street, while on the contrary, the sound is sub-divided
towards the quiet places of abode. V is the lid or cover for the branches, which
are easily recognisable. The stopper is not suspended to a chain; it is held in the
hand while the speaking tube is used, and thus the closing of the latter cannot be
forgotten. The mouth piece S before the house door (Figs. 12, 13 and 14) is
peculiar. To supply information when a mischevious person intends to close the pipe,
a metal box or tube, ¹, is placed within the mouth piece, and is pushed forward at
each attempt to close the pipe, abutting against a contact s¹ which is connected to
one side of the alarm bell, communicating by its other side with one of the poles of

page_text: groove of the lower part (Figs. 1 and 4) of a strong bolt ³, moving within the
guide fo, whereby a part of the said bolt f³ is shot into the case B, so that a double
locking now takes place. This second locking is undone by turning the key in a
reverse direction. The locking bar d (Figs. 1 and 5) is guided by the pieces d
and d. The piece d³ guides the bar d by means of two screws which gear with d
and are capable of moving to and fro in a slot of 3. The ring
within which the
key turns without coming fully in contact therewith, is only closed at one end, as
shown in Fig. 4; the remaining part thereof being cut out so as to come nowhere in
contact with metal parts. For this reason the same is also insulated, being fixed
upon a piece of ebonite 92 (Figs. 1 and 4) through which only the screw y³ enters the
metal of the lock A and which is connected to one pole of the battery whose other
pole is connected with an alarm hell fixed to the house door and thence with the
insulated alarm ring (Fig. 16 Sheet 3). The ring must thus be unavoidably
touched when a burglar's tool is inserted and manipulated in the lock without being
accurately guided, particularly as the thief is deceived by the long notches of the
bit, which form however, no obstacle to the usual mode of locking. During such
manipulations the alarm bell will ring at each attempt. To the side of the insulating
piece g² (Figs. 1 and 4) is further fixed a spring as which rests against the bolt or
tumbler a when the same is shot forward, and which is electrically connected with the
right side of the commutator placed on the floors (Fig. 16); and as the lock, and
therefore also the bolt a, is electrically connected with one of the poles, (on the
commutator handle being turned to the right hand side,) a current will start through
this pole and pass through g³, the bolt a, a, and the commutator, proceeding first to
the bell and then to the other pole. The bell is consequently set ringing. This
current is obviously not in existence when the bolt a is drawn back, and on placing
the bandle in its right hand position all bells will remain still, which is a
sign that the door is opened. This is an after control always at our disposal.
There is furthermore a spring a fixed to the insulating plate (Figs. 1 and 4)
which is wide at the top and somewhat rounded, in order to come constantly
in contact with a pin a fixed to the lower part of the bolt or tumbler, as often
as the latter is drawn back or shot forward. This spring is connected with
the left side of the commutators ½ (Sheet 3) and is used when a lodger or
occupier wishes to control the entrics and exits. He turns the commutator to
the left. The bell rings shortly at each contact between a and a', and hence
once when opening and the other time when closing the house door. The current
passes then from one of the poles of a battery (Sheet 3) through g³, the lock
frame A, the bolt a, and its pin as and through the spring a, returning through the
commutator and bell to the other pole. This single touch of the bell follows each
opening or closing from inside, while on the contrary, two short rings sound when the
opening takes place from the outside. For this reason the half B of the lock is
arranged in the following manner :- -A light knob or presser is mounted upon
shaft b (Figs. 1 and 6). The arm fixed to the collar 10 serves to push the bol
to the left when a pressure is exerted upon the knob, by acting upon the projection a
(Figs. 1 and 2), but it does not reach the latter before having already accomplished
a portion of its course. At the rear, the arm has also a certain amount of play as
far as the thick end of the bolt, so as not to be reached by the latter, when it is
drawn back by means of the knob a³. Upon the square pin 66 (Fig. 1) is wound a
spring, curved in such a manner that it constantly exerts a uniform and at the
same time light pressure upon the pin at each possible position of the arm bº;
such pressure being just strong enough to automatically hold the presser in a
horizontal position, and yet so light that however lightly the hand may be laid on the
said presser, the latter will yield until the arm strikes against a°. This light
pressure of the spring should be uniform in all positions, so that the spring itself
may not suffer.
A pin is likewise arranged upon the other arm 6', and opposite
this pin is placed a spring 63 upon the insulating piece 7, through which the
screw is fastened as far as to enter the case B so that when the door is open, the
case B may remain in metallic connection with the lock A, through the wire
the

page_text: the battery to which the contact s of the mouth piece is connected on the other side.
This contact touches the metallic guide i and is therefore in electrical communication
with the sleeve i¹. A very weak spring which bears at one end against the
projection or rim of the guide and at the other against the flange of the sleeve i",
brings the tube back into its normal position as soon as the obstacle has been
removed. The tube i, in this case obtains a hold upon the rim or projection 6, which
is firmly connected with i. To prevent any possibility of unscrewing the mouth
piece, the same is provided with a circular groove, and fixed by means of half rings i
(Figs. 12, 13 and 14) fitting therein and screwed upon the bed-plate.
(4). The Conducting Wires. (Sheet 3.) These have, as far as relates to the
improvements in question, been already explained and described. It only remains to
state that, for the sake of completeness, the apparatus is also furnished with the
hitherto known connections for ringing for the servants at the pressure knob Q, and
for ringing in the passage or hall or entrance at P. The latter is only used for the
tenants among themselves; who may moreover, knock when they hear that recourse
is being had to the speaking tube, or when a special ringing signal has been agreed
upon. The drawing shows the connections of the ground floor, besides a branch to
a second dwelling, and further the connection with the first floor; the same being
repeated for other floors and dwellings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A house door controlling apparatus or automaton house porter adapted to open
the house door at a distance, to provide an efficient control over the closing of the
said door and over the entries and exits occurring through the same, to indicate who
applies for admittance, and generally to provide communication with the street; the
said apparatus comprising in its construction :-
(a). A door lock consisting of the two parts A and B (Figs. 1 to 6) in which
the withdrawal of the bolt a cannot take place as long as the pawl c is
engaged within the notch a' of the beak a² of the said bolt and wherein the
click or pawl c can be raised either from inside by placing the hand under
the knob c connected thereto; or mechanically from a distance, by means
of a cord connected to the said knob; or pneumatically by means of a
pouch or bag which operates when inflated against a vertical lever arm c³.
(Fig. 1); or electrically by the action of an electro-magnet E upon an
armature c³ arranged upon the short arm of a special lever c, while the
longer lever arm situated opposite thereto raises the pawl c; and finally from
outside by means of the key and of the locking bar d, the former serving at
the same time to move backward and forward with the end of the crank
lever fif
a second or night bolt 3; in which lock are provided two
springs and a placed in the part. A upon an insulated base, the spring a
coming in contact with the pin a whether the tumbler a is moved forward
or backward, while the spring a" on the contrary touches the bolt or tumbler a
only when the latter is slot forward, in order to obtain at will a short ringing
signal by contact between a and a', and a long signal by contact between a³
and a; the key bit being surrounded by an insulated ring g which does
not come in contact therewith but is easily touched by any burglars' tool
whereby the alarm bell is every time set in motion; in the part B of which
lock a very slight pressure upon the door presser held in a horizontal position
by the spring produces a signal, before the arm (Fig. 1) presses against
the projection a, owing to the pin 2 coming in contact with the spring 63,
when at the same time two sliding contacts are joined at the house door
(Fig. 16. Sheet 3).
a'
(b). A mouth piece S (Figs. 12, 13, and 14. Sheet 2), in which a box it actuated
by a spring within a guide i is readily brought forward to join a contact S¹
in order to set the alarm bell in motion.

page_text: (c). Branch pieces (Fig. 15) adapted to divide the sound waves coming from
the street, so as to send stronger waves towards the street than into the
dwelling.
(d). A commutator (Figs. 7 to 12. Sheet 2) adapted to serve as a cut off for the
air, by means of a spring h¹ of suitable form which, when the handle is placed
in a central position, presses upon the india-rubber pipe placed thereunder,
and cuts off the air.
(e). Electric signalling apparatus according to the full drawn lines of Fig. 16
(Sheet 3), and connections of the circuit from one side of the commutator h
(Fig. 16) to the spring a³ (Fig. 1) to procure prolonged ringing; also from
the other side of the said commutator to the spring a', and from two door
contacts (Fig. 16) to the spring 13 in order to produce, for the control of
the door, one short ring when the latter is opened or closed from the inside,
and two short rings when the same takes place from the outside.
2. The combination of a door lock with means for actuating the same from a
stance, the whole being constructed and adapted to operate substantially as
escribed and for the purpose set forth.
3. The combination of a door lock and means for actuating the same, with
ectric signalling and recording apparatus and a commutator, with or without the
idition of means for acoustic communication, the whole being constructed and
lapted to operate substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
B. NIENHAUS.
J. GAETCKE.
By Fairfax & Wetter,
433, Strand, London, Agents.